A Rainbow in Paradise (3 page)

"I..." Logan looked as uneasy as she felt. He
swallowed, attempted a reassuring smile, then sighed. "I don't know
how to say this," he said, looking away.

Eden's heart fell.
Is he going to tell me
to get lost? That hardly seems likely. We barely know each
other.
Unable to think of words to cover their awkward silence,
she simply waited.

"I'd like to see you again," Logan said
simply, quickly, almost as if he had to blurt it out in order to
get the courage to say it at all. "I don't know what it is I feel
when I'm near you, but..." He stopped there, and then said, "Tell
me you feel it, too, Eden." His voice was very warm and
hopeful.

"I do," Eden said, vaguely aware of the
morning's vows echoing in the air around them. "Oh yeah. I
definitely feel it, too."

He nodded, smiling contentedly. "I'm glad."
He paused for a moment, and then he said, "Listen, Eden. I have
appointments this evening, things I need to do. I'm not going to be
able to stay for the fireworks."

Disappointment knifed through her. "I'm sorry
to hear that."

He nodded. "So am I. When do you think you'll
be coming back this way?"

"I'm not sure," she said, looking away. "I
have a business in Phoenix..."

"The Old Woman's Shoe," Logan supplied
helpfully. "I know. I asked Chris about it."

She felt her face warming. He had asked about
her! "It's hard to get away very often."

"I understand," he said. "Eden, will you call
me when you're coming back to town? Or at least tell Chris and
Sarah to call me?"

She nodded. "Okay, and if you should get to
Phoenix..."

"That doesn't happen often, but if it
should..."

"Here," she said, giving him her business
card.

"Thanks." He put it in his shirt pocket.
"Well, let me walk you back to the others."

Again he led the way as they walked silently
through the park.

"It's been a pleasure meeting you," Eden said
when they had reached the picnic area. She felt the inadequacy of
the words.

Logan grinned. It was that heart-stopping
smile she had first seen on the porch this morning, the one that
had given her such a sense of rightness. "The pleasure has been all
mine," he said, then in a gesture Eden had only seen in movies, he
stood, lifted both her hands to his lips, and tenderly kissed them.
“I hope to see you again soon, Eden Grant," he said, and then
turned and strode away, leaving Eden to gaze after him with an
audible sigh.

Whatever had happened between them today, she
could only hope it would happen again—the sooner, the better.

Chapter Two

Eden pulled up behind the
yellow school bus, waiting while it disgorged a half-dozen
bedraggled teens in blue jeans, T-shirts, and plaid flannel. When
it moved on, she passed ,and then turned on the gravel driveway
that led to Rainbow Rock Farms.
I'd forgotten how early school
starts around here
, she thought,
or how hot the weather
still is the first week or two
.

In the few weeks since her last visit, the
daily high temperatures had dropped by only a few degrees, but a
shift in the direction of the afternoon breeze hinted at a turn in
the weather. Within another month, they'd likely have their first
snowfall.

The coming change of the seasons matched the
inexplicable mood that had settled over Eden since her best
friend's wedding. Perhaps it was the direction her life had taken
lately that was causing her to feel so somber and wistful. She
shook her head. More likely it was the directions everyone else's
lives were taking around her while her own remained static,
unchanged.

Even her father was moving forward. After
eleven years of widowhood, he had finally remarried last winter. It
was his decision to relocate to California with his new wife that
had brought Eden home.

She pulled into the dooryard of the
McAllister farm, and then walked up the steps. Even the porch had
changed since the wedding. Someone, probably Sarah, had hung
swinging planters filled with bright red geraniums. Eden raised her
hand to knock.

"So knock already!" Sarah threw open the
door,and then threw both arms around her. "Come on in. Oh, Eden,
it's great to see you! Did you have a good trip?"

"Yes, great." She let her gaze roam over the
changes in the place. "You've really been busy here, haven't
you?"

"Some. Here, let me show you around."

