The Rancher and the Event Planner - By Cheryl Gorman Page 0,52
the hot dogs are great.”
Barnacles! All she had was the fireworks, and the food. She would find a way to make this work. She found a bull horn since the power supply was off and shouted for the hardware store owner to meet her outside the arena.
A half hour later, he delivered a supply of flashlights to the fairgrounds. Each of the performers was given one and in a while the show started up again. Despite the delay, everyone seemed to have a good time. Later when everyone was filing out getting ready to go home, she spotted Rafe with Molly.
Molly ran to her side and grabbed her in a hug around her legs. “Hi, JC.” She looked up at JC and curled her finger in a back and forth motion. JC leaned down and Molly gave her a kiss.
“What was that for?”
“Daddy said you needed a kiss for saving the show.”
JC glanced up at Rafe and she could see his eyes glinting in the half light. Her heart softened and ached at the same time.
“Did it help?” Molly asked.
She nodded. “Yes, a kiss from you always makes everything better.”
Molly grabbed her hand. “Wanna come home with me? We can have a pajama party. I’ll show you my tea set Granma gave me for Christmas last year.”
A lump of emotion shoved into her throat. “I wish I could, Molly.” Oh, God she wanted to say yes. “But maybe another time. Would that be okay?”
Molly shrugged and said, “Sure.”
JC straightened from her position, faced Rafe. “Thank you for staying. I appreciate it, considering what happened.”
Rafe smiled. “Everybody hits pot holes in the road. The trick is not to lose your muffler or let it break your axle. It’s all in the steering.” He winked at her and she felt that wink all the way to the tips of her toes. “You did just fine with that particular pot hole. There was no way you could have predicted the lights going out. And hey, it turned out okay. The flashlights were an ingenious idea. I think they might have even made the show.”
Linc walked over with his date and picked up Molly. “Come on, rug rat. I’ll take you home so your dad and JC can talk.”
“Goodnight, JC. I love you,” Molly called over Linc’s shoulder.
JC’s eyes instantly welled with tears and the lump in her throat grew to the size of a wedding cake. “Goodnight, Molly, I love you too,” she called after her in a husky voice. She could feel Rafe’s gaze on her, but she couldn’t turn around because she didn’t want him to see her tears, a combination of needing to know how he really felt about her and Molly’s sweet, heartfelt I love you.
What would it be like to hear those words from her own child? And if she did have a child would she be a good mother? Rafe started to move around in front of her, but she turned her face away because she was on the verge of bawling her eyes out. She swallowed against the lump in her throat and swiped the tears away trickling down her hot cheeks. Why did a woman’s tears have to make her skin splotchy, ruin her makeup and make her face flushed and hot?
She inhaled a shaky breath and faced Rafe even though deep inside, her heart was breaking. “I’d better go get some rest so I have the energy to plan the next event.” She hefted her purse and started to walk away.
“JC, hold on a minute.”
She couldn’t talk to him now. She needed to get back to Cade’s cabin and pull the covers over her head for what she hoped would be at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Tomorrow night was the Senator’s gala and she needed to be rested. She threw up her right hand in a little wave without looking at him. “I’m tired. Let’s talk tomorrow, okay?”
She took maybe two strides before Rafe stepped in front of her. She concentrated on his boots, until he placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face into the moonlight. His blue gaze stroked her face with tenderness and her heart nearly stopped. Moonlight glinted on his hair and washed around them in a silvery glow. The sound of cars leaving the fairgrounds echoed through the night. “You were amazing tonight.”
His simple words of praise nearly undid her. She wanted desperately to tell him she loved him here and now. She wanted to