The Camden Cowboy

by Victoria Pade

  “After all, she took on ten grandchildren.”

  “She probably would have taken on twenty without blinking an eye.”

  “Am I wrong, or do you just adore her?” Lacey asked.

  Seth smiled unashamedly. “We all do. Everybody who knows her does.”

  Seth had finished eating, too, and was lounging in his chair, his blue eyes honed in on Lacey.

  “So,” he said then, “nannies or no nannies for the Kincaid kids?”

  “No nannies. My father also has very strong opinions about things and one of those is that a mother raises her own children—that’s a woman’s job along with running a household and taking care of her husband.”

  “But you lost your mother when you were ten.”

  Obviously he hadn’t been simply content to talk about himself, he’d been listening to what she’d said, too.

  “I did. But my father’s sister—my aunt Janine—had gotten divorced just before that, and without kids or much financial means of her own, she moved in. When my dad was away—which was a lot in the football years—Janine took care of the three of us. But whenever Dad was around—or if he could manage taking the boys with him—Dad thought it was his place to make sure Ian and Hutch were raised under his influence. Janine’s real job was to take over my mother’s role of teaching me how to be a lady. But I’m not sure how successful that turned out to be…”

  It had gotten very late while they’d eaten and talked, though, too late for Lacey to get into her own childhood. So she stood and began to gather dishes. “Let me help you clean up. You must be tired from playing barnyard obstetrician, and I have to be up again in a few hours so I can get to the site and finish all of my work before—”

  “Your brother’s wedding—it just hit me that that’s tomorrow night,” Seth said.

  He stood, and together they got everything inside. Once they had, Lacey set their plates in the sink and turned on the water.

  “You didn’t go to the rehearsal dinner tonight?” Seth asked then.

  “No. Hutch is marrying Issa McKendrick—”

  “I know. I’m invited. I know the McKendricks well.”

  “Then you probably also know that it’s going to be a simple wedding, with only one of Issa’s sisters as maid of honor and Ian as best man, so there wasn’t anything I needed to be there for to rehearse.”

  “Still, it’s your brother’s wedding,” he insisted as if he couldn’t imagine her missing any part of that.

  “I know, but I had work to catch up on, which is also true of tomorrow. And in fact, in order for me to get finished in time for the wedding, I need to start before dawn again.”

  “Wow, you just never quit. I’m surprised I could tie you down for a little while tonight.”

  “How could I resist the smell of your cooking?” she joked, even as she thought that she could have resisted that more easily than she could have denied herself the time she’d just spent with him.

  Seth reached a muscular arm in front of her and turned off the water before she’d rinsed more than their plates. “I’ll take care of that, I don’t want to be blamed for bags under your eyes at your brother’s wedding—go get some sleep.”

  “You’re sure? I may not be able to cook, but I’m okay at doing dishes.”

  “That’s what the dishwasher is for.”

  Kitchen clean-up would have bought her a little while longer with him but Lacey couldn’t seem to convince him that she should stay. She finally had to concede his point and head for the French doors.

  Seth went with her. Lacey stepped outside while Seth leaned against the doorjamb.

  She turned to face him, intending to thank him for dinner, but before she could, he distracted her a little by hooking his thumbs into his jean pockets—looking too sexy to bear.

  Then he said, “If we’re both going to your brother’s wedding tomorrow night it seems kind of silly to take two cars. Plus I’m thinking about you being exhausted behind the wheel after working from before dawn. What do you say you let me be your chauffeur?”

  “A Camden as a chauffeur?” she teased.

  “At your service,” he said with a humble bow of his head.

  Lacey had been dreading going to the wedding alone. And while Seth was only suggesting a carpool, if they arrived together they might stay together…

  “That would be nice,” Lacey heard herself say before the shouldn’ts kicked in.

  “Do you need to go early?”

  “No, like I said, it’s a pretty casual thing.” Lacey wasn’t sure how many people knew that her soon-to-be sister-in-law was pregnant with a baby that wasn’t Hutch’s. Hutch had made it clear to the family that while he might not be the biological father, he considered Issa’s baby his and he wasn’t in the least disturbed by the circumstances, but the information seemed like Issa and Hutch’s to let out. Still, as a result of the situation, they’d decided to keep their wedding simple.

  “I’m just going as one of the guests,” Lacey added, “so I don’t need to get there any earlier than anyone else.”

  “Well, the wedding is at seven—I’ll be ready and waiting for you anytime after six. Just come over and we’ll go.”

  “Okay,” Lacey said, suddenly looking forward to her brother’s wedding more than she had been before. Much, much more…

  But with that settled, there was nothing else to keep her so she said, “Thanks for dinner—it was really great. My compliments to the chef.”

  Seth grinned. “I’m glad you liked it. But everything tastes better when you have someone to eat with,” he added in a voice that was quieter, his beautiful blue eyes peering thoughtfully into hers.

  And suddenly, from out of nowhere, Lacey just wanted to kiss him. She wanted him to kiss her. And not in the vague way kissing had crossed her mind when they’d said goodbye at the construction site the day before. Tonight there was nothing vague about it.

