to Hugh and spoke at the same time.
“Marry us.”
Hugh sat back, shock and surprise making his mouth fall open. He sucked in air. “Marry you? To each other?”
Carly nodded.
“How do you know each other?”
“We don’t. First time I saw him was this morning after I had tea with Annie.”
“I see.” He tented his fingers and tapped the ends of them together. His gaze was serious and not exactly affable. “Then may I suggest that this is rather sudden? Perhaps you should wait and get to know each other better.”
“Why?” Carly and Sawyer asked at the same time.
Sawyer continued, “We know what we’re doing.”
Hugh shook his head. “You know nothing about each other.”
Carly made a derisive sound. “This from a man who advertised for a mail-order bride.”
Hugh had the grace to look embarrassed. “I would have wanted a few details before I actually tied the knot.”
“I know all I need to know,” Sawyer said, his voice calm. “Like she said to Jill, we need a home and she needs a family.”
“She does?” Hugh didn’t have to sound like this was unexpected news to him. Even if she’d never before mentioned this need. The truth was she’d never considered such a thing before, but thanks to Father’s ultimatum, it had become imperative.
“Does Annie know of your plans?”
“Not yet.” Carly hadn’t had time to inform anyone.
“Do you mind if I ask her to join us?”
Annie knew why Carly had to do this. She would support Carly’s decision. “It’s all right by me if it’s all right by Sawyer.”
“I’ve no objection.” He sat still and patient. As if it didn’t matter that he was about to marry a stranger.
Carly eased back until she pressed to the wooden chair. She slowed her breathing and did her best to appear as unconcerned as Sawyer.
Hugh hurried from the room. They heard his murmured conversation with Annie though they could not make out the words. Heard her surprised response, then the pair returned, Hugh carrying a chair for Annie. He put it beside his own.
“You want to get married?” Annie asked, her voice and expression full of shocked surprise.
“I told you I would.”
“Yes, but I didn’t think...” She shook her head. “I didn’t think it was possible.”
Carly chuckled, seeing the humor in this situation. “I told you to pray I’d find a husband.”
“Yes, but—”
“Is there a problem?” Sawyer asked.
“We know nothing about you,” Hugh said.
“There’s not much to know.”
Carly needed to prove that she had found out the essentials. “He’s twenty-three. Been working on ranches or cattle drives since he was fourteen. Guess that qualifies him to work on the Morrison Ranch. His parents are dead. Jill is his half sister and her mother is dead, too. He came to Bella Creek hoping to find a cousin and her husband but they’ve passed on.” She sat back, feeling quite triumphant.
“Cousin?” Hugh said. “And who might that be?”
His tone carried just enough doubt for Carly to know he wondered if Sawyer made up the information. She had never thought to ask and she really should have.
“Ida and Henry Brown. They had a young son, Hank.”
“The Browns. They passed last spring. Their chimney blocked and they died of fumes.”
Hugh continued to press for more information. “What was your plan when you found them?”
“I thought they would give Jill the sort of home she deserves.”
“And you’d do what?”
“Look for a job. Maybe head to Texas and get on another cattle drive.”
Carly sat up tall and straight. She would not let anyone guess at how this information troubled her. She could live with a man who cared nothing about feelings. Suited her just fine. But a wandering one? How would that meet Father’s requirements? She had no wish to be saddled with an absent husband and a father who believed an able-bodied man was necessary in order for her to keep the ranch.
She knew Annie watched her and guessed at her worry. Again, she smoothed her expression, wanting to hide her feelings from her friends. Soon she’d be as good as Sawyer at revealing nothing.
Perhaps Hugh understood the situation as well for he asked another question. “Once you marry and Carly takes on Jill’s care, what’s to stop you from heading for Texas and leaving her to carry the load on her own?”
“I won’t. I give my word. I keep my word.” A beat of heavy silence met his answer.
Carly knew Annie and Hugh were thinking the same as she. How were they to know if they could trust him?
“A man is only as good as his word.” Sawyer’s voice rang clear.
Carly was convinced. Or perhaps, she admitted, she wanted to believe him so they could proceed with their plan.
Hugh continued. “I can’t marry the two of you without knowing what your religious beliefs are.”
Carly looked at Sawyer. Another question she should have asked.
Not a muscle twitched anywhere on him. Nothing about his expression changed. He was very good at hiding his feelings. If, indeed, he had any. She couldn’t be sure he did at this point.
“I believe in God,” he said when he realized Hugh would not go on without an answer.
Hugh gave a mirthless laugh. “Perhaps you could tell me what you believe about God. Who is He to you?”
* * *
The preacher’s question snaked through Sawyer. He had long ago stopped thinking about God. He couldn’t say when it had happened. “My mama taught me that God loves me.” A rush of long-forgotten memories swept over him. Mama reading the Bible and praying. She’d loved God and yet God had let her and Johnny perish in the fire. How could he trust a God like that?
“How would you describe your relationship to God?” the preacher asked.
Sawyer understood the man on the other side of the desk was reluctant to marry Carly Morrison to a stranger and would leap on any reason to refuse. This would be the reason if Sawyer let it be.
He couldn’t lie, not
