“How will we know if this is just a flash in the pan or if it’s real and enduring?” she asked.
“Time, darlin’,” he answered. “You can go get that fancy job and I’ll be right here on weekends. You can have the best of both worlds and I’ll never stand in your way.”
“I thought this talk would take a lot longer. What changed your mind?” she asked.
“I realized that I don’t want you to be strapped to something that you hate. That you mean enough to me to support you in your dreams, and this chemistry between us is something that I’ve never felt before—before you ask, not even with Julie. And I don’t want to lose it, because it makes me happy,” he said.
She moved over to sit in his lap. “I could so easily fall in love with you even if you are a Texas fan.”
“And I’d think maybe that I’ve already fallen for you, but that’s crazy.” He leaned back and grinned. “We come from two worlds that can never meet in the middle—you yell for the Sooners and I’m a Longhorn to the death.”
“You got that right.” She was glad that the mood had lightened.
“And besides we’ve only known each other a little more than three weeks.”
Her arms snaked up around his neck. “So you don’t believe in love at first sight?”
“No, I don’t.”
She brought his lips to hers for another steamy kiss and then whispered, “Neither do I, but we might both be wrong.”
“I’ll be the first to admit it if we are. God, you feel good in my arms, Retta.”
She moved her arms and leaned back to look at him. “I missed you, Cade. You were right there but you weren’t.”
“I know exactly what you’re sayin’,” he said.
They sat like that in comfortable silence, his arms around her, her head on his chest for several minutes. It was enough for one night, enough that they’d both made peace with the issue that had been between them.
“I’m a mess right now, Cade. I thought I was over my dad’s death but I’m not. I’m not even over my mom being gone. I just put it all in a box and sealed it shut and immersed myself first in college and then work and then taking care of Daddy,” she admitted. “And now the box is falling apart and I have to deal with it before I can move forward.”
“Let me help you heal. I’ve never had that experience but I’m here for you. And in some ways, I guess I’m still a mess too. Because I was judging you by Julie. And that’s not fair to you.” He rested his chin on the top of her head.
“If either of us isn’t happy in this new relationship or the distance thing, then we’ll be honest and up front about it from the beginning.” She reached up and touched his cheek.
His hand covered hers and held it there. “Do you have any idea what your touch does to me? How it affects me for your fingertips just to brush against mine at the dinner table?” He ran his forefinger down her arm to her wrist and brought her hand to his lips to kiss each knuckle. “Or for your knee to touch mine under the table?”
Shivers chased down her spine in spite of the heat. “Oh, honey, I know exactly what you are talking about because you affect me the same way.”
“It’s too intense to just throw away, Retta. We’ve got to give it time,” he whispered seductively in her ear.
She opened her mouth to say something and her phone rang. “Damn cell phones,” she muttered as she fished it from her hip pocket.
His lips brushed against hers in a sweet kiss. “We should have turned them off.”
She touched the screen. “Bad timing, Tina.”
“Amen, darlin’. The wedding is off.”
“What happened?” Retta gasped.
“The wedding is off. The marriage is on. We got married today at the courthouse. I’m pregnant and we didn’t want to wait. So start thinkin’ of baby names. Now get back in bed with that sexy cowboy you’ve been talking about. Love you, girl.”
“Don’t you dare drop this bombshell on me and then hang up,” Retta said.
“Okay, okay.” Tina giggled. “We were shocked by the pregnancy test but then we figured what the hell, we want a family so we’re gettin’ a head start. I want a daughter so bad, but that’s only because I don’t know anything about boys. All I had was sisters growing up.”
“Just don’t name her Retta. No one can spell it right, and she’ll be called Rita most of her life,” Retta said. “I’m so happy for you and jealous as hell.”
“Hey, it don’t take a genius to know how to make a baby so go get busy with that sexy cowboy,” Tina said. “And now I am hanging up because we have to tell our mothers that we are married. Love you.”
“Right back atcha.”
“Cousin?” Cade asked.
“Friend.” She told him about Tina and why she’d called.
“Lucky guy.” Cade chuckled. “Come on, I’ll walk you back to the bunkhouse. It’s about bedtime for your kids.”
“I wish we could stay here forever.” She sighed.
“Me, too, darlin’.” He got up and pulled her up with him. “But for tonight I’m just happy with this much.”
“I feel like I’ve been on a date,” she said when he walked her all the way to the door and kissed her good night.
“Me too,” he said. “See you in the morning.”
“I’ll be the one to your left with dark hair and brown eyes,” she teased.
“The sexy one on the way to stealin’ my heart.” He dropped another kiss on her forehead and was gone before she could reply.
The girls were gathered around Mavis when Retta went inside. All of them were in pajamas and their hair was still damp. She looked up and winked at Retta. “We’ve had a lovely time. We started with each one of them telling me their favorite color and went from there. But now it’s time for bed and for you to get them tucked in.”
Alice giggled. “We’re too old to get tucked in but Retta comes in and tells us good night. We like that.”
