“I’ve never been more serious. I thought about you when I was away...and I wondered if you were married. I’m glad you’re not.”

“You didn’t even know who I was!”

“Are you kidding? Believe me, I knew, but a guy can get arrested for thinking the way I did about you back then.”

Ellie recognized a lie when she heard one. “I appreciate the offer, I truly do, and if I have a vacancy anytime soon, I’ll give you a call.”

“Hey, don’t be hasty here. We were going to lunch, remember?”

A loud knock sounded on the office door. “Ellie, are you in there?”

Glen Patterson. Arriving like the cavalry the minute she needed rescuing. His timing couldn’t have been better.

“Come on in,” she called, moving toward the door.

Glen let himself inside and frowned when he saw Richard.

“I was trying to talk Ellie into getting away for an hour or so. To have lunch,” Richard explained, his smile as friendly as if they’d been involved in harmless conversation instead of a kiss.

It might have helped if Glen had displayed a shred of jealousy, but he didn’t. “Good idea,” he said, glancing at Ellie. “You need to get out more.”

“I can’t today. Maybe some other time,” she said, and scampered past the two men.

Ten minutes later Glen found her in the storeroom going through the order. “Richard’s gone?” she asked.

“Yeah. He hasn’t changed much, has he?”

“How do you mean?”

Glen didn’t answer until she glanced up from the clipboard.

“He’s a wheeler-dealer.”

“So I noticed,” she said with a chuckle. She fanned her face and deliberately expelled a breath.

“Hey, what does that mean?”

“What do you think it means?”

Glen thought about that for a moment, and either didn’t get it or wasn’t willing to say it out loud.

“Let’s put it like this,” Ellie said. “Richard Weston was interested in a whole lot more than lunch.”

Glen’s eyes widened considerably.

“Why does that shock you? Does it surprise you to realize other men might look on me as more than one of the guys?”

Again he took his time responding. “Not really. You’re about the best damn friend I’ve ever had. And you’re game for just about anything.”

“Within limits,” she said, thinking of Richard’s proposal.

“Within limits,” Glen agreed, then laughed. “Hell, maybe it isn’t such a bad idea, after all.”

“You and me?”

He looked stunned. “Hell, no. You and Richard.”

Nine

Sunday morning Maggie slipped into Savannah’s pew and leaned against her just as Wade McMillen approached the pulpit. Slipping an arm around the child, Savannah pulled her close, acknowledging just how much she’d come to love her friend’s daughter. They’d formed a special bond, and it wasn’t unusual for Maggie to sit with Savannah during church services.

A talented speaker, Wade often used humor in his sermons. The theme of this morning’s talk revolved around the opportunities God presented. Savannah found herself laughing along with the rest of the congregation as Wade relayed the story of a man stuck on a rooftop in a flash flood.

Three times a rescue team had come for him, and each time the man insisted that God would provide. The man died and went to heaven and confronted the Lord, demanding to know why his faith had gone unanswered.

“I sent the Red Cross, a boat and a helicopter,” God told him. “What more could I have done?”

Wade had a way of communicating truth without being obtrusive, dogmatic or self-righteous. Savannah often wondered why he remained unmarried when any number of eligible young women in Promise would have been thrilled to be his wife. It was a frequent source of interest, gossip and speculation at any gathering of church members.

Maggie squirmed as the sermon drew to a close. She smiled up at Savannah and silently turned the pages of her hymnal, waiting until the choir stood to sing and she could see her mother.

The love she felt for this child poured through Savannah’s heart, and with it a desire so deep and so long denied that it bordered on pain. Until she’d met Laredo, she’d relinquished the dream of ever becoming a bride—and, of course, along with that, a mother.

The yearning to bear a child of her own burned in her heart now. She closed her eyes and her mind instantly filled with the image of a young boy of five or six. He was dressed in jeans, a shirt, hat and boots, a miniature version of Laredo. The child trailed after him as they headed toward the corral. Father and son. Their child, hers and Laredo’s. The thought moved her so strongly, she battled back a sudden urge to weep. Savannah felt a thrill of pure happiness at the sheer wonder of having found Laredo.

What a wonderful husband and father he’d be. Laredo had been patient and gentle with Maggie from the first, while Grady groped clumsily in his effort to make friends with the little girl. Laredo was a natural with children, and it was easy to imagine him surrounded by a whole brood of them.

Most important of all Laredo loved her. She was confident of that. Not that he openly confessed his feelings. But Savannah didn’t need a formal declaration or flowery words to know how he felt. A hundred times, more, he’d shown her his feelings.

Laredo was protective of her, his manner traditional in the very best way. He was thoughtful and considerate, sensitive to her moods and needs. As far as Savannah was concerned, his actions spoke far more eloquently than anything he could ever say. Last week, for instance, while she was working on the design for her catalog, he’d brought in a cup of coffee, set it on the desk beside her, kissed her cheek and silently left the room. Another day he’d seen her carrying a heavy load of laundry outside to hang on the clothesline, and he’d rushed to her side and carried it for her.

Wiley had teased Laredo unmercifully that day, pretending he was in dire need of assistance, mincing around and flapping his hands in a ridiculous imitation of a woman in distress. Laredo had paid no attention to his antics.

After the Sunday service was dismissed, Caroline met Savannah in the front of the church. “I thought you said Richard was coming with you this morning,” her friend said.

“I thought he would.” Savannah was deeply disappointed in her younger brother. Grady was barely speaking to her, which was nothing new, and all because she continued to champion her brother’s cause. Despite Richard’s reprehensible actions, he was their brother. No matter what he’d done, she wouldn’t allow Grady to throw him off the ranch. He had nowhere else to go. He’d told her he was still waiting for the money that was supposed to be in the mail; he seemed so sure it would be arriving any day. Because she believed him—had to believe him—she’d lent him money herself, although she didn’t let Grady or Laredo know that.

“Do you think he’s ever going to change?” Caroline asked. “I’m just so afraid that if you trust him, you might be setting yourself up for heartache.”

“He’s my brother,” Savannah said simply. She was convinced that their mother, had she been alive, wouldn’t have allowed Grady to kick Richard out, either.

“There’s something different about you,” Caroline said when she reached her car.

“Different?” Although she formed the word as a question, Savannah knew what Caroline meant. And it was true. She wasn’t the same woman she’d been as little as a month ago. “I’m happy,” she said, blushing profusely. “Really truly happy.”

“Laredo?” Caroline asked.

Savannah lowered her eyes and nodded.

“I like Laredo,” Maggie announced. “And Richard.”

“What about Grady?” Caroline coaxed her daughter.

Maggie pinched her lips together tightly. “Grady’s...okay, I guess, but he yells too much.”