The Alaska Brides Collection Part 54

Tucker embraced his daughter once more. "I'm already proud, Lizzie Grace."

"I'm so happy, I'm going to ignore the fact that you just called me Lizzie Grace." She addressed Douglas. "You seem awfully happy." Grace nudged his shoulder. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No." Douglas studied his bandaged hand before meeting his cousin's gaze. "But you and I have looked after one another ever since I can remember. If you're not going to war, I don't have to go, either."

Tucker shook his head. "You mean you were only joining up because Grace was?"

Douglas nodded. "Yes, sir. I knew she wanted to join those Canadian nurses, so I figured I could put in for a duty in the same place they sent her and keep an eye on things."

"That's very n.o.ble of you, Douglas." Fiona smiled. "Your parents have done a wonderful job of raising you."

The young man shrugged. "I don't know about all that, Aunt Fiona. Most of the time, she's just a little tagalong, but I figure we're family, and we ought to look out for one another."

"Douglas, I'm going to ignore that first comment," Grace said. "I'm sure you're delirious from the pain." She jabbed his shoulder with her elbow, and he gave a playful yelp. "Dr. Rafferty, I believe the patient needs to go home now. Would you like me to wash those instruments before I walk the big oaf home?"

"No, darling, I think I can handle it."

"Fiona," Tucker said, "I believe you and I have plans. Perhaps my daughter should clean up while you and I go for a walk. Should she lock up when she's done?"

Fl.u.s.tered, Fiona could only nod and scurry after her hat and handbag. A moment later, she found herself walking down Third Street beside Tucker Smith.

She took a deep breath of clean, crisp evening air. "It's a good thing you're doing for your daughter, Tucker."

He blew out a long breath. "An hour ago, I would have said something completely different." He paused. "But watching her in there with you, well, I could see it was something the Lord meant her to do."

Fiona stepped around a patch of mud. "I agree."

"Something else." Tucker sighed. "Much as I hate to admit it, I was wrong about you, Fiona."

She gave him a sideways look. "Oh?"

"All those years," he said slowly, "I consoled myself by thinking that you were probably as unhappy as I was. Before you judge me, you ought to know that I believed you were made to be a wife and not a doctor."

Pausing at the corner, they let a motorcar and two horses pa.s.s before crossing the street. "And?" she finally said.

"And now I know you couldn't be unhappy, not when you are so obviously suited to this line of work."

Fiona stopped on the sidewalk in front of her house. "Work isn't everything, Tucker."

Her statement seemed to surprise him. She leaned against the Ford and studied him while she tried to decide how much of the truth to tell him.

"Should you be doing that?" Tucker gestured toward the car. "I mean, the owner might not cotton to having you lean on it."

"I a.s.sure you the owner is perfectly fine with me touching it." Laughing, Fiona opened the car door. "Would you like to go for a ride?"

Tucker took two steps back. "You own this motorcar?"

She patted the door. "I do."

"I'm a.s.suming it's no small coincidence that I was nearly killed by a woman driving a vehicle that looked very much like this one." He walked in a circle completely around the car. "Ma'am, do you own a black hat with a large feather?" He slapped his knee. "Of course, you do. If I remember correctly, you always did like odd hats." He glanced down at her shoes. "And you had a weakness for fancy footwear, too."

They shared a laugh; then Tucker grew solemn. "Close the door, Fiona. I need to say what I came to say, and I can't do it in that contraption."

"All right." She closed the door. "Merry sent me home with leftovers, and there's always coffee at my house."

Tucker looked up and nodded. "Coffee will do."

Tucker sipped at his coffee and tried to decide where to start. The beginning sounded about right, so he took a deep breath and let it out slowly while Fiona settled across the kitchen table from him.

"Once I get to talking," he said, "I'd appreciate it if you'd let me finish. Then you can send me packing, if that's what you want." When she nodded, he continued. "It all started when Mama died. Papa never was the same. He left Meredith and me to ourselves most of the time, and one day he just didn't come home. The sheriff came to tell us he'd been shot by a man he owed money to."

His throat felt like cotton, so he gulped the coffee and continued before he lost his nerve. "Turns out he owed just about everyone in the county. Only way I knew to take care of things was to bring Merry to Uncle Darian's place and then head for Alaska to make enough to pay everyone back. Turns out my sister had other plans. Merry refused to be left behind, and that's how both of us ended up in Alaska."

