by Liz Isaacson
When she didn’t return in only a few seconds, he sank onto her couch. Renee came out ten minutes later wearing her more familiar jeans and a cotton T-shirt. He waited for her to look at him, but she didn’t. She started a pot of coffee without speaking and bustled around the kitchen while humming softly in her throat.
Justin couldn’t take another moment of this awkward vibe between them. “I thought we were goin’ to dinner.” He stood, his insides buzzing like someone had hooked him up to a live electrical line.
“I’m tired.” She pulled a loaf of bread out of the freezer. “Do you mind if we stay in?”
He joined her in the kitchen and put his hand on her arm, which caused her to freeze. “Renee,” he said, his voice barely louder than silence.
She turned toward him, and all his carefully ordered words, his apologies, all his explanations, flew out of his mind. He leaned closer, drew in a deep breath of her soft, fresh scent, and whispered, “It’s so good to see you.”
Her eyes locked onto his, and he let himself fall right into the dazzling depths of her hazel gaze. “Don’t pretend like you don’t want to hear everything I have to say,” he said now that he finally had her full attention. A smile kicked itself across his mouth, and he brought his hands up to cradle her face.
“I’ll start with the most important thing.” His heart thundered in his chest, the storm he’d been holding in for three weeks ready to be released.
“Renee, I love you.”
She blinked, the disbelief in her eyes leaking away when he said, “I’m in love with you, and I’ll tell you everyday of your life until—”
“All right,” she said, her hands finally coming around him, finally leaning into him. “Can you kiss me now?”
Justin touched his lips to her forehead. “I love you, Renee.”
She moaned. “Wrong spot.”
“Oh yeah?” He smiled down at her. “Where would you like me to kiss you?” He pressed his mouth against her cheekbone. “Here?”
“You’re mean,” she whispered, one of her hands taking the back of his cowboy hat and pulling it off.
“But you love me anyway.” He trailed his lips along her jaw to her ear.
She trembled in his arms. “I do love you anyway.”
He took an extra heartbeat to gaze at her, another moment to say, “I love you,” one more time before finally uniting his mouth with hers.
Chapter Thirteen
Renee had never been kissed by a man who loved her. It felt wonderful, a curling sensation that wafted through her body like smoke. She could feel his love in the touch, the careful way he explored her mouth, the tightness with which he held her body next to his.
She never wanted Justin to stop. Always wanted to be with him. Craved the taste of those orange mints he carried everywhere with him. Needed the opportunity to build a life with him.
For the entire four-hour dive home she’d coached herself to make him work for her forgiveness. Well, she’d talked everything through with her mom for the first hour, but still. Now that the moment was here, though, she realized she’d already forgiven him. He’d tell her everything anyway, she knew, but for now, she just wanted to keep kissing him.
He finally pulled away, his pulse pounding under her fingertips. He chuckled, laced his fingers through hers and led her to the couch. He tucked her into his side, and she liked the strength and power of him next to her.
Renee closed her eyes and sent a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord. Thank you for bringing him home to me. Thank you for putting me here in Brush Creek.
She hadn’t thought she’d be here for longer than a few weeks, but God worked in mysterious ways, led her down roads she hadn’t been able to see.
“Steve—that’s my boss—wants me to take a regional job.”
“Oh yeah?” He threaded his fingers through her hair. “What does that mean?”
“He wants me to take over the online campaigns for Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, in addition to what I’m still doing with Dinosaur.”
His fingers trailed up and down her bare arm, which sent cascades of delight through her. “Sounds like you’ll be three times as busy then.”
“Just at first, while I learn the particulars of the parks.” She pushed one palm against his chest. “And now’s your big chance. I need to visit the parks, do the hikes, take some notes on what makes them unique, what will get more people inside.” She tipped up and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth. “Will you take me hiking at Arches?”
“Hmm.” He gazed down at her with pure love in his expression. “Can we go fishing too?”
