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  Several loud gasps were heard around the room. An uncomfortable silence followed. Some men glanced at their wives, while others narrowed their gaze at her.

  “I want you-all to know how sorry I am. It was an act of desperation that I’ve regretted ever since. I wanted to come clean, but the rules of the school said I couldn’t stay if I wasn’t blind, so I pretended just so I could have a home. I hope you-all can understand and will forgive me.”

  Annie glanced up at Riley, and he smiled. Then he wrapped her arm around his, as he’d done so many times, and escorted her down the aisle through the crowd of stunned townsfolk.

  At the back of the church, Laura wrapped her arms around her. “You did well. And doesn’t it feel better not having to keep this secret?”

  Annie exhaled an audible sigh and nodded. “Yes, it does.”

  They proceeded outside to wait for the crowd to congratulate them, and Mr. and Mrs. Alton were the first outside to wish them all happiness. The two then said a quick good-bye and scurried to the school where the beloved cook was making a special wedding luncheon to celebrate instead of a public reception, which both couples had agreed to forgo.

  The crowd slowly exited from the church. Sean and Laura received the more enthusiastic well wishes, while many folks—but not all—chose to avoid her and Riley altogether. Annie glanced up at her husband, wondering if she should have waited. Holding Josh in one arm, he smiled and patted her back. “Stop worrying. Give people some time, and they’ll come around.”

  Soon the crowd thinned, and Laura turned to her. “Well, I’m certainly glad to have that over and done with.” She glanced up at Sean with a sheepish grin. “The handshaking, I mean, not the wedding.”

  He grinned. “I know just what you mean. Never shook so many women’s hands in my whole life.”

  Laura giggled like Tess did when she was tickled.

  “C’mon, wife,” Riley said. “Let’s head back. I’m starved.” He gave Josh a jiggle and set him down. “You want to hold your new mama’s hand, son?”

  The boy looked up at Annie, his blue eyes shining, and held up his little hand. “Mama.”

  All four adults caught their breath at the first word they’d heard Josh utter. Annie bent down and scooped up the sweet child. “Yes, darlin’, I’m your mama now. And Riley is your papa.”

  Josh grinned wide, and mouthed the word papa, though no sound came out. Riley smiled and hugged Annie and Josh together. Her joy soared as high as a hawk in the summer sky. She took her son’s hand and they swung him to the ground and walked out of town, back to the school. Soon she would leave the home she loved so much, but now she didn’t regret it for a moment.

  Laura walked through the house that was so dear to her and remembered all the children who had passed through it. They would always be on her heart and in her thoughts, but she was ready and eager to start life as Sean’s wife. With Mr. Ramsey in jail, probably for the rest of his life, she couldn’t help wondering what would happen to the house. It would probably take a long time for the legalities to be sorted out in any case.

  Riley and Sean sat in the parlor, talking about the qualities of Morgan horses. Sean said they were too small for his liking, but Riley insisted they made up in smarts and stamina what they lacked in size. Josh sat at Riley’s feet playing with some rocks he had brought in, while Henry and Rusty sat on the porch.

  Her personal belongings were already stacked in Sean’s wagon, and as soon as Annie finished packing, they’d all ride over to the Morgan ranch to deliver her things. The one thing that bothered her was knowing that Riley, Annie, and Josh would have to live in the house as it was until he could finish repairing it, but the happy newlyweds probably would barely notice any inconveniences.

  Someone knocked on the door, and Sean rose to answer it. Laura hoped it wasn’t another well-wisher. She was ready to leave here and have Sean all to herself. He invited the tall, thin man to come in, and he did.

  The older man removed his gray derby hat and pushed a pair of wire-rimmed glasses up his slender nose with his index finger. “I was told in town that I could find Miss Wilcox here.”

  Laura stepped forward. “I’m Miss Wilcox.”

  Sean cleared his throat and raised his brows.

  “Uh, rather, I’m Mrs. Murphy. We were just married, you see.” She smiled happily at Sean.

