by Cora Seton
Minus the suit.
He spotted his father in the crowd and looked away fast. He'd woken this morning to find Holt waiting for him in a chair on the front porch.
"You ready to get back to work?" were the first words out of his mouth.
Work? "Uh…not until after the wedding," Rob said.
"There're chores to do."
"I'm supposed to head right over to the Cruz ranch, help get everything set up. I need to square things away with Jamie, too. I'm his best man."
His father stood up. "Fine. Take another day off. But I expect your help with evening chores tonight, and first thing tomorrow you get right back to work like usual. You've already made your brothers shoulder your burden for far too long. I expect you to do your share. I'll post a list of chores in the barn."
A list?
Realization dawned over Rob and he'd rubbed a hand over his face, the bristles of his unshaven face scraping his skin. "Dad, I promised Morgan I'd help her start a business. I planned to spend the time between now and the wedding working a job to save up for that. I wasn't expecting to do chores here, as well."
"Ah, I see." Holt put his hands on his hips. "But you did expect room and board and laundry service, didn't you?"
"I expected my family would welcome me home," Rob said carefully.
"You expected a free ride, as usual. Well, you're not getting one. You want to live here, you'll work, too. Any extra jobs you want to take on can be in your own time."
"You all are going to have to get used to running the spread soon without me, anyhow," Rob said, annoyed.
"How do you figure that?" Holt loomed large, his ire up.
"Once I'm married and working my own land, I won't be working here anymore." Rob forced himself not to back down. They stood like two peacocks almost chest to chest. He was glad Morgan wasn't here to see this.
"I never said nothing about you shirking your obligations once I hand over that land. You'll still be a part of this family and this ranch. You'll help your brothers and that's final."
"Dad…"
Holt waved him away, and Rob expected he meant to storm off, but the steps of his porch seemed to give his father a little trouble. Holt leaned on the railing heavily as he made his way down, and while he stalked off, his pace was slower than usual. Rob bit back the angry words he'd meant to say.
When had his father gotten old?
It didn't matter; he knew what Holt was up to. He meant to keep Rob so busy he couldn't possibly earn enough money to give to Morgan before the wedding, let alone start his own business after they were married. He'd get his 200 acres, but they'd be worthless to him – he'd be right back in the same position he always was, working for his father, never his own man.
Normally he'd give his father hell for playing a trick like that. First he needed to figure out what was wrong with him.
Turning his attention back to the wedding unfolding in front of him, he watched Jamie and Claire exchange vows. He supposed he should have known his childhood friends would end up together, but the days when Claire used to try to boss them all around remained too clear in his head. Time was passing swiftly, and suddenly he understood why his father was in a hurry to see his sons married.
He wasn't going to live forever.
* * * * *
"I can't believe you're moving here permanently," Autumn said as she and Morgan sat at the bridal table watching Jamie and Claire dance their first dance together.
"I know. I'm so happy."
"I'm happy, too." Autumn smiled at her.
Morgan wanted to hug her for that. Ethan seemed genuinely thrilled that she was going to be their neighbor, but Claire had been a little quiet last night when they'd talked about it. Perhaps it was only wedding nerves, but Morgan had a feeling something was going on. She hoped Claire wouldn't see her as intruding into her family.
"Be careful around Claire," Autumn said, echoing her thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"It's just…" Autumn twirled her fork as she searched for words. "She's been going on about your mother – about how things don't add up."
"The money," Morgan said glumly.
"And the time. Claire thinks you're downplaying how much time Aria spent with you."
"And how much money she spent on me," Morgan said.
"Well," Autumn looked thoughtful. "She does seem a little obsessed about money."
"I understand why. It must have been awful to find out the ranch was in debt after Aria and Alex died. I'd suspect me, too, I guess. But it's still depressing."
"Well, she'll get over it," Autumn said, doubtfully.
"No, she won't. But if she digs hard enough, maybe she'll find out the real answers."
Autumn speared a piece of chicken. "Does that idea scare you as much as it scares me?"
Morgan laughed. She already was coming to love her sister-in-law, especially her sense of humor. "It scares the crap out of me."
* * * * *
"You left us short-handed, you know," Ned said, shouldering up next to him as Rob waited for the bartender to hand him a bottle of beer.
"Had to get out of town for a little bit. I had a woman to propose to," Rob said. He was determined not to get into a fight with either his brothers or his father today.
"Yeah, you're pretty set on getting that free land. You even love Morgan, or did the two of you work out some kind of a bargain?"
"Watch it," Rob said, keeping his voice quiet.
"No, I don't think I will." A few wedding guests turned their way as Ned's voice rose. Rob wondered how many drinks he'd already had. Couldn't be too many. It was early yet. More likely Ned relished the chance to have a good argument. He liked arguing, especially with Rob. They always seemed to be in each other's way.
"If you haven't noticed, you're at a wedding," Rob said. "Show some respect."
"What do you know about respect?" Ned said. "When's the last time you ever showed any of your family any respect?"
"Hey, what's going on here?" Jake appeared out of the crowd and stepped between them. "This ain't no time for a fight."