For a time, the two visited while Sarah
showed Eden through the old family farmhouse, emphasizing changes
Chris had made since the home had become his own. Eden admired the
way he had opened the parlor into the front room and dining area,
and how he had remodeled the "mud porch'' in the back to create a
larger, more inviting extension off the kitchen. Sarah next showed
her the expanded upstairs bath, and then led her back downstairs to
the master bedroom. "He finished this deck just before the
wedding," Sarah said, showing off the bedroom's new addition. "He
wanted to create a special place just for us."

Eden looked around at the comfortable,
inviting room with its four-poster king bed and love seat. The
intimate surroundings reminded her that she was an intruder here.
"Look," she said, flashing a glance at her watch, "I know Chris
will be coming in for dinner before long, so I think I'll just be
going n—"

"Don't be silly," Sarah cut her off. "I told
Chris you were coming and he's looking forward to seeing you. In
fact, we're both counting on having you stay for dinner."

Eden felt her face warm with embarrassment.
"I guess..." she began again. "It's just..."

"I know. You don't have to say anything.
You're remembering how it was with Jake."

An image flashed through Eden's mind—charming
rodeo rider Jake McGill with his arm draped around Sarah's
shoulders. If he hadn't gotten himself killed... Eden cut off the
thought. “He was awfully possessive of your time," she answered
lamely.

"Whenever he bothered to hang around," Sarah
finished for her, but her tone changed as she said, "It isn't like
that this time, Eden. Chris is wonderful. I never knew being
married could be so great!"

"You're really happy then?" Eden pressed,
needing to hear for herself what she hoped Sarah could tell her.
She was one of the few who had seen past the facade of Sarah's
first marriage to the somber reality beneath. What she saw there
was part of what had kept her single these past ten years.

"I've never been happier," Sarah answered
easily, and Eden could see that she meant it. "He's so good to me,
Eden. It's not that he babies me. In fact, he pushes me to give my
best to whatever I do, and he always wants the best for me. Then he
does all kinds of little things to make me happy."

"Like what?" Eden ventured, and then she
blushed as she looked at their surroundings. "Or should I ask?"

"Like the wildflowers on the dining table,"
Sarah answered, leading her friend in that direction. "He picked
those out near the hayfields this morning and brought them in at
lunchtime. Or the wood. It won't be warm enough for a fire for some
time yet, but he already has the wood box filled with stove-length
pieces and the secondary box with split kindling. And there's more
wood stacked outside, ready to go for the winter. He runs the
vacuum for me—says it's a man's job—and almost always helps clean
up after supper, and—"

Eden interrupted. "I get the feeling he likes
being married."

Sarah nodded. "Oh, so do I. Here, let's get
some lemonade, and then you can tell me more about what brings you
to town."

They sat at the dining table, sipping from
frosty glasses while Eden explained the years that had led up to
the last few weeks. "I didn't know it," she said after a time, "but
Mom's parents had put money down on the house we lived in and she
made the monthly mortgage payments out of her paycheck. I guess she
always resented that. Anyway, the house was in her name alone and
when she died, she left it to Robbie and me, on the condition that
Dad could live in it until he had us both raised. When Robbie
turned eighteen last spring and graduated from high school, Dad
realized he needed to make other plans. He'd just married Leona and
she had relatives in southern California who wanted her to go to
work for them. As a medical lab tech, Dad can work anywhere, so
they picked up and moved to Anaheim, in Orange County."

"Are things working out for them there?"
Sarah asked.

"As far as I know," Eden answered, her tone
lighter than her mood. "And now I'm left with the job of cleaning
out the old place, selling or storing or throwing away all the old
keepsakes and junk nobody wanted to get rid of before, and putting
the house on the market."

Sarah's eyes lit up. "You plan to stay
awhile, then?"

"I initially planned to stay a week. You
know, just clean the place up, get it listed, then skip back to
Phoenix and let some real estate agent do the work of showing it
and getting the papers signed."

"But now?" Sarah prompted.

Eden sighed. "Having seen the place, I
realize it's going to take at least two to three weeks to have it
in decent shape. That's even if I hire out some of the work. I've
got a full-size Dumpster coming tomorrow and I expect I'll fill
that in no time, but after that there'll be painting and repairing
some tile in the hall bathroom and I don't know what all. Dad
really let the place go these last few years."

