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.“’Night, Mother.”Out of doors, he let his eyes adjust to the dark.He’d taken a few steps when the woman he sought walked toward him on her way to the cabin.“Good night, Jules.”She moved past, opening the door and disappearing inside.He looked at the door for a moment, and then headed for the barn.He didn’t join them for breakfast the following morning.He had a lot to plan and think about.He was going to have to get help to care for Emily.Perhaps Tanis would be willing to have her during the day.He hadn’t slept more than an hour or so all night.He was dreading this day.He kept telling himself it was for Emily’s sake that he was fretting about Olivia leaving, but he wasn’t convinced.He didn’t want Olivia to leave any more than he wanted her to marry Marcus or anybody else.But he didn’t want her to feel obligated to stay.The time to head out to the train depot drew close, and he walked toward the cabin.Emily waited out front, a bonnet shading her eyes.It was the same one she’d worn the first time he’d seen her.The first time he’d looked into those coffee-dark eyes and recognized his sister’s child.He would be forever grateful to Olivia for risking everything to find him and bring her to Montana.Had he told her how much he appreciated that? He’d neglected to tell her he appreciated everything about her.The door opened and she came out, wearing a pale green dress and a straw hat.She took note of him standing there with a nod.“Don’t think I ever said how grateful I am that you traveled here to bring Emily to me.It was a brave thing to do.”“I’m glad it all worked out,” she replied.She gestured back toward the cabin.“My trunks are still in there.”He moved past her and found her trunks and his mother’s satchels inside the doorway.His mother tied the ribbons on one of her sweeping hats and greeted him.“We’re all ready.”He loaded their belongings into the back of the wagon, but looking at Olivia’s things gave him a sick feeling in the pit of his belly.Climbing up to the seat beside the women, he picked up the reins and sat there.He didn’t want her to go.A vivid memory of the night before washed over him.Emily hadn’t wanted to leave.Without any assurance that he would accept her, she’d been brave enough to come out and say it.Emily had risked everything to ask him if he wanted her.Olivia had risked her life traveling to a strange land so he and Emily could be together.Even his mother had been brave enough to ask his forgiveness.He was the only coward on this wagon.“Jules?” his mother questioned.If Emily could take the risk, he could.He turned to look at the two women.“Is everything all right?” his mother asked from beside him.“Are we going, Uncle Jules?” Emily questioned from her seat behind him.“No.”“What?” Lorena asked.“The train leaves in forty-five minutes.”“I’m not all right.” He tied the reins to the brake handle, stood and jumped down.Striding around to the other side of the wagon, he extended a hand.“I need to say something.”Beneath the brim of her hat and his mother’s lacy parasol, Olivia’s face registered confusion.She glanced at Lorena, but his mother only smiled and waved her forward.Olivia reached for his hand, but instead of taking it, he reached up to bracket her waist and lower her to the ground.“What are they doing, Grandmother?” Emily asked.“I think your uncle is finally coming to his senses.”He took Olivia’s white-gloved hand and led her away from the wagon to the shade at the corner of the cabin.His behavior had Olivia’s nerves in a frazzle.She barely had control of her emotions and needed to carry on with her plan before they unraveled.“I don’t want you to go,” he said.Had she heard him correctly? “I beg your pardon?”“I don’t want you to leave and live in Ohio.I want you to stay right here.”She shook her head to clear it.“I’ve thought it all through.A clean break will be better for Emily.”“No.It won’t.Won’t be better for us, either.I’ve just been too pigheaded to see that.I thought I had to follow some sort of logical plan and do everything in order.But love isn’t logical.I was being stubborn and blind, not listening to my heart.Emily showed me how to do that.”“Love?” she questioned, singling out that word above all the others.Her heart skittered erratically, and she flattened her palm against her chest.“What is it you’re saying, Jules?”“I’m sayin’ I love you.The idea of you with Marcus Stone ate a hole in my gut [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]