Orchard Valley Brides

by Debbie Macomber

“My friend Carrie Whistler spent the night before at my place, and I was supposed to change the sheets, but I forgot,” Heather explained to Ellie, then turned her attention back to Sherry. “You’re just perfect for Dad, and I was hoping you might grow to, you know, love him. You’d make a terrific mother.”

  Sherry felt tears burn the backs of her eyes. “I don’t think anyone’s ever paid me a higher compliment, Heather, but love doesn’t work that way. I’m sorry. I can’t marry your father just because you want a baby brother or sister.”

  “But you like him, don’t you?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Until he said something stupid and ruined everything.” Heather’s face tensed.

  “Why don’t you let those two figure things out for themselves?” Ellie suggested to the girl. “Your interference will only cause problems.”

  “But Dad won’t get anything right without me!”

  “He married your mother, didn’t he?” Ellie reminded her. “It seems to me he’ll do perfectly well all on his own.”

  “I like Sherry, though. Better than anyone, and Dad does, too. His problem is he thinks love’s a big waste of time. He told me he wanted to cut to the chase and be done with it.”

  “He said that?” Sherry glared over at him. Cody must have sensed it, because he looked at her and grimaced at the intensity of her expression. He said something to Luke, who turned their way, too. Luke’s shoulders lifted in a shrug. Then he slapped Cody’s back and the two of them headed in the direction of the cook-off area.

  “He said he’s too busy with the ranch to date anyone or to bother with what he calls ‘hearts-and-flowers’ stuff.”

  Sherry felt like a complete fool for having constructed this wild romantic fantasy in her mind. Cody had never been interested in her. From the very first, he’d been trying to mollify his daughter. Sherry had just appeared on the scene at a convenient moment. She felt sick to her stomach. This was what happened when she allowed herself to believe in romance, to believe in love. It seemed so easy for her friends, but it wasn’t for her.

  “I’ve had a long day,” Sherry said, suddenly feeling weary. “I think I’ll go unpack my bags, soak in the tub and make an early night of it.”

  “You can’t!” Heather protested. “I signed you and Dad up for the three-legged race, the egg toss and the water-balloon toss. They have the races in the evening because it’s too hot in the afternoon.”

  “I doubt that your father wants me as a partner.”

  “But he does,” Heather insisted. “He’s won the egg toss for years and years, and it’s really important to him. It’s one of those ego things.”

  “Unfortunately, he’s already got egg on his face,” Sherry muttered to Ellie, who laughed outright.

  “Please stay,” Heather begged. “Please, please, please. If you don’t, I can’t see myself ever forgiving Dad for ruining this opportunity.”

  Sherry was beginning to understand Cody’s frustration with his daughter. “Heather, don’t play matchmaker. It’ll do more harm than good. If your father’s genuinely interested in dating me, he’ll do so without you goading him into it. Promise me you’ll stay out of this.”

  Heather looked at the ground and her pretty blue eyes grew sad. “It’s just that I like you so much and we could have lots of fun together.”

  “We certainly don’t need your father for that.”

  “We don’t?”

  “Trust me,” Ellie inserted, “a man would only get in the way.”

  “Would you go shopping for school clothes with me? I mean, to a real town with a mall that’s got more than three stores, and spend the day with me?”

  “I’d love it.”

  Heather lowered her eyes again, then whispered, “I need help with bras and…and other stuff.”

  Sherry smiled. “We’ll drive into Abilene and make a day of it.”

  Heather’s eyes lit up like sparklers. “That’d be great!”

  “So, I’ll leave you to partner your dad on the egg toss.”

  The glimmer in her eyes didn’t fade. “I was thinking the same thing.” She looked mischievous. “This could be the year Dad loses his title as the egg champion.”

  “Heather,” Sherry chastised, “be nice to your father.”

  “Oh, I will,” she promised, “especially since you and I have reached an understanding.”

  “Good. Then I’m heading over to the clinic now.”

  “You’re sure you won’t stay? There’s a fireworks display tonight. It’s even better than the one we had on the Fourth.”

