want to be loved by. I think if I had that, why, I might be a different person altogether.”
He frowned at her. “What’s wrong with the person you are now?”
“Do I really need to list my faults for you? I’d rather not.” Especially since some of them she couldn’t even admit to herself. Nevertheless, she’d been achingly aware of them lately...ever since Mrs. Greene mentioned consequences from the mistakes Ellie had made in the past—whatever they were.
“No, you don’t have to do that,” he said, then shook his head. “I still think you’re selling yourself short in many respects.”
She backed away from the stall’s gate so he could walk through it. “Well, I think I just have a very clear view of my weaknesses.”
A very clear view, she thought with a sideways look at Lawson as they walked to the corral. She planned to overcome one of them as quickly as possible to save both of them from embarrassment.
* * *
“Lawson, are you decent? Your parents came early to help set up for the party and want to see your cabin.”
He froze at the sound of Ellie’s voice as he glanced around in a panic at his messy cabin. Why hadn’t he folded his clothes instead of dumping them in the chair near the cold fireplace? He probably should have swept out the dirt he’d tracked in. “Stall them for a minute, will you? This place is a mess.”
An awkward silence seeped through the closed front door. He sighed and grabbed his shirt. “They’re standing right next to you, aren’t they?”
“Yep.” Her muffled voice continued cheerily, “Lawson has been such a big help setting up for Maddie and Jeff’s engagement party. I kept finding one more little thing for him to do so I’m afraid I’ve made him late getting ready.”
He heard his parents respond but didn’t bother to try to decipher what they were saying. Instead, he stuffed his clothes into the trunk at the end of his bed, straightened his bedding, pushed the chair under the table and hoped they wouldn’t notice the dirt on the floor. He opened the door as he tucked his shirt into his pants. “Welcome to my humble home.”
Lettie stepped inside wearing a pert little blue bonnet over her dark brown hair and carrying a basket that filled the cabin with the smell of freshly baked apple pie. “What a cute little cabin.”
Doc chuckled as he clasped Lawson on the shoulder. “Lettie, that isn’t exactly what a man wants to hear about his first home as a bachelor.”
Ellie leaned against the doorway to peer inside. “Well, it should be cute. I picked out all the decorations.”
“Did you?” Lettie asked with new interest.
“She did. I’m afraid all I added was the mud.”
Doc nodded proudly. “That’s the best part.”
Ellie frowned, then stepped past him to sit at the table and pick up the planter filled with brown flowers. “You didn’t water them.”
“Was I supposed to?” He was quickly distracted when Lettie opened his cabinets to fill them with all sorts of colorful concoctions in glass jars. His stomach gave a low rumble of appreciation. “Preserves?”
“Of course.” She set the pie on the counter next.
Doc sat in the chair now free of Lawson’s laundry. “It’s been a couple of weeks now. Are you’re still happy you resigned from the Rangers?”
“Yes, sir.”
Lettie looked relieved then straightened her shoulders in pride. “I think my boy is ready to settle down.”
The significant wink she tossed Ellie’s way wasn’t lost on Lawson. He coughed to cover his laugh then shot a glance at Ellie to see her reaction. She rolled her eyes at them both. “Don’t smirk at me, Lawson Williams. Talk to your mother.”
He turned to Lettie and found her looking absurdly innocent. “Now, Ma, just because I came home doesn’t mean I’ll marry the first girl who asks me.”
Ellie gasped and straightened in her chair. “Who’s asking?”
“I haven’t even thought about looking for a wife yet.”
Ms. Lettie frowned. “Why ever not? Every man needs roots. Doc and I have done our best to provide some for you these past years but you deserve more than that. You deserve a family of your own.”
Lawson met his ma’s gaze directly. “Not every man is supposed to have a family of his own. I’d even go so far as to say that some men shouldn’t.”
Lettie shook her head at Lawson’s statement. “Well, you are the type of man who should have a family. You’d make a wonderful husband and father. Isn’t that right, Ellie?”
“I think I’d better go change before the other guests start showing up.” She rose from the table to stand in front of him. Her dancing green eyes captured his. “Be on your guard, my friend. The whole town is coming to this shindig. This is just the beginning.”
She handed him a clean sock she’d somehow managed to pick up, then waved at his parents before she sashayed out the door. Lettie delicately cleared her throat, making him aware that he was still watching that vacant door. He felt a dull heat creep across his jaw. He pulled another sock from his trunk then grabbed his boots to sit down at the table. As he put them on, Lettie served the pie. “She’s getting to you, isn’t she?”
He glanced up to discover that she was enjoying a lot more about this situation than the pie she was eating. He glanced at Doc for help. The man was watching him over the top of his spectacles as he would a patient in an examination room. Lawson stomped his foot into the boot a little harder than necessary. “Come on, Pa. Y’all can’t gang up on me here.”
Doc walked over to stand behind his wife and gave her shoulder a little squeeze. “It’s obvious you and Ellie have a special connection. Don’t tell me it’s just because y’all are friends. There’s more to it than that. The whole town can see it, even if y’all can’t admit it.”
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