Tumbleweed Weddings (59 page)

“Too bad. You and Cheyenne would make a great couple.”

Derek grimaced. “I know, although to be honest, I’ve been struggling with God’s will. Sometimes I think God wants me to remain single so I can serve Him.” He spread out his hands. “Next weekend I can go to Yellowstone to help out without worrying about leaving a family back home.”

Ryan shrugged. “If that’s what the Lord wants you to do, that’s great. But don’t forget the old saying, ‘Charity begins at home.’ I want to raise my children to be the next generation of Christians for Christ’s kingdom. I get to have an impact on my own family, which is a lot more than just a once-in-awhile charity thing for strangers.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“I’ll keep you in prayer.” Ryan laid his hand on Derek’s shoulder. “Whatever you do, make sure that it’s God’s will, not your own.”

“Thanks, bro.” Derek picked up the diaper bag and followed Ryan into the house. He liked the thought of raising the next generation of Christians.

But he couldn’t think of one girl he wanted to marry—at least not one
available
girl.

C
heyenne walked in the back door and released Marshal from the leash. “Dad? Are you home?”

That was a dumb question since his car was parked in the driveway. But it was only six o’clock on Saturday evening. Usually he wasn’t home from Wilkins Grocery until eight thirty.

He walked into the kitchen. “Hi, baby girl. I’m on my way out again.”

She raised her eyebrows at her father’s attire. “A dress shirt and slacks?”

He turned to face her and patted his stomach. “Does this look okay?”

“Well, you can’t go wrong with blue and tan. Where are you going, Dad?”

He lifted his keys from the hook by the door. “Didn’t I tell you?”

“Obviously not.” Cheyenne folded her arms as she leaned against the counter.

“Well …” A smile crept to his face. “I have a date tonight.”

Cheyenne’s jaw dropped. “A date? You?”

“Yes, me.” He dropped his keys and stooped to retrieve them. “Don’t you think a woman could find your old man attractive?” He straightened up with a grunt.

“It’s not that, Dad.” She rolled her eyes. “What woman could resist you? I’m just surprised, that’s all.”
Stunned
would be a better word. “Uh, who is she?”

“Janet Oliver.”

Cheyenne’s right eyebrow hiked up on its own accord. “Mrs. Oliver? Uh, that’s great, Dad.”
I can’t believe it!
“She’s … a nice lady.”
My dad is dating Janet Oliver!

He just grinned. Jiggling the keys in his hand, he turned toward the door. “Guess I’ll be off.”

“Wait! How did this come about? When did you ask her out?”

He turned back. “Janet dropped by last night when you were at Tonya’s party. She played the piano, which she said is badly out of tune, and then we had a good talk.” Leaning against the door, he sighed. “I don’t know if you remember this, but your mom and Janet were the best of friends when she lived in Fort Lob.”

Cheyenne thought back. “I do have a distinct memory of her being here when I was little. We were eating lunch, and Mrs. Oliver and Mom were talking about me starting kindergarten soon.”

He nodded. “After you started school, Janet came over for lunch almost every day, or your mom would go to her house. Sometimes they went shopping.” His eyebrows pulled into a frown. “A couple years later when your mom got sick, Janet sat with her and read the Bible, especially toward the end. When Lynn died, she really grieved.” He shook his head. “She was really good to Lynn, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”

With his gaze on the floor, Dad seemed to have forgotten that Cheyenne was standing there.

She cleared her throat. “So you’re just taking Janet out as an old friend? I mean—this is just a friendship date, right? Not a serious looking-for-a-spouse date?” She bit her lip, hoping she hadn’t overstepped some imaginary boundary.

Dad cocked his head. “It might turn into something serious. I need to find God’s will for my future just as you do for yours.”

“I know, Dad.” She placed her hand on his arm. “Well … whatever happens, I hope you and Janet have a good time tonight.”

He smiled. “Thanks. We will.” Turning, he pulled open the door and walked out.

Cheyenne watched as he got in the car and drove away. She looked down at Marshal, who was resting in his doggybed. “Do you think Janet will end up as my stepmother?” She took a deep breath. “That would be so weird.”

On the other hand, maybe Janet could spice up Dad’s wardrobe. At least she’d never let him wear a pink-flowered tie with his brown plaid suit coat.

Hmm … Janet and Dad
. “That might be good. Dad won’t be alone after I get married.”

Her goal was to marry Rex by the end of the year—a December wedding, or January at the latest. That would leave a year and a half to have a baby before her thirtieth birthday.

And Grandmother’s millions would be hers.

She sank into a chair at the kitchen table. “I feel so … greedy!”

Marshal cocked his head at her.

“Do I really want to get married just to get that money? I could be miserable my whole life!” Folding her arms on the table, she laid her head down with a sigh.

In the quiet, she heard her cell phone ring in the bedroom. Walking back, she picked it up and looked at the ID.
Rex
.

She opened her phone, anticipating his deep voice. She hadn’t seen Rex since Thursday evening when he waited for her to lock up the post office and took her to supper at the Cattlemen’s Diner. That date was becoming a common occurrence in their relationship.

“Hi, Rex!”

“Howdy, darlin’. How’ve you been?”

“Great! How is the ranch coming along?”

“Well now, I just about have everything squared away. Got the ol’ bunk-house cleaned out and have three hired hands livin’ there. One of ’em is a really good wrangler, but I don’t have no horses.” He stopped to chuckle. “My hundred head of cattle seem content with their new place. Had to get the plumbing fixed in the house, but the pipes are in good shape now.” He took a deep breath. “Anyways, I feel like I can finally breathe.”

