If the Stick Turns Pink...

by Carla Cassidy

  He stepped into his jeans, a pulse ticking at his taut jaw. “Trust me, it makes a difference.”

  Without waiting for her reply, he grabbed his T-shirt from the floor and left the room. A moment later she heard the slam of the front door and knew he had left the house.

  The warm glow that had surrounded her left, usurped by a cold chill as she realized how angry Bailey was with her. That pulse in the muscle of his jaw only ticked when he was really mad.

  Reluctantly she slid out from beneath the sheet and stood. She needed to talk to him, to make things right. She’d never been able to stand it when Bailey was mad at her, and this time was no different. She dressed quickly, then headed out to the barn where she knew he would be.

  Chapter Seven

  Bailey placed a measurement of food into the cage that contained the puppy Mellie had named Biscuit and fought against the anger that still swept through him.

  She should have told him. Dammit, she should have told him that she was a virgin. Had he known, he would never have agreed to any of this.

  A woman’s first time should be with a lover, not a friend. He’d just assumed she and Randy Sinclair, the young man she’d dated in college, had shared a completely intimate relationship. She’d effectively lied to him and put him in the uncomfortable position of being her first lover.

  There was not supposed to have been any surprises where Mellie was concerned, but he’d just received a whopper of a surprise. That, coupled with the fact that he’d found making love to Mellie to be far more pleasurable than he’d ever dreamed had him feeling irritated and out of sorts.

  He moved to the next cage, noting that the little schnauzer inside seemed rather listless. He hoped he didn’t lose any more of the pups. In the past week three had been too sick for him to save.

  “Bailey?”

  He didn’t turn at the sound of her voice, but rather continued his task of measuring dog food.

  “Oh, okay, so you’re in one of your ‘pouty, I’m going to ignore you’ moods,” she said, moving close enough to him that he could smell the scent of her perfume.

  “I don’t have pouty moods,” he replied, refusing to look at her. She laughed. He tensed. He’d never noticed before that her low, slightly throaty laughter sounded rather provocative.

  “You should have told me,” he repeated. He finally turned to face her. She’d apparently hurried outside. She was barefoot, her dress was unzipped and her hair was a wild cloud of burnished curls. “You owed me the truth. I would never have agreed to this if you’d told me the truth.”

  “Oh, honestly, Bailey.” She planted her hands on her hips. “It’s not like I actually lied to you.”

  “You told me you and Randy were intimate,” he replied.

  She shook her head, causing her wild curls to dance around her shoulders. “I did not. You just assumed that, because Randy and I dated for a while. Besides, what difference does it make?”

  “Now it doesn’t make any difference, what’s done is done.” He grimaced. “But if I’d known ahead of time, I never would have agreed to this.”

  “So you keep saying, but why?” She took another step toward him and placed a hand on his arm. Her fingers were warm, and Bailey suddenly remembered how those fingers had felt caressing his naked back. He stepped away from her touch and instead raked a hand through his hair.

  “Mellie…a woman’s first time is supposed to be with somebody special. They say women always remember their first lover.”

  “So, you’re saying you aren’t special and I should just forget you?”

  Bailey sighed in frustration, knowing she was trying to tease him into not being upset with her. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt as if she’d somehow betrayed him by not telling him.

  Funny, now that he thought about it, he and Mellie had rarely talked about sex. They had shared almost every intimate thought they’d ever had with each other, except for the sex stuff.

  “Bailey.” Again she placed her hand on his arm, her eyes so green…so earnest as she gazed at him. “There is no special man in my life other than you, and I knew it would be all right with you.

  “Besides—” she dropped her hand “—my condition as a virgin wasn’t exactly easy to casually drop into one of our conversations.” She paused a moment. “Here, Bailey, have another piece of pizza, and, oh, by the way, I’m a virgin.”

