Stephanie Doyle - Baily's Irish Dream - Baily's Irish Dream / Czech Mate

It was a good offer, but the last thing he wanted to do. He couldn’t drive across the country with this woman. Not this woman.

“I can’t do it,” he announced, giving voice to his thoughts.

“Why not?” Baily waited for his reasons. She had a hunch this was going to be good. “What’s the matter, isn’t my car luxurious enough for you?”

His knees hit the dashboard. The top of his head scraped the roof of the car. The only place to put his arms was in his lap or around a cat named Madam President. The Bug wasn’t his big roomy Mercedes. But he’d be a fool to tell her that. The problem was less substantial than that. He stared at her hard and something inside him screamed at him to jump out of the car now while he still had the chance. “I simply can’t drive with you all the way to Philadelphia.”

“What’s the matter with me?”

Nothing obvious. The trouble was hidden. It was there in the way her jean shorts rode up high on her thighs and the way her shirt clung to her breasts. It was the way her hair bounced around her shoulders as if it were alive and the way her green eyes sparkled with mischief.

“Well, look at you, for one thing.”

Actually, the whole picture had only just registered in Daniel’s mind. He’d seen her profile; he’d seen her standing in front of him. He’d seen her hair, of course. But it was only a second ago that all of those images filtered back through his mind and he put them all together into one extremely attractive, heart-pumping package that would disturb his equilibrium. Which was exactly the last complication he needed at this time.

Baily glanced down at herself. She was wearing a pair of cutoffs and a white T-shirt. She didn’t see the problem. “What is wrong with the way I look?” she asked defensively. She was no beauty but no one had ever told her that she was too repulsive to drive with.

Daniel didn’t know how to articulate it. “It’s your red hair, and the eyes, and the freckles. All I have to do is look at you to know that you are going to irritate me like no one on this planet has ever irritated me before.”

“Listen you overbearing, Mercedes-driving jerk! I didn’t have to pull over to help you. I didn’t have to offer to drive you to the next town. I could have left you there looking for the cell phone you don’t seem to have. I certainly didn’t have to offer to drive you to Philadelphia. But you’re in a bind. And your sister, whom I’ve suddenly developed a great sympathy for, is in trouble. So why don’t you just say yes, then shut the hell up. Because let me tell you, you have already irritated me more than anyone I’ve ever known. And I’ve been irritated by the best, pal.”

Daniel snorted. He refused to agree to anything until he had a chance to weigh his options. He wouldn’t know what those options were until they reached civilization.

It was twenty silent miles to the next town. One that had a gas station, a quickie mart, five dwellings and nothing else. Certainly no rental car facilities. Even if Daniel had wanted to wait while the car was being repaired, there wasn’t an available hotel room for at least another hundred miles. His options were becoming fewer and his hope of avoiding a three-thousand-mile car trip with a batty redhead was becoming dimmer.

The only bright spot was that the gas attendant, Doug, was the helpful sort. He took Daniel’s credit card number and assured Daniel that he would bill him fairly for the damage to the car. Daniel told the man he’d be back in less than two weeks to pick up his car. No problem for Doug as there was plenty of room in his garage. Western courtesy. It wasn’t a myth. Doug also mentioned that Jackson Hole, just over the border of Montana, would have the rental car facilities Daniel needed.

“See, your problems are solved. I’ll take you to Jackson Hole. I was planning on stopping there anyway. And Doug said he would take good care of the car.” Baily had trusted the attendant completely.

“He’ll probably be joyriding in it once he gets it fixed,” Daniel said cynically. Nobody was that nice. Then again he had just accepted a ride from a woman who had selflessly offered to drive him where he needed to go. Maybe he was the one with the problem.

“Well, we’re off,” Baily announced.

Daniel groaned as he struggled to fit his frame back into her car. She started the engine and the car sputtered to life. It was going to be the longest trip of his life. That he knew, absolutely. If nothing else, the cramped confines of the car would more than likely cause him permanent injury. To keep his mind off his already sore knees he looked around for something to distract him. Unfortunately, that would be Red’s too tight T-shirt. Even while she irritated his mind, she stirred his body. A lethal combination.

A thought occurred to Daniel, but he was almost hesitant to ask. “Are you married? What am I saying, of course you’re not.”

She had opened her mouth to tell him no, but then closed it when he answered his own question. “What is that supposed to mean? Don’t I look like someone who might be married? Don’t you think I could get a husband if I wanted one? Don’t you think it’s possible, even a little, that someone somewhere might find me vaguely attractive enough or interesting enough to marry? Huh?”

“Sensitive subject, I see,” Daniel remarked while he watched her face turn several shades of purple.

“Meow,” Miss Roosevelt concurred from the back seat.

Slightly embarrassed, Baily tried to compose herself. Okay, maybe she was a little too sensitive about the whole topic of marriage. Besides, there was nothing to worry about now. She was going to marry Harry.

“All I meant was that if you were married, your husband would most likely be with you and you would be wearing a ring. Since neither of those things are true, I assumed you weren’t married.”

Daniel’s logical explanation only turned her cheeks rosier. “I’m not,” she quietly replied.

“That’s what I thought,” Daniel said smugly.

A little too smugly, Baily decided. “But I’m going to be.”

Not quite sure what she meant, he conceded, “Sure. Most people think they’ll get married and have a family someday.”

“No, I mean I’m getting married. When I get back to New Jersey,” Baily clarified.

He was at an absolute loss to explain the sudden sense of regret that washed over him. It was as if he tried to capture something in his grasp but it was gone before he could close his fingers around it. Then he shook his head. He was being ridiculous.

“So you’re engaged?” Daniel concluded. “Where’s your ring if you’re engaged?”

Shifting slightly in her seat, Baily thought of a few legitimate excuses, but none of them rang true. “Technically…I’m not…we really haven’t quite…he hasn’t actually…”

“He hasn’t proposed yet.” It was a statement. Ha! Daniel felt triumphant. Although he had no idea why.

“He hasn’t proposed, but he will. He’s waiting for me to come home.” There, that was reasonable. It was also the truth.

Daniel was confused. And really, none of this was his business. He should let the subject drop, lean his head back and catch a few winks. That was sound thinking.

“So he’s been waiting for you in New Jersey while you’ve been Seattle.”

“Yes.”

“For how long?”

She squirmed in her seat a little bit, then muttered something under her breath.

“I’m sorry I didn’t catch that.”

“Seven years,” she said clearly.

There wasn’t any reaction at first. For a second, Baily thought he might have fallen asleep. That was until she glanced quickly to her right and saw his face turning red and his eyes watering up. Shortly after that, the laughter started.