Worth the Wait (Last Hope Ranch Book 2)

  Worth the Wait

  By

  Amanda

  McIntyre

  Dedication

  To those who believe in second chances and that love will always find a way

  Chapter One

  “Too soon?” By the look on Julie’s startled face, Hank Richardson figured he’d damn well jumped the gun. In his defense, in the last year and a half since Julie and her two boys had come to live at the Last Hope Ranch, he’d thought things had progressed to the point where the idea seemed approachable.

  Apparently, not as much as he’d hoped.

  He felt bad. There was nowhere—short of a using a parachute—that the poor woman could go. He’d taken her up in his plane, of all things, thinking that a pass over the beautiful Crazy Mountains against a stunning late-summer sunset would be the perfect setting to pop the question.

  So much for perfect.

  Hank withdrew the small velvet box that held the Tiffany diamond inside, his vision of a romantic marriage proposal disappearing as quickly as the orange sun on the horizon.

  “No. I—I’m sorry,” she stammered, holding her hand to her heart. She looked like she might be ill. “I just…it’s so sudden—”

  “Say no more,” he said, pocketing the ring in his denim shirt pocket.

  She reached over and touched his forearm. “Hank, I’m flattered—speechless, in fact. It’s just…”

  “I’m moving too fast, right?” God, he’d have married her a week after her divorce from that psychotic excuse of a husband. Instead, he’d put on the brakes, deciding it was worth the wait. Then again, maybe his sister, Caroline, had been right when she’d accused him of having ‘white knight’ syndrome.

  “Hank,” Julie said softly. “You know how much I care about you. You’ve been so good to me and the boys since we moved here.”

  He raised his brow. That much was true. He’d flown her brother, Clay Saunders, to California and had wound up taking a bullet in the shoulder during the daring rescue wherein her husband had been holding her and their sons hostage in a domestic dispute.

  “You made all the arrangements for us to move here—you and Clay.” She sighed. “And I’m forever grateful.”

  Grateful? Oh hell, he’d really gotten it wrong. He tossed her a quick glance, not wanting to let her see his disappointment. Hank had secretly fallen in love with her the first time they’d met in college. She’d come to watch her brother, Clay, play in a football game. The only one of the four friends not involved in that game, Hank had been her designated bodyguard. Lord, he’d fallen hard and fast. But before he could blink twice, she’d gone and gotten engaged, eventually marrying the hot-shot corporate slime ball that moved her as far from her friends and family as he could.

  In all the years after she’d never been far from his thoughts, or his heart. “There’s no need to keep a tally, Julie. I’ve been more than happy to help out. I just thought…well, that things were moving along to the point where it was time to take this…us…to the next level.” Even now, her brother, his wife Sally, their family and her two boys along with the friends and families of the Kinnison clan waited back at the ranch in anticipation of a celebratory dinner to mark this engagement.

  The hum of the engine seemed to fill the silence, exacerbating the epic fail of his carefully planned evening.

  “Hank,” she said quietly. “My divorce has only been final for a few months.”

  It sounded reasonable. His heart felt otherwise. To him it’d been an eternity getting to this moment. The private airstrip came into view. This past year, Hank had spent so much time traveling back and forth between Chicago and End of the Line to see Julie and the boys that the Kinnison brothers had gone ahead and gotten a permit to build the private airstrip, primarily for his use. Even they’d been confident that the relationship had been progressing. “I guess I got a little exuberant.”

  “Hank—”

  He closed his eyes against the gentle tone in her voice that could quicken his heartbeat, dredging up memories of a couple of times when they’d snuck away for quiet dinners, or the surprise trip to New Orleans where’d they’d spent an entire rainy weekend holed up in the Hotel Monteleone. “Listen, you don’t owe me any explanations.” He reached over and patted her hand. That said, he didn’t relish the back-pedaling account he’d have to give to the room of waiting dinner guests.

  “You need to let me explain.” She shifted in her seat, holding his hand in her lap. “I do see us getting married…eventually. I’m not shopping around. I’m only just beginning to get my feet on the ground. Finding myself again. You can understand that, can’t you?”

