A South Texas Christmas

by Stella Bagwell

  Her heart thumped with anticipation as she smiled hesitantly back at him. “Before I answer, maybe I should ask you what sort of journey you’re planning.”

  He chuckled, then said in a far too sensual voice, “I thought we’d decide that along the way.”

  The drive into Goliad took them a little more than thirty minutes. Once they reached the small town, Raine didn’t bother directing him anywhere. He took his time driving slowly through the streets and taking in the sights of the old Spanish missions and the sacred spot where Colonel Fannin and his men were massacred by Santa Anna’s army.

  He asked questions about the ancient town’s battle-scarred history and thankfully Raine could answer knowledgably from all her reading on the subject. But when Neil pulled into a parking slot on one of the main business streets, it was her turn to ask questions.

  “What are we doing here? I thought I was supposed to show you my apartment?”

  He killed the engine. “I saw a jewelry store back down the street. Let’s go see if they have any suitable rings.”

  Raine looked at him while her mouth fell open, then popped shut. “I thought—I’d hoped you’d forgotten all about that.”

  He rolled his eyes with disbelief. “Forgotten? Raine, that was the whole reason for this trip to town. Remember?”

  “Well, yes. But—” But somewhere in the back of her mind she’d thought the task of going into a jewelry store and purchasing an engagement ring would never actually happen. It seemed too incredible to really happen.

  “But what?”

  He was leaning slightly toward her and in the small confines of the car she was close enough to see the pores and fine lines in his face, smell the subtle cologne clinging to his shirt. At the moment, several locks of dark gold hair had fallen onto his forehead to frame his deep blue eyes and as she gazed into them, she couldn’t imagine any woman resisting this man. So why was she even trying? she wondered weakly.

  “I was actually hoping you’d changed your mind about this.” She nervously licked her lips and eased back toward the door. “But I can see now that you haven’t.”

  “Of course I haven’t. Tonight is our big night.” He leaned closer and placed a soft kiss on her damp lips. “Come on. You’re supposed to be enjoying this.”

  How could she enjoy it, she wondered miserably, when it was all make believe. But did she honestly want it to be real? Everything inside her was screaming yes, even though a small portion of her common sense was yelling out that she was crazy.

  She couldn’t be Neil’s real fiancée. He didn’t want one!

  But the warmth of his lips and the sexy glint in his eyes made it impossible not to play along with his plans. Even if her heart might be broken later on.

  “All right,” she said. “I’ll do my best to smile and make everyone in the jewelry store believe I’m deliriously in love with you.”

  “That’s my girl,” he said happily and placed another kiss on her cheek.

  Once inside the jewelry store, Neil didn’t waste any time telling the clerk what they were looking for and before Raine could hardly catch her breath, a tray of diamond rings were displayed on the glass counter in front of them.

  With his arm planted firmly around the back of her waist, Neil asked, “See anything you like, honey?”

  Before she could respond, a male clerk pointed suggestively to a round diamond of modest size. “Now this is a nice solitaire on a platinum band. It’s been a big seller this year. And platinum is the new thing in jewelry.”

  Raine was about to pick up the ring for closer examination when Neil promptly began to shake his head.

  “No. Platinum is too cool,” he murmured gently, “Raine is a warm woman. I think she needs something in yellow gold.”

  Their heads were positioned so close that when he turned slightly to look at her, his lips were nearly touching her cheek. Raine could feel heat rushing to her face, but she didn’t move away. She was supposed to be in love. No, she thought, she needed to correct herself on that count. She was in love. Somehow these past two days she’d spent with Neil had changed her. He’d become the most important thing in her life, even more important than finding her father. When this had happened, she didn’t know. The only thing she was certain of was that she couldn’t tell him of her newfound feelings. He wouldn’t welcome them and it would only make things terribly awkward. Probably so awkward that he would race straight to San Antonio and catch the first available plane back to New Mexico.

  With a little catch in her breath, she murmured, “You pick, darling, and I’ll tell you whether I like it.”

  His blue eyes grew soft, his lips spread into a sinful smile. “All right. Let me see if I know you as well as I think.”

  He slowly perused the rings in the tray and eventually plucked up a large, pear shaped diamond flanked by small emeralds.

  “This one.” He picked up her hand and slipped it onto her finger. “The green matches your eyes.”

  The clerk immediately began to loudly clear his throat and Neil looked across the counter at him.

  “Is something wrong? This one hasn’t already sold to someone else, has it?”

  “Oh, no, sir. It’s just that it’s rather pricey. And to tell you the truth, the diamond I first showed you is a far more perfect stone. I have papers guaranteeing there are no flaws.”

  He glanced at Raine who was holding out her hand and staring at the ring in a dazed way.

  To the clerk, he said, “I don’t care about the cost.”

  “Well…you…uh…okay. That’s good,” the clerk stuttered with surprise.

  “And I don’t want a perfect stone, either,” Neil went on. “People aren’t perfect. Including my fiancée.”

  Raine jerked her gaze off the ring to stare at him.

  “But,” he continued with a lazy smile, “her imperfections make her beautiful and lovable.”

