by Debra Holt
“It’s marriage or no deal.” He made the statement as succinct as possible. His gaze was steady and locked on hers. “You aren’t a child any longer. I intend to make a commitment to you…to us. I expect the same from you. Will I force you into any situation you aren’t okay with? Will I force myself on you?” Chance took a step closer, just a hint of a gleam in those sapphire eyes, as they floated over her already heating cheeks.
“I won’t force anything. We’ll find common ground. I’ve learned a lot of patience over the last few years, for some odd reason.” And then there was a slight grin. It lasted for a moment, and then he was all business again. “So what’s it to be?”
It was no use postponing it any longer. He held her with a steady gaze, no sign of any nerves on his part.
Her heart was beating faster in her chest than it ever had before. There was only one decision to make. Josie had to hold on to the last remnants of life as she knew it. All she had, all she could count on, was the land beneath her feet. It was all that remained of her family. What would come tomorrow or the day after that, she had to let it go. One day at a time was the only way she would be able to get through this waking nightmare she had been dropped into since the death of her last parent and the subsequent reading of the will.
Josie fixed her gaze on the man standing across from her. The man who she wondered if she ever really knew. The man who held the key to the future…for better or worse. Fighting the sudden feeling in the pit of her stomach that she might hurl the meager breakfast she had earlier, she quickly nodded her head and drew in a calming breath, her chin rising to take what would come.
“Yes. I have no other recourse but to agree. I’ll marry you. But I’ll run this ranch as I always have…without your interference. You have your ranch and I have mine.”
Was there a perceptible twitch at the corner of his mouth? Had she said something amusing? Her gaze narrowed on him, hands fisting on her hips.
“And neither the twain shall meet?”
“I don’t recall making a joke,” she responded. “There’s nothing remotely amusing about any of this.”
There wasn’t any hint of amusement on his face any longer. “You’re right. This isn’t amusing. But neither is it the end of the world. It’s a detour, but we’re in this together. So we negotiate. I agree that you’ll continue to run this ranch as you have each day. I’ll take care of the bookkeeping and paying the bills. When my ranch hands can be spared from my place, they’ll be available to help over here. I know this is your home, and you’ve had a lot of change in your life lately, so, for now, I have no problem moving in here with you. We can decide where we’ll make our permanent home later.”
“Move in here?” She suddenly felt the ground shift beneath her feet again. She hadn’t given much thought to the actual day-to-day arrangements. “Why can’t you stay on your ranch?”
“News flash, little one. Married people usually share the same house.”
Panic rolled around inside her at the prospect of sharing anything with him, much less things shared by a couple. Heat began to rise along the back of her neck, and she hoped it wasn’t a full-blown blush for him to see. The knowing look in his eyes told her he had seen and knew what was in her mind.
“It’s no secret that children are a necessity to pass any legacy on to. However, first things first. We’ve got to get used to marriage before bringing in anyone else to the mix. So relax, Josie. As I’ve already stated, I’m not going to expect you to say ‘I do’ and fall into my bed.”
Josie blocked the image that came to her mind as soon as he said those words. She needed to keep her wits about her and not let Chance Braxton get her off track and thinking about things that would only complicate everything. One day at a time…until an exit could be found.
“What happens next?”
“Are you accepting my proposal as it stands?”
“I am.”
Chance moved slowly towards her. He stopped within a foot of her.
Her five-foot-five-inch frame was dwarfed by his. At such close range, she was able to note the little crinkle lines radiating from the corner of his eyes, eyes that weren’t a dark sapphire at the moment, but a lively sky blue, as if something had given him immense pleasure. His lashes were longer than any man’s had a right to be, and the slight crook of his nose, from where he was tossed by a bronc into the dirt at age thirteen and had been broken, only lent a masculine virility to a face that loomed ever closer to hers. When her gaze fell of its own volition to his mouth, she almost forgot to breathe.
“I’d kiss you right now because I’m fairly certain that would follow a normal proposal and a moment like this. But I’m afraid if I did try, you might knock my head off. So I’ll just get back to my place and get things rolling, beginning with letting Phillip know what our plans are for the time being. I’ll be back to pick you up about seven.”
Those words jarred her back to the moment. “Pick me up? Why?”
“To celebrate, of course. It’s not every day I get engaged. How about you?” The familiar, easy grin was back, warming his eyes. “We’ll make it dinner…your choice. We can go to the cattlemen’s club or to the country club or…except I can see by the look in your eyes you don’t care for either of those. I would venture that you might prefer…Nan’s Back Porch.”
“I’m not a fancy place kind of female. I have work to do early in the morning. I don’t need…”
“You’re a female after my own heart. I saw that hint of a smile when I mentioned your favorite restaurant. The Back Porch it will be, and I’ll have you home early enough. You’re a smart lady…see how you’re already catching on? Now get busy…you’ve got a ranch to run and so do I.” Before she realized what he was doing, he had lowered his head and placed a quick kiss on her cheek before she could react. Stepping back, he gave her a tease of a wink and then reached for his jacket and hat. She was left looking at the closed door. What had she just done?
