A Wedding in Apple Grove (18 page)

“Ten years, tops.”

Meg laughed. “Liar. You've been stuck on him since you called for help the night we were up on the water tower.”

Honey B.'s eyes narrowed. “If I hadn't, you would have lost your grip, fallen on your head, and broken it.”

Meg agreed but was smiling as she took another drink of coffee. “Tell me again how his jaw clenched and his eyes got that determined look in them as he got out of his truck and ran past you and started climbing?”

Her friend's eyes got a faraway look in them and Meg knew she was reliving their shared nightmare.

“I got out of his way but followed him over to the tower,” she whispered. “He kept mumbling something under his breath, but I couldn't quite hear what he was saying.”

“Probably because I'd started yelling for help by then.” Meg snickered.

“He almost looked like he dreaded the task,” Honey B. said, “but then started climbing and then next thing I knew he had a hold of you and had swung you onto his back and was climbing back down.”

“I don't remember much past him telling me I was safe and to take his hand,” Meg said quietly. She didn't like to think about that night, partly because she'd been fourteen years old and embarrassed that she'd gotten dizzy when she looked down and scared the crap out of herself when she almost fell. It was the third and last time the sheriff had had to rescue her.

“Well, it all turned out OK,” Honey B. said. “Although I can't help but think that if he had dropped you on your hard head, it might have been a good thing—maybe you wouldn't have spent so much time working yourself to the bone trying to forget about Jimmy, all the while waiting for him to show up and have a change of heart about this town.”

“That wasn't why I spent all that time working and you know it.” Meg didn't want to get angry with her friend, so she buried the resentment deep. She didn't want to talk about losing her mother or the years that just piled one right on top of the other as she eased her grief by keeping her hands busy and her neighbors homes in good working order.

To distract her friend, she asked, “So what's the plan for today?”

Honey B. sipped and then said, “I'm going to color my hair.”

Meg snorted the sip of coffee she'd intended to swallow. She took the napkin her friend offered and blew her nose. “That hurt.” She wiped her eyes and blew her nose a second time.

“If you weren't so busy laughing at me, you wouldn't have snorted that hot coffee.” Their gazes met and Honey's lips twitched up into a smile. “Besides, what's so funny about me coloring my hair?”

“Nothing. I know it's how you advertise… well, at least that's what you say is the reason you do it so often.”

“Why else would I?”

Meg paused and set her cup down. “To catch a certain sheriff's eye when you're out in front of your shop sweeping the sidewalk.”

“Hmmpf. A lot you know.” But her friend was already moving on to the next thought. “Maybe I should go back to my real color.”

Meg laughed out loud. “I can't remember that far back.”

“Honey blonde.”

“Really?” Meg didn't remember.

Honey B. nodded. “It's been years. Hey, don't you have to get to the shop?”

“Yeah.”

“Be careful today, Meg.”

“Because?”

“We spent the night drinking and watching old movies instead of sleeping. You work with dangerous tools—”

“And you work with dangerous chemicals, so be careful yourself.”

“I will if you will,” Honey B. challenged.

They agreed and started cleaning up the living room. When they made their way to the kitchen, Meg said, “I just had an idea.”

Honey put the last mug in the dishwasher and decided it was full enough to run it. “About Dan?”

Meg shook her head. “No, about your date tonight.”

“Are you going to make me pry it from you or are you going to tell me?”

Meg laughed. She really enjoyed her friend's sense of humor—maybe because it was just a bit snarky and a lot like her own. “Instead of just showing up, I think I should go too.”

Honey B. put her hands on her hips and glared. “I'm not planning on sharing—”

Meg held up both hands as if to keep her friend from jumping to the wrong conclusion. “Just hear me out. You don't know any of these guys, right?”

“Right.”

“And you've only dated men from Apple Grove, from families you've known all of your life right?”

“So.”

“So I'd feel better if I went too—separately and got another table on the other side of the restaurant. I could get there first and—”

“You'd go to Newark and go out to dinner all by yourself?”

“No,” Meg said quietly. “I'd probably bring someone.”

Honey B. crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “Who did you have in mind?”

“I'm not sure. If I can't get who I have in mind, I'll probably drag one of my sisters. Is that OK with you?”

Honey B. finally relaxed and nodded. “You're not trying to horn in on my date, then?”

Meg reached out and smacked her friend in the back of the head. “No, you idiot, I care about what happens to you. These guys are the unknown—”

“A lot like Dan is?”

Meg's stomach clenched and started a slow burn, but she hid the hurt because she knew her friend was just looking out for her welfare as much as she was looking out for Honey B.'s. She dug deep for the words to explain how she felt. “I know you're not going to believe me, but from the moment I looked up into his eyes, something happened inside of me.”

