Joy walked slowly back to the dance, where she found Josh in the middle of the floor, once again the center of attention.
Chapter Twenty-One
As part of the carnival cleanup committee, Lonny got to town early the next morning. Tom accompanied him, but Lonny was under no delusion—the attraction wasn’t sweeping the streets. Tom had come with the express purpose of finding Michelle Larson. Lonny was just as eager for a glimpse of Joy.
It was clear to him that Joy and Josh were completely incompatible, and he hoped she finally had the good sense to recognize it. After two years in Red Springs, Joy had become a country girl. Life in the big city was no longer right for her. According to what Letty had told him, Josh would be leaving Red Springs in a day or two. Soon, in other words, but not soon enough to suit Lonny.
Broom in hand, he walked down Main Street, sweeping up trash as he went. The carnival people had already packed their equipment, ready to move on to the next town.
Red Springs was taking its time waking up after a late night. Uncle Dave’s, the local café, didn’t hang out the “open” sign until after seven-thirty. Their biscuits and gravy, with a cup of strong coffee, was the best breakfast in town. Whenever he had the chance, Lonny sat at the counter and ordered a double portion of the house special. Those biscuits would carry him all the way to evening.
He was busy dumping trash into a large plastic bag when he noticed Josh Howell leaving the restaurant, holding a cup of takeout coffee.
“How’s it going?” Josh said, approaching Lonny. He surveyed the street, where the majority of the festivities had taken place.
“All right, I guess.” Lonny stopped sweeping and leaned against the broom. He liked the other man, but if it came to stepping aside so Josh could walk off with Joy, well, that was another matter.
“You said you love Joy,” Josh murmured.
“I do.”
Josh nodded soberly. “She’s in love with you, too.” He looked down at his feet and then up again. “The entire time we were together, she was watching you. She couldn’t take her eyes off you.”
It demanded severe discipline on Lonny’s part not to leap into the air and click his cowboy boots in jubilation.
“I’m not sure Joy realizes it yet,” Josh added.
Lonny disagreed. “She knows it, all right—only she isn’t happy about it.”
Josh grinned as if he agreed. “I’ll be heading back to Seattle later this morning. Earlier than I intended, but I can see the lay of the land. It’s obvious that Joy and I don’t have a future together.” He met Lonny’s eyes. “Good luck.”
Lonny extended his arm and the two exchanged handshakes.
“Are you planning to marry her?” Josh surprised him by asking next.
Lonny had thought of little else all week. “I am, just as soon as she’ll have me.” He didn’t know how long it would take Joy to listen to reason. But with a decision this important, he could be a patient man—even if patience didn’t come naturally.
Josh left soon afterward and Lonny, Tom and the others spent the better part of two hours finishing their task. He was near-starved by that time, so he stopped off at Uncle Dave’s for a huge plate of biscuits and gravy. Tom joined him.
When they’d cleaned their plates, Tom made an excuse to visit the feed store. That was fine with Lonny. He had personal business to attend to himself, and he was eager to do it. He just hoped Josh had already left town.
But when Lonny pulled up in front of Joy’s place, he discovered, to his disappointment, that her PT Cruiser wasn’t parked out front. That wasn’t a good sign.
He hadn’t expected to feel nervous, but he did. He’d had plenty of romances before Joy; however, this was the first time he’d planned on asking a woman to share his life. To show the seriousness of his intentions, he should probably present her with a ring—except that he didn’t have one. His mother’s diamond was in the safety deposit box at the bank. Although it had minimal financial worth, its sentimental value was incalculable.
Pulling away from the curb, Lonny glanced at his watch and saw that he only had a few minutes to catch Walt Abler before the bank closed at noon, which it did on Saturdays. In his rush, Lonny forgot about the stop sign at Spruce and Oak and shot past it. A flash of red caught his attention just before a little green PT Cruiser barreled into his line of vision. Lonny slammed on his brakes, but it was too late. He would have broadsided the Cruiser if not for the quick thinking of the other driver, who steered left to avoid a collision. Unfortunately, the green car’s bumper scraped against the stop sign post.
