Page 83 of The Rancher's Wedding

“You see,” Michael said, “when you live out here, working on the ranch, you already have everything you could ever want. I’ve got land as far as the eye can see, a day filled with responsibilities that give me purpose, and, now, I have a beautiful wife who loves me. The only thing I want is to be rid of the likes of you.”

Ethan seemed to get the message.

“Now, Mr. Fitzgerald, can I interest you in any more water, or should I go back inside and return to my wife?”

Ethan started laughing. “You are pathetic, do you know that? Do you have any idea how much money you’ve just refused? Aren’t you at least curious how much you could get out of me?”

“I’m not particularly fond of money,” Michael told him, “and what money I do have I at least know that I earned.”

“You think you can provide for Estelle with hard work?” Ethan laughed some more. “If she’s honestly choosing you, then she deserves what she’s gotten. I was doing her a favor by marrying her. Look at you, in your scuffed up pants and worn boots. When was the last time you had a clean shave? You’re completely uncivilized. You belong here with the rest of the livestock.”

“Do you honestly think you’re the better man, Ethan?” It was Estelle, coming up behind Michael and taking him by surprise. “Because your daddy left you with more little pieces of paper than Michael’s daddy? Is that why?”

She walked up close to Ethan, closer than Michael believed she’d dare if the rope wasn’t restraining him.

“Let me tell you what Michael has that you don’t,” she continued. “Honesty and integrity, for one thing. The ability to think of someone other than himself, for another. But I believe that, if you tried, one day you may very well have those things. There is one thing, however, that he has that you will never have, no matter how much you try or how much you steal or how much money you throw at the world.”

She walked back over to Michael and kissed him on the cheek.

“Come, Michael, let’s return to the house,” Estelle said. She turned back and walked away.

“Just holler if you need any more water,” Ethan said before following her back inside.

“I’m sorry I lied,” Estelle said once they walked in the house. “I was afraid that, if you knew my past you wouldn’t want to be married to me anymore.”

“It’s quite a bit,” Michael said, “but not nearly enough to make me not want to be your husband.”

“I’m sorry I doubted you,” Estelle said. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t defend me against him. That you’d just turn me over.”

“It wouldn’t have crossed my mind,” he told her. “I would travel to the other end of the earth if it meant I could be with you.”

He paused for a second, remembering where he was before all the drama started. “What did you do with that necklace I gave you?” he asked.

“Just a moment,” Estelle said, and ran upstairs.

When she returned, she handed the box to Michael.

He opened it up and pulled the necklace out. “I just remembered that I wanted to do this.”

The silver of the necklace shimmered in the light as did the gem. With a slow motion, Michael took the chain and put it behind Estelle’s neck, clasping it, then taking a step back.

“It looks even more beautiful when it’s on you,” Michael said. He looked at Estelle’s face and her big eyes on the verge of tears. If ever he had any doubts that she loved him, they faded far off into the distance.

Estelle jumped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He’d never felt more whole.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Sheriff Ron Jericho had a face that meant business and a thick moustache that ensured if he ever smiled, nobody would see it. Michael saw him approaching on horseback alongside Richard’s carriage.

There wasn’t much crime to speak of in Grafton, aside from some occasional disputes between local business owners or mischief that children would get in, and part of the reason was Sheriff Ron’s no-nonsense approach to the law. No crime went unpunished in his town, which wasn’t to say he wasn’t fair. The punishment still had to fit the crime and the criminal.

When little eight year old Charles “Charlie” Francis was caught pilfering candy from the local shop, Sheriff Ron put him before a judge in the court of law, demanding a prison sentence of fifteen-minutes for the guilty party. The judge agreed to Sheriff Ron’s terms and Charlie served that sentence, crying the whole time. When Charlie was released, he promised to never steal again. And he was true to his word.

Sheriff Ron was a tough man to get close to. Whenever Michael spoke to him, Sheriff Ron responded in quick pleasantries before moving on. Whether the man was married or lived alone, Michael didn’t know. What he did know was that whenever Sheriff Ron showed up, something serious was about to happen.

And when the carriage stopped and Richard stepped out with a man wearing a suit carrying a briefcase, Michael was certain this was the most excitement Grafton had seen in quite a while.

Sheriff Ron tied up his horse and approached the house. Michael stepped out to greet him.

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