Autumn Promises (13 page)

“T
his is
such
a bad idea,” Meg told her reflection as she finished running a brush through her hair.

It was five minutes to seven. Except for the butterflies in her tummy, she was ready. Oh, who was she kidding? She doubted she’d ever really be ready. Not for a date with Evan. And not to let him go, either.

But she was going. She had on her favorite red dress, which usually made her feel upbeat, but it wasn’t working. Hard to be as happy as it usually made her feel, because soon she’d have no choice but to let him go if he left for Colorado.

If
was a very big word, however, and she was going to have to make good use of it. If she could get him to stay with
her.
If she could show him that traveling with her, sharing her adventures and her life
at Laurel Glen would enrich his life, then there would be no goodbye.

And if she failed?

She grimaced and walked away from her dresser. His invitation to dinner and his easy capitulation still stung. When he’d given in so easily, her heart had clenched. Then her practical side had taken over. It wasn’t as if he’d be out of her life completely, she’d told herself. They could be friends, loving friends, even if most of the time there would be half a continent between them. And she’d have her memories to sustain her between his visits to Laurel Glen and hers to the Circle A.

So she’d accepted this dinner invitation, because however unsatisfying such a limited relationship would be, she’d tried to tell herself it would be better than nothing. Now she wasn’t so sure.

This wasn’t like other times she’d met interesting people on her travels, spent time with them, enjoyed good laughs and lighthearted fun, then had gone home with lots of snapshots and fond memories—and no regrets. She’d simply added their names to her Christmas card list and gone on with her life, richer for having known them but no poorer for their absence.

It wasn’t like that this time. Because this was Evan. And a limited relationship just might be more painful than even the weeks since returning from Colorado had been. That left her with only one
choice, since she didn’t want to leave her life behind. Meg had to show him how wonderful and rewarding her life actually was. She had to show him what he could share, and all he’d be missing if he gave up and went home.

His knock on her door wasn’t a surprise, but her heartbeat still quickened. She’d decided she had to trust the Lord about her path and the man she’d met along it. Now, if he would only learn to look outside the narrow scope of his own life, he’d see how good and full their life together could be.

She stopped when she reached the door. She could see his shadowed image through the curtains.
“Please, Lord, guide me tonight,”
she whispered, knowing she had no chance on her own.

“Goodness,” she gasped when Evan turned to face her with a spring bouquet of lilacs and daffodils in his hands. “Do you treat all your friends like this? If you do, you must have scores of them.”

“Only special friends.” He handed her the flowers. “So far, only you.”

Meg buried her nose in the fragrant petals and inhaled. “Umm. Spring. It can’t happen soon enough to suit me.” She couldn’t help noticing the disappointed look that came over Evan’s face and wondered at it. Who on earth didn’t like spring? Deciding that train of thought would only sidetrack her from her objective, she asked, “Would you like to come in while I put these in water?”

He nodded, a nod achingly like his son’s. Meg was halfway to the kitchen before she realized how easily she thought of him that way now. As Jack’s father. And even though she hadn’t known she did at the time, she no longer resented him for having the opportunity to be a father to Jack that death had denied Wade.

She felt Evan’s presence in the kitchen doorway as she got a white pottery pitcher out of the cupboard. He leaned against the doorjamb with his ankles crossed, watching her, his attention making her hands fumble a bit. She continued to arrange the flowers, trying to ignore him. Finally wondering at his stillness, she glanced over at him and paused. There was a strange look in his eyes and an equally mysterious expression on his face. She was puzzled by that and was compelled to ask, “What is it?”

“You do that so easily. And it actually looks good—not like a bunch of flowers stuffed in a vase but not all stiff and formal, either. Everything seems to come so naturally to you.”

“Thank you,” she replied, though she didn’t have a clue why he was so amazed by her. She was just…her. Shrugging, she dried her hands and took the flowers into the living room to rest on a table that sat beneath the front window.

“There we go. All set. Shall we go?” she suggested, then turned and noticed Evan looking at the series of five pictures that hung on her dining-area
wall. “Amelia did that series on the cruise I met her on.”

“Are they of a sunset or a sunrise?” he asked, his tone preoccupied.

“A sunset,” she told him, walking back to the photos Amelia had given her as a housewarming gift.

“Didn’t you meet her through Ross?”

