Wyoming had held her own until Emerson mentioned he’d inherit part of Two Willows. Then all practical thought escaped her head and an emotion she didn’t want to name swept right through her.
Envy. Pure and unadulterated.
Ever since she’d met Cass, Wyoming had been entranced with Two Willows. She knew it was a sin to covet your friend’s property, but she’d coveted everything about the ranch—its intangible assets as well as the tangible ones.
The property itself was wonderful, and she’d often enjoyed riding with Cass on the trails that looped through and around it. The rambling old house was beautiful. So were the extensive kitchen gardens, the maze, the carriage house and everything else.
Then there was the friendship shared between Cass and her sisters. Wye envied that more than anything else. Whether they were squabbling or laughing, they were part of something larger than themselves: family with a capital F.
Wye longed to be part of something like that. Wanted sisters. A beautiful home. A property. Somewhere to plant roots.
She wanted a husband, too, despite everything she’d been through. A partner in life—an equal partner—the way Cass had Brian. She’d thought, perhaps, she had found such a man in Will, but she’d been utterly mistaken, and now she didn’t know how to trust her judgment.
At any rate, it would be completely inappropriate to try to horn in on her friend’s life no matter who she married. She wasn’t a Reed and never would be, despite the General’s rash promises to Emerson. What would Cass think if the General announced he intended to make Emerson an heir? How would she feel if she thought Wye said yes to Emerson to gain a part of what wasn’t rightfully hers?
Emerson was wrong to offer it to her, and she was wrong to even think of accepting.
Disappointment pierced her, all the more ridiculous because she’d never intended to marry anyway. Why on earth would she when she knew from experience how men showed their true colors the minute the ceremony was over? Her mother had escaped from all that but hadn’t seen fit to rescue her, too. Her father had disowned her the minute she outlived her usefulness to him. Her brother saw her as little more than a babysitter and errand girl. And Will—Will had used her as cover in his quest to kill her friends.
Why should Emerson be any different?
She was about to tell him exactly what she thought of his proposal when he cupped her chin and kissed her, surprising her all over again. Sweet longing flooded through her as he moved his mouth over hers with a confidence that took her breath away, as if he’d known her forever—knew just how to twist her feelings into knots and turn on the emotions she’d tried so hard to turn off. She wanted those emotions to stay buried—it was the only way to keep herself safe and sane.
But somehow Wye found her fingers twisting in the fabric of Emerson’s shirt as he pulled her closer into his embrace. He was warm in the frigid night, his arms strong around her. His kiss sent shivers of desire clear down to her toes. Under her hands, the muscles of his chest flexed as he tightened his embrace. Wye sighed, and he pulled back, examining her face as if searching for clues for how to win her.
“Let’s get you back inside,” he said softly. “It’s cold out here.” He took her hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world, turned on the light on his phone and led the way.
Wyoming wasn’t sure if she was ready for the noise and crowds inside the house, but staying out here with Emerson was out of the question. He’d already turned her head and dissolved all the arguments she’d meant to make to stop him from pursuing her.
Besides, she was freezing.
Still, heading inside, facing Alice and Jack’s happiness, felt like more than she could bear. Emerson was offering her everything she wanted, and she had to refuse it.
“Wyoming.” Emerson’s voice cut through her thoughts. “I know you’re having a hard time taking this in. I should have explained it all better. Let you know a long time ago how I felt.”
“Why?” she asked suddenly.
Emerson stopped, midway down one of the maze’s passages. “Why do I want to marry you?”
Wye quailed at the thought of such an intimate conversation so hard on the heels of the stone’s answer to her question and shook her head. “Why would you believe the Reeds would want us here? Why would the General give you part of the ranch?”
“Give us part of it,” Emerson corrected her. “It’s simple. The General wants Cass to be happy, and that requires you to stay put, which requires me to marry you.” He smiled. “Which would make me happy, too.”
“Would that make you happy?” she asked tentatively. “Marrying me on July Fourth?” She wasn’t sure why she was asking. She’d already told him no.
Hadn’t she?
Regardless, she found she wanted to know the answer.
“The stone seems to think we’re getting married on New Year’s,” he reminded her, but his smile said he thought he was gaining ground.
“Not this New Year’s! That’s for sure.”
His smile grew, and he pulled her close again. “Then July Fourth it is.”
Adrenaline surged through Emerson the moment he woke the following morning. Last night he’d taken a strong first step in his pursuit of Wyoming’s hand in marriage, and he was eager to see her again and continue the campaign. He dressed quickly and headed downstairs to breakfast, going easy on the stairs—the last thing he needed was for his ankle to give way and to take a header down them—but Cass was the only one in the kitchen when he got there. Dirty dishes from the previous evening stood in stacks around the room, and he knew the refrigerator was stuffed with leftovers. Cass had sent food home with almost everyone who’d attended the wedding, but there was still more.
“Where’s Wyoming?”
“Good morning to you, too,” Cass said with a smile. “She had to run into town. Her brother needed her. Some kind of family problem.”
Emerson remembered what Wyoming had said the night before—how men always needed looking after. Had she been talking from personal experience?
“What’s her brother like?” He set about making the General’s coffee. Cass raised a brow but didn’t say anything. When he was done and had cleaned the pot, she’d make another batch—her way—for everyone else to drink at breakfast.
“Ward?” Cass shrugged. “He’s kind of high maintenance, if you ask me. He got married a couple of years ago to a real piece of work. Mindy is only twenty-three, and I think she thought marriage was going to be more fun and games than it turned out to be—especially with Ward. He works at the radio station, drumming up advertising. Mindy has been staying home with their baby ever since Elise was born. I get the feeling from Wyoming Mindy is a bit of a shopaholic. Anyway, whenever she and Ward need a babysitter, they call Wye.”
“Is she babysitting today?”
If Cass thought his interest in her friend was strange, she didn’t say so. Instead she grew serious. “Wyoming didn’t spell it out, but from what I heard, it sounded like Mindy didn’t come home last night.” Cass shook her head. “She did this once before, and it really freaked out Ward. Rightly so,” she added. “He’s got work today, and Mindy left him high and dry with no one to take care of the baby. I don’t know what she’s thinking. I’m not sure that marriage is going to last.”