Laney had gotten so used to the camera following her everywhere for the past few weeks that she had forgotten Maryanne had even been in the room, but she was thankful it was her friend who had come out to check on her instead of Tyler or Nancy.
“I don’t know. I mean I know I care for him, but-”
“But this feels fast.”
Laney nodded and grabbed her necklace. It was a simple cross, and she was so used to wearing it that she often forgot it was there, but whenever she felt really stressed, rubbing her thumb across the design always seemed to calm her down.
Maryanne shook her head as she sat next to Laney on the swing. “I know it’s hard, but he’s not Brian, Laney.”
“Brian? What do you mean? Don’t you mean Dallas?”
“No, I mean Brian. You don’t remember?” Laney shook her head. “Freshman year before you set your sights on Dallas, you liked a boy named Brian. Maybe I remember because I had just met you and you talked about him all the time. I thought you were a little boy crazy.”
Laney snorted. She probably had been boy crazy, but most teenage girls were.
“Anyway, one day he asked you out in a note or something. You were so excited because you were supposed to meet after school and walk to the local hangout.”
“But when I arrived at the meeting spot, he told me it had been a joke.” Laney said the words slowly as the memory came back to her. She had forgotten, or maybe blocked, that painful memory. “Thanks for the walk down memory lane, but why would you bring that up?”
“Because I think your lack of faith in men stems from this interaction with Brian. I mean look at your track record after that incident. Less than a month later, you declared your crush on Dallas. You focused all your attention on a boy who was not attainable.”
Laney opened her mouth to argue. Not attainable might be a little bit of a stretch. True, she had been invisible in high school, but Dallas had flirted with her at the hospital. However, before she could utter a word, Maryanne continued.
“I think you focused on Dallas because you were afraid of getting hurt again, and if he never asked you out, he could never hurt you. Now you are afraid that Tyler has ulterior motives, but he’s not Brian. I’ve watched him with you. He loves you, and this reality show made your relationship different. It made it public and fast and maybe a little messy, but that’s not always a bad thing. I’ve been doing this show a long time, and I’ve watched all the relationships. You know how I know you two will be okay?”
“How?”
“Because you have the one thing the other couple had who lasted.”
“What’s that?”
“Your faith. All these couples that fail have nothing to stand on. They meet, they’re attracted, some I think even fall in love, but when they get out into the real world, they have nothing grounding them. No common goal. You guys do. Like the other couple who lasted, you two have your faith in God. You both know that putting God first is the key to any successful relationship, and so what if he gets a little more money for proposing when he did? You got something too, right?”
Though it pained her, Laney nodded. She had taken something in exchange for agreeing to become a contestant. Tyler’s wasn’t any worse.
Maryanne didn’t say ‘I told you so," but it was written all over her face. “I thought so. Besides, this money they are giving him benefits you as well. It’s money to help his ranch - a place you’ll probably be living at soon.”
Laney stared at her friend. When had she become so wise? In high school, Jennifer had been the outspoken one of the group who was always offering advice, but either Maryanne had been listening or she’d grown a lot in the past ten years. “Did you major in psychology?”
Maryanne laughed. “No but working in the entertainment industry gives me plenty of opportunities to dispense my wonderful advice. Now, come on, why don’t we go back inside, eat that wonderful smelling dinner, and find out what else is in the contract?”
Laney still had her reservations, but Maryanne’s words did make sense. “Okay, let’s go.”
22
Tyler took a deep breath and adjusted his hat as he stepped out of the limo. The nerves in his stomach fluttered like a kite in the wind, and he wondered if Laney had been as nervous meeting his friends as he was meeting her family. He hadn’t expected to be nervous, but Laney’s reaction at his ranch had made him wonder if her family might feel the same.
“Don’t worry, they’ll love you,” Laney said as if sensing his unease. She linked her arm through his and led the way up the pathway. Maryanne followed a step behind giving them a little privacy.
Perhaps that was part of the added pressure. Not only was he meeting Laney’s family for the first time, but it would be filmed and the whole world would see it. Well, not the whole world, but the whole ‘Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy’ fan base which he had found out was quite large and opinionated.
Laney pushed open the front door of the two-story house and called out, “Mom, Dad, we’re here.” She removed her coat and hung it on a coat rack which sat just to the side of the door indicating he should do the same.
He glanced around the room as he shrugged out of his duster. It appeared to be a formal living room. The couch and chair surrounded a small coffee table and a raised lamp flanked them. Probably a reading area as there was no television in the room though an old piano sat along the wall.
A woman who could have been an older version of Laney appeared in the doorway at the far end of the room. She had the same blond hair and brown eyes. Her face held a few more wrinkles, but she had aged gracefully and could easily have been mistaken for Laney’s older sister. She smiled at the sight of them and glided across the floor.
“Laney, it’s so good to have you home,” she said pulling Laney in for a hug. Then she turned her gaze on Tyler and his nerves fluttered faster. “And you must be Tyler. I’ve heard so much about you.” She kept the smile on her face, but Tyler could hear the hint of apprehension in her voice.
