“The General believes in the Army, and the Army doesn’t believe in democracy—not within its ranks, anyway,” Emerson corrected her.
“Anyway, the upshot is we’re in. You’re an honorary son, like all the other men. I’m an honorary daughter.”
He sensed something was bothering her. “But…” he prompted.
“I guess… I don’t understand why he’d do that—I mean, I get why he wants you around; you’re obviously very important to him. I’m riding on your coattails.”
“I don’t think that’s true. I think you qualify because of the way Cass feels about you. I think the General appreciates the good head on your shoulders and the way you’ve been a steady friend to her.”
“That’s not enough to earn a share in a ranch like Two Willows.” She played with her fork. “I just don’t want to believe in something that could be pulled out from under my feet at any moment. And I’m not talking about the share of the property, either.”
He knew that. She was talking about family. “You’re afraid if you relax your guard and allow Cass and the rest of them to love you, they could take that love back at any moment.”
Wye swallowed and nodded. “That’s it exactly. Why would they stick with me when my own parents…” She shook her head. “There’s more,” she added.
“What?”
“I’m supposed to help you with the trailers. We’re supposed to run them together, and I’m supposed to do the books for them and help with the books for the ranch, too. I think the General’s mixed up my paralegal job with accounting.”
“Are you good with numbers?”
“Actually, yes,” she conceded.
“But you want to keep doing paralegal work?”
“I’ve been looking for jobs in Bozeman and Billings. There simply isn’t enough work here in town to go around.”
“You like paralegal work, though?” he pressed. She hadn’t answered him straight.
“I don’t dislike it,” Wye said after a moment’s hesitation.
That wasn’t saying much. He leaned back. “You wouldn’t mind the commute?”
“I hadn’t intended to commute,” she said softly. When Emerson didn’t answer that, she met his gaze.
“You make me wonder if I’ve made myself clear,” he said softly. “I’m looking for a lifetime with you, Wyoming. I’d like to share my future with you. I’m happy to share running the Park with you. I’m happy to support you if you want to work in Billings or Bozeman, although I’ll worry about you driving that commute in winter.” He flashed her a smile. “I know the General is trying to box you in, trying to sort things out too fast for you. You don’t have to make up your mind yet, although I’d hoped you already had.” He reached out, took her hand and stroked a thumb over her palm. “I’ve been in love with you since the moment I saw you. I know that’s the oldest line in the book, but there it is: it’s true. How about we give living at Two Willows and being a part of it a try? You help me with the rentals, and I’ll help you with Elise, and we’ll see what happens.”
“Cass said we should keep a percentage of the rent we earn and pay the rest into the general operations account for the ranch. The others would like to help us with renovations one day a week. You provide the list of what needs to be done, and they’ll provide the labor.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I do want to try,” Wye admitted. “I just… don’t want to fail.”
“Honey.” He wanted to draw her into his arms, but that would have to wait for later. Instead he squeezed her hand. “Maybe we don’t have to fail.”
She nodded.
“Wye. Look at me.” He waited until she did so. “How about we decide to succeed?”
After a moment, she nodded again.
Emerson was still thinking about their conversation when he drove the General into Billings the following day. Wyoming had shared his bed last night—but for only part of the night, slipping back to her own room after they’d been together.
“I’m not ready to share our status with everyone else,” she’d said.
Emerson doubted anyone was unaware of what they were doing, but he’d held his tongue. Wyoming valued her independence, and if he pushed her, he might not like the consequences. He couldn’t blame her for being wary of trusting him or the General and his family all that much; he knew her own family had let her down. Her concerns plucked at his own. He might talk a good game about trusting the General, but he knew how quickly someone’s patronage could slip away.
“Looking forward to this?” he asked the General as they neared the reserve station.
The General grunted, but Emerson knew he was. The man needed to be useful. He sat ramrod straight in the passenger seat, alert and ready.
While most of their time at the reserve station had been spent on preparation and paperwork so far, today was the beginning of the unit’s once-a-month training weekend. The General took his duties seriously, and as usual, Emerson functioned as his right-hand man, making sure he had everything he needed, being his legs when something was out of his reach, transmitting information to the other officers who headed up the active training sessions.
The work gave the General a renewed sense of purpose, and Emerson liked it, too, even if his injuries sidelined him from serving in a more active way. He could almost forget his bum ankle as he hustled around, and when the reservists
