The Wedding Gift

by Sandra Steffen

  Their darling Madeline was in a liplock with that charming Riley Merrick. Nobody could say for sure who’d started it, but it was obvious to everybody that this was no first kiss.

  Madeline wasn’t smiling when it ended. She was reeling.

  “What did you do that for?” she asked. The insinuation that it had been Riley’s doing might have held more weight if she hadn’t had to consciously remove her arms from around his neck in order to put a little distance between them.

  “I couldn’t help myself,” he said.

  She still didn’t know why he was in town or how long he planned to stick around, but lordy, she hadn’t been able to help herself, either. “Where are you staying?”

  She could see him visibly trying to pull himself together after that kiss, too. “Not in your friend’s inn,” he said.

  She supposed that made as much sense as could be expected. She came within a hairbreadth of asking him if he wanted to come back to her house with her.

  As if reading her mind, he said, “I have a little more unfinished business to take care of. Through it all I’m getting to know all the people who know and love you in Orchard Hill. There are a lot of them.”

  “Riley, we need to talk.”

  “Yes, we do. Will you be home later?” He took a step back, away from her, and called Gulliver.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  The wind lifted his hair off his forehead and fluttered his collar at his throat. “There’s one more person I have to see.”

  Madeline had been afraid of that.

  She was going to stop trying to make sense of her life. She was also going to stop expecting the next person who knocked on her door to be Riley.

  That didn’t mean she could hide her complete astonishment when she opened her door to Aaron’s parents. She’d known Jim and Connie Andrews since she’d accepted his invitation to attend a Halloween party at his house when she was twelve. She’d eaten supper at their table and slept in their spare room, as comfortable in front of their television growing up as she’d been in front of hers.

  Jim Andrews was tall and stocky. Aaron had gotten his height from his father, but in every other way, he’d resembled his mom. Both had been born with blue eyes, blond hair and ready smiles.

  Connie hadn’t smiled much these past eighteen months. “I know you’re busy,” she said gently. “But may we come in, dear?”

  Madeline came to her senses. “Of course. Of course you can come in. By all means, come in.” She couldn’t help looking past them out the door. There was no wavy-haired man in sight.

  Please, God, she prayed, don’t let them ask me to honor Aaron’s memory a little longer.

  “We heard you were moving,” Jim said, looking around for a comfortable place to sit.

  Madeline moved a box off her overstuffed chair.

  “And we heard you took a job with a new doctor in town, too,” Connie said, taking a seat on the sofa near her husband.

  Oh, God, Madeline thought. Here it came. “No matter how many things change, I’ll always love Aaron,” she said. And she meant every word.

  “Oh, we know that, dear. You’re a good girl. That isn’t why we’re here.” Connie looked at her husband. They took a collective breath.

  He nodded in moral support, and she continued. “I always worried that you would find someone else. Selfish of me, I know, but a mother can’t help being selfish sometimes. And then we had a visitor today. The young man who has Aaron’s heart.”

  Madeline sank to the sofa, too.

  “He has a heart of gold, that one. He’s like Aaron that way. He listened to our stories about raising Aaron. We showed him the photo albums. And watching his face, knowing a part of our boy lives on, well, we both felt a weight lift.”

  Madeline didn’t even try to check her tears.

  Connie stood. It took Jim a minute to get the hint, but he found his feet, too.

  “We saw you two, er, ah, in front of the restaurant,” Jim said, despite the elbow he took in his stomach. “Well, we did,” he said defensively. “And we both want you to know you have our blessing.”

  Madeline was crying freely now. She hugged them both at the door, sniffled in both their ears. “I’ll always love Aaron. And I’ll always love you two, too.”

  “You’d better!” Jim said.

  They all laughed, Madeline and Connie through their tears. Madeline saw Jim wipe his eyes, too, after he was outside.

  She had their blessing, she thought, closing the door behind Aaron’s parents. Talk about putting the cart before the horse.

