by Rita Herron
Confused, she headed to the shower to wash off the smell of the horses and the feeling of deceit that lingered on her skin from cozying up to his mother.
But she hadn’t been playing up to Mrs. McAllister. She had really enjoyed the older woman’s company. The conversation, the tranquility of the screened porch, even the crocheting lessons.
Which scared her even more.
She had realized how much she’d missed her own mother. She thought about the afternoons they might have spent shopping, the photos her mother would have taken as she’d dressed for her first dance, the selection of her first prom dress together. Maybe she’d have taught her to sew.
How would her life have been different if her mother hadn’t died when Suzanne was so young? What advice would she have given her about boyfriends? Would she have shared stories about how she and her father had met? Told her all the things he’d refused to talk about…?
Now that she’d gotten to know Rafe’s mother, could Suzanne reveal some family secret that might hurt her?
RAFE SPENT ALL DINNER listening to his mother rave over her visit with Suzanne.
“She is the sweetest thing I ever met, and pretty, too. Don’t you think she’s pretty, Rafe?”
He harrumphed and tore his biscuit in two, spreading butter in between the flaky pieces.
“Well, you are blind, son, if you didn’t notice. And she can cook. Some girls these days are so spoiled they can’t boil water. Every woman needs to know her way around a kitchen.” She scooped a spoonful of gravy on her mashed potatoes. “After all, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Girls these days forget that.”
“That’s because they’re more interested in their careers than being wives,” Rafe pointed out.
“Some women can juggle both, though, don’t you think?”
“I guess.”
“I reckon we have to get with the times, son, although, I would like for you to find some nice girl who wouldn’t mind taking a vacation from her career to have a family.”
Oh, Lord, more grandchildren talk.
“I’d like to hold my grandbaby in my arms before my eyes completely go.”
His throat caught. “Is there something wrong with your eyes, Mother?”
She waved her linen napkin at him. “Oh, heavens no, but you know what I mean. I don’t want to be too old to play with the little tyke.”
“I hate to disappoint you, but I have no intention of getting married anytime soon.”
“I realize you’ve been working too hard to court a woman the right way, but sometimes love happens when you least expect it.”
“I’m not interested,” he stated baldly, hoping to end the discussion.
“Oh, psshaw. You’re a red-blooded male. You can’t tell me you didn’t think about asking that pretty Suzanne out.”
He hadn’t thought about it because it was a ridiculous idea. “No, I didn’t. She is not my type at all, Mother.”
“Not your type?” She perched her fork in midair, a butterbean on the tip of the prongs, while she studied him. “Why isn’t she your type? She’s female.”
“I don’t chase everything in a skirt.”
“Well, you used to.”
His fingers tightened around the fork. “I’ve grown up.”
She popped the bean in her mouth, then sipped her sweet tea, her color looking much brighter tonight than it had this morning. He should be grateful Suzanne’s visit had perked her up. “Is Suzanne too skinny for you? Some men like curvy women, but I thought you liked skinny ones. That Cecilia was skinny.”
Grind salt into his wounds by reminding him of Cecilia. “No, of course she’s not too thin.” His hands could just span Suzanne’s waist.
“You don’t like dark eyes?”
“Her eyes are fine.”
“Fine? They’re gorgeous. I’ve never seen eyes so dark.”
“All right, they’re gorgeous.”
“Then she’s too tall for you?”
“No, she’s not too tall.” Her legs were just right, long and graceful….
“See, she’s perfect. A big man like you doesn’t need some teeny little thing that would have to step on a ladder to kiss him.”
“Mother.” Rafe scrubbed his hand over his face. He did not feel comfortable discussing any of this with his mother. “I’m not interested in kissing her.”
“You’re not?”
He wanted to do a lot more than that with her, but he couldn’t very well tell his mother that. “No!”
The ice in her glass clinked as she sat it down. “Rafe, are you sick or something?”
“No. Just stop with the matchmaking, okay?”
