The Manning Sisters

by Debbie Macomber

  “What’s there to say? It’s simple, isn’t it? Either you’re engaged or you’re not.” He pulled himself free and turned his back to her.

  “Cody.” She tried once more, hating the way her voice wobbled as she pleaded for patience and understanding.

  One stern look told her he wasn’t willing to grant her either. Her heart seized painfully as she slowly dropped her hands and stepped away from him.

  Without another word, Cody climbed inside his Cherokee, slammed the door and drove away as if the very demons of hell were in hot pursuit.

  Christy went completely still. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

  How long she stood there, Christy had no idea. Nor could she put order to her thoughts. Just a few minutes ago she’d been sitting across the room from Cody, laughing with him, sharing secret smiles, her whole being permeated with gladness and joy. How natural it had seemed to be together. As natural as the sun setting. As natural as rain.

  “Are you going to talk to your fiancé or not?” Russ demanded, his voice sharp with censure.

  Christy stared at him for a moment before she realized James was still on the phone. Nevertheless, she stood where she was and watched the plume of dust that trailed behind Cody’s vehicle. After a while it faded away, taking with it the promise of something wonderful.

  Russ waited for her at the top of the porch steps. Christy lowered her eyes as she moved past him. He didn’t need to say anything for her to feel his reprimand.

  The telephone receiver was resting on a small table in the hallway. Christy dragged in a deep, calming breath and reached for it. “Hello, James.” She prayed her voice revealed none of her turmoil.

  “Christy. How are you?” He sounded anxious, concerned.

  “Fine, just fine. Taylor had the baby, but I suppose you’ve heard about that already. I doubt Mom and Dad could keep quiet about Eric. He really is precious.” She knew she was chattering but couldn’t seem to make herself stop. “Montana is a beautiful state. I haven’t seen much of Cougar Point yet, except the bowling alley. I had breakfast there the other morning, only it was really the middle of the afternoon—the day Eric was born, actually.”

  “You ate breakfast at a bowling alley?”

  “There’s a restaurant there and the food’s good—excellent, in fact.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “How are you?” Christy felt obliged to ask.

  “Fine. I miss you.” He dropped his voice slightly as if he’d admitted something he shouldn’t. “The office seems empty with you away.”

  James wasn’t a man who was comfortable with expressing his emotions. Showing affection was difficult for him. The fact that he’d called and said he missed her was practically equivalent to another man standing on a rooftop and shouting at the top of his voice that he was madly in love.

  “I…I’ve been busy.”

  “I was hoping you’d call me.”

  His disappointment echoed in each word.

  “I’m sorry, James, really I am. It’s just that everything happened so fast. I didn’t even have a chance to unpack my bags before Taylor went into labor. She came home from the hospital today, and we…we were just having dinner.” That was a slight exaggeration, but she needed an excuse to get off the phone before she did something stupid like weep uncontrollably or tell him about Cody.

  “You’re having dinner? Why didn’t you say something sooner? No wonder it took you so long to get to the phone.”

  Christy leaned against the wall, closed her eyes and swallowed. She felt guilty about by her minor deception, contaminated by the way she was deceiving him in an effort to cut short this painful conversation.

  James deserved so much more than this. The guilt was killing her, and it demanded all the self-control she possessed to keep from blurting everything out.

  “I’ll let you go, but before I do I want you to know I got the diamond back from the jeweler. It’ll be ready when you return from your sister’s.”

  “Oh, g-great,” she stammered, trying to inject some enthusiasm into her voice.

  “Goodbye, Christy. Give my regards to Taylor and her husband and congratulate them both for me.”

  “I will. Bye, James. Don’t work too hard.”

  “No, I won’t.”

  She replaced the receiver, her fingers curled tensely around it as she waited for the recriminations to rain down on her. She felt an overwhelming sense of wrongdoing, a surge of remorse.

  Raised voices came at her from inside the living room.

  “The least you can do is listen to her,” Christy heard Taylor shout.