Sarah nodded. "I'd noticed some of the
changes. But can you get away from work that long?"

"Realistically, I can get away for as long as
I want. I've got good staff at the preschool and I've cross-trained
everybody. We recently hired another teacher, expecting to increase
our enrollment, but since we don't have the extra kids yet, we
actually have more staff than we need. I just hate to be away very
long. It's like with any business, in that there are some decisions
only the owner should make. Besides..." She shrugged. "I like to
think I'm indispensable."

"Hmm. Don't we all. So how long do you think
you'll be around?"

"Probably close to a month. Maybe more." Eden
sipped her drink. "Why? You have something in mind?"

“I just thought you might like some
entertainment while you're in town. Maybe someone tall, dark, and
native—"

"Oh, no you don't!" Eden had forearmed
herself against a hard sell. She had promised herself to stay cool
and collected, to meet with Logan—assuming he still wanted to see
her—and see what would happen, not anticipating anything beyond the
moment. "I know how you newlyweds can be. You're like fanatics.
Having finally seen the light, you want to push everybody else to
do the same."

Sarah grinned. "Can't blame me for trying.
Besides, it's working for other friends of ours. We have another
wedding coming up in a couple of weeks."

"Oh yes? Whose?"

"Chris's sister-in-law has a brother named
Max who came for a visit this summer and started dating someone
local. They just announced their plans to marry on the Labor Day
weekend. So you see, weddings are going on around here, and you
could be next. If you find someone like I did—"

Eden laughed. "Someone like
you
did?
How many McAllisters are there, anyway? And aren't they all married
now?"

Sarah nodded. "You're right, of course. I got
the last of the McAllister men, and in my personal opinion, I got
the best of the lot. But that doesn't mean all the good men are
gone. I kind of thought maybe you and Logan—"

"Stop right there." Many nights over the past
two months, Eden's sleep had been haunted by Chris's attractive
best man. She smiled, letting a glimmer of anticipation show
through. "So, did you call him?"

"Of course I did! I saw the way you two were
looking at each other at the wedding. Anyone who didn't know better
might have thought
you
were the bride and groom."

"Really." Eden laced the comment with
friendly sarcasm. "I'm surprised you noticed anything but your own
groom. You seemed pretty far gone to me."

Sarah conceded, "You're right. I was pretty
far gone. But that doesn't mean I couldn't see what was happening
right before my face. There was enough electricity flying between
you two to light up all of Rainbow Rock—and most of the Four
Corners! And I'm not the only one who noticed, either, so don't
even bother with denials."

Eden remembered the jolting power of the
attraction. Even now it was almost enough to take her breath away.
"Okay, I'm not denying it, but I'm not sure about pursuing it,
either. There is Logan's notorious attitude toward
belagaana
, especially women."

"Didn't he dance with you at the
reception?"

"It was a courtesy," Eden answered. "Basic
wedding etiquette. The best man is supposed to dance with the maid
of honor."

"Over and over again?"

Eden shrugged. "I don't think either of us
knew anyone else."

"And what about the picnic? Meg and Alexa
said you two went into Holbrook together to the Fourth of July
picnic."

"With a group, Sarah. It wasn't like we were
on a date or anything. There were other people there."

"You mean other couples," a deep voice
intruded. The women looked up as Chris entered through the back
porch, pausing to wipe his feet. "Hi, Eden," he added as he walked
into the dining room. He came around the table to give her a quick
hug, and then paused at Sarah's chair, standing behind her for a
moment, rubbing her shoulders, dropping a kiss on her hair. Then
grabbing a glass, he poured himself a lemonade and straddled a
chair, plunking down beside them. "I heard about the picnic, too,"
he added needlessly, "and the way you two walked off together."

Eden, already embarrassed to know Chris had
heard her comment, tempered her tone. "I was explaining to Sarah
that there's no point in trying to set me up with Lo—"