Orchard Valley Brides

by Debbie Macomber

  “You’re absolutely right,” Sherry said, marching up the steps. “You could learn a lesson or two from your friend. At least he was in love with the woman he wanted to marry and wasn’t just looking for someone to warm his bed and keep his daughter happy.”

  Cody whirled around and shook his finger at her. “You know what I think?”

  “I don’t know and I don’t really care.”

  “I’m going to tell you, anyway, so listen.”

  She crossed her arms and heaved an exasperated sigh.

  “Cancel the whole thing!” Cody shouted. “Forget I asked you to marry me!”

  “Cody!” someone hollered in the distance. Sherry looked up in time to see a head protruding from the upstairs window of the house across the street. “Either you shut up or I’m calling the sheriff again.”

  “Don’t worry,” Cody hollered back. “I’m leaving.”

  Eight

  “Is it true?” Heather asked the following morning as Sherry walked out of church. “Did you nearly get my dad arrested?”

  Sherry closed her eyes wearily. “Did Cody tell you that?”

  “No.” Heather’s eyes were huge and round. “I heard Mrs. Morgan telling Mrs. James about it. They said Dad was standing under your bedroom window singing and playing the guitar. I didn’t even know Dad could play the guitar.”

  “He can’t. I think you should ask your father about what happened last night,” Sherry told her, unwilling to comment further. She couldn’t. Cody would find some way of blaming her, regardless of what she said.

  “He didn’t come to church this morning. He had Slim drive me to town because he said his head hurt.”

  Served him right, thought Sherry.

  “School starts the day after tomorrow,” Heather announced. “Do you want to know what I’m going to wear for the first day? My new jeans, that black T-shirt and my new shoes.”

  “Sounds perfect,” Sherry said.

  “I’ve got to go.” Heather glanced across the parking lot. “Slim’s waiting for me in the pickup. When are you going to come to the house again? I was kind of hoping you would last week. I was thinking of having my hair cut and I found this really cool style in my friend Carrie’s magazine. I wanted to show it to you.”

  “Ask your father if you can stay after school one afternoon this week, and I’ll drive you home,” Sherry suggested. “But tell him—” she hesitated “—I won’t be able to stay. Make sure he knows that. I’ll just drop you off.”

  “Okay,” Heather said, walking backward. “That’d be great. Do you mind if Carrie comes along? She wants to meet you, too, and her place isn’t that far from mine.”

  “Sure.”

  “Thanks.” Heather’s smile lit up her whole face. “I’ll call and let you know which day is good.”

  Sherry waved and the girl turned and raced over to the pickup. Sighing, Sherry started toward her own car. She hadn’t gone more than a few steps when she heard Ellie Johnson call her.

  “Sherry,” Ellie said, walking in her direction. “Have you got a minute?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’ve been meaning to call you all week, but with the baby and everything, it slipped my mind. I know it’s short notice, but I’d love for you to come to the house for dinner. I’ve got a roast in the slow cooker. Drop by in a little while and we can visit for a few hours. Luke’s so busy these days I’m starved for companionship.”

  “I’d love to.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Ellie seemed genuinely pleased. “You won’t have any problems finding your way, will you?”

  Sherry told her she wouldn’t. As it happened, she was eager for a bit of female companionship, too. With Ellie, Sherry could be herself. She didn’t worry that she’d have to endure an inquisition or make explanations about Cody and her.

  When Sherry arrived at the ranch an hour or so later, Ellie came out onto the porch to greet her. One-year-old Christina Lynn was thrilled to have company, and she tottered excitedly over to Sherry, who scooped her up and carried her into the kitchen.

  After giving Ellie’s daughter the proper attention, Sherry asked about Philip. “He’s sleeping,” she was assured. “I fed him and put him down. Christina Lynn’s due for her nap, too, but I promised she could visit with you first.” Sherry sat down at the kitchen table, and the toddler climbed into her lap and investigated, with small probing fingers, the jeweled pin she wore.

