Judy Duarte - The Rancher's Hired Fiancée

“Water will be fine.”

At the term of endearment, Margie’s head tilted to the side. Then her gaze zeroed in on their clasped hands. Instead of heading for the kitchen, she paused, her eyes widening and her lips parting.

“We’ll need a few minutes to look over the menu,” Ray told the stunned waitress.

Margie lingered a moment, as if she’d lost track of what she was doing. Then she addressed Catherine. “I haven’t seen you in town before. Are you new or just passing through?”

Catherine offered her a friendly smile. “I’m visiting for the next couple of weeks, but I’m not really passing through. I plan to move here before the end of summer.”

“Well, now. Isn’t that nice.” Margie shifted her weight to one hip, clearly intrigued by Catherine. “Where are you staying?”

“With me ,” Ray said. “You’re the first one outside the Walker family to meet my fiancée, Margie.”

“Well, now. Imagine that.” The waitress beamed, her cheeks growing rosy. “What a nice surprise. Of course, there’s going to be a lot of heartbroken young women in town when they learn that our handsome young mayor is… already taken.”

“I doubt that anyone will shed a tear over that,” Ray said, turning to Catherine and giving her a wink. “But I’m definitely taken. And I was from the very first moment I laid eyes on her in Houston.”

Catherine reached for the menu with her left hand, taking care to flash the diamond on her finger. Then she stole a peek at Margie to see if the older woman had noticed—and she had.

When the waitress finally left the table, Ray said, “Margie is a great gal, but she’s a real talker. By nightfall, the news of our engagement will be all over town.”

As Catherine scanned the diner, which had filled with the lunch crowd, she realized that Margie might not have to say much at all, since everyone else seemed to be focusing their attention on her and coming to their own conclusions.

“So what are you going to have?” she asked as she opened the menu and tried to get back into character.

“If I hadn’t already eaten a good breakfast at the Rotary Club meeting this morning, I’d have the daily special. But Caroline’s helpings are usually more than filling, so I’ll probably get a sandwich instead.”

Moments later, Margie returned with her pad and pencil, ready to take their orders. “So what’ll you have?”

“I’d like the cottage cheese and fruit,” Catherine said.

Ray asked for a BLT with fries.

After jotting down their requests, Margie remained at the table, her eyes on Catherine. “So what do you think of Brighton Valley so far?”

“It’s a lovely town. I’m going to like living here.”

“I’m sure you will.” Margie smiled wistfully. “My husband and I came here to visit his sister one summer, and we were so impressed with the people and the small-town atmosphere that we went back to Austin, sold our house and moved out here for good. In fact, it was the single best thing we ever did for our family. Brighton Valley has got to be the greatest place in the world to raise kids.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling her,” Ray said. “So I’m glad you’re backing me up.”

“Well, let me be the first to congratulate you on your engagement,” Margie said, “and to welcome you to the best little town in all of Texas.”

“Thank you.”

Margie nodded toward the kitchen. “Well, it was nice meeting you, but I’d better turn in your orders before you die of hunger.”

When the waitress left them alone again, Ray reached into his pocket, pulled out a single key, as well as a business card, and handed it to Catherine. “This will get you into the apartment I keep in town, which is just down the street. I’ll point it out to you later.”

She placed the key into the pocket on the inside of her purse, then fingered the card with his contact information at both the Broken M Ranch and City Hall.

“After you go shopping at The Boutique,” he added, “you can hang out and wait for me at my place. I should be home by five or five-thirty.”

“All right. I’ll be dressed and ready to go by the time you get there.”

“Good. I’ve got some snacks in the pantry and drinks in the fridge. But if there’s anything else you need, give me a call and I’ll pick it up for you.”

Anything she needed?

For the hospital benefit? Or was he talking about the duration of her acting gig?

She recalled the day Erik Carmichael had given her the key to his place, pretty much telling her the same thing, so she wasn’t sure.

“Did you bring an overnight bag?” he asked.

No, only her makeup pouch. He hadn’t said anything about spending the night.

Where are you staying? Margie had asked Ray just moments ago. And without batting an eye, he’d said, With me .

Was he expecting Catherine to actually move into his apartment while they pretended to be lovers? He hadn’t mentioned anything about that when they’d discussed the job and his expectations last night.

“We’ll probably be out late this evening,” he added, then he bent forward and lowered his voice to a whisper. “It’ll be easier that way.”

She supposed it would be. And if they wanted everyone in town to assume they were lovers, staying together would make the whole idea a lot more believable.

They could, she supposed, talk about the sleeping arrangements later, but she assumed that she’d be using the sofa.

Of course, she wasn’t sure what he had in mind, but she’d have to deal with that when the time came. Right now, she had a job to do.

She had to convince everyone in town that she was Ray Mendez’s fiancée.

After Ray had paid the bill and left Margie a generous tip, he opened the door for Catherine and waited for her to exit. Once he’d followed her outside, they would be the talk of the diner, and that was just what he’d wanted.

Catherine had done all he’d asked of her. She’d looked at him a little starry-eyed, and she’d also used her hands when she’d talked, which had shown off the diamond his grandfather had placed upon his grandmother’s finger more than seventy-five years ago.

She’d seemed to be genuinely impressed by the ring, although he supposed that could have been part of the act. But something told him that wasn’t the case, which was more than a little surprising.

Before offering the ring to Heather, he’d had it cleaned and polished. But she’d turned up her nose at wearing something that wasn’t brand-new and expensive. So, like a fool, he’d gone into Houston and purchased her a two-carat diamond, which she’d taken with her when she’d told him she wanted a divorce and moved out of the ranch house.

He supposed he’d have to be thankful for Heather’s greed in that respect. Otherwise, he would have lost his grandmother’s ring completely—or paid through the nose to get it back, since Heather had known how much it had meant to him. And if she’d had one more thing to hold over him, they might still be in the midst of divorce negotiations.

On the other hand, Catherine seemed to have a lot more respect for the family heirloom. When she’d studied the diamond in the sunlight, she’d even asked his grandmother’s name, although Ray had been so caught up in the memory of Heather scrunching up her face at the ring that Catherine’s question had completely sideswiped him.

Now, as they stood outside the diner, in the mottled shade of one of the many elm trees that lined Main Street, Ray pointed to his right. “The Boutique is located right next to the ice cream shop. And several doors down, you’ll see the drugstore. There’s a little red door to the left of it, which is the stairway that leads to my apartment.”