by Cora Seton
“Oh, Walker.” Sue had played the one card they couldn’t beat: trying to force a marriage she must have known on some level wasn’t going to happen.
“I got the hell out of there. So did Elizabeth. We went to different colleges. Never talked to each other. She never even came home during that time—told Sue she was too busy. Then she signed up for grad school.” He rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. “She must have talked to Sue then, because Sue told me I’d have to wait another couple of years for her, acting as if she was worried the delay might break my heart. I was happy as hell to kick the problem down the road. Hell, I could hardly talk to Sue at that point without her bringing it up. I was in the Navy already, and I wasn’t waiting for anyone. I made sure to be overseas as much as I could. Elizabeth took a job in DC. Travelled all over the world. So did I. Kept thinking Sue would drop it eventually.”
“Why didn’t you just confront her?”
“Have you met my grandmother?”
Walker relaxed a little when Avery laughed softly. He didn’t know what changed his mind about explaining the past to her, but now that he’d started, his relief was overwhelming. At the beginning of the year he’d thought it would be a simple thing to dissolve his ties to Elizabeth and tidy things away before Avery even knew there was a complication. He should have anticipated Sue would keep fighting for the future she wanted.
“You had to know you’d face Sue someday,” Avery said, echoing his thoughts. He could just make out the curve of her cheek in the starlight, the glint of her eyes.
Walker nodded. “I figured it was Elizabeth’s place to do that. I thought she’d tell Sue she didn’t want me. What could Sue say to that?”
Avery pulled back. “That’s kind of the coward’s way out, don’t you think?”
Walker stilled, the burn of shame every bit as raw as he’d feared it would be when he contemplated talking about this with her. When he spoke again, his voice was rough. “I was pretending to myself I was holding up my side of the bargain. That Elizabeth was the one who’d started the lie, and she could end it, and I wouldn’t be the worse for it. I didn’t want to let Sue down.” It was stupid. So much energy expended when they all could have been past it years ago.
But other damage had been done between their families long before that. Old hurts that made a little thing turn into something far bigger.
“You love your grandmother,” Avery said softly.
He did, but it seemed a poor excuse for his behavior. “I love you.”
As the silence stretched out between them, he wondered if she’d heard. If he’d made a mistake and she didn’t share his feelings anymore. If she was too ashamed of the way he’d behaved—
“Don’t… say that if you’re going to marry someone else.” The pain in her voice hit him like a slap, and another wave of shame threatened to engulf him.
“I don’t want to marry someone else. I’ve been… stupid. Too proud to admit I lied all those years ago. So sure I could save face by keeping quiet.” His motives were more selfish than anything Elizabeth or Sue had done. “I told myself Elizabeth would break things off. I wouldn’t have to go back on my word. I wouldn’t have to admit to Sue I lied to her.”
Avery watched him wordlessly. As much as he wished she’d take the pressure off him by offering some kind of advice, or hope, or something, he couldn’t blame her. This was his doing. His problem to solve.
“I’m going to talk to both of them tomorrow. I’m going to tell Sue the truth and tell Elizabeth I’m not going along with this anymore. I just need one more day to make this right.”
Still Avery watched him. Was he too late? Had his actions betrayed her so badly she couldn’t forgive him?
“Avery,” he pleaded, taking both her hands in his and drawing her closer. He didn’t know what else to say so he stopped talking altogether. Lifting a hand to cup her cheek, he bent and kissed her, groaning at the sweet taste of her mouth under his. This was what he wanted—what he’d always wanted from the moment he met her.
When she pulled back, he had to stop himself from wrapping his arms around her. He didn’t want to let her go.
Avery touched her mouth with her fingertips, and in the starlight her eyes shone with tears.
“Tell me tomorrow, after you’ve broken things off with Elizabeth. Kiss me then.”
She didn’t trust him. The knowledge pierced him like a knife laced with poison. He’d tried to hold his honor above everything.
