by Diana Palmer
He checked his face, decided it would pass, and lowered his eyes to Alice’s flushed cheeks in the mirror. He put his hands on her shoulders and tightened them. “We can’t get married tomorrow. But I thought, maybe next week. Friday, maybe,” he said softly. “I can take a few days off. We could drive down to Galveston. To the beach. Even in winter, it’s beautiful there.”
She’d turned and was staring up at him wide-eyed. “You mean that? It isn’t you’re just saying it so I’ll stop harassing you?”
He bent and kissed her forehead with breathless tenderness. “I don’t know how it happened, exactly,” he said in a husky, soft tone. “But I’m in love with you.”
She slid her arms around his neck. “I’m in love with you, too, Harley,” she said in a wondering tone, searching his eyes.
He lifted her up to him and kissed her in a new way, a different way. With reverence, and respect, and aching tenderness.
“I’ll marry you whenever you like,” she said against his mouth.
He kissed her harder. The passion returned, riveting them together, locking them in a heat of desire that was ever more formidable to resist.
He drew back, grinding his teeth in frustration, and moved her away from him. “We have to stop this,” he said. “At least until after the wedding. I’m really old-fashioned about these things.”
“Tell me about it,” she said huskily. “I come from a whole family of Baptist ministers. Need I say more?”
He managed a smile. “No. I know what you mean.” He drew a steadying breath and looked in the mirror. He grimaced. “Okay, now I believe that publicity was a load of bull,” he told her. “I’m smeared, too, and it’s not my color.”
“It definitely isn’t,” she agreed. She wet a washcloth and proceeded to clean up both of them. Then, while he got his suit coat back on, and his hair combed, she finished her own makeup. By the time she was done, he was waiting for her at the door. He smiled as she approached him.
“You look sharp,” he said gently.
She whirled the boa around her neck and smiled from ear to ear. “You look devastating,” she replied.
He stuck out an arm. She linked her hand into it. He opened the door and followed her out.
There was a band. They played regional favorites, and Harley danced with Alice. Practically the whole town had gathered in the building that housed the local Cattlemen’s Association, to celebrate the coming of the new year. A pair of steer horns, the idea of Calhoun Ballenger, their new state senator, waited to fall when midnight came.
Hayes Carson was wearing his uniform, and Alice teased him about it.
“Hey, I’m on duty,” he replied with a grin. “And I’m only here between calls.”
“I’m not arguing. It’s a big turnout. Is it always like this?”
“Always,” Hayes replied. He started to add to that when a call came over his radio. He pressed the button on his portable and told the dispatcher he was en route to the call. “See what I mean?” he added with a sigh. “Have fun.”
“We will,” Harley replied, sliding an arm around her.
Hayes waved as he went out the door.
“Is he sweet on you?” Harley asked with just a hint of jealousy in his tone.
She pressed close to him. “Everybody but Hayes knows that he’s sweet on Minette Raynor, but he’s never going to admit it. He’s spent years blaming her for his younger brother’s drug-related death. She wasn’t responsible, and he even knows who was because there was a confession.”
“That’s sad,” Harley replied.
“It is.” She looked up at him and smiled. “But it’s not our problem. You said we’d get married next Friday. I’ll have to ask for time off.”
He pursed his lips. “So will I. Do you want to get married in church?”
She hesitated. “Could we?”
“Yes. I’ll make the arrangements. What sort of flowers do you want, for your bouquet?”
“Yellow and white roses,” she said at once. “But, Harley, I don’t have a wedding gown. You don’t want a big reception?”
“Not very big, no, but you should have a wedding gown,” he replied solemnly. “If we have a daughter, she could have it for her own wedding one day. Or it could be an heirloom, at least, to hand down.”
“A daughter. Children…” She caught her breath. “I hadn’t thought about…Oh, yes, I want children! I want them so much!”
His body corded. “So do I.”
“I’ll buy a wedding gown, first thing when I get home,” she said. “I’ll need a maid of honor. You’ll need a best man,” she added quickly.
“I’ll ask Mr. Parks,” he said.
She smiled. “I don’t really have many women friends. Do you suppose Mrs. Parks would be my matron of honor?”
“I think she’d be honored,” Harley replied. “I’ll ask them.”
“Wow,” she said softly. “It’s all happening so fast.” She frowned. “Not too fast, is it?” she worried aloud.
“Not too fast,” he assured her. “We’re the same sort of people, Alice. We’ll fit together like a puzzle. I promise you we will. I’ll take care of you all my life.”
“I’ll take care of you,” she replied solemnly. “I want to keep my job.”
He smiled. “Of course you do. You can commute, can’t you?”
She smiled. “Of course. I have a Honda.”
“I’ve seen it. Nice little car. I’ve got a truck, so we can haul stuff. Mr. Parks is giving me some land and some cattle from his purebred herd. There’s an old house on the land. It’s not the best place to set up housekeeping, but Mr. Parks said the minute I proposed, to let him know and he’d get a construction crew out there to remodel it.” He hesitated. “I told him Saturday that I was going to propose to you.”
Her lips parted. “Saturday?”
