How could a guy say no to an invitation like that?
“Well, it’s nice to see her here with someone. I’ve always thought you were such a nice young boy, and I can already see you’ve grown up to be a good man. I’m glad Robyn has you.”
Gertie’s husband, Harley leaned forward and shook his head slowly in her direction.
“Gertie, he only came for the food. Don’t be getting any ideas into your head.”
“Oh, for goodness sakes, it’s not like I was telling them I would start planning their wedding.” Gertie shooed her hand toward her husband and rolled her eyes in their direction.
“No, our wedding plans are on hold. Robyn has already said an emphatic no to marrying me.”
He knew Robyn was probably going to kill him on the ride home, but if he was going to get Grandma Gertie on his side, it was time to let her know the details.
Chapter Eleven
Robyn kept her eyes looking out the window, not even taking notice of anything they drove past. She knew it wasn’t fair to be angry at Ben, but she couldn’t help it. After he’d announced to her grandmother that he’d already asked her to marry him, and she’d said no, everyone had understandably been full of questions.
When they heard the story about the time capsule and the marriage pact they’d found inside—of course they’d all thought it was so adorable. And the fact that Ben was determined to follow through on it was even more endearing to her parents, grandparents, and all the aunts and uncles at the table.
She’d been ready to strangle him while they all sided with him and thought she should say yes. She knew they weren’t all being serious, well, except for Grams who Robyn had no doubt was ready for them to get married right then and there. But now she knew none of them would quit bugging her about it.
It was one thing to be annoyed by the questions about when she was going to get herself a boyfriend and settle down, now it was going to be ten times worse.
Now, she was going to be questioned about when she was going to say yes and marry Ben.
“Okay, I know you’re mad. I was only joking around with your family about the marriage thing. I’m sure they all know that.” His voice interrupted her thoughts, and she could hear he was genuinely worried he’d upset her. She’d always been able to read how he was feeling.
She didn’t want to look at him or she knew she wouldn’t be able to stay mad. “You know what my family is like. Especially Grams. They all want the Quinn cousins to be happy, to find their happy-ever-after’s and get married and have babies. That’s just how it’s always been. Normally, it’s easy enough to just brush it off and ignore it. But lately, I don’t know…” Her voice trailed off as she tried to figure out exactly what she was trying to say.
“But lately, with so many of them finding love and getting married, it’s making things a bit harder not to want it for yourself too?”
How was he able to put into words exactly what she’d been trying to figure out herself?
Slowly, she turned her head and gave him a sad smile. “I guess. Does that sound crazy?”
He turned his gaze back to the road and shook his head. Seeing him tonight, without his ball cap and dressed in something other than his work clothes, had stirred feelings in her she was having trouble dealing with. She’d known she was attracted to him, but tonight, in his arms on the dance floor, she’d found herself falling hard. And it scared her.
This was her best friend, or at least, he had been. She risked losing so much more than just her heart if she followed through on her feelings and things didn’t work out.
“I don’t think it’s crazy at all. We all want to find that person we can spend our lives with and be happy. Especially when we see everyone around us doing it.”
“It’s just that for so long, all of us cousins were single. We just ignored Grams or anyone who tried to tell us we needed to settle down and find that special someone to make our life complete. It wasn’t a big deal. But then, everyone seemed to start finding love and I guess for those of us who are still searching, it’s a bit harder to just ignore. Especially when even someone like Joel can find someone to fall in love with him.” She tried to make a joke to lighten the subject matter up a bit. She’d never meant for the conversation to become so serious.
But Ben had always been an easy one to confide in. It seemed he hadn’t changed at all in that respect.
They pulled up in front of the small apartment building where she lived with Vicki. Her sister had decided to stay a bit later at the wedding, so hadn’t caught a ride home with them. Ben stopped the truck and shut it off, turning slightly in his seat to look at her.
“So, does this mean you’ll marry me?” He was smiling widely with a hint of mischief in his gaze.
She had to laugh, rolling her eyes as she shook her head at him.
“What would you do if I actually said yes? I know you’re only kidding, but what if I said yes and you had to break my heart and tell me you didn’t really want to get married?”
His face suddenly went completely serious, and he shrugged. “Well, that’s the thing. I’d marry you. I’d never want to break your heart.” His voice sounded strangely deep all of a sudden, and she struggled to catch her breath. The cab of the truck had seemed to heat up about fifty degrees in the time it took him to speak that one sentence.
Before she knew what was happening, his hand reached out for her and pulled her toward him just as his head came down, his lips covering hers. He moved them slowly and she found herself leaning into him. Her hands went up to his chest, and she could feel the steady beating of his heart beneath her fingers.
As he pulled his head back, she lowered her eyes, suddenly embarrassed to look at him. But he put his fingers under her chin and lifted her head. Even though it was dark in the truck, with only the lights from the parking lot glowing inside, she could see the brightness in his eyes.
