“How wonderful this would be.” More than wonderful, it was a miracle. To find her now after all these years was nothing short of one. “I didn’t love my wife,” he said. It came out of nowhere and didn’t know why he’d voiced what he’d known for years.
“You don’t have to say that, Beau. She gave you two beautiful children.”
“For that I’m grateful. But I say again, I didn’t love her. I was infatuated. She knew how to dress, how to impress. She impressed me.” He turned to kiss Nellie’s mouth. “On the other hand, I adore everything about you.”
She jabbed his shoulder. “You’re saying that because we’ve just had sex.”
“Wonderful, exciting, monumental sex,” he added as his hand drifted over her body. He wanted to gather her up, put her on Taro, and take her home with him, never to return.
They belonged together.
He took her hand, kissed it. He turned on his side, traced her face with his fingertips. “I love you, Nell. And I want you to marry me.”
“Weren’t you listening earlier? Didn’t anything I told you sink in?”
He pulled her closer, kissed her again. “That was supposed to make me love you less? On the contrary, my love,” he said softly. “It made me love you more.”
She pushed him away.
He pulled her close again. “Why are you fighting this? Tell me you didn’t enjoy us together?”
“The sex, you mean? Of course I enjoyed it. It was wonderful.” If the truth were known, she’d take him again. She hadn’t realized how starved she was. Now she couldn’t get enough, and the thought frightened her.
But loving the sex didn’t mean she loved the man, did it? Of course not. She was a modern woman, wasn’t she? Women today took for their own pleasure. It didn’t have to mean marriage.
Besides, her children would go into a state of shock. If they saw her now, they would be beyond shocked. Their mother in bed with a man and loving every minute?
Not their mother.
She pulled away, laid on her back, propped up with a pillow. But they didn’t have to know. This would be her wonderful secret.
Beau reached over and kissed her again. “I love you, Nell. Yes, the sex was great. But this—us being together means everything…drinking wine on the porch, going to San Antonio, seeing you at Molly’s. Us. One day you’ll realize you love me, too.”
With that, he promptly went to sleep.
She couldn’t believe him. How could he sleep at a time like this? She wanted to talk, make him understand she wasn’t interested in marriage. She couldn’t leave her home.
But hadn’t she already left?
She frowned into the darkness. This was too complicated. She should wake Beau up and tell him to leave.
When she reached over to do so, she heard a horse coming this way. Her heart almost stopped.
Was it Donovan?
Did he know Beau was here?
If he saw them in bed together, she didn’t know what he’d do. Quickly, she got up, grabbed a robe, wrapped it around her naked body, and went to the door.
Thank goodness the lights were out. If it was Donovan, he’d think she was asleep and leave.
Taro!
Where did Beau tether him?
She couldn’t think. Whoever it was came closer, rode faster.
Now she remembered. Taro was in the shed at the back. She was sure he couldn’t be seen unless the rider went around to the back of the house.
Quietly, she opened the door and stepped onto the porch. If it was Donovan, she wouldn’t let him inside.
Sitting in the rocker, she waited.
Horse and rider came into view.
Once more she leaned into the shadows.
She watched closely, her heart beating a crazy tattoo in her chest. Don’t let it be Donovan.
It wasn’t Donovan’s horse. It was Jimmy’s. Again. She watched as he once more skirted the cattle and headed away. With the moon so bright, she watched for a while and saw he was headed for the rock formation.
Her brow furrowed. The only men on the ranch this time of night should be Nolan Murdock and his men. But they wouldn’t thunder through the pastures. She’d ask Donovan tomorrow what was going on with Jimmy.
The door opened and Beau stepped outside. “What are you doing out here?”
He’d dressed. In the moonlight he looked dark and handsome. Even a little dangerous. A stab of longing hit her so hard it left her breathless. Beau Chandler was quite a man.
“I heard a horse, but it was just Jimmy.”
“Why would he be out here this time of night?”
“I’ll find out tomorrow. I’m glad it wasn’t Donovan. What if he stopped and saw you here?”
