Renee Ryan - The Marriage Agreement

Then, hands on her shoulders, Hunter studied her face with the narrow-eyed focus that had kept him alive during his rebellious years. She tried not to fidget under the inspection.

At last, he gave a quick nod of approval. “You look well, Fanny. Happy.”

“I am well and happy.” Mostly .

Angling his head, he paused, as if about to say something, then abruptly refocused his attention onto Jonathon.

They shook hands in a very businesslike manner.

“Have my brothers arrived?” Hunter asked.

“Not yet.”

As Fanny watched the formal exchange between the two men, she had the distinct impression she’d missed something, something important. She opened her mouth to inquire, but they moved a few steps away and began speaking in low, hushed tones.

She couldn’t quite make out what they said. She stepped closer. At the mention of a meeting— what meeting? —she leaned in a smidgen closer. She thought she caught Jonathon say her brother Garrett’s name, but then Annabeth swooped in for a hug and that was the end of Fanny’s eavesdropping.

She spent the next few minutes greeting the rest of Hunter’s family. “Mattie, I do believe you look ten years younger than the last time I saw you.”

The former madam responded to the compliment with a nonchalant wave of her hand. “It’s all that fresh air.”

The harried tone implied that fresh air was something to be avoided at all costs. Fanny wasn’t fooled. The former madam was delighted with her decision to sell her brothel and move onto the ranch with her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren.

Who would have thought Mattie Silks would turn into a doting grandmother?

“Hello, Aunt Fanny.”

Fanny spun around at the sound of her name. “Sarah, look at you. You’re all grown up.”

The girl beamed. “I turn sixteen in four months, one week and five days. But who’s counting?”

Fanny laughed. The sweet, pretty child with the dark hair and tawny eyes had become a confident, striking young woman. “Tell me how you’ve been.”

Sarah did, in great detail, barely taking a breath. When she finally paused, Fanny took the opportunity to steer the conversation in a slightly different direction than the latest fashion for hats. “Are you excited about attending school in Boston next year?”

“I am. Very much. I thought Pa would never agree to let me go.” She rolled her eyes in her father’s direction. “He only relented when I promised to carry on your legacy at Miss Sinclair’s Prestigious School for Girls.”

Though she was flattered, and really quite touched, the last thing Fanny wanted was for her niece to follow in her footsteps. She’d been a model student at Miss Sinclair’s, uncommonly obedient. That had been a mistake. When a young girl went away to school, she was supposed to spread her wings a little, to test her boundaries, to make mistakes and then learn from them.

Wanting to offer what advice she could on the matter, she touched her niece’s arm, then decided it wasn’t her place. Sarah should be allowed to find her own way, on her own terms. But still. “Let’s talk more later, just the two of us.”

Sarah’s smile turned radiant. “I’d like that.”

Fanny switched her attention to her sister-in-law’s rounded belly. “How are you feeling?”

“Excited, impatient.” Annabeth leaned in close. “Your brother hovers like an old woman. Honestly, you’d think I’d never birthed a child before.”

Despite her slightly miffed tone, Annabeth glanced over at Hunter. The way she looked at him, all dreamy-eyed and in love, told Fanny her sister-in-law adored every bit of the attention her husband bestowed on her.

A tinge of melancholy struck without warning. Would Fanny ever find that kind of love?

She certainly hoped so. And yet she wondered...

Was she even capable of having deep feelings for a man? She certainly hadn’t felt anything more than friendship for Reese. What did that say about her?

Breaking away from the group, Hunter’s youngest child toddled toward her. Happy for the distraction, she reached down to pick up her nephew. But the eighteen-month-old miniature copy of his father had a different plan in mind.

The little boy bypassed Fanny and went straight to Jonathon. “Up.” He yanked on the crisp pant leg. “Up!”

Pausing midsentence, Jonathon looked down.

Christopher lifted his arms high in the air. “Up, up, up.”

Chuckling, Jonathon obliged the child. The move was so natural, so casual, Fanny found herself staring at them in stunned silence. Christopher babbled away, while Jonathon responded as if he completely understood.

Fanny’s heart gave a hard tug. Jonathon was so comfortable with the child, so patient and kind.

I will never father children .

His reasons for avoiding fatherhood made sense—at least to him. Not to Fanny. Yes, the Bible warned of the sins of the father, but Scripture also promised victory to those who broke the cycle.

Watching Jonathon with her nephew, knowing he’d make a great father, she couldn’t understand why he was so determined to avoid having children.

Releasing a heartfelt sigh, Annabeth linked her arm through Fanny’s. “Johnny’s very good with Christopher. Of course, I’m not surprised. He was the best big brother.”

Fanny blinked at her sister-in-law in confusion. Then she remembered that Jonathon—or rather, Johnny —had lived in Mattie’s brothel as a child. His path must have crossed Annabeth’s often, probably even daily.

What else did she know about him?

Curiosity drove Fanny to pry. “What was he like as a boy?”

“Loyal, caring, a bit wild, but also protective of the other children. He...” Annabeth paused a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. “I guess you could say he kept a part of himself separate. He was friendly, but he didn’t have a lot of friends.”

He must have been so lonely, always watching out for others. Oh, Jonathon, who watched out for you? Fanny’s heart hurt for the little boy he’d once been.

“That’s not to say the other children didn’t adore him. They did. Everyone looked up to him, even the girls.” Annabeth laughed as if caught in a happy memory. “ Especially the girls.”

The boy Annabeth just described was much like the man he was today. Good. Kind. Distant. Fanny had more questions, lots more, but another commotion broke out at the hotel’s entrance.

Her second oldest brother pushed into the lobby, his wife and three children in tow.

Her smile returned full force.

Logan and his family had arrived.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Jonathon stood in the conference room, impatiently biding his time. He wanted to begin negotiations at once, but the remaining Mitchell brother had only just arrived at the hotel. Coming straight off the train from Saint Louis, Garrett had promised to join them as soon as he helped his young wife get settled in their room.

That had been over thirty minutes ago.

Since Garrett’s wife was with child as well, Jonathon figured getting her settled meant more than merely helping with the luggage. If the man was anything like his older brother, there was bound to be a good deal of husbandly smothering.

Jonathon felt a jolt of...something churn in his gut. Jealousy? Regret? Neither emotion had any place in today’s meeting. He shoved the futile thoughts aside and attempted to get down to business.

Hunter stopped him midsentence. “We’ll wait for Garrett. We make decisions as a family, or not at all.”

Considering the nature of his relationship with own brother, Jonathon was both intrigued and baffled by the united front. He knew Hunter and Logan hadn’t always been close. They’d actually been on opposite sides of the law for years and, according to some accounts, even enemies.