Heather (Seven Sisters Book 1)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “Hey, you have to dance with me. I brought you here!”

  She tilted her head to one side, studying him intently. “Can you dance?”

  He frowned. “Well, I can’t do anything fancy, but I can hold a girl and dance with her. I’m not the guy you want to disco with . . .”

  “Disco is dead.” Heather leaned forward. “I’ll give you a chance to dance with me, but you do have to bid on my dances. Think of the boys.”

  He sighed. “I guess I need to bid on your dances.”

  Heather reached over and covered his hand with hers. Would he try to kiss her as they danced? She was dying for that first kiss. She needed to know if the hues were right and he was meant to be her only true love. Though she had no idea how they could make that work. He was geographically undesirable. “Only if you want to dance with me.” She knew she needed to start mentally preparing herself for when he went home to Idaho, but she wasn’t ready. She wasn’t sure she ever would be.

  When it was time for the dancing to start, she stood on the stage with her sisters and their cousins. Each one of them would be auctioned off for ten dances, and the rest of the night would be their own. As she watched, Michael bid higher than anyone on her first dance. She went smoothly into his arms as if they’d planned it for years.

  The song was “Almost Paradise,” and she immediately rested her head on his shoulder as they swayed together to the music. He was so much taller than her five-foot nothing that she couldn’t quite reach his shoulder and her head ended up on his chest. He made her feel so tiny and feminine.

  At the end of the first dance, he leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. That kiss felt like more to her than any she had ever felt. The touch of his lips against hers set her whole body on fire. She let out a little gasp and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back for all she was worth.

  She only stopped when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She pulled away, afraid of who she would see. It was Peter. “Your dad is glaring at you something fierce. I’d back away if I were you.”

  Taking gulping breaths, she stared at Michael, wondering what on earth he’d done to her. He had made her feel as if she was in someone else’s body.

  Peter grabbed her hand and pulled her to the stage, jumping down himself. Now that he was engaged, he didn’t have to have a dance auctioned off like the other cousins did.

  Heather stood staring out at the group of people unseeingly, taking gulping breaths of air. How on earth was she going to be able to dance with someone else now? She’d never be able to let him go. Never.

  On the drive home, she was silent. It was hard to know what to say when she knew she was falling deeply in love with a man who lived over a thousand miles away. At least she thought it was over a thousand. Idaho seemed like a far-off planet.

  When he got into town, he asked, “Where do you live? Should I take you home?”

  It was hard to answer. She wanted to wallow in self-pity, though she wasn’t a wallower. How could she be in love with a virtual stranger who wasn’t even a Texan? “Yes, please. I’m just around the corner. I walk to my dance studio most of the time.”

  He followed her directions, pulling up in front of her small house. The house she had so lovingly decorated. The house that now felt so empty because he didn’t live there. What was wrong with her?

  “Do you want to come in for a drink?” She didn’t know where the words had come from and immediately wanted to take them back. It was their first date. She shouldn’t be taking him inside.

  He got out of the truck and silently followed her inside. Once he’d shut the door behind him, he turned to her and asked the question that had been on her mind since their kiss. “What are we going to do?”

  Heather shook her head. “I have no idea. I run a business here.”

  “And I have a ranch in Idaho. I can’t really spend time away, and neither can you.” He put his hands on her waist and drew her to him, his lips taking hers in a swift, deep kiss. “But . . . we can’t ignore that!”

  “No, I knew when I saw you in line at the Taco Hut that we were meant to be together.” She buried her face against his chest, not wanting to think about saying goodbye. “How much longer will you be here?”

  “I have no idea. None. I really was supposed to take my bull and leave yesterday. My brothers are wondering what my problem is, but I told them I met a girl . . .”

  She laughed. “And they knew then you’d never come home?”

  “Nah, I’ll go home. I have to.” He turned from her, running his fingers through his hair. “It’s Saturday night. I’m supposed to be home watching Love Boat and Fantasy Island, but here I am with some girl I barely know, and all I want to do is stick her in my pocket and take her home to Idaho with me.”

  “Your pockets aren’t big enough for me. I have muscles!” She flexed one bicep and made him laugh. She did have muscles, but they were very different than the kind of muscles he had. His were from hours of hauling hay and herding the cattle. Hers were from dancing.

  “Nice muscles. I bet you could help haul hay!”

  “Or you could dance with me!”

  He kissed her again. “We’re both going to need to do some serious thinking about what we want from each other. I don’t know if we can make forever a reality.”

  “But that’s what I want.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but he heard her.

  “Me too. I don’t think it’s an option.” He left quietly, closing the door behind him. She was fascinating and wonderful. How had she known they were meant for each other before they even met, though? That didn’t make sense.

  He slowly headed to the only hotel in town, parking his truck out front. When he walked in, he went past the front desk, and after a moment of contemplation, he stopped. “Do you know the McClains?”

  The girl at the desk grinned at him. “Everyone in town knows the McClains. Everyone in this part of the state knows the McClains. They’re wonderful people.”

  He frowned. “Do any of them ever move away from here?”

