Heart of Texas Vol. 2 (30 page)

“I know what you mean.”

“If my dirty clothes litter the floor for a couple days, I won't have someone picking them up for me and then complaining about it.”

“That's what I'm like, too,” Wade said, “but it does get lonely every now and then.”

“Damn lonely,” Frank agreed. And nothing helped. The dinner date with Tammy Lee had been a disaster, one that wouldn't be repeated. The only woman he wanted was Dovie.

“I'm going to lose her, Wade,” he said, staring into his coffee. “She's put her house up for sale.”

“So I understand.”

“There's no solution. Either I change who I am or I let her walk out of my life.”

“And both of those prospects are making you unhappy. It's eating you up inside.”

“I might as well be drinking acid,” Frank confessed. The knot in his stomach had become permanent. Even when he went to bed at night, he couldn't make himself relax. He used to fall asleep the instant his head hit the pillow. No longer. His mind constantly churned with the two miserable alternatives—marriage or no Dovie.

“There's no solution,” he muttered again.

“I wouldn't say that,” Wade countered. “Some times people are so caught up in the problem the obvious answer escapes them.”

Frank raised his gaze to meet Wade's.

“There's a reason I came to talk to you,” Wade continued. “I've got an idea,” he said, steepling his fingers in front of him. “One that'll give you both what you're looking for.”

D
USK SETTLED COMFORTABLY
over the Yellow Rose Ranch. Caroline stood on the porch, savoring the beauty of the sunset and the peace of a Sunday evening. Within minutes the moon would rise to greet her, and a million twinkling stars would nod their welcome.

Grady joined her, standing behind her to slip his arms around her waist. In less than a week they would become husband and wife. As the wedding approached, Caroline tried not to become side tracked by the events concerning Richard. He'd robbed her and Grady of so much already. All she wanted now was to blend her life with Grady's.

“I thought I'd find you out here,” he whispered close to her ear.

She hugged his arms. “I needed a moment of solitude.”

“We both do.” Grady exhaled slowly. “So much has happened in the past few days it's hard to take it all in.”

Savannah and Laredo had moved into their new home. At the same time, Caroline and Maggie had made the transition from their rented house in the city to the ranch house with Grady. They'd spent all day hauling boxes from one place to
the other. Later in the afternoon Laredo and Savannah had driven to Austin to visit Richard and had yet to return.

“Maggie's asleep,” Grady said, nuzzling her neck.

Caroline closed her eyes, cherishing these moments alone with the man she loved. It was a rare pleasure these last hectic days before the wedding.

“I'm looking forward to just the two of us being together,” she told him. Away from the worries about Richard, the wedding, the hard work of merging one house hold with another. They'd decided to take a four-day honeymoon in Galveston, and just then, getting away seemed to Caroline like a small slice of heaven.

“You're not the only one anticipating our honeymoon!” Grady chuckled softly. “It's beginning to feel like Grand Central Station around here.”

“This time next week I'll be your wife.”

“And I'll be your husband,” Grady said, as if he still had trouble thinking of himself that way. “I swear there's something happening in Promise this year.”

“How do you mean?”

“All the weddings.” Grady sounded incredulous. “It started with Savannah and Laredo.”

“Then Ellie and Glen.”

“Now it'll be us.”

“I have a sneaking suspicion who's going to be next.” Caroline nudged Grady lightly with her elbow. “Cal and Jane.” She'd watched them the day Richard was discovered in Bitter End and recognized the signs. She suspected they were only now becoming aware of their feelings for each other. Caroline had noticed something else, too—the rough edges of Cal's personality seemed to be wearing smooth. Perhaps even more telling were the changes Caroline had noticed in Jane.
The California native had become one of them. A Texan at heart.

The last time Ellie had stopped by the post office to collect her mail, she'd mentioned that Cal was giving Jane horse back-riding lessons. Caroline would bet that the good doctor was becoming familiar with more than horses. Jane Dickinson had the look. “Yes,” she said softly. “Cal and Jane.”

“You're suggesting Cal's in love?” Grady shook his head. “No way!”

“We'll see,” Caroline said confidently. “I wouldn't be surprised if they announced their engagement before the end of the year.”

Grady responded by snickering in her ear. “Boy, are you off base with that one. Cal and I've been best friends for years. If he was thinking of getting married, don't you think he'd mention it to me?”

