“She drives me nuts.”
Willa had a hard time believing that. “But your mom’s so thoughtful and generous and smart and perceptive. I just love her.”
He made a low, growling sound. “So does everyone else in town. And she’s a good mom, don’t get me wrong. She’s just way too damn pushy sometimes, that’s all. At least when she’s dealing with me.”
“Because you never did do what she told you to do.”
“That’s right. It’s kind of a point of pride with me never to do what my mother says.”
“You know that’s childish, right?”
A silence on his end, then, in a surly tone, “Will you come to dinner at the Triple T with me tonight?”
She smiled widely. “Of course. Dinner at the Triple T would be lovely.”
* * *
Ellie and Bob Traub knew how to throw a barbecue.
Their house was packed with people. Neighbors, friends, ranch hands, Thunder Canyon visitors and a whole lot of family spilled out onto the wide front porch and into the yard, where Bob had two smokers going along with a grill.
Gage was there. Willa spotted him on the front porch when she and Collin arrived. She worked her way through the groups of people to give him a hug.
He offered his hand to Collin. The two men shook.
And Gage said, “Been hearing good things about you lately.”
Willa felt a wash of love and appreciation for her brother. He’d done what he’d promised, kept an open mind about Collin and been willing to listen when people told him all Collin had done for their town since the flood.
Collin grunted. “But you know not to believe everything you hear, right?”
Gage chuckled. “Word is you have good ideas, you don’t lose your head and you’re willing to pitch in.” He grew serious. “So I’m asking you for what Rust Creek Falls needs from you. I’m asking for your help with the big job ahead of us.”
Willa hid her smile at Collin’s wary expression. “Sure,” he said at last. “What can I do?”
“Come to the town hall Monday morning at ten? We’re putting a group together. We’ll start figuring out ways to get funding and volunteers to rebuild south-side homes for folks who had no flood insurance. Also, there’s the clinic. We want to get it operational again. And most important, the elementary school. The high school isn’t big enough to hold the younger kids, too. We have to do something so the K through eighth graders have a place to go in the fall.”
Willa was nodding. “Good. September is just around the corner.”
Gage asked, “So what do you say, Collin?”
He didn’t hesitate. “I’ll be there.”
“Willa, dear.” Ellie Traub descended on them, all smiles. “I’m so glad to see you!” She grabbed Willa in a bear hug.
Willa laughed in surprise at being clutched so close by Collin’s mom. “Good to see you, too, Ellie.”
Ellie took her by the shoulders. “I heard you were flooded out—and Gage, too.” She sent Willa’s brother a sympathetic frown. “It’s horrible. Awful....”
“We’ll survive,” Willa said. “And we’ll rebuild.”
“Lavinia and Wayne...?” Ellie asked about Willa and Gage’s parents.
“They’re fine,” Gage assured her. “I talked to them just an hour or so ago. They should be back at the ranch sometime tomorrow.”
Collin said, “They were in Livingston, at the big rodeo, when the storm hit.”
“So was I,” Gage told Ellie, regret in his voice. “Mom wouldn’t leave me alone until I agreed to go with them. She had some idea I was working too hard and needed to take a break and forget everything for the holiday.”
“She knows what you need better than you do, huh?” Collin sent his mother a meaningful glance.
“Yes, she does,” Gage confirmed, sounding weary. “Just ask her.”
Ellie grabbed Collin. “We only do it because we love you. Now, give me a hug,” she demanded fondly.
“Aw, Mom...” Collin embraced her with obvious affection.
Then Ellie hooked one arm with Collin’s and the other with Willa’s. “Gage, there’s beer in the cooler out on the lawn.”
“Thanks, Ellie.”
Eyes shining, Ellie commanded, “You two come with me. I want everyone to know how pleased and happy I am that you’re both here—together.”
* * *
“It was embarrassing,” Collin grumbled much later that night, when they were alone in his bed. “Dragging us all over the yard, announcing over and over again that you were with me.”
Willa lay with her head on his broad chest. She could hear his heartbeat, so strong and steady. There was no place in the world she would rather be than right there, held close in Collin’s strong arms. “She loves you. She’s proud of you.”
He made one of those low, growly sounds. “She can’t believe that someone as amazing as you would be hanging around with me.”
“That’s not so.”
“Yeah, it is.” He pressed his lips to her hair.
“No.”
“Yeah—and what do you want to bet that Nathan Crawford will be at that meeting your brother talked me into going to Monday morning?”
She tipped her head back and kissed his beard-scratchy chin. “Probably. But you can handle him.”
He looked down into her eyes and said gruffly, “You realize my mom is right, don’t you? You’re much too fine a woman to be wasting your time with me.”
“I am not wasting my time. And I really get annoyed with you when you put yourself down.”
“It’s only the truth.”
“No, it isn’t.” She tried to look stern. “Will you stop it? Please?”
He smoothed her hair and answered grudgingly, “Yes, ma’am.”
She gave him a slow smile. “Actually, I’m a lot like your mother.”
He widened his eyes in a comical way and faked a gasp of shock. “Don’t say that. Anything but that.”