"That's what I said."
Ned cast Rob a disparaging look. "Just telling him we missed him last week. Could've used the help."
Jake opened his mouth to speak, but Rob beat him to the punch. He wanted to say something cutting and sarcastic, put Ned in his place, but Raoul and the other men in the fields of Cassidy Wineries popped into his mind. Their respect for their jobs. Their respect for how the work they did put food on the tables of their families, and added something good to the world. As much as he hated to admit it right now, his father and brothers did work like that, too, and he'd walked away from the job without a second thought. If Raoul or the other men pulled a trick like that, they wouldn't have a job to come back to. Far more than their pride was on the line every day. He'd been acting like a spoiled brat for years, and though it galled him to admit it, Ned was right.
He'd been thinking about his father all day, and when he'd gotten over his anger, he'd had to admit that Holt was right, too. He had expected his folks to put him up in his cabin while he worked for someone else to save up the money for Morgan, and why should they? He was a grown man, after all. The deal he had with them was that he worked in exchange for his room and board. He needed to figure out another way to go about all of this, starting with the way he answered Ned.
"I know you could have used help, and I'm sorry I left you in the lurch," he said.
Ned gaped at him. Jake's brow smoothed. "Well, I don't blame you for being in a rush to get hitched, under the circumstances."
"You don't mind I beat you to the punch?" Rob said. Hell, this was practically turning into a conversation. When was the last time he'd had one with his brothers? Usually it was all orders and snide remarks.
"I didn't say that," Jake tilted his hat back and scratched his forehead. "I thought about it, but I couldn't come up with anyone I wanted to get hitched to that bad."
Ned sneered.
"Rob's not really getting hitched. He and Morgan have some kind of a deal."
"That right?" Jake straightened and looked Rob in the eye.
"No. That ain't right. We're getting married and staying married. There's just one thing."
"What's that?" Jake asked.
"I promised Morgan I'd help her start her business, so I need more cash. I gotta find a job, quick. Dad says I need to keep working the ranch, though – even after I'm married. How am I supposed to work full time for him and get another job, too? And what's the point of getting that land if I'm never there to work it?"
"See, he's slacking off again," Ned said to Jake, scowling. "He was going to go off and get some job and leave us in the lurch."
"Stow it," Jake told him. He turned back to Rob. "How much you need?"
"Twelve grand."
"In one month?" Jake's eyebrows rose.
Rob tried to shove his hands in his pockets and remembered he was wearing a suit. "Yeah. I know. It's hard enough without Dad acting like a slave driver."
"What kind of business does Morgan want to start?"
Looking from one brother to the other, Rob realized he was about to have a whole new problem on his hands. When his father had said he wouldn't meddle once he'd turned over the 200 acres, Rob had taken him at his word. Now he saw what a fool he'd been.
"A winery," he mumbled.
"A winery?" Ned repeated, loudly. "What the hell does that mean?"
Jake stared him, comprehension dawning. "You're going to turn that pasture-land into a vineyard? Are you crazy?"
"Not all of it. Just Morgan's half."
"You're going to grow grapes?" Ned said. More guests were turning their way.
"Shut up. We'll talk about it later. I'm going to open up a rodeo training school, too. Maybe I'll partner up with Jamie, raising horses. It's no big deal."
"That Matheson land has been used for raising cattle for over 100 years," Jake said, leaning forward to emphasize his point. "It's not meant for cultivation. You better change your mind about that winery right now."
"Dad's going to blow his stack," Ned said. He seemed pretty happy about the idea.
"You keep your mouths shut," Rob said. "This is Claire and Jamie's wedding. Don't you turn it into a family feud."
Jake pressed his lips together. "Fine. We'll keep it under wraps. For today. But tomorrow I'm letting Dad know your plans for that land. We'll see what he has to say about it."
"And he'll have plenty to say," Ned said.
* * * * *
"I haven't forgotten, you know," Claire said several hours later, when darkness had fallen and couples swayed to the music on the lawn lit by fairy lights and candles on the tables. The effect was beautiful, and Morgan was bursting with happiness that she wouldn't have to fly back to Canada when the weekend was over. This was her home now; right here in Chance Creek, the most beautiful place in the world.
"What do you mean?"
"About the dates my mother was with you in Canada. You promised you'd write them down."
Morgan had, reluctantly. She had a typed up list in her luggage at the Matheson ranch, the dates as close as she'd been able to reconstruct from memory.
"Do we really need to do this?" she asked, trying to keep the pain from her voice. Couldn't Claire accept her existence and work with her to build the friendship that was growing between them? Why did she have to pursue a line of questioning that may well bring them both more heartache?
"Yes. I'm sorry," Claire looked frustrated, "I know you don't agree with me, but I have to know what Aria was doing. I can't…rest until I know all her secrets."
"Do you really think we'll ever know them all?" Morgan asked. They were sitting in two of the folding chairs dropped off by the rental company this morning. Jamie had excused himself for a moment. Apparently Claire had been waiting for the opportunity to confront her.
