Would the General appreciate his get up and go if he mentioned the idea? Or would he think he was already treating the place like his own?
Only one way to find out, he decided, and picked up his pace. The General knew him better than anyone else—he’d understand where Emerson was coming from.
Back at the house, he found everyone gathered for lunch. Still energized by his morning in the saddle, even if his limp was more pronounced after his ride, Emerson washed his hands and slid into the only empty seat at the table, catching a sharp look from the General.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said. The General had a thing about punctuality, and he hadn’t relaxed many of his military habits since he’d come home. Emerson looked around the table, noting that Wyoming still wasn’t present.
“I don’t think Wyoming will be back until dinnertime at least,” Cass said, catching his eye.
“Have you set the date yet?” the General asked.
“What date?” Jo asked, swiping mayonnaise onto two pieces of bread before passing the jar to Hunter.
“His wedding date,” the General told her. “I told him to fix things up with that little friend of yours, Cass, so she’ll stay close. Figured you’d like that. Offered Emerson a share in the ranch if he marries her.”
Cass’s mouth dropped open in surprise, and Emerson saw the looks exchanged around the table.
Hell, the General obviously hadn’t explained his intentions to any of them before offering Emerson part of the ranch. Would they think he’d begged for it?
“I… didn’t know you’d done that,” Cass said to the General.
Lena opened her mouth as if to say something, shut it again and huffed out a sigh. “Would’ve been nice to be asked if we want to share the ranch, at least.”
“This is still my spread,” the General said. “If I want to hand out a hundred shares in it, I can.”
Emerson’s gut tightened. The General was going about this all wrong, riling up the very people he should be soothing. “I don’t need the handout,” he hurried to say. “I’ll marry Wyoming regardless and make a home for her somewhere else.”
“No, you won’t!” the General snapped. “You’ll live here, or you won’t marry her at all!”
The man was building into one of his towering rages. It was rare he really lost his temper, but when he did, heads rolled. Emerson knew he needed to stop this—now.
“Let’s have our lunch,” Emerson said. “We’re all hungry, and the dinner table isn’t the place to discuss business matters—or personal ones.”
Sadie snorted. “That doesn’t leave much for us to talk about.”
“Emerson is right,” Cass said. “Let’s discuss this another time. We like having you here,” she added, reaching across the table to touch Emerson’s hand. “It’s just we’re still working out the logistics for how we can all live here, work together and share the ranch.”
“If we’re basing our futures on this ranch, we need some say in what happens here.” Lena didn’t seem ready to give up the argument.
“Seems fair to me.” Emerson tried once more to diffuse the situation.
“Seems like a load of hogwash to me,” the General said. “Emerson is a good man, and he’s served by my side through thick and thin. He’s injured because of me. Lost his career in the Army because I was targeted. I’ll give him the whole damn ranch if I want to.” He slammed his hand on the table hard enough to make the silverware bounce.
“General,” Emerson began.
“Don’t General me.” The man stood up, wavered a moment, grabbed the back of his chair to steady himself and found his cane. “I’ve had enough of this insubordination.” He hobbled out of the kitchen. “Bring me my lunch,” he hollered over his shoulder.
Emerson hurried to do just that, but as soon as he settled the General in his office with his sandwich, he returned to the kitchen table, interrupting the discussion that had broken out in his absence. “I didn’t ask for a share, and I would never take it if I felt I wasn’t wanted,” he announced to the room at large. He needed them to know this wasn’t his doing.
“Look, that’s not it,” Jack told him. “We’d be glad to have you.”
“We need to sort things out with the General, though,” Cass said. “And if Wyoming marries you, it has to be because she wants to, not because I want her to stay here.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, you know darn well if the General has sent her a husband, it’s pointless to fight against it,” Sadie joked, taking a bite of her sandwich.
“The lass is right,” Connor said in his overdone Irish accent. “Orders are orders.”
Logan chuckled. Alice smiled. Emerson relaxed a little, but he wished the General had discussed his plans with his daughters and their husbands rather than throwing it in their faces as a done deal. Didn’t he realize they’d resent that?
“When do you figure you’ll marry Wyoming?” Brian adopted a lighthearted manner, but Emerson didn’t think it represented his true state of mind.
“July Fourth. Or New Year’s Eve. That’s when the standing stone said we’d get hitched.” Emerson snagged a couple of pieces of bread from a platter in the middle of the table, bracing for the attack he knew would come. He reached for the mayonnaise and mustard next, and Sadie handed him another platter stacked with leftover turkey, even as she exchanged surprised looks with her sisters.
“The stone said you’d get married?” Cass asked slowly. “Wyoming never mentioned anything about that.”
“She was probably waiting to see if I changed my mind overnight.” He bit back a smile at Cass’s instant outrage. Brian caught his eye and shook his head, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He must not be too pissed
