“Darlin’, I’m gonna use every weapon I’ve got when I’m facing down a hardheaded opponent.”
“I am not hardheaded just because I don’t want the same thing you do.”
“You are if you refuse to see sense just to prove a point.”
She sucked in a gulp of air and stared at him as if he’d just sprouted two heads. “Do you really think I’m that small and petty?” she demanded.
A couple of people strolled past, caught a whiff of their argument and picked up speed.
“I didn’t say that,” Rick told her.
“You might as well have.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“Why the hell not? That’s exactly what you were trying to do to me.” She glared at him with a fire that should have scorched him.
“All I did was ask you a question!”
“In public! Was that your idea of a romantic proposal?”
“I tried romance, Sadie!” He loomed over her, but to give her due, she didn’t back down an inch. “I had you naked in the moonlight, remember?”
“Well, I never heard such a thing!” An older woman stopped dead as she passed them and slanted Rick a horrified look.
“Mrs. Mulaney,” Sadie muttered, never taking her gaze from Rick’s.
The older woman gave Rick the evil eye. “You should be ashamed of yourself, Rick Pruitt,” she snapped. “Sadie, dear, do you need me to call a policeman?”
“No, ma’am, thank you.”
“We’re fine, thanks,” Rick told the older woman with the iron-gray hair and the sucked-on-a-lemon expression. Mrs. Mulaney was the town librarian and lived her life as though it were her duty to tell people “hush” everywhere in town.
“I wasn’t speaking to you, Rick Pruitt! But I should think a United States Marine would know better how to conduct himself.” She hurried on as if dogs were chasing her.
“That’s just perfect,” Sadie muttered. “Now Mrs. Mulaney knows that I was naked in the moonlight with you. Just great. That should take about ten minutes to get all over town.”
He smirked at her, knowing he’d just scored a point. “Thought you don’t care what anyone thinks about you anymore.”
“I don’t,” she snapped. “Not enough to say yes to a marriage proposal that I know you don’t even really want to make.”
“You are crazy,” he countered. “I’ve been straight up with you, Sadie, right from the beginning. I told you I want to marry you. Be a daddy to our daughters. You’re the one holding back here.”
She took a deep breath, held it for a second and then let it slide from her lungs as she shook her head.
“You know,” she finally said, “I should thank you. Only a few years ago, I might have accepted that proposal just to keep from making a scene in the restaurant. But because of you, I’ve found myself.”
“What’re you talking about?” Rick had the distinct feeling he wasn’t going to like this, but he had to hear her out. How else could he plan his next move?
“I moved to Houston when I was pregnant because I didn’t want to hear the talk. Didn’t want the girls to hear it.”
“I know that already.”
“But what you don’t know is, I’m not that woman anymore.” Sadie looked up at him. “I’ve grown up at last and I like who I am now. These last couple of weeks with you have helped me there, too. I’m not perfect little Sadie Price anymore. I don’t care what this town has to say about me or you for that matter. Let Mrs. Mulaney spill her guts. I’ll hold my head up anyway. And later on, if someone’s mean to my girls, I’ll handle it, but I’ll see to it that Wendy and Gail don’t care about gossip, either.”
She leaned in until their gazes locked in a silent battle of wills. “I’m going to show them so much love, so much complete acceptance for whoever they are, that they won’t care what anyone else thinks.”
There was that pride in her again. It was good to see her so sure of herself. The only downside was, she seemed to have convinced herself she didn’t need him. And that he couldn’t have.
“Sounds good to me, Sadie,” he told her, reaching for her only to have her step back, evading his touch. “All of it sounds just right.”
“But you don’t believe it. You still think I can be maneuvered into agreeing to marry you.”
A stab of shame dug into his chest and Rick didn’t like the feel of it. Yes, he had tried to trick her into saying yes. So what did that say about him? That he was a desperate man, that’s what.
Damned if he’d apologize for it, either. She’s the one who was being unreasonable.
