Country Brides

by Debbie Macomber

  She poured herself a second cup of coffee and leaned against the kitchen counter, trying to digest everything that was happening to her well-organized life. She felt as though her whole world had been uprooted and flung about—as though a hurricane had landed in Nightingale.

  Wandering aimlessly from room to room, she paused in front of the bookcase, where a photograph of her mother stood. Tears blurred her eyes as she picked it up and clutched it to her chest. Wave upon wave of emotion swept through her, followed by a flood of hot tears.

  She relived the overwhelming grief she’d felt at her mother’s death, and she was furious with her father for letting another woman take Nora’s place in his life. At the same time, she couldn’t begrudge him his new happiness.

  Mrs. Murphy wasn’t the type of woman Kate would have chosen for her father, but then she wasn’t doing the choosing. Suddenly resolute, Kate dragged in a deep breath, exhaling the fear and uncertainty and inhaling acceptance of this sudden change in both their lives.

  The back door opened and instinctively Kate closed her eyes, mentally composing herself. It could only be Luke, and he was the last person she wanted to see right now.

  “Kate?”

  With trembling hands, she replaced the faded photograph and wiped the tears from her face. “Good morning, Luke,” she said as she entered the kitchen.

  Luke had walked over to the cupboard and taken down a mug. “Your father just told me the news about him and Mrs. Murphy,” he said carefully. “Are you going to be all right?”

  “Of course. It’s wonderful for Dad, isn’t it?”

  “For your father yes, but it must be a shock to you so soon…”

  “After Clay and Rorie,” she finished for him. Reaching for the coffeepot, she poured his cup and refilled her own. “I ’m going to be just fine,” she repeated, but Kate didn’t know whether she was telling him this for his benefit or her own. “Naturally, the fact that Dad’s marrying Dorothea means a few changes in all our lives, but I’ll adjust.”

  “I haven’t seen your father this happy in years.”

  Kate did her best to smile through the pain. “Yes, I know.” To her horror tears formed again, and she lowered her eyes and blinked wildly in an effort to hide them.

  “Kate?”

  She whirled around and set her coffee aside, then started wiping invisible crumbs from the perfectly clean kitchen counter.

  Luke’s hands settled on her shoulders, and before she knew what was happening, Kate had turned and buried her face against his clean-smelling denim shirt. A single sob shook her shoulders and she gave a quivering sigh, embarrassed to be breaking down in front of him like this.

  “Go on, baby,” he whispered gently, his hands rubbing her back, “let it out.”

  She felt like such a weakling to be needing Luke so much, but he was so strong and steady, and Kate felt as helpless as a rowboat tossed in an angry sea.

  “Did…did you know Dad might sell the ranch?” she asked Luke.

  “Yes.” His voice was tight. “When did he tell you?”

  “This morning, after he said he was marrying Mrs. Murphy.”

  “You don’t have to worry about it.”

  “But I do,” she said, sobbing brokenly. She felt Luke’s chin caress the crown of her head and she snuggled into his warm, safe embrace. Luke was her most trusted friend. He’d seen her through the most difficult day of her life.

  The thought of Clay and Rorie’s wedding flashed into her mind, and with it came the burning memory of her marriage proposal to Luke. She stiffened in his arms, mortified at the blatant way she’d used him, the way she’d practically begged him to take care of her—to marry her. Breaking free of his arms, she straightened and offered him a watery smile.

  “What would I do without you, Luke Rivers?”

  “You won’t ever need to find out.” He slid his arms around her waist and gently kissed the tip of her nose. His smile was tender. “There must’ve been something in the air last night. First us, and now your father and Mrs. Murphy.”

  “About us,” she began carefully. She drew in a steadying breath, but her eyes avoided Luke’s. “I hope you realize that when I asked you to marry me I…didn’t actually mean it.”

  He went very still and for a long moment he said nothing. “I took you seriously, Kate.”

  Kate freed herself from his arms and reached for her coffee, gripping the mug tightly. “I’d had too much champagne.”

