The Rancher's Homecoming (15 page)

* * *

Callie wanted to cry. She'd known it was coming, and she knew it was for the best, but leaving Straight Arrow Ranch would be one of the most difficult things she'd ever done. Nevertheless, after putting it off as long as she could, she quietly began to pack after dinner on Saturday evening.

It had taken only minutes to throw her things into a few bags and boxes when she'd left her father's house to come here, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the Straight Arrow the same way. Leaving her father's home had been an act of desperation; parting from the Straight Arrow could be done only with gratitude and regret.

She started by carefully folding and packing the winter clothing that she and Bodie hadn't had the chance to wear since coming here. As she did this, her heart bleeding a little more with every garment that she folded and stowed, she listened to the faint sounds of her daughter giggling below stairs as Rex entertained her. He'd learned exactly what tickled Bodie most and would often have the baby howling with laughter that shook her little belly and made her eyes dance with delight. Bodie was going to miss him so much, almost as much as her mother would.

Callie dashed tears from her eyes, boxed some toys and blankets that were rarely used and put it all away for now. She just couldn't face more at the moment. Sitting down in the rocking chair, she stared out the window into the gloomy dusk and tried to pray, thanking God once again for working out her issues with her father. Even as she rejoiced in this new peace with her dad, a pall of silence seemed to settle over the house. She couldn't shake the feeling that this had become a house of mourning.

Rattled, she began to pray for Wes's healing. He would be headed back to Oklahoma City for another chemotherapy treatment before long. But she wouldn't be there this time. She wouldn't be needed, Callie knew. Still, it hurt to think that she wouldn't be an active part of Wes's battle any longer, not there, not here.

She wondered how Rex would manage with the rye and barley that was about ready to harvest. No doubt he would simply put it off for a few days, risking rain, or perhaps he would stay here at the Straight Arrow while Meri accompanied their father to the city for his treatment. If the latter should be the case, then Rex would be here alone. Callie wondered if she could find a way to come out and at least warm up his dinner for him. Maybe her father would give her a car to drive.

She certainly couldn't stay here alone with Rex. She knew it, and Rex had to know it, too.

Once again, she understood that leaving was for the best. Should she stay, Rex would feel that he had to go to the city with his dad if only to avoid being alone here with her. No, with Meredith here, staying made zero sense. She had to face it.

The time to go had arrived.

Callie turned to find Rex standing in the doorway of her bedroom, Bodie in his arms.

“I think we need a dry diaper.”

“I can take care of that,” Callie said, injecting a brightness she didn't feel into her voice. She rose and went to get her daughter.

Even Bodie seemed oddly subdued as she slipped into her mother's arms. She lay quietly on the foot of Callie's bed, her gaze switching back and forth between her mom and Rex as Callie swiftly changed her. The air seemed charged with unspoken words and unrecognized emotion, so heavy that breathing felt difficult. Callie tried to think of what to say.

I want to stay, but unless you love me, there's just no reason for it.

That would be the same as begging Rex to love her, and if he hadn't come to that on his own, what good was it?

To cover her wavering, Callie decided to go ahead and dress Bodie for bed.

“Will you hold her while I get out her pajamas?”

“Sure.”

She passed the baby back to Rex and went to the dresser, trying not to remember how he'd bobbled Bodie in the beginning and compare that with how easily and naturally he handled her now. Like a father. Like a proud, doting father.

We doubt she understands what she's saying, but she's starting to imitate sounds. She can say ‘Mama' now... She's a smart one, that's for sure.

We. As if they were a couple raising their daughter together. Callie shook off the thought and concentrated on the task at hand.

The drawer with Bodie's things seemed sadly empty now that her winter clothing had been packed. Callie plucked out the one-piece garment she wanted and took back her daughter, stripping off her little short set and trading it for the soft, knit pajamas.

“Now, you just need feeding, and you'll be all ready for bed.”

Rising, she parked Bodie on her hip and moved to the door, but instead of shifting out of her way, Rex lifted both arms and blocked her, bracing his forearms against the doorjamb. Callie had avoided looking him in the eye thus far, but now she tilted back her head and did so.