  Hank slid his hand from her grip. “Oh, sure. Yeah,” he said with a shrug. He flipped a few switches, focused on the runway, and brought the plane down in a smooth landing on the short strip. He taxied the plane into the hangar and shut off the engine. Staring out the window, he waited a heartbeat, unsure where to go from here. Hank heard her unbuckle.

  “Hey, you’re not mad, are you? You do understand?” She leaned over and turned his face to meet her gaze. Her hand drifted over his thigh. “Did I mention I believe in long engagements?” she whispered close to his ear. “Maybe I could see the ring again?”

  He let his heart hope that he wasn’t going to lose her a second time.

  “Why don’t you unbuckle that belt?” She waited as he did and then crawled into his lap, smiling as she fished in his pocket for the velvet box. She handed it to him. “Ask me again.”

  “Julie, I—”

  She cupped his face, kissing him softly. “Ask me, Hank.”

  “Fine.” He nodded. “Julie, will you marry me?” His heart squeezed at having to ask again.

  She held out her hand as he slipped on the sparkling stone. Her eyes welled.

  “Those are happy tears, right?” He tipped his head, eyeing her.

  “Of course. It’s beautiful.” She kissed him with the same thoroughness that had made him think he’d been on the right road with this idea.

  Had Aimee not gone to the trouble of creating the surprise engagement dinner, he might have taken her to his cabin and made this a private party. But the Kinnisons were like brothers and Clay Saunders, Julie’s real brother, as much a sibling to him. They were family and he wanted Julie to feel part of that family. He framed her face, kissing her softly, then held her gaze. “I should tell you that there is an engagement party waiting for us back at the ranch.” He gave her a rueful smile. “Julie, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and the boys.” He searched her eyes, waiting for her response.

  She offered him a tentative smile, then slid back into her seat. “We’d better get going then. Everyone will be waiting.”

  And just like that her guard was up again. “Jules?” he questioned, about to press her for a response to his declaration of love. Despite the many ways she’d expressed her feelings towards him, she’d yet to say those three little words that would solidify their relationship.

  “Yes?” she asked as she fished through her purse and pulled out her lip gloss. The ring on her finger winked in the setting sunlight.

  Not wanting to pressure her further, he waved off his concern. “Never mind.” He hopped from the cabin and ducked under the wing. Truth was, he should be ecstatic. She’d accepted the ring. They had amazing chemistry. And hadn’t she admitted to him that she wanted to get married…albeit eventually? The least he could do is be patient and understand she needed a little time to adjust to her new life. Still, it didn’t make it any easier to wait for her to say “I love you.”

  Taking Julie’s hand, Hank smiled as he twirled her into his arms and kissed her softly. �
��Let’s go share our good news, what do you say?”

  ***

  They’d been at the dinner table less than forty-five minutes. Julie wanted to crawl under the table at the rapid-fire questions assaulting her about their wedding plans.

  “Have you set a date?” Aimee asked, her enthusiastic smile an indicator that she’d been thinking about this much longer than Julie had been.

  Julie darted Hank a look, silently pleading for his help. Though they hadn’t really had time to discuss the reasons in detail, she hoped that, when it came down to it, he’d magically understand why she couldn’t yet commit to a date.

  “We haven’t actually discussed—” Hank began.

  “What we want exactly,” Julie finished with a smile. The discussion was awkward at best and Aimee seemed oblivious to the tension between Julie and Hank.

  “Well, of course,” Aimee said. “I’m sure you’re still working out the logistics of whether to live in Chicago or here.”

  Kyle, Julie’s oldest, shot a look at his mom. “Mom?” Her pre-teen son’s voice cracked as he looked at her with panic in his eyes.

  Hank intercepted his concern, lifting his hands. “Whoa, nobody is moving anywhere, buddy.” He looked from one boy to the other. “When and if that becomes a possibility, we will all decide it together, okay?”

  “Oh, goodness, absolutely,” Aimee said, realizing her faux pas. “I guess what I meant to say was when you get to the point of planning, Wyatt and I want you to know that the ranch is at your disposal. There’s plenty of room for guests in the cabins and with a little work, the barn is a beautiful place for a reception.”

