“Your future wife is waiting for you inside. Janice is the woman your mom had in mind for this ring. Not me. Not some chick who asked you to lie for her and deceive your mom’s best friend.” Shelby turned away. She was actually jealous of the woman Sawyer had asked to marry for real. “Oh my god,” she whispered to herself, “what is happening to me?”
Sawyer caught her left hand and slipped the ring on her finger. Shelby stared down at her hand resting in his. The stone was the color of his eyes. She exhaled slowly, reminding herself the ring was a temporary loan. She didn’t get to keep the stone or the man. She had to give them both back as soon as Dolly got better or she found another guy. Shelby met Sawyer’s eyes. She would never find another guy if she fell in love with the one standing in front of her.
Sawyer idly twisted the ring on her finger. “My mom used to lose this ring at least once a week.”
“No.” Shelby laughed gently. She held her breath not wanting to break the spell between them. Not wanting to lose his touch.
“She’d take it off to wash the dishes or work in the garden and then be in a big panic because she couldn’t find it. She’d yell at me and my brother to look and we’d have to drop whatever game we were playing to track down the ring. We’d race all over the yard or house while she barked orders and just when we figured it was gone for good, she’d find it in her pocket or tucked in her bra. After a while we learned to frisk her before we started looking.”
Sawyer massaged Shelby’s fingers, the blue fire of the ring danced over his features. Shelby closed her eyes to the warm damp feeling running through her. A wish that this was all real. That Sawyer was hers and soon they would go into the house, hand in hand, talking about the day they had, happy to have each other and nights like this one. Shelby, who had trained herself never to want anything, suddenly wanted that vision of life with Sawyer very much. Sawyer was infiltrating her fortress. And once he was in, how would she ever get him out?
“It’s a beautiful ring, Sawyer. I’ll take good care of it. It must have cost your dad the earth.”
“Dad would have done anything to get Mom to agree to marry him. He was crazy about her. Mom always joked that she didn’t know if it was the man or the stone she said yes to.”
“How did she die?” she asked softly, thinking about the man and boys who were left behind.
“It was a brain aneurysm. She didn’t even know she had it. I came home from school with Ryan and she was on the kitchen floor. Dad had just had lunch with her a few hours before. Their dishes were still on the table. He told us that she was looking a little pale but otherwise seemed fine. He couldn’t accept it for the longest time. He kept going over and over that day from the moment they woke up to the moment he left her at lunch, searching for a sign he must have missed. Dolly finally snapped him out of it.”
“What did she do?”
“She asked him if he was going to reduce all his years with Mom to one day. She was genuinely curious when she asked him. You know that look she gets. She had all these memories she wanted to share and Dad couldn’t let go of that one day—the day she died.”
“That sounds like Dolly.” Shelby suppressed a shiver. Her breath puffed out in small white clouds against the kitchen light.
“You’re cold,” Sawyer said. “Come on. I’ll walk you to the truck.”
They left the sanctuary of the back yard for the relative exposure of the graveled drive. They walked in silence, their arms gently bumping together, either seeking the warmth of another human body or determined to pick up where they had left off on the lawn. Her body seemed to have a will of its own when Sawyer was around. It was a miracle they stopped when they did or his chances with Janice would have been beyond repair. As it was, Shelby had no idea how he planned to convince his fiancée to go along with their ruse.
“I am really sorry I involved you in this.”
He opened the truck door and paused. “You know, Dolly lied for me once. After Mom died, Dad hid in his room all day. Ryan was only nine; I was thirteen and scared out of my wits so I went to Dolly. A few days later, she came by the house to ask dad if my brother and I could come to her house after school. She said she was lonely. Not a word of it was true, but Dad agreed because he felt sorry for her. So we started going Dolly’s and I wasn’t scared anymore.”
“She never told me.”
“She wouldn’t. Dolly knew how to protect a kid’s privacy. Don’t feel bad about involving me. I don’t. I owe her.”
