by Lori Wilde
It wasn’t until Winnie shrilled a welcoming neigh and took off in hot pursuit of the gray cat that Lanie realized Reece had entered the room. Dot was right behind him.
“Elaine, dear, Maurice told me you’d been up to your elbows gathering last month’s sales tax figures. Let me give you a hand.”
Lanie glanced up at Reece’s expressionless features and handed Dot the pile of untallied sales slips. “Thanks,” she said. “It would be so much simpler if we had all this information on a computer.”
“It’s no bother at all.” Dot took the papers to Reece’s desk and separated them into neat stacks. “You can repay me by going with me to town tomorrow evening to shop for a wedding dress. You have such a lively taste in clothes, and I’d like you to help me pick out something young-looking.”
“Really?’
Dot pointed a pencil at Lanie and laughed. “I don’t want Walter to think he’s getting an old frump.”
Lanie agreed to go with her elderly friend, taking the remark about her fashion style as a compliment.
Even so, she felt conscious of Reece’s eyes sweeping over her, taking in the bright Indian-print top that looked like overlapping triangles of cloth with openings for the neck and arms.
Was it disapproval that registered on his face? If so, maybe he had come back to his senses since Saturday night and realized how incompatible they were. Somehow that knowledge did nothing to relieve the ache that throbbed from the depths of her soul.
Reece stood at the door, looking strangely uncomfortable. Lanie turned back to the sale ad, trying to ignore his presence, trying to ignore the odd undercurrent that flowed through the room.
“Mom,” he said, “if you’re in no hurry to leave today, I’d like to borrow your car to run some errands.”
“Feel free,” Dot answered. “Just make sure you’re back in time to take me to the lawyer’s office before it closes. If you don’t have any objections, I’d like to trade deeds on our houses.”
“Why on earth would you want to do that?”
“It was Walter’s idea. We’ll be travelling much of the time, and we can’t use four bedrooms and all that land.” Dot’s voice had risen to an excited pitch as she discussed her plans. Now it took on a tone of coyness. “But if you would just settle down, you could fill up those bedrooms in no time.”
Lanie stiffened in her chair. If the old matchmaker had started this discussion within her range of hearing to try to influence her, it wouldn’t work. Dot’s logic behind trading houses only served to remind Lanie why marriage to Reece couldn’t work.
Pretending not to have overheard, she rose from her chair and returned the price sheets to the filing cabinet.
“Thanks, Mom,” said Reece. “Now all I have to do is find the right girl. Someone who’ll say yes.”
Lanie decided this would be a good time to help restock the shelves. She turned to leave the office, but Reece was still lounging in the doorway, his arm stretched across the opening to block her exit.
“How about you, Lanie?” Reece said lightly. “Have you got any plans for the next, say, fifty or sixty years?” When she hesitated for an appropriate reply, he added, “I’ll give you time off with pay to get the blood test.” Even, white teeth gleamed from between his firm, sensual lips.
Why was he doing this? She’d already told him in very clear terms how wrong they were for each other.
“Oh, Maurice! Let’s make it a double wedding ceremony,” Dot exclaimed. “That is, if it’s okay with you, Elaine.”
Lanie made the mistake of turning to Reece for support. He reached into his wallet and pulled out a credit card. Handing it to Lanie, he said, “While you’re out shopping with Mom tomorrow evening, pick out a bride’s dress for yourself.”
The highway referendum vote turned out to be a disaster, with the public voting in favor of it.
“I just don’t understand why they want it,” Lanie complained to Dot as they browsed through a rack of dresses. “Bliss County is perfect the way it is now. Why ruin it by encouraging growth?”
“Because people want the best of both worlds,” Dot explained. “The beauty and spaciousness of the country and the conveniences of the city. Can’t blame ’em, myself. What do you think of this dress?”
Lanie nodded her approval of the pale-blue lace-over-taffeta gown. “Well, maybe I’ll have a few years before they change our zoning from agricultural to residential. Then I’ll worry about moving again.”
“The only place you’ll be moving to, honey, is across the road with Maurice.” Dot gave her an affectionate squeeze. “I always wanted a daughter.”
“You know, Reece was just teasing.”
Dot shook her head and led her to the dresses. “Maurice wouldn’t tease about something as serious as marriage. If he wants something—or someone in your case—he won’t stop until he gets it. Now, here’s a pretty white satin in your size. Do you think it’ll clash with mine?”
It had been three weeks since Lanie managed to get out of the store without buying a bridal dress. But that didn’t stop Dot from mentioning the upcoming wedding plans at every opportunity.
Reece, on the other hand, said nothing further about it. He was polite, but distant, and his attention seemed to be elsewhere. He ordered a large shipment of fencing materials and spent much of his spare time on the property behind his mother’s house.
That was all right with Lanie since she was preoccupied with trying not to trample any of the six squirming beagle-mix puppies. Reece came over to see the newborns and asked if she planned to keep them.
Lanie loved cuddling the babies, but she dared not keep even one since she feared it might find its way to the road and get hit by a passing car.
No one had responded to her fliers, so Reece told her the beagle must have been a drop-off.
