Meeting Her Match (6 page)

“You came!” Esther Mae exclaimed the moment Sheri reached the grass lawn.

“I said I would. Besides, really, how could I miss a solo by you?” She smiled. It was hard not to with Esther Mae wearing her grape-laden straw hat. Sheri was actually glad she came when she saw the way Esther Mae was beaming back at her.

“You've met Pace, haven't you?” Esther asked. Not wasting any time to get things started, she swung her head toward Pace causing her hat to slide forward.

Sheri had to remind herself where she was as she forced herself to shoot Pace a smile. “Yes, I've met
him,” she managed, suddenly blindsided by the memory of being caught in his arms the day before.

“Well, we've known Pace since he was a ten-year-old buckaroo,” Norma Sue said, slapping him soundly on the back.

Sheri coughed, covering a chuckle. “I see,” she said, biting the inside of her lip. “Has he always been so talkative?”
Or so rude?

“Always,” Adela said, patting his arm affectionately.

“I have to go. The piano is calling my name right now, but, Pace, I'm going to be listening for your beautiful tenor voice! So sing out.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he said quietly.

Sheri blinked in surprise as his tanned neck deepened to a charming rose color around the top of his collar.

The man was blushing. Who'd a thunk it? This just got better and better. Sheri wrapped a finger around a stray wisp of hair and watched him with complete, unabashed interest. Almost as if he realized what she was seeing, his gaze met hers, then slid quickly back to Adela. The older woman patted his arm once more, then walked toward the church. Pace followed Adela with his gaze. Sheri knew he was choosing to ignore her. There was just something about making a man squirm that was fun, especially since he was such a grouch.

“Hey, Sheri,” Norma Sue said, yanking on the waist-line of her horizontally striped dress, making the lines slope to one side. “I was just inviting Pace out to the house for the Bible study and homemade ice cream tomorrow evening. You're still planning on coming out, aren't you?”

Sheri started to remind Norma Sue that she'd only agreed to think about going to the Bible study, but Norma Sue kept right on talking.

“I invited Simon, too,” she finished, smiling smugly.

“Norma,” Esther Mae gasped. “Why'd you do that? Did you tell Putts you were inviting Sheri? If that poor man knows she's coming, he'll probably stay home out of sheer terror. If you don't believe it, then watch him this morning. He'll sit clean across the sanctuary from Sheri. And
still
turn white if she glances his way.”

Here we go again!
Sheri thought in horror. She couldn't help catching the twitch at the corner of Pace's lips.

“Norrrma!”
she hissed. “I told you to leave me and Simon Putts alone.” She hoped no one passing by could hear this conversation. The last thing she wanted was for rumors to get started about her and Simon. She wasn't happy about the whole situation. The poor man had the personality of a doorstop, and there was no sense in letting any of the other cowboys in on this pathetic matchmaking idea. They'd kid him to death if they knew what the posse was up to. Obviously, Norma Sue and Esther Mae couldn't see that Sheri and Simon were about as compatible as milk and vinegar.

“Y'all don't have a conniption,” Norma Sue said. “The man is not a baby. But, Sheri, the poor milquetoast needs a strong woman such as yourself to give him some kick.”

She'd like to kick something! Instead she slammed her mouth shut, sucking air through her nose so she wouldn't hyperventilate.

“No,” she managed. “I have plans already tomorrow evening.”

“What plans?” Norma Sue asked.

Sheri was not fooled. Norma Sue was completely aware of what she was doing. If they only knew what kind of plans she had. Plans that were obviously never going to see the light of day at the rate she was going. Talk about being a wimp—the chant “wimpy, wimpy, wimpy” was ricocheting inside her head. “I'm defrosting my freezer, if you must know.”

Oh, that was a good one. Wimp.

Humiliated, Sheri spun and marched away. She caught the glint in Pace's eyes as she turned, adding to her embarrassment. Why, the man was practically hysterical, he was laughing at her so hard.
Ohhhh!
Of all the ridiculous things to have happen this morning. This was not what she'd expected.

Church was filled to the brim as she bumped her way down the aisle. She waved vaguely to friends Lilly and Cort Wells who were sitting in the back with their baby, Joshua, ready for escape if Joshua got rowdy. She made it halfway down the aisle, then decided to go back and sit beside Lilly. That is, until she turned and saw that Pace had slipped into their pew, blocking her way. She'd have to either scoot past him or go around to Lilly's end of the pew, and with the way she was fuming she didn't think sitting anywhere near him was a good idea. She turned away and ran smack into the one-and-only Simon Putts.

