Chapter 9

Honor looked at her husband as he drew the team to a halt in the Donovans’ yard.

“Are you sure you’re up to visiting?”

Ash shot her a lopsided smile. “It’s your birthday. I don’t want you to miss out on your tradition.”

A kind sentiment, but … “You still look so—”

“Awful?”

“No.” She swatted his knee gently. “Achy.”

He laughed. “If it gets to be too much, I’ll say so, but I want to meet your friends.”

The other guests had already arrived. Adults and older children gathered on the porch while the youngsters ran and chased each other in the yard, their delighted squeals filling the air.

Teagan and Ellie broke away and ambled toward them.

“What’d you tangle with, son?” Teagan called as they neared.

“Who is the better question.” Honor looked Ash’s way. “He fought Nate.”

Honor scrambled down, and Ellie received her with a lingering hug.

Teagan narrowed a glance as Ash climbed down after her. “He came back after we left?” The men shook hands.

“No, but we discovered he’d turned five rattlesnakes loose in our house.” Ash sounded far more casual than she could.

“You’re joshin’.” Teagan shook his head.

Ash shrugged. “It was foolish of me, but I rode out to his place and picked a fight.”

Ellie released Honor. “Hope he looks worse than you.”

The sheepish tilt of Ash’s head elicited a grunt from Teagan.

“Perhaps not, but Ash was very brave.” Honor squeezed her groom’s hand.

Teagan and Ellie exchanged amused smiles, and Teagan wrapped Honor in a warm hug.

“Happy birthday, darlin’.” He kissed the crown of her head as he’d done every birthday for years. The familiar gesture brought memories of birthdays past rushing back. Memories of Papa. A deep ache stole through her. Limbs trembling, she clung to Teagan and tried to draw a breath, though her lungs wouldn’t cooperate.

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air.

Teagan shifted toward Ellie. “What’d I do?”

“She’s probably missing Orrin.” Ellie’s voice cracked with emotion.

Honor squeezed her eyes shut and nodded against Teagan’s chest.

Teagan held her a little tighter. “It’s all right. We all miss him.”

“Sir?” Ash’s voice broke the stillness. “May I?” He looked at Teagan before meeting Honor’s teary gaze.

“I reckon it’s a man’s right to comfort his bride.”

Eyes misting, she slid easily into Ash’s waiting arms and buried her face in his chest. He engulfed her in a warm embrace. The soft rustle of grass was the only indication that Ellie and Teagan walked away.

“I should have thought to ask if you were up to visiting tonight.”

Honor balled his shirt in her fists. “I miss Papa.” Fiercely. So much it nearly suffocated her sometimes. “Too many memories of him involve the people on that porch.”

“Would you rather go home? I’ll make our apologies, if you’d prefer.” He rubbed her back gently.

More than she realized, coming here had driven home the loneliness she felt without Papa. But Ash’s tender affections soothed her rattled nerves, and as he continued to hold her, the tightness in her chest eased.

“No.” She shook her head. “I just need a minute.…”

Silence fell between them, and Honor fought to still her trembling limbs.

Ash kissed her forehead softly. “You’re very brave.”

Something between a laugh and a sob boiled out of her, and she clung all the harder to him. “I don’t feel very brave. If you weren’t holding me up, I’d melt into a big puddle on the ground.”

His hand settled at the small of her back. “Then maybe we’re starting to understand things.”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe this is what marriage is supposed to be. Being strong for each other.”

She eased her grip on his shirt, smoothing the fabric.

“My parents’ marriage was a business arrangement, nothing more. Father married Mother for her family connections and her money. In exchange, Mother received a very comfortable lifestyle, trips abroad whenever she pleased, and children—though she left us to be raised by nannies and governesses most of our early lives. I never sensed they truly cared for each other. When we married, I expected some version of their marriage, though more amicable, I hoped.”

She drew back to look at him. “You did?”

Ash hung his head a little. “That’s not what we have, though. When you were tending to me after the fight, you were caring and compassionate. After my parents’ last visit, I could tell it grieved you, what had happened—and not just because of what Father said about you.”

“I hated that he spoke to you that way.” His father’s sharp words had stung her. How much worse were the man’s well-aimed darts when pointed at Ash’s heart?

“Unfortunately, that’s commonplace behavior with Father. I vowed long ago I wouldn’t be like him.”