  In fact, the urge was strong enough for her to actually tip her chin slightly in invitation.

  With Seth’s shoulder still against the doorjamb he seemed to lean forward at about the same moment. Also just slightly. But enough so that Lacey thought it might actually happen. That he might actually be going to kiss her…

  Until he drew back as if he’d caught himself and merely said, “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow night, then.”

  “Tomorrow night,” Lacey confirmed, hoping her extra-cheery tone concealed how let down she felt. “Thanks again for dinner.” She took a deep breath and turned to walk around the swimming pool to the guesthouse, where she let herself in without a backward glance.

  But once she was inside, the door closed behind her and the lights still off, she cautiously peeked through the gap between the wall and the curtains on the window beside the door.

  There Seth was, continuing to lean against that doorjamb, his gaze on the guesthouse.

  And that was when she knew that she hadn’t imagined anything, that he had considered kissing her.

  But whether or not he’d considered it, he hadn’t done it.

  Should I have? she wondered.

  No. She shouldn’t have taken the initiative and kissed him, she told herself.

  Because while she hated to admit it, there was a tiny part of her that couldn’t help believing that if any kissing would ever be done, he’d have to do it.

  But that was just stupid. She silently chastised that part of her that clung to the ultratraditional, sexist views she’d been raised with.

  But stupid or not, that was just the way it was.

  So, disappointed, she stepped away from the gap in the curtain and headed for bed.

  Knowing that if Seth never kissed her, it wouldn’t ever happen.

  But still hoping that at some point he might.

  Because for no
reason she understood, it was becoming a very big deal to her that he did…

  Chapter Five

  The wedding of Issa McKendrick to Hutch Kincaid was held on Sunday evening in Northbridge’s Town Square at the juncture of Main and South Streets. The centerpiece of the square was an octagonal-shaped, whitewashed gazebo with a steep red roof.

  For the occasion of the wedding, the entire gazebo had been adorned in tiny white lights and red roses. The ceremony itself was held at the top of the five steps that led up onto the gazebo. Guests sat on white wooden folding chairs on the manicured lawn below, beneath a canopy of more tiny white lights that draped out from the gazebo’s eaves like a giant umbrella over that part of the square.

  Lacey had never been to a wedding quite like it. When her brother had said he and his bride-to-be wanted it simple and casual and fun, Lacey had envisioned a backyard affair like others she’d attended that had claimed to be casual. In her experience, such events were every bit as formal as any other wedding—they would be held in backyards that were more like the rear portions of an estate. White tents would be in abundance, candles, linen and silver would still adorn every table. The only really casual part of these weddings was that they were held outdoors.

  But her brother’s wedding was more like a friendly, small-town festival with elements of a beautiful, gracious picnic.

  The brief ceremony that united Hutch in his best black suit and a veil-free Issa in a white silk Empire-waist dress with a scalloped, calf-length hem, included Hutch’s two-year-old son, Ash. Ash, who was Hutch’s son with his late wife, stood proudly in front of the new couple in order to be included in the nuptials that made them all a family. Dressed in his own black suit, the toddler barely fidgeted at all, but he did very solemnly parrot both his father’s “I do” and Issa’s, making everyone laugh.

  Afterward the reception was held on the Town Square lawn underneath the canopy of lights, where round tables were set amid a border of tall oak and pine trees all lit up in more tiny white lights.

  The gazebo then became the bandstand for the four-piece band, while a buffet was set out and guests helped themselves to smoked meats drenched in barbecue sauce, potato and macaroni salads, corn on the cob, and mini-cheesecakes rather than wedding cake.

  “Leave it to Hutch to have some kind of country hoedown wedding and not invite anyone who could do his business any good,” Morgan Kincaid complained, as he walked up to Lacey and Seth. They’d just finished wishing the happy couple congratulations and left the receiving line.

  After years of estrangement between Morgan and Hutch, father and son had reconciled in June. While tensions were lessening between them, Morgan could still be critical of Hutch. Of all of his children, actually.

  Lacey knew there was no sense defending her brother. “Dad, you know Seth Camden,” she said instead, fully aware that her father and Seth had met and trying to remind her father of his manners.

  Morgan Kincaid instantly turned on the good-ol’-boy, football-celebrity charm and extended his hand to Seth to shake. “How are you, Seth?” the older man asked, as if they were long-lost friends.

  Seth shook the outstretched hand. “I’m good, Morgan. You?”

  “Great, great! Has my daughter talked to you about that little glitch with the road to the training center?”

  “I told you we’ve been talking about it, Dad,” Lacey interjected. She didn’t appreciate her father interceding as if he could do a better job. Or talking business at the wedding.

  “I’m looking things over,” Seth assured him. “I don’t see any reason why Lacey and I won’t be able to come to some terms.”

  “Fantastic! The sooner the better,” Morgan said pointedly. “And once we get this settled I’ll make sure you have tickets to any Monarchs game you ever want to see—you are a football fan, aren’t you?”

