by Diane Darcy
She hurried toward the table where her grandfather sat eating lunch with Frank and Pete and came to a stop and smiled warmly at the three of them. “Hey, boys.”
They all grinned at her, and she knew they loved it when she called them that. She could almost see their expressions turn mischievous, like the children they once were. “Staying out of trouble?”
“You know better than that,” Pete said with a grin.
“I’m trying, always trying,” said Frank. “But with these two, it’s not always easy.”
Grandpa snorted. “Pull up a chair, we’ll have Jimmy bring you out a sandwich.”
As Grandpa called for a turkey sandwich, extra pickles (her favorite), Pete and Frank shifted their chairs and added another to the table.
“Calum! You haven’t had a chance to eat yet, join us!”
Mandy had her back toward the bar, but her senses seemed on high alert, and she could almost feel the man cross the distance toward their table.
Pete and Frank shifted the chairs again, and before she knew it, she was seated next to Calum, who was greeting everyone in turn, seeming thrilled to be included.
She avoided looking at him, but could feel him next to her, putting off heat. The table was crowded enough that when he moved his leg the slightest bit, it brushed and then settled against hers.
Hormones! That was her story and she was sticking to it!
“Calum, what’ll you have? It’s mostly just sandwiches, but you can order fries or onion rings as well.”
“A sandwich would be fine.”
“Jimmy! A roast beef sandwich, and some onion rings!” Red glanced at Mandy, back to Calum, and then called out, “Change that to french fries!”
The man was so transparent it was embarrassing. No onion breath for Calum while he was courting Mandy.
“Mandy,” Frank asked, “how have you been?”
“I’m good. Business is good. The baby is doing fine.”
Now it was Frank that was looking between her and Calum. “Good, that’s good.”
“And how is your family?” Mandy asked.
“Oh, they’re fine. Carla is planning to come for a visit soon, and bringing the three girls, so that will be fun. It’s about all my wife talks about these days.”
“That sounds nice. I hope I get to see her while she’s here.”
“I’m sure you will. If we have any good weather, we’ll have a barbecue.”
“Wonderful. And what about you, Pete? How’s everything going?”
Now that she had his attention, it was Pete that was looking between her and Calum.
Oh, the undercurrents going around this table. These three old men gossiped worse than any old women she’d ever heard about, and she could just imagine what they were storing up to talk about later.
“I’m good. Wife’s good, kids are all good.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Lunch arrived, and Mandy wondered what she was doing here, why she’d willingly put herself in this position when she could almost be home by now, when Grandpa suddenly threw down his napkin and stood.
“If you’ll excuse us now, I told Pete and Frank that I’d show them something out back. You two stay here and enjoy your lunch, and we’ll see you later.”
She’d never seen the three of them move so fast, each grabbing their plates and moving them to the bar on their way out the door.
She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Sorry about that. My grandpa does not have a subtle bone in his body, and his friends aren’t much better, though they’d like to believe it.”
When Calum chuckled, a low, enticing sound, chills ran up Mandy’s neck, and she quickly picked up her sandwich and bit into it.
Calum did the same, and a moment later swallowed. “This is quite tasty.”
“I’m glad you like it. I revamped the menu a few years ago ordering better quality ingredients, and it’s really paid off. We get a lot more people stopping in for lunch now.”
“These last few meals have been delicious, I’ve not had such good food in a long, long while.”
Mandy finally turned to look at him, concern and horror pushing at her in equal measure. “You’ve been hungry?”
He shrugged, looking uncomfortable, and she could tell he didn’t want to talk about it. “We got by.”
“We?” He’d said he was unmarried, but she wasn’t sure she trusted that. “Your family?”
“I was in the military, in Scotland, and we went through a rough patch toward the end there. Our leadership was not what it should have been, and those were some lean times.”
She looked at his muscle packed body, and could see that yes, he was big, with big bones, but definitely on the lean side. Which was probably why he had so much muscle definition.
She pressed a hand to her heart, and sympathy filled her to the brim. She glanced at his meal wanting to push it closer to him, but instead, just said, “The french fries are delicious. They’re steak cut, and I tasted a lot of different brands until I settled upon this one. I think you’ll like them.”
She did push the ketchup bottle closer to him, and he picked it up, looking interested.
“What’s this?”
“Ketchup.”
When he continued to study the bottle, she took it from him and poured some on one edge of the french fry plate, then picked up a fry, dipped it, and took a bite.
He did the same, and looked at her, surprised. “Tis good.”
She chuckled. “Most men think so.”
After that, she started to relax a little more in his presence, though his marriage proposal was still hanging out in the back of her mind.
Not that she was considering it, but it wasn’t every day she received a proposal. In fact, it had been her first, and as unlikely as it had been, she wasn’t likely to forget it.
So, if she looked at the man a little differently, felt a little out-of-sorts or bashful in his company, it wasn’t exactly her fault, was it?