“Rex?” she queried softly.

“No,” he said, with a slight shake of his head. “I can't let you leave.”

His blue gaze plumbed hers, speeding her heart and freezing the air in her lungs. She stepped back, not daring to assume, to hope—only to pray.

Chapter Fifteen

H
e had been unbearably stupid, not to mention cowardly. Rex had been telling himself that after Callie moved back to her father's house he would see her around town, that they would date and he would win her heart that way, but he'd been kidding himself. Deep down, he knew that if he let her out of this house he'd never get her back again. After all, he couldn't be the only man to see what an absolute treasure she was. Ben Dolent wouldn't win her heart but someone would.

It might as well be him. It
had
to be him.

“You can't let me leave,” she said, “because...”

“Because I can hardly bear to let you out of my sight,” he heard himself say. Her eyes widened, and he feared that he'd frightened her. “I—I know that you've had enough controlling men in your life,” he hastened to add. “That's not what this is about.”

“Okay,” she said cautiously, clutching Bodie a little tighter. “What is it about, then?”

Rubbing a hand over his face, he tried to call upon his training, form a lawyerly argument for why he should step into the role of husband and father for Callie and her baby. Sadly, all he could think about in that moment was himself.

His gaze swept over the baby. He'd never expected to become so fond of that kid. His heart smiled every time she lifted her little arms to him, every time she grinned at him or patted his head. How could he let her grow up without him? He couldn't bear the thought of not being there to see her take her first steps and put together her first sentence and all the other firsts awaiting her.

More than that, he wanted to be at Callie's side when Bodie did those things. He wanted to share Callie's laughter and tears, her joy and pain. He needed to be the one to hold her when fear and worry overshadowed her usual good sense and stalwart faith. How could he work all day and drag his tired body home at night without knowing she'd be there to welcome him?

He gulped down his misgivings and began to speak, praying that the right words would come.

“I can't imagine a day without you anymore.”

* * *

Callie listened to the quavering timbre of his voice and knew it was one he'd never used in a courtroom. This awkward, solemn man who stepped forward and seized her by the upper arms as if he would make her hear him had never stood before the bar or pleaded a less reasoned, more heartfelt case.

“I don't want anyone else to help me off with my boots when I'm too tired to stand,” he said urgently, “o-or flick me with a dishtowel when I tease her.”

“I—I'm not sure what you're saying,” Callie told him, confused.

As if he fought the urge to shake her, his hands tightened convulsively on her arms. “Who am I going to push in that new porch swing if you leave?” he pleaded. “Who do I sit with in church?”

“Your sisters—”

“My sisters can't replace you,” he insisted, “not for me. I love them, but that's not the same.”

Callie blinked, wanting to believe he meant what she hoped he meant. “I—I guess I need more than what you've said so far, Rex.”

He cupped one of his big hands against her cheek and the other around Bodie's little head. “How am I supposed to get through the day without seeing these faces or hearing your voices?”

Callie smiled and leaned her cheek into his palm. “We won't abandon you. We'll always be around somewhere.”

“That's not good enough!” he exclaimed, dropping his hands to park them at his hips. “What good is saving the ranch if there's nobody to save it for?”

“You were never saving the Straight Arrow for me and Bodie,” Callie pointed out.

“But I could be,” he said, seizing her and pulling them to him. “You're practically family now. It wouldn't take much to make you both family.”

“No?” she asked hopefully.

His gaze swept over her face. “You'd just have to marry me,” he said swiftly. “Then you'd have as much right to the Broken Arrow as I do.”

Her heart slamming against her ribs, she stared into his agonized blue gaze and softly said, “I love this ranch and everyone on it, but that's not what would keep me here.”

“Then what?” Rex demanded, folding her close. “Tell me how I can keep you with me.”

Callie took a deep breath and a brave step forward. “Do you love me, Rex?”

He almost melted. The planes and lines of his face relaxed. The arms about her warmed.

“I didn't know I could love anyone as much as I love you.”

Tears filled her eyes even as laughter bubbled up inside of her. She went up on tiptoe, wrapping her one free arm around him and hooking her chin over his shoulder as he hugged her.

