The Calamity Janes Read online

  “I just got her to say it out loud. You, my man, laid all the groundwork. Not that she admitted it, but it’s plain to me that she’s crazy about you. And Caitlyn’s happy here. Her family is here. All in all, I think it was a foregone conclusion from the minute Emma came home for the reunion, especially with her friends moving back here one by one.” He studied Ryan. “You don’t look especially ecstatic about the news.”

  “Believe me, I am,” Ford said. “I wasn’t looking forward to having to chase her to Denver again. And I really wasn’t happy about the prospect of commuting on a regular basis. Still…” He sighed.

  “You think this article about Sue Ellen could still ruin your chances,” Ryan guessed.

  Ford nodded. “It’s a real possibility.”

  Ryan shook his head. “I’ll tell you what I told her. Love can survive anything if two people want it to. Otherwise even the tiniest obstacles can become insurmountable.”

  “This isn’t just some little bump in the road. She’s testing me. And I might not like it, but I understand where she’s coming from.”

  “Okay, she’s testing you. So what? Are you an objective reporter?” Ryan challenged.

  “Of course.”

  “And an honorable one?”

  “I like to think so.”

  “Then you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  “Even though I’m more sympathetic than I was, I can’t give Sue Ellen a free pass,” Ford said.

  “No one expects that,” Ryan insisted.

  “Are you sure? I think Emma’s hoping for exactly that.”

  “Well, hell, when it comes right down to it, so am I,” Ryan said. “But we both know you’ll do what’s right, even if we disagree with some of what you print. Unless you give Kate free rein and cut out Sue Ellen’s side of things, I’m not going to beat you up over it, and Emma won’t hate you.”

  Ford sighed. “I wish I were as confident of that as you seem to be.” But then he was the only one who knew just how badly Emma had been burned by another reporter and by a man she had once loved.

  Because he’d been deliberately avoiding her, not until she saw the story in the paper would Emma know how Ford was going to resolve his own internal conflicts. She hadn’t tried to contact him, hadn’t wanted to risk the accusation that she was trying to use their personal relationship to influence him. Beyond telling her not to worry, Ryan had said nothing after the night she’d sent him to talk to Ford.

  As a result of all this discretion and silence, she had lived in torment the past few days waiting for the paper to hit the stands. Now that it had, she was almost afraid to read it. It lay on the table in front of her, the headline and front page story facedown.

  “Go on,” Cassie said, pouring her a cup of coffee. “Read it.”

  Her gaze flew up. “You’ve read it?”

  “Every word.”

  “And?”

  “I think you’re going to be pleased. Ford did a fantastic job,” Cassie reassured her. “I don’t think anyone could read it and not understand the hell that Sue Ellen went through every single day of her life. Even Kate’s comments help Sue Ellen’s case, though I doubt that was what Kate intended when she went to see Ford.”

  Emma drew in a deep breath and picked up the paper. Heart in her throat, she began to read.

  The article was stark, its recitation of facts grim, its accompanying editorial far more compassionate than even Emma had dared hope.

  The love that had been building inside her for weeks deepened as it was joined by respect and an understanding of what it had taken for Ford to admit that he’d been wrong, that he’d judged too harshly without taking a moment to walk in Sue Ellen’s shoes. He was generous in his sympathy for Kate’s loss of a son, who’d tried as a child to protect her but in the end had learned his father’s worst traits.

  There were tears in her eyes by the time she had finished the last word. It was ironic that she was in the same booth at the diner where she had first seen that damning photograph in the Cheyenne paper all those weeks ago. Her feelings for Ford now were the polar opposite of what she had felt that day. Animosity and distrust had slowly given way to something she had never expected to feel for any man again, much less a journalist. Though she had denied it to Ryan, she knew that Ford had been a big part of her reasons for wanting to relocate to Winding River permanently. She was finally ready to give this fragile love of theirs a chance to flourish.