“No. I introduced Ross and Amelia. She came here to do a pictorial history of the county and the families of its founding fathers.”

“Hmm…” he said, his voice vague once again. “Jackson brought a copy home with him—it was interesting. The colors in these are incredible. What island is that?”

“St. Thomas. It’s lovely there.”

He continued to stare at the photos, giving her an idea.

“Suppose we go to dinner, and when we get back I’ll show you my albums from some of the trips I’ve taken.”

He smiled. “I’d like that. I guess we should go. I hope you don’t mind riding in Jim’s Mustang. He insisted I borrow it. I think he’s convinced I’m in some sort of midlife crisis. Cars mean very little to me usually, but the truth is I wanted one of those babies in the worst way back in ’69. Unfortunately, I was too busy trying to afford a new truck.”

Meg grinned. “I wanted one, too. I asked for one for graduation. My brother gave me one. Red, just
like Jim’s.” She held up her index finger and thumb. “Except it was three inches long!”

Evan chuckled. “So let’s go indulge our fantasies, shall we?”

Three hours later Evan took Meg’s key from her hand and, trying to ignore the jolt he felt when their fingers touched, opened her front door. The time had flown by as they shared stories about their homes. Their lives. Her family. His quest to build the Circle A. It had felt to him as if each had been trying to impress the other. And he had to admit, he was impressed.

There was no question that the Taggerts had a long, rich heritage. There had been struggles and victories, tragedies and triumphs in the family’s history, and none more compelling than those of the past three generations.

The door swung open and he handed Meg back her key, unsure if the invitation for coffee and some more conversation was still open. On the threshold, he hesitated.

Meg turned after stepping up the one step into the cottage. “Aren’t you coming in?”

Not wanting to look like a fumbling boy, he took her hand and stepped closer. The step put them at the same height and he stared into her eyes, then let his gaze drop to her lips. “A dinner date is hardly complete without a good-night kiss, Meg.”

“This was a date?” she asked, then smiled shyly. “Yes, I suppose it was.”

“Glad to see you agree,” he murmured, and leaned forward to cover her lips with his. For the sake of propriety and, to be honest, his sanity he didn’t prolong the kiss. He would not consider taking the kinds of liberties Wade Jackson must have, even though she was now a mature woman.

But no one said living a virtuous life was easy. He stepped back, well aware of the effect she had on his mind and body. “Good night, honey. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Her fingers covered her lips for a moment and disappointment flooded her gaze. “Oh, you’re leaving? I did so want to show you some of the albums. Just for a little while. I’ve been so many wonderful places, Evan. I’d love to share them with you.”

Put like that, how could he refuse? Evan steeled himself for battle the only way he knew would work. He prayed.
Okay, Lord. Here’s where You come in. Keep me from making any wrong moves.

After a quick deep breath he nodded and followed her inside. He looked around the quaint parlor and chose a chair by the fireplace, hopefully putting a coffee table between them.

“I’ll just make us some decaf. Why don’t you put some music on.”

She left him there, palms sweating, his mind in a turmoil. He should never have kissed her. It sharp
ened his desperation, reminding him how crucial each moment he spent with her was.

When she returned she set the coffee tray on the low table in front of him and sank cross-legged to the floor facing him. The table next to his chair held a lamp and opened like a cabinet. She pulled out a couple of baskets, each full of small albums that held thirty-five-millimeter photos.

“Would you tell me something?” she asked, tilting her head at a beguiling angle. “Why were you so drawn to the sunset study Amelia did?”

Now, this was embarrassing. He had to answer a world traveler whom he loved but who he was pretty sure saw him as a country bumpkin. But lying would get him nowhere in the long run and it would be wrong besides. He was trying to arrange a future here and he doubted the Lord would reward subterfuge. “I’ve never seen the ocean, Meg. Until I flew here when Cris was hurt, I’d never been in a plane bigger than an eight-seat commuter.”

She didn’t seem at all surprised. Perhaps he’d told her when he’d told her about his early life. “Why?” she asked which surprised him.

“I think I told you travel has never interested me. With my past it’s only meant worry and uncertainty. Where would I sleep tonight? What would I eat?” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t enjoy it.”

“I understand how you feel about travel, Evan. But it isn’t full of uncertainty if you know you have
a home to go to afterward. It’s an adventure. It’s opening up your mind to new sights, sounds and cultures,” she explained, her eyes and gestures full of the passion for living he just loved about her.

