‘‘What?’’ she asked, saddened that he hadn’t attempted to stop her. When Jamie had suggested the wild plan, she’d never thought that she might really be leaving. She never should have tried to force Win’s hand. He wasn’t the kind of man to be pushed into saying something just because she thought she needed to hear the words.
‘‘The ring!’’ he demanded.
Kora sat on the step with the lantern and pulled the band from her finger. She placed it in her palm and held it up to him. In the end all he was worried about was the ring, not her. What difference did it make if she left now or a few months from now? She was only a temporary wife anyway.
The light reflected off the gold, sparkling the metal into a ring of tiny shooting stars. Kora stared at it, marveling at how beautiful it looked.
Something caught her eye and she turned the ring to the light. Letters were carved deep into the gold on the inside. She turned it, slowly reading the words aloud. ‘‘For Kora, my love, my life, Win.’’
Tears bubbled onto her cheeks. ‘‘Am I?’’ she whispered. ‘‘Am I your love?’’
Win stood then and knelt on the stairs beside her. ‘‘No,’’ he whispered, forcing each word out. ‘‘You’re more, much more. You’re all the beauty I’ve ever known. You’re my heart, my soul. You’re worth more than all I own or will ever have. If you leave, you’ll take the only key that can keep my heart beating.’’
Tears streamed down Kora’s face as she lifted her arms, and he pulled her against him.
‘‘Well, I’ll be!’’ Jamie squealed from the foyer. ‘‘Damned if you didn’t finally say the right thing, cowboy. I was about to think I’d have to hog-tie you and beat it into you.’’
Win held Kora tightly as he faced Jamie. ‘‘You pushed me as far as you could, didn’t you? When I heard you upstairs, I guessed why you were talking so loud. But when Kora came down those stairs, I couldn’t think of anything but that she might leave me. You planned it that way.’’
‘‘Right again, cowboy. I didn’t want my sister marrying because of some bargain. I wanted her to be loved and appreciated like she ought to be… like a smart man would appreciate me.’’
Cheyenne stood behind Jamie. ‘‘Dan’s out of the wagon again,’’ he complained. ‘‘Moved his chair back to the porch.’’
Jamie winked at Win and turned to the Indian. ‘‘Stop trying to slow me down, Cheyenne. I’m leaving.’’
‘‘Slow you down! I’m doing all I can to help you along.’’
‘‘Sure you are.’’ She followed him onto the porch, patting his bottom as they moved. ‘‘I know how you really feel about me.’’
Cheyenne took long strides away. ‘‘I can’t wait until you’re out of my life!’’
Jamie was right behind him, yelling what a liar he was and that maybe she’d decided she’d stay around a while just to prove it.
Win and Kora laughed as they heard Jamie and Cheyenne arguing all the way to the barn. Then Win turned Kora in his arms and kissed her soundly.
‘‘We’d better go back to bed, darlin’,’’ Win whispered.
Kora smiled up at him. ‘‘How far were you willing to go to make me stay?’’
‘‘As far as it takes,’’ he said as he lifted her in his arms. ‘‘Even if it means having to say I love you every day and night of my life.’’
Kora smiled. ‘‘That’s the price.’’
Win kissed her. ‘‘Then, darlin’, it’s a bargain.’’
EPILOGUE
‘‘MOVE THE TABLES OUT UNDER THE TREES!’’ JAMIE yelled at several men. ‘‘Hurry, she’s on her way.’’
Kora carried out plates and a linen tablecloth.
‘‘Remember,’’ she whispered to Jamie as she passed, ‘‘only the best of my new china.’’
Jamie grumbled. ‘‘All right, but it don’t make much sense setting such a table under the trees.’’
‘‘It’s too hot in the house. I want her to be comfortable.’’
Ten minutes later Kora, Jamie, and Win stood on the front porch and watched Cheyenne pull Kora’s new buggy up to the front steps.
Win moved forward and offered the special guest his hand. ‘‘Welcome, Miss Rae,’’ he said. ‘‘We’ve been waiting for you to join us for dinner.’’
The old lady from the settlement smiled as she stepped out into the late afternoon sunshine. Her ragged clothes were clean, and she’d tried to comb her hair, but several strands had bindweed mentality among the strawlike gray tumbleweed.
‘‘Why, thank you, Mr. McQuillen. I’m mightly glad you sent your mute to get me.’’
Cheyenne grumbled and Win laughed. Cheyenne never talked to anyone much, except Jamie, whom he yelled at regularly.
Kora took Rae’s arm and led her through the house. ‘‘I thought we’d have a glass of apple wine first. If you’ve got the time, I’d love to show you some of the things Win and I brought back from Dallas.’’
Rae nodded as though she might pick up some decorating tips.
Win watched as Kora treated her guest with all the respect and charm she would have a queen. The cowhands joining them took their lead from Kora, and soon everyone was on their best behavior. As they sat beneath the trees, Dan carried his chair from the porch and moved it in between Rae and Logan. Jamie looked surprised, but Rae never missed a step. She began talking with Dan as though the man would answer her.
To Win’s surprise, everyone enjoyed dinner, and by the time dessert was served, the atmosphere seemed more of a party.
As the men left to have their cigars, Jamie caught Win by the arm. ‘‘Did you mean what you said about making any man who got me with child marry me?’’
Everyone including Kora froze.
Win raised an eyebrow. ‘‘I did.’’
‘‘Well, I’m going to have a child, and the father is right here.’’
Cheyenne swore, Logan swallowed his tobacco, and several of the men looked at one another trying to guess who the unlucky man might be.
‘‘Oh, no!’’ Kora cried as she moved to Jamie’s side.
‘‘Name the father and I’ll get my gun.’’ Win’s face was hard. ‘‘Any man who did this to you will be a husband or dead by morning.’’
Jamie smiled as if all her problems were solved.
Everyone waited silently for her to speak. Jamie lowered her head. When she looked up, she had eyes only for Cheyenne.
Cheyenne looked confused, then angry. He slammed his napkin on the table and bolted from his chair. ‘‘This is the limit, Jamie. You know damn well I’m not the father of any baby you’re carrying.’’
Kora saw the confusion in Win’s eyes. He couldn’t go back on his word, and he couldn’t shoot his best friend. She suddenly became more worried about Win than Jamie or Cheyenne.
‘‘Are you sure?’’ Rae laughed as she took the reins of the mess before her as if it were after-dinner entertainment.
‘‘Am I sure! Am I sure! It’s not something I’d likely forget happening!’’ Cheyenne shouted.
‘‘So you never thought of Jamie in that way?’’ Rae folded her arms over her stomach.
Cheyenne opened his mouth and closed it three times before he could get a word to come out. ‘‘Sure I’ve thought of her in that way, but thinking and doing are two different things.’’
‘‘Do you love her?’’ Rae became the judge.
‘‘No!’’ Cheyenne answered. ‘‘I hate most every ornery bone in her body. She’s just saying this now because she’s run out of anything to badger me about. The woman has considered it her life’s calling to pester me since the night she showed up here.’’
‘‘Well, there’s only one way to know for sure,’’ Rae said, as if she’d read the cure in a book somewhere. ‘‘Kiss her.’’
‘‘What!’’
‘‘Kiss her. I can always tell if a man cares about a woman by the way he kisses her.’’