  “What possible explanation could she have? Either she’s engaged or she isn’t.”

  “Listen to me, Russ Palmer. I won’t have you yelling at my sister. Whatever’s happening between her and Cody is her business. It doesn’t have anything to do with us.”

  “Like hell I’m going to stay out of it. We’re talking about Cody here—my best friend. I thought he was your friend, too.”

  “He is.”

  “Then you can’t expect to sit idly by and watch him get hurt.”

  “Please,” Christy said, stepping into the room. She couldn’t bear to have them arguing over her. “Please…don’t fight.”

  The room went silent, a silence so intense it seemed to throb like a giant heart. Taylor’s gaze, clouded with doubt and uncertainty, locked with Christy’s. Russ’s eyes were filled with reproach.

  Russ and Taylor continued to stare at her. Russ was angry and made no effort to disguise his feelings. Taylor, usually so strong and confident, couldn’t hide her confusion.

  Christy suspected her sister was as troubled as her husband. Only Taylor wouldn’t allow herself to voice her misgivings because of family loyalty.

  “Sit down,” Taylor suggested. She motioned toward the recliner where Christy had sat earlier. “You’re so pale. Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “Why didn’t you tell us you were engaged?” Russ asked, barely giving her time to compose herself. “And if you and James are getting married, why aren’t you wearing a ring?”

  “Russ, please,” Taylor said, “let her answer one question before hitting her with another.” Directing her attention to Christy, Taylor widened her eyes. “We’re waiting.”

  Folding her hands in her lap, Christy squeezed her fingers so tightly they hurt. “James asked me to marry him two days before I left Seattle.”

  “He didn’t give you an engagement ring?”

  “Of course…it’s being sized now.”

  “I see,” Taylor said, frowning. “And you didn’t mention it to anyone? Do Mom and Dad know? I’m your sister, for heaven’s sake! The least you could’ve done was mention it to me.”

  “Taylor,” Russ said gruffly, then reminded her of her own words. “She can only answer one question at a time.”

  “I didn’t have a chance to tell you when I first arrived. Remember? Then first thing the next morning you went into labor and…I met Cody.”

  “You had no business leading him on,” Russ snapped.

  “I didn’t mean to,” she cried, and raked her fingers though her short hair, praying Taylor and Russ wouldn’t condemn her. “It just…happened. We were both so excited about the baby and afterward we went out to eat. Then Cody drove me home and…and I knew he was going to kiss me. I realize it was a mistake not to say anything to him, but I was afraid…” Afraid that if she had said something he wouldn’t have touched her, and she’d wanted his kiss so much.

  Unable to meet her sister’s eyes, she glanced at the coffee table as the tears spilled down her cheeks.

  “Who’s this James character, anyway?” Russ asked Taylor. “Did we meet him?”

  She nodded. “He’s the attorney Christy introduced to us last summer.”

  “Not the…” He hesitated.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Taylor apparently considered it a personal affront that Christy had kept the news to herself. “We had plenty of t
ime to talk while I was in the hospital and you were there every day.”

  “I tried,” Christy said in her own defense. “But every time I mentioned James, you changed the subject. And when I finally managed to drag him back into the conversation, you started telling me how dry and boring you think he is and what a mismatched couple we are. What was I supposed to do? Tell you I’d agreed to marry the man you’d just finished criticizing?”

  “Oh, dear,” Taylor whispered. “Now that you mention it, I do remember you trying to bring James into the conversation.”

  “Fine. You two got that settled, but what about Cody?” Russ stalked to the other side of the room and stared out the front window. “I can’t, I won’t let this happen to him a second time. Not when it’s in my power to prevent it.” Gradually he turned around, his shoulders squared and his jaw tightly clenched.

  “A second time?” Christy echoed.

  When Russ didn’t respond right away, she looked at her sister, who was busy with Eric. Either that or she was avoiding eye contact. “Taylor?”