Lonny’s heart was in his throat, and he held the steering wheel in a death grip, reflecting on what a narrow escape he’d had.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Joy Fuller shrieked as she climbed out of her vehicle and banged the door shut with enough strength to jam it for good.
Lonny had guessed it was Joy the minute he saw the green car. He got out of the driver’s seat and rushed over to her side.
“Are you okay?” he demanded.
“Yes, no thanks to you.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I forgot the stop sign was there.” His excuse was weak, but it was the truth.
Apparently Joy hadn’t even heard him. “Look what you’ve done to my car!” She sounded close to tears as she examined the damage to her bumper.
The dent was barely noticeable as far as Lonny could see. He walked over and ran his hand along her bumper frame and then stepped back.
“This is a new car,” she cried.
“I thought you got it last year.”
“I did. But it’s still new to me and now you’ve, you’ve—”
“Have it fixed. I’ll pay for it.”
“You’re darn right you will.” She raised her hand to her forehead.
Fearing she might have hit her head, Lonny took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. “Are you okay?” he asked again.
She nodded.
“You didn’t hit your head?”
“I…I don’t think so.”
“Maybe you should sit down for a minute to be sure.”
The fact that she was willing to comply was worry enough. Sitting on the curb, Joy drew in several deep breaths. Lonny welcomed the opportunity to calm his own heart, which was beating at an accelerated pace.
“Where were you going in such an all-fired hurry?” she asked after a moment. She bolted suddenly to her feet.
“The bank. But what does it matter where I was going?” he asked, standing, too.
“You can’t drive like that in town! You’re an accident waiting to happen.”
“I…I—” He didn’t know what to say. The accident had been his fault. All at once he realized that just a few weeks earlier, their situations had been reversed. She’d caused the same kind of mishap and he’d been the one demanding answers to almost identical questions.
“You should have your driver’s license suspended for being so irresponsible.” Arms akimbo, she faced him, eyes flashing.
“Now, Joy…”
“I should contact the Department of Motor Vehicles myself.”
“Joy.” He was doing his level best to remain calm. “Getting upset like this isn’t good.”
“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do!”
“Okay, fine, do whatever you want.”
“I will,” she snapped and started to stomp away.
He didn’t want her to leave, not like this. “I love you, you know.”
She paused, her back to him. Finally, she turned around, a thoughtful frown on her face. “You’re sure about that?”
He nodded. “Very sure. Fact is, I was on my way to pick up an engagement ring.”
Her frown darkened. “You said you were going to the bank.”
“I was. My mother’s diamond wedding ring is in the vault there. I intended to give you that. You can change the setting if you wish.”
Joy seemed stunned into sp
eechlessness.
“Letty wanted Mom’s pearls and insisted I keep the ring in case I decided to get married. She was thinking my wife-to-be would like that diamond.” He was rambling, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. “It’s not a big stone. It’s just a plain, ordinary diamond, but Mom loved it.” He glanced at his watch again. “I’ll have to wait until Monday now, and then you can see for yourself.”
“A diamond ring?” From the look on her face, Lonny wondered if Joy had understood a single word he’d said.
“Now probably isn’t the time or place to ask you to be my wife.” Letty had been telling him all along that he had a terrible sense of timing.
“No…no, I disagree,” Joy said. “Continue, please.”
Since she seemed prepared to listen, Lonny figured he should take this opportunity. He cleared his throat and removed his hat. “Will you?”
She blinked and craned her neck toward him. “Will I what?”
“Marry me.” He thought it was obvious.
“That’s it?” She threw her arms in the air. “Will you?”
He didn’t see the problem. “Yes.”
“This is the most important question of a woman’s life, Lonny Ellison.”