She frowned and sighed, frowned and sighed. “I don’t understand. Why are you getting so touchy? A beautiful single woman comes here for riding lessons, and you take her out for the day and she’s coming back again, and she’s from a decent family, she’s educated—”
Exactly. Too damn educated and rich for him. “I told you…she’s not my type.”
“You have a girlfriend already?”
“Of course not. But in case you didn’t notice, Suzanne Hartwell has city gal written all over her.” He wolfed down his tea, spilling it on the front of his shirt in his haste to finish dinner and this ghastly inquisition. “Did you see that ridiculous outfit and gaudy ring she had on? She lives in Atlanta. She knows nothing about life on a ranch.” He stood, grabbed an extra biscuit, determined to escape. “Now, I’m going to look over the books and see if I can come up with some way to save our home.”
“She’s coming back tomorrow,” his mother said over her shoulder, as if she’d seen through his act. “So you’d better be nice to her, Rafe.”
Oh, he’d be nice. Just enough to convince her to stop encouraging the mall project. But he’d keep his hands to himself, and his heart under armored padlock.
“SO, HOW DID IT GO with Rafe McAllister?” Rebecca asked.
Suzanne frowned into her lemonade. They had met at a new diner in Sugar Hill called Dilly’s and ordered salads and pasta. Their cousins were due any minute, too. Apparently, the women had decided to have ladies’ night out once a week, and since Suzanne was in town, she had been included.
It was both strange and nice to be part of a girls’ group. Suzanne had been so busy with her job the past couple of years, she hadn’t made any close friends in Atlanta. Other than James.
She still hadn’t called him back.
“Earth to Suzanne,” Rebecca said. “Was he difficult?”
No, she wouldn’t describe Rafe as difficult. Although it had been difficult not to stare at him. “Well, not really.”
“He knows you work for Horton Developers?”
Suzanne winced. “Not quite.”
Rebecca chewed her lip. “You mean you lied to him?”
“Not exactly. I told him I worked in an office and raise money for charities.”
Rebecca’s frown spoke volumes. “Did you talk about selling his land?”
Suzanne traced a droplet of water running down her glass. “We discussed the town meeting, so he knows I’m in favor of the development. He dared me to come out and see his property and then decide.”
“He thinks you’ll fall in love with it and see it his way.”
Suzanne nodded. “That’s his plan.”
“And what’s yours?”
Suzanne hesitated and Rebecca gasped.
“You aren’t going to seduce him into selling, are you?”
“No!” Suzanne screeched. “Is that really the kind of girl you think I am, Bec?”
Rebecca covered Suzanne’s hand with her own. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Suzanne. You’re charming, you’re ambitious and successful, and you came here to do a job.” She grinned. “And he is kind of cute.”
Suzanne rolled her eyes. “In that rugged, macho, infuriating cowboy kind of way.”
“But not your type, huh?”
“No, definitely not.” So, why had she thought of nothing
but him and his mother after she’d left the Lazy M? Why had she craved his touch when they’d ridden out by the mountains? Why had she wanted him to kiss her in that clearing? Why had it bothered her so much that he didn’t like her?
Why had she avoided talking to James?
“So, he showed you his property?”
“Yes, and he gave me a riding lesson. I’m supposed to go riding again tomorrow and do some more sight-seeing.”
Rebecca grinned as if she’d read more into the sentence than Suzanne intended, but her cousins arrived in a flurry of excited hugs and hellos, and her protests died as the girls ordered, all chattering at once about how good it was to be together.
“Tonight is wonderful,” Mimi said. “I love little Maggie Rose and married life, but a woman needs girl talk, too.”
“Me, too,” Hannah said. “Although with the baby on the way and my work schedule, I’ll have to call it an early night.”
“Pregnancy is draining, isn’t it?” Mimi said sympathetically.
Hannah patted her burgeoning belly. “Yes, but it’s worth it.”
“Any news on your side, Alison? Rebecca?” Mimi asked.
