Faith of the Heart (27 page)

  
             
“Cal,
it’s
very late and we are
both
exhausted. I have been through an extremely harrowing ordeal and I desperately need to sleep. Much has happened to me since you have been gone
,
but now is not the time to make any decisions. I was engaged to you
years ago, and
I am not one to go back on my word...”

             
“Then you’ll go back, with me, be my wife?
” Cal
asked
hopefully
, his face lighting up.

             
Claire shook her head. “You are not hearing me. Right now I
am very tired.
And I am also engaged to Tom
.
You must understand
how
difficult
this is
for me.
”

             
“You can’t be
!” Cal shouted,
suddenly growing angry.
“
You must have feelings for me. You were still wearing the necklace
!
You love me and have always loved me.
I know it as well as I know my own
heart.”

             
Claire
gr
oaned and
cradled her head in her hands, not daring to look at Caleb… Cal in the eyes.
“
Stop! You must give me time to think. I must talk with Tom. I must
¼
”

             
She rose from the sofa and headed to the small guest bedroom.
“In the morning we will talk
,
”
she told him firmly, closing t
he door softly behind her.

             
Cal stared at the door for a moment and then
sank down on the sofa
, completely exhausted
.
He had
spilled his deepest,
darkest secrets to the love of his life
. He was certain that
t
omorrow they
would
start their lives together
again. Claire had always supported him,
and after all he had been through, Cal felt
h
e deserved
to have Claire as his wife
. She’d follow him back
E
ast. She had to.

**
*

             
The sun poured into Claire’s guest room
,
spilling onto the bed and shining onto her face, waking her.
She’d only slept a few hours
,
but she felt better than she had in days.
Today she
would
go home, see her store,
and resume her
normal life again.
She also had to make a decision between Tom and Cal. She had given Cal all her time last night, and now Tom deserved to speak with her.

             
Claire understood Tom’s anger—s
he should have told him
more
about her previous
engagement
,
but
thinking Cal was dead,
she
hadn’t made it a priority
.
Obviously they should have talked about it sooner.
Relationships
were
built on trust and
she didn’t seem totally trustworthy,
keeping
much
of her past
from Tom.

             
She jumped out of bed
,
dressing quickly
and
brushing
out
her hair
before stepping
into the main room
.
             
             
             
             
Cal was asleep on the sofa and Tom was nowhere to be seen.
The aroma of fresh
-
brewed coffee filled the room and she hurried over to the blue enamel pot
to pour
two
large mugs. She could use the pick-me-up and the other would be a small

peace offering
.
She dumped milk and sugar into Tom’s
just the way he liked
and stepped out i
n
to the
fresh
morning
air
.

             
The
sky was
cool and
clear
,
a
light breeze
playing at the tendrils of hair framing her face.
Claire
paused on the porch to drink in the beauty of the homestead
.
The
r
osebushes by the porch
were gorgeous
,
the bright green leaves and
red and pink b
lossoms brightened the entire yard.
A row of oak saplings led to the
corral. In upcoming years
,
these trees would cool the home and provide shade for hot summers.

             
Claire had a flash of a rope swing and freckle
-
faced kids hanging from these trees. The thought made her smile. Tom had talked of having children. Cal
eb
had always been opposed. In that instant
,
she knew she wanted to have Tom’s babies.

             
Her past was behind her: she knew where her future would be. With Tom
a
s
his
wife and
the
owner of her
mercantile
.
Tom was standing at the corral, his back to her and
his
arms resting on the railing. He was watching the horses prance around
,
enjoying the cool morning air and sweet grasses. Claire came up behind him.

             
“Morning cowboy.
How are you?” She said softly. He turned slowly and accepted the steaming
mug.

             
“The question is
,
how are you, sweetheart?” His blue
eyes looked deeply into Claire’s green
ones
.
“Claire, I’m sorry for barking at you last night. It was
just
such a shock to
see the man
you’d been,
that
you
are
,
engaged to
.
Where does that leave us?” His voice trembled and Claire was surprised to see the depth of emotion in his eyes.

             
This big man with broad shoulders
and
big muscles
was scared
of what might happen next
.
He was in love with her,
plain
little
never-looked-at-twice
Claire Secord of
Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania
, and she was in love with him
.

             
“Tom, I am the one who is sorry. I should have told you
more
about Caleb
and his
demanding
ways
, but I thought he was dead. Everyone did.

             
“
I waited for him for years.
I went to the train station daily, I combed the papers for any mention of him
,
but
there was none.
I suppose I should have taken off the necklace
, put everything behind me for good,
but that would have cut all my ties with home. Seeing Cal yesterday brought back a lot of memories.
And now
I’ve come to realize that Gettysburg
was
my home and Cal
was
my husband-to-be
,
but not now.
Now
y
ou
are my
fiancé
and Omaha is my home. I love you Tom. I want to be your wife.
Will you still marry me
?”

             
Claire gasped as Tom reached down and lifted her onto the
railing.
Balancing her there with one strong arm
,
he cupped her chin and kissed her slowly
,
and then with increasing delicious pressure. She sighed and leaned into him, enjoying the fluttering sensations in her tummy. After a long moment he pulled back and chuckled.

             
“
Of
course
I will marry you
, Claire Secord
,
a
nd the sooner the better. How do you feel about September weddings?”

             
He lifted her off the railing and pulled her close again. “Claire, what do you say?”

             
“Yes, oh yes
,
” she murmured
, laying
her head against his
s
houlder and
breathing
in
his
clean scent.
“September will be lovely.
L
et’s marry here on the ranch. I feel as if it’s home already.”   

             
Tom nodded. “That sounds fine to me
.
But maybe before we start planning the wedding, you should go talk to Moore.
He deserves to hear what
you just told
me. In fact, I think now would be a good time to do just that.”

             
Claire
followed Maxwell’s gaze to the porch.
Cal was standing
t
here
,
staring at them. He was frowning and appeared upset.

             
“Tom
¼
”

             
“
Sorry,
sweetie
, but
you
’ve gotta
do this alone. He deserves to hear the truth from you.
It’s pretty obvious he still has
strong
feelings for you
.”

             
Claire smiled and gathered courage from his goodness and
decency.
Maxwell
could see past his own needs and commiserate with another man. That was one of the things she loved about him. He
cared for others and could empath
i
ze with them.

             
She walked slowly to the porch
,
aware that Tom was watching from his post at the corral. He’d keep an eye on her,
protect her
,
but he’d let her make her own way and talk privately with her old beau. He trusted her. In a flash of insight
,
she re
a
lized her marriage would be this way as well. He’d love her and cherish her
,
but she would still be her own person.    

             
Claire
reached the porch and realized she was shaking.
G
ratefully
,
she
sank down
in
to
a rocker and motioned
for
Cal to sit next to her.     

             
“Cal I need to tell
¼
”

             
Cal interrupted her, rather rudely Claire thought, after she had listed to him talk all night long.

             
“Don’t bother Claire. I know what you’re going to say. I’ve
been watching from this porch for quite some time. You’re going to tell me you love that sheriff and
want
to
live on this
g
odforsaken ranch in the middle of nowhere.
” He glared at Claire, his gray eyes narrowed, and she was startled at the coldness she saw there.

             
“
I can’t believe you’d choose him over me. What about
my
plans? What about Baltimore? I can offer you a city with theaters and restaurants, culture and fine living. You’d be married to an important person
—
I have a following as a reporter and someday I plan to run for political office. You’d be right there behind me, supporting me.”
Cal
paused
.
H
is face was red and he was shaking
rage
.
But Claire was in no mood to put up with it anymore.