Randall Pride

“I guess you don’t remember when Brett got engaged, do you?”

“To Anna?”

“Nope. Anna was here to help Janie deliver the twins, but Brett was in Cheyenne. When he got home and met Anna, he was already engaged to a senator’s daughter. A real, uh…female Cleve.”

“How awful. What did the moms do?”

“Nothing evil. They invited his fiancée to come to the ranch for a visit. And then let nature take its course. Within a couple of days, Brett realized Anna was the lady for him, thank God.”

“They think if Cleve visits the ranch, Elizabeth will see that he doesn’t fit in?”

“How could she help it? So, with you and Elizabeth coming home at the same time, we’re feeling real lucky.”

Toby offered up a smile, but it didn’t match his father’s grin. Real lucky. Oh, yeah. He didn’t think that was what he’d call it.

ELIZABETH had to be up early the next morning for class, so she said goodbye to Cleve on the back porch at night.

“I wish you’d go for a drive with me, Elizabeth. It’s not that late,” Cleve pleaded.

“I can’t, Cleve. I like to get to school early. Some of my babies are dropped off at seven-thirty because of the bus schedule. I don’t like to leave them unsupervised.”

“I don’t know why you took the job. You’ll just quit once we’re married. You won’t even finish the semester.”

Elizabeth frowned. “What are you saying? I have no intention of quitting just because we get married.”

“Of course you’ll quit. I’ll expect you to be my wife.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” This topic hadn’t come up in the two weeks they’d been engaged.

“You’ll keep house, do volunteer work, have intimate dinners, things to promote my career.” He smiled with satisfaction, obviously envisioning their future differently than her.

“Intimate dinners aren’t exactly in style in Rawhide,” she pointed out.

“Well, we won’t be in Rawhide all that long. You can practice for when we move to Denver.” Assuming she was in agreement, he put his arms around her and pulled her close.

Elizabeth shoved against his suit jacket. “Why would we move to Denver?”

“Because I don’t intend to stay in a small pond forever. I’m made for bigger and better things.” He leaned over to nuzzle her neck, and she jumped back, making it impossible to touch her.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded, irritation in his voice. “I’m waiting, just like you asked, but surely I can touch you.”

She couldn’t argue that. He’d wanted her to sleep with him after their third date. She’d refused. He said he’d be patient. But his patience disappeared. Then he’d asked her to marry him and assumed he’d pushed the Go button.

Their engagement had almost ended in half an hour. When he finally understood that she intended to marry as a virgin, he’d reluctantly accepted her decision. But he pushed the limits every time.

Elizabeth held herself stiffly. “Cleve, you’re making some assumptions that aren’t true. I don’t want to move to Denver. I want to stay here.”

“Don’t be silly, Elizabeth. I can’t live on what I’ll be making with this hick Bill Johnson.”

“You don’t like Bill?”

“Who cares if I like him? Don’t tell me he’s another Randall cousin. You’ve got enough of them already. And no more kissing the newest one.”

Elizabeth knew he was referring to the kisses she’d given Toby when she’d first seen him. She didn’t think that would happen again. Toby was too distant. Too—too changed. But she wasn’t ready to accept limitations on her behavior.

“Cleve, I think you’d better go. I’ve got some thinking to do.”

“Okay. I’m going back to Laramie early tomorrow morning, but I’ll call you.” He managed to snatch a brief kiss, seemingly unaware that he’d upset her.

When he’d left, Elizabeth remained on the porch, enjoying the privacy. What had she done? In Laramie, Cleve had seemed sophisticated, well-mannered. He was handsome, smart, active on campus. When he’d proposed, she’d explained that she intended to go back to her home to teach school. He’d agreed.

But apparently his agreement was only temporary. He’d already made plans to move and assumed she’d accompany him.

With a sigh, she turned back to go inside. She’d end the engagement. He wasn’t leaving her any choice.

A sound behind her had her spinning around. In the shadows, she recognized Toby.

“Where have you been?” she asked.

He stepped up on the porch, but he didn’t show any enthusiasm about joining her.

“Out at the barn.”

“Your horses all right?”

“Yeah, fine.”

She couldn’t think of anything else to say. They used to talk nonstop when they were younger. But as she’d noted earlier, Toby had changed. “What made you decide to drop out of rodeo and come home?”

“It wasn’t because I was losing,” he said, “like Caroline said.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Caro was teasing. She brags about you all the time. She has tons of friends because they’re hoping she’ll introduce them to you.”

His cheeks darkened, just barely visible. It was a charming part of Toby. He was unimpressed with his achievements.

She watched him shrug his shoulders instead of answer her original question. “Aren’t you going to tell me?”

“Why should I? We don’t share secrets anymore. You certainly haven’t said why you’re marrying that idiot! I thought you were supposed to get smarter in college, not take leave of your senses.”

The abrupt attack stunned Elizabeth. “How dare you call me dumb! I have a right to my own choices! You don’t even know Cleve.” Why was she defending the man when she had no intention of marrying him? But it was only fair to tell him first, not Toby. Especially not Toby when he was insulting her intelligence.

“I know him more than I ever want to. He’s an accountant and he thinks he’s superior to us?” Toby’s scorn was evident.

“Uncle Brett is an accountant. It’s a perfectly good job.”

“Uncle Brett is a rancher. He does accounting for the family. That’s different.”

“So Bill Johnson is—”