“I don’t think there’s any doubt that Meg’s the right person.” Rafe pulled his wallet from his back pocket. “That’s your necklace, Meg.”
“But—”
“Furthermore, unless you object strongly, you should wear it out of the store.” He took his credit card out and gave it to Samuel.
“Meg.” Samuel looked at her. “Call me a crazy old man if you want, but I believe it’s bad luck to refuse such a heartfelt gesture.”
“Oh, I don’t think you’re crazy,” Meg said. “But I’m not so sure about my friend Rafe, here.”
Rafe wasn’t convinced of his sanity, either. Buying a necklace, expensive or not, because the stone and the design had special significance wasn’t typical of the Rafe Locke who’d arrived in Jackson Hole. The cost of the necklace hadn’t bothered him at all and he’d have paid twice that to see Meg wearing the glorious spiral of silver.
But it wasn’t the purchase of a high-end necklace making the ground shift beneath his feet. It was the growing suspicion that the woman wearing it had the power to change his life forever.
10
MEG KEPT TOUCHING THE necklace all the way back to the car. “I’ve never had anything this beautiful in my life,” she said. “I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you.”
“This would be the right time for me to make all kinds of lewd suggestions as to how you can thank me, but I won’t, because I already have my thanks just looking at you wearing it.”
“I wanted to scoff at his story about picturing someone like me as he made it, but…”
“I believe him. I’m sure he does that all the time, and when it works out, he’s excited like he was today. I’m sure customers come in who aren’t right for a piece he’s made, but he has to sell it to them anyway. That must be a little frustrating.”
“I feel like a princess wearing this.”
He glanced over at her and smiled. “You’d be beautiful without it, but I have to admit I’m taken with how that bit of malachite directs me straight to your cleavage.”
“And I thought you liked the malachite because it matches my eyes.”
“That, too. Incidentally, Wyatt’s and my birthday is two days before yours.”
“Really? Then malachite is your birthstone, too.”
“Guess so.”
She thought about what Samuel had read out of the book he kept under the counter—malachite is a stone for the adventurous spirit, a risk-taker who yearns to live more fully and find unconditional love. “What did you think of that stuff Samuel read to us?”
“I’m still mulling it over.”
She’d just bet he was. “Those things aren’t always accurate.” But she thought it described the person he could become, even if he wasn’t there yet.
“I know.” He looked over at her. “But it fits you to a T.”
“I thought so, too. It was eerie. I was drawn to that necklace when I first saw it, but I figured it was the artistry of the design that pulled me in. It’s so different. But I knew nothing about malachite or the properties he claims it has. Now I want to learn more.”
“Your wish is my command.” He pulled his iPhone out of his pocket as they reached the car. Leaning against the fender, he tapped on the screen. “I’ll look it up on Google.”
“I didn’t think about it, but your phone hasn’t rung once this afternoon.”
“Kind of hard for it to ring when it’s off.”
“You turned it off? When?”
“When we got to the Spirits and Spurs. I didn’t want anything interrupting our lunch, and then I didn’t want to have it ringing while we drove up here.”
“You didn’t have to turn it off.” She was amazed that he’d made that decision. “I wouldn’t have minded.”
“I would have minded. I wanted to talk to you, not to someone in San Francisco.”
“Thank you.” She admired how good he looked leaning against the fender in his jeans, boots, Western shirt and hat. A pickup truck would have suited the image better than the Lexus, but he seemed comfortable with the luxury car.
She didn’t doubt that he made good money and the necklace hadn’t been as damaging to his budget as it would have been to hers. That didn’t mean she felt totally okay with his purchase. Yet Samuel had made a good point. When someone truly wanted to bestow a gift, it would be ungracious to refuse, even if she didn’t believe it was bad luck as Samuel seemed to think.
Rafe glanced up from his phone. “Are you ready for the scoop on malachite?”
“I am.” She touched the stone, which seemed warmer than it had when she put it on. It had probably soaked up some sun in addition to her body heat.
“Besides what Samuel told us, malachite is a stone of transformation.”
“Is that so? Am I going to become a werewolf or something?”
He chuckled. “I don’t think that’s the kind of transformation they’re talking about. They mention breaking outworn patterns and…oh, I like this part. It’s supposed to release inhibitions.” He glanced up from the screen and waggled his eyebrows at her.
Meg laughed. “So it will transform me into a wild woman?”
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we? And speaking of that, it’s time to head back home via the drugstore.”
“The drugstore? Why do we—” And then she remembered. “Oh, yes. The drugstore.”
“And it’s getting late. I’m sure Sarah expects us for dinner.”
“She does. I had hoped we’d have time to stop at the gallery and take a look at Dominique’s photographs, but we should probably skip that. I didn’t expect to spend so much time in the jewelry store.”
