Chapter Fourteen
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“So here we are again,” Cab said, sitting across the battered kitchen table from Connor and Brian the following morning.
“Here we are again,” Brian agreed.
“I’ve talked to the women. I’ve talked to your family, Connor. Now I want to hear what you two have to say. Two Willows draws its fair share of trouble, doesn’t it? You beginning to rethink your methods for getting rid of those drug dealers?” the sheriff asked Brian.
Connor was glad he’d commissioned Dalton to take his parents away again for the day. He’d loaned them his truck, given them a list and sent them to Billings to pick up the things for the wedding that were difficult to find in town. Max was patrolling the kitchen, sniffing in every corner. He didn’t seem to want to let Connor out of his sight. Connor was okay with that.
Brian shrugged. “Seems to me our only other choice was to roll over.”
“That may be, but what I want to know is how come I never get called until it’s too late to do anything about the trouble?”
“Honestly?” Brian said.
“No, keep lying to me.” Cab shook his head in disgust.
“We didn’t think you’d take puppy theft all that seriously,” Brian went on. “It didn’t seem like a number one priority for the County Sheriff’s office. But it’s the kind of thing that could rip this family apart.”
Cab considered this. “Yeah, I can see that,” he said. “But here’s what I want you to see. This is bigger than you think. So far you’ve dealt with a few two-bit local boys, and a couple more two-bit out-of-town boys. That doesn’t mean they won’t send in the big guns sooner or later.”
“I think we’ve made our position clear. We’re not going to back down if they do,” Brian said.
“Maybe so,” Cab said. “That doesn’t mean they’ll quit coming.”
Connor leaned in closer. “We’ve got more men on the way.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Cab said. “You might need them.”
Every time Sadie moved, she ached. If there was a part of her body that had been left unscathed by her tumble down the carriage house stairs, she hadn’t found it. Even her fingers hurt, which made cleaning the upstairs bathroom difficult.
But for some reason she needed to clean the upstairs bathroom. Needed to clean every room in the house. Only motion could stop the delayed reaction of fear and shock that brought her screaming out of a nightmare before the sun rose.
She had spent the evening close to Connor, touching him often to remind herself he was really there. They’d agreed to go forward with the wedding as planned, even though they were all thoroughly shaken by Grant’s attack.
Sadie had thought she was all right, but when she’d woken this morning, shaken and terrified, she’d known she needed to do something tangible to clear Grant’s influence out of the house.
Cass had found her scrubbing the kitchen floor at 5:00 a.m., opened her mouth to ask why, then shook her head, grabbed the broom and began to sweep the rest of the rooms on the first floor.
Alice joined them soon after, and had taken on the job of dusting all the knickknacks in the house, picking them up, wiping down the shelves and mantelpiece and everywhere else they sat, before cleaning them and replacing them.
When they had finished their morning chores down in the barns, Jo and Lena came back and pitched in. Lena was still pale, her lips set in a tight line. Sadie knew she was furious with herself for not being there when Grant had struck. Nothing any of them said could calm her down. She had grabbed rags and a bottle of cleaner, and was currently cleaning every window in the house.
Jo was…a shadow of herself. So insubstantial Sadie was afraid if she didn’t keep watch on her, she’d disappear for good. Already she ached to dose Jo with tinctures and healing teas, but she knew what her sister needed most was time. In theory, her sister was cleaning, too, but for Jo that consisted of spending the whole morning in front of the linen closet, taking out the sheets and blankets and towels, unfolding them, refolding them and putting them back again, until Cass finally drove her to town to the meet the counselor, and brought her back to rest on the couch for the remainder of the afternoon.
When Connor and Brian finished with the sheriff, they came to seek the women, but when they took in the industry with which the sisters were cleaning, Connor grabbed Max’s collar, held up a hand to stop Brian, and both men and dog backed out the room, out of the house, and disappeared.
By dinnertime, Sadie was as sore as she’d ever been in her life. Her back, which had already ached from her fall, now ached from bending over and scrubbing just about every floor in the house. Her knees could barely straighten when she stood up. Her wrists hurt from the pressure she’d exerted on the scrub brush.
When she went out to the greenhouse, fetched a thick bunch of dried white sage and lit it in the kitchen, her sisters appeared as if she’d summoned them—even Jo—and together they started in the basement and wound through the house, making sure the cleansing smoke blew into every corner, cupboard and closet.
When it was done they returned to the kitchen, where Sadie blew out the sage and tapped it against the damp sink to put out the flames. She felt lighter. More hopeful.
Grant was gone, and he’d never bother them again.
