When she pulled out the note, her heart stopped, and tears fell in streams.
Don’t let them clip your wings, Angel. Fly… Wade.
Enclosed with the note was a list of colleges with agriculture courses in every state. Arizona was highlighted, and forty thousand dollars in cash wrapped with bands.
“Look at that. Tears on her weddin’ day. Knew you’d come around baby girl.” Her daddy’s condescending tone shot ice through her veins. She shoved everything back into the envelope and concealed it inside the ridiculously massive gown.
“Daddy. Why not just take what you got and move?”
“The land… the house—” He looked around and bowed his head. “It’s all I have. There is nothin’ else.”
The sadness in his eyes tore at her heart. He was still her daddy. He hadn’t always been a snake, and she had the memories to prove it. Anger and sympathy battled for the front line inside her.
“You owe me a hundred. Told you that was a bad bet,” Earl said as he climbed in the front of the carriage with a smug grin.
“You gambled?” Carly grumbled with a false calm and glared at her father.
“That’s none of your business,” he said as he grabbed the side of the carriage to lift himself.
“Are you kiddin’ me?” She watched his eyes snap to hers. “I’m marryin’ a man I don’t even like because of you!” Anger bolted to the front line trampling any sympathy she might have had.
“Carly, watch your tone.” He glanced at the man in the driver seat of the open carriage.
“Daddy, don’t you step one foot in this carriage.” She pushed his fingers from the wooden edge, and his eyebrows rose to the heavens. “If you are hell bent on watchin’ this abomination of a union, you can drive your own ass there!” Carly glared at his back as he walked away with a huff. She turned toward the front, tapping her fingers on her driver. “Earl, you’ve been here for a while.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Cut the ma’am shit, Earl. What do you know that I don’t?”
“I know Wade was good for you. I liked him.”
“That’s not what I mean. If Daddy gambled all his money away, he would still benefit from sellin’ the stock and the horses. The farm equipment…”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She reached forward and smacked his hat, knocking it forward.
“Hey! Dammit.”
“Why are there files locked that I don’t have access too? Why is it every time I want to cultivate or do soil samples, I’m either locked in my room or my samples are destroyed?” She leaned back, throwing her arms over the back of the seat and stared up at the sky. “I’m just trying to learn. I love workin’ on the ranch.”
“We need to get goin’, Carly.”
“You liked Wade?”
He twisted in his seat to look at her. “Yes. He was a good man.”
“He would have told me what was goin’ on. He’s an honest man.” Her eyes widened at her own words. He was honest and there was no way he intentionally deceived her. It became clear, and she knew at that moment. “What are you afraid of? Are you not a good man, Earl? What would your ma think about what you’re doin’?”
“Ah, c’mon, Carly. I ain’t doin’ nothin’. I need this job—that’s all.”
“What’s he hidin’, Earl?” She waited and then threw in the southern ace. “Gosh, your ma is gonna be heart broken when everything comes out. And it always does. How you’ve been deceivin’ an innocent, young girl.”
“Dammit, Carly.”
“Come to think of it… I wonder if Peggy will still see you as a marryin’ man when she finds out about your involvement with everything here.”
“Oil dammit! That’s what it is, and I ain’t involved in shit.”
Carly’s mouth gapped. “There’s oil on our land?”
“Hell no. Well… I don’t think so, but that fool of a woman that has her legs wrapped around your pa has him believin’ it. She saw it on one of them reality TV shows. He’s spent a lot of money diggin’ and testin’ all over the ranch. Well, almost everywhere. There’s only one place he hasn’t dug yet.”
“He wouldn’t.” She felt her anger growing into redneck rage, and that’s equivalent to defcon one.
“The woman promised him a son, Carly. I know your mama lost a couple kids—”
“Take me to my mama.”
“I was told to take you directly to the church.”
“You’ll be carryin’ an empty carriage if you don’t turn the horses and head to the back forty. I need a moment with my mama.”
Chapter 19
Peaches and Pearls
Wade watched the carriage leave before he kicked up as much dirt as the truck tires could spin down the driveway. Everything in him wanted to go after her, but what if she was telling him the truth? Carly was all about choices, and she didn’t know he’d fallen for her. He’d just figured it out for himself. Now what? He was fucked and hurting deeper than he’d ever thought possible. He hadn’t loved his ex like this, not this deep. The street signs blew past him, and Atlanta’s city limit approached. His chest formed a knot so tight he thought his heart would stop.
He jerked his eyes toward his cell on the seat and almost met with a tree leaning to grab it. The truck swerved in the other lane. “Hello.”
“What’s the news, brother?”
“I’m out of there.”
“Good to hear. You got somethin’ purdy sittin’ next to you?”
“No. That didn’t work out as I planned.”
“Ah hell, Wade, get your sorry, stubborn ass to the church and grab her.”
“She made her choice, Levi. I asked her not to do it. She said… she doesn’t feel the same way I do anyway.
“I don’t believe that, but it sounds like you’ve made up your mind and changin’ that is like removin’ a rusted bolt on an old Ford.”
“She. Made. Her. Choice.”