“Maybe I was maneuvering you…”
“Maybe?”
He sighed and felt the weight of the diamond ring in his pocket, dragging at him. This day had really not gone the way he’d planned. But there was a part of him that was standing back enjoying this moment in spite of everything.
Damn, she was magnificent. Her eyes flashing, her skin pink with temper, she was so much more than the porcelain doll her parents had made her. So much more than he had thought her to be. And he wanted her now even more than ever.
“If you’re waiting to hear me say sorry,” he told her with a grunt of frustration, “you’ve got a long wait.”
“Amazing,” she muttered.
“Sadie, I’m not going to keep asking you to marry me only to have you slap me down for it time and again.”
“Good.” She didn’t look particularly happy, though.
He moved in on her, ignored the people streaming past them on the sidewalk and pushed Sadie up against the wall of the club. Hands on her shoulders, he could actually feel her tremble under his touch and that reaction gave him hope that all wasn’t lost. Not yet, anyway.
Because as he’d warned her, he wasn’t a man to give up on what he wanted. He had told her he wouldn’t keep asking her to marry him and he meant it. But that didn’t mean he was through demanding she marry him.
“I didn’t get a chance to finish what I was telling you in there,” he said, voice low.
“I don’t want to hear it,” she said and tried to pull free of his grip.
He only tightened his hold and kept her pinned to the wall, where she was so close, he felt the heat of her body radiating toward him and damned if she didn’t feel hotter than the Texas sun.
“You’re going to, though. This you have to hear.”
“Fine.” She folded her arms over her chest, cocked her head and glared up at him. “What is it?”
“You should know, I’m not reenlisting.”
“What?”
He laughed shortly at the surprise in her eyes. Hell, he’d felt the same way when he’d made his decision a day or so ago. But a part of him had known from the moment he saw his daughters that he was through with the Corps. His wandering days were over and he wasn’t sorry to see them go.
There was more for him right here in Royal than anything he could find elsewhere. He loved his daughters and he…cared about Sadie. He didn’t love her. Wouldn’t allow himself to go that far. But what they shared was important, so his decision to come back home, though not easy, had at least felt right once it was made.
“My hitch is up in two months,” he was saying. “In two weeks, I’ve got to report back to duty, but I’ll stay stateside until I’m out. Then I’m coming home. To Royal. To you.”
“Rick,” she said, clearly stunned, “I don’t know what to say to you….”
“Don’t have to say a thing,” he whispered, leaning down until his mouth was just a breath away from hers. “I’m doing this for me as much as for you. It’s time I took up the reins on the family ranch. The oil business. John Henry’s getting up there in age, though God knows he wouldn’t admit that. And I miss home. Have for a long time.”
She reached up to cover one of his hands with hers. “This doesn’t change anything, Rick.”
“Everything changes, Sadie. That’s all life is. A series of changes. It’s up to us to recognize them when they show
up.”
“Not all change is for the better,” she protested.
“This one is.” He kissed her, leaning in until their bodies pressed together and he could feel her heartbeat thundering hard in her chest.
He parted her lips with his tongue, took her breath as his own and gave her everything he had. He poured all that he was feeling into that kiss and when it was over, he had the satisfaction of seeing her stagger unsteadily.
She opened her eyes slowly, blinking up at him as if she was waking from a dream. When their gazes met, he smiled, rubbed his thumb across her lower lip. “I’m not going anywhere, Sadie,” he said softly. “I’m going to be here. For you. For our girls. And sooner or later darlin’, you’re going to be mine.”
She was still dazed from that kiss, and Rick could admit silently that he felt pretty much the same way. Touching her, tasting her, always left him shaken and craving more. But that kiss would have to do both of them for a while.
“Now,” Rick said, taking her arm, “I’ll see you back to your table and you can finish your lunch with Abby.”
