But then he heard her last sentence.
“Propose?” He braced his hands against her shoulders, holding her in place and preventing her from distracting him anymore with her full, sensuous lips. “But we’re already engaged.”
“Not officially, though.”
“What do you mean ‘not officially’?”
“Craig.” Caroline opened and closed her mouth several times. “Look, I know you were a good sport to go along with all those things I said after I bumped my head. I can’t imagine how crazy you must’ve thought I was. But we can stop all the pretending now, can’t we?”
“Hold on.” Something clawed at his throat and it took several attempts to swallow the shock down. “You got your memory back?”
Chapter Eighteen
“Technically, I’ve always had my memory.” Caroline’s smile was less dreamy this time and a bit more sheepish, and the hair on the back of Craig’s neck stood at attention. “I just also had one additional memory that wasn’t quite real.”
“When did you realize we weren’t engaged?” He had a million questions he wanted to ask, but that sensation that had clawed at his neck earlier was now throbbing near his ears and he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answers.
Caroline sat up much less playfully than she had earlier and slowly tucked the bedsheet under her arms. “The first night you kissed me. I knew there was no way I could’ve forgotten something like that. Everything came flooding back.”
“You mean, you knew for almost two weeks and never told me the truth?”
“I thought...” Her voice trailed off and two little creases appeared above her nose.
“No. Don’t give me that confused, hopeless, please-rescue-me face,” Craig said and could see by her recoil that his words had hit their mark. He stood up and snatched his jeans off the floor before continuing, “I’m the one who should be confused. I’m the one who looks like the hopeless fool. I’m the one who got played.”
He heard her indrawn breath before he’d scooped up his abandoned dress shirt, shoving his arms through the sleeves as he stomped out of the bedroom. In the living room, he fumbled with his boots, anger blinding him and frustration making his motions erratic. He needed to get out of this house. He needed to get away from Caroline, away from all the deception.
It felt good to slam the front door behind him, until he realized that he’d forgotten his keys in the pocket of his winter coat. The coat he’d left inside, along with his hat and his dignity.
But there was no way he’d go back inside to retrieve his belongings. At least not now. He stared at his truck covered with at least two inches of snow, shivering when he realized the crew cab doors were locked and he couldn’t climb inside for warmth. All he had on was jeans, a thin dress shirt and boots, minus the socks. He wasn’t sure where those had ended up earlier in the evening when he’d been in a blinded hurry to shed his clothes and feel Caroline’s skin pressed against his.
Crunching the fresh powdery snow under his heels, Craig strode toward the street, refusing to think about the cold or about Caroline’s warm naked body. His heartbeat pounded in time to each angry step he took. He should call someone for a ride, but he’d been so stupid in his rage, he’d also forgotten his phone and his wallet.
Had he ever been this upset before?
With no destination in mind, he thought about continuing down to the boardinghouse to get a room for the night, but Melba and Gene Strickland were pretty old-fashioned when it came to relationships and the types of people they allowed to stay at their place. They likely preferred a guest who didn’t show up and disturb them in the middle of the night after a reckless bout of lovemaking with a woman who’d been pretending to be his fiancée.
Instead, Craig made a left at the corner and found himself walking down Rust Creek Falls’s picture-perfect Main Street. As a kid, he’d remembered a pay phone in front of Crawford’s General Store, but when he arrived, he saw that it was long gone. Just like his youth. Just like his common sense.
Caroline probably didn’t even know what a pay phone was, Craig thought as he kicked through the layer of snow on the sidewalk. He should’ve known better than to fall under the young woman’s spell. His life had been exactly the way he’d wanted it before he walked into that wedding planner’s office. Before he’d rushed to save a pretty stranger from knocking herself out. Before it was his world that got knocked off its axis.
The twinkling Christmas lights along Main Street mocked him, each blink reminding Craig of the holiday he didn’t know he’d been looking forward to. The holiday he’d been starting to think of as his and Caroline’s.
They were going to do the Candlelight Walk together and he’d envisioned the two of them wrapping presents side by side at the community center next week for Presents for Patriots. He’d even planned to take her home to Thunder Canyon and hang their matching stockings over the family’s huge fireplace on Christmas Eve. The stockings he’d made fun of.
The life he’d thought he no longer wanted.
Originally, he’d wanted a partner for the ranch. A helpmate. Now, though, all he wanted was her.
His brain told him that there could be no love if there wasn’t trust. Yet, at the same time, his heart told him that there could be no love if he wasn’t with Caroline.
Craig’s steps slowed and, as his anger cooled, so did the rest of his body. Shoving his hands into his front pockets, he arched his back, bracing against the cold wind pummeling him from behind.
“Craig!”
He whipped around to see Caroline rushing toward him, balancing a bundle in front of her as she navigated the icy sidewalk in faded jeans and cowboy boots. Bright turquoise ones and, judging by the worn leather, not exactly new. So she did own a pair after all.
He tried to tell himself that it didn’t mean anything. It didn’t mean that she belonged on his ranch or in his world. But then he saw what she was carrying and his breath left his body, his ribs squeezing against his lungs.
