Love Inspired Historical March 2014 Bundle: Winning Over the Wrangler\Wolf Creek Homecoming\A Bride for the Baron\The Guardian's Promise (41 page)

“Thank you, Mrs. Granville. He's a wonderful little boy, but he can be a handful sometimes.”

“He wouldn't be his father's son if he wasn't a handful,” Libby said with a rueful smile. “And please call me Libby. Mrs. Granville was my mother-in-law.” She gestured toward the couple standing nearby. “This is my stepson, Win, and my daughter, Blythe.”

Blythe shook her hand somewhat awkwardly. Win's grasp was warm and firm, and she wondered if it was her imagination that he held her hand a tad longer than necessary. His tawny eyes brimmed with good humor. “My pleasure, Dr. Stone.”

“Thank you. And everyone please call me Rachel. We don't stand on ceremony in Wolf Creek.”

“Rachel, then,” he said.

Rachel's glance encompassed them all. “So how are you finding our town so far? I'm sure it's quite a change from Boston.”

“It is very different,” Win agreed, “but it does have its points of interest. Mother has been excited about coming ever since Abby wrote to her more than a year ago.”

“I wanted to come so badly then, but Sam was very ill, and there was no way I could leave him,” Libby explained. Her eyes darkened with sorrow. “He passed away just after Christmas, and when Abby wrote telling me about Eli, I told Win and Blythe I simply had to come back. They both wanted to meet Gabe and Caleb, so here we are.”

The conversation fizzled for a moment, and Rachel scoured her mind for something else to say. Unfortunately, her brain appeared to have turned to mush.

Gabe came to the rescue. “Everyone is going fishing with Danny after the auction and picnic,” he said, coming to her rescue. “Would you and Edward like to join us?”

She was about to open her mouth to say that she had things to do when Edward spoke up.

“We'd love to.”

“Are you sure you'll be up to it?” Rachel hedged, appalled at the thought of spending any significant time with the Granvilles. “It will make a long day.”

“But a good one,” Edward assured her. “Libby and I have a lot of catching up to do. I'll be fine, I promise.”

He did spend too much time inside, she thought. Mostly because she wasn't always there to see to it that he got out and about as he should. And he was also tied down with watching Danny and being responsible for starting the evening meal. She shouldn't begrudge him this short time with a friend, even if she knew she would be miserable.

She mustered a smile. “If you're sure we won't be intruding, we'd be glad to join you.”

As everyone was expressing their pleasure, someone rang a dinner bell and announced that the auction was about to begin. Mayor Talbot had been designated as the auctioneer, and bidding on the first basket started with a description of what was in it and who'd contributed it. Offers flew briskly, and cheers went up when Abe Caldwell had to pay three dollars for his wife's box.

Abby's was up next, and to everyone's surprise, Win got into the spirit of the day and joined in the battle, raising Caleb's every bid so that he was forced to pay seven dollars to share lunch with his wife. Gabe and Win were laughing so hard they could hardly catch their breath.

Caleb's face looked like a thundercloud as he paid the money, but Abby turned toward Win and gave him a wide smile and a wave. She was still laughing as she and Caleb sauntered off to find a spot down by the creek.

“It isn't like he can't afford it,” Gabe offered, pulling out a monogrammed handkerchief and wiping his eyes.

Three more boxes sold, and then Rachel's came up.

“This basket was donated by Dr. Rachel Stone.” Homer Talbot lifted the blue-patterned feed-sack dish towel and peeked inside. “Looks like fried chicken, homemade biscuits, pickled beets, a jar of slaw, some of Edward's famous lime pickles and pound cake with— What's this, Rachel?” he asked, holding up a pint jar.

“It's called ‘lemon curd.' Something I haven't tried before.”

“Looks dee-licious!” the mayor said. “Some gentleman out there is going to have a real treat.” He looked directly at Gabe. “Who'll start the bidding at fifty cents?”

Gabe raised his hand, and someone across the way raised him a dime. Then, from behind Rachel, a voice said calmly but firmly, “Five.”

The crowd gasped, and Rachel and Gabe both turned to see Win standing leaning against a tree, his eyes alight with mischief.