“It’s damned important to a man, too,” he said.
“I want a little more than will you.”
Annoyed with her tone, he glared at her. “Do you want me to add please? Is that it?”
“That would be an improvement.”
“All right. Please.”
She motioned as if asking him to come closer. “And?”
“You mean you want more?” Lonny had never expected a marriage proposal to be this difficult. He wished now that he’d talked to his brother-in-law first. Chase would’ve advised him on the proper protocol.
“Of course.” Joy didn’t sound too patient. “For starters, why do you want to marry me?”
That was a question he was beginning to ask himself. “I already told you—I love you.”
“Okay. That’s a good start.”
“Start?” The woman exasperated him. “What else is there?”
“Quite a bit, as it happens.”
Lonny shook his head. “Are you interested or not? Because this is getting downright ridiculous.”
Joy folded her arms and cocked her head to one side, as if to consider the question. “I might be, if the person doing the asking put a little more of his heart into the proposal.”
Exhaling, Lonny looked up at the sky and prayed for tolerance. “Joy Fuller, the luckiest day of my life was the day you ran me off the road, because that was when I discovered how much I love you.”
She narrowed her eyes, apparently not sure she should believe him.
“I didn’t know it then,” he went on. “In fact, I didn’t know it for a long time. This might be news, but I’m not in the habit of kissing unwilling females. You were the first.”
“And the last,” she inserted.
“The absolute last,” he agreed. “I kissed you because you made me so crazy I didn’t know how else to respond. I understand now that it wasn’t anger I was feeling. It was attraction so strong it simply knocked me off my feet.”
“Well, you infuriated me.”
Lonny grinned at that. “This isn’t the best way to go about reconciling,” he said.
She conceded with a curt nod.
Lonny stepped closer and reached for her hands, holding them in his. “I don’t know that much about love. I’ve been a bachelor so long, I’d sort of assumed I’d always be one. Since meeting you, I’ve found I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
Her eyes went liquid with tenderness. “Really?”
“I don’t need you to cook and clean and that other stuff. I don’t care about that. I’ve been doing those things myself, anyway.” He didn’t like housework and Tom didn’t, either, but between the two of them they managed.
“Then why do you want me?”
“I’d like you to sit on the porch with me in the evenings, the way my parents used to do. I like telling you my ideas and listening to what you think. I want us to be partners. If Chase and I do go ahead with our guest-ranch idea, you’d be a real help because you know kids.”
“Are you going to pursue that?”
“I haven’t talked to him yet,” he admitted, “but whether we do or not, I still want you as my wife.”
She nodded slowly.
“Speaking of kids,” he said, “I’d like a few and I hope you would, too.” He should probably clarify his feelings on the matter right now. “I’ve seen you with the children at school, and Cricket thinks the world of you. Letty, too. As far as I’m concerned, you couldn’t have any better character witnesses. They love you and I’m just falling into line behind them.”
Joy gave him a quavery smile. “I want children, too.”
“I was thinking a couple of kids. Maybe three.”
Lonny recalled the dream he’d had of two little boys and a girl, and just the memory of it tightened his gut with a mixture of love and longing. Intent on making this proposal as perfect as possible, Lonny raised her hand to his lips. “Joy Fuller, will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she whispered and tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Soon?” he asked, then added, “Please.”
She smiled at that and nodded.
His heart full, Lonny wrapped his arms around her and brought his mouth down on hers. He wanted this to be a gentle kiss, one that spoke of their love and commitment. Yet the moment her mouth met his, he thought he might explode. He wanted her with him, in his home and his bed, right then and there. Waiting even a day seemed too long.
Joy must have felt the same way, because she became fully involved in the kiss. She held nothing back, nothing at all.
By the time Lonny broke it off, they were both breathless. A car had stopped at the intersection—obeying the stop sign—and honked approvingly. Fortunately, traffic was unusually sparse for a Saturday.