She flinched, but said, “Sure,” with a hard swallow.
Justin laughed and tucked her back into his side. “So I have a favor too. Maybe we can make a deal.”
“This better not involve a bet and a hot dog cart.” They laughed together, and Renee wondered if this could really be her adult life. A job she liked and was good at. A man who made her pulse thrum just by coming closer. Wit, and orange Tic Tacs, and fishing on the weekends. Well, she might be able to do without the fishing. She wasn’t sure, as she’d actually never been fishing before.
“There might be some hot dogs, actually. My brother lives in California, and he’s always bragging about his outdoor kitchen, equipped with the biggest gas grill a man can buy.”
“Okay,” she said slowly, not quite on the same page as him yet.
“He called and invited me for Thanksgiving dinner. I told him I’d come. I’m hoping you’ll want to come with me.”
She snuggled in closer to him, enjoying the warmth from his body. “Of course I want to go with you. California in November sounds wonderful.”
“Oh, so you’re using me to get a vacation to the beach in the winter.” He chuckled, the sound grumbly and echoing through his chest, where her ear was pressed. “My whole family will be there. It’ll be nuts.”
“You don’t know the meaning of nuts,” she said. “Remember how I have nine siblings? Simply getting up and going to school was a national event.”
“So we’ll go hiking and fishing at the National Parks, and then we’ll go to Long Beach for Thanksgiving.”
“This is the best deal I’ve ever made.”
“I cannot imagine anyone wanting to do this,” Renee complained as she faced yet another steep incline. Sure, the red rocks at Arches were unlike any she’d ever seen before. The way the wind and water carved stone into arches was breathtaking.
But the heat. Holy stars, the heat. And it was the middle of September, not the middle of summer. How in the world was she going to entice visitors to come to the parks in mid-July?
She snapped photos of the magnificent double-arch, deciding to leave out the part where she had to hike half a mile in loose, red sand to get there. The cavern the arches created made for a perfect lunch and resting spot, as evidenced by the people strung out along the rocks. She sighed with relief. Eating had been the best part of this week-long excursion through Canyonlands and Arches.
Tomorrow, they had one more hike to complete—the hardest one, which led up to one of the most visited sites in Utah: Delicate Arch.
She’d enjoyed her week with Justin; she felt pampered from the attention he lavished on her; something nagged at her. She didn’t want to go to California in a couple of months without wearing a wedding ring. But after talking everything through with Justin, she knew he wouldn’t propose before Thanksgiving.
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” he’d said. “It’s just that…I can’t right now.” His blue eyes had blazed with pure emotion, pure desperation, when he’d added, “I hope you understand.”
She didn’t, not really. But she’d never been engaged at all, let alone twice. And when he’d admitted that Paulette had stood him up on their wedding day, Renee had stuffed her need for an engagement ring to the bottom of her shoes. It sat there like a pebble, rubbing her feet the wrong way whenever she paid too much attention to it.
She’d said she
didn’t need a diamond to be with him. She’d kissed him like she meant it, because in that moment, she had. They’d been dating for three months, and she could be patient until he was ready to take their relationship to the diamond level.
“Turkey and Swiss for you,” Justin said, drawing a zipper bag with a sandwich inside out of his backpack. “And your Tic Tacs.” He tossed a container of the orange treats to the ground. “Make sure you eat all of those before kissin’ me,” he said. “I really don’t like Swiss cheese.” The playful grin he gave her made her giggle.
“Who says we’ll be kissing at all?”
“Your phone. You’re not gonna use any of our pictures online, right?”
“Of course not,” she said for at least the hundredth time. She’d been taking selfies of them at every arch they’d come to, most of them with her kissing him on the cheek or mouth. She looked at them in her hotel room, reliving some of the best days of her life, even if she didn’t enjoy hiking on a fundamental level.
“There’s no hiking in California, right?” She bit into her sandwich, but not even mayo and turkey on white bread could soothe her sore feet.
