“One of us has to move,” he said.
She pressed her lips together. He imagined he could hear what she was thinking: It won’t be me.
Darn! She’d always been stubborn. But then, so was he.
“Let’s eat,” Jody said. “I’m grumpy on an empty stomach.”
He had to win her over, but he’d already played his trump card by mentioning her teaching career. He knew she’d be happier teaching in a classroom than oiling farm machinery any day of the week, if only she would allow herself to admit it, but for some reason she’d refused. What else did he have to offer?
For once, Callum Fox had run out of ideas.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A FTER LUNCH, Callum took a cell phone call and disappeared into his room. Too edgy to return to work, Jody sat at the piano and rippled through a show tune, then another and another, while her thoughts played over their conversation.
He’d asked her again to come to L.A. The scary part was that she’d been tempted to agree.
Here at the ranch, she fit into Callum’s arms and matched him in their verbal sparring. She was his equal. In California, she would be just one more woman seeking his attention, and not the most beautiful one, by far.
She’d also meant what she said about the boys having emotional ties to the home where their grandparents had helped raise them. True, during the past few days she’d been surprised at how quickly the pair had taken to Callum. Perhaps they needed a father more than she’d realized. Still, something was missing.
As her fingers moved across the keys, Jody was finally able to pinpoint what troubled her so much. Despite his invitation, Callum still held back. He hadn’t said he loved her. He hadn’t asked her to marry him.
He might love her a little, but not enough to sustain a lifetime. The omission confirmed her belief that he wasn’t truly committed to her. And if it didn’t happen here in Texas, it certainly wasn’t going to happen in the land of temptation.
Hearing his footsteps in the kitchen, she dropped her hands to her lap and let the silence enfold her. The moment she glanced up, she saw the news in his expression.
“You’re going home,” she said.
Callum blinked. “I didn’t know you could hear my conversation.”
“I didn’t have to.” The mixture of emotions on his face told Jody everything. Especially the hint of relief playing around his mouth. “It’s obvious. You’re eager to be gone.”
“I’ve got my work cut out for me. One of our major advertisers is threatening to take his business to a rival publication.” Callum’s long legs carried him down the steps toward her. “While our advertising director’s been out with an injury, our competition seized the chance to wine and dine our client.”
“And you’re the only one who can turn him around.” Jody understood the impact of Callum’s charisma.
“I don’t want to leave until we resolve our situation.” He sat beside her on the bench. “Jody…”
To her dismay, tears clouded her vision. Defiantly, she said, “Don’t try to snow me. You’re relieved. Go on, deny it.”
He couldn’t. Callum might seem glib at times, but he was honest. He proved it by admitting, “In a way, I am. Not because it means leaving you and the boys. I hate that part.”
“What’s the part you like?” Jody forced the words through stiff lips.
“Do you remember my senior year in college, when Dad had his first heart attack?” Callum asked.
“You went ballistic.” He’d left campus the moment he got the news, skipping classes to stay at his father’s bedside until his recovery was assured. “You did everything you could for him and your mom.”
“Until then, I’d taken them for granted, the way kids tend to.” In the warm midday light filtering through broad windows, Callum’s eyes had a faraway glaze. “I was thrilled that he got better. But not entirely for selfless reasons.”
“You were worried about the feed store,” Jody remembered. “I told you your mom could run it.”
“Not alone. I wouldn’t have let her. You know she had chronic health problems.” A shadow fell across his clean-cut features, perhaps from recalling her death soon after their graduation. “During that whole period, I had a recurring nightmare where I was locked in a room and couldn’t find the door. After a while, I realized there was no door.”
“You felt trapped,” she summed up. “You were afraid you’d have to give up your dreams to run the store.”
He nodded. “I realized that later.”
“Is that how you feel about the ranch? Like you’d be trapped if you stayed here?” Until this moment, Jody hadn’t wanted to admit to herself how much she was hoping Callum would either sell the magazine or find a way to run it from the ranch.
“There’s a part of me that loves this place.” His hands closed over hers. Although they were sitting very close, he hadn’t touched her until now. “That part of me wants an idyllic life here with you and the boys.”
“You’d hate it.” Her voice came out flat, making a statement she desperately wished weren’t true.
“I could do it,” Callum said earnestly. “For a while. Then I’d get testy and difficult, and I’d be a total pain in the neck.”
Jody couldn’t deny it, because he was right. The nonstop action of city life, the acclaim of talented people and the thrill of achievement were as essential to Callum as security and close friends were to her. Fate must have laughed when it made them soul mates, because they could never live together.
“I don’t want us to become enemies. That’s what would happen if I stayed here.” Callum swallowed hard. “We have to find a way to stay close and share the boys.”
“You can visit them here until they’re old enough to fly out west by themselves,” she said. “As for staying close, I don’t see how that’s possible.”
“I’m sorry the marriage of convenience idea didn’t work.” His smile was tempered by regret. “Maybe we should have tried harder to keep our hands off each other.”
