by Susan Crosby
She stood staring at the couch until she was dizzy. She staggered into the kitchen, leaned over the sink and cried. She couldn’t go outside and face Jimmy until she got herself under control. He would tell Garrett. She couldn’t have that. Garrett only needed to know that she’d gotten her things, and that made it over and done with.
The puppies were whimpering, having seen her. She reached into the box and picked up Dum, who wriggled even more than Abel had. He licked her face until she laughed and cried at the same time, then she tucked him under her chin and felt his soft fur against her neck. She’d missed this so much. All of them. Even the stinky dogs who liked to roll in manure.
The front door opened. “I’m just getting a drink of water,” she called out to Jimmy. “I’ll be there in a sec.”
But Jimmy didn’t come into the doorway. Garrett did, and he was all dressed up—or dressed up for him, anyway. It was the same outfit he’d worn when he’d met her parents, although a different bolo. This one had more detail and a large blue stone, maybe a sapphire. He held his black Stetson, turning it in his hands.
“Victoria,” he said.
“I got tired of waiting for my clothes.” She put Dum back into the box and started past Garrett. “I’ll be out of here in a second.”
She wanted him in the worst way. He looked good. Really good. Relaxed. How ridiculous was it that she wanted him when he didn’t want her at all? Or need her.
He set a hand on her shoulder, blocking her way. “You’ve been crying.”
She didn’t look at him. “I hadn’t realized how much I missed the animals, you know? When Dum’s old enough, maybe I can adopt him. I’m trying to find a house to rent that has a yard. Maybe Abel, too.”
“We’ll talk about it.”
Fresh tears stung her eyes. She hated that he was seeing her so emotional. “You’re probably tired from your trip, so I’ll get going. Bye, Garrett.”
“I’m fine. Don’t hurry on my account, Victoria,” he said. He tossed his hat onto the sofa, landing it next to her belongings. Usually he was fastidious about hanging it on a rack by the door.
She made a move to go again, then noticed his shirt pocket. “Why did you get a cell phone?” she asked.
“I was feeling too out of touch with the world.”
“I thought you liked that.”
“Changed my mind. You look good.”
It wasn’t her imagination. He really was in a happy mood. “I— Um, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“And you’re dressed up,” she said.
“Would you like something to drink?” he asked as he went into the kitchen. “I’ve got a powerful thirst.”
“I’m okay, thanks. What’s going on with you? You’re not yourself.”
“No, I’m not, am I? I’ve changed.” He grabbed a bottle of water—bottled water, really?—and drank most of it in one gulp, the only indication he wasn’t as relaxed as she first thought.
He’s nervous, she realized. It steadied her a little.
He finished the water and set down the bottle carefully. Then he said, “This wasn’t the way I planned it, but I think destiny’s taken hold again.”
“Planned what?” Whatever he was about to say would be momentous, that much she knew. Tell me fast, she urged him silently.
“I’m dressed up because I flew to Atlanta and back today.”
“Why?”
“I needed to pay a visit to the king and queen.”
“Why?” she asked breathlessly, afraid to guess the answer.
“I had some explaining to do. Let’s go sit on the couch.”
With one end of the sofa piled high, they were forced to sit close to each other. Garrett could’ve moved everything, but didn’t, making sure she wasn’t too far away.
“My parents actually let you in the house?” she asked.
“They seem to have accepted the fact you want to be in Red Rock, whether you’re with me or not. Your mother, in particular, gets it.” In fact, she’d told Garrett that she’d never seen Victoria so happy, especially after months of seeing dark circles under her eyes and a weight loss she couldn’t afford. “I took your business plan with me and showed it to your father. He was highly impressed, by the way, and regretted not realizing himself that your talents should’ve been used better at his company.”
“I did a great job because it was personal and important,” she said, but she looked pleased at the praise.
“I finally read the whole thing, Victoria. It was amazing, from beginning to end. I made a few notes, though.”
She laughed. The sound was shaky, in a good way, a way that said her emotions were involved. “Of course you did.”
He opened the folder and showed her the changes he would make.
“So, you’re going to do it?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Depends on a few things falling into place.” He pulled out a sheet he’d tucked in the back and showed it to her.
She examined it. “This looks like a house.”
“It is. It’ll be built right in this spot, although it’ll take up more room than this one by far. Figure we can live in a mobile home for a little while.”
“We? You and me?” Her fingers were linked into a white-knuckled knot. He cradled her hands in his until she opened hers, then he clasped them.
“I asked your father for permission to court you. He gave his blessing. Now I’m asking permission from you. I know I hurt you, Victoria. I’ll never forgive myself for that.” He stood then, needing to move. “And I need to tell you about Jenny Kirkpatrick, before you give me your answer.”
“Is she the source of the scandal?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t need you to tell me, Garrett. I know the man you are.”
