Ford: 7 Brides for 7 Soldiers

by Samantha Chase

  “It was intentional,” Ford said gruffly. Ruth looked at him oddly. He swallowed hard and crouched down to look inside at the details. Callie had decorated it and added some paint to the walls, and he realized just how much he’d made the details resemble the ranch—the bookcases, the fireplace, even the color of the fabric on the stairs.

  “Oh, you were always out in the workshop with Ben,” she commented. “Were you there when he built this?”

  He nodded. “He designed it and I built it.”

  She gasped. “Really? Oh, my! You did an amazing job on it. Callie and I were always in awe of the craftsmanship.”

  “Hey, Mom!” Callie called out as she stepped into the garage. “I got those boxes down and put the ladder away. What are you guys looking at?”

  Ford quickly jumped to his feet and stepped toward her. “You know what, it’s getting late and we still need to hit those tree lots to find you the perfect tree for the cottage. And I’m starving! How about we stop by The Blue Moon for dinner? Or maybe we’ll grab a pizza and eat while we decorate the tree? What do you say?”

  If she noticed that he was rushing her out the door, she didn’t say anything. And if Ruth noticed that he was trying to avoid talking about the dollhouse, she chose to stay quiet too. Either way, he knew his behavior was odd, and he wasn’t sure why he was so uncomfortable talking about it, but suddenly it was as if his life had come full circle—and for some reason it scared the hell out of him.

  * * *

  For three days, Callie had been scratching her head trying to figure out what was going on with Ford. One minute he was so loving and attentive, and the next he was pulling back and being vague.

  They’d found a small tree for her that night after leaving her mother’s house and had picked up a pizza and come home to decorate. They’d made love right there on the living room floor with nothing but the Christmas lights on and it was one of the most magical nights of her life. Ford had carried her to bed and held her all night long—but the next day, he was up and gone before she woke and she hadn’t seen him until the next day.

  Every time she’d tried to bring up Christmas, he’d change the subject, and it was the same whenever she brought up Margaret and maybe having her come home just for the holiday. She was beyond frustrated, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she lost her patience and said something to him. They only had a couple of weeks left before he had to leave and really, the last thing she wanted to do was fight with him, but at the same time, she needed to know where they stood and know that she was allowed to at least voice her thoughts and opinions.

  With a small groan, Callie sat on the sofa and looked at her little tree. Well, not so little; it was definitely bigger than the fake tabletop one she was going to use. The whole cottage had the sweet smell of pine and she knew she’d never again be able to have anything but a real tree for Christmas. She looked at all of the new decorations on it and smiled. As soon as they’d picked up the tree and loaded it into his truck, he had announced that she was definitely going to need more ornaments than what she had. And he was right. They weren’t anything fancy—just your basic assortment of colored Christmas balls—but they would always be special because Ford had gotten them for her, claiming they were his contribution for making her get a new tree.

  They would have meant a little more if he had said they were a Christmas present, but…

  She looked at the wrapped gifts she had under the tree already. Most were for her mom, but there were several there for some friends and then there was one for Ford. It was tucked all the way in the back and didn’t have a tag on it, just in case he wanted to snoop. Laughing softly, she thought about what it would be like to wake up on Christmas morning with him—to open gifts together and then have breakfast together like a couple. A real couple. Not a couple with a countdown clock ticking behind them.

  He’d be in flannel pajama pants and she’d be wearing something red and lacy that he’d given her on Christmas Eve, and they’d open gifts while talking about their future or why they’d chosen their specific gifts. And it would all be done while gazing into each other’s eyes.

  “Ugh…I need to step away from the holiday romances and get back to my DIY shows.”

  It was Thursday night, and she had a chicken pot pie in the oven and Ford had said he would be over around seven. She was nervous, and maybe she had no right to be asking anything of him.

  No, that wasn’t right. They were involved. They were dating. They were sleeping together, and dammit, she felt more for him than she ever had in the five years she’d spent with her ex. And it had nothing to do with her teenage crush and everything to do with her and Ford just…fitting.

  Just as he had said to her on the way to her mother’s house—she thought he was an amazing man with a great smile, an amazing laugh, and she loved spending time with him and talking to him. He gave her something to look forward to every day, and she enjoyed hearing about his work. And if time was on their side, she would love to learn more about it. She loved how he listened to her stories about her days with her kindergarteners, and how he’d sit and help assemble crafts with her at night after dinner. She loved sleeping beside him at night and waking up in his arms in the morning. She just…

  She was falling in love with Ford Garrison.

  It should have made her happy. Hell, it should have made her jump for joy, but unfortunately, she knew how this story was going to end, and it wasn’t with a happily ever after. Ford already had plans to head back to Virginia not long after New Year’s.

  Alone.

  And she’d be here in his grandmother’s guest cottage missing him like she’d never missed anyone before.

  * * *

  “We’ll have the rest of the drywall delivered tomorrow, Ford,” Dennis Allen said as Ford shut the gate on his truck and made sure the sheets of drywall he’d just picked up were secure. “Anything else we need to send out?”