“Wow,” Lonny whispered, pressing his forehead against hers. “I could get a license first thing Monday morning, and we can be married by the end of the week.”
“Lonny, Lonny, Lonny.” Her eyes were warm with love as she straightened, shaking her head. “I only intend to get married once in my life, and I’m going to do it properly.”
“Don’t tell me you want a big wedding.” He should’ve known she was going to make a production of this.
“Yes, I want a wedding.” She said this as if it should be a foregone conclusion. “Not necessarily big, but a real wedding.”
This was already getting complicated. “Will I have to wear one of those fancy suits with a ruffled shirt?”
She laughed, but he wasn’t joking. “That’s negotiable.”
“How long’s the planning going to take?”
“A few weeks.”
He groaned, hating the thought. “Weeks. You’ve got to be kidding.”
Her look told him she wasn’t. Then she smiled again, and it was one of the most beautiful smiles he’d ever seen. It was full of promise and love—and desire. When she kissed him, his knees went weak.
“I promise,” she whispered, “that however long the planning takes, it’ll be worth the wait.”
With the next kiss, Lonny’s doubts vanished.
Dear Reader
I hope you’ve enjoyed this visit to Wyoming and the town of Red Springs.
Now I’d like to invite you to join me in September in another small town—Cedar Cove, Washington. 6 Rainier Drive is the sixth book in my Cedar Cove series.
If you’ve been there before, you’ll remember the people who live in this town; if not, 6 Rainier Drive will be a good introduction.
Turn the page to read an excerpt. The story begins with Seth and Justine Gunderson a week after they’ve lost their business, The Lighthouse Restaurant, to arson….
I hope you’ll join them—and Cliff and Grace, Jack and Olivia, plus everyone else in Cedar Cove!
6 Ra
inier Drive is available from MIRA Books in September 2006.
Chapter One
Justine Gunderson woke suddenly from a deep sleep, with the vague sense that something was wrong. A moment later, she remembered, and an intense sadness pressed down upon her. Lying on her back, she stared up at the dark ceiling as the realization hit her yet again. The Lighthouse, the restaurant Seth and she had poured their lives into, was gone. Gone. It had burned to the ground a week ago, in a blazing fire that lit up the night sky for miles around Cedar Cove. A fire started by an unidentified arsonist.
Without bothering to look, Justine knew her husband wasn’t in bed with her. Only a week had passed since the fire, but it felt like a month, a year, a lifetime. She didn’t think Seth had slept more than three or four hours at a stretch since that shocking phone call. Even now, Justine had difficulty accepting that this had really happened.
Folding back the sheet, she slowly climbed out of bed. It was barely four, according to the digital readout on the clock radio. Moonlight filtered through a gap in the curtains, creating odd patterns on the bedroom walls. Justine slipped her arms into the sleeves of her robe and went in search of her husband.
As she’d expected, she found Seth in the living room, pacing. He moved ceaselessly, his angry strides taking him from the fireplace to the window and back. When he saw her, he continued to walk, looking away as though he couldn’t face her. She could tell he didn’t want her near him. She barely recognized this man her husband had become since the fire.
“Can’t you sleep?” she asked, whispering for fear of waking their four-year-old son. Leif was a light sleeper and although he was too young to understand what had happened, the child intuitively knew his parents were distressed.
“I want to know who did this and why.” Fists clenched, Seth turned to her as if she should be able to tell him.
Tucking her long, straight hair behind her ears, Justine sank into the rocker in which she’d once nursed their son. “I do, too,” she told him. She’d never seen Seth this restless. Her strikingly blond husband was of Norwegian extraction, a big man, nearly six-six, with broad shoulders to match. He’d been a commercial fisherman until soon after their marriage. That was when they’d decided to open the restaurant. The Lighthouse had been Seth’s dream, and with financial assistance from his parents, Seth had invested everything—his skill, his emotions, their finances—in this venture. Justine had been at his side every step of the way.
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