“Just walking down the beach.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple.
Renee eyed the red sand below with distaste, cursing it for ruining her fantasies of walking on the beach, hand-in-hand with Justin.
The months passed quickly for Renee. It took her a solid six weeks to figure out a marketing strategy for the three sites she’d be managing. She drove to Moab every other week and skipped Halloween due to her loathing of the holiday. Justin didn’t like the holiday either, much to her relief.
When the weather was good, she walked and ran the three miles up to Justin’s cabin in the evenings. He always rewarded her with a bone-melting kiss and a bowl full of ice cream. As fall descended on the mountain town, so did rain and snow. On those days, Justin drove down the canyon and sipped coffee, hot chocolate, or wassail on Renee’s couch with her curled into his side.
She’d learned that he wanted kids but didn’t have an opinion on how many. He’d told her that the Internet at the ranch was top-notch. All of their conversations danced around the fact that they were planning their lives together.
And yet, no proposal had come.
Renee sighed as she laid her flip flops on top of the rest of her clothes. “Toiletries in the morning,” she muttered to herself. Justin was picking her up early and their flight to Long Beach would have them arriving by mid-afternoon. Renee could practically feel the sun’s rays on her face right now.
“Hello?” Justin’s voice carried down the hall from the front door. “I’m coming in. It’s freezing out here.”
She gained the corner just as he shut the snow and wind out. He brushed off his coat and shivered. “Storm’s bad. Hope we can make it to Salt Lake tomorrow.”
“I read on the Internet that the storm will pass by morning. The ploughs will have the main roads clear.” She smiled at him. “I hope you’re hungry, because Joy came over today, and she seemed to think I needed three loaves of bread before I left town for a week.”
He swept into her personal space and embraced her. “Did you tell her you don’t eat bread?”
“I eat bread sometimes.” She held onto his strong biceps. “Especially when I make soup.”
He looked over her head toward the kitchen. “What kind of soup?”
“Loaded baked potato.”
He groaned and released her. “I knew I could smell bacon.”
She pointed to the two paper bags sitting on the table. “Can you take those up to the other boys? We’ll have one for dinner.”
“Sure. Ted’s a carb fanatic.”
“A kindred spirit.” She’d stuck to her diet, though she cheated from time to time. She hadn’t lost much more weight—maybe ten more pounds—and she still carried extra baggage in her midsection. But she was happy where she was.
As she lifted the lid and stirred the soup, her gaze landed on her left hand. Her naked ring finger seemed to mock her, and she realized there was one thing that would make her a tad happier.
“We’re here.” Renee couldn’t wait to get to the beach. The Long Beach Airport was the best thing she’d seen in a long time, and the ocean breeze tickling her face made her eyes drift closed in bliss. “Justin, we’re here.”
“I’m aware.” He glanced right and left. “Car rentals over there.” They got the car and Renee rolled down her window to enjoy the California air as much as possible on the way to Justin’s brother’s house.
“So his wife’s name is Alex,” Justin told her again. “He’s Harvey. And he has three girls, Lauren, Amanda, and Halle, like the actress.”
“Right,” Renee said. “And your other brother won’t be here until tomorrow?”
“Yeah, he’s coming in with my parents. They all still live in Kentucky.”
Renee nodded, her gut still churning. She wasn’t sure why, other than she hadn’t had much practice meeting her boyfriend’s family. Zero practice, in fact. Justin pulled into a driveway in front of a large home in a nice neighborhood and killed the engine.
“I’ll get the luggage.” He got out of the car and stretched his long legs. Renee followed him, taking only her purse as she bathed in the warmth. It wasn’t fair that California enjoyed such nice weather when Utah was buried in snow.
The front door burst open and three girls with dark hair and olive skin spilled out. “Uncle Justin!” the littlest one called, and Justin abandoned the luggage in favor of scooping up all three girls at once.