“I don’t want to cook,” Cass said in a brisk voice, as if to bring them back to normal life. “Because if we messed up the kitchen again now, I think I’d cry.”
“We have to feed Connor’s family,” Alice said as Connor’s truck pulled in to park near the carriage house, and the O’Rileys began to get out. Dalton had kept his parents away from the ranch the whole day. Sadie figured they’d be hungry and tired by now, too.
“At least the house is clean for your wedding, Sadie,” Jo said quietly.
“You know what?” Alice asked. “Maybe it’s time for another movie night.”
No one answered her for a moment. Then Cass said, a little uncertainly, “Popcorn and margaritas?”
“Don’t forget the pizza first,” Lena said as her stomach growled.
Sadie’s shoulders relaxed a fraction of an inch. If her sisters were well enough to want a movie night, maybe everything would be okay after all.
“I’d better check on the animals first, though,” Lena said. She paused, and Sadie knew why: it was Jo’s cue to say she’d come, too.
But Jo didn’t say anything.
Sadie’s heart sank.
Cass pulled her phone out of her pocket when it buzzed. “Brian and Connor already took care of the evening chores. They’re on their way back to the house. Brian and I will take care of everything for our movie night,” she said, texting him back.
Jo trailed after Cass, Alice and Lena when they went outside to greet the O’Rileys and wait for Brian and Connor. Sadie followed, eager to see Connor again.
Cass intercepted Brian when he came, while Alice explained to the O’Rileys their plans for the evening.
“Why don’t you go inside and relax?” Sadie told them. “Jo, would you get them some lemonade? Lena, can you come with me a second?” She’d had an idea. When Jo disappeared with Connor’s family inside, Max following the crowd, his tail wagging, she whispered it into Lena’s ear.
“It’s worth trying,” Lena said and headed for the carriage house.
Connor waited for the back door to close before he reached for Sadie’s hand. He’d worried about her all day. He knew the violence that had happened at Two Willows affected the women deeply. Last night she’d assured him she was ready to go through with the wedding, but when he’d come across her scrubbing the floor this morning, he’d been afraid she’d changed her mind. Women cleaned like that when their hearts were in turmoil.
It had been a struggle to back off and give her space, but he thought now he’d done the right thing. When he looked at Sadie he could see her turmoil was gone.
“Are we still good?” he asked, just to be sure.
“We’re still good.”
“Walk with me?” He led her toward the maze, not knowing why but feeling like he should. This was a time for clarity. When they reached the center, he led her to the stone.
“After everything that’s happened, I want you to know you can be one hundred percent sure of me,” he told her. “I love you. I don’t want any other woman. I don’t want any other home. I want to be here with you—forever.”
“I know—”
He put one hand on the flank of the stone. Kept hold of Sadie’s hand with the other. “I want the stone to tell you.”
Connor bent down and kissed her.
The flash of intuition, the brightening she always felt when they touched, flared up stronger than she’d ever felt it, immediately wrapping her in a Technicolor swoop of sound.
Her heart felt so ragged—so tender—she wasn’t sure she could stand the love in Connor’s eyes when he pulled back again.
“You’re all I want, lass. Forever.”
“Connor, I know—”
After all, hadn’t he proven what he’d do to be with her? He’d followed her all around her garden, held her while she brewed tonics, made love to her in the maze, went off to save Jo’s puppies without hesitation—
And then charged back here to save her the moment he knew she was in danger.
He loved her.
Connor loved her.
It was love, Sadie knew, that turned on her abilities. Love that connected her to Two Willows.
And for better or for worse, Connor defined love for her. Had since the day she first saw him and fell for him before he even opened his mouth to speak.
“Where’s my answer?” Connor asked the sky.
“Right here.” She wrapped her arms around Connor’s neck, and gave into the beauty and mystery of pledging her heart to another human being. No one could know the future. No one could ever be perfectly sure of another human being—or of themselves. All they could do was take the leap and trust that love wouldn’t let them down. She wanted to make that leap with Connor.
“I want to make love to you,” he whispered against her neck. “But you’ve been through too much and they’re waiting for us.”
“Let them wait,” she whispered, twining her arms around his neck even more tightly.
When Connor began to undress her, she sighed in contentment, knowing she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
This time, instead of pressing her up against the stone, he laid her down on the grass and made love to her sweetly and slowly, teasing, tormenting her and coaxing her until her pleasure was complete. It was nearly an hour before they pulled apart, and drew their clothes back on. Sadie, fastening her bra, stopped and pointed. “What’s that?”
Connor turned to see something glinting among the branches of the hedge. He reached for it just as Sadie did, and together they lifted a locket free from where it was caught.