Mavis didn’t ask questions, which was good because Retta wasn’t sure if she could explain what had happened in the hayloft. For sure, the turmoil in her heart had disappeared, but to put into words the feelings that she’d shared with Cade—impossible. Mavis just gathered up an empty plate and, with a wave, she left.
Retta made sure all the girls were in bed and then went back to her bedroom to find her half-finished letter lying on the bed. She picked up the pen and continued to write:
Thank you, Mama, for the sign.
It’s now more than an hour later and I spent that time with Cade in a hayloft. I’m wondering if, when you and Daddy argued, if you ever took the fight to the hayloft. I never heard you have a disagreement but you weren’t angels, not then anyway, so there had to have been times when you didn’t get along.
Tonight Cade and I took our fight to that peaceful place that smelled like hay. The moon and stars were right out the window. I felt like I could have reached out and touched them and now as I write this, I’m realizing that maybe that’s why we went there so that I could realize that some things never change. And it’s in those places that I can and will find happiness. I think that when we fight from now on, I’ll make him meet me in the hayloft.
Good night, Mama, and thanks again for the sign. I love you so much—
Retta
Cade whistled all the way to the ranch house. He’d thought he’d sneak inside and go straight to his bedroom where he’d let the events of the last hour play through his mind over and over again.
But Mavis followed him into the house, where Justin and Levi were grinning like a couple of possums trying to eat grapes through a barbed wire fence. He nodded at the bunch of them and started down the hallway.
Mavis grabbed him by the arm. “Not so fast, Cade Maguire. I did my part and now you owe me the story of what happened.”
“Didn’t Retta tell you?” he asked.
“Not in front of those little girls. They thought she was out there petting those two donkeys.”
“Nope, she wa
s out there fussin’ with a full-grown jackass,” Justin said.
“Hey, now.” Levi laughed. “With a miracle he might grow another inch or two. With that bein’ said, he might just be a jackass, but not a full-grown one.”
“Okay, okay, we settled our cold war,” Cade said.
“And?” Justin raised a dark brow.
“And she’s still not staying, so we have to interview a cook or two and get a housekeeper,” Cade said.
“But?” Levi tucked his head to his chest and looked up at Cade from the recliner where he was kicked back.
“But we aren’t going to let whatever we’ve got between us die in its sleep. We’re going to try to work with a relationship that will involve some traveling. But she did say that she loved the ranch and felt at peace here,” Cade said. “Now is the interrogation over? Is it all right if I go to bed?”
“Alone? Damn brother, I’m disappointed in you,” Justin teased.
“Justin Franklin Maguire!” Mavis scolded.
“Well, I am,” Justin said. “I thought he could sweet talk the jeans off any woman out there.”
“Retta isn’t any woman.” Cade grinned. “Good night guys. And remember, when it’s your turn to be in my boots, I intend to give you hell.”
“I can’t wear your boots.” Levi pointed at his feet. “These are size twelves. They’d get lost in those fourteens that you have to have special made.”
Cade could hear the low tones of conversation as he left but he didn’t really care what they said or talked about. He just wanted to lie down on his bed and think about Retta until he fell asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Four
There was not a single moment from Sunday night until Wednesday morning for Retta and Cade to even sneak a quick kiss. The guys had to work from daylight until after dark to get all the ranch work done so they could be away all day Wednesday and Thursday on a campout trip with the kids.
Excitement abounded in the yard that morning like a sugared-up six-year-old who’d spent the whole day at grandma’s house. They were each allowed one small tote bag, provided by the ranch and personalized with each kid’s name. In it they were to put what toiletries they’d need and a change of clothing.
The covered wagon was parked in front of the house that morning. Two mules were hitched to it and looked docile enough that Retta didn’t think she’d have a problem driving the wagon. At breakfast, Retta could feel as much enthusiasm in the four cowboys as she could in the kids.
The last time she’d camped out was back when she was a kid. For her tenth birthday her parents had let her and six friends set up a tent out by the barn. They’d stayed up all night telling scary stories, but the thing she remembered the most was all the mosquito bites she’d taken with her to the breakfast table the next morning. Remembering the way they itched had kept her from ever asking for a party like that again and had reminded her to tuck a can of bug repellent in her bag that morning.
“Okay, kids, we’ve got two extra horses. That means two of you get to ride and then we switch off about a fourth of the way to the campsite, which this year is going to be out on the edge of Canyon Creek. I figured we’d start with the two youngest and in half an hour, we’ll switch off and keep working our way up the list until we get to Benjy and Faith. That seem fair?”
Alice eyed the two big roan-colored horses and shook her head. “Not me. Someone else can have my turn and I’ll ride up by Retta.”
“Me too.” Ivan scrambled up the side of the wagon right behind Alice and sat down on the buckboard with Retta.
“Anyone else want to give up their turn?” Cade asked. No one raised their hand or spoke up, so he went on. “Okay then, I guess Gabby and Nelson are first.”
“Wagons ho!” Cade shouted after Skip and Justin helped the two kids get mounted.
Retta snapped the reins against the mules and they moved forward at an easy pace. Mavis waved from the porch and yelled, “Y’all write me when you get to California to the gold mines.”