“When I noticed that you didn’t take your truck, I was worried about you being outside in this weather without your coat.” Caroline handed him the folded sheepskin coat with his Stetson hat on top, then, without saying another word, she turned around and walked back toward Cedar Street. She didn’t apologize or make excuses or try to convince him to come back to her house to talk things out.
Was she really just going to let him go?
Craig slammed the hat onto his head and began walking after her, tempted to ask about his truck keys. As he was shrugging on his jacket, something fell to the ground. He reached down and came back up with a wool scarf. This wasn’t his. When had he ever worn a scarf?
Yet the sight of the red plaid pattern stopped him in his tracks. Her scarf.
She’d chased after him. On foot and in the middle of the night with snow barreling down on her, Caroline had trekked along the frozen sidewalks just to bring him a damn scarf. She’d given him her trust. She’d given him her virginity. She’d given him her love.
And he didn’t even have the decency to say thank you.
Now it was his turn to chase after her.
“Caroline, wait,” Craig called out as he quickly caught up with her at the corner. She didn’t turn around, but at least she stopped. “Thank you for bringing my coat.”
He saw the back of her head nod and his stomach clenched. She took another step and Craig suddenly didn’t want her to leave.
“How did you know where I would go?” he asked, burying his hands in his fur-lined pockets and rocking back on his heels. His bare feet slipped inside his boots and he cursed himself for forgetting his socks.
Caroline turned around and, in the dim glow of the old-fashioned streetlamp, he could see the dark sadness in her usually bright eyes. “I followed the footprints. Apparently, you’re the only fool running around downtown Rust Creek Falls in the middle o
f a snowstorm.”
“I definitely feel like a fool,” Craig admitted.
“And you don’t think I felt like a fool, too?” Caroline’s face tilted up and he could see that the normally happy and composed wedding planner was also willing to fight some battles.
* * *
Originally, Caroline was only going to make sure Craig wasn’t wandering the streets of Rust Creek Falls without a coat, his stubbornness exposing him to the bone-chilling elements. She’d anticipated him being annoyed that she hadn’t told him about her memory returning earlier and she didn’t blame him for that. However, she wasn’t the only person who’d done some misleading in this relationship. In fact, if anyone had been played the fool, it had been her.
“I was the one who looked like an idiot when I fell off a stupid chair in front of a stranger and hit my head on the ground,” Caroline started, the stiffness in her spine having nothing to do with the snowfall or the chill in the air.
“Just for the record,” he said, shrugging as if the weather wasn’t bothering him at all, “you hit your head on the bookshelf. I caught you before you actually hit the ground.”
“Like that makes it any less embarrassing?” Caroline rolled her eyes before continuing. “I was the one who woke up in the hospital thinking I was engaged to that same stranger. I was the one who insisted you were my fiancé to the doctor, to Josselyn, to everyone who came into my office later that week, despite the fact that I knew all of you were keeping a secret from me. My mother, a national icon for women’s rights who doesn’t believe in marriage? Yeah, I told her we were engaged, while you stood there looking all sexy and shirtless in my kitchen. I gushed about our relationship that you knew was completely fabricated.”
“You thought I looked sexy when I was shirtless?” Craig dipped his chin, lowering his voice.
But Caroline would not be swayed by her body’s traitorous reaction to him when she still had things to say. “Yes, I got my memory back that night you first kissed me and didn’t tell you. It was selfish of me to keep quiet this past week. But I did it because I fell in love with you and wanted to keep you.”
“You wanted to keep me?”
“Of course I did. Craig, I wanted you from that moment you carried the donut box into my office. I never would have believed that we were supposed to be together or said any of those things if I didn’t already know in my heart that I meant it. I meant every word I ever said. My feelings for you were never a lie. So, now, tell me your excuse.”
“My excuse?”
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth from the beginning?”
“Because the doctors told us not to upset you. They said you would eventually remember things at your own pace.”
“But you stayed at my house. You willingly jeopardized my reputation.”
“Dr. Robinson said they couldn’t release you from the hospital unless someone could watch out for you. And you were the one insisting I stay with you when Josselyn invited you to recuperate at Sunshine Farm.”
“But Dr. Robinson didn’t say you had to take me to Thanksgiving dinner with your family.” Caroline put her hands on her hips. “Dr. Robinson didn’t say you had to go along with that engagement party at the Maverick Manor.”
“Fine. Dr. Robinson didn’t say that I had to like being around you either, but guess what? I did. I liked the way you were always positive and happy and made these wonderful home-cooked meals without any vegetables. I liked that you were patient with my bickering grandparents and that you were kind to my grouchy cat and that you slipped a roll of cherry Life Savers into my shirt pocket every afternoon when I picked you up from work. I liked that you knew so many random things about so many subjects and could count cards to come up with the best hand, but were still humble enough to fold and let Meemaw and Grandpac win the game.”
Caroline shivered, not from the cold, but from his words. Craig unfolded the red plaid scarf, which was still in his hands, and coiled it around her neck, using the ends to pull her closer to him. “I liked being your fiancé because I like you.”
“Just ‘like’?” she prompted, walking her fingers up the lapels of his coat as she arched one eyebrow.
