Fawn placed her lime green backpack on top of her suitcases outside the front door and waited for the vehicles she'd already heard approaching. Zoe sat on the porch steps while Wade stood next to a pillar, leaning his shoulder against it. Sam lay at Wade's feet with his head resting on his paws. He whined as the three of them watched her. She gave a weak smile to Zoe and the child blinked rapidly. She turned to look down the drive, choking back the lump in her throat.
Both Wade and Zoe had tried to talk her into staying at the ranch, so she'd tried to explain that being a Shapeling Master required much of her. However, known only to her, the greatest reason for leaving was a broken heart. She loved Wade and Zoe. They had become her family.
Three cars rounded the drive stirring up dust whirls. Roth and Rainey and their entourage of bodyguards pulled to the front of Wade's ranch house. Burly men, two in each of the front and rear vehicles, a silver Hummer and a black Hummer, exited, scanned the area, and then stood beside their cars. Johnson drove the center vehicle, a midnight black Cadillac Escalade. He stepped from it and waved at Zoe.
Roth opened the back door of the luxury car and stepped out. He glanced at the gathering on the porch and then turned to reach back into the car. When he faced them again he was holding Davide. Johnson opened Rainey's door and she circled the vehicle to stand beside her husband. Johnson then took up a position at the back of the vehicle. Rainey grinned at Zoe and Fawn as they approached and then looked past them to Wade, still leaning against the pillar. She gave him a hesitant smile.
When Fawn reached her friends, she bent to kiss Davide's cheek. "Hello, Prince Davide," she whispered and then turned to hug Rainey. "You know you didn't have to come all the way to Colorado to pick me up. I could have flown back to Oregon." Softly she added, "And not in a plane."
Rainey laughed. "We know. But you sounded like you needed the support of friends."
Roth interjected, "And Rainey's been itching to take a road trip. We're glad to be here."
He turned his attention to Zoe and squatted so she could see the baby. She gently touched his tiny face. Davide smiled and she giggled. "Hello, little Prince."
Rainey reached to hug Zoe. "I'm so happy to see you again. We've missed you, even Davide."
Zoe turned rounded eyes on Rainey. "Do you really think so?"
"Yes, I do."
Zoe looked up at Fawn. Then her eyes clouded. "I don't want you to go."
Wade had approached and now stood behind Zoe. Fawn introduced him to Roth and Rainey. He tipped his hat. "Pleased to meet ya'll. Would you like to come in for some coffee or tea?"
Fawn glanced at Rainey, sending her a silent pleading with her eyes. Roth started to say something, but Rainey interrupted. "Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Spencer, but we should be on our way. It'll take a couple of days to return home and I've got a full day of experiments lined up at my lab the next day." It was a lame excuse, but Fawn was grateful to her friend for not prolonging the inevitable.
Johnson said, "I'll get your suitcase and backpack on the porch," and hastened away from his post.
Roth motioned to the other bodyguards and they nodded respectfully before reentering their Hummers. Johnson returned carrying the luggage and pressed the button on his fob to open the liftgate to the cargo area.
The inevitable parting had arrived.
Fawn struggled to hold back tears. She knelt beside Zoe and pulled her into a fierce hug. "I'll be back to visit often, honey," she promised. Zoe started crying and hugged Fawn's neck. "I love you, Fawn." Fawn held her a few seconds longer and then stood and turned toward Wade. She extended her hand. He looked at her hand, ignored it, reached behind her neck, and then closed the distance between them. Wrapping his other arm around her possessively, he dipped his head and kissed her with unrestrained passion. Fawn responded in like manner. Slowly, he pulled his lips from hers. She stared up into his moss green eyes and wanted to bury herself in his soul and never leave. A tiny smile creased his mouth before he stepped backward.
Quickly, she entered the Escalade through the door Johnson was holding open and sat in the back seat. He closed the door and she stared out the window, seeing nothing. She heard Rainey murmur goodbye and then felt her enter the car. Turning to look at her friend, she watched Roth hand Rainey the baby so she could buckle him into his car seat while Johnson and Roth entered the front.
Fawn closed her eyes when the vehicles started forward, but opened them when they made a u-turn in the wide space in front of the barn. She gasped when she saw Pierre, Schmitt, Tate, Bud, and Macho lined up, sadly waving goodbye. Huge tears pooled and overflowed onto her cheeks. Rainey reached across the baby's car seat and squeezed her hand. Fawn squeezed back.
***
Wade watched the caravan of cars leave and the dust settle back on the private road to his ranch. He'd seen news reports about the famous Childress family and Fawn had warned him that they traveled well protected; even so, the arrival of Hummers and burly guards had been surreal.
He removed his cowboy hat and ran a hand through his hair. His heart felt as dead as a corpse and he blinked rapidly. Bending down, he scooped Zoe into his arms and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her tiny body shook with sobs.
"It's okay, baby girl. It's okay."
"No, it's not, Daddy. I don't care if Fawn isn't like us. She's got the prettiest colors I ever saw. And when you kissed her, your colors got pretty too."
Wade walked to the porch and sat on the steps with Zoe in his lap. "Zoe, we talked about this. Fawn explained that she's a shapeling and she gets sent on missions; like you were her mission."
"So, why can't you marry her and she can be my mommy and still go on missions?"