Her friend waited for her to continue.

Meg stroked a hand across her stomach. “It wasn't an ache exactly, but it was a really odd feeling, kind of like butterflies. The width of his shoulders distracted me, but it was the sound of his voice reverberating inside his chest that totally had me going.”

“In other words, you lusted after him and went for it.”

That wasn't entirely true. “No,” she insisted. “That's not all it was. I could tell that he was interested, but then he made a comment about me being in one of his classes and I knew he thought I was just a kid. When I set him straight he was still hesitant, despite the fireworks going off inside of the both of us—and then he kissed me. Well, it wasn't a real kiss—more like he brushed his lips across mine.”

“Lust,” her friend said again.

“No,” Meg insisted. “But I did show him what a real kiss was.”

“And then?”

“Then he took me home, and I showed him my great-grandfather's truck.”

“The Model A in your barn?”

“Yep.”

Honey B.'s expression changed. “Then what?”

“My dad came home and they talked cars.”

“Does he like baseball?”

Meg laughed. “So you do understand?”

“Yeah,” Honey B. told her. “I do, but I still think things got going too quickly between you two.”

“That's only because you and the sheriff are moving slower than a snail's pace.”

“So we agree to disagree?”

“Only on how quickly to move when you know in your heart that this is the one,” Meg said quietly.

“You're still dead set on going with me?”

“No,” Meg corrected her friend. “I'm going to the same restaurant as you, that's all. I'll be there if you need me.”

“What if I decide that he's the one and want more?”

“Then I'll hang around in the area. You have my cell; make sure you have yours.”

Honey B. laughed. “Yes, mom.”

Meg's smile was bittersweet. “I've got to go if I'm going to get through my day in time to get cleaned up. I still have to find someone to go with me.”

“Are you going to ask Dan?”

“Maybe.” Meg wondered what his reaction would be. “I'm not sure he'd go with me.”

“He might need a little push.”

“I won't be going alone,” she reassured her friend. “Just in case your dream man turns out to be a creep—or worse, a psycho.”

“I'm so glad you have such a positive vibe about my first date.”

Meg laughed, hugged her friend good-bye, and was out the door.

She'd started her day in a far better frame of mind than she would have if she'd spent the night alone and brooding over the way Dan stepped back from her. She was worth fighting for and she thought he was too… Time would tell. She had a full day ahead of her and questions she'd been avoiding from her sisters. Maybe she should try to get in touch with Dan before she got to the shop.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she dialed his number.

Dan felt sluggish and still couldn't believe he'd fallen asleep in front of the TV. His neck had a crick in it, but given the way he'd been hunched over in the wooden chair with his feet up on a second one, it was a wonder he could move at all. He made a mental note to start looking for a recliner or a sofa; that way, if he was going to spend the night in front of the TV, he'd at least get a good night's sleep.

His phone vibrated on the counter. Draining the rest of his first cup of coffee, he walked over and picked it up. Surprised—no, relieved—to see the number, he answered. “Megan, hi.”

“I was wondering if I could ask a favor.” She sounded hesitant, as if she expected him to refuse.

Well, probably because of the way he'd taken a giant step back from what they'd started. He was an idiot. Adrenaline or not, too many months without a woman or not, Megan Mulcahy was special—she might even be the one. Too bad if he wasn't ready to find her, but still, he couldn't just let her walk away.

“Absolutely. What's up?”

“I need you to help me help a friend.”

“Sounds complicated.”

“Well, it is and it isn't.”

He laughed. “Just ask me, Meg. I can't say yes until you do.” He hoped his opening would sway her.

He heard her drawing in a breath before saying, “A friend of mine is going on a blind date, up in Newark, and I want to be there too—just in case.”

“You don't think too highly of her blind date,” he said, “do you?”

There was another pause before Meg said, “I really don't know him.”

“So he's a friend of one of her friends then?”

“Not exactly.”

She sounded as if there were more to the story that she should be telling him, so he asked, “What aren't you telling me, Meg?”

“OK, the truth is that she met him online—”

Dan worked hard to keep a lid on his temper, still his voice sounded gruff to his own ears when he bit out, “You have to be kidding me! Doesn't she understand how risky that is? Haven't you two paid attention to anything in the news lately?” He couldn't believe they would be that naive.

“Look, Dan. I didn't call for a lecture. I called for your help. If you don't want to, fine. I'll ask someone else.”

“Wait, Meg.” He didn't want her to ask anyone else. That she'd asked him over any of the other people she knew in town was a surprise. “I'll help you, but I am wondering: why me?”