Fiona smiled. "That sounds like Merry."

"Yes, well, when I left Texas, I knew I couldn't go back." He lifted his gaze to meet Fiona's. "I was engaged at the time. To Elizabeth." He paused to take another sip of liquid courage. "I spoke to her father, and he agreed it was best that we call off the wedding. Elizabeth was grateful for being spared the humiliation of marrying into my family."

"I'm sorry, Tucker. That must have been very difficult."

He nodded. "Honestly, I didn't blame her, but I found after a while I didn't miss her, either. Then came Ian and the baby, and Braden married Amy. Well, I started feeling like I was the odd man out. Merry knew this and took it upon herself to write Elizabeth. By that time, I had used my share of the inheritance from Uncle Darian's estate to pay the debts. That's where I was going when I ran into you aboard that trawler."

"Oh?"

"I always knew you weren't intending to stay in Goose Chase. You said so that day at the docks." He wrapped his hand around the delicate cup and let the warmth seep into his palm. "I didn't like you much at first," he said with a laugh. "I thought you were a little...how should I say this? Prissy."

"Me? Prissy?"

"Obviously you've forgotten the fancy hat and shoes you wore on that first trip back to town."

"Guilty," she said with a grin.

"Anyway, let's just say you grew on me until those fis.h.i.+ng trips got to be the highlight of my week. No one was as surprised as me when I figured out I'd fallen in love with you. The day I asked you to marry me, I thought I was free and clear to do so."

His heart ripped in half when he saw that Fiona had begun to cry. "Do you want me to stop?" She shook her head, so he continued. "I know Merry thought she was doing the right thing in contacting Elizabeth. Do you understand why I married her, Fiona?"

"I'm not sure," she said softly. "I figured you still loved her."

Tucker reached across the table to grasp Fiona's wrist. "No, I loved you. I don't think I ever stopped loving you." He released her and continued. "It became apparent the night I married Elizabeth why she was so quick to head to Alaska when she got Merry's letter."

Fiona studied the tabletop. "I don't think I need to hear this."

"Look at me, Fiona." When she complied, he continued. "She was with child. Three months gone with a baby that belonged to some cowboy. When the rogue refused to marry her, she came after me." Tucker paused. "After she had Grace, Elizabeth ran off to meet him. Years later, her death certificate arrived."

The color drained from Fiona's face. "Then Grace is not-"

"Not my natural daughter?" He shook his head. "No, but you're the only one I've ever admitted that to. I'm sure Merry realizes it, but she would never say anything. She was still nursing Douglas when Grace came along, so those two were raised together like twins."

"Like you and Merry."

"I never thought of that, but you're right." He ran his hands through his hair and sh.o.r.ed up his courage with more coffee. "I know now that I tried to take back up with you too soon, and I'm sorry if I made things difficult for you by writing those letters. I just wonder now if the Lord has given us another chance...if maybe now that we're in our twilight years, it's finally our time."

"Hey, speak for yourself, Tucker. I'm still young." She worried with the coffee cup. "But maybe you're right."

Tucker felt like a weight had been removed from his shoulders-and his heart. "I've been waiting eighteen years to tell you that."

Fiona smiled. "And I've been waiting eighteen years to hear it."

"Sitting here and looking at you now, well, it's like all those years never happened. I'm almost afraid to ruin things by telling you this, but I'm still as much in love with you today as I was the day you left."

She rose and walked to the coffeepot, and for a minute Tucker felt he'd said too much. He was about to backpedal when Fiona turned around and smiled.

Chapter 19.

All I know is, he and Ian were locked away in the front parlor for nearly half an hour last night," Meredith said. "You and I both know those two don't have that much to talk about." She paused. "Unless he's asking for your hand in marriage."

Fiona fussed with the ribbons on her hat and tried not to let Meredith's enthusiasm get her hopes up. "True, we have been getting along famously," Fiona admitted, "but marriage? He hasn't given so much as a hint."

Meredith looked undaunted. "I know my brother, and he's up to something. You two have been inseparable for the past month. I don't think he's going to hold off much longer."

"Yes, he is, actually." She leaned conspiratorially toward Meredith. "He's asked me to teach him to drive."

