“Congratulations! That’s great!” Of all the regrets she had, and there were a lot, she didn’t regret her children. They were the biggest blessing in her life.

  Rem slapped him on the back. “Keep working on it, man. It’s gonna take a while for you to catch up to me.”

  Ford snorted. “Think I’d like to do it one at a time.”

  “No challenge in that.”

  Ford laughed. They closed the door behind him.

  Maybe it wasn’t just the money and ranch. He’d admitted he wanted the challenge too. Somehow that didn’t make her feel better.

  The kids had been cleaned up and were running around the house.

  “You want to get that letter? We’ll call before we clean up the food.”

  “Of course. I’ll just be a minute.” She spun and hurried into her small bedroom, closing the door behind her. Their guests had been there less than an hour. It was probably dumb of her to even get dressed up. But she had wanted to feel pretty for just a little bit. Maybe she wanted Rem to notice her. He didn’t seem to put any effort into looking breathtakingly handsome. While she felt drab and exhausted all the time.

  But it hadn’t worked. He hadn’t sent her any lingering gazes or told her she was beautiful, although he did call her dress pretty.

  It was a good thing he liked it because it was her only summer dress and he’d be seeing it every Sunday come summer.

  She changed quickly, not allowing herself to wonder where he was going to sleep tonight. James’s dresser was still there and empty. There wasn’t anything to arrange, just Rem’s clothes to move in.

  He’d said no when she asked if she should move into Heaven’s room.

  Pushing those thoughts aside—all they’d do was make her anxious—she grabbed the letter before hurrying back out.

  He had the table cleared, and he was wiping it, Carson on his shoulders, when she walked in.

  Carson laughed, his chubby hands gripping tight to Rem’s cheeks. It had to hurt, but Rem had one hand on the rag and one hand on a plump foot, his fingers tickling the stubby toes.

  “Thanks for holding him during the ceremony,” she said.

  “What’s the ex’s visitation schedule?” he asked, not acknowledging her appreciation.

  She straightened her shoulders, preparing for his reaction. People had told her she was stupid, and maybe she was. “He signed away his rights. I don’t get any child support or alimony, but he doesn’t have any right to my children.”

  Rem’s hand stilled on the table. He straightened slowly. “He’s not giving you any money?”

  “No.”

  “Was your lawyer stoned when he made that deal?”

  “It wasn’t the lawyer. It was me. That’s what I wanted.”

  “You wanted to let him off the hook for his responsibility?”

  “No.” She looked around to see if any of the older children were listening. She had sworn they would never hear her bad-mouth James. “He left me. Us. All of us. I didn’t want to give him any rights to tell me what to do with my children or to do anything with them at all when he couldn’t be bothered to even be here.” She closed her eyes and sucked a breath in. “I was pregnant with Carson when he left. He didn’t come to the hospital. Not for the birth. Not after. He’s never even held Carson. He didn’t watch the other kids and he didn’t take care of the ranch while I was gone. I can’t co-parent with someone like that.”

  Rem stared at her. Whether he thought she was stupid, like everyone else did, or whether he didn’t believe her, she couldn’t say. There were two sides to every story. Probably James had an excuse that sounded reasonable. And probably her reaction to ask for him to sign away his rights in return for not having to pay her anything was extreme.

  Maybe her children deserved their father and she should have fought to force him to be one. She could be wrong—she’d been wrong about so much in her life—but fatherhood just didn’t seem like a job that could be forced. Either he wanted to, or he didn’t. Since he didn’t, she felt she was better off on her own.

  Rem finally turned, shaking the rag out in the sink and rinsing it off with one hand. He lay it on the counter and turned.

  With Carson still on his shoulders, he asked, “You want to call or you want me to?”

  “I’d better do it. The letter is addressed to me.” She went to the shelf where she kept her purse and pulled her phone out. “Do you want to see it first?” She held the letter out.

  He took it silently. It didn’t take him long to read it. There wasn’t much there. Basically, she had six months from the date of the letter to get married. If she did, she would inherit a billion dollars. It was hard to comprehend that much money, but the letter was clear.

  They had to stay and settle in North Dakota. They had to show their original marriage certificate to the lawyer in Fargo. And they had to stay married. If they broke the conditions, they were required to pay the money back.

  He handed it back to her. “It looks like a scam, but Ford said it was legit.”

  She nodded then punched the number into her phone. It wasn’t every day that she called a lawyer, but she wasn’t nervous. However, when no one answered, but the phone continued to ring, unease tightened like a lasso around her chest.

  She let it ring until an automated voice told her to hang up or try her call again.

  Her eyes slid to Rem’s. She pushed her lips up but was pretty sure he wasn’t fooled into thinking she was smiling while she punched the number in a second time.

  Same result.

  Pushing the red button, she let her hand drop to her side and faced the man across the table.

  “Maybe they’re off for Christmas.” She wanted to phrase it like a suggestion, but her voice sounded weedy.

  Rem glanced at his own phone. “It’s a little early for lunch, but that’s a possibility, too.”