  It had been several weeks since Sherry had spent time with Norah and her kids, and she missed being with young children. Christina Lynn seemed equally infatuated with her.

  While Sherry devoted herself to the world of a small child, Ellie poured them glasses of iced tea, which she brought to the kitchen table.

  “I suppose you heard what happened?” Sherry asked, needing to discuss the events of the night before. After all, there was sure to be some sort of backlash, since Cody seemed to blame Luke as much as he did her.

  “There were rumors at church this morning. Is it true Cody was almost arrested?”

  “Yes. For disturbing the peace.”

  A smile quivered at the edges of Ellie’s mouth. “I’m afraid Cody Bailman has a few lessons to learn about women.”

  “I would’ve thought his wife, Karen, had taught him all this.”

  “I never knew her, of course,” Ellie said, reaching for her glass, “but apparently Luke did. I’ve asked him about her.”

  “What did he tell you?” Sherry was more than curious. She sensed that the key to understanding Cody was rooted in his marriage, however brief.

  “From what I remember, Cody met Karen while they were in college. He was away from home for the first time and feeling lonely. Luke was surprised when he married her—at least that’s what he told me. She was something of a tomboy, even at twenty. In many ways I suspect she was the perfect rancher’s wife. She loved riding and working with cattle. What I heard is there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do.” Ellie hesitated and looked away as if carefully judging her words. “Luke also said Karen wasn’t very interested in being a wife or mother. She resented having to stay home with the baby.” She took a deep breath.

  “Luke also told me they had some huge fights about it. Karen died in a car accident after one of them. She’d threatened to leave Cody and Heather, but Luke doubts that she meant it. She mentioned divorce on a regular basis, dramatically packing her bags and lugging them out to the car. No one’ll ever know if she meant it that particular time or not because she took a curve too fast and ran off the road. She died instantly.”

  “How sad.”

  “I know Cody loved Karen,” Ellie continued. “I admire him for picking up the pieces of his life and moving forward.”

  “I do, too. I didn’t realize his marriage had been so traumatic.”

  “It wasn’t always unhappy. Don’t misunderstand me. Cody cared deeply for his wife, but I don’t think he was ever truly comfortable with her, if you know what I mean.”

  Sherry wasn’t sure she did, but she let it pass.

  “He’s at a loss when it comes to showing a woman how he feels. The only woman he ever loved was so involved in herself that she didn’t have much love left for anyone else, including him or Heather.”

  “He’s afraid,” Sherry whispered. But it wasn’t for any of the reasons she’d assumed. After learning he was a widower, Sherry believed he’d buried himself in his grief. Now she understood differently. Cody feared that if he loved someone again, that love would come back to him empty and shallow.

  “Be patient with him,” Ellie advised.

  Sherry smiled. “It’s funny you should say that. A few days ago someone else said the same thing.”

  “Cody’s so much like Luke. I’d like to shake the pair of them. Luke wasn’t any different when we first met. He seemed to assume that if he loved me he’d lose part of himself. He put on this rough-and-tough exterior and was so unreasonable that…suffice it to say we had our ups and downs, as well.”

  “Wh
at was the turning point for you and Luke?”

  Ellie leaned back in her chair, her expression thoughtful. “My first inclination is to say everything changed when I decided to leave Pepper. That’s when Luke raced after my car on his horse and proposed. But it really happened about a week before that.” She sighed and sipped her tea. “To hear Luke tell it, we fell in love the moment we set eyes on each other. Trust me, it wasn’t like that. For most of the summer we argued. He seemed to think I was his exclusive property, which infuriated me.”

  “What happened?”

  “Oh, there wasn’t any big climactic scene when we both realized we were destined for each other. In fact, it was something small that convinced me of his love for me—and eventually mine for him.

  “Luke had taken me horseback riding, and I’d dared him to do something stupid. I can’t even remember what it was now, but he refused, rightly so. It made me mad and I took off at a gallop. I’m not much of a horsewoman and I hadn’t gone more than a few feet before I was thrown. Luckily I wasn’t hurt, but my pride had taken a beating and Luke made the mistake of laughing at me.

