“It’s beautiful, but—”
“Could you excuse us a minute?” Russ said, speaking to the woman helping them. She nodded, putting the display of rings back inside the counter. Then she stepped away, staying close enough to keep an eye on them, but far enough to afford them some privacy.
Russ’s gaze met Lynn’s as he took both of her hands in his and faced her. Apprehension flashed in her eyes as she looked up at him, followed quickly by surprise and a little bit of wonder as she watched his expression turn serious.
“If this was real, if you were marrying someone you loved and wanted to spend a lifetime with, would you want this ring?” he asked, his tone dropping to a whisper.
“Oh, Russ, what woman wouldn’t want a ring this beautiful?” Lynn asked, staring at the brilliant diamond with open appreciation.
“Would you, Lynn?” he asked again, his face unreadable.
Lynn gazed at him, and her breath caught. As he pressed closer, butterflies flitted in her stomach. This isn’t real. “I…yes,” she answered honestly, his gaze holding hers. For a moment, they just stared at each other, neither of them speaking. The bold, reassuring look in his eyes made her knees go weak.
She gazed at the ring. Lynn had felt a rush of pleasure when he’d slipped it on her finger, and her entire body still tingled. Her lungs felt starved for air. It was ridiculous, she knew, because she didn’t want to get married, but at that moment their engagement felt real, and despite her protests about getting a ring, it felt so right on her, like it belonged there.
That scared her.
Looking back at Russ, she realized he was watching her. His touch was doing crazy things to her insides, making her think about things that weren’t possible. Making her want him to kiss her. As if reading her mind, he dipped his head, and she tilted hers in response. Her tongue slipped out and wet her lips. Just as his mouth was about to touch hers, he stopped, and she could feel his entire body stiffen.
“I don’t guess we’d better go there,” he said, pulling back, his tone serious.
“Um, no. No, we shouldn’t,” she whispered, and a let-down feeling consumed her. He was right. She knew it. The problem was, her body didn’t. She knew she should move out of his arms, but she couldn’t.
Suddenly, as if he’d read her thoughts, he let her go, and taking a deep breath, he turned away. He motioned for the woman who’d been helping them to return. “We’ll take this one,” he said, his tone rough as he spoke. “And the wedding band to match.”
“That’s a splendid choice,” she commented. “If you’ll take it off, I’ll remove the tag for you.”
Lynn started to reach for the ring but was stopped when Russ quickly grasped her hand again. “You don’t need to take it off,” he told her. It had been hard enough getting her to put on the ring. He wasn’t taking any chances on her changing her mind. Turning her hand over, he looked at the woman and said, “You can get the tag off with the ring on her finger, right?”
“Of course, sir,” she answered, looking a little confused. She carefully pushed the tiny tag through the gold string, then pulled it free. “I’ll just write this up for you.”
“Wait here. Don’t move,” Russ told Lynn. He hesitated until she nodded, then he walked away, following the woman to the register. A few minutes later he was back and they were leaving the mall.
Though Russ walked close beside her as they returned to the truck, he didn’t touch her. He couldn’t. Touching her made him want her, and he knew Lynn wasn’t his to have. She’d made that clear enough. She hadn’t wanted his ring. She didn’t want him. Sexual chemistry was all there was between them, and if he kept his distance, he could keep that under control.
He should have been feeling relieved instead of agitated. The trouble was he hadn’t expected to feel anything when he’d put his ring on her finger. He’d gone through the same ritual with his first wife, and thought his divorce had pretty much settled his feelings on marriage. But something was different about Lynn wearing his ring. She represented everything that he’d once wanted from life—everything he had since come to realize would never be his.
The ring didn’t change anything. He had to remember that, as well as he had to remember that he couldn’t go around thinking with his libido and not his brain. He’d almost kissed her back there at the jewelry store.
He’d wanted to, he couldn’t deny it. As they walked across the parking lot, all he could think about was wanting to do a lot more than kiss her. She stirred all kinds of wants up inside him, and he was having a hard time separating those wants from reality.
