A Father's Vow
Page 24
“Hi,” he said. “It’s, uh, nice to see you again, Dr. Hall.”
She shook his hand with a firm grip, the touch of her palm against his delivering yet another jolt of attraction. “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Cade. Is everything all right? With you and your family?” The concern in her eyes looked sincere, and it made him feel even more drawn to her.
“My family? I don’t have any family.”
“Well, this is a hospital. I hope you’re not here for an emergency.”
“Oh, yeah, I see what you mean.” Feeling like an idiot, J.D. chuckled and shook his head. “I had to give some friends a ride, but I guess everything’s okay.”
The main doors banged open, and a young woman carrying a screaming baby rushed in. Dr. Hall ran to help. The baby quieted and the young mother burst into tears of relief. Smiling and talking softly, Dr. Hall ushered mother and baby down the corridor. J.D. stared after her in admiration until Sam and Julia came out, blocking his view.
Finally convinced that the baby really was fine, Julia discovered she felt ravenous. J.D. agreed to stop at the Hip Hop on the way home, and when he parked in front of the café, Julia sighed. Sam frowned at her.
“Honey, what is it?” he asked, clearly alarmed.
“I’m fine, Sam,” she said. “I was just thinking that this is where we first met. Suddenly it’s kind of…romantic.”
Sam and J.D. exchanged a glance over her head and snorted with laughter. Julia ignored them. It would take more than their adolescent male attitudes toward anything that smacked of romance to tarnish this golden day for her. Head high, she walked into the restaurant.
Janie rushed over to greet her. Though Janie was decidedly cold toward J.D., she was obviously delighted to see Julia and Sam together. When Sam quietly mentioned they had just come from the hospital, Janie seated them in the most comfortable booth in the place, fussing over Julia like a neurotic mother hen with only one scrawny chick.
Since the dinner rush hadn’t started yet, Melissa North came out of the kitchen to say hello. Then Lily Mae Wheeler stopped by, angling for information, as usual. Julia felt Sam tense each time another one of her friends appeared, but when she reached under the table and patted his thigh, he would smile and relax and act as if he wanted nothing more than to be a charming host to anyone who approached.
Before long, they had quite a crowd dragging up extra tables and chairs, ordering more coffee and food, gabbing away about the high-school basketball team’s recent win over their arch rival and all the other things people from small towns find endlessly fascinating. Julia smiled up at Sam and squeezed his leg. He looked at her, one eyebrow raised in a silent question.
She cast a pointed glance toward the far end of the line of tables. “This is really okay with you? Being here like this with me? And all these other people?”
He raised both eyebrows and gave a small shrug. “Yeah. As long as you’re with me, it’s okay. It’s even kind of fun.”
“Oh, you’re so sweet.”
“Yeah, that’s me, all right. I’m just a real sweet kind of guy.”
Laughing, she gave him a playful elbow in the ribs. He leaned down and gave her a hot, thorough kiss that brought every conversation in the restaurant to an abrupt end. Julia felt her face getting warm from all the interested looks they received when he finally raised his head.
Grinning, Sam stood beside the booth, asked Melissa if she would mind moving her chair just a bit. Then he took Julia’s left hand and enfolded it between his own. Gazing directly into her eyes, he spoke in a loud, clear voice that left no doubt he intended for everyone to hear what he had to say.
“I thought about doing this in a fancy restaurant in Billings, but after seeing you here with so many friends around you, I think the Hip Hop’s a better place.”
She frowned at him in confusion. “Sam, what in the world are you doing?”
To Julia’s amazement, he dropped down on one knee. Delightfully wicked lights danced in his black eyes and his smile made her toes curl inside her snow boots. “I’m proposing to the woman I love with all my heart. Julia, will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“Oh, Sam, you finally asked.” She pressed her free hand to her chest and felt her eyes mist over, even while a laugh bubbled inside her. “Yes, I’ll marry you. And as long as you love me, I’ll never, ever leave you.”
Right there in front of God and everyone, he kissed her with all the tenderness and passion anyone with an ounce of romance in his soul could have wanted.
Cheers and tears filled the room and for weeks to come, the folks of Whitehorn enjoyed hearing and repeating the story of Sam Brightwater’s surprisingly romantic marriage proposal. Lots of folks wondered why he chose to do it so publicly, but no one ever doubted the sincerity of his feelings for Julia. Long after their first son, and their second, and even their third son arrived, the Hip Hop Café remained the place in Whitehorn for a man to ask his sweetheart to marry him.
Rumor had it, something about that spot had some pretty powerful medicine for Indians and white folks alike.
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Myrna Temte for her contribution to the Montana Mavericks series.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5371-5
A FATHER’S VOW
Copyright © 1998 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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