The grocery clerk slid Nell’s purchases over the scanner, coming up with the total. She paid in cash, then glanced around. “Jeremy!” she called. “Emma.” She reached for the plastic bags, giving a good-natured shrug. “I warned those two not to wander off. I know exactly where to find them, too—the book section. They’re both crazy about books, especially The Baby-sitters Club books and that new series of kids’ Westerns by T. R. Grant. I can’t buy them fast enough.”
Caroline recognized both series. T. R. Grant was the current rage; even Maggie had wanted Caroline to read her his books. Maggie was still a bit young for them, but it wouldn’t be long before she devoured Grant’s books and The Baby-sitters Club by herself.
“Have you got a moment?” Caroline asked, opening her purse to pay for her own groceries.
“Sure.” Nell waited while Caroline finished her transaction. “What can I do for you?”
As they walked toward the book display at the far end of the Winn-Dixie, Caroline mulled over the best way to approach the subject of Nell and Grady. She wasn’t sure why she’d allowed Richard to upset her, especially when she believed it’d all been a lie. Not that she’d blame Grady for being attracted to Nell. In fact, at one time she’d believed they might eventually marry. They seemed right together somehow; both were ranchers and both had struggled against what seemed impossible odds.
In the back of her mind Caroline had always suspected that when the time was right, they’d discover each other. Grady and Jake had been good friends, and Grady had been a pallbearer at Jake’s funeral. Grady and Nell were close in age and would make a handsome couple. Grady was an inch or two over six feet, with a broad muscular physique not unlike Jake’s. There weren’t many men who’d suit Nell physically, since she was nearly six feet herself.
“I hope you don’t think I’m being nosy, but I heard a rumor…” Caroline blurted before she lost her nerve. This was even more embarrassing than she’d feared.
“About what?” Nell frowned.
Caroline drew a breath and held it until her lungs ached. “About you and Grady Weston.”
Nell frowned again. “Me and Grady?”
Caroline nodded.
“Grady’s a friend,” Nell said. “I’ve always liked him and if I were ever to consider re marrying, I’d certainly think about Grady.”
Caroline broke eye contact. This wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear.
“He’s a good man and he’d make an excellent husband and father,” Nell continued, then asked a probing question of her own. “Is there any reason you’re asking?”
“Not really.”
“He asked me to the dance last month,” Nell added, as if she’d suddenly remembered.
So it was true. Caroline’s spirits sank.
“In fact, I received two invitations to the dance within a few hours.” This was said with a note of amusement.
“Two? Grady and who else?”
Nell’s mouth widened in a smile. “You aren’t going to believe this, but both Grady Weston and Glen Patterson asked me to the dance.”
“Glen?” That was a kicker, considering he was now engaged to Ellie Frasier. Those two were so deeply in love it was difficult to imagine that little more than a month ago Glen had invited Nell and not Ellie to the biggest dance of the year. In the end he’d gone by himself and then he’d practically come to blows with Richard over Ellie. Richard—always the spoiler.
“I don’t know what was in the air that day,” Nell murmured. “Grady and Glen calling me up like that.”
“Did you go to the dance?”
“Briefly,” Nell said, “but Emma had an upset stomach that day. I made an appearance, said hello to some friends I don’t see often and left shortly after the music started.”
“Grady was there,” Caroline said, fondly re calling their one dance. Ladies’ choice, and she’d been the one to approach him. Those few short minutes in Grady’s arms had been wonderful. Afterward she’d hoped he’d ask her to dance himself, but he’d wandered back to where he’d been sitting with Cal Patterson and hadn’t spoken to her again. Caroline had felt bitterly disappointed.
“…any reason?” Nell asked.
Caroline caught only the last part of the question. “Reason?” she repeated.
“That you’re asking about me and Grady?”
“Not really,” she said, then figured she owed her friend the truth. “He asked me to lunch the other day.”
“And you went?”
Caroline nodded.
“And you had a good time?”
“A great time,” Caroline admitted.
Nell shifted the weight of the groceries in her hands. “Listen, Caroline, if you’re worried about there being any thing romantic between me and Grady, don’t give it another thought. Grady’s one of the most honorable men I know, but—” her voice dipped with emotion “—I’m still in love with Jake.”
“Oh, Nell.” Caroline hugged her friend.
“Oh, damn it all,” Nell said, blinking furiously. “I’ve got to scoot. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Sure.” It would be good to sit down and talk with her friend. Both their lives were so busy it was difficult to find the time.
“Jeremy. Emma.” Nell called her children again, and the two came running.
Caroline waved them off and headed toward the parking lot, deep in thought. So, what Richard had told her was true. This was what made him dangerous. He tossed in a truth now and then just to keep everyone guessing. But for once, she wished he’d been lying.
GRADY HAD BEEN PENSIVE ever since the night Caroline stayed for dinner, Savannah observed. He sat at the kitchen table, supposedly writing out an order for Richard to pick up at the feed store later that afternoon. But for the past five minutes, all he’d done was stare blankly into space.
