Worth the Wait (Last Hope Ranch Book 2) Read online

  “That goes without saying,” she said, sliding her thumb over his lower lip. “It’s going to take a lifetime to show you how much I care about you—how much I love you. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to show you adequately.”

  He offered her an ornery grin and felt the tug of the stitches healing on his cheek, noting that he’d likely have a rugged scar when this was all said and done. But that wasn’t at the forefront of his mind just now. “I can think of no less than a dozen suggestions,” he said. “But until there’s no risk of someone coming through that door and interrupting us, I guess you could tell me that you’re ready to marry me.”

  She cradled his face in her hands and kissed him, proving without a shadow of a doubt that all his man parts were in perfect working order.

  “Just as soon as we can get everything arranged,” she said.

  He pushed her knees to either side of his hips, inching his hands beneath the hem of her shirt as he held her gaze.

  “May I suggest a simple wedding, then?”

  “Agreed,” she said, leaning forward to meet his mouth in a searing kiss.

  ***

  Julie looked up and her heart stopped. “Mother of pearl,” she muttered aloud. She watched as Hank nodded to the various members of the diner’s staff, ignoring their raised brows and appreciative smiles as he walked toward her office tucked in the corner of the diner’s back room.

  He wore a crisp, white dress shirt, dark blue Wranglers, and boots topped off with a tailored-to-fit black gentlemen’s coat that hit him at the hip. All that was missing was a black Stetson. That, he carried in his hand until he reached her. He stood on the other side of her desk and plopped it on his head. “Good day, ma’am.” He gave a nod.

  Julie felt just a tad weak in the knees. And she was sitting down.

  “My goodness, don’t you look mighty sharp, Mr. Richardson,” Betty said, assessing him from head-to-toe. She’d just brought the morning receipts to Julie. Business had picked up in the past few days with the Frontier Days weekend fast approaching.

  “I have to agree,” Julie said. She stood and rounded the desk. Clamping her hands down on her hips, she looked him over. “I may just have to marry you,” she said, scooting up on her tiptoes to kiss him. The wedding, just a few weeks away, couldn’t come soon enough.

  “You like it? Dalton helped me pick it out.” He turned once and tipped the brim of his hat as he looked over his shoulder, giving her a sexy grin.

  She considered taking the rest of the day off…but things were busy at the diner and already Betty had called in extra help. Instead, she slid her arms around his waist. “Cowboy, take me away,” she said softly.

  He slipped his arms around her and drew her into another slow kiss. “How are the reception plans coming?” he asked Betty when the kiss ended.

  “The menu is all planned,” Betty said. “No worries.”

  “And you’re sure that it’s okay the weekend after Thanksgiving?” Julie asked. She and Betty had been over the topic more than once in recent days.

  Betty waved away Julie’s concerns. “The diner is closed anyway. And I can’t think of a better way to spend a holiday weekend than celebrating you two finally getting married.”

  Hank gave Julie a squeeze. “Dalton told me that Wyatt, Clay, and some of the folks from church are handling getting the barn ready for the reception. Liberty wanted to help, but she and Rein need to enjoy this time with their new family.”

  “A little girl,” Betty gushed. “Can you believe it? Little Cody must be thrilled to have a new baby sister.” She waved her hand again to collect her thoughts. “Rebecca and Emilee have been handling the decorations. I hear they are going to be beautiful.”

  Julie released a sigh of relief, glad she’d relinquished reception responsibilities to Betty. It was her wedding gift to them both, she’d told them, and they weren’t about to argue.

  “Sounds like everything is clicking along in End of the Line,” Hank said with a chuckle. “And with any luck, we’ll get through the Frontier Days festival and this wedding before the snows come in.”

  Julie glanced at the clock, seeing it was nearly two o’clock. “Oh, I almost forgot, Nan called a special meeting of the Frontier Days committee here at two.”

  “What do you suppose that is all about?” Betty asked, closing the notebook planner she’d created for Hank’s and Julie’s wedding.

  Julie stepped from Hank’s embrace and saved her work online. She grabbed Hank’s hand. “Come on, this won’t take long. Then I’ve decided to take the afternoon off and spend it with my favorite guy. Clay has got the boys helping him up at the house today.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I have a feeling Sally has morning sickness.”

