Practically Married

by Karin Beery

  “My mom and aunt stocked Tom and me with everything they could think of. What else do you need?”

  “I don’t need anything.”

  “I don’t doubt that. How about you tell me what I can do to help?”

  She opened the package of lettuce and tore into the bright-green leaves. “Dressing?”

  “Sure.” He took every bottle out of the refrigerator and set them on the island before stepping around to the other side, giving himself space.

  “You’re the dirt guy, right?”

  “I’m the what?”

  “The dirt guy. That’s what Tom used to say.”

  He would. “I have a degree in crop and soil sciences from Michigan State University.”

  “What do you do with a degree in crop and soil sciences?”

  “I analyze the soil and study the crops.”

  Ashley’s eyes shone. “So you work with the dirt.”

  Russ laughed. “Yes.”

  “At least you get to work outside.”

  “That’s why I like it. It keeps me out of the office.”

  “Which is why you didn’t mind playing hooky with me today.”

  “Exactly.” That, and because he didn’t mind spending time with her.

  While Ashley chopped, Russ checked the grill. He didn’t have to, but he wanted to clear his head. He fiddled with the grill’s dials and thermometer, trying to make it look like he needed to be out there. When he stepped back inside, Ashley smiled at him over her shoulder.

  “If I’m completely honest,” she said. “I would probably ask for your help with the chicken anyway. I’ve never been very good with a grill.”

  “On the rare occasion that I cook dinner, I prefer to grill, so I’m your man.” The chopping stopped as Russ realized what he’d said.

  Ashley cleared her throat. “So, you don’t usually eat dinner?”

  He stalked to the sink and ripped the plastic off the chicken. “Of course I eat dinner. I don’t like to cook it, though.”

  “You seemed comfortable in the kitchen this morning. I figured you were an all-around chef.”

  “I’d like to be, but it’s harder to cook after fourteen hours at work than it is after six hours of sleep.”

  Ashley gasped.

  Russ glanced at her.

  She stared at him with a contorted expression, as if he were covered in slugs. “What do you people have against sleep?”

  He laughed. “Six hours isn’t that bad. You need to get on the right schedule. It works.”

  “Ugh. I like my schedule exactly as it is. It includes a solid eight hours of sleep that don’t end before ten a.m.”

  Russ stepped around her to grab the barbecue sauce. She slipped in front of him to rinse carrots in the sink. They shifted and turned in the kitchen, moving around each other in silence without missing a step. Easy. Comfortable. He’d never enjoyed cooking with someone so much.

  He walked in and out between the kitchen and the deck to watch the chicken while helping Ashley. She handed him potatoes, he peeled. He pointed to the salt and pepper, she passed them. She didn’t force him to talk about the big issues, and he avoided the small talk. She kept the evening casual, and he liked casual.

  Russ moved back outside and lifted the grill lid. Sweet, tangy heat billowed into his face, making his mouth water.

  “That smells amazing.” Ashley’s hand pressed into his shoulder. She leaned against him, bringing her warmth with her. Her face appeared beside his, mere inches away, but her gaze never left the grill. What would it take for her to look at him that intensely?

  “It needs a few more minutes,” he said.

  “Perfect. The potatoes are almost ready.” She smiled at him before stepping back inside. Russ had never missed having his personal space invaded until then.

  Wrong thinking. She was Tom’s fiancée. Well, ex-fiancée. Sort of. Russ watched her through the glass door. She’d found placemats and a small centerpiece he didn’t know he owned. He picked up the tongs but couldn’t pull his attention from her.

  Life with sisters should have prepared him for cooking with a woman, but it had never been this distracting. Why was Ashley so captivating? She was about the same age as Carrie. As tall as Rachel. Her hair length and color reminded him of Liz. But he’d never paid attention to how they smelled. Or smiled. Or moved.

