A Texan's Promise (26 page)

"You and me both," Clayton replied.

As the three of them slowly walked toward the barn, Vanessa thought about Corrine and the girls and their new little one. "I can't wait to see Aaron," said Vanessa after greeting Merritt with a sunny smile. "How is he?"

"About what you'd expect," Merritt said with a wink."Demanding and noisy, but as cute as all get-out." After clasping Clayton's hand, he motioned them toward the house. "Too bad he won't sleep through the night."

"Do they ever?"

"No." Merritt chuckled as they continued to ride, filling them in on the antics of José and Pearl and the girls.

Clayton didn't speak too much. Vanessa knew the long ride had finally begun to pain him. The last part of their trip had taken longer than either anticipated. Both the horses and Clayton seemed to tire easily and needed more rest stops.

Vanessa tried to look after him as much as he would allow.She'd become adept at making a campfire and rubbing down horses. Clayton let her do a lot of the chores, teasing her so she wouldn't ask too many questions.

They both knew his thigh had healed, but it was a long way from its former condition. Only time, rest, and exercise would help that.

After they dismounted and passed off the horses to two of Merritt's stableboys, John took hold of both their saddlebags and looked Clayton over carefully. "Well, you're limping and you look like you've lost quite a bit of weight, but other than that you seem to be in good shape."

"I am in good shape. Well, more or less," he answered, his limp pronounced.

Although it had been a few weeks, Vanessa examined the pens and grassy areas between the barn and the main house.There were several changes. Spring was finally on its way, warming the air. Corrine's precious rose bush was blooming.Bright red petals shone brightly against the stucco walls of their home. "Everything looks wonderful, Merritt."

"Spring is a glorious time of year, it's true." He picked up his pace. "Let's get you two inside so you can finally relax.That is, as much as you'll be able to, what with Melissa, Kate, and Aaron making the usual racket."

Next to her, Clayton stilled. "Before we see Corrine, Merritt, I'd like to ask if you still have a place for me here. Is your offer still good? See, we'd like to stay, if it's all right."

"
If it's all right?"
Merritt shook his head in disgust. "I don't get you, Proffitt. After years of living in Texas while your sister misses you something awful, you show up. Then, living here hardly a week, you leave your poor wife and take off to work odd jobs. Now, almost a month has passed, you've gotten yourself shot, we've all been worried sick . . . and you have the nerve to ask if we want to see you? You make it awfully hard to hold my tongue."

Vanessa gasped.

Clayton, however, knew he was getting his just reward.Merritt had just delivered as thorough a dressing down as he'd ever received, and Clayton figured he deserved every word.From Merritt's perspective, Clayton certainly had made a number of mistakes. His only excuse was that he'd been doing his best to do the right thing.

However, he certainly wasn't in the mood to get chewed out after hours of sitting on the backside of a horse. He didn't care to have his wife witness it, either. "I had hoped to get this over with, but obviously I mistook everything that needed to be said. So, why don't we talk about this in a bit?"

"I think I've already waited long enough."

He turned to Vanessa, who looked strained to her limit. If their weeks apart had taught him anything, it was that time was too short to be wasted on prideful concerns. With all that in mind, he bit out, "John, I'm deeply sorry if I've caused you worry."

Immediately, Merritt turned contrite. "I'm sorry too. I know you've been through a lot. I'm just trying to help you.And your sister. Listen. You've put your sister through a mess of tears, and I've had to wipe up so much water I'm practically soaked through. I don't want you to hurt her again."

"I'm not planning on it." They stared at each other again, each man weighing his words, wondering how to move on, when Vanessa spoke.

"Clayton, is there any way we could finish this up in a little bit? I'm sure Corrine is wondering why we're all standing here, and I'd love to go see Aaron."

He'd almost forgotten she was there.

As Clayton turned to his wife, he noticed Merritt did the same, and he was wearing the same look of shocked embarrassment Clayton felt.

"Sorry, Vanessa. Let's go on in."

With a wink in Merritt's direction, she said, "Mrs. Proffitt to you."

Clayton felt every muscle in his back relax. Their playful banter was a new and extremely appealing dimension to their relationship. "Yes ma'am, Mrs. Proffitt."

It took only seconds to open the back door. Seconds after that, they were surrounded by the exuberant hugs of Melissa and Kate and the happy cries of Corrine.

Vanessa and Corrine started crying, little Aaron did too, and then, in the wild cacophony of the welcome reception, Merritt pulled Clayton into a hug.

"God Almighty, we thought we lost you," he said, his voice husky.

"For a while there, I was afraid you had," Clayton admitted.The other man's arms felt good around him. It was a reassuring hug, an embrace between brothers. And in Scout's absence, it was most welcome. Clayton hugged him back, thankful for the stubbornness of people who cared about him.

He needed John Merritt's friendship and love as much as he needed his sister's and Vanessa's.

No longer was he willing to just work and exist, like he had at the Circle Z. Now he wanted to live and to plan and to feel. The months of enforced isolation had proved costly; he'd been more lonely than he'd ever thought possible.

