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“Oh, Sara, honey,” Dessie said, reaching for Sara’s hand.
Sara jerked her hand away.
She pushed her hair carefully back into place.
Once she’d regained her composure, Sara turned to Dessie and said, “I’m going to get Ben now. We’ll be waiting for you in the station wagon.”
Then she looked straight at Gabe. “If you want to file custody papers, Ben and I won’t be hard to find this time. I’m tired of running from you. We’re staying in Conrad.”
Sara expected a comeback, but he didn’t say a word.
He just kept standing there, a blank look on his face.
Exasperated, Sara stomped off.
“MARRY ME,” Gabe blurted.
The minute he said it, he knew it was the right thing to do. He’d asked Billy once what he intended to do if he did find the boy and his mother.
“I’m going to do the same thing you would do if you were in this situation,” Billy had said. “I’m going to ask her to marry me. And if she accepts, I’m going to bring her home and provide the best life I can for her and my son.”
Gabe had been proud of Billy’s answer.
But it had taken Sara’s outburst before Gabe realized she was right on target about how she and Ben would be received in his small hometown if she lived at his ranch, no commitment between them. That’s when Gabe had felt his brother’s hand on his back, pushing him to finish what Billy couldn’t.
Sara’s spine was stiff, her fists still clenched in anger over a lifetime of other people pushing her around. He had a file filled with information on the lousy cards life had dealt her: no father in the picture; a mother arrested more than once for drugs and prostitution. The file was filled with details of a dozen different reasons why Sara Watson should have turned out to be the type of person Gabe assumed she was before he met her.
But they were words on paper, nothing more.
And Gabe was ashamed of himself.
He was ashamed for assuming she would hand over her son for money. And he was ashamed for making her such a thoughtless offer in the first place.
She slowly turned around. “Marry you? That’s absurd and you know it.”
“Maybe,” Gabe agreed. “I’m sure you aren’t interested in having a husband any more than I’m interested in having a wife. But this is about Ben. We’d be an official family if we married and made it legal. No whispers behind your back. No fights on the playground. No reason to be treated like outcasts.”
Gabe couldn’t quite decipher the expression on her face. Outright rage that he’d suggested marriage? Or sheer amusement over his unexpected proposal? Maybe a little of both.
“Why the sudden change of heart?” she demanded. “A few hours ago you were threatening to take me to court. And now you’re going to insult me by suggesting we should get married and become an official family?”
Gabe knew he had one chance to say the right thing.
So he told the truth.
“I was wrong. I convinced myself Ben would be better off living on the ranch with me. That I could give him everything you couldn’t. But I’d forgotten the nights Billy cried himself to sleep after our parents died because he missed our mother. I’d never do that to Ben. I realize that now.”
SARA BLINKED BACK tears.
He looked so sad standing there, clutching the brim of his Stetson, the look on his face so solemn. This was her first glimpse of who this man was. Maybe he wasn’t the enemy after all.
They were each aware of the sacrifice they’d have to make.
Both knew all of the reasons it wouldn’t work.
Still, Sara was forced to face some cold, hard facts about her own contribution to her son’s future. She had no home to give Ben. No promise of one day running his own ranch. And she certainly didn’t have a proud family heritage dating back three generations to pass down to her son.
In truth, it was a daily struggle to make ends meet. Living paycheck to paycheck, always having more month than money and struggling to provide the bare necessities were the only things she’d probably ever be able to offer Ben on her own.
What would Ben choose if he were old enough to make the decision himself? Would Ben choose a ranch and his heritage? Or would he choose a mother’s unconditional love? Most likely, Ben would choose both.
She would lay down her life for her son, without a second thought.
In comparison, marrying her son’s uncle seemed like an easy choice—as long as she didn’t stop to think about the consequences. Ben had already adopted Gabe as his immediate hero. She knew it was selfish, but she couldn’t keep from wondering where that would ultimately leave her if she did accept Gabe’s proposal for Ben’s sake.
In the background, Sara suspected.
Married to a man in name only.
And possibly losing all influence over her son.
Was she really willing to risk Ben growing up with a bunch of rowdy cowboys who flirted with danger for sport? Could she really chance Ben following in Billy’s footsteps and embracing the dangerous life of a rodeo star?
Yet in all fairness, Sara knew there were other dangers just as serious she’d have to steer Ben away from regardless of where he grew up. Ben falling in with the wrong crowd for one thing—a real threat for any boy who had no strong male influence in his life—and there would be enormous peer pressure as Ben grew older. Would she be able to keep Ben pointed in the right direction if her economic status forced them to live in less than desirable circumstances? Sara knew all too well that poverty often walked hand in hand with drugs and crime.
“Six months,” Gabe said. “That’s all I’m asking. Give us six months to see if we can live together on the ranch as a family. If things aren’t working out at the end of that time, I’ll have the marriage annulled. You and Ben can leave and you have my word I’ll never bother you again.”
Still, Sara remained speechless.
She felt addled, in a daze, completely unable to function—until a small tug on the hem of her uniform snapped her out of it. Ben stood behind her, Thunder under his arm, and sopping wet from head-to-toe.
“Can we, Mom, please?” he begged. “Can we go live on Uncle Gabe’s ranch and be a family just like Uncle Gabe said?”
Sara knelt and cupped his sweet, innocent face in both of her hands. “I’m sorry, Ben,” she tried to explain, “becoming a family isn’t that simple.”
“But why, Mom?”
It was her son’s favorite question.
And this time, Sara didn’t have an answer.
CHAPTER FIVE
“I NOW PRONOUNCE you husband and wife,” the justice of the peace said. He sent Gabe a wink before he added, “You may now kiss the bride.”
