by Sara Orwig
* * *
Excitement bubbled in Ava as she studied herself in the mirror. Her hair was parted in the center and fell straight on either side of her face. She wore a black sleeveless dinner dress with a deep V-neckline that revealed her curves, the skirt coming to midcalf. She wore high-heeled black pumps that showcased her legs and a diamond bracelet that echoed the small stones lining the neckline of her dress.
She was so eager for this evening with Wade that she nearly jumped when she heard a car door shut. She looked out the window to see Wade striding toward the house. In a charcoal Western-cut suit, a white dress shirt, gold cuff links in the French cuffs and black boots, he took her breath away. The breeze caught locks of his midnight hair and lifted a curl off his forehead. His injuries had healed and he was incredibly good-looking.
She wanted to run out and throw herself into his arms and kiss him while he carried her to bed. She also wanted an evening out with him because she had fun with him. It was exciting to be with him and she could look forward to coming back to share the rest of the night. She glanced around her house and her bedroom. She only had two bedrooms. Wade didn’t seem to care what she had or didn’t have. Then she forgot all about the house and furniture. Tomorrow she had already told him she would go with him to look at the new arena in Ft. Worth. She wanted to do that.
So for now, she simply wasn’t going to worry about the future or telling him goodbye. She was just going to enjoy being with him and hope she could hang on to her heart enough that she wouldn’t be deeply in love with him.
He was the best-looking man she had ever known, she thought again as she rushed to open the door.
When she did, he had started to reach to ring the bell. Instead, he just wrapped his arm around her waist, stepped inside and closed the door behind them. He kissed her, an all-consuming kiss that made her feel as if she would melt in his arms.
Finally, he released her. “I promised you dinner and that’s what we’re going to do.” Still, he didn’t move toward the door, instead taking her in from head to toe. “You look gorgeous. You can eat and I’ll watch you.”
She laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Come on. If we don’t go now, we never will.”
He took her hand and opened the front door. She set the alarm, picked up her small black purse and closed the door behind them, hearing the lock click.
He took her to a downtown private dinner club and she had a delicious steak dinner, but she could barely eat because all she could do was think about kissing him and making love again.
It would be a bittersweet night, but she wanted more time with him. And she couldn’t keep telling herself it would only be one more time. Soon she knew she had to say goodbye and mean it or she might fall deeply in love with him. She would worry about that in another few days.
* * *
The early morning sun was bright in Fort Worth, the air crisp with a fresh smell. The city was still relatively quiet even though work-day traffic was picking up. She wore a frilly blue blouse, jeans and sandals and had her blond hair tied behind her head with a narrow blue silk scarf. She was happy to be with Wade, eager to see the arena.
* * *
When Wade and Ava drove into the Fort Worth parking lot there were already two pickups there. Two men stood talking, until he came into view and then they stopped talking and turned to watch him drive up beside their pickups. Dressed the same as he was, both had broad-brimmed hats, one gray hat and one black. Both men wore cowboy boots. They had on jeans and Western style long-sleeved cotton shirts.
“Are they your cousins?” she asked, certain they were.
“Yes, they are. Jake and Luke. I have other cousins, too.”
“I feel like I shouldn’t be here,” Ava said. “I’ll be the only woman here.”
“Believe me, every man here will be glad you’re here. Watch them try to get close to talk to you. It’ll be nice for them to get to see the arena we donated money to build, but believe me, they will be more interested in talking to you. Luke, maybe just being polite.”
“He’s the one you said lost his family two years ago when his wife and baby were killed in a car wreck.”
“Yep. He hasn’t been the same since.”
“I guess not. You couldn’t ever get over that. That kind of loss makes a lot of other losses look insignificant. I’m surprised he can even get out of the house or that he wants to.”
“You have to keep on living,” Wade said. “Luke’s a great guy. He’s gotten very quiet, but you’ll like him.”
“I still don’t think I should be here. This is a guy thing.”
“No, it’s not and we’ll all enjoy your company and I’ll do something special tonight to show you my appreciation that you came with me this morning. Believe me, I like it a thousand times better with you along.” His gaze swept over her and she tingled as he smiled. After Wade parked, he grabbed his tan Stetson, put it on and stepped out to go around and open her door, taking her hand when she stepped down. She was aware of his warm hand closing lightly around hers. He looked handsome, strong and so appealing. He wore a navy shirt, jeans and boots. She was excited to be with him. She did feel slightly out of place, but she wanted to be with Wade and she wanted to see the arena. She knew it was a big thing for the city and the state and had cost millions, all donated by Wade and three of his cousins.
He extended his hand when he approached his cousins.
“Jake, it’s good to see you,” Wade said, shaking the hand of a man as tall as he was. They smiled as they shook.
“We were wondering when you were going to get here,” Jake Reed kidded and they both laughed.
Wade turned to the other man and they shook hands. “Luke, it’s good to see you. How’re you doing?” he asked, looking intently at his cousin.
“Ava, I want you to meet my cousins. Cousins, meet Ava Carter. Ava, this is Jake Reed.” He paused while Jake shook her hand and said hello.
“Ava, this is Luke Grayson. Luke meet Ava.”
