A Valentine for the Cowboy

by Rebecca Winters

  “Don’t make a promise you can’t keep.”

  He always said that.

  “I promise. I love you, Doug.” Tears pooled in her eyes and started running down her cheeks.

  Before she lost her nerve, she hung up and phoned Eli. He answered on the third ring. “Hi, my love. I know I’m late, but we had to rearrange the storage room before we could fit all the new stuff inside. It took forever, but now it’s done. I’ll be at the house in a few minutes.”

  She held her breath. “Eli? I’m not there. I left and drove to my uncle’s for a clean change of clothes. I had an accident and got paint on my blouse and jeans. But I’m leaving now and will meet you there ASAP.”

  “Okay, hurry!” he said.

  She clicked off and sat with her head in her hands for a minute. Then she went to her closet and swapped out her clothes before walking back to the truck, resigned to meeting her fate.

  * * *

  AFTER DROPPING WYMON at his place, Eli drove to his own house. When he walked inside, he discovered Brianna had painted two of the four bedroom walls with the primer before she’d had her accident.

  He turned on the radio and decided to put on the first coat of paint over the dried primer while he waited for her. His heart raced when she walked in a few minutes later wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, her outfit hugging her curves in all the right places.

  She came right over and kissed him on the neck. “I’m so glad you’re back. I missed you this morning.”

  “I didn’t mean to be so long. You’ve done a great job on these walls.”

  “Thanks. I would have painted all of them, but I had a visitor.” She poured more primer into the pan and reached for the other roller.

  “Who was that?”

  “Tessa.”

  Eli kept the roller moving evenly. “Did she come to get some of Libby’s toys?”

  “No. She was finishing up the laundry and put some clothes away in Libby’s room.”

  He frowned and looked over at her. “She shouldn’t have been here at all. Was Libby with her?”

  “No. She said your mom was watching her. I could tell that doing the laundry was an excuse for her to talk to me.”

  When she knew he wouldn’t be there.

  Bristling with an anger he’d never felt before, Eli finished the wall he’d been working on and put the roller down. “Brianna?”

  “Yes?” She’d started painting as if nothing was wrong, but he knew differently.

  “Hell,” he swore softly. “My hope that Tessa wouldn’t be brazen enough to approach you on your own went up in smoke today, didn’t it?”

  “I’ll admit I was surprised she’d come in the house. Why didn’t you tell me she’s already told you that she wants you back?”

  He expelled his breath. “Because I don’t care what she wants and told her as much. I’m sorry, Brianna. She knew Wymon and I were busy, and she no doubt saw this as her last chance to get me back. She probably told Mom she wanted to talk to you about visitation and my mother agreed to stay with Libby until she got back.”

  “I can tell your mom loves her very much.”

  “She does and always will, but I’m sure Mom had no idea of her true intentions today. Tessa’s tendency to push the envelope hasn’t changed, despite her illness. If anything, she’s shown an incredible amount of willfulness. You and I have been over this before, but I’m going to tell you a few things I didn’t tell you the first time.”

  “About what? She only wants what any woman would want after what she’s been through.”

  “Both parties have to want the same thing, Brianna. When Tessa and I were dating, she demanded that I marry her right away or I would lose her. I saw a selfishness in her that surprised me. She wasn’t willing to wait a year, even though we needed the money my time on the circuit would provide. Her ultimatum disturbed me and I needed time to think about it.

  “Here’s the part you don’t know. When I came back to find her ill with the flu, she implied that if I hadn’t left, she probably wouldn’t have gotten so sick. Looking back now, I realize she wanted me to feel guilty so I would cave and agree to get married. Do you hear what I’m saying?”

  She was slow to nod, hopefully a sign that he was getting through to her.

  “Tessa asked me to break off my engagement to you,” she said.

  “What did you say to her?”

  “I told her I’d talk to you.”

  He shook his head. “When she came out of that depression, what she hadn’t counted on was the fact that my feelings for her had died during the hellish year we’d lived through. I’m sorry it happened, but her illness changed everything.

  “And there’s still one trait about Tessa that hasn’t changed—she wants what she wants when she wants it. I see a little bit of that in Libby. We’ll have to work on it with her. This time, however, Tessa can’t have everything she wants and she will have to make a new life with someone else if she wants to get married again.”

  “She’s a good person.”

  “I agree, and she’ll always have a piece of my heart. But that was another world and another time. You’re the woman I’m in love with. Together we’ll keep each other happy and have more babies. Libby’s going to need a brother or sister. We’ll shower her with love. Tessa will give her the love she needs from her mom. It will work out, all of it.”

  Brianna finished painting the wall and put the roller down, looking haunted.

  “What is it?”

  “You make it sound so easy, but she said both families wanted the two of you to get back together.”

  “Of course they did in the beginning. Her condition was a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened, but it did. Now I’m going to tell you something my mother told me when I bought the heart sapphire right after you left for California. She said she’d decided never to sell it but changed her mind when she saw the way we looked at each other. She said it was as if two pairs of blue eyes glowed like flames. She knew at that moment that what we had was magical.”

  Brianna’s face lit up. “She really told you that?”