When he stepped back, Clayton saw that Vanessa was visibly moved as well. Those clear green eyes that he loved so much were glistening with unshed emotion, telling him silently that she was on his side, and always had been.

But still, something needed to be said. "I went away because I had kept a vow to Bill Grant," Clayton told Merritt and Corrine slowly. "I'd told him I'd keep Vanessa safe. When I didn't do that, when Price attacked her, I felt like I'd failed. I felt like I was less than the man I thought I was."

Merritt shook his head. "Price's faults weren't your doing. I tried to tell you that before you left."

"And I tried to listen, but I wasn't ready." Reaching out to his sister, he clutched her hand, just like he used to do back when they were small.

"Corrine, I never meant to cause you pain. I was simply trying to do what I thought was right. Months ago, I was sure the Lord had placed me at the Circle Z to simply watch over Vanessa. When I realized I'd fallen in love with her, I worried that I was doing things wrong yet again."

"But now?"she prompted.

"Now I realize God had another plan for me. I needed to spend some time on my own, to remember all the people in my past."

"Did you come to terms with it?"

"Now I have; but for a time, it was almost too difficult. At first, I felt that everything was out of my control. I was running from Price and Miles. Then, Ken Willoughby forced me to wed Vanessa." He glanced apologetically toward his wife."It wasn't that I didn't want to marry you, Van. It was that I wanted it to be the right time."

"I understand," she said softly. "Like I told you before, I needed the right time too."

"Will you try to understand too, Merritt?" Turning to his best friend in the world, Clayton said, "I did listen, and I wanted to believe everything you said, but I didn't feel worthy.I felt I didn't deserve Vanessa. I'd seen too much, had felt too much. I didn't know if I could be the type of man her father had dreamed for her."

Vanessa shook her head in mock exasperation. "He also conveniently forgot that I was old enough and had been through enough to know my mind. And who I wanted."

Merritt grinned. "She's right."

"When we got here, I wanted to make things work, but all I felt was that if I stayed, it would be charity on your part."

Merritt shook his head. "I never felt that way."

"Neither did I," said Corrine.

"I realize that now. When I was alone up in Nebraska, I came to the realization that I would gladly work with any of the men under my command. Not because of our former ranks, but because we trusted one another. They were men I admired." Remembering some of the men coming through Bensen, Clayton shook his head. "I can't say the same of everyone."

"I can't either," Corrine said softly.

Clayton turned to her in a heartbeat. "Corry? Are we going to be all right?"

"Always." She ran into his arms and held on tight. He hugged her back.

Corrine said, "Tell me about getting shot, Clayton."

Briefly he told them about the gunfight over stupid liquor and how he'd been fool enough to get caught in the crossfire.

Vanessa then spoke. "I'm so glad Doc Bodey sent me that telegraph. Clayton was recuperating in a boardinghouse. Two women were doing their best to take care of him, but it was a mediocre job at best."

"Vanessa came and healed me . . . and now we're here. At long last."

Corrine crossed her arms over her chest. "Does this mean you'll stay here forever, finally?"

"We'd like that," Clayton said. "That is, if that's what you want."

"I want that," Corrine replied. "I want that very much."

Dinner was a wild affair. The baby was crying, and Corrine burst into tears a time or two herself whenever she looked at Clayton.

Vanessa helped José and Pearl and chatted with the girls, while Merritt forced Clayton to let him doctor his leg for a bit and set it up on a chair to rest.

The whole mealtime was noisy and chaotic, warm and funny. It felt like home; it felt like family. And to Vanessa's surprise, she supposed it was. After the past two years of living with Price and dealing with her mother's distance and her brother's sullen attitude, Vanessa felt at peace.

"One day I really am going to learn to cook," Corrine declared after the kitchen was clean and they were walking into the great room to join their husbands.

Vanessa peeked over her shoulder at José, who was leaning against the back doorway. When he caught her eye, he shook his head slowly.

She chuckled in return. No one in their right mind would ever want Corrine in the kitchen. "I hope you don't start cooking," she said pertly. "Your kitchen may never survive it."

Corrine shook her head in disbelief. "It just makes me so mad. How come I can't make even eggs palatable?"

"God must have other plans for you."

"I suppose." Seeing the baby asleep in a quilt in a wooden cradle that Merritt and carved himself, she sighed. "Maybe I should stick to taking care of the children."

"They are all turning out mighty nice. I think that sounds like a fine idea."

"You're not talking about cooking again, are you, pet?" Merritt called out.

"Only in passing."

Clayton grimaced. "You never could cook. You managed to make cabbage taste like shoe leather during the war."

"You were grateful for my efforts."

"I'm grateful now . . . but maybe we don't have to be so grateful that you're cooking?"

"Ha, ha," Corrine retorted, sitting on the large sofa near the fireplace.

Vanessa took a spot near Clayton, preferring to be near him. He rubbed her shoulder when they got settled.

Merritt followed that with a knowing look. "It's good to see you two getting along so well."

"I feel the same way. It's been a hard, long road, but the end was worth it all."

"It always is," Corrine said, tears once again filling her eyes."It always is."