“At the moment,” she drawled, “I have no idea.”

He chuckled. “OK, before I kind of lost it just now, why me?” He couldn't say why he needed to know, but he knew deep down that it was important to have her confide in him.

“Can't I tell you later?” She sounded like she was in a hurry.

“Are you late for work?”

She hesitated again and he knew that she just didn't want to tell him… yet.

“You can tell me on the way to Newark. What time do you need me to pick you up?” He heard her audible sigh of relief and grinned.

“Can we leave right after practice?”

“I'm calling practice early today. I don't want the guys to overdo it. We have a big game tomorrow.”

“Great, so should I walk to your house?”

He laughed. She was something else. “No. I'll pick you up. Oh and, Meg?”

“Yes?”

“Does Honey B. know what you're up to?”

“How do you know—” She mumbled something beneath her breath that sounded suspiciously like one of his favorite curse words. “You guessed, didn't you?”

He swallowed the laughter filling him. “Yes. I'm sorry, but I don't like being blindsided.”

“Neither do I.”

He knew she was talking about the other day. “Look Meg, I've done some thinking and I want to talk about the other night.”

“If you're going to reiterate what has already been said, don't bother.”

“No,” he rushed out. “In fact, I think that maybe it wasn't adrenaline pumping through my veins at all… I've never felt like this before, Meg. It happened so fast.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I keep wondering if I dreamed it all.”

He tightened his grip on the phone and told her what thought kept him up most of the night. “I think we need to take it slower but definitely get back to where we were the other night.” He prayed she'd give him the chance. “Don't give me your answer right now,” he rasped. “Just promise me you'll think about it.”

“Since you're coming with me tonight,” she told him, “I'll think about it.”

He struggled to push the emotions struggling to the surface back where he could control them. “Thanks.”

“Hey, Dan?”

“Yeah?”

“Wear a nice shirt.”

“Man, I thought you were going to tell me I had to wear a tie.”

She laughed, a full rich sound that wrapped itself around his healing heart. “Not this time, but maybe tomorrow night.”

“You need me to go out with you again?”

Her sigh was deep. “Look, it's part of what I need to talk to you about on the way to Newark. Can it wait until then?”

A glance at the kitchen clock told him they'd both be late if he didn't hang up the phone. “All right, you can fill me in—but you will tell me everything, right?”

“Maybe.”

They were both laughing when they disconnected. “God I hope she gives me the chance to get back to where we were the other night.”

You're the one who put the brakes on
, his conscience screamed. “Yeah,” he grumbled unplugging his coffeemaker. “But I know now that was a stupid thing to do.”

Go
figure.

***

“What do you mean she's got an out-of-town date tonight?”

The sheriff didn't mince words and Dan had to respect the guy for his calm when he could see from the way the other man's jaw tightened and the tick that started beneath the sheriff's left eye that he was anything but. “Meg called and asked me to go with her to Newark, that a friend of hers had a blind date and Meg was uneasy about it.”

“Did she say it was Honey B.?”

“No, I guessed that it was.”

“And she didn't deny it?” The man's big hands were curling into fists.

Dan wondered,
If
the
sheriff
ever
let
his
temper
loose
would
the
other
guy
survive?
“No, she seemed relieved that I guessed. You're not going to like who she's going with.”

“Sam Reynolds?” the sheriff asked.

“Uh, no,” Dan told him. “It's—”

“Gary Jones?”

“No—I don't know his name. She met him online.”

Mitch's hands uncurled and slapped against the desk as he shot to his feet. “Son of a bitch! I didn't think she'd really go through with it.”

Dan's suspicions were confirmed. The sheriff had feelings for Honey B. Because of the mistake he'd made with Meg, he had to ask, “Does she know how you feel about her?”

Mitch glared at him before rocking back on his heels. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“She might not be headed for trouble right now if she knew you were interested in her.”

“She knows.”

“Does she?” Dan wondered because the man avoided eye contact with him.

The sheriff finally sighed and grumbled, “She should.”

“I'm taking Meg tonight, but she said something about tomorrow too.”

“Damn it. She's going out tomorrow too?”

Dan sensed the other man needed to be reassured. “I think so,” he said slowly. “I'll find out and keep you posted.”

“You've got my private number?”

“Uh, no.”

The sheriff gave Dan the number and waited for him to input the digits into his contacts. “You'll call me if things get out of hand?”

“Just as soon as I sort them out and make sure that Honey B. is out of trouble.” He held out his hand and the other man took it, a look of gratitude mixing with the uncertainty he was trying to hide from Dan.

“I'm counting on you.”

