The Husband School Page 22
It was long past time to grow up.
* * *
SHE WAS SO young.
That was the first thing Owen had realized when he’d walked into Shelly’s room. He’d stood by the back wall, he’d heard the explanations, he’d watched Meg hold back tears and comfort the teenager.
Meg was very pale. Owen saw her hands shake and he wanted to cover them with his own and tell her it was going to be okay.
But he didn’t know that.
She’d been so young. And he’d been so wrong to pressure her into marriage. They’d both been too young. His father had been right to stop him. Oh, he’d always known that, but someplace deep inside he’d resented having his life controlled.
He’d expected Meg to give up her own dreams to make his come true.
And now was he truly older and wiser?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“IT’S JUST US again,” he told the dog. “And we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Boo panted his agreement and whined for the scrambled eggs Owen clearly wasn’t going to eat.
He’d turned his leave of absence into a resignation, walking away from the business of environmental law once and for all. He could not only have the life he’d wanted, but he could also have the life he should have had. And the only woman he’d ever wanted to share that life with was still here. Still single. Still able to look at him with those big brown eyes and drain every sensible thought from his head. Still able to drive him crazy when she smiled.
He wanted her as much as he ever had. More, even. Yeah, she’d said they were older and wiser. He was old enough to know what he wanted now, and smart enough to figure out how to get it.
He cleaned out more rooms in the cluttered house, painted ceilings and tossed trash. He left the summer kitchen alone, telling himself he’d get to that next spring. He hired Les for as many hours as the young man could spare from his grandparents’ place and talked to him about setting up a horseback-riding business on the Triple M. Television or not, Owen assumed there was business in tourism.
Jerry agreed, but in the two weeks following the Halloween party at the Dahl and Shelly’s accident, the mayor had convinced himself that Willing was still ready-made for television and certain fame.
“We’re on the verge,” he told Owen when he’d arrived on his doorstep. “I can feel it.”
“Can you also feel this storm coming?” Owen looked at the darkening sky and motioned the mayor inside. “Come on in. Coffee’s on,” he said.
Jerry settled himself at the kitchen table as if he’d been doing it all his life. He scratched Boo’s head and leaned back in his chair. “Haven’t seen you at the café in a while.”
“I’m cooking for myself these days.”
“Just as well,” Jerry said, as if blissfully unaware that Owen and Meg had been a couple and now weren’t. “Dating classes have been put on hold until I hear from Tracy.” He continued as if he thought Owen actually wanted to hear the local news. “Meg keeps trying to send Loralee back to Arizona, but she won’t go until Shelly is on her feet. Which she is, by the way—just about as good as new. Except for the boot on her foot. Meg won’t let her work, so she’s moping. She’s going to rent one of the cabins when the baby’s born and Loralee’s making noises about moving back to town to help her.”
He took a sip of his coffee, winced and reached for the sugar bowl in the middle of the round table.
“Al’s threatening to quit,” he continued, “though he won’t, and Lucia—I ran into her at the clinic at Lewistown when they were getting their flu shots—wouldn’t say much except to warn me about Meg’s new Mexican soups. I guess she’s gotten creative with jalapeños lately.”
“Sounds as if the café is a quiet place to eat now.”
“Not really. You know how people gossip.” Owen didn’t reply, so Jerry pressed on with his version of the news. “Jack Dugan, you know, Jack from the town council? He’s going to California for the winter. He and Tracy’s assistant, Lin, have something going.”
“Good for them.” Owen put what he hoped was a pleasant and interested expression on his face and drank his coffee.
“And what about you?”
“What about me?”
Jerry gulped down some coffee and cleared his throat. “You and Meg. What happened?”
“If I told you that was none of your business—”
“I’d shut up,” Jerry answered. “I’d shut up after I told you that I was your friend and if there was anything I could do, I’d like to help.”
“Thanks. But there isn’t anything anyone can do.”
“I could call an emergency meeting. Get the two of you in the same room.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
Jerry nodded. “She dumped you, huh? Well, she’s got a reputation for doing that.”
Owen switched the subject back to the weather. They both agreed it was going to be a long winter.
* * *
WHEN IN DOUBT, ask her best friend. That advice had come from Jerry, an unlikely source of romantic advice, but Owen didn’t have any better ideas of his own. When the three Swallow boys were tossing balls for Boo to chase across the backyard and the horses had been ridden and given enough apples to bake a couple of pies, Owen stopped Lucia before she could round up her kids and head back to town.
“I have my grandmother’s sapphire engagement ring,” he said, bending over to retrieve a wayward, sticky tennis ball. None of Lucia’s boys could throw straight. He tossed it far past Boo so that the dog would have to run fifty yards to retrieve it while the kids ran behind him. “Maybe you know I gave it to her once before. I’m not sure she’d want it again.”
