by Terry Towers
“The name of the store. Piggly Wiggly. It sounds so…”
“Unsophisticated?” he offered.
“Yes. That.”
“They have great prices and a good selection.” He pulled the car into a parking spot and cut the engine.
“I see. Back home we shopped at the market.” I followed him to the carts lined up in front of the store. “Do we really need a basket this big?”
He looked at me as he pulled the cart from the line and directed it towards the front of the store. “We do. It’s not always the three of us. We occasionally have the workers over for supper, just as a thank you.”
“That’s very nice of you.” The glass doors slid open as we entered the store. “Wow, this place is huge.” I looked around as we began in the produce section. “The markets around my area were smaller, maybe 400 square feet. Nothing like this.”
Ryker smiled down at me, the dimples emerging on his cheeks. “Is it bad that I find it amusing that you get excited about places like supermarkets?”
I shrugged. “It’s just different. That’s all. Many things you saw in Moscow were normal to me but you found interesting. Same thing.”
“I suppose it is.” He grabbed several fruit items before pushing the cart forward to the vegetables.
“Besides, I found your reactions funny as well.”
“You never let on.” He draped an arm over my shoulders and gave me a quick squeeze before we moved on.
“I’m not rude.”
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Are you calling me rude?”
The way he was looking down at me, with both amusement and affection, made my heart do a little flip-flop. It felt amazing to be with someone who felt I was special. He didn’t have to tell me that’s what he thought, it was written all over his face.
“Ryker Stone! I haven’t seen you in forever!” a female voice said from behind us.
I quickly turned to see a stunning blonde woman come up to us and as Ryker turned to greet her, pull him into a quick hug, only giving me a cursory glance. I didn’t miss how she pressed her breasts — large breasts at that — against him. My eyes narrowed as I wondered who that woman was.
“Buffy, how have you been?”
Buffy? Who in the hell names their kid Buffy? Parents that want their kid to grow up as a stripper, that’s who.
“Why haven’t you been out?” the woman asked Ryker, not even looking at me. She’d stepped away but remained closer to him than I was comfortable with.
“Been busy. Guess I’m losing my interest in the nightlife we have here, or lack thereof.”
She batted him playfully on the arm. “Oh come on, it’s not that bad. We’ve had fun in the past.” She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and smiled up at him through her fake lashes.
Since I was being ignored anyhow, I took the time to give the tramp a once over. She was wearing cut-off shorts and a t-shirt that fit her like a second skin and was way too short. Yep, whore if I’ve ever seen one.
While attempting to decide what to do about Ms. Trampy, Ryker took the decision out of my hands by putting an arm around my shoulders and pulling me against his side. “This is Nina.”
“Hello.” Out of courtesy, I extended my hand to the other woman.
I finally gained the other woman’s attention. She took my hand and briefly shook it, but it was obvious that it was with great reluctance that she did so. Slipping my hand behind Ryker, I gave him a side hug.
“Nina. Hello.” She gave me a forced smile before her gaze shifted back up to Ryker. “How do you know each other?”
“I’m his fiancée,” I replied, taking control of the situation.
“Oh.” She took a step back as if she’d been slapped but refused to look at me. “I didn’t even realize you were seeing someone.” Her brow creased as she stared up at him. “How long have you been together?”
I waited to let Ryker answer the question. Would he let people know he met me off a mail-order bride site or make up some excuse? We’d never discussed how we’d handle the questions, it hadn’t even been a concern — at least not in my mind. By the look of confusion in his expression it was evident he hadn’t given it thought either.
“A while. When it’s right, it’s right.” He smiled down at me and gave me a squeeze.
She turned to face me. “Where are you from? I’ve never seen you around.”
“I’m from Russia.” There was no point in avoiding that fact; my accent would give that tidbit away quickly enough.
“Russia?” She looked back to Ryker. “Were you doing business there?”
Ryker cleared his throat. “It’s a long story, maybe another time. We’re in a bit of a hurry.” He stepped away from me and began to turn, grabbing the handle of the cart. “Nice seeing you again, Buffy.”
“Why don’t you bring Nina to the Rockin’ Rodeo tonight; show her off,” Buffy called after us.
“I’ll think about it,” he called over his shoulder.
Looking back over my shoulder, I wasn’t surprised to see that she was watching us walk away.
“Who was that woman?” I asked, shifting my gaze to him.
He huffed, attempting to appear nonchalant, but I could see through the act. “Oh, that’s just a friend.”
He was lying to me. “She seems awful touchy to be just a friend.”
“She’s just like that.”
“She’s never been anything more than a friend?”
Ryker walked from the cart to grab a large twenty-pound bag of potatoes and put them under the cart. “If you’re asking if I’ve ever had sex with her, then yes, I have. It’s a small town.”
“It’s a small town? Is that your way of saying you’ve slept with all the women in town?”
He laughed. “No, not all of them.”
“With the exception of the elderly, children and married ones,” I added.
Turning, he grasped my shoulders in his hands. “Look, that’s all in my past. You’re my future. There’s a ring on your finger for a reason.”