  “I think Sherry’s seen all the fireworks she needs for one night,” Ellie put in.

  “You’re right, I have. We’ll talk soon, Heather. Bye, Ellie.” She leaned over and kissed the top of Philip’s head. “Let’s make a point of getting together in the next little while.”

  “I’d like that,” Ellie said.

  Sherry was halfway back to her car when Cody caught up with her. He fell into step beside her. “I didn’t mean to offend you,” he said.

  Sherry sighed and closed her eyes. “I know.”

  “But you’re still mad?”

  “No. Discouraged, perhaps, but not mad.” She arrived at her car and unlocked it. “I talked to Heather and she told me about her 4-H project. It explained a lot.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like why you’re interested in me. Why you chose to drive me to the ranch instead of town after Ellie’s baby was born.”

  “That had nothing to do with it! We were both dog-tired, and my place was a lot closer than town.”

  “You don’t need to worry,” Sherry said, unwilling to get involved in another debate with him. She was truly weary and not in the best of moods, fighting the heat, disappointment and the effects of an undernourished romantic heart. “I had a nice chat with Heather. You’ve done a wonderful job raising her, Cody. She’s a delightful girl. Unless you object, I’d like to be her friend. She and I have already made plans to go clothes-shopping in Abilene.”

  “Of course I don’t object.”

  “Thank you.” She slipped inside her car and started the engine. She would’ve driven away, but Cody prevented her from closing the door.

  He frowned darkly. “I don’t mean to be obtuse, but what does all this mean?”

  “Nothing, really. I’m just…cutting to the chase,” she said. “I’m explaining that it isn’t necessary for you to play out this charade any longer.”

  “What charade?”

  “Of being attracted to me.”

  “I am attracted to you.”

  “But you wish you weren’t.”

  He opened and closed his mouth twice before he answered. “I should’ve known you’d throw that back in my face. You’re right. I don’t have time for courtin’ and buying flowers and the like. I’ve got a ranch to run, and this is one of the busiest months of the year.”

  Sherry blinked, not sure what to make of Cody. He seemed sincere about not meaning to offend her, and yet he constantly said and did things that infuriated her.

  “The problem is,” Cody continued, still frowning, “if I don’t stake my claim on you now, there’ll be ten other ranchers all vying for your attention.”

  “Stake your claim?” He made her sound like an acre of water-rich land.

  “You know,” he said. “Let everyone in town see you’re my woman.”

  “I’m not any man’s woman.”

  “Not yet, but I’d like you to think about being mine.” He removed his hat; Sherry guessed that meant he intended her to take him seriously. “If you’d be willing to run off and get married, then—”

  “Then what?”

  “Then we’d be done with it. See, like I said, I don’t have the time or energy to waste on courtin’ a woman.”

  Sherry nodded slowly, all the while chewing the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something she’d wish she hadn’t. So much for romance! So much for sipping champagne and feeding each other chocolate-co
vered strawberries in the moonlight, a fantasy she’d had for years. Or a romantic weekend in San Antonio, the way Norah had described. No wonder Heather was frustrated with her father. The girl must feel as if she was smacking her head against a brick wall.

  “Well?” Cody demanded.

  Sherry stared at him. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Of course not! I meant every word.” He paused to take a deep breath. “I like you. You like me. What else is there? Sure, we can spend the next few months going through all those ridiculous courtin’ rituals or we can use the common sense God gave us and be done with this romance nonsense.”

  “And do what?” Sherry asked innocently.

  “Get married, of course. I haven’t stopped thinking about you in two weeks. You didn’t stop thinking about me, either. I saw it in your eyes no more’n an hour ago. You know what it’s like when we kiss. Instead of playing games with each other, why not admit you want me as much as I want you? I never did understand why women always complicate a basic human need. A bunch of flowery words isn’t going to make any difference. If you want kids, all the better.”

  Sherry carefully composed her response. Apparently she took longer than he thought necessary.

  “Well?” he pressed.

