Meade looked distinctly uncomfortable. “Actually, I didn’t come right out and tell her that I loved her,” he admitted, and Libby repressed a smile of satisfaction. At least he was no longer denying the feelings.
“Then what did you say when you proposed?”
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“Well . . . it wasn’t so much a proposal as . . .” He hesitated, realizing that Libby had trapped him into a discussion that was too personal to discuss even with her.
“As what?” she prompted.
He squared his shoulders and started for the door again. “It’s none of your business, Libby. Just stay out of it, all right?”
He stormed out the door, leaving Libby alone to speculate on exactly what was so private that he couldn’t tell her about it. Surely he hadn’t . . . He and Rayna hadn’t . . .
Or had they?
Too practical and nonjudgmental to be prudish, Libby considered the possibility that Meade and Rayna had already consummated their relationship.
The trip from Santa Fe to Fort Apache had been a long and hazardous one.
Two people who were obviously in love but determined to deny their emotions . . . It could have made for an explosive situation.
Libby had a hard time imagining her staid, cynical older brother succumb-ing to his passions, but then, he’d never really been deeply in love before, and he’d certainly never encountered anyone like Rayna Templeton.
It was entirely possible. In fact, the more Libby thought about it, the more convinced she became that she was right. It made a great deal of sense. It was easy to imagine what Meade’s proposal had been like, considering his reluctance to acknowledge his love for Rayna. They had made love, and then he’d probably bluntly told her he was going to do the honorable thing and marry her.
Libby was sure it hadn’t been the avowal of love every woman dreamed of, and knowing Rayna as she now did, she assumed that the response Meade received was probably even blunter than his proposal had been. Just the thought of it kept Libby chuckling merrily throughout the morning.
Obviously they didn’t need her matchmaking after all. If Meade had already made love to Rayna and still felt passionate about her, he wasn’t about to let her get away from him. He didn’t realize it yet, but he’d get her to the altar if he had to drag her there kicking and screaming.
And Rayna would let him.
Meade spent the entire day thinking about his conversation with Libby, unable to believe he’d all but confessed that he was in love with Rayna. It was preposterous, unthinkable, outrageous . . . and totally undeniable. Thorns and all, he loved her. And while he couldn’t imagine what life with her would be like, he couldn’t imagine being able to live without her, either. That was why he’d gotten so angry when she tried to insist on staying in Bannon, and why his heart leapt into his throat every time she pulled some damned-fool dangerous stunt. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her.
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Every instinct he possessed called for him to protect her and keep her safe from harm. That was what a man did for the woman he loved, wasn’t it? But the idea of protecting Rayna Templeton from anything was ludicrous. He’d learned that she could do virtually anything a man could do, and when it came to ranch work, she did it a damn sight better than he did! Even if Libby was right and Rayna did love Meade, what could she possibly need him for?
He would never be able to control her. She’d laugh in his face if he tried to coddle her. Their life together would be an endless series of arguments, most of which he’d lose, because no matter what he might dictate to the contrary, Rayna would always do as she damn well pleased.
But on the other hand, she made him feel more alive than he’d ever felt before. Just one of her mischievous smiles had the power to wipe away all the cynicism Meade had spent the last ten years building into a crusty exterior designed to keep anything from affecting him. She made him feel young again, and she inspired a passion in him that he hadn’t even known existed.
With or without her, his life was going to be hell. But if their one night of lovemaking was any indication, there could be glorious glimpses of heaven, too.
All he had to do was convince her of that.
By the end of the day Meade felt that he was almost ready to tackle the job. He was disappointed when he returned to the ranch and discovered Rayna wasn’t back yet. While Jedidiah went to the bunkhouse where he’d been staying since Meade’s return, Meade went into the house fully prepared to tell Libby that she’d been right about his feelings for Rayna. She had seemed so positive that Rayna loved him, and he needed a little reassurance to bolster him.
He found Libby in the parlor just completing her daily school lessons with Lucas and Jenny. But when she sent the children out to play, Meade could tell something was troubling her. He’d always been keenly attuned to her every mood, and he knew something was wrong now.
“Libby, what is it? Have you heard from Case?” he asked as soon as the children were out of earshot.
“No, it’s nothing like that,” she replied, then added wistfully, “How I wish it were.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
Libby frowned as she collected Lucas’s primer and slate. “I’m not really sure. I had a very strange visit from Black Rope early this afternoon.”
Case tried to place the White Mountain Apache brave. “Isn’t he one of Case’s distant cousins or uncles, or something?”
“No, he’s just a member of his mother’s clan. He and Case have never been particularly friendly. I think there was some bad blood between Black Rope and Gray Wolf before Case was even born. He never comes here.”
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“No one can carry a grudge like an Apache,” Meade said with a grin that Libby wasn’t quite able to respond to. “What did Black Rope want?”
“He wouldn’t tell me. My Apache is only fair, but I understood him to say that he wouldn’t talk to anyone but Case. When I told him Case wasn’t here, he left, and an hour or so later Lucas was out riding and found Black Rope making a camp about a mile east of the house.”
“Maybe he came to ask for a job.”
“Possibly, but he has to know that Case has been gone for weeks. With so much of Case’s family still living on the reservation, news like that is known to everyone there.”
“Do you want me to ride out and have a talk with him?” Meade asked.
Libby shot him a droll look. “Meade, you speak about three words of Apache, and even those you manage to mangle beyond recognition. I don’t think it would be much help. And besides, Black Rope has never been the friendly sort.”
“Maybe his arrival is a good omen,” he suggested.
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe Black Rope has had some sort of special—I don’t know—premo-nition that Case is going to be home soon.”
Libby chuckled at that. “We’re going to make a believer out of you yet, Meade.”
“Don’t start, Libby,” he warned lightly. “I’m just trying to do what you do—look for the bright side of everything.”
“In that case, I hope you’re right,” Libby replied. “It would be wonderful if Case came riding into the ranch tonight with Skylar.”
Meade had to agree, but when Case did indeed come home a short time before sunset, he was alone.
Libby and Meade were waiting supper for Rayna when one of the hands coming from the barn sent up the cry of “Rider comin’ in!” Libby flew to the porch and recognized her husband in the distance. She ran across the yard, and the rider urged his horse into a gallop, then flung himself down and gathered Libby into his arms. Case barely had time to kiss his wife properly before Jenny and Lucas caught up with her. He hugged them, and together they made their way to the house, where Meade was waiting on the porch.