Alison and Rebecca traded sheepish grins. “Nothing to report yet,” Alison said.
“It’s too early to tell,” Rebecca said. “We’re still newlyweds.”
They chatted about the joys of marital life for a few minutes, each joking about the tiny, irritating habits they’d noticed about their new husbands. “Seth is so sweet with the baby,” Mimi said, “but I swear, I still have to remind him to be spontaneous sometimes.”
Everyone laughed. “And I have to remind Brady not to be too serious,” Alison said.
“Thankfully, Jake’s finally getting accustomed to our big family. It was odd for him at first.”
Suzanne could relate. She’d always felt isolated for some reason. Although her father had doted on her and she adored Rebecca, the three of them had never overcome the loss of her mother. And then her father had hopped from one wife to another.
“All right,” Mimi said when their conversation hit a lull. “You know we’re all dying to know what Grammy put in your hope chest, Suzanne.”
“Yes, tell us,” Rebecca coached.
Alison and Hannah piped in, begging, as well. “Tell me about yours first,” Suzanne said in an effort to sidetrack them.
Hannah began. “I received Grammy’s ring, the one that had the legend saying that if I wore it to bed the night before my wedding I would dream about my future husband,” Hannah said.
“And you dreamed about Jake?” Rebecca asked.
“Yes, but I was engaged to Seth.”
“So, lucky for me, they broke up,” Mimi jumped in dramatically. “And when they got married, Seth offered me a ride home from Grammy’s. But it was snowing, and we got stranded in this little B and B, and well, things got out of control, and we sort of lost count of the condoms.”
“Grammy put condoms in your hope chest?” Suzanne asked.
The girls laughed. “No, if she had, we might not have Maggie Rose,” Mimi said with a laugh. “I got baby items in my hope chest. Believe me, it was a shock since I thought I wasn’t mother material. But it all worked out, and I just love being a mom.”
“What about you, Alison?” Suzanne asked.
“The annulment papers for my marriage to Brady. See, Brady and I got married the night before he was supposed to leave for the Air Force. But Daddy found out and was furious. Brady and I thought he’d annulled the marriage. Over the years, we drifted apart.” She squeezed lemon into her tea and took a sip. “Later, Brady lost his best friend in a helicopter crash and was injured himself. He came home to recuperate. Thomas had just proposed to me, and I didn’t know what to do, but when I saw Brady and found out we were still married…well, I still loved Brady.”
“So Thomas was free, then?” Suzanne said.
Rebecca giggled. “Yes, and then Grammy gave me my hope chest and it had this book of erotic poetry Grammy had written—”
“Grammy wrote erotic poetry?” Suzanne was stunned.
Rebecca nodded. “But my hope chest also had children’s books in it, so I started thinking about having a baby, and came up with this baby plan.”
“You were going to ask Thomas to father the baby, weren’t you?” Mimi asked.
“At first, but then I crashed into his car, and he asked me to paint murals on the clinic walls, and we got to know each other…” She let the sentence trail off.
“And you fell in love,” Alison added. “Which was perfect. I’m so glad you found each other.”
Rebecca squeezed Alison’s hand and they all beamed like proud new wives.
“Now, it’s your turn,” Rebecca said. “What did Grammy give you, sis?”
Suzanne’s stomach had started churning as the girls’ stories had unfolded. None of them had been expecting to marry the man they’d wound up with. In fact, all of the things they’d received in their hope chests had somehow been related to their present husbands. And all of them had seemed mismatched at first.
A bad premonition hit her.
“Suzanne?” Mimi said. “What’s wrong?”
Suzanne gulped down the lemonade, nearly choking on a seed. “Nothing, it’s just that…”
“Just what? What was in your hope chest?” Hannah asked.
She cleared her throat, her voice a mere croak. “A pair of Western-style lacy boots, a lacy Western bridal hat and a choker.”
Rebecca’s gaze locked with Suzanne’s. “Oh, my.”
“What?” Mimi, Hannah and Alison all asked at once.