“Ah, there’s the godson Dolly was always bragging about. It’s been really nice getting to know you at last. I can see why Dolly admires you.”
Sawyer’s eyes met hers and Shelby’s breathing flattened and compressed in her chest. She’d never seen a man’s feelings so exposed before. “What is it?” she asked him, concerned.
“I want to kiss you.”
She stared, understanding. The desire to touch the other was lodged in an intensely private place of their beings. But they could not act on it.
Shelby reached up and took his face in her hands. She bent his head to hers, catching the scent of his hair in her nostrils and pressed her lips with exquisite tenderness to his forehead. She didn’t know when she would ever get to kiss Sawyer again after this night and she wanted brand his skin, his scent, his heat, on her brain forever.
“You aren’t that kind of guy, Sawyer. Go in to Janice. She’s waiting.”
She hopped in the truck and slammed the door, revving the motor and backing down the drive with more speed than she intended.
HOURS LATER, burrowed under her blankets, Shelby broke down crying. This is the one and only time, she told herself sternly. As if she had a choice in the matter—the tears came as soon as she thought of Sawyer and Janice. Sawyer talking to his estranged fiancée, holding her, kissing her, taking her to the bedroom on the second floor to make love to her. The woman he loved.
You’re drowning in tears, Porter. Heartbreak without the sex. That’s progress.
For some reason the tire swing came into her thoughts. Shelby remembered how she’d pumped her legs to make the tire move and Sawyer had to give her a hard push to get her going. She laughed a little and wiped her eyes on her sheets. That was a good memory. A safe one. Something good she could take away from their short-lived relationship. She could remember how Sawyer had pushed her on the tire swing and the two of them had laughed over her ineptitude.
With the memory playing over in her mind, Shelby fell asleep.
*
“THERE WAS nothing from her university days. She was the squeaky clean, earnest, hard-working type. One boyfriend, that sort of thing.”
Ryan shifted the cell phone to his other ear. “That’s it then. There’s nothing on her here. I grew up with her, I ought to know. She chained herself to a tree once but everyone knows about that. I thought there was some problem with the cops when she was a kid?”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t her problem. Her parents were charged with child abandonment and served a little time when they were finally arrested. The kid had been in and out of foster homes before that.”
Ryan sucked in his breath. “Shelby was abandoned?”
“They left her in a motel room. No one found her for five days,” the man on the other end said heavily.
“Sweet Jesus.” Ryan closed his eyes.
“Her parents could have petitioned to get her back if and when they cleaned up their act, but the sentencing judge removed her from their care permanently.”
“Where are they now?”
“Her mother died three years ago and her father disappeared to Mexico soon after. No trace left on him. He is presumed dead.”
The man fell silent, breathing heavily in Ryan’s ear. “Is that it?” Ryan barked. “That’s all you’ve got?”
“I told you. She was a handful growing up but no one would hold that against her. A couple of her foster families thought she was trouble because her parents were petty thieves and the kid had an attitude. When I a
sked them what she had done specifically to cause trouble, they had nothing much to complain about but a bad temper and rebellion. Nothing criminal.”
“C’mon!” Ryan exploded. “That can’t be all there is! Dig deeper. See if you can get one of the foster families to remember something. I can’t use what you’ve given me against her.”
“No. That’s it. And to be blunt, this kind of investigation makes me sick. I got two kids of my own and if they had to go through what that little girl went through—” Ryan could hear the man take in a breath and let it out slowly. “That’s all I got to say. If this is the kind of business you’re into, don’t call me again.”
With a soft click, the line went dead.
Ryan’s conscience stabbed and he couldn’t afford a conscience right now. He turned off his phone. There was a backlog of messages from his investors that he didn’t dare return. Not now.
“You look like a man in need of a drink.”
Ryan turned around. Janice Feron stood in front of him, one hand on her hip, the other clutching and oversized shoulder bag. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Don’t be unpleasant. I’ve had a terrible day.” She sat down on the barstool next to him and motioned to the bartender. “What are you doing here so late at the Mandrake Falls Inn?”