“Mostly good, I hope,” he said as he took her proffered hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
“Well, come on in. David, Laney’s father, is in the back living room.”
She led the way through a pristine kitchen and into a larger living room. This one was filled with comfortable furniture, a television surrounded by bookshelves, and a large man in a chair cleaning a gun. Tyler wasn’t quite sure whether he should laugh or take off running.
“Dad. What are you doing?” Shock and anger threaded Laney’s voice, but they didn’t faze the man.
“I’m just cleaning my gun. Figured if I was going to meet the man who proposed to my daughter after a few weeks without even meeting us first, I should be prepared for all contingencies.”
“I am so sorry,” Laney said shaking her head.
Tyler figured laughter was the better option, and he smiled and stepped toward her father. “That’s quite all right, Laney. I can understand his position. When I have a daughter, I’ll probably be just as protective.” He held out his hand to the man. “Tyler Hall, sir. Pleasure to meet you, and I apologize for the crazy circumstances of our engagement, but I assure you my heart is in the right place.”
Her father looked at Tyler’s outstretched hand for a moment before setting the gun aside and shaking it. “I appreciate your apology. As for your heart, we’ll see how I feel about that at the end of the evening.”
Tyler nodded and forced a smile, but his nerves now felt like they were in the middle of a hurricane. He didn’t think the man would actually shoot him, especially on camera, but it was obvious he would have to earn his respect and the presence of the gun made that prospect a little more daunting.
Laney shook her head as she joined Tyler on the couch. She had known her parents had reservations - she did too - but she had not expected her father to really have the gun out. He had often threatened to greet her boyfriends that way when she was in high school, but she had never found out if he was serious ha
ving never had a boyfriend in high school. And though she had dated in college and after college, those relationships had never lasted long enough to bring the men home to meet her family.
“Let’s talk about this contract,” her father said. He had put the gun beside him on the coffee table, but it still drew the attention in the room like a beacon. “I hear you got paid to propose to my daughter.”
Tyler took a deep breath. “They gave me a contract when I came on the show before I even met Laney. That contract paid a sum of money as long as I completed the show. When I began falling for your daughter, I spoke with the producers about stepping down and voiding the contract, so I could pursue her. Their solution was to have her come on the show. When she fell, I knew she was the one for me and I again tried to exit the show, but their solution was the proposal. Yes, they did offer me more money and they did set a timeline for our wedding but at that point I knew I wanted to marry Laney anyway.” He flashed her a warm smile. “So, the extra money was just frosting on the cake, so they say.”
Her father sat back and rubbed his chin. “You would have married her anyway?”
“I would have left the show to pursue her and eventually proposed yes. This may have sped up my timeline, but it did not create something out of nothing.”
“And what exactly would Laney do on your ranch?”
“Dad!” Laney could not believe he was giving Tyler such a hard time. However, it was a good question. There wasn’t much of a need for a makeup artist in his small town.
“She’ll do whatever she wants. I’m not looking for someone to be an assistant on the ranch. I’m looking for a partner, so if she wants to assist then that’s fine, but if she wants to do something else, that’s okay too.”
“And what if what I want to do means being away from you for months on end?” Laney hadn’t meant to say the words out loud but even though she uttered them quietly, Tyler heard them and turned to her.
“We’ll figure it out. If you want to keep doing makeup, we’ll figure it out.”
But Laney wondered if it would be that easy. Working for a studio would mean being gone through filming season at least. Plus, there would be the added cost of living somewhere while working. If she worked for a modeling agency like Madame Bonavich’s, then it might be even worse. She’d need to be there full time or have the money to fly back and forth. Laney didn’t know how much they had given Tyler, but she doubted it would stretch very far doing that.
“Tyler, maybe we rushed things. Maybe we need to talk about this more. I care about you, but if I keep doing makeup, I might never be there. You want a partner, but what kind of partner will I be if I’m never around?”
A heavy silence fell in the room as all eyes turned on Tyler. Out of the corner of her eye, Laney saw Maryanne shake her head, but she wasn’t going to pretend everything was okay just for the cameras.
Tyler ran a hand through his dark hair. His shoulders rose and then fell with a sigh as if carrying an invisible weight on them. “I agree it’s not an ideal situation, Laney, but I don’t want to give up. God gave me peace about going on the show. He gave me peace about proposing to you. I don’t believe He will forsake us now.”
Laney wanted to believe that too, but she wasn’t as sure. She’d seen her fair share of relationships destroyed because of distance. However, at the same time, she didn’t have a permanent job as a makeup artist yet. In fact, she didn’t have a permanent job at all. The studio had offered to keep her on for another month or so until the regular girl returned, but after that, she was on her own. Maybe, after that time, she could look for a job in Tyler’s town. It could pay the bills until she found another makeup job, and if she was lucky, it would be something she enjoyed even more. “You’re right,” she said squeezing his hand. “God brought us this far together. We will just have to trust He carries us through.”