She couldn’t see those dark blue eyes, but imagined they were dancing with mischief. She pulled herself up straight. “Seeing you in my bed would be a terrible shock.”
He came over, knelt in front of the rocker and took her hand. “How about a wonderful shock. Maybe he’d be glad to see his mother happy.” He looked at her closely. “I do make you happy, don’t I?”
“Of course. But you don’t know Donovan.”
He stood, bent down to kiss her on the lips. “I’d better get back. It’s late.”
“Yes.” She stood to walk him to the steps.
When he rode away, she wrapped her arms around herself. She missed him already, and he wasn’t even out of sight.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
One day drifted into another. Nellie felt as if she was living in a dream world. Nothing was the same. Colors were brighter, smells more intense, her touch more sensitive.
Kneading biscuit dough, she marveled at how her life had changed. During the day, she worked with Dani at the diner. Once a week, she stopped by to see Father Mike for another talk. Sundays, she kept her promise to Phyl and had dinner with the family. Finally, she was coming to terms with the Fraziers. For the first time, she forgave them. Forgave her parents for dying on her. And was working on forgiving herself. A task she found more difficult.
By eight, Beau would ride up, bound onto the porch as if he were a teen, and take her into his arms. She’d never felt anything like this before. This wasn’t at all the way it was with Duncan. It was hot, passionate, uncontrollable, and tantalizingly sweet. Was she in love? She didn’t want to be. But when they made love, there were times when a kind of madness took over, where she couldn’t get close enough, feel enough—when her heart expanded until she thought it might burst from her chest.
Beau was like a drug she couldn’t get enough of. But he hadn’t mentioned marriage again, for which she was grateful.
They didn’t make love every night. Some nights they simply sat on the porch, held hands, and talked. It pleased her to know they had a lot in common.
She loved the way he made her laugh. All day, every day, she yearned for him and couldn’t wait until the night brought him to her.
Zach’s voice brought her out of her reverie. “Your son is here with the family. He wants to see you.”
Guilt swamped her and her heart almost stopped. Had he come by one night and seen Beau’s horse at the homestead? She was careful to turn the lights out, but who knew? When she was in Beau’s arms, her mind stopped working and sensation took over.
Pressing her hands down her apron, she went out to see them.
Susie jumped up and down when she saw her. Nellie reached for her and gave her a big hug. “What brings you here?”
Donovan was all smiles when he said, “We’re going to have another baby. We couldn’t wait to tell you.”
Nellie turned to Phyl and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m thrilled.”
Phyl laughed. “So are we.”
“I want a brother,” Mark said. “I can teach him to ride and rope like Dad taught me.”
“Sister,” Susie argued. “So we can play dolls, and I can teach her to write.”
Brother and sister glowered at each other while their parents chuckled.
“We don’t see much of you these days,” Donovan complained.
“I see you every Sunday.”
“I miss you, Gran,” Mark said. “Tomorrow’s Saturday, can we go for a ride?”
“I’d love to. I work until around two, but I should be home by three.”
“I’ll ride over and bring Casey. We’ll have fun.”
“I can’t wait. Now, do you want lunch, or did you stop by to tell me the good news?”
“Lunch,” Phyl said. “We’ve heard nothing but raves about Dani’s cooking. We came to see for ourselves. Besides Donovan wanted to celebrate.”
“Wonderful. I’m going to the kitchen and make sure your meal is perfect. I’ll see you later.”
“Tomorrow, Gran,” Mark reminded her.
Molly’s going out of business sign had been in the window now for a week. Every day more and more customers filed in to ask what was going to happen to the diner.
No one knew what to tell them other than the diner would remain open until the end of the month. Which wasn’t that far off.
Molly still dropped in every day and seemed happy with the way everything was going.
By two o’clock, the diner was all but empty. The staff, such as it was, helped themselves to lunch.
“I’ll take another slice of pie,” Emma said.
“I should have known,” Amy complained with a smile, as she got up to fetch it.
