“It’s in the past. Don’t worry about it.” He swung her out, twirled her, and brought her back to his chest. “We still dance pretty damn well together, don’t we?”
“Honey, we never had a problem in that area or in bed. I just didn’t like playing second fiddle to a bunch of damn cows,” she said.
At the end of every song Greg looked out over the crowd to see if Emily was coming toward him. It wasn’t until the sixth song that she said something to Clarice and started across the dance floor. He smiled at her and she winked, but when she reached his side, she brushed her fingertips against his and kept walking. He turned his head and saw her hold up a ticket to dance with Mason Harper.
Mason flashed a brilliant smile and held open his arms. It looked like Greg might really have to marry Emily so that neither of them would be on the auction block next year.
“What did I do wrong?” he mumbled.
“Not a thing wrong in my eyes.” His next dance partner looped her arms around his neck. “I like a good slow dance. It lets us get up close and personal. And I love this speed dance dating idea, honey. Now tell me what we’re going to do if I buy you and we go on a date.”
“You get to plan it. I just pay for it,” he said.
“That’s right. Shall we go fishing or quail hunting? I like either one, and afterward we can go up to that hunting cabin y’all got and cook whatever we catch or kill.”
“And?” he asked.
“And lock the doors and play all kinds of games,” she whispered seductively.
“How did you know about the cabin?” Greg asked.
“Been up there with Louis a few times. I’m going to bid on him tonight if I don’t get you. He’s really the one I’m after, if you want to know the truth. Had my eye on him for over a year, but he’s a hard one to catch, but I figure if he thinks you and I are at the cabin then he’ll get jealous enough to ask me the big question,” she said.
“But…” Greg stammered.
“A woman’s got to do what a woman’s got to do.” She laughed.
Greg wondered if that’s why Emily was dancing with Mason Harper. No, not his Emily. She was as forthright and honest as sunshine. She was not manipulative, or was she?
The song ended and Emily disappeared completely as another woman took her turn with Greg. After an hour, the band leader announced that there were only five more dances left and then the auction would begin.
No one came forward to claim Greg, so he returned to his chair, sat down on the glitter sign before he realized what he was doing, and hopped up—but it was too late. His whole butt was covered with sparkles. Would that make him worth more at the auction? Three songs later, the singer announced that there were only two more songs and he looked up to see if anyone was coming his way. Emily was nowhere to be seen.
Every other chair was empty and he had to admit, he felt lonely, sitting there all alone. The other cowboys waved and winked. The ladies smiled at him, but Emily was gone completely.
“Last song, ladies,” the singer said. “We’re closing out the evening with a song by Josh Turner.”
Greg sighed and then someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind and a ticket appeared in front of his eyes. He tipped his head back and looked up into Emily’s dancing blue eyes.
“I had to pay Rose a helluva lot for this ticket, so you owe me this dance, cowboy,” she said.
He was on his feet in seconds. “Rose?”
Emily grabbed his hand and led him out onto the dance floor. “She says she owes it to you for being such a good domino partner. She bought the last five so you could have a rest before the auction, but she’d only sell me the one for the last dance and she threatened to sell off the other four to the cyber-women if I didn’t pay what she wanted.”
He wrapped her up in his arms and whispered softly, “Thank you for saving the day with those women. If Louis did this I’m going to fire his sorry ass tomorrow morning.”
“It wasn’t Louis, and you are welcome.”
“What would I do without you to save me? And who is it if it’s not Louis?”
“Let’s just enjoy the dance, darlin’. We’ll discuss this later, and remember, I love you,” she said.
The lyrics to the song said that he was her soul mate and he’d love her until the end of time. Emily listened to him sing with the singer and tears filled her eyes.
“We really are soul mates.” He brushed a sweet kiss across her lips. “Please tell me you aren’t going to let someone else buy me at this auction. I can’t go out with another woman feeling the way I do about you.”
She looked up at him and he brushed the tears from her cheeks.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m scared, Greg. I love you, but where can this go?”
