Else, this parting would rend her heart in two.
CHAPTER25
Jericho sent a quick glance around the table before dipping his gaze to take another bite of cornbread. They’d all been quiet at yesterday's morning meal, too, but that had been the morning after Chalmers's death. He'd been hoping after he spoke with Dinah yesterday that the tension in the air would ease.
But he'd not seen his brothers this somber since…well, since Lucy left. And he hadn’t even told them of his decision to close off the ranch to outsiders. They might try to override him with another vote, but he would make them see the importance of privacy. No matter what he had to do.
Even Sean and Lillian kept their gazes on their food. Sean still shoveled beans and cornbread into his mouth as usual, but Lillian nibbled one bean at a time.
He couldn't bring himself to check Dinah's expression. She'd said so little after he told her his decision.
She'd come to him though. Wrapped her arms around him. Hadn't that been acceptance? And maybe—he could only hope—it meant she'd say yes when he offered an official proposal. He'd certainly made his intentions toward her clear.
But her words. They still rang through his mind.God is stronger than anything you face. And He's enough. You can trust Him.
Dinah cleared her throat, and his wayward gaze sprang across the table to her. She looked…pale. And maybe even fragile. Maybe she hadn’t slept well.
But then she lifted her chin and spoke. "I, um, wanted to tell you all that Naomi and I will be leaving. Tomorrow."
The words slammed into him like a charging buffalo. He hadn't heard the thundering hooves. Hadn't steeled himself for the pain of sharp horns piercing his heart.
A few of his brothers murmured, but before Jericho could react, Lillian sprang to her feet, knocking her chair backward. "You can't leave. Why would you?" She turned a fierce glare on Dinah, but the pain beneath the anger sliced through him like another ram of horns. How could Dinah hurt his niece like that? Didn't she know how much Lillian adored her? How much she'd come to need her?
Dinah reached out and touched the girl’s arm. "It's all right, Lillian. This is what we need to do. I was always planning to set up a clinic in Missoula Mills. We need to proceed with that now, before winter sets in." Her gentle tone only ignited the anger sparking inside him, and apparently it did nothing to soothe his niece either.
Lillian jerked her arm away from Dinah's touch and stepped back from the table. She bumped into her fallen chair, then spun and strode around the table toward the front door. Apple scampered after her, just barely slipping through the doorway before Lillian slammed it shut.
As silence reverberated through the room, he turned back to Dinah. She still wasn't meeting his gaze. What in the land of Goshen was she thinking to make a declaration like that? Surely she didn't actually intend to leave. Not after he'd all but offered for her.
Maybethat'swhat she was about. Pushing for a full proposal.
He could do that, though he certainly didn't like the way she was going about it. Regardless, he had to talk with her.
Gilead looked like he was about to speak, so Jericho pushed to his feet. "Dinah, can we speak outside?"
Even now, she didn't meet his eyes, only nodded and stood.
He started toward the door. They'd have to make sure Lillian wasn't near enough to listen in, but he needed to be outside—needed space and fresh air for this conversation. And he certainly didn't want his brothers looking on as he fumbled with his words and made a cabbage of himself.
After opening the door, he waited for Dinah to reach him and pass through. Then he sent a look to his brothers to make it clear they weren't to follow. The mixture of worry and solemnity reminded him far too much of how they'd all acted after Lucy ran off with Derek. Her sparkling personality was gone from the ranch, and they'd mourned her. Grieved her loss as though she'd died, though they hadn't said it that way at the time.
When she actually did pass away last year, most of the grieving was already done. And they’d needed to keep an upbeat mood for the children.
As he stepped outside, he spotted Lillian by the corner of the barn, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She looked small and vulnerable, like a little girl who'd just had her favorite toy taken away.
Pain twisted with anger in his gut, but he pressed both down as he turned back to Dinah. They needed a private place to talk.
He started toward the side of the house. "Come with me." He sounded too demanding. Not at all like a fawning suitor about to offer for her hand.
As he walked, he inhaled a deep breath of cold air, then let it out, trying to stream the anger out with his breath. It all clouded in front of him, then flowed behind as he walked. This morning was the coldest yet this autumn. Not a good time for two women to set out on their own with no certain place to go.
His gut clenched at the thought of Dinah and her sister being in that predicament. He couldn't let it happen. Couldn't let her leave him.
When they were safely out of sight and far enough away not to be heard by his niece, Jericho turned to her.
She halted, eyeing him with wariness guarding her expression.
He swallowed. Gathered his nerve. Then met her eye. "Dinah, I didn't explain things very well yesterday. What I should have said…what I meant to say is…" He took in another breath. "Will you marry me?"
