Lone Star Legacy (20 page)

“I—” Beth looked from Walt to Loraine, her eyes filled with anguish. “I just can’t.”

“But what if you had good benefits, as an employee? I’ve got a good plan through the clinic,” Walt said. “Or if you’d prefer a lease, that’s fine, too.”

“And we all know that you’ve been worried about Sophie, so when I advertised for some new teachers for this fall, I specified experience in working with hearing-impaired kids.” Gina smiled triumphantly. “We’ve now got a dandy lined up, so we’ll be ready if Sophie still needs any extra help.”

Joel held his breath, hoping she’d say yes. When she lifted her gaze to his, shook her head slightly and swiftly looked away, he knew what he had to do before it was too late.

“Let’s give her a few minutes, okay?” Joel nodded toward the lunch counter. “Have a cup of coffee or a beer—on the house.”

He waited until conversation started humming, then turned to Beth and offered his hand once more. “Come,” he said softly, hoping she wouldn’t refuse. “Let’s go out on the porch for a minute.”

Once they were outside, he shut the door behind them. “Walt wanted it to be a surprise.”

“It sure was, but I just don’t know what to say.” She avoided his eyes. “Everything is set. A good job. An offer on a house. There’s a new life waiting for me up in Billings, and a chance to start over, away from…”

“Your problems? Maria didn’t want say it in front of the crowd, but the sheriff found out that it was those wild teenage boys who trashed your yard a while back.”

“Why on earth did they do it?”

“A stupid dare—nothing more than that. It’s hard to believe they went to that much work.”

“There were some bad rumors about poor sanitation at my café, at first—was that them as well?”

“No idea. Something like that is awfully hard to trace.” Joel cleared his throat. “Talbot says you can press charges against the boys, and you could also bring a lawsuit against them, if you want. Either way, the families are all well-aware of the consequences they’re facing, and you won’t have any more trouble.”

She waved off the suggestion. “I’m just glad it’s all over.”

The finality in her voice sounded like a death knell to his dreams. “I…want you to stay, Beth.”

“Your uncle can find someone to run this place. He’ll do fine.”

“No.” He rested his hands on her shoulders, and gently turned her around so she
had
to look at him. “If you leave, this town won’t be the same. I won’t be. Hell, Earl will probably go into a deep depression and never surface.”

Her wary expression lightened. “Now, how could you ever tell if that dog looked depressed?”

“ESP. But back to me,” he continued, brushing a featherlight kiss against her temple. “I need you, Beth. All the way to Chicago and back, the only thing I could think about was what it would be like if you walked out of my life.”

She searched his face as if trying to find the truth. “You once said that you never want to be involved again. That you never wanted kids.”

“I didn’t think I could ever again stand the pain of losing someone I loved. And a child…” He swallowed hard. “But when I saw you facing Ewen, with Sophie at your side, I discovered what would be worse.”

She reached up and touched his face. “Which was?”

“That if I didn’t get to spend the rest of my life with you, it would break my heart. And that nothing could make me happier than learning to be the best dad I could be, for Sophie.”

Beth’s eyes glistened. “You really mean that.”

“With all my heart. Marry me, Beth.”

She laughed. “You’d go that far to keep this café running?”

This time, he didn’t go for feather kisses and gentleness—he went straight to desire, kissing her long and hard and deep, until she was kissing him back exactly the same way.

When he drew back, she looked up at him, and he had no doubt that she’d say yes—and knew that he’d just made the best decision of his entire life.

And just to seal it for good, he kissed her again.

“Forever?” she murmured when they finally came up for air.

“And always.” Dazed, he lifted his gaze and discovered that the faces of at least half the population of Lone Wolf were plastered against the front windows of the café—including Sophie’s.

And every one of them was smiling.

ISBN: 978-1-4268-0597-4

LONE STAR LEGACY

Copyright © 2007 by Roxanne Rustand.

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