Heart of a Marine (The Wounded Warrior Series Book 1) (31 page)

“Saying good-bye to her co-workers. We’re packed and ready to roll.” He waved to their respective parents and led the way through the house to find Char.

Marla put on a happy face when they said their good-byes. She and Dwayne stood arm-in-arm and waved as their car disappeared down the quiet street, but her heart ached.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Amber galloped her horse on the dirt road to meet them when Dwayne’s truck crested the last hill on the ranch road. He couldn’t hear her, but it was apparent she was yelling, “Daddy!”

“My god, will you look at her ride that little mare.”

“Your mom turned her into a cowgirl all right. She looks like she’s grown a foot and she’s as brown as a beach bum.”

He lowered his window.

“Daddy! Marla! I saw the dirt cloud on the road and I knew it must be you.” Her broad grin gleamed in a rosy, freckled face. “Everybody else is already here.”

His heart swelled with pride. She sat a horse like she was born in the saddle. “We got here as soon as we could, squirt. Did you miss me?”

“You’re rilly silly, Daddy, a’course I did.” She leaned close to Dwayne’s window. “Hi, Marla. Skipper! Oh, he’s so cute. I can’t wait to hold him.”

Dwayne rubbed the mare’s nose. “Turn this lady around and head to the house. We’ll follow you.”

Amber turned the horse and galloped away, leaving a trail of dust floating on the road.

“Dwayne, she’s so grown up. I can’t believe how much she’s changed since June.”

He raised the windows and moved slowly down the rutted track. “Yeah, next thing I know I’ll be walking her down the aisle.”

Marla laughed. “Why don’t we get her through middle school, high school, and college first?” She placed her hand on his arm and gave him a comforting squeeze.

Her use of the word “we” resonated in his brain. “You’re right. There’s a lot of time yet, but being away from her for more than two months makes me realize how precious my time with her is.” Her hand loosened. Had he said something wrong? He stopped the truck.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, Danaher, I felt like kissing you.” He put his hand behind her head and pulled her close. “I love you. Don’t forget that.”

She relaxed into the kiss and he felt her lips smiling beneath his. “I love you too, Dempsey.” She pulled back and met his gaze. “It scares me how much.”

“I know the feeling.” He put the truck back in gear and proceeded on the road. “Look at that mob. She wasn’t kidding, everybody is here.”

“Where did your mom put everybody? How many bedrooms are in the house?”

“Six. Don’t worry. There’re plenty of beds. We might have to get in line for the bathroom though.” He laughed at the wide-eyed look she gave him. “In emergencies we can use the outhouse behind the barn.”

“We?” She crossed her arms. “I’m really good at holding it, Dempsey. I can hold it for hours.”

He pulled to a stop, and they were surrounded by his extended family and some of the ranch employees. This could turn out to be the best ranch vacation ever for the Dempsey tribe.

Charlene was first to reach the car. “Sis! You’ve got to see my wedding dress.” She reached through the open window. “Give Skippy to me. Hi Dwayne, come on you slowpokes. We’ve got so much to do by day after tomorrow.”

He feigned ignorance. “Why? What’s happening?”

Char gave him the evil eye. She smiled at Marla. “How can you stand him?”

Dwayne climbed down from the driver’s seat and embraced his mother first. “Mom, thank you for taking good care of my baby.”

Amber pushed herself between them. “Make a Amber samich.” She put her arms around his and Kathleen’s waist and they squeezed together until she squeaked.

He picked her up. “Whoa! I can barely lift you. What has my mom been feeding you?”

“Cookie feeds me. She telled me your favorite things to eat, and I like all of them.”

He hugged her tight. “I missed you so much.”

“Put me down, Daddy. I want to give Marla and Skip a hug.”

Reluctantly, he set her on her feet and watched every step she took to the porch where Marla was surrounded by his family. Dylan introduced her to Cookie and Arturo, the couple who’d been living at the ranch as long as he could remember.

Kathleen leaned against his arm. “How are things going between you and Marla?”

He sighed and put his arm around her shoulders. “I’m in love with her, Mom. I want to marry her, but there’s so much going on with Charlene and Donovan, and my worry over when Francine might meddle again, I’ve decided to wait a while before I pop the question.”

“She’s certainly attached to that little dog.”

He grinned. “Charlene told me if the mutt and I were both drowning, Marla would jump in to save Skipper.”