“Okay. I want to go to the Rockin’ Rodeo tonight. Will you take me?”
“It’s a bar where people go to pick up. It’s pretty unsophisticated.”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. This is where I live now, I want to experience it.” Besides, I was curious to see just how many women were pawing at my man. I needed to know what I was up against.
Chapter 13
Nina
I didn’t know how to dress for this thing. I’d seen country bars portrayed in the movies but wasn’t sure how accurate that would be. If they were accurate then we’d be line dancing to country music, drinking beer and I’d need to look like Daisy Duke.
“Ryker!” I called out, leaving the bedroom and looking around for him. I reached the top of the stairs and called out again, hearing footsteps below me. “Ryker?”
The source of the footsteps appeared; they had belonged to Calvin. “He’s outside. Finishing up with a few things. Is there something I can do for you?”
“No…” I turned to retreat back to the bedroom but stopped and looked back down at Calvin. “Do you know how long he’ll be?”
Calvin shrugged. “Not a clue.”
I chewed at my lower lip a moment. I really needed help on this. “Can you help me with something?”
“I suppose. What do you need?”
“Ryker is taking me to the Rockin’ Rodeo tonight and I don’t know what to wear.”
Calvin lifted an eyebrow at me, much like Ryker would do, and I got a rare grin. He looked a lot less unapproachable when he smiled. In fact, he looked pretty delicious when he smiled. “You’re asking me for fashion advice?”
“I’m just asking what one might wear to this place. I’m not sure if I even have anything suitable.”
“It’s the Rockin’ Rodeo, just about anything is suitable.”
Planting my hands on my hips, I tilted my head to the side as I rolled my eyes. “I’m being serious. I’m out of my
element. I need help.”
He sighed and gave his head a shake as he began to ascend the stairs. “And you think me picking an outfit out for you is within my element?”
“Maybe not…”
He reached the top of the stairs and then followed me down the hallway and into our bedroom.
“Let’s get this over with. What are we working with?”
I motioned for him to follow me into the closet. “Come. Come see.” I pulled out a couple of dresses and held them up to myself. “What about these?”
Laughing, he shook his head. “Nah. Those would not do.”
I looked down at them both. They looked nice. Not too sexy, but not conservative either. “Why not?”
“Trust me.”
We began thumbing through my slim wardrobe.
“You don’t have much.”
“I didn’t bring everything.”
“Why not?” He stopped thumbing through my clothing to look at me, confusion in his expression.
“I’m having it shipped in a bit. Everything has happened so fast.”
“That’s true. A little too quickly if I’m to be honest with you.”
“That’s how my mother feels. She doesn’t understand why I would come here.”
“Why did you?” He’d completely lost interest in our task at hand and I had his complete attention.
“Lots of reasons. I love your brother to start.”
He nodded, hesitated a moment and stated, “There’s nothing suitable here.”
“What do you mean?” I grabbed a black, knee-length dress. “What about this?”
“Everything you have is too…”
“Too what?”
He clucked his tongue off the roof of his mouth. “Too city.”
Crinkling my nose up at him, my eyes narrowed. “Okay. What do I do? He’s taking me tonight, in a few hours, in fact. I’ve got to have something.”
With a sigh, he exited my closet and motioned for me to follow him.
Confused, I followed him. “Where are we going?”
“Just come. No questions.”
I had lots of questions but didn’t want to risk losing his help so kept my mouth shut.
He opened a door to what I believed to be his bedroom and waved me in. Brushing past him, I entered and looked around the room. It wasn’t anything like I expected. I expected something like Ryker’s; all man without a hint of a female presence, but it was the exact opposite.
The walls were painted a deep rose color with gray carpet. The dresser had a line of photos. Stepping closer to the photos, I realized they were of a beautiful blonde woman; a couple had the two of them, but the other three were just of her.
“That’s Allison,” he offered before I had a chance to confirm. “I haven’t done much by way of decorating since…”
I nodded, putting a hand up and stopping him from continuing with an explanation. I’d learned the hard way that Allison was a very touchy topic for him. We seemed to be having a civil time together, I didn’t want to rock the boat.
He opened his closet and entered. I peered into the closet but didn’t enter. What I did notice was a row of clothing that certainly wasn’t his. They had to have been Allison’s. How long ago had she passed away? I’m sure I’d been told, but the information wasn’t coming to mind; it was definitely over a year.
Oh my. I backed away from the closet and pretended I didn’t notice, busying myself by going to the window with sheer gray curtains and looking out. Calvin had an amazing view of the pastures. It didn’t take me long to spot my husband-to-be, leading Beauty into the stables.
“How about these?”
I spun around, my hair whipping into my face to find Calvin standing in the middle of the room, holding up two dresses. Both were floral prints with sloped necklines and a skirt that would land close to the knee, one red and one purple.
“This is more along the lines of what you’d want to wear. Unless you wanted to go with a jean skirt or shorts.”
“I’ve seen the Daisy Dukes and tiny t-shirt look today. It isn’t my style.”
“They may be a bit big. Allison wasn’t a heavy girl, but she was bigger than you.”
