Cattleman's Courtship (24 page)

“I changed my mind,” Nicholas said, answering his father’s questions but addressing Cara.

She continued to stare at him, unable to believe he was really here.

He took her hands in his. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice quiet, his eyes intent on hers.

She stood immobile, still struggling to believe he was here. Not winging across the Atlantic to a remote oil rig.

“Why did you come back?” she asked, her voice a breathless whisper taking in the strength of him. The very presence of him.

“I don’t want to leave you alone again,” he said, squeezing her hands tighter in return. “I want to stay here. With you.”

Cara’s breath left her in a sigh, then a tentative smile hovered at the corner of her mouth. “I’m glad you came back.”

Then she gave into an impulse and reached up and cupped his jaw in her hand and, in front of his father, stood up on tiptoe and kissed him.

He swept her into his arms and kissed her back, holding her tight against him. She felt safe, secure. Cared for.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured. “I was wrong.”

“So was I,” she whispered, her arms twining around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair. She gave him another kiss, relishing the privilege.

She wished she could push the world away. Wished time could stop so she could stay here, absorbing the reality of his presence. Things still lay between them that she wanted swept away.

But reality intruded and she reluctantly pulled back.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his finger tracing her features with a gentleness that almost melted her resolve.

She brushed a kiss over his knuckles, then reluctantly lowered his hand.

“I’m trying to convince your father to let me run some tests to prove the heifers are perfectly healthy.”

Nicholas blinked, as if trying to catch up to her. “I thought there was nothing else you could do?”

“Your cows don’t have bovine TB,” she said, forcing her attention back to the matter at hand. For now it was enough that Nicholas was here to help her solve this problem and she needed him on board to convince his stubborn father. “But I’m pretty sure they have been exposed to avian TB, which is benign to most humans and cattle, but can show a false positive in a TB test. Gordon should have known that.”

“So how…” Nicholas, still holding her hand, tried to sift this information.

“You’ve been holding the heifers close to the barn for the past couple of months. I’m convinced if we check the cows in the upper pasture you won’t find any reaction to the TB test because they weren’t exposed to the sparrows living in the barn.”

“And how do you know those birds have whatever it is you think they have,” Dale interrupted, his puzzled glance ticking from Nicholas to Cara as if trying to absorb this new situation.

Cara’s frustration eased with Nicholas standing beside her. “A simple acid test on the sparrow droppings will confirm what I suspect. And the fact that they’re showing some of the classic symptoms. When I saw the flock of birds at the waterer the other day, it raised a red flag.” Which was only brought to her attention when she read the piece in the Psalms about the sparrow.

“Will that test be enough?” Nicholas asked.

“Alberta is classified as TB free. I know once I do the test and present this information to Uncle Alan and Bill, they’ll corroborate my findings. We might have to do a follow-up test on the heifers, but they’ll get a clean bill of health. The TB test wasn’t even mandatory.”

“But it caused a lot of problems.”

“And the fact that your other herd won’t show any reaction to the test will be proof, as well, that it isn’t in the heifers,” Cara continued, looking back to Nicholas.

Nicholas’s smile dove into her heart and though a thousand questions still hung between them, the reality was he was standing beside her instead of sitting on a plane.

That was more then enough for now.

“Okay. Let’s do this then. Tell us what we need to do and we’ll do it.”

Nicholas tried not to chew his lip, fidget or sigh. Cara had been busy making up slides in the vet clinic for the past half an hour. After she had come to the ranch, Nicholas and his father had ridden up to the other herd and brought them down to the corrals. Cara had gone through them all and had found no reaction to the test, which corroborated her diagnosis.

After that they had helped her gather up sparrow droppings from the barn and bagged a few dead sparrows, as well.

He still couldn’t believe the sight that had greeted him when he came to the ranch from Calgary. Cara’s car parked in the driveway.

Cara standing up to his father, arguing with him.

The look of surprise and pleasure when she saw him walking toward her.

He wanted to sweep her off her feet, whisk her away to a secluded place where they could talk, share and remove the debris of the last argument they’d had.

But that had to wait while she pushed another slide under the microscope, determined to prove her theory.

He couldn’t read her expression at all. Her entire focus was on what she could see through the lens.

She took one slide off, and put yet another one underneath it and looked through it again.

Finally Alan spoke up.

“So? What did you see?” Uncle Alan pushed his glasses up his nose. Nicholas knew Alan needed to know the results as badly as he did. To have a positive TB test show up in Alberta cattle could be devastating for the local ranchers.

Finally Cara straightened, stretching her arms over her head. Then she gave Nicholas a grin that made him sag against the wall behind him.

“The sparrow droppings tested positive for avian TB,” she said, her quiet words thundering in Nicholas’s head.

“That’s wonderful,” Alan said.

Wonderful
didn’t begin to cover the relief surging through Nicholas. Though he had confidence in Cara, hearing her confirm her diagnosis pushed away the last doubt he had.

“I know a follow-up test on the heifers will show them to be clear, as well.” She gave Nicholas another smile. “You won’t be able to ship them until we do the next test, but in the meantime, everything is clear.”

“Are you going to go by her word?” Gordon blustered from the doorway of the makeshift lab Cara had set up. “She doesn’t have near the experience with hands-on vet work that I do. I should have been the one to check that other herd. It was my case.”

Nicholas saw Alan shoot Gordon a withering look. Then, as if Gordon didn’t matter, Alan turned to Nicholas. “I’m rescinding the order to destroy the herd.”