  “I guess I’ll just keep trying.” Careful to keep her exterior calm and unruffled, Elaine squirmed like a bucket of worms on the inside. If the number was legitimate, there should be a way to leave a message, an answering service, something that said she’d called a lawyer’s office. The small number of times she’d dealt with the lawyer during her divorce, she’d never called and not gotten something.

  She walked over and turned the faucet on, getting water to wash the dishes.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t have a ring.” Rem’s voice penetrated the haze and fear that had taken hold of her. If the letter turned out to be a scam, would he leave right away? Would she be dealing with another divorce? Maybe he’d wait until spring to go.

  “It doesn’t matter. A ring didn’t make any difference before.” She caught the bitterness in her tone and hated it.

  Carson squealed as Rem lifted him over his head and set him down. Elaine figured he’d want right back up, but he ran on his stubby legs into the living room.

  Rem touched her arm. “I’m not him.”

  “I’m sorry. I guess it’s been kind of a stressful day.” And it wasn’t even dinnertime yet.

  “I’ve got some work to do in the barn. I want to fix the snowmobile. Then I’d like to check out the property if you have time to show me. Not today.” He moved away from the sink and started putting his boots on.

  “I’ll have dinner ready at one rather than twelve, since we just ate.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “Can I go too?” Gabe came out of the living room and stood, a little hesitantly, in the doorway.

  “You come out with me, I’m putting you to work.”

  “Yeah!” He jumped, punching the air, then ran for his winter clothes.

  Elaine almost rolled her eyes, even as her heart pinched. He was so desperate for a man’s attention even work sounded good. Although he was still at that age when most work was still fun because it was new and better than school or doing dishes or folding clothes.

  “You don’t have to take him if you don’t want.”

  Rem paused in lacing up his left boot. “They’re not going to learn how to work like a man if I’m too busy to be bothered with them.”

  How could he make her whole chest feel hot and tight and good with just one sentence?

  She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “Thanks.”

  Chapter 8

  The weather was bad on Sunday, so they didn’t make it to church. The church Elaine usually went to wasn’t Pastor Houpe’s church but was due south from her ranch.

  By Monday, the snow had stopped, and Rem had told Elaine he’d do the afternoon chores so she could take the kids to the special New Year’s Eve celebration in town where, apparently, they were having an old-fashioned supper auction.

  He’d seen Elaine work unselfishly, and he wanted her to have some time to mingle and work with the other ladies in town. Something she would never have been able to do before he came.

  Gabe had assured him that last year when they’d done this, most of the dinners had gone for less than five bucks. So, while Elaine was bathing the baby, Rem had handed him a ten and told him to make sure that he bought his mother’s meal, just in case Rem didn’t make it there in time.

  He glanced at the clock on the pickup console. It would be started, but he imagined that Elaine probably would set her package of food back when she saw that he wasn’t there.

  He thought.

  He’d been doing a lot of thinking lately. Especially since Elaine hadn’t gotten an answer any time she’d called the lawyer.

  He supposed that would be God’s idea of a joke if there wasn’t any money after all. First, he sank all the money he’d earned riding bulls into his father’s ranch with the understanding that it would be his someday. But his brother got it. Or would get it, since his dad had cut Rem out of the will.

  Then he married for money, which he knew he shouldn’t have done, and there wasn’t actually any money. Just a ranch that needed funds desperately.

  He snorted. Irony was always best when it was in someone else’s life.

  He had some savings. Working on the fishing boat had paid well, and he’d saved it all. But it wasn’t enough to do everything that needed to be done on Elaine’s spread.

  He stretched his neck to the left then the right. Normally it was stiff, but sleeping on the couch made it even more so. He’d thought adding on or building a new house with a separate bedroom for himself would be one of his first projects. If the money didn’t come through, that wasn’t going to happen.

  He started through Blandburg, a quaint town with snow piled up on both sides of the street. One main street with shops, some occupied, some obviously not, and a few houses lining either side. The white church was at the end, and he pulled into the full parking lot. Elaine had mentioned it was a popular fundraiser for the whole town. It was held at the church, but it was a community affair.

  Even though he’d told Elaine that he’d get up and do the work in the morning, she’d still gotten up and come out. They’d worked side by side, and he had to admit he enjoyed it. She wasn’t talkative, but somehow she complemented him in a way he wasn’t expecting.

  His stomach rumbled. The woman could cook, too.

  His feelings of family and home, warmth and companionship were unexpected. But he’d finally decided that it was okay for him to like her. They could be friends. It wasn’t a major catastrophe if they got along well. He just wasn’t going to depend on her. Wasn’t going to get any strong feelings involved.

  He sniffed the cold air as the wind blew past. Yeah, he thought he could smell the fudge brownie cheesecake that she’d baked that morning. Man, it had smelled good. He put his hand on the doorknob and pulled.

  ELAINE STOOD BESIDE Nell Eastler at the front of the crowd. Normally Nell didn’t make it to most community activities, either, since she had been responsible for taking care of her sick mother. But her mother had passed away this past fall.

  Currently Karen King’s box was being auctioned. Nell’s was next.

  Then Elaine’s.

  Elaine tried to glance around inconspicuously, but Rem had not showed up yet. She figured he’d text if he wasn’t going to make it, but they hadn’t agreed on that, and she didn’t know him well enough to say for sure.