  “I was so furious I left, figuring I’d rather walk back to the ranch than ride. Naturally, it started to rain—heavily—and I was drenched in seconds. Luke, too. I was so angry with him and myself that I wouldn’t speak to him. Finally Luke got down off his horse and walked behind me, leading the two mares. He wouldn’t leave me, although heaven knew I deserved it. I thought about that incident for a long time afterward, and I realized this was the kind of man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”

  “But you decided to leave Pepper shortly after that.”

  “Yes,” Ellie admitted cheerfully. “It was the only way. He seemed to think marriage was something we could discuss in three or four years.”

  “It’s something Cody wants to discuss every three or four minutes.”

  Ellie laughed. “Do you love him?”

  “Yes,” Sherry said in a soft voice. “But that’s not the problem.”

  “Cody’s the problem. I know what you mean.”

  “He wants me to marry him, but he doesn’t want to get emotionally involved with me. He makes the whole thing sound like a business proposition, and I’m looking for much more than a…an arrangement.”

  “You frighten him.”

  “Good, because he frightens me, too. We met that first day I arrived in town, and my life hasn’t been the same since.”

  Ellie patted Sherry’s hand. “Tell me, what’s all this about you insisting on romance? I overheard Cody talking to Luke yesterday afternoon. I wish I could’ve recorded the conversation, because it was quite funny. Luke was advising Cody on a variety of ways to—” she made quotation marks with her fingers “—win your heart.”

  Sherry rolled her eyes. “That’s the thing. Cody already has my heart. He just doesn’t know what to do with it.”

  “Give him time,” Ellie said. “Cody’s smarter than he looks.”

  A little later, Sherry helped her friend with the dinner preparations. Christina Lynn awoke from her nap and gleefully “helped” Sherry arrange the silverware around the table. A few minutes before five, Luke returned home, looking hot and dusty. He kissed his wife and daughter, showered and joined them for dinner.

  They sat around the big kitchen table and after the blessing, Luke handed Sherry the bowl of mashed potatoes. He said, “So Cody came to see you last night.” He cast a triumphant smile at his wife. His cocky grin implied that if Sherry and Cody were married anytime soon, he’d take the credit.

  “Honey,” Ellie said brightly, “Luke was nearly arrested for disturbing the peace. And from what Sherry told me, Cody blames you.”

  “Me? I wasn’t the one out there making a first-class fool of myself.”

  “True, but you were the one who suggested he do it.”

  “That shouldn’t make any difference.” Luke ladled gravy over his meat and potatoes before reaching for the green beans. “As long as Sherry thought it was romantic, it shouldn’t matter.” He glanced at Sherry and nodded as if to accept her gratitude.

  “Well, yes, it was, uh—”

  “Romantic,” Luke supplied, looking hopeful.

  “It was…romantic, yes. Sort of.”

  “It was ridiculous,” Ellie inserted.

  “A man’s willing to do ridiculous things for a woman if that’s what she wants.”

  “I don’t, and I never said I did,” Sherry was quick to inform him. “It bothers me that Cody would think I wanted him to do anything so…”

  “Asinine,” Ellie said.

  “Exactly.”

  Luke was grinning from ear to ear. “Isn’t love grand?”

  “No, it isn’t,” a male voice boomed from the doorway. Cody stood on the other side of the screen. He swung it open and stepped inside, eyeing Luke as if he was a traitor who ought to be dragged before a firing squad.

  “Cody!” Ellie greeted him warmly. “Join us for dinner?”

  “No, thanks, I just ate. I came over to have a little talk with Luke. I didn’t realize you had company.”

  “If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll leave,” Sherry offered.

  “Don’t,” Ellie whispered.

  Cody’s gaze swung to Sherry and it seemed to bore into her very soul. He was angry; she could feel it.

  “Come in and have a coffee at least,” Ellie said, picking up the pot and pouring him a cup. Cody moved farther into the kitchen and sat down at the table grudgingly.