  Hank’s brows rose. “Good lord. There are babies everywhere,” he said.

  “Which means we should probably get busy, huh?” she said, walking ahead through the kitchen.

  He tugged her to a stop, and she turned to look at him. “What is it?” she asked.

  “Do you mean that?” He took off his hat, holding her gaze.

  “You mean, do I want more kids?” she asked. “I’d hoped you would want them, too. Don’t you?” It was yet another topic they hadn’t discussed.

  He blinked and his face broke into a wide grin. “More than anything, I want to have kids with you.”

  She shrugged. “Well, sir, we’ll have to make that a priority before you head off to smokejumper training camp next spring to retrain with Pete.”

  He pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tightly. “You are a remarkable woman. Not many women would agree to the life of a wildland firefighter pilot.”

  She looked up at him. “I can’t promise I’ll always be as sure of it as I am at this moment. But if it’s what you love, then we’ll make it work.”

  He hugged her again. “We won’t have to move. Pete wants me to help with the initial training, and then we’ll discuss where we’ll go from there. Any decisions on moving, we’ll make together as a family.” He looked at her. “I’m thinking seasonal might be the way to go. Maybe pick up another job around here in the off season. I want to be closer to home,” he said. “Closer to my family.”

  “I do like the sound of that,” she said. “By the way, your parents called, and they’ll be coming to the wedding.”

  “Any word from my sister?” he asked.

  Julie nodded. “Caroline responded with an email, saying she’d be here for the ceremony but won’t need a cabin. She has to get back to Chicago that night.”

  “Yeah, small towns and ranches aren’t her thing,” Hank said.

  “Sally mentioned that Caroline and Rein had dated back in college?” Julie looked at him.

  He nodded. “Hot and heavy for a while. We all thought they’d get married. I think Rein thought they were headed in that direction, as well, until she took off with a guy to travel Europe.”

  “Poor Rein,” Julie said.

  Hank shook his head. “Oh, no. He dodged a bullet with that one.”

  “Hank Richardson, that’s not a very nice thing to say.”

  “Hey, she’s my sister, I ought to know,” he said. “It’s going take someone with the patience of Job, and maybe someone who doesn’t wear one of these.” He held up the gorgeous Stetson. “Caroline has set the bar pretty high when it comes to guys. I just think she’s too tightly wrapped. A day out fishing on the river or hiking in the woods would do her a world of good.”

  “I’ve only met her the one time,” Julie said. “But she doesn’t impress me as the outdoorsy type.”

  “Hey, you two,” Betty said as she stuck her head around the diner entrance from the kitchen. “Nan’s here, and she brought Hunter with her.”

  Aside from helping with the broken axle on the trailer to be used for the parade, Julie’ curiosity was piqued, that her suspicions about Hunter and Nan might have been spot on. While else would she have brought him to this special meeting.

  Betty turned the sign on th
e front door to “closed” at Nan’s request.

  Coach Reed and Betty had already managed to push a couple of tables together. Jerry sat at one end, Hank and Julie across from Nan and Hunter. Coach Reed sat at the opposite end of the table.

  “Anyone need coffee?” Betty asked as she waited for everyone to get settled.

  A knock on the door drew everyone’s attention. Betty let Dalton in. “Hey, I came in Wyatt’s place.” He glanced at Hunter. “Unless he asked you already.”

  “Sit down, Dalton,” Nan ordered. She scanned their faces. “This won’t take long. Just have some things to get out on the table and then we can be done with them. Don’t want folks waggling their tongues any more than usual,” she said.

  Betty eased slowly into her chair and put her hand on Jerry’s arm. “Nan, dear, what is it?”

  Nan glanced at Julie. “Many of you know that I was married to my husband, Andrew, for some forty years. Happily, I might add.” She paused. “But before we were married there was a period of time just after high school when we’d broken things off between us.” She looked down at the table. “It was me who caused it. Didn’t want to get married yet. I don’t know, maybe it was fear, maybe just being young and wanting the freedom to chase my dreams.” She smiled. “Hindsight is always twenty-twenty.” She looked at Julie.