And all the while he’d been trampling it.
One more day.
She’d heard that before, Avery thought as she slipped back inside the bunkhouse kitchen, Walker a silent presence behind her. Walker had asked for one more day the morning of Win and Angus’s wedding and then Elizabeth showed up and ruined everything.
Now he was promising to put Elizabeth aside and break his word to Sue, but he needed one more day—again.
Anything could happen in a day.
When he’d kissed her, she’d wanted to throw caution to the wind, wrap her arms around his neck and cling to him, but she’d had enough of getting her hopes up, only to have them dashed. Sue thought he would marry Elizabeth. Elizabeth thought that, too. Time for things to be done the right way around.
Walker softly closed the door behind them and locked it, and when he touched her hand in the darkness of the kitchen, all Avery’s resolutions nearly failed her. She stumbled as he came up behind her and put his arms around her, pulling her back to rest against his big frame.
They stood like that a moment, Avery’s heart pounding, aching to turn in his arms and pick up right where they’d left off, but Walker sighed, bent and kissed the top of her head, then released her.
Her steps were unsteady as she crossed the room, tiptoed through the door to the main room of the bunkhouse and made her way carefully to her bed. Leslie and Byron were still a tangled shape in the corner, and she was sure they were fast asleep, but Elizabeth and Gabe—
Was it her imagination, or were they both awake?
The warm feeling Walker’s embrace brought forth gave way to a cold shiver of worry, and she braced herself for one or both to sit up and chew them out.
Neither one moved, however.
Walker’s fingertips brushed her as he passed on the way to his bedroll. Avery followed his example, slipping into the covers on her thin mat on the bunkhouse floor. She lay there listening. Neither Elizabeth nor Gabe had the long, easy breaths of someone sleeping. She was sure they were listening just as hard.
What had gone on in here while she and Walker talked outside? Had Elizabeth and Gabe been talking, too? Comparing notes?
Making a plan to stop them from being together?
She would never sleep now, Avery thought as she rolled onto her left side, pulling a blanket with her. Between Walker’s explanation for what he’d done, his kiss and that embrace, she had more to think about than she could process.
But the next time she opened her eyes, sunlight was streaming in through the windows and everyone was already up.
Chapter Five
‡
“Aren’t they sweet?” Avery asked when she followed Walker out of the bunkhouse, her breakfast in her hand. Elizabeth had been at the head of the line and was already sitting on one of the farthest logs, cell phone in her free hand. Gabe had taken a seat not far from her. He was picking at his food, gazing off into the distance, lost in thought.
Walker followed Avery’s gaze and realized she wasn’t talking about either of them. She gestured to where Nora and Clay sat close together near the fire pit, their plates balanced on the wide log, Connie in Nora’s arms, Clay bent close to both of them.
Something hard and tight around his heart melted a little. He nodded, his body coming to life as he pictured Avery with his child in her arms. It had become a favorite fantasy of his. Having a baby with her would be as sweet as anything.
How far he’d come from his determination to end up alone, a witness to the apocalypse. H
e was as in love with life now as he’d once been obsessed with the idea it would all soon come to an end. He took a deep breath, hoping the future he wanted would come one step closer today. He’d already called Sue and asked her to stop by as soon as possible. After a long pause, she’d assured him she’d be here right away.
Did she think he and Elizabeth were ready to announce their engagement? If so, she was in for an unhappy surprise. He wasn’t afraid to confront her anymore, however. Now that he’d decided to tell Sue the truth, he couldn’t believe how long he’d lived with a lie. Why had he kept punting the problem into the future? Who had it been kind to? Certainly not to Netta’s memory. Netta was a proud, upright woman who’d never lied in her life.
“Sue’s coming after breakfast.” He led the way to another log no one was sitting on yet.
“You’re going to tell her?”
Walker nodded, taking a bite of the omelet Kai had served him.
“Does Elizabeth know?”