He kissed her eyelids. “Like you said before, we’ll cross that path when we get to it. I never thought I’d say this, but Nana is right. She and Marvin had that time with the letters so that you and I would get together. It’s crazy but true. I thought I was a solid businessman, but I swear I’m getting a romantic streak like Nana.”
“And now,” the singer said into the microphone when the last drumroll ended the dance. “The time has come. Max is going to auction off the cowboys, so ladies, y’all get your fans out of your hip pockets and turn the numbers around so he can see them. Miz Clarice says that the cowboys are to pick up their signs and bring them up here to the stage. That way everyone will know exactly which cowboy they are bidding on.”
“Time to get on with it. Are you bidding on me or throwing me out to the bobcats?” Greg said.
“Soul mates don’t need to ask questions like that.” She rolled up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. “Now go get that sign that I worked so hard on. I wouldn’t want to bid on the wrong cowboy.”
Max picked up the microphone and said, “Ladies, take a long look at these old hardworking cowboys. Your money is going for a good cause and these guys will be yours for a whole evening come next Friday night. There’s an even dozen of them, and I’m not letting a single one walk out of here for less than fifty bucks. So that’s the starting point for Greg Adams. Now somebody give me fifty… do I hear fifty… come on now, ladies, fifty…”
He talked fast and furious and nodded when a fan at the back of the room went up. “Now sixty… do I hear sixty… I’ve got fifty… somebody… I see sixty, let’s go for seventy.”
“Five hundred dollars!” The red-haired lady who’d kissed him raised her fan. “He’s mine, ladies, so why mess around with chump change.”
Max wiped his brow with an oversized red bandanna he pulled from his hip pocket. “Now that’s a serious bid, ladies. I’ve got five hundred… do I hear six hundred… six hundred, anyone… going, going…”
“One thousand dollars,” another woman said. “Sorry, darlin’, but I bet my daddy’s got more money than your daddy.”
Max wiped his brow again, making a dramatic show of it. “Okay, now we’re getting real serious. I’ve got a thousand dollars. Does the little lady who jacked up the bids to five hundred have anything to say about that?”
Max went on. “I’ve got a thousand dollars. Do I hear eleven hundred? Come on, ladies, this is prime cowboy. Someone give me eleven hundred. Going… going…” He had the hammer raised to hit the podium.
“Two thousand dollars,” Emily said.
“Two thousand one hundred,” the short cyber-blonde yelled.
“Two thousand two hundred,” the redhead shouted.
“Two thousand five hundred,” Tonya yelled above the noise.
“He’s mine. Three thousand dollars,” the redhead said.
“Five thousand,” Emily raised her voice. “And, darlin’, my daddy didn’t put a cap on what I can spend, so if y’all want to stay in the game, then you’d best get out your checkbooks and prepare to write a lot of zeroes.”
***
She hadn’t planned on spending one cent over a thousand dollars, but by damn, that hussy was not going to spend a single minute with Greg. Besides, Emily rationalized, it was tax deductible, for a damn good cause, and she hadn’t spent a single dime of her money on a vacation.
“Well, Miz Emily, with the number thirteen on her fan, has given me a five-thousand-dollar bid. Anyone out there going to top that?” Max asked. No one said a word or even fluttered their fan. “Then Greg Adams goes to Emily Cooper. You can make out your check to the Ladies’ Auxiliary Fund and give it to Dotty, or I understand that she does take cash. Go on and get off the stage, Greg. Now we’ve got Mason Harper up for bids, and I’m starting at fifty dollars.”
“Five hundred dollars,” the blonde said.
The crowd parted for Greg to get to Emily. He picked her up and swung her around several times before he set her back down.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I hope so, because I’ve got a helluva date planned for Friday night.” She laughed.
“Want to tell me where and what so I can be prepared?”
“Oh, no! It’s a big surprise, darlin’.”
He slung an arm around her shoulder and was walking toward the door when Nancy stopped them.
“Girl, I was so mad at you for not dancing with my son until the last song that I could’ve wrung your neck,” she said.
