THE BEST MAN

by Linda Turner

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  Chapter 7

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  Merry hardly slept at all that night. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see Thomas grinning at Nick and asking him to help him win her back. Oooh! The nerve of the man! she thought furiously as she finally gave up all pretense of sleeping and rolled out of bed to do some housework before she got dressed for work. Did he really think it was going to be that easy? That all he had to do was just waltz back into town, flash his pearly whites at her, and she was going to fall into his arms? She didn't think so! Not after what he'd done to her.

  Fuming, so agitated she couldn't sit still, she cleaned the house from top to bottom before seven in the morning and found little satisfaction in the task. Damn him! How could she have ever thought she loved a man who was so insensitive? Last night at Ed's, when he'd finally realized that he wasn't going to be able to charm either her or Nick, he'd looked genuinely hurt. As if he were the injured party and he couldn't for the life of him understand why they would want to hurt him!

  And she'd almost bought into his act!

  And that, more than anything, was what had kept her tossing and turning throughout the night. How could she be so gullible where he was concerned? She, more than anyone, knew just how little he could be trusted to be honest about his feelings, yet for a moment there, when he'd rose from the booth and looked down on her and Nick with wounded, puppy-dog eyes, she'd felt like a heel. He'd apologized for bothering them, then stalked out, stiffly clinging to his dignity, and she'd almost called him back. She had to be out of her mind!

  She would not let him take her in a second time, she promised herself grimly. And she didn't fool herself into thinking that he wouldn't try again. She'd seen the irritation that had flashed in his eyes when he'd realized that not only was Nick not going to help him patch things up with her this time, but that he was also interested in her himself, and he hadn't liked it one little bit. Despite his injured air, Thomas had no intention of backing off and giving Nick a clear field. He'd just pulled back to regroup and rethink his strategy on how to win her back. He'd try something else, and when he did, she planned to be ready for him.

  Relieved that she was finally seeing him for what he really was, she promised herself she wasn't going to let him disrupt her life any more than he already had. She had work to do and she couldn't afford to be distracted. The rabies inoculation plan was in high gear, and she was pleased with the response she'd gotten from the community, but there was still a lot to be done. She had to contact the schools to set up a meeting with students to educate them about the dangers of rabies, then she was going to make house calls to the elderly pet owners she knew who weren't able to bring in their cats and dogs to be vaccinated. By the end of the week, she hoped to have at least eighty percent of the pets in the county protected against rabies. And to do that, she was going to have to hustle—which meant she didn't have time to worry about Thomas.

  Dismissing him from her thoughts, she took a bath and dressed for work, then made sure she had everything she needed for the house calls she needed to make. Satisfied that she wouldn't run out of vaccine when she was halfway across the county, she had just dug her keys out of her purse and was on her way out the front door when a van bearing the logo of Ryan's Flowers pulled up in her drive.

  Surprised, she greeted the delivery boy, Rebecca Ryan's son, with a smile "Hi, Jimmy. Are you sure you've got the right house? I can't imagine who would be sending me flowers."

  "Oh, no, it's no mistake, Ms. McBride," he said with a broad grin. "Mom said to get these to you first thing because it was a special order. She said they were your favorite." And sliding open the door to the van, he pulled out a bouquet of gardenias and white roses.

  They were absolutely beautiful, and Merry couldn't deny that they had once been her favorite. But not anymore. Not since she'd held a bouquet of them at her wedding and waited for a groom who had never put in an appearance. Just the scent of them was enough to make her sick to her stomach.

  That, however, wasn't Jimmy's fault, and with a tight smile, she took the bouquet from him. "Could you hang on just a minute, Jimmy, while I read the card?" she said when he waited expectantly for a tip. "I want to give you something for driving all the way out here and I may need you to do a favor for me, if you don't mind."

  "Sure, Ms. McBride. I'm in no hurry."

  Setting the arrangement on the library table in the entrance hall, Merry pulled the small card from the envelope. Just as she'd expected, the signature at the bottom was Thomas's. But it was the words he'd written above his name that had her seeing red.