“People—usually from the city—bring their unwanted animals out to rural areas like Bliss,” he said, “and drop them off on the side of the road, hoping someone like you will find them. More often than not, they’re injured, get sick, or starve to death.”
Lanie understood how the little dog must feel. Lanie, too, had been pushed out of her home in the suburbs and had come here looking for a place to call home.
Like the dog, she and Winnie wouldn’t be able to stay here long before having to find another sanctuary.
Lanie had taken a snapshot of the puppies with their mother. She taped it and a small sign to the back of Violet’s cash register.
“Free to good home, huh?” The deep voice rumbled close behind Lanie as she studied her handiwork. “Does the present owner come with them?”
She turned around and found herself face-to-face with Reece. It was almost October, yet his tan had faded little since the end of summer. His one concession to the cooler temperature was to wear jeans instead of shorts.
His clean, outdoorsy smell reminded her of the intimate little clearing by the pond where they’d shared a blanket and Reece’s childhood memories.
Why did his mere presence send her mind on such tangents? As surely as he was standing in front of her, Lanie knew that time wouldn’t diminish his effect on her.
Lanie pictured herself still working here five or ten years from now. He’d be married to a Brittany or a Melissa, and pictures of her and their children would grace his desk and the wall on his half of the office.
And still, Lanie’s heart would leap every time Reece entered the room, every time he looked at her as he did now with that one eyebrow cocked in question.
It was then that Lanie realized she’d have to find another job. Another boss.
“I—uh…” Here she was, stammering again like a bashful adolescent.
Mercifully, he let her off the hook. “Have you seen our newest item in stock?” Leading her to a newly set up display, Reece waved a theatrical hand over an assortment of grain and seed bags.
Smaller than the fifty-pound bags that the farmers preferred, these came packaged in nostalgic floral patterns and old-fash
ioned brown burlap.
The window behind the display sported a new pair of charming, country-style curtains made from the same type of fabric as the bags.
“I didn’t order these. Where did they come from?”
Reece beamed at her, apparently delighted at her astonishment. “The dealer said we could sell these on a trial basis. If they do well, we’ll keep stocking them in the smaller sizes for our homeowner customers.”
“But—”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get full credit for the idea. And next week you’ll be getting your new computer. I also took your suggestion about something else. Come on, I’ll show it to you.” He took her hand and led her to the back door, calling to Violet as he passed. “Would you and Howard hold down the fort? Lanie and I are going to take a long lunch.”
“Reece,” said Lanie, “I don’t think they’ve had lunch yet.”
Violet stepped ahead and held the door for them. “You two go right ahead.” Her broad smile hinted that she knew something Lanie did not. “We’ll be just fine,” she assured them.
Outside, Reece opened the passenger door of a shiny red pickup truck with a camper shell on the back. He made an elaborate bow. “Please allow me to take you for a ride in the new, improved Masardi-mobile.”
Lanie inhaled the new-car scent as he got in the other side. She ran a hand over the red vinyl seat.
“It’s not as fancy as Mom’s Jaguar, but it’ll make a great shop truck. Oops, I almost forgot…” Reece appeared to be bubbling over in his excitement as he went back to the store and gave a piercing whistle. Winnie and Barney streaked toward him, and he let them into the back of the truck. “They wanted to go for a ride, too,” he explained as he got back in and started the engine. He slanted a grin at her. “It even has a perndle indicator.”
“It’s automatic?”
“That was the least I could do for the mailboxes of our neighborhood.”
Lanie stared at him in wonder. She’d been attracted to him from the first moment she’d met him. He’d seemed so befuddled the day she pounded on his front door. But she’d fallen like lead when she’d first seen the playful little boy under that gruff businessman exterior. And now that little boy was out in full force.
“This is a nice truck,” she said. “But I’m still going to miss the old pink one.” Oddly enough, she did miss it. She’d come to consider the dents and rust spots as character marks chronicling the events in Reece’s life.
“Yeah, I’m going to miss her, too. But I planned for that. Take a look in the glove compartment.”
Lanie opened the small door and pulled out an envelope full of pictures. Each photo showed a different angle of the old vehicle, inside and out.
“No truck will ever be like the old gal,” he said, patting the red dashboard, “but at least this one’s safer. You don’t have to worry about Winnie falling out. And if you slide this glass over”—he reached back and pushed open the glass separating them from the animals—“it’s almost like she’s riding up front with you.”
Lanie felt a hot prickling at the corners of her eyes as she considered his thoughtfulness. First, the flowered feed sacks, and now this. She stared blankly at the photos. Don’t let him get too close, she reminded herself. But even as she thought it, she knew the warning was too late.
Lanie watched the landscape go by, unaware of their surroundings until Reece turned onto Judestown Road. He pulled the truck into his mother’s driveway—his driveway now—and came to a stop.
The outer corners of Reece’s eyes crinkled like little starbursts. “Well, don’t just sit there,” he said and hopped out of the truck. “Come give me a hand.”
Reece let the animals out and handed her the patchwork quilt from the back of the truck. Then he extracted an oversized wicker picnic basket.
“Reece, what’s going on?”
“Lunch. Can’t you tell?”