“It was a lost cause from the start.” Jody didn’t regret making love with Callum yesterday. She would always cherish the memory.
“When’s the boys’ birthday?” he asked.
“August fifteenth.”
“I’ll come back then,” he said. “Sooner, if I can.”
“Fine.”
That was it? Everything smoothed over and an appointment made as if these past three days had been simply an interlude? Jody wanted to rage, except that it would be useless. Callum had to go. And she had to let him.
She found the strength to stand up calmly and say, “I’d better go watch for the boys. Louise will be bringing them home any minute.”
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. Callum explained his departure to Ben and Jerry and promised to return for their birthday. Although the boys protested, before long they went out to play with the puppy, which was eager for attention.
She didn’t ask what he was going to do about her being a finalist in the contest, even though she knew that was the reason he’d come to Texas. He didn’t say anything, either. Maybe he needed to consult the rules or talk to his managing editor or figure out some alternative. Jody decided to leave that up to him.
It amazed her how fast he could pack, make a plane reservation, kiss them all and drive away. She knew he was eager to fix the problems at work. She wished she felt the same enthusiasm about vaccinating her calves, but it was simply one more chore to be accomplished.
Despite the distraction of hard labor, the next few days proved difficult emotionally. Jody cried often, and knew her friends worried about her, especially Gladys and Bo, who dropped by to check on her.
Ben and Jerry got excited when their father called to say he’d arrived safely and missed them. The next day, he e-mailed a photo of his office so they could see where he worked, along with shots he’d taken of them at the Wiltons’ ranch. When he spoke to Jody on the phone by herself, he asked how she was doing and she told hi
m “Just great” with hardly any irony.
A few days later, Callum reported that he’d persuaded the advertiser not only to sign a long-term contract but also to sponsor a cable TV series in conjunction with the magazine. The man had one condition: that Callum himself host the show.
“You’ll be fantastic,” Jody said, and meant it.
On Friday, she went into town to do some grocery shopping and collect the boys. As she was about to leave, the preschool director said, “Congratulations.”
“For what?” she asked, but another parent called the woman’s name at the same time and distracted her.
At the grocery store, several more people congratulated Jody. She wondered if the contest winner had been named earlier than expected. Too embarrassed to admit she hadn’t checked the magazine’s Web site, she simply thanked everyone.
Could she possibly have won the trip to Paris? It didn’t seem likely, given Callum’s conflict of interest. Perhaps a winner had been named and the magazine had decided to give the other finalists consolation prizes. A new wardrobe or a smaller trip would be nice, too.
As Jody drove onto the ranch, Gladys waved from horseback and called, “Good for you!”
She waved back, but the forewoman was too far away to engage her in conversation. Besides, she’d be able to access the Web site in a few minutes and get the story herself.
After settling Ben and Jerry for quiet time in their room, Jody logged onto the computer in her office. The Family Voyager site was a collage of enticing headlines and lively photos, including one of Callum shaking hands with the advertiser. His sunny image leaped off the screen.
She couldn’t stay angry with the man. He was like a force of nature. How could she have believed she could capture him any more than she could hold the wind in her hands?
Tearing her attention away, Jody scrolled down to the latest developments in the contest. There was more information about the finalists, but no reference to a winner. If people hadn’t been congratulating her about the contest, what had they meant?
Outside, she found Gladys releasing Elsie and Half-Pint into a grazing area near the house. “They’re getting along just dandy now,” the forewoman said before Jody could question her. “You’re doing a lot better job than your daddy thought you would. He told me once that you were a born town girl.”
“Wait a minute.” Her father hadn’t believed she was suited to being a rancher? “I thought my parents were counting on me running the Wandering I. Dad went on and on in the will about how to handle everything.” Jody had read the document many times for guidance. “If he expected me to sell it, why did he bother?”
“What your father expected and what he wanted, well, I don’t know if they were the same.” Removing her baseball cap, the forewoman wiped the sweat off her forehead.
“Don’t pussyfoot around!” Jody said. “Did Dad want me to run the ranch or not? You were a witness to the will. You must have some idea.”
Gladys leaned against the fence. “You want me to level with you?”
“You bet!”
“Your father told me he figured you’d insist on running the place because you’re so stubborn,” she said. “As best I can remember, his words were, ‘Once she gets an idea in her head, Gladys, she won’t let it go. She’s a schoolteacher, not a rancher, but just you watch.’ He left you those instructions because he figured you’d need the help.”
Jody struggled to absorb the implications. “What did he want to happen to the ranch?”
“He didn’t say.”
It wasn’t like Gladys to act so cagey. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Jody demanded.
Her forewoman wedged the cap onto her head. “Because, you see, Louise and I…” She broke off to clear her throat.
“You and Louise what?” Jody prompted.
“We’re both ranchers by nature,” Gladys said. “But she knows how hard it was for me to find anyone that would hire me, so she’s studying transcribing although she doesn’t give a darn about it. As for me, I’d like to buy the place if I could work out the financing, but I doubt any bank would take a chance on me. In any case, it wasn’t my place to tell you what to do.”