“Not necessarily.”

“You don't know Cal and me—we're like this.” He crossed two fingers and waved them under her nose. “Close.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So,” Grady said with conviction, “if Cal was interested in a woman, I'd be the first to know. We don't have secrets from each other.”

“Oh, really?” Caroline tried but couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

“Damn straight.”

“Then answer me this,” she said smugly. “When did you tell Cal you were in love with me?”

His silence was answer enough.

“Well, I'm waiting.” She turned to face him, hooked her arms around his neck and tilted back her head to get a good look at his face.

Grady's eyes avoided hers. “That's not a fair question.”

“Why isn't it?”

“Because…well, because it took me a long time to figure out how I felt about you and even longer to act on it. That being the case, I couldn't very well say anything to Cal.”

Caroline rolled her eyes for effect.

“Hey,” Grady argued, “the man is always the last to know.”

Her cocky grin was wasted on him. “My point exactly. Cal won't mention his feelings for Jane until he's ready to put an engagement ring on her finger. Trust me on this, Weston.”

“Is that right,” he muttered.

“That's right.”

“And how did you get so smart?”

“Practice,” she teased and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Lots and lots of practice.”

His eyes grew dark and sexy as he focused his gaze on her lips. Slowly he lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss that was open, purposeful and hungry.

The kiss was wonderful. Being right was nice—but not nearly as satisfying as two minutes in the arms of the man she loved.

 

J
ANE SAT AT HER DESK REVIEWING
her appointment schedule for the following day. She was nearly finished and eager to escape the office for her next riding lesson. In truth it was Cal she really wanted to see, not Atta Girl, fond though she was of the horse. They'd been making steady progress, and when she arrived these days, it wasn't unusual for Atta Girl to gallop to the fence to greet her.

The time Jane spent at the ranch had lengthened to include dinner on her lesson days. Since Cal wouldn't accept payment for teaching her to ride, she'd taken it upon herself to cook
his meal afterward. She experimented with traditional Texas recipes, but introduced some “California cuisine,” too.

More and more Jane found herself looking forward to being with Cal. This evening she planned to create a special meal, complete with birthday cake and candles. Cal had no way of knowing it was her birthday—but he was the person she wanted to spend it with.

“Do you need anything else?” Jenny Bender, her receptionist, asked a few minutes later.

“Not a thing, Jenny, thanks—and thanks again for the flowers.” How Jenny had learned about her birthday, Jane could only guess.

“I'll be heading out, then,” Jenny said. “The answering service is on.”

As soon as Jane was finished, she locked up the clinic and hurried to her house. The white lab coat was replaced with a freshly laundered snap shirt, and her skirt with comfortable slim-leg jeans. Cal had found an old pair of chaps and she strapped those on over the jeans, then reached for her hat and gloves. She was two minutes from walking out when she heard the doorbell.

Groaning inwardly at the delay, Jane answered the door.

“Surprise!” Her mother and father stood on the other side, their faces revealing guile less pleasure at surprising her.

“Happy birthday, darling,” her mother said.

Jane stood there, too shocked to do anything more than stare.

“My goodness,” her father said. “Look at you!”

Jane hugged her mother and kissed her father's cheek. “What do you think?” she asked and whirled around to let them have the full effect of her transformation.

“I love it!” her mother cried.

“Cowboy chic,” her father added with a grin.

Jane brought them both into the living room. “What are you doing in Texas?”

“Your father's attending a conference in Oklahoma City starting on Wednesday. We decided that since we were going to be this close, it'd only be a hop, skip and a jump to come by and surprise you for your birthday.”

Jane had to admit she was surprised, all right.

“We've come to take you to dinner,” her father said. He handed her an envelope, which she knew contained a check. “Happy birthday, honey.”

“Thanks, Dad, Mom. I can't believe you're really here!” She took a deep breath. “Where are you staying?”

“Your father found a quaint little bed-and-break fast place here in town.”

“Cal's parents own that,” Jane said excitedly.

“The same Cal you've been telling us about?” Her mother raised her eyebrows.

“One and the same. Mom, Dad, would you mind if I invited him to join us? I don't know if he can, since it's such short notice, but I do want you to meet him.”

“A cowboy?” her father asked.

“One of the best you're likely to meet,” she said. “A
real
cowboy.”

“You're not falling in love with him, are you?”