  Ashley looked out at him, her head cocked to the side and eyebrows pulled together. A piece of hair slipped across her forehead. As she walked toward the door, Russ realized the food was still on the grill and he was staring. Turning his back to the glass door, and Ashley, he lifted the chicken off the grates.

  The door slid open behind him. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Let me turn off the grill, then I’ll be in.” He handed her the platter. After closing the gas valve, he joined her inside.

  “I poured you a glass of water. Do you want anything else?”

  “I’m fine. Let’s eat.” He took the seat across from hers.

  She folded her hands. “Do you mind if I say grace?”

  Sitting across from her, noticing every unique detail about his cousin’s fiancée, he didn’t mind at all. Russ needed all the divine intervention he could get.

  CHAPTER 10

  BAM!

  Russ shot out of bed. Something shattered in the distance. His clock read 4:59. His heart banged in his chest as he stood in the dark, waiting for the adrenaline to wane. Mom must have gotten up early. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had beaten him out of bed.

  A little disoriented, he skipped the overhead light and grabbed the clothes off the chair where he’d thrown them the night before. By the time he was dressed and in the hallway, the scent of coffee greeted him. After thirty-eight years, he could cook for himself, but he had to admit, it was nice to think of food waiting for him in the morning. He thumped down the stairs, then toward the kitchen, his socks sliding over the hardwood.

  “Hey, Mom.” He hit the kitchen tile, and his legs froze. Ashley sat at the island, her head resting on her arms. A mess of hair spilled onto the countertop and around her shoulders, hiding most of her face. She wore fuzzy purple pants and a pastel patterned shirt he’d not seen before. A broom leaned against the wall beside her. Pieces of blue-and-white ceramic, the same shades as his dishes, filled a dustpan on the floor.

  “Ashley?”

  “Hmm.”

  “Are you awake?”

  “Mmm.”

  He couldn’t stop his smile. She shifted on the stool.

  Russ shuffled through the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee as quietly as he could. He poured a cup for Ashley, too, adding the creamer. When he sat on the stool beside hers, she leaned into him. Her finger-sicles wrapped around his arm, freezing his skin through the sleeve of his shirt.

  “Ashley?”

  She shifted again, spilling a piece of dark hair across her milky skin. Her light-pink lips moved silently, capturing his attention.

  Tom did well with this one. He hadn’t dated many women before Ashley, and none of them had impressed Russ as quickly. Of course, none of them had been engaged to Tom either. Still, Ashley was different—special—and that twisted Russ’ gut. She moved her hands, sending a different kind of chill across his skin.

  She moaned. “Mom?”

  “No, it’s Russ.”

  “Am I late for school?”

  “What?” He moved the hair from over her eyes. Still closed. “Are you awake?”

  “Coffee.”

  “Right here.”

  “Bed.”

  “That’s upstairs.”

  “Noooooo.” Her voice pitched up, stretching into a whine that rivaled any of his nephews’.

  “Would you like me to take you back upstairs?”

  A puff of air burst from her lips, shooting the hair out of her face. “School?”

  Okay, she was out of it. He definitely needed to put her somewhere more comfortable—and warmer—to sleep. Russ grasped her arms and stood her up
, turning her toward him. She moved without protest.

  Ashley’s eyes flickered open, sleep heavy on her lids. “I made coffee.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll make breakfast in a minute. First, I need …” Her eyes closed, and she tipped to the side.

  “No, no, no.” Russ tightened his grip and held her up. “Let’s get you to the couch.”

  “I don’t want you to go.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” He tugged on Ashley’s arm. “Come on, let’s move.” Her knees buckled, dropping her back onto the stool. Was this really happening? “Ashley?”

  “Please stay.”

  His chest tightened. “I said I’m not leaving. Now help me out and stand up.”

  “Are you sure she’s not asleep?”

  Russ spun around at his mom’s voice. “She was just talking to me.”

  “Liz used to have conversations with your father in her sleep. They didn’t make sense, and she never remembered them in the morning, but he would keep it going as long as he could. I even taped her one night to prove it to her.”