As the sun rose over the Rocky Mountains in all its fiery glory, Clayton and Merritt forged a new bond as they walked along the timeworn planks of the front porch. "So, you're sure you don't mind me working here? It would only be for a while," Clayton said slowly. "Until I get my feet settled."

"Until you get your feet settled?" Merritt scowled. "Nope, that's not good enough. Honestly, Captain, you minded me a whole lot better when we were in the military."

"We're both different now," Clayton pointed out. Now that he and Vanessa had found happiness and a promise of a future together, the days of fighting seemed another lifetime ago.

"Me, yes. You, however, are just as stubborn as ever."Slapping a hand across his good friend's shoulder, Merritt said, "Listen to me, Clayton, and listen well. I need your help. I need your expertise and your way with men. Helping me run the Bar M is needed and would be greatly appreciated."

"I hear you."

"Do you?" Squinting in the sunlight, Merritt continued."I believe in charity, but this isn't it. I've got eight hundred acres stretching out across this hilly, arid, beautiful, difficult part of God's kingdom. My cows know the terrain better than I do." He looked sideways at Clayton, his scarred cheek showing every mark in the waning light as he did so. "Even a man like me can't handle all this on my own."

Clayton's lips twitched as he fought the laugh rising forth.

As Merritt chuckled too, he added, "Truth is, I can hardly handle your sister."

As if to point that out, Corrine let out a shriek from the back of the house loud enough to make a weaker man go running. To give Clayton and Merritt their due, each hardly moved a muscle.

Except for Clayton, who finally gave into temptation and let out a roar of laughter. "Maybe we need to go recruit more men; you might never get away from the house."

"Shoot, maybe I need to recruit more married men to keep an eye on my wife." He shook his head. "How did she do it, raising Scout on her own with just your Aunt Marge for company?"

"I don't know." Pondering the thought, Clayton said slowly, "Maybe she didn't have anyone to complain to back then.Maybe now that she does, she lets loose."

"Again and again." As Corrine's shriek turned into peals of laughter, he chuckled as well. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I'm glad."

Merritt rested his hands on his lap. "So, we set? You'll work with me for the price we set?"

"It still seems high."

"It's the going rate."

"It's more than I made as a foreman."

"You've got a wife now. No boss pays the same to single men as married. Not fitting."

Clayton supposed that was true. "Thank you, then. I appreciate it."

Merritt stood up. "Let's not talk about this again. No need."

"I do love to come to town," Corrine said. "It always feels good to see things other than a cluster of cows."

"Cedar Springs is a darling place," Vanessa agreed.

"I don't know if
darling
is the right descriptor, but I do like the shopping and seeing the ladies who are visiting to take the waters."

Vanessa had heard about Cedar Springs's famous bathhouse.One day she imagined she and Clayton there for a holiday, just enjoying being together.

After another few minutes of talking and looking in windows, Corrine gasped at a fetching bonnet in the window of Mabel's Millinery. "I'm going to stop in here and try on that hat. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. I'll just be in one of these other stores. How about we meet in a half hour or so?"

"Sounds good," Corrine said before entering Miss Mable's.

Vanessa watched Corrine gesture to the peacock blue bonnet, and remembered a time when such a thing would have caught her notice. But those days seemed like a lifetime ago.Now, instead, she had other things on her mind.

She couldn't shake the argument she and Clayton had had about her money. There wasn't a great amount, but it would surely help buy some necessities, and to her way of thinking, she owed Clayton so much.

She'd seen his saddle, saw how worn it was from years and years of use, and knew that a new one would be extremely appreciated. She also knew Clayton well enough to realize that he'd buy a dozen peacock blue hats to make her happy before spending any money on himself.

That money would help pay for supplies for the house, too.

Besides, it had been months since she had left the Circle Z. Time and again, Clayton had checked with people to see if they'd heard her name being bandied about. No one had. It was time to move on.

Obviously, Price had. She felt certain that no matter what Clayton believed, no one was coming after her.

With that in mind, she strode into the telegraph office again. After visiting with Mr. Humphrey, she learned that the bank had been contacted, but no reply had been heard yet.

Since so much time had gone past and nothing had happened, Vanessa gave Mr. Humphrey permission to contact the bank again. She gave him the information he requested.

"It would be my pleasure to assist you in any way I can, Mrs.Proffitt. Shall I let Mr. Proffitt know when I hear a response?"

A tiny tingling of doubt edged closer at just the thought of Clayton finding out about the transfer of money before she did."That's not necessary. I should be accompanying Mrs. Merritt back here in a month. I'll visit with you then." Leaning forward, she confided, "It's a surprise for Clayton."

"And a very good one it will be, I'm sure," the banker said jovially.

Vanessa left the bank and had just turned the corner when she spied Corrine exiting, a gray hatbox in her hand. "Did you buy a hat?"

"Two!" Corrine said happily. "I can't wait for Merritt to see me in them."

"Does he like hats?"

"He likes me to be happy."

Vanessa chuckled. "I know the feeling."

"Where did you go? Did you see anything special?"

"I've just been window shopping," she said, brightly. "It's a good day to do that."

Corrine linked her arm through Vanessa's. "This has been fun. Let's come back next month."

"I'll count on it."