are you doing this?”
“Because I want you to be happy.”
“I am happy.”
“No you’re not. You’re just too busy to realize it.”
“Why do you think a man will make me happy? Lucas Diamond didn’t make you happy.” She hadn’t intended to bring up Lucas to her aunt. She didn’t want to cause her any unnecessary pain. But Reba was just so frustrated she couldn’t help it.
Aunt Gertie stared at her. “Who told you about me and Lucas?”
“I saw the letter from him up in your room.”
Aunt Gertie sent her an annoyed look. “Well, I guess that’s what I get for leaving my private things out for my snoopy niece to find.”
“I wasn’t snooping. It was right there on your dresser for anyone to see. I thought you hated Lucas Diamond.”
“There’s a fine line between love and hate.”
“So you loved him?”
Aunt Gertie released a long sigh and stared out the window as if conjuring up images from her past. “What women wouldn’t fall for a handsome rodeo star with a devilish smile that made her knees feel like mashed potatoes? He was young and vibrant. And I had just turned forty and was suddenly feeling like the old maid everyone said I was. But Lucas didn’t seem to care about our age difference. He courted me with an intensity that swept me off my feet.” A sad look entered her eyes. “But as it turned out, the rodeo was his first love. And a woman just can’t compete with wild horses.”
Reba got up and moved around the table to sit next to her aunt and take her hand. “So he broke your heart.”
“Yes. And I broke his too by not being the type of woman to wait around for him to come back.”
“I’m sorry, Aunt Gertie.”
“Don’t be. I had a choice. He asked me to marry him. I was the one who chose not to. I was the one who made the decision to stay here and make sure my beloved boardinghouse survived.”
“Did you ever regret it?”
“No. I reminisce occasionally, but I know I made the right choice. That’s what I want for you, Reba Gertrude. I want you to have the choice—to know what it’s like to be loved and to decide whether you want to take it or whether you want to leave it.”
“I’ve been in love, Aunt Gertie. I’d just as soon leave it.”
“Are you talking about that idiot Billy Bob? That wasn’t love. You didn’t shed one tear over that man.”
“I’m not a big crier, but I was upset.”
“Only because you had already started planning your wedding. You’ve been dreaming about a big weddin’ since you were knee-high to a grasshopper and using my old petticoats as your weddin’ gowns.”
“I was a kid. All little girls play bride.”
“Not all. I never did.” Aunt Gertie squeezed her hand and looked her right in the eyes. “I’m ninety-two years old and I have no regrets in my life. I want the same for you. I want you to at least get the offer to walk down the aisle in a fancy dress. Then the choice is up to you.” She grabbed her walker and got to her feet. “Now you better get in the kitchen and make sure that man isn’t putting my grandmother’s china in the dishwasher.”
Reba stood and gave her aunt a hug. As ornery as her aunt was, she knew Gertie loved her. The crazy scheme was a perfect example. “I understand now why you did what you did, Aunt Gertie. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to choose to marry some man you had to bribe to get here.”
“Why not?” Aunt Gertie drew back. “As long as they end up loving you like you deserve to be loved, it doesn’t matter how they got here. Even if you don’t fall in love with one of them, we can still get a few weeks’ work out of them.” She cackled as she wheeled her walker around and shuffled out of the dining room.
Once her aunt was gone, Reba finished clearing the table and carried the loaded tray into the kitchen. Valentine was standing at the sink rinsing the plates. Today he wore his casual clothes: a pair of faded jeans that hugged his butt and a blue western shirt with a tear along the stitching in the back. She was still mad at him. When he leaned over to stick the plate in the dishwasher, she couldn’t help snapping.
“You can’t put that china in the dishwasher. You