He opened her door for her, then got in the driver’s side and started the engine. The silence between them was almost palpable. After they were down the road a bit, he chanced a glance at her. Her shoulders were stiff, her posture reserved. Taking a deep breath, he broke the silence between them and asked if she’d like to stop and get some lunch on the way back. He knew it was foolish, but he wanted to be in her company just a little longer.
Lynn shrugged her shoulders. “Sure, if you want,” she replied, avoiding looking at him.
He nodded as he turned the truck onto the interstate. They rode in silence until he pulled up to stop at Kelly’s, the only diner in Crockett. The restaurant was in an old building, located near the post office, a favorite meeting place for the locals. The place was bustling, and Russ was glad. They would probably run into someone they knew. If they did, it would serve to cut the tension between them.
She didn’t wait for him to open her door, but got out and walked beside him to the door of the diner. As he held it open, she stepped inside, careful not to touch him. Because of the plate glass windows across the front, the place was bright and sunny despite black tables and matching chrome and vinyl chairs. They looked almost striking against the white walls.
Russ put his hand at Lynn’s back and steered her across the black and white checkered floor toward a booth in the back. They stopped along the way and spoke to several of their neighbors and some of their acquaintances from town. Their waitress approached as they took a seat in the booth.
“Well, hi there, Russ, Lynn. How’ve you been?” Rebecca Baker asked, placing napkins and silverware in front of them. Handing each of them a menu, she grinned.
Doing her best to return Rebecca’s smile, Lynn sat back in her seat. They’d attended school together, but hadn’t seen much of each other since graduation. “Fine,” she replied, then asked, “How about you?” Realizing that the engagement ring was sitting prominently on her finger, she quickly tucked her hands under the table.
“Oh, pretty good, I guess. Heard you decided not to go to college. You been working out at the ranch?”
Lynn nodded. “Yeah. It keeps me pretty busy.”
Rebecca winked, and her gaze slid slowly over Russ. “Doesn’t look like that’s all that’s kept you busy,” she commented with a meaningful look.
Lynn’s mouth fell open. Before she could speak, Russ leaned forward and pointed at the menu, giving Rebecca his order for lunch.
“I’d like some iced tea with that, please.” He didn’t miss the way Lynn went to great lengths to hide her engagement ring, like she was ashamed of it, ashamed of him.
Rebecca scribbled on the pad in her hand. “How about you, Lynn?”
“Um, I’ll have the same,” she replied quickly, just wanting to get rid of her friend. Seeing a high school friend and discussing college made her uncomfortable. She hated any reminder that made her look young in Russ’s eyes.
The waitress walked away, and Lynn sucked in a deep breath. “She couldn’t possibly know,” she stated, alluding to Rebecca’s innuendo. “There’s no way.” She wasn’t sure who she was trying to reassure, herself or Russ.
“Anything’s possible,” Russ told her, his tone gruff. “News spreads quickly, rumors twice as fast.”
Lynn shook her head and whispered, “No one in here knows. If they did, if they had any idea we’re engaged, they would have mentioned it. I
think Rebecca was just guessing.”
“Could be,” he agreed, wondering himself.
The waitress returned a few minutes later with their order. Because the diner was getting busier, she didn’t stop to chat this time, and Lynn was relieved. She and Russ ate their burgers and fries mostly in silence, though they did talk about the work waiting back at the ranch. As Lynn finished eating, she looked around for Rebecca, impatient for their bill so they could leave.
So far it appeared as if word hadn’t reached anyone in town. Thank heavens! Maybe this whole pretend engagement wasn’t even necessary, Lynn thought. If she was lucky, only her family would think the engagement was real, and it would stay that way. The entire episode could be over before they knew it.
