While You Were Speaking: Spring Flings and Engagement Rings

by Maria Hoagland

  “I don’t think a little rain is going to make a difference now.” He waved his hands down his muddy sides. “It might actually do some good.”

  He was caked in dark brown. “It’s a nice look,” she teased. “It brings out your eyes.”

  “So I should consider rolling in mud every morning so I look my best?” He quirked an eyebrow at her, emphasizing those expressive emerald eyes she was so enamored with. She hadn’t been kidding about his eyes.

  “Maybe only for special occasions. You know, for dates you want to impress.” She felt her cheeks flame hot at her impulsive comment and hoped the dark of twilight would cover her mistake as thickly as the mud covered her shoes.

  He cleared his throat awkwardly. “See you tomorrow, Lucy.” He gave her a nod and started to walk toward the Cornucopia.

  “See you tomorrow, Zachary.” She hadn’t heard his family call him that, ever, but it almost rhymed with her name and it had slipped out.

  He gave her a second glance, his eyebrows pulled together. But then he smiled, his eyes twinkling, and walked away, shaking his head.

  Lucy opened the door to her stairwell and climbed halfway up the stairs only to find JJ leaning against her door.

  “Where were you last night?”

  She stopped, not wanting to meet him at her door, and stared at him, at a complete loss. What was he talking about?

  “Mud bogging?” He glared at her, crossing his arms in defense. “I had to toss your ticket.”

  Wait. When he’d told her about the tickets, he’d been asking her out? She hadn’t gotten that. At all. She’d honestly thought he’d been bragging about his good fortune in scoring tickets.

  “I stood outside for the first ten minutes waiting for you.” Hurt was evident in his eyes. “Couldn’t even scalp it.”

  She felt like a heel. “I’m so—”

  He turned away, holding out his hand for her to talk to.

  Other than apologizing, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to say anyway.

  He folded his arms over his chest, glaring at her.

  She felt bad—bad that he’d been disappointed—but she hadn’t said she would go with him. Unable to look JJ in the eye, she looked out the transom window and caught a glance of Zach walking away. He was taking his time, though the spring rain remained steady. When he rubbed a palm down his face and shook it out, he turned back, throwing a glance at the door she’d gone through, and smiled.

  She couldn’t help but smile back, though Zach couldn’t see and JJ could. To cover it, she pulled her cold hands up to her mouth and blew on them, rewarded with the scent of Zach’s cologne on her jacket sleeves. She pulled in a deep breath. Too bad her jacket was covered in mud and she’d have to wash away the memories.

  “You gotta make a choice,” JJ insisted. “Him or me?”

  She’d forgotten he was still there. “Him.” She finished walking up the last two steps and reached around JJ to unlock her door. There was no question.

  “You don’t have to be hasty.” JJ lifted both hands, palms out. “I’ll give you what they call one of them mulligans—a golf do-over—and not hold you to that.”

  The lock turned easily, and she let herself in. “Good night, JJ.”

  She should feel worse for JJ, but no matter how many times he asked her out, she wasn’t going to be interested in him, especially when she’d had the most wonderful evening with Zach. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d joked about stupid stuff and laughed so hard. He was funny, easy to talk to, and really great to look at—all things she couldn’t get enough of. Even knowing it wouldn’t be for long, she’d take as much as she could get.

  14

  Waiting for the rest of the Hughes clan to get up and get ready was taking too much of his day, and this morning, Zach wasn’t going to waste any more of it. After walking Lucy home the night before, and then spending a sleepless night rehashing it, he needed some time to rein in his thoughts. All too often, they were wandering back to the brunette beauty, the one woman who was off-limits. Was that the reason he couldn’t let it go? Was this some kind of weird younger-brother fantasy of finally beating his brother at something? If that were true, he was one sick guy.

  “Morning, Zach,” the friendly blond cashier welcomed him as he stopped into Harold’s Market to pick up the jalapeño kolache and fresh-squeezed orange juice that had become his morning go-to. Pruny had it ready for him, bagged it up, and accepted his five bucks before Zach even lost his train of thought.