  The man looked from her to Sean and back. “Congratulations. This is a happy day indeed.” He opened a valise, pulled out a stack of papers, and handed them to Laura. “These are for you.”

  Annie struggled down the stairs with a heavy carpetbag, and Riley jumped up to help her.

  Laura glanced down at the thick packet. “What is it?”

  Sean stepped up beside her. “Hold your horses. Just who did you say you were?”

  The man chuckled. “Didn’t I say? I’m Stephen Landers, Charles Morrow’s attorney.” He shook his head and sobered. “I’ve heard the stories in town about what Mr. Ramsey did, and I’m truly sorry. It was the act of a desperate man, I’m afraid.”

  Laura shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t follow you.”

  Mr. Landers fiddled with his hat. “My apologies, ma’am. Let me back up a bit. I was on an extended vacation in Europe when Charles Morrow died, which explains why I didn’t contact you sooner. When I returned from my trip, I learned the sad news and also discovered the letter you’d written me. I settled Mr. Morrow’s affairs and made travel arrangements to come here as soon as I could.” He took a breath, pulling some papers from the envelope and unfolding them. Then he held them out to Laura. “It’s a deed, ma’am. Mr. Morrow left this house and its fifteen acres to you, not to his nephew.”

  “Me?” Laura placed her hand across her collarbone. “I can’t believe it.”

  The attorney nodded. “It’s quite true, ma’am. Mr. Morrow wrote his nephew out of his will after the man repeatedly hounded him for money and then squandered it on gambling and other unsavory pursuits.” The man grew sober and looked away, staring toward town for a moment, then turned back to them. “I had a visit from the police right after I returned from Europe, and it turns out that Mr. Ramsey choked his uncle to death. At first it was thought Mr. Morrow died in his sleep, but a servant who witnessed the crime finally came forward and told the authorities what he’d seen.”

  Laura closed her eyes, her joy dimming as she thought of the sad ending of the man who’d used his wealth to do so much good. “He was such a kind, generous man.”

  “So true,” Mr. Landers said. “Charles Morrow deserved better. From what I’ve heard since coming to town, that scoundrel nephew of his was merely trying to get you to vacate the house, so he could sell it and retain the money, most illegally, I must say.”

  Annie said, “Oh, that’s terrible. But it’s wonderful news about the house. You and Sean can live here.”

  Still stunned from the news, it took Laura a moment to grasp what had been said. “I can hardly believe it.”

  Sean hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “I have to admit being concerned that you wouldn’t be happy in my tiny hovel after you’ve had such a big, roomy house to live in.”

  She reached up and cupped his hand. “You’re wrong. I’ve been looking forward to that very thing. In fact, I think Annie and Riley should live here.”

  “Us?” Annie and Riley said in unison.

  Laura nodded. “Yes, it makes perfect sense. Sean and I are leaving to take the boys to Austin, and that will take a week or two, then we’ll come back and live at Sean’s. You two can stay here until you get your house repaired.”

  Annie glanced at Riley, and he shrugged. “It would be a nice alternative,” she suggested.

  “Yes, it would relieve a lot of my concerns,” Riley said. “I didn’t want to take you from here, just to live outside.”

  “Good, then it’s settled.”

  That evening, Riley stood on the porch next to Annie. The three boys were bedded down upstairs, and Sean and Laura had left to go hom
e. Come Monday, they’d fetch the two older boys and head to Austin. It had been an amazing day. If only some of his relatives could have had time to come, but at least now when he wrote them about his parents, he’d have some good news to end with.

  He tugged his wife closer. “No regrets for marrying so quickly?”

  Annie leaned her head against his chest, enjoying the closeness. “Not a one. What about you?”

  “Does this answer your question?” He pulled her in a passionate embrace, kissing her until she had to beg to take a breath. He chuckled. “Any doubts now?”

  “No,” she gasped, as she struggled to settle her ragged breathing.