He nodded. “That’s when I knew I couldn’t live without you, Alice.”
She pressed close into his arms, not caring what anybody thought. “I felt that way, too. Like I’ve always known you.”
He kissed her forehead and held her tight. “Yes. So we have a place to live. The boss will have it in great shape when we get back from our honeymoon.” He lifted his head. “Will you mind living on a ranch?”
“Are you kidding? I want to keep chickens and learn to can and make my own butter.”
He laughed. “Really?”
“Really! I hate living in the city. I can’t even keep a cat in my apartment, much less grow things there.” She beamed. “I’ll love it!”
He grinned back. “I’ll bring you one of my chicken catalogs. I like the fancy ones, but you can get regular hens as well.”
“Chicken catalogs? You like chickens?”
“Boss keeps them,” he said. “I used to gather eggs for Mrs. Parks, years ago. I like hens. I had my mind on a small ranch and I thought chickens would go nicely with cattle.”
She sighed. “We’re going to be very happy, I think.”
“I think so, too.”
The Parkses showed up, along with the Steeles and the Scotts. Harley and Alice announced their plans, and the Parkses agreed with delightful speed to take part in the wedding. Other local citizens gathered around to congratulate them.
Midnight came all too soon. The steer horns lowered to the loud count by the crowd, out under the bright Texas stars to celebrate the new year. The horns made it to the ground, the band struck up “Auld Lang Syne” and everybody kissed and cried and threw confetti.
“Happy New Year, Alice,” Harley whispered as he bent to kiss her.
“Happy New Year.” She threw her arms around him and kissed him back.
He left her at her motel with real reluctance. “I won’t come in,” he said at once, grinning wickedly. “We’ve already discovered that I have no willpower.”
“Neither do I,” she sighed. “I guess we’re very strange. Most people who get married have been living together for years. We’re the odd couple, waiting until after the cere
mony.”
He became serious. “It all goes back to those old ideals, to the nobility of the human spirit,” he said softly. “Tradition is important. And I love the idea of chastity. I’m only sorry that I didn’t wait for you, Alice. But, then, I didn’t know you were going to come along. I’d decided that I’d never find someone I wanted to spend my life with.” He smiled. “What a surprise you were.”
She went close and hugged him. “You’re the nicest man I’ve ever known. No qualms about what I do for a living?” she added.
He shrugged. “It’s a job. I work with cattle and get sunk up to my knees in cow manure. It’s not so different from what you do. We both get covered up in disgusting substances to do our jobs.”
“I never thought of it like that.”
He hugged her close. “We’ll get along fine. And we’ll wait, even if half the world thinks we’re nuts.”
“Speaking for myself, I’ve always been goofy.”
“So have I.”
“Besides,” she said, pulling back, “I was never one to go with the crowd. You’ll call me?”
“Every day,” he said huskily. “A week from Friday.”
She smiled warmly. “A week from Friday. Happy New Year.”
He kissed her. “Happy New Year.”
He got back into his car. He didn’t drive away until she was safely inside her room.
Ten
Alice had forgotten, in the excitement, to tell Harley about the senator’s message. But the following day, when he called, he didn’t have time to talk. So she waited until Friday, when he phoned and was in a chatty mood.
“I have a message for you,” she said hesitantly. “From your father.”
“My father?” he said after a minute, and he was solemn.
“He said that he’d made some dreadful mistakes. He wants the opportunity to apologize for them. Your sister’s death caused problems for both your parents that they never faced.”
“Yes, and I never realized it. When did you talk to him?”
“He came to see me Monday, at my office. I like him,” she added quietly. “I think he was sincere, about wanting to reconnect with you. He gave me his private cell phone number.” She hesitated. “Do you want it?”
He hesitated, too, but only for a moment. “Yes.”
She called out the numbers to him.
“I’m not saying I’ll call him,” he said after a minute. “But I’ll think about it.”
“That’s my guy,” she replied, and felt warm all over at the thought. She’d had some worries, though. “Harley?”
“Hmm?”
“You know that we’ve only known each other for a few weeks…” she began.
“And you’re afraid we’re rushing into marriage?”
She shrugged. “Aren’t we?”
He laughed softly. “Alice, we can wait for several months or several years, but in the end, we’ll get married. We have so much in common that no sane gambler would bet against us. But if you want to wait, honey, we’ll wait.” He cleared his throat. “It’s just that my willpower may not be up to it. Just don’t expect to get married in a white gown, okay?”
She remembered their close calls and laughed. “Okay, I’m convinced. We’ll get married a week from Friday.”
“Wear a veil, will you,” he added seriously. “It’s old-fashioned, but it’s so beautiful.”
“Say no more. I’ll shop veils-are-us this very day.”
“There’s such a place?” he asked.
“I’ll let you know.”
“Deal. I’ll call you tonight.”
She felt a flush of warmth. “Okay.”
“Bye, darlin’,” he drawled, and hung up.
Alice held the phone close, sighing, until Longfellow walked by and gave her a strange look.
Alice removed the phone from her chest and put it carefully on the desk. “Magnetism, Longfellow,” she said facetiously. “You see, a burst of magnetism caught my cell phone and riveted it to my chest. I have only just managed to extricate it.” She waited hopefully for the reply.
