Diamonds And Denim (Country Brides & Cowboy Boots)

by Danni Lee Nicholls

  Mick didn’t call her back. Instead, he finished his meal and went back to work, but his efforts became robotic. Maybe Simone was right. He needed to get out of his apartment. Tomorrow, he would take in some of the sights of Seattle. It might help him overcome the loneliness that had crept into his life since leaving Sunrise Creek.

  * * *

  The following morning, Mick hurriedly showered and dressed before putting on his jacket and walking the twenty-five minutes to Coleman Dock on the Seattle waterfront to watch the ferries.

  The late October afternoon was tinged with the heavy tang of the blue salt water of Puget Sound. In the distance, the Olympic Mountains shimmered with their first snowfall. He hadn’t ever seen real mountains until he’d ended up in Sunrise Creek. Now, he found he used them to navigate and find direction. The Olympics were always to the west of Seattle, and the Cascades were to the east. If it wasn’t raining, Mick found some way to get a glimpse of a peak, with Mt. Rainier being the most obliging. Its stalwart bulk raised itself above its sister mountains, giving Mick cheer in its snow-capped presence. Even when it rained, Mick took comfort in knowing it was there, shrouded in the mist and giving direction to the part of his soul that was still wandering lost since leaving Sunrise Creek.

  Looking out over the water, Mick wanted to reach the Olympics and beyond to the Pacific Ocean. Didn’t Willow dream of seeing the West Coast?

  Mick didn’t have the car, but at least he could ride the ferry to a new destination that would bring him closer to the mountain range, and the salt water below the boat came from the great Pacific. Paying the fare, Mick boarded the ferry for the next crossing, taking in the beauty of his surroundings offered by the bright fall day as the boat glided effortlessly over the glassy water.

  “I wish Willow could see this,” he whispered to himself as he was greeted by seagulls that swooped close to the boat, looking for a handout.

  The captain’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “Don’t everyone rush there at once by on the starboard side. We have a pod of orcas coming into Elliott Bay.”

  Mick looked up to see the dorsal fins of several orcas slicing through the water. His heart stopped for a moment. In all of his life, he had never seen anything so magnificent. He tried to count, but with their movements, he couldn’t tell how many of the giant mammals quietly moved through the waters. He pulled out his phone to try to take a picture, but the grandeur of the moment escaped him. Still, he made a mental note to be sure to tell Willow about the giants that lived in these waters and the briny beaches where the trees met the water’s edge.

  Maybe someday he would drive to the Pacific and take a picture for her. He wished for her company now, so they could explore together the newness of this place with its rugged mountains, misty forests, and salty air.

  Mick spent a few minutes wandering the quaint town of Winslow on Bainbridge Island. Its cozy restaurants and shops invited the traveler to spend some time among bakeries and bookstores, and Mick obliged for the day.

  Once the ferry was on its way back to Seattle, Mick took several cell phone shots of his surroundings, including the Olympics. Should he send it to Willow? Now? In a text?

  It wouldn’t hurt to send the picture with a short message to let her know to expect a check in the mail for the Jag. Once the decision was made, a fresh delight lit up within Mick. He hadn’t felt this happy since their shared time together in Sunrise Creek, and he hurriedly chose the perfect picture and sent a short message.

  His happiness surged into joy when his phone chimed with her response. “Thanks for the pictures of the water and mountaintops. So very beautiful. Will look forward to your mail.”

  Disembarking the boat, Mick began the walk back into the city. He stopped at a gift shop, where he picked up a greeting card that showed off the waters of Puget Sound and its white-capped peaks with an orca rising to the surface of the water. He would mail Willow’s check with this card. The idea of his simple gift thrilled him. It would be another way to connect with her.

  The thought that they had just shared a correspondence buoyed him as he began to make his way home. But as he turned from the water and into the maze of streets that made up Belltown, he began to question his idea of home. Was he really home? Seattle still felt new, and Mick was an outsider. But that was his fault and his choice. He didn’t want to mingle. His thirst for drinks with friends had dried up, leaving him desolate but in the midst of some strange peace, as if suspended between the betrayals of his past and a shrouded future. There were deeper relationships than what Simone and their old life could offer, and that’s what Mick craved. He wanted to sip from a different cup and explore a new idea of what home offered while at the same time learning of its requirements.