  Her next visitor wasn’t Riley, either. This one didn’t bother to knock. Madeline’s great-aunt Eleanor thundered in, a long garment bag fluttering behind her.

  “It’s all over town. Bound to happen sooner or later,” she said, turning in a circle with so much vehemence Madeline felt the air turbulence.

  “Aunt Eleanor, it’s nice to see you. What do you have there?”

  Eleanor Montgomery had been Madeline’s height in her day. In her eighties now, she’d grown shorter and wider with every passing decade. She was as daunting as she’d ever been, however.

  “Why, it’s your mama’s wedding gown, of course. I’ve been holding on to it, and it’s a good thing I have, too.”

  She hung the garment bag from the parlor door.

  “You’re young. What’s done is done.”

  “Aunt Eleanor, what are you talking about?”

  The gray-haired woman lowered her voice to a stage whisper. “I’m talking about your virginity. Anybody with half a brain can tell you’re hot for that boy who ended up with Aaron’s heart. Don’t get me wrong. Sex is and always has been too much fun to resist. Oh, girls in my day claimed they beat the beaus off with a big stick, but a lot of us didn’t. Your great-uncle Herbert was a rascal, that one.”

  She twittered.

  Madeline couldn’t help it. She just couldn’t picture Uncle Herbert and Aunt Eleanor having sex without cringing a little.

  “Anyhoo,” Eleanor said, facing her great-niece the way Madeline’s mama or grandma would have if they hadn’t died too young. “The thing you have to do now is grab your young man by the, well, by whatever you can get a hold of, and get yourselves both down to the church. It’s human nature to enjoy sex. My only advice to you girls nowadays is don’t give it away free.”

  Madeline didn’t know how an eighty-year-old widow as solid as a brick wall could move like a whirlwind, but that was the impression she left as she headed for the door. “Heed my advice. And don’t let your young man see that dress until you’re on your way down the aisle.”

  With a pat on Madeline’s cheek, the old woman was gone.

  Well, Madeline thought, standing in the wake of that storm. She had a blessing, sage advice and an heirloom gown.

  The only thing missing was Riley’s profession of love.

  She could tell it was Riley at the door by his knock. She opened the door, and stood back, wanting a little space for some reason.

  He sauntered in with that legendary swagger and an expression to match. Underneath, he was just a man. Madeline reminded herself of that as she waited for him to speak.

  He did, eventually, but not until he’d looked around her living room. “This was built before mine was, wasn’t it? It’s nice.”

  It didn’t feel like home yet to her. It felt more like Grand Central Station.

  “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to the garment bag still hanging over the parlor door.

  “My mother’s wedding gown.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  “What do you mean okay?”

  Riley looked more closely at Madeline. She didn’t appear to be in a good mood. It was probably too much to hope for to think he wasn’t to blame for that. He was doing everything in his power to do this right, but he was winging it here. “I don’t mean anything,” he said. “You’re angry. Why?”

  “Why? Why? Why. I’ll tell you why. You show up in town out o
f the blue, kiss me senseless like some damn caveman, then rush away without an explanation. Everybody knows. Evidently you’re hot and I’m, well, from now on I’m not supposed to give it away free. Where have you been, anyway?”

  Riley had done something to upset her. He wasn’t sure what exactly, but Madeline didn’t get upset for no reason.

  He walked closer, reached for her hand, and held it as he said, “I went to the cemetery. Aaron and I had a little heart-to-heart.”

  He didn’t mean to make her cry.

  “What did you two talk about?” she asked.

  “Actually I did most of the talking.” He was hoping for a smile but settled for a roll of her eyes. “I didn’t know who else to ask.”

  “Ask what?” she said.

  “For your hand.”

  “You mean, as in marriage?” She squeezed his fingers tighter with every word.

