Claiming the Cowboy's Heart Read online

  “God will provide,” she whispered. “Now I promised Eddie I’d tell him anything he needed to know. I want him to know about us.”

  Eddie, Linette and the others were gathered round the table for breakfast when they returned.

  “Finally,” Mercy said. “Eddie was about to send out a search party.”

  “No need,” Seth said. They stood side by side, facing Eddie. “Jayne has agreed to marry me.”

  Eddie stood and grabbed Seth’s hand. “Congratulations. You’ve made a good choice.” He hugged Jayne.

  The others clustered around them, offering congratulations.

  “You’re getting married?” Grady asked.

  Jayne hugged the little boy. “Yes.”

  “Are you going to live here?”

  She lifted her face to Seth. Her coffee-brown eyes promised so much he wanted to shout with joy. “I don’t know where we’ll live. We haven’t figured that out yet.”

  Where were they going to live? What about Pa?

  The questions hammered the inside of his head. If only he could stay here and forget his responsibilities. But he couldn’t.

  Was their love strong enough to survive the uncertainty of their future?

  Chapter Twenty

  “Have you made any wedding plans?” Linette asked.

  “No,” Jayne said. It had been only a few minutes since they’d confessed their love. She wanted to twirl down the hall, laugh with joy and stand out in the sunshine to shout to the heavens. She gave Seth a slow, deliberate look. He met her gaze, his forest-green eyes full of longing.

  Mercy nudged her. “Ahem.”

  Jayne blinked, smiled distractedly and tried to remember what the conversation involved.

  But she couldn’t focus on anything apart from the questions burning her mind. When would they marry? Where would they live? So many things to work out. And so little time.

  As soon as breakfast was over and she’d helped with the dishes, she hurried outside to find Seth.

  He came around the house. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

  Her heart swelled with sweetness to know he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

  He held his hand out to her and they walked to the clearing where they’d spent so much time, and sat on the log.

  “I will always think of this as our special place,” she said.

  He pulled her close. “But this is your special place.” He pressed her head to the hollow of his shoulder.

  “My place. I like that.”

  For several minutes they didn’t move. She would gladly have spent the day there.

  “We need to make plans.” His words disturbed her peace.

  “I suppose we do.” She sat up and turned so she could watch his face as they talked.

  “I love this country.”

  Her heart leaped within her. Was he going to stay here after all? Dreams filled her head. A little home for the two of them. Visits with Linette and her friends. Keeping house.

  He sighed. “If I had time I would look about for a piece of land to start my own place.”

  She began to decorate a house—a big table in the kitchen so she could do lots of baking and canning like Linette did and entertain visitors. Maybe she’d make a quilt for their bedroom. Light flooded a secret place behind her heart. A place that until now had been unknown.

  “But I doubt Pa will want to move.”

  Her dreams disappeared in the blink of an eye. “What will you do in Corncrib?”

  “I’ll work for ranchers. Do odd jobs. Whatever I can find that will allow me to be home every day to care for Pa.”

  She touched his freshly shaven cheek. “I’ll help you.”

  He nodded, his eyes flooding with so many things—determination, love, surprise, as if he didn’t believe that love possible. “I don’t want to leave you.”

  “You go. Look after your pa. I’ll wait until you sort things out.” A lump in her throat cut off her flow of words.

  He pulled her close, cupped his hand to her head. “It kills me to think of leaving you but I must.”

  Perhaps it was only because her ear was pressed to his chest that his words seemed more like a growl.

  They clung to each other, till finally a sigh rippled from him. “I’ll stay the day.”

  Did the thought of only one day hurt him as much as it did her? She hoped so, yet she didn’t want to add to his distress.

  “A day will be wonderful.” She would do her utmost to make it a day of sweet memories that would make him never forget how much he loved her and she loved him. Her decision made, she kissed him soundly. “Let’s go on a picnic.”

  “I’ll enjoy whatever we do. So long as we are together.” He pulled her to him and kissed her. She sighed and leaned into his embrace. Maybe they could stay here and forget everything and everyone but this moment and each other.

  But she wanted to know everything about him. She loved listening to the beat of his heart but wanted to listen to the words of his heart, as well.

  So they returned to the house where Linette helped Jayne prepare a lunch to take with them. Jayne explained Seth would be leaving tomorrow and she wanted to be alone with him.

  “I’m sorry you only have today,” Linette said. “Enjoy it to the fullest.”

  They set out with no destination in mind, talking as they walked. They reached an open area that let them see the rolling hills that flowed away from the mountains.

  “This looks like a good place.” Seth spread the blanket Jayne had brought and they sat side by side looking out at the vista before them.

  For a moment, they didn’t say anything.

  “What kind of house will we have?”

  Seth leaned back on his elbows and tickled her neck with a blade of grass. “Pa’s house is small. Two bedrooms upstairs but he sleeps in a bedroom on the main floor. We’ll have our privacy.”

  “I wasn’t worried about that. I’m simply trying to imagine your home.”

  He sat up. “If I could start my own ranch, I’d build a solid house, frame or log. I’d start small and add on rooms as our family grew.”

  She turned on her side to face him. “Family?”