“Gold mines?” Ivan asked.
“Never know what we might find,” Retta said as the bumpy ride out across the pastures continued.
Cade rode up beside the wagon and tipped his hat back on his head. “Y’all gettin’ along okay here?”
“Yes, wagon master, we’re doin’ fine,” Retta said. “Are we going the whole ten miles this first day?”
“Ten miles?” Cade asked.
“That’s what wagon trains tried to do each day from Saint Jo, Missouri, to the gold mines in California,” Benjy said. “It took many months for them to go all the way to the gold mines on the West Coast.”
“Man, I would have loved to have been the wagon master for one of those journeys.” Cade tipped his hat at Retta. “But I reckon two and a half miles will about be our limit. We got to toughen up these cowboys and cowgirls. We’ll go easy on ’em today and tomorrow.”
“You were born a couple of hundred years too late,” she told him.
“Or maybe at the exact right time.” He flirted as he dropped back to follow the wagon and keep an eye on the kids.
Going was slow in an authentic covered wagon with wood wheels and two old mules that acted like they had nowhere to go and all day to get there. According to Skip they’d get to Canyon Creek right before noon. Levi would serve as the scout and ride on ahead to get the campfire started so they could roast hot dogs for lunch. Then he’d put a pot of beans on the fire for supper while the kids panned for gold in Canyon Creek.
“Man, this ain’t like ridin’ in a car,” Ivan said.
“You can always get in the back,” Retta said. “Just crawl back there and stretch out on the top of all those sleeping bags for a nap.”
Ivan shook his head. “No, thank you. I might miss something. Like right there, did you see them two rabbits?”
“I missed them,” Retta answered. “What color were they?”
“Gray with white tails.”
“Oh! Oh!” Alice pointed. “Look at that dog that Beau is chasing away.”
“That’s a coyote,” Retta told her.
“Really? I thought a coyote was a person who helped folks get into the country from Mexico,” Alice said.
“Me too,” Gabby said as she rode up beside the wagon. “Look, Retta, I can hold the reins all by myself. Justin showed me how to keep the horse goin’ straight or to make it turn.”
“Doin’ good there.” Retta grinned.
By noon the kids had all had a turn and Retta’s two kids were eager to get off the buckboard bench of the wagon. They weren’t the only ones—she rubbed her fanny when she hopped down and handed the reins to Cade.
“The guys and I will take care of the mules and get them staked out by the edge of the water. You did a fine job.” He brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear.
His gentle touch on her sweaty face created all kinds of vibes. She glanced over at the clear water bubbling over a gravel bottom and wished they were alone so she could strip down to nothing and go skinny-dipping with him.
“Penny for your thoughts,” he whispered.
“Oh, honey, they’d cost you far more than that but they had something to do with cold water and hot skin.” She laid a hand on his arm.
“Whew!” He took off his hat and fanned with it. “It is gettin’ hotter by the minute out here.”
“I told you that a fire wasn’t a good idea.” Levi threw another stick of wood on the blaze.
“After we eat can we wade in the water again?” Nelson asked.
“Where’s the bathroom?” Kirk looked around frantically.
“How do you think the folks who rode on a real wagon train took care of that?” Levi asked.
Kirk’s hazel eyes got wider and wider. “Are you serious?”
“Naw, I was just jokin’ with you, son. There used to be an old house about twenty yards that way.” He pointed to the left. “It burned years ago, but the outdoor toilet is still standing. I made sure the spiders were all gone and there weren�
�t any snakes in it so it’s safe.”
“Don’t tease me,” Faith gasped.
“He’s not,” Benjy said. “There’s real toilet paper in there but it does get hot and there ain’t no lights so if you got to go at night then you have to take a flashlight or a lantern. Y’all follow me and I’ll show you where it is. It’s even got a moon in the door to let a little bit of light in it.”
“For real?” Gabby asked.
“Aww, come on. At least it’s got a door on it and we don’t have to squat behind a tree,” Benjy said. “And just think about the stories you get to tell tomorrow when you call home.”
Retta was having a hard time keeping the giggles down. There was an old toilet just like they were describing on the back side of the farm where she grew up. Her dad had left it there when he’d torn down the rest of an old dilapidated house, and it had sure come in handy a lot of times.
Benjy waved a hand in the air and they all followed him, as if he were the Pied Piper and they were little mice. Retta sat down on a fallen tree trunk as far away from the fire as she could get, removed her hat, and fanned with it.
The grass was unbelievably green for the latter part of June in north-central Texas, and the creek was running really well, but then they’d had more rain than usual. She instinctively checked the sky. Not a black cloud in sight, which was good since she didn’t want to sleep with twelve other people crowded into the wagon all together.
She took her hair down from the ponytail, shook it loose, and then bent forward to gather it all up again on top of her head, bringing in all the strays that had gotten loose on the ride.
Cade sat down on the tree trunk beside her and fanned her with his hat. “I’d rather be out there in the water with you, letting it wash over our bodies. That would cool us down.”
“No, honey, that would boil the water.”
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