“About the courtship of the recluse?” Sheleaned toward him and he met her half way. Their kiss was warm andexciting - deeply gratifying. Still, his next words were the mostgratifying of all.
“Let’s get married as soon as we can. Thehouse has been unbearably lonely without you.”
Russell Cade - the recluse - was lonelywithout her.
EPILOGUE
Cynthia spotted him as he crossed the livingroom and started down the hall, his boot heels clicking sharply onthe hardwood floor. She dashed on bare feet to intercept him,snaring him with an index finger in the back of his belt. Hestopped abruptly and turned, his expression clearly startled untilhe realized it was her. His face softened into a smile that invadedhis eyes.
“Hey.”
She put a finger to her lips “Sh-h-h”
He slipped an arm around her waist as shecame up beside him and whispered. “Is he asleep?”
She nodded, hugging his lean waist until theyhad to let go at the bedroom door.
Together, they tiptoed across the hardwoodfloor and stood proudly looking down at Zach.
“Zachary Russell Cade,” he said softly withwonder for what must have been the hundredth time.
Zach stirred and yawned, the tiny handsopening in a stretch. His arms barely reached his ears.
Cade kneeled beside the cradle and touched ablue crocheted bootie. “What’s this?”
“I hope you don’t mind. I thought she wouldhave wanted him to wear them.”
He glanced up at her, his expressionunreadable. “I suppose so.”
Zach squirmed and made soft baby noises. Cadegently slipped his hands under the infant and lifted him as thoughhe were made of parchment paper. For a moment he held Zach, body inone hand and head cradled in the other. His features softened as hegazed down at the tiny form. “I wish she could have seen this.” Ashe continued to watch Zach, his expression molded into unmistakableawe.
Zach jerked suddenly, knocking his cap offand exposing a scalp full of red hair. Cade looked up at Cynthia,his expression alarmed. “What did I do?”
Cynthia reached down and pulled the cap backon his head. “He does that every once in a while. He doesn’t havecomplete control of his muscles yet.”
Cade stood, gently tucking Zack into thecrook of his arm. Zach snuggled against him, turning his head andopening his tiny mouth in search of food.
“Here now.” Cade’s tone was a little startledand a lot amused. He turned to Cynthia, awkwardly shifting himaround so she could take him. “I think he’s hungry.”
Cynthia gathered him into her arms and satdown on the bed. Cade watched as she unbuttoned her blouse andbegan feeding him.
“Your lunch is on the table,” she said.
“I know. I saw it.” He made no move toleave.
“I think it’s about time to move him from hiscradle to his crib.” She mused.
“What’s the hurry?” His tone sounded a littlealarmed, and she glanced up at him. His expression was bland.
“Well, he’s about to outgrow the cradle. Itdoesn’t take long.” She sighed. Don’t worry. I have the babymonitor. We’ll hear him the same as when he’s in here, but he won’tbe disturbed by us when we talk.”
He met her gaze and his eyes warmed, his lipsgiving in to a smile.
“You’ve had the nursery ready for him a longtime.”
True. They had moved the antique furnitureout of her old downstairs room and put it upstairs months before hewas born. Together they had redecorated the room and changed itinto a nursery. Claudette had sent them so many clothes. It wasamazing how a baby could put love in so many hearts. Cade andClaudette might never be close, but they had certainly reduced thegap.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” he said. “I havea man coming out here tomorrow for the job. I thought he could stayin one of the rooms upstairs at night – if you don’t mind.”
She caught her breath and glanced up at himagain. “You’re actually getting help?”
He lifted a brow. “Yes, and I ordered acomputer for you too. Dial-up internet will be slow, but at leastyou’ll be able to stay in contact with the rest of the world.”
It would be handy when she studied to homeschool too. Cade was an excellent provider. Who would have guessedtwo years ago that he would become a happily married man? His smilecame slow now, but it came more frequently. Words of praise camemore easily to his lips, but he still had trouble accepting praise.He had a gentle temperament, though. Throughout a difficultpregnancy, he had never raised his voice once. The real surprisecame with his presence in the delivery room. Who would have thoughthe would actually clip the umbilical cord? It was strange how hecould blush at praise, but watch with unabashed interest while shenursed their child.
Zach was asleep again, so she put him in hiscradle and closed her blouse. She stood.
“Let’s go eat before it gets cold.”
He followed her out of the room, guiding herthrough the door with a light touch on her waist. He pulled thedoor shut gently and tiptoed down the hall after her. The way hetouched her; the way he looked at her across the room - all thoselittle things were his subtle way of saying he loved her withoutvoicing the words. Maybe he would always be that way. Maybe thatwas what she found so intriguing about him. Once she had beenunaware of his love, but now she had learned to read the signs. Hewas a man who said little, but felt a lot. In many ways he wasstill a recluse, but he wasn’t wrapped up in himself. They had theranch and each other, and now they had Zach. They would all growstrong leaning on each other.
####
Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyedit, could you take a moment to leave a review at your favoriteretailer?
Linda Louise Rigsbee, Author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Linda Louise Rigsbee (aka Linda Rigsbee,Linda L. Rigsbee and L. L. Rigsbee) is a multi-genre writer withover 40 published titles. She writes fiction and non-fiction instory lengths from flash fiction to novels. She writes cleanromance, westerns, science