  Without looking up, she knew the precise moment when Ford walked through the door, because Stella dropped the plate she’d been carrying and rushed over to hug him. Every other patron stopped him to congratulate him as he made his way to where Emma sat.

  Finally he stood beside the table, his expression more vulnerable than she’d ever seen it.

  “May I join you?” he asked.

  Unable to speak past the lump in her throat, she merely nodded. His gaze fell on the open paper.

  “You’ve read it?”

  “Every word.”

  “And?”

  “What you wrote was wonderful,” she said, meeting his gaze. “I hope I can be that eloquent in court.”

  “You’ll be even better,” he said. He looked away, clearly uneasy, then finally faced her. “When this case is over, you and I need to talk.”

  She thought she knew what was on his mind, thought she knew exactly why he wanted to wait, but she couldn’t, not one second longer. She called on every last nerve that had ever gotten her through a tough court case.

  “Why not now?” she asked. “I have a couple of things on my mind.”

  He regarded her warily. “Such as?”

  “I’ve decided that I’d like to relocate my practice to Winding River. Caitlyn’s happy here. I’m happy here. What do you think?”

  “Ryan mentioned that you’d been thinking about that.” He sounded somewhat miffed.

  “Actually, I hadn’t been,” she said. “Not consciously, anyway. If anything, I’d been fighting the idea. Then the other day, Ryan said something and everything clicked into place. I just have one question—how would you feel about it?”

  A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Sounds like a good plan to me. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t all that crazy about commuting to Denver.”

  That he’d even been considering such a thing reassured her that she was making the right decision. “Then you wouldn’t mind having me around to butt heads with?”

  The smile spread to a full-fledged grin. “I wouldn’t mind having you around for a whole lot of reasons, butting heads included.”

  “Care to name any of those other reasons?”

  “There’s the sex for one thing,” he said, chuckling at her startled reaction.

  Then Emma couldn’t help it, she laughed too. “There is that. Anything else?”

  “I’ve gotten pretty attached to Caitlyn and the rest of your family,” he said.

  “I’ve noticed that. You and my mom have become especially tight lately.”

  “We have a lot in common.”

  “Only one thing I can think of,” Emma said. “Getting me to move back here.”

  He grinned. “Like I said, a lot in common. And I’m pretty sure she and all the rest of them have expectations,” he added.

  “Expectations?” she repeated, ignoring the sudden leap of her heart.

  “You know, where you and I are concerned.”

  “And you wouldn’t want to disappoint them?”

  He shook his head. “No, but the person I really don’t want to disappoint, the person I never want to disappoint, is you.”

  Emma thought of the article and knew that she would never doubt his integrity or honor again. She had known for some time that she didn’t doubt his love. “You couldn’t if you tried.”

  His grin was rueful. “Would you be saying that if that story hadn’t done exactly what you’d hoped for?”

  “As long as it was honest, as long as the facts were accurate and nothing was misrepresented, y
es.”

  “Can you really be sure of that?” he asked, his gaze intense as he studied her. “I’m always going to be a journalist, Emma. I’m always going to call things the way I see them. If you’re going to be practicing law here, there will be other cases and other stories. I won’t slant things to suit you.”

  “I wouldn’t expect you to.”

  His gaze held hers. “Are you sure? Really sure?”

  Because the answer was obviously so important to him, she took the time to think it over. Deep down, she knew that he might write things that would rankle, things that might not be favorable to a client of hers, but she also knew that he would never do it with malice. He would never in a million years do to her what Kit and his pal had done, because deep down Ford was the most decent man she’d ever known. He’d proved it with this story about Sue Ellen and in myriad other ways.

  “I’m sure,” she said quietly. “Absolutely sure.”

  He nodded slowly, but that serious expression in his eyes never wavered. “This may not be the most romantic time or place for this, but since we seem to have an audience, I’ll do it anyway. It might improve my odds of getting the right response.”

  “Audience?” she said, and looked up to see all of the Calamity Janes lurking nearby, nodding encouragement. Her gaze shifted back to Ford.

