“Oh. I see. I’m sorry you feel that way—”
“I’m not,” Mary Dell said quietly, rising from her chair. “I’m only sorry that it took me so long to figure it out. I really don’t want to be your friend anymore, Hub-Jay. But if it’s not too late, I’d like to be your wife.”
Mary Dell had never been petite, not even in her youth, but Hub-Jay, tall, strong, and pulsing with joy, was not in the least daunted by her height and fulsome figure. Nor was he embarrassed by the looks he got from hotel guests and employees when he squatted down and grabbed Mary Dell, wrapping his arms just below her backside, and lifted her into the air, making her squeal with delight and demand that he put her down before he hurt himself.
“No, ma’am!” he cried. “Now that I’ve got you, I’m never letting go. Point me to the nearest threshold and I’ll carry you over it right now.”
Laughing, Mary Dell repeated her demand. “Put me down! I’m serious, Hub-Jay. No bride wants a groom with a hernia!”
Grinning as wide as the Rio Grande, he lowered her toward the ground, sliding her body along his until their lips met in a kiss, as the hotel guests, desk clerks, and David broke into a round of applause.
“David!” Hub-Jay shouted joyously across the lobby. “Send a bottle of champagne up to the private dining room, please.”
“Right away, Mr. Hollander. What vintage?”
“Whatever is sweetest,” he said, and looked into Mary Dell’s eyes with pure, unfiltered, hundred-proof love.
Hub-Jay put his arm around Mary Dell’s shoulders as they ascended the staircase.
“I almost forgot! Donny has filed for divorce, so we can get married anytime we want. But I guess we’d better make some plans first,” she said in a kind of coming-back-to-reality tone. “I mean, are we going to live in Dallas? Or Too Much? I don’t want to leave Momma alone again, and Mr. Frankel wants us to keep filming in Too Much, so that’ll be good for the town. But you’ve got your business to attend to, and not just in Dallas. You’ll need to spend time at the other properties too.”
She furrowed her brow, realizing that this was going to be complicated. “I’m not sure how we’re going to figure this out.”
Hub-Jay shrugged. “We could retire. Take up golf or tennis or bridge.”
Mary Dell looked at him, aghast, and he laughed.
“Just kidding. I know you’ve got to work, and so do I. Not just for the money, but because that’s who we are. We love what we do. Don’t worry. We’ll figure out a way to love our work and each other at the same time. As long as I’ve got a good phone and Internet connection, I can work anywhere. And I’m sure Bernie Frankel will let you set your own schedule. He was so anxious to get you back that I think he’d agree to just about anything you ask for—”
“Bernie? Wait a minute!” Mary Dell exclaimed. “You sent those DVDs to Mr. Frankel! He’s a friend of yours, isn’t he?”
“He wasn’t before,” Hub-Jay replied. “But after the restructuring at HHN, Bernie and all the rest of the management moved to Dallas. Turns out Bernie is a sailor and wanted to join the yacht club.”
“And you’re on the membership committee,” Mary Dell said, finishing his sentence for him, shaking her head in amazement. “Hub-Jay Hollander, you are the most wonderful man.”
“It was a lucky coincidence,” he said modestly. “Good timing. I know some people who know some people.”
They reached the top of the stairs. Hub-Jay turned toward Mary Dell, took hold of both her hands, and then lifted them to his mouth as if to kiss them, but stopped short, frowning.
“Hang on. Something’s missing.”
He reached into his pocket, pulled out the black velvet box containing Mary Dell’s engagement ring, and opened the lid.
This time, she put it on her left hand.
CHAPTER 50
The visitors’ lounge at Camp Courage reminded Holly of the common room in a college dorm. There was a Ping-Pong table in one corner, a couple of vending machines in another, a television, a shelf filled with paperback books and board games, and several oak-framed chairs and sofas upholstered in navy blue with red and white throw pillows, a nod toward the veteran status of the residents.
