Page 48 of The Rancher's Wedding

But were the memories real? They felt real, but they also had a dreamlike quality as if he had imagined the whole thing in vivid detail. He wanted to go back and live it all again to make sure it was real.

There was one problem: The fair wouldn’t return for another year.

It wasn’t the only adventure they could have, though. It was a new world that he lived in with her. Everything that had brought him joy when he was younger, only to die down like a fire at the end of the night as it lost its novelty, could be given new life if he saw it through her eyes.

He needed to give her another experience like the fair, and only through that could he see if still felt that she cared for him. In that moment, he could confess his feelings for her. If, however, he determined that it wasn’t actually love in her eyes, he could keep his heart hidden in his chest. He’d be able to still spend his life with her, but there would always be a wall, albeit a thin one, between them.

God looked down from him from the sky and Michael remembered an adage that his father had always told him as a boy:God helps those who help themselves. God worked in mysterious ways, perhaps, but you needed to do the heavy lifting in order to be worthy of his help. If Michael and Estelle were meant to be, God would make it work.

But only if Michael put in the work to allow His help.

Chapter Nineteen

The handwriting on the envelope wasn’t familiar to Estelle this time, though there was a postmark from Philadelphia. She took it to her room and opened it, expecting it to contain yet another secret she’d have to confess to Michael sooner rather than later.

It didn’t.

It was the same secret she’d dealt with ever since before she left for Utah. The only difference, as the envelope suggested, was who wrote it.

Dearest Estelle,

It’s beginning to look like you’re not going to return to Philadelphia of your own volition, forcing your father and me to take matters into our own hands. I do not feel as though my request is unreasonable: I am asking for you to accept my kindness and live a life of luxury under my support. As I’m sure your father noted, this life you’re living now may seem exciting, but it is not sustainable and, sooner or later, I fear that you will regret it.

I have been told by many that I am an attractive young man with wealth and success and, as such, many women would give anything to marry me. And yet, of everybody, I have chosen you. I would expect you to be flattered by a man such as myself asking for your hand in marriage above all others, and yet you have made every effort to distance yourself from me, including moving nearly all the way across the country to be with a man whom you hadn’t even met.

If I may be blunt, men out in those parts of the country are not respectable. I’ve met several in my travels and they all speak with crass, unspeakable words and are perfectly content not only wearing work clothes, but being seen in them. The very idea that a man is expecting you to do physical work around foul animals is outright madness and it boggles the mind that you can’t see it for yourself. A woman such as yourself deserves to be treated like the delicate flower you are, basking on a couch as servants feed you grapes as though you’re a goddess.

That’s what I believe, but now I hear from your father that you’re handling pigs and shoveling manure? This is absolutely outrageous, and I won’t stand for it. You cannot possibly be happy in this life you live and if you cannot or will not return, we are coming to get you. This is your final warning.

I hope to see you soon. In Philadelphia. Not Utah.

Your fiancé,

Ethan Fitzgerald

This was not a letter worth rereading or even saving. Estelle crumpled it up and tossed it in the wastebasket.

There was a knock at the door.

“Estelle?” It was Michael.

“Yes?” She opened the door and he stood there, a bashful look on his face.

“Would you like to go for another ride today?”

The bad feeling in her gut left by the letter immediately disappeared. “I’d love to!” she said.

It was moments like these that reminded her why this was the life for her. No matter what else was going on, something as simple as a ride with Orion out into the plains to discover somewhere new could cheer her up and allow her to escape from her fears.

***

It hadn’t lost any of its charm. The sun on her face and the wind pushing her hair back made Estelle feel like the world was all hers to explore. The land appeared barren at first glance, but she’d gotten better at spotting all the life around her. It wasn’t just the cacti or the squirrels; it was also the lizards and the occasional mountain goat. Even the snakes, which frightened her to some degree, were an important part of nature—and, in that sense, she loved that they were out there. She still had no interest in seeing one.

Of course, the most exciting life out here was the man riding with her. It was nothing but serendipity that brought them together—he really could have been anybody, and yet she couldn’t imagine anyone else she’d rather be with. It was strange to be married to a man to whom she was so attracted and yet feel like little more than an acquaintance. She stared at his broad, muscular shoulders, flexing while holding the reins of his horse. He turned his head toward the side of the canyons, and she could see his effortless smile indicating that the desert brought him as much joy as it did her.

Michael was relaxed while riding. There were always chores that needed to be done at the ranch, but they always stayed at the ranch. Out here, they were the furthest thing from his mind. He could get away from his work—unlike her father or Ethan, who seemingly lived only to do their jobs, as if money was the only important thing in the world. As if those sheets of paper in Ethan’s wallet could be used to buy her.

No. She had grown up with money and she couldn’t care less about it.

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