“I hate to see the diner close,” Nellie said, looking at the empty booths and tables.
“The customers are frantic,” Emma told them. “You should hear them when they pay their tab, nothing but complaints. They don’t want Molly’s to close.”
Everyone looked at Dani.
“Don’t look at me. This is temporary.”
“Why?” Emma asked. “You’re doing a splendid job. Everyone loves your food. Molly said the profits have never been higher.”
Dani looked around. “The place needs an uplift. New paint, flooring replaced.” She turned back to face them. “If I did take over, I’d be stuck here making blue-plate specials forever when I want to do real cooking.” She shook her head. “I might make a reasonable profit, but I wouldn’t be happy. Not in the long run. One good thing about working here is that it helped me make up my mind about owning my own place one of these days.”
Emma stood. “Amy, take care of the place. I have something to show Dani. Come,” she ordered, waving Dani and Nellie out of the booth.
“Where are we going?” Dani asked. “Emma, I’m not keeping Molly’s open for you. I did this as a favor. It’s made me realize what I want to do. But nothing you say will change my mind.”
“Hush. You’re too stubborn.”
“You would know stubborn.”
Nellie followed them out the door, down to the end of the diner where Jane’s gift shop once was. The windows had butcher paper taped on them for weeks so you couldn’t see inside. Emma took out a key and opened the door.
Nellie couldn’t imagine what Emma was up to.
“What’s this?” Dani asked.
“You’ll see.” Emma grinned and flipped on a light.
The place fairly gleamed. Tables and chairs, with white tablecloths and small bud vases were scattered around the room. On the back and a side wall, shelves held gift objects of every size and description.
“It’s beautiful,” Dani sighed as she ran a hand over a starched white tablecloth. “Who leased it?” she asked wishfully.
“Emma snickered. “You said you wanted to cook more than blue-plate specials. Well, here’s your chance.”
Oh, my God, Nellie thought. This was the chance of a lifetime, but from the tears in Dani’s eyes, she couldn’t decipher what the girl was thinking.
Dani laughed. “Molly’s and this? “Are you trying to kill me? I’d have to work from five in the morning until midnight. I’m strong, but I’m not Superwoman.”
“Emma, the girl is right,” Nellie agreed. “It would be too much for anyone. How could you possibly expect Dani to do this?”
“You’re jumping to conclusions. I was thinking more of this side of the business being open Friday and Saturday nights only. Maybe have Saturday’s at Molly’s be breakfast and burger day with Zach in charge. The boy is gifted. He’d be closed by two. It would be up to him if he wanted to keep it open later to serve the kids. Think of what this would mean to Zach. It wouldn’t be that hard to lighten your load.”
Dani shook her head.
“What are all these doo-dads doing on the shelves? Is it a gift shop, too?” Dani asked her eyes glazed with shock.
Emma chortled. “Jane sold me her remaining inventory for a song. Thought it would bring in a little extra money.”
Dani picked up a tiny ceramic fairy. “This looks familiar.”
Emma burst out laughing. “I threw in some of my stuff you packed away. The rest is in the back room.
“You are a devious woman, Emma Wells.” Nellie chuckled. “But a smart one. Everything looks wonderful.”
“So…I cook the food and what? Trundle it around the block to the door here to serve the customers?”
Emma took Dani’s hand and led her to the wall that separated it from the diner. Outlined on the wall in black marks-a-lot was a door. “Simple.”
Dani had to sit down.
Nellie went to sit next to her. “It’s a lot to think about.”
“I can’t take it all in. It’s too much.”
Emma sat beside them. “It’s like this. Molly can’t come back. She actually gave up the diner last week. I promised you’d stay these last two weeks. She said the place was yours if you want it. She’s in a lot of pain and is going to San Antonio for treatment. I don’t think Molly cares anymore.”
Seeing the indecision on Dani’s face, Nellie rushed to assure her, “She doesn’t have to decide anything now does she, Emma? She needs time to think about this.”
