“No,” Violet replied a little too quickly. “He helped my father when he most needed it, so I’m grateful to him.”
“It’s probably something he does naturally,” Tiffany guessed. “I heard he has the most friends of all the Callahan brothers. Hunter draws women like bees to honey—or hedid—while Morgan draws lasting friendships. The way Hunter tells it, Morgan can make each of his buddies feel like his best friend. I guess he’s charismatic that way.”
“So is my father. That would explain why they became friends so fast.”
Tiffany nodded. “Morgan hasn’t been home since I got here, so I was really looking forward to meeting him. But I sense some sort of tension and, well, I assumed it was because of you.”
“No, but the tension should ease up in a few days—or get worse! I’m sorry, I really can’t say more about it.”
Tiffany laughed. “So mysterious. I love it!”
When Violet returned to the ranch, she found her father sitting on the porch. She laughed at him. “You just aren’t going to stay in bed, are you?”
“I’m not supposed to. Rest was defined as doing nothing strenuous other than eating more than I can stomach. I’m also supposed to slowly work in some exercise. Walking about a house got full approval.”
“I hadn’t realized Dr. Cantry was so specific in his recommendations. We should probably visit the local doctor this week, too, or find out if he’ll ride out here.”
“I can make the trip to town if we borrow Mary’s buckboard. But sit down.” He waited for her to do so, then took her hand in his. “It’s time we talk about your future. I confess I’ve been dodging the issue, because I love having you back and don’t want to see you go. I think it may have been a mistake to let you stay in England for as long as you did, because you appear to view it as your home now, where you want to marry and have a family. But you need to remember that you have a home with me and your brothers, too, Vi. However, whatever you decide, I will honor your wishes because I love you and want you to be happy.”
“I know you do, Papa.”
“No matter where you are, soon you will be an heiress again with a dowry that will rival that of a duke’s daughter. Just keep in mind that you can have your pick of husbands in this country, too. You needn’t choose only from the men available in England.”
“I thought I knew what I wanted, but now I’m not so sure,” she admitted.
“There’s no rush! Take your time and think about what you really want. Just know that I’m on your side no matter what.”
She grinned. “Well, if you are up to walking, what I want to do right now is introduce you to my new puppy.”
Chapter Forty-Six
VIOLET WAS STILL ONthe porch with Tiny asleep in her lap when Morgan returned to the ranch. Her father had already gone in to take a nap before dinner, so no one was there to see how brazenly she stared at Morgan from the moment he came into view. He had dressed up a bit fancy today, wearing an eastern-style coat and a string tie, even polished boots, though the gun belt ruined the effect. Had he visited his friends? Or a woman?
The last thought irked her a little, so she wasn’t exactly smiling when he sat down next to her. But he was. Whatever he’d done today had apparently made him happy.
But his first question was about her. “How are you getting on here? Comfortable enough?”
“Yes, your family is very friendly—well, aside from your father. He seems a bit cantankerous.”
“He only gets that way when he has a bone to pick and he can’t get to it. They’re all still on the range?”
“I believe so,” she replied. “Your mother took me out there for a tour. I was amazed to see so many cows in one place.”
“Cattle,” he corrected as he reached into his pocket and handed her a strip of rawhide. She would have dropped the ugly thing if he hadn’t nodded at the puppy. “Give her this and maybe she’ll leave your shoes alone.”
She laughed. “Puppies eat shoes?”
“Dogs will gnaw on them at any age. I laughed like hell when I saw Bo trotting off with one of my boots one day. We always had a dog or two around here when I was young, just never in the house where they could get near the boots.”
She set Tiny down on the porch to let her sniff the strip of leather. She latched on to it immediately and plopped down to start chewing it. “It’s safe for her to eat?”
“She’s not going to eat it, only chew it. Throw it away when it gets soggy.”
She nodded, still watching the pup. But Tiny appeared to lose interest in the rawhide and stood up and moved away from them, sniffing at the floorboards. Guessing what would happen next, Violet quickly scooped up her pet and took her to the side yard. She heard Morgan laughing behind her.
When she came back and took her seat again, she said, “Your father was looking for you.”
“I’m not surprised. I was scouting the town to figure out where I want to build my emporium. Nashart grew while I was gone. There’s one intersection on the main street now that’s filled with stores and businesses on all four corners, but there’s another partial intersection with only one street coming in perpendicular to the main road, so I bought the property on the other side. It took a while to convince the mayor to sell me what will one day be a whole street and half a block on either side of it. Since he has no plans in the works yet for that section, it was just a matter of haggling. And it’s perfect, or will be by the time I’m done with it. I won’t need it all, but now I can control what gets built there. Now I can have that talk with my pa.”