“You don’t know how badly I wanted to do that when I was a thirteen-year-old boy.” He smiled warmly at her, taking away her shyness.
“Maybe you should have tried harder. I always wanted you to be my first kiss.” Her eyes immediately widened at the sudden sharing of one of her deepest secrets, one she’d never even been willing to admit to herself.
“Hmmm. Well, I guess it’s a bit late for that. But maybe I can be your last first kiss.”
His fingers moved up to tuck some hair behind her ears as he held his gaze on hers.
“I know you aren’t quite ready to marry me, considering I just walked back into your life less than a week ago. And I know I’ve been driving you crazy asking you to follow through on a silly little agreement we made when we were kids. But I also want you to know, that I haven’t been able to think of anything else since. It’s like the tables have turned from when we were kids. Now I’m the one wanting to throw caution to the wind and do something completely crazy, while you’re being the sensible one.”
She laughed and nodded in agreement. “Because getting married to someone after them being back in your life for only one week is completely crazy. Someone has to be the sensible one.”
He shrugged nonchalantly, and she struggled to concentrate on what he was saying as his fingers gently moved along the soft skin of her neck.
“How about we make a new pact? One that’s just a tiny bit more sensible.”
Her eyebrows dropped warily as she waited for him to continue. The way his eyes were smiling, she knew he was up to something. “Like what?”
“I say, you let me take you out on a couple of real dates. Not a teenage boy being forced to take his friend to the dance he doesn’t even want to go to. And not a family wedding where everyone and their dog are watching our every move. I want to get to know the Robyn you are now, because I already know the Robyn who was my best friend. And, I’d like you to give me the chance to show you who I am now. I think you’ll find that, other than the fact I’m not really afraid of girls anymore, I’m still the same guy you knew.”
�
�So, what’s the pact then? There has to be more to it than you just taking me out on a couple of dates.”
He grinned down at her, and she could feel his chest rumble under her hands as he laughed quietly. “Well, if you decide you still like me after that, we go through with our original pact. If you don’t, you can kick me to the curb and I’ll never bug you about it again.”
She couldn’t believe he was serious. “I only get two dates to decide if I like you enough to spend my life with you?”
He nodded, never letting the smile drop from his face. “I think you know me well enough already. You just need to give me a chance to use some of my charm on you to sway you over to see things my way.”
This was a side of Ben she’d never seen before. He was always the cautious one.
“You know, marriage is a big commitment. I’d only ever planned on marrying for love. You’re asking me to just marry you because of something we decided when we were kids.”
His smile slowly faded but his eyes held her. “Well, don’t you think I’d be someone you could love? You loved me before, at least I think you did. I can’t believe the kind of friendship we shared didn’t have love involved. Now, we just need to see if that love can grow into the kind that will hold us together as a married couple forever.”
As he spoke, still holding her in his arms, she wanted to shout out and tell him that her feelings for him had already started to change.
She was already moving way past the love she had for him as just a friend when they were kids. And she didn’t think she could stop it, even if she wanted to.
Finally, she nodded. “Two dates. But you better be ready to show me all your charm because I’m not just settling for anyone.”
His lips turned up into a smile, just before he brought them back to hers. As she relaxed into his arms, she knew he’d already won the pact.
Chapter Twelve
“Jerry, just start piling that lumber over there next to the back door. We can carry it inside once we’re ready to use it.” Ben walked past the truck where one of his best workers was unloading the material and equipment they’d brought with them from Lewiston. His foreman, Bill Anderson, and two of his workers had arrived this morning to start working on Robyn’s house. He had a few other crews who were doing jobs back home, but he’d wanted his best guys here to help him.
He was going to have to pay out of his own pocket for their hotel rooms for the time they were here, but he didn’t care. And he certainly would never admit to Bill he’d agreed to do this job for far below what they would normally be paid.
No one ever needed to know that the work required for this house was far more than what Robyn had to pay. He was just glad he’d been able to do it for her because he knew for a fact no other contractor would have taken on the job. Or, they might have done a sloppy job, cut corners to save money and taken advantage of her.
Ben was staring down at his clipboard while the men unloaded the trailer, and as he came around to the front of the house, he didn’t see the person walking toward him. He lifted his eyes just in time to stop from knocking Grandma Gertie to the ground.
“Ben, you should be watching where you’re walking. You could have made me drop this plate of cookies!”
His hand reached out to steady the older woman, even though he had no doubt she was probably more balanced than he was. “I’m sorry, Grams. I didn’t even see you coming.”
He noticed that he’d automatically switched back to calling her Grams like he’d always done as a kid. He’d spent more time out on the ranch with Robyn than he’d likely spent at home, so she’d become like family to him.
“Well, I can see that. I didn’t realize you’d be so busy here today, with all these other workers showing up. For some reason, I thought it would just be you doing the work on the house.”
“No, there are some things I’ll need help with. I’d like to think I could do it all myself, but even I have my limits.” He grinned down at the plate she was holding. “Are those oatmeal chocolate chip?” His hand was already reaching out for one.