  “It happened several years ago,” Russ began grudgingly. “A woman by the name of Rebecca Morgan moved into town. She was from somewhere in the south and had the sweetest manners you can imagine. She was the type of woman a man could fall in love with. Becca was perfect. Beautiful. Demure. Charming and…” Russ shook his head. “Who would’ve guessed?”

  “Guessed what?” Christy asked.

  “Becca made it obvious from the moment she moved into town that she was attracted to Cody. Every time he turned around there she was, batting her eyes at him, doing those things you women do to let a man know you’re interested.”

  “I could make a comment here, but I won’t,” Taylor muttered.

  “Soon Becca and Cody were seeing a lot of each other. You have to understand, Cody isn’t easily taken in, especially by a pretty woman. Until recently.” He frowned at Christy as he said it. “But Becca did more than interest him. For the first time in his life, Cody was in love. It showed in everything he said and did.

  “Cody’s always been popular with the folks around here, and his happiness seemed to rub off on everyone. Most folks liked Becca, too. They couldn’t help it. There was plenty of talk about the two of them getting married.” Russ walked over to the ottoman and sat down. “A month or so after she moved into town, a series of baffling robberies started happening.”

  “You don’t mean to say Becca…”

  “Not her personally. She was part of a team. They worked a scam in small cities all across the western states. Apparently the heat was on in several of the larger cities, and she and her partner decided to try their hand in smaller towns. They were successful, too. Becca would move someplace and get involved with a deputy from the local sheriff’s office. One way or another she’d get information about shipments of money to the town banks. Then she’d pass that information to her partner. It was all cleverly done. Whenever a shipment of cash was due to arrive, Becca would make sure she was nowhere nearby. Two banks were robbed, and a couple of stores lost valuable equipment all within the second month she was in town. But no one suspected her. How could they? She was just as sweet as honey.”

  “How long did it take Cody to realize it was Becca?”

  “Not long, a few weeks, but he felt like the biggest fool who ever lived and you’ll never convince him differently. He took responsibility for everything, blamed himself for not picking up on the scam sooner.”

  “But he loved her. Trusted her.”

  Russ’s dark gaze collided with Christy’s. “I know. He arrested her and her partner and testified against them.”

  “Surely no one blamed Cody!”

  “No, everyone in town was as taken in by her as he was. But Cody felt as responsible as if he’d personally handed over the money. It’s his job to protect and to serve and he felt he’d let the entire county down, although he worked his fool head off until every penny was returned. Even that wasn’t enough. Cody felt he had to resign from the department.”

  “No.” Christy’s response was immediate. True, she’d only known Cody a short while, but in that time she’d learned how important law enforcement was to him.

  “Thankfully some of us were able to talk some sense into him. He made the mistake of falling in love with the wrong woman—but then again, it was all due to his efforts that Becca and her friend were caught. If it hadn’t been for Cody, no one knows how long their little scam would’ve worked or how many other communities would’ve been bilked. Unfortunately Cody didn’t see it that way.”

  “He’s only human.” Christy felt a burning need to defend him.

  “Becca used him. But worse than that, she made him feel like an idiot. It’s taken three years for him to live it down, at least in his own mind. The way most folks figure it, Cody did Montana a good deed by putting Becca Morgan and her partner behind bars.”

  “That’s why he wouldn’t run for sheriff until last year?” Taylor asked, shifting the baby in her arms.

  “It’s been his life’s dream to be elected sheriff of Custer County, but it took all this time for him to agree to run. I suppose he felt he had to prove his worth all over again. The crazy part is that he could’ve won hands down any year, including the year he was involved with Becca.”

  “I didn’t know,” Taylor said softly.

  “It’s not something that’s talked about a lot,” Russ explained. “The subject is such a painful one, it’s best forgotten.”

  “Then Becca’s still in prison?” Christy managed to ask. Learning how Cody had been deceived was painful for her, too. The knowledge that justice had been done somehow made it easier to accept.