  “You must be the man who was dancing with Heather all night. Rumor has it you two couldn’t keep your eyes off each other.”

  He frowned. “How did you know that?”

  “It’s a small town. People make note of everything and talk about it. It’s part of our way of life.”

  He groaned. “Lovely. Yes, I do mean Heather. What are the chances I can get her to move to Idaho with me?”

  The girl’s eyes widened for a moment before she shook her head. “I don’t think there’s any chance at all. She’s happy here. She loves her family, and she runs a business. I think you need to move here.”

  “I own a ranch in Idaho.”

  “You can’t sell it and buy a ranch here? That’s what it would take for the two of you to be together, I think.”

  He sighed. “I have a feeling I’m going to spend the rest of my life alone.” He walked away, noting the girl’s nametag read, “Beth.” Why couldn’t he fall for the Beths of the world? No, he needed Heathers. He needed the girls who were impossible.

  Chapter Four

  Heather fell asleep that night with her thoughts on Michael and only Michael. He was the first thing she thought of when she woke up. She wanted to find out all she could about his town in Idaho, but she couldn’t imagine leaving Bagley. Her family had been there for generations, and leaving the people she loved was absolutely out of the question.

  She dressed quickly for church, knowing her family would worry if she didn’t go, but what she really wanted to do was stay home and eat ice cream and tacos. Lots of ice cream and tacos. Her family was known for always finding their perfect match, but she wasn’t sure that was going to include her. Her perfect match lived much too far away. Deep inside her she knew that there was not another man on the planet who would be as good for her as Michael was.

  She ate a quick breakfast of instant oatmeal and decided to walk to church. Sunday was the only day she didn’t really work out, so sh
e always wanted to walk a few extra steps to get some sort of exercise in. She believed that her body was a temple, and she treated it as such. Well, where exercise was concerned. Food was all about sacrificing to the temple.

  She stepped onto her front porch and immediately spotted Michael sitting in his truck out front. He was dressed in a suit and tie and saw her as she saw him. He stepped out of his truck. “Do you want a ride to church?”

  Heather shook her head. “I like to walk to church. It’s my only real exercise on Sundays.” Well, that and housework, but who wanted to admit to that?

  “I’ll walk with you then.” He walked toward her and took her hand in his. “Do you mind if I go to church with you?”

  She sighed. “In a town this size, going to church and sitting beside a girl is tantamount to announcing your engagement.”

  “I’m good with that.”

  “I’m not. I don’t want people thinking I’m dropping everything and moving to Idaho, and I don’t want people to think you’re coming here.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for us to spend so much time together when we both know it’s all going to end in heartache anyway. You’re not moving here, and I’m sure not moving there.”

  Michael frowned. He couldn’t imagine that he could find the girl of his dreams and just walk away, not even getting to know her. “Maybe we’re both wrong, and we’ll get on each other’s nerves within a week. Don’t you think we owe it to ourselves to make the breakup earlier if we can?”

  She laughed. “You know as well as I do that’s not going to happen.”

  “I do. But it was worth a try.” He didn’t know how to convince her to move to Idaho, but he knew he couldn’t move to Texas. “You know, there’s no dance studio in the town I’m in. I’m sure there are closer dance teachers here . . .”

  “Do you have any idea how hard it’s been for me to get my business off the ground? Do you think I need to be the one to move because I’m the woman?”

  Michael bit his tongue. He wanted to tell her he thought she should move because he had ancestral land, but he was sure she didn’t want to hear that. “Not at all. I just think it would be easier for you to find another building to run a business from than it would be for me to move thousands of head of cattle.”

  Heather knew he had a point, but she didn’t have to like it. “We’ll see.” She stopped in front of the church and walked toward the building. She had no idea what religion he was, but at the moment, she didn’t care a whole lot. As they walked in, she headed straight for her family. All of her sisters were in town for the weekend for the fundraiser, and it was always fun for them to sit together.

  She saw Peter and Lillian talking to Marti. “Now that the fundraiser is over, I can put all my energy into planning the wedding,” Lillian said softly. “And into convincing Peter that it really is a good idea for me to name our seven sons after the boys from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I don’t know why he’s not just jumping at the idea.”

  “He has no taste,” Heather said, jumping into the conversation. Seven Brides had always been one of her favorite movies. “Some of the dance moves in that movie are epic!”

  Lillian linked her hand through Heather’s arm. “See? Heather knows what she’s talking about! And if I have to have seven sons, I might as well name them something fun.”

  Peter groaned. “I feel ganged up on.”

  “That’s what I’m here for!” Heather said with a grin.

  Marti laughed. “Of course we’re going to side with Lillian. We’re welcoming her to the family. Making her one of us.”

  “What if I want to name one of my sons something else?”

  “Why would you?” Lillian asked. “Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frankincense, and Gideon are the best names ever!”

  Heather heard Michael give a choked laugh, and she turned to wink at him. “Maybe if you’d be willing to compromise Frankincense to Frank, Peter would agree . . .”

  Peter sighed. “Yes. I refuse to name my son Frankincense.”

