Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [35]
His face went tight. “I remember.”
“Neither of you realized I was watching. As I recall, he accused you of attempting to steal that calf.”
“We threw a couple of punches,” Matt said, frowning. “You were watching?”
“I was.” She picked up her wineglass. “You two really got into it.”
“We had a history.”
She’d suspected as much, and would have wagered money that the history they shared was a woman.
“You beat him in a fair fight.”
He nodded, but didn’t look especially pleased with himself. He should’ve been, she thought, seeing that he’d come out on the winning side. The other man had hit the dirt after two solid punches. As if the confrontation was irrelevant, Matt had returned to the calf and finished freeing him. His actions told her more about Matt Eilers than all the gossip she’d heard before and since.
“That hand wasn’t much of a cattleman,” Margaret muttered. “Dad fired him soon after.”
“Last I heard, he was working for a fuel distributor in Texas. I think he always liked trucks better than cattle. Not everyone’s cut out for ranch life.”
That was true enough, and perhaps Margaret should have left it there. She probably would have if not for the drinks she’d had. “I fell in love with you that day,” she confessed, “and more so every time I saw you. You might think it’s ’cause you’re handsome as sin, and that’s got something to do with it, but there’s more. You’re a good person, Matt Eilers. You don’t like people to know that—I haven’t figured out why. Deep down you’re honorable. You don’t cheat and I’ve never heard you say a bad word about anyone—not even when they deserve it.”
If Matt had seemed uncomfortable earlier, it didn’t compare to the way he responded now. He half rose from his chair, his eyes filled with dread.
“Women aren’t supposed to tell a man that, are they?” Margaret said quickly.
“Ah…”
“It’s all right,” she assured him, regretting that she’d embarrassed him, but not that he knew the truth about how she felt.
“You don’t know me,” he said. “You don’t know what I’m really like, what I’ve done….”
“I know enough.” Matt was no saint, especially when it came to women; she’d seen clear evidence of that. But, as she’d said, he had a good heart. She’d never told anyone what she’d seen that day. Not only had he freed the calf and returned it to its mother, but he’d given the man he’d beaten a hand up, too.
Matt stood and took his wineglass with him.
“I was thinking,” she began, then fortified her courage with another sip of wine, “that I’d like to marry you, Matt Eilers.”
Matt downed the rest of his wine in one giant gulp. He looked stricken, confused and utterly baffled. Margaret had never intended to propose marriage, but it’d happened and now that it had, she wasn’t sorry. If anything, she felt released from a burden.
“I think it’s time I left,” Matt announced.
“All right,” she whispered, and followed him to the kitchen door. Already he had his hat in his hand.
“Dinner was very nice.”
Certain she’d embarrassed them both enough, she didn’t say or do anything to delay his departure. It’d been a risk; she’d taken her best shot. In all likelihood, she wouldn’t see or talk to him again for a long time. That part saddened her.
“Goodbye, Matt.”
Without saying anything, he opened the door. The wind moaned and whistled and in its high-pitched rush, she heard it call her a fool. Matt bowed his head against the force of it and hurried toward his truck, parked on the far side of the yard.
Margaret stood at the window and watched as his headlights dimly illuminated the driveway.
Discouraged, she walked back into the dining room and cleared the table. Like her daddy, she was a risk taker, but usually a cautious one. Bernard had always been philosophical about the chances he took. She’d come by his believe-in-miracles-but-don’t-bet-on-them attitude naturally. Only this was one miracle she’d really wanted.
An hour later, after she’d cleaned the kitchen and soaked out her disappointment in