  He reached for her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Marry me, Emma.”

  It was her turn to ask if he was sure.

  “Oh, I’m sure,” he said with heartfelt conviction. “I think I fell in love with you the second you told me what an idiot I was.”

  “Way back then?”

  “Yes, way back then. Not too many people can be so blasted sexy when they’re busy insulting a person.”

  “Not many people can take it so well.” She studied him intently. “You really think we can survive all the disagreements that are bound to come up?”

  “Do you think there will ever be one more important or more heartfelt than this last one?” he asked.

  “I hope not, but you never know.”

  “Darlin’, I think we can survive just about anything. We just have to make sure we never stop believing in the power of love.”

  She thought about Ryan and Sue Ellen, thought about her childhood friend’s faith in the endurance of love. His had been sorely tested, and yet it had survived. She believed with all her heart that Ryan would one day get his wish and have the chance to prove to Sue Ellen that she was worthy of being loved by a kind, gentle man.

  “I can do that,” she said softly.

  “No,” Ford corrected. “We can do that. From now on, we’re a team.”

  She laughed. “I’m going to remind you of that when you sit down at the computer to write an editorial.”

  “Only if I get to remind you right before you make an argument to the jury.”

  Emma held up her hands. “Okay, okay, we only take the teamwork so far.”

  Suddenly Lauren, Cassie, Gina and Karen were beside the table.

  “Well?” Lauren demanded impatiently. “Did she say yes?”

  Ford grinned up at her. “To what?”

  “If you didn’t ask her to marry you, then you’re not the man I thought you were,” Lauren said.

  “He asked,” Emma said, then waited a beat to let the anticipation build.

  “Tell us, dammit,” Gina said. “I’m getting gray hair waiting for you.”

  “As if,” Emma said. “Okay, I said yes.”

  “Well, thank heaven,” Gina declared. “I was beginning to worry about your good sense.”

  As if they’d all shared the exact same thought, four pairs of eyes turned to Lauren.

  “Your turn,” Emma said. “You’re the only holdout. Karen’s finally with Grady, Cassie’s marriage to Cole is on solid ground at last and Gina’s with Rafe.”

  “Oh, I don’t think you need to worry about her,” Karen teased.

  “Meaning?” Emma asked.

  Lauren scowled at Karen. “Meaning that she has a big mouth,” she grumbled. “Besides, this is Emma’s big moment. Let her have it.”

  “I’m willing to share,” Emma countered.

  “Well, I’m not,” Lauren said. “When I have any news at all, you’ll be the first to know, but I’m not sharing the spotlight.”

  “Typical actress,” Gina teased. “She wants to be sure she’s the one with all the lines.”

  “Hey, everybody, remember me?” Ford asked plaintively.

  Lauren squeezed into the booth beside him and planted a big kiss on his cheek. “The prospective groom. How could we forget you?”

  “Hey, keep your hands off my guy,” Emma grumbled.

  Lauren uttered an exaggerated sigh and confided to Ford, “She was always jealous of me, because she knows I’m prettier.”

  “You may be prettier, but he picked me,” Emma said pointedly. “Now go away. I’m tired of sharing, after all.”

  “Okay, okay, we can take a hint,” Lauren said, sliding back out of the booth.

  Only after they were all gone did Emma meet Ford’s gaze. “Are you sure you’re ready to be a part of this crowd?”

  “I think the five of you will keep me in stories for years to come,” he teased.

  Emma grinned. “We probably will. Too bad you won’t be able to print any of them.”

  “I’m counting on you to find some way to compensate for that.”

  Emma felt her heart flip over. “Oh, I can definitely do that.”

  “Want to start now?”

  She hesitated, thought of all she’d planned to do today to get ready for court, then dismissed it. After all, how often did a woman get engaged?

  “Your place in ten minutes?” she asked.

  “Make it five.”

  Emma made it in four and then put every single second she’d saved to very good use. It was absolutely amazing how inventive a highly motivated woman could be.