Lucia didn’t have to ask who he referred to. “You don’t know if she’d want that ring or any ring at all?”
He winced. “Both.”
She grinned before calling for her boys to turn around and come back. “I thought you were selling and going back to the big city.”
“I was,” he admitted. “And then I came to my senses. Do you think she’ll believe me?”
“I think you can figure out how to convince her,” Lucia said, “and I’ll help you any way I can.”
“Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “She’s not taking my calls.”
“She’s hurt. You’ve been making yourself pretty scarce since the accident.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Do you think I still have a chance? I’ll be in Great Falls this afternoon. I thought about going shopping for something new, you know, something that looks more like an engagement ring. To let her know I’m serious.”
“And you’re asking for an opinion.” Lucia was silent for a minute. She wrapped her jacket tighter around herself, as the wind had begun to pick up in the past half hour. The air smelled like snow, the skies overcast and gray. “Did she love the sapphire ring?”
“Well, she cried. I remember that. She cried both times. When I gave it to her and asked her to elope and then when she gave it back to me.”
“I’m not sure I’m going to be much help,” Lucia said, but she was smiling up at him. “Meg has never seemed to care much about jewelry. So whatever you decide to do will be the right choice.”
He chuckled. “Here I thought you were going to make it easy for me.”
She gave him a quick, surprising hug before rounding up the boys. “Don’t worry, Ranch King. When the biggest problem you have is deciding between sapphires and diamonds, you really can’t go wrong.”
* * *
“WHAT IS THIS?” Aurora asked, following Meg and Lucia to the Dahl’s isolated corner table. “Another meeting to bring love and romance to Willing?”
“No. This is a private emergency,” Lucia clarified, sitting with her back to the room. Meg ignored the bear, now sporting o
nly an MSU baseball cap. A pumpkin perched near his toes on the new stand.
“No mayor?” Aurora dared a smile.
“No mayor,” Meg assured her.
“Then the wine is on the house. What’ll it be?”
Meg let Lucia decide, and soon a chilled bottle of pinot and two wineglasses appeared on the table. Aurora uncorked it and half-filled their glasses.
“Thank you.” Meg took a sip. She wouldn’t have cared if it was hot chocolate or ice water. What mattered was that her friend had dropped everything this evening, as had Mama Marie, to be here for her. Loralee was packing for her morning flight to Tucson and Meg couldn’t avoid Shelly’s teary-eyed looks any longer.
“Anytime,” Aurora said. “I don’t know what happened, but I wish you luck.”
“Thanks.” She and Lucia waited for Aurora to return to her place behind the bar, where two men sat watching Monday Night Football. The volume was high, so Meg wasn’t concerned about being overheard.
“How’s your little family?” Lucia asked.
“Doing well, except my mother thinks she’s moving back to town to be a grandmother.” Meg couldn’t stop Loralee from staying and fussing over Shelly, whose recovery had been amazingly swift, despite the worries over the baby she carried.
Shelly had soon been pronounced healthy by the experts, who’d released her from the hospital and turned her care over to the center in Lewistown. The ankle boot would come off in three more weeks, but Shelly insisted she was in no pain. She refused to speak about Sonny, except to say that she’d been stupid and now had to be smart.
“And what about you?”
“I’m fine. I miss him, you know?”
“He’s still here.”
“Not for long,” Meg said. “I don’t think he knows what he wants.”
“Maybe,” her friend said. “And maybe not. But what do you want?”
“The same thing I wanted when I was eighteen. Him.” She wiped her eyes. “But I’m so scared. I’m not the kind of person who jumps into things with both feet, you know?”
“So what?”
Meg stared across the table at her friend. “What?”
“So what?” she repeated. “There’s always something to lose, you idiot.” Lucia smiled. “That’s the way it works. It’s all a risk. You’re going to let a man you love—a man you’ve loved so much that you never fell in love with anyone else—walk away?” She leaned back in her chair. “Wow.”
“I’m an idiot? That’s what you’re trying to tell me?”
Lucia raised her glass. “Absolutely. Here’s to the biggest idiot I’ve ever been friends with.”
Meg clinked her glass against her friend’s. “Cheers.”
They were silent for a long moment until Lucia said quietly, “He’s planning to stay here, you know.”
“I heard rumors. But he hasn’t told me himself. I keep thinking he’ll walk into the café, you know?”
“Maybe he’s giving you time.”
“Maybe he hasn’t decided what he wants.” She took another sip of wine. “And maybe I haven’t decided what I want.”
“Give him another chance,” Lucia said.
She hadn’t talked to Owen for more than three weeks, since he’d walked out of the hospital. For all she knew, he’d packed up his house and moved back to DC with his dog.
Lucia leaned forward. “Sweetie, everyone needs a second chance at least once in their lives.”