“I love you, too,” she whispered. He hugged her so tightly that her heels lifted off the floor. “You scared me at first because you're so strong and determined,” she admitted, “but your heart's so pure that I just couldn't help myself.”

He shook his head, straightening to look down at her even as he locked his arm about her waist. “That's you, sweetheart. You're my heart. You make me want to be better than I am, and that's the truth of it.”

Callie laid her head on his chest, and Bodie copied her, making them both chuckle. “I've seen your soft side too often to believe that,” Callie told him.

Yes, he was strong, far stronger than her father, precisely because of the softness of his heart. He was strong enough to stand up to Stuart whenever necessary and soft enough to love without reservation. He was absolutely everything she could ask for in a man. He was, in fact, well on his way to being every bit the man that Wes was and even more.

“I feel so stupid,” Rex muttered, wrapping his arms around Callie and Bodie and leaning back against the doorjamb, “for thinking I was in love before.”

Tilting her head back, Callie smiled. “You don't have to say that.”

“No, it's true, and I feel bad about it. What Amy and I had was nothing like what my parents had together, and I always knew it. I can't believe I settled for so little. I took so much for granted, made some incredibly foolish choices.”

“My father thought that I settled for too little when I married Bo,” Callie said carefully.

“But you didn't,” Rex stated calmly. “I understand that, Callie, and I'm glad for it. I'm sorry that he died. I don't know why that had to happen, and as happy as I am to have found you, I'm sorry for it.”

Callie nodded. “Me, too. But I've realized something recently. So long as Bo lived, I would never have had peace with my father. Dad could never have understood my choice of such a man as a husband or our way of life. The funny thing is, from the day we married, Bo prayed for my father and me to find that peace. So, in a way, you're the answer to Bo's prayer.”

Rex lifted his eyebrows, pulling in a deep breath. “I'll try to remember that whenever Stuart makes me want to smack him.”

Chuckling, Callie said, “I suspect that will be often.”

“Someday,” Rex mused, smoothing a hand over Bodie's head, “I expect to shake Bo Deviner's hand in Heaven.”

“I think he'll welcome that.”

“I hope so.” He nodded at Bodie, adding, “I have much to thank him for.”

“So do I,” Callie whispered, rubbing her cheek against his chest. “So do I.”

“It's strange how God works,” Rex mused. “If my dad hadn't gotten ill, I'd never have come back here. I wouldn't have found you. I wouldn't understand that everything I want, all I need is right here. I want my dad to live. I want him to enjoy his grandchildren. I want him to know that this ranch will mean something to future Billings generations. And at the same time, I thank God for whatever it took to bring me here to this moment.”

“I understand completely,” Callie told him. “Given all you've said, though, maybe we shouldn't wait.”

He looked down at her. “You mean it? You'll marry me? Right away?”

She nodded, smiling. “The sooner the better.”

He swooped down for a kiss that went on so long Bodie started pulling his hair. “Ow,” he said, finally lifting his head. “You are getting your own room again, young lady.”

Callie chortled. “You should be prepared for some blowback from my father.”

“Somehow,” Rex told her, smiling smugly, “I don't think it'll be as bad you might suspect.”

Callie lifted her brows at that, but as he was kissing her again, she abandoned the thought. And every other.

Epilogue

T
he pastor lifted both hands as Rex and Callie turned, beaming, to face the packed sanctuary. “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Rex Billings.” Applause followed. “Callie and Rex, go in peace, with the blessing of God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.”

The bride, wearing a simple, ankle-length dress of sea green lace and carrying a handpicked bouquet of peonies, irises and sunflowers, clutched her husband's arm and stepped down off the platform at the front of the church. Rex, in highly polished boots, his best black suit, white shirt and a silk tie the exact color of his wife's dress, stepped down with her, smiling so widely that Wes expected his face to crack at any moment. Wes's own face ached from all the smiling he'd done in the past four days. Now if only he could see his daughters as happily settled before he left this world...

At least Ann had shown up for her brother's wedding with a fiancé in tow, though the two hardly seemed as starry-eyed as Rex and Callie. Wes wondered if the pair would have waited even four days if Ann could have gotten here any sooner. The hasty wedding suited Wes just fine. Time, after all, was not a luxury for him these days.