  Seth shrugged apologetically. “I catch a game now and then if I don’t have anything else to do, but I wouldn’t say I’m much of a fan, no.”

  Lacey had to fight not to flinch. There wasn’t a worse thing Seth could have said to her father, or a faster way to turn Morgan Kincaid against him, no matter who he was. Not being a fan of the game that her father lived and breathed for was tantamount to criminal, and once he found that out, the other person ceased to exist for him. It was something Lacey had always known, but learned all over again not long ago. In a way that had struck much too close to home and might have affected her entire future if her relationship with that nonfootball fan had gone on.

  Morgan Kincaid frowned as darkly as if Seth had just blatantly insulted him and turned so that his shoulder cut Seth out.

  “I’ll be at the site at seven sharp tomorrow morning,” he said to Lacey. “You can bring me up to date on everything before the groundbreaking ceremony. You’re on schedule, ready to go?”

  There was nothing Lacey could do to bail Seth out, so she merely answered her father’s question. “I’m on schedule for the ceremony. But our bulldozer was supposed to be here last week and didn’t make it. The contractor says Thursday now, so—”

  “And you let him get away with that when construction is set to start on Tuesday?”

  Lacey’s stomach clenched. “Things will still start on Tuesday. We just won’t have a bulldozer until Thursday—”

  “Which means that Thursday will be lost to unloading the thing, and it won’t be in use until Friday and you’ll be starting a full week late!”

  “It’s under control, Dad. It isn’t as if everything is hinging on the bulldozer. Other things will still begin this week—materials are being delivered, other excavation can start, it’ll be fine.” Lacey was all too aware of her father’s increasing ire and the fact that Seth was there listening.

  “If you can’t handle this—”

  “I can handle this just fine,” Lacey said firmly.

  “Delays cost money, Lacey,” her father said, as if that were news to her. “If you’re soft you’ll get run right over on this project. You have to let people know you’re boss and you won’t stand for screwups. If you can’t do that—”

  “I am doing that,” Lacey said, forcing calm when what she really wanted to do was raise her voice.

  “This isn’t just fooling around, little girl. This is the NFL,” Morgan Kincaid said, irking Lacey all the more by calling her little girl.

  “You perform or you’re out,” he continued to rail. “That’s the way it is. The way it was for me. The way it is for you when it comes to this. Don’t forget what I’m trusting you with.”

  “I know what you’re trusting me with and how important the Monarchs and this training center are to you, Dad. We’ll have all day tomorrow before the groundbreaking ceremony to go over everything, and you’ll see that I have it all taken care of, that I know what I’m doing.”

  Her father gave her the beady-eyed stare she and her brothers dreaded before he said, “I better not have made a mistake giving you this.”

  “You haven’t.”

  After another dose of the stare, her father moved off to talk to other wedding guests without saying more to Lacey or Seth.

  A moment of silence passed while they both watched Morgan Kincaid go. Lacey used that moment to take a deep breath and try to regain some calm, to release the tension her father almost always raised in her.

  “So that’s your dad, huh?” Seth said when her father was well out of earshot.

  “I’m not exactly sure what to apologize for first,” Lacey responded. “He gets very dismissive whenever he finds out anyone isn’t a football fan. And I’m sorry you had to overhear the whole training center thing. And he didn’t even say goodbye to you…”

  Seth waved it away. “No big deal for me. But are you okay?”

  “Oh, sure,” Lacey said with some resignation. “I’m used to him. And I’m going to prove that I
’m up for this job, that I can do it. When he finally sees that, hopefully he’ll relax—at least a little—about letting me head this project. Then in the end, he’ll have his dream training center for his dream football team, and I will have earned my stripes.”

  Seth nodded, but there was a sort of perplexed frown pulling at his brows. His expression made her wonder what was going through his mind.

  There was no time to investigate it, however, because just then Ian joined Lacey and Seth with his new wife, Jenna, and tiny Abby in tow. Abby was dressed in an adorably frilly dress that Lacey gushed over, and since Ian and Jenna greeted both Seth and Lacey warmly, it eased the brunt of what Morgan had left them with.

  It also made Lacey glad that her brother was counteracting the sour impression of her family that Seth had to have been left with.

  She knew that in her father’s eyes, Seth Camden was now someone to be disregarded.

  And that anytime she was with him, she would be in that same category.

  * * *

  “7:00 a.m.—sharp!”

  “I’ll be there long before that, Dad,” Lacey assured her father. He had stopped by her chair on his way out of the wedding and leaned near her ear to remind her.

  It was the only contact she’d had with him since their initial conversation right after the ceremony, but still it was a relief to her to watch him go.

  He’d put a damper on the evening that she’d gotten to spend with Seth. Her hope that driving together might mean that they could sort of be at the wedding together had more than been met—Seth had stayed by her side the entire evening, and no one would have guessed that he wasn’t her date for the occasion. But her father had set a bad tone at the start, and Lacey hadn’t been able to enjoy much of the wedding or Seth’s company.