  Epilogue

  Ford and Emma were married in a ceremony at the Clayton ranch two weeks before Sue Ellen’s trial was scheduled to begin. Because of the timing, they kept the ceremony small, just the Calamity Janes and their guys, along with Ryan, Teddy and family. Ford’s parents came from Georgia and fell in love with Emma and Caitlyn, and with Winding River.

  Because Emma couldn’t choose only one bridesmaid from among all of her friends, she had Caitlyn stand up for her. Ryan served as Ford’s best man.

  Three weeks later Emma stood in a courtroom with Sue Ellen beside her awaiting the jury’s reading of its verdict. Ford sat in the front row right behind her. Just before the foreman stood to speak, she glanced at him.

  “I love you,” he mouthed silently.

  That gave her the strength to face the solemn jurors.

  “We the jury find the defendant, Sue Ellen Carter, not guilty,” the foreman read.

  Sue Ellen stared at the man, her expression blank, then slowly turned to Emma.

  “I’m free?” she whispered.

  Emma hugged her. “You are free.”

  Tears streamed down Sue Ellen’s face. “I can’t believe it.” Her gaze sought out Ryan in the back of the courtroom. He was already making his way toward her.

  Suddenly Sue Ellen stiffened. Emma turned and saw Kate standing in the aisle. Ford was about to intercept her, but she said, “Please, I need to see Sue Ellen. I’m not here to cause a problem.”

  Emma glanced at Sue Ellen, who nodded. “It’s okay.”

  Ryan moved to stand protectively beside Sue Ellen as Kate came closer.

  “I’m sorry,” Donny’s mother said, her expression anguished. “I loved my boy. I’ve listened in this courtroom the last few days and I’ve learned a lot. I’m ashamed to admit it, but part of the blame for what happened rests with me. I stayed with Donny’s daddy for a lot of the same reasons you stayed with my son. By doing that, I told Donny what his daddy was doing was all right, that it was what I deserved.”

  Sue Ellen regarded her with pity and understanding. “I
t’s hard when you love someone to have the courage to leave, isn’t it?”

  Kate nodded, tears streaming down her face. “Forgive me.”

  “That’s easy,” Sue Ellen said. “The hard part will be forgiving ourselves.” She looked at Ryan, her heart in her eyes. “But I’m going to try. I really am.”

  A few days after the trial ended, Emma helped Sue Ellen pack. She was determined to leave Winding River to live closer to her sister in Montana and start a new life where she could build happier memories.

  In the weeks after that, Ryan spent a lot of time commuting north to try to convince Sue Ellen that they could have a future together.

  “I think I’m getting through to her,” he told Ford and Emma when he stopped by their house after his latest visit.

  “But will she ever want to come back here?” Emma asked, concerned that he might still get his heart broken.

  Ryan grinned. “That’s just it. She won’t have to. I’ve been talking to the sheriff up there. He’s got an opening.”

  Ford’s gaze narrowed. “For a deputy? Will you be happy with that?”

  “I’d be happy being dogcatcher if it meant having Sue Ellen in my life, but the truth is, the sheriff’s going to retire in two years. He says with my experience, I’ll be the best candidate to take over.”

  The thought of Ryan leaving Winding River filled Emma with sorrow, but she reminded herself of how selfish she was being. All he’d ever wanted was the chance to love Sue Ellen. If he was finally getting that, who was she to start listing objections? Even so, she couldn’t help crying just a little at the prospect of losing him from her life.

  “I’m happy for you,” she said finally.

  “No, you’re not,” Ryan said, grinning. “You don’t like letting go. You never did.”

  “Then it’s a good thing I’m not going anywhere, isn’t it?” Ford said, squeezing her hand as she fought the salty sting of tears.

  “Will you invite us to the wedding?” she asked Ryan.

  “I expect the two of you to be our witnesses,” Ryan said. “Without you, who knows if we ever would have gotten this chance?”