Chapter Eight
What had he just done? He had become an engaged man. Not exactly how he envisioned it to be when the day came, but, then again, Josie Monroe was an unusual girl. Make that woman. His course had been set years ago, when he rode over with his father to see their neighbor, Ben Monroe, and he had caught sight of a girl, red mane of hair flying behind her, as she and her horse raced across the field and drew up beside them. He should have known then that he was in for a wild ride knowing her, her silver-laced eyes challenging him even then.
And then his brother had come along, and those eyes had changed. He had to watch as yet another female fell for the Dev Braxton charm. He tried to ignore it. But, for some reason, his shoulder gravitated toward Josie more and more, and he fell into a new normal…making himself the protector of her heart. He had never envied anyone. But he knew the green-eyed monster on a personal basis each time he saw the look in Josie’s eyes and then the tears shed over some careless way his brother had broken her heart.
As the years passed, that envy turned to anger on more than a few occasions. He wasn’t unhappy when his brother finally left the ranch and took off for more exciting places. That left Josie alone, but Chance did his best to step in whenever needed.
Maybe he had been foolish to do so. But he had no regrets. Maybe he was still being foolish to think that Josie could ever see him as more than a business partner and a poor substitute for his brother. Maybe. But it was a chance he had prepared himself for a long time to take. Josie was worth it. They were headed down a new road…together. He had to trust it was the right one.
*
Six hours later, Chance was headed along that road. He could set the cruise control and the truck would find its way to the Monroe ranch without any help from him. At least, that’s the way it felt. He thought back over the years he had traveled the road between the two ranches. Or cut across acres of land on horseback, all to arrive in the same place…wherever Josie was.
This trip was different. Tonight, he was on his way to pick up
Josie Monroe…his fiancée. He still found it difficult to believe. While he may have thought about it…even daydreamed about it once or twice over the years…okay, maybe more than a few times…he never expected it to ever be a reality. Josie Monroe was a wild combination of spitfire and tenaciousness, soft heart and natural beauty. Josie had grown from a gangly, coltish girl into a beautiful and desirable woman, and the most amazing part of all was the fact that she had no idea. There wasn’t one ounce of conceit or pretense. What you saw was what you got with Josie.
Josie’s secret weapon, a secret even from her, was the fact she had no idea how absolutely sexy she could be without even trying. While the jeans she most often wore might just be serviceable in her estimation, they often increased the blood pressure levels of many of the males she crossed paths with on the ranch and on the streets of Braxton. He knew that fact because he had seen it in many of those men’s eyes, and he had felt it often enough first hand.
She had a glorious mane of deep red hair with lighter natural streaks of blonde highlights which she insisted on braiding or tying back out of her way more often than not. The few times he had seen it down and around her shoulders, he had to keep his hands occupied elsewhere to keep from reaching out to touch it. Those silver-gray eyes of hers were always expressive, often reminding him of a feline’s eyes…and usually good at putting him in his place with one look.
Long lashes were natural concealers so that one never knew what thoughts were really behind those eyes and, yet, they drew you into them, and a man could drown there if he wasn’t careful. Her beauty was natural and needed no false enhancements. And when you made her laugh, you felt as if your whole life had just been made worthwhile. His goal was to make her laugh more. She had carried the weight of the world on her shoulders for a long time. It had made her less likely to laugh and more apt to frown, to grow a protective shield around feelings that, at the slightest perceived threat, would bring out her defense mechanisms.
Chance knew none of what was ahead would be easy. From the moment Phillip Banks had dropped the bombshell of the will and the truth had come out about the nature of the loans that had saved the Monroe ranch in recent years, he had known things would not be easygoing…not with Josie and her pride and stubborn determination to handle everything on her own slim shoulders. She was strong and independent and would fight him like one of his mustangs when trying to halter them.
He couldn’t blame her. His hope had to be that, one day, she would realize that he didn’t want to break her or take the spirit away. That was all part of what made him care so much to begin with. Care. That was a watered-down word for what he did feel and had felt for quite some time where she was concerned. Lord knows he had tried to ignore it and keep her compartmentalized in a place that was far from his heart. Especially since she had never been able to see beyond his younger brother to anyone else.
He had been a shoulder for her to cry on so often he’d lost count. He wanted to tear his brother limb from limb more than a few times and shake sense into him. Dev had always had things come too easy for him. He had placed little value on a young girl’s heart. Otherwise, he couldn’t leave so often and stay gone so long.
But then, a day came when he realized that he didn’t really want Dev to look at Josie in a different way…as another female to become a conquest…another heart to step on and leave in tatters when he was done. Dev was all about lovin’ and leavin’ them with a smile. Josie deserved better. So he stayed in the role of confidant and advice giver…to protect her and be there, hopefully, when the day came she woke up and put her infatuation with his brother behind her. If that made him weak or crazy, so be it. Josie’s heart was worth the wait. And he was about to take a real leap of faith with his own.
*
The hall clock had just chimed for the seventh time when Chance stood at her front door. For a moment, Josie forgot to speak at the sight of the man in the snug, charcoal dress jeans and crisp white shirt with its long sleeves and pearl snaps. A gray, western-cut suede jacket, sans tie, gave it a polished, yet easy, finish. The dark Ostrich gray boots and cream Stetson made him the epitome of the well dressed, well-heeled, wealthy rancher about to set out for an evening in town, and she had to remind herself with a pinch, he was still Chance…the man she had always known. Except that wasn’t really the case now. He was also her fiancé. That sent her stomach rolling again.