Emily smiled sweetly. “A cowgirl always goes home with the cowboy that she dances the last song with, even if it costs her the next year’s calf crop. And I knew what I was doing. If they all danced with him, then they’d bid high, and this is for a good cause.”
Nancy hugged her. “Well, next time you could let me in on your plans so I won’t waste energy being mad at you. And what was that deal with all those women in front of him one minute and arguing over who got to dance with him?”
“A bunch of dating site women who thought he invited them to the party,” Emily said.
Nancy looked up at her son. “Are you on a dating site?”
“Hell, no! Someone played a big joke on me,” he said.
Nancy glanced at Dotty and Clarice, who were whispering behind their hands and then back at Emily, who slid one eye shut in a sly wink.
“I see,” she said.
Dotty and Clarice plowed through the crowd and had a group hug with Greg and Emily. Clarice whispered in her ear, “Darlin’, I’ve already paid the five thousand to the fund. I’ll declare it as a charitable donation on the ranch taxes.”
“But…” Emily started.
“It was worth it, believe me,” Clarice said. “And if you ever tell a soul that I paid for it, I’ll take a pecan switch to you.”
“Yes, ma’am, and thank you. Can I take him away from here now that I own him?” she asked.
“I expect you are both old enough to go to the house without a chaperone,” Nancy said.
Greg hugged his mother. “Well, I don’t know about that, Mama. You think you’d better go with us?”
“Oh, I think Emily can protect you.” Nancy laughed.
“Sold for two thousand dollars to Fiona. Mason Harper, you are now owned by Fiona next Friday night,” Max said.
Mason reached over and took the microphone from Max. “Thank you, Fiona, for buying me and not letting me stand up here like a worthless old bull. I’ll look forward to Friday night. You mind if I bring the girls with us?”
Dotty laughed so hard that she had to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “I’d give another two thousand dollars to get to go with them if he does.”
Clarice hooked an arm in Nancy’s. “I’m telling you, Emily did good when she came up with the auction idea. We’re going to be able to help more than one girl through her first year of school.”
Greg grabbed Emily’s hand and led her out of the barn. When they were both inside the cab of the truck, he cupped her face in his big hands and kissed her with so much sweet passion that she felt like a boiling pot of pepper jelly.
“I love, love, love you.”
“Maybe you’d best save that until you hear what next Friday is going to cost you,” she said.
“Darlin’, I will not complain one bit.”
***
It was midnight before the rest of the family left the barn and went to the house. Clarice couldn’t remember the last time she was so tired or so exhilarated. They’d raised over fifteen thousand dollars that night, more than they’d made in the last ten years all put together. Next year would be even better because the word would get out about what fun everyone had had. And they had sold out every single homemade item on the tables, even the leftovers from the years before.
The lights were still on in the kitchen and the smell of coffee met them at the back door. A chocolate cake waited on the table and mugs were set out on the bar.
“Emily! Bless her heart,” Dotty said. “That cake is still warm.”
Bart threw an arm around his mother’s shoulders. “It’s one of those like you used to make when you didn’t have much time, Mama. Remember when I’d come home from school with half a dozen friends and you’d throw one of those together? We’d eat it hot right out of the oven and put away a couple of gallons of milk.”
“I remember.” Clarice smiled.
“Where are those lovebirds?” Jeremiah asked. “I hardly had time to talk to either of them this evening. It’s not fair that they get private time and me and Stacy don’t.”
Dotty poked her head around the kitchen door and motioned. “Shhh. Be quiet or you’ll wake them.”
Six adults tiptoed through the dining room, across the foyer, and into the den. One lamp burned at the end of the sofa where Greg was stretched out with Emily wrapped up in his arms, her back to his chest. A gray cat and a yellow one were both curled up at their feet.
“She’s good for him, Bart,” Clarice said.
“I can see that,” he whispered.
“Ain’t they cute?” Stacy sighed.
Jeremiah drew Stacy close to his side and whispered, “I believe those two are soul mates.”