  Julie reached over and slipped her hand in Hank’s.

  Nan shrugged. “As it turned out, Andy moved to Billings and got a job. Until recently, I wasn’t aware that he’d dated my best friend, Gwen Neely, during that time.”

  Nan stood with a deep sigh and braced her hands on the back of the chair, scanning their faces. It was clear that what she had to say was not easy, but she’d never been one to candy-coat the truth.

  “The bottom line here is that Gwen ended up having a son. It was Andrew’s. She immediately gave it up for adoption and never told him, as Andrew had gone off to war by that time. He didn’t find out until many years later that he had a son. And only recently did I discover this, through a letter Andy left me. ” She shrugged. “He said in the letter that, by the time he knew, it wouldn’t have made any difference. He felt that we’d had the life we wanted—that we’d been happy, even though we had no children.”

  All eyes were glued on Nan. Hunter placed his hand on Nan’s and smiled softly up at her. Julie made the connection in her mind just before Nan revealed the decades-old secret.

  “Hunter, as it turns out, is Gwen’s grandson.” She looked around the table. “His daddy was Andy’s and Gwen’s son.” She looked at Hunter. “And, so too, my step-grandson.”

  Hunter glanced at those around the table. “The lawyer I hired to look into it is sending for the official adoption records, but the place, the time of birth—my dad’s birthday—were written down in the letter my grandmother sent to Nan’s husband,” he said, looking at her. “Who is my grandfather.”

  There was a stony silence in the wake of the news. It was Betty who spoke first. “I’m getting coffees all around.” She stood, grabbed a tray, and arranged several mugs on it before lifting the coffee carafe and setting it all on the table.

  Hunter cleared his throat and continued. “Nan has invited me to stay on a while longer so I can get to know my grandmother better. With any luck, maybe one day she’ll recognize me. I’m told I’m a dead ringer for my dad.”

  Nan nodded. “I see Andrew in your smile, as well,” she said.

  “And”—he took Nan’s hand and led her to her chair—“I want to get to know my step-grandmother better. What I’ve seen so far I really admire.”

  Nan smiled and straightened her shoulders. “Well, there you have it.” She looked at the quiet group. “Figured this committee is about as good a cross section of townsfolk there is, so I wanted to make sure you all have my back when the rumors start flying around here. Anyone have any questions?”

  Dalton raised his finger with a thoughtful look. “I do,” he said, then looked at Betty. “You have any pie to go with that coffee?”

  Julie grinned and met Nan’s content, if not relieved, smile from across the table. Yet another new beginning in End of the Line.

  Chapter Eleven

  Hank literally questioned his sanity.

  “You know everyone would understand if you scratched,” Justin Reed said, tightening the strap on the padded vest Hank had chosen to wear.

  “Doc says it’s been six weeks,” Hank offered with a slight shrug. “I should be good to go.”

  The man shook his head, eyeing him sharply. “Okay. I’ll put you in at the end. You can watch some of these guys first, and if you change your mind no one is going to think a thing of it—except that you made the right choice.”

  Hank thanked the man and walked with a bow-legged gait over to the where Rein, Wyatt, and Dalton leaned on the fence. They’d been helping out with the chutes. Aimee had chosen to go to the MacKenzie house for the day and help Liberty and with her and Rein’s newborn daughter, whom they’d named Alana, after Rein’s mother. Cody, far too excited about becoming an older brother had elected to stay home as well.

  “Howdy, pardners,” Hank called out.

  All three turned to look at him as he sauntered carefully up to the fence. “It’s not easy walking in these chaps,” he said, hiking one dusty boot on the bottom fence rung.

  Dalton chuckled, trying to cover it with a cough. “Yeah, we can see that…pardner.”

  Rein leaned forward in the lineup on the fence. “Are you certain you want to do this?” he asked Hank. “Need I remind you that your wedding is in a couple of weeks?”

  “Damn fool’s gonna kill himself,” muttered Wyatt, standing next to Rein.

  “I’m right here, Wyatt,” Hank said. “I heard that.” He took off his hat and brushed back his hair. He caught Wyatt watching him.