But still…did she think he was an idiot or so stuck in his ways he couldn’t enjoy new experiences? “I know there are things to see that are different from my everyday life. Touring the historical sights of Philadelphia was interesting when Jack and Beth took me. I didn’t like the hustle and bustle of the city, but seeing the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and all the other things from Colonial America was very moving.”

She flipped open a small book she’d pulled from one of the baskets. “So what do you think I felt at Machu Picchu on my trip to the Andes in Peru? Machu Picchu is called the Lost City of the Incas because no one knew it was there until the early twentieth century, and archaeologists still don’t know why it was built there on that beautiful spot.”

Evan studied several photos of the terraces and cliffs of the city that had so moved her. Even the pictures conveyed an air of mystery. Meanwhile Meg rooted through the cabinet, then handed him another book. On the front it was marked “Turkey.”

“This is a military cemetery in Gallipoli on the Dardanelles near Istanbul,” she said, pointing to a picture of row after row of small gravestones. “It has such an air of reverence and pride to it. The incred
ible thing about it is that the Turks buried a quarter of a million Allied soldiers during World War I as heroes, even though they died invading Turkey.”

Evan found even the photos stirred his emotions, but she wasn’t finished. “And it isn’t just feelings, but sights, too.” She gave him yet another book. “Here’s my album from a trip to France.” She flipped to a spectacular photo of what looked like a church, with a village surrounding it, built on top of a rocky promontory that rose abruptly out of the sea. It appeared to be an isolated island reflected in exact detail in the water around it. “This is Mont Saint Michel. It’s a monastery. You can see it for miles as you approach it. To get to it there’s a causeway that’s underwater at high tide.”

She kept going, showing him pictures from Egypt with her on a camel. In India she rode an elephant. A tan Range Rover was her transportation across the Serengeti Plain.

Evan’s heart fell. She’d gotten her point across. It
was
an interesting and rewarding way to spend time. And it was the reason she’d become the person she was—the woman he loved. So how was he going to get her to give all that up for him? And if giving up this part of herself would change her, why would he want her to?

She talked about Peruvian ruins and French monasteries the way he did trips into Denver. Somehow
he didn’t see her being impressed with the chance to go to Antique Row. But he had to keep trying. His love had been enough for Martha, and he had to hope it would be enough for Meg, too.

M
eg looked up at Evan. His troubled expression wasn’t what she’d been trying to achieve. She’d wanted him to see how much fun they could have traveling together. He’d looked interested at first, but now he just looked… Bored? Uncomfortable?

“Well, enough of this,” she said, taking the last album off his lap. “I didn’t mean to bore you.”

He blinked. “I’m not bored in the least. Just feeling a little unsophisticated. I’m the one who must seem pretty boring.”

“Don’t be silly. I loved your stories about Jack and Crystal growing up and about how you expanded the Circle A.”

Evan smiled. “And I enjoyed the tales of the infamous Granny Taggert who lived to such a ripe old age and was still whacking Ross for his language a week before she died.”

Meg was relieved. That was better. She reached back into the end table and pulled out a big wide album that took up the whole bottom of the cabinet. “Then you’ll really enjoy this. It’s full of pictures of Taggert ancestors and starts with a set of eighteenth-century miniatures. And wait till you see the way Jack’s resemblance to the family has been around for over a century.”

Meg returned from her historical society meeting late the next day as Evan walked out his front door. He was so handsome it sometimes took her aback. If he looked like this in his ranch work clothes, she couldn’t wait to see if she could get him into black tie.

She detoured to him, determined to take the next step in her personal campaign to show Evan about life in her world. She spread her arms and gave him a smile as sunny as the day. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

He smiled fondly. “Spring’s the best. Right?”

She nodded. “I talked to Jack this morning. It’s snowing in Colorado. However do you stand winter going on and on this way?”

“Funny, I talked to him, too, and I found myself wishing I was there to see it. I love snow the way we get it. If you’d waited around you’d have seen how fast it melts. Winter comes to the high plains only in visits and goes away quickly till the next time the mood strikes. I guess the respites we get make it
less difficult to bear. And then there’s the dry air that doesn’t make it feel colder or hotter than it really is, the way the humidity does here. I couldn’t believe how sticky and uncomfortable eighty-five was when I got here the day Cris was hurt.”