  He touched her cheek. “Don’t you want children?”

  She brought his fingers to her lips and kissed them. “I want a little boy with dark brown hair and hazel eyes and the sweetest face in the world.”

  “Jayne.” His voice thickened and he drew her in for a kiss. Then he smiled at her. “I want a little girl with coffee-brown hair and brown eyes that would make it hard for me to be stern.”

  “Only two?” she asked.

  “More would be nice.”

  She sighed and lay back to look at the fluffy clouds overhead. “Tell me about your childhood.”

  “Before Frank’s death?”

  Sensing that his childhood ended after the accident, she murmured agreement.

  He told of a stern father and a gentle mother who taught the boys responsibility and hard work but who also engaged in outings to church gatherings, town fairs and who played board games with their sons and read to them.

  “But there was no more of that after Frank died.”

  She opened her arms and pulled him close, holding him like he’d not been held since that awful day. If only she could kiss away all the pain of his past. She vowed she would try her best to do so.

  Her eyes filled with tears, and she blinked them away. She would bravely face his departure and leave him only the memory of this day and her smile.

  Her tears would be shed in the privacy of her own room.

  * * *

  His heart so heavy it pressed against the soles of his boots, Seth saddled his horse the next morning. Every heartbeat squeezed out shards of glass, tearing his veins to shreds.

  He must go but it would be the hardest thing he’d ever done.

  Jayne waited for him outside the barn. He led the horse out and stopped. What did he say to describe his reluctance to leave her? He
simply pulled her into his arms and hoped she understood.

  She clung to him so hard the knife wound in his side hurt but he welcomed the pain. It would serve as a diversion in the days to follow.

  “I can’t promise when I’ll get back.” They had decided he would make arrangements for someone to care for Pa so he could come back. They would marry then return to Corncrib. He glanced past the ranch buildings. How he’d like to start fresh with land of his own. Perhaps God would allow it in the future.

  For now he was grateful for the blessing he had and he pulled Jayne closer.

  “I’ll be here waiting and watching.” The words grated from her throat, and he knew she found this parting as difficult as he did.

  He would be brave for her sake.

  He tipped her head up and gave her a kiss so full of hunger and missing and loving that she gasped then returned the kiss with equal emotion.

  He tore himself away. “I must go.” He’d already said goodbye to the others. A groan threatened to escape as he turned toward his horse and swung into the saddle.

  His smile barely moved his lips but it was the best he could produce and he took Jayne’s outstretched hand and held it a moment. Regret dulled her eyes. His likely revealed the same emotion. “Until later.”

  She nodded.

  Looking to neither the right nor the left he bent low and raced from the yard.

  “Whoa!”

  He jerked up at the word, fought to control his mount and stared at a covered wagon he’d almost run into. He squinted at the older couple driving the rig. It couldn’t be….

  “Hello, son.”

  “Pa!” Not another word came to his befuddled brain.

  “You look surprised.”

  “I guess I am!”

  “But Crawford wrote you. Told you I was marrying and headed out here to visit you.”

  “Married?” He looked at the woman at Pa’s side.

  “Meet my wife, Edna.”

  He doffed his hat.

  “Howdy,” she said, grinning at his confusion. “Looks like you didn’t get the letter.”

  “I did but most of the words were smudged. I only knew Crawford had left. I figured you were home waiting for me to finally show up.”

  “Nope. I been busy with my own affairs.” He patted Edna’s arm.

  Eddie signaled from the house to bring them in.

  “Come and meet the Eden Valley Ranch crew.”

  Jayne had climbed the hill and stood at Eddie’s side, her hand shading her eyes as she watched him.

  Pa was here. He was well enough to drive the wagon, though his face drooped on one side. Seth didn’t know what it meant but one thing was certain: He didn’t have to go to Corncrib. His heart bounced from rib to rib in joy.

  “Take the wagon to the door,” he called to his pa then turned his horse, raced to Jayne’s side where he jumped to the ground and swept her into his arms. He swung her about in a big circle.

  “Seth, are you crazy?”

  “Crazy about you.” He kissed her nose.

  When the wagon reached the house, Pa and Edna stepped down. Seth kept Jayne at his side as he went to Pa’s side. “Jayne, this is my pa and his new wife.”

  She looked up at him in wonder and surprise. “You mean—”

  He pulled her close to his heart. “I don’t have to go to Corncrib.”

  Her eyes said she understood what this meant as clearly as he. He led her to Pa and Edna. “I’d like you to meet my intended, Jayne Gardiner.”

  Pa gave Jayne a quick study then shook her hand.

  Edna gave Pa a scolding look. “Pshaw, what’s wrong with you, Murdo? She’s family.” She hugged Jayne.

  Seth swallowed a lump then turned to the others.

  He waited until introductions were made and Linette invited the guests inside before he took Jayne’s arm and drew her down to the river. Pa surely had a story to tell but it could wait.

  Once they were in the shelter of trees he turned her into his arms. “When can we get married?”

  She kissed him. “I love you, too.”

  * * *

  They returned in time to partake of dinner. Afterward, Pa said he wanted to talk to Seth. “Bring Jayne along, too.”