“Maybe you do, but you don’t know why I fought being with you, why I didn’t believe I was good enough. Maybe this will explain it.”
“Okay.”
He told her the story and discovered the memory no longer hurt.
“Since I was a teenage girl myself once,” Victoria said, “I’ll wager that she’s the one who pursued you, even though you were doing the standup thing when her parents put a stop to things.”
“Yeah. No one believed me, and I got tired of justifying it. I joined the army.”
“Yet you came back after that.”
“I didn’t know anything but this place. It was home. When I left the second time and came home, I’d seen more of the world, knew I could live alone and not be bothered by what people thought. But when it came to you, I cared what people thought. And I’ve been prejudiced, too. I figured the Fortune family would be just like the Kirkpatricks. I was wrong. I’m eatin’ crow, big-time.”
She pressed her fingers to her mouth, her eyes welling with tears. “And now you’re going to court me?”
“I’ve been givin’ that a lot of thought as I made the trip home.” He finally sat beside her again. He took her hands again. “See, your father said I could take it a step further if I wanted. That I had his blessing to ask you to marry me, if I wanted, but I thought I should do the right thing. You know, start from the beginning. Do better.”
“I don’t see how you could do better, cowboy.”
He wanted to kiss her, but he needed to finish what he had to say first. “I told your father not only could I provide for you, but I could provide well. I’m not a poor man, Victoria. Not anywhere near it. You’ve changed my life in just about every way, from how I think to how I act to how I feel. I’m carin’ about things I never cared about before. I’m in love with you, princess. I’d like to have a passel of kids with you. Will you marry me?”
“How many is a passel?” she asked, her eyes going wide.
“More’n a few. I want my kids to have what I didn’t—lifetime connections, the bonds of family. Are you game?”
“I love you, cowboy. With all my heart. I’m game for anything with you. Do you know why?”
“Tell me.”
“Because you’re the man that I need.”
He kissed her then, tasted her hot, salty tears, then pulled her into his arms for the longest, hardest hug of his life.
“Your father only asked one thing,” he said, not letting her loose. “That you have the wedding you deserve.”
She leaned back a little and combed his hair with her fingers. “Do you mind?”
“If it’s important to you, I can do anything. Victoria, I’ve been lost without you here. Utterly lost. I know you need more of a social life than I do, and I’ll work on givin’ you that.”
“You keep dropping g’s for me, and I’ll be plenty happy.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll tell you later. Or maybe I won’t.”
“You’ve been home for half an hour and you’re already teasing me. Wait here a minute.” He went outside, was gone less than thirty seconds and returned with a gift bag. First he handed her a framed cross-stitch piece like the one that hung in his bedroom, but without explanation. Then he gave her an envelope with a gift certificate inside for fifty-two manicures. “I had to get Gwen to open up her shop tonight. Every year on our anniversary I’ll give you fifty-two more. You need to keep your nails nice. I know it means something to you.”
She laughed and kissed him. “I didn’t know you were so observant.”
“When it comes to you? I notice just about everything.” Then he dug into the bag for the final item, a small velvet bag. He reached inside and fished around for a particular piece. “Maybe you noticed I didn’t bring your clothes to you, even though you told me I could.”
“I was devastated. I thought you never wanted to lay eyes on me again.”
“I didn’t want to see you until I was done with this.” He held up an intricately carved silver ring. Woven into the design was a chocolate diamond. “I got you a chain, too, because I figure you won’t want to wear it doing all the dirty work around here.”
“Oh, Garrett! It’s beautiful! I’d never heard of chocolate diamonds until I met you.”
He slid the ring on her finger. “That’s one of the things I remembered from the airport, how your eyes looked like these stones.” He tipped the rest of the contents of the bag into her hand. “There’s two wedding bands.” He’d spent the better part of three days creating the three rings.
“Pretty sure of yourself, cowboy.”
He almost told her he hadn’t been sure at all, but decided she didn’t need to know that. “I was hopeful.”
“I was hopeful, too.”
“Would you really have stayed in Red Rock, even without this?”
“It’s home, Garrett. But this is my world, right here. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He framed her face with his hands. “Remember a while back when you told me we don’t have to be what people expect us to be?”
“I do.”
He paused at the words. He would hear her say those words soon, too, and she would legally be his forever. “I realized I’d been doing that, figuring everyone had a certain opinion of me that I was sure I couldn’t change. I’m not that uncivilized jerk people thought I was, not anymore. I deserved the title once, but not now.”
“I didn’t have anything to do with that change, you know,” she said, her gaze never wavering. “You’d done it for years before I came along.”
“But I didn’t know it. You think I saved your life? Well, you saved mine in ways you can’t begin to imagine.”
“Let’s go to bed, cowboy.”
“It’d be my pleasure.”