“I’m happy to meet you, Ava,” Luke said, smiling warmly. “I’m glad you’re with us this morning.”
“Thank you,” she said, smiling at Luke. “I’m glad to be here and get to see this new arena I’ve heard so much about. It’ll be fantastic for the city and for the state.”
“We hope so. The old arena was. We should get the grand tour,” Luke said. He glanced at Wade. “How’s Wynn?”
“Actually, maybe some slight changes. I think he’ll stop impersonating me so that will be a relief.” Wade glanced at Jake. “Jake, are you still fighting with your neighbor? Has either one of you taken the other to court this month?”
Jake shook his head. “Nope. We’ve had about eight months without a lawsuit or a big hassle. At least we don’t shoot at each other like we’ve always been told the early day Reeds and Blakes did.” As they all laughed, Ava was still looking over the new building.
“The facility looks wonderful from here,” Ava stated and they all turned to look at the massive new building in a rich dark brown wood with glass along the center front running up to the roof. The first floor was the dark brown wood, but the upper floors had lots of glass to let in light.
“You’ll like this arena,” Wade said. He smiled at his cousins. “You two need to come to town more often and get off your ranches.”
“As if you hang around Ft. Worth or Dallas,” Jake drawled.
“It looks mighty good from out here,” Luke said. “Course it should for what it cost.”
“It’s going to be great. It seats 11,360, there are 356 horse stalls. The building has a full service bar and an upper level cantina with catering,” Wade said. “Our man, Bart Kingston will be here and he will tell you all about it,” Wade said.
“You guys have seen it,” Luke said. “It looks good from out here.”
A black car turned into the lot
and Wade paused. “Here comes Kingston. He’s full of enthusiasm about this new arena. I think the arena board hired a very good guy for the job.”
A tall, thin man with curly blond hair waved, parked and stepped out, hurrying toward them.
“Good morning. I got tied up in traffic held up by a train. It’s good to see you,” he said, extending his hand to shake hands with Wade.
“This is my friend, Ava Carter,” Wade said as Bart Kingston shook hands with Jake.
“Ava, this is Bart Kingston who will be in charge of this arena.”
Wade turned slightly. “Bart, this is my cousin, Luke Grayson and another cousin, Jake Reed.”
“I’m so glad to meet you both and thank you in person for your magnificent, generous donations that made this arena possible,” he said as he shook hands with Luke and Jake. He smiled at all three men. “All of you, I want to thank you again for your very generous donations to build this new arena. It is a fabulous building and we are already booked for wonderful horse shows and events. It’s a boon to Texas and to the city. Let’s go look at it. You’re in for a great tour.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing the arena. I’ve heard about it,” Luke said.
“Miss Carter, I’m glad you could join us. Let me lead the way and unlock the place.” He headed for the massive front doors with carved horses in the wood. As he walked, he talked.
“We’ll have the U.S. West Finals Rodeo this year. We’ve booked an Arabian horse show, an Appaloosa horse show, a Morgan show and Quarter horses. This is going to be big on horses. We have three rodeos booked. We’ll have a National Teen Championship Rodeo this year.” He paused to unlock big double doors. Luke, Jake and Wade all stepped forward to open the massive doors. Wade took Ava’s arm lightly and she stepped inside a huge entry area with marble columns and a gleaming hardwood floor. She noticed an inviting faint smell of new wood.
“This is beautiful,” she told Wade.
“It’s great, but the big deal is the arena floor and the horse accommodations—their stalls, the facilities for taking care of them. There are cattle pens and a big barn behind this building even though we’re in town,” Bart said. “Just follow me. I hope you’re already enjoying the first part of our tour,” he said to Ava, who smiled as she nodded.
“I’m enjoying it very much. This is a fantastic building.”
“We think so,” Bart said. “It’s beautiful, and it’s going to be even more so when we get the paintings up and a few more things done. Now here is the arena.” He led them out into the center of the arena and it was dazzling to her as she looked around.
“I don’t know anything about what should be here, but this looks fabulous,” she told Wade.
“It is fabulous,” he said while she looked at all the box seats that looked luxurious and roomy with comfortable big cushioned chairs, tables to hold food. Beyond the box seats were cushioned seats that had ample leg room and wide aisles.
“The sound will be excellent,” Bart said. He turned to point up. “We have a cantina with a full service bar, a seating capacity of 260, we have six concession stands in the building.”
Wade stood beside her on her left and Jake was to her right. Jake looked over her head at Wade. “Looks like they spent the money well. This is going to be a great arena. Almost makes me wish I still was signed up for bull riding. Almost. I’m smart enough to know my limits.”
“I agree,” Wade answered as they looked around.
“Do you like rodeos or horse shows?” Jake asked Ava.
“Rodeos. I’ve never seen a horse show.”
“What’s your profession, Ava?” he asked.
“I’m an occupational therapist and I work for myself, so I have what I want to do. I provide home care,” she told him and he nodded.
Bart motioned to them to follow him as he continued talking while he moved on.
It was over an hour before they were through and had thanked Bart and finished talking to him. Wade held her arm lightly as they walked out with his cousins.