* * *
“WE GAVE IT everything we had,” Jerry assured the members of the council. The first Monday of the month found the men gathered around the table at the café. They’d finished their breakfasts, they’d each enjoyed at least three cups of coffee and now it was time to move on to business. What was going to happen with the television show was uppermost on everyone’s minds.
“And?”
“We wait. Tracy is very enthusiastic, very optimistic.” She’d also hooked up with a producer at the Food Network, according to Jack. The former councilman kept him updated on the news from California. “As far as business goes, I’m officially appointing Owen MacGregor to the town council to fill Jack’s empty seat. All in favor?”
“Aye,” they said.
“Ayes have it.” He nodded toward Owen. “Thanks for filling in.”
Owen nodded back, but Jerry saw his attention wander to Meg. She’d stayed away from this part of the restaurant, letting Shelly handle the orders, but now she approached their table. She looked uncharacteristically nervous, he thought. Which made him want to pick up his papers and run out the door.
Owen looked as if he wanted to escape, too. But to give the man credit, he ignored her presence, picked up his coffee cup and drank from it as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
“Could I have a minute?” She carried a large manila envelope. “If you don’t mind?”
“Uh, sure.” Jerry scooted his chair back. “Have a seat.”
“No. This won’t take long.” Her cheeks were flushed and she didn’t look at Owen, who sat silently at the foot of the table. “I thought you deserved— Well, here.” She slid out official-looking papers with gold seals. “I made diplomas,” she explained. “For the men who took the classes.”
“Seriously?”
“Sure.” She smiled. “You wanted to know what women want, and you listened. That deserves some kind of award.”
Meg handed a diploma to each man at the table. She’d saved Owen for last, Jerry noticed, watching to see what would happen next. The rancher didn’t look the least bit impressed. Meg fumbled with the papers and handed Owen his diploma. The man stared at it for a long moment, pushed back his chair and hauled Meg out of the restaurant.
“Meeting adjourned,” Jerry called and joined the rest of them hurrying across the room to the windows.
* * *
“IS THIS SOME kind of joke? A diploma from The Husband School?”
“No,” she sputtered, shivering in the cold. Owen looked down at her, took off his vest and wrapped it around her shoulders. “You deserved your diploma. After all your hard work and all. And besides, I thought it was a catchy title.”
He looked up at the sky as if he was praying for patience, then back to her. His hands tightened on her shoulders. “I guess this means you’re talking to me again? I’ve been calling you for three weeks.”
“I know.” She hadn’t wanted to hear excuses or explanations. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear what you had to say.”
“I figured I’d given you enough time, so today I was going to sit outside your door until you had no choice but to hear me out.” He tucked the collar against her neck.
She took a deep breath. “That’s why I’m here. You’re the reason I’ve never fallen in love with anyone else. You’re the reason I never said yes to any of those foolish proposals—”
“Except mine,” he reminded her, a smile beginning to crease his face.
“Except yours.”
“I did come back to Willing on my twenty-first birthday. You were gone, of course.”
“You could have found out where I was.”
“I did.” He grimaced. “But by that time my uncle had moved to the ranch. The place was safe and I wasn’t in any hurry to live there. The dream wasn’t the same without you in it.”
“And now? Have you figured out what you want?”
“Oh, I sure have.” He dropped a gentle kiss on her mouth. “I love you,” Owen said. “I loved you when I was a kid and I love you now. I want to rebuild the ranch. Fix up the house. Get married. Have kids. I wanted to do that with you. Heck, I still want to do that with you. If I propose to you right now,” he said, glancing over her shoulder, “in this very public place, with about twenty people looking out the windows, it will be, what? The twentieth proposal?”
> “I stopped counting.”
“Reach into right pocket of my vest.”
“Why?”
“Just do it,” he replied, so she slid her hands from his neck and fumbled with the Velcro closing until she retrieved a small jewelry box. She held it in her hand.
“Are you serious?”
“Open it,” he urged, his voice husky. Inside the box lay the sapphire ring, the one she’d worn so many years before.
“You carry this around, in your pocket?”
He slipped it onto her finger. “Just for the past few days. I thought it might bring me luck.” He pulled her closer. He brushed a tender kiss across her mouth. “Meggie, will you finally, once and for all, marry me?”
She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him long and hard. “Yes, once and for all.”
* * * * *
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Heartwarming title.
You’ve got to have heart…. Harlequin Heartwarming celebrates wholesome, heartfelt relationships imbued with the traditional values so important to you: home, family, community and love.
Enjoy four new stories from Harlequin Heartwarming every month!
Visit Harlequin.com to find your next great read.
We like you—why not like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
Read our blog for all the latest news on our authors and books: HarlequinBlog.com
Subscribe to our newsletter for special offers, new releases, and more!
Harlequin.com/newsletters
ISBN: 9781460319130
THE HUSBAND SCHOOL
Copyright © 2013 by Kristine Rolofson