Marriage-Minded Cowboy

by Vicki Lewis Thompson, Stephanie Bond

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “We’ll be right back.” She whisked out of the room behind Ed. A sound that could have been a giggle came from the kitchen.

  A gleam of amusement chased the shadows from Teague’s gaze. He lowered his voice. “I think we’re about to get a talking-to.”

  “Looks like it,” she murmured. “We’d better sit down before we land in even more trouble.”

  “Yep.” He pulled out the chair to his right and helped her into it. Then he took the one on the end and leaned in close. “I’m gonna guess my mom will sit across from us.”

  “Good guess. You notice the flowers and candles are to our right so they don’t block her view.”

  “Saw that.”

  “She said Ed would referee, so putting her on the end makes—”

  “Referee?” His volume went up. “Why do we need—”

  “Ed’s idea.” His mom came out of the kitchen carrying two salad plates in one hand and a basket of fragrant dinner rolls in the other. “I told her it wasn’t necessary.”

  “It sure isn’t.” He left his seat and relieved her of the salad plates. “I take full responsibility for this entire mess. If I’d told you at the start that moving in with me wasn’t an option instead of coming up with a fake fiancée, we wouldn’t—”

  “Hang on, there, son. We need to set some ground rules.” She put the dinner rolls on the table and laid a hand on his shoulder. “First rule, stay seated. I know it goes against what I taught you, but just pretend you’re back in my classroom.”

  “I don’t understand why—”

  “Ed and I will be up and down serving the various courses and we can’t have you popping up to help or hold our chair every time we leave the table or come back in with food.”

  “That’s for sure.” Ed deposited a salad plate at each of the empty spots.

  “But—”

  “Please stay seated. If it makes you feel like a kid again, that might be a good thing. That’s where everything started, anyway.” She put pressure on his shoulder. “Sit.”

  Val pressed her lips together to keep from grinning as her big strong cowboy followed his mom’s orders. When his mother and Ed pulled out their own chairs, he started up, then sighed and sat down again.

  Ed raised her glass. “To mutual understanding.”

  Four champagne flutes met in the middle of the table. After Val touched hers to everyone else’s, she lifted it to her mouth and took a healthy gulp. Some nights were made for sipping. This was not one of them.

  Madeline put down her glass and looked over at Teague. “Son, I owe you an apology. I—”

  “No, you don’t. You had every right to ask to come and live with me. I’m your son. But my response should have been—”

  “I’m not apologizing for that. I’d do it again. I’m apologizing for brainwashing you.”

  “Brainwashing? What the—”

  “When your father died, I wanted you to have a positive, loving image of him. But I overdid it.”

  “Nothing wrong with that. I’m sure he was a great guy.”

  “But I didn’t just make him a saint. I painted our marriage as perfect so naturally you wanted the same thing.”

  “You think I expect a perfect marriage? I’m smarter than that, Mom.”

  “I agree, but marriage is still your main goal in life.”

  “Was.”

  She blinked. “Was?”

  “My goals have shifted.” He glanced at Val. “Although maybe not soon enough.”

  Her throat tightened as she met his gaze, but she managed to get the words out. “I don’t want you to shift your goals.” She swallowed. “Especially not for me.”

  He stared at her in silence for a moment. Then he turned to his mom and Ed. “Would you excuse us, please?”

  They both nodded.

  He stood. “Let’s take this discussion out to the porch.”

  She was more than willing. Pushing back her chair, she put her hand in his as he helped her up. The courtly gesture got to her every time. She’d miss it.

  He threaded his fingers through hers as he led her through the house and out the massive wooden door. She’d miss holding his hand like this, too.

  A cool breeze soothed her hot face as she stepped out on the porch. She heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you for getting us out of there.”

  “Want to head back down the hill?”

  “Not yet.”

  He took her other hand and drew her closer. “My mom’s right. I used to be fixated on marriage. I’m sure she helped guide me in that direction.”

  “Which is fine and I—”

  “I’m not headed in that direction, anymore. I want—”

  “You haven’t thought this—”

  “I want to be with you, whatever that means. I don’t need—”

  “Maybe not now.” She looked up, memorizing the shape of his nose, the curve of his lip, the arch of his eyebrows. “But those goals aren’t dead and gone.”

  “Not dead, but not a priority. My priority is you.”

  “I don’t want to be your priority.”

  “Too bad. You are.”

  She took a deep breath. “The goals you’ve shoved aside — they’re good ones. You’ll make a wonderful family man. A terrific dad. Your kids will never hear I told you so. That’s huge.”

  He studied her for several long seconds. “You’re not going to let it go, are you? No matter how many times I say—”

  “You shouldn’t let it go. I couldn’t live with myself if you gave up—”

  “It’s my choice, damn it!”

  “No, it’s not. I’m taking it away from you. Goodbye, Teague.” Freeing her hands, she started down the steps.

  He came after her and caught her arm. “Don’t do this.”

  “Let me go.” She hardened her gaze and hardened her heart. “I don’t want you on my conscience.”