  Michael clapped his hand on Peter’s back. “I have a feeling you’re stuck with the other names. Of course, she’s willing to have your seven children, so I think you just nod and agree.”

  “If I agree, I’m afraid she may make me sign a contract agreeing to name them those ridiculous names.”

  Lillian pulled a sheaf of papers from her purse. “I had them adjust Frankincense to Frank when they wrote up the contract. You just need to sign here.” She pulled a pen out as well and handed it to him.

  Peter looked at Heather. “Can you believe this? She doesn’t want a prenuptial agreement. She just wants me to sign off on what our kids will be named!”

  Heather shrugged. “She sounds smart to me.” She wandered off to where her parents were standing together, hugging her mother. She wasn’t sure if Michael was still acting as her shadow, but she could only assume he was.

  “It’s good to see you again, Mrs. McClain, Mr. McClain.”

  Bob looked at Michael. “Are you making an announcement by attending church with my daughter?”

  “I’m announcing my intentions for certain. She doesn’t seem to agree at the moment, but I’m hoping she will.”

  Heather didn’t dare look at Michael, feeling too much frustration she was certain would show. Already her feelings for him were so strong . . . and yet she wasn’t willing to pick up and move her entire life to Idaho for him. “Have you heard what the sermon is about today?” she asked her mother softly.

  Her mother’s eyes moved from Michael and back to Heather before answering. “I think it’s on loving your neighbor.”

  “I always like those sermons.” Heather sat down in the pew behind her parents, knowing it was reserved for her and her sisters.

  Michael sat beside her, frowning at her. “Are you angry with me?”

  Heather lifted her hand to run her fingers through her hair but thought better of it. Her hairspray wouldn’t hold if she did that, and who wanted flat hair? “I’m confused with you. I don’t know what you want from me. I’ve told you I’m not willing to move to Idaho, and yet you’re still here, talking to me and trying to convince me to do it.”

  “I’m not trying to convince you to move to Idaho. I’m trying to convince you to give me a chance and let me spend some time with you while I’m here, so we can see if either of us will need to consider moving across the country or if we should be happy where we are.”

  She turned to look him in the eye. “I just don’t think I’d ever be willing, so I feel like the two of us spending a lot of time together is just going to lead to heartache.”

  “I’m willing to give it a shot if you are.” Michael held his breath while he waited for her answer. His family had always been very intuitive, and he knew she was the only woman who he needed by his side for the rest of his life. He’d known it from the moment he’d set eyes on her.

  She sighed. “I guess we can spend a little time together today and see where it goes.”

  He took her hand in his and squeezed it. “Thank you. Right now, that’s all I’m asking for.”

  Thankfully, the pastor stepped up to the pulpit then and announced the first song they’d sing. As she stood beside Michael, she wondered who was watching them and their little declaration. After a moment, she decided it didn’t matter and instead concentrated on singing. If someone had something to say, they could just do it. Her reputation was impeccable.

  By the time church was over, she was feeling comfortable with her decision to spend some time with Michael. There were plenty of things to do around town, and she liked the idea of being with him.

  As soon as the sermon was over, he turned to her. “What are your plans for the day?”

  “I usually spend Sundays at home doing laundry and housework.”

  “I’ll help then.”

  She frowned. “I figured you’d come up with something more interesting than that to do!”

  He shrugged. “All I care a
bout is spending time with you. What we do with that time doesn’t matter at all to me.”

  Heather sighed. “Well, we need to get lunch first. I can feed you for supper, but I have no idea about lunch. I usually just go to my mother’s for Sunday lunch after church.”

  Her mother turned to them. “Michael, you should come to Sunday lunch. You might feel a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of estrogen in the room, but I would love for you to be there to get to know us all better.”

  Heather looked at Michael, waiting for his response. On one hand, she would have liked a private meal with him, but on the other hand, she knew that the less time they spent alone together, the better it would be for her heart.

  “Sure, I’d love to have lunch with you.”

  Heather nodded. “We both walked, so we’ll head over.” Bagley was small enough that walking from one end of town to the other took less than twenty minutes.

  “All right. I’ll have Marti set an extra plate.”

  “Don’t tell me . . . she traded you setting the table today for her laundry?”

  Her mother grinned. “How’d you guess? You can’t begrudge me taking care of my baby!”

  “No, I guess I can’t.” Heather shrugged at Michael. “My youngest sister is rotten.”

  “Sounds like it.” Michael couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on Heather’s face. She looked disgusted with the trade her mother had made with her sister.

  The two of them talked to people on their way out of the church. Heather found herself introducing Michael over and over. A couple of the other young women seemed to be eyeing him, but Heather didn’t care. She knew he would be loyal, though how she knew it, she didn’t know. None of their hues were right with his either. No, he was meant for her. That much was obvious.

  As they walked away from the church, she kicked at a rock. “I think church went well. Mom is excited to have you come over for lunch.”

  “Your family seems really nice. Even your spoiled sister.”

  “Don’t you think she’s rotten?” Heather asked, grinning at him.