That same Sunday evening, two days after Maisey’s scene on the boardwalk, Liza set the table while Janie checked on her pie for the fifth time.
William and Charlotte had only stayed for a single day, Charlotte anxious to get the baby back home.
Liza hadn't slept well, her mind whirling with thoughts of Maisey and her accusations and whether Rob wanted to marry Priscilla after all.
Probably Priscilla wouldn't reject his suit.
Mama and Janie had tiptoed around her, but now both were distracted by Nathan coming to supper.
The train whistle blew, muted from the edge of town, as Liza dusted behind the counter, and she closed her eyes against an onslaught of pain and memories.
Janie flitted around, adjusting the cushions on their tiny sofa and then leaning over Liza's shoulder to check on the roast she'd pulled from the oven. The pie cooled on a rack on the counter.
When the knock came and Janie opened the door, a tall figure stood behind Nathan on the landing.
Rob.
He'd swept his hat off, and his hair was rumpled and a little crazy. What looked like his Sunday suit was wrinkled, and one lapel was askew.
Her stomach swooped. She nearly dropped the dish but managed to push it onto the stovetop with shaking hands. She clutched the towel between her hands.
He watched her over Nathan's shoulder, his eyes burning with an intensity she didn't know how to read.
Nathan brushed a kiss across Janie's cheek. "I hope you don't mind another guest at the table. I ran into this cowpoke on the boardwalk. He'd just arrived on the evening train." The men exchanged a glance.
And of course Janie was a consummate hostess. "What a lovely surprise. Come in, both of you."
"I hear congratulations are in order," Rob said. His smile for Janie was genuine and held no hint of the doubts he'd expressed to Liza so long ago.
Liza turned her back on them for only a moment, attempting to compose herself.
Her heart was racing with hope and love, and there Rob was, standing with Janie and Nathan, making small talk.
Voices on the landing preceded Mama and Papa and Kitty, who were arriving from an afternoon visit to friends across town.
Liza pasted on a smile as she carried the roast and vegetables to the table.
With Lydia gone, their dinner table had felt larger. Now, with Nathan and Rob joining them, the entire room felt as if it had shrunk like a piece of tanned leather.
Liza ended up across the table and one seat over from Rob, who sat between Papa and Nathan. Papa struck up a lengthy conversation with Rob about his land and the family's heritage in Sheridan County.
Janie was careful to include Liza in conversation, but she couldn't have said later what they’d talked about.
She felt too anxious to choke down much food and had no idea what it tasted like.
She was aware of every glance Rob sent her way. The pointed intensity of his gaze never wavered, though he held his own in conversation with Papa and even teased Nathan several times.
And as Janie rose to fetch the cherry pie she'd spent an hour getting just right, Rob leaned back in his chair, hands clasped over his midsection.
And something touched her foot beneath the table. His boot?
Pulse pounding in her temples, she dared glance across the table at him.
"…had twins,” he was saying to Papa. “I've got my foreman bottle-feeding one of them because the mama rejected it."
The man wasn't even looking at her.
But was that tiny smile playing at the corners of his mouth for her benefit? Or for Papa's?
His boot slid along the side of hers, a slight pressure that told her the touch wasn't coincidence after all.
And her heart continued to hammer.
The pie was eaten, though Liza mostly used her fork to push hers around on her plate.
And then the men were standing. Rob was leaving.
"Take a stroll with me?" Nathan asked Janie.
She nodded.
And Nathan turned a friendly gaze on Liza. "Come with us, Liza. You can keep Rob company."
"You don't have to go with him if you don't want to," Mama muttered behind Liza's back as she carted two plates to the sink.
Liza’s face burned.
Something passed between the men again, a glance.
Liza didn't care. She rose from the table trying to steady her wobbly knees. "I'll get my shawl."
Rob touched the small of Liza's back as their boots hit the bottom step before the boardwalk.
He'd felt a strange mix of anticipation and urgency sitting in her family's apartment. Sort of like the feeling he'd had getting ready to get on a bull for the first—and only—time at a cowboy competition.
He wasn't unaware of the covert glances and appreciative, shy sparkle in Liza’s eyes. That, plus what he'd overheard this morning, had his hope flying as high as a boy's kite.
It was pure luck he'd run into Nathan as he'd been making tracks from the train station to Liza's home. It had only taken a few sentences to get Nathan on board with wrangling an invitation for him to supper and a request to walk out with the two women.
That her mother disliked him was obvious, but he couldn't find it in him to care.
He was with Liza.
And she wouldn't say no to his proposal.
Hopefully.
If he didn't muck it up again.
"Would you…?" He extended his elbow, and a wave of relief and warmth rushed through him when her small hand slipped in and rested in the crook of his arm.
They wandered down Main Street as evening fell, the sun streaking the sky with orange and scarlet hues. The boardwalks were empty, all the businesses closed for the evening. Even the saloons at the end of the thoroughfare. He allowed Nathan and Janie to outpace them. He didn't particularly want an audience for what he had to say.
"I'm sorry," he said, then fumbled his words. "I meant to come sooner, but with the end of spring calving and then branding and the cattle sale..."
Her head tilted, and she slanted a glance at him. "As I understand it, you've been busy tracking down my little sister and helping her wedding along."
He grimaced. "I should've known she wouldn't be able to keep a secret."
Liza grinned. "Yes, you should've." She paused. "Thank you."
He frowned. "It was what she wanted, but I hope it wasn't a mistake."
"And thank you for whatever you said to Nathan that inspired him to propose."
He shook his head. "That was mostly Nathan. He’s a fool over her."
"My mother is delighted by both events."
He chose not to respond to that.
Liza slanted another glance at him. "I'm sorry she wasn't very welcoming tonight."
He'd have sat on a fire ant hill in the hot summer sun if it meant Liza would smile at him the way she had at supper.
"I overheard something interesting after church services this morning," he murmured. "Mrs. Collins was telling a story about Maisey. And you."
She colored, averting her eyes. Finally, she said, "Yes, she was here."
His heart was racing, but he couldn't quit now. Nathan and Janie were far enough ahead, and they didn't notice when he stopped and turned to face Liza. He took both her hands in his.
"I'm sorry if she was unkind to you, but what Mrs. Collins said has given me the deepest hope." He inhaled deeply. "If your feelings for me remain what they were in May, stop me now. I won't say another word."
He let the pause linger between them, was gratified when she only gazed up at him with shining eyes.
He let go of her hands to clasp her waist gently. "My love for you is even stronger now than it was then. I still want to marry you, if you'll have me. Brownie misses you. I miss your smile at all hours of the day. I can't promise that I'll always know the right way to woo you or the perfect words to say, but my love for you will never fail."
Her smile turned tremulous, and she took a deep breath. "How could I refuse a proposal like that?"
Joy thrilled through him, and he lowered his head to take her lips in a sweet kiss. Emotion wracked him, and he broke off the kiss but hugged her close.
Her hands went behind his neck, and she threaded her fingers into the hair at his nape, sending fire down his back straight to his gut.
"I've regretted my response to your first proposal every day," she whispered. "Can you forgive me for my callousness?"
He squeezed her waist. "I could've handled things better."
Her chin moved against his shoulder. "You'll have to speak to my father."
Anticipation and dread mixed again. She was worth the trouble.
"Janie and Nathan are getting married two weeks from today," she said. "Perhaps we should make it a double wedding?"
He grinned. "Done."