Page 33 of The Forever Cowboy (Noble Ranch #1)

She was free.

Violet paused in her newest redecorating project in the dining room. She stared unseeingly out the window at the ranch yard bathed in morning light.

She might be free, but she felt more burdened than ever before.

“What’s wrong?” Hyacinth paused over the new plum-colored drapery she was sewing at the dining room table, which was currently filled with the supplies they’d been using to transform the room from simple into elegant.

Over the past four days since the confrontation with Claude’s men and Sterling’s paying off Father’s debt, she and Hyacinth had kept themselves busy with thoroughly cleaning and organizing the house. Of course, with just the two of them there, they’d finished cleaning and organizing fairly quickly.

That was fine with Violet. She’d much rather focus on decorating than on cleaning. Since they’d already completed overhauling the parlor, they’d started on the dining room. They were making new drapes from elegant material they’d located in the attic.

Violet was in the process of repainting the candelabras a gilded gold with paint from among the decorating supplies that had been left at their house in Breckenridge.

Beckett had kindly taken some of the ranch hands into town to help move out the rest of their belongings, including the boxes of Violet’s interior designing materials.

The men had loaded the items into a wagon and brought them out to the ranch.

She and Hyacinth didn’t have a lot of belongings left, certainly not anything of value. But Violet had been relieved to save a few trunks of her mother’s possessions, a crate of books, and more of their clothing as well as sentimental items.

The mementos brought back happy memories of decorating with her mother and sister, reminding Violet that not all of her childhood had been difficult. They also reminded her that she couldn’t keep getting stuck in her past and in all that had happened. She had to move on.

But she hadn’t.

With an exasperated sigh, she set her paintbrush down and reclined in the dining room chair, her sprained foot elevated on the chair across from her.

Hyacinth was still watching her with a narrowed gaze. “Go talk to him.”

Sterling had arrived home late last night after she and Hyacinth had gone to bed.

Violet had heard him come in and tread lightly up the stairway.

She’d wanted to get up and greet him, had been nearly breathless with the need to see him.

But she’d lain in bed stiffly, letting the war rage inside her—a war that was still going on this morning… and that she was losing.

“I can’t talk to him.” She wanted to and had even gone down to the kitchen before dawn, hoping to catch him there. But when he’d risen, he’d headed out the front door without a word. “He doesn’t want to see me.”

It was Hyacinth’s turn to release an exasperated breath. “He told you he loves you.”

Even though she and Sterling had closed the door for their conversation in the hallway that day he’d left to sell the steers, apparently Hyacinth had heard every word they’d spoken.

Violet hadn’t been upset at her sister’s eavesdropping because, as usual, it had saved her from having to explain why she and Sterling weren’t getting married.

It also meant that Hyacinth knew every detail of how Sterling felt about Violet—how he didn’t want to pressure her into marriage, how he wanted to be patient.

“You can’t wait for him to come talk to you this time.” Hyacinth picked up her needle and material. “No, he made it clear how he feels and what his position is. Now it’s your turn to go to him and tell him how you feel.”

“But how do I feel?” The question was silly. She knew. Because the fact was, she loved Sterling more than anything or anyone. She had no doubt about her love, probably never had, had just let her fears influence her.

Hyacinth snorted, clearly recognizing the same thing. “Knowing Sterling, he won’t approach you about it again.”

A twinge of alarm rang inside Violet. “He won’t?”

“Of course not. He’s a proud and stubborn man. He played his game pieces, and now the next move is up to you.”

Hyacinth was right. It was her move now.

But her sister was wrong in thinking she and Sterling were playing a game.

This thing between her and Sterling was no game.

It was very real. If only she hadn’t gotten scared that morning in the hallway.

When he’d told her he loved her. If only she’d responded to him then.

She’d wanted to. But that same feeling she’d had on her wedding day had come back—the feeling that love wasn’t reliable and stability wasn’t possible.

But of course, Sterling had proven he was reliable and stable time and time again.

He’d even wanted to show her real love by sacrificing for her—using all his savings and then some to save her father’s life.

Through it all, he hadn’t asked her for anything in return.

In fact, he’d walked away from her to prove to them both that he didn’t want anything back, that he was forfeiting everything freely.

What kind of man would do that? Not very many. But he’d done it for her. He’d shown her that his love was unselfish and that he wasn’t like her father.

Now it was up to her to take the next step and accept him and his love. Even though she was still scared, she had to do her part.

“I should have told him I loved him when he said it to me.”

Hyacinth was back to her quick but neat stitching. “Regardless of your failings—”

“Failings?”

“Yes, that man laid his heart out to you, and you basically rejected him again.”

The alarm inside Violet swelled into panic. “Do you really think I rejected him again?”

“He might feel that way. Maybe that’s why he’s steering clear of you since he got home. Maybe he’s hurt and not sure how to act around you.”

“Oh no.” Violet pushed back from the table, her stomach churning. “What should I do?”

“You have to decide if you want him enough to face your fears.”

“I do want him enough to face my fears, but how can I do that?”

Hyacinth stitched quietly for a moment, then halted and looked up at Violet with a gleam in her eyes.

“Do you really want to show him that you love him and want to marry him?”

Violet swallowed any doubts lingering inside. “Yes.”

Hyacinth placed her sewing on the table and stood with a smile. “I have an idea. A really big idea.”

“I will take all the help I can get.”

“I realize that.” Hyacinth spoke wryly. “We need a foolproof plan that will make it impossible for you to run away from him, and force you to finally face your fears.”

“Will your plan do that?”

Hyacinth’s grin widened. “I do believe it will.”