  Doing a quick calculation in his mind, he said, “Probably, but right now I’m running on fumes and can’t seem to remember what.”

  Dennis laughed and then seemed to instantly sober. “Listen…um…maybe this isn’t the right time, but…”

  He paused so long that Ford had to prompt him to continue. “Dennis?”

  The older man looked at him and gave him a sad smile. “I spent a lot of years working for Ben. He was a mentor to me, and if it weren’t for him and his patience with me, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”

  It was always nice to hear a complimentary story about his grandfather, but for the life of him, he had no idea why Dennis wanted to share one right now.

  “Your grandfather had a lot of things he wanted to accomplish with this business. Even when he couldn’t make it out to the job sites anymore, he would still manage the contracts on upcoming projects.”

  “O-kay…”

  He let out a small groan. “I’m not saying this right.”

  “What are you trying to say?” Ford asked carefully, unsure if he really wanted to know.

  “I’m kind of at that point, Ford. I spent a lot of years working alongside Ben, and then I took over when he passed. Truth is…I’m ready to retire.”

  The string of curses in Ford’s head was long and fierce.

  But silent.

  “I’ve watched you these last several weeks doing the work on Ben and Margaret’s place, and it was like stepping back in time. You do the work of ten guys, Ford. You aren’t afraid to do the labor, you know how to manage a crew and your work is beyond compare. There’s so much more that Garrison’s can do but…I’m not the guy to do it. Not anymore. I don’t have the energy. This was always meant to be yours and…well…I’m more than ready to hand it over to you.”

  His heart hammered hard in his chest. It was one thing to have this discussion with his parents—he knew how to handle them and how to distract them. Same with his grandmother. But standing here—face to face, man to man—with the one person who had essentially been pat
iently holding Ford’s place, well…that was something he wasn’t prepared for.

  “Dennis, I…I don’t even know what to say. I wasn’t prepared for you to lay this on me right now. I mean…when are you wanting to retire?”

  “If we’re being honest, as soon as possible. I know I should have said something sooner, but with the added work of Margaret’s house, and you not being particularly open to talking about this kind of thing…”

  He looked at Dennis in surprise. “What are you talking about? We’ve never even attempted to have a conversation about this.” Then he got a little mad. “I’ve tried to get together with you multiple times since I got back to town! Every time I mentioned getting together to talk, you had a list of reasons why you couldn’t.”

  “I know, I know,” Dennis replied wearily. “I guess I had to build up the courage to say it to you. If we were just going to talk about the ranch, it would have been one thing, but I knew it would always be in the back of my mind to talk to you about my retirement.”

  “There have got to be better lines of communication, Dennis. A company can’t run properly when you pick and choose what you want to talk about.”

  “Ford, everyone knows that you haven’t been open to talking about taking over. You’ve come and gone from Eagle’s Ridge more times than I can count since you got out of the service and every time I think I can catch you while you’re home and talk to you, you’re already gone.”

  “If I had known you were looking for me—”

  “Then you probably would have stopped coming home,” Dennis stated firmly, and leveled him with a hard stare. “I watched you grow up, Ford. This whole town has, and like it or not, that’s just the way it is. If you don’t want this company, then make the decision to let it go, because I can’t keep carrying the load. I’ve put in my time and I’m ready to retire.”

  “Dennis, I had no idea about the conditions in my grandfather’s will until just recently. Believe me, had I known, things could have been settled much sooner.”

  “Are you going to sell it?”

  “Honestly? I don’t know. I’ve been so focused on the house that I haven’t thought about anything else. It’s a lot to consider. I have a life and a job back east and—”

  “What about Callie?”

  That pretty much stopped Ford cold. His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I guess I figured since the two of you are living together, that you’d be staying put this time.”

  “Living together?” he cried. “Where the hell did you hear that?”

  Ford had never seen a grown man blush, but he was now. “Oh, well…um…I heard…you know how people talk in town…”

  He raked a hand through his hair as he stalked away and then paced back and forth a few times, muttering curses. “I’m beginning to feel like a damn broken record, but this is why I don’t want to be here! I am so tired of everyone in this town jumping to conclusions about my life!” he yelled.

  “Ford, I…I didn’t mean anything by it. Really.”

  “You know what?” he muttered as he turned and yanked open the truck door. “I’m done. I’m seriously just done.” He slammed the door shut and started the engine and floored it out of the parking lot, heedless of Dennis standing there wondering what the hell had just happened.

  A million thoughts ran through his mind as he sped through town. First, he wanted to go to his parents and rant and rave and carry on at them for keeping him in the dark for so long. Then he thought about going and telling Ryder that he didn’t know what he was talking about. Maybe he and Bailey could be happy living here in Eagle’s Ridge with the nosey neighbors, the gossip and the general bullshit, but he couldn’t. Then he wanted to go and stand in the middle of town and scream at everyone to mind their own damn business.

  Ultimately, he ended up driving back to the ranch to drop off the drywall because there was rain in the forecast and he didn’t have plastic to cover it up.

