Chapter Fourteen
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On the day of his wedding, Hunter watched the guests settle into the folding chairs that were arranged in the front yard of Two Willows. The morning had dawned clear, and after a brief scare when a squall had run through the area, the skies were clear again. It was a cool day with a hint of a breeze. It was a good day to be alive, Hunter decided.
A good day to marry the woman he loved.
They’d taken a chance scheduling an outdoor wedding, but Jo had wanted one and it had all worked out. Hunter was glad.
In the past week, they’d made love in every corner of the small house and he wondered how long it would take for Jo to get pregnant. He wasn’t in too much of a hurry. He was having far too much fun now. After the wedding, they were headed for a short honeymoon in New England. They were going to see the fall colors and tour the quaint towns and scenic byways of Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, which would give them plenty of opportunities to work on that baby. Hunter looked forward to seeing a part of the country he hadn’t spent time in before. He thought Jo felt as he did; that stepping out of their lives for a few weeks would give them a chance to simply be together and start their time together as husband and wife right.
His mother took her seat in the front row and gestured to Sue-Ann and Jessie Frank to join them. The rest of the Frank siblings sat beside them and in the row behind them. It was good to be surrounded by the noisy, happy family again.
All but Marlon, who hadn’t gotten in touch since their last conversation. Hunter knew he was serving his time. He hoped Marlon was on his own journey—toward healing. Toward a future where love could touch him again.
“You ready?” Connor appeared by his side.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Let’s get ’er done.”
They walked out together to take their places by Reverend Halpern. Hunter shook the man’s hand, suddenly nervous, although he didn’t know why.
This was his home. These were his people.
And somewhere in the house, waiting for her cue, was Jo.
Emotion constricted Hunter’s throat when as he watched first Sadie, then Lena, then Alice, then Cass step out of the doorway in their spring-green bridesmaid gowns and walk sedately up the aisle between the rows of seats toward him. When Jo stepped out, however, on Brian’s arm, he only had eyes for her. Slim and beautiful in her mother’s wedding gown, she held her head high and kept her gaze on him as she walked to stand beside him.
There was no doubt in Jo’s eyes. They were clear, untroubled, shining with the same love he felt for her.
When she drew near, he held out his hand and she took it. Hunter had to keep himself from holding on too tightly. He was overcome with love for this woman.
Overcome with gratitude for every step—no matter how hard—that had brought him here.
“Dearly Beloved,” Reverend Halpern began, and Hunter swallowed, joy beginning to burn in his chest. This was everything he wanted.
He had a wife. A family.
A true home.
Jo thought she’d never been so happy. As Reverend Halpern spoke the words that would bind them together, she couldn’t keep from clinging to Hunter’s hand. She wondered how she could ever have been fooled by another man; this love was unlike anything she’d ever felt before.
Hunter understood her in a way no one had since her mother died. He’d seen her true assets—her strength, courage and loyalty—and fallen in love with them.
She’d seen him for what he was, too—a man who did the right thing even when it was hard. Someone who’d be there for her, talk to her, help her weigh her options. Someone who might be bossy from time to time but who would listen in the end.
She was determined to be a true partner to him. She couldn’t wait for their honeymoon—to spend time with Hunter alone, away from the cares and worries of Two Willows.
But she knew she’d be just as happy to come home and inhabit the little house they’d built together. All winter long they’d make plans for the real house they’d build come spring, but for now a cozy home built just for two seemed like the perfect place to spend the first months of their marriage.
As Hunter slid her wedding band on her finger, then bent to kiss her, Jo rose up on tiptoe to meet him and thought her heart would burst with joy.
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” Reverend Halpern intoned.
She wrapped her arms around Hunter’s neck and laughed when he spun her in a circle.
“Ready for the rest of your life, Mrs. Powell?” he asked when they faced the congregation again.
“Ready, Mr. Powell.”
And she was.
Kitchen duty. There wasn’t anything Lena hated as much as kitchen duty, but it was better than simpering around among the guests in this travesty of a dress.
It was a green, full-length gown with a hem she’d stepped on and torn at each of the weddings she’d worn it to so far. After Sadie’s wedding, Alice had held up the pieces in exasperation. “At this rate I’ll need to sew a whole new one before everyone’s married!”
Lena slammed a pile of dishes into the sink and ran water over them. Outside, people were still dancing, the music and laughter sliding in the open windows.
The night was cooling down, however, and already the men were building a bonfire to keep folks warm. Soon they’d be in for another hard, cold Montana winter.
Lena didn’t mind. She loved every season at Two Willows. Coming home from the barns on a cold, crystal winter evening, every star a bright pinprick in the sky—
Those were moments to live for.
She could almost enjoy herself if there weren’t so many damn men around the place these days.
Not that any of them were bad in themselves. She’d come to respect Brian and Connor, and even held some admiration for Hunter after the way he’d saved Jo.
But three were enough. She’d have to work hard to keep on top now that they could gang up on her.
Someone knocked on the front door, and Lena groaned but dried her hands and made her way across the kitchen.
This was her ranch. Hers. Not Brian’s or Connor’s—or Hunter’s, for that matter.
Her cattle operation.
She hoped they understood that.
The knock sounded again.
She hoped the General understood that, too. Two Willows wasn’t Reed land. It had belonged to the Griffiths—her mother’s family.
He didn’t get to call the shots here.
She had almost reached the door when the knocking became a thunderous pounding.
Lena yanked the door open in irritation—saw a tall man, with the shoulders of a fullback and biceps as big as cantaloupes, his hazel eyes flashing with humor, mouth tugging into a smile as he took her in—
“Hello, baby girl. I’m Logan Hughes. The General sent me,” he began.
“Oh, hell no!” Lena slammed the door shut.
And locked it.
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