“You know what this is?”
“Enlighten me Dr. Phil.”
“You have abandonment issues.”
“What the fuck? You keep this shit up, and as soon as I see you, I’m punchin’ you so you can man up.”
“Fight it all you want, Wade. Ma left. Heather killed herself and… left you. This is why you don’t stay attached—to anyone. Now, you don’t want to chance that purdy thing that has you all wound up leavin’ you.”
“I’ll be home in a couple of days.” Tossing the phone on the seat, his eyes followed it, catching a sign across the blacktop road. He hit the brakes, made a hard right, and worked the truck through the parking lot. His fingers twisted the key, killing the engine. He leaned back in the seat, staring at the sign, Peaches and Pearls stared back at him—Georgia’s finest jewelry we buy and sell. He rubbed his fingers over the lump in his jeans pocket.
Carly’s words wrapped around his heart. “You know you can’t move forward if you got your boots cemented in the past.” He moved fast before he could change his mind.
“Afternoon,” an older man greeted as he entered the store. “What can we do for ya’?”
Wade walked through the center of the U shaped counter, stopping in front of the man. “I’m not sure.” He looked down at the diamond rings sparkling in the case beneath his hand. What the hell was he doing in here? He rubbed his fingers over his chin and flicked his gaze back to the old man. “Maybe.” I made a mistake by coming in here. His eyes caught a gleam to the left and he followed it to a display case on the counter. He turned toward it. The sparkle inside was alluring and the single ring displayed on a pedestal was different from anything he’d seen before. “What color is that diamond?”
“Oh, you don’t want that sir.”
“I don’t?” Wade lifted a brow and stared at the man.
“Well…”
“It says for display only. Is it for sale or not?”
“It’s for sale!” An older woman yelled from the back room. Wade leaned to the side, looking around the man, and noted
the firm line her lips made.
“My wife.” The man lifted his leg, caught the corner of the door behind him with the toe of his boot, and swung the door closed. “We’ve had lots of arguments over this ring.”
“How’s that?”
“Well, the couples come in lookin’ for a ring, and the women… they get fixated on this one.”
“It is a purdy ring.”
“We call it the Scarlett O’Hara.”
“Say again?” He rubbed his chest above his heart. “You’re kiddin’, right?”
“No sir. This is a rare peach diamond, two carats, set in platinum gold and surrounded by a cluster of little diamonds. Of course, Scarlett’s had emeralds around the center diamond and it was four carats. But the setting is similar and it’s peach color—”
“May I see it?”
“Sure.” He unclipped the keys from his belt and unlocked the case. “Seein’ you’re alone and we won’t have any disappointment.” Removing the ring from its notched holder, he slowly moved it to the counter, positioning it on a velvet cloth. He sucked in a breath when Wade reached down and slid his index finger inside its circle and raised it.
“Fuck.” It was a perfect fit. And he knew it was a perfect fit, because when Carly had retrieved the ring in his pocket from the sink drain, he’d watched how the ring sat on her finger. It was larger than the old one he held onto, but not by much, and he was thankful it was larger. Carly had curves in all the right places. Dammit… this was one of those times you’re supposed to pay attention to the signs, and he was sure this ring was fated to be with him. “I’ll take it.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said I’ll take it.” He pulled the old ring from his pocket and placed it on the velvet cloth. “You buy too, right?”
“Sir... that ring is sixty-eight thousand dollars.”
“You take plastic?”
“Well… yeah. But sir, are you sure?”
“Here.” Wade put a credit card on the counter matching the color of the ring’s band. The man looked between the piece of plastic and Wade.”
“Do you need it sized?”
“No.”
“I’ll need your driver’s license too.”
The man took the ring with shaky hands and placed it in a box he retrieved from under the counter. Placing a jeweler’s loop on his eye, he inspected the smaller ring Wade wished to sell. “I’ll give you two hundred and fifty dollars for this.”
“That’s fine.”
“I’ll deduct it from the price.” He retrieved Wade’s ID and credit card from the counter, shaking his head with a look of disbelief in his eyes. “I’ll be back with your receipt.” He walked in the back room leaving Wade alone.
The door opened moments later, and the silver-haired woman from the back approached the counter.
“Wade Dawson?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Your license says Arizona. You the same Wade Dawson from the Double D Ranch out there?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Nice to meet you.” She extended her frail hand. He gently accepted, giving her thin skin a small squeeze. “We bought a horse from you a couple years back. We’d heard you had the best horses for competition.”
“Did it work out for you?”
“Oh, yes.” She pointed to a large trophy with a horse on top, sitting with pride on the shelf behind her. “We’ve been in need of another fine breed, but haven’t been able to afford the extra cash—until now. You know how competitions go, sometimes you spend more money than you win. It’s my daughter who rides; she’s good too.”
“All ready for you.” The old man placed a handled paper bag on the counter.
“Thank you.” Wade reached into the sack, pulled out the ring box, and opened it.
“So, when’s the weddin’ day?”
“Oh, there’s no weddin’.”
“Ah, the bride don’t know yet.” He smiled.
“There’s no bride.”
“Come again?”