Josie suddenly felt woefully inadequate in the soft, plum-colored angora sweater with its long sleeves and V-neck. She had matched it with a slim black corduroy skirt that fell just below the knee. A pair of black, high-heeled, knee-high boots covered her legs. She wore the small pearl studs in her ears that her mother received from her father on their thirtieth anniversary. The way Chance’s eyes slid slowly over her ensemble made her more self-conscious. She had tried to appear more sophisticated and had swept her long hair onto the top of her head, but she knew even that fell short in the attempt at the sophistication department.
It was too late to wish she had paid more attention to girly things that her mother tried to expose her to along the way. It seemed they had both chosen to step it up a bit for their first “date” or whatever it might be called. People most often dressed in western casual…jeans and boots being the mainstays of wardrobe for the crowd that favored Nan’s Back Porch. Special occasions brought out the polished boots and ladies in dresses.
“Punctual and very beautiful.” He took the black jacket from her and held it while she slipped it on. Then he gave her his arm, and she didn’t hesitate in accepting it. For some reason, her knees felt a bit wobbly. She didn’t want to crash down the porch steps. Seated beside him in the luxury SUV, she certainly felt special. The way he had spoken the word “beautiful” kept rolling around in her mind as the vehicle ate up the miles.
Coupled with the dark blue velvet look in his eyes when he had spoken it, it had certainly given her pause. Besides her parents, who were more or less obligated to think and say such a thing, no one else had ever said that to her. Her insides had gone all quivery…was that even a term? If he kept that sort of talk up during the evening, she wouldn’t know what to do. However, Chance kept the conversation on a safe subject during the drive…the daily business of their respective ranches. She was grateful for that. Anything else and she would have felt out of her comfort zone. It wasn’t lost on her that he was doing his best to make her feel comfortable.
Josie was definitely glad Chance had not opted to take her to the upscale private cattlemen’s club or the ostentatious country club to sit among the city’s snootiest. Nan’s Back Porch was situated out in the middle of nowhere, almost twenty miles from the city, down a winding country road. It looked like a weathered old ranch house with long wrap around porches dotted with rocking chairs and tables. Hanging baskets of ferns and bright petunias would hang along its length in the warm months.
Now, with the approach of late fall, lanterns hung in those spots, and most diners were seated inside the cavernous main room, at wooden tables and booths, with Texas antiques and photos on the walls. The place was always crowded, no matter the time of day, because the food was true, down-home, fresh country cooking. That reputation not only brought the locals in droves but also lured celebrities and politicians, including a U.S. President. These semi-regulars were evidenced by the signed photographs on the walls… most taken with “Aunt” Nan Lewis, whose family owned the land, and who oversaw the cooking of the family recipes for most of her seventy-five years.
It was Nan who bustled across the room and met them as they stepped through the door. She beamed her delight as Chance swept off his hat and bent to give her a peck on her upturned cheek.
“Now that’s what I call a nice hello. You’re always such a sight for these old sore eyes, Chance Braxton.” Her gaze lit on Josie next. Her smile widened into a full beaming grin. She stepped forward and slid an arm around Josie’s shoulders and gave her a hearty hug. “Well, look here! What a wonderful surprise to see you in here
again, little miss Josie. You certainly have grown up quickly.” The woman sent a pointed look in Chance’s direction. “Took you long enough to notice, young man.”
“Oh, I noticed a while back, Aunt Nan,” he returned with a wink.
“My, my…let me get Suzy to show you to our best table…and most romantic.” She returned his wink with a saucy one of her own. Josie tried her best to continue to smile and hope her face wasn’t blazing red, as it felt so hot.
They followed their waitress to a booth in the corner of the room next to the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the sloping yard to the flowing creek that crossed the property. The sun had just dropped below the horizon and, in the dusk of the evening, a couple of deer munched on the sweet grasses still hanging on along the bank. Josie slid into the booth, and her gaze fell on a single, long-stemmed pink rose lying in front of her on the table.
A quick check of other tables told her that no other tables had flowers. She picked it up and breathed in its scent. Then she looked up and found Chance’s eyes on her. The look in them definitely was new, also. It sent an immediate trilling across her nerves, and her pulse began a tap dance to an unknown beat.
“I seem to remember that you like pink roses.” He noted the inquiry in her eyes. “From prom night. The roses in the corsage…” His voice trailed off as he remembered, as did she, the catastrophe that night had been. It was so long ago; she was surprised he remembered at all.
“Thank you. Yes, I do like them. I keep thinking that one of these springs I’ll plant some rose bushes around the house, but something always comes up and the time gets away.”
“Maybe this spring we’ll see what we can do about that.” The waitress appeared at that moment with two champagne flutes, filled with the golden bubbly. She served their drinks and then left them.
“Okay, I’m thinking the special booth, the rose, and now champagne arriving as we have just sat down…this was all planned.”