  It bordered on painful. She was a strong woman. He didn’t see how he could love her any more. He could barely contain everything he felt for her. His heart hammered in his chest in what felt like an arterial burst of love.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Will you?” His voice sounded husky in his own ears, his body warming by degrees, the sound of distant drums echoing more loudly with every breath he took. She smelled wonderful. He didn’t even know what perfume she wore. It was flowery, sexy.

  Very gently, she drew her hand from his. Very softly, she took a deep breath. Very calmly, she raised those blue eyes of hers to his and said, “Give me one good reason why I should marry you, Riley Merrick.”

  It wasn’t the response he was waiting for. It sure as hell wasn’t the one he’d been hoping for. He ran through the request in his mind, trying to decide where he’d gone wrong. God help him, it was all wrong. Okay, he was going to start again.

  “Madeline—”

  Just then there was a little skirmish on her front porch. Three men he didn’t recognize jostled each other to be the first through the door. Once inside, they stood three abreast, a solid wall of shoulders and brawn.

  “Are you Riley Merrick?” the one in the middle said.

  “Boys, this isn’t a good time,” Madeline said.

  Boys? he thought. Obviously, she knew them. “I am,” Riley said.

  “You’re all everyone’s talking about,” the one on the right practically growled.

  “I don’t like what people are saying,” the one on the left countered.

  Who the hell were they? And what business was this of theirs?

  “They’re saying you’ve slept with our baby sister,” the guy in the middle declared.

  Baby sister? Uh-oh.

  With every statement, the Sullivan men took a step closer to Riley. With every step they took, Madeline said, “Hold it right there.”

  She finally threw herself between him and them. Riley found it encouraging that she didn’t want to see him killed. “Don’t worry, honey,” he whispered close to her ear. “I can handle this.”

  She threw up her hands and stepped aside. “Riley, these are my brothers. Marsh. Reed. And Noah. He’s all yours, boys. Just don’t leave any evidence. I’m only renting this place.”

  The wind had shifted. Instead of the scent of apple blossoms wafting on the air, Riley smelled trouble.

  The three Sullivan men looked capable of defending their baby sister’s honor. Riley heard water rushing over rocks in the distance. He hadn’t known her lot bordered the river, but eyeing the three men waiting to tear him to shreds, he decided it might be wise to stay away from the water.

  The oldest one, Marsh, looked the most like an orchard grower, if there was such a type. He was as tall as Riley but outweighed him by a good twenty pounds. He was in his mid-thirties. His sideburns were dark beneath his ball cap, and he had the kind of tan a man acquired working outside season after season. His jeans were faded, his eyes brown, his gaze direct and assessing. His fingers squeezed into fists at his sides. Oh, yeah, he was ready to tear Riley limb from limb.

  The second one, Reed, had the tall, lanky build of a race car driver. He was a masculine version of Madeline, blond hair, blue eyes. There were no visible scars or calluses on his hands. This man worked with his mind. He looked as if he was going to enjoy kicking Riley’s ass.

  The third brother, Noah, looked younger than Riley. He had the loose-jointed devil-may-care stance of a man who enjoyed a good barroom brawl. This one knew how to fight, and he knew how to fight dirty.

  They walked closer, as if daring Riley to turn tail and run. He’d left Gulliver sleeping in his motel room. Now he wished he’d have brought him along.

  He held his ground, and kept them all in his sight.

  He didn’t appreciate their interference, and felt his adrenaline kicking in. He reminded himself they were Madeline’s brothers. They’d been with her through every upheaval in her life. They believed he’d taken advantage of their baby sister.

  Seeing a curtain move at a window in Madeline’s house, he decided to cut to the chase. “Who do I ask for her hand?”

  The Sullivan men looked at him the way Madeline sometimes did. There was no mistaking the family resemblance.

  Apparently Marsh was the spokesperson for the group. “You’re willing to marry Madeline?”

  “Willing, hell. I’m not sure she’ll have me. I was in the middle of proposing when you three barged in.”

  “You slept with our sister. What do you expect?”

  Obviously they weren’t going to let him off the hook completely.