  She looked up at him, her gaze deliberately calm. “I’d rather eat fried rattlesnake than marry a man who proposed to me the way you just did.”

  Cody stared at her as if not sure what to make of her response, then slammed his hat back on his head. “This is exactly the problem with you women. You want everything served to you on a silver platter. And for your information, fried rattlesnake happens to be pretty good. Doesn’t taste all that different from chicken.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t eat it even if it was served on a silver platter,” Sherry snapped. This conversation was over. He’d frustrated her before, but now she was really angry.

  “That’s your decision, then?”

  “That’s my decision,” she said tightly.

  “You’re rejecting my proposal?”

  “Yup.”

  “I should’ve guessed,” Cody said. “I knew even before I opened my mouth that you were going to be pigheaded about this.”

  “Don’t feel bad,” she said with feigned amiability. “I’m sure there are plenty of women who’d leap at your offer. I just don’t happen to be one of them.” She reached for the handle of the still-open door, and he was obliged to move out of the way.

  “Good night, Cody.”

  “Goodbye,” he muttered and stalked away. He turned back once as if he wanted to argue with her some more, but changed his mind. Sherry threw her car into gear and drove off.

  “What happened between my dad and you after we talked?” Heather asked in a whisper over the telephone. She’d called Sherry first thing the next morning.

  “Heather, I’m on duty. I can’t talk now.”

  “Who’s sick?”

  “No one at the moment, but—”

  “If there’s no one there, it won’t hurt to talk to me for a couple of minutes, will it? Please?”

  “Nothing happened between your dad and me.” Which of course wasn’t true. She’d been proposed to, if you could call it that, for the first time in her life.

  “Then why is Dad acting like a wounded bear? Janey threatened to quit this morning, and she’s been working for Dad since before I was born.”

  “Why don’t you ask your father?”

  “You’re kidding, right? No one wants to talk to him. Even Slim’s staying out of his way.”

  “Give him time. He’ll cool down.”

  “If I could wait that long, I wouldn’t be calling you.”

  “Heather,” Sherry said, growing impatient, “this is between your father and me. Let’s just leave it at that, shall we?”

  “You don’t want my help?”

  “No,” Sherry said emphatically. “I don’t. Please, drop it, okay?”

  “All right,” the girl agreed reluctantly. “I won’t ask any more questions about whatever it is that didn’t happen that you don’t want to talk about.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I hope you know what a sacrifice this is.”

  “Oh, I do.”

  “You might think that just because I’m a kid I don’t know things. But I know more than either you or Dad realize. I—”

  Sherry rolled her eyes. “I need to get off the phone.”

  Heather released a great gusty sigh. “All right. We’re still going shopping for school clothes, aren’t we? Soon, ’cause school starts in less than two weeks.”

  “You bet.” Sherry suggested a day and a time and reminded Heather to check with her father. “I’ll make reservations at a nice hotel, and we’ll spend the night.”

  “That’ll be great! Oh, Sherry, I really wish you and Dad could get along, because I think you’re fabulous.”

  “I think you’re pretty fabulous, too, honey. Now listen, I have to go. I can’t tie up the line.”

  “Next time I call, I’ll ask Mrs. Colson to take a message. You can call me back later when you’re not on duty.”

  “That sounds like a good plan.”

  Sherry had just finished with her first patient of the afternoon, a four-year-old with a bad ear infection, when Mrs. Colson handed her a phone message. Sherry should’ve suspected something when the receptionist smiled so broadly.

  Sherry took the slip and stuck it in the pocket of her white uniform jacket, waiting until she was alone to read it. When she did, she sank into a chair and closed her eyes. The call was from Heather. She’d talked to her father, and apparently he had business in Abilene that same weekend and was making arrangements for the three of them to travel together. He’d call her soon, Heather said.

  This was going to be difficult. Knowing Cody, he’d turn a simple shopping trip into a test of her patience and endurance. She’d have to set some ground rules.

  Cody was supposed to pick her up at the clinic early Saturday morning. Sherry was standing on the porch waiting. It’d been a week since she’d last seen him, four days since their stilted conversation on the phone—and a lifetime since she’d dreaded any trip more.