“It isn’t true,” Suzanne said. “Grammy Rose made a mistake this time.”
Rebecca pressed a hand to her lips and grinned.
“Tell us!” Mimi screeched.
“Suzanne just spent the day with Rafe McAllister on his ranch.” Rebecca paused dramatically, letting the sentence sink in. “He’s teaching her to ride and showing her around his property.”
“I bet that’s not all he’s going to show you,” Mimi said.
“I have a feeling you’ve met your man,” Hannah added.
“I might as well get things ready in the bridal shop to start planning another Hartwell wedding,” Alison said.
Suzanne shook her head in denial. “We barely know each other. I’m not sure we even like each other.”
“Uh-huh,” Mimi said. “I didn’t think Seth was for me at first.”
“I didn’t think Thomas liked me either,” Rebecca said.
“And Jake thought I might be involved with an illegal car theft ring,” Hannah added.
“Brady thought we weren’t meant to be together,” Alison said.
But that was different, Suzanne thought. And they wouldn’t think about marriage if they knew the truth about why she was spending time with Rafe.
And what about James?
As if her sister had read Suzanne’s mind, Rebecca gestured toward the sapphire ring. “Have you answered James’s proposal yet?”
Suzanne shook her head. “I-I’m not sure what to say to him.”
Rebecca gave her a sympathetic look. “Do you love him, Suzanne?”
Suzanne pressed a finger to her temple where a headache was beginning to pulse. Did she love James? She wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about him. He certainly didn’t send her senses into a dizzying spin like the sight of Rafe….
Chapter Eight
Rafe spent a miserable, sleepless night stewing over the ranch’s problems. His morning didn’t fare much better. He’d risen at dawn to do three hours of work before he drove his mother into town to the doctor. Thankfully, Hannah Hartwell Tippins had consulted with his mother’s rheumatologist so she could treat his mother without a trip to Atlanta each time she needed follow-up treatment. Of course, there were the occasional times when she needed more extensive tests and they had to make the long trek to the city, but for now her condition had stabilized, meaning her medication was working. Her spirits seemed h
igh, too, especially since that visit with Suzanne.
But why had Hannah given him an odd look when he’d left? As if she knew some kind of secret about him that she thought funny.
He must have imagined it, he thought, as he hurried into the grocery store to fill his mother’s prescription. He’d left her at the bookstore to browse through the magazines and books, knowing she needed to pick out a few new paperbacks to entertain her while she rested. Dropping the prescription off at the pharmacist’s window, he gathered some pain-killers, ointment, cotton balls, milk and bread, tossed in a box of her favorite bubble bath along with some fresh strawberries, then headed to the pharmacist window. But as he rounded the corner near the baby aisle, he nearly crashed into Mimi Hartwell Broadhurst, carrying a pink bundle.
“Hi, Rafe.”
“Hi.” He didn’t realize Mimi even knew his name.
“I hear you’re giving Suzanne riding lessons.”
“Yeah.”
Mimi grinned, jiggling her daughter up and down on her shoulder. “She told us what a good time she had at your ranch yesterday.”
“She did?”
“Yes. You’re really sweet to teach her to ride.”
Sweet? No one had ever accused him of that before.
“She’s a good athlete,” Mimi said. “I bet she takes to the saddle pretty easily.”
He nodded. She had been a natural. Those long legs and all…. “I’m only doing it so she’ll change her mind about supporting that mall project,” he said, not knowing why he felt the need to clarify his actions, but Mimi was looking at him oddly, her eyes twinkling just as Hannah’s had.
“Oh, right.” Mimi winked at him, then walked away, laughing.
What was it with women? First his mother pushing him toward Suzanne, now Mimi Hartwell grinning like he had ulterior motives in giving a riding lesson. Even Hannah, who seemed like the practical sort, had behaved oddly.
What exactly had Suzanne said about him?
“WHAT DID HE SAY about me?” Suzanne asked, studying Rafe’s sexy backside as he exited the store.