“Of course they are. I may be old, but I still have my memory. You never used to leave a cookie in the house when you’d come over, and poor Harley would have to tell me to hide them so he could have some too.” She smiled warmly at him as he bit into the soft treat and closed his eyes in appreciation as he chewed.
“Oh man, they’re even better than I remembered.”
When he opened his eyes back up, she was rolling hers and shaking her head in amusement. “You always did know how to make an old woman feel appreciated.”
“Old woman. I don’t think you’ll ever be an old woman.” He grabbed another cookie and eagerly bit into it.
“I’d save all that charm for Robyn, young man. I know you’re serious about wanting to marry her, so you better be prepared to work for it a little bit.”
He started to cough as a piece of the cookie went down without chewing, while Grandma Gertie eyed him up seriously.
“How do you know I’m serious about marrying her? I was only trying to bug her by mentioning to you about our little marriage contract we’d found.”
She shrugged. “I know you were. But I can also tell when someone is serious about something. I’m a pretty good judge of character, and I know when someone’s heart is already involved. I can see it in your eyes. In fact, when you were children, your grandma and I used to talk many times about how you two couldn’t see the forest for the trees in front of you.”
He brought his eyebrows together as he tried to understand what on earth Gertie was talking about.
“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m saying. You two made that marriage contract because deep down, you already knew you were meant to be together.”
“Grams, we were thirteen years old. I’m pretty sure I didn’t even know what I wanted for my next meal at that age, never mind who I was meant to be spending my whole life with.”
Gertie just waved her hand in front of her face. “Of course you didn’t. But we knew eventually you’d figure it out.”
Ben loved Grandma Gertie, but now he remembered how sometimes she could be a bit exasperating. But, he also knew she did it because she just genuinely cared so much about her family and the people around her.
“Well, you’ll be happy to know that Robyn has agreed to go out with me a couple of times. We’ll see what happens after that.”
He didn’t want to risk scaring Robyn off by telling Gertie too much. He’d wanted Robyn’s grandma on his side, but he didn’t want her knowing the rest of the agreement in case she said something to upset Robyn. What he definitely did not need right now, was Grandma Gertie pushing Robyn to marry him. He knew Robyn well enough, to know it’d just make her dig in her heels harder.
No, he could manage from here on his own.
“I’m glad to hear that. Robyn’s a good girl, and she deserves someone who will let her be herself and appreciate her. I’ll be keeping my eye on you.”
He gave her his most charming smile. “I thought you already approved of me, and thought I was meant for Robyn.”
Gertie just chuckled. “That may be the case, but it doesn’t just automatically give you a free pass. I want Robyn to be married, and to be happy. But that doesn’t mean I’ll just sit back and let that happen with anyone unless I’m absolutely sure she’ll be treated right. I may be small and fragile, but I can still drop anyone who tries to hurt any of my grandchildren if I have to.”
This time, Ben did choke on his cookie. He laughed out loud at the innocent smile the feisty woman had on her face. “Trust me, Grams, the last thing I would ever want to do is tangle with you.”
She nodded and thrust the plate of uneaten cookies into his hands. “That’s good. Now you better finish these cookies because you look like you haven’t been getting enough to eat.” She turned to walk back to her car but stopped and looked back at him. “Oh, and I forgot to say thank you for agreeing to help Robyn with this house. I know you
could have been doing jobs that would have paid you a lot more, but I think you’ll find the payoff for this one will be much bigger in the long run.”
He watched her walk to her car, unable to finish his train of thought. Gertie reminded him so much of his own grandma that his stomach clenched slightly with the ache of missing her. He knew she’d be standing right beside Gertie telling him that Robyn was meant for him and he better treat her right.
“Well, Grandma. Don’t you worry. I plan to do my best to make sure I don’t mess this up.”
Chapter Thirteen
“I hope Bill or Jerry don’t come walking out here any minute. They’ve been working late every night this week when I’ve been around, so I’m a bit surprised they aren’t hanging around.” Robyn leaned back against the tree where they’d found their time capsule, and where Ben had laid out a blanket for their supper date.
“I told them to take off early because I had something important to take care of here.” He was sitting across from her with his legs sprawled out as he rested against the wall of the old garden shed.
“You remember I only have a couple more weeks now on my apartment lease until Vicki and I need to move in here. Hopefully everything will be finished on time.”
He nodded as he dug his fork into the pie that Robyn found suspiciously very much like the kind of apple pie her grandma made. He’d treated her to a delicious take-out meal of shepherd’s pie from Quinn’s restaurant and had told her he had dessert in the house. Now that she looked closer, she was certain this was one of her Gram’s pie plates.
“I see my Gram’s has been over to see you again. Or did you stop in to visit her?”
He brought his hand up to his chest and pretended to be wounded. “What makes you think I didn’t make this pie?”
Remembering Romance: Quinn Valley Ranch Book 17 Page 5