“I’m not gettin’ married. No bride.”
“I don’t understand.” The man scratched his head, and his expression crinkled. “What’s the ring for then?”
Wade removed the ring from its container, and tossed the box into the bag. “Every year on this day me and this ring...” He held the platinum circle up at eye level. “Well, we’re gonna kill a bottle of rum together.” Without emotion, he slid the ring into his front pocket.
“Good lord, son. You can’t carry a sixty-eight thousand dollar ring around in your pocket.”
“Y’all have a good day now.” He tipped his hat and made his way to the door.
“Mr. Dawson… we’re gonna need that horse,” the woman yelled after him.
“Shut up about the horse, woman. I think the boy has done lost his mind.”
“Call me when you’re ready, ma’am.” Wade closed the door behind him ignoring the man’s comment.
When he climbed into the truck, he felt the ring poking his leg. He’d be more aware of it, just as he was more aware of Carly inside him. She’d made her choice though, and she was probably Mrs. Chet Wilson by now. The thought made his gut flip, and he grabbed for the bottle of water on the seat. How’d he let this happen? Wade pulled the truck onto the highway and set the GPS for home. Thankful for the long drive ahead, he’d give all his worries to the highway and get her out of his system.
He had a lot of work to catch up on back home. His work had always been his salvation. He’d built the ranch from the ground up with Levi’s help. When Wade was sixteen, most kids his age were fishing, cow tipping, and ripping up the fields on quad runners. Wade worked. He swore he’d never be the piece of shit his father said he’d grow up to be, and the man tried to pound it into Wade’s head with each blow of his fist.
He’d never had anything tender in his life. Most of the women he’d bedded were after the name on the iron arches at the entrance of his ranch. He’d never find one of them in a tractor at five a.m. as he had Carly.
When he got home, everything would be better. He’d start work right away. Levi would be home in a couple of weeks from rehab and he could start training more horses. They could get the bounty business back on its feet, and Mrs. Chet Wilson would be a distant memory.
Chapter 20
Pay it forward
Carly approached the church with a strength she didn’t know she had. After entering the back room, she locked the door. Sitting at small table, she stared at herself in the mirror. She could do this. The music playing in the background became clearer. She wiped the tears from her cheeks. Damn you, Garth Brooks. She tried to block the music from her mind, but it filtered inside her, pushing her emotions closer to the edge.
I know you haven't made your mind up yet…
But I would never do you wrong…
Oh, God. Maybe she couldn’t do this.
I've known it from the moment that we met…
No doubt in my mind where you belong…
Her mind bolted toward Wade. Was he trying to tell her something more than simply ‘don’t do this’. Her throat closed, and she wrapped her fingers around it. His eyes. His strong arms that picked her up from the ground. His lips. His heart.
She saw it. He’d let her inside, and she wondered how many had seen the beauty beneath the muscles. Did he love her? Oh, God she wasn’t sure how he felt, but she was certain how she felt. His words haunted her. Know your self-worth. To not settle for anyone until you’re certain that you’ll be their everything.
This wedding felt like a betrayal to Wade and she wasn’t even with him. She jumped from the chair and cracked the door leading into the church. The room was packed, much more than the usual Sunday service. Her eyes scanned the attendants and came to rest on the man she needed.
“Psst.” She made the sound as quietly as possible and was thankful for all the gossip going on. Of course, he didn’t hear her, but he was getting up in age. “Psst.”
Judge Clarkston turn
ed toward her, looked around, and then pointed to his chest. She nodded her head and waved him over. When he was close to the door, she reached out and yanked him inside.
“Carly? Is everything okay?”
“Yes. No. I need your help.”
“Your mama was a sweet lady.”
“Thanks. Listen… my house and the land.”
“Oh.” He straightened his stance. “Carly, that’s in foreclosure, and there’s not much I can do about it.”
“It is?”
“Well… not until Monday.”
“If I was to give you the money for my land right now, could you sign the deed over to me?”
“No.”
“Judge Clarkston, I need this. Please… You said my mama was always kind to you the last time we met.”
“Yes. But, I can’t sign it over to you unless you want to buy it after it forecloses.”
“Deal.” She pulled the money from her dress and opened the envelope. “How much?”
“It’d be about eight thousand, plus tax.” He looked up at the ceiling as if using an invisible calculator. “Ten thousand, that’s’ for the behind taxes too though.”
“Here.” She counted the money out, and he stared at her the whole time. “I don’t trust anyone, Judge, but I remember my mama always said you had honest eyes. Can I count on you to do this first thing Monday mornin’?”
“Yes, Carly, of course.”
“Okay. You better scoot out of here. There’s gonna be a ruckus soon, and I wouldn’t want you hurt.” She touched her forehead to make sure she didn’t have a third eye because the way he was staring at her she thought she’d grown one.
Once she had him back in his seat, she waved toward the front until she caught Chet’s eyes, which he rolled when he saw her.
He strolled toward her, waving at guests as he passed them.
She pulled her head back in the door and took deep breaths. Her head spun with words and actions. A wave of dizziness swirled around her just as the door opened.
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