"I'm leaving, Honey," he said.
No answer.
"I said I'm leaving."
Still no answer.
"Aren't you going to say goodbye?"
"Goodbye, Jesse," she sobbed.
"Jeez, Honey. This is stupid. Open the door so we can talk."
She sobbed again.
Jesse's throat constricted. She really sounded upset. Maybe this wasn't the best time to talk to her after all. He had some chores he could do that would keep him busy for a while. Surely she couldn't stay in there ail day. He'd catch her when she came down for some coffee later.
Honey heard Jesse's halting step as he limped his way down the stairs. So, he was leaving after all. Honey got into bed and pulled the covers over her head. She didn't want to think about anything. She just wanted to wallow in misery. She should have taken the part of him she could get, the part left over after he'd done his duty to the Rangers. It would have been better than nothing, certainly better than the void he would leave when he was gone.
Then she thought of all the time she would have to spend alone, with no shoulder to share the burden, no lover's ear to hear how the day had gone and offer solace, and her backbone stiffened. She deserved more from a relationship than half measures. She had to accept the fact that Jesse had made his choice.
Honey didn't notice the sun creeping across the sky. She had no knowledge of the fading light at dusk. She never even noticed the sun setting to leave the world in darkness. Her whole life was dark. It couldn't get any blacker.
Meanwhile, Jesse had spent the day waiting patiently for Honey to come to her senses. At noon, he prepared some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, planning to surprise her with his culinary expertise. He ended up sharing his bounty with Jack, who ate all the sandwiches and dumped the soup with the comment, "Mom makes it better."
When Jesse had explained to Jack that he needed some time alone with Honey, Jack was more than willing to go spend the night with friends again. In fact, Jesse was embarrassed by the lurid grin on the teenager's face when he agreed not to come home too early the next morning.
"Does this mean Mom has agreed to marry you?" Jack asked.
"I haven't quite talked her into it yet," Jesse said.
"But you will."
"I'm sure going to try," Jesse said grimly.
"Don't worry," Jack said, slapping Jesse on the shoulder. "I think Mom loves you."
But as Jesse was discovering, the fact that Honey loved him might not be enough to induce her to marry him. Jack left late in the afternoon. Jesse tiptoed up the stairs and listened by Honey's bedroom door, but there was no sound coming from inside. He decided he was just going to have to outwait her.
It was nearly ten o'clock that evening before he finally decided she wasn't coming out anytime soon. He knocked hard on her bedroom door. "All right, Honey. Enough's enough. Come on out of there so we can talk."
He heard the sound of rustling sheets and then a muffled "Jesse?"
A moment later the door opened. Her hair looked as sleep-tousled as it had the first morning he had come to the Flying Diamond. Her blue eyes were unfocused, confused. She tightened the belt on the man's terry cloth robe she was wearing, then clutched at the top to hold it closed.
"Jesse?" she repeated. "Is that you?"
"Of course it's me. Who did you think it was?"
"I thought you left," she said.
"Why the hell would I -do that?" Jesse felt angry and irritable. While he'd been cooling his heels downstairs all day, she'd been up here sleeping! "If you're through napping, maybe we could have that talk I mentioned earlier."
"You want to talk?" Honey was still half-asleep.
"Yes, by God, I want to talk! And you're going to listen, do you hear me?" Jesse grabbed hold of her shoulders and shook her for good measure.
The moment Jesse touched her, Honey came instantly awake. This was no dream. This was no figment of her imagination. A furious Jesse Whitelaw was really shaking the daylights out of her.
"All right, Jesse," she said, putting her hands on his arms to calm him. "I'm ready to listen."
At that moment there was a knock on the kitchen door and a familiar voice called up the stairs, "Honey? Are you home?"
Good old reliable Adam.
Honey ran past Jesse as though he wasn't even there, scrambled down the stairs and met Adam at the door to the kitchen.
He looked tired and frazzled. Honey avoided meeting his eyes, because they still held too much pain.
"I just wanted to let you know that I found some of your stolen cattle on my property," he said. "I'll have some of my cowhands drive them over here tomorrow."
Adam's eyes flickered to a spot behind Honey. "It seems I misjudged you, Whitelaw," Adam said. "I had no idea Chuck Loomis was using my ranch as a base for a statewide rustling operation. I owe you an apology and my thanks." He stuck his hand out to Jesse, who slid a possessive hand around Honey's waist before he reached out to shake it.
Honey felt the tension between the two men. They would never be close friends, but at least they wouldn't be enemies, either.
"I'll be going now," Adam said.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Honey asked.
"My business affairs are in a shambles and I need a new ranch manager, but otherwise I'm fine," Adam said with a self-deprecating smile.
"I'll let you out," Honey said. But when she tried to leave Jesse's side, he tightened his grasp.
Adam saw what was going on and said, "I can see myself out. Goodbye, Honey."
Honey saw from the look on Adam's face that he wouldn't be coming back anytime soon. She felt his sadness, his loneliness. Somewhere out there was a woman who could bring the sparkle back into Adam's life. All Honey had to do was keep her eyes open and help Adam find that special someone.
When the kitchen door closed behind Adam, Jesse took Honey's hand in his and ordered, "Come with me."
He limped his way back up the stairs, down the hall and into her room. Once inside, he turned and locked the door behind them. "I've got something important to say to you, Honey, and it can't wait another minute."
Honey could see Jesse was agitated. While he talked, she led him over to the bed and sat him down. She kneeled to pull off his boots, then lifted his feet up onto the rumpled sheets.
"Are you more comfortable?" she asked.
"Yes. Don't change the subject."
"What is the subject?" Honey asked, climbing into the other side of the bed.
"You're going to marry me, Honey. No ifs, ands, or buts."
"I know," she said.
"No more arguments, no more- What did you say?"
"I said I'll marry you, Jesse."
"But-"
"I shouldn't have tried blackmailing you into quitting your job. I know how much being a Ranger means to you. It isn't fair to ask you to give that up." She smiled. "I'll manage."
Jesse couldn't have loved Honey more than he did in that instant. How brave she was! What strength she possessed! And how she must love him to be willing to make such a concession herself rather than force him to do it. What she couldn't know, what he hadn't realized himself until very recently, was that it was a sacrifice he was willing to make. He loved being a Ranger; he loved Honey more.
Jesse wanted the life she had offered him, a life working side by side with the woman he loved. Raising kids. Running the ranch. Loving Honey.
Jesse swallowed over the lump in his throat. It was hard to speak but he managed, "I love you, Honey." He gently touched her lips with his, revering her, honoring her.
She moved eagerly into his arms, but he held her away.
"There's something I have to tell you," he said.
He saw the anxiety flicker in her eyes and spoke quickly to quell it. "Before I came back here this morning, I resigned from the Texas Rangers."
Honey gasped. "You did? Really?"
"I did. Really."
Honey didn't know what she had done to be rewarded with her heart's desire, but she saw only rainbows on the horizon. Here was a man she could lean on in times of trouble, a man with whom she could share her life, the happiness and sorrow, the good times and the bad.