They squealed and laughed. His hat hit the pavement. Renee stooped to pick it up, admiring the way he clearly adored his nieces, even if he hadn’t seen them in a couple of years.
“Ladies,” he said, stepping back. “This is my girlfriend, Renee.” He reached for his hat and mashed it back on his head before slipping his fingers into hers.
She met Lauren, an eleven-year old, Amanda, who was nine, and Halle, who was only five. “Did you start kindergarten this year?” Renee asked her, crouching down to be at the girl’s height.
That set the girl talking, and Justin herded everyone toward the house, where a Hispanic woman stood in the doorway, a smile on her face. She embraced Justin too and said something in his ear before he continued into the house.
She cast fond looks to each of her daughters as they passed, adding, “Get out the treats we made for our guests, all right?” When she turned back to Renee, the same acceptance and happiness that Renee had seen on Joy’s face the first time they met passed across Alex’s expression.
“And you must be Renee.” She drew Renee into a hug. “Welcome. You must be someone special to break Justin’s female-free diet.”
Renee smiled at her. “Oh, I’m not special. I only met him because of a bet.”
“At a bar,” Justin added as he returned. “Don’t leave that part out.”
Renee rolled her eyes. “We were not at a bar.”
“I should hope not.” A male voice that had notes of familiarity sounded behind Renee, and she turned toward an image of Justin. There were obvious differences in the nose and chin, as well as the fact that Harvey weighed at least fifty pounds more than his brother. Everything about him was rounder, where Justin was lean and strong.
“Your brother is a pastor.” Renee swung her attention back to Justin.
“You haven’t told her about me?” Harvey spoke in a hurt tone, but the grin on his face gave him away. He stepped past Renee and engulfed his younger brother in a crushing hug. They laughed and Renee wanted to bottle it and hear it everyday for the rest of her life.
“So,” Harvey said. “This is Renee.” Before she could move, he’d grabbed her too and lifted her right off her feet as he hugged her.
“All right, Harve. Enough.” Justin chuckled as Harvey set Renee down. She gave a nervous laugh as she straightened her clothes.
“So, who’s hungry?” Alex asked, turning toward the interior of the house. Everyone f
ollowed her, and Renee stopped worrying about what she’d eat. The kitchen counter bore trays and platters of all shapes and sizes, with vegetables and dip, chips and salsa, small sausages in some sort of sauce, cookies, crackers, and rice crispy treats. Renee plucked one of those from the tray and took a big bite.
The sugar and butter calmed her upon contact. She sighed and looked out the sliding glass door—and choked. “You have a pool?” She volleyed her gaze from Alex to Justin to Harvey.
“It’s not heated,” Harvey said. “It’ll be cold, but you can get in if you want.”
“No.” Renee shook her head. “No, I don’t want to get in. I just want to sit by it.” She took one step and then paused. “Can I? Just go sit by it?”
“It’s snowing in Utah,” Justin said by way of explanation, and Alex gestured for Renee to step out onto the back patio.
“I’ll bring you a drink,” Alex said. She brought a diet cola—Renee’s favorite—and sat by her in the lounger.
“It’s so warm here,” Renee said, popping the top on her soda. “You have a lovely home. Cute daughters. Thanks for having us.”
“Anytime. We’d love more visitors.”
Renee smiled and leaned her head back against the lounge chair, the sun painting her vision in golds and whites. “We’ll probably need to get married before we come again. That’ll be a while though.”
“Oh?” The interest in Alex’s voice could’ve called dogs. “What do you mean?”
Renee’s eyes snapped open, and she was momentarily blinded. “I—I just—”
“You want him to propose and he won’t.” She started nodding at the hedges across the pool.
“No, I just—” Renee hung her head. “We talk all the time about our future. How many kids we want. If we’ll live up at the ranch or in the valley. But he hasn’t once brought up going ring shopping or setting a date.” She held up her hand when Alex opened her mouth. “I mean, I get it. Paulette really destroyed him.”