So much for the Lord doing her any favors for having come to church. Not that she'd expected Him to do her any favors. His ignoring her was about par for the course, she thought angrily as she looked into the alarmed eyes of Simon Putts.

Of all people—the nervous cowboy almost shriveled up and died right there in the center of the church sanctuary. Sheri was relieved that Adela started playing the piano, signaling that it was time to take a seat. Simon was trembling like a leaf and just stood there blinking at her. He was positively terrified of her. What in the world had Norma Sue and Esther Mae said to this man?

“Simon, relax,” she urged. How could they think she was a match for this dude? He was like gelatin. Wiggly gelatin.

“Relax?” he hissed, leaning toward her. “Look, Sheri Marsh, I know there is no way in this world that you and me would ever be a couple. I tried and tried to tell Esther Mae and Norma Sue that very thing. But they won't listen! Said I just needed to give it a chance. Do you know what the fellas will do if they get a whiff of this? I'm the one they'll be laughing at, so don't tell me to relax.”

Sheri wondered if he realized that all the hissing he was doing in her ear was drawing everyone's attention. She placed her hand on his arm to calm him, almost choking on the heavy aftershave radiating from him.

“Simon, you don't have to try and date me just because Esther Mae and Norma Sue said you should. Really. Stand down, cowboy.”

Determination cemented her decision, and she zeroed in on Pace. There was no time like the present to get things rolling after all. Milquetoast or Neanderthal? She'd take Neanderthal any ole day.

At least she wouldn't be bored.

T
he first thing Sheri noticed as she slunk into the pew beside Pace, bumping into him in her haste, was that he was not a gelatin man. No way, shape, or lack of form.

“I decided it wouldn't be right for me to let you sit all alone on your first visit to our church.” She caught Lilly's smile from the end of the pew and lifted her hand in greeting.

“Well isn't that neighborly of you?” he drawled, drawing her attention to his impassive expression. “What did you do to that poor cowboy?”

The choir leader asked them to stand and sing. Sheri looked at Pace as they stood up and she raised an eyebrow. “I set him free, if you must know. Now I'm looking for my next victim. Are you up for it, cowboy?”

“Hardly. Too much drama surrounds you,” he drawled, then locked his gaze on the front of the church.

That was it. All he said. After that, the man com
pletely ignored her again. To Sheri's dismay the preacher certainly didn't.

Halfway through the service, Sheri felt that Pastor Allen had been reading her mind before he started the sermon. He chose to preach on attitudes. Bad attitudes. As if she needed to hear a sermon on the subject. Due to the fact that her attitude of late had been solely proportionate to what was being doled out to her, she'd have to conclude that she was maintaining a pretty decent one.

Especially now. Evidently, she had inadvertently taken Applegate Thornton's seat. Not that the pew seats were labeled or anything, but everyone knew that the first spot on the last pew of the left side of the church was Applegate's spot. It was where he parked himself immediately after handing out the bulletins. And did he care that she'd taken his seat?

You betcha. Did he sit somewhere else? No way! Instead, she now found herself sandwiched between Pace and Applegate, with Applegate's shoulder and elbow digging into her arm on one side and the feel of Pace's powerful arm muscles on the other. It was downright distracting, but clearly not to Pace. He acted as if she wasn't even there through the entire service.

Why, as far as she could tell by her covert glances, the man never took his eyes off the pastor. There was a moment when she wanted to pinch him just to see if maybe he'd gone to sleep with his eyes open.

But she didn't. She just sat quietly ensconced between Pace's bicep and Applegate's chicken wing and took everything Pastor Allen threw at her. By the time she stood up, the Lord had hammered her toes to the
ground. Forget stepping on them—oh no, He'd shown no mercy. That was her relationship with Him in a nutshell. Sheri couldn't get out of the church fast enough. Since she had felt as if God had been ignoring her for so long, suddenly feeling that she'd been scolded didn't sit well at all. She didn't need this.

It wouldn't hurt so much if the Lord got more involved in her everyday situation. She'd accepted for some time that God didn't seem to speak to her on the same level as He did others. Lacy, for instance. After the thing with J.P., well, it hurt that He didn't seem to care at all. It just seemed that if God loved her as He said he did then he'd have been there for her at some point.

But He hadn't been. He hadn't made any effort that she could see. So why should she?