“Soul mates with half the state of Texas separating them here in a week. Someone needs to tell them that they need to be together forever,” Dotty asked.
“They’ll figure it out on their own,” Nancy said. “Now let’s go eat chocolate cake. I might like her after all if that cake is as good as Mama Clarice’s.”
There was no room to wiggle in the church pew, so Emily had to sit still, but every single nerve in her body tingled. Greg’s right arm was thrown around her shoulders and his thumb made slow circles on her upper arm. Even through the sleeve of her sweater, his touch was pure fire. His left arm stretched across his lap and held her hand: bare skin on bare skin, which was even hotter than her arm.
The song director told them to open their hymnals, and Greg’s hands left her body, but their hands touched as they shared the book. Words came out of her mouth, but the picture in her head had nothing to do with praising God for all his wonderful works.
The preacher took his place behind the podium and started his sermon. She looked right at him but didn’t see his pretty red tie or his gray hair. The movie in her head played on and she and Greg were the only two stars in a little attic room with a twin bed in the center. Any minute a sharp crack of lightning could zip down through the beams, crossing the ceiling and frying her right on the spot for her thoughts, but she couldn’t stop them any more than she could stop breathing.
Greg leaned to his right just slightly and whispered, “Have I told you that you are gorgeous this morning?”
“Shhh.” If she looked at him, he’d be able to see what she was thinking.
He squeezed her hand and brushed a kiss across her cheek. “You are, and don’t shush me. Are you thinking about the attic?” Greg whispered.
His warm breath created ripples of goose bumps from her neck to her toes.
“Are you?” She pulled her hand free of his and laid it on his thigh right above his knee. The quiver in his leg said that her touch did the same thing for him that his did for her.
“You aren’t playing fair,” he whispered.
The temptation was great, and she could not fight it. If she was going to see the trees, she had to get out of the forest. She’d learned to love the forest and she didn’t want to leave, but she had no choice. Her head needed to be clear as a bell when she made the decision lying heavy on her heart.
Technically, she had five more days, a date with Greg on Friday night, and then before midnight on Saturday she had to be back at Shine Canyon. That was the plan she’d agreed to on her grandfather’s last day on this earth.
“We’ll ask Bart Adams to give the benediction this morning. It’s always good to see him back in Ravenna for a visit. But first, I’ve got to mention that last night’s bazaar was a big record breaker. The ladies are pleased to announce that they’ll be offering scholarships to more than one area girl this year. Now Bart, if you will, please,” the preacher said.
***
Jeremiah hugged everyone including Emily. “After that dinner Mama made, I should take a nap before I leave.”
“It’s only an hour and a half home and I can drive if you want to sleep,” Stacy said.
“You could be eating like this all the time,” Dotty said. “And you’d look a hell of a lot better. I swear to God, you’ve lost weight.”
Jeremiah left Stacy with Emily and hugged Dotty one more time. “Mama, you aren’t supposed to swear on Sunday or tell lies either. I’ve gained five more pounds since Stacy has been cookin’ for me.”
“I’m the mother. God don’t tell me when or where I can cuss, so you can’t either,” Dotty said.
Nancy and Bart pulled their suitcases out onto the front porch. Clarice followed right behind them, fussing the whole way, “I hate it when everyone leaves at the same time. I hate good-byes, and I wish you’d come more often.”
“But that would just make more good-byes.” Bart chuckled.
“Maybe I wouldn’t hate them so bad if I knew you were coming back in a week,” Clarice said.
Nancy hugged her. “We’ll do better. I promise.”
“I’m holding you to that promise,” Clarice whispered. “But you don’t fool me. If you do come more often it will be because you’ve finally given up on Greg coming back to Houston.”
Bart picked up both suitcases and carried them to Greg’s truck. “Come on, son. There’s not a bit of need in dragging this good-bye stuff out. Drive us out to the plane and we’ll get on our way.”