  After the easy conversation with Lucy last night, he’d been more convinced than ever that he was not interested in her out of spite for Carter, but rather in spite of him. Zach could certainly see what it was Carter liked about her.

  Enjoying his kolache, Zach jaywalked across Main Street toward the city park. It was as good a place as any to collect his thoughts. Reaching the gazebo, he popped the last bite into his mouth. A man stood on an eight-foot ladder, a portable chop saw set up in the middle of the gazebo’s floor, a Bluetooth speaker spouting country music nearby. Obviously in the middle of replacing rotten fascia at the roofline, the man glanced around and patted the pockets of his work pants. At the base of the ladder, a measuring tape lay in the grass.

  “I thought the community beautification project wasn’t starting until day after tomorrow.” Zach lifted a hand to shield the sun from behind the construction worker while he spoke.

  “Doesn’t,” he said simply. “Some big-shot country singer is coming into town to do some PR, and his manager worked it out with Lucy that he’ll be painting this gazebo. They just don’t know when. So I told her I could prep it before the cleanup officially kicks off.”

  “Makes sense.” Zach picked up the measuring tape and handed it to him. “Give me the measurements, and I’ll cut you one. Fifteen-degree interior?” Zach guessed.

  “Yep.” The man measured. “Five foot, eleven and three-eighths.”

  “Never an easy number,” Zach said lightly. “Never square, are they?”

  “Not when they’re this old; that’s for sure.”

  “Not when they’re brand-new, either.”

  The man chuckled. “Don’t tell my clients that. They think it’s easier than it is.”

  The man waited while Zach cut the piece and handed it up. He stood at the base of the ladder to see if the piece needed a second cut. It didn’t. It fit perfectly.

  “You know your way around wood.” The construction worker sounded impressed, but Zach hadn’t done anything special other than guessing the right angle. “Do you work construction?”

  Zach felt a little pride at the assumption. “Nope. I’m a mortician.” He waited for the typical reaction and got it.

  “As in . . .” The guy was afraid to even say it out loud.

  Zach chuckled. “As in funeral director, undertaker, embalmer, makeup artist unless I can talk my sister into doing it, and sometimes grave digger.” He handed up the nail gun.

  After the man popped the board into place, he descended the ladder and held his hand out to Zach. “David Daley. Or Dave. Whichever.”

  “Zach Hughes.”

  Dave moved his ladder around to the next area of rotted wood. “You like working as a mortician?”

  “It’s work.” Work he was enjoying less and less. Zach’s boredom was probably evident in his tone, but it was a relief not to have to pretend for once. “Doesn’t smell nearly as good as fresh-sawn pine.”

  David climbed the ladder, laughing so hard Zach thought he might fall over sideways. “I can imagine,” Dave said. “But nothing smells as good as fresh-sawn pine. Except maybe cedar.”

  “I hear you there,” Zach agreed. “I’d rather work with dead trees than dead humans.”

  With as uncomfortable as most people were with this normal phase of life, sometimes the funeral-home humor Zach always had at the ready fell flat. Dave, though, laughed.

  “Truth is,” Zach continued, “the more I get into woodworking, the more I want to do. I’ve actually s
tarted to get a name for myself building custom cabinets, built-in bookshelves, that kind of thing.”

  Dave called out another number, and Zach got to measuring it on the next 1x8.

  “Custom cabinet builder, huh? If you’re any good at it, I could keep you busy full-time around here. You moving to Harvest Ranch?”

  Zach blinked twice, surprised at how much he didn’t hate the idea. He hadn’t thought about it, but maybe he should. “Are you serious?”

  “I could be.” Dave paused while Zach cut. “I build high-end homes in the area,” he said when the noise of the saw died down. “And I’ve been looking for the right help. My clients need someone with a little creativity, someone not afraid to take chances.”

  Zach liked the sound of that. While he mulled over the unexpected idea, the latest song ended. He recognized the announcer’s voice, and his heart leapt into his throat. Guilt wasn’t far behind. He was such a traitor to his brother.

