Her mouth went dry at the thought. Her legs quivered slightly and there was a definite warmth flowing out from her belly.
“Nora?”
She turned at the sound of her name and saw Katie standing next to her. Petite, blond Katie wearing a pretty blue dress and looking like a perfect china doll. Nora sighed. She was tall. She would always be tall. Sometimes she even enjoyed being tall. If only there weren’t so many short people around.
“I’m happy for you,” Nora said quickly. “I mean that. I’m not a mean person, just crabby on occasion.”
Katie gave her a grateful smile. “I know there have been some problems between our two families.”
“Yeah. A hundred-plus years of feuding.”
“I don’t want it to be like that anymore.” Katie’s expression turned earnest. “I want us to be friends.”
Nora swallowed and was a little surprised to find she wanted that, too. As if her family wasn’t big enough already. “That sounds good,” she murmured, then had to clear her throat.
“About the house. Jack and I were going to rebuild his place. I mean, I know I don’t belong here. I’m selling the place I bought because Jack needs to live on the ranch.” She cleared her throat. “The thing is Hattie decided she wanted a new place for herself. She insisted Jack, Shane and I live here.” Katie’s hold on her glass tightened. “I sort of got trapped into the situation.”
Nora touched the smaller woman’s shoulder. “Stop saying that. You’re marrying the oldest Darby son. That makes this house your home. It’s always been that way, Katie. You know that. As for Hattie, if my mom didn’t really want a charming new house of her own, you couldn’t pry her out of here with a crowbar. You know that, too.”
“You sure you don’t mind?”
“As much as I would like the title, I’m not the queen of the world. I want you and Jack to be happy. I mean that.”
“Good.” Katie smiled again. “The wedding is going to be fairly soon. We don’t want a long engagement. Also, we don’t want a big fuss, so it’s only going to be friends and family attending. My father didn’t take the news very well, so I’m not sure if he’ll be coming, but the rest of my family will be there.”
Katie didn’t have to spell it out for her. Nora knew exactly what her future sister-in-law meant. David Fitzgerald, Katie’s oldest brother, would be at the wedding.
“I’m a big girl,” Nora said with a lightness she didn’t feel. “I can handle David.”
Before Katie could respond, Jack called her over to his side. Nora watched the couple step close to each other, as if they’d always been together. She sighed. “I think they’ll be very happy.”
“I think you’re right.”
Stephen’s voice surprised her. She’d forgotten he was standing next to her. Now he took a step closer, which meant that she could almost feel his heat.
“You did a nice thing,” he said softly. “Katie was afraid that you’d be upset about the engagement and the fact that Hattie wants them to have the house.”
Nora grimaced but didn’t say anything. In her capacity as a physical therapist, Katie spent a lot of time consulting with Stephen. Of course they would talk.
“Katie makes my brother happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“And you’re really fine with this?”
“I already told you. I think it’s wonderful. Jack will be a great husband to Katie and an even better father to Shane.”
Stephen did the unthinkable. He actually put his arm around her. Nora was so stunned she nearly dropped her drink.
“Now that we’ve cleared that up,” he said conversationally, as if he touched her like this all the time. “Answer me another question. Who’s David?”
Chapter Four
S tephen tried not to read too much into the situation, but Nora actually trembled in his embrace. He could feel the slight shiver rippling through her as he kept his arm around her. The thought that he might make her nervous pleased him. She might be mouthy and ten kinds of prickly, but she wasn’t immune. He found he didn’t want her to be able to walk away and not think about him. Not when he spent so much of his time thinking about her.
After two years of not noticing another woman, he found himself fully aware of the one next to him. The light scent of Nora’s perfume made him want to lean close and inhale the fragrance more fully. She wore a pale yellow sundress that left her arms bare. He had the strong urge to find the zipper tab and slowly lower it until the sleeveless, low-cut garment fell open. He was stirring to life and even enjoying the process. From what he could tell, his reaction was specific to Nora. He wasn’t intrigued by any other woman he’d met.
She gave him a quick, awkward smile, then sidestepped his embrace. In her high-heeled sandals, they were nearly the same height. She wore her beautiful dark hair pulled back in a braid. Her eyes were wide and mysterious, her mouth slightly parted and tempting.
“What do you want to know about David?” she asked, her voice almost a squeak.
She glanced around the living room as if concerned who might be listening to their conversation. But Jack and Shane were talking to each other while Hattie and Katie pored over a bride magazine.
David? Who was David? he wondered. It took him a minute to get up to speed. Then he remembered he’d asked her a question. Funny how being close to her and touching her, however casually, was enough to fry his brain.
“Katie said there would be family and close friends at the wedding,” he said softly. “The implication was that could be a problem. You said you could handle David. So who is David?”
“Oh.” She folded her arms across her chest, which pushed her breasts up and together, giving him an eyeful of impressive cleavage. She didn’t just rank a Slippery When Wet warning sign; Nora was one of those woman who needed a Dangerous Curves Ahead marker.
She sighed. “I might as well tell you because if I don’t, you’ll hear it from someone else. And they’ll get the story wrong.”
