“He might feel that way. Maybe that’s why he’s steering clear of you since he got home. Maybe he’s hurt and not sure how to act around you.”
“Oh no.” Violet pushed back from the table, her stomach churning. “What should I do?”
“You have to decide if you want him enough to face your fears.”
“I do want him enough to face my fears, but how can I do that?”
Hyacinth stitched quietly for a moment, then halted and looked up at Violet with a gleam in her eyes.
“Do you really want to show him that you love him and want to marry him?”
Violet swallowed any doubts lingering inside. “Yes.”
Hyacinth placed her sewing on the table and stood with a smile. “I have an idea. A really big idea.”
“I will take all the help I can get.”
“I realize that.” Hyacinth spoke wryly. “We need a foolproof plan that will make it impossible for you to run away from him, and force you to finally face your fears.”
“Will your plan do that?”
Hyacinth’s grin widened. “I do believe it will.”
22
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 someoneelse 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.