  “Zach!” his sister called from a ways away. The shortness of his name sounded like a reprimand, as if she could read his thoughts.

  He turned to see Marnie only a couple of yards away now.

  “Mom has me running to the bakery to get some of those scones she likes. They’re not exactly like Sweet Memories Café’s, but they aren’t bad.”

  “Well . . .” Zach let out a quick laugh. “Of course they aren’t. Nothing is as magical as Keira’s scones.”

  “Do you want me to pick one up for you?”

  Zach shook his head. “I’m sure they’re good, but no, thank you. I grabbed something already.” And he really wanted to get back to this conversation with David. If he was serious, Zach was tempted to give it a shot. The idea of starting a new life in a new profession was intriguing.

  “Okay.” Marnie started back toward the bakery.

  In his haste to get back to the job offer, Zach might have been a little short. He didn’t want Marnie to think he didn’t appreciate her efforts, so he threw a “thanks” over his shoulder.

  “No problem.” She flashed a smile and waved.

  He turned back to the work site. “What’s next?” The job Dave had been focused on was complete, but there seemed to be plenty more to fix up. It might actually have been easier to tear the gazebo down and build a new one.

  “That’s it for the fascia. I do need to check the roof, though. A few of the shakes got blown off last night when the roughest part of the storm came through.”

  Zach nodded. The storm had gotten a lot louder around one or two o’clock in the morning.

  “You could check the benches inside to see if anything needs to be done there.”

  “Sure thing, boss.” Zach had meant it as a joke, but he didn’t mind the sound of it. Or if he became an independent contractor, he could be his own boss. That didn’t sound bad at all.

  He’d only started testing the benches when Zach noticed Lucy coming his direction. She’d crossed the emerald-green lawn and was only a few yards away. Zach stood, the smile on his face only the tip of the iceberg to the joy he felt having her seek him out.

  “David Daley,” Lucy said, her voice booming with enthusiasm. “Just the guy I wanted to see.”

  Disappointment ate through that joy like an acid. Apparently, she hadn’t sought him out. But that was good. It put Zach back in his place, the place he should have been in all along: the role of future brother-in-law.

  “Lucy Morrowitz, the woman with the plan,” Dave quipped back.

  She nodded emphatically, a sparkle in her eye. “That I do—”

  Her voice, infused with sunshine and optimism, brought back the previous night and the time they’d spent together. It had taken every ounce of his control not to kiss her in the rain the evening before, and then he’d spent the rest of the night lying awake, wishing he had. Feeling her lips under his would have been worth every bit of remorse he would inevitably have felt today. Except he couldn’t do that to his brother. He couldn’t do that to her.

  “The problem I am running up against is that West Slade and River MacKenzie don’t have a plan.” She tucked a lock of wavy hair behind her ear, blowing out a breath in frustration. “I still have no idea when they’re going to show up. Two weeks is a huge window of time. If they want my help in coordinating everything—” She cut herself off and took a deep breath. “How are things going here?” she asked in a much more pleasant tone. She seemed to appraise the work going on appreciatively. “Good morning, Zach.” She turned a brilliant smile on him, and once again, he was a goner.

  He couldn’t help it. He was blown away by her presence. Lucy Morrowitz had been pretty when he met her. Enough so that he wished he hadn’t had to deal with a crying Ezra at the time. Since he’d started to get to know her better, Lucy had only grown more beautiful. Now, she took his breath away. It was all he could do not to stare.

  The nervous way she tucked that strand of hair repeatedly behind her ear suggested she’d just noticed he was there. Was she as affected by him as he was of her? Stupid, traitorous excitement ran through him, and he worked double time to snuff it out.

  “It’s all good,” Dave said, “and going a lot faster with my expert help.” He looked between Zach and Lucy and back again before he lifted an eyebrow at Zach.

  Zach felt his insides grow cold. If David could see something was going on between him and Lucy, Carter would notice immediately and kill him.