  “She was vulnerable,” Noah said.

  “Innocent,” Marsh declared.

  Talking about it was getting them worked up more.

  “I love her,” Riley said.

  “Then you should have waited.” This came from Reed.

  “Are you three married?” Riley asked.

  Three men hemmed and hawed.

  “I don’t suppose any of you are waiting to get to the altar.” He looked them in the eye one by one.

  “All right,” Marsh said, knowing when it was time to move on. “You say you love her and you want to marry her. Tell us this. What the hell took you so long to come here?”

  Until three weeks ago, Riley wouldn’t have answered. He wouldn’t have considered Madeline’s older brothers’ feelings. It wasn’t that he’d been cold or hard—fine, maybe he’d been a little cold and hard, but he wouldn’t have believed he owed them an explanation. After all, what he’d shared with Madeline had been between the two of them. It had been sex, and it had been powerful. And private.

  Marsh, Reed and Noah Sullivan weren’t asking about sex. Hell, they probably preferred to pretend they didn’t know anything about their baby sister’s sex life. That was the trouble with pretending. Eventually the truth grabbed pretense by the throat and squeezed until every last thin excuse gasped and surrendered to what was real.

  And what was real to Riley was more than the sex he’d had with Madeline. Yeah, he’d been duped. Madeline had lied by omission, and he’d been mad as hell. Dammit, he’d had every right to be mad. At least that was what he’d told himself that first week after she left. Just one more thin excuse that bit the dust once she was gone.

  Gone.

  That was how it had felt. She’d gone. Just gone. Like a stream of vapor thinning in a ray of sunlight or a dream that became hazy upon awakening. She’d gone. And every place she’d been was a memory. Her laughter in his kitchen. Her tears by the lake. Her image on his sofa, at his table, in his shower and in his bed.

  But those weren’t the most indelible marks she’d made on him, for she’d left her imprint on every facet of his life. Because of her, he could feel his heart beating. She’d gotten to him, touched him in a way he’d never been touched.

  She loved him.

  He’d thought about this. A lot. He’d been an arrogant jackass when he’d told her they had five days together. “Five days,” he’d said, cocky as hell. “If you leave now, you’ll never know what might have happened during those five
days.”

  Looking back now, he was surprised she hadn’t left then and there. But she hadn’t. And he was pretty sure it was because she loved him.

  Please, God, let that be the reason.

  He didn’t know what he’d ever done to deserve a woman like her. Right now, her three older brothers deserved the truth.

  Riley looked the eldest Sullivan in the eye first, and then the other two. “The first week after she left I walked around, growling like a grizzly just coming out of hibernation. I tried telling myself my house, my chest, my life wasn’t empty without her. These past two weeks, I’ve been calculating and planning. I figure a woman like Madeline is only going to give me one shot, if I’m lucky.”

  They looked at Riley long and hard. Next they looked at each other. “Let’s get you back inside so you can make an honest woman out of Madeline,” Marsh said.

  The other two nodded.

  They had it all wrong. Riley was hoping she would make an honest man out of him.

  The Sullivans followed Riley inside. Madeline got up out of an overstuffed chair as if she’d been there all along.

  “We’ve reached a little understanding with Junior, here,” the only one of the bunch younger than Riley stated.

  “It’ll all work out,” Marsh assured her.

  “Just hear him out,” Reed insisted.

  “Give him a chance.”

  “You can thank us later.”

  Riley lost track of who said what.

  They each took a turn hugging their sister. Each of them shot Riley a meaningful look over her head.

  Not one of them fooled Madeline.

  “Where were we?” Riley said after they left.

  She looked at him, her eyes wide and blue and intelligent. Hands on her hips, she said, “I asked you to give me one good reason why I should marry you, Riley Merrick.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Madeline was the bravest woman Riley had ever known, but this haughtiness was a front. This bold, daring young woman was afraid of Riley’s answer. He’d hurt her when he’d reduced everything they’d had to sex.