  Forgive me. I love you more than life itself and will never again do anything to hurt you. Please have dinner with me and let me make this up to you.

  Did he really think it was that easy? That he could just send her flowers and an apology, then take her out to dinner and all would be forgotten and forgiven? He'd soon find out differently.

  Crumbling the card, she tossed it on the table, then grabbed the flowers and shoved them back at a surprised Jimmy. "Take these to the hospital and deliver them to Mrs. Maxine Cooper's room, okay? She'll love them."

  Confused, he frowned. "But they're for you. Don't you like them?"

  "They're beautiful," she assured him, slipping a five-dollar bill into his shirt pocket. "But Mrs. Cooper's going through a rough time right now and she needs them more than I do. If you could write a new card and just put, To Mom. Get well soon. Your loving son, Thomas. I would really appreciate it."

  She could tell from the look on his face that he thought she was nuts, but he didn't argue with her. "Okay, Ms. McBride, if you're sure that's what you want. I'll take them to the hospital right now."

  "Thanks, Jimmy. Oh, and by the way," she said as he turned back to the van, "let's just keep this between us, okay?"

  "Okay."

  "Thanks. Mrs. Cooper would be hurt if she found out her son didn't think to send her flowers."

  Understanding, he drove off with a wave, and Merry let out a sigh of relief. Thomas wouldn't be pleased when he walked into his mother's hospital room and discovered what she'd done, but she didn't want flowers or anything else from him. In fact, all she wanted was for him to just leave her alone.

  Surprisingly, that's just what he did. Work kept her tied up for most of the day, and it was late, when she finally got home. Half expecting to find a dozen hurt messages on her answering machine from Thomas, she was stunned when she discovered that he hadn't called once while she was gone.

  She knew he had to know about the flowers—he was a good son and would have spent as much time with Maxine as the hospital would allow. In fact, he'd probably been right there in her room this morning when Jimmy delivered the gardenias and roses he'd originally ordered for her. He wouldn't have been happy about that. She knew him, knew how his mind worked, and now that he'd decided he wanted her back, he wouldn't take her reception of his peace offering lying down. But he still hadn't called. And she had to ask herself why. What was he up to?

  She found out the next morning when Janey called her before she was even out of bed. "Have you looked at this morning's paper?"

  Groggy, her eyes not even open yet, Merry groaned, "Are you kidding? It's barely six in the morning, Janey! Right now, I can't even tell you what my name is."

  "Then you'd better read the back page of the paper," she quipped cryptically. "If Thomas has his way, in the not too distant future, it's going to be Mrs. Thomas Cooper."

  "What?!"

  "Read the paper," she retorted, and hung up.

  Dread spilling into her stomach, Merry rolled out of bed and fumbled for her robe. She was still buttoning it when she stumbled outside and climbed into her Explorer. Unlike city folks, her paper wasn't thrown in her front yard every morning, but placed in her mailbox instead by some poor soul who no doubt started making deliveries at four in the morning. And her mailbox was on the highway at the ranch entrance, a half a mile from her house.

  The news
paper was stuffed into the box, just as she'd known it would be, and she didn't even have to get out of her truck to retrieve it. Her heart in her throat, she pulled it out and unfolded it so that the back page was up. In the bright light of the early morning sun, she found herself looking down at a picture of herself and Thomas that had been taken just three weeks before what should have been their wedding day. They were in each other's arms and laughing into the camera. They looked happy and in love and didn't appear to have a care in the world.

  It was one of her favorite pictures, but she didn't smile as she usually did whenever she saw it. Instead, her eyes dropped to the words written below it in large print for all the world to see.

  Merry,

  You have every right to hate me. What I did was wrong and I wouldn't blame you if you never spoke to me again. I couldn't tell you I was scared, and because I was such a coward, you were the one who was humiliated. I know I can never make up for that by just saying I'm sorry, so I'm publicly promising you that I will do whatever I have to win back your love and approval. I love you and want you to be my wife. Please give me a chance.