Sadie’s eyes filled with tears when she recognized it. “It was my mother’s,” she explained to Connor. “She lost it just a week before died. She was so sad—she wore it all the time. The General gave it to her when they were married.”
“Like the one he gave to Cass.”
“That’s right.” Sadie could barely keep her voice even. She opened the clasp and showed Connor the photo inside. “That’s my father.”
Connor glanced at her sharply and Sadie realized why. “The General,” she corrected herself. He was still the General. Still the man who wouldn’t come home—no matter how much she needed him.
“What does it mean, lass? Is it an answer?”
Sadie nodded, her heart full. No matter how angry she was with the General, her mother had loved him—deeply and always, until she drew her last breath.
“She’s telling us—she’s saying she’s happy,” Sadie managed to say. “She’s saying love can last.”
“Aye, lass. I believe that.”
Sadie believed it, too. She allowed Connor to fasten the locket around her neck, and touched it reverently. She could almost feel her mother’s presence nearby—
Suddenly she was in a hurry to finish dressing.
Connor followed her example and soon they were heading back through the maze.
“Do you think they’re halfway through the movie?” he asked.
“Probably halfway through the pizza at least.” It was strange to talk of such normal things after what had just happened, but by the time they’d reached the house, slipped upstairs to clean up, and come back down again, she’d regained her composure. She’d tucked the locket under her shirt to show her sisters later.
They found everyone in the front room, sitting on the floor, with Jo in the center, the puppies frisking and playing among them. Jo was petting Max, still wan and pale, but not as lost as she had been earlier. When Max reached up to lick her chin, she even smiled.
“Puppies. That your idea?” Connor asked in an undertone.
Sadie nodded. “I figured they’d help.”
“You’re making a big mistake,” Connor told the General that evening. “Sadie’s only going to get married once. You should be here.” He pet Max, who’d followed him into his room. He was beginning to think he’d have a constant companion from now on.
“Don’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t do.” The General bent close to the screen, until his face filled it. “If I came home now, Two Willows would be in an uproar. Lena would haul out the cannons. The others would take to the hills. It’ll be Sadie’s day; keep it about her.”
“You’re going to have to repair your relationship with your daughters someday.” His conversation with Sadie earlier made that clear. She loved her father. Missed him desperately, despite her anger. He had to try to get the General to the wedding.
“I know what I have to do, and you know what your orders are. Focus on that.”
“My orders are to marry your daughter, which I’m doing, and which means I have to keep her happy. It would make her happy to have her father walk her down the aisle.”
The General glanced away from the screen, and for a moment Connor saw vulnerability in the set of his jaw, but when he turned back, it was gone. “I’m coordinating missions all over the world; yours is just a side note. A way to get rid of a handful of troublesome men who overstepped their orders. End of story.”
Connor leaned forward, gripping the edge of the table. “I’m not the one who chose this mission, and I didn’t leave the Air Force voluntarily. You want to pull me back in, say the word. I’ll be there, ready to fight.”
“Like hell you will.” The General’s voice rose. “My daughters’ husbands are going to stay right there at Two Willows in Montana. They are not going to serve in Florida, they are not going to serve overseas. That’s not the life my daughters deserve!”
So the General understood what he’d done when he’d left his wife alone for so many years, Connor thought. And maybe—just maybe—he understood what he’d done to his daughters.
“Point taken, sir. But with all due respect, there’s still time for you to—”
“You take care of Sadie. Don’t let her down.”
The General signed off and the screen went blank.
“It’s beautiful,” Keira said as she walked through the finished walled garden with Sadie ten days later. They’d first checked Sadie’s market stand to make sure all was well, and collected the honor system cash that had been left by purchasers. On their way to the garden, they’d passed Jo, who was handing over the last of the puppies to their delighted new owners. Sadie was glad to see that Jo already seemed more like herself. Her voice was confident when she spoke to her customers, and she wasn’t overly sad at letting the puppies go. But then her sister always felt it was her duty to spread the joy of animals in the world. “People are better when they go through life with animals,” she always said.
“It is beautiful,” Sadie told Keira. Connor, Sean, Brian and Dalton had worked together every day to get it done before the wedding. Their work was impeccable, the capstones giving the rough walls an orderly appearance. She could imagine the enclosed space filled with pathways, flowerbeds, fruit trees and climbing vines. One day her children would play in here, and feel as if they’d stepped into a fairy tale. All that was missing were the gates.
“Do you know what you’ll plant here?”
“I have some ideas.” She’d begun to sketch out plans for the garden, realizing how much she loved to design the shape of the paths and the beds, and what plant should go where.