She wasn't thinking about Pace or the posse by the time the pastor closed in prayer. All she could think about was how cold her heart felt. She wanted out. She wouldn't beg anyone for attention…and that included God.

 

Pace pulled into the driveway of Sheri's house feeling like a royal jerk. From the moment he'd first met his neighbor he'd been nothing but ill-tempered.

He didn't have to agree with what she did, how she lived or the odd ideas she seemed to have. But he did have to stop judging her, and he needed to get his attitude under control. He'd come to Mule Hollow reaching for a new life. He was striving to stretch beyond his limitations to find God's purpose for his life but he felt he was failing miserably.

The pastor had preached on attitude. Pace felt as if the Lord was standing over him during the service tapping him on the shoulder saying, “Listen up, son.”

Pace had, despite the distraction he'd felt every time Sheri's arm brushed against his. The woman got under his skin as no one ever had. The fact that she was beautiful and funny, in a snappy sort of way, was beside the point. She was not the kind of woman he wanted to be attracted to anymore. But was that her fault? No.

He needed to get past this issue and behave like a Christian man. That meant asking her to forgive his bad behavior, something he wasn't certain he'd ever get accustomed to doing because of his pride. His pride was going to be his downfall if he didn't watch himself. Thankfully, God had patience and infinite grace.

Pace focused his thoughts on Sheri. He couldn't ignore the fact that something had been wrong with her. Something other than the fact that she was mad at him. There was no mistaking that she'd been white-knuckling the pew in front of them during the last prayer. He'd noticed that she stiffened during the service. When they'd stood and bowed their heads he noticed her hands. She was hanging on to that pew as though it were a life raft, and she was being torn from it by a raging torrent. When the prayer ended she'd almost knocked Applegate over getting out of the church.

No. Pace might not understand her; he might not agree with her lifestyle; but he couldn't in good conscience ignore the fact that he'd noticed something was wrong. His faith demanded that he search her out and make an effort to reach out to her. That is, if he even had any cred
ibility left with her since his behavior had been so reprehensible.

By the time he'd made his getaway from the posse at church who wanted to introduce him to all the single ladies, almost half an hour had passed.

Now, as he parked his truck, Sheri came out of the house. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw him getting out of his truck. She bristled instantly. She'd changed into a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a T-shirt that accentuated her slenderness. The look she leveled on him said in no uncertain terms that she was not happy to find him in her yard.

He couldn't blame her.

“What are you doing here?”

Yup, she wasn't happy to see him. “Look, I know we've gotten off on the wrong foot—”

“That's putting it mildly, cowboy.”

He didn't say anything for a minute, trying to gauge the best way to go about this. After all, he wasn't known for his tact. He was distracted when a slight breeze ruffled her hair, blowing a strand loose from where she had it tucked behind her ear. He watched as it landed across her lips, and she reached up and drew it away. Sheri Marsh had a beautifully shaped mouth. Wide and expressive, the edges tilting up so that she appeared always on the verge of a smile. Of course he knew she wasn't because all it took was his gaze lifting to her frosty eyes to know she was not happy. He shifted his weight from one boot to the other, feeling as if he were at a standoff with a stubborn mare.

Impatient, she brushed past him on her way to the table beneath a huge oak tree. It had flower beds all
around it, and she'd decorated the thing with dangling do-dads that twisted and sparkled in sunlight. She even had chandelier crystals hanging up there. They looked like diamond earrings, reflecting the sunlight. He had to wonder what would possess a woman to decorate a tree like this, but he had to admit they looked sort of pretty.

Still ignoring him, Sheri picked up a small canvas bag from the table and shot him a disdainful glance. “You can leave now. I'm not in the mood for a fight.”

“Look, I came to see if you're okay. You seemed upset when you left church.” Light from the crystals danced across her skin. Pink and blue prisms spotted her skin and the ground around her feet.

She pinned him with a glare that might easily have started a grass fire. “Why exactly would my state of mind bother you?” she snapped, placing the strap of the canvas bag around her neck and shoulder. Eyes glittering in challenge she walked over and laid her hand on a rung of the ladder that was leaning against the back side of the tree.

“Well, I—” he started, unable to take his eyes off her. What was she doing?

“Look, I admit I butted my nose in where it didn't belong that first day, and I trespassed on your property yesterday. I got you tossed off your horse like a bean bag. As far as I'm concerned, the only person I'd discuss my state of mind with would be a friend. And I'd hardly say that the conversations we've had so far would lead us to say we're friends. So leave.”