Thank You, Lord,
Nicholas thought. He didn’t deserve the break, but he was thankful for it.

“But you can’t go over my head—” Gordon was saying.

“I can and I will,” Uncle Alan retorted.

“If you’re taking her word over mine, I don’t know if I can work in this office,” Gordon said, his hands shoved into the pockets of his smock.

“You don’t have to worry about thinking you can’t work in this office. It will be a reality,” Uncle Alan said in a clipped voice.

Nicholas glanced from Alan to Gordon, wondering what was going on.

Alan turned to Cara. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to have a chat with Gordon and Bill.” He patted her on the shoulder. “Good work, girl. I’m so proud of your dedication.”

He left, closing the door quietly behind him, leaving Nicholas and Cara alone in the room.

As soon as the door clicked behind him, Nicholas spun Cara around on the chair and pulled her up into his arms.

Then he caught her mouth in a long, deep and satisfying kiss.

When he came up for air, her eyes shone up at him, and her hands clung to his shoulders.

“Okay,” she said, her voice sounding shaky. “I guess we’re not going to bother with words.”

“They have traditionally come between us.” Nicholas turned and sat down on the stool and pulled her close. “But I do have something to say.”

He waited, letting the silence settle to allow the moment its full due.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he said. “I was wrong. You were right.”

“Please. No. I was wrong, too. Wrong not to see that the ranch wasn’t competition. That it was a part of you—an important and vital part of you.”

Nicholas shook his head, still trying to reconcile the fact that he was here, holding Cara in his arms.

“You know, you were right. It isn’t all up to me. I was in a mad panic to head out to go and save the ranch when, in the end, you did it. You were the one who saved the ranch.”

She put her finger to his lips. “No. It wasn’t me. I had to learn to listen.” Her voice was suddenly quiet and steady as if she needed him to understand. “I had to learn to let go and to not put myself first.” She removed her finger and replaced it with another kiss. “I’m so thankful God brought us together again and I want you in my life and I’ll take you as you are. Right now.”

Though she spoke the words lightly, he knew their true cost.

And his heart thrilled with possibilities.

“Will you?”

“Will I what?”

“Will you take me as I am? Right now?” He couldn’t stop himself, he had to know. “Would you marry me?”

Cara held his gaze, her smile creating an answering burst of pleasure inside him. “Yes. I will.”

Nicholas bent his head and sealed their promises with a gentle, lingering kiss. Then he sighed. “This wasn’t exactly where I had planned to propose,” he said, thinking of the hillside, the sunset and having everything just right.

“This is as good a place as any.” Cara glanced around the tiny room with its shelves of medicine and supplies. “You had everything perfect the first time around but that was no guarantee of success.”

“Not toward the end.” He gave a rueful laugh. “You sure you’re willing to give engagement to me another go?”

“I think we’re getting pretty good at it.” Cara clasped her hands behind his neck, leaning back to look at him. “We’re starting from another place.”

“You’re right about that. I’m not going to the rigs again,” he said. “I want to stay on the ranch full-time, though I won’t make as much money.”

Her look held a vestige of sorrow. “Do you think that matters to me?”

“No. I suppose it wouldn’t.” He released a nervous laugh. “Not like it mattered to my mother. But like you suggested, I think she was lonely and being broke didn’t help. And you, living with your aunt and uncle, always seemed to have more than enough. But I never realized what you had to live with.”

“Doesn’t matter. It all came together to bring me here. To meet you.”

“Again,” he said with a laugh.

“Again.”

He kissed her again, then traced the line of her lips. “You know I love you, Cara Morrison.”

“And I love you, Nicholas Chapman.”

The words hung between them, rife with promises and hope. Hope for today and for a future.

“Let’s go tell my uncle,” Cara said, tugging on his arm. “I’m sure he’s wondering what’s going on in here.”

“Oh, I think he has a pretty good idea,” Nicholas said.

“And then we should go talk to your father.”

Nicholas pulled her back. “I’m sorry about him, too,” he went on, realizing it needed to be said. “I’m sure he’ll come around in time.”

Cara slanted him a half smile. “I guess I’ll have to turn on the charm, then, won’t I?”

“Or tell him he can get free vet services,” Nicholas said.

“Maybe I’ll have to start my own business,” Cara said, pulling open the door. “Be competition to my uncle and Bill.” She stepped out into the hallway, almost colliding with Gordon, who shot Cara a baleful glance before slamming the back door behind him.

Nicholas looked from the door, to Cara then to Alan standing in the doorway of his office, his hands on his hips.

“Something tells me you might have a job waiting right here,” he said. He slipped his arm over her shoulders and in front of her uncle, dropped a kiss on her head, then together they walked toward him to share their good news.

Together.

Dear Reader,

This story came to me while I was doing research for another book. That often happens to writers. It’s as if our internal radar is always searching. But the concept had to be put aside while other ideas clamored to be given form, so I was glad to finally tell Cara and Nicholas’s story. What I was trying to show with this book is the false idea of thinking we have control over our lives. We can make all our plans and then, like Nicholas, things happen beyond our control and everything is in turmoil. I know I struggle again and again with thinking, again like Nicholas, that if everything is exactly right in my life, then I can be happy. Whereas, instead, I’ve had to learn to be content this moment with where I am. To look to God and realize that the most important plans I can make are with Him in mind. I hope you enjoyed the journey Nicholas and Cara had to make to grow and change.

P.S. I love to hear from my readers. Drop me a note at [email protected] or visit my Web site, www.carolyneaarsen.com to find out what’s going on in my life and my writing.