  Wyatt reached over, took Aimee’s hand, and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Aimee’s right.” Wyatt’s quick glance at Hank wasn’t lost on Julie. “Whenever you two are ready. You know that you can just ask, and we’ll all be there for you. Anything you need, okay?”

  Julie wanted to ask everyone to take a step back and allow them time to breathe. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t thought this day—Hank proposing marriage—would happen, but there’d been no hint in recent weeks that he was about to pop the all-important question. “Thank you. All of you,” Julie said, then offered a nervous laugh. “My goodness. When I think about everything that’s going on, I can’t see where we’d possibly add a wedding.” She looked at each one seated around the table, hoping her fear to commit wasn’t blatantly showing. “Kyle has that big adventure Scout trip in Colorado coming up and, well, all of us are involved in the big Frontier Days celebration.” She glanced around at the faces staring at her. “And there’s the railroad museum opening, too.”

  Hank glanced down at his plate.

  Julie suddenly felt as though she was the bad guy in all of this. While she’d only been engaged for less than a few hours, it seemed that everyone here had assumed this was an inevitable outcome and that they’d marry quickly.

  Liberty, who’d been silent up to now, spoke up. “You know it’s pretty amazing, since we’ve been advertising the celebration and dedication of the depot to the National Registry of Historic places, the cabins are starting to get booked already. Seems like a lot of people are interested in the museum dedication.”

  Rein nodded. “That’s true, and the cook-off Betty wants to do is going to be a big draw to the community as well,” he said, helping his son, Cody take a no-thank you helping of peas on his plate.

  “We’ve already started freezing pies at the bakery to get ready for the population explosion,” Rebecca Greyfeather offered.

  Julie wanted to hug Rein and Liberty for coming to her aid. “Oh,” she said holding her hands to her cheeks. “I almost forgot about the cook-off.”

  “To be fair,” Rein continued, “with the website Liberty launched for the Last Hope Ranch, we’ve already scheduled two corporate retreats for late summer. And we can’t forget the annual trail ride we offer for free to Miss Ellie and her moms and kids at the shelter.”

  Hank slipped his hand over Julie’s, which was fisted nervously in her lap. “Thanks, all of you,” he said. “It’s nice to know we have the ranch as an option and, more importantly, your support and blessings.” He picked up his water glass and held it aloft. “To family.”

  “Here, here,” Dalton said with a grin and lifted his water glass. “And, on that note, I’m afraid I need to get this little guy home.” He tipped his head toward the high chair where little Sawyer Kinnison had fallen asleep.

  Julie looked at the slumbering child, remembering her own at that age. Would she and Hank have children? It was more than clear that family was important to him. Julie’s eyes were drawn to the child’s head resting on the tray, his little mouth curled in an adorable pout. Dark brown ringlets, much the same as Dalton’s, covered his head.

  Dalton carefully removed the bib from around the boy’s neck. “His mama and sister should be back by now from Billings. Angelique thought she and Emilee needed some mother-daughter time after her doctor’s appointment today.”

  Rebecca appeared from the kitchen holding a covered pie. She tucked it inside the diaper bag Dalton had slung over his shoulder. “Thanks, Rebecca. I may save some for the girls.” He tossed her an ornery grin.

  “Tell Angelique we missed her and Emilee,” Liberty said. “And tell her I’ll stop by tomorrow to see if she needs anything.”

  Dalton plopped his ballcap on his son’s head. “Tea and crackers if you stop by in the morning. I’m glad that school is out and Em can be around some to help more during the day.” A flash of concern shimmered in his dark eyes. “She said she can’t remember feeling this badly with either Em or Sawyer.”

  Clay glanced at Sally, and they shared a smile before he spoke. “It’ll be interesting to hear what Doc says.” Clay had a wicked grin on his face as he spoke. “Maybe the twin stork has blessed you guys, as well.”

  Dalton shot Clay a shocked look.