As it turned out, Red had the right of it. Mandy had been uptight in his presence, no doubt because of his bumbling proposals, but the moment she’d heard he’d been hungry, her eyes softened, she looked at him with sympathy, and she opened up to him.
Mayhap being out on the moor with a group of young men hadn’t been the best way to glean information about ladies.
He’d pay better attention to Red in the future.
There was a pause in the conversation for a moment, and Calum tried to think of a good way to bring up his marriage proposal again. “Lass, might I ask about the father of yer babe? Did he perish?” he asked gently.
She looked surprised by the question. And then she straightened in her chair, obviously steeling herself for her response. “There is no father. I was artificially inseminated.”
He didn’t know what that meant, but didn’t want to seem the fool by asking for clarification. “There is nae father?”
“No.”
“Then my marriage proposal stands.” He might have said that a little more forcefully than he’d intended, but she was not the only one with steel in her spine.
Her lips parted and she studied him for a long moment. “Why do you want to marry me?”
At least she wasn’t angry about the question this time. He thought the answer was obvious, but wasn’t sure he wanted to state out loud that he’d like to save her from shame, so went with, “Tae give yer babe a name.”
It must’ve been the right thing to say because her gaze softened and she reached forward and patted his hand twice.
Before he thought better of it, he turned his hand around and captured her slender fingers.
It’d been a long, long time since he’d actually felt the touch of another and the feel of her warm skin against his own was electrifying.
They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment before she broke the connection by looking down.
But she didn’t pull her hand away, and he felt the connection between them strengthen and gr
ow.
“You know, it’s the strangest thing, but I’m actually tempted to take you up on your offer.”
She looked up at him again and smiled. The impact on him was physical as his heart started beating harder in his chest, and he couldn’t look away, studying every facet of her. The shine of her dark hair, the smoothness of her cheek, and the whiteness of her teeth against her full, pink lips.
He was captivated.
He gently squeezed her fingers. “I urge ye tae do so. I ken this makes nae sense tae ye, but I swear to ye, I will be a good husband, I’ll take care of you and the babe, and —”
She snatched her hand away, and something closed down in her expression, and he knew he’d somehow said the wrong thing.
He sent her a searching glance and she chuckled, but it seemed forced.
She waved a hand in the air. “You don’t need to worry about me, I’m pretty sure I’ve narrowed everything I’m feeling down to hormones.”
Again, he didn’t understand her meaning, but let it go. “Is that bad?”
She chuckled again, more naturally this time. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I doubt it’s a good idea to marry someone I just met, don’t know, and is also a foreigner now that I think about it.”
For some reason, that hurt. He couldn’t fault her logic. However, she was expecting, and needed tae be married before the babe was born. He still had time tae prove himself.
He, for one, had no doubt this was exactly where he was supposed to be.
Mandy drove Calum back home. It was crazy how aware of his presence she was. It seemed like any time she was near him, he filled up the space.
She wasn’t going to lie to herself. She was attracted, and it was flattering that he wanted to marry her, even if he said it was just for the baby.
The way he looked at her told another story entirely. He looked at her like a starving man looks at a meal.
Or, was she just fooling herself? It wasn’t like she felt particularly attractive with her swollen belly, and a good-looking man paying attention all of a sudden … perhaps it had gone to her head.
She pointed out neighbors, areas of interest, and who owned what property on the way home.
Fort Bridger had grown over the years, many people choosing to retire in the small-town community, but it was still very rural.
“It’s quite impressive ye earned a degree in college. Where did ye go? Did ye miss home while ye were away?”
“I went to Utah State. It’s in Logan, Utah, so it wasn’t too far from home, and I was always able to come for holidays and even weekends if I was homesick. So, it wasn’t too bad.”
“Yer grandfather raised you?”
“He did.”
“Where are yer parents?”
“They died in a car accident when I was young. A drunk driver lost control of his car and hit them.”
“I’m sorry, lass. My family is long gone as well.”
She glanced over at him, “I’m sorry, too. What happened?”
He hesitated a long moment, then let out a breath. “They died after I went away to war.”
“You were in the military? In Scotland?”
“I was. It seems a long time ago now.”
She smiled slightly at that. “How old are you?” It couldn’t have been that long ago.
“I am twenty and five.”
“That makes me a year older than you.”
His eyes brightened, and she had a hard time looking away to watch the road again. The guy really was handsome.
“You like that, do you? Being younger than me?”
“I always thought my wife would be younger, that I’d have tae guide her in the ways of the world, but it turns out I’m tae marry a woman of the world.”
She laughed out loud. “Number one, as a small-town girl I take exception to that phrase. And number two, you’re getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you? Just because you proposed to me does not mean I’m going to marry you.”
He settled back in his seat more firmly and crossed his arms. “I can wait. Ye’ve what, three months ’til the babe is born? As long as we’re wed before then, I’ll be well pleased. Besides, I’m like a cocklebur. Once stuck, almost impossible to dislodge. We’ll marry, tis simply a matter of when.”