  With an engagement ring on her hand and words like that slipping past his lips, Raine had to mentally shake herself to remember this was all a playact. Even so, she couldn’t stop herself from cuddling close to his side and smiling up at him.

  “I do like it, darling. It’s unique and very beautiful.”

  Behind the counter, the clerk pulled a tiny square of paper from the slot where the ring had rested and handed it to Neil.

  “Apparently you know what you’re doing,” he said with a bit of envy.

  Neil barely glanced at the price tag and was about to hand it back to the clerk when Raine plucked it from his hand. After she read the exorbitant amount that was hand written in ink, she silently passed it to the clerk, then placed a hand on Neil’s arm and urged him to follow her to a spot across the room where a display of Christmas gifts were piled in an antique washtub.

  “What’s the matter now?” he asked in a hushed tone. “Don’t you like the ring?”

  She shook her head in exasperation. “Don’t be crazy,” she whispered back at him. “I love the ring. I’ve never seen or owned anything like it. But I’m not about to let you buy the thing. It’s outrageous! Let’s go back over there, pick out something reasonable and get out of here.”

  His nostrils flared as he drew in an impatient breath. “Dear Raine, I appreciate the fact that you want to be frugal for my sake, but I’m not a destitute man. I’m buying the ring. Now, come on. The clerk thinks we’re having an argument.”

  Raine rolled her eyes. “We are having an argument.”

  “Not the first and I very much doubt the last,” he whispered with an endearing smile and touched the end of her nose with his forefinger. “Just some of those imperfections I was talking about.”

  Raine wanted to protest further, but he snaked his arm around her waist and guided her back to the jewelry case.

  “It’s all settled. We’ll take this one,” Neil told the salesman.

  Seemingly stunned that he’d made such a sale with so little fuss, the clerk said, “Good. Good. I’ll go get a box and write out the receipt.”
<
br />   “Forget about the box,” Neil called after him. “She won’t be taking it off her finger.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Minutes later, after the transaction of money had been made, Raine walked out of the jewelry store with her head spinning. The heavy weight of the diamond on her finger felt strange, but that didn’t begin to describe the odd mixture of euphoria and fear welling up inside her. She couldn’t love Neil. It was useless. Hopeless. Her heart was on a path of destruction and she couldn’t think of one way to make it detour.

  “Why are you so quiet?” Neil asked as he started the car and backed onto the street. “You look like you’re about to be wheeled into the operating room or something even worse. I thought most women loved to buy jewelry. At least, all the ones that I know do.”

  Her hands were lying in her lap and she didn’t lift her head to look at him. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off the diamond and emeralds as she tried to imagine what it would feel like if the ring were a real promise of his love.

  “I’m not like the other women you know.”

  There was a grin in his voice as he said, “How could you know that?”

  Turning her head his way, she shot him a faint frown. “Because it’s obvious you have—certain taste. And I’m not exactly one of them.”

  His brows arched with surprise, but all he said was, “Tell me how to get to your apartment.”

  Raine directed him through the short drive and in less than five minutes they arrived at a quiet block of red brick apartments. The front of the large two-story structure was built in plantation style. The long windows were trimmed with white wooden shutters while huge white pillars supported the roof of the ground floor and the upper balcony. In spite of it being early December, pink bougainvillea and red hibiscus were still blooming vividly on the front lawn while thick trails of honeysuckle climbed the white trellis adorning the porch. Compared to the grandeur of the Sandbur, Neil realized these were nice, but modest living quarters.

  “Do you live on the ground or upper level?” Neil asked as the two of them strolled down the sidewalk toward the building.

  He’d slung his arm around her shoulders and Raine was acutely aware of his hip and thigh brushing hers, the way his warm fingers were curled around her bare arm. In spite of knowing it would soon end, being with him, touching him, made her heart beat with happiness.

  “I requested an upstairs apartment. I like looking down at the trees and the birds—it makes me feel sorta free.” She smiled at him. “And I like that.”

  Yes, he understood all about wanting to be free, Neil thought. While growing up he’d wanted something, anything to come along and free him from the strained, angry atmosphere that had permeated the Rankin home. And later, after he’d watched his father die of a broken heart, he’d vowed to always be his own man. He’d made a supreme effort to make sure no one, especially a woman, cornered him.

  “Free as a bird. I’m not surprised to hear you say that. Growing up with a mother like Esther would have made me run and never look back.”

  Raine figured he’d already done a bit of that. Particularly when it came to women, but she wasn’t going to think about that now. The next few days would be the only time she got to spend with this man that she’d fallen in love with and she didn’t want to waste a moment.

  Her apartment was located at the very end of the building where live oak branches shaded the balcony and potted plants lined the balustrade. After she unlocked the door, she motioned for him to precede her into a small foyer decorated with a large framed mirror, a deacon’s bench and more potted plants.

  As he followed her through to the cozy living room, she said, “Sorry about the mess. Since I haven’t been around in a few days, I haven’t had a chance to straighten things.”

  “It looks nice to me.” He looked around the room at the pieces of furniture that looked mostly antique to him. Not a rich sort of antique, but rather old things that had once graced someone else’s home. There was nothing modern looking about the place. Even the telephone sitting on a dark wooden end table was a replica of a rotary phone. “Although, I have to admit I’m surprised. I didn’t know you were into old things.”