Sadie shook her head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Yeah, I do.” He opened the door, steered her through the dining room and was completely aware of the gazes locked on him. He couldn’t give a good damn. He was a man on the ragged edge of control. Sadie had pushed him about as far as he was willing to be pushed. Now it was time to take a stand.
Let her know that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Ignoring everyone else in the place, Rick waited for Sadie to slide into the booth beside Abby. Then he inclined his head. “Ladies…” he said, and left.
As he walked out, he heard the whispers following him and he knew damn well what the folks were wondering.
Did she say yes? Or no?
Well, he thought grimly, let ’em wonder.
By the following afternoon, the whole damn town was speculating about Rick and Sadie. There hadn’t been such a flurry of gossip since word got out that Abby Langley was a descendant of Royal’s very own Texan outlaw, Jessamine Golden.
Strange how much more interesting gossip seemed when you weren’t the subject of it.
Scowling into the sun, Rick took a pull on his cold beer and looked out over the ranch lake. He’d thought coming out here today with Joe would get his mind off Sadie, but damned if she didn’t haunt him even here.
He could still taste her on his lips. Could still feel the soft, curvy pliancy of her body pressed along his. Hear the soft catch of her breath and smell that tantalizing scent that clung to her skin.
Gritting his teeth, Rick finished the beer and tossed the empty into a nearby bucket. It landed with a clatter that seemed overly loud in the stillness.
“Everybody’s talking about you, you know,” Joe said, swinging his pole back only to let the line and lure fly out to the center of the lake. It hit with a plunk and ripples rolled across the surface, racing toward shore.
“Yeah,” Rick muttered. “I know. Good to be home, huh?”
“Well, hell, can you blame anybody? The show you put on at the TCC?” Joe shook his head. “I only wish I’d been there to see it. You could have given me a heads-up. Let me know that you were going to turn the town on its ear so I could be there to watch.”
“Right. Just what I needed. One more spectator.”
“People are wondering what Sadie’s answer was.” Joe looked at him, then snorted a laugh. “Judging from your attitude, I’m guessing she’s still saying no.”
“Woman won’t see reason.”
“What’s new about that?” Joe cranked on the spinning reel, drawing his line back in so he could recast.
Rick’s line lay on the water, drifting with the wind. Some fishing trip this was. He couldn’t keep his mind off of Sadie long enough to bother to recast. The woman was invading every damn part of his life.
“You’re not doing any of the men in town any favors, you know.”
“What?” Rick determinedly picked up his pole and reeled in the line. The whirring sound was almost comforting. He was going to fish and he was going to enjoy it, damn it.
“Abby Langley had a talk with my Tina. Told her how you’re pressuring Sadie to marry you.” Joe sighed and cast out again. “Now Tina’s giving me grief because you’re my friend.”
“I’d say I’m sorry about that, but I’ve got my own problems.” Shaking his head at the weird workings of the female mind, Rick set fresh bait on the hook.
“Yeah, well,” Joe said, “from what I hear, Tina’s not the only wife on the warpath, either.”
“That’s great.” Rick shook his head and sent his newly baited hook flying. Good cast.
“Yeah, I slept on the couch last night thanks to you.”
“Hey, don’t blame me if Tina finally got wise and tossed your ass onto a couch.”
“I’m not blaming you.” Joe sighed. “My own damn fault for telling Tina I thought you were right to insist on getting married. Man, you should have heard her after I said that.” He stopped and shuddered in memory. “My wife’s got a temper that could make a rampaging Apache back up and rethink his options. Hell, even after all that, I still say marrying the mother of your kids is the right thing to do, everybody knows that. Now all of a sudden, that’s a bad thing?”
Disgusted, Rick only muttered, “Women.”
“That about says it.” Joe kicked at the cooler beside him. “Hell, the only reason we’ve got these sandwiches to eat are because I stopped by the diner on the way over. Tina refused to make me her fried chicken. Said she wouldn’t have any part in making you happy when you’re making Sadie so miserable.” Shaking his head, he mumbled, “Not right, cutting a man off from fried chicken with no warning.”