“It’s the only bar open at midnight. I can walk to my apartment from here. No, seriously Janice—what are you doing here?”
“I’m a guest of the Inn. I booked a room just now. I came to Mandrake Falls hoping I’d be spending the night at the farm with your brother, but he had other ideas.”
Ryan blew air. “Ya think? You dumped him right before his wedding. He still has the tux for god’s sake. You dumped a man who does not know how to return a tux. It’s not surprising Sawyer wants nothing to do with you.”
“He’s hurt. He’ll come around. Vodka and soda, tall, on the rocks please.” She opened her bag and retrieved her wallet and a compact. “It might interest you to know, I just dropped him off at Shelby Porter’s house to get his truck. Yes, you heard me correctly. They were on a date of some kind. He denied it, but I know what I saw. Apparently, he picked her up at her aunt’s house. After she saw me though, she knew her little scheme wasn’t going anywhere. She drove his truck home.”
“Once again,” Ryan shook his head, “Sawyer is over you. You pretty much threw a grenade into his life and then left town. If he’s with Shelby—as much as I loathe the idea for business reasons—it’s none of your concern. He can spend the evening with whomever he wants. He’s a free man. You saw to that.”
“You know as well as I do, he’s not with Shelby.” Janice leaned in, her blonde hair falling away from her face in silky streaks. “They are faking it.”
“How do you know?” Ryan’s heart was pumping. He had wanted to discredit Shelby—he had no intention of taking his brother down too.
“Sawyer told me. He had no choice. It’s only a sign of how far he’s fallen since I left. I came back to ask for another chance. Yes, Ryan, that’s the truth of why I’m here, I came back to see if Sawyer still believed in a future for us. And I find him in the back yard with Shelby Porter. After she left, he explained they are pretending to be involved for the old lady’s sake.”
“Dolly. She has a name.”
“Dolly. Fine.” Janice’s eyes narrowed. “What is your problem? I’ve come back to try to help your brother have a better life! I know you and he are not the best of friends right now. He told me this whole thing with Shelby started after she was lured to your construction site under false pretenses. Apparently Dolly saw Shelby wearing his Sheriff’s jacket and got the wrong idea. So thank you Ryan for practically flinging them into each other’s arms!”
“What are you talking about? I thought you said they were only faking it.”
“They were. They are.” Janice lifted her glass to her lips and took a long swallow. A lime wedge floated between the ice cubes. “But I think he’s taking it all a bit too seriously. He’s being manipulated by that girl who has escalated the situation if you ask me. How is the old lady—sorry—Dolly—how is she going to feel when she finds out the truth?”
“That’s what I’ve been wondering. That was my argument actually when I went to speak with Shelby.”
“You knew about this? How did you find out?”
“I know my brother. He wasn’t interested in Shelby. Dolly misread the situation but that doesn’t excuse what they are doing to her.”
“What Shelby is doing—I think Sawyer is roped into something he can’t get out of. You know what he’s like. He won’t go back on a promise. I wish I could help him, Ryan. I think he wants out of this lie but he’s trapped. All I can do is what he asked—support him in this story until his godmother is well enough.”
“Why would you do that if you want him back?”
“Because I love Sawyer and I want to make him happy! Ryan is that so hard to believe? If Shelby can make Sawyer go along with this charade, what else can she make him do? He’s already beginning to change from the man I almost married.”
“I know. I’ve seen it too. Shelby has a lot of influence over him right now.” Ryan shook his head slowly, trying to figure something out that was at the edge of his brain. “I’ll help you, but only if you’re serious about staying here in Mandrake Falls with Sawyer, because that’s what he wants. I know he does. I think he’s in over his head with this fake romance too. He’s a decent guy. He deserves better than this.”
“He does! Ryan, if we go to Shelby’s aunt together and tell her what’s going on, that’ll put an end to it! Shelby won’t be able to pin the blame on Sawyer and he can focus on his future again.”
