She jerked back, trying not to fall in a rush to get away. When she caught sight of the snake under the side of the bed, it had coiled into a defensive pose. A rattle on its tail vibrated angrily, piercing the silence of the house like a crazed maraca.
Panic coursed through her body, and Laura shot out of the room, down the hall, and through the front door.
In the front yard, she stopped and bent over to catch her breath, adrenaline practically bursting through her fingertips. She had just angered a highly venomous rattlesnake that could have killed her.
The dry grass pricked the bottoms of her bare feet. She hadn’t had time to grab her shoes, truck keys, or cell phone on her way out the door.
The moonlight reflected off the windshield of the old truck. Surely she hadn’t locked the doors, a habit formed while living in the city.
She tiptoed through the grass, afraid she would step on one of the boards full of nails or pieces of barbed wire that were lying around in front of the house.
She closed her eyes as she touched the door handle of the old truck, praying it would be unlocked.
Chapter 4
From the gravel driveway, Connor debated whether to approach the front door. It was early—too early to stop by any house uninvited—but Connor had tossed in bed all night. He had to see Laura. Despite hours of lying awake, he still hadn’t determined how to tell Laura about his role in Thomas’s decision. No matter how he envisioned the conversation, it always ended in Laura hating him.
The front door stood open a crack, which had to mean she was awake. This was his opportunity to tell Laura the truth. He’d rip it off like a bandage. Get it done and accept the consequences, however undesirable they might be. He deserved them.
Walking toward the house, Connor ran his hand along the bed of the old F-150 pickup he’d repaired for Thomas. After new spark plugs, a battery, and fluids, it had started up, made it out of the barn, and even up and down the driveway a couple of times. The beat-up truck roared like a freight train, but it would get someone around town.
Passing by the driver’s window, movement in the cab froze Connor in his boots. He leaned toward the glass.
Inside, Laura was curled up on the bench seat of the old truck, still obviously asleep.
His guilty conscience took another blow. He should never have left her alone in that dilapidated old house.
He overrode his instinct to rip the door open and make sure she was okay. Instead, he tapped on the window with his fingertip.
Laura bolted up from the seat, her back as straight as a two-by-four. She looked around the truck as if trying to remember where she was and how she’d gotten there.
Connor bent down to the window. “Laura?”
Her entire body jerked away from him.
Connor opened the door. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Laura’s open mouth snapped closed, and she ran her fingers along the corners of her mouth.
He stepped back to make room for her to stretch her lean limbs out of the truck.
The morning sun shone on her tangles of blond hair. He covered his mouth and coughed to hide a grin. She looked cute in her bare feet and pink plaid pajamas.
Laura squinted and held her hand up beside her face to block the morning sun. “Go ahead,” she said, her voice scratchy.
Connor ran his hand across his smile. “What are you talking about?”
Laura closed her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering. “Go ahead and say, ‘I told you so.’ ”
Connor walked to his truck. He opened the tailgate and motioned for Laura to sit. “I wouldn’t do that. But I do want to know why you didn’t call me.”
Laura gracefully tiptoed through the dewy grass toward the truck. “It’s a long story. I’ll just say an angry rattlesnake got in my way.”
Every muscle in his body contracted. “A rattlesnake? Are you sure?”
Laura put her palms on the open tailgate and hoisted herself up on it, her feet dangling. “I’m sure. Even a city girl can’t miss an incensed rattlesnake.”
Regret washed over Connor. Why hadn’t he at least checked the place over before he left her there alone? “I feel terrible. I can’t believe there’s a nest of rattlesnakes in there.”
Her eyes widened. “A nest? You’re joking right?”
Connor stood beside her and stared at the line of elms and cedars behind the house. “Wish I was, but where there’s one rattlesnake, there are usually more.”
Laura threw her hands up in the air. “Just great. It’s like a scene from Indiana Jones.”
“There’s no way I would have let you stay here if I’d known,” Connor said.
Laura shot him a look. The sunlight revealed the smattering of barely there freckles on her scrunched face. “Let me?”
Connor held his hands up, palms facing her. “I know, I know. You don’t need my help.”
She smoothed down unruly wisps of blond hair. “It’s okay. I realize I was a wreck yesterday, and I look like a big scaredy-cat sleeping in the truck.”
Yesterday Laura had shown more grace and courage than anyone he knew. “Not at all.”
The birds chattering in the distance filled the silence between them.
Laura slipped her left hand, with the diamond engagement ring still on her finger, under her thigh. “Did you talk to him?”
Connor took a deep breath to shake away the dread as he remembered why he was here. “Yes. I talked to Thomas last night.”
“And what did he say?” Her tone told him she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.
Connor rubbed his fingers across his chin. He handled difficult situations every day. He led large crews of workers and dealt with demanding clients, but something about Laura left him spinning. “He got scared,” Connor blurted. “Said he felt trapped.”
Laura stared toward the second-story windows, not blinking. “What else?”
“It wasn’t just you. It was the house, his dad, moving back to Wyatt Bend—everything.” Connor was acting like a coward, plain and simple. Why couldn’t he just tell her exactly what had triggered Thomas’s decision? Perspiration broke out on his forehead.
