Howard Haskell Takes A Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch Book 0) (10 page)
Read Howard Haskell Takes A Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch Book 0) Online
Authors: Merry Farmer
Howard smiled the same as he ever did.
“Furthermore,” Mr. Peabody went on, “Mr. Haskell’s own investment has seen returns to the tune of half a million dollars. His investment plan for the next ten years is comprehensive and diversified, although as I understand it, he plans to focus the bulk of his direct efforts on expansions that are being made in the West.”
“Quite right,” Howard interrupted. “The West is the future, and I intend to carve myself a giant chunk of that future.”
“Yes, yes.” Mr. Peabody nodded.
Elizabeth studied her father. His rage was gone completely now, replaced by stark shock. Her mother was in a similar state. They were catching up to the supreme value of her choice for their son-in-law after all. She did her very best not to gloat, but it was next to impossible. She looped her arm through Howard’s and squeezed it tight as Mr. Peabody continued.
“If all goes according to plan, Mr. Ayers, I expect Mr. Haskell here to be a millionaire quite a few times over before the end of the decade. If his ingenuity and keen business sense continue—and I have no reason to believe they wouldn’t—he could end up as one of the nation’s wealthiest citizens before his death.”
“If his head doesn’t swell to the point of bursting first,” Virginia added,
sotto voce
.
“Shh.” Cyrus shushed her, placing a finger on her lips. “Let the hero have his moment.”
“Indeed.” Howard inclined his head to Elizabeth’s father with the regality of victory, with the humility of love, and with absolute, rock-solid confidence that he had won the unspoken competition between his will and that of her father’s.
When Mr. Ayers didn’t immediately answer, Howard tucked his thumbs into the waistband of his trousers—since he wasn’t wearing a vest in light of the race—and rocked on his heels. “Does your family have a preferred man of the cloth to perform the ceremony this evening, or should I inform my friend, Rev. Sandstrom, that I will require his services after all. I’ve arranged it with him already.”
Elizabeth snorted. “You already arranged for a minister to marry us? Tonight?”
Howard smiled at her with all the affection of a man desperately in love. “My darling, I spoke to my friend an hour after leaving that first ball and told him to be on alert to perform the ceremony at any time.”
“You knew that night that you would win?” Her heart fluttered.
He turned toward her, taking both of her hands and raising them to his lips. “I knew from the moment I saw you that I would give my heart to you for the rest of my life. When love calls to you as loudly as it did the moment we met, you do not question, you do not doubt, you act. I love you, my darling, wonderful, surprising, passionate Elizabeth. I will always love you, come rain or come shine. Until I met you, I did not realize that I was missing my heart, and the moment I found it, found you, I knew we would be together.”
“Howard.” She breathed his name as if it had been embedded in her soul from the moment she was born. “You do say the most ridiculously grandiloquent things.”
He laughed, bending over to kiss her lips.
Mr. Ayers cleared his throat. Howard straightened, and he and Elizabeth faced the man.
“We will go to your Rev. Sandstrom,” he said, quiet and even. “He will marry the two of you immediately.”
“I knew you’d see it my way.” Howard winked at him.
Mr. Ayers’s expression hardened. “You will then leave straight away for your honeymoon, wherever that may be.”
Elizabeth held her breath. Up until that moment, running away with Howard had seemed like a delicious lark. Now, the prospect of leaving her family, never to see them again, was terrifying.
“You will remain on your honeymoon until all chance for scandal has passed,” her father continued. His expression softened, and he left the spot where he had been anchored to the floor to go to her. He rested a hand on the side of her face. “I do love you, my dear, even if you think I don’t.”
“I know you do, Papa.” Elizabeth let go of Howard’s hands with a nod, turning to her father. “I know.”
“I only want what is best for you. I’ve only ever wanted that.”
“I should have spoken up sooner about Jonas,” she conceded.
He shook his head. “I had my misgivings about the man from the start, but I buried them. Can you forgive me for putting my head above your heart?”
At that moment, Elizabeth’s heart was melting. “I can, Papa, Mama,” she glanced past her father to her mother, whose maid was helping her to rise from the chair, “if you can forgive me for…” She lowered her head, a blush coming to her cheeks.
Her father cleared his throat, back going rigid for a moment. “There are some things a father should never see.” He scowled at Howard. “But don’t think I am ignorant enough not to know your intent…son.”
Every last bit of tension that Elizabeth held onto rushed away. She leapt into her father’s arms, hugging him for all she was worth. When her mother joined them, Elizabeth hugged her as well.
“I am truly the happiest woman alive today,” she assured them.
“And I give you my pledge that I will keep her that way,” Howard added with utmost seriousness. “I may be bombastic and overdone, but I am perfectly serious when I say that I love your daughter with my whole heart. I will give her the happiest life anyone has ever imagined.”
With a weary sigh and a nod that shifted to a smile, Mr. Ayers said, “I believe you. And I give you my blessing.”
Elizabeth skipped away from her parents and pressed herself into Howard’s arms. He folded her into a hug that filled her with joy, peace, and excitement. No matter what the future held for the two of them—and she was more than certain that it would be a future full of adventure, intrigue, and pleasure, for the two of them and for their children and their children’s children—she knew that she would be treasured. Always.
* * *
I
hope
you’ve enjoyed the hair-brained story of how Howard and Elizabeth Haskell came together. Their love story is just the beginning of shenanigans and hijinks. To read more about Howard, the ranch he establishes in Wyoming (Paradise Ranch), the couples that come into his life, and the town he establishes, check out my
Hot on the Trail
series (Howard first appears in
Trail of Destiny
) and
The Brides of Paradise Ranch
series (beginning with
His Perfect Bride
, which tells the story of Howard and Elizabeth’s son Franklin’s search for love). The apples didn’t fall far from the tree, and Howard only gets better with age.
C
lick
here for a complete list of other works by Merry Farmer
.
I
hope
you have enjoyed
Howard Haskell Takes A Bride
. If you’d like to be the first to learn about when new books by Merry Farmer come out and more, please sign up for my newsletter here:
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.
M
erry Farmer is
an award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats, Butterfly and Torpedo. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always have something to write about. Her books have topped the Amazon and iBooks charts and have been named finalists in the prestigious RONE and Rom Com Reader’s Crown awards.
I
owe
a huge debt of gratitude to my awesome beta-readers, Caroline Lee and Jolene Stewart, for their suggestions and advice. And a big, big thanks to the entire Love’s Prelude gang for support, encouragement, and just being a bunch of awesome, goofy ladies who are fun to hang out with!
A
nd a special thank
you to the Pioneer Hearts group! Do you love Western Historical Romance? Wanna come play with us? Become a member at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pioneerhearts/
C
lick
here for a complete list of other works by Merry Farmer
.