He shook his head. “I’ll tell them both at the same time. Last thing I need is Elizabeth making a fuss or taking off before we can sort things out. She was supposed to come home months ago—never thought I’d have to wait this long to deal with this.”
“Is that why you didn’t tell me before about her?”
The shame that washed over him was nowhere near as bitter as what he’d felt last night, and Walker knew he should have faced it years ago. “That’s right. Thought I could sort it out before you even knew. Meant for Elizabeth to whisk in, tell Sue she wanted no part of marrying me and take off again. Figured I’d tell you after the fact. Done deal and all that.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me at the start?”
He thought about that, not wanting to blow her off with a shallow answer. “Guess I’m used to playing it close to my vest. Don’t talk about the family secrets and all that.”
She lowered her voice. “If we’re going to be family, we can’t have secrets.”
She had him there. He knew he needed to apologize. Would probably need to do it a few more times before all was said and done. Avery was the opposite of him when it came to that. She’d answer any question. Tell you her life story if you wanted to hear it. He loved to listen to her chat about growing up, her parents, her college days with Riley, Nora and Savannah—the works. She was so different from the other women he’d known. Netta and Sue had been best friends and liked to sit on a front porch and talk things over but not in the way Avery did. They spoke in low, measured tones, chuckling sometimes over a bit of shared history, sighing over the loved ones they’d lost. Growing up, his home had always been quiet. He’d been loved, but no one in his family could be called boisterous.
“I don’t want to keep secrets from you,” he said honestly.
“We—”
“Avery? You here?”
A half-dozen heads turned when Boone called out, approaching from the parking area.
“Who’s that man with Boone?” he heard Savannah ask.
“I don’t know,” Nora said.
Avery stood up slowly and shaded her eyes against the bright morning sun.
Boone spotted her and waved. “Hey, another backup husband showed up. I don’t know where they’re all coming from! Renata—this more of your work?”
“Came here all on my own,” the man following him announced. He was tall, lanky and dark-haired in jeans and a Western-style shirt. He had a strong jaw and the kind of blue eyes people took notice of. “And I’m no backup husband, either. Avery here is my wife. Got the paperwork to prove it.”
Oh, hell no, Avery thought.
What on earth was Brody Campbell doing here? And who was that following him from the direction of the parking lot? She squinted against the sun’s glare and groaned.
Sue had arrived.
Perfect.
“What’s all this?” Sue demanded as she strode up among them, immediately commanding everyone’s attention despite her diminutive stature.
Bile rose in Avery’s throat as she took in the implication of Brody’s words.
Married?
His wife?
No. It couldn’t be. It—
“I’m Brody Campbell,” the newcomer said cheerfully, sticking out a hand that Sue ignored. “Nice to meet you.” When it was clear Sue wouldn’t shake, he tipped his hat, instead. Avery remembered that hat. Remembered how intrigued she’d been to meet a real cowboy when she was eighteen.
She bit back another groan. There were no real cowboys in Vegas. What had she been thinking? She covered her eyes, peeked out between her fingers.
He was still there.
“What do you mean you’re Avery’s husband? I’m the one who’s supposed to marry her.” Gabe pushed to the front of the crowd that had gathered. Avery wished she could crawl under a rock, but it wasn’t Gabe she was worried about. She turned her head and peeked at Walker.
And wished she hadn’t.
“Sorry, kid, I’m not into sharing.” Brody spotted her. “There’s my girl! Come on, Avery, give me a big ol’ smooch. Been missing my baby.”
Avery dropped her hands. “Ugh—I am not your baby. And we’re not married. What are you even doing here?” Renata had to be behind this. Or Fulsom. Or Montague. Someone was messing with her, because the one thing she knew, she was not married to this man.
At least, she hoped like hell she wasn’t.
“You know this guy?” Gabe asked.