She turned to Connor; her eyes appeared even bluer than before. “Just like that, it’s over. I don’t get a say?”
The ground under Connor seemed to go soft beneath him. This was his chance to tell her everything and get it off his chest once and for all.
Her fingers gripped the edge of the tailgate as if she braced herself for what he had to say. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. The risk of hurting her was too great.
“I …” He stopped. “I’m really sorry, Laura,” he said, leaving too many things unsaid.
Her gaze broke away from his.
Connor would tell her soon, after the shock had worn off.
Connor left Laura and her bare feet safely on the front porch as he went inside to search for snakes. His steel-toed boots came in handy somewhere other than his construction sites after all.
As he walked through the house toward the largest of the three bedrooms, he chided himself again. He should have told Laura the truth. He’d had his chance and missed it.
Who was he kidding? He’d chickened out. He was as yellow-bellied as the snake he was looking for.
When he opened the bedroom door, he chuckled at the sight of the curtain rod and pillowcase beside the bed. He hadn’t given the woman enough credit. For growing up in the city, she was braver than he expected. Connor threw the loose items into her bag and grabbed her shoes off the floor.
Inside the small bathroom, he set Laura’s suitcase on the hexagon floor tiles and examined the claw-foot tub and pedestal sink. It was a shame he wouldn’t get a chance to work on the renovation. This place was loaded with charm, and he itched for a new challenge. This kind of project got him excited about construction again.
He searched the entire house for any sign of snakes. Once he was sure everything was clear, he stuck his head out the front d
oor.
“You can come in now,” he said handing her the shoes.
Laura hopped on one foot, slipping a flat shoe on her other foot. “You’re sure the snake is gone?”
It was a crisp morning, too cool for snakes to be moving. “I’m sure.”
A skittish Laura pulled on the other shoe and disappeared into the bathroom.
As Connor waited, he walked through the rooms taking in the original woodwork and craftsmanship. His clients didn’t want to take the time or spend the extra money on work like this anymore.
Working with Thomas would have been Connor’s first chance in a long time to follow his passion of restoring old homes. Connor loved building new structures for his family’s business, but he was ready for the company to branch out so he could get his hands on old homes like this one. With his mom sick, this had seemed like his only chance to make it happen.
In the living room, Connor bent down and looked inside the fireplace, which was still in great shape. The smell of the pungent ash burned his nose as he rubbed a finger across the sooty hearth.
“Be honest,” Laura said from behind him. “Do you think I can sell this place?”
He turned to look at her over one shoulder. Khaki pants and a pale-green shirt replaced her pink pajamas, and her hair formed a neat ponytail. Connor took his time standing and dusted the soot from his hands as he delayed giving her the bad news. “Honestly?”
Laura’s wide eyes stared at him, waiting for an answer.
Connor blew out a deep breath. “It’s going to be difficult. There aren’t many people around here who would be willing to take on a project of this magnitude.” Connor had warned Thomas not to purchase this place. Once someone took on a project like this, it was hard to ever get out of it.
She stepped backward and sat on a couch covered in a blue bedsheet. “I was afraid of that.” The devastation on her face tore at his heart.
He longed to give her better news, but before Laura had purchased the home, it had sat on the market for three years without a single offer. “You’d have a better chance of selling a renovated house.”
Laura stared at her fingers. “I don’t have a lot of money. I quit my job in graphic design. Most of my savings went for the down payment and to plan the wedding.”
Connor sat beside Laura, sinking into the couch. “You paid for the wedding?” If only he could stuff the words back in his mouth. It wasn’t any of his business who paid for Thomas and Laura’s wedding.
Laura hesitated. “Originally, my parents wanted to help, but my dad was laid off just after Thomas proposed.”
Laura’s eyes filled with glassy tears, and she turned her face away from Connor. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
His hand rose to comfort her, but he pulled it away. “I can help you,” he said. “I can get the house in shape to sell for you.”
Connor was swamped with his business and finishing his brother’s house before his wife had their baby. Not to mention Laura was Thomas’s ex-fiancée. What would he think?
In the end, none of that mattered. Laura needed him.
Laura sprang to her feet and paced across the room. “Connor, I couldn’t possibly—”
“Hang on. Just hear me out.” Construction, as opposed to matters of the heart, was Connor’s area of expertise. At least he could repair a tiny piece of the damage he’d caused.
He rose from the couch. “We wouldn’t have to carry out the original renovation plan. I’ll just get it ready to put back on the market.”
Laura turned her face down to the stained carpet. “That’s incredibly generous, but, like I said, I’m broke.”
Connor stopped. He didn’t want to embarrass her, but he couldn’t let it go when he knew he could fix the mess he’d made. He stood beside her. “Don’t worry about the money. Let me take care of it.”
Laura faced a window looking out on the front porch. Morning sunlight fell across her profile. “I can’t let you do that. I’ll take the first flight back to Florida. I’m sure one of my girlfriends will let me stay with them until I figure things out.”
“You wouldn’t stay with your family?”
She shook her head. “My parents don’t have a lot of help they could offer me right now. They’re having a lot of financial trouble of their own after my dad lost his job. I don’t want to burden anyone.”