Well, that settled it, Rick thought. Every woman in this town was as nuts as Sadie. Time was, a man who refused to marry the mother of his children was treated like an outcast. Now, he was getting the same treatment for trying to marry her.
How the hell was a man supposed to make sense of something that had zero logic behind it?
A few minutes of companionable silence passed when the only sounds were a few lazy birds halfheartedly warbling in the heat and the gentle slap of water against the shore. Sunlight glittered on the lake and glanced off it as if it were a mirror. Oaks and summer-brown hills surrounded the place and Rick took a moment to feel the familiar sense of home slide through him.
This was his life. The Corps had been good to him, no doubt. And he had been proud to serve. But his last tour in the Middle East had been a rough one. He’d lost a close friend and come damn close to losing his own life.
Hard to imagine, while standing here in the sun-washed Texas beauty, that half a world away, men and women were dying for their country. He was so accustomed now to the whine and punch of gunfire. To the roar of explosions. To the adrenaline-laced moments of kill or be killed, that coming home was going to take some getting used to.
He wanted it though.
The decision to leave the Corps was the right one for him. Destiny had taken a hand and shown him the road he should be taking and he wasn’t going to turn his back on it. What he had to do now was find a way to convince Sadie that they should be walking that road together.
“So,” Joe said quietly, “you’re really coming home to stay?”
“Yeah.” Rick nodded. “It’s time. Hell, past time, probably.”
Joe set the butt end of his pole down against a rock and reached into the cooler for another couple of beers. He handed one to Rick and said quietly, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.”
“Yeah?”
“That last letter you sent me…”
Rick frowned and took a long drink. Then he stared at his beer as if looking for something to say. He didn’t find anything.
“You said your friend died on a patrol.”
“Yeah,” Rick said and in a split instant, he was back there. Searing heat, gunfire erupting all around him, men shouting, screaming
. He heard it all in his sleep. Saw it all in his dreams. He rubbed his eyes as if he could wipe away the memory, but he knew it would be with him forever.
“He saved your life, didn’t he?”
“He did.” Rick took a breath, stared out at the lake again because he couldn’t look at Joe’s friendly, concerned face and talk about what had happened to Jeff Simpson. Hell, he didn’t want to talk about it at all. But he knew Joe wouldn’t rest until he had the story. And, because Rick was moving back home permanently, best to get it out and done now. He steeled himself against the pain and dove in.
“It was an ambush,” he said simply, knowing that there was no way in hell Joe could ever understand what it had been like. No one could who hadn’t been there. “I was on point, first man into the village. Unbelievably hot. Sweat rolling down your back under your gear, raining into your eyes until your vision blurred and burned.
“Goats and chickens were scrabbling in the dirt and a couple of kids raced by with a battered soccer ball. Everything looked normal, but I just had a…feeling that something was wrong. A second later, I spotted a shooter in a doorway and turned to take him out.” He paused for a sip of beer. “Jeff was right behind me. He spotted a sniper on the roof taking dead aim on my back. Jeff reacted fast. Took me down in a flying tackle. In a heartbeat, I was facedown on the street eating dirt while gunfire erupted all around us—and Jeff took the bullet meant for me.”
Joe gave a heavy sigh, then slapped his hand against Rick’s back. “I can’t know how hard that was for you, buddy. Nobody can. But I’m grateful to Jeff.”
Rick turned his head to smile at his old friend. “Yeah,” he said. “So am I. Doesn’t make it any easier to live with though.”
“Can’t imagine it would.” A second later, Joe whooped and grabbed his pole. “Finally got a bite. Looks like fish for supper.”
Rick watched Joe reel in a huge bass and thought that there was more he hadn’t told his old friend. But what was said in the last few moments of Jeff Simpson’s life was nobody else’s business. In his mind, Rick heard his friend’s strained whisper. Saw the pleading in his eyes and mentally added bricks to the wall he had built around his own heart that day.
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