“Dad, please! I'm a big girl now and I can make my own decisions.”

“Fine, but remember you belong in California, not Texas.”

Jane's excitement dimmed as she felt the pressure building inside her. From the time she'd been accepted into medical school, everyone had assumed she'd join her uncle's practice. Everyone including Jane. She wasn't so sure anymore. Cal had said that once her commitment to the government was satisfied,
he knew she'd return to California. She'd neither con firmed nor denied it. She couldn't because she didn't know herself. She knew what was expected of her, but her heart had begun to tell her something different. She loved her work at the clinic. It had taken time and effort to become part of this community, and now that she'd established friend ships, she didn't want to leave. Nothing needed to be decided right now, she realized that. But the reminder was one she'd rather ignore, especially since she'd never mentioned her uncle Ken to Cal.

“Is this what you've been wearing for your riding lessons?” Her mother wanted to know.

She nodded, proud of her accomplishments.

“Don't get too acclimatized,” her father said in a heavy-handed attempt at humor that did nothing to disguise his message.

“Dad, would you stop? I'll be back in just a minute,” she said. The phone in the kitchen offered some privacy. She punched out Cal's number and waited through four long rings before he answered.

“You're coming, aren't you?” he asked immediately.

“I can't.”

“Why not?”

It thrilled her to hear how disappointed he sounded. “My parents arrived unexpectedly to take me to dinner. They'd like to meet you,” she said, stretching the truth, but only a little. “Can you drive into town and join us at the Chili Pepper?”

He hesitated, then said, “I'll need an hour before I can get there.”

“We'll wait,” she promised, eager for her family to meet the man who'd come to mean so much to her.

When she hung up, Jane discovered that her mother had entered the kitchen. Impulsively Jane hugged her.
“You're happy, aren't you?” Stephanie Dickinson observed.

Jane knew that her parents had worried about her move to Texas, especially in the beginning before she'd made friends. It was the first time she'd lived more than an hour from her family home, the first time she'd been so completely on her own.

“I'm anxious for you to meet Cal,” she said, clasping both her mother's hands. She wanted this meeting to go well on both sides, although she wasn't ready to share her feelings for Cal with anyone yet, not even her mother.

“Didn't you say his parents are the owners of the bed-and-break fast? They certainly seem like nice people. They're packing for a cruise, and apparently they leave in the morning.”

“They're wonderful.” So was Cal, but she didn't mention that. Jane had met Mary and Phil the night she'd first played bingo and had seen them a number of times since. They were warm gracious folk whose personalities were perfectly suited to operating a bed-and-break fast.

“You're not really serious about this cowpoke, are you?” her father asked, entering the kitchen.

“Daddy!”

“Don't go losing your heart to a cowboy,” her father teased, kissing her soundly on both cheeks. “I can't get over the sight of you in all this cowboy gear. I don't know if I'd have recognized you.”

Smiling, Jane went along with his silliness, realizing suddenly how much she missed her parents. She knew her dad could be a little too obvious in his remarks; she also knew he loved her and cared about her welfare.

After changing out of the riding clothes and into a skirt and sweater, she brewed a pot of coffee. The three of them sat in the living room visiting while they waited for Cal. Jane
showed them her photographs of Bitter End, and they enjoyed a vigorous discussion of theories about its abandonment.

The instant the doorbell chimed Jane was on her feet. She was un account ably nervous about Cal's meeting her parents.

“Hi,” he said in his soft Texas drawl.

“Hi,” Jane returned and held open the screen door for him. Cal looked in credibly attractive, in jeans, polished boots, a white Western shirt and tweed jacket; she'd hardly ever seen him so formally dressed. Since their trip to Bitter End, her feelings for him had solidified. He'd been supportive and helpful, and later, after Richard Weston was air lifted to the hospital in Austin, he'd sat and talked with her. Among other things, he'd told her about Richard Weston's family history. His willingness to do this, to share a part of himself and his community, revealed that he'd come to trust her. It meant more to her than fifty riding lessons and a hundred bingo wins.

“Mom, Dad,” she said, taking Cal by the hand and leading him into the room. “This is Cal Patterson.”

Her father stood and the two of them exchanged hearty hand shakes. Cal held a bouquet of flowers in his left hand, which he gave to her mother.

“You mean to say those aren't for me?” Jane teased, setting her hands on her hips in mock outrage.