Of course they wore dresses, Nicki told herself. Sexy black dresses that pleased men more than mothers.
Garrett grunted. “I’m not from Vegas.”
“Oh. I just thought that since Lillian was from there—” Nicki turned her head and noticed the glass window that separated the driver’s area from the rear of the limousine was firmly closed. At least her mother and Garrett hadn’t been chatting away cozily.
“I don’t know your mother. I’m just doing a favor for Chrissy.”
“Oh.” Of course there was a Chrissy in his life. Or a Suzy or a Patti. Some petite blonde with style. A man that good-looking wouldn’t be alone. “I see. Well, good for you.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Well, of course it’s good. And I’m sure she appreciates it.”
“She’d better. If she doesn’t I’m going to tell her mother about it.”
“You’re good friends with her mother, too?” Nicki smiled stiffly. The man was practically married whether he knew it or not. “That’s nice.”
“Well, it’s my aunt Rose. Chrissy Hamilton is my cousin.”
“Oh.”
Nicki decided she should look for something else to wear when she was in Dry Creek. Really, the only store in town was the hardware store, but the stock had changed so much since the minister’s new wife, Glory, was doing the ordering that maybe, by some magical coincidence, there were dresses hanging on a rack by the farmer’s overalls.
The window separating the front of the limo from the back opened and Nicki smelled a trace of her mother’s lily perfume.
“She’s getting married, you know. Chrissy is,” Lillian announced. “It’ll make her mother proud.”
“It’ll make her mother mad if Chrissy doesn’t invite her,” Garrett said.
“You can hear back there what we’re saying?” Nicki wondered what the point of having a window like that was if it offered no privacy.
Her mother didn’t even bother to answer her. “Chrissy said there was no need for anyone to come to her wedding.”
Nicki thought about her own mother. “I expect Chrissy has her reasons for not inviting her mother.”
Garrett snorted. “Well, if she does, she’d better get them spelled out in a letter or something. And mighty quick. Aunt Rose is a force to be reckoned with when it concerns her family. I should know.”
Garrett still remembered the determined look on Aunt Rose’s face when she met him at the hospital the day his father’s liver finally gave out and he died. Garrett was quickly learning something about the forms that needed to be filled out when someone died.
Garrett hadn’t even finished half of the forms before Aunt Rose came to the hospital and took over. She’d told him he wasn’t alone in this world as long as she was around and she was going to take him home to live with her and Chrissy. Garrett had already made arrangements to stay in the house where he and his father had lived, but he was touched. Not many single mothers would take on a belligerent sixteen-year-old nephew who knew more about hospital forms than college applications.
“Oh, I’m sure Chrissy will have some pictures taken.” Lillian shrugged. “And maybe a video. Some of the chapels include a video with the service. Chrissy’s mother can watch that. It’ll almost be the same thing.”
“Aunt Rose won’t think so. She’s still hoping Chrissy will go home for Christmas and get married in the living room where she grew up.”
Nicki wondered what it would be like for someone to want to be at your wedding that bad. She supposed Reno might be upset if he wasn’t invited to her wedding. Of course, he would also be relieved since he hated any public gathering. “Do you think Chrissy will do that?”
“Not likely.”
“Well, I think Christmas would be a lovely time to get married. Or even Thanksgiving,” Lillian said as she leaned closer to the partition that separated the back from the front. “Too bad she won’t be up here tomorrow. Thanksgiving was always my favorite time on the ranch. All those pies we used to make.”
“We don’t do Thanksgiving at the ranch anymore,” Nicki said curtly. Who was her mother trying to fool? It almost sounded as if there was some nostalgia in her voice.
“Really? For the first years I was gone I used to picture you and your father and Reno sitting down to these big Thanksgiving dinners. You know how your father used to like to have the table bulging with food and half the families in Dry Creek coming over to eat with us. There’d be the Hargroves. And the Jenkins. And, of course, Jacob and Betty Holmes—”
“We don’t have company at the ranch anymore.”