  “Cross my heart, you beautiful creature. Do you honestly believe she would have said those words, or let me give you that ring, if she didn’t want you to be her new daughter-in-law? I’ll tell you something else. She gave us that stone as her wedding present to us.”

  Taking advantage of Brianna being at a loss for words, he reached for her. “So now you’ve got two choices. You can get on a plane with me tonight. We’ll fly to Las Vegas and get married. That’s my personal choice.”

  He heard a moan before Brianna started to cover his face with kisses. “What’s my other choice?”

  “To go ahead with our plans for a March wedding and make everyone happy. At least they will be, after I have a little chat with your uncle.”

  Her heart was in her eyes. “I’m glad you’re going to tell him the whole truth. Uncle Clark takes his job as my protector seriously.”

  “Don’t I know it. Your aunt had to provoke him into congratulating us.”

  “No, she didn’t,” Brianna said, but her words came out muffled against his neck.

  He laughed. “He’s about as subtle as a mounted bull rider ready to slaughter the competition. I have a feeling he left dead bodies all over the arena when he used to compete. Was your father the same way?”

  She cupped his jaw with her hand. “The two of them were pretty equal in the tough dude department, but Dad had a bit of a softer side. Doug and I ruined him.”

  “Well, we’ve got Libby, who’s going to turn your family’s house upside down. No doubt Grandpa Frost will morph into such a marshmallow that we won’t recognize him.”

  A giggle burst out of her, the happy kind he’d wondered if he’d ever hear again when they’d first started
talking.

  “Come on. The rest of the painting can wait for another day. You drive back to your uncle’s. I’ll be there after I’ve cleaned up the paint and showered. Once I’ve talked to Clark and put his mind at rest, there’ll be nothing stopping us. What do you say?”

  She pressed her mouth to his. “I’m praying for March to get here fast.”

  “You don’t know the half of it.”

  Twenty minutes later, he pulled up to the ranch house and went in search of Tessa. He found her upstairs in the guest bedroom. She saw him out in the hall and got off the phone. Eli was glad his daughter wasn’t with her.

  “I’m glad you’re free for a minute. We need to talk.”

  “Uh-oh. I can tell you’re upset with me for talking to Brianna.”

  “Not upset. Let’s go to the study where we can have privacy.”

  They made it downstairs without Libby spotting them. He imagined she was in the kitchen with his mother and Solana.

  “After you,” he said waving Tessa inside his father’s den and shutting the door behind them. “Go ahead and sit down.”

  He perched on the end of the couch while she sat in one of the overstuffed leather chairs. “You told her you still love me. I don’t doubt that you care, but it’s not love. In fact, I’m not sure it ever was, not in the deepest sense of the word. You wanted to get married. Your friends were getting married. It seemed the exciting thing to do. Am I right?”

  She stared at him for a long time before nodding.

  “I didn’t want to lose you, so we got married. But our year apart changed everything, except our love for Libby.”

  “I know, but I’ve been confused since you brought her to see me. Forgive me for what I said today.”

  “You were being honest, so there’s nothing to forgive, Tessa. More importantly, there’s something vital you should know. Brianna urged me to try and reconnect with you so you and Libby could have a relationship. She’s the reason I went to see you in Thompson Falls in the first place.”

  At that revelation Tessa’s complexion paled.

  “Her parents were killed in a car crash almost a year ago. She has cried to me over her loss so many times. Brianna and her mother were very close and she’ll miss her every day for the rest of her life. When she begged me to go see you and take Libby, it was because she knew what it would mean to our daughter one day to have a loving mother, the kind Brianna had. The kind you have. The kind I have.

  “The woman I’m engaged to has always put you and Libby first. You’ll never have to worry about her trying to undermine you. I’d like to think that the woman I was once married to will respect Brianna for the big part she’ll play in Libby’s life. Our daughter is going to need all of us to pull together.”

  Tears glimmered in Tessa’s eyes. “You really are in love. I can feel it. I’m so sorry for approaching her today. I’ll apologize to her. Brianna Frost is a very lucky woman.”

  “She says the same thing about you because Libby is your little girl and Brianna adores her. Libby’s the best part of both of us, Tessa.”

  She rose to her feet. “I know.” Her voice trembled. “I’m going to go find Libby right now. God bless you and Brianna, Eli.”

  He followed her out of the study but left the house through the front door and raced to his truck. In his heart Eli knew there’d be no more trouble with Tessa. His biggest concern was to get Clark Frost on his side.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was almost Eli’s wedding day! He came down from the range Friday after work, jubilant that this would be his last night alone. Tomorrow Brianna would become his wife.

  His clunky truck creaked and groaned as he made the turns. It was on its last legs but had served him well. He’d bought it used on his sixteenth birthday with his own money. One of these days he’d invest in a new one, but he and Brianna would work it into the budget later in the year. He was thankful her aunt and uncle had bought her a new car.

  For the moment, he and Brianna were using his money to finish up the rest of the changes to the house. He loved Brianna’s taste. Already, the house looked like a completely different place. Halfway home he received a text from Roce:

  Hey, bro. TGIF party in the barn. You’d better show up pronto because you’re already ten minutes late!