She laughed again and shook her head as she turned onto the long drive to the ranch.
“Well, Mr. Cocklebur, I think Joe should be around back this time of day if you want to join him.” She pulled her car to a stop in its usual spot diagonally on the side of the house.
She turned off the engine and looked at him. What a difference a day made.
She really wasn’t planning to marry the man, but this little bit of flirtation had certainly perked her spirits, and given her some fun she hadn’t realized was missing from her life. She raised a brow. “I’m waiting.”
“What are ye waiting for, lass?”
“A gentleman always opens a door for a lady.” She figured if the man was stating he had ambitions toward marrying her, she ought to train him up right.
If nothing else, she’d be doing a favor for the next girl.
His mouth dropped a bit, and then he was quick to scramble to open the car door, his slight awkwardness making her bite back a smile.
She didn’t want him to catch her laughing.
He was quickly out the door, rounding the car, and opening the driver side door.
She eased out of the car, and took the hand offered. She had to admit he wasn’t half bad at playing the gentleman. “Thank you.”
She stepped away from the car and he shut the door behind her, and offered his arm. “I’ll see ye inside.”
Again, she felt a feminine flutter in her chest, and didn’t protest.
He’d shown up yesterday, he could be gone tomorrow, and this wasn’t hurting anyone.
She threaded her arm through his and smiled. “Maybe your training isn’t as lacking as I’d thought.”
He grinned at her. “My grandmother would be verra happy to hear ye say so.”
Chapter 5
A little while later Calum came into the kitchen to find Mandy standing on a stool. He rushed forward and placed his hands on her hips to keep her steady.
She turned to look down at him. “What are you doing?”
“Keepin’ ye from falling.”
She huffed out a laugh. “Are you kidding me? I’ve stood on this stool a thousand times. I’m fine.”
Feeling slightly foolish he slowly released her and took a step back. He just felt so oddly protective of her all the time and it wasn’t going away. If anything, the feeling was growing stronger.
She stepped down off the stool and set a canister of some kind on the counter.
“What are ye making?”
“Is that hope I hear in your voice?”
“It might be, depending on yer answer, of course.”
She glanced at him over her shoulder and he could see that she was smiling. “And if I said gruel?”
He leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms. “I don’t know, I’ve had some pretty good gruel in my day.”
She laughed. “Is that so? Well, I guess you’ll have to be disappointed then. I got the flour down so I could make a batch of cookies.”
“Cookies, you say? I’ve not had any of those in many a year.”
At that, she turned around to look at him. “Don’t you like cookies?”
“I love them!”
“Then why haven’t you had any?”
Because the dead don’t eat seemed the wrong thing to say, so he shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve not had a lot of time for niceties in the last few … years.”
He could see pity in her expression before she turned away and since that was the last thing he wished from her, he blurted out, “Moreover, there’s nae one that can make cookies as exceptional as my gran’s, so I reckoned there wasnae much point.”
She turned back again, her mouth half open. “Oh, is that a
challenge?”
She looked half offended and half amused, and he liked the look of it much better than the pity. He leaned back against the opposite counter and crossed his arms. “Tis just a statement o’ fact.”
She closed the top of the flour lid with a snap. “That being the case, I suppose I’d better not bother making any cookies. It would be a shame if you felt obligated to eat them as they’ll be so inferior to your grandmother’s.”
He chuckled. “Now, now, let’s no’ be hasty.”
She turned around and leaned against the counter mimicking his stance as she faced him. “No, no, it’s fine. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.”
He found himself grinning.
“I think,” she crossed her own arms, “a good memory like that should be honored, rather than say, fed?”
He laughed and threw up his arms. “I concede! Betwixt the two of us ye’ve the stronger will. I’ll beg if I must. Please, will ye no’ make some cookies?”
“I don’t know, and tarnish your grandmother’s memory?”
“Truth tae tell, she was a horrible cook, though I’d never have dared say so tae her face. I only said such earlier to tease ye, because I’m a blundering fool who doesnae know how tae talk tae a lady.”
“Hmm. Don’t you have work to do?”
“Ye’ll make the cookies?”
“I’ll think about it. I guess you have to wait for dinner to find out whether I did or whether I didn’t.”
He straightened and moved to leave, but at the last moment moved forward and lifted her hand, kissing the back of it. “I leave my fate in yer hands.”
He said the words a bit more seriously than he might have intended, but only because he meant them.
She drew in a deep breath. “Are we still talking about cookies?”
He smiled as he straightened. “Were we ever?”
Calum went around back and easily found Joe patching up something long and green. He quickly joined him. “What are ye doing?”
“Just patching this hose. I’m going to lay this in the back pasture. I’ll show you how to hook it up, and then I’ve got a fence to fix if you want to join me.”