“I’m really glad we did, though.” He shoved his phone back in his pocket and pulled out his car keys. “That necklace looks terrific on you.”
“If malachite is your birthstone, shouldn’t you be wearing it, too?”
“Sorry, but that necklace just doesn’t go with my outfit.” He opened the passenger door and ushered her in.
She rolled her eyes at him as she slid onto the leather seat. “I didn’t mean the necklace, but something else, like a belt buckle with a piece of malachite on it.”
“Now that would be a total waste of money. I might wear the jeans we bought on weekends, and possibly even the shirts sometimes, but there’s no way in hell I’m walking around sporting a Western belt buckle like some urban cowboy.”
“Okay, but don’t be surprised if you end up being all inhibited because you resisted the power of the malachite.”
Leaning down, he gave her a quick, hard kiss. “Something tells me if you lose your inhibitions, I’ll give up on mine, too. We sort of proved that today in the dressing room. Now buckle up. We have to make tracks for the drugstore.”
Meg had no idea where the nearest one was, but Rafe pulled up MapQuest on his phone and soon had them parked in front of what Rafe was now referring to as the “condom outlet.”
“I’m sure people depend on this store for other things besides condoms,” Meg said.
“I can’t imagine what.” He turned off the motor and unlatched his seat belt. “Want to come in with me?”
She thought about it for all of two seconds. “Yes, I do. I’ve never tagged along on a condom shopping trip.”
“Don’t tell me that’s on your list.”
“No, but maybe it should have been.”
Rafe sighed and shook his head. “I’m not planning to linger over the selection, but i
f you want the experience, I’m not about to deprive you.”
Moments later, Meg stood in front of the display while Rafe searched for the type he preferred. “It’s been a while since I’ve looked at these,” she said. “I had no idea there were so many different kinds.”
“This is an especially well-stocked store,” Rafe said. “Ah, there they are.” He unhooked a package from a metal display rod.
“What did you get?” She glanced at the package. “Those don’t look very interesting. Don’t you want ones with ribs?”
He glanced at her with a grin. “I don’t. Do you?”
“I’m not sure.” She lowered her voice. “I’ve never had ribs before. At least I don’t think I have. Are ribs a good idea?”
“Once again, I’m the wrong person to ask. They aren’t going to do anything for me, but apparently they’re supposed to provide an extra thrill for you. If you want me to get ribs, I will.”
“Nah.” She linked her arm through his and drew him away from the condom display. “We’ll save that for another time, after the regular ones become too boring.”
He choked on a laugh. “If I have anything to do with it, the regular ones aren’t going to be boring.”
“I believe you’ll have a great deal to do with it.”
“I plan to, although we can’t count out the malachite. In fact, from a scientific standpoint, we shouldn’t add in another variable like ribs when we’re testing the influence of the stone.”
She paused, and since they were linked arm in arm, he had to stop, too. “Exactly how do you think the malachite is going to influence things, by the way?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Not to me.”
“If you wear the necklace while we’re having sex, then—”
“You want me to do that?”
He gazed down at her. “I’ve been imagining that ever since you put on the necklace. I thought you’d probably figured that out.”
“No, I didn’t.” But now that he’d introduced the idea, she found herself becoming aroused by the mental picture he’d painted. “So this necklace isn’t strictly for me, after all, is it?”
“No. It’s along the lines of the vest you wanted me to buy.”
She blew out a breath. “I feel so much better about accepting it now. Here I thought you were just buying me expensive jewelry, but you really wanted an accessory for your sexual fantasy.”
He frowned. “That’s not my only motivation. Once Samuel explained how he’d made the necklace for someone like you, I thought it would be a crime if you didn’t own it.”
“That’s nice, too, but knowing you’re thinking of some hot sexual scenario connected with it takes away my misgivings. In a sense, this necklace is as much for you as it is for me.”
“Yeah.” His gaze traveled from her mouth to her throat, down to the necklace, and beyond, to the cleavage she’d revealed by unfastening one more button.
The heat of that gaze made her shiver with longing. “Too bad we have to go through the whole dinner ritual.”
“I know. I’m way hungrier for you than I am for food right now.” And that hunger was obvious in his expression. “But we’re here because of a family wedding, and that has to take priority over everything else.”
She nodded as they continued up the aisle toward the cashier. “So let’s get ourselves back to the ranch and be sociable. I’m trying to remember who’s supposed to be at dinner tonight.”
“A smaller group than we had last night, according to Sarah.” Rafe paid for the box of condoms as nonchalantly as he might pay for a package of Life Savers.
Meg was impressed with his sophistication. She didn’t know many guys who would be comfortable taking a woman in with them while they shopped for birth control. Rafe might have balked at the idea of buying clothing when she was along, but he had plenty of confidence when it came to anything sexual. She found that very arousing.
