Linda Varner - Lone Star Bride

Mariah nearly choked. Opal, a survivor of a fifty-fiveyear marriage to the same man, was usually much more levelheaded. Today she seemed no less impressed by the handsome stranger’s flattery than her twin.

“Let’s get going, dear,” Ruby said, leaning up to tap Mariah’s shoulder. “I’m sure Tony is past ready to get to town.”

He’s not the only one, Mariah thought, by now thoroughly appalled by Ruby’s ridiculous flirting. Aloud, she said nothing, of course. Unlike her naive landladies, Mariah knew the dangers of stalking to a stranger...even one as gorgeous as Tony Mason and especially one she’d just picked up on the side of the road.

At that moment his gaze locked with Mariah’s in the mirror. She noted how sweat beaded his sunkissed brow, how his honey blond hair curled damply at the temples and looked darker than the rest. His firm jawline, in need of a shave, hinted at strength of will just as his neck hinted at surprising strength of muscle. His straight nose, full lips and high cheekbones completed the picture of rugged good looks.

No wonder Opal and Ruby now panted after him. He represented temptation with a capital T...and not just because of physical beauty. No, the mystery of him undoubtedly beguiled the twins as much. That, and his lostboy demeanor. He appealed to both the woman and mother in each of them.

But not to Mariah, who knew all about good-looking wanderers who kept a woman in every town.

“Thanks for changing your mind about letting me ride,” Tony said to her via the mirror. “And for stopping in the first place.”

As if I had a choice, Mariah silently fumed, though she still said nothing aloud.

“I was beginning to think I’d landed in the Twilight Zone or something—” he chuckled, seemingly oblivious to her displeasure “—and was the only human alive.”

Opal giggled again, a sound that further grated on Mariah’s nerves. Still uttering no response, she shifted her attention to the road and tried to ignore the conversation around her, but with little luck. Her driving continued to require minimal concentration even though the road had finally begun to curve a little and the scenery now included trees and an occasional house or barn. A few gently rolling hills could actually be seen in the distance, heralding civilization.

“You really remember us?” Ruby gave him a hopeful smile.

“Sure I do,” Tony answered. “We met in...um... er—”

“Colorado,” interjected Opal.

“That’s right,” he said. “At the...um...er—”

“Royal Gorge,” Ruby told him.

“Of course.” He beamed at them. “So how on earth have you two ladies been?”

“Just fine,” Ruby said. “And yourself?”

“Fine...fine. Busy.”

“Are you still doing those book covers?”

Mariah, who wasn’t a bit fooled by Tony’s glib tongue, saw his surprise, witnessed his quick recovery. “We did talk about my secret life, didn’t we?”

Opal and Ruby nodded in unison.

“We fully intended to locate one of the book covers you’d done and buy it,” Opal told him, “but never got around to it.”

“That’s okay,” Tony said. “Somehow I can’t picture either of you reading fantasy fiction. In fact, I’d guess love stories are more your cup of tea.” Though he addressed Opal, his gaze remained locked with Mariah’s.

“Oh, no,” Opal answered, “we leave those to Mariah, there. She’s a sucker for romance.”

Oh great...tell him all my secrets, she thought

“Mariah.” Tony Mason said her name slowly, almost as if trying it on for size. “Lovely,” he added with a wink.

Mariah tensed and turned to stare down Opal.

But Opal chattered on. “Her last name is Ashe, A-S-H-E. She’s a hairdresser. I’m Opal Crawford, and that’s my sister, Ruby Smythe, in case you’ve forgotten. We’re both widows. Mariah is single.”

Geez Loueeze! Mariah almost blurted.

Tony said nothing, but his gaze burned a hole in the back of Mariah’s head. By sheer determination, she glued her own gaze to the road.

“Where are you from, Tony?” Ruby asked. “If I knew, it’s slipped my mind.”

“Well, I was born here in Texas, but these days home is wherever I park my truck and set up shop. I guess you could call me a man of many homes.”

And Mariah would bet he had to slip in the back door of each.

Ruby sniffed the air loudly. “My, you smell sexy. What’s that cologne you’re wearing?”

As if you didn’t know, Mariah thought.

“Machismo...a gift from my mother last Christmas.”

“I believe my second husband liked that.” Ruby made a big show of sniffing the air again, even though she’d given her son a bottle of the same cologne the past two Christmases. “Yes, that’s definitely what Kenneth wore. He was a man’s man, too.”

Mariah couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Where were you headed today?” asked Opal.

“Amarillo,” Tony answered, “to spend the holidays with my folks. Luckily it’s not for another ten days, so I should still arrive in plenty of time. I’ve never missed a Christmas with them yet.”

“It must be so exciting to move around,” Opal murmured with a telling look at Mariah, who was a very verbal proponent of another kind of existence.

“Most days I really enjoy it,” Tony answered. Mariah wasn’t surprised. He had that gypsy look about him. In fact, Mariah knew his type well, having had her heart broken by not one, but two guys with the same mysterious appeal, before she wised up and swore off them five years ago. Now she only dated men she believed would make good husbands—boring men according to the twins.

They thought she should hook up with a rogue who could put some excitement in what they considered her mundane, excessively ordered existence. If only they knew about the rogues she’d already met and fallen for.

“Where are we headed, anyway?” Tony asked, gazing out the window.

“Pleasant Rest, population 3,578,” Ruby told him. “All three of us live there.”

“Is there a good mechanic in town?”

Opal nodded. “Oh, yes, indeed. Frank Patterson’s boy, Micah, has a garage on Pine Street. We always take this car to him if we have a problem. He’s very good.”

“Any idea how late he works?” Tony asked. In the mirror, Mariah saw him glance worriedly at his watch.

“Until five o’clock, I think.”

“It’s almost that now.”

“And we’re almost there. In fact, it’s just around this curve.”

In spite of the stranger in the back seat, Mariah took great pleasure in maneuvering the gently sloping curve to which Opal referred. Almost at once a wrought-iron Welcome to Pleasant Rest sign came into view—a weathered greeting that for years had stood there, according to the twins. Twinkle lights had been strung on it in honor of the season, and Mariah felt the usual tug at her heart, remembering the first time she’d rounded that same curve and seen the little town about this time of year. She’d known in an instant that she’d found herself a home. Today, as always, she felt the joy again.

And what did their footloose passenger think of Pleasant Rest? she had to wonder, glancing in the mirror to find out. His face held no emotion whatsoever.

So he wasn’t impressed. Well, Mariah hadn’t expected him to be. He was a man on the move, after all—a man who didn’t appreciate simple joys such as sleeping in the same bed every night, greeting the same partner every morning, planting a flower garden and then being around to watch it bloom.

With great relief she spied Micah Patterson’s repair shop two blocks ahead. The raised garage door indicated he hadn’t closed yet—another blessing.

Mariah pulled right into the graveled parking lot and braked the car. Tony Mason opened his door at once. Her gaze on the mirror, Mariah saw him proffer his right hand to Ruby. When Ruby gave him hers, he raised it to his lips and kissed the back of it—gallantry that put Ruby in a near faint. At once Opal stuck her hand out, too.