Page 70 of Montana Bride By Christmas
Why did her heart reach for something his words promised when she couldn’t even say what it was?
As they stepped into the house, she swiped at her tears and helped Evan out of his coat.
She had herself firmly in control when Grandfather returned on Dawson’s arm.
“Annie,” Dawson said. “We’d like you to come out to the ranch for dinner. Grandfather has already said he’d come.” Dawson’s voice didn’t suggest an invitation so much as an order.
She bristled, though she would not let him see it. When would her brothers ever realize she didn’t need to be looked after?
Dawson waited, his expression stubborn.
A sigh rushed up her throat and she somehow managed to keep it inside. If he’d asked nicely, she would have gladly agreed except for one thing.
She glanced at Evan.
Dawson followed her gaze. “Hugh and the boy, too, of course.”
“I don’t know. He’s not been out much yet.”
She wanted to say yes. She wanted to go home and be surrounded by her large loving family. Most of all, she wanted to talk to her mother. A pain as sharp as a knife stab grabbed her stomach, and she barely stifled a moan. She had no mother to turn to. Nor even a father. Yes, she could talk to any of the others, but still she felt the absence of her parents.
“I’ll have to ask Hugh.”
Dawson nodded. “You can come with or without him.” He made it sound like an ultimatum, and she was about to object when someone knocked, and Annie opened the door to admit Isabelle and Mattie.
“Oh, I see Dawson is here,” Isabelle stated. She gave him a look Annie could only describe as a warning.
Before she could say anything, Kate and Conner and baby Ellie appeared behind them. Annie stepped aside to allow them to enter, then stuck her head out to look one way and then the other. “This is turning into a family reunion. Where’re Logan and Sadie and their crew?”
Conner barely made it into the house before he spoke. “We want you to come to the ranch for dinner. How long will it take you to get ready?”
Annie’s hackles rose at the way Conner issued the order.
Conner and Dawson looked at each other in complete agreement. No doubt they’d discussed this thoroughly before coming to town.
She jammed her fists on her hips. “You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you? You decided if you all came, you could talk me into doing what you wanted. Or should I say you thought you could order me to do your will.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I’m guessing Logan refused to join you in bullying me.”
Dawson chucked her under the chin just as he had when she was four years old.
She couldn’t decide whether to laugh or scream.
Hugh stepped into the house at that moment. He studied her and saw that she faced her two brothers, and his eyebrows rose. “I recall your Grandfather telling me that when she got a bee in her bonnet, he just stood back and waited for her to get past it.”
Her brothers had the gall to laugh.
She scowled at her brothers, spared a narrowed-eyed look at Hugh, then spun to face Grandfather. “Are you suggesting that people should simply humor me?”
He gave her a tender smile that melted every ounce of her annoyance. “Annie Bell, you are so much like your grandmother. She had lots of spit and vinegar, too. It’s a good thing, and I would never suggest otherwise. You would not have survived these big brutes of brothers without it.” Grandfather glowered at his grandsons. “Annie is doing quite well at running her life without any help from you. Now extend a nice invitation or leave.”
Hugh had steppedinside in time to hear Annie standing up to her brothers. The sight of her indignation amused him. It also put him in awe of her. Like her grandfather said, a woman with spit and vinegar. And she could be his.
For how long? The warning would not be silenced.
Dawson rolled his shoulders. “Annie, Hugh, and Evan, would you please come to the ranch for dinner? Both Isabelle and Kate have made a nice meal.”
Annie gave each of her brothers a look of stubborn consideration before she turned to Hugh. “I won’t go unless you do.”
Her deference to his wishes did something unfamiliar to his insides. Not because she was acknowledging him as head of the house—that didn’t concern him overly much—but because it made him feel like he mattered. His opinion mattered like she valued him.