  He couldn’t help but grin, especially since her argument so closely matched his most recent thoughts. But his smile quickly fell and once again he raked a hand through his hair. “I just hope things don’t get all complicated between us,” he finally said. “You know…crazy.” He averted his gaze from hers.

  He felt her gaze on him, then she laughed. “What are you afraid of, Bailey? That just because you’ve kissed me, had sex with me, that I’ll fall madly in love with you and will beg you to stay married to me?”

  She picked up a morsel of dried dog food from the floor and threw it at him. “Get over yourself. I know you too well to think you could ever be the kind of husband I’d want.”

  Before he had time to reply, the crunch of gravel from the driveway indicated to them that somebody had just arrived. Mellie’s eyes widened frantically, and she raced over to where Bailey stood.

  “Zip me!” she exclaimed, and turned to present him her back.

  As he moved the zipper up the back of her dress, he couldn’t help but notice the sight of her slender, freckled back, the smooth column broken only by the strap of her bra. For just a moment he had an impulse to pull her up against him and stroke his hands down her warm back.

  The impulse irritated him and he quickly zipped her as she reached up and smoothed her hair in an attempt to find control amid the chaos of curls.

  Before they’d completely separated from each other, his mother flew in. “Here they are, Henry,” she yelled. She smiled at them. “And how are our favorite newlyweds this morning?” She walked over to Mellie and patted her cheek. “You’ve got that newlywed glow on your face.” She walked back to the door of the barn. “Henry! I said they were in here.”

  Bailey winced. There were times he thought his mother was part woman, part banshee. She turned back to face him and Mellie. “We’ve got the truck out there loaded with your wedding presents from the reception.”

  She pulled several sheets of paper from her purse and held them out to Mellie. “We made a list of all the things you received and from whom so you can get thank-you notes out right away.”

  She handed Mellie the list as Henry walked into the barn. “Now, Bailey, you’ll need to unload most of the things. I don’t want your father lifting anything heavy and pulling his back out. You know what a terrible patient he makes.”

  “Maybe that’s because you aren’t exactly Nurse Nightingale,” Henry replied.

  “I’ll get started unloading things,” Bailey said, unwilling to stand around and listen to his parents snipe at each other.

  “And I’ll just go inside and put on a fresh pot of coffee,” Mellie replied.

  “Coffee would be delightful,” Luella said, and followed Mellie toward the house.

  “All this stuff is for us?” Bailey asked in amazement as he eyed the back end of his parents’ pickup.

  Henry nodded. “Folks in this town think a lot of you and Mellie.” Henry smiled. “I’m proud, son. Of you…and the place you’ve made for yourself here.”

  Warmth swept through Bailey at his father’s words. Henry wasn’t the type of man to throw compliments around casually. Bailey clapped his father on the back. “Come on, let’s get this stuff unloaded. And please, Dad, don’t lift anything heavy, otherwise Mom will have my head on a platter.”

  Henry grinned. “You’ve got that right.”

  It took the men about half an hour to get everything into the house and to the spare bedroom. Then they joined Mellie and Luella at the table for a cup of coffee.

  As always Bailey fought a big dose of irritation as he listened to his parents disagree on everything
from whether it was supposed to rain the next day to what kind of dog made the best pet.

  He’d listened to the two of them for most of his life and had been appalled to discover Stephanie and him falling into the same pattern. They’d bickered about mealtimes, they’d argued about bedtime. Anything and everything became a point of contention. By the time she’d left, it had been almost a relief.

  And that’s why he’d sworn he would never, ever marry again. He refused to live his life as his parents had, so obviously miserable with each other.

  His parents remained for about an hour, then left. He and Mellie ate ham sandwiches, then he headed back to the barn to work, leaving Mellie in charge of organizing the wedding gifts.

  He worked in the barn until dinner time then ensured that all the pups were doing okay, and with his paperwork caught up, he headed back to the house.

  Throughout the afternoon while he’d worked, he’d found himself playing and replaying in his head the conversation he and Mellie had been having just before his parents arrived.