  “According to you, it was only one glass.”

  “Yes, but I drank it on an empty stomach, and with all the difficult emotions the wedding brought out, I…I simply wasn’t myself.”

  Luke frowned. “Oh?”

  “No, I wasn’t,” she said, feigning a light laugh. “The way we were dancing and the way I clung to you, and…and kissed you. That’s nothing like me. I’m not going to hold you to that promise, Luke.”

  As if he found it difficult to remain standing, Luke turned a chair around and straddled it with familiar ease. Kate claimed the chair opposite him, grateful to sit down. Her nerves were stretched to the breaking point. Luke draped his forearms over the back of his chair, cupping the hot mug with both hands, and studied Kate with an intensity that made her blush.

  “Listen,” Kate said hesitantly, “you were the perfect gentleman and I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you did. But…I didn’t mean half of what I said.”

  The sun-marked crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes fanned out as Luke smiled slowly, confidently. “Now that raises some interesting questions.”

  “I don’t understand.” Surely Luke knew what she was talking about, yet he seemed to enjoy watching her make an even bigger fool of herself by forcing her to explain.

  “Well,” he said in an easy drawl, “if you only meant half of what you said, then it leads me to wonder what you did mean and what you didn’t.”

  “I can’t remember everything I said,” she murmured, her cheeks hot enough to pop a batch of corn. “But I do know I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d forget the part about marrying me.”

  “I don’t want to forget it.”

  “Luke, please,” she cried, squeezing her eyes shut. “This is embarrassing me. Could you please drop it?”

  Luke rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “I don’t think I can.”

  So Luke was going to demand his pound of flesh. Kate supposed she shouldn’t be surprised. She had, after all, brought this on herself. “You were so kind to me at the reception…After the wedding ceremony you kept saying you wanted to help me and, Luke, you did, you honestly did. I don’t think I could’ve made it through Clay’s wedding without you, but…”

  “You want to forget the kissing, too?”

  “Yes, please.” She nodded emphatically.

  He frowned. “That ’s not what you said last night. In fact, you seemed a little stunned at how pleasant it was. As I recall you told me—and I quote—‘why didn’t you tell me you were so good at this?’”

  “I said that?” Kate muttered, already knowing it was true.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  She covered her face with both hands as the hot color mounted in her cheeks.

  “And you made me promise to marry you.”

  She bit down hard on her lower lip. “Anyone else in the world would have mercifully forgotten I said that.”

  With a certain degree of ceremony, Luke set his hat farther back on his head and folded his arms. His face was a study in concentration. “I have no intention of forgetting it. I’m a man of my word and I never break my promises.”

  Kate groaned. In light of her father’s news this morning, she’d hoped Luke might be a bit more understanding. “It ’s obvious you’re deriving pleasure from this,” she muttered angrily, then pressed her lips together to keep from saying more.

  “No, not exactly. When would you like to have the wedding? And while we’re at it, you might as well learn now that—”

  “You can’t be serious!” she
interrupted, incredulous that he’d suggest they set a date. If this was a joke, he was carrying it too far.

  “I’m dead serious. You asked me to marry you, I agreed, and anything less would be a breach of good faith.”

  “Then I…I absolve you from your promise.” She waved her hands as if she was granting some kind of formal dispensation.

  He stroked the side of his face, his forehead creased in a contemplative frown. “My word is my word and I stand firm on it.”

  “I didn’t understand what I was saying—well, I did. Sort of. But you know as well as I do that the…heat of the moment was doing most of the talking.”

  Luke’s frown deepened. “I suppose everybody in town will assume you’re marrying me on the rebound. Either that, or I’ll be the one they gossip about. That doesn’t trouble me much, but I don’t like the thought of folks saying anything about you.”

  “Will you stop?” she cried. “I have no intention of marrying anyone! Ever!” She was finished with love, finished with romance. Thirty years from now she’d be living alone with a few cats and her knitting needles.

