It was going to be a long ride back to the Indian Nation without his friend Oz at his side. Already Sam missed him more than he wanted to admit. A dozen times a day he turned to say something to the man that would never ride at his side again. Every time, the knowledge he could never share a thought with him again hit him with a new wave of grief.
His arm was a long way from well, but it was well enough for him to leave. Kate and the other ranchers in the valley were past their need for his presence. The secret of Sorenson’s past was safe with him. Russell was gone. Grede’s wings were clipped sufficiently to be circumspect in his ambitions. Winter was fast approaching.
Eva Spalding had made no effort to hide her tears as she said goodbye. She had tried with every wile and ruse she knew to get Sam and Kate back together. The stubbornness of both of them had proved more than a match for her.
Even Bart Spalding had walked away, suspiciously swiping a hand across the corners of his eyes, rather than watch Sam ride out.
The road back to the Indian Nation didn’t require Sam to ride past Kate’s place. He hadn’t even realized he was riding that way. Now he sat on the knoll, looking down on the yard, wondering how and why he had ended up here.
As if under the control of something beyond his own will, he rode slowly down the hill into the yard. From the corral, Billy’s horse whinnied a welcome that Sam’s horse answered at once.
Almost at once Kate appeared in the door of her house, rifle in hand. It took her several seconds to recognize Sam as he approached. He was nearly into the yard when she did so. When it dawned on her that it was Sam, she uttered an incomprehensible squawk. She dropped her rifle on the ground, hefted the sides of her skirt, and began running toward him.
As she approached, he stepped from the saddle. Two steps in front of his horse, she lunged wordlessly into his arms. As his arms wrapped around her, she wrapped her own around him, hugging him with enough force that he marveled at her strength.
They stood there that way, silently. She buried her face against his shirt. He buried his face in her hair, smelling once more the fragrance of the soft soap he had cherished so carefully until it was completely gone.
After a long moment, each relaxed the grip with which they had held each other. She took half a step back and looked up into his face, keeping her hands on his sides. Tears coursed down her cheeks. In scarcely more than a whisper, she said, ‘You came back.’
Fighting back his own tears, his voice was husky. ‘I was just headin’ out, goin’ back to the Indian Nation. I didn’t really intend to come here. I just couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t stay away any longer.’
‘I’m sorry I said all those awful things to you.’
‘I’m sorry I paid attention to ’em.’
‘I didn’t want to admit how much I needed you. How much I wanted you. How terrified I was that you’d just ride away, out of our lives, the way you rode in. I didn’t want to admit that I was too weak to even think about having to live without you. So I said the exact opposite of everything I wanted to say. I know it must have hurt you.’
‘It hurt some,’ he understated.
‘How is your arm? It’s going to be OK, isn’t it? I’ve been so scared, and you wouldn’t even stop by to let me know what was going on. Are you OK?’
‘Mostly I’ve been some lonesome.’
‘Me too. Oh, Sam, I can’t believe how empty the house has been since you left. Please tell me you won’t ever leave again.’
He looked into her eyes, wanting that moment, and the sound of her words, to echo in his mind for the rest of his life. ‘You couldn’t drive me away again,’ he asserted softly.
That was all she was waiting for. She came against him, her head tilted back. He was painfully aware of how long it had been since he’d had a good bath and shave. She was aware only that the man she loved had come back to her.
‘Sam!’ The excited voice of young Billy shattered the magic of the moment.
Sam and Kate stepped slightly away from each other, turning to face the hurtling dynamo that erupted from the door of the house. ‘Sam! You did come back! You’re back, Sam!’
He leaped into Sam’s arms, throwing his arms around him, burying his face in Sam’s shoulder, not even noticing the grimace of pain as he squeezed Sam’s injured arm. ‘I knew you’d come back, Sam! I just knew it. I been prayin’ every night, and I been tryin’ to take care o’ stuff, and Ma’s been bawlin’ most o’ the time since you left an’ I was startin’ to think that you wasn’t never gonna come back. But I knew you would. I really did. You ain’t never gonna leave again, are you Sam? Are you?’
Sam set the boy back on his feet. His arm slid easily around Kate’s waist. He grinned as he tousled Billy’s bushy hair. ‘No, Billy. I ain’t gonna leave again.’
Billy grinned from ear to ear. ‘You gonna be my pa, Sam?’
Sam’s eyes darted to Kate’s, seeking and finding the answer he sought. Looking into her eyes instead of at the boy, he answered, ‘If she’ll have me, son.’
Kate’s eyes abruptly took on a mischievous twinkle. ‘Was that supposed to pass for a proposal, Sam Heller?’
Sam felt suddenly at a loss for words, and found himself stammering. ‘Well, I, uh, that is, I thought from what you said, I mean, that is, well, what I meant.…’
Kate giggled delightfully. ‘Stop stammering, sweetheart. I just asked a simple question. Are you asking me to marry you?’
He took a deep breath, scarcely hearing anything except that she had called him, ‘sweetheart.’
‘Uh, well, yeah. Yeah, I am,’ he said, feeling that it sounded ridiculously lame.
She giggled again. She moved against him, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him. ‘Then the answer is “Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes, Sam Heller”.’
As she kissed him again, she felt him sway unsteadily on his feet. She stepped back in obvious alarm. ‘Are you all right, Sam?’
He took a deep breath. ‘Just a tad bit on the woozy side. I lost a bit of blood. To tell the truth, I ain’t slept too good, neither. I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about you long enough.’
‘Oh, Sam! Oh dear! And here I am talking your leg off! Billy, take care of Sam’s horse. Sam, come on in and we’ll eat some supper. Then I’ll heat some water and let you take a bath.’
He did. They did. She did. Sam’s hair was still wet when she made him lie down on her bed. He was lost in the sleep of total exhaustion before his hair had more than scarcely dampened the pillow.
It wasn’t anything like she had fantasized it would be if and when he returned. But he was back, and that was enough. When Billy had climbed into the loft to his own bed, she lay down beside the unconscious answer to her prayers and fell asleep, her arm draped possessively across him.