“Maybe a little more.” Craig groaned when she pulled her hands away from his shoulders. “Okay, a whole lot more. But it took me a full two weeks to fall in love with you. How did you know so soon that I was the one? Would any cowboy who had walked into your office that day have been the man you wanted?”
Caroline’s heart fluttered at his words that he’d fallen in love with her. “Have you ever heard of Winona Cobbs?”
“The old psychic?”
Caroline nodded. “Well, she predicted I’d be engaged by Christmas and then she gave me a few clues as to who it would be. The second you walked into my office, I was sure it had to be you. It was my last thought before I hit my head.”
“I’ll admit, there was something about you in the beginning that made me want to take care of you. I don’t know if I agree with all that premonition and destiny stuff, but it’s hard to deny that I was in the right place at the right time.”
“Or maybe I was in the right place at the right time?” Caroline offered. “Maybe you were the one who needed rescuing?”
“Only time will tell.” Craig smiled, cupping her cheek.
“Then why don’t we start over from the beginning and take things slowly?” Caroline stuck out her hand and said, “Hi. My name is Caroline Ruth. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hi, Caroline. I’m Craig Clifton and I am completely in love with you.” He pulled her hand up to his lips and giddiness bubbled in the back of Caroline’s throat. “That should be all the time we need.”
As his mouth landed on hers, all either one of them could think was...
Engaged by Christmas.
Epilogue
On Christmas Eve, Craig shifted in his metal folding chair beside Caroline as they watched the elementary school’s performance of A Christmas Carol at the community center in Thunder Canyon.
“What’d Bob Cratchit say?” Meemaw whispered loudly down their row. She’d had to lean across Grandpac to ask Caroline since Craig’s grandfather had been the first to arrive this evening and had used name-badge stickers to save seats for the entire family.
“Dammit, woman,” Grandpac whispered back. “Get your hearing aid fixed. And you can’t just move your chair and sit wherever you want. You’re blocking the aisle.”
“Well, seeing as how you conveniently saved my seat on the opposite end of the auditorium, I didn’t really have a choice.”
“I should’ve saved a seat for you in the dang parking lot,” his grandfather muttered loud enough to draw the attention of the fifth-grade usher.
Craig rolled his eyes, hoping his grandparents didn’t completely ruin the surprise he had planned for Caroline. Or worse, get them kicked out of Caroline’s favorite holiday play.
“Cratchit is basically telling his wife that it’s Christmas and she needs to set a good example for the children by toasting his horrible boss, Mr. Scrooge,” Dr. Ruth whispered as he turned around from the row in front of them. Caroline’s dad, who’d flown in with Caroline’s mom from India late last night, held up the bright screen of his electronic tablet. “I have both the book, as well as the adapted script for the play, loaded on my iPad if you want to follow along.”
“Did you know that Charles Dickens never even gave Mrs. Cratchit a first name in the original version?” Dr. Rodriguez put her arm along the back of Caroline’s father’s seat as she spoke to the entire row behind her. “Because women apparently didn’t deserve any sort of notability or recognition in Victorian England.”
While Craig had been excited to meet Caroline’s parents for the first time, he was also now questioning his own parents’ offer to extend an invitation for everyone to come to Thunder Canyon for the holidays. He shifted in h
is seat again, wishing he had brought Caroline here tonight alone.
“If you ask me, Mrs. Cratchit should tell ol’ Bob to shove his brownnosing toast to Scrooge up his—”
“Shhh, Meemaw.” Craig pointed to something going on offstage. “The important part is coming up.”
The boy who was playing the role of Tiny Tim limped off the stage, trying to hold on to a wrapped gift box that was meowing as the rest of the audience murmured and giggled.
Dr. Ruth held his tablet closer to his face. “I don’t remember this happening in the original.”
Craig caught the young actor’s eye and was about to lift his arm behind Caroline’s back to point her out. But Grandpac beat him to it. “She’s right here, kiddo. Next to me.”
When the little boy set the squirming box on Caroline’s lap, he announced in a proud voice, “A Merry Christmas to us all. God bless us everyone!”
The crowd hushed as they swiveled to watch Caroline remove the lid to her gift. Tiny Tim, the feline version, was inside, squatting on his two good hind legs and proudly meowing his normally grouchy head off.
Caroline giggled and lifted the cat out and Rob spoke up from behind Craig’s shoulder, “I can’t believe you put your poor cat in a box, Craig.”
“It was my idea,” C.C. said from where she was now standing next to the young actor in the aisle. “And look, Tiny Tim is loving being the center of attention.”
The animal was in fact now purring in Caroline’s arms, his tail slowly swishing back and forth as if he was ready for his encore. Craig’s father hovered behind them, his video camera zooming in.
“Sit down, dear.” His mother pushed his father’s arm. “I can’t see.”
“I’m in the middle of something here,” Craig reminded everyone and Caroline gasped when she saw him drop to his knee.
“Caroline Ruth,” he started, and Dr. Rodriguez gave a not-so-discreet cough. “I mean, Caroline Rodriguez Ruth, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
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