Page 62 of Moonlight Over Montana

He wanted to fold this girl into his arms but she wasn’t ready. She needed to hear the truth from him. With any luck, the words would come out right. “Because as long as I’m around, no one will ever hurt you.”

“What did Cash mean when he said he saw how you looked at me?”

“Susie, can we sit down and talk? I want you to hear what I need to say and if you want to have your mom here, that’s fine too. We can walk up to the dining hall and find her.”

She thrust her chin up. “I don’t need Mom, but I do need to know. What did he mean?”

Did he lead with how he felt about Maggie or how he felt about Susie? Looking at the confusion on her face, instinctively he knew. “In my heart, I know Cash was jealous of our relationship as I look at you as the daughter I never had. I would do anything to protect you. I will do anything to help you. And how I care for you has little to do with your mom, but so much more to do with our connection.”

“How can you think of me like a daughter? We’re not biologically related.”

He walked to the door and when she wasn’t following him, he stopped. “Come with me. There’s something I want to show you.”

They walked a short distance in the direction of the main house and Jed did a one-eighty and the entire ranch was spread out before them.

She leaned into him. “What are we looking at?”

“You tell me.” He gave her a wide smile.

She popped her hands on her hips. “Is this a trick question?” When he didn’t respond, she said, “Okay, I see horses, cows, people working, cabins, the dining hall, trucks, ATV, you know the ranch.”

“Do you remember any of what Annie said on Thanksgiving?”

Her brow crinkled. “She’s having a baby?”

He laughed. “Yes, she did say they’re expanding the family. But she also said that the people on this ranch are a family. Each and every one of us that has chosen to live here, and for the record, other than you and your mom, no one has any biological connection. But we choose to live on this ranch and share our lives together. We work, eat, play, and live as a unit. Which we all consider our family.”

Her mouth gaped open. “Annie said that Mom and I were the newest members of the GSR family.” She gave him a playful punch in the arm. “I finally get it. Even though you fell in love with my mother, I filled a hole in your heart. You need me just like I need you.”

He swallowed the lump that rose in his throat. “Something like that.”

She tipped her head and gave him a thoughtful look. “Do you plan on marrying her?”

Dang, she was direct. So much like Maggie. “I’d like to, but we’re not ready to make that commitment yet.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, you have my blessing to pop the question at any time and if you guys want to have a kid or two, I’m down with that.” As she was talking, Jed could see her entire body relax and the old Susie from last week reemerged.

“Do me a favor and keep this part of the conversation just between us for now. I know you’re not supposed to keep any secrets from your mom, but a proposal of marriage should be a surprise.” He wasn’t ready for Susie and Maggie to discuss wedding plans just yet. There was more to learn about each other and maybe he might be ready to take the plunge next year. But he wanted to make sure he would be a good husband and a good father figure to Susie.

She grinned and looped her arm through his and they started to head back to the barn. “Now that we’ve cleared the air and I know that you’re basically my dad, let’s talk barrel racing and that horse which Ford is supposed to be finding for me.”

Jed stopped midstep. “But wasn’t barrel racing all about Cash?”

“In the beginning it was, but the more I’ve talked with Tate and rode Nahla, the more it’s something that I want to do for me. Unless you think Mom won’t let me.”

“I can’t speak for her, but there’s only one way to know for certain. We’re making a detour.”

Susie laughed. “I know. We’re going to see Mom and ask her.”

He tweaked her nose. “And if she says yes, we’ll call Ford when we get back to the barn.”

Two weeks later, as the moon was beginning to rise in the east, a truck pulling a horse trailer parked in front of the barn, Ford behind the wheel. Susie and Jed were waiting outside and Maggie was running over from their cabin.

Susie was clasping and unclasping her hands. “I got her stall all set. I double-checked it when I got home from school.” She nodded at the sliver of the moon. “Kind of fitting, don’t you think?”

Maggie reached them and heard what Susie had said. “Kismet.”

They walked around the back of the trailer, and Ford was unlatching it. “Susie, are you ready to welcome home your mare?”

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