She sat down on a sofa and waited for Rob Lee, who looked surprised to see her. He also looked better than the last time she’d seen him, she noted. His eyes were clear and his skin was less sallow. He’d shaved, which Holly thought was an improvement. Not that she had anything against facial hair, but she didn’t like that scraggly in-between stubble that Rob Lee had going after the party. That look always made her think a guy just didn’t care, which, in Rob Lee’s case, had been true. This was definitely an improvement.
“I thought you were Cady,” he said after taking a seat in a nearby chair.
“Disappointed?”
“No, no. Just surprised. I thought you were Cady,” he said again.
Things were obviously awkward between them, and small talk wasn’t going to change that, so Holly decided it would be best to get to the point. Before she could, Rob Lee cleared his throat, as if looking for some way to fill the silence, and asked her how things were going. How was the job search? How was Stormy?
“Good. All good,” she said, bobbing her head. “I got a job offer, a couple of them, actually. And Stormy’s doing great. We went on a trail ride with Linne and Cady just yesterday, to see the bluebonnets. The hills are carpeted with them,” she said. “Just gorgeous.”
Rob Lee opened his eyes wider. “You actually got my sister on a horse?”
“It was Linne. She is one persistent kid. But it did the trick. I don’t think Cady’s going to be entering a barrel-racing competition anytime soon, but she survived. I think she even had fun. At least a little.”
“That’s amazing. She’s always been scared of horses. Well, not always, just since she got thrown that time. Good for her.”
“Yeah. Linne was pretty excited. Now she’s got a new obsession.” Holly smiled. “She thinks Mary Dell and Hub-Jay should be married on horseback. And that the wedding party and guests should be riding too.”
A light came into Rob Lee’s eyes, the same kind of light she’d seen on that day when she’d first ridden Stormy, and he laughed. Really, it was more of a chuckle, but it reminded her of how he’d been before, during that brief period of time when he’d finally warmed to her, just about the time she’d started to think that maybe, just maybe . . .
She stopped herself. There was no point in going there. If he’d looked happy to see her when he’d first entered the room, that might have been one thing. But he hadn’t. That was fine. Just because she’d gone and gotten a crush on Rob Lee for a few weeks didn’t mean they couldn’t do business together.
“Knowing Linne,” Rob Lee said, still chuckling over his niece’s antics, “I wouldn’t be surprised if she got her way. She’s like a dog with a bone when she gets her mind set on something. Stubborn,” he said admiringly. “Nick was the same way.”
Holly lifted her brows, surprised to hear him speak of Nick, especially with nostalgia instead of anguish. He’d always avoided doing so before. Whatever it was he was doing here, it seemed to be helping him face his demons and reclaim his past, the good along with the bad. Good. She was happy, for his sake.
“Listen,” she said, anxious to return to the business at hand, “about Stormy.”
“It’s fine,” Rob Lee said. “He can board out at the ranch for as long as he wants. My uncle Donny’ll keep an eye on him until I get back, and then I’ll take over again. I don’t mind at all.”
“Oh. No.” Holly gave her head a quick shake. “That’s not what I meant. I’m actually planning to move him.”
“Oh?” Rob Lee looked a little disappointed. “There’s a stable near your new job?”
“Kind of. I was offered two jobs—one as a spokesmodel on a home shopping channel and one hosting a new design reality show on HHN-TV.”
“The one Jason offered you? You got it?”
&nbs
p; Holly nodded. “Uh-huh. The network fired Jason, but they liked the show concept and offered me the host slot. But I turned them down. I turned down the spokesmodeling gig too.”
Rob Lee gave her a quizzical look. “But I thought you really wanted the design show.”
“So did I. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong; it’s going to be a great show. I’m looking forward to watching it someday. When I was talking to Mr. Frankel at the network, I realized my first instincts about that show were right—it’s going to be a big success, and by the second season, the host’s name will be a household word. But the thing is,” she said, tilting her head to one side, “I don’t want to be a household word. I know what that world is like. I see what it’s done to my mom, and I just don’t want that, not for me.”
“Okay. So what do you want?”
