“Where’s Elise?” Wye asked quickly. Ward and Mindy’s daughter was only ten months old.
“With me. Mindy wasn’t supposed to be gone long.”
His petulant tone made Wye sigh. She had no doubt if she wasn’t at a wedding, Ward would try to lure her over to help. Not that it would take much luring; she loved her niece. This wasn’t the first time Mindy had stayed away from home longer than expected, though. Wye tried not to judge, but Mindy wasn’t the most maternal woman around.
“Did you call Mindy’s friends?”
“Yep. No one’s seen her. I called the grocery store. Hell, I’m about to call the sheriff.”
Something twisted inside Wyoming, and she began to take the situation more seriously. “Do you think she got in an accident?”
“Wouldn’t someone have called? I don’t know what to do. She’s got the car—it’s a hike to the center of town with the baby, and it’s cold outside. Could you—?”
Normally she could and would have taken over from here, running to the grocery store to check for Mindy there, then driving to her friends’ houses, heading to the hospital, even, but she was needed here, and besides, it was barely half a mile from her brother’s house to the grocery store—and the sheriff’s department.
“No, I can’t,” she said firmly. “Call Cab Johnson and tell him everything. Call the hospital, too. If you need to get somewhere, take a taxi. Ring me back when you get news.”
“But—”
“Ward, I’m at a wedding. You’re much closer to the grocery store than I am.”
“Fine.” He cut the call, leaving Wye to sigh again. It was obvious her sister-in-law wasn’t happy with her lot as a small-town stay-at-home mom. Wyoming figured she’d driven right by the grocery store this morning and gone on to Billings to do some real shopping. She and Ward needed to work that out. It wasn’t up to her to fix her brother’s marriage.
Somehow Ward seemed to think it was, though, the same way he thought she should be available at a moment’s notice to watch his baby daughter. It was like they were back in seventh grade. After their mother had left their father—left all of them, actually—Wyoming had been the one to pick up the slack. Her father hadn’t sobered up for weeks, so she’d raided what little cash Randi had left in the cookie jar and walked to the grocery store every few days. She’d cooked meals that Ward had gobbled up and that her father had left mostly untouched. She’d done the dishes, the laundry…
And she hadn’t stopped until she’d moved out.
A loud pounding sounded on the Reeds’ front door and startled her out of her thoughts.
Someone was arriving late to the wedding.
Cass, carving one of the turkeys, groaned. “Who could that be?”
“I’ll go get it.”
Wyoming put down the phone and hurried to answer it. Her bulky skirt hindered her progress around the large kitchen table and chairs and made it hard to get past the other men and women who’d volunteered to help set out the meal, but she reached the front hall at last.
When she tugged open the wide wooden door, she laughed, some of her worry over her brother’s missing wife slipping away.
“Emerson? What on earth are you doing out here?”
The sergeant stood in the doorway, his rangy, muscled body catching her eye like it always did. She hated to admit she’d been too infatuated with Will to notice Emerson much when she’d first met him, but these days she couldn’t tear her gaze away—especially after those kisses he’d stolen. All day today she’d been aware of him whenever he got near and had held her breath, wondering if he’d kiss her again.
She admired the efficient way he completed each task. He wasn’t as young as she’d first thought. Probably in his mid to late twenties. There were lines around his mouth and at the corners of his eyes she hadn’t noticed. His gaze had depths not apparent to a casual acquaintance. He was a man who took his responsibilities seriously.
“Needed to see you, and I figured it was just as easy to go around the house as to try to push through the crowd. Besides, I wanted your attention. Looks like I got it.” Emerson leaned against the doorjamb and added, “The General sent me. Are you going to let me in?”
“Sent you—to do what?”
Emerson grinned. “To marry you—what else?”
Chapter 2
‡
When Wye sputtered, coughed, then laughed and burst out, “Marry me?” Emerson told himself to keep calm. He’d surprised her, that was all. She hadn’t said no yet—that was a good start.
“That’s right. What’s wrong with that?”
“For one thing, I’m not the General’s daughter. I’m not a part of whatever is going on in this place.” She waved a hand to encompass the ranch. “I don’t predict the future, or hear the garden plants talk to me, or anything like that, and I’m certainly not the type of person someone sends soldiers to marry.”
“You are now.” Although he was glad she wasn’t as fey as the Reed women. Strange things happened at Two Willows, and he was content not to be a part of that.
“Am not.”
“You think I’m lying?” Emerson had known Wye was too cautious to jump at a proposal like the one he’d just made her, but he had hoped to see a little more curiosity, at least.
Instead, Wye straightened as Cass called from the kitchen, “Food’s ready. Form a line, and don’t worry; there’s plenty for everyone.”
Wye lowered her voice, as if anyone could hear over the din as everyone surged into the hall to form a line at the entry to the kitchen. “I think you’re teasing me. And it isn’t very funny, Emerson.”
Uh oh. Wye was a proud woman. If she thought he was making her the butt of a joke, she’d be furious.
“I’m not teasing you,” he assured her, becoming more serious, “and you’re right—it wouldn’t be very funny if I was.” He took her elbow, drew her outside and shut the door so they could hear each other. This was too important to risk her misunderstanding him. Wye shivered in the cold, and he knew he didn’t have much time to make this right. “I’ve been here long enough to know what I feel about you.” He moved in closer, his hand still cupping her elbow. “I like you—a lot. Don’t you think we could be good together?”
“Together… as in married together? You don’t know me nearly well enough to even guess at that. And I don’t know you, either.” She reached for the door handle.
Emerson covered her hand with his, determined not to lose this moment with her. “Yes, as in married together. Maybe not now, but—”
“Of course not now. We haven’t even gone on a single date!” She turned the handle and leaned in to push it open despite his interference, sending the back of her hoopskirt skyward. With a growl of frustration, Wye clapped a hand on her skirt to push it down.
“I’d like to start dating,” Emerson said, biting back a grin.
She turned a baleful look on him. “You could have led with that. Not with this marrying nonsense.”