Page 34 of The Forever Cowboy (Noble Ranch #1)

He missed Violet.

From the inside of the barn, Sterling glanced through the open door toward the house again. He wanted to go inside and just look at her. Take a quick peek. That’s all.

But during the past few days that he’d been gone, he’d tried to strengthen his resolve to wait for her to be ready for him. And if he started spending time with her, even just to look at her, he’d lose his determination.

Exhaling a breath of frustration at himself, he stood next to Thatcher as the veterinarian doctored an abscess on the leg of one of the steers. It wasn’t blackleg. That was the good news. But Thatcher wasn’t sure what was causing the inflammation among several of the steers.

The problems would never end on a cattle ranch like theirs. It was just part of life, and he had to accept the successes as well as the setbacks because there would always be both.

He was learning a lot through it all. As much as he wanted to prove to his dad that he wasn’t a failure for not going away to college, maybe he had to stop worrying about what his dad thought.

Maybe his top priority had to be people.

Ultimately, loving people well was more important than success.

At least, he wanted that to be more important to him.

Sterling knew his dad might not understand his choice to sell the cattle, might be disappointed in him, might even let someone else manage the ranch in his stead. But that was okay. As long as Sterling could be proud of himself for his integrity, then he could live with his father’s decision.

“That ought to do it.” Thatcher finished wrapping a bandage around the oozing wound, then straightened.

“Thank you.” Sterling tried to fix his attention back on the situation at hand. “I owe you a great deal of thanks for all you’ve done for me and the ranch.”

Thatcher began to tuck his supplies back into the big brown leather satchel that he used for carrying supplies. “I’m happy to do it.”

“If you ever need a favor, you know where to come.”

Thatcher tossed him a grin. “I appreciate that, Sterling. You’re a good man.”

“You are too. Still no sign of your mail-order bride?”

Thatcher’s smile faded, replaced by loneliness. “No, I’m afraid not. And from what I’m hearing, the travel from the Front Range up to the high country has pretty much stopped.”

“So does that mean you’ll have to wait until spring now for her arrival?”

“It looks that way.” Thatcher picked up his satchel, his shoulders already slumped.

Sterling didn’t want to think about living alone the way Thatcher did.

His gaze again slid out the barn door and to the house. Even though he couldn’t have Violet right now, at least she was on the ranch nearby.

Now that the problems were gone and she no longer needed him in the same way, would she be ready to move on? Or at the very least move on from him?

With her father living on the ranch, he hoped she would stay. According to Beckett’s report this morning, Mr. Berkley wasn’t adjusting well to ranch life. He was soft, weak, and pampered. But thankfully he seemed determined to keep going, even though the work was hard for him.

At the moment, the fellow had nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to, and no other way to survive the coming winter.

The ranch was probably the best place for him, since town and the gaming tables weren’t within easy reach.

The abstinence would hopefully help his cravings for gambling to eventually diminish.

As Sterling stepped out of the barn, a shout from across the fields to the west caught his attention. He tipped up the brim of his hat and located a lone figure galloping across the soggy pasture. The snow from the previous week was now mostly gone, leaving only puddles behind.

The lanky but muscular body with the slouched shoulders belonged to Beckett. What was he doing out in the foothills when he’d said he had to run to town for an errand?

Sterling watched the foreman’s approach, his body tensing. There weren’t more problems with Claude, were there?

Sterling had stopped by Red Cap Saloon last night on his way home and delivered the final three hundred dollars to Claude himself. The saloon owner had shaken his hand, told him the deal was done, and wished him good luck. Surely the fellow wouldn’t go back on his word.

“Saddle your horse,” Beckett called when he was finally in shouting distance.

Saddle his horse? Sterling’s pulse pounded harder. “What for?”

“It’s the women.”

Sterling didn’t have to be told twice when it came to the women, to Violet. Without even a farewell to the veterinarian, Sterling took off at a jog toward the horse barn. He saddled his horse in record time and was leading his gelding out into the ranch yard when Beckett reined in near the barn.