“To be happy. To have a normal life,” she said, laughing a little. “Whatever that means. Maybe have a family someday, kids and all. Try not to screw them up too much. But in the meantime, I’d like to do something I love. And the truth is, I don’t love television. I like it all right and I’m good at it, too, but it isn’t the thing . . .” She paused, trying to figure out how to explain herself. “It isn’t the thing I would do because I can’t not do it.
“That’s why I went to see Mrs. Finley yesterday. I made an offer on her ranch.”
Rob Lee frowned, and his brows drew together almost into a single line as he realized what she was getting at.
“You’re going to raise horses?”
She grinned and his mouth went slack.
“Holly, do you have any idea how hard it is to make a living raising horses?”
“Very. Especially since I have so little experience. I mean, rehabilitating one emotionally damaged gelding doesn’t exactly make me an expert, does it?”
“No,” he agreed. “It doesn’t.”
She bobbed her head and continued to grin. She was enjoying this.
“I know. And since I plan to devote about thirty percent of my stall space to fostering rescue horses, horses like Stormy, I’ll probably be lucky just to break even.”
“I’d say.” Rob Lee gave a little grunt of disbelief and tugged at his nose. “So tell me again how this is a recipe for happiness? I like horses as much as anybody, probably more than most. They beat the heck out of raising cattle or sheep; that’s for sure. But I like eating regular, too, and being able to pay my bills. I assume you had to take out a mortgage to buy the place?”
“Uh-huh. The mortgage is a hundred and sixty, but I’m putting forty thousand down. That leaves forty-five in my savings to buy breeding stock and hay and”—she shrugged—“whatever else it is I’ll need.”
“Tack, a truck, a trailer, oats, fencing.” Rob Lee was counting this all off on his fingers, shaking his head from left to right while he did, as if he was trying to clear water from his ears. “Not to mention payroll. Holly, you can’t run a horse ranch alone. You’re going to have to hire some help.”
“Right,” she said. “That’s where you come in. Your uncle Donny seems like he’s settling in at the F-Bar-T; he handled the lambing season just fine—I know because I spent a lot of time out there helping out. Oh! And get this!” she exclaimed, leaning in to share the news that she still had a hard time believing and probably wouldn’t if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes. “Even Hub-Jay was helping out! Thank heaven Mary Dell made him change into jeans and a regular shirt before he did.” She made a face. “Delivering lambs can get kind of messy.”
“Yeah. I know,” Rob Lee said. “I’ve done it a few times. Is there a point to this story?”
“Yes. Okay. Sorry.” She took a big breath and started again. “Anyway, Donny is working out fine at the ranch, and I think he wouldn’t mind staying, as he’d get to see Howard more often that way. And now that Mary Dell and Hub-Jay are engaged and happy, she seems okay with having him around. Anyway, I was thinking that if Donny stayed on at the ranch and worked with the cattle and sheep, which he really seems to like, then you could come and work at my ranch with the horses, which you really seem to like.”
She stopped, waiting for him to respond. When he didn’t she said, “What do you think?”
“I think that by the end of the year, probably sooner, you’ll be out of savings and I’ll be out of a job. Seriously, Holly, tell me this is a joke. You didn’t actually make an offer on the Finley place, did you? Is it too late to get your deposit back?”
“So,” she said, making her eyes as wide and innocent looking as possible, “what are you saying? You don’t think it’s a good idea?” She blinked twice, her face becoming a mask of disappointment and confusion.
“No!” he barked, his tone making it clear that the answer should be obvious. He threw out his hands momentarily and then grabbed hold of his own head, almost as if that’s what he had to do to keep from shaking her. “Holly, do you have any clue how hard it is to—”
Holly smiled, then giggled, then laughed out loud. Seeing her response, a slow smile spread over Rob Lee’s face.
“You were joking.” He punched her in the shoulder. “Jerk.” She took a breath, letting laughter fade to a smile. “I was starting to wonder when you were going to figure out that I was messing with you. Really, how dumb do you think I am? Don’t answer that,” she said with mock seriousness. He smiled at her and rolled his eyes.