Meg decided there was little she could do to argue with his assessment of local weather, since no one liked the humidity. The only thing it was good for was keeping everyone’s complexions from getting too dried out. Somehow saving on the cost of moisturizers as a reason to move his entire life seemed a bit thin. Better to move on to the real objective. Evan in a tux.

“Now that we’ve discussed the weather, I wondered if I could ask a favor,” she said.

He raised an eyebrow, and his silver-blue eyes widened in interest. “Ask away.”

“I’ve been working on a benefit for the historical society and I have to attend and I thought…” Meg hesitated. “I wondered if…” She grew so nervous her palms began to perspire. She’d never asked a man out before. And at this moment she felt like anything but the modern woman she’d always thought she was.

Evan’s expression shifted and he pinned her with one of his probing looks. “Meg, are you asking me to escort you somewhere?”

“Oh, Evan.” She laughed to herself, laying a hand on his forearm. “This is a new experience for me.”

He chuckled, and the sound of his voice tingled along her spine. Oh, she wanted a life with this man.

“Actually, everything I’ve experienced with you is new to me,” he told her, grinning. “I’d be happy to go with you. Is there any particular dress code?”

She grimaced. How would he feel about a formal occasion? “I’m afraid it’s black-tie.”

“I think I can handle it. Just point me to a good rental shop. Hopefully they can fit me.”

“Actually, Cole has more than one tux, and you two are close to the same size. He may be an inch or two taller, but your cowboy boots would make up the difference.”

“It wouldn’t bother you if I wore them?”

“Are you kidding?” She gave him a smile and a wink. “Those boots are part of the charm, cowboy. The benefit is Friday night. We’d need to leave by seven so I can be there early, since I’m part of the committee.”

He gave her one of those short nods and said, “I’m looking forward to it.” Then he looked at his watch. “Oh. I have to get a move on. I promised Ross I’d meet with a buyer about that hunter he’s brokering for a customer.” He chuckled again and shook his head. “A hunter named Hunter. What are people thinking? Anyway, the buyer owns a rental stable and Ross is worried about it being the right place for this horse. He wanted my opinion. While I’m talking to
him, Ross is paying a surprise visit to his stable to get an idea of the level of care his animals get.”

She smiled. “Teamwork. I’m counting on you to make sure Hunter gets a good home. He’s a sweetie. Did anyone call you about dinner at Laurel House tomorrow night?”

He nodded. “I’ll be over at Cris and Jim’s most of the next several days working on the addition. But don’t worry, I’ll see Cris sends me home Friday in plenty of time to get myself presentable for your friends.”

A mischievous idea popped into Meg’s head and she decided to go with it. It was time he knew how attractive she found him. She bounced up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Honey,” she said in a low Mae West sort of tone, “you’re more than presentable with baby spit up on your shoulder and horse manure on your boots. And don’t you dare leave the hat home, either.”

Then she whirled away and all but danced to her door. Only then did she turn to see what effect she’d had. And that buoyed her spirits until Friday night. Because Evan stood as if rooted to the spot staring after her. She gave him a jaunty little wave and went the rest of the way inside.

Evan tugged at the cuffs of the jacket, then knocked on Meg’s door. Cole’s tux fit just fine, but Evan was used to Western cuts with their yoked
shoulders and more comfortable fit. He felt as if he were wearing someone else’s suit. Which he was, he reminded himself. What really bothered him was that he felt as if he’d stepped into someone else’s life. Nothing around him was familiar. Not even the clothes on his back. And the call from Jack on Wednesday had filled him with homesickness. At first he hadn’t realized what his mood was all about. But when Meg had brought up the snow he’d realized how much he missed his home.

He knew Meg didn’t understand, and he was beginning to despair that she ever would. That she ever could. She moved from place to place so easily. He wished he had her marvelous ability. Maybe it was their childhoods that had spawned the real difference in them, not their adult lives.

She’d had security and family from the first, even if her father hadn’t been all he could be. She’d still had this place and her grandmother and brother. It was strange how her life and Jackson’s had more than paralleled each other’s in that respect. Could the stability of her childhood have been what enabled her by age eighteen to strike out on her own in search of her dreams?