"Maybe not, but I have to try. There are dates she was missing and money that's still gone. I need to know where it went." She glanced sideways at Morgan. "And if you know anything you're not telling me – even if it's something you think I won't want to hear – please tell me now. I'm going to keep digging until I find out, anyway."
Morgan frowned. "You think I'm holding something back?" Well, she was, wasn't she? She could have written down those dates weeks ago and sent them to her sister.
Claire looked at the hands clasped in her lap. "I don't want to think that, but I've barely known you a month. You came out of nowhere and you're one of the secrets my mother kept." Her voice wobbled a little, but then she steadied it again. "My mother is on my mind all the time these days. She should be here, you know? But since she isn't, I want to know everything I can about her – about what she was up to before she died."
She lifted a pleading gaze to Morgan, and Morgan had to relent. "Okay, I'll do whatever I can to help. I'll drop the list by your house tomorrow, and when you come back from your honeymoon, we can work on the mystery together, okay?"
"Thanks." Claire reached out and hugged her. "I'm glad you're here."
Morgan hugged her back, but she couldn't help feeling a flicker of dread.
* * * * *
As the night's shadows deepened and the stars winked overhead, Rob decided he'd had enough socializing. All around him, couples swayed together on the lawn, or stole kisses from each other, and the whole atmosphere seemed charged with lust and possibilities.
He found Morgan chatting with Autumn, and made an excuse to separate her from her friend. Then he took her hand and led her toward the lane where his truck was parked.
"What are we doing? I don't want to miss it when Claire and Jamie leave," Morgan said, but she clung to his hand, a little unsteady from all the champagne he'd plied her with over the course of the evening.
"I want to show you something," he said.
"Now? In your truck?"
"We could walk, but driving is faster. And you said you wanted to be back in time to see the happy couple off." He nuzzled her neck and slipped a kiss behind her ear, then helped her into the passenger seat. Her long dress made her clumsy, and Rob took every opportunity to slide his hands over her body as he settled her in his seat. By the time he fastened her seatbelt and closed the door on her, his own body was thrumming with desire.
The ride out past Jamie and Claire's house only took a few minutes. Where the dirt track petered out, he parked the truck and went to help Morgan out again. She slid off the seat into his arms, and it was all he could do not to lean her against the truck and take her right then and there, but first he wanted to show her their land.
"You do realize I'm wearing high heels," she said a few minutes later as she wobbled over the range grass. He kept an arm firmly around her waist and made sure she didn't fall. The land sloped down to Chance Creek, the boundary between the Cruz and Matheson ranches. On the other side of the water was the 200 acres his father would give them. "Come on."
"Where are we going?" Morgan said a few moments later when they'd negotiated their way down the slope. She giggled after nearly taking another spill. Bending down, she took off first one shoe, then the other and tossed them away.
"I want to show you our land."
Morgan held back, gazing at the creek. "We can't cross that; I'm wearing a bridesmaid's dress."
"It's shallow here," Rob said. "This is the shortcut Ethan and I used when we were kids to get to each other's houses. It took far too long to go around by the road. Trust me; you'll be fine." He took off his shoes and rolled up his pant legs.
"Oh, it's cold!" Morgan shrieked when she stepped in.
"Come on, city girl, you can handle it." He supported her carefully as they picked their way across the water, and then swung her into his arms as he climbed up the opposite bank. He strode up the hill on the other side and deposited her at the top. "See?"
Morgan looked around. "No, actually I don't. It's pretty dark."
"It's beautiful, trust me. People will be in awe when they come to the tasting
room."
"Do you think there ever will be a tasting room?" Morgan asked wistfully. "It's hard to believe everything could work out so well."
"I guarantee you there will be a tasting room," he said, pulling her into his arms. He kissed her, cradling her head with his hand and taking the opportunity to hold every inch of her pressed against every inch of him. When he couldn't wait any longer, he released her, shrugged off his coat, lay it carefully on the ground, and began to unbutton his dress shirt.
"What are you doing?"
"As much as you'll let me," he said with a grin.
"Here?" She looked around them. "We can't…"
"Sure we can. No one will see us – they're all at the wedding. Let's consecrate this ground right now." He stripped the shirt off and tossed it aside, then got to work on his pants. "You going to join me, or stand there staring?" He could just make out the contours of her face in the dim light of the stars. She was smiling, but still unsure.
"I think I'll watch for now."
"For now," he agreed. He took his time unzipping his pants and stepping out of them. Then he stripped off his boxers and stood naked, except for his hat, to accept her inspection.
"I think I need to take a closer look," she said, and moved toward him.
Rob waited as patiently as he could, and was rewarded with a stroke of her hand over his shoulder, his chest and down to his waist. She followed this with a series of kisses, moving feather-light over his skin. Up to his chin, down his neck and chest, over to one nipple, then to the other. When she finally dipped lower, he stifled a groan and laced his fingers together behind his head to keep from taking her face in them and guiding her to where he wanted her to go.
She went there on her own, caressing him with her mouth, taking him deep inside and moving him in and out until he could barely breathe anymore. She knelt before him, her beautiful dress puddled around her like the petals of a flower. As she tended to him, love for her swelled until he thought his heart would burst.