“Know me? Of course she knows me. We’re husband and wife. Where’s our tiny house?” Brody made a show of looking around. “Or do you want to marry all over again, sweetheart, so you can have that big white dress you said you wanted? Not that I minded what you were wearing the first time—it was awful cute.”
Were her cheeks scarlet? They felt like they were. “We’re not married,” she said again.
They couldn’t be.
“Check it out.” He shoved the papers he was holding into Boone’s hands. “Neutral observer,” he told Avery. “He’ll tell you the truth of the matter.”
Avery held her breath while Boone looked over the pages, not daring to look Walker’s way again. Where had that paperwork come from? What was Brody playing at?
“Looks legit,” Boone said finally. “Avery, that’s your signature, isn’t it?”
She stepped forward reluctantly and took a look. “I… guess.” It sure looked like hers. Memories she’d long repressed began to bubble up in her mind. Memories she hated.
“Baby, you’d had a few on our wedding night, but you weren’t that drunk,” Brody said loudly. “You signed the paperwork fair and square, just like I did. I’m still wearing my ring. What the hell did you do with yours?”
He flashed a wedding band. Avery shut her eyes against the unwelcome reminder, and more images appeared in her mind. Meeting Brody at a country and western bar where she wasn’t carded at the door, even though she was still dressed in her prom gown. Dancing and drinking for hours. His ridiculous proposal. Her assent. The cheap rings they’d bought at the chapel where they’d pretended to be wed. She’d thrown hers away when she’d woken up in a two-star motel the next morning blocks from the strip—
Alone.
“That paperwork can’t be real,” she said loudly. She wasn’t going to take this from a jerk who’d hit on a girl far too young for him. “It was a joke. The whole thing was a joke. We were blitzed. It was a silly thing to do. That’s all.”
She didn’t know why her voice sounded so shrill. Why her friends looked so shocked. They all believed her, didn’t they?
“No joke, honey,” Brody proclaimed. “It was as real as my love for you, which means you and I can take up right where we left off.” He flashed her a smile she was sure had melted her heart the first time she’d met him. Now she felt nauseous.
“Take up where we left off—after a decade?”
“Okay, calm down, everyone,” Boone said. “Let’s go to the bunkhouse and sort this out. We’ll call Fulsom. He’ll be able to put someone o
n it and determine whether you two are actually married.”
“We’re not,” Avery said again. Why wouldn’t anyone listen to her?
Boone turned toward the bunkhouse. Brody shrugged and followed him, trailed by Gabe, who was still complaining.
All Avery could do was follow suit.
Behind her, Sue said, “Guess it’s a good thing you’re marrying Elizabeth after all.”
Avery didn’t wait to hear Walker’s answer.
“I’m not going to talk to you until you put down that ax,” Boone said several hours later.
Walker didn’t remember how he got to the wood lot, or when he’d stopped to fetch the ax and head out that way, but his shoulders and biceps ached from the activity, so he must have been here for some time.
He had no desire to hear what Boone had to say, but he knew the man too well to think that continuing to chop wood would deter him. Boone would shout his news if he had to. Walker didn’t think he could take that.
Anger, fierce and hot, still burned through his veins the same as it had the moment Brody showed up and pronounced Avery his wife. He expected a woman Avery’s age would have a past. Assumed she’d had partners. So had he.
The thought of that two-bit fake cowboy being intimate with Avery in a way he’d never gotten to made him want to bash a fist in the man’s face, though. Nothing against the guy personally. Everything against Fate for arranging things in such a thoroughly idiotic way.
How the hell had Avery ended up with him?
No. He didn’t want to know any of it. Wanted Brody gone from Base Camp. The memory of him erased from his mind.
Was this how Avery had felt when Elizabeth showed up?
The thought made him sick.
He hadn’t realized he’d lowered the ax until Boone came and took it from him. He carried it several yards away and leaned it up against a tree. Now that Walker’s strokes weren’t ringing out, the woods around them were quiet until a bird chirped timidly somewhere close by.
“They’re married,” Boone confirmed.