  His grip loosened and he stepped back. The pain in his eyes made her flinch. She turned and ran. This time he didn’t come after her.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Teague couldn’t make himself go back inside. He sat on the porch steps, the cold stone biting through his jeans, numbing his ass. Fine with him.

  Lights came on in his house. Lots of lights. Val would be a whirling dervish, throwing her belongings into the big suitcase and the many canvas bags she’d brought. The process wouldn’t take long.

  The dome light flashed in her truck. The big suitcase thumped as she lifted it into the back seat. She left the front door of the house and both truck doors open while she raced back and forth, coming out loaded down, tossing things into the truck and running back for another armful.

  When she doused the lights in his house, the ache in his chest was so bad he started massaging the spot over his heart. Maybe hearts really did break.

  Slamming the passenger door, she ran around to the driver’s side, hopped in and started the engine. Seat belt! He’d lay money she hadn’t fastened it. But she drove away at a decent pace. Maybe she’d fastened the belt on the way. Fingers crossed.

  He lost track of time. Could’ve been minutes before his mom came out. Could’ve been hours.

  She sat next to him on the steps. “She’s gone.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Ed and I watched out the window.”

  He nodded.

  “She loves you very much.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “You don’t know that?”

  “How would I know that? She’s never said it.”

  “Sure she did. The day I met her. I asked if she loved you and she said yes.”

  “She was playing a part.”

  “I know, but she was telling the truth. I’ve been watching her ever since that first day, and there’s no doubt in my mind. She’s loved you from day one.”

  “I know that’s wrong. She craved my body, but after I proposed, she couldn’t wait to get rid of me.”

  “Because you scared
her to death. The specter of her parents’ awful marriage rose up like the Ghost of Christmas Future.”

  “I doubt it. Her sister’s marriage, maybe. But Ed’s the one who helped her really look at her folks’ dismal situation.”

  “But she’s known about it on some level. The truth lurked under the surface, affecting her view of relationships.”

  “I guess.”

  “Her parents present a good front and yet she knows better. Whenever she sees an apparently happy couple, she wonders if they’re secretly miserable, too.”

  “And maybe nobody’s happily married?”

  “Bingo. When you proposed, you brought out every fear she has about falling in love.”

  “How can you know this? You weren’t there.”

  “I listened to her tell me the story today on the way back. That story was packed to the brim with fear. And love.”

  “Does she know she loves me?”

  “I doubt it. My guess is she can’t let herself know it. She pretends it’s mostly physical. She insists she has a crush, a silly reaction that will fade.”

  “Which is BS.”

  “Sure, but if she admits it’s love, the next step is a commitment, most likely marriage.”

  “She said that once. I told her it didn’t have to be.”

  “She still thinks it does. She’s very traditional that way. If you’re in love, then you commit to the person you love.”

  “She reads a lot of romance books.”

  “That could explain it.”

  “Dear God.” He gripped his head in both hands. “This is a nightmare. Should I go after her? Try and talk some sense into her?”

  “I wouldn’t advise it. She’ll have to figure this out on her own.”

  “And if she doesn’t?”

  “She will. She’s going to miss you horribly. Like I said, she loves you. Being separated from you will be intolerable.”

  He took a shaky breath. “I can’t speak for her, but it’s already intolerable for me.”

  “It’s not like you’ll never see her again.”

  “But she’ll avoid me whenever she can. She won’t want to—”

  “She’ll have a tough time ignoring you tomorrow during the riding demonstration.”

  “The riding demonstration! Damn. I forgot all about it.”

  “She might have, too, considering how she tore out of here like her tail was on fire. Love tends to give you tunnel vision.”

  “The riding demonstration.” He shook his head. “We were supposed to use that as a rationale for why we couldn’t tell the girls about our engagement.”

  “To justify that decision to me?”

  “Exactly. Telling them would mess with their concentration and they’d louse up the show. Then I forgot we were supposed to use that as our excuse.”

  “Just as well. I wouldn’t have bought it, anyway. As it is, you’ve skated on the edge of insulting my intelligence.”

  “I know. The plan was doomed from the get-go.”

  “Except it worked like a charm.”

  He stared at her in disbelief. “How much champagne have you had?”

  “Not much. Don’t you see? If you hadn’t roped Val into this scheme, the two of you could have gone on for months loving each other from a distance. Your fake engagement brought everything to a head. I’m proud to have been the catalyst that got you to this point.”

  “Mom! I’m in hell! Val’s in hell! How can you be happy about that?”

  “You had to get here before you had any hope of making progress in your relationship.”

  “You call this progress?”

  “Yes, son. Yes, I do. Now come inside and eat some of Ed’s delicious food. You’ll need your strength for tomorrow. It’ll be a big day.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “I know that. Eat something, anyway. It’ll help you sleep.”

  He didn’t argue with her mom logic, but she was wrong. Nothing would help him sleep. He’d probably have to take the couch, and even then, his chances were slim to none.

  Over a meal he didn’t taste that he washed down with expensive champagne he didn’t savor, he talked with his mom and Ed about the riding demonstration at two the next afternoon.