* * * * *
The Anniversary Party
Dear Reader,
I am a big believer in celebrating milestones, and for Special Edition, this is a big one! Thirty years…it hardly seems possible, and yet April 1982 was indeed, yep, thirty years ago! When I walked into the Harlequin offices (only twenty years ago, but still), the first books I worked on were Special Edition. I loved the line instantly—for its breadth and its depth, and for its fabulous array of authors, some of whom I’ve been privileged to work with for twenty years, and some of whom are newer, but no less treasured, friends.
When it came time to plan our thirtieth anniversary celebration, we wanted to give our readers something from the heart—not to mention something from our very beloved April 2012 lineup. So many thanks to RaeAnne Thayne, Christine Rimmer, Susan Crosby, Christyne Butler, Gina Wilkins and Cindy Kirk for their contributions to The Anniversary Party. The Morgans, Diana and Frank, are celebrating their thirtieth anniversary along with us. Like us, they’ve had a great thirty years, and they’re looking forward to many more. Like us, though there may be some obstacles along the way, they’re getting their happily ever after.
Which is what we wish you, Dear Reader. Thanks for coming along for the first thirty years of Special Edition—we hope you’ll be with us for many more!
We hope you enjoy The Anniversary Party.
Here’s to the next thirty!
All the best,
Gail Chasan
Senior Editor, Special Edition
Contents
Chapter One by RaeAnne Thayne
Chapter Two by Christine Rimmer
Chapter Three by Susan Crosby
Chapter Four by Christyne Butler
Chapter Five by Gina Wilkins
Chapter Six by Cindy Kirk
Chapter One
by RaeAnne Thayne
With the basket of crusty bread sticks she had baked that afternoon in one arm and a mixed salad—insalata mista, as the Italians would say—in the other, Melissa Morgan walked into her sister’s house and her jaw dropped.
“Oh, my word, Ab! This looks incredible! When did you start decorating? A month ago?”
Predictably, Abby looked a little wild-eyed. Her sister was one of those type A personalities who always sought perfection, whether that was excelling in her college studies, where she’d emerged with a summa cum laude, or decorating for their parents’ surprise thirtieth anniversary celebration.
Abby didn’t answer for a moment. She was busy arranging a plant in the basket of a rusty bicycle resting against one wall so the greenery spilled over the top, almost to the front tire. Melissa had no idea how she’d managed it but somehow Abby had hung wooden lattice from her ceiling to form a faux pergola over her dining table. Grapevines, fairy lights and more greenery had been woven through the lattice and, at various intervals, candles hung in colored jars like something out of a Tuscan vineyard.
Adorning the walls were framed posters of Venice and the beautiful and calming Lake Como.
“It feels like a month,” Abby finally answered, “but actually, I only started last week. Greg helped me hang the lattice. I couldn’t have done it without him.”
The affection in her sister’s voice caused a funny little twinge inside Melissa. Abby and her husband had one of those perfect relationships. They clearly adored each other, no matter what.
She wished she could say the same thing about Josh. After a year of dating, shouldn’t she have a little more confidence in their relationship? If someone had asked her a month ago if she thought her boyfriend loved her, she would have been able to answer with complete assurance in the affirmative, but for the past few weeks something had changed. He’d been acting so oddly—dodging phone calls, canceling plans, avoiding her questions.
He see
med to be slipping away more every day. As melodramatic as it sounded, she didn’t know how she would survive if he decided to break things off.
Breathe, she reminded herself. She didn’t want to ruin the anniversary dinner by worrying about Josh. For now, she really needed to focus on her wonderful parents and how very much they deserved this celebration she and Abby had been planning for a long time.
“You and Greg have really outdone yourself. I love all the little details. The old wine bottles, the flowers. Just beautiful. I know Mom and Dad will be thrilled with your hard work.” She paused. “I can only see one little problem.”
Abby looked vaguely panicked. “What? What’s missing?”
Melissa shook her head ruefully. “Nothing. That’s the problem. I was supposed to be helping you. That’s why I’m here early, right? Have you left anything for me to do?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve still got a million things to do. The chicken cacciatore is just about ready to go into the oven. Why don’t you help me set the table?”
“Sure,” she said, following her sister into the kitchen.
“You talked to Louise, right?” Abby asked.
“Yes. She had everything ready when I stopped at her office on my way over here. I’ve got a huge gift basket in the car. You should see it. She really went all out. Biscotti, gourmet cappuccino mix, even a bottle of prosecco.”
“What about the tickets and the itinerary?” Abby had that panicked look again.
“Relax, Abs. It’s all there. She’s been amazing. I think she just might be as scarily organized as you are.”
Abby made a face. “Did you have a chance to go over the details?”
“She printed everything out and included a copy for us, as well as Mom and Dad. In addition to the plane tickets and the hotel information and the other goodies, she sent over pamphlets, maps, even an Italian-English dictionary and a couple of guidebooks.”
“Perfect! They’re going to be so surprised.”