In other words, Jody thought, she could have arranged a year ago to sell the ranch to Gladys and carry the financing herself, but her forewoman had been too ethical to take advantage of the situation. “I’m glad you told me this.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Gladys said. “I’m glad you’re running the place. Just as long as you don’t sell it to some male chauvinist, I’m happy. I’m sure Bo and I will get along fine.”
“What’s Bo got to do with it?” she asked.
“You mean you’re not going to let your husband be involved with the ranch?” Gladys asked.
Jody wondered what on earth she was talking about. “What husband?”
“You and Bo,” said her forewoman. “The other day in town, he said you two were engaged.”
This was getting weirder and weirder. “When was this?”
“I was at the drugstore restocking our supplies and some of those ladies who’ve got nothing good to say about anyone started pumping me for information about Callum.”
“Oh, great.” Every town had its busybodies. Everett Landing was no exception.
“Melody Lee, that old witch who always looks like she’s sucking a lemon, said wasn’t it too bad you couldn’t hold on to a man and how glad she was you weren’t teaching school anymore and corrupting the children with your loose ways. You know how she is.” Gladys shook her head. “Well, Bo overheard and he said, ‘A lot you know. The fact is, Jody sent him packing because she and I are engaged, only we haven’t announced it yet.”’
“Bo said that?” She had to smile at the image of her friend flying to her defense. “I appreciate the impulse, but it’s not true.”
“It’s not?” Gladys let out a snort. “It sure did shut up those gossips.”
“No, it didn’t.” Jody sighed. “They must have told everyone in town. That’s why people kept congratulating me. What a mess!”
“It’s not so bad,” the older woman said. “It wouldn’t hurt if Callum heard that rumor himself.”
“Don’t you dare!”
A piercing whistle from the barn drew their attention to Freddy, who was signaling for Gladys’s help with a stubborn horse. “Got to go, boss-lady. I’ll see you later,” said the forewoman.
“Thanks for telling me about Dad. And about Bo.”
“My pleasure.”
Jody marched into her office and dialed the newspaper. Bo’s secretary put her through.
“Jody!” His voice rose half an octave on the end. It sounded as if it were in danger of breaking.
“I heard we’re engaged,” she said. “It came as kind of a surprise.”
He issued a choking noise. “I meant to tell you about that.”
“When?” she asked. “On our wedding day?”
“I’m really sorry.” Bo sounded so miserable that she took pity on him.
“I appreciate that you were trying to help. Gladys told me about Melody and her remarks,” Jody said. “Couldn’t you have said something less extreme?”
“We could make it true,” said her friend. “We could get engaged. Married, even. I mean, if you want to. I’d sure be honored.”
Although she’d set aside any notion of marrying him after Callum returned, Jody allowed herself to toy with the idea once again. Having a husband would protect her and the boys from gossip. And with Bo, she could truly have a marriage of convenience.
She doubted that was what he had in mind, however. It certainly wasn’t what she wanted or needed. “Thank you, but I’m afraid I’m not in love with you,” she said. “Besides, it would break Evelyn’s heart.”
“Evelyn?” he asked in confusion.
“The waitress at the Downtown Café.”
“Oh, that Evelyn,” Bo said. “I eat lunch over there two or three times a week. She’s so pretty, I figured lots
of guys ask her out.”
“Bo, you’re the one she wants,” Jody said. “Callum said it, so it must be true.”
“Callum found out that Evelyn likes me?” He sounded baffled but not displeased. “That’s amazing. I mean, a woman like her could have anybody.”
Jody supposed she should be offended that a man who’d just proposed to her was flattered by another woman’s interest. On the other hand, since she’d rejected him, his ego deserved massaging. “You should ask her out.”
“Are you matchmaking?” Judging by his tone, the prospect amused him.
“I like happy endings,” Jody said. “If I can’t have one for myself, I’d at least like to see one for you.”
“How’m I going to explain my chasing another woman when I’m engaged to you?”
“Tell people the truth,” she said. “It hurts less in the long run.”
“You’re a wonderful woman. If Callum can’t see that, he doesn’t deserve you,” Bo said. “I guess I’d better take your advice. If I eat dinner at the café tonight, I can ask Ella Mae to spread the word that I spoke in haste.”
“Oops. I just remembered, I volunteered to help at the charity bazaar at church tonight,” Jody said. “I guess that means I’ll get lots of opportunities to set the record straight.”
“I could stop by and help.” His statement lacked enthusiasm.
“Go to the café,” she said. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”
By the time she hung up, the boys were awake. Jody had no more time to think until much later. As it turned out, Gladys’s revelation about the ranch had given her plenty to chew on.
BY CALLUM’S USUAL STANDARDS, the week had been a triumph. On Friday afternoon, the entire staff celebrated the plans for the cable series. He sent out for champagne and chocolates, and everyone was having such a good time that an hour later he ordered pizza so they could party into the dinner hour.
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