“What do you think you're doing?” Gabe snapped.

“Bidding on the lady's basket,” he said. “It all sounds delicious, and I haven't had any lemon curd since I was in London a few months ago.”

“Let's keep things moving,” Homer said. “Do I hear five-fifty?”

Glaring at his stepbrother, Gabe held up his hand. “Eight,” he said over the murmur of the crowd.

Win's gaze locked with Gabe's. “Ten.”

Gabe's face was as red as the jar of beets in the basket. “This isn't funny. What kind of game do you think you're playing,
brother?
”

“You thought it was funny when Caleb had to pay,
brother,
” Win reminded him. “And it's no game. It's just that when I see something I want, I go after it.”

Chapter Eleven

G
abe bid twelve dollars and Win relented with a shrug. The crowd was abuzz over the spirited bidding rivalry and curious about what it might mean to Dr. Stone and Gabe's relationship.

It was a ridiculously high price to pay, but there was no way Gabe was going to let the aristocratic Bostonian share a lunch with Rachel. Who did that blue-blooded upstart think he was, anyway? Just because the Granvilles were somebody back in Boston didn't mean Win could come into Gabe's neck of the woods and try to snatch the woman he loved out from under his nose. If Win was entertaining some half-cocked notion to “go after” Rachel, he'd soon find out that he'd have another battle on his hands!

Gabe pulled the cash from his wallet and went to pay the fee to Ruby Talbot. Collecting the basket of food amid a chorus of good-natured ribbing, he stalked toward the group gathered beneath the trees.

A sudden thought struck him. Was it possible Win was thinking of spending more time in Wolf Creek than he let on?

The previous evening, his stepbrother's conversation seemed centered around the town. He appeared to have looked things over since arriving and had asked a lot of questions about businesses or storefronts for sale, about what the town needed and what possible avenues for growth there might be not only in Wolf Creek, but in the surrounding area.

At the time, Gabe had assumed Win was just making conversation and had listened but offered little to the discussion. Caleb had lived here his whole life and had his fingers on the pulse of what was happening. He'd answered Win's questions without reserve, discussing several possibilities for new businesses.

Now that Win had all but come out and announced his interest in Rachel, Gabe wondered if he'd misjudged the older man. Was he attracted to her enough to be a true rival? Enough to relocate his business?

Stalking along toward the group beneath the trees, Gabe's stomach twisted beneath the reality of the situation. Maybe she would rather have someone like the upstanding Granville heir than a ne'er-do-well who'd done everything in his power to mess up his life. And hers.

He approached the gathering, automatically looking for the outsider. Win was still lounging against the tree, regarding him with an amused expression. Though he'd seemed okay at first, Gabe wasn't sure he liked his stepbrother overmuch. He was sure of one thing, though. His plan had been to take things slow and not pressure Rachel, but with Win in the picture, maybe it was time to move things along. He was going to ask her to marry him. Soon. The worst that could happen was that she would say no.

* * *

Rachel picked up a quilt she'd brought and her wary gaze moved from one man to the other. “Will you make sure Danny gets something to eat, Dad?” she asked Edward.

“Of course I will.”

“Don't worry about a thing. Your father and I have it well in hand,” Libby said. “I'll even fix Edward a plate.” She gave a shooing wave of her hands. “You two go on now and enjoy your meal.”

“Thank you,” Rachel said and hurried to catch up with Gabe, who evidently had no qualms about leaving her behind.

“What was that all about?” she asked, as she fell into step with the irritating man.

His face held wide-eyed innocence. “What was what all about?”

“Don't pretend you don't know what I mean, Gabriel Gentry. What was that between you and Win?”

Gabe shot her an irritated look. “You heard him. When he sees something he wants, he goes after it. Meaning you, of course.”

The notion that Win Granville might be interested in her was stunning. He was too self-confident, too sophisticated, too everything she would not be interested in. She laughed. “He was just stirring up a bit of controversy for the fun of it—he does seem to have a wicked sense of humor—or he was just helping out the town by bidding up the price of the baskets.”

Gabe stopped and turned to her. “That's a very generous observation, and one anyone who knows you would expect you to make, but don't be naive,” he said. “You must know that you're a very beautiful woman, even though you make me want to bang my head against the wall most of the time.”

