by Liz Isaacson
“I’ll bet you do.”
She cleared her throat. “So this is a ten-minute topic.”
“Right,” he said. “Sometimes she’d say, ‘I get four questions, and you have to answer them with complete sentences.’”
“Do I get questions?”
“I suppose you can have as many as you want.” He sighed like she wanted to gouge his eyes out with toothpicks instead of learn more about him and his past. “My brothers and I…the four of us moved here for a fresh start. We’d all had something go bad in our lives, and we made a pact when we got to Seven Sons.”
He looked at her, his gaze full of nervous energy. “No women. No dating.”
Realizations mixed with shock as Evelyn took in what he’d said. “No wonder I couldn’t get them to go out with anyone.”
“I figured you might be upset.”
“I’m not…upset.” She tried to identify the feelings moving through her. “Surprised for sure. You Walker brothers are a hot commodity, in case you didn’t know.”
Rhett laughed. “I’m sure that’s not true. Jeremiah can’t hang up a towel to save his life.”
Evelyn burst into laughter, the sound of them chuckling together so wonderful. “Well, I’m not sure the women of this town think about that when they see the four of you walk into church.”
“What are they thinking?”
“Oh, I’m taking that to the grave,” she teased as he skirted around the main part of town toward a ranch that had once been operational. It no longer had cattle or operational barns, but just a few large and spacious outbuildings that served as a mess hall and a dancefloor.
The Mendenhall sisters ran the place now, and they served a chuckwagon dinner promptly at seven-thirty, as Rhett had said. After that, they sang and played guitars, fiddles, and banjos while everyone danced.
Evelyn had been to The Barn Buster several times in her life, and it was always an amazing experience. When Rhett had asked her where they could go that night, she’d suggested it immediately. It was dinner and entertainment all in one, and she’d get to dance with him.
“What are you thinking when you see us?” he asked, joining the line of cars and trucks going onto the Mendenhall property.
“Really?” she asked. “You want to know?”
“Of course I do.”
“Well, for the record, your ten minutes about your romantic history hasn’t even started yet,” she said. “You’ve said nothing.”
“Fine,” he said. “Now give me a couple of sentences on what you think when you see us.”
“You,” she said, about to blow everything wide open. “Just you, Rhett. I mean, your brothers are great men. I like them. I’ll smile and say hello to them. But when I see you…well, let’s just say you’re different.”
And he always had been, stemming all the way back to when he’d stumbled down those steps in the storm shelter.
“Have you tried to set me up with other women?” he asked.
“Once,” she said. “It was a disaster, and I moved on to try with your brothers.”
“Who was it?” he asked.
“A woman named Patricia,” she said. “She still likes you, you know.”
“Patsy Barney?”
“Yep.”
“I helped her move a couch once.”
“And a chair,” Evelyn said. “And you worked on her gazebo, and ran over when her dog was sick.”
He turned and looked at her fully, his eyes wide. “Those…that was you?”
“You were colder than an iceberg. It was like you didn’t even realize she was female.”
He blinked, his expression darkening. “I knew she was female.” He turned back to the windshield, easing forward and rolling down his window to talk to the cowboy there. After getting parking directions, he inched forward again.
“Must have something to do with your history,” Evelyn said lightly.
“I was engaged once,” he said. “Just before coming here. She still has the ring, and I wasn’t interested in repeating that disaster.”
Wasn’t? Evelyn wanted to ask. Instead, she pressed her lips together and nodded. “What was her name?”
“Angie Lofton. I hadn’t had a girlfriend for a few years before her. We dated for a long time, and were engaged for over two years before I finally realized she was never going to marry me.”
Evelyn’s heart thumped with compassion for Rhett. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“I can’t imagine why someone wouldn’t want to marry you,” she said, making her tone light. “I mean, I’m leading with that, not waiting for an appropriate time.” She giggled, but he only scoffed and shook his head as he pulled into the spot where he’d been told to park. He took the truck out of gear and looked at her.