  “That wasn’t what you said last night.”

  “Would you quit saying that? I wasn’t myself, for heaven’s sake!”

  “Well, our getting married sounded like a hell of a good idea to me. Now, I know you’ve gone through a hard time, but our marriage will end all that.”

  Kate brushed a shaking hand across her eyes, hoping this was just part of a nightmare and she’d soon wake up. Unfortunately when she lowered her hand, Luke was still sitting there, as arrogant as could be. “I can’t believe we’re having this discussion. It’s totally unreasonable, and if you’re trying to improve my mood, you’ve failed.”

  “I’m serious, Kate. I told you that.”

  Keeping her head down, she spoke quickly, urgently. “It’s really wonderful of you to even consider going through with the marriage, but it isn’t necessary, Luke. More than anyone, you should know that I can’t marry you. Not when I love Clay Franklin.”

  “Hogwash.”

  Kate’s head jerked up. “I beg your pardon?”

  “You’re in love with me. You just don’t know it yet.”

  It took Kate only half a second to respond. “Of all the egotistical, vain, high-handed…” She paused to suck in a breath. If Luke’s intent was to shock her, he’d succeeded. She bolted to her feet and flailed the air with both hands. Unable to stand still, she started pacing the kitchen. “I don’t understand you. I’ve tried, honestly I’ve tried. One moment you’re the Rock of Gibraltar, steady and secure and everything I need, my best friend, and the next moment you’re saying the most ridiculous things to me. It never used to be like this! Why have you changed?”

  “Is it really that bad?” he cajoled softly, ignoring her question.

  “I don’t know what happened to you—to us—at the wedding reception, but like you said, something must’ve been in the air. Let’s blame it on the champagne and drop it before one of us gets hurt.”

  “If you gave the idea of our getting married some serious thought, it might grow on you,” he suggested next.

  Then he got to his feet and moved purposefully toward her, his mouth twisted in a cocky grin. “Maybe this will help you decide what’s best.”

  “I—”

  He laid a finger across her mouth. “It seems to me you’ve forgotten it’s not ladylike to be quite so stubborn.” With that, he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her gently against him.

  Knowing what he intended, Kate opened her mouth to protest, but he fastened his lips over hers, sealing off the words, and to her chagrin, soon erasing them altogether. Her fingers gripped the collar of his blue button-snap shirt and against every dictate of her will her mouth parted, welcoming his touch.

  When he released her, it was a minor miracle that she didn’t collapse on the floor. He paused and a wide grin split his face.

  “Yup,” he said, looking pleased, “you love me all right.”

  Three

  Kate had never felt more grateful for a Monday morning than she did the following day. At least when she was at school, she had the perfect excuse to avoid another confrontation with Luke. He seemed to believe he was somehow responsible for her and to take that responsibility quite seriously. She had absolutely no intention of holding him to his promise and couldn’t understand why he was being so stubborn. To suggest she was in love with him simply because she’d proposed marriage and responded ardently to his kisses revealed how truly irrational Luke Rivers had become.

  Kate paused and let that thought run through her mind a second time, then laughed aloud. No wonder Luke insisted on marrying her. Kate had to admit she could see why he might have the wrong impression. Still, she wished she could think of some way to set him straight.

  Luke was right about a few things, though. She did love him—but not in the way he implied. She felt for him as a sister did toward a special older brother. As a woman did toward a confidant and companion of many years’ standing. The feelings she’d experienced when he kissed her were something of a mystery, but could easily be attributed to the heightened emotions following Clay’s wedding. There’d been so many changes in Kate’s life during the past few months that she barely understood herself anymore.

  She could never love Luke the way she’d loved Clay. For as long as Kate could remember, she’d pictured herself as Clay’s wife. Joining her life with any other man’s seemed not only wrong but completely foreign.

  “Good morning, Miss Logan,” seven-year-old Taylor Morgenroth said as he walked casually into the classroom. “I saw you at Mr. Franklin’s wedding on Saturday.”