“Well, you should—the Redfern Ranch is important to this community. Besides, I was sort of hoping to relive one of those Thanksgivings while I’m here,” Lillian said as she leaned back into her seat and her face was no longer in the window. “I can almost smell the turkey now.”
“Sounds like you have some good family memories,” Garrett said after a minute or two had passed.
Nicki looked up at him in surprise. How could they be good memories when they only reminded her of what she had lost? “All that ended.”
“I see.”
Clearly the man didn’t see at all, Nicki thought to herself miserably. “You wouldn’t know what it was like. Reno, Dad and I made peace about celebrating Christmas, but Thanksgiving was just never the same. Last year I made meat loaf.”
“Nothing wrong with that. The fanciest we ever got in my family was a can of turkey noodle soup.”
“Well, at least you had your family with you.”
Garrett grunted. The only reason his father had been with him on Thanksgiving was because the bars were closed in the morning and he was too drunk to walk anywhere else by the afternoon. He liked to start his holiday celebrations early. It was Garrett who heated up the soup.
But Garrett didn’t believe in telling people about his past. What was done was done. He was doing fine in life now. Of course, he had spent more Thanksgivings in truck stop cafés than he could count, but there was more to living than eating a plate of turkey on some cold Thursday in November.
Besides, he reminded himself, he liked not having the kind of family ties that meant he had to sit himself down to a Thanksgiving table every year. He was a free man.
Chapter Four
Meanwhile in Las Vegas
Chrissy sat up on the edge of her king-size bed in the Baughman Hotel. Today was going to be her wedding day and it would be a good day if she could only stomp down the nausea that threatened her. Now that she had Garrett hundreds of miles north of here and her mother hundreds of miles south, Chrissy was ready to take her vows.
She’d made the appointment with the wedding chaplain for nine o’clock in the morning so that no one would be hanging around the Rose Chapel in the Baughman Casino.
She knew it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony, but she figured her luck couldn’t get much worse. Besides, she was too tired to put on her work clothes just to give a loud wake-up knock on Jared’s door. Instead, she slipped on the wedding dress Jared had bought for her.
Chrissy hadn’t planned to buy a special wedding dress. She had a gray suit that would have worked fine. Besides, a wedding dress seemed a little expensive under the circumstances. They were saving their money to buy a house, and Chrissy didn’t mind scrimping on a wedding if they could find a house sooner.
But Jared had showed up with this dress anyway so she slipped it over her head. She turned to look at the hotel mirror. She looked even worse in it than she feared. The dress was short, strappy and it had some kind of iridescent, glittering sequins sewn on every inch of the fabric.
If she had feathers in her hair, Chrissy would look like a showgirl in it. Which was probably why Jared had chosen the dress. Chrissy looked at the material a little more closely. She hoped he hadn’t just lifted the dress off one of the costume racks at the back of the casino.
Chrissy had always dreamed of an elegant ivory wedding gown that wo
uld sweep the floor and make her look like one of those brides she’d seen on the covers of magazine racks in the drugstores in Glendale.
All of which just went to show that weddings weren’t always what a girl imagined they would be. Sometimes there were more important things to consider.
Jared’s room was just down the hall from Chrissy’s, and she was surprised to find his door was slightly open. She hadn’t expected him to be still up. He’d had his bachelor party last night with a couple of friends, and that was why he was staying in a separate room. He said he didn’t want to disturb her when he came in late.
Chrissy wasn’t happy about the party, but she had smiled gamely. She didn’t like the two guys he hung out with, but she never said anything. When they were married, Jared would be all hers. Jared had promised they could leave Las Vegas then and buy a house in some little town somewhere. Chrissy couldn’t wait for that day. She hated the crush of people in Las Vegas. She wouldn’t even mind waiting tables so much if she knew some of the customers.
“Jar—” Chrissy pushed the door open and stopped. At first she thought she must have the wrong room because all she saw was the back of a woman kissing a man. But then she noticed that whoever had his arm around the woman was wearing one of Jared’s favorite shirts.
