Marry Me for Real, Cowboy - Valerie Comer Page 0,24
that solidified it. Lots of reasons could apply.”
“What happened to discussing things like mature adults?”
“Some things can’t be talked out.”
Curiouser and curiouser. “Been there, huh?”
Something flickered across her face as she turned to look out the truck window. “Wow, I didn’t realize Jewel Lake was this big.”
They’d just rounded the final curve and descended past the town’s welcome sign. From this vantage point, intersecting streets formed a grid that ended at the beach along the lake, which gleamed in the late October sunshine.
“The lake or the town?”
“Either. What’s the population?”
“You’re changing the subject.” Adam pressed the brake as the traffic light in front of him turned yellow.
“What part of town is your church?”
Yeah. She definitely didn’t want to talk about ghosted relationships. Interesting.
Riley could appreciate gentlemanly gestures even if they were all for show. Adam opened the truck door and caught her as she slid out of the cab. His hands lingered on her waist as he brushed her lips with his own. “Ready?”
Ready for the next act in their drama. She nodded and smiled up at him as he laced their fingers together then turned to face the building across the parking lot. “It’s big.”
“Creekside Fellowship hosts a private Christian school. Creekside Academy is in the two-story wing.”
“Crazy that Jewel Lake is big enough to support a private school.”
Adam shrugged. “Some Missoula families drive their kids out here, too. It’s only twenty minutes on the interstate.”
Trees towered behind the edifice and framed a parklike area to the left. It must be lush and green in summer with its large grassy area, ponds, and hedges.
She’d be long gone by then, but Jewel Lake might not be a bad place to settle after she and Adam split up. Close enough to see her sister, but far enough away that she wouldn’t be in the way of Jodie and Mick’s ill-fated relationship.
Riley needed to take advantage of cell phone coverage to get in touch with her parents. She hadn’t said much in the quick email she’d sent a few days ago beyond the stereotypical, ‘I’m fine, but don’t try to find me.’
She hadn’t sent Raul any messages at all. He didn’t deserve one. If that made her as evil as Nathaniel’s girlfriend, so be it. Raul was an opportunistic jerk. Quite possibly worse.
“Good morning, Mrs. McDiarmid. I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Riley Dunning.”
Riley yanked her attention to the middle-aged woman shaking Adam’s hand.
“Why, hello, honey. I’m the church secretary here at Creekside, and I’m so pleased to meet you.” Mrs. McDiarmid reached for Riley’s hand. “Sneaky Adam kept you all to himself, did he? Word’s out now! When’s the big day?”
“We haven’t confirmed a date.” Adam touched the small of Riley’s back. “Sometime in June, maybe.”
“Oh, it needs to before mid-month. We’re booked every Saturday from mid-June until the end of July for the outreach, so you can’t pick then. Come by the office and I’ll help you choose something earlier.”
“We’ll be sure to check in with you before we set a firm date.” Adam nudged Riley ahead of him.
“Wow,” she whispered. “Is she for real?”
“We can stall her until January. Don’t worry.”
There were going to be a lot of disappointed people when she and Adam broke up. One of them might be Riley Dunning.
Adam escorted her into a row near the front. Too late, Riley realized that put her next to Kathryn, with the twins just beyond. Nathaniel and another man sat at the far end of the row, with Blake, Ryder, Travis, and Toby in front of them.
Seriously? Families still sat together in church like this even when all the kids were adults? She and Jodie had rebelled by the time they were Alexia and Emma’s age, sitting with their giggling friends in the balcony overlooking the main sanctuary. Pastor Thompson had aimed more than one barbed sermon at the youth.
“Noah!” Adam stage-whispered down the row. “Good to see you!”
The guy at the end must be Nathaniel’s twin, the only brother Riley had yet to meet. Noah grinned and saluted before Kathryn sent a pointed look to each of her sons.
Riley pulled back a smile. She could just envision Kathryn marshaling six boys by herself and doing a great job of it, even with the addition of infant twin daughters. Something had happened to snuff out her confidence and verve.
According to Adam, his stepfather had happened, like the pounding of the surf eventually eroded rocks along the seacoast. But there had to be more.
A band took the platform,