“Telling Dolly is out. What if her health is as fragile as Shelby says it is? We can’t risk it. I had the idea of discrediting her but she’s got a clean record. Dolly’s not her real aunt by the way. They’re not related. Shelby was in foster care when she was a kid; a bit of a troublemaker I was told. Her parents were total low-life, abandoned her in a motel room. Drugs, prostitution, God knows what Shelby was exposed to before Dolly adopted her.”
“That’s terrible. I do feel sorry for her but I wonder if her upbringing is the reason she found it so easy to lie? I don’t mean she did it intending to hurt anyone. But she’s obviously used to seeing people lie and manipulate to get what they want. She might not even be aware she’s doing it. The point is how can we help Sawyer question what she tells him?”
Questioning Shelby is exactly what Ryan had in mind. He wanted the whole town to question Shelby’s interpretation of the facts—just until the expansion went through council.
The bartender dimmed the lights, signaling closing time. They had the place to themselves though the Inn was booked solid for the Harvest Dance tomorrow night. Janice was lucky to get a room.
Ryan looked up at Janice. “I’ve got it. The Harvest Dance.”
Janice’s eyes glowed. “Oh yes. You are a genius. Let her try and wriggle out of this with the whole town watching. Pick me up at eight.”
Chapter Eleven: The Harvest Dance
HIS TRUCK was gone before she even woke up. Janice and Sawyer must’ve wanted to collect it before the whole town saw it parked in front of Dolly’s house. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions but it would help if she knew what was going on. Sawyer was so sure last night, but that was last night. He’d spent the past twenty-two hours with his real fiancée.
He’s probably changed his mind.
I wouldn’t blame him in the least.
I’ll miss him though.
Me too.
“Shelby, I won’t be seen with you wearing that.” Dolly was perched on the edge of Shelby’s bed helping her dress for the Harvest Dance, help that Shelby insisted she didn’t need. She might as well have talked to the wall.
Shelby gazed at the loose black cotton dress she’d chosen. “What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing, if you’re a sack of potatoes. If you’re a young woman with a nic
e figure that dress is an eyesore. Besides, it does nothing for that beautiful ring Sawyer gave you last night. Let me see it again.”
Shelby rolled her eyes but held out her hand out for Dolly’s examination. Her aunt sighed damply. “Tell me again how he proposed.”
“I told you last night and three times since breakfast. I’m tired of telling you.”
“Well, at least change your dress. I thought you were going to wear the one we bought at Lisa’s. You said you liked it.”
Shelby eyed the bag hanging from the hook on her closet door with trepidation. She had tossed it there when they arrived home yesterday without giving its contents another thought. Shelby couldn’t even remember what the dress looked like; she’d only bought it because it was the fastest way out of the store. With Dolly’s erratic taste it could look like anything and she was more or less stuck wearing it now.
It’s not like Dolly was the last word in fashion. At the moment, the septuagenarian was wearing a purple sequined creation with matching pumps that contrasted violently with her almost Day-Glo red hair. Her makeup bordered on the bizarre; Shelby would have to find a private moment to fix it before they arrived at the hall. If anything, it was Dolly’s fashion sense that drove Shelby to choose clothes with no distinguishable fashion at all.
She took a deep breath and pulled the dress out of the bag.
“Oh, hey, this isn’t bad.” Shelby held the smoky lavender dress in front of her. It really was beautiful: a fine knit jersey that skirted her knees and fitted through the bodice. Shelby had never owned anything like it.
“Try it on. Lisa was just guessing at your size. She said you’d never bought anything that wasn’t one-size-fits-all so it might be all wrong and you’ll have to wear that shroud after all...”
Shelby hugged Dolly’s frail body to hers. “It’s perfect. What I can’t figure out is how you managed to choose something so restrained.”
“I didn’t,” she confessed with a small smile. “I wanted to get a blue satin number but that girl wouldn’t let me, she made me show you this instead.”
Lie For Me: Autumn (Mandrake Falls Series Romance Book 2) Page 12