“I won't let you down.”

Fifteen minutes later he pulled into the driveway to Meg's apartment and felt a rush of hopeful anticipation skidding through his veins. He wasn't going to mess this up—if he had to slow down because he'd made a mistake and needed to make it up to Meg, he would, but otherwise, he was going to lock lips with the delectable pixie-sized woman again. She'd offered him a second chance and he was taking it. He'd been thinking of sampling her sweet-tart flavor ever since their phone conversation this morning.

Knocking on the downstairs door, he waited for her to answer. When she didn't, he walked in and called out, “Meg, are you ready?”

“Almost, come on up.”

He grinned and thought,
That
way
lay
dragons
, but he figured he could keep a lid on his libido for tonight. “I stopped off at the sheriff's office.”

Her frown was fierce. “Why?”

“I, uh…” He lost his train of thought when he saw the hunter-green formfitting dress she was wearing. “You look beautiful.”

She put her hands on her hips and he nearly swallowed his tongue, but she got his attention when she said, “Don't change the subject, Dan.”

He grinned down at her. God, she was something when she was annoyed. Her eyes sparkled, like they were lit from within, and her sassy mouth tempted the hell out of him. She appeared to be waiting for him to reply, so he told her what was on his mind. “I thought he should know. He's stuck on Honey B., Meg.”

“Maybe, but you should have asked me first.” She must have realized how she sounded because she added, “Besides, you only just moved here and don't understand their situation.”

“I understand plenty. Did you know that he has feelings for Honey B.?”

Meg's face had an expression of pain that she struggled to hide. Dan wanted to get to the bottom of that and more. She caught his interest when she said, “He's had a lot of years to do something about those feelings but hasn't. How long would you have Honey B. wait?”

What could he say now that wouldn't have her jumping down his throat? That was definitely not the mood he wanted her in tonight. He shrugged and changed the subject. “Can we leave now?”

She shook her head at him. “Fine, but next time, ask me before you go talking to the sheriff about my friend. You could have upset the plans we've set in motion.”

He felt like laughing but knew it would be a big mistake. So he agreed with her. “Yes, ma'am.” As he followed her down the stairs, he asked, “So how long should it take to get there?”

“Forty-five minutes or so. Depends on traffic and how fast you drive.”

He held the passenger door open and waited for her to get inside. “Then let's get this show on the road. Are we following her?”

Meg waited until he'd gotten in the driver's side before answering, “I think that's the best idea. I told her we'd meet her out on County Road 16. That way we might get out of town without everyone knowing something's up.”

She seemed edgy, so he reassured her, “I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that her date goes off without a hitch. If there's trouble, I'm there.” He told her, “So try to relax.”

She smiled at him. “I'll try. Let's go see if she's waiting for us.”

Honey B.'s car was sitting on the shoulder a few miles away. Dan slowed down and waited for her to pull in front of them. She waved in her rearview mirror and Meg finally relaxed beside him.

“I know this might seem a little crazy to you, but a person can only wait so long before they begin to wonder if what happened was all in their mind and the feelings tangling inside of them won't ever be returned.”

He kept his eyes on the road and the car in front of him, struggling to keep the unease sprinting through him from showing. “Thinking about the other night is too distracting. Can we talk about it later?” He saw her turn to face him in his peripheral vision. “Right now what's important is keeping your friend safe, and keeping the man who spent the night outside of her house in his truck up to speed on what's happening.”

“The sheriff told you about that?”

“He's got bone-deep feelings for her, Meg.”

The road ahead wound past farmland that rolled gently on past them. Every so often there was a perpendicular line of trees separating the land, but his favorite were the ponds dotting the landscape, some of them surrounded by trees—like an oasis amid the tilled soil. This wasn't like the farmland he'd driven by on his way through Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. It was much flatter there. “Are these farms owned by different people?”

Meg looked out the window. “The Edwards family owns the next couple hundred acres,” she told him.

“But what about the lines of trees separating the fields?”

“Some of those trees are property lines, some for a wind break, and some because a different crop's planted on the other side of the trees.”

He digested the information and told her, “When I was a kid, we used to drive into the country to attend the Sussex County Fair and most of the farms we drove past had stone walls separating them and big sections of woods on the back edge of fields—fields where horses, dairy cattle, sheep, and goats would graze.”

“So you're not a total stranger to farms and farmers?”

He laughed. “Well, except for one day out of the summer, I pretty much am. Where I grew up, we had sidewalks, streetlights, and houses too close together. I liked taking that drive with my family because it was a chance to see something completely different and to wonder if someday I'd own land and a house with plenty of space on either side—not within spitting distance of my neighbors.”