She smiled. “That’s good.” She never noticed before how much he sounded like a country bumpkin.

“Yeah. I’ll probably be tied up here all next week workin’ the ranch, but ya wanna go out on Friday? It’ll be kinda like a celebration.”

“Not on Friday, Rex. I’ll be at Yellowstone next weekend.”

“Oh yeah. Forgot about that.” He paused. “How about Thursday then? We can make a night of it in Lusk with a dinner and movie.”

Yes! Somewhere besides the Cattlemen’s Diner
. “I like that idea. There’s a restaurant in Lusk called Mama’s Kitchen. They serve Italian food, and it’s really good.”

“Okay, we’ll go there. How about I pick you up at the post office at five on Thursday?”

She smiled. “I’m looking forward to it. And I’ll see you tomorrow morning in church, right?”

“Yep, church tomorrow morning.” He paused. “Night, darlin’.”

“Good-bye, Rex.”

With a sigh, she closed the phone.
Darlin’
. At least Rex liked her, and he was taking things slow, not rushing into an intimate relationship. But it still bothered her that they had no chemistry.

Her thoughts shot back to Tonya’s birthday party last night. Melissa’s announcement hit her so hard. She suddenly realized how much she wanted to have a baby.

Whether she got the four million or not.

Cheyenne stopped at the front door and turned to Rex with a smile. “Thanks for the great time. I really enjoyed that movie.”

“Me, too.” The reflection from the porch light pricked his eyes, and his face wrinkled up with his smile. “But I enjoyed going out with a pretty lady more.”

Before Cheyenne could reply, he cupped her face in his calloused hands. His lips met hers in a kiss that lasted for a few seconds. He lifted his head then kissed her again.

He stepped back. “Night, darlin’.” He winked.

“Bye.” Cheyenne waited as he walked off the porch. He got in his truck and started it in a cloud of fumes, then waved to her. She waved back.

This is not good
. Not only was there no passion, but she didn’t even enjoy his kisses.

Cheyenne blew out a breath. What could she do?

She only had two choices—give up the inheritance or try to fall in love with Rex Pierson.

B
ehind the wheel in his pickup, Derek was thankful when the orphanage in Casper came into view. It was Friday, August 7, the weekend for the Yellowstone National Park outing. Early this morning, he met Cheyenne and Kandi at the church in Fort Lob and gave them a ride to Casper. Kandi had scampered up into the truck cab first, beating out Cheyenne, whom Derek wished was sitting beside him. As usual Kandi didn’t say much, so Derek and Cheyenne ended up carrying on the conversation around her.

“Here we are, ladies.” In the orphanage driveway, he pulled up behind two fifteen-passenger vans, threw the gears in P
ARK
, and turned off the engine.

Cheyenne gazed up at the huge house. “Wow, it’s a mansion. The columns in the front make it look so stately.”

Derek leaned forward to look at her across Kandi. “You’ve never visited the children’s home before, Cheyenne?”

“No. I’ve never even heard of it.” Her blue eyes met his. “And it’s been here for thirty years?”

“Yep. Started by Frank and Grace Lindley. I usually come once a month and do some activities with the children as a volunteer.”

“Oh, I’d love to do that.” Cheyenne smiled. “Let me know the next time you come.”

He grinned. “I will.”

Kandi sat silently during this exchange, turning her head to look at each speaker as if she was at a ping-pong match.

Derek glanced out the windshield. “Here comes Mr. Lindley.” He opened the door and exited the truck, looking forward to the day at Yellowstone.

Cheyenne watched a tall, bearded man descend the porch steps. He held a piece of paper in one hand and was dressed in a short-sleeved gray shirt and dark slacks. Cheyenne opened the passenger door and climbed out of the cab. Kandi followed her. They joined Derek in front of the truck.

Mr. Lindley stretched out his right hand. “Derek! Good to see you again.”

Derek shook his hand. “Hi, Mr. Lindley.” He turned and motioned to the girls. “This is Kandi MacKinnon and Cheyenne Wilkins.”

“Thanks for volunteering to go with us.” Mr. Lindley’s handshake was firm as he took Cheyenne’s hand, and his dark eyes twinkled when he smiled. He reminded her of Professor Bhaer in
Little Women
.

She returned his smile. “This trip sounds fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Um, me, too.” Kandi nodded.

“Good, good.” Mr. Lindley took a pair of reading glasses from his shirt pocket and looked at his paper. “You will each be in charge of two children. Let’s see. Kandi, you will have two girls.” He glanced at her over his glasses. “Madeline is eight years old, and Rayna is six. They’re good children. I’m sure you’ll have no problem with them.”

Kandi just nodded.

He looked back at the paper. “Cheyenne, you’ll be in charge of two boys.”

“Boys?”

Mr. Lindley shrugged. “We have more boys than girls, and we have a lot of women volunteers.” He looked down. “These two are both five years old. Arthur and Noah.”

Cheyenne frowned. “Will I share the same cabin with them overnight?”

The director looked at her over his glasses. “If you were the boys’ mother or housemother you could, but since you’re not …” His over-the-rim gaze switched to Derek. “I’ll have them stay overnight with you, Derek. You’ll also be in charge of Nathan and Joshua.”

“Nathan, huh?” Derek pursed his lips.

Mr. Lindley placed a fatherly hand on Derek’s shoulder. “You can handle him. Besides, Nathan likes you, whether he shows it or not.”

Another car pulled into the driveway, and Mr. Lindley waved at them. “More of my volunteers. We’ll leave for Yellowstone in about fifteen minutes.” He walked to the other car.

Placing his hands on his hips, Derek looked at Cheyenne. “I guess I’ll end up with four boys.”