His step was lively as he walked to the back of the house, and Lanie had to hurry to keep up. Then, when she passed the patio, she saw it. Framing the setting like a picture postcard, the new fence circled the pond as well as the clearing and a small lean-to shed at the corner of a large portion of land behind the pond.
But unlike many of their neighbors’ rustic fences, this one’s broad, flat boards skimmed close to the ground and left little space between the horizontal slats.
If it was intended to keep neighborhood children away from the water, Lanie decided it was a failure. The openings between the boards were too small for a child to scramble through, but a determined kid could easily climb over it.
“Reece, this looks so … picturesque.”
“Come on. You’ve got to see it from the clearing.”
Once there, he pulled a can opener out of the picnic basket, followed by a can of cat food and a bowl full of horse feed.
“I’ll be right back,” he said and led the menagerie a short distance away. Lanie watched, amused. He set the bowl down for Winnie, opened the can, and dumped the contents onto a paper plate for Barney.
When he returned, he set out a feast of sandwiches, chips, fruit, and a bottle of wine. Lanie accepted her plate and took a bite of her sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
Reece wiped a bread crumb from his mouth with the back of his hand. “They say the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach.”
“That’s ‘a man’s heart,’” she corrected.
“I believe in equality of the sexes.”
The dimple in his left cheek deepened. With a sinking feeling in her gut, Lanie knew that although Reece hadn’t talked about marriage since he’d jokingly offered her his credit card three weeks ago, he didn’t consider the matter settled. She remembered what Dot had said about him.
He won’t stop until he gets what he wants.
And from the hungry look in his eyes, it was clear he wanted her.
Reece poured the wine into a paper cup and handed it to her. When she finished, he refilled it for her.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?”
“Whatever it takes.”
Lanie set the cup down. She needed to be clearheaded when dealing with him—a near impossibility when he was close enough to touch.
Reece moved to her side, taking her left hand in his. He didn’t meet her eyes but stared down as he rubbed a thumb over her bare fingers.
“I don’t know if I made this clear the last time we were here,” he began, “but I want you to know how much I love you.”
“Reece, don’t—”
“Let me finish. In the short time we’ve known each other, I’ve learned a few things about you. That you’re fun to be with. That you’re a hard worker.” He ran a hand over his brow, smoothing out the worry lines between his eyes. “I’ve also come to realize that your reason for refusing to be with me is the lamest excuse you could have come up with.”
“We’ve been through all this before. I told you we’re too different. And you mentioned wanting children. I’m not mother material.”
“What you tell me and what you show me are two different things.”
Lanie felt the heat of his gaze as he turned to her, studying her face with an intensity that made her want to turn away. But she was helpless in his brown-eyed trap.
“What I see,” he said, “is the most nurturing woman I’ve ever met. I don’t know many people who would have gone to the trouble you did to save those tadpoles.”
Lanie gave a snort of derision. “So, I’ve got a soft spot for slimy amphibians. That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Do you want me to make a list?” Reece ticked them off on his fingers. “You tried to keep Weasel from seeing a fact of life you thought he wasn’t ready for. You even risked getting kicked to keep him from being trampled by the cow.” His voice softened as he added, “And who was it that washed my wounds and put medicine on my chest?”
“Anybody would’ve done the same,” she insisted.
“Wou
ld anybody have sung a lullaby to a cow in labor?”
Lanie felt her cheeks grow warm. She hadn’t realized he’d heard. He must surely think she was ridiculous. She met his gaze, but the only emotion she saw there was love. And maybe a little bit of frustration.
“Would anybody have made the sacrifices you’ve made just to keep your horse, or been as patient as you were with Jasmine Hicks when she tried to ride Winnie? And I don’t know too many people who search under porches at night because they’re worried about a stray dog.”
Lanie sighed. He presented a strong argument. But he was talking about now. What about the future?
Reece slipped an arm around her waist, bringing her close enough to kiss him if she wanted to. She wanted to, but she couldn’t think about that now. She mustn’t think about that.
“Tell me,” Reece whispered. “Don’t you think that sounds like ‘mother material’?” He stroked her arm, sending warm sensations right to her heart. “Enough of your silly excuses. Now tell me you’re madly in love with me and that you’ll be my wife.”
Lanie smiled back at him, but she still had reservations. “We’re as different as two people can be.”
Reece pointed to where Winnie and Barney lay sunning together. “So are they, but that doesn’t stop them from being friends.”
Lanie considered his words, and her heart thumped wildly. In spite of her doubts and insecurities, she began to hope. Could it possibly work? Reece not only wanted her, he believed in her. With a love like that, how could they fail?
“I don’t know how to cook very well,” she warned, offering him one final opportunity to back out.
“I bet Mom could teach you if you offered to share your secret family recipe for spaghetti sauce.” He brushed her hair back away from her face and let his hand linger at the sensitive spot under her ear. “I’m waiting for those three magic words.”
“I’m still hungry?”
At that, Reece jumped up and lifted Lanie as easily as he hefted hay bales and sacks of grain. He carried her to the water’s edge. “Tell me now, woman, or I’ll throw you into the pond,” he threatened. Despite the fierceness of his tone, his smile told her he knew the answer.