  Chapter 22

  Willow finished spreading the last of the sawdust on the floor of Topper’s stall when she heard Curtis’s truck rumble into the drive. Her heart picked up its beat as she placed the shovel outside the stall and walked to where Curtis was hopping out of his truck.

  “Hey, babe,” he said.

  Willow let out a sharp breath but said nothing. Being with Curtis would mean she would just have to put up with this endearment that he found sweet, even though it drove her crazy. “Hey, yourself,” she said. “What brings you here?”

  Curtis reached into his truck and pulled out a bunch of files. “Remember when I was still in Texas, and we talked about joining a ranching alliance?”

  Willow nodded.

  “Well, I brought my research. I thought maybe we could talk about it after dinner.”

  “Sure. That sounds good. Shorty is putting the finishing touches on a shepherd’s pie. I’ll tell him to put another plate at the table.” She turned to go but was brought back by Curtis’s hand on her arm.

  “Can you wait just a sec?” he asked as he threw the files onto the passenger’s side of the truck, leaving the driver’s side door open. “There’s something else I want to run by you.”

  Willow bit her tongue. If this was about firing Shorty, this conversation would turn into a fight, but she was ready.

  Looking up into Curtis’s blue eyes, her thoughts around Shorty retreated to the back of her mind. There was a softness in Curtis’s expression that was new and yet familiar. His pull around her waist was gentle and sweet, and his eyes never left hers. Willow’s knees almost buckled. She couldn’t remember the last time Curtis had looked at her like this. Maybe never. Maybe it was just something she had dreamed. Bewilderment overcame her as Curtis brought her close with one arm and kissed her. The familiarity of his kiss opened Willow’s heart, and she softened into Curtis and the warmth of his mouth against hers.

  Curtis pulled away, leaving Willow breathless and a small ray of what was to come dawned. Could this be the offer?

  “There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.” His voice was a husky whisper as he pulled a small black velvet box from his pocket and opened the lid. A singular small diamond winked back at Willow.

  Willow’s mouth dropped open. Standing before her in the deepening twilight was every hoped-for desire. Years of waiting spun before her and now culminated in this one precious moment. Finally, she had her promise.

  “I wanted to wait until I was out of school,” Curtis confessed. “I felt I’d have more to offer you then. But I couldn’t hold out any longer. I love you, Willow. I have always loved you. Please say yes.”

  Willow gazed into Curtis’s eyes and was met by his vulnerable and naked hope. It matched everything she’d been longing for throughout all of her life. Reaching up, she caressed Curtis’s cheek as her breath stilled, and the world waited with Curtis. It was as if all of nature hushed in lingering readiness.

  Willow’s answer stuck in her throat, but she didn’t understand her own hesitation or the flatness of her emotions. Wasn’t this everything she desired? Willow tried to push her indecision aside and force out the “yes” she had ached to say for years. But her doubt rose up in protest. Anguish and a warring conflict beg
an to rage over the battlefield of everything she held dear. Why couldn’t she accept Curtis’s proposal? This was everything she’d ever wanted!

  “I …” Tears came to her eyes. “I’ve been dreaming of this moment since I was in the second grade,” she whispered.

  Curtis grinned at her. “Yeah? Well, me too,” he said.

  The words she didn’t expect to say glided from her without pause. “But I need some time, Curtis. I—”

  Curtis’s excitement turned to hurt curiosity. “But why?”

  “I’m not sure,” she said as she placed her head on his shoulder. “I can’t explain it.” The conflict within her deepened as her fear yawned before her. How could she even begin to picture her life without Curtis?

  “Is it my proposal? Did I do this wrong?”

  Willow’s heart floundered in her chest. She lifted her head and gently cupped Curtis’s face in her hand, her eyes meeting his with grace and tenderness. “No,” she whispered. “It’s not that at all. I love being here in this moment with you.” She tried to find the words to explain her doubts, but they wouldn’t come forward.

