PART 2 — THE CATTLE BARON’S UNEXPECTED PROPOSAL

Huck Montgomery rested one broad hand on the mercantile counter.

Behind him, the townspeople had gone so quiet that Bee could hear the old clock ticking above the flour barrels.

“What I came for,” he said, “is your answer to a question.”

Bee raised an eyebrow. “Then you’d best ask it, Mr. Montgomery. I’ve got customers waiting.”

A faint murmur rippled through the store.

Huck’s gaze never left hers.

“Will you marry me?”

The silence that followed was absolute.

A sack of beans slipped from a customer’s hands and struck the floor.

Bee stared at him.

For one strange moment, she wondered whether the heat had finally gotten to her. Perhaps she had spent too many nights crying over Wyatt. Perhaps she was imagining things.

“Pardon me?”

“I said, will you marry me?”

Widow Higgins, standing near the ribbon display, gave a sharp, disbelieving laugh.

“Mr. Montgomery, surely you’re joking.”

Huck turned his head.

“Did I ask you, ma’am?”

The widow’s mouth snapped shut.

Bee felt her cheeks grow H๏τ. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“You hardly know me.”

“I know you work harder than most men in this town. I know you run this store better than your father ever did. I know you kept the bakery open when your mother was ill last winter. And I know you were the only person at that dance who didn’t pretend not to hear what Wyatt Miller said about you.”

Bee’s fingers тιԍнтened around the edge of the counter.

“You heard that?”

“I heard enough.”

Her eyes dropped.

She had imagined a hundred ways to recover from Wyatt’s betrayal. None included the wealthiest man in three counties standing before her with a marriage proposal.

“Why?” she whispered.

Huck’s expression shifted, just slightly.

“Because I need a wife.”

A bitter smile touched Bee’s lips.

“Then I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place. I’m not interested in being another man’s convenient choice.”

“Nor am I interested in a wife who pretends to be something she isn’t.”

His words were blunt. Almost cold.

But there was something in his eyes that made Bee look up again.

“I’m not asking you to love me,” Huck continued. “I’m asking you to consider a partnership. A home. Security. Respect.”

“Respect?” Bee repeated.

“Yes.”

“From a man who barely knows me?”

“From a man who watched you walk out of that barn with your head held high when everyone expected you to collapse.”

Bee swallowed hard.

Huck reached into his coat and placed a folded paper on the counter.

“My ranch needs someone who can manage a household and understand a business. You need a place where no one will use your strength as an excuse to neglect you.”

She glanced at the paper.

“What is this?”

“A proposal. The terms are written plainly. You would have your own money, your own rooms, and authority over the household accounts. Your father’s store would remain yours to manage if you wished.”

Bee stared at him.

No man in Oak Haven had ever offered her independence as part of a marriage.

But she wasn’t foolish enough to believe there was no catch.

“And what do you get?”

Huck hesitated.

For the first time, the powerful cattle baron seemed uncomfortable.

“An heir.”

The word landed between them like a stone.

Bee’s face changed.

“I see.”

“I don’t mean—”

“You mean you want children.”

“I want a family.”

“And you believe I can give you one?”

“I believe that is a matter for a doctor and the Lord, not a reason to judge a woman before knowing her.”

Bee’s throat тιԍнтened.

She had heard enough cruel whispers about her size to understand what he was really saying—and what he was not saying.

“You could have any woman in Texas,” she murmured.

“Not any woman.”

Huck’s voice lowered.

“Most women who come to Iron Cross want the ranch, the money, or the name. You’ve spent your whole life earning your own place. I respect that.”

From the back of the store, someone whispered, “She’ll take it. A woman like her would be mad to refuse.”

Bee heard every word.

She also heard the echo of Wyatt’s voice.

You’ll be the laughing stock of Oak Haven.

She looked at Huck.

“I won’t be a replacement for another woman.”

“You won’t.”

“I won’t be expected to change my body to please you.”

Huck’s jaw тιԍнтened.

“Miss Lawson, I have no intention of discussing your body as if it were a piece of ranch equipment.”

A startled sound escaped Bee—almost a laugh, though she had not laughed in days.

“And I won’t be treated like a servant.”

“You’ll be the mistress of Iron Cross.”

“Nor will I be expected to love you just because you’ve offered me a roof.”

“I would never ask for a feeling you don’t possess.”

Bee studied him.

There was no teasing smile. No glimmer of mockery. No hungry look that made her feel like a bargain.

Only a steady, guarded seriousness.

But she still wasn’t ready.

“I need time.”

Huck nodded once.

“Take it.”

He turned to leave, then paused at the door.

“One more thing, Miss Lawson.”

Bee looked up.

“Wyatt Miller has been telling people that your father promised him a partnership in this store. He also claims you agreed to provide the money for his new herd.”

Bee went pale.

“That’s a lie.”

“I know.”

“How?”

“Because I spoke to your father this morning.”

Huck’s eyes hardened.

“Wyatt has been using your name to secure credit from three merchants. If he succeeds, the debts may fall on your family.”

Bee’s stomach dropped.

The betrayal had not ended at the barn dance.

Wyatt had been stealing from her long before he ever slipped that ring onto her finger.

“Thank you for telling me,” she said quietly.

Huck inclined his head.

“I’ll return in three days. If your answer is no, I’ll accept it.”

Then he walked out.

The bell chimed above the door.

For several seconds, no one moved.

Then Widow Higgins leaned toward another customer and whispered loudly, “A marriage of convenience. How romantic.”

Bee picked up the folded paper.

Her hands were trembling.