“What will your brothers say?” she asked. “About you breaking the pact? If we get married right away?”
“They’re fine,” he said. “I don’t have to get permission from them.”
“But what do they think?”
“Jeremiah is upset,” Rhett admitted, his head dropping a little as he studied his hands. “But Liam and Tripp were supportive.”
“What did you tell them?”
“I told them we were going out.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes.” He looked up at her again, clearly waiting for her next question. She supposed she had been firing them off pretty rapidly.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah.” She reached for the door handle and slid out of his truck. He joined her, claiming her hand in his as they walked toward the counter to check-in for dinner.
“I don’t believe you, you know,” he said.
“About what?”
“You have more questions.”
“I’m sure I do,” she said. “But the ten minutes are up, and I just want to eat and dance with you for the next couple of hours.” She moved in front of him, so he’d stop walking. She was aware of other people flowing around them, but she didn’t care.
As he gazed down at her, it was just the two of them in this moment.
“Thank you for doing this,” she said.
“I already told you,” he murmured. “I want to.” He brushed his lips along the side of her face. “And sweetheart, you’re going to have to kiss me before we get married. Is that happening tonight?”
Pure fear and delight moved through her. “Is there a rule for that too?”
“Will your father be questioning you about it tonight?”
She giggled, tucking herself right into Rhett’s chest. “No, he won’t be. And yes, I think there will be a kiss tonight.”
Just thinking about it made her heartbeat accelerate, and she couldn’t wait to be alone with him again.
Chapter Six
Rhett felt like he’d shed his skin and put on a different suit. He still looked like Rhett, but he was doing all kinds of things he hadn’t done in a long time. The skin fit perfectly, but it needed to be stretched a little bit. Okay, a lot.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d held a woman’s hand, taken someone of the opposite sex to dinner, and fantasized about kissing her.
At the same time, he felt crazy. Was he really going to marry this woman just to help her business improve?
“Hey, Evelyn,” a woman said, drawing his attention away from his own thoughts. Rhett looked at her, and he suspected he’d met this woman at least once. “Rhett Walker?” The surprised tone reached all the way into the atmosphere, and a measure of embarrassment trickled through him.
“Beverly,” Evelyn said. “Hey.” She sounded genuinely interested in this blonde woman, and she stepped away from him to give the other woman a quick hug. “This is Rhett Walker. Rhett, Beverly Willows.” She returned to his side but didn’t touch him. The nearness of her, though, made a pretty clear statement that they were together. Out together. Not just eating breakfast as friends on his back deck.
“She goes
to church where we do,” Evelyn said, and Rhett blinked quickly.
“Of course, Beverly. You sing in the choir.”
A smile filled her whole face. “That’s right. And we need you and your brothers to join us for the summer chorale.”
Rhett didn’t even know what a chorale was. He looked at Evelyn, whose whole face shone with light. She half-coughed, half-laughed, and turned away.
“Oh, I don’t sing, ma’am,” he said as another couple joined them. Relief hit Rhett that he knew these people. “Hey, Pastor.” He shook Scott Daniels’s hand and then his wife’s, Crystal.
“He says he doesn’t sing,” Beverly said, as if such a thing was a town scandal about to start. “I’ve heard some good things from the row where you Walker men sit.”
“That’s all Tripp,” he said, instantly regretting it. Beverly had hooks in her eyes, and Rhett wanted to shy away from her.
Evelyn seemed to get the message, because she said, “We need to go find our seats. Good to see you all. Pastor.” She nodded and smiled, smiled and nodded, and got them out of there.
Rhett exhaled. “Holy horses. That was terrible.”
Evelyn laughed, her head tipping back to reveal her slender neck. He smiled at her and waited for her to quiet. She cuddled into him, and Rhett glanced around to find several people watching them. Some people were there with their families, some were on dates, like he and Evelyn. But it seemed like everyone was watching him as if he were Bigfoot and had finally come out of hiding.