  “I suppose you heard?” Cody’s question was directed at Luke and filled with censure. “The next time I need advice about romance—or anything else—you’re the last person I’m gonna see.”

  Sherry did her best to concentrate on her meal and ignore both men.

  “I assumed because you got Ellie to marry you,” Cody went on, “you’d know the secret of keeping a woman happy.”

  “He does!”

  Three pairs of eyes moved to Ellie. “He loves me.”

  “Love.” Cody spat the word as if the very sound of it was distasteful.

  “That could be why a smart woman like Sherry is hesitant to marry you,” Ellie said.

  “I don’t suppose she mentioned the fact that I’ve withdrawn my offer. I’ve decided the whole idea of marriage is a mistake. I don’t need a woman to make a fool out of me.”

  “Not when you do such a good job of it yourself,” Ellie said dryly.

  Sherry’s grip on her fork tightened at the flash of pain that went through her. It hurt her to think she’d come this close to love only to lose it.

  “Anyway,” Ellie said, “I’m sorry to hear you’ve changed your mind, Cody.” Then she grinned. “I’ve got apple pan dowdy for dessert. Care for some?”

  “Apple pan dowdy?” Cody’s eyes lit up. “I think I could find room for a small serving.”

  Sherry wasn’t sure how Ellie arranged it, but within a matter of minutes she was alone in the kitchen with Cody. Philip began to cry and Ellie excused herself. Then Luke made some excuse to leave, taking Christina Lynn with him.

  “Would you like more coffee?” Sherry asked.

  “Please.”

  She refilled his cup, then replaced the pot. Never had she been more conscious of Cody than at that moment.

  “Heather said something about visiting you after school one day.” He was holding his mug with both hands and refusing to look at her.

  “If you don’t object.”

  “No, of course not. You’re the best thing to happen to that girl in years. I never thought anyone could convince her to wear a dress.”

  “She just needed a little guidance.” Sherry moved around the kitchen, clearing off the table and stacking dirty dishes in the sink. At last she said, “I hope that whatever happens between you and me won’t affect my relationship with Heather.”

  “Don’t see why it should. I hope you two will always be friends.”

  “I hope so, too.”

  They didn’t seem to hav
e much to say after that.

  Sherry was the first to venture into conversation again. “I’m sorry about last night.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll get over it—someday.” The beginnings of a smile touched his mouth. He stood and carried his mug to the sink. “I need to get back to the ranch. Give Ellie and Luke my regards, will you?”

  Sherry nodded, not wanting him to leave but unable to ask him to stay. She walked him to the door. Cody hesitated on the top step, frowning.

  “It’d help a whole lot if you weren’t so pretty,” he muttered before moving rapidly toward his truck.

  “Cody,” Sherry called after him, hurrying out the door and onto the top step. When he turned back to her, she wrapped her arms around her middle and said, “Now that was romantic.”

  “It was? That’s the kind of thing you want me to say?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “But that was simple.”

  She smiled. “It came from the heart.”

  He seemed to stiffen. “The heart,” he repeated, placing his hand on his chest. He opened the door of his truck, then looked back at her. “Do you want me to say things like ‘God robbed heaven of one of its loveliest angels the day you were born’ and stuff like that?”

  “That’s very sweet, Cody, but it sounds like a line that’s been used before.”

  “It has been,” he admitted, his eyes warming with silent laughter. “But I figured it couldn’t hurt, especially since it’s true.”

  “Now that was nice.”

  With an easy grace he climbed into the pickup and closed the door. Propping his elbow against the open window, he looked at her once more, grinning. “Plan on staying for dinner the night you bring Heather home.”

  “All right, I will. Thanks for the invitation.”

  Sherry watched him drive away. The dust had settled long before she realized she wasn’t alone.

  “He’s coming around,” Ellie commented. “I don’t think he knows it himself yet, but he’s falling in love with you hook, line and sinker.”

  That was exactly what Sherry wanted to hear. Hope blossomed within her and she sighed in contentment.