I looked down at myself. I suppose I could gain a few pounds; it’s not like you could see my bones under the skin or anything but I was slimmer than most. I was one of the fortunate ones that didn’t need to watch her waistline and rarely gained weight. I had problems, don’t get me wrong; that just wasn’t one of them.
“That’s so kind.” I approached Calvin, not sure what to say. I could tell by the expression on his face that going through his wife’s clothing wasn’t easy. “They’re both so pretty.”
“I always liked the purple one.” He passed it to me. It was a beautiful lavender with large red roses all over it in random spots. Not the entire rose, just the head. “It should look nice with your complexion. You’ll have to try it on but hopefully it’ll fit well enough for you to be able to wear it.”
Taking the dress from him, I held it out before my eyes, my free hand stroking the soft, satiny material. “It’ll work great. Thank you.”
“Unless you like the red one better.”
I shook my head. “No. This one is perfect.” When I looked back up and into his eyes, I could see the pain in them. “Thank you.” Impulsively, I stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek. “I appreciate this. I’ll make sure to return it right away.”
He cleared his throat as he stepped away from me. I could tell that I’d made him uncomfortable without meaning to. “No. Keep it. This all should be packed away anyhow. I just —” He looked over his shoulder and into the closet. “It just never got done.”
How was I supposed to respond to that? I once again decided to just remain silent. “Thank you. If there’s anything I can do to repay the favor, let me know.”
He didn’t respond so I decided to take the dress and run before things got awkward.
I didn’t get far; A large hand grasped my arm, stopping me. I yelped and spun around to face him.
“Actually, there is something you can do for me.”
Wow that was fast. “Ummm. Sure. Anything.”
“Don’t break my brother’s heart. If this is some sort of scam you’re running, please go back home; I’ll pay for the flight and give you some money to boot. Just don’t let him get married to hurt him.”
What was I supposed to say to that? I stared blankly at him for a minute, my throat feeling dry. “I’d never. What we have is real, Calvin, whether you want to believe it or not.”
He stared at me a moment, as if attempting to read my mind. “All right. I just wanted to make sure we’re clear. Ryker comes off as not giving a shit about anything and being a ladies’ man but that’s not the real him. You’ll see that as you get to know him better.”
“Why are you telling me all this?”
He released my arm. “For a couple reasons. First, because I don’t want to see my brother go through losing someone he cares about. I know how that feels and I don’t wish that on anyone, whether it’s through death or through other means. But also, because you’re going to the Rockin’ Rodeo tonight.”
“What does that have anything to do —”
“Because this town is small and you’re going to meet a lot of people tonight.”
“And.”
Taking off his hat, he set it on his dresser and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Fuck. This isn’t my place to say and I may be doing more harm than good, but he’s been intimate with a number of women around town and they’re shit disturbers.”
Frowning, I asked, “What’s a shit disturber?”
“A troublemaker. Around here, Ryker is a prime catch and so some of the women may give you a hard time. Ignore them. It’s just jealousy. Ryker seems very smitten with you; he wouldn’t have proposed if he wasn’t. Don’t listen to the town gossip.”
“Okay.” I forced a smile onto my lips. His warning was supposed to make me feel more confident
— at least I think that was his goal. However, it didn’t. Not in the least. In fact, I was now feeling uneasy. Was I going to be prey for a bunch of jealous women? Were all the women in town going to hate me because I was taking their most eligible bachelor off the market? Even worse, would they have the same opinion as Calvin seemed to have, that I was here to get a green card and that Ryker was a means to an end?
Carrying the dress into our bedroom, I quickly undressed and pulled it on. It was a pretty dress, but Calvin was right; it was a little too big. The waist was very loose on me. I spun around in front of the full-length mirror on the wall to get the full effect.
A belt. That’s what I needed. Going into the closet, I found just what I was looking for straightaway: a thick black belt that snapped closed in the back. It wasn’t anything fancy, I didn’t want the belt competing with the dress. Wrapping it around my waist, I snapped it closed and after a few adjustments, the dress looked a hundred times better with just a little looseness in the breast area, but it was hardly noticeable. Overall, I liked the look. Calvin had been right, it matched my complexion well. The plunging neckline gave the glimpse of just enough cleavage to be appealing without being slutty. It may not be my usual attire but Ryker would like the look, I was sure of it.
“Nina, are you in here?” I heard Ryker call out as the bedroom door opened and in walked my fiancé.
Brushing my hair from my eyes, I turned to face him. “Yeah, I was just getting ready to go out tonight.” He looked tired and dirty. His hair was disheveled and there were smears of dirt on his arms and even on his neck. “What happened to you?”
He sighed, his eyes growing wide as if in horror as they wandered down the length of my body and then back up again. “Just work. It can get pretty dirty. Where did you get that dress?”
My heart sunk a little. He hadn’t smiled when he’d seen me; instead he was looking at me as if I’d just killed someone. Looking down at myself, I frowned.
“Is that yours?” he pressed.
The crease in my brow deepened as I looked back up at him. “No. It’s Allison’s.”
“You need to take it off and put it back. How did you get it?”
“Calvin gave it to me.”