The last thing Connor wanted was for Laura to leave. He still needed to make things right. He needed to help her. “Give it a few more nights. I’ll find you somewhere to stay, or I’ll have my buddy take care of your snake problem.”
Laura lifted an eyebrow. “Is he an exterminator?”
“He’s an insurance agent, but he and his friends catch snakes for rattlesnake hunts.”
“Rattlesnake hunts? You mean people go out looking for those awful things?”
Connor shrugged. It certainly wasn’t his idea of a fun afternoon, but to each his own.
Her eyes darted around the room. “Let’s get out of here,” she said and headed for the door.
Connor followed her to the porch where she sat on the top step, exactly where he had found her yesterday. So much had changed in a single day.
The column groaned as Connor leaned against it.
Laura stared out toward his truck. “Why are you offering to help me? You’re Thomas’s friend. Wouldn’t it cause problems between you two if he knew you were here?”
He’d asked himself the same questions. His loyalty should be to Thomas, but here he was. “What happened yesterday was terrible. I guess I want to help make it right.”
Laura sat straighter. “Helping me get rid of the snake is one thing, but I could never let you remodel the house when I don’t have the money to pay you. Besides, things are already complicated enough with Thomas right now.”
Connor reached out to help her from the step. “Promise me you’ll think about it.”
She took his hand, and Connor hoisted her to standing.
They stood face-to-face, Laura’s hand still in his. “I’ll think about it.”
He couldn’t look away from her crystal-blue eyes.
Electricity sparked in his chest, but a pang of guilt soon followed.
Chapter 5
Bonnie’s Blooms sat nestled in Wyatt Bend’s town square. Laura steered the rusty old truck into a parking space near the flower shop. While still in Florida, Laura had scheduled an appointment with the florist to run through the details of the bouquets and centerpieces. Now she was here to cancel the order and ask for a return of her deposit. Laura’s chest ached at the realization that her wedding wasn’t going to happen.
Two doors down, a red sign with gold lettering read OVERMAN REAL ESTATE. She couldn’t picture Connor with his strong arms and broad shoulders sitting behind a desk in what looked like an accountant’s office.
Connor, practically a stranger, had offered to remodel a snake-ridden house for her. Gratefulness churned deep in Laura’s chest. As much as she wanted to accept Connor’s offer to help, he was Thomas’s friend, not hers. Connor didn’t owe her anything.
As she reached for the truck’s door handle, sunlight reflected off the diamond on her left hand. She rubbed her fingertip across the smooth stone and bit the inside of her lip, fighting back the memories. The night Thomas had knelt on one knee and asked her to be his wife had been the best night of her life. She’d spent the next day neglecting her design work at the ad agency, staring at the ring, and dreaming about her wedding day. A wedding that would never be, and a ring that wasn’t hers. It had been Thomas’s grandmother’s ring, a family heirloom that she would return.
Her stomach twisted as she slipped the band off her finger and tucked it in the zippered pocket of her wallet.
Laura climbed out of the truck, her muscles screaming in protest after a night spent tossing on the seat of this very vehicle.
A lime-green awning hung over the front door of Bonnie’s Blooms. Laura pushed open the glass door, and a bell tied around the handle j
ingled. The hue on the walls gave the entire room a kelly-green glow. Laura breathed in the sweet scent of a room full of flowers.
A woman stood behind a large counter at the back of the store. Silver curls stuck out in every direction, and the frames of her glasses—two oversized circles of thick black plastic—perched on the bridge of her nose. The woman waved her inside. “Come on back. I’m finishing up this bouquet,” she said over the buzz of the refrigerated cabinets with shelves of floral arrangements.
A clear vase with shades of peach and pink roses and small white flowers sat on the counter in front of the woman. Her quick hands poked and repositioned stems until an arrangement suitable for an interior-design magazine emerged.
The light from a bulb above them shone on the flowers like a spotlight. “This really is an art,” Laura said.
The woman clasped her hands together. “Thank you, dear.”
Laura strolled around to the other side of the table inspecting the composition. “I mean it. They’re gorgeous.”
The woman wiped her hands on the yellow apron and stuck her hand across the counter. “You must be Laura.”
Laura took her hand. “Yes, and you must be Bonnie. It’s wonderful to finally meet you in person.”
Bonnie spun the vase around on the table. “It has been fun working with someone who has such a wonderful eye for color and shape. The sketches you sent me were just beautiful. Your wedding is going to be lovely.”
Laura had spent hours on the collection of wedding sketches in her color-coded binder. Every aspect of the perfect wedding lived in those pages. The only thing she hadn’t planned for was a runaway groom.
Nerves fluttered in Laura’s stomach. “Unfortunately, I came to tell you there isn’t going to be a wedding.”
The thick glasses amplified Bonnie’s wide eyes. “No wedding?”
Emotion lodged in Laura’s throat. Talking about the breakup only made her fate more final. “It has been canceled.”
Mouth gaping, Bonnie scrambled off the step stool she stood on and hurried to Laura’s side. “I’m so sorry. What happened?”
Canyon Weddings Page 17