23
Laney sighed as she stepped off the airplane. She was glad to be back with Tyler - the distance had been just as rough as she’d thought it would be - but the next few months worried her. Her job with the studio was over as they were taking a month-long hiatus and when they returned their regular girl would be back. Though they had sent her name out with references, none had called yet, so she was arriving in Fredericksburg with enough money for a month. Maybe two. Nancy had offered their spare bedroom for as long as Laney needed it, but she didn’t want to start a friendship by imposing any longer than she had to.
Her heart lifted, however, when she spotted Tyler. Though they had face timed every evening to do their devotionals, it wasn’t the same as seeing him in person. She waved and quickened her pace, jumping in his arms when she reached him.
“I’ve missed you,” he said nuzzling her ear. His arms wrapped around her waist and he tugged her closer to him.
“Me too.” She pushed back against him as desire coursed through her, “but we’re in the airport.”
“I don’t care where we are or who sees us. It’s been too long since I’ve kissed you.” His lips moved from her ear to her lips and Laney gave in. She’d missed kissing him too.
“Get a room,” a woman said as she passed them, and Laney pulled back in embarrassment. The kiss had turned from innocent to passionate too quickly. Perhaps it was a good thing their wedding was in three months.
Tyler chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Come on. Let’s get you settled. Aaron and Nancy are waiting.”
Laney followed him to the baggage claim area, and after securing her few bags - she had only brought what she took to California - she followed him to his truck.
“Do you realize,” he asked as he opened the passenger seat for her, “that this is the first time we’ve been together without cameras since the day you were in the hospital?”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m relieved. I’m a little tired of being on camera all the time.” Even their last few meetings with the wedding planner had been filmed. “A little something to entice the audience and keep them interested,” Justin had said, but Laney was tired of enticing the audience.
“I’m so relieved.” He grinned at her as he started the truck, “but the cameras kept me from losing myself with you. I guess Nancy and Aaron will have to be that accountability now.”
Laney felt a heat crawl up her cheeks at his innuendo. She too had felt that desire more than once to know him on a more intimate level, but they had both agreed to wait until marriage. “I just hope I won’t be too much of a burden on Nancy and Aaron. I hate having to stay with them-”
He cut her off. “Nonsense. They adore you and are happy to be helping. Besides, I have no doubt you’ll find a job soon.”
Laney hoped so. She wasn’t expecting to find a makeup job, but she would take anything for now.
Tyler glanced over at Laney as he drove. Though he put on a confident air, a tiny piece of him worried. What if Laney couldn’t find a job in town? What if she hated what she could find? Would she want to leave and go back to the city?
He’d brought his concerns to God and he’d hashed them out with Aaron and Nancy, but that didn’t make them any less real. Nor did it lessen them. However, he wasn’t going to share them with Laney. He knew she was struggling with her own doubts, and though he wanted to be open and honest with her, he didn’t think she needed his hesitations added to her own.
“Here we are,” he said when he pulled up in front of Nancy and Aaron’s house. He was thankful his friends had opened their doors to Laney though not really surprised. Nancy and Aaron were like that, and they would do just about anything for Tyler. They had certainly been there for him when he decided to give up drinking and detox.
The front door opened as they exited the car, and Nancy, grinning from ear to ear, hurried out to them. “You’re here! I’m so glad you’re here.”
Tyler chuckled at his friend’s exuberance. He hoped it would ease Laney’s fears of being a burden.
As Nancy enveloped Laney in a hug, Tyler retrieved her suitcases from
the truck bed.
“Thank you for letting me stay,” Laney said. “I promise I won’t be here too long.”
“Nonsense. I’m excited to have you here. It will be like having a sister and I’ve always wanted one.” She flashed a wink in Tyler’s direction as she led Laney into the house.
Tyler sent up a quick prayer thanking God for such wonderful friends.
“Mind if I join you?”
Laney looked up surprised to see Nancy in the kitchen. She thought they had gone to bed hours ago. Unable to sleep, she’d wandered in looking for some ice cream and a good place to read.
“Of course. It’s your kitchen. I hope it’s okay I had some ice cream. I can replace it tomorrow.”
Nancy smiled and shook her head. “Mi casa es su casa, but you’ve hardly touched the ice cream. You want to talk about it?”
Laney stared down at her bowl. Her ice cream had melted into a murky liquid mottled with color. Laney imagined her feelings would look the same if they could be painted. “I’m worried about finding a job. I’ve never not had one and now I feel like I’m depending on you and Tyler…. it’s a little depressing and nerve wracking.”
Nancy placed a hand on her arm. “It’s normal to feel like that, but it’s also okay to accept help. God made us social creatures, so we would help each other. We were there for Tyler when he needed us, and we’re here for you now.”
Laney’s eyes teared up at the kind words, and she dropped her gaze to her bowl. “I don’t know what I did to deserve friends like you guys but thank you.”
“You’re welcome, and about that job… I may know of something. It probably won’t pay what you’re used to, but I’ve been looking for an assistant for my debate team. Tyler said you used to do competitions, right?”
Laney nodded. She had told Tyler all about her high school trips to compete in acting and debate, but she hadn’t realized he’d told Nancy.
The Cowboy's Reality Bride Page 13