  Rebecca patted Dalton’s shoulder. “A little pie and a cup of tea might settle her stomach. Be sure it’s chamomile.”

  Dalton nodded and, followed by a chorus of farewells, left with his son.

  Rebecca turned to the rest of the table and took orders for some of her famous peach pie.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Aimee said. “I’m going to go check on Ezekiel. He fell asleep while we were fixing supper. I want to make sure he’s not coming down with something.”

  “I can do that, sweetheart,” Wyatt offered halfway out of his chair.

  She kissed his cheek. “I’ll be right back.” Placing her hand on her protruding belly she waddled down the hall to the nursery.

  “How are the riding lessons coming?” Hank asked Chris and Kyle. Since their move to End of the Line, Michael Greyfeather and Clay’s wife, Sally, had taken it upon themselves to teach the boys to ride. Hank had been meaning to take them for a trail ride as soon as he finished up this last round of client trips.

  “They’re naturals.” Sally smiled. “As good as any students I’ve had.”

  Julie noted that her boys beamed at the compliment.

  “Course, if they’re serious about the junior roping contest during the rodeo, they’re going to have to practice more with Michael.” Sally crooked a brow and pinned them with a grin.

  Julie shot her sister-in-law an inquisitive look. “Excuse me, what rodeo? What roping contest?”

  “Mom,” Kyle said, his eyes alive with excitement. “Coach Reed is setting up a rodeo out at his place for Frontier Days. He’s offering a junior roping contest and the winner gets one hundred bucks and a trophy!”

  Julie made a mental note to speak with Justin about adding a junior competition. She looked at Hank, unsure where her boys felt they had the permission to participate in the event. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. You’re just learning to ride a horse. We probably need to talk more about this.”

  “Jules,” Clay said, stepping in to defend his nephew. “Both the boys are doing very well on a horse. And”—he pointed at Michael, then Wyatt—“I und
erstand that those two are the best ropers in the state.”

  Aha! Clay, the encourager. Julie narrowed her gaze on him.

  Wyatt held up his palm. “I doubt that—”

  Rein stopped him. “You can’t deny it, big brother. I can remember Jed grooming you on cattle drives.”

  “Yeah, well, I haven’t done any ropin’ in quite some time.” Wyatt threw a dubious look at Rein. He and Dalton had been in their teens when a car accident had taken the lives of Rein’s folks and Jed’s only sister. By then, Jed had adopted both Wyatt and Dalton as his own, just before their mom abandoned them and ran off with a Las Vegas tycoon. With Jed as their guide, the four men became as close as any blood family.

  Michael grinned. “I can remember how good you were, Wyatt. It’d help Kyle a lot to learn your technique.”

  The debate continued, being batted back and forth with exaggerated stories, jabs at one another ending in laughter, and eventually agreeing to disagree, until another opinion ignited the whole thing again.

  It wasn’t that they argued, Julie thought as she ate her pie and observed the discussion. It’s how they approached life—fearless, open, offering praise for each other as much as suggestions for improvement.

  She glanced at her sons, totally immersed in the display of friendly male conversation, done amiably without malice, without anger. Yielding, offering thoughts—the way people should handle resolutions.

  Hank hammered back, tossing out stories from the past, every now and again pointing to the boys and cautioning them not to do what they did as reckless youths. Julie smiled at how he included them in the conversation.

  “I think sometimes they just enjoy getting each other riled up,” Sally whispered to Julie, leaning toward her conspiratorially.

  She saw her brother laughing out loud, enjoying being around his friends—she hadn’t seen that until she lived here and saw him surrounded by the love and support of the men seated at this table.

  Wyatt slapped his palm to the table, garnering everyone’s attention. He smiled at Kyle, who then straightened, sitting a bit taller in his chair. “Okay, okay. I’ll gladly show you boys a thing or two. But on one condition only.” He pointed his finger at Kyle, his gaze bouncing to Julie and back to Kyle. “Only if your mom says its okay,” Wyatt said. “Number one rule in this house is when mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy.” Wyatt smiled at Aimee as she returned to her seat. “Isn’t that so, darlin’? How’s Ezekiel?”