  “From what I understand, she’s tried to contact Cody a few times, claiming she really was in love with him, and still is. To hear her tell it, she was a helpless pawn in all this. She says she was a victim of blackmail. But Cody won’t have anything to do with her.”

  “I can certainly understand that,” Taylor said.

  “You aren’t comparing me to Becca, are you?” Christy asked bluntly, feeling even more wretched.

  “You’re no thief,” Russ said abruptly. “I’m not worried about you bilking the good citizens of Cougar Point, if that’s what you think. No…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “After Becca something changed in Cody. He rarely dated. He closed himself off, became more pensive, introspective. It was as if he’d lost trust in women.”

  Taylor nodded. “I can’t say I really blame him.”

  “I don’t, either,” Christy added, realizing as she did so that she was condemning herself.

  Russ frowned. “That’s why I was so pleased about what happened after he met you. When he looked at you, it was like seeing the old Cody all over again, the man who smiled and joked and didn’t take everything so seriously. I don’t know what went on between you.” He hesitated and glanced at his wife. “Taylor’s right when she says it isn’t any of my business, but I won’t stand by and let you take advantage of him.”

  “I wouldn’t…I couldn’t.”

  “Then why didn’t you tell him you were engaged?”

  Christy felt as if she’d been backed into a corner. “I planned to. I never intended to keep it a secret, but I needed time to think. You may not believe this, but I’d hoped to talk to Cody about James tonight. I was going to tell him everything.”

  “Are you planning on marrying James?” Taylor asked, her eyes seeking Christy’s.

  The question came as a shock. “No. I couldn’t—not after meeting Cody.”

  “Then why didn’t you break the engagement when you had the chance?” Russ asked. “You were just talking to him. It would’ve been a simple matter to tell him then.”

  “I can’t do it over the phone,” Christy said, jerking her head upward. “James is a good man. He deserves better than that. He hasn’t done anything wrong. I hate to hurt him….” She paused when hot tears threatened to spill down her face. Biting her lower lip, she drew in a shuddering b
reath.

  “Christy’s right.” Taylor’s words cut through the emotion of the moment. “This is a delicate situation. You can’t expect her to call James and break off the engagement. That would be heartless. This is best done in person. James may be a bit dull, but he’s a decent human being.”

  “Is…is there any chance Cody will talk to me?” Christy wanted to drive into town and explain that she had no intention of going through with the marriage.

  “I doubt he’ll have anything to do with you,” Russ answered, confirming her worst fears.

  “Wait until tomorrow,” Taylor advised. “Give him an opportunity to think everything through.”

  “He asked me out to dinner…. But I’m not sure if he’ll show up.”

  “He won’t,” Russ said. “I know him better than anyone, and I can tell you, as far as he’s concerned, whatever was between you is over.”

  Christy’s shoulders sagged with defeat. “I was afraid of that.”

  “Don’t make it sound so hopeless,” Taylor muttered.

  “She’s engaged, for crying out loud. What do you expect Cody to do?” Russ said. “Ignore it? He isn’t going to do that.”

  “But I have every intention of breaking off the engagement.”

  “I doubt that’ll make any difference to him. I’ll be surprised if he even listens to you.”

  “That’s not true,” Taylor said confidently. “Cody’s a reasonable man, and it’s obvious that he’s attracted to you.”

  “He isn’t anymore.” Russ shook his head for emphasis.

  Taylor shot daggers at her husband. “Russ Palmer, kindly allow me to finish.”

  “Feel free, but you’ve got to understand. After Becca, Cody doesn’t have a lot of trust in the opposite sex.”

  “My sister isn’t another Becca,” Taylor insisted.

  “You and I know that.”

  A short silence followed before Christy said, “Cody’s smart enough to know it, too.” She wanted to believe that. Needed to believe it. But whether that was the case or not was something she’d soon discover.

  Cody slammed his fist against the steering column. He was parked on the ridge that overlooked Cougar Point and had been sitting there for the past hour, collecting his thoughts.