“And actually, I wasn’t joking. Everything I told you was true; there was just one part I left out. HHN offered me two jobs: the design show gig as well as a chance to co-host with Mary Dell on her new show. That job, I accepted. It’s not as much money but, after all, a girl has to work. And if I’m going to do television, there’s nobody I’d rather do it with than Mary Dell. Plus, quilting turns out to be kind of fun. Not as fun as horseback riding, but still.
“Anyway,” she continued, “I sat down and did the projections—your uncle Donny and the county extension agent helped me. I can show you the figures, but the bottom line is this: the commercial horse operation should make enough to pay for foster horses as well as the mortgage, so I can live off my HHN check.”
“Wow,” Rob Lee said, his tone respectful, “you’ve really spent some time on this, haven’t you?”
“I have,” she said, feeling proud of herself. She pulled a sheaf of papers out of her purse, the financial figures she’d mentioned, and laid them on the coffee table in front of Rob Lee. “So, now what do you say?”
Rob Lee picked up the papers and flipped through the pages, studying the figures, far too slowly to suit Holly. More than a minute passed and he still hadn’t said a word.
The way they’d been laughing and teasing, she’d started to feel like things were thawing between them and that he’d jump at her offer. But now, as one minute stretched to two, she was feeling awkward again and was certain he was going to turn her down.
Finally, he laid the papers back down on the coffee table and let out a breath.
“Yeah. You know, this all looks good and everything, seems like it should work. But”—he looked down at his lap—“I’m not sure I’m the right guy for the job.”
He raised his head once again and looked her in the eye, his expression serious.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking while I’ve been here, about the war but about a lot of other stuff too. Kind of like you, trying to figure out what I really want out of life. I’m still working on it, but I’ve definitely made some decisions about what I want to do when I’m finished here. I was actually going to call you and talk to you about that in a couple weeks. That’s why I was so surprised to see you today.”
Holly clutched her hands together in her lap. She could not figure out where he was going with this, but from the way he was talking, she had the terrible feeling that he might have decided to leave Too Much for good. As she considered this possibility, she started to realize that at least part of her decision to buy the Finley farm was based on a hope that she h
adn’t dared admit, even to herself—that by living in Too Much, she’d likely run into Rob Lee on a regular basis.
“The thing is,” he said, “I’m not sure how you’d feel about having your boyfriend working for you.”
Holly blinked. “My boyfriend?”
Rob Lee bobbed his head and looked down at his lap again, almost as if he was embarrassed. “Yeah. We’ve been working on some stuff, goal setting and all. One of my goals—top of the list, actually—is you.”
Holly felt her eyes fill. “Oh.”
Rob Lee cleared his throat, sounding nervous. “I don’t know how good I’m going to be at this. Another thing I figured out while I was here is that I really have a lot of stuff to work out. My mom dying. My stepdad. My relationship with Cady. And my brother, Jeb. Bunch of stuff.
“Let’s face it,” he said, letting out a self-deprecating chuckle, “I’m kind of a mess. It could take a while before I’m ready for . . . anything more. But maybe? If you’re willing to give the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing a try?”
He lifted his eyes, full of hope and uncertainty, to hers.
“I am,” she said softly.
His face lit up in that way she loved, steady and warm as fire glow on a cold night, and he reached for her hand.
“Me too,” he said.
CHAPTER 51
On a picture-perfect morning in June, Mary Dell stood at the bathroom mirror, putting on a pair of earrings.
“Honey,” she said when Hub-Jay entered the room, “I can’t reach the zipper. Can you help me?” Mary Dell pulled her hair up off her neck as he came behind her to raise the zipper on the pink dress and button the lace-overlaid bodice.
“When I was single, do you know how many pretty dresses I had to take a pass on because I couldn’t do up the back by myself? One of the benefits of married life.”
“One of the many,” Hub-Jay said, smiling at her reflection in the mirror before lowering his lips to her bare neck and kissing a line down her throat.
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