  Curtis pulled away and snapped the lid of the box shut, removing the diamond from Willow’s view. “I understand,” he said as he pushed the box into his pocket.

  Clearly, he didn’t understand, and it pained Willow to be the cause of Curtis’s suffering, but she didn’t have anything to offer in the way of comfort or explanation. She cleared her throat of its sticky refusal. “Let’s not tell anyone about this, okay? I mean, let’s just keep things the same for a while,” she said. A small solace covered her aching soul like a thin blanket. Yes. Maybe they could move on from this night as if it hadn’t happened for now.

  “Sure.” Curtis took a step back, leaving a vacuum filled by the cool Montana evening. Willow shivered against the cold. She yearned to reach for Curtis and to rest herself against his warm body, but she didn’t approach him.

  “Look, don’t bother telling Shorty that I’m staying for dinner,” Curtis said.

  Willow’s heart dropped down into her stomach. Within the space of a few seconds, everything was different between them, in spite of her desire to maintain sameness, and it tore at the tapestry that made up Willow’s world.

  She swallowed hard as desperation flooded through her. Curtis was everything she knew. Without him, uncertainty carried her over an unknown landscape only to deposit her on an unfamiliar shore.

  She wished to take back her rejection of his proposal. Her love for Curtis silently screamed for her to pull him close and promise to love him forever, to share his home, his bed, and his life. But she could not. Some inner doubt offered a new voice, and it would not be silenced or dismissed.

  “Do you want me to take your files to Dad?” she asked.

  Curtis slid into the truck and shut the door before rolling down the window. “No,” he said. “Not now, anyway. Maybe another time.” He ran his hands over his face. “I won’t pretend this doesn’t hurt, Willow.” He shook his head in regret. “Since I’ve come home, I’ve wondered if I waited too long. Maybe I should’ve asked you years ago.”

  Willow would not mask Curtis’s question with a cover-up lie. “I appreciate you acknowledging that possibility.” A tight bud of relief began to unfurl, and she offered Curtis a small smile. “It’s nice to talk about this.”

  Curtis reached his hand out his open window, and Willow took his fingers into her own and brought them to her lips. “I’d better go,” Curtis said as he withdrew his hand and started the truck.

  Willow nodded as she backed away, and Curtis pulled the truck around. Without a wave, he headed down the long drive, and Willow stood shivering in the gathering dark and watched until Curtis’s taillights disappeared, hot tears coursing down her cold cheeks.

  Chapter 23

  Hearing the sound of a truck, Willow stopped her work in Topper’s stall and hurried out of the barn. Squinting in the brittle afternoon sun, she watched Linda, Curtis’s mother, bumping down the driveway in her truck.

  Dread trickled down Willow’s spine. Willow loved Curtis’s parents, Linda and Jim. They were as much a part of the fabric of her life as Shorty, but suspicion grew in her mind as the truck pulled to a stop in front of the house. Had Curtis shared with his family her refusal of his ring? Even though they were supposed to keep this between the two of them, she wouldn’t blame him for telling his parents.

  Willow studied Linda as she stepped out of the truck. She was a small, petite woman. Some would call her wiry. Lines etched her face from working outside, but her step was quick and purposeful.

  Placing the pitchfork against the outside wall, Willow met Linda in the drive. There wasn’t any tension or disapproval in Linda’s smile as she wrapped Willow in a hug.

  “What brings you here?” Willow asked as she led Linda to the house, her heart beating up into her throat.

  “I came to see you,” Linda said. “Curtis told me he’s shopping for a ring, and I told him it was about time. The two of you have been unofficially engaged for years now.”

  Willow stopped on the front porch of the house and faced Linda as irritation popped through her like sparks. She tried to keep a gracious expression. “If someone is unofficially engaged, then they’re not really engaged.”

  Linda waved her hand in the air in a dismissive fashion as if shooing a gnat.

  Willow remained quiet, waiting to see what else Linda would reveal.