From all appearances, Beckett didn’t seem hurt or anxious.

“Are the women okay?” Sterling began to mount his horse.

“They’re fine.” Beckett’s tone contained a note of irritation.

“They’re not hurt?”

“Nope.”

Sterling allowed himself a full breath—the first since seeing his foreman approaching. “Then what’s wrong?”

Beckett spat out the piece of hay he’d been chewing, then his jaw flexed with his displeasure. “They went back out to the cabin.”

Sterling’s whole body ceased functioning, and he could only stare at his foreman.

“Yep. You heard me right.”

Sterling scrambled to find a reason why they would do such a thing. Had someone threatened them again? Or was Violet running away from him?

He didn’t even want to think about the second option. Couldn’t bear the prospect that she wanted to get away from him, that maybe he’d scared her off by telling her of his love the other day.

“Did they say why they went?” And for that matter, with her ankle still not healed, how had she gotten there?

With the snowmelt of the past few days, there was the chance she’d ridden a horse for most of the distance and maybe only had to ski the last quarter of a mile.

It would have been hard for her, but it was possible.

Or maybe Hyacinth had taken the sled and pulled her the last portion.

“We need to get there as quickly as possible.” Beckett didn’t answer his question but instead shifted his horse back around, already nudging it into a trot.

Sterling did the same, and in no time, the two of them were racing across the field.

The cold breeze hit Sterling’s face, and the mud flew up around him, urging him faster.

They rode hard for a short while until they reached the higher elevation, where the terrain was slippery and wet, forcing them to slow their pace.

When they finally reached the pastureland, Sterling nudged his horse beside Beckett’s. “Do you know why they ran away out here again?” Sterling wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer and stiffened his shoulders to brace himself for the worst—that Violet didn’t want to be near him.

Beckett glanced at him sideways. “I told them I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Shoot, Beckett.” Sterling shook his head curtly, the frustration pooling inside. “Don’t do this to me.”

Beckett shrugged. “They’re fine, though. I can tell you that.”

“How’d they get up here?”

“Horses for most of the way. Then the skis and sled the last of the distance.”

Just like he’d thought. “Why’d they come to you and not to me?”

“Reckon it’s because I’m better-looking.”

Sterling wasn’t in the mood for joking, and he urged his horse faster, pulling ahead of Beckett.

He didn’t know what he’d say to Violet when he got to the cabin.

But he had to say something to reassure her that they could get along together on the ranch just fine.

He’d let her know he wasn’t planning to restart their relationship and would give her as much distance and time as she needed.

He thought he’d already made that clear, but apparently not enough.

Whatever the case was, he didn’t want her running off to the cabin every time she felt like she needed to get away.

At the top of the next incline, he wasn’t surprised to see two horses tied up to a tree. But he was surprised to discover one of the horses didn’t belong to the Noble Ranch. The creature looked familiar, but he couldn’t place where he’d seen it before.

He and Beckett dismounted, tied up their horses, then donned the skis that Beckett had left there for them. Once again, Beckett refused to say anything about the horse and skis, insisting that Sterling would discover the answers soon enough.

Sterling was a better skier than Beckett and left him behind in his haste to reach the cabin.

Within five minutes, the log structure came into view in the forested nook near the creek.

Smoke rose from the chimney, which thankfully meant this time the women had been able to start a fire.

Or maybe Beckett had been there earlier and helped them get one going.

Whatever the case, Sterling finished the distance in record time. As he stood in front of the door, he thudded it loudly with one gloved hand while he unlatched his skis with the other. “Violet, open up. We need to talk.”

He heard voices inside as he tossed aside his first ski. He finished with his second ski as Beckett came into view on the opposite side of the creek.

Sterling knocked against the door again. “Please, Violet. Whatever is wrong, we can work it out, can’t we?”