  He let out a bark of laughter. His brothers were throwing him a bachelor party in the barn tonight? Trust them to keep him in the dark. His excitement over the wedding caused him to drive too fast. When he pulled up to the barn, he had to apply the brakes before he drove right through the closed doors. Their squeal resounded in the cold night air.

  No one seemed to be around. What was going on in there? He parked the car over by the corral fence and then jumped down from the cab and rushed to open the doors.

  “Surprise!”

  To his shock, he saw all three of his brothers standing in the bed of a brand-new Silverado 1500 full-size four-door black truck parked at an angle inside the entrance. If he didn’t know better, he would think he was face-to-face with a giant dealership ad.

  He took a step back. “That’s a lot of manhood I’m looking at.”

  Toly grinned. “You’re supposed to be looking at the truck!”

  “It’s yours, bro.” This from Roce.

  Eli’s heart almost failed him.

  His big brother, Wymon, flashed him a rare smile. “No one has worked harder than you this year to earn it. Climb in and show us what it can do. The key is in the ignition. Let’s be sure it can take you and that gorgeous bride-to-be of yours on your honeymoon without a problem.”

  This gift was totally unexpected. Eli was so humbled by their generosity that he couldn’t talk for a minute. “I can’t accept it.”

  “The hell you can’t!” they said in unison.

  Luis suddenly appeared at the entrance. “You’d better do as they say. Your brothers mean business.”

  “So you were in on this, too.”

  “I just do what I’m told. For what it’s worth, no one deserves this more than you. Luke says the same thing. That’s the highest praise coming from him. Go on. I’ll shut the doors after you leave.”

  With a whoop, Eli leaped into the cab. The smell of a brand-new truck was like nothing else on earth. So was the feel of so much power as he drove them up the mountain. When there was too much snow to go any farther, he parked the truck and got out.

  As his brothers jumped down, he hugged each one. Together they looked out at the magnificent Sapphire Mountain range silhouetted against the night sky.

  “I don’t know how to thank you guys,” he said in a husky voice. “I’ll never forget it.”

  “Don’t worry. We won’t let you,” Roce teased him.

  They all laughed, but this time his brothers climbed into the cab for the drive back. Eli suddenly realized it was freezing out. But he was so on fire for Brianna that he’d been oblivious. Tomorrow was almost here. He could hardly breathe.

  * * *

  BRIANNA’S AUNT AND uncle had lived and worked in Stevensville for years. Between all their friends and those of the Claytons, the church didn’t even have standing room by the time the three o’clock ceremony was set to begin. Brianna was stunned at the overflow. She couldn’t see Eli for all the people.

  The organist had begun playing as Brianna’s uncle helped her inside the foyer with her bouquet of yellow and white roses. She wore a white silk wedding dress she and her aunt had bought after a quick trip to Missoula. It was a princess design with short sleeves and a scooped neck. A shoulder-length lace veil partially covered her hair.

  “Don’t be nervous,” her uncle whispered. “I can see Eli and Wymon at the altar waiting for you.”

  She knew Eli had wanted his older brother to stand up for him. Brianna had asked Carol and Lindsay to be her bridesmaids
. They were both pregnant and looked lovely in pale yellow chiffon, but Lindsay was the only one showing.

  Doug and Eli’s other brothers acted as ushers. Libby was too little to come to the ceremony, but Eli’s mother would bring her to the hotel for the dinner afterward.

  “It’s time, honey. Pretend I’m your dad.”

  She squeezed his arm. “No. You’ve been my other dad since the day I came to stay with you. You and Joanne are the greatest blessings in my life.”

  “And you’re the daughter we never had. Shall we go and get you married now? If we don’t start down the aisle, Eli’s going to come striding back here to find out the reason for the hold up.”

  Brianna smiled up at him. Eli and her uncle had become good friends since the night Eli confided in him about his first marriage. Their talk had helped her uncle understand the truth about why Eli hadn’t felt ready to get married the first time.

  Once her bridesmaids began to make their way down the aisle, Brianna entered the chapel with her uncle and started her journey toward the ruggedly handsome cowboy she’d loved from day one. He stood tall in a formal, navy blue suit and white shirt with a yellow rose in his lapel.

  His dark blue eyes lit up as she drew closer to him. He grasped her hand and mouthed, I love you, before he walked her the rest of the way to where the minister waited for them. She stared at Eli and mouthed the same words back, feeling the warmth of his hand travel through her trembling body.

  “Dearly beloved, what a glorious day for this man and woman to come together to become one in the sight of God and these witnesses.”

  Brianna heard the minister speaking, but so many thoughts were spinning in her head that she couldn’t absorb them all until she heard him say, “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

  A gold wedding band had now joined her engagement ring. She’d given Eli a gold wedding band inlaid with small blue sapphires. Brianna had picked it out with his mother’s help.

  Before the minister could tell Eli to kiss his bride, Eli was already fulfilling that part of the ceremony. It was a husband’s kiss he was giving her, so full of desire Brianna had to cling to him so she wouldn’t fall.