Rebecca came up to their table after a few more minutes had passed. “Is there anything else ya’ll need?” she asked. When they both shook their heads, she tore off a page of her tablet and put it on the table. Then she gasped, “Oh my, Lynn McCall! Look at that diamond on your hand!” Her astonished gaze flitted back and forth between Lynn and Russ. Then, as if a lightbulb came on inside her head, she exclaimed in a voice loud enough to still the entire diner, “You’re engaged!”
Five
Lynn blushed to the roots of her blond hair as heads in the diner swivelled in their direction, then she broke out in a sweat as everyone in the place started clapping. Hoots and whistles followed. Feeling a lot like a bird trapped by a cat, she shrank down in her seat. It was all she could do not to bend her head and hide her face. Her hand started to shake and she nearly knocked over her glass of iced tea, catching it just before it toppled.
Everyone in the diner was looking at them. Some of the people were getting out of their seats and coming toward them. She looked to Russ, panic in her eyes.
“Do something!” she hissed, then, with a frozen smile on her lips, faced Rebecca who had grabbed Lynn’s hand to inspect the ring she’d received from Russ only a short while ago. The waitress squealed again when she got a closer look at it. The diamond sparkled, twinkling as the woman tilted Lynn’s hand back and forth.
“Like what?” Russ wasn’t sure what she wanted him to do. He’d told her that word would get out. He figured they might as well face it now. Besides, he wasn’t any happier than she was about the commotion. He was used to keeping his distance from people, not sharing his thoughts or being the center of attention.
His voice was smothered by the chatter of the group gathering around their table. Although he’d known these people only a few years, Lynn had known them her entire life. It wasn’t unusual for her friends and neighbors to be interested in her or for news of her engagement to be something to talk about.
Larry Melton, the owner of the feed store in Crockett, slapped Russ on the back good-naturedly. “You lucky dog!” he declared, wriggling his eyebrows with a silly grin on his face.
Fixing a smile on his face, Russ replied, his voice a little unsteady, “That I am.” He glanced again at Lynn, who looked about to be smothered by the throng of women trying to get a closer look at her ring. Mrs. Weaver, known for being the biggest gossip in Crockett, was maneuvering her way through the group gathering at their table. She used her ample body to push those closest to Lynn aside.
“I haven’t heard a word about anything goin’ on between you two. When did all this happen?” she asked baldly, her keen eyes shifting back and forth between Russ and Lynn.
“Well, we—”
Lynn was saved from answering when Jeannie Bates, the clerk at the small grocery store, stated excitedly, “Boy, you McCalls are all getting hitched!” She took a turn looking at the ring, staring at it with envy. “First Ryder, then Jake and now you!”
“Yeah, what’s in the water out there?” Ty Colbert asked Russ, then chuckled. “Think I’ll stick to beer!” Ty was Deke’s age, and he was well known in Crockett for his love-’em-and-leave-’em reputation.
He groaned when his current girlfriend, Samantha Evans, elbowed him in the ribs. “It wouldn’t hurt you to think about marriage,” she chided with a look of reproach. “I’ve been tryin’ for months to get him to propose,” she said wistfully. She glanced at Lynn as she stared at the ring. “Oh, it is so beautiful!”
Lynn wanted to crawl under the table. She glanced over and shot a get-me-out-of-here look at Russ. He was talking to one of the men, and she kicked his leg under the table to get his attention.
“Ow!” Russ’s eyes pinned her with an accusing stare. It wasn’t as if this was his fault.
Lynn was smiling, but he could tell from her expression that she wasn’t at all happy. Her face was nearly bloodred. He scooted to the edge of his seat, then managed to get out and stand beside the booth. Moving slowly among the well-wishers, he made his way to Lynn, pulling out his wallet and tossing some money on the table to pay for their meal.
He accepted congratulations from nearly everyone before he could get a hold of Lynn’s hand and make room for her to get out of her seat. As she stood, he put his arm around her shoulders. The crowd was still talking to them as they slowly made their way to the door.