“Oh, but I am like Ellie. I’m pushy. And determined. And very sure of what’s good for the people I love....”
Love. She’d said the word so casually.
But then, as soon as it was out, she didn’t feel casual at all.
Love. Once the word had escaped her lips, it seemed to hang by a thread inside her mind, slowly swinging. Tempting her to grab it and run with it.
Love.
The big word, the one that mattered. The word that changed everything.
She dared for the first time to admit to herself what was happening to her, how her life had become something new and fresh and beautiful. The world had a glow to it now.
Because of him.
I love you, Collin Traub.
Buoyant light seemed to fill her. All at once, she was weightless, defying gravity through pure joy.
I love you, Collin Traub.
She opened her mouth to say it—and then she shut it without making a sound.
Saying it out loud would be dangerous. Risky.
He was frowning down at her. “Hey.”
She kissed his chin again. “Umm?”
“You okay?” Cautious. A little worried. “You seemed a thousand miles away just now.”
“I’m right here.” She took his arm, wrapped it snugly around her and settled herself more comfortably against his warm, broad chest. “And I’m fine. Better than fine.”
He chuckled then. “You certainly are—and never admit you’re like my mother, unless you’re purposely trying to creep me out.”
She laughed and promised, “Never again,” as her heart cried, I love you, Collin. I love you, I do. The simple phrases seemed to tickle the back of her throat, working themselves closer to being said.
But she didn’t say them.
Not yet. It had only been nine days since the flood, and only five since that first night she’d spent in his arms.
Yes, to her, what they had together now wasn’t all that surprising. It felt like a simple progression, a natural unfoldi
ng of something that had been there all along. She’d known him all her life, wanted him for so long, been waiting, even when she thought that she hated him, for a chance with him.
She was more than ready to talk about that. About their lives, about their future.
About love.
But she was no fool. She knew that he wasn’t ready.
So, then, she could wait.
She had a feeling it wouldn’t be long.
The time wasn’t right yet.
But it would be.
Soon....
Chapter Thirteen
Collin had an ever-growing backlog of work he needed to get going on down in his shop. The next morning, as they were finishing breakfast, he told Willa he would have to spend the whole day at it.
She pushed her empty plate away and rose slowly from her chair.
He stared at her, feeling suddenly wary. “I’m not sure I trust that look in your eye.”
She gave him one of those sweet, innocent schoolteacher smiles of hers as she came around to his side of the table. He gazed up at her, narrow eyed. He knew she was up to something. She sat on his lap.
He growled her name in warning.
She only brushed his hair back from his forehead with her soft, cool fingers and then kissed his cheek. “Come to church with me.”
“Willa...”
“Please. It’ll only take a couple of hours, total, including the drive up and down the mountain. After church, I promise I’ll leave you alone to work in peace for the rest of the day.”
The problem with her sitting on him was that the feel of her only made him want to touch her. To kiss her. And then to kiss her some more.
He caught her earlobe between his teeth and worried it lightly, because he couldn’t quite stop himself. She trembled and let out one of those reluctant little moans that always drove him crazy.
“Shame on you, Willa Christensen,” he scolded. “Talking about church while you’re sitting on my lap. You know very well what happens when you sit on my lap....”
She wiggled her bottom against him and then he was the one trying not to moan. “Church,” she whispered way too damn seductively. “It’ll be over before you know it and then you can come right back up here and work all day and half the night if you want to....”
“Wiggle like that again and I won’t be getting any work done. We won’t be going to church, either. We won’t be going anywhere but back down the hall to bed.”
“Church. You take your truck and I’ll take the Forester. That way, as soon as the service is over, you can head right back up the mountain.” She kissed him. And then she slid to the floor and stood above him.
He grabbed her hand. “Get back down here....”
She bent close and kissed him again. “I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”
* * *
They went to church.
It was kind of nice, really, Collin thought. His family was there, his mom all smiles at the sight of him and Willa together. Pastor Alderson gave a sermon about finding joy in simple things.
Collin could relate to that, especially lately. Just being around Willa all the time, that was a pretty damn joyful thing for him.
Yeah, it was partly the sex, which was amazing...and which he probably shouldn’t be thinking about in church.
But the thing was, the sex wasn’t everything.
It wasn’t even the most important thing.
Willa herself. She was the important thing. The way she would laugh, kind of husky and happy both at once. The way she cuddled up close to him, her ear against his chest like she only wanted to listen to the sound of his heart beating. The way she listened so close when he talked, but then had no problem speaking up if she didn’t like something he’d said.
The way she could be so kind and gentle—and then turn right around and be tough as nails when something mattered to her. The way she could pull on a pair of work gloves and keep up with him clearing storm debris all the way up the mountain. The way she wasn’t ashamed to be with him in front of everyone. Even if she was a schoolteacher with a certain reputation she really ought to be looking out for.
He’d thought he was happy before Willa.
But the past few days, he’d started thinking that before Willa, he hadn’t even known what happiness was.
He was living in a dream, and he knew it. This thing with her, well, it couldn’t last. He was who he was and he’d always seen himself in an honest light. He’d grown up wild and he hadn’t been to college. He could change some, but not completely.