Pace deserved that. He knew it, so he took it, though he didn't like it. “Look—”

“No, you look,” she said vehemently. “So far, my day,
my week, my summer has pretty much bombed. Big-time. Get it? So, we're done. I need to be alone.”

The angry declaration startled him so much that he was dazed for a moment. One minute she was on the ground and the next she'd scrambled up the ladder. When she reached the top, she paused for a moment then grasped a limb for stability and stepped carefully out onto the branch above him.

“What are you doing?” He automatically held his arms out to catch her if she slipped.

She ignored him, reached into the bag hanging at her hip and pulled out a crystal. As he watched, she looped her arm more securely around a tree limb then tied the string to the limb and let the crystal dangle down among the branches. Pace kept his mouth shut, afraid to disturb her for fear she might get angrier, lose her balance and fall.

“Look,” he said finally. “We don't get along. That's obvious. But I had to come by and apologize for my bad behavior.”

She didn't say anything, but at least she'd let him speak his peace. He forced himself to go on, praying she didn't fall as she stepped farther out on the limb. He didn't know why he was so nervous. From the look of the sparkling things dangling from the tree this wasn't her first time up there.

“Look. Is it too much to ask to start over?”

She grew still for a moment, her gaze darting to him then away. She surprised him when she changed directions and clambered back to the ladder. He was relieved when she climbed down to solid ground.

They were standing so close as she moved toward
him that he could smell the scent of apples in her hair. Her eyes were golden, like clear amber as she lifted her chin and met his gaze. “We can start over only if you'll be my boyfriend.”

“What is it with you trying to force me to be your boyfriend? We—” he started, then stopped. He almost said they don't know each other. “I don't get it. You don't know me.”

“I need someone who's not looking to get married, yet I need someone the posse will believe I might want to marry.”

“Do what? The posse?” Pace stared at her blankly. Maybe she fell out of the tree before. Maybe that was what all of this was about. She climbed up there, fell out, hit her head and was now in serious need of a doctor. “You feelin' all right?”

He wasn't. The woman did things to his pulse rate standing this close. He took a step back, needing the space to clear his head. He came here for a reason and things had not gone the way he saw them going.

She stomped to the flower bed and stared down at the painted rabbit lounging in the flowers. It was holding a sign that said Relax and Smell the Flowers! From the set of her shoulders Pace figured that wasn't happening anytime soon. He kept his mouth shut, waiting to see what she said next.

“Look,” she said at last. “The last thing I want is them fixing me up with anyone. That's what they're trying to do. That guy, the one you saw me talking to at church, that's their pick. You heard them talking about me. Stop laughing. This is not funny.”

Pace couldn't help it. He'd started chuckling. “I thought they were joking.”

“Nooo. They are serious, and that's why I need your help. I took one look at you and knew you'd be a man who would understand wanting people to leave you alone.”

She had him on that one, despite the fact that he was trying to change that. He did hate people interfering with his personal life.

“Look, I get where you're coming from, but I can't do it.”

She studied him, her eyes unblinking. “Just two dates. That's all I need. Believe me, the rest can be left to their own outrageous imaginations. Seriously. Lunch or dinner at the diner and maybe the rodeo on Labor Day.”

“Is lying that easy for you?” Pace asked.

“No. It's not like that. Why is it that they can work their hardest to trick a couple of people into falling in love, but if I want to thwart their efforts it's deception? You just don't understand.”

“Sheri, I can't speak for them. I can only speak for myself. Do they actually lie in this matchmaking that they do?”

Her brows knit in concentration. “Well, no,” she said at last.

“What you're proposing is me pretending to be your boyfriend. That'd be an outright lie on my part.”

“So you won't do it?”

Pace felt sorry for her and disappointed and irritated at the same time. He could only shake his head.

“They're going to come after you, too. I'm just trying to get it across to them that not all single people want to get married. They should respect that.”

“If someone doesn't want to get married, then they don't get married. It's simple.”

“You are sooo naive.”

“But honest. Sheri, a person has to have values.”

Her amber eyes darkened. “Well, I guess now you know the worst thing about me.” She spun and started back up the ladder. Pace watched her and wished there was something more he could say, but he wasn't good with words.

Especially around Sheri. He kept his mouth shut and left her to hang around up in her tree, praying that the Lord would watch out for her.

 

Monday afternoon the sun was baking everything, including Pace and the mustang he was working. Lifting his arm he swiped the sweat off his brow with the sleeve of his shirt and continued to work the horse.