  Shocked, Merry stared down at the message that blurred before her eyes, unable to believe she'd read it correctly. There had to be a mistake. Thomas wouldn't do this to her. He'd made her the town laughingstock once before. He wouldn't do it again by airing details about their relationship to whoever could afford the price of a newspaper.

  But even as she tried to convince herself that this was just someone's idea of a bad joke, she knew there was no mistake. Once again, in the interest of getting what he wanted and not giving a thought to how the consequences of his actions might affect her, Thomas had set her up to be the brunt of countless jokes. She could hear them now: Did you hear about the youngest McBride girl? She picked a real winner for a fiancé. First he stood her up at their wedding, and now he's courting her in the papers and asking her to marry him again. What kind of idiot would trust a man like that a second time? She must be really desperate to get married.

  She would kill him, she thought, fuming. She'd string him up by his ears and kill him!

  * * *

  It was barely seven in the morning when Merry pulled up before Maxine Cooper's house and cut the engine. Located two doors down from Myrtle Henderson and right in the middle of town, the house was contemporary in style and not the type of architecture Merry cared for. But Thomas had grown up there, and since he'd given up his apartment the week they'd planned to marry, he was, not surprisingly, staying there while his mother was in the hospital.

  After Janey had called her, she'd changed into jeans and a T-shirt and had time to calm down during the drive into town, but one glance at the newspaper on the seat beside her, and she was steaming all over again. He wasn't, she promised herself furiously, going to get away with this. Clutching the paper in her fist, she stepped out of her truck and marched up to the front door.

  In spite of the earliness of the hour, she knew he wasn't asleep. He was a morning person, just like she was, and had no doubt been up for hours. Punching the doorbell, she just dared him to keep her waiting. In the mood she was in, she wouldn't be responsible for her actions.

  Just as she'd suspected, he was not only awake but dressed and shaved and thrilled to see her. "Merry! This is a surprise! I wasn't expecting you this early." Beaming at the sight of her, he pulled the door open wider. "Come in. I just brewed a pot of coffee and heated up some of Mother's banana bread. Would you like some?"

  Manners dictated that she accept, but her instincts warned her that would be a drastic mistake. This wasn't a social visit. She was here for one reason and only one reason—to make him understand that she wasn't going to be courted, coerced, charmed or strong-armed into resuming their relationship. And the sooner he accepted that, the better.

  "I'm not here for breakfast," she said stiffly as she stepped inside. "We need to talk about this."

  Far from concerned when she waved the newspaper under his nose, he only grinned, thoroughly pleased with himself. "You didn't accept my flowers so I had to do something else to get your attention. Were you surprised? I knew you would be. And it only cost me fifty bucks! Can you believe that? Talk about a steal! I bet I couldn't do that in Chicago for five times that amount."

  He rattled on about what a good deal he'd gotten, and Merry could only stare at him. Had she ever known this man? Ever understood who he was deep down inside? She was beginning to wonder.

  "You just don't get it, do you?" she said, cutting in when he paused to take a breath. "I sent the flowers to your mother because I didn't want them. I don't want anything from you—"

  "Oh, you don't mean that. You're just playing hard to get."

  He was so cocky, so sure of himself, that it was all she could do not to throw the paper she still held right at his head. Why had she never noticed before how infuriatingly arrogant he could be? Seething, she dragged in a calming breath and tried to hold on to her temper, but it didn't help. Nothing did.

  Narrowing her eyes at him, she said coldly, "Look at me, Thomas. Do I look like I'm playing hard to get?"

  A blind man could have seen that she was deadly serious. His smile faltering, he lost a little of his cockiness, along with his tan. "No, of course you don't. I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. I just love you so much—"

  She stopped him before he could go any further. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have left me at the church and made it nearly impossible for me to face my friends and family. If you loved me, you wouldn't have humiliated me all over again with this," she said, pointedly holding up the newspaper. "If you really loved me, you'd leave me alone. Because that's all I want from you right now … to be left alone. After everything you've done to me, I don't think that's too much to ask."