The door cracked open, and Hyacinth’s face appeared in the crack. “Hi, Sterling. It’s about time.”

It’s about time? What did that mean?

Hyacinth peered beyond him, her gaze latching onto Beckett. Something flashed in her eyes. Was it interest? Or loathing? Sterling could never tell with those two.

“What’s wrong?” Sterling asked. “Is Violet okay?”

“She will be in just a moment.” Hyacinth moved back and then opened the door wider.

Sterling hesitated. “Is there any way I could talk privately with her for a few minutes?”

Hyacinth motioned at him. “Just come in.”

A tremor pulsed through him. He didn’t want to be afraid, didn’t want to be a coward, didn’t want the bitterness and frustration to return and fill him. He needed to be stronger this time, needed to move forward with his resolve to love her unconditionally.

He took a deep breath and stepped inside.

Violet stood in the center of the cabin in the same green gown she’d worn a few days ago, her hair styled up. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes shimmering…with fear but also something else.

The anxiety pounding inside Sterling grew suddenly quiet.

In a sweeping glance, he took in the cabin, still decorated with all the pretty things Violet and Hyacinth had made the last time they were here. But this time there were candles on the table, along with two place settings and a covered platter.

It was the same setup that he’d dreamed of when he’d been a young man and planning his proposal with his best friend Maverick Oakley. It was the same setup that Mav had arranged that day Sterling had brought Violet out and proposed to her.

What was Violet doing?

At a movement from behind him, Sterling shifted to find Reverend Livingston standing by the stove, rubbing his hands together. The strange horse belonged to the reverend. That’s where Sterling had seen it.

But why was the reverend at the cabin?

Sterling turned back to Violet to find her on her knees, her gown pooling around her. “Sterling,” she started, her voice quivering and her hand trembling as she held out a ring—a simple gold band.

His heartbeat stopped.

“I loved you almost from the moment we met.” The words were nearly identical to what he’d spoken to her when he’d proposed that wintery day back in January.

A thrill whispered through him. Was she doing what he thought she was?

She nodded as though answering his unasked question. “I let my fears control me for too long. But I want you to know that I am choosing to move beyond all my fears, and I’m choosing you today and always…if you’ll still have me.”

A strange heat pricked the backs of his eyes. She was trying to move past all that had once controlled her, and he was proud of her for having the courage to do so.

She extended the ring further, this time without wavering. “I love you, Sterling. Will you marry me?”

The thrill was no longer just whispering inside him. It had escalated into a clamor that was pulsing through his whole body.

Behind him, Beckett stepped into the cabin and closed the door. Everything began to make sense. Violet had planned this whole event, had arranged to come out to the cabin, and had wrangled Beckett into helping.

“Marry me, today,” Violet said again, holding his gaze and letting him see the sincerity in hers. “Today. Here. Now.”

Holy sweet heaven. Was this really happening? Or was he only dreaming?

With his pulse racing, his feet carried him across the room to her. As he reached her, he lowered himself to his knees, then captured her outstretched hand. Without breaking her gaze, he brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss into her palm.

Then he took the ring and slid it on his finger. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Today. Here. Now.”

She smiled, her shoulders sagging just a little, her relief easing the worry in her face.

“But only if you’re sure.” His heart welled with all the love that he’d tried to keep at bay, so full that his chest hurt with the pressure of it.

“I’m sure, Sterling.” Her smile inched higher. “I’ve learned that love isn’t always perfect. But I want to spend my life learning to love you better.”

He stared for a long moment at his hand and the gold band that signified her willingness to love him.

He’d never dreamed this would be possible with her.

But what if everything had happened for a reason?

What if their failed engagement and wedding had actually been a blessing that had pushed them both to mature in their love for each other?

He gently cupped her cheek. “I vow to learn to love you better too. With every passing day and year, I will love you until my dying breath.”

Her eyes were wide and filled with something he’d wanted to see there but never had. Love.

He bent in and touched his lips to hers, pledging himself to her forever.