  Her heart sank when the white Cadillac pulled to a stop in front of the clinic.

  Cody got out of the car and climbed the steps. Sherry saw Heather scramble over the front seat and into the back.

  “Hello,” Sherry said, tightening her grip on her overnight case.

  “Hello.” His voice was devoid of emotion as he reached for her bag.

  “I thought we should talk before we leave,” she said when he was halfway down the steps.

  “Fine.” He didn’t sound eager.

  “Let’s call a truce. It shouldn’t be difficult to be civil to each other, should it? There’s no reason for us to discuss our differences now or ever again, for that matter.”

  “No,” he agreed, “it shouldn’t be the least bit difficult to be civil.”

  And surprisingly, it wasn’t. The radio filled in the silences during the long drive, and when the stations faded, Heather bubbled over with eager chatter. Cody seemed to go out of his way to be amiable, and Sherry found her reserve melting as the miles slipped past.

  The hotel Cody chose in Abilene was situated close to a large shopping mall. Heather was ready to head for the shops the minute they checked in to their spacious two-bedroom suite.

  “Hold your horses,” Cody said. He had his briefcase with him. “I probably won’t be back until later this evening.”

  “What about dinner?” Heather wanted to know.

  “I’ve got an appointment.”

  “Don’t worry about us,” Sherry told him. “Either we’ll order something from room service or eat downstairs. If we’re feeling adventurous, we’ll go out, but I don’t imagine we’ll go far.”

  “What time will you be back, Dad?”

  Cody paused. “I can’t say. I could be late, so don’t wait up for me.”

  “Can I watch a movie?�
� She stood in front of the television and read over the listings offered on the printed card.

  “If Sherry doesn’t object, I can’t see any reason why not.”

  Heather hugged her father and he kissed her head. “Have fun, you two.”

  “We will,” Sherry said.

  “Spend your money wisely,” he advised on his way out the door, but the look he cast Sherry assured her he trusted her to guide Heather in her decisions.

  The girl waited until her father was out of the room before she hurled herself onto the beige sofa and threw out both arms. “Isn’t this great? You brought your swimsuit, didn’t you? I did.”

  Sherry had, but she wasn’t sure there’d be enough time for them to use the hotel pool.

  “It’s almost as if we’re a real family.”

  “Heather…”

  “I know, I know,” she said dejectedly. “Dad already lectured me about this. I’m not supposed to say anything that might insin…insinuate that the two of you share any romantic interest in each other.” She said this last bit in a tinny voice that sounded as if it were coming from a robot.

  “At least your father and I understand each other.”

  “That’s just it. You don’t. He really likes you, Sherry. A lot. He’d never admit it, though.” She sighed and cocked her head. “Men have a problem with pride, don’t they?”

  “Women do, too,” Sherry said, reaching for her purse. “Are you ready to shop till we drop, or do you want to discuss the troublesome quirks of the male psyche?”

  It didn’t take Heather more than a second to decide. She bolted from the sofa. “Let’s shop!”

  The mall close to the hotel consisted of nearly fifty stores, of which twenty sold clothing, and they made a point of visiting each and every one. When they were back in the hotel, arms laden with packages, Sherry discovered they’d bought something in more than half the stores they’d ventured into.

  Heather was thrilled with her purchases. She removed the merchandise from the bags and spread the outfits over the two beds in their room, quickly running out of space. The overflow spilled onto the sofa and love seat in the living room. Two pairs of crisp jeans and several brightly colored blouses. Several T-shirts. A couple of jersey pullovers and a lovely soft cardigan. Two bras—the right size for Heather’s still-developing figure—and matching panties. Sherry had talked Heather into buying a couple of dresses, too, although the girl insisted the only place she’d ever wear them was church. Their biggest extravagance had been footwear—five pairs altogether. Boots, sneakers, dress shoes—to go with her Sunday dresses—a sturdy pair for school and a pair of bedroom slippers.