“Everything seems ready for the wedding.”
Sadie read the unasked question in her voice. “I’m ready, too.” She was. She would step into her marriage with more assurance than most women, she thought. She and Connor had already been through the wringer. They’d seen what the worst could bring out in each other, and they’d come back together again, stronger and wiser. She wore her mother’s locket every day as a talisman. She’d shown it to her sisters who’d all been touched to see it, and they’d agreed that after the wedding they’d take turns keeping possession of it. None of them mentioned that the General was the enemy. It was their mother’s locket—which made it beyond reproach.
“What about you? You’ll be going home soon.” She wondered what would happen then. Connor’s parents had gotten very chummy these past few weeks.
“Yes, I’ll be going home soon.” Keira smiled. “Sean will join me in about a month.” She held up her hand, where a beautiful ring sparkled on her fourth finger.
Sadie gasped. “You’re getting remarried?”
Keira nodded. “We’ll set the ceremony far enough in the future when you two can come and join us. I want my whole family there when I walk down the aisle to marry the man I love.”
Sadie embraced her. “I’m so happy for you. I think Connor will be thrilled. But where are you going to live?”
“Half the year in Ireland, and half the year here. We want to travel, too. After all, that’s how we met in the first place. Sean plans to retire. Dalton will run my family’s ranch, and I’ll step back and give him the room he needs. I hope he finds a wife soon, too.”
As they walked back to the house, Two Willows glowed in the strong summer sunshine, and Sadie’s heart was full. “This is where I belong.”
“This is where you belong,” Keira agreed. “With my son.” She smiled at something over Cass’s shoulder. “Speaking of the devil…”
Sadie turned to see Connor striding toward them, Max at his heels like usual these days.
“I’ll give you two lovebirds some privacy,” Keira said. “See you back at the house.” She gave Connor a peck on his cheek as she passed him. “I’m so happy for both of you,” she told him.
“I’m happy, too,” he said, taking Sadie’s hand and kissing her. Max danced off to explore this new area. “So, is it everything you hoped for?” Connor asked, turning in a circle to indicate the garden. “We still need some plants in here, but otherwise—”
“Otherwise, it’s perfect,” she told him. “I can’t wait to get some trees in the ground.”
Connor smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. I was hanging out in your garden last night and your plants told me a secret.”
“Oh, yeah? What did they say?”
“That a walled garden was useless without a garden gate to shut out the world.”
“We’ll have to get on that.”
“Be right back.”
Sadie looked forward to designing the perfect gate for the garden and wondered if Connor and the other men could build it, or if they’d need—
Sadie gasped as Connor and Brian lugged a heavy wooden door into view. Her eyes filled as she took in the beautiful craftsmanship. Unable to speak, she could only stand while the men maneuvered it into place. Made of solid vertical planks, it was arched, with a circular portal and a wrought-iron handle.
“This is what it’ll look like when it’s hung. What do you think?”
“I think it’s going to make this look like a fairy garden. Connor, it’s wonderful. Where did you find it?”
The smile that spread across her fiancé’s face made Sadie’s heart contract. “I had it custom made. I designed it the first night we talked, and found a local man who could do the work.”
“The first night?” He’d known all along what would please her? He’d ordered the gate before they’d even begun the work? How had he seen the vision in her head?
If she’d had any remaining doubts about Connor, that would have put all of them to rest. But Sadie didn’t have any remaining doubts. Not about him—
Not about her love for him.
Brian steadied the door while Connor came to join her. “It fits, doesn’t it?”
“Absolutely. This garden will be everything I could have dreamed of. More, even.”
“I’ve got one more gift for you, lass.” Connor rejoined Brian and they lifted the gate to one side and leaned it against the wall. Connor disappeared around the wall and came back a moment later, struggling to carry something wrapped in burlap. When he set it down, Sadie realized what it was.
“A tree!”
“Two trees actually. Apple trees—a male and a female, so they’ll pollinate and thrive. It seemed right, somehow.”
Sadie listened to the garden for a moment and realized it was right; she didn’t have any apple trees and the ranch needed some.
“Where do you want them?”
She listened again. Pointed. “One there. The other there.”
Brian brought them a shovel. Connor dug the holes. When they’d managed to plant the small trees, Sadie couldn’t stop smiling. Someday their children would play under them. Someday they’d all eat their fruit.
Connor took her hand and stood beside her. “I see our kids. Two boys and a girl,” he said. When he bent to kiss her, she was already rising up on tiptoe to meet him.
“Two girls and a boy, you mean. I love you,” she added.
“I love you, too.”