“You hate good-byes just as much as the rest of us,” Greg told him. He grabbed Emily’s hand. “Come with us, darlin’. We’ll take a ride after we get these old folks on their plane.”
“Hey, who are you calling old?” Clarice fussed.
“Not you, Nana. You’ll never be old, but Momma and Daddy might be getting too old to fly. They might need to build a house up here and stay a few weeks at a time when they come around,” he said.
“I’ll get with a contractor next week,” Clarice teased.
Bart waved over his shoulder. “Better wait until I retire, Mama. And then I wouldn’t live here all the time. If I had to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city I’d die.”
A few minutes later, Emily leaned against the truck fender and watched the small plane as it soared into the white clouds and got smaller and smaller until there was nothing but a small dot.
“I hate good-byes too,” she said.
Greg slipped his arm around her waist and drew her close to his side. “We all do. There’s always the possibility that it will be the last time we see someone and that’s scary. You are shivering. Let’s drive to the cabin and make a fire.”
There was no place on the ranch, other than the attic, that she’d rather spend her last day there, so she nodded. How would she ever drive away from Lightning Ridge? Just thinking about it created a lump the size of a basketball in her throat. How could she ever tell Clarice, Dotty, and most of all, Greg, good-bye?
She was quiet all the way to the cabin and curled up on the old sofa when they were inside. Greg tucked a quilt around her and set about building a fire. If he would have joined her on the sofa, the sparks doing backflips off the walls would have warmed the whole place up, but the second he left her side she was cold. He wasted no movements or matches. When the blaze was going, he made a pot of coffee and hung it on the andiron to boil.
She lifted the edge of the quilt and he snuggled down inside with her, his hands slipping under her shirt to warm on her bare skin.
“My folks liked you a lot,” he said.
“Did they say that?”
He shook his head and then buried his face in the crook of her neck. “Not in words but in actions. And you?”
“Loved them all, especially Stacy. She’ll be good for Jeremiah.”
“Nana says that Rose charged you fifty bucks for that ticket?” He laughed.
“Hey, anything worth having costs something, whether it’s money or something else,” she said.
Time was even more valuable than money, and she’d be giving up several days to go back to Shine Canyon, but it had to be done. She had to be absolutely sure about the ranch and about Greg.
“Kiss me,” she said.
“Gladly.” He tipped up her chin and kissed her ever so sweetly, then deepened it into something hotter and more passionate.
They were used to the cramped space of the twin-sized bed in the attic, so it wasn’t hard to adjust from sitting to lying on the sofa. He removed his boots and hers and then his lips found hers again. His hands moved over her body as if they were finding brand-new territory for the first time. He loved that Emily was a new experience every time they made wild passionate love or even sweet quickie love. Nothing was familiar; everything was exciting and fresh, from her kisses to the way her body felt beneath his hands.
“I love the way your body feels next to mine,” he said.
“You make me hotter’n blue blazes just by touching my hand in church. When I’m snuggled up to you, I’m just a big pot of boiling desire.”
With one swift motion she unsnapped his shirt and teased his nipples to aching nubs on her way down to his belt buckle. Passionate kisses got deeper and deeper as she deftly undid his belt and zipper. Her hand was like silk when it circled his erection, and his groan sounded hoarse even in his own ears. He’d never given up complete control of his body to another woman, but Emily was special. He was in love with her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her beside him.
She arched against him and he thought that he would explode before they even got naked, but she moved her hand upward to rest on his chest.
“Darlin’, I think we’d best come out of the rest of these clothes,” he whispered.
She jumped up and her clothes were blurs as they flew through the air to land behind the sofa. “It’s still cold, so you’d better hurry,” she said as she dove back under the quilt.
His jeans and shirt joined her things and he lay on top of her, his erection hard against her belly. He made love to her lips, tongue, and mouth in scorching kisses that left her panting.
“I’m so, so ready,” she whispered.
“Are you sure?”
“Oh, yes,” she gasped as she wrapped her legs around his middle.