Savannah had to bite her tongue. Laredo had repeatedly warned her against any further match making efforts between her brother and Caroline, but he might as well have asked her to stop breathing. Grady was miserable and Caroline hadn’t been any happier. If it was within her power to bring them together—these two people who were so obviously meant for each other—what possible harm could it do?
Considering that thought, Savannah poured her brother a fresh cup of coffee.
Grady glanced up and thanked her with an off-center smile.
“Something on your mind?” she asked. If he voluntarily brought up the subject, all the better.
“Nothing important,” he murmured and reached for the steaming mug. He raised it tentatively to his lips, then glanced at her as if tempted to seek her advice.
Savannah held her breath, hoping Grady would ask her about Caroline. He didn’t.
“The church dinner’s this weekend,” she said, speaking quickly.
Grady responded with what sounded like a grunt, the translation of which she already knew. He wasn’t interested.
Savannah glared at him. If she wrung his neck, she wondered, would he have any idea why? “Caroline’s bringing her apple sauce cake,” she added casually. “Her mother’s recipe.”
At the mention of her friend’s name, Grady raised his head. “Caroline’s going to the church dinner?”
“Of course.” At last, a reaction. Her brother might be one of the most intelligent men she knew, but when it came to women he was the class dunce. “I’m bringing my chicken teriyaki salad,” she added, as if this was significant.
“Is Laredo going?”
“Yes, and Ellie and Glen and just about everyone else in town.”
“Oh.”
Savannah figured she was due a large heavenly reward for her patience. Oh. Was that all he could say? Poor Caroline.
“It isn’t a date thing, is it?”
Savannah didn’t know how to answer. If she let him assume everyone was bringing a date, it might scare him off. On the other hand, if she said nothing, someone else might ask Caroline.
“This shouldn’t be such a difficult question,” Grady sai
d, glaring at her.
“Yes and no. Some people will come with dates and some won’t.”
He mulled that over. “Does Caroline have a date?”
Savannah had to restrain herself from hugging Grady’s neck and crying out for joy. He wasn’t as dense as she’d thought. “Not that I know of.” This, too, was said casually, as though she hadn’t the least bit of interest in Caroline’s social life.
“Oh.”
Grady was back to testing her patience again. She waited an entire minute before she ventured another question.
“Are you thinking of inviting her and Maggie?”
“Me?” Grady’s eyes widened as if this were a new thought.
“Yes, you,” she returned pointedly.
“I’m…thinking about it,” he finally said.
Her face broke out in a smile and she clapped her hands. “That’s wonderful.”
“What’s wonderful?” Richard asked, wandering into the kitchen. He reached for a banana, peeled it and leaned expectantly against the kitchen counter.
Grady and Savannah exchanged looks. “The church dinner,” she answered for them both.
“Yeah, I heard about that,” he said with his mouth full. “Either of you going?”
“I think so.” Again Savannah took the initiative.
“Then I’ll give some thought to attending, too.”
Both Grady and Savannah remained silent.
“I should probably have a date, though, don’t you think?” He pondered his own question. “Caroline. I’ll ask Caroline,” he said triumphantly. “She’ll jump at the chance to go with me.”
CHAPTER 3
“YOU’RE A DAMN FOOL, that’s what you are,” Grady muttered as he barreled down the highway toward Promise, driving twenty miles over the speed limit.
The reason for this hasty trip had to do with Caroline Daniels. By dinnertime he’d recognized that either he made his move now and invited her to the church dinner or let Richard beat him to the punch. Of course, he could have just phoned and been done with it, but that didn’t seem right, not when anyone on the ranch could pick up a telephone receiver and listen in on the conversation. By anyone, he meant Richard. Besides, Grady preferred to talk to Caroline in person; it seemed more…meaningful.
He’d never been good at this court ship thing, but damn it all, he wasn’t going to let his brother cheat him out of taking Caroline and Maggie to that church dinner. Richard wasn’t interested in Caroline—Grady was sure of it—any more than he’d fallen head over heels in love with Ellie Frasier. His brother was far more concerned with cheating him out of the pleasure of Caroline’s company. Except that he had no intention of standing idly by and letting it happen.
Once he’d made his decision, Grady knew he should act on it. Naturally there was always the risk that he’d arrive at Caroline’s with his heart dangling from his sleeve only to learn that Richard had already asked her out for Saturday night.
Even knowing he might be too late didn’t stop him. He wanted to attend the dinner with Caroline and Maggie more than he’d wanted anything in a long while. It surprised him how much.
The drive into town, during which he thought about the approach he’d take with Caroline, seemed to take no time at all. His goal was to ask her to be his date before Richard did, and at the same time keep his pride intact if she refused. No small task, considering past experience.
He parked in front of Caroline’s small house and leaped out of the truck cab. Eager to get this settled, he took the steps up to her front door two at a time and leaned on the buzzer.
Caroline opened the door, her face registering surprise.
“Grady, hello.” She recovered quickly and held the screen door wide.
“Would you like to sit outside for a spell?” he asked, instead gesturing toward the porch swing. Since he was nervous about this entire thing, staying outside in the semidarkness felt more inviting than her well-lit living room.
“Sure.”