  For a moment, no one spoke, but the babble of Lucy as the WHHR announcer filled in the gap. Lucy threw a look at the speaker and then checked her watch. “I’ve—” She shoved her watch hand into her pocket and shifted from one foot to the other. “I’ve got to go. Our last committee meeting is in fifteen minutes, and I needed to stop by Tyan Quilts first to check with Mrs. Tyan.” She compulsively checked her watch again. “I just wanted to tell you the . . . non-news, Dave.”

  He grinned. “Thanks.” He tipped his head toward Zach. “Either way—if this Canyon, Lake—”

  “River,” Lucy offered. “River MacKenzie.”

  “Right. Whether this River guy comes Saturday or not—we’ll be done with our part. The rest is up to y’all.”

  “Thanks,” she said. “Both of you.” She glanced at her watch one more time. “I guess—” She glanced over at the radio again, her eyes flaring slightly before she rushed to finish. “I’ll see you later.”

  The two men watched Lucy leave in silence as she returned from commercial break on the radio. This prerecorded Lucy and live, in-person Lucy could get confusing pretty quickly.

  “This song goes out to all those who have been holding back from telling that special someone how you feel,” announcer Lucy was saying. “No matter how long—or maybe it hasn’t been very long—you’ve been wanting to say it—” The first strains of Brett Young’s “In Case You Didn’t Know” started, and Lucy finished her thought over the introduction. “—don’t let time get away without sharing what’s in your heart.”

  Zach recognized the song immediately. If that wasn’t exactly how he was feeling about her …

  He couldn’t think about it, but he couldn’t look away from Lucy either. As the song started, she looked back over her shoulder toward the speaker but didn’t lift her eyes to meet his. Was it possible she’d chosen that song for him?

  He shook his head. He was completely crazy.

  To his credit, Dave waited until Lucy was completely across the street before he brought it up. “How long has this been going on?”

  Zach considered feigning ignorance but decided not to go that route. “We’re not . . .” Zach wasn’t sure how to say it. “I mean—”

  “The looks between you two?” Dave pinned him with a steady gaze. “And that song?” He leaned back against one of the gazebo posts, crossing his ankles in front of him and stroking his beard. “You need to show her how you feel.”

  “I—” If that song was a message for him . . .

  “Listen. Lucy’s a great girl. I’ve known her since she was a kid. If you want to impr
ess her, I might even have a couple of ideas.” He gave Zach a sideways look. “You know, if you’re interested.”

  Zach was interested. He was very interested. But he couldn’t. As he struggled over what to say, he saw Marnie approaching at a speed-walker’s pace.

  “I’m curious,” Zach said to David, “but . . .” He nodded toward Marnie. The last thing he wanted to do was make plans for stealing his brother’s fiancée with their sister around. “Hold that thought.”

  “Roger that.”

  Zach greeted his sister with a smile. “Forget something?” he called when she was still several yards away.

  She walked closer before speaking, worry forming a frown on her face. “We need to talk. I have news.” She threw a glance Dave’s direction.

  “I’ve got this.” David got the message loud and clear. He reached for the measuring tape Zach was still holding. “We’ll catch up later.” He gave Zach a pointed look, communicating that their conversation about how to tell Lucy he was interested in her wasn’t over.

  Zach relinquished the tool and fell into step next to Marnie. “What’s up?”

  She sighed, her face growing visibly paler. “I know why Lucy asked Carter to speak in Harvest Ranch.” Marnie’s voice had an edge to it. “And it’s not because they’re dating.”

  Shock, relief, and suspicion all hit him at the same time. Lucy wasn’t dating Carter? He tried to wrap his head around that. Was Marnie sure?

  Wait. She’d known that Zach had thought they were? “You knew?” Zach stared at her.

  She tipped her head in an apology. “Mom might have said something.” Her shoulders rounded in on her for a moment, but then she looked up at him, catching her bottom lip between her teeth before she inhaled. “Did Lucy tell you she was dating Carter? She didn’t say anything to me.”

  He shook his head. “No, she didn’t say anything like that to me.” Wasn’t that the truth? Now Carter, on the other hand . . . “So . . .” He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to go on. “Why did she invite him?”