  Russ looked back at Ashley. Her eyes were closed and her face pinched. “Looks like I’m carrying her again.”

  “Or you can leave her there. She’ll wake up eventually. Why don’t I start breakfast?”

  While it would be nice to have Ashley in the kitchen for amusement, Russ wouldn’t condemn her to cold hands, a stiff neck, and possibly falling off the stool. “I’ll put her on the couch.”

  Mom helped herself to the mug on the counter. “I’ll take care of her coffee.”

  This time Russ didn’t bother standing Ashley up. He scooped her into his arms.

  “No.” Ashley shook her head, wrapping her arms around him in a death grip. “Mom.” The tightness of her tone needled at him. Her head tossed from side to side, her breathing erratic.

  He looked at his own mom, but she was wrist deep in sausage. He leaned close to Ashley’s ear. “It’s Russ. You’re okay.” Her arms tightened. Legs curled up. She hadn’t tensed like that yesterday.

  Russ slipped out of the kitchen to the ugly old loveseat on the far side of the living room. That should be enough distance to keep him out of his mother’s hearing range.

  “Ashley, wake up. I think you’re having a nightmare.”

  She coiled tighter, burying her face in his chest. “No, no. Mom, please.” A sob. Nails cut into his neck. “Mom.”

  “Ashley.” Russ raised his voice. “Ashley, wake up. You’re dreaming.”

  “Please, no.” She sobbed in his arms. Warm tears ran down his neck.

  “Ashley!”

  She gasped, pushing herself away, eyes wide open.

  Russ struggled to hold on as she flailed in his arms. “It’s okay. You’re okay. Calm down.” He tightened his grip, pressing her against his chest until she stopped squirming.

  “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Ashley looked at him with crazy green eyes.

  He relaxed his hold. “It’s okay.”

  Her gaze shot around the room, her breathing rapid. She squeezed her arms even tighter around his neck, collapsing against him.

  Russ dropped onto the loveseat, Ashley still in his arms. “You’re going to strangle me.”

  Her breaths stuttered as another tear rolled onto his neck. “I’m so sorry. That hasn’t happened in years.” Leaning back, she wiped a hand across her face. “Where did you find me?”

  “In the kitchen.”

  She sucked in a deep, slow breath, relaxing her grip on him. Some of the tension melted out of her back and arms. “I’m sorry if I scared you. I didn’t do anything dangerous, did I?”

  “It looks like you dropped a dish, but at least you cleaned it up. You don’t remember?”

  She shook her head. “I must have been sleepwalking. I haven’t done it in years. Not since my parents died.”

  Grief covered Russ’ heart, but he worked hard to keep the emotion off his face. “Did you do it often?”

  She dropped her head onto his shoulder. “I started sleepwalking after the funeral. I don’t think about it much anymore, but I did some crazy things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Laundry. Dusting. I even addressed Christmas cards one year.”

  “At least you were productive.”

  “It was August.”

  He chuckled. “You didn’t mail them, did you?”

  “No. I couldn’t find the stamps.”

  She shivered, so Russ dragged the blanket from the arm of the loveseat and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Do you always cry when it happens?” She trembled again, so Russ rubbed his free hand up and down her back. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “You didn’t. Sometimes after I would sleepwalk, I had this recurring dream.”

  “You kept calling for your mom.”

  She nodded, her hair rubbing against his chin. “My parents were killed in a car accident the week after I graduated from high school. In the dream, I’m begging them not to go, but they don’t hear me, or they ignore me, or someone keeps interrupting. The distraction changes, but the dream’s always the same. I ask them to stay home, but they leave anyway.”

  “Do you blame yourself for the accident?”

  “I used to, but I realize now it wasn’t my fault. There was a storm.” She lifted her head enough to look at him, her eyes red and damp. “I miss them, but it was a long time ago. They’ve been out of my life almost as long as they were in it. I didn’t think I’d ever sleepwalk again. I’m sorry if I worried you.”