She glanced over her shoulder, and Grady noticed Maggie playing by herself in the back ground. She had her dolls sitting around a small table and was chatting amicably as she stood in front of her play kitchen cooking up a storm. He grinned at the sight.
Caroline sat down, but Grady found it impossible to keep still.
“Did Savannah phone?” he asked. It would be just like his sister to give Caroline a heads-up. He hadn’t announced where he was going when he left the ranch, but Savannah knew. After all, she was the one who’d steered him in this direction in that less-than-subtle way of hers. Grady tolerated Savannah’s matchmaking only because he wasn’t opposed to her efforts to promote a romance between him and Caroline. Frankly he could use the help. He wasn’t keen, however, on letting her know that.
“Savannah phone me?” Caroline repeated. “No, she hasn’t.”
Grady released a sigh, and some of the tension eased from between his shoulder blades. “What about Richard?”
“What about him?”
“Have you spoken to him recently—say, in the last four or five hours?”
“No,” she answered curtly. “Is there a reason for all these questions?”
Grady could see that Caroline was growing impatient but he needed the answers to both questions before he could proceed. “Of course there’s a reason,” he snapped, annoyed with his lack of finesse when it came to romance. “I don’t want to end up looking ridiculous, thanks to Richard.”
“What’s Richard got to do with anything?” Caroline demanded.
“If he’s been here first, just say so and I’ll be on my way.” The thought of Richard and Caroline together did funny things to his stomach. He’d never been a jealous man; it was an un familiar—and un pleas ant—sensation. But he wasn’t about to let Richard walk all over him.
“It seems to me, Grady, that you don’t need Richard in order to look ridiculous. You do a damn good job all by yourself!”
Her words took him by surprise. He exhaled, counting to ten, in an effort to calm his racing heart, then leaned against the porch railing and faced her. “All I want to know is if Richard already asked you to the church dinner.”
Her eyes briefly widened when she understood the reason for his unexpected visit. Caroline smiled slowly and sweetly. It was a smile he’d seen all too rarely from her. He found it difficult to look away.
“Why do you want to know?” she asked.
“I told you,” he blurted out. “If Richard’s already asked you, then I’ll save my breath.”
“What if I said he hasn’t asked me? Does that mean you will?”
His pride was a fierce thing and had gotten him into trouble with her in the past. He tucked his hands in his back pockets, shrugging as if it was of little concern. “I might.”
Caroline set the swing in motion and relaxed enough to cross her legs. She was wearing shorts, and the movement granted him the opportunity to admire those legs.
“Let me put it like this,” Caroline said after a moment. “If Richard had asked me, and I’m not saying he has, I’d turn him down.”
“You would?” This gave Grady second thoughts. If she’d turn down his brother, there was nothing to say she wouldn’t do the same with him. “What about me?” he asked before considering the question.
“But you haven’t asked me,” she reminded him.
If she was leading him on a merry chase, he swore he’d never forgive her. “Will you…would you and Maggie be my date for the church dinner Saturday night?”
The joy that lit her eyes was all the answer Grady needed. His heart felt as if it might fly straight out of his chest.
“We’d love to go with you,” Caroline answered without hesitation.
“That’d be great. Great!” He started to leave, but caught the toe of his boot on a toy Maggie had left on the porch and damn near fell on his face. Not that it would have mattered. He was too happy to let a minor humiliation detract from his pleasure.
He was halfway to his truck whe
n Caroline stopped him. “Do you want me to meet you at the church?” she called out.
“No.” What kind of date did she think this was, anyway? “I’ll pick you both up.” Just so there was no room for misunderstanding, he added, “This is a date, Caroline.”
“Any particular time?”
Details. Leave it to a woman to be concerned about something like that. “When do you want me?”
“Six-forty-five sounds about right.”
“Then that’s when I’ll be here.”
She walked to the porch steps and wrapped her arm around the white column. “I’ll look forward to seeing you Saturday.”
It would have been the most natural thing in the world to jump up and shout, he was that happy. Happy enough to feel almost drunk with it. Damn it all, he hadn’t even kissed Caroline yet. If he got giddy from a little thing like this, he could only begin to imagine what it would be like the first time they made love.
REVEREND WADE MCMILLEN liked nothing better than social gatherings at the church, and this one was special, celebrating the one hundred and twentieth anniversary of the date Promise Christian Church had been established. He’d been ministering to this small but growing flock for five years now. It was his first assignment, and friends in the ministry had told him there was something special about a minister’s first church. This had certainly proved to be the case with Wade. The parishioners who crowded the church hall were as much his family as the people he’d left behind.
Raised in Houston, Wade had been around cattle ranchers and oil men from the time he was old enough to pull on a pair of cowboy boots. No one was more surprised when he was called to the ministry than Wade himself. His experience in Promise had shown him that he loved his work more than any other occupation he might have chosen.
Long tables at the far end of the hall were heaped with a variety of some of the best home cooking in Texas. Main courses, salads, desserts. Once the food had been readied, Wade led the assembled families in grace, then stayed out of the way while the women’s group got the buffet lines going. His role in all this was to make sure dinner went smoothly and everyone had what he or she needed.