  He’d wanted…no, needed to make it clear to her that although he had been her first lover, he had no intention of being her last.

  But, he hadn’t been able to help being irritated by the fact that she’d said he would never be the kind of husband she wanted.

  The conversation was still on his mind when he entered the house and smelled the luscious scent of Italian sauce. “Hmm, it smells great in here,” he said as he closed the front door behind him.

  “That’s supper you smell.”

  Bailey followed her voice into the kitchen. As he stepped over the child gate, Squirt came racing toward him, his back end wiggling at a hundred miles an hour. He bent down and scratched the pup behind his ear.

  Mellie turned from the stove, her cheeks flushed becomingly from the heat of her cooking. “You’re just in time. By the time you wash up, I’ll have it on the table.”

  “Great, I’m starving.”

  As Bailey washed his hands in the kitchen sink, Mellie scurried around to put the meal on the table. A few minutes later they were seated across from each other, helping themselves to the spaghetti and meatballs and salad she’d prepared.

  “All the pups doing okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, they seem to be holding their own. In another week or two I need to put some posters up offering them to good homes.”

  “What’s your schedule like for tomorrow?”

  “I’ve got a couple of appointments in the morning,” Bailey said. “Then, in the afternoon, I need to drive out to Jess Manning’s place. He’s got a calf that isn’t doing very well and he wants me to take a look at it. Why? You have something in mind?”

  “I figured I’d help you out in the morning, then head into town. I need to pick up some thank-you notes and get started on them, and after that I was going to unload some of the boxes I brought over from my apartment.” She paused to swipe a dollop of sauce from her mouth, then continued. “Bailey, you won’t believe some of the nice things people bought for us. Too bad we can’t use them for the duration of our marriage, but of course we can’t. It won’t be long and we’ll be returning them all.”

  “And everyone will think we’re total failures,” Bailey replied. His sentence was punctuated by a tiny bark from Squirt, who had been dancing under the table as if waiting for a morsel of food to drop through.

  Mellie looked at him in surprise. “No, they won’t,” she protested. “Everyone will think it’s wonderful that we were able to call an end to our marriage and still remain the best of friends.” She took a bite of her spaghetti, then continued. “Besides, eventually I’ll marry my dream man and he’ll love me to distraction and we’ll live happily ever after.”

  Bailey snorted. “You’d think that in all the years we’ve been friends I would have been able to convince you of the truth—that there is no happily-ever-after when it comes to marriages. But you continue to live in a fantasy despite my wanting to educate you to the truth.”

  She laughed. “You just wait, Bailey. Someday I’m going to find a man who loves me, a man I love, and he’ll want a houseful of children and a porch swing,” she added pointedly.

  He laughed and reached for another piece of garlic bread. “The first time you see a porch swing hanging in front of my house, be looking for the men in white suits to escort me to the nearest insane asylum. A porch swing could only mean I’ve completely lost my mind.”

  “And that, my dear Bailey, is why you are my very best friend and not my dream man,” Mellie replied.

  Bailey nodded, relieved that the fact that they’d made love hadn’t made her go all silly on him. Their plan was still intact, and after she got pregnant, they would part amicably and remain the best of friends for the rest of their lives.

  They had just finished with the dishes when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” Melanie said. She left the kitchen and hurried to the front door.

  SueEllen Trexlor stood on the porch, a huge smile on her attractive face and a large box in her arms. “Hey, Melanie. I’m sorry I couldn’t be at your wedding reception last night, but I thought I’d drop by and bring you and Bailey the present I bought for you.”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Melanie protested.

  “Well, of course I did.” SueEllen’s smile exposed most of her perfect, white teeth. “You and Bailey are two of my most favorite people in the whole wide world.”

  This, from a young woman who had never before given Melanie the time of day. Melanie had a feeling SueEllen wanted that Miss Dairy Cow crown badly enough to make nice with the judge’s wife.