Chrissy told herself there could be hundreds of shirts in Las Vegas with black spades embroidered on their cuffs. She looked down at the man’s shoes.
Then she looked back up at the woman. The woman was wearing Jared’s bathrobe.
Shirt. Shoes. Bathrobe.
Chrissy took a step back and stumbled over a high heel that had been left on the floor. Her soft cry made both people turn and look at her.
The woman was one of the casino chorus girls.
“Chrissy!” Jared smoothed back his hair. “You’re early.”
Chrissy wondered if she should have known Jared had been involved with a woman. She believed in trusting the man she loved. Maybe she’d been too trusting. Had there been signs?
“Just let me get dressed and we’ll go downstairs and get married right now.” Jared was regaining his voice.
Chrissy held her hand up. “Don’t—don’t bother. You might as well stay here.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re not going to let a little bit of fun stop us from getting married.”
“Yeah, you’re all dressed and everything. That’s a great dress, by the way. It looks even better on you than me,” the blonde said.
Chrissy wondered if the woman was as insensitive as she sounded. She turned to Jared. “You got the dress from her—no, don’t answer. Just give me the keys to my car.”
Chrissy had brought her car with her to Vegas. It was her car even though Jared borrowed it most of the time.
“Ah, Chrissy, don’t be that way.”
Chrissy took a step back as Jared walked toward her.
“Don’t touch me.” Chrissy hoped the burning in her eyes didn’t turn into tears. She wanted to leave with dignity. “Just give me the keys.”
Jared smiled. “Ah, don’t be mad. Remember, the car’s in the shop. They have the keys. It won’t be ready until tomorrow.”
“Maybe they’ll finish early.”
Chrissy backed out of the hotel room. She’d talk to the mechanic. She needed to leave Vegas and she needed to leave soon. But where would she go? She couldn’t go to her mother’s. Maybe she could connect with Garrett and Lilly. Lilly had talked about the people in Dry Creek, Montana. That’s where she’d go.
Chapter Five
“The café’s open,” Garrett announced as he slowly drove down the gravel road that was Dry Creek’s main street. It was nine o’clock in the morning and just about time for some bacon and eggs in Garrett’s opinion. He hoped the café served a hearty breakfast.
Garrett stopped the limousine in front of the café. He had to park parallel to the road because the limo was so long. The café had been lit up last night, and here it was all lit up again this morning. “Somebody puts in long hours.”
“That’s Linda Evans and Jazz, well, really Duane Edison. He just goes by Jazz—they’re trying to raise enough money to buy the old Jenkins’ farm. They’re very responsible youngsters.”
Nicki didn’t know why she kept spouting off like an old schoolteacher. It must be because, even with the bruise around his eye starting to swell, she’d never met a man so gorgeous as Garrett. He might have stopped sparkling, but he still made all of her frustrations rise to the surface and scream their heads off. Not that she had any intention of letting him see how he affected her.
No, she’d keep her emotions in tight rein. She could do that. After all, her reaction had nothing to do with him personally. She would be rattled by any man who looked as if he’d been sprinkled with gold dust. Not that a man like that would ever be hers in real life. She was destined for a solid plodding man like Lester, who would be useful on the ranch. That was her future. She needed to be practical and stop dreaming about sparkling princes and men like Garrett.
“Is everybody around here so set on staying?” Garrett opened his door.
Nicki looked up at Garrett like he was speaking a foreign language. “Dry Creek is our home.”
Garrett grunted. When he was talking to the dog this morning, he’d wondered if all the people in Dry Creek already had their burial plots picked out. He was beginning to think he’d guessed right when he said yes. That kind of certainty made him itch under the collar. How could a man breathe if he knew every step he’d be taking for the rest of his life?
If Garrett was ever fool enough to marry, it would have to be some poor restless soul like himself. He delayed swinging his legs out of the cab of the limousine. “Don’t you ever feel the urge to go other places?”