  “You did?” It shouldn’t surprise her, since nearly every family in town had been represented at the wedding. Probably more of her students had seen her there.

  “You were with Mr. Rivers, weren’t you? My mom kept asking my dad who you were dancing with. That was Mr. Rivers, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes.” Kate had to bite her tongue to keep from explaining that she hadn’t actually been “with” Luke. He wasn’t her official date, although they’d attended the wedding together. But explaining something like that to a second-grader would only confuse the child.

  “My dad made me dance with my older sister. It was yucky.”

  Kate managed some remark about how much of a gentleman Taylor had been, but she doubted that he wanted to hear it.

  Before long, the students of Nightingale Elementary were filing into the classroom and rushing toward their desks. From that point on, Kate didn’t have time to think about Luke or Saturday night or anything else except her lesson plans for the day.

  At noon she took her packed lunch to the staff room. Several of the other teachers were already seated at the circular tables.

  “Kate!” Sally Daley, the sixth-grade teacher, waved her hand to gain Kate’s attention. She smiled, patting the empty chair beside her.

  Reluctantly Kate joined the older woman, sending an apologetic look to her friend Linda Hutton, the third-grade teacher, with whom she usually had lunch. Sally had the reputation of being a busybody, but Kate couldn’t think of a way to elude her without being rude.

  “We were just talking about you,” Sally said warmly, “and we thought it would be nice if you’d sit with us today.”

  “I’ll be happy to,” Kate said, feeling a twinge of guilt at the lie. She opened her brown bag, taking out a container of peach-flavored yogurt and two rye crisps.

  “Clay’s wedding was really lovely, wasn’t it?” Sally asked without preamble. “And now I understand your father and Dorothea Murphy are going to be tying the knot?” Her questioning tone indicated she wasn’t certain of her facts.

  “That’s right,” Kate said cheerfully.

  “Kind of a surprise, wasn’t it?”

  “Kind of,” was all Kate would admit, although she realized she should’ve known her father was falling in love with Mrs. Murphy. They’d been spending more and more time to
gether since early summer. If Kate hadn’t been so blinded by what was happening between her and Clay, she would’ve noticed how serious her father had become about Dorothea long before now.

  “It’s going to be difficult for you, isn’t it, dear?” Sally asked sympathetically. “Everyone knows how close you and your father have been since Nora died.”

  “I’m very pleased my father’s planning to remarry.” And Kate was. The initial shock had worn off; she felt genuinely and completely happy that her father had found someone to love. He’d never complained, but Kate knew he’d been lonely during the past few years.

  “Still, it must be a blow,” Sally pressed, “especially coming on the heels of Clay and Rorie getting married. It seems your whole life’s been turned upside down, doesn’t it?”

  Kate nodded, keeping her eyes focused on her sparse meal.

  “Speaking of Clay and Rorie, their wedding was lovely,” Susan Weaver, the kindergarten teacher, put in.

  “I thought so, too,” Kate said, smiling through the pain. “Rorie will be a perfect wife for him.” The words nearly stuck in her throat, although she was fully aware of their truth. Rorie was an ideal complement to Clay. From the moment she’d stepped into their lives, she’d obviously belonged with him.

  “The new Mrs. Franklin is certainly an ambitious soul. Why, the library hasn’t been the same since she took over. There are education programs going on every other week. Displays. Lectures. I tell you, nothing but good has happened since she moved to Nightingale.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

  Sally nodded. “You’ve taken this…disappointment over Clay rather well,” she murmured with cloying sympathy. “And now your father remarrying so soon afterward…” She gently patted Kate’s hand. “If there’s anything I can do for you, Kate, anything at all, during this difficult time, I want you to call me. I know I speak for each and every staff member when I say that. Your father must see what a wonderful daughter you’ve been, and I’m sorry all of this is being added to your burden just now. But if it’s ever more than you can bear, your friends at Nightingale Elementary will be honored to stand by your side. All you have to do is call.” The other women nodded.