"No!"

"Yes. I'm taking him for a driving lesson today." Fiona touched her sister-in-law's arm. "Please don't say a word. I'm sure it's not easy for a man with Tucker's ego to have to learn anything from a woman."

"Then why bother?" Meredith snapped her fingers. "Of course. You own an automobile, and if he's going to be your husband, he's not going to sit still for his wife driving him around. See, I told you he's about to pop the question."

"Hush, here he comes." Fiona waved at Tucker, then gave her sister-in-law a kiss on the cheek.

"I want all the details," Meredith whispered.

"You've got to be joking." Tucker stared down the length of Broadway, both hands on the steering wheel. "You expect me to learn how to drive by going down the middle of the street?"

"There's nothing on this end of Broadway but empty land. By the time you get way down there, you'll be a natural at driving."

"You make it sound simple."

Fiona nodded. "You're a smart man, and we've been over this a dozen times. It's only a motorcar, Tucker. Surely a man who's worked on the railroad all these years can handle a simple Ford."

His pride trampled, Tucker decided he must do this. The engine purred and rumbled, and the steering wheel vibrated under his fingers. He reached for the stick and followed Fiona's directions. The car lurched forward and promptly died.

To her credit, Fiona didn't laugh. Rather, she gently pointed him in the right direction, and eventually, he managed to get the car rolling forward at a consistent speed.

"Hey, look," he said when he could manage to remain calm, "I'm driving." Tucker began to think about the real reason for this drive, and he pressed a bit harder on the pedal that made the car go. "This isn't hard at all."

"Tucker, slow down."

He looked over at Fiona. "Worried?"

"Tucker!"

Turning his attention to the road, he managed to miss a pair of wagons looming in his path. "How do I turn this thing?"

When she showed him, he tried it at the next opportunity. The vehicle promptly died.

"How about we go somewhere safer?" she offered. "Somewhere with fewer people."

Tucker smiled. "I know exactly the road." He saw it up ahead and turned right without having to start the Ford again. The vehicle sputtered and lurched but smoothed out as it headed over the hill.

Then came the part he wasn't prepared for: downhill.

The Ford picked up speed. "How do I stop this thing?"

"The brake, Tucker!" Fiona shouted as trees whizzed by. "Hit the brake!"

But instead of the brake, Tucker hit the curb and managed a quick left-hand turn that caused the Ford to slide sideways. They rode like that for a full block before Tucker regained control. He straightened the automobile just in time to run up into the yard of the parsonage.

"Get back on the road, Tucker!" she called. "The church is up ahead!"

"I know," he said as he found the brake and brought the Ford to a screeching halt inches from the back wall of the church. He jumped out and ran around to help a shaking Fiona out of the Ford.

"I was going to do this in a much grander manner, but considering we're in the right place for it, will you marry me, Fiona?"

"Marry you?" She leaned against the Ford, and Tucker hoped the flush in her cheeks was excitement at his proposal rather than something to do with their wild ride.

"Say yes, Fiona. We'd like to come out and congratulate the bride and groom." Braden called from around the corner of the church. "Is it safe to come out now, or is Tucker still driving?"

The rest of the Rafferty clan came pouring out of the church, surrounding them. Grace pressed forward to wrap her arms around Fiona before addressing her father.

"I hope you said it like we practiced last night." She turned to Fiona. "How did he do?"

Fiona smiled. "I can honestly say his was the most memorable proposal I've ever had."

"So," Amy said, "he asked, but you didn't tell us what the answer was."

Tucker wrapped his arms around the most beautiful woman in Alaska-or was she the most exasperating? "That's right, Fiona. You haven't given me your answer. If you don't want to go into the church and marry me, I can always drive you home."

The wedding took place in the little chapel beside the tall trees with Grace as Fiona's attendant and both brothers walking her down the aisle. Meredith, Amy, and Grace had managed to find Fiona a lovely dress and had even acquired an exquisite hat and the most lovely pair of bridal shoes a girl could wear.

Fiona floated through the ceremony, half expecting to wake up from the lovely dream. While Braden drove the car back to Fiona's place, Tucker and Fiona were escorted by wagon to a lovely cabin on the other side of the hills from Goose Chase for a long-delayed honeymoon.