But she wasn’t trembling because Huck Montgomery had proposed.

She was trembling because, for the first time in her life, a powerful man had looked at her and seen something other than her size.

That evening, Bee returned to her family’s house and found Kaya sitting in the parlor.

The younger woman wore Wyatt’s ring.

She had been crying, but the tears vanished the moment Bee entered.

“Mr. Montgomery proposed to you?”

Bee stopped in the doorway.

“Who told you?”

“Everyone is talking about it.”

Kaya rose, her blue silk dress whispering against the floor.

“You can’t possibly be considering it.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s a cattle baron. He could have any woman he wanted.”

Bee gave her sister a long look.

“That seems to be everyone’s favorite argument.”

Kaya’s cheeks flushed.

“He’s only doing it because he feels sorry for you.”

“Perhaps.”

“And if you marry him, Wyatt will laugh.”

Bee’s heart gave one final, painful twist at the sound of his name.

Then something inside her settled.

“Let him.”

Kaya stared.

“You don’t understand. Wyatt and I are getting married. Father says he’ll help him start his herd. We’ll have a beautiful home. We’ll be happy.”

“I hope you are.”

“You don’t mean that.”

Bee’s voice was quiet.

“I mean I’m finished wishing misery on myself because you chose to hurt me.”

Kaya’s expression hardened.

“You always think you’re better than me because you work so hard.”

“No,” Bee replied. “I always thought you were my sister.”

For a moment, Kaya had no answer.

Then she turned away.

Bee went upstairs, closed her bedroom door, and unfolded Huck’s proposal once more.

The terms were simple.

A marriage contract.

Separate finances.

A home at Iron Cross.

A partnership built on respect.

At the bottom, in a firm hand, Huck had written one sentence:

You will never have to earn your place at my table.

Bee read it twice.

Then she pressed the paper to her chest and allowed herself to cry—not for Wyatt, not for the ring, and not for the sister who had betrayed her.

She cried because she was afraid.

Afraid that hope was another kind of trap.

Three days later, Huck Montgomery returned to Oak Haven.

He entered the mercantile just before noon.

Bee stood behind the counter, her burgundy dress replaced by a plain brown one. Her hair was pinned neatly, and her face was calm.

Huck removed his hat.

“Miss Lawson.”

“Mr. Montgomery.”

“I came for your answer.”

Bee glanced toward the front window.

Outside, a crowd had gathered. Wyatt stood among them, Kaya clinging to his arm.

Bee could see the silver ring on her sister’s finger.

She looked back at Huck.

“I have one condition.”

“Name it.”

“If I marry you, I want to bring my father’s old cook, Mrs. Bell, to Iron Cross. She has no family left, and I won’t leave her behind.”

Huck’s expression softened.

“Consider it done.”

“And I want to continue managing the mercantile accounts until my father decides to retire.”

“Of course.”

Bee took a slow breath.

“Then… yes.”

A low murmur swept through the store.

Huck didn’t smile.

Instead, he held out his hand.

Bee placed hers in it.

His palm was warm and rough, his grip careful—not as though she were fragile, but as though her choice mattered.

“I’ll have the minister meet us tomorrow,” he said.

“Tomorrow?”

“If you’re certain.”

Bee looked through the window one last time.

Wyatt’s face had turned white.

Kaya’s mouth hung open.

For the first time since the barn dance, Bee felt no shame.

“Yes,” she said. “I’m certain.”

Huck released her hand and turned toward the door.

But before he reached it, Wyatt shoved through the crowd.

“Bee!”

Huck stopped.

Wyatt’s eyes darted between them.

“You can’t marry him.”

Bee’s expression remained steady.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re still my fiancée!”

A stunned silence fell over the mercantile.

Bee looked at him.

“You gave my ring to my sister.”

Wyatt flushed.

“That was a mistake.”

“No,” Bee said. “It was a choice.”

He stepped closer.

“I was going to marry you. I still can. Kaya and I—”

“Enough.”

Huck’s voice was low.

Wyatt turned toward him, but the cattle baron’s gaze was colder than the winter plains.

“You’ve been using Miss Lawson’s name to borrow money. You’ve been telling merchants she promised you her savings. I suggest you settle those accounts before I decide to speak with the sheriff.”

Wyatt’s confidence faltered.

“You can’t prove that.”

Huck reached into his coat and pulled out a folded ledger.

“I can.”

Bee stared at the paper.

Then she looked at Wyatt.

“Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

His mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

Kaya stepped forward, suddenly frantic.

“Wyatt, tell her! Tell her you love me!”

But Wyatt didn’t look at Kaya.

He looked at Bee.

And for one brief moment, Bee saw the truth.

He wasn’t sorry for hurting her.

He was sorry he had lost access to her money.

Bee turned away.

“Mr. Montgomery,” she said, “I believe we have a wedding to plan.”

Huck offered his arm.

She took it.

The two of them walked out into the Texas sunlight while the town watched in stunned silence.

But as they reached the street, Huck leaned toward her.

“There’s something you should know.”

Bee glanced up.

“What is it?”

His expression had changed.

“I didn’t come to Oak Haven three days ago because I needed a wife.”

Bee’s steps slowed.

“Then why did you?”

Huck looked toward the Iron Cross Ranch, miles beyond the town.

“Because my late wife left me a letter. And in it, she asked me to find the one woman in Texas who could save my ranch—and the secret my family has kept for twenty years.”

Bee’s heart began to pound.

“What secret?”

Huck’s eyes met hers.

“Your father knows.”

And across the street, behind the mercantile window, Bee’s father stood frozen—his face drained of color.