  Melanie stepped aside to allow SueEllen to enter the living room. She raced over to the coffee table and set the box on top. “Whew, that’s heavy.”

  Without the box in her arms, Melanie now saw that SueEllen was clad in a denim skirt the size of a cereal box and a midriff top that exposed an expanse of tanned, firm stomach.

  “Bailey,” Melanie yelled, wondering where he had disappeared to, “we have company.”

  He appeared from the direction of the bedrooms, and Melanie suspected his intent had been to hide from the big-haired brunette. But there was no way Melanie was going to entertain their guest alone.

  “Look who’s here,” she exclaimed.

  “Hi, SueEllen.” Bailey offered her a faint smile and moved to Melanie’s side, as if unconsciously seeking Melanie’s protection against the big bad beauty queen wannabe.

  “Hey, Bailey. So, how is married life treating you?”

  “Fine…just fine.” He threw an arm around Melanie’s shoulder. “I’ve never been so happy.”

  SueEllen clapped her hands together. “Oh, I’m just so happy for you both. I just love it when the special people in my life find happiness together.”

  Special people in her life? Melanie fought the impulse to laugh. The only special person in SueEllen’s life was SueEllen.

  “I had to find the perfect gift for you,” she continued as she moved to the large box on the coffee table. “It took most of my tips to buy it, but of course you both are worth it.”

  “Really, SueEllen, you shouldn’t have. This really isn’t necessary,” Bailey protested as she ripped open the top of the box.

  “Nonsense,” she replied. She bent over to pick up whatever was in the box, her skirt riding high enough to show the edges of hot-pink underpanties.

  Melanie glanced at Bailey to see if he was taking in the view, but his gaze was focused on the front door, as if he would by thought and concentration alone send SueEllen back through it.

  She pulled out what appeared to be a huge brightly decorated dog bowl. With her elbow she nudged the box off the table, then set the bowl in the center of the coffee table. “When I saw this in the store, it positively screamed your name,” she said as she withdrew more items from the box.

  “There’s no way that thing screamed my name,” Melanie muttered beneath her breath. Bailey nudged her in the ribs, his eyes sparkling with suppres
sed laughter.

  “Melanie, could you be a dear and get me a big pitcher of water?”

  “A pitcher of water?”

  SueEllen nodded. “You’ll see why I need it in a minute.”

  “Okay,” Melanie agreed and left the living room for the kitchen. She filled a large pitcher with water, then returned to the living room where it was immediately obvious why she needed the water.

  A tabletop fountain. It was the most ridiculous thing Melanie had ever seen. In the middle of the bowl was a mountain of ceramic dog biscuits in various colors. A ceramic German shepherd with a toothy grin played king of the mountain. Four fire hydrants rode the edges of the bowl.

  SueEllen poured the pitcher of water into the bowl, then plugged in the fountain. Water spewed from the fire hydrants, hit the demented-looking German shepherd and he bobbed up and down.

  SueEllen squealed and clapped her hands together. “Isn’t that just too cute?”

  “I am utterly speechless,” Melanie said.

  “You really shouldn’t have, SueEllen,” Bailey exclaimed.

  “Of course I should have. And now I’ll just get out of your hair. I’m sure you two have better things to do than entertain me.” She headed for the front door, but before she reached it, turned back to Melanie. “Call me, Melanie, maybe we can do lunch.” With these final words she flew through the door.

  “That woman has never spoken more than two words to me, and now suddenly she wants to do lunch,” Melanie exclaimed.

  “Only one of the bonuses of being married to the judge of the Miss Dairy Cow Contest,” Bailey replied with a grin.

  “And the other bonuses would be?” Melanie raised one of her eyebrows inquisitively.

  Bailey pointed to the fountain. “Works of art, right here in our living room.”

  Melanie laughed. “It’s awful, isn’t it. Do we really have to keep it in the center of the coffee table?”

  “No, I’ll take it out to the office in the barn. It will be more appropriate there.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “So, you want to watch a movie before bedtime?”