  Damn him for being responsible.

  Driving back to the ranch meant there was a chance he’d run into Callie, and even though they weren’t supposed to get together for another few hours, he knew if he saw her, he’d…

  What? What would he do?

  Chances are he’d take out his frustration and current black mood on her.

  Didn’t matter. It was a chance he had to take, because he had to get the damn drywall out of his truck before it started to rain.

  Luck was on his side, because he managed to pull his truck up to the house and unload everything without any sign of Callie. With the drywall stacked in the front room of the ranch, Ford stalked back out to his truck and drove right back down the driveway. He was a little less angry than he had been thirty minutes ago, but if he started thinking about all the ways he was being pressured, he knew it would all come back to the surface.

  And he wanted it to.

  As stupid as that sounded.

  He drove with no destination in mind. He thought about all the places he thought he’d go right after he left Dennis, but he wasn’t going to get any sympathy from his parents. Or Ryder. They were tired of hearing him bitch about his life. And if he was tired of all the damn gossip about him, standing in the middle of downtown and ranting like a lunatic probably wasn’t the best way to go about stopping it.

  The blue hospital sign on the side of the road caught his eye, and that’s when he knew where he needed to go.

  It was time to stop hiding and just go and talk to Grams.

  Ten minutes later, with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, he walked into her room and was relieved to find her alone.

  “Ford!” she said with a big smile. “What a wonderful surprise!”

  He kissed her on the cheek and put the flowers down on the table beside her. “How are you feeling today?”

  She waved him off. “We start rehab next week. The doctors think I’m strong enough, and even though they wanted to ship me off to a facility about an hour away, I fought them on it and won. I’ll have a therapist coming here every day to work with me.”

  He laughed, because there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that she’d been fighting the doctors on just about everything since she’d been admitted. “Good for you.” He pulled one of the chairs closer and sat down, unsure of how to start the conversation.

  Margaret studied him hard for a moment and then let out a small sigh. “Okay, out with it. You’re upset about something.”

  He quirked a dark brow at her. “How do you know that?”

  “Please. I’ve been watching your face since the day you were born. Your forehead’s a little wrinkly and your jaw is clenched and on top of that, you’re slouching. And you know I hate bad posture, so…what’s going on?”

  He laughed again, because she had an eerie gift of always being able to read him and then reprimand him at the same time. First, he sat up straighter, and then…everything just came tumbling out.

  “I’m really mad at him, Grams,” he said firmly.

  Luckily, he didn’t need to clarify. She knew. “I know you are, sweetheart. I think he was a little mad at you too for being gone for so long.”

  “Is that why he did it? Is that why he saddled me with Garrison’s?”

  Margaret’s shoulders sagged before she reached out a hand to him. When he took it, she simply held on. “No,” she said sadly. “That’s not why he did it.”

  “Then why? He said he understood why I needed to go and make my own way,” Ford explained urgently. “We would talk for hours, and that last summer right before I left for the Navy, he said…he said that I should do it. That I should go and make a name for myself somewhere other than here.”

  She nodded.

  “Then why? Why would he tell me to do that, and then do the one thing that would force me back here?” His voice caught on the last word, and he hated it—hated showing weakness. But if he was ever going to, it was only with his grandmother.

  “Let me ask you something,” she began after a moment. “D
id you accomplish anything in your ten years with the Seabees?”

  “Define accomplish.”

  With a sour look, she continued. “You traveled all over the world, you worked in so many war-torn areas, did it mean anything to you?”

  “That’s not the same as accomplishing something,” he countered. “Did I accomplish anything in my time in the service? Yes. I worked up in the ranks, I was the officer in charge on many missions, and I saw a lot of places start to look a little like they were supposed to rather than torn apart.”

  “People who worked beside you, people who you helped with your skills, they know you, Ford. And they’ll always remember you.”

  “That’s not necessarily true, Grams. Most of the people we helped had no idea who I was.”

  She shook her head fiercely and her eyes shone bright with unshed tears. “They may not know your name, but they’ll always know that you were there and how you helped them. Don’t you see? You did do what you wanted to do!”

  Gently, he pulled his hand from hers. “That wasn’t what I meant.” How could he explain it without yelling or upsetting her? He paced a few feet away from the bed and then turned. “Living here, in Eagle’s Ridge? It’s…it’s suffocating! Everyone knows every little thing I do! Most of the time they get the details wrong, but it doesn’t stop them from talking about me. I like my privacy, Grams! I enjoy going about my business without being in the spotlight. That’s never going to happen here.”

  She didn’t respond. Instead, she asked him for a glass of water. Ford immediately walked over and poured one for her and when she was done, he placed the glass back on the table.

  “I bet your friends miss you,” she said after a long moment.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know about that. They all came and helped with the ranch. Actually, they’ve each stopped by at one time or another to lend a hand, or they’ve called to see if I needed anything. I had lunch with Ryder not that long ago and heard all about his plans for the coming year with the airport.” Another shrug. “We’ve been keeping up with each other.”