  “Then maybe you should take the advice.” Wyatt pointed a finger at him. “This is no joystick you’re about to put between your legs.”

  “What does Julie think of all this?” Rein asked.

  Hank scanned the small arena that Justin and Rein had built. The stands were full. It was a beautiful, crisp fall Saturday afternoon. The parade that morning on the town square had been packed. The junior roping contest and the exhibition barrel racing had been run and the amateur bronc riding was the last event until later that evening when the professional circuit riders provided bull-riding as an exciting conclusion to the day’s events.

  All-in-all, the weekend had been a grand success and the tiny community would benefit from everyone’s hard work. Hank’s absence from helping out with preparations had made him feel like he hadn’t done his part. This was his way of providing that with the purse at the end of the competition going to a great cause.

  “Now, settle down, boys,” came a feminine voice from behind them.

  Hank looked over his shoulder and saw Julie walking toward him dressed in slim denim jeans, a turquoise rodeo shirt, and black vest. She wore dusty cowboy boots over her jeans, rocking the whole “rodeo queen” look and capturing his heart.

  “Maybe you can talk some sense into this guy,” Dalton said.

  She sidled up next to Hank, threading her arm through his. “Why should I? My man is fearless, boys. You know he landed an airplane—”

  “In a lake,” the three said in unison.

  “We’ve heard the story a gazillion times,” Wyatt said, tipping his hat back to look at Julie. “Not that it isn’t admirable. Personally, I call it damn lucky—but this…this is different.”

  “I have full confidence that he’s going to walk away with the prize today.” Julie looked up at Hank and smiled.

  “Meaning you,” Hank said, holding his hat in place as he leaned down to capture her lips.

  “Okay, okay.” Dalton lifted his palms. “Don’t expend too much energy there, son. You’re going to need every bit you can muster.”

  Hank laughed. After another quick kiss, Julie sashayed away, giving him a sexy glance over her shoulder.

 
Michael Greyfeather offered a nod of his hat to Julie as they passed each other. He walked up to Hank. “Do you remember what I showed you?” he asked.

  “Wait. You approve of this?” Wyatt asked, nudging his thumb toward Hank.

  Michael shrugged. “Not nearly as bad as crashing a plane into a lake,” he answered.

  Wyatt rolled his eyes, pulled out his cell phone, and began thumbing through, searching for something.

  “What are you looking up?” Dalton asked.

  “The number for Billings’s emergency room,” Wyatt answered, not looking up.

  Emilee Kinnison ran up to her dad, who stood next to Hank. “Dad,” she said, tapping his shoulder.

  Dalton looked down at his daughter, who Hank thought was much wiser than her years. Julie had told him about her vision, but he hadn’t seen Emilee since the crash until now.

  “What is it, Em?” he asked.

  “Chris and Kyle asked if I could come sit with them. May I?”

  “Sure.” He looked into the stands. “If your mom says it’s okay and you guys stay together, that is.”

  “Mom’s helping in the pie stand. Grandma and Betty are there—”

  “You mean Mrs. Miller?” Dalton raised a brow.

  Emilee glanced away. “I’m sorry, yes, Mrs. Miller. Anyway, they’re taking turns watching Sawyer.”

  “Okay, it’s fine by me. But you guys leave before the end and get back over to the pie stand,” Dalton said. “There’s a lot of people here and a lot more coming in for the show tonight.”

  “Thanks, Dad. Um, do you have some money?” Emilee asked. “I wanted to get a peach snow cone.”

  “I heard Coach Reed’s wife concocted the syrup from real Georgia peaches,” Hank said. When he turned to look at the young girl, his leather gloves slipped from where he’d had them tucked in his belt.

  Emilee bent down to retrieve them. She held them up to Hank, hesitating as she eyed him. “It was you. You were the one…in the dark,” she said. “I had a vision when I picked up the pocketknife that you gave to Kyle.”

  Hank nodded. “I was, it’s true. But I got though it by the grace of God and the love and prayers of my family and friends.” He smiled then and leaned down toward the girl. “Those gloves giving you any good vibes?” he whispered.