“Why would I hear anything about him?”
She looked at him as if he wasn’t very bright. “Because my brother is marrying a Fitzgerald. That will start all kinds of speculation. People will want to recap history.”
“Good point. So what’s the story?”
“David Fitzgerald is Katie’s oldest brother,” she said, sinking onto the sofa. He settled next to her, not as close as he would like, but still near enough to enjoy the scent of her perfume without being in slapping range. “We started dating in high school.”
The information took a couple of seconds to sink in. “You dated a Fitzgerald?”
The question came out louder than he’d intended. Everyone in the room turned to look at him. Nora flushed, then sprang to her feet. “We’ll go set the table,” she told her mother. “Are we eating in the dining room?”
“Yes, dear.” Hattie’s gaze shifted from Stephen to her daughter and back. “That would be nice. Use the good china.”
Nora stalked off. Stephen trailed after her. When they reached the dining room, she turned on him. “Don’t do that,” she instructed. “I don’t need the pleasure of being humiliated in front of my family.”
He held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. “Sorry. It slipped out. I just couldn’t believe you’d dated a Fitzgerald. You’re the rabid one about the feud. I would have thought you’d rather interspecies date than do that.”
Color still stained her cheeks. Her mouth worked furiously, but no sound emerged. Finally she planted her hands on her hips. “Interspecies date?”
He tried not to smile. “I was making a point, Nora. I didn’t actually mean it.”
“You think I’m such a mutant that no man would want me? That I would be reduced to the local garter snake, or perhaps a zebra?”
“I hadn’t actually thought of a garter snake.” He reached forward and took her right hand in his. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I wasn’t trying to make fun of you or embarrass you in front of your family. You have to a
dmit, given what I know about you and your views, the thought of you dating Katie’s brother would be a little shocking.”
As he spoke, he moved his thumb against the back of her hand. Her skin was smooth and soft and warm. He thought he detected a slight quiver, but he wasn’t sure. Still, he must have done something right, because the light of battle drifted out of her eyes and some of her tension eased.
“I guess I can understand that,” she admitted.
“So tell me what happened.”
She pulled her hand free, then turned her back on him. “Have a seat,” she said. “I’ll set the table.”
“I’ll help,” he offered.
She gave him a withering glance. “You’d just get in the way. You can sit down and listen or you can leave.”
“Have you always been this bossy?” he grumbled, even as he took a seat on one of the spare chairs against the wall.
“Always,” she told him.
She disappeared into the kitchen, then reappeared seconds later carrying a cloth. She started at one end, carefully wiping down the large, rectangular table.
The dining room was good-sized, about twenty-by-fifteen with a chair rail that went all the way around the room. The table had six chairs around the perimeter, but there were another six lined up along the wall. To the east was a tall hutch and opposite that was a buffet table.
“As I was saying before you started screaming loud enough to wake the dead,” she said, not looking at him as she spoke, “David and I dated all through high school. Both of our families were shocked, although my mom was more okay with it than his dad. Everyone thought it would end when David went off to college, but it didn’t. We got engaged the summer I turned twenty. It was supposed to be a long engagement—at least until David graduated. I guess everyone thought the romance would fizzle out.”
She moved as she talked, taking a tablecloth from a deep drawer in the buffet and smoothing it over the table. Then she collected napkins and silverware. She worked with the easy grace women have when they perform the familiar. Her body swayed, her hips shifted in an entrancing rhythm.
“Did the romance fizzle out?” he asked in an effort to distract himself.
“Not for me. I can’t speak for David, although I guess his actions told the truth loud enough.” She straightened and faced him. “After David graduated, we set a date for the following spring. I had long finished beauty school and was working at the Snip ’n Clip. Aaron, David’s father, came to see me one evening when I was closing the shop.”
She paused, then shuddered, as if after all this time, Aaron’s words still had the power to wound. “He looks so much like David, just an older version. But he’s nothing like his son. David was always funny, gentle and kind. Aaron stared at me like he wanted to rip me apart using his bare hands.” She clutched the back of the chair in front of her. “He said that no son of his was going to marry a Darby. That he would disown David if he tried and that his son wasn’t strong enough to walk away from the family fortune.”
Stephen wanted to ask her if she was kidding. This was the twenty-first century, not feudal England. “What happened?”
She shrugged. “I told David and he promised everything would be fine. That he would love me forever. Then he went away.”
She walked to the hutch and removed six dinner plates. “I guess Aaron sent him. That part was never clear. One minute he was in Lone Star Canyon and the next, he was gone. At first he wrote me every day. He said not to worry. That he was working on a ranch that belonged to a friend of his father’s. He was learning a lot and missed me. He swore he would return in time for the wedding. Then the letters became less and less frequent.”
She set the plates in place, then brought out glasses. She gave Stephen a smile that trembled a little at the corners. “He returned two weeks before the wedding, but he didn’t come home alone. Instead he brought his new bride of less than a month, who was already nearly two months pregnant.” She put the glasses at each place setting. “You’ll meet Fern and their daughters at Jack and Katie’s wedding.”