“It’s going to be a great arena,” Luke said.
“Yes, it is and we do have to pick a date for the grand opening, but the Board is going over the schedule and they have some new events to add, so we can’t really get a date any time soon and we’ll have to wait until Bart contacts us,” Wade said and his cousins nodded.
“They still have to get their sign up with the arena name,” Jake added. “It’s going to be good when it’s all ready. The Cal Brand Arena,” he said. “The name is nice, but we’d all rather have Cal with us.”
“Come go to lunch with us,” Wade said.
“If Ava is going,” Jake said, smiling at her and she smiled as she nodded.
“Yes, I am.”
The cousins joined them and Ava found them to be fun and they were fun and happy being together. She felt a pang as she listened to them talk. Wade was so wonderful. The more she knew him, the more in love with him she was and it hurt. How could he not want his own children. He had wonderful cousins and they all had fun together. His children might be like his cousins instead of like his twin. Even though she heard what they were saying and laughed with them, she couldn’t keep from thinking about Jake and how it was going to hurt to part with him. She had to do it and she knew it was going to break her heart. Today had just made her fall more deeply in love with Wade and his family.
She forced those thoughts out of her mind and then that evening when she was out with him, she had to try to bank the hurtful thoughts again. She enjoyed every moment of the wonderful dinner with him and every moment at his condo later and passionate, wild lovemaking all through the night and again in the morning.
When she woke, he wasn’t beside her in the bed. But his scent lingered. She turned over and buried her face in his pillow, inhaling deeply and committing the scent to memory. Waking this morning, she knew what she had to tell Wade. And she knew that was their last night together.
Forcing herself out of bed, she showered and dressed in her black dress, the only clothes she had, and found him waiting in the kitchen with breakfast ready. Freshly showered, with damp hair, he was in jeans, a blue denim shirt and boots and he looked fantastic.
He walked up to kiss her, a long, sexy kiss that made her weak in the knees and wanting to hold back the words she knew she needed to say to him.
When she looked into his eyes, she saw him tilt his head slightly, a questioning expression on his face. She wondered if he knew what she had to say. But in a flash, his face changed and he pulled her close again. “You look gorgeous,” he said, kissing her.
He’d fixed a delicious-looking breakfast of eggs, toast, strawberries, blueberries and hot coffee, but she couldn’t eat more than a few bites. It was too difficult to get food down her tight throat.
He sat back. “I’d like to show you my ranch today. Will you go with me?”
She gazed at him and with all her heart she wanted to say yes. Telling her he had never asked a woman to the ranch before meant she was special to him. But was she special enough to change his views of life and his determination to stay single and childless?
She knew she should resist the invitation. But how could she when he had as much as said that she was more important to him than any other woman in his past? Yet they had no future unless he changed.
She argued with herself to go and take that chance on him changing. As she mulled it over, his new cell phone chimed. She knew he had bought a new phone to replace the one he lost in the flood. He answered, frowned and got up from the table to cross the kitchen. He spoke softly and she didn’t care to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t keep from hearing a few words and the concern-filled tone of his voice.
When the call ended, he turned back to her. One look at his face and she knew it was bad news.
Ten
“That was my brother Jack. Dad’s in the hospital. Th
ey are putting in a pacemaker.”
“Oh, Wade, I’m so sorry. I’ll get a cab to get home. You go now to the hospital.”
“No, I’ll take you home, but I do want to go to the hospital now.”
“Of course. But please let me call a cab.”
He shook his head. “No. Your place is not out of the way,” he said, raking his fingers through his damp hair.
“I’ll get my purse,” she said, rushing from the room, saying a silent prayer for Wade, his dad and his family. She hurt for Wade because it was obvious he was worried.
In minutes they were in the car and they made the drive in silence. At her house when he pulled up in the drive, she turned to him as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “Don’t get out. Let me out and you go. Call me later, please, and let me know how he is. Call me if I can do anything. You and your family are in my prayers.”
He smiled at her. “Thanks. I’ll get back to you when I see how Dad is.”
She stepped out quickly and walked to her front door as she heard him drive away. At the porch steps she looked over her shoulder to see his car disappear around the corner and she couldn’t help the feeling that he was driving out of her life.
This heart attack would reaffirm his feelings on marriage and children, no doubt because he’d attribute it to the anxiety caused his dad by Wynn’s antics. Wade would be far more determined than ever now to never marry, never have children. Sadness and hurt filled her.
No matter how much he wanted her to, she couldn’t go to his ranch with him. She couldn’t go out again with him. It was time to walk out of his life forever.
The pain was monumental, far worse than she thought it would be.
* * *
It was about two hours later when she had a call from him.
“Sorry to take you home so abruptly. My dad is doing okay so far and it wasn’t as bad as the family thought at first. They’ve installed a pacemaker and said he will be here tomorrow for certain and then they’ll see how he is. He’s done well, thank heavens.” Judging by how quickly the words tumbled from his lips, she knew he was stressed. And rightly so. She knew how much he loved his father. Before she had a chance to say anything, he asked her, “Will you go to dinner with me tonight? Nothing fancy, just go eat and be together. I don’t want to be alone and I need to see you.”