“I go to Billings.”
Garrett grunted again. “Why stop there?”
“That’s as far as we need to go for cattle sales.” Nicki wasn’t sure about going into the café with Garrett. He was dressed in his tuxedo and she had on her barn clothes. “You go ahead. I’m really not very hungry.”
“Well, I am.” Garrett stepped out into the snow-covered road.
Garrett looked down the long gravel road leading into Dry Creek. For the first time since he could remember, looking at a road made him feel a little depressed. There was something lonely about the thought of one man traveling it all by himself. Garrett decided it must be because he was missing Big Blue. Or maybe he needed to get a dog to travel the road with him so he’d have someone to talk to during the long nights.
Garrett walked around the limousine. Breakfast would make him feel better.
A light sprinkling of snow settled on the front window. Nicki was comfortable in the car watching Garrett until she heard the small window click open behind her.
“I’m glad to see you remember some of what I taught you. A lady never eats breakfast like some ranch hand,” Nicki’s mother said. “Speaking of which—I hope you’re taking care of your hands, too.”
Nicki turned to stare at the woman behind her. The woman might be her mother, but Nicki saw nothing of herself in the face that looked through the small window. Her mother’s face was like a porcelain doll’s. It was flawless, but not real.
“Mother, look at me. I never was the pretty little girl you wanted me to be. I don’t have time for lotions and fancy manicures. We need summer help on the ranch, but we don’t have money to pay anyone. So, Reno and I do everything. I bale hay and brand cattle. I’m not a lady, I’m a working ranch hand.” Nicki opened the door and stepped out. She stood tall and took a deep breath. Nicki knew she was going to order the full stack of pancakes. The morning was beginning to look better.
Garrett already had a foot on the step that led up to the porch that surrounded the café door when Nicki caught up to him. She felt she should caution Garrett about the steps leading up to the café, but she knew Jazz had fixed them all. Maybe it was the door that she should warn him about.
Nicki’s heart sank when she heard the
woman’s voice. Now that’s what she should have warned Garrett about.
“Oh my, oh my—” Linda shrieked the moment Garrett stepped inside the café. Nicki and Garrett were both just inside the doorway now and Linda saw them. “Jazz said—but, oh, my!”
Nicki knew it was a mistake bringing Garrett to town without a hat on his head to hide his handsome face, but what could she do now?
“This is Garrett Hamilton.” Nicki introduced the man beside her. “He’s just in town to—to—”
“I know, I know—” Linda squealed. The teenager had a red streak in her hair and a row of silver earrings circling her left ear. She wore a long black dress with a white chef’s apron over it. She had a tattoo of a butterfly over her left eye. She was the last person in Dry Creek who should be making a fuss over how someone looked and, if Nicki got her ear privately for a moment, she would suggest that to Linda. “Jazz said—but I never…I mean, I thought he was mistaken or—well, I just never thought.” The teenager stopped to take a breath and reached her hand out to Garrett. “Pleased to meet you.”
Garrett was beginning to wonder if Dry Creek might be a little too far off the beaten path. Jazz, the young man he’d talked to last night, looked at him oddly and then this young woman acted as if she’d never seen a stranger. “The pleasure’s all mine.”
Four empty square tables, each with four wooden chairs, stood in the middle of the café. Garrett liked the casual fifties look of the place. The floor was black-and-white linoleum and there were red-checked vinyl cloths on the tables. Each table had a squeeze bottle of maple syrup. That was a good sign. He liked pancakes. “This is a very nice place you have here.”
“Oh.” Linda turned to Nicki. “And he has such nice manners. That’s a good thing in a…well, a—” Linda put her head close to Nicki’s ear and whispered “—in a husband.”
“In a what?” Nicki was glad her teeth were attached. Otherwise, they would have fallen out of her mouth. She had completely forgotten that Lester had gone on about Jazz seeing the ring the man had.
A Rich Man for Dry Creek / a Hero for Dry Creek Page 21