Sara held her breath when Gabe moved forward. She let it out again when he bent down for Ben who’d been standing between them during the quickie ceremony.
Hoisting Ben up, Gabe winked back at the justice of the peace and said, “I think I’ll let my best man have the honor of kissing the bride today.”
Ben placed a noisy kiss on the side of Sara’s cheek and rewarded her with a big smile.
“Are we a family now?”
Sara struggled for an answer.
But Gabe smiled and said, “Yes, Ben, we’re a family now.”
And that was that. They were a family now—even though Sara had claimed it wasn’t that simple. No pomp and circumstance. No fancy wedding dress. And no husband vowing to love her forever.
Not the wedding of Sara’s little-girl dreams.
“You made the right decision, Sara,” Dessie said as they both watched Gabe and Ben walk toward Sheriff Dillard, who had filled in as the other witness for the ceremony.
Sara nodded absently.
From Tuesday forward, the week had gone by in such a blur she’d wondered if she were trapped in some bizarre dream. All she remembered clearly was that she’d been walking toward the rest area parking lot with Ben thinking that everything she owned was packed in the two ratty suitcases stored in the back of Dessie’s station wagon.
She had no home to offer Ben.
No heritage.
And very little security.
That’s when she’d marched to where Gabe stood. And that’s when she’d agreed to give him the six months he asked for. He was offering Ben everything she couldn’t—including giving her the opportunity to be a full-time mother to her son.
Only a fool would have turned down such an offer.
Even if it only lasted for the next six months.
Sheriff Dillard and Gabe had taken care of everything else. They’d arranged for the marriage license. And they’d arranged for the ceremony to take place on the first day of June, at precisely eleven o’clock in the morning, by the local justice of the peace in Sheriff Dillard’s office.
She, on the other hand, had spent the next two days training the new girl Dessie had hired at the diner, and happily pretending her whole life wasn’t going to change forever when Friday morning arrived.
“Mom!” Ben exclaimed, running toward her. “It’s time to go cut our cake. Hurry.”
He darted off before Sara could respond.
“You shouldn’t have gone to the trouble of having a reception for us, Dessie,” Sara said. “But I really appreciate you doing that.”
“It’s nothing fancy,” Dessie said. She put her arm around Sara’s shoulder and gave her a supportive squeeze. “But you’ve made a lot of good friends in Conrad. It seemed a shame not to give everyone the chance to say goodbye to you and Ben.”
“Mom!” Ben yelled again. “Let’s cut the cake.”
“Mercy,” Dessie said, laughing. “Let’s go cut your wedding cake before that boy has a conniption fit.”
Sara took a deep breath.
Gabe was waiting for her by the door with Ben.
But as she walked in their direction a cynical thought crossed Sara’s mind: At least we have cake.
HAD ANYONE TOLD HIM he would go back to Colorado with his nephew and a wife, Gabe would have called that person a liar. But as Sara approached, Gabe knew uniting Ben’s family instead of selfishly tearing it apart was the only responsible thing to do in this situation.
Responsibility, he could handle.
He’d provide Ben and Sara with a good home and a good life for as long as they were willing to stay on the Crested-C. They’d never want for anything under his care. And he would go back to running the ranch and keeping things in order, the same way he’d always done.
The difficult part would be not letting himself get too attached to Ben. He’d learned the unbearable heartbreak that came from losing people you cared about. He’d lost his parents, first. Then, Billy. And Gabe knew there was a good possibility he’d lose Ben at the end of six months.
But at least he’d kept his promise.
Ben was going home.
Gabe opened the door for Sara when she walked up beside them. The faint scent of her perfume mocked him for a moment as she exited the sheriff’s office.
Sara wouldn’t be an easy woman to ignore.
Just watching her unsettled Gabe.
She took Ben’s hand and started across the street to the diner, and Gabe couldn’t help but think that the pale blue dress she wore emphasized her tiny waist. His gaze drifted back to her dark hair—pulled up on top of her head again today, the only way he’d ever seen her wear it. It wasn’t the first time he’d wondered how far down her back those silky strands would fall.
And thoughts like those were ones he couldn’t afford.
That’s why he’d laid all his cards right out on the table when he’d taken Sara and Ben to dinner the previous evening. He’d made sure Sara knew a friendship was all he’d ever want between them.
She’d agreed so fast, it actually bruised his ego.
But Gabe knew being realistic about their new living arrangement was a key factor if the family they’d created was going to be a success. He’d wanted to make sure Sara had no unattainable expectations from him, just as he had no unattainable expectations from Sara.
Their only focus would be Ben.
Just as it should be.
Sara had surprised him, however, by stating that she had no intention of being anyone’s charity case. Unless he needed her help on the ranch she planned to find employment in Redstone so she could pay for her own room and board.
He’d nixed her idea of getting a job.
And he’d assured Sara she’d have her work cut out for her on the ranch. Taking care of the house and cooking three meals a day for him and his six full-time ranch hands wasn’t going to be an easy task.
She hadn’t even batted an eye. And that gave Gabe hope things might work out.
He and Sara would both be too busy to worry about some silly piece of paper that legally pronounced them husband and wife. He’d tend to the ranch. She’d tend to the house and the cooking. And they’d both tend to Ben.
No problem, Gabe thought with confidence.
Sara picked that exact moment to glance over her shoulder at him. It was only one look. And an innocent one at that. But Gabe suddenly got the feeling he could be in trouble.
“YOU TAKE good care of Ben and Sara,” Dessie told Gabe as she and Sheriff Dillard escorted the new family to the diner’s door after the reception. “In Texas we can still round up a posse in the blink of an eye.”
