Almost one year later at the Parsons arena near Browning, Montana
The evening was warm for spring, and the breeze drifting through the open doors of the new indoor arena was soft with the promise of summer, despite the snow still gleaming on the peaks outside. Inside, one end of the dirt had been packed hard for the night’s festivities. As Gil leaned against a post at the edge of the makeshift dance floor, he was caught in a powerful wave of déjà vu.
Where would he be right now if he hadn’t gone into the Stockman’s Bar that night? Not here. And not this unbelievably happy.
He probably wouldn’t have a whole new family to get to know either. Sanchez Trucking had hired several of Rochelle’s relatives to help keep up with all the new business, and three of the cousins had moved to Earnest, two of them with their wives and kids. A person could say they were reverse colonizing the Panhandle, and Gil took great pleasure in imagining Earnest students being taught by the newly hired Mrs. Yazzie.
Those kids were gonna get a whole new perspective on American history.
The band wrapped up a song, and Eddie stepped onto the temporary wooden stage. Carma and Bing fretted about how he needed to gain back more weight, but Eddie was less haggard than he’d been almost a year ago. Those first weeks back from Afghanistan he’d struggled to leave his cabin at the Patterson ranch.
Gil and Eddie shared a mutual obsession with technology and how to make things work better. Plus they both loved Carma…and knew a thing or two about nightmares. But it was Eddie and Quint who’d truly bonded. Quint who’d stayed in the cabin with him, playing cards or watching TV late into the night. And Quint who’d lured him to the arena to rope steers with Tori’s dad and whoever else was passing through.
Gil and Carma had rented a cottage in a small town almost dead center between Earnest and the Patterson ranch. The thing was tiny and possibly even uglier than Delon and Tori’s, but the backyard was surrounded by trees and a high wooden fence, which allowed Carma to stretch out under the sky in whatever state of dress—or undress—she preferred.
Gil couldn’t imagine anything better than rolling in late from a big win at the rodeo in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to find Carma basking in the moonlight, unless it was the two of them naked under the stars together.
And when spring had begun to chase the white from the mountain peaks and scatter wildflowers across the Montana prairie, Eddie had decided he was ready to come home and manage the program his family had built for him.
The lead singer relinquished the microphone, and Eddie cleared his throat. “Thank you for coming to the official opening of the Thelma White Elk Program for Hope. Our grandmother would have been so happy to see all of you here, supporting her dream.” Eddie gestured to a couple standing near the back. “We also have to thank David and Mary Parsons for giving us a home here in their arena.”
“Hey! What about me?” someone called.
Eddie laughed, more freely than since Gil had met him in that hospital in Germany. “And their son Kylan Running Bird, who has volunteered to be our official farrier.”
Kylan waved from the corner where he, Beni, Quint, and a few other teenagers were lounging, all of them ropers. When Beni had heard Quint’s plans, he’d declared that they were gonna partner up to start a new Sanchez family tradition.
Team roping. Geezus.
Beni had also suggested that his dad and Gil consider learning, too, since they couldn’t ride broncs forever. It was a lot more tempting than Gil liked to admit.
“Don’t forget that the silent auction closes in half an hour,” Eddie reminded everyone. Then, with a grand sweep of his arm, he announced. “And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for…my lovely and talented sister, Carmelita!”
Gil was lost as soon as Carma started to dance. She looked almost exactly the same as when he’d first seen her, in black leggings, moccasins, and that clingy black dress. Tonight she’d cinched a silver and turquoise belt around her waist and left her hair loose.
He would never get tired of watching her turn a piece of rope into a living thing that danced along with her. Hell, he’d never get tired of watching Carma do anything.
Directly across the dance floor, Delon stood with both arms around Tori’s waist, her head tipped back against his shoulder. He and Gil had spent the day at the rodeo grounds, teaching a free clinic for a horde of eager young cowboys—and two that were pushing thirty. In high school they’d been the ones to beat, before drugs and alcohol had derailed them. Gil’s story had persuaded them to give it another shot—and they were only the latest of many who’d made a point of letting him know that he’d changed their outlook on life.
Gil Sanchez, inspiration. That took some getting used to.
Meanwhile, the Sanchez brothers had been trading spots in the top ten in standings through the first half of the year, sticking to Delon’s carefully plotted schedule of only the best rodeos. And there were still nights when Gil woke up in a cold sweat, sure it was all a dream. Then Carma would shift or sigh, and he’d nestle in close and count his blessings until he fell asleep.
The music changed to something slow and sweet and Carma paused, tossed aside her rope in favor of a longer one, then held out a hand, beckoning Gil onto the floor. She didn’t have to ask twice.
He closed his hands around her waist and moved with her, swaying slowly as she fed more and more rope into the loop, then lifted it up and over so it spun around the two of them.
Her eyes were warm and dark, her gaze locked on his as she said, “You know they call this the wedding ring.”
“Yeah.”
“And there’s a special tradition, where you invite the person you love inside the ring with you.”
“Really? I’ve never heard of…” Then it hit him, and he nearly stumbled. “Is this a proposal?”
She smiled in the way that made him feel as if he’d been created just to put that light in her eyes. “Yes?”
“Well, shit.”
Carma’s loop wobbled, along with her smile. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
“No! I mean, it’s fine. I just had this plan…” He splayed his fingers over his breast pocket, so she could see the distinctive outline of the ring he’d tucked in there.
“Oh no.” She closed her eyes. “I did it again. I jumped the gun. God, I suck at big romantic moments. Let’s just pretend I never said anything, and—”
“Uh-uh. I’ll give you the proposal…and raise you about a hundred thousand.” He reached into that same pocket and pulled out a business card with a date scribbled. “When we get home, we have an appointment with the architect who’s doing the remodel of the office.”
As long as no one wanted to live in the apartment, it might as well be office space. Plus they wouldn’t have to worry about Quint and Beni sneaking girls up there the way he and Delon had.
Her brows pinched together in confusion. “What’s that got to do with me?”
“We’re gonna go out back in the pasture, and you’re gonna show him where you want to build our new house.”
She took the card with the hand that wasn’t still busy spinning the rope, almost flawlessly. “But…you have a house.”
“Not for much longer. I’m leasing it to Analise and Cruz as a sort of wedding present. They can’t live in that dinky apartment of hers forever. Besides, now that she’s in charge of dispatch, she can be the one living right behind the shop. I figure our place will be done about the time you and Tori get that second clinic up and running in Dumas, and you don’t have to commute anymore.”
She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Have I ever told you how much I love the way you pay attention to all the little details?”
“I believe you have.” He let everything he felt blaze through his grin. “But I’m willing to let you compliment my skills again later.”
“Meet you at your sleeper?”
“You betcha.”
Her eyes glistened through a sheen of tears as she handed him back the card, then held up her left hand. He slid the ring into place and she laughed with pure joy, lighting up every corner of his soul. He kissed her, deep and possessive, while the rope drifted to the ground, the loop wrapping around their legs and binding them together. All around them, friends and family applauded, calling out congratulations.
And through the wide door that was thrown open to the night, Gil could have sworn he heard the stars singing.