He watched from his wheelchair as Meredith, who had served as Callie's maid of honor, took Stuart Crowsen's arm and stepped down off the platform to follow the bride and groom. She looked lovely in a dress a shade darker green than the bride. The color complemented her strawberry blond hair.

Asking Stuart to act as best man had been a stroke of genius on Rex's part. Stu had blustered and barked when confronted with his daughter's plan to marry, but anyone who knew Stu could have seen that his temper fit had been all for show. Stu Crowsen was no one's fool. He was delighted to have Rex for a son-in-law.

“Let's go, Dad,” Ann said, taking his hand while her fiancé and coworker, Jordan Teel, grasped the handles of the chair, pushing it forward. Tall and sophisticated in her pale suit, her muted red hair twisted into a sleek chignon on the back of her head, Ann caught many an appreciative eye.

Wes wished that he had more in common with Jordan. The handsome, urbane hotelier seemed a little old for Ann and somewhat uncomfortable in his current surroundings. He'd had to go to Ardmore to find a room, which he'd let everyone know was far, far below his usual standards. Nevertheless, if Ann was happy with Jordan Teel, Wes would try to be happy for her, just as he'd tried to be happy for Rex when he'd married Amy Gladden.

Teel seemed like a nice enough man. No one could deny that he was intelligent and successful, and the diamond that he'd parked on Ann's finger was the size of an auto and likely cost more. He and Ann looked like the perfect couple. Meredith seemed thrilled for her sister. Rex appeared accepting, but he was so fixated on Callie that Wes could discount his judgment at the moment.

The bride had baked her own wedding cake, and it awaited the guests back at the Straight Arrow. The happy couple took their daughter from Mrs. Lightner, tucked her into her car seat in the back of the cab of Rex's new truck then climbed in the front for the ride to the ranch. Dean Pryor, the custom cutter they'd hired to harvest the oats and late sorghum, and the ranch hands Duffy, Cam and Woody, and Cam's teenage son, Luther, had tied strings of cans onto the back of the expensive truck and decorated it with “Just Married” graffiti. That truck, Wes knew, was the envy of many a cowboy around War Bonnet, so they'd been especially careful with it, not that Rex seemed to mind. Right now all he cared about was that Callie was his.

Meri and Wes had ridden in Stu's Cadillac. Jordan pushed Wes's wheelchair over to the luxury auto and held it steady while Wes got to his feet. He really didn't need the chair, but his children had insisted, and he hadn't wanted to cause any turmoil. Wes let himself into the front passenger seat while Jordan folded the chair and stowed it in the trunk.

Already behind the wheel, Stu muttered, “He better treat her right.”

Wes chuckled. “He'll treat her better than you did. He loves her, Stu. He loves her like you loved Jane, like I loved Glory. Can't ask for more than that.”

“No,” Stu admitted quietly. “Can't ask for more than that.”

Meredith got into the backseat, the door opened for her by Dean Pryor. “Thanks, Dean. See you at the ranch.”

“Wouldn't miss it,” Dean said, a hand on the shoulder of his young son. Donovan's white blond hair hung in his eyes, but his snaggletoothed grin proclaimed him a happy boy.

He, Stuart and Meredith made the drive back to the ranch house. They arrived at the ranch to find Dr. Alice Shorter and the veterinarian, Stark Burns, crouched in the middle of the dirt road in front of the old red barn. Wes felt the bottom drop out of his stomach.

“My cat!” Meredith cried out, opening her car door even before Stuart brought the vehicle to a safe halt. She was out and running in her strappy heels before Wes could even caution her.

He saw Stark rise and turn, a bloody towel and its contents cradled in his arms. At the same time, Alice hurried forward to intercept Meredith.

“Oh, no,” Wes said, closing his eyes. “Please, God, don't let that cat be dead,” he prayed. They didn't need a tragedy, however minor, on a wedding day.

Stark carried his burden to his pickup truck and climbed up inside, ignoring Meredith's pleas to go with him.