Stephen didn’t know what to say. He’d expected something bad, but he hadn’t considered that Nora would have been so betrayed. He frowned as he remembered hearing something about her father running out on his family when she was eleven or so. Obviously she had a history of men letting her down. No wonder she wasn’t thrilled with the males of the species. Knowing about her past made her prickly personality easier to understand.
“I don’t care that they’re going to be at the wedding,” she continued. “I’m long over him. However, I do have my pride. We live in a small town and people talk.”
She didn’t want pity. He knew that instinctively. Nora would hate any whispers from those who felt sorry for her. He found himself feeling oddly protective of her, which was crazy. Nora would have him for lunch on a platter if she knew what he was thinking. But he couldn’t help wondering how different she would be if only there had been a trustworthy man in her life. Someone who had kept his promise to love her forever.
Not that it could be him, he reminded himself. He wasn’t into love and forever. Not anymore. Friendship was allowed. Maybe even being lovers, but nothing more.
“Everyone I’ve met has great respect for you,” he said at last. “If they pity anyone I suspect it’s David.”
She smiled for real then, her eyes dancing with humor. “Have you met Fern?”
“No.”
“It’s the only good part of the story. It turns out she hates the ranch and everything to do with it.
Later that evening Stephen followed Nora into the kitchen to collect dessert. Dinner had gone well, he thought. Everyone had treated him like a member of the family. Even Nora had been almost nice.
She was still a prickly pear of a woman. While he didn’t mind that part of her, knowing the reason made it even easier to understand and accept.
She moved around the kitchen with the ease of someone who was familiar with where everything went. He had to remind himself that Nora had grown up on this ranch…in this house. He thought of her as being a part of Lone Star Canyon, but not as someone who had lived on a ranch. He couldn’t see her riding the herd, or whatever it was ranchers did. She was too beautiful, too sexy.
“So do you know how to ride a horse?” he said.
She turned to look at him, her expression confused. “Where did that question come from?”
“I was just wondering.”
“Of course I can ride. I grew up here. I can rope, bring in the herd, inoculate the calves, whatever needs doing. I’d rather not.” She held out one perfectly groomed hand and wiggled her fingers. Light reflected off the shimmering polish she wore. “Ranch work is death on my manicure.”
He leaned against the center island while she flipped on the coffeemaker. “You aren’t the only one who left the ranching world,” he said. “I heard you and Katie talking about Katie’s sister Josie. She’s the one who moved to California, isn’t she?”
Nora had collected a half dozen dessert forks. She set them on the counter and sighed. A sad smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
“Josie Fitzgerald and I used to be best friends back before we knew we were supposed to hate each other. We were the same age and in the same grade. We were both tall and too skinny and we ganged up together to beat up any boys who teased us.”
He could picture a younger Nora, in pigtails, with grass stains on her shorts and T-shirt and nearly permanently scraped knees. He found himself wishing he’d known her back then.
“So she’s the only Fitzgerald you talk to these days? Except for Katie, of course.”
Nora shook her head slowly. “No. We lost touch. Isn’t that crazy?”
She didn’t seem to expect an answer so he didn’t say anything.
She raised her head and looked at him. “Josie went to college in California and I went to beauty school. We sort of drifted apart. She invited me to her wedding, but I didn’t go. Now I don’t remember why. Maybe
I didn’t want to see David, I don’t know.” She frowned. “I heard she became a teacher. Her marriage ended. So much life between us and I wasn’t a part of any of it. Yet there had been a time when we were practically joined at the hip.”
A bit of information teased at his memory. “Wasn’t Josie the one who was just in a bad car accident?”
Nora nodded. “About a month ago. Katie was telling me about her latest surgery. Apparently Josie’s entire face is being rebuilt, along with one of her legs. She’s going to have surgeries on and off for the next year.”
Stephen knew he was treading on dangerous territory, but he couldn’t help himself. He stepped close enough to touch Nora and place his hand on her bare arm. “You might want to get in touch with her,” he said gently. “Life in a hospital room can be very grim and lonely. I’m sure she’d appreciate hearing from you, regardless of how much time it’s been.”
He expected her to bite his head off, or at the very least, attempt to reduce him to a quivering puddle. Instead she nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I will do that. I want to—”
Her entire body stiffened. She was no longer looking at him and he turned to see what had captured her attention. Sitting in the center of the island was a tall cake box. From this side, he could see through a small plastic window. The dessert Hattie had chosen for their meal was a two-layer replica of a wedding cake.
Nora moved away from him and carefully opened the box. When the white cardboard sides were flat, she gently touched a tiny sugary, pink flower. “This was my mother’s idea,” she told him. “Hattie was born a romantic.”
He wanted to ask if Nora was, too. Had she had hopes and dreams at one time in her life, only to have them stolen from her by the men who claimed to love her and then left?
The idea of a wounded, potentially emotionally lonely woman should have sent him screaming into the night. Instead he found himself wanting to move closer to her. He was lonely, too. Maybe they could offer each other comfort. But how did a man go about wooing a woman like her and live to tell the tale?
Unexpectedly Expecting! Page 5