  She looked charming, dressed like a rancher’s wife in her day dress and the apron she’d donned before fixing supper. She was beautiful, not in the way of a sophisticated beauty, but in a simplified, spunky manner.

  “Oh, I nearly forgot. I have a gift for you—if you want it after you hear the story about how I got it. I meant to sell it so I’d have money to start over somewhere else. I went to fetch it the day the girls got lost in the storm.”

  “Ah, now I understand why you were out in a thunderstorm.”

  She grinned. “I can be determined, when I set my mind to something.” She tugged a small object out of her pocket and handed it to him.

  The soft pouch triggered a memory, but it wasn’t a pleasant one. He flipped back the flap and dropped the item into his hand. A watch? His heart pounded as he turned and held it toward the lantern light shining out the parlor window. He snapped open the gold cover, and the inscription made his mouth go dry. His grandfather’s watch?

  “Where did you get this?”

  “Remember how I told you I had a rough childhood?” She lowered her eyes. “Well, the truth is, my daddy raised me to be a pickpocket, and I was a good one. I stole that watch off a youth the first day my daddy and I came to Waco.”

  Riley struggled to comprehend what she was saying. He studied her petite form and the color of her hair, and in that moment, he knew the truth. “You were that boy?”

  Her gaze darted up. “What boy?”

  “The one who stole the watch my father had just passed down to me for my sixteenth birthday.”

  “That was you? But your hair was blond!”

  “It darkened as I got older.” Suddenly, the irony of the situation was more than he could hold in, and he threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, darlin’, just think. If you hadn’t taken my watch, it would most likely have been taken when my house was ransacked or lost or destroyed in the war. Don’t you see, I have it now because you stole it way back when.”

  Annie looked a bit less worried. “I suppose that is true.”

  “Where has it been all these years? Why did you keep it?”

  “After I came here and learned that stealing was wrong, I couldn’t stand to have it in my possession any longer. I found a tree a short way from here with some initials carved in it. RM and AM encircled in a heart. I buried it there. I had a hard time finding it again though because of how much the trees had grown in seven years, and if not for the initials, the watch might have been lost forever.”

  Riley shook his head as he realized the truth. He turned Annie to face him. “I carved those initials shortly after we moved here, Annie. AM stands for Adrian Massey, the girl I was infatuated with when I was younger.”

  She blinked several times, as if struggling to grasp the truth. “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”

  Grinning, Riley tugged her to him. “That He does, darlin’, that He does.”

  EPILOGUE

  MAY, 1870

  The pounding of hammers echoed across the valley. Annie shaded her eyes and surveyed the new two-story clapboard house that the townsfolk of Waco had come to help Riley build. The sides were up, and men were laying shakes to the roof. She had enjoyed the past five years in their smaller house her husband’s father had built when he first brought his family to the area, but Riley wanted her to have a house of her own—one that didn’t bear the sad memories that the first one did.

  Most of the women who’d helped earlier with lunch for the men had either gone home or were down by the creek with their children taking a much-deserved rest. Her dear friend Laura walked across the field toward the house, holding Rusty’s hand. The top of the boy’s head reached her shoulder, and his hair stuck up and his clothes clung to his chubby body from his recent swim. A shuffle sounded behind Annie, and she turned.

  “Mama, I waked up.” Three-year-old Melissa rubbed her eyes and yawned. “Brooks waked me.”

  Annie lifted her young daughter. “Well, we’d better go check on him. I imagine he’s needing his diaper changed.”

  “I help.” Melissa kicked her feet to get down. “I get diapy.”

  Setting her daughter on the floor, Annie entered the bedroom that had once belonged to Riley and his brother Timothy, but now served their children. Melissa scampered in and pulled a fresh diaper from the crate they were stored in. Annie leaned over the crib, and a pair of bright blue eyes sparked when they landed on her, and her two-month-old son wiggled as if asking to be picked up. Beside him and nearly twice his size, lay redheaded Colin Murphy, still sound asleep, his thumb hanging halfway out of his pink mouth. She picked up her son and kissed his soft head. “Let’s go in the other room before we wake your friend,” she whispered.

