“Oh, no, you’re at least going somewhere for two or three days,” he argued.
“Maybe Galveston to the beach then,” she agreed, but she had no intentions of leaving the ranch after the wedding. Like Pax said, she’d cross the bridge when it came time, but today, she wasn’t wasting precious time on a fake honeymoon.
* * *
“Well, don’t you look all fine?” Bridget looked up from the counter where she was putting together a salad.
“Thank you.” Pax smiled and then chuckled when a movement in his peripheral vision caught his eye. Ducky, Dolly, and Laela marched into the room, looking like a little parade coming to see him off to the Bar C.
“She follows them everywhere, now that she can walk,” Bridget said. “I don’t know if they’re trying to get away from her or helping her exercise, but whatever it is, she loves them.”
Pax picked the toddler up and kissed her on the cheek. “A kiss for good luck and”—he kissed the other cheek—“another one because I love you so much.”
Maverick came through the back door and Laela held out her arms to him. “Da-Dee,” she said loud and clear. His brother removed his work gloves, stuffed them into his hip pockets, and took the baby.
Pax’s felt like someone pricked his heart as he saw the love that flowed from the baby to her father. He opened the refrigerator to get out a couple of six-packs of beer and noticed the glance that passed between Maverick and Bridget. That’s what he wanted when he really got engaged—a love so strong that everyone in the room could feel it.
“See y’all later,” he said as he headed out the back door, reluctant to intrude on their private moment.
Laela waved at him and said, “Bye-bye.”
“She’s going to miss you when you move across to the Bar C,” Bridget said.
Pax waved back at her. “I’ll still see her every day.”
He couldn’t tell them that he wouldn’t really be jumping the barbed-wire fence that separated the Callahan Ranch from the Bar C and actually moving into the big two-story house over there. “This is a helluva lot tougher than I thought it would be when I agreed to it,” he muttered as he crossed the yard and got into his pickup truck.
As the crow flies, it would have taken only two minutes to get over to the neighboring ranch, but as the truck drove, it took longer. Pax had to drive down the lane a quarter of a mile, make a left-hand turn and drive a few hundred yards, and turn left into the lane leading up to the Carey house. When he arrived, Alana waved from the porch swing, then came to the truck and opened the door for him.
“We’ll put that in the fridge,” she said, pointing to the beer. “Daddy says he’s in charge of dinner and that we’re to spend a little time together.” She motioned for him to follow her inside, took two beers from one of the six packs, and put the rest in the refrigerator. She twisted the tops off and handed one to Pax. “Let’s sit out on the porch. I’ve always thought these walls have ears and that they report back to Daddy every night at bedtime. Somehow, I’ve never been able to keep anything from him.” She tucked her free hand into Pax’s and led him through the den, the foyer, and back outside.
“I used to think that about our house too,” Pax said, “but I found out later it was Mam’s hotline with the gossipers in Daisy.” He waited for her to sit down beside her and then eased down on the porch swing.
She scooted over closer to him. “Just in case the drama gossips have spies out,” she whispered. “This is our first night after the official engagement. If there’s three feet of space between us, they’ll think we’re already fighting.”
“You sure do look pretty tonight,” he said, “and that’s real, not pretend. Orange is a good color on you.”
“Glad you like it.” She smiled up at him.
Was this the same girl that had slapped him and told him in a loud voice to never touch her again?
That’s when you were a kid, and you felt awkward about the kiss too, since it was your first one, Mam scolded him.
Pax remembered that night vividly. He’d watched Alana from the sidelines all evening, and when she’d gone out the back door, he’d