  “I don’t mind.” Especially when she looked at him as if she trusted him completely. Unsure what else to say, he smiled at her.

  Her cheeks tinged pink, and her back stiffened. “Thank you for waking me up. I’ll be fine in a minute.”

  “Then stay here for another minute.”

  Ashley’s eyebrows slid up her forehead.

  “I can feel you tensing up. Relax. Everything’s fine.”

  Her eyes scanned his face several times before she relaxed against him without argument. “I stayed with my aunt and uncle for a few months after my parents died. Sometimes I’d wake up and my aunt would be sitting by my bed, rubbing my back. She’d tell me what crazy things I did while I sleepwalked. It made me feel better knowing she was there, just in case I tried to run out of the house or anything. I didn’t realize how much I appreciated that until now.”

  “Glad to help.”

  Ashley inhaled deeply as she shifted in his arms. It would probably be more appropriate to take her upstairs. Then he could help his mom in the kitchen. A dozen reasons to move floated through Russ’ mind, but Ashley finally relaxed, and the selfish side of his brain figured he’d never have a good excuse to hold her like that again.

  Forget reason. Russ tucked the blanket under Ashley’s chin and closed his eyes. As he settled deeper into the cushions, she sank further into his arms. Her breathing slowed, warm against his skin.

  “Ashley?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Are you falling asleep?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  She snuggled against him.

  He could be reasonable later.

  *******

  Ashley burrowed into the warm, woodsy scent. Strong bands embraced her. Light burned against her eyelids. She turned away from the brightness and into a sturdy wall. The wall moved, then yawned.

  Russ.

  Those weren’t bands around her. She’d been sleepwalking again. He’d soothed away her panic, holding her until her heartbeat calmed.

  Modesty told her to sneak away before he woke up and asked questions. Moving an inch at a time, she slipped the blanket off her back.

  “Feeling better?”

  So much for that plan. Looking into Russ’ eyes, she offered a sheepish grin. “Yes, thank you.”

  He lowered his arms, taking the blanket with him. “I don’t mean to be pushy, but I need to get going.”

  Ashley looked outside—the sun. “What time is it?”


  “After eight I’d guess.”

  She jumped off his lap. “You must be late. I didn’t ruin your day, did I?”

  He chuckled. “In August, maybe. Not in November.”

  Thank goodness. “In that case, do you have time for breakfast? It’s the least I can do. That’s why I got up in the first place. I think.”

  “My mom was cooking when we fell asleep. There may be food in the kitchen.”

  “I’ll check, and then I’ll make coffee.” She headed toward the kitchen. “I definitely need coffee.”

  “You already made a pot.”

  The muscles in her legs constricted, and her feet stopped. “I made coffee?”

  “Yep.”

  “Wow.”

  “It could have been worse.” Russ appeared beside her. “You could have gone for a joy ride.”

  “Maybe we should hide my car keys for a few days.”

  “If you think it will help.”

  “It won’t, but it’ll make me feel better knowing I won’t have access to my car. I’d hate to drive into the side of your barn. You shouldn’t have to worry about me. I’m not your problem.”

  “You’re not a problem.”

  “Try to remember that when you’re chasing me around the backyard.”

  “Have you done that before?”

  “No, but there’s a first time for everything.”

  “So there is.” He picked up a mug off the counter and poured himself some coffee.

  Nothing about his behavior suggested that their nap had bothered him. They could be talking about the weather for all the reaction she was getting.

  “Hungry?” Russ held up a heaping plate of bacon.

  “What’s with you and bacon?”

  “What do you have against it?”

  “Nothing, but you seem to eat a lot of it.” The aroma reached her nostrils, and Ashley’s stomach growled.

  “Looks like I’m converting you.”

  “Don’t gloat.” She took the plate, spotting a note on the counter.

  Hi Kids,

  You fell asleep and I didn’t want to disturb you. I’m going into Traverse City so I’ll be gone all day. I should be home by dinner!