She stared at him, uncertain whether to laugh at his frustration, thank him for thinking she was beautiful or smack him for saying that she drove him crazy. Then she saw the uncertainty in his eyes.

She pressed a palm to her heart that gave a ridiculous little flip of joy. Oh, my! It would be easier to believe that the world would stop turning before believing she would ever see what her eyes were telling her now.

He was jealous.

More than that, for perhaps the first time in his life, he was unsure of himself. Her heart thudded beneath her hand. He'd kissed her and told her he cared and she'd believed him as far as it went, but was it possible that he really truly cared for her? The thought was almost overwhelming.

“You're imagining things,” she said, willing her voice to steadiness. “And I may be naive, but I'm not silly enough to fall for the likes of Win Granville. The man is as handsome as sin, but he definitely has heartbreak written all over him.”

Pressing his lips together as if he were afraid he might say something to add to the volatility of the conversation, Gabe turned and started walking. Rachel followed, searching for a topic that might restore some harmony for the next hour or so. After a moment or two, he stopped beneath the spreading branches of a huge oak tree. The nearby creek gurgled and bubbled and rushed headlong over the rocky bottom.

“How's this?” he asked, frowning at her.

“Perfect.” She unfurled the red, white and blue quilt she'd brought along. “You were right. Your mother isn't at all judgmental. I like her.”

Gabe put down the basket and lowered himself Indian style. Rachel sank down on her knees, her skirt billowing out around her. Their gazes locked as she waited for him to respond.

“I like her, too,” he admitted. “And I didn't expect to.”

There was no need for him to explain, and she was thankful to see that his grumpiness had disappeared. “You said earlier that Libby didn't have an affair—Lucas did.”

“Right.” While she set out the lunch, he told her everything that had transpired the evening before.

“You'll never in a million years guess who he was seeing.”

“I can't imagine...”

“Sarah VanSickle.”

They'd reached the dessert portion of the meal, and dropping that bit of news into the conversation almost caused the piece of pound cake Rachel had just sliced to slip from her fingers.

“Sarah VanSickle?” she echoed, putting the cake onto a delicate saucer trimmed with clusters of forget-me-nots. She thrust the plate at him.

“It surprised me, too, although knowing her as I do, I'm not sure why,” Gabe admitted. He held out the cake while Rachel added a dollop of the lemon curd.

She fumed as she fixed her own dessert. How could anyone deliberately come between a husband and wife? How could anyone destroy a family through sheer malice? No one should have to suffer what Libby and her boys had gone through, all because of one man's ego and one woman's vindictiveness.

That any of them had come out of it with as few scars as they had was nothing short of a miracle. She saw God's hand in sending Frank, the only person to offer two young boys what comfort and love they'd received during their youth. Frank had done what he could to counteract Lucas's callousness, somehow managing to instill good old-fashioned decency in them.

She saw God's plan in the way He'd brought Caleb and Abby together, and how through Abby, He'd worked to reunite a mother to her sons and grandchildren. It was so easy to see and trust Him working in the lives of others, but did she dare trust that He was working in hers and Gabe's? Had it been God's plan for Gabe to be attacked on his journey home last December? Had Simon been sent just so he could bring Gabe to her doorstep? Was it His intent for them to work through their troubled past and become a family?

“What are you thinking?” Gabe asked, bringing her convoluted thoughts back to the present.

She lifted her gaze to his. “I'm thinking that life is very complicated. It's unfair and often downright ugly, and only by the grace of God do we manage to come through it relatively unscathed.”

He frowned. “Those are pretty weighty observations.”

“Well,” she said with a self-deprecating smile, “as you well know, I am not a featherbrain by reputation.”

She took her first bite of cake. Gabe had finished his while she was woolgathering. “Do you think Libby will confront Sarah now that there's no one around to stop her?” she asked.

“Oh, you can count on it.”

She finished her cake and busied herself with gathering and wrapping the soiled plates and flatware in a plain dish towel to transport them back home.

“Do you know what really infuriates me?” he asked, pitching the dregs of his lemonade into the grass and handing her the glass.