He did his best to ignore them, and thankfully, the chuckwagon dinner started. He chatted easily with Evelyn, as if they were alone at his breakfast table, and before he knew it, a woman stepped up to the mic.
“We’re going to be moving over to the dancehall,” she said. “There will be more spice cake over there, along with vanilla ice cream, and the Mendenhall Maidens will begin playing in ten minutes. So get your dancing shoes on, go to the restrooms, and don’t be late.”
The crowd clapped, though Rhett wasn’t sure why. Evelyn stood up, straightened her pretty yellow blouse, and looked down at him. “Are you still up for dancing, cowboy?”
“About that,” he said, standing too. He collected their tin plates to take to the dishwashing window. “I’m not the best dancer.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Evelyn said as she went with him. “I mean, I’ve yet to find something you’re not good at.”
Rhett shook his head. “That’s just not true. I hired out those eggs benedict. I can barely make toast.”
“Who cooks at the homestead, then?” she asked. “I know you guys don’t eat out all that much.”
“That would be Jeremiah.” Rhett put the silverware in the appointed bucket and set the plates on the counter. “Liam is a master at snack preparation, and he can make regular popcorn into something magical.”
“Oh-ho,” Evelyn said, laughing. “I want to taste that.”
“Come on over anytime,” he said, realizing that they had so much to talk about. This wasn’t just a casual date. This was a public appearance so that when word of their wedding got out, it didn’t come out of nowhere. It would be credible.
He sobered as the first strains of a fiddle started up. Scanning the dancefloor, he quickly realized he wasn’t going to be able to sit on the sidelines. No one else was, and he’d actually stand out if he didn’t dance.
So he turned to Evelyn and extended his hand toward her. “I’ll try not to break your toes,” he said with a smile.
She laughed, and to Rhett, that was the most beautiful sound in the world.
An hour later, Rhett couldn’t believe how much fun he’d had. Pure joy filled him, and he slung his arm around Evelyn’s shoulders as they walked back to his truck. “That was amazing,” he said.
“It’s fun, right?”
“I had so much fun.” Rhett held the door for her, taking the opportunity to let his hand slide down her back as she got in. He rounded the truck and got behind the wheel, his heart still dancing in his chest.
He really wanted to kiss her, but he thought they probably needed to get some details out of the way. “So when are you thinking we need to, you know. Do the make-believe marriage thing.”
“I don’t know.”
Rhett wasn’t sure, but it sounded like Evelyn didn’t want to talk about this. “Can I get five minutes of this topic?” he asked, hoping she’d smile.
She did, and she turned more toward him. “Okay, I’m just feeling like maybe we don’t need to do this. Maybe dating is enough.”
“Your call,” he said as if he didn’t care. But if they were just dating, this was numero uno, and he wouldn’t kiss her tonight. So he kind of needed to know.
Her phone chimed several times in a row, and he glanced at her as she moved her attention to it instead of him.
Awkwardness descended on them, and Rhett didn’t know how to deal with it. Or break it. Or change it.
“I got a few texts from former clients,” she said, her voice full of misery.
“That doesn’t sound like good news.” He glanced at her, but it was hard to see her face in the darkness.
“Jill says, ‘Let’s see if you can keep this one,’ and Dana says, ‘I give it two weeks, just like the last guy.’” She sniffled, and Rhett really had no idea what to do now.
His heart beat too fast in his chest as his frustration rose. “Okay, so we prove them wrong,” he said, though he couldn’t imagine himself ending things with Evelyn in two weeks, even if they were just dating. “Let’s get married this weekend.”
“This weekend?”
He looked over at the high pitch of her voice. “You tell me, Evelyn. I’m just—I don’t want you to be upset.”
She swiped at her eyes and said, “I’m not upset.”