"Honey, Fawn told us shapelings live a long time. If I married Fawn, she would see us grow old and die while she was still young. That would break all our hearts."
"But Daddy, your heart is already broken 'cause she's gone. Wouldn't it be better to have a broken heart with her still here?"
Wade gazed into his daughter's innocent eyes for a long time. Suddenly, he smiled. "Zoe, thank you for being so wise. I'm going to do my best to convince Fawn that you're right. But I've got to ride Misty Morning to catch up with the cars. You run over and stay with Pierre until I get back."
"Okay, Daddy, hurry!"
Wade took off running toward the barn with Sam barking at his heels. He'd intended to ride Misty bareback, but when he got there, Tate was holding the reins to his saddled horse. "Just in case you got smart," he said and grinned as he handed the reins to Wade. In one smooth movement, Wade hoisted himself into the saddle and urged Misty into a gallop across the field that would intersect the vehicles. Sam barked and ran behind him.
Wade leaned low over Misty and whispered in her ear. "Give it all you've got girl, it's time to make dreams come true at Dream Catcher Ranch. At his words, Misty Morning fairly flew across the pasture with Wade along for the ride. In the distance he saw the trail of dust from the vehicles, and even though he would have thought it impossible, Misty increased her speed until she was running alongside the center car.
Wade ripped off his cowboy hat and waved it, trying to get Roth's attention. There was no need. The vehicles were already beginning to slow. When they stopped, Wade jumped off Misty.
The bodyguards sandwiching the Escalade exited their vehicles with weapons drawn. Wade raised his hands above his shoulders in a submissive gesture as Roth and Johnson both stepped outside the Escalade, and Roth gave a hand signal to the guards. They holstered their weapons. The back window of the vehicle slid down and Wade saw Rainey peering out of it, with Fawn leaning forward to see past Rainey.
"I want to speak with Fawn." Wade's words sounded like a command although he still held his hands up in submission.
Roth looked him up and down. "Why?"
Wade measured Roth's intimidating presence and suddenly realized he must also be a shapeling. He looked at Rainey. Was she one, too? Or had Roth married a human. He remembered Zoe's words to the baby, "Hello, little Prince." He blinked at his blindness. He had been so consumed with Fawn's leaving that he hadn't seen what was in front of his face. This was the child Gabriel had wanted to know about; the Prince Zoe and Fawn already knew about. Exactly who was this Prince?
Roth repeated his question, "Why do you want to see Fawn."
"That's something I'll discuss only with her."
Roth measured him and then grinned. "I'm glad you came around." He turned and said to his wife, "Wade wants to speak with Fawn."
Rainey grinned and turned toward Fawn, saying something Wade couldn't hear. Roth motioned toward Johnson and the intimidating man walked around the car to open Fawn's door, but she didn't immediately step out. When she did, Wade released the breath he'd been holding and reached to remove his Stetson. Fawn rounded the vehicle but stopped at the back bumper, staring at him. Ignoring all the watching eyes, he slowly walked to stand in front of her. "Zoe's very smart," he said.
Fawn looked confused, "Yes, I know that."
"Do you love me Fawn?"
Her eyes widened and she looked like a deer caught in headlights.
"It's a yes or no question, honey, and I don't mean like a friend. Do you love me like a woman loves a man she wants to spend her days with?"
Fawn's lower lip quivered.
"I thought so, but I wanted to make sure because I'm asking you to become my wife. I love you and I want to spend all my days with you. But before you answer, consider something Zoe said."
Fawn's lower lip continued its quiver and Wade wanted nothing more than to kiss her heartache away. Instead, he said, "Our wise Zoe said, 'But Daddy, your heart is already broken 'cause she's gone. Wouldn't it be better to have a broken heart with her still here'?" Wade reached a hand toward Fawn's mouth, but didn't touch her. "Wouldn't it be better to share our broken hearts and make them whole? No one knows the future. We have the gift of today. Let's share whatever days we have as a family, Sweetheart."
Fawn's luminous gaze held his and then she stepped closer and pressed her lips against his outstretched hand. "Yes, Soiuer."
***
Zoe sat on the front porch with Pierre. She was so nervous she couldn't keep still. Would her daddy bring Fawn back? Would Fawn marry her daddy and become her mommy? She heard Pierre say something in French and looked in the direction he pointed.
He repeated his words. "Mon Dieu."
Zoe squealed, "She's on the horse with him!" and grabbed Pierre's hands. Together they started jumping up and down. And then they joined the ranch hands in running from the barn to the house. By the time Wade and Fawn arrived on Misty Morning, everyone had congregated on the drive. Wade and Fawn arrived to cheers and applause. Wade dismounted and reached to lift Fawn down. She slid the length of his body and gazed lovingly up at him. More cheers erupted. He brushed a kiss across her lips and then bent to lift Zoe into his arms. Fawn reached to hug both of them and shifted Zoe into her own arms. Zoe hugged her neck tightly and whispered in her ear, "Now that I know you're going to stay, I have something special to tell you."
"What's that, honey?"
"I can't let anyone else hear."
Fawn stepped away from the group. "Okay, now you can tell me."
"When Gabriel was making me listen to the voices I heard the pretty one."
"Yes?"
"She told me something special."
Fawn held her breath. "What did she say?"
"She said I'm the Great Prince's Princess."