Not enough to be with a woman like Willa in a forever kind of way.
The pastor told them all to rise. They sang an old hymn that Collin had known since childhood.
Out of the corner of his eye, in the pew across the center aisle, he caught sight of Nathan Crawford, standing so tall and proud, singing good and loud. Nathan saw him looking and shot back a narrow-eyed glare. Nathan would probably be ticked off that Gage had asked him to the meeting about flood relief tomorrow.
Well, too bad. Collin was going. He had a few ideas for raising money and getting folks together to rebuild what they’d lost. And he wanted to help in any way he could.
There were other Crawfords in church that day. He got a few scowls from more than one of them. They’d always looked down on him. Not only was he a Traub, he was the no-good, skirt-chasing, troublemaking Traub.
Since he and Willa started in together, he’d worried that the Crawfords might come after her for being with him, might smear her good name. So far, that hadn’t happened. But it still nagged at him. In a little town like Rust Creek Falls, people had certain standards. They didn’t like to think of their schoolteachers living in sin. Especially not with the local bad boy.
Willa nudged him with her elbow. He sent her a glance. She sang even louder, brown eyes full of teasing laughter.
He forgot his worries and let himself enjoy just being with her. It couldn’t last forever, but as long as it did, he intended to enjoy himself.
* * *
After church, Willa longed to ask Collin to take her to the doughnut shop for a Sunday snack. The shop had reopened the day before and it was a Sunday tradition in town. Folks went to church and then to the Wings to Go or Daisy’s Donuts over on North Broomtail Road.
But he did need to work and she’d already made her deal with him. So she kept her word and sent him back up the mountain.
When he got in his pickup, Buster whined to go with him. Collin shot her a questioning look.
“Go ahead,” she said indulgently. “Take him.” So Collin got out and let the dog in—ever since the day Buster fell from the pickup bed on the way up the mountain, they’d been letting him ride in front. “I’ll be back by five or six,” she promised. Thelma was expecting her to help sort donated clothing for flooded-out families.
Collin kissed her, a warm brush of his lips against her cheek—and then he climbed back up behind the wheel and headed for Sawmill Street.
Willa’s mother called her from the ranch at a little past two. “We’re home,” she announced, then, “Where are you? We’ve missed you.”
“I’m at Thelma McGee’s, helping out.”
“Honey, we would love to see you. Can you come on over?”
“I’ll check with Thelma...”
The older woman made a shooing gesture. “Go on, now. Go see your mother. Give her my best.”
* * *
When Willa arrived, her dad was out in the northeast pasture somewhere, repairing a fence.
Her mom had the coffee ready and a box of bakery sweet rolls she’d picked up in Kalispell. After hugs and greetings, they sat at the table together, each with a steaming mug and a treat from the bakery box.
Willa knew her mother. She could tell by the way her mom sipped her coffee thoughtfully and then said nothing for a moment, her head tipped to the side, that she was working up to broaching an uncomfortable subject.
“Ellie Traub came by,” Lavinia said at las
t.
Willa got the message then. Ellie must have mentioned her and Collin. Willa picked up her fork and ate a bite of cheese Danish. “I’m sure she’s happy to have you home safe and sound.”
Lavinia took a big sip of coffee and set the mug down a little too firmly. “Ellie’s happy because she’s always liked you so much. She’s always hoped that you might end up with one of her boys.”
“I like Ellie, too, Mom. But then, you know that.”
Her mom gave up on subtlety. She leaned across the table. “Oh, honey. Collin?”
Willa drew in a slow, calming breath and reminded herself that she’d gotten through to Gage about Collin and she could get through to her mom, too. “I care for Collin. I care for him a lot. Since the flood, I’ve gotten to know him—really know him. He’s strong and good and brave. And he doesn’t give himself enough credit, but I’m working on getting him to see that he’s a much better man than he’s willing to admit. And I’ve been staying with him, up at his house, since last Monday night.”
Her mother winced and sipped more coffee. “Staying.”
“Yes.”
“But is that wise?”
“I’m proud to be with him, Mom. He’s a wonderful man. He’s done a lot to help people, to keep people’s spirits up, since the flood. Ask around town. Please. Ask Gage. He’ll tell you.”
Her mother frowned. “Gage hasn’t said a word to me about you and Collin Traub.”
“I’m sure Gage was waiting for me to talk to you first. I appreciate his staying out of it.”
“But you never even seemed to like Collin. And what about Dane Everhart?”
“I always liked Collin. A lot more than I ever wanted to admit.”
“But—”
“And as for Dane, it was never going to work with him and me.” Lord, she was tired of explaining about Dane. It was her own fault, though, and she had to remember that. She should have had the courage to say no when she meant no. “Dane’s a great guy. He’s just not the guy for me.”
“But Collin is?”
Willa sat back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. “I love you, Mom. A lot. I will always be there if you need me. But I’m twenty-five years old and perfectly capable of managing my own life. I can’t say what the future will bring, but I am with Collin now and I am proud to be with him.”
Harlequin Special Edition July 2013 - Bundle 1 of 2: Marooned with the MaverickHer McKnight in Shining ArmorCelebration's Bride Page 16