Kathleen chuckled. “She was joking.”

“Sometimes I’m not so sure.”

“If we get a few moments alone later today or tomorrow, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

Whenever a woman suggested a conversation it always hinted of something wrong that would take hours of talk to sort out. He sighed. “What is it?”

She could often read his mind and that’s what she did. “It’s absolutely nothing to worry about, and it can wait. Let’s join the others.” She called to her granddaughter, “Amber. Take Lulu to the barn and take care of her before supper.”

Amber made a disappointed scowl, but hung her head and said, “OK.” She took the mare’s reins. “Come on, Lulu.”

Kathleen whispered to Dwayne, “She likes riding and enjoying the fun part of horses, but like every other kid I know, doesn’t want to do the work that goes along with it.”

“Can she unsaddle Lulu by herself?” He knew the weight of a Western saddle and the tightness of the cinches.

“Bart’s in the barn. He’ll help her, but he makes her do most of it. He’ll put a crate on the floor for her to stand on while she brushes Lulu.” She squeezed his arm. “She’ll be a while, let’s go inside.”

Dylan’s three kids ran after Amber to the barn. “Amber, wait up!”

Kathleen laughed. “That’ll speed things up. Lulu will have four kids brushing and fussing over her.”

* * *

Marla and Charlene trudged up the polished pine stairway to the second floor. Skipper hopped up the steep stairs one at a time. Marla lifted him in her arms. “Come here, baby. Are these stairs too high for my Skippy baby?”

“Lordy, you and that dog.”

“Char, this house is amazing. All this beautiful wood and antique western light fixtures. I had no idea. Dwayne always said it was a plain old ranch house.”

Her sister sniffed. “Men. They’re oblivious. I said the same thing to Donnie when we got here. He just stood there like a kid, mouth open, stared around, then said, ‘Oh, yeah, it’s nice, isn’t it?’ Wait till you see the bedrooms.”

Char opened a door near the end of the hall and stepped inside. Marla followed her and took a breath and put a hand on her chest. “This looks like something out of Sunset Magazine. Those quilts, the furniture, everything looks handmade.”

“It is. All the furniture in this house was crafted here on the ranch by Kathleen’s grandfather and father. They cut the wood from the surrounding area and built all these beautiful pine pieces right out there in the barn. Isn’t it wonderful?”

Marla nodded with appreciation. “I can’t imagine how long it took.” She stroked the bedposts and the handmade quilt on the bed. “Is this your room?”

“No, it’s for you and Dwayne. We’re right next door so keep the passionate groans to a minimum, please. Donnie and I need our beauty sleep for the wedding.”

“Hah!” Marla snorted. “Where did Kathleen put everybody else?”

“Dylan and Grace are on the other side of you. Kathleen’s bedroom is on the first floor behind the office. Miss Emmaline is staying in the small adjoining sitting room, and the kids are on the third floor. They have two big bedrooms up there that look like bunkhouses. Beds everywhere and a connecting pocket door. It’s where the three brothers stayed whenever they visited their grandparents.”

“What’s in here?” She walked toward a partially open door.

“Every bedroom has a private bathroom. Do you believe it?”

Marla smirked and crossed her arms realizing Dwayne had been teasing her about the outhouse. “Dwayne told me we might have to get in line for the bathroom, and if I couldn’t wait, there was an outhouse out in back of the barn. Wait till I get him alone!”

Char giggled. “Part of it’s true. There
is
an outhouse behind the barn.”

Charlene boosted herself up on the edge of the bed. “This was Dwayne’s room when he lived here.” She nodded to the large gun rack on the wall. “Kathleen keeps it just like it was when he was a teenager.”

Marla sat beside her. “This place must be bulging at the seams with wonderful memories.”

Charlene nodded. “It’s easy to understand why those boys never wanted to go anywhere else during summer, isn’t it?”

“Isn’t what?” Dwayne thumped into the room, lugging their baggage. He set it on the large pine chest at the foot of the bed. “Beat it, Charlene. I want some alone time with my woman.”

Char hopped off the high mattress and took Marla’s hand. “No way, cowboy. My sister and I have serious business to take care of.”

Marla grinned at his look of comical dismay, thrust Skip into his arms, and followed Char. She leaned close for a quick peck as they passed him. “I’ll make up for it later.” She dodged his attempt to grab her and followed Charlene to the room next to theirs.