Longfellow pursed her lips. “You just stick to that story, but I have reason to know that you have recently become engaged. So I’ll bet your boyfriend just hung up.”
“Who told you I was engaged?” Alice demanded.
Longfellow started counting them off on her fingers. “Rick Marquez, Jon Blackhawk, Kilraven, Hayes Carson…”
“How do you know Kilraven?” Alice wanted to know.
“He keeps bugging me about that telephone number,” she sighed. “As if the FBI lab doesn’t have any other evidence to process. Give me a break!” She rolled her eyes.
“If they call you, get in touch with me before you tell Kilraven anything, okay?” she asked. “I want to make sure he’s not running off into dead ends on my account.”
“I’ll do that,” Longfellow promised. She stared at Alice. “If you want to shop for a wedding gown, I know just the place. And I’ll be your fashion consultant.”
Alice looked dubious.
“Wait a sec,” Longfellow said. “I have photos of my own wedding, three years ago.” She pulled them up on her phone and showed them to Alice. “That’s my gown.”
Alice caught her breath. “Where in the world did you find such a gown?”
“At a little boutique downtown, would you believe it? They do hand embroidery—although in your case, it will probably have to be machined—and they have a pretty good selection for a small shop.”
“Can we go after work?” Alice asked enthusiastically.
Longfellow laughed. “You bet.”
“Thanks.”
“Not a problem.”
Alice picked out a dream of a gown, white satin with delicate pastel silk embroidery on the hem in yellow and pink and blue. There was a long illusion veil that matched it, with just the ends embroidered delicately in silk in the same pastel colors. It wasn’t even that expensive.
“Why aren’t you on the news?” Alice asked the owner, a petite little brunette. “I’ve never seen such beautiful wedding gowns!”
“We don’t appeal to everybody,” came the reply. “But for the few, we’re here.”
“I’ll spread the word around,” Alice promised.
“I already have.” Longfellow chuckled.
Outside the shop, with her purchase safely placed in the backseat of her car, Alice impulsively hugged Longfellow. “Thanks so much.”
“It was my pleasure,” Longfellow replied. “Where will you live?”
“He’s got a small ranch,” she said proudly. “We’re going to raise purebred Santa Gertrudis cattle. But until we make our first million at it, he’s going to go on working as a ranch foreman, and I’ll keep my job here. I’ll commute.”
“You always wanted to live in the country,” Longfellow recalled.
Alice smiled. “Yes. And with the right man. I have definitely found him.” She sighed. “I know it sounds like a rushed thing. We’ve known each other just a short time…”
“My sister met her husband and got married in five days,” Longfellow said smugly. “They just celebrated their thirty-seventh wedding anniversary.”
“Thirty-seven years?” Alice exclaimed.
“Well, he liked Star Trek, she said,” Longfellow explained. “She said that told her everything she needed to know about him—that he was intelligent, tolerant, inquisitive, optimistic about the future, unprejudiced and a little quirky.” She shrugged and laughed. “Not bad for a quick character reading, was it?”
“Not at all. Good for her!”
“You do the same,” Longfellow lectured. “I don’t want to see you in divorce court a month after you say your vows.”
“I believe we can safely say that won’t happen,” Alice replied, and she felt and sounded confident. She frowned. “I wonder if he likes Star Trek,” she wondered aloud.
In fact, she asked him when he called that night. “I do,” he replied. “All the series, all the movies, and espe
cially the new one, about Kirk, Spock and McCoy as cadets.” He paused. “How about you?”
“I love it, too.” She laughed, and then explained why she’d asked the question.
He was serious then. “That’s a long time,” he said of Longfellow’s sister’s marriage. “We’ll give her a run for her money, won’t we, Alice?”
She smiled. “Yes, we will.”
There was a long pause. “You’re wondering if I called that number you gave me,” Harley said.
She laughed in surprise. “You read minds! That’s great! If we ever have an argument, you’ll know why I was mad and just what to do about it!”
“I only read minds occasionally,” he told her, “so let’s not have arguments. But I did call my father. We had a long talk. I think we may get together one day, with my mother, and try to iron things out.”
“That’s wonderful,” she said softly.
“It won’t be easy to get over the past, but at least we’re all willing to try. I did mention the wedding to him.”
“And?”
“He said that if he showed up, we’d be a media lunch. I have to agree,” he added. “I don’t want that. Neither do you. But we’re invited to their house for a potluck dinner the day we get back from our honeymoon.”
“I’d enjoy that.”
“Me, too.”
“I bought a wedding gown. With a veil. It’s beautiful.”
“On you, any gown would be. You’re delicious, Alice.”
She laughed softly. “That’s just the right thing to say.”
“I mean it, too.”
“I know.”
“Game for a movie tomorrow night?” he asked. “There’s a Christmas-themed one we could go see.”
“That would be fun. Yes.”
“I’ll pick you up at six and we’ll have supper first.”
“That’s a date.”
“Uh, and no stopping by your apartment after. I go home.”
“Yes, Harley. You go home.”
There was a brief pause and they both burst out laughing.