  The moment passed. Willow opened the front door, and the two women moved through the house and toward the kitchen. “Have a seat. I’ll make some tea.” Willow busied herself for several minutes before placing a hot mug tea in front of Linda.

  Linda took a sip. “Oh, that’s good on a frosty afternoon.” She settled into her seat. “I know you haven’t chosen your wedding gown yet. I was surfing the net and came across a couple of styles I thought would become you.” She shifted her weight as she lowered her voice. “I don’t want you to feel any pressure about this. I know this is something you would be doing with your mother, but …” Linda’s words trailed off.

  Willow tried to conjure up appreciation for Linda’s efforts, but the attempt fell short. She kept her voice even and tried to infuse some warmth. “This is very thoughtful of you, Linda, but I’m not ready to think about wedding gowns.”

  Linda’s eyes traveled to Willow’s ring finger and then up to Willow’s gaze.

  Willow held the older woman’s look in spite of the awkward discomfort that filled her, making her as hot as her cup of tea.

  Linda looked away. “Bert called today,” she said casually.

  “Yeah. I can imagine.” A bite of knowing sarcasm tied up Willow’s words.

  Linda laughed, dispelling the earlier apprehension between the two women. “Look. Jim and I completely trust you, Willow. So that’s not why I’m here. We all know there’s a history between our families that’s much older than you and Curtis. I went to high school with your folks, and I’ve known you since you were born. I love you, dearly and deeply. Curtis is my son, and I want what’s best for the both of you. So if you need to talk about any of this, I want you to know I’m available for that.”

  Willow took a small breath. What to say? The irritation bloomed once again, fueling the need to explain her relationship with Mick. She chose her words carefully and spoke slowly as she folded her right hand over her left. “Mick is a guy who got a little lost. He landed here and needed a friend for a while. I was that friend.” She laughed. “He was quite a sight stranded along the side of the road in his broken-down Jag. Good thing I got to him before the McPherson boys and some of their buddies.”

  Linda joined in Willow’s laughter. “Yeah. They would’ve made mincemeat out of him.”

  “Have you met him?”

  Linda shook her head. “No, but I’ve heard plenty from Bert.”

  “Well, don’t believe everything Bert tells you.” The irritation erupted into aggravation.

  Linda eyed her for a quick secon
d, then smiled. “I know better than that. Remember, Bert is my brother. I love him to pieces, but he’s always been this way. He doesn’t mind embellishing a story if it suits him, and oftentimes he sees the truth one way, and I see it another.”

  “I know he thinks there’s something going on between me and Mick.” There it was. The words everyone wanted to say but no one dared. It relieved Willow to put it on the table between her and Linda.

  Linda nodded. “Yeah, he does.”

  Willow’s anger flared. She hated being the subject of gossip, but she didn’t blame Linda for wanting an explanation. At least she was coming forward and asking for the truth, instead of wagging her tongue like others in town. “Well, there isn’t.” Willow offered. “We had him out here for dinner with me, Dad, and Shorty. He’s a cook, so he and Shorty spent a lot of time together. He’s a nice guy who was in a tough situation.”

  “This is part of the reason I came to you. I wanted to hear it straight from you.”

  Willow appreciated Linda’s forthright approach, but wondered why it was even necessary if she was considered so trustworthy. She pushed her irritation aside. “Thank you for the courtesy,” Willow said.

  Linda shifted in her seat. “Well, the sooner Curtis gets that ring on your finger, the better. That’s what I say.”

  Willow hated being deceitful, but she had asked Curtis not to talk about this, and she would not go behind his back to tell his mother. Should she speak to the turmoil between her and Curtis? “Linda, you know Curtis and I …” She hesitated. This was Curtis’s mother. She would need to tread lightly. “We’re not engaged, and there’s some things we need to work through.”

  Linda patted Willow’s knee. “All couples have things they need to work through. The two of you will be fine once everything gets settled.”

  Willow sucked in a long breath as doubt crowded her thoughts, but she kept them to herself. What did it mean to be settled? “Maybe that’s the way of it,” she murmured before taking a sip of tea.