Russ studied Lynn as she walked beside him, a smile fixed on her pretty face, anxiety in her eyes. Her face was still flushed, her skin hot. He knew how she felt. He’d never admit it to her, but he’d been unable to get a steady breath since they’d left the jewelry store, and all the attention and hoopla wasn’t helping.
“Have you set a date?” someone asked as they reached the door.
“No, we haven’t,” Lynn said quickly as Russ held the door for her. “We haven’t made any definite plans.” She rushed out without saying another word. Turning, she glanced back as Russ grabbed her hand. People were still calling congratulations to them through the open door as they walked toward his truck. He held the passenger door for her, then joined her, going around the truck and getting into the driver’s seat.
“I can’t believe that just happened.” Lynn tried to get her bearings, her breathing uneven.
“Not much goes on around here. People get excited when they hear good news.”
“Good news?” she repeated, sounding offended. Her voice rose. “This isn’t good news!” she declared. “It isn’t even real.”
Russ’s jaw tightened as he headed away from Crockett toward the Bar M. Every time she said it like that, his gut began to churn. She made it sound like marriage to him would be the worse thing that could happen to her. Well, he had news for her, it wasn’t. She could turn up pregnant and not married. In today’s culture, maybe that wasn’t frowned on so much. But here in the county of Crockett, it was something to talk about.
He’d been laughed at in Montana when Candace had turned up pregnant by another man. He’d be damned if he was going to wind up looking like a fool again. “It’s a reality you’re gonna have to face. You could be pregnant,” he reminded her, his tone agitated.
Lynn glared at him, drawing her brows together. “I…am…not…pregnant!”
Russ’s expression hardened a fraction as he glanced in her direction. “You don’t know that.” She sure was determined not to be pregnant with his child. Well, he should have expected that. She was letting him know again that the night they spent together meant nothing to her. He should have been relieved.
But he wasn’t.
His gaze traveled over her, and his gut twisted. His attention shifted to her trim thighs, and desire slammed him. How could he want her so badly? He couldn’t remember a time when a woman affected him to the point of distraction. Though he’d been married to Candace, he’d never been aroused this easily by her.
“Though someday I do want a family,” Lynn admitted, “it just isn’t in my immediate plans.” She picked that moment to turn her head in Russ’s direction. His hardened expression gave her cause for thought. He didn’t seem any happier than she was about their circumstances.
A knot formed in her throat. He’d been attentive and loving with her last night, showing her a side of himself that she’d never seen. T
hat he would readily give up his freedom for her proved he was a man of honor. Even as he glowered at her, she admired that about him.
She was surprised that he hadn’t been snapped up by a woman by now. Considering he was a loner and somewhat unapproachable, despite his attractive looks, women probably thought twice about approaching him unless he spoke first.
“Things don’t always go as planned,” Russ reminded her. They sure hadn’t last night. He’d never planned on taking her to bed.
“You’re right about that,” she answered. “I never counted on this complication.” Never in her life would she have thought she’d have to consider Russ in her plans. Before last night, she could have staked her life on the fact that she never would have so much as kissed him, let alone given him her innocence.
“Darn it!” she squealed, and her hands balled into fists.
“What?” Her outburst startled Russ, and he slammed his foot on the brake pedal, pitching them both forward. Their seat belts prevented them from being thrown into the dashboard.
Lynn turned in her seat to face him. “We could have settled whether I was pregnant or not easily enough with a home pregnancy test!” she exclaimed. “Supposedly, you can tell within minutes if you’re pregnant.”
Russ nodded. Even though he was still planning to marry her, it would be nice to know if pregnancy was a factor. “Do you want to turn around?” he asked.
“And buy one in Crockett? Good heavens, no!” She straightened and settled more comfortably in her seat. “Can you imagine walking into Walker’s Grocery and buying a pregnancy test? Do you want everyone in the county to know I could be pregnant?”
Walker’s was the small local store with a pharmacy in the back that everyone in Crockett frequented. It also was a meeting place for some of the older folks to pass the day. “I see what you mean.”
One Wedding Night... Page 6