  She'd never been more serious in her life, and something in her eyes must have told him that he wasn't going to charm his way out of this one. And for the first time, he seemed to realize he was in real danger of losing her. Dropping any pretense of cheerfulness, he said humbly, "You're right. I apologize. I wasn't thinking. I'll do whatever you want. If you want me to back off and give you some space, you've got it."

  "What I want is no more gifts, Thomas. No more surprises, I mean it."

  "Whatever you say," he promised. "I just want you to be happy."

  If he'd truly wanted that for her, he'd have showed up at the church last month, she thought resentfully, but she kept that thought to herself. "Fine," she said stiffly. "As long as we understand each other. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get to work."

  He opened his mouth to argue, only to think better of it when she shot him a warning look that had Watch it! written all over it. Holding his hands up before her like a man being held at gunpoint, he said, "Hey, don't let me get in your way. I've got to get to the hospital to check on Mother, anyway. I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

  Frustrated, Merry wanted to shake him. What did it take to get through to him? She knew he wasn't so dense that he hadn't understood what she was saying. He was just playing games with her, pushing her buttons, and trying to get past her guard when she wasn't looking. And it wasn't going to happen. He wasn't catching up with her later or any other time.

  "I don't think so," she said stiffly. "I plan to be on the run most of the day."

  Not giving him a chance to ask her where she would be, she hurried out before he could question her further, her only thought to get away. Men! she thought in exasperation. Why had she ever thought she needed one to call her own?

  Still irritated, she left town behind and headed toward Wild Horse Canyon. It was a rough, remote area, but a number of people lived back in the hills, including Lester Allison. Ninety-eight if he was a day, Lester had stubbornly refused to go into a nursing home after his wife died, choosing instead to stay in the home he and Isabelle had shared for fifty-three years. Alone except for the five or six cats that kept him company on the property, he hadn't been into town in years. Neighbors brought him grocer
ies, and whenever he wasn't feeling well, his doctor made a trip out to his place to see him. Even if he would have been capable of bringing his cats in for their shots, Merry doubted that he would have been able to catch them. From what she had heard, they were wild as March hares.

  Her thoughts focused on how she was going to catch them, she didn't see the board lying in the road until it was too late. She instinctively tried to swerve, only to run over it anyway. Cursing herself, she immediately heard her right front tire blow as the nails that had been standing straight up in the board sank deep.

  "Damn!"

  Struggling to hang on to the wheel as it jerked under her hands, she lifted her foot from the accelerator and carefully eased her Explorer off the road and onto the shoulder. It wasn't until she came to a complete stop and turned off the ignition that she realized that she couldn't have picked a worse spot for a flat. Stuck on the side of a steep hill, she was perched on a whisper of a shoulder that fell sharply away to her right. The vehicle was already leaning—if she so much as shifted her weight wrong, she was afraid it would roll.

  "Great, Merry," she muttered as she carefully set the emergency break. "This is just great!" Glancing out the passenger window, she felt her stomach clench sickeningly at the idea of trying to set up a jack on ground that slanted downhill at a forty-five degree angle. How was she going to do this?

  "Block the tires," she said aloud. Joe and Zeke had drilled that into both her and Janey's heads from the time they were both old enough to sit behind the wheel. She might not be able to do anything to prevent the car from flipping if it chose to do so because of the uneven ground, but at least it wouldn't be able to roll back over her.

  Suddenly realizing how absurd that thought was, she laid her head against the steering wheel and laughed helplessly. God, she was losing it. The car might roll all the way down the mountain the second she got out of it, and she was worried about getting run over! She had to have a screw loose. If she really wanted to worry about something, she should be worrying about how she was going to get out of this mess without help. She could call one of her brothers, but she really hated to do that. She'd always taken pride in the fact that she was self-sufficient, and she'd feel like a real sissy if she had to call someone just to change a simple flat.