Annette Broadrick - The Groom, I Presume?

“Will it?”

She glanced back at him. “Well, of course it will. We’ll be living together, then. He’ll be home more.”

“Has he told you that? Or is that what you’re hoping?”

“Well, if he’s still traveling, then I’ll go with him.” She tilted her chin slightly. “There won’t be anything wrong with his wife traveling with him. He just needs a little time to settle down, that’s all. He’s still young.”

Chris raised one of his eyebrows quizzically. “We’re all the same age, remember?”

Maribeth smiled. “Maybe so, but you were born old, Chris. I swear. When I look back at some of the things the three of us did together when we were kids, I figure the only way we managed to scrape by as well as we did was because you always saved our butts.”

“Well, you have to admit that you and Bobby are a bit impulsive.”

She shook her head emphatically. “Not me. Not anymore. I’m grown up now.” She waved to the row of stalls behind them. “I’m steadily employed, thanks to Travis. I have a fulfilling job, a great family and a whole passel of nieces and nephews. Why, my life couldn’t be better!”

What could he possibly say to that? He let the silence that fell between them speak for itself. When it stretched into an uncomfortable length, Chris reached over and gently tugged on the thick plait of hair draped over her shoulder. “How about taking a ride with me?” he asked. “I’ll show off my newest toy.”

He could almost see the tension leaving her body. She pushed the wisps of hair off her forehead with a gesture that made him ache with a sense of tenderness.

“Sounds great,” she said. “Let’s go.”

“You won’t get in trouble for sneaking away from work, will you?” His tone was teasing and she responded with a lighthearted chuckle.

“Are you kidding? Travis is always complaining that I spend too many hours out here, and that by comparison I make him look like a lazy bum.”

They strolled toward his car. “I’m amazed at the number of changes that have been made to this place since I was last here.”

She gave his arm a gentle tap with her fist. “All that shows is that you haven’t been visiting often enough. I figured that once you’d moved to Big D, you didn’t have time for us country yokels.”

“That’s not true. I’ve just been really busy.”

“Doing what? You used to talk about working for your father after graduation. Is that what you’re doing?”

“In a sense. I pilot one of the company planes whenever they’re shorthanded. I guess you would call me a troubleshooter. I fill in wherever I’m needed.”

Maribeth stopped in her tracks. “You’re a pilot? I never knew that!”

“Yeah. I started taking lessons as a teenager while I spent my summers in Dallas with my dad.”

“You never said a word about it.”

“It wasn’t something to be tossed into a conversation.”

“But it was something you were interested in, something obviously important to you. I remember you would listen to me when I was going on about all my pet projects whenever we got back together after summer vacations. But you never said a word.”

“It was no big deal, Maribeth. Really.”

She just shook her head. “Sometimes I think you work at being a mystery man.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know. I remember in school how all the girls acted around you. You’d come back each year with this big-city polish, rarely talking to anyone, and never about yourself. It used to drive us crazy.”

He laughed. “Well. Now you know one of my deep, dark secrets. I was spending summer vacations playing up in the clouds. Feel better now?”

They had paused by his tomato red sports car. He leaned past her and opened the passenger door. She got a whiff of after-shave that brought back even stronger memories of the young man she used to know. She’d always liked that particular scent. When she’d asked him about it once, he said it was a gift from his father one year and he’d used it ever since. It smelled expensive, woodsy, and infinitely male.

She searched frantically for something casual to say. “I’m a little surprised that you’re content to stay in a large city after spending so many years living here on a ranch.”

“That was more my mother’s choice. She never liked living in the city.”

She tapped his large, silver belt buckle. “You still dress like a country boy, what with that hat, fancy buckle and boots. What is it they say? ‘You can take the boy out of the country, but…’”

“I suppose I’ll always be a country boy at heart, but I don’t think I could ever make ranching my life. I need a challenge that I can come to grips with… not worrying over the price of beef and the uncertainties of the weather.” He motioned for her to get into the car.

She paused, and waved to the two women who were watching them from comfortably reclined lawn chairs.

“Megan, if Travis comes looking for me, tell him I’ll be back in a little while.” With a wink toward him, she added, “Chris is going to take me for a ride in his fancy little car.”

“Are you going to take that from her?” Megan asked without moving. “She doesn’t deserve such courtesy if she’s going to make fun of your trusty steed.”

Chris walked around the car, saying, “The woman has no taste. We all know that, now, don’t we?”

They pulled away amid the laughter of the three women. Ever curious, Maribeth scrutinized the dash, peeked behind the seats at the area that was little more than a shelf, then settled back into the luxurious leather seats with a sigh.

“I should have been watching you closer. How in the world did you manage to get into this thing? With a shoehorn?”

“It’s not so bad once you get used to it.” He pointed to the floor. “At least there’s plenty of legroom once you’re inside.”

She just shook her head. “It’ll never take the place of a full-size pickup truck.” She glanced around her once again. “Why, you could barely haul anything in this dinky li’l ol’ thing.”

Chris tried to stifle his laugh, then gave up, allowing the laughter to ease the tension he was feeling. “Maribeth, you are definitely one of a kind.”

She looked at him in surprise. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that. You’re definitely unique.”

“Is there anything wrong with that?”

“Not at all. There are times when I find myself envying your attitude toward life. You’re content with what you have. I’ve never known you to yearn for something someone else has.”

She grinned. “That’s because I already have everything I want.”

After a pause, he said in a more sober voice. “Everything?”

She glanced at him in surprise. “What more could I possibly want? I have my family, and in three days I’m marrying the man I’ve loved most of my life. As the old saying goes—’who could ask for anything more?’ “

“I know you must have had a tough adjustment, coming back to Agua Verde while Bobby took off to follow his dream. That took a lot of courage for you, not objecting to his plans when you expected to get married as soon as we graduated.”

“I was really naive back then, wasn’t I? Just because I was ready to get married didn’t mean that Bobby felt the same way. I guess that’s the biggest difference between men and women. Men want to take longer to find themselves or whatever.” She looked out the window, then back at Chris. “I probably wouldn’t admit this to another soul, but when Bobby first left, I thought I would die from missing him, missing all the fun times the three of us used to have together.”

“I know what you mean. It felt really strange to live in Dallas year-round.”