She grinned. “It’s working. I feel safe with you.”

His intense gaze set her belly aflutter. “Honor, you stir things in me I’ve never felt before. I want to protect you and give you everything you could ever want. I like that when I needed you, you were there, strong and unwavering. I want to do the same for you.”

“You already do.” She bit her bottom lip.

Ash stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I love you, Honor.”

He loved her? For the second time that afternoon, her lungs wouldn’t expand. She loved him, too, but her tongue froze in her mouth and refused the command to speak. Silence lingered.

Pain—there and gone—flashed across his face. Slanting sunlight made his brown eyes fairly glow, and her belly’s fluttering grew as he leaned in for a featherlight kiss. Instead, she cupped his cheek and met his lips with intensity that set her heart pounding.

Laughter and cheers erupted from the direction of the house. She jerked toward the clamor, as did Ash, and heat washed through her at the ridiculous grins on the faces of her friends.

Teagan waved. “C’mon, you two. The food’s getting cold.”

“You enjoyed your evening?” Ash asked as they turned the horses into their stalls.

She beamed. “Oh, yes. Did you?”

“I laughed so much my face hurts.” He probed the large bruise along his jaw, the dull ache radiating into his skull. “But it was nice.”

At the front of the barn, they collected Honor’s gifts—among them, two new dresses from Ellie and Teagan—and shut the doors. He tucked the bundles under one arm and offered her his other. “Mrs. Rutherford …”

She dipped her chin. Perhaps with more light, he’d see that pretty blush creeping across her cheeks.

Honor cuddled close as they walked toward the house. “You made tonight very special, Ash.”

After depositing the gifts in the nearest chair on the porch, he pulled her into his arms. “I meant what I said. I love you.”

I love you, too. He held his breath, hoping to hear the words. The fervor of her earlier kiss said she did, but …

The moon cast just enough light to outline her upturned face. A hint of moisture glinted against her lower lids. Tears?

“Never thought I’d find love,” she whispered.

“Why would you think that?”

She snorted. “I’m backwards. I wear men’s clothes, I do ranch work. I play in the mud.”

“You’re far from backward.” He smoothed her silky hair and kissed her cheek. “And I liked playing in the mud with you.”

She chuckled but sobered. “When I was younger, I was always more interested in racing or wrestling with the boys than being sweet and demure, playing with dolls.” She shrugged. “Because of that, nobody ever gave me a second look.”

Ash’s heart pounded. Oh, but he would like to wrestle with her, perhaps yet tonight. His body warmed with the thought. “You’re far sweeter than you give yourself credit for. And I gave you a second look.”

“Would you have if we’d met under normal circumstances?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps not, but would you have given a citified dandy like me more than a look?”

She nuzzled against his chest and giggled. “No.”

“Maybe that’s why God had us marry when we were still strangers. So we didn’t miss each other. Honor, you’re beautiful and charming. If I hadn’t looked twice, I’d have missed out.”

From somewhere out in the yard, a voice cut the stillness. “Ain’t that sweet.”

Nate.

Honor jerked away to face the yard.

Ash stepped around her, blocking her from the intruder. “I thought we told you not to come on our property again.”

“Just came to bring Honor her birthday gift.” He shook what looked like a piece of paper.

Gift? Ash shivered. “We don’t want anything you’ve got to offer. Now get off our ranch.”

“This one’s harmless enough. I’ll just leave it here.” Nate stepped toward the porch, produced something else from his pocket, and speared the paper onto the nearest wooden post. “Have a nice evening. I’ll see you Monday. Oh, and … happy birthday, Honor.”

He faded into the darkness, and after a moment, hoofbeats thundered away.

Behind Ash, the click of a lock and the rattle of a door signaled Honor was headed inside.

“Wait.” Ash grabbed her arm. “Let me go first.” They’d started locking the door after the snake incident, but with Nate … “Just in case.”

Ash slid past her, lit a match, and touched it to the nearby lantern. Both glanced around the room.

Honor looked at him. “Everything seems in place.”

Ash snatched the lantern and stalked back to the porch. A small knife protruded from the post, tacking a folded paper in place. He worked it loose and, paper and blade in hand, returned inside.

“What is it?” Honor’s eyes shifted between his face and the paper.

He skimmed the official-looking contents of the page.

“Well?”

“It’s a summons to appear in court. Nate is contesting your father’s will.”