As they started back to the ranch, she began to count the days they’d have left before the wedding consumed all their time. “When’s your dad flying in?”
“Thursday. I’m picking him up at the airport, which is one reason I rented the Lexus. He’s partial to this make of car.”
She sensed the eagerness to please in Rafe’s voice. He wanted his father’s approval and wasn’t always sure he’d get it. “And Thursday night’s the party at the Spirits and Spurs. Will he come to that?”
“I suppose. It’s not going to involve strippers and raunchy movies, so he’ll probably go.”
“That’s good. We’ll have drinks and dancing. He should enjoy it.”
“What kind of dancing?”
“Oh.” She realized that it might not be quite the type his father would want. “Country, I’m afraid. The first night I was here, we all went into the Spirits and Spurs because they had a local band playing. It was a lot of fun, but it’s definitely country music, and country swing is popular around here. Line dancing, too.”
“He won’t do any of that.”
Meg took note of the finality in Rafe’s statement. “You’re sure? I mean, maybe if we get a couple of drinks in him, and one of the women who’s really good at it coaxes him out on the floor, he’ll—”
“It’s not going to happen, Meg. Fact is, I don’t know how to dance that way, either. I’ll probably sit it out with my dad.”
“I certainly hope not!”
He glanced at her in obvious surprise. “What’s so wrong about that?”
“You’re the best man, Rafe, so you can’t just sit it out, even if your dad chooses to. Besides, the party is only the beginning. They’ll have a DJ playing country music at the reception, too. It’s part of your job to be out there on the dance floor.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. And Wyatt didn’t say a word.”
“I’m sure it’s not one of the main things he’s worried about, but I happen to think it’s important. And if I have to appeal to your competitive instinct, I will. The Chance men have a reputation for being great dancers.”
Rafe groaned. “This is not a hurdle I anticipated. Do you know anything about country swing or line dancing?”
“Some. But the best dancer in the family is Jack. If you really want to learn how to—”
“Are you seriously suggesting I ask Jack to teach me to dance?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Yes, I think I am. In fact, it would be excellent if Jack taught you to dance.” She looked over at him and his jaw had tightened along with his grip on the steering wheel. “But you don’t think so, do you?”
“Not so much.”
“How much dancing experience do you have, exactly?”
“I…um…you know. Dancing at clubs.”
“You mean where you get out on the floor and gyrate around without actually touching your partner?”
“Like that, yeah. I’ve done a little ballroom dancing, too.”
She knew this would be a tough sell, but if she could convince him, he’d be much happier during the wedding festivities. “That’s not quite the same thing. But I promise you, if you take on this challenge and master the Texas Two-Step and a couple of line dances, you’ll be a hero.”
“I will?” He sounded a little more interested.
“Guaranteed.”
“I’m not saying I won’t try, because I see your point. It’s part of the festivities, and it’ll look bad if I don’t participate, but…Jack? Couldn’t I learn from someone else?”
“You could, but after all, he is your brother.”
“Half brother.”
“Half brother, then. But let’s say you get someone else to teach you, somebody on the ranch, maybe even Sarah. I’ve seen her dance with Jack and she’s very good.”
He nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll ask Sarah. We get along great. She’s a very kind woman, and besides, she is, in fact, a woman. Learning to dance from somebody of the opposite sex would be a plus.”
“Yes, but think of the result. You’ll show up at the party Thursday night with some skills you’ve learned from Sarah. But everyone knows Jack is the ultimate authority on country dancing, and they’ll realize you wimped out and chose Sarah. You didn’t go to The Man.”
“I don’t want to go to The Man, okay?”
“I’m telling you, Rafe, you’d score more points if you did. Jack’s the best, and if you acknowledge that by asking for his help, he’ll be proud of what you accomplish. You’ll have an ally out on the floor instead of a competitor.”
His jaw tightened again. “I don’t care if Jack’s an ally or not. I didn’t come to the Last Chance to kiss up to my half brother.”
Men. “I know you didn’t! But can’t you play the game, just for this week?”
“I’m still trying to picture me going up to Jack and asking if he’ll teach me to dance. How am I supposed to do that with a straight face?”
“I’ll go with you. I’m fairly sure that Jack, Josie and little Archie are coming to dinner tonight. It’ll be your perfect opportunity.”
“I don’t know, Meg. Sounds like a disaster in the making.”
“Rafe, if you’ll take this on, I promise to dance with you a whole lot, both on Thursday night and Saturday night.”
He was silent for a few seconds. “I hadn’t thought of that. I don’t want you out there dancing without me.”
“Of course you don’t, especially if I’m wearing this necklace and feeling all uninhibited.”
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