“Right,” he said sarcastically. “I’ll find out what it takes to get married in the state of Texas.”
“We can’t do it here.”
“Why not?”
“Did you see how many people were staring at us? And neither Jill nor Dana were at the dinner-dance tonight. Which means people are talking about me. About us. All over town.”
“Isn’t that what you want?” Rhett’s skin crawled just thinking about what she’d said. Everyone was talking about them, and he’d worked hard to stay out of the spotlight in Three Rivers.
“Yes,” Evelyn said. “No. I don’t know.” She slumped in her seat, and Rhett kept his eyes on the road in front of him, his headlights cutting through the darkness.
“Evelyn,” he said gently as the turn for their ranches approached. “It’s fine. I already said I’d do this, and I will.”
“Yeah, but what happens when we get divorced? Maybe this is just a stupid idea.” She looked at him, but Rhett couldn’t meet her eye.
Maybe this was a good solution for him, too. He wasn’t truly interested in dating, and he liked Evelyn a lot. They were already friends. His thoughts rotated in circles, and he couldn’t sort out the rational thoughts from the junk. And his feelings? What a tangled mess.
He pulled up to her house and practically jumped from the truck so Evelyn couldn’t run away from him. She tried anyway, and he grabbed her hand, trying to slow her flight. “Wait, wait,” he said. “Please, wait.”
She stalled, and when she looked up at him, tears shone in her eyes by the light of the moon. “Rhett, this is a dumb idea.”
“I don’t think it is,” he said, walking her up the steps, where someone would have to be pressed right against the windows flanking the front door to be able to see them. His heart thundered in his chest, and he expected lightning to strike at any moment.
Before he got electrocuted, either from his rapid-fire pulse or the sparks between them, he lowered his head and touched his lips to hers. He only meant to see if she’d slap him or kiss him back, but once he’d made contact, he couldn’t imagine pulling away and letting her decide what the next step should be.
He’d kissed her, and now he couldn’t stop.
And the best part—Evelyn kissed him back, her fingers fisted in the collar of his shirt as if she liked what he was doing.
Rhett eased into the homestead where he lived with his brothers, hoping everyone had gone to bed a long time ago. Jeremiah for sure would’ve gone to bed hours ago, as he rose with the sun, and as summer neared, that occurred sooner and sooner each day.
Liam probably had made a valiant effort to stay up to hear how Rhett’s date had gone, but Rhett found him snoring softly on the couch. Tripp sat in the armchair, the leg-rest up, his reading glasses on as he read the Bible.
“Hey,” he said when he heard the creak of the front door. He looked over the top of his glasses as if he were seventy-five-years-old. Tripp took the glasses off and put the leg rest down without disturbing Liam, who could sleep like the dead.
“How was it?”
Rhett could still feel the pressure of Evelyn’s mouth against his, and his head felt like it would float right off his body. “It was fine,” he said.
“Oh, boy,” Tripp said, walking toward him but looking at Liam. “Let’s go into the kitchen. He made ice cream.” Tripp led the way and started pulling down bowls. If Rhett had known he’d have to provide a recap for Tripp, he probably wouldn’t have done half of the things he’d done tonight.
Scratch that, he totally would have. Tonight had been great.
Tonight had reminded him that he didn’t have to be alone.
Tonight had proved to him that he belonged here in Three Rivers.
“So you like this woman,” Tripp said, pushing a bowl of chocolate ice cream with chunks of cookies in it.
“I’m going to marry this woman,” Rhett said, watching as Tripp’s eyes widened. Rhett put a huge bite of Liam’s concoction in his mouth so he wouldn’t spill about the make-believe marriage, or say that the wedding was in just three days.
Chapter Seven
Evelyn paced in her office, every cell in her body rioting against itself. Wednesday had passed, and Rhett had called to say he’d applied for the marriage license. There was a seventy-two-hour waiting period before they could use it, and that he’d been told he’d have it by Friday.