  “Feel free to use the front room,” Linette said.

  They retired there.

  Pa leaned forward. His right arm still didn’t move a hundred percent correctly.

  “I can’t believe how improved you are.” Seth shook his head. “I expected to find you an invalid.”

  “Crawford did a world of good. But it was Edna moving in next door that did the most for me.” He took her hand as he talked. “She lost her husband and son in a horrible accident. Her husband had been cleaning a gun and accidently shot their boy. When he saw what he’d done he turned the gun on himself. He left Edna to deal with it on her own.”

  “It was difficult,” Edna said. “But I’ve discovered what doesn’t kill you makes you strong.”

  Seth grinned at Jayne. “I think we’re also learning that. And that God is always there to help us.”

  Pa continued. “As Edna told me what she’d dealt with and I saw how she shone like gold despite her trials—”

  Edna made a dismissive noise but gave Pa a grateful smile.

  Pa nodded. “I realized I had allowed bitterness and blame to become my way of life.” He reached for Seth’s hand and held it in his own.

  What was this all about? Did Pa mean to clear his conscience by laying the blame firmly at Seth’s feet? His heart ticked in steady, warning beats.

  “Seth, I said cruel and untrue things to you. I don’t know if you recall them or if you believed them. I regret them. It wasn’t your fault Frank died. And despite the things I said, and the times I failed to show appreciation, you have been a fine, upstanding person. I’m proud to call you son. Can you forgive me for the wrong things I’ve said and done?”

  Seth’s lungs emptied in a rush. “Pa, I forgive you.” The power of Pa’s words had started to fade when he met Jayne. They had grown fainter as he grew to love her and lost most of their power when he stopped on the trail and decided to throw off their chains.

  Pa’s apology forever erased them from his heart.

  When Pa and Edna left them a few minutes later, Seth turned to Jayne. “We can start with a brand-new, clean slate. How does that feel?”

  “It’s wonderful.” She kissed him then they moved to the window to look out on the ranch.

  He looked past the buildings to the promise of a bright future in God’s generous plan.

  Epilogue

  Three weeks later

  Jayne looked at her reflection in the mirror.

  “You look lovely,” Sybil said. “The new dress was a good idea if I do say so myself.”

  Linette and Sybil had offered to make her a wedding dress to remember. She’d refused. “I’m to be a rancher’s wife. I prefer something plain so I can use it again.”

  “A nice dress can never go amiss,” Sybil had said. “Allow us to do this.”

  “I’m glad you persuaded me.” Jayne loved the dress. Made of ecru satin with seven rows of green piping at the wrists and a row of green-covered buttons down the front, it was dressy enough to be special and yet she would be comfortable wearing it to church and other special events in the future. The waist dipped in the front. The neckline ended in a small stand-up collar. “It’s lovely.” She faced her friends. “So are you.”

  Mercy wore a dark blue dress that brought out her beauty. Sybil shone in a golden dress.

  Eddie appeared at the door, handsome in his dark jacket and white shirt. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded. Mercy and Sybil left the house ahead of her and Jayne took Eddie’s arm for the walk to the clearing where she and Seth had decided to get married—the same clearing where they had spent many happy hours. “Still no word about the box Harry Simms was after?”

  Eddie smiled down at her. “It’s too early to get a reply from across the oc
ean but Father will take care of it. You needn’t give it another thought.”

  “I won’t.” Her life was too full of joy and love to be concerned with the past.

  They paused to let Mercy and Sybil walk down the grassy aisle ahead of them.

  Then they stepped into sight. The assembled people turned. She felt their smiles. Their love.

  She spared a glance about. She and her friends had spent hours preparing the clearing for this day. They’d gathered wild flowers and placed them in containers around the circle, and Sybil had hung pink, red and white ribbons from the trees. Jayne smiled. It was perfect.

  This day was perfect, blessed with sunshine and a breeze that rustled the leaves overhead enough to prevent the air from becoming too warm.

  She scanned the crowd. Everyone from the ranch was there, and Seth’s pa and Edna, who had decided to live in Edendale.

  Buster looked like a new person. He’d taken his first month’s pay, gotten a haircut, a new shirt and pair of trousers. He wore the belt Seth had made him.

  Her heart swelled with pride at Seth’s skill and generosity.

  Eddie had arranged a preacher from Fort Macleod to perform the ceremony. He stood patiently at the front.

  She had resisted looking at Seth until now because she knew once she saw him, nothing else would register.

  His smile blazed at her.

  His hair had been trimmed. He wore a white shirt and a dark gray vest that emphasized his coloring.

  She drew in a breath and held it.

  “I can’t believe I’m marrying such a handsome man,” she whispered to Eddie.

  “He’s marrying a beautiful woman.”

  “Thank you.” Her eyes on Seth, she walked at Eddie’s side until he released her to Seth.

  “To have and to hold from this day forth.”

  The words rang in her mind as they went through the rest of the ceremony then returned to the ranch to a beautiful meal the women had prepared. They ate outside.

  Then at some invisible signal, likely from Linette, the people filed by Seth and Jayne to congratulate them and say goodbye as they made their way to their own homes.