  “Mama, I got a diapy.” Melissa followed, dragging half the diaper across the floor.

  Annie grinned and shook her head. Most times Melissa’s “helping” caused her more work than not. She laid Brooks on the bed and smoothed down his straight blond hair that reminded her of duckling fuzz. “Did you have a good sleep?” She jiggled his fists, and a fleeting smile quirked his lips up.

  “I have good sweep.” Melissa used the crate that held Annie’s extra pair of shoes for a stepstool and climbed onto the bed. She crawled over and kissed Brooks’s cheek. “You good baby?”

  Joy warmed Annie’s chest. She had been so blessed. She’d never have imagined when her father abandoned her in Waco so many years ago that she would eventually realize all her dreams here. Friends, a home, a cherished man to love, and a family of her own. God had blessed her so much.

  Footsteps sounded in the parlor. “Is my baby brother awake yet, Miss Annie?” Rusty’s loud voice echoed through the small house.

  “Shh … you’ll wake Colin,” Laura whispered.

  “I awake.” Melissa slid off the bed and trotted out of the room. Annie picked up Brooks and followed her daughter into the parlor.

  “I’m hungry, Ma.” Rusty pulled out a chair at the table. “Swimming is hard work.”

  Annie smiled at Laura, who rolled her eyes. Both of them knew there wasn’t more than six inches of water in the creek, but that was Rusty—making a big deal out of everything, but they loved him for it. Five years ago, Laura and Sean had returned from their trip to Austin with Rusty, who refused to be left behind. The three had become an instant family, and now Colin made four.

  “Did I tell you about the new system I’ve read about that can help blind people learn to read?” Laura asked.

  “No, I don’t think so. I can’t imagine how that could work, but wouldn’t it be wonderful?”

  “Yes. It would open so many doors for the blind. The Missouri School for the Blind has been using the Braille system for ten years now and has met with good success.”

  “Ma! Didn’t you hear me say I was hungry?” Rusty swatted his hand in the air. “Where’s that Melissa? I’m so hungry I could eat her.”

  Melissa squealed and dodged his grasp then ran over and hid behind Annie’s skirt.

  “I suppose I’d better feed this boy. He eats nearly as much as his father and—trust me—that’s a lot.”

  “There’s some pie left.” Annie nudged her chin toward the counter.

  “Did someone mention pie?” Riley strode in the front door.

  “Papa!” Melissa ran to her father and wrapped her little arm around one knee. “Up!�
�

  Riley winked at Annie, making her heart flip-flop. “I’m sure I heard something about pie.”

  “Oh, you men. All you think about is your stomachs.”

  “Not true. C’mere, wife.” He bent over and kissed Brooks on the forehead then gently took hold of Annie’s elbow. “There’s something I want to show you.”

  Outside, he guided her toward their new house, which sat on the hillside, giving them a good view of their pastures filled with Morgan horses and their small head of cattle and goats.

  “There are no men on the roof.” Annie shifted Brooks to her other arm. The little tyke was growing faster than prairie grass and already getting heavy.

  Riley stopped and grinned, his eyes flashing. “That’s because we’re done with the roof.”

  Annie gasped. “Truly? Can we start moving in then?”

  “I want pie.” Melissa lips turned down in a pout. The tiny girl completely missed the importance of the moment.

  Riley set her down. “Go tell Miss Laura that I said you could have a small slice.”

  The girl giggled and trotted toward the old house. “Big piece.”

  Annie chuckled and leaned against her husband’s arm. “It’s a beautiful house, Riley. Thank you for insisting on building it.”

  He looped his arm around her shoulder and pressed his chin against her head. “I know how important it is to you to have a home.”

  She turned so she could look into his beautiful eyes. “That is a house. You and the kids are my home.”

  His eyes twinkled and he bent down, giving her a slow kiss that made her tingle all over and warmed her clear down to her toes. She was home. Truly home.

  EXCERPT FROM A Ranger’s Trail