followed her. The kids at school said that she liked him and wanted him to be her boyfriend. He’d never kissed a girl before so his heart was doing double-time and his hands were clammy. It didn’t take long until his face was burning, not only from a hard slap but also from rejection.
“I’m planning on using yellow and orange for the wedding. It looks so summery.” She took a long drink from her beer. “I didn’t realize there was going to be so many details. I figured we’d go to the church, get married with a few friends and family watching, and then we’d get it annulled when”—she took another drink from the bottle—“when, well you know.”
Pax slipped an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s concentrate on getting through this a day at a time. It doesn’t matter to me how big or how small the wedding is, and I’ll even take the blame for the breakup when it comes, so long as you don’t tell folks I was unfaithful.” The thought of folks thinking that about him would be worse than being rejected by the one girl he’d admired up until that fatal night when they were thirteen.
“I’d never do that,” Alana said. “I think the best scenario is that we rushed into marriage too quick because I knew my dad was dying, and I wanted to make him happy. It’s the truth, so it’s believable.”
“And my excuse will be that Matt wanted to walk you down the aisle so I proposed. It’s the truth, even if it isn’t the whole truth and nothing but the truth,” he said.
“One more thing out of the way,” Alana agreed.
Matt opened the door and said, “Food’s on the table, so if you two lovebirds can quit making eyes at each other, we’ll eat now.”
Pax stood first and extended a hand toward Alana. She put hers in his, and together, they walked across the porch. To Matt and to anyone looking on, they looked like a couple in love.
“Alana sure looks pretty tonight, doesn’t she?” Matt held the door open for them. “Seeing her wear a dress twice in twenty-four hours might break all records around here.”
“Daddy!” Alana scolded. “I wear a dress to church almost every Sunday.”
“And you always look gorgeous.” Pax leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. He liked that he didn’t have to bend down to her and the smell of her hair, but what he liked most was the way she fit against him when he hugged her up tight.
“Well, thank you both. Now, can we eat while the steaks are still hot?” Alana went straight to the kitchen table. “Look at this.” She waved her hand to take in the whole setting. “You even got the table set all pretty. Mama would be proud of you.”
Matt wiggled his dark eyebrows. “It ain’t my first rodeo. I used to grill every week for your mama. Friday nights, she’d dress up, and I’d put a steak dinner on the table. That was our date night when we were first married, and we were trying to keep the ranch out of the red.”
“We should do that.” Pax held Alana’s chair for her. “I can grill a mean steak.”
Matt sat down and put a huge T-bone on his plate and then passed the platter to Alana. “We always found it was something we both looked forward to all week, and it beats the devil out of going out to eat. After all”—he lowered his voice and raised his eyebrows—“the bedroom is a lot closer when the meal is done.”
“Daddy!” Alana’s face flushed with a crimson blush as she slid a steak onto her plate and handed the platter to Pax.
Pax couldn’t remember the last time he had blushed, but he had no trouble recognizing the heat traveling from his neck to his face.
“Oh, come on,” Matt teased, “don’t tell me that—”
Alana held up a palm and butted in before he could go any further. “I’m already blushing, and you’ve always said that cowboys don’t kiss and tell. Well, neither do cowgirls.”
“Fair enough,” Matt chuckled. “But while both of y’all have red faces—and I didn’t know Pax was even capable of blushing—if you ever have a daughter, please keep the name Joy in the family. Your great-grandmother was Joy. Your grandmother was Alice Joy and then your mama’s name is Joy Rose.”
Alana nodded. “If we have a daughter, you’ve got my promise that we’ll keep the family name.”