  She really wanted him to be here. She wasn’t going to question why.

  Around her, the crowd cheered as Karen’s box set a new high for the day. Fifteen dollars. Of course, Karen was a young, unmarried woman, one of the few in her twenties, so there were several men bidding against her brothers.

  The men laughed good-naturedly as one of the brothers pulled a twenty out and waved it around. “I could get better food down at the feed mill, but I can’t let Austin Westly sit with my sister.” He waved the twenty at the auctioneer. “I’m bidding it all.”

  The crowd laughed. Karen, standing by the auctioneer’s side, said, “I’ll remember that tomorrow when you come in for dinner. I’ll just send you straight down to the feed mill.”

  “It’s closed on New Year’s,” her brother said with a wink.

  “Exactly,” Karen said, to the laughter of the folks standing around. “That’ll teach you to say the feed mill is better.”

  Everyone knew Karen was an excellent cook and took the good-natured bantering between the siblings in the lighthearted way it was meant.

  Eventually her basket sold for forty-five dollars, and she stuck her tongue out at her brother before taking Austin’s arm and skipping off with him.

  Nell was next. Nell wasn’t a flashing beauty, but she was happy and fun, always with a smile. Several of the boys in the Sunday school class that she used to teach started bidding on her right away.

  Elaine was laughing at some of their antics when Gabe pulled at her hand.

  “Mom?” he whispered.

  She leaned down, grateful that several older ladies had taken the younger children to the activity room to keep them entertained during the auction.

  “What, honey?”

  “Rem gave me ten dollars to bid on your box for him if he didn’t make it, but I left it at home.” He bit his lip, and his fingers twisted together.

  Her heart sank. She couldn’t replace his money. She had five dollars in her purse, but it needed to go into her gas tank to get them home. “It’s okay.” She glanced beyond the auctioneer at the door. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon, anyway.”

  “But your box is next. And I don’t know if he had more money.”

  That was a conversation she needed to have with him. Her bank account was nearly empty, and the lawyer’s office hadn’t answered the phone any time she’d called. She’d known this when she married him, that her time was almost up with her money almost gone. She needed to sell a cow, which is what she’d been doing to make ends meet. Unless he had a better idea. Either way, it was something they needed to talk about. But conversations about money were never easy, and she’d been putting this one off. She wasn’t even sure he was going to stay if the money from the inheritance didn’t come through.

  “If you don’t have it, you don’t have it. I suppose this will help you be more responsible for the next time, but for now, there’s nothing we can do.” She gave him a soft smile to ease the sting her words might have caused.

  His sweet hazel eyes held hope. “Do you have money?”

  She bit the inside of her cheek, forcing her lips to turn up, not wanting him to see how much her answer distressed her. She shook her head. “Only five dollars, and I need it for gas.”

  His lips twisted and straightened, and he turned his head away.

  She hated disappointing her kids. It might be good for them to learn about being frugal, and even better for them to not get everything they wanted, but it seemed like those were two lessons she taught her children multiple times every single day.

  The crowd cheered, and the preteen boy with the winning bid walked smiling up to the auctioneer, handing out his ten-dollar bill.

  The boxes were going for more than they’d gone for last year, too. Not for the first time, she wondered if Rem even had any money. Maybe that ten dollars was the last ten bucks he had.

  The auctioneer slid her box to the front, and she walked forward, giving Nell a smile as she did.

  A murmuring went through the crowd, because she was even there, when she usually wasn’t, or maybe because they were wondering who would even bid on her—a woman with four small children. A man would have to be crazy to want to be stuck with her.

  Or well-paid.

  Rem was supposed to be well-paid.

  Up until this point, she’d wanted the billion dollars for herself and her kids and to save the ranch she loved, figuring there would be plenty to share and not minding doing it. This was the first time that she said a prayer that the money would be there for Rem. He deserved it for taking a risk that no one else would take.

  “Who will give me a dollar?” the auctioneer asked.

  The silence screamed louder than the North Dakota wind in a thunderstorm.

  Elaine tried to find something to look at, something to keep her from making eye contact with any pitying looks in the crowd. Someone would probably take mercy on her and bid. But they knew they’d be eating with a divorcee and all four of her kids. She didn’t think it was arrogant of her to think that she was well-liked in the community. But there was always this undertone of suspicion. After all, James was a nice guy. What had Elaine done to him to make him leave? And with her own sister, of all people.

  It was probably only seconds that she stood there in the silence, waiting for one of the hardworking people in the congregation to shell out a dollar for her food. At least they knew the food would be good.

  But no one spoke, and the seconds ticked on.

  “Fifty cents. Who will give me fifty cents?” the auctioneer asked.

  Elaine’s face heated as the crowd shuffled. No one spoke.

  She hadn’t told anyone that she’d gotten married. She wasn’t wearing a ring. But normally she didn’t have to tell people what was going on in her life. Her kids did it for her. Could that be it? Now, not only was she divorced from a really nice guy, and not only did she have four very energetic children, and not only was she poor as dirt and completely worn out, but now she had a husband who didn’t even bother to show up to community functions with her.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18