“Of course,” Emma agreed. “But I’ll need an answer before the end of the month. Oh, and by the way, if you decide to re-open the place, I’ll see that the diner gets that face-lift you say it needs. I’ll forego the first three months rent until you get on your feet, then I’ll charge you the going rate. With the profit from those three months, you can pay Molly for the inventory. Which, by the way, you should take as soon as possible.”
Dani looked at both women with tears in her eyes. “This is a wonderful opportunity. I’d be a fool to turn it down.” She took Nellie’s hand. “I would need help and you’re the best. Will you still work with me?”
Nellie was taken aback. Did she want to work full time? Especially, did she want to work Friday and Saturday nights when she wanted to be with Beau? She enjoyed the work. Enjoyed getting out of the house and being useful. “I wouldn’t mind working the same as I am now. About Friday and Saturday nights, I don’t think so.”
“You can get other help,” Emma insisted. “Every day someone comes in to ask for a job.”
“Zach will make the perfect assistant,” Nellie added. “You can hire another busboy.” Then she turned to Emma. “Will you stay? Will you man the register as you have been?”
“For a while. But I think Dani needs to make this her place. She can hire whoever she wants.”
“I wonder if I’ll still make a profit after hiring several new people.” She thought a minute. “I’ll put a pencil to it tonight and start making lists. I’ll have to have an interesting menu for the two nights I’m open. Something that will bring the customers out at night and make them want to come back. It can’t be too expensive. This is going to take some planning.”
“Then it’s settled,” Emma said, her grin as mischievous as always. “Let’s get back to work. I have to call the carpenter and have him cut that door in and get them lined up to do the work inside the diner.”
“Won’t we have to close to get that done?” Dani asked.
“Nope,” Emma said with confidence. “They can work nights and Sundays. It will be finished by next week.”
&
nbsp; “You act as if you knew how this would work out,” Dani accused. “And I haven’t even said yes.”
Emma just hummed, went back inside Molly’s and to her stool.
“Does this mean I don’t have to cook for that party for fifty?” Dani asked.
“What party?”
“But you told me…”
“I was testing you.”
Dani put her hands on her hips and glared at the older woman. “You are not to be trusted.”
“What will you call the new diner?” Nellie asked, changing the subject before the two of them got into it.
Dani shrugged. “If I do this, I don’t have a clue. Right now, I can’t think. My brain is in shock.”
“Wait until your dad hears about this,” Nellie said. “He’ll be so proud.”
“If the math works in my favor, I’m going to do it.” She chuckled. “I think Dad was convinced both Rey and I were going to mooch off him the rest of our lives. You’re right, he’ll be surprised.” She turned to Nellie. “Will you let me tell him?”
“Of course I will.”
But the news was so exciting Nellie didn’t see how she could keep it to herself.
She looked at her watch. “I have a date with my grandson. I have to run.”
She kept her promise. When Mark came riding up to the homestead with Casey in tow, Nellie was ready to go. Beau wouldn’t be over until much later, and she looked forward to spending time with her oldest grandchild.
She put on her western hat, took the reins, and climbed up on Casey’s back. They started across the pasture at a leisurely pace. “This was a wonderful idea, Mark. I’ve missed riding.”
“We’ve been so busy nobody has time to ride for fun anymore.”
“At least the rustlers seem to have moved on,” she said.
“Thank goodness. Dad had us moving cattle so often I forget where we moved them.”
Nellie laughed. “I know that’s not so. If I know you, you can tell me where every cow and calf on the ranch are at this very minute.”
“I brought a picnic.” He grinned.
“You did? Did your mom pack it for you?”
“Nope. I did it myself.”
“Then I can’t wait,” she said. “Race you to the pond.” Putting her heels into Casey’s side, she raced ahead. Mark was growing up. Each year he did more on the ranch. He loved it. He so reminded her of Donovan and how he had followed his dad around the ranch, learning all the while.
Promise Them (The Callahan Series Book 6) Page 22