“There's no time,” Wes heard Alice say as he hurried toward his daughter. “And you should be here with your brother.”

“Don't you let my cat die!” Meredith yelled at Stark as he began maneuvering the truck, one-handed, out of the line of vehicles parked alongside the dirt road.

“He'll do everything he can,” Wes assured her, sliding his arm across Meredith's shoulders and turning her toward the house. He looked to Alice over the top of her head but was not reassured by the worried expression in the doctor's eyes or the slight shake of her head.

Callie and Rex met them on the porch. Rex carried Bodie, outfitted in a delicate pink dress, in the curve of his arm.

“I'm so sorry,” Callie said to Meredith. “One of the church ladies preparing the reception opened your bedroom door while looking for the upstairs bathroom and the cat got out.”

“It's my fault,” Meredith told her morosely. “I should've put both cats in their carriers before I went to the church.” She hurried off to confine the second cat before it, too, met with an accident.

“At least Dr. Burns was here when the cat got run over,” Callie said with a sympathetic grimace.

“True. Except she'll never forgive him if that thing dies,” Rex muttered.

“Now, don't worry,” Stuart instructed, brushing past her to get to the front door. “This is your wedding day.”

Callie leaned against Rex, smiling. “I can't believe how many people showed up. I hope we have enough food.”

Wes chuckled. “Daughter, we'll be fine. You've cooked enough for armies.”

“You need to get off your feet and away from the crowd,” Alice reminded him.

“Not until I've welcomed our guests and Stuart and I have prayed a blessing on this marriage,” Wes told her firmly. She rolled her eyes, ever the doubter, but he didn't believe she doubted nearly as much as she pretended.

He offered her his arm, and she gave him a long look before taking it. She was a fine-looking woman, Alice Shorter, but stubborn, unbelievably stubborn. Wes smiled to himself. He could think of worst traits in a woman.

They followed Rex and Callie into the house. The old place felt bursting with new life. He expected plenty of changes in the days ahead, and that was fine by him. Life was change, and this change felt right.

Rex and Callie would leave in a few hours for a secret destination, returning on Saturday to pick up Bodie before taking a week to empty Rex's condo in Tulsa and put it up for sale. That didn't seem like much of a wedding trip to Wes, but they insisted that was how they wanted to do things. Rex had some fine leather furniture he intended to use here, and he meant to make some renovations to the house with the funds from the sale of the condo.

Meanwhile, Meredith and Ann would have a couple days to get to know their new niece, and Ann would stay on to oversee the custom cutting while Meredith escorted Wes back to Oklahoma City for his second chemotherapy treatment. Then Ann would return to Dallas until her company sent a temporary replacement for her—or she changed her mind about coming home.

With Rex moving home permanently and Callie now part of the family, Ann didn't have to pitch in quite as much as they'd first figured. Besides, Wes couldn't shake the feeling that Jordan would prefer that she stay in Dallas.

Looking around at the crowd of family and friends that surrounded him, his son, new daughter-in-law and granddaughter at his side, his daughters smiling broadly, his dining table about to collapse beneath the bounty arrayed atop it, Wes nodded to his old friend. Stuart lifted his hands in a signal for quiet.

“Will you join the father of the groom and me for prayer?”

Heads bowed as Stuart began to pray.

“Oh, Lord, You have joined two families as one today...”

Wes smiled. Yes, change had come to Straight Arrow Ranch. No one could know how it would all end, but so be it. Wes hoped that he would still be here to see it all play out, not that it truly mattered. If he had learned anything in his sixty-three years, it was that God knows best.

Looking at his happy son's beaming face, Wes took great comfort in that one eternal truth.

God always knows best.

* * * * *

If you loved this story,
pick up these other stories of small-town life
from author Arlene James's previous miniseries:

CHATAM HOUSE
THE DOCTOR'S PERFECT MATCH
THE BACHELOR MEETS HIS MATCH
HIS IDEAL MATCH
BUILDING A PERFECT MATCH.

Available now from Love Inspired!

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Keep reading for an excerpt from
REUNITING WITH THE COWBOY
by Shannon Taylor Vannatter.

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