  She smiled in a minxlike way as she tossed her handbag onto a nearby table. “I like you, don’t I?”

  His chuckle was faintly menacing as he followed her into a small kitchen area. “That was rough. Especially when I just put an engagement ring on your hand.”

  Turning toward him, she rested her back against the cabinet counter. A faint frown marred the middle of her forehead. “Neil, since you didn’t seem to want to argue about it down at the jewelry store, I wasn’t going to bring the subject up again. But now that you have, I want you to understand that I feel very badly.”

  How could she look any prettier, he wondered, with her lips painted the color of a ripe cherry, the strap of her sundress falling onto her arm, and a diamond on her finger telling the world that she belonged to him. Just the idea stirred him with a desire that stunned him and he couldn’t stop himself from stepping forward and slipping his arms around her.

  “There’s nothing to feel badly about,” he said huskily. “Unless you really don’t like the ring.”

  She groaned. “Neil. This is not my ring. It’s yours. And I’m just afraid when you go to sell it that you won’t get nearly as much back as you wrote that check for a few minutes ago.”

  He clicked his tongue in a shameful fashion as his hands flattened against her back and slid slowly, ever so slowly up to her shoulders. “I have no intention of selling it. The ring is yours. Do you think I give a woman something and then ask for it back?”

  Maybe his heart, she thought dismally. Maybe that was the one thing Neil Rankin wasn’t generous with.

  “This is a different situation,” she said as arcs of heat began to flow through her body. “We’re not engaged. This is just a prop to make the illusion look genuine.”

  His head dipped and his lips brushed her ear. “Really? Have you ever thought I might want it to be real?”

  The questions were suggestive, even laced with a tinge of humor, but they were enough to cause her head to jerk backward and her gaze latch onto his.

  “You’re not a liar, Neil. Don’t turn into one now.”

  He rubbed the side of his face against her silky hair and Raine couldn’t stop her arms from slipping around his lean waist.

  “I’m not lying. Well—not exactly,” he said wryly. “Sometimes when I look at you, when I kiss you, I have this thought that I always want us to be together.”

  So did Raine. Only she didn’t have to be looking at the man. She didn’t even have to be in close proximity of him. His presence had already taken up residence in her heart and something told her it was going to be a mighty big, if impossible, task to move him out.

  “And then what? Sanity hits?”

  He sighed. “Oh, Raine, don’t be so—”

  “Honest?” she finished for him.

  Lifting his head away from hers, he caught her gaze with his. The sober clarity she saw in his blue eyes jolted her. He wanted her. Maybe even more than he wanted to admit to her or himself.

  “Maybe that’s the word for it,” he conceded. “Right now, I don’t much want to think about tomorrow or forever. Tonight is our engagement party. And today—” He paused to outline her lips with his forefinger. “We’re all alone for the first time since we met in San Antonio. And I like it. Don’t you?”

  Her heart was drumming against her ribs. Her knees were crumbling along with her resistance. She swallowed and made an attempt to break the spell that was building between them.

  “It’s nice—a perfect time for a cup of coffee. Want one?”

  He chuckled lowly. “I’m already warm enough.”

  She moistened her lips and glanced away from him. She could feel the pulse in her neck throbbing and if she hadn’t already been holding on to him, her hands would be shaking.

  “Maybe you should go stand ove
r the air-conditioning vent,” she suggested huskily.

  His hands compelled her forward until the front of her body was pressing against his.

  “That’s not what I really need, Raine.” One hand cupped her chin and forced her gaze back to his. As he looked into her green eyes, he murmured, “Oh, my sweet, you are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

  “You’re lying again. And—”

  His lips suddenly swooped down on hers, blocking out anything else she might have said. And Raine decided it didn’t matter. Any sort of protest she could make now would be worse than feeble. She wanted Neil as much as he seemed to want her.

  He kissed her for long moments, then lifted his lips a fraction away from hers and whispered, “You talk too much. Especially when we don’t need to be talking at all.”

  “I’m sure you have a better way of communicating.”

  She could feel more than see his lips spread into a sinful smile and then he was kissing her again, only deeper this time. His hands slid from her shoulders down to the small of her back, then farther down to the curve of her hips.

  Raine felt her body molding to his as though it already knew what it wanted without her brain having to give it directions. Her arms circled his neck, then clung tightly as she invited him to move beyond the heaven he was creating with her lips.

  Neil had never met a woman who could rattle his senses or tilt the ground beneath his feet. But Raine seemed to have a strange effect on him. He could feel his insides quivering and a cloud of desire was fogging every part of his brain, especially the part where common sense ruled. That section seemed to have flown out the window, like the free little bird Raine so envied.

  He felt as drunk as if he’d downed a bottle of Kentucky bourbon. The pit of his stomach was on fire and his hands were clumsy as he fingered the zipper at the back of her dress.

  As Neil inched it toward her waist, he leaned his head back far enough to see her face. Desire and trust radiated from her eyes and the sight sent an arrow of bittersweet pain right through his heart.