He started a rhythm and she rocked with him. Nothing had ever felt so right in his whole life. Emily was his soul mate and he fully well intended to write her a long letter that evening and tell her so.
His mouth covered hers in a string of kisses and she arched her back against him, giving herself to the red-hot fire and forgetting about saying good-bye the next morning. As always, her toes curled when she heard him say that he loved her, and she found a sweet release seconds before he did. In a few swift shuffling moves, they were wrapped in each other’s arms on the narrow sofa. Her head rested on his chest and she bit back the tears. She could never tell him good-bye… not ever.
He kissed her good night at the top of the stairs that Sunday night. One last wonderful sweet kiss that she’d take with her. Both Bocephus and Simba were curled up in the recliner on their fluffy blue blanket when she got out the stationery and ink pen and started to write Clarice a note first. She told her that she needed to go back to Shine Canyon to settle both business and her heart. The next note was to Dotty, and she begged her to take care of the kittens while she was away.
The third was the hardest.
My
dearest
Greg
, she started and then ripped the page into shreds. Writing good-bye was just as difficult as saying it out loud.
She heard his movement on the landing, and an envelope slid into her room from beneath the door. She picked it up and held it against her chest, much like Clarice had done with that sixty-year-old letter the first day Emily had come to Lightning Ridge. She couldn’t read it, not before she’d written her letter.
She tucked the letter inside her purse and picked up another piece of stationery. The words flowed from her mind to the paper, along with several tears that turned some of the words blotchy. She could only hope as she sealed the letter and kissed the back that he would understand the desperate need she had to go back and settle the past before she could go forward into the future.
She kissed the kittens at a little after four. It took two trips to take her suitcases down the steps. Before she carried them out to the truck she went to the kitchen and plastered the top of the refrigerator with sticky notes that all said, “I love Greg Adams!” and had little hearts drawn in all four corners.
When the sun came up in her rearview mirror she was already a hundred miles away from Ravenna on her way back to Happy, Texas. On the west side of Wichita Falls, she pulled over at a rest stop, used the bathroom, and got a free cup of coffee. She reached in her purse for Greg’s letter from the night before and pulled out her grandfather’s funeral memorial for the second time.
“Okay, Gramps, tell me what you’ve got on your mind,” she said.
She waited, but nothing came to her mind.
“Are you telling me to turn around and go back?” she asked.
Her phone rang and her soul came close to leaving her body.
“Hello?” she said cautiously without checking the caller ID.
“Mama said that you left the ranch. What in the hell is going on, Emily? I thought you and Greg were solid as concrete.” Jeremiah said.
“I left a letter to each of them explaining what I was doing. I’ve got to settle the past before I can face the future. I love Greg, but I’ve got to get rid of the baggage. It’s not fair to him to take on my problems. I’m trying to take care of it.”
“You sure?” Jeremiah asked.
“Both of us need a few days to be sure that this isn’t all just something of the moment. He might not realize it, but he needs it as much as I do.”
“Lust instead of love?” Jeremiah’s voice softened.
“Yes, sir.”
“What do you want me to tell Greg?”
“I wrote him a long letter. He knows what I need and he’ll do it. And I left sticky notes on the refrigerator.”
“Then I’ll just listen to him whine like a little girl. And I heard about the sticky notes already.” Jeremiah finally laughed.
“Greg might be lonely just like me, but he won’t whine,” Emily said.
“Hurry up and figure it out. Mama and Clarice miss you as much as he does and it’s only been a few hours.”
“I will. I promise.”
“Besides, you’ve got a date on Friday night, remember? And Clarice paid a hell of a bill for you to go on that date.”
“How’d you know that?” Emily asked.
“I’m an investigator, remember. Get home by Friday, Emily.”
“Home?”
“It’s not to me, but it is to you. Call me when you arrive to Shine Canyon and I’ll let Mama know. She worries about the people that she loves.” Jeremiah didn’t say good-bye; the line just went dead.
Emily looked down at the memorial folder in her hand. “Guess you answered that question loud and clear, didn’t you, Gramps?”