  He glanced at Ed. “Did Claire ask you about bleachers?”

  “She did. Jake, Matt and Rafe are coming over at nine to disassemble them and haul them over there.”

  “Good. I’ll help. I guess you two and I might as well head over in one truck, maybe around one-fifteen. We can all fit in mine.”

  “I won’t be going with you and Ed. Cliff’s taking me out to the Buckskin after our lunch and dropping me off.”

  “Who’s Cliff and why are you having lunch with him?”

  “The banker. I danced with him at—”

  “Oh. Right. That seems a million years ago. He wants to pick your brain about how to organize a clothing drive, right?”

  “That’s the excuse he gave. I think he wants to get something started.”

  Teague jerked out of his fog. “What?”

  “He’s attracted to me.”

  “But you live in Oregon.”

  “It’s not the far side of the moon. He travels for business.”

  “Are you attracted to him?”

  “If I’m totally honest with myself, yes.”

  Ed smiled. “Attagirl.”

  “I’m… I’m… I don’t know what to say, Mom.”

  “I’m sure you don’t. You’ve never encountered this situation. I’m not so different from Val, when you get right down to it.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “I’ve been scared of getting involved with anyone because I’m traditional, too. I might fall in love and even consider marriage, which somehow seemed disloyal to your father.”

  “Wow.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I feel like I’m in a wind tunnel with things flying at me from all directions.”

  Ed laughed. “Get used to it. The older you get, the faster the wind and the more flying objects.”

  “Thanks for the comforting words.”

  “Which reminds me. The Brotherhood and the Babes are hosting a party tomorrow night around the fire pit. Everybody’s invited.”

  “Val?”

  “I’m sure Nell will invite her. Don’t know if she’ll be there. CJ’s going to play. It’ll be fun.”

  “Sorry. I have to organize my sock drawer.” Literally.

  His mom frowned. “Don’t you dare stay home. It would be a perfect opportunity to… oh! Did Val mention about your harmonica?”

  “What about it?”

  “Well, this is sort of my fault. Val will be teaching the kids Red River Valley and while we were working on the bulletin board for it, I let slip that you play a beautiful version of that song.”

  “I see.”

  “I was delighted to hear that you played it for her.”

  He’d file that under Painful Memory #6:45, which is about the time they performed their little concert. “So I did.”

  “Anyway, Claire latched onto the information and she—”

  He groaned. “Let me guess. She wants me to play around the fire pit tomorrow night.”

  “Not necessarily tomorrow night, but sometime. With CJ. Val said she’d ask you about it. I guess she forgot.”

  “Then let’s pretend that you forgot, too.”

  “Would you hate it so much?”

  “No, I wouldn’t. Eventually. Maybe. But now is not a good time.”

  “Or the absolutely best time.”

  “Look, Val might not even show up for that gathering, and even if she did, me playing the harmonica isn’t going to—”

  “It’s one of the reasons I fell for your dad.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Val had forgotten Florence. On top of that, she’d forgotten to mention the harmonica. She’d told Claire she’d do it. After living with Teague since Tuesday night, she knew his schedule.

  She pulled in a little aft
er ten, when he was likely to be mucking out stalls. She’d rewritten the note to him multiple times and the latest version lay on the seat beside her.

  It shouldn’t have been hard to explain her three points. She was taking the plant. CJ would probably like to have him as a musical sidekick. She would be civil to him during the riding demonstration.

  That was it, all she needed to communicate. She was a teacher, for God’s sake, fluent in the language. Not today. The note was lame but it would have to do.

  Adrenaline pumped through her system as she climbed the steps and crossed the porch. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked in.

  She came face-to-face with an unshaven Teague. “What are you doing here?”

  “I live here. What are you doing here?”

  “I forgot Florence.”

  “I noticed. So did she. Don’t worry, though. I told her it was just an oversight and you didn’t mean to hurt her feelings.”

  “Teague.”

  He shrugged. “She’ll get over it.”

  “I wrote you a note.” She held it out.

  He kept his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “What’s it say?”

  “I’d rather you just read—”

  “I’d rather you just told me. You’re right here.”

  She met his steely-eyed stare. It was a disguise. His pillow lay on the couch where he’d likely spent the night. “I forgot to tell you something about your harmonica.”

  “Oh, that. No worries. Mom filled me in.”

  “Are you going to do it?”

  “Who knows?”

  “Okay, then. You’ve been asked.”

  “Is that all?”

  “No.” She looked away. She could only take so much of that intense stare. “I... um… promise to be nice to you during the riding demonstration.”

  “As opposed to what? You’ve never lost your cool in public. Why do you feel the need to reassure me? Did you take some nasty pills after you got home last night?”

  She turned back to him. “I had hoped we’d be friends after this, but…”

  “It’s not in the cards, is it, Val?” His voice softened. “We have to either take it or leave it. No middle ground for the likes of us.”

  She gulped. “Guess not. Do you want this note?”

  “No, thanks.”