In the center of Char’s room stood an old-fashioned dressmaker’s form outfitted in a ruffled white blouse, long, faded denim skirt with wildflowers embroidered around the flared hem, and a pair of red cowboy boots on the floor beneath it.

“Oh, Char, is that your wedding outfit? I hope so, because I love it!”

Squealing with barely contained glee, her sister took her hands and hopped them in a circle. “I’m so happy, sis. I didn’t know it was possible to love somebody so much. Donovan Dempsey’s the most wonderful man ever born. I’m so lucky.”

Marla dropped her hands and put her arms around her sister’s shoulders. “He’s the lucky one, you know. I’d be willing to bet everything I have, and will ever have, that your marriage will be very happy.” She gave her an extra hard squeeze. “But I don’t like it one bit to have you halfway across the Pacific Ocean.”

* * *

Dinner was a festive affair and lasted until after seven. The eight adults were seated in the dining room, and the kids ate in the kitchen with Arturo and Cookie. Peals of childish laughter poured through the door when Dwayne peeked in to check on them.

“Daddy! Cookie’s telling stories on you.”

He grinned at her singsong snitching and pointed an accusing finger at the woman who’d been like a second mother to him. “Be careful, Cookie. I have a few of my own stories.”

Amber stood and rushed toward him. Cookie stopped her. “You know better than to leave the table without permission, miss.”

Amber groaned, rolled her eyes, and went back to the table. “May I be ’scused please?”

“Yes, you may. Take your dish to the sink then visit with your Daddy for a while. It’s almost bedtime. Those chickens get hungry early.”

Dwayne swung her up into his arms when she was done and carried her from the room. He got her squealing by growling and chewing at her neck.

“Daddy, stop!” She placed her hands on his cheeks, stared into his eyes, and solemnly said, “I’m too big for that.”

He bounced her in his arms. “Who says?”

“Me. I growed up this summer.”

“Well, that does it. I’m taking you home tomorrow to slow you down. I don’t want you to grow up.”

“You’re silly.” She hugged his neck. “I love you, Daddy. Is Marla going to be my new mama?”

“Whoa. Where did that come from?”

“Is she? Because I want her to be my mama. She telled me Skipper can sleep in my bunk tonight.”

Ah, that was it. She was in love with the mouse. “What’s the hurry? Day after tomorrow the whole gang of us is driving over to Buffalo to watch Charlene and Donovan get hitched. One wedding at a time, my too-big girl.”

She gave an excited bounce. “We’re going on a rill wagon train ride after and have a rill cowboy cookout. I can’t wait. Is Marla going to sleep in your bed tonight?”

He stumbled on the doorjamb and caught himself before he dumped both of them on their butts. What should he say? The truth might be best. “Uh, yeah, we’re sharing my old bedroom. Why?”

“Is she cuddly? I like sitting on her lap, Marla’s rill nice and soft, and she smells good. That’s why I want her for my mama. She’s rill bossy, but if she’s cuddly you probly want to keep her.”

“Keep who?” Marla asked as she strolled in.

“You!” Amber struggled. “Put me down, Daddy.” She ran and embraced Marla. “I want him to keep you.”

Marla’s gaze caught his. He detected a flash of panic in her eyes and a rosy glow burned her cheeks. “Um.”

He swatted Amber on the butt. “Bedtime. Go check in with Cookie and Grammakat then off you go. That old rooster will be crowing before you know it.”

“Night, Marla. Night, Daddy. Come, Skipper.” She ran off, Skip bouncing along beside her, and left them standing staring at each other.

“She wants you to keep me?” Her lips made a wry little twist. He couldn’t look at her mouth without getting that deep-down buzz.

“Get a sweater. Let’s go out on the porch.” When she turned to leave, he grabbed her hand. “Wait.” He put his arms around her and planted a kiss on her lips. “For the record—I’m keeping you.”

* * *

Marla found Dwayne standing in the empty living room in front of the wide, riverbed rock fireplace. He was peering at photos lining the roughhewn pine mantel. She put her arms around his waist and propped her chin on his shoulder. “Who are all these handsome men in uniform?”

He pulled her to his side. “This is my mom’s grandfather, Hector Burwell, in his World War I Marine uniform.”

She rested her head against his shoulder. “So handsome. He reminds me of a 1930’s movie star. What was he, in his twenties?”