From her perspective it was all infuriating. “What?”

“That Sarah can go around and deliberately pick people's lives to pieces when she's guilty of far worse than most of them.”

“Maybe she's asked for forgiveness for what she did to your family,” Rachel said, striving for fairness.

He made a scoffing sound. “If so, I'm sure she got it, but what about the things she's done since?”

“We all sin, and most of us commit the same sins over and over,” Rachel said. “At least I do. Seventy times seven, remember?”

“I understand that, but there's a difference. When we ask for forgiveness and mean it, we may inadvertently fall back into that old sin. The difference is when you ask for forgiveness all the while
intending
to go out and do the same thing at the next opportunity.”

Rachel thought of how Sarah's wicked tongue had forced Caleb and Abby into marriage, and how her spitefulness had caused her to spread the news about Danny's paternity to the four corners of the county. How many other lives had she ruined through the years? Would she ever stop her campaign of malice?

That question triggered another, troubling idea about her life. She had almost let her anger and animosity devour her. If Gabe had not returned, would she have become like Sarah? The thought was sobering, frightening. Like Sarah, she attended services regularly, but by harboring hostility toward Gabe, wasn't she just as wrong?

“You're right,” she told him, searching for the right words for Gabe. “What she does is wrong, but instead of lowering ourselves to her level and maligning her, we should—”

“—pray for her,” he said in disgust. “I know.”

“Yes,” Rachel said, unable to hide a smile. “But you really should have a better attitude when you do.”

Seeing the mirth in her eyes and knowing she was right, he offered her a halfhearted smile in return. “I know you're right, but I have a way to go with this Christianity thing.”

Rachel sobered, knowing that she, too, had a long way to go. “Coming from someone with years of firsthand experience, I can promise you that we'll never get it right, and it isn't always easy. The thing that matters is that we keep giving it our best, which I haven't always done, even though I should know better.”

“What are you talking about? You're one of the best people I know.”

“I wasn't very Christ-like when you came to town, was I?”

Gabe's expression held no condemnation. “You had reason to...hate me.”

“I didn't hate you, but every time I looked at you, it all came back to me. The shame and guilt and how alone I was when you left me with nothing but an offhand goodbye.” She drew in a shaky breath. “And as much as I tried, as much as I
wanted
to, I didn't really hate you. I don't.”

Gabe's eyes held an indefinable tenderness that she had opened up to him. He was sorry to have been the one to cause her so much pain. “What do you feel, Rachel?” he whispered, leaning toward her.

Their gazes met and held. “I don't know.” She shook her head. “That isn't true. I think I do know, but I'm afraid.”

The trembling words came straight from the heart.

He moved closer, and as he had the day outside her house, he rested his forehead against hers. Her eyes drifted shut.

“Don't be afraid, Rachel,” he said. “I do know what I feel, and it's as real and true as the sunrise, because that's what you are. Real. True. Back in St. Louis I wasn't thinking about anyone but Gabe Gentry, but this time everything's different. What I feel isn't going away, and neither am I. We have all the time in the world.”

“How can you be sure it won't go away?”

He dropped a quick kiss to the tip of her nose.

“Because my heart is involved this time. Because Danny's heart is involved. I pray yours is. And because this feels so right that it scares
me
to death sometimes. I ran from what you made me feel once. Not again.”

He was scared? She drew back to get a better look at him. “Why would you be scared?”

“I'm scared that despite everything I do and no matter how hard I try, that when I finally do ask you to spend the rest of your life with me—and I will ask you—that you'll say no.”

Rachel couldn't speak for the knot of emotion in her throat. It was what she'd dreamed of nine years ago. But time and circumstances had changed. They had both changed. When he asked, what would she say?

“Stop trying to figure out what you'll do,” he said, almost as if he could read her mind. “I'm not asking you for anything today. And I promise you that whatever your answer is, I will do everything in my power to never cause you that kind of pain again.”

* * *

“The woman is impossible!” Libby said, stalking across Caleb's parlor. Another week had passed and they were all congregated at the farm to share another meal. This time Rachel, Edward and Danny were in attendance, even though Rachel felt like an outsider.