And him? Well, his dream had come true at the same age, but it had been the opposite of what Meg had been searching for. His dream had been of a place to call home. Of a family to love and one that
would love him back. Of sleeping in the same bed each and every night of his life.

He honestly didn’t see himself managing well away from that.

But then Meg opened the door. And in a flash he knew he could hang on and suffer this emptiness, because she filled it with her very presence. For her he would endure his homesickness. He needed only to hang on until he convinced her that he could give her a good and complete life full of the one thing in life that really mattered.

Love.

“What?” she asked when he’d apparently stared at her for too long.

He grinned, embarrassed by his rudeness. Now that he focused on the brilliant sapphire satin dress, he knew what to say. “You’re so beautiful, blue eyes. You amaze me sometimes.” This was one of them. “You just always look so perfect.”

“I think the accepted coy reply is supposed to be, ‘What, this old thing?’ but that would be less than truthful. The truth is I shopped my little feet nearly off trying to find the perfect thing to wear for you tonight. So, instead I’ll say, Thank you, kind sir.” She dropped into a curtsy worthy of the throne rooms of Europe.

“Well, ma’am,” he said, tipping his hat, “you more than succeeded.” He put out his hand. “Ready?”

“Just let me get my wrap.” He watched her go, wondering how she’d found a dress that so perfectly matched her eyes.

Evan realized within moments of their arrival at the historic house where the benefit was being held that Meg was more than just a committee member. She was a vital part of the proceedings. He watched as she greeted arrivals, directed waiters, solved last-minute kitchen problems and soothed the ruffled feathers of an older matron who felt slighted by someone. She was part diplomat, part counselor, part organizer and all woman.

He wanted her to be his woman.

Ross and Amelia, Cole and CJ, and Adam Boyer and Xandra were all in attendance, so he didn’t feel abandoned while Meg ran the event practically single-handedly. What he felt was pride. Especially when she acted as MC of the night’s white elephant auction and raised a nice piece of change to save a 1700s farmhouse from destruction.

With style, grace and wit she auctioned off everything from dates with eligible singles to concert tickets to a year’s worth of riding lessons at Laurel Glen. There were paintings, a record collection and an ugly white elephant, too. The latter was the signature piece of the night. The bidding for the “honor” of keeping it for a year only to return it to be auctioned off the following year was hilarious as Meg urged the bids
higher and higher by taunting her friends, neighbors and family. Imagine his surprise when he won the honor.

After the auction was completed, the real entertainment began and Evan was determined to be entertained. The orchestra started playing a romantic slow song and he swept her into his arms. Then he dragged in a breath and with it came her scent, an alluring mix of floral and spice. He swallowed. Holding her was magical. He loved this woman, and prayed he would soon find a way to win her heart.

“This is my favorite piece of music,” she whispered, then looked right and left as if checking to see if they’d drawn any attention.

“I think it’s going to be my favorite from now on,” he admitted, trying to ignore her obvious nervousness. He wished he knew why she’d grown anxious now that she’d joined him when she’d handled the earlier part of the evening with such ease and poise.

“So this isn’t too unbearable for you?”

Sometimes he got the idea that she thought he was too rough-and-tumble to be let off a leash. Did she think he was going to break into a Texas two-step at any moment? “No different than one of our formal grange events. We aren’t completely uncivilized in Torrence. And I often travel to Denver on business. I eat in real five-star restaurants and stay in top ho
tels. I learned how to behave in polite company years ago, Meg.”

Her cheeks flamed. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to imply… I just thought… No, actually I guess I didn’t think at all. I wanted you to have a good time tonight. To see that I really do have a life here, in spite of what you seem to think. Your world is just so different from mine.”

He chuckled, trying to put her at ease and sorry he’d said anything. To recapture the moment, he leaned down and kissed her nose. “Relax. I wasn’t offended. I just wanted you to know you could let me roam around unattended among your friends.”

“But I did know that! If I’ve been nervous it’s because I’ve never brought anyone with me to an event before. Everyone has been staring and asking the most intrusive questions and I have no answers.”

He could imagine their questions. He’d been asking them himself. “Let them ask! Then smile and say it’s none of their business. Or do what Cris would do. Make up an outrageous answer and set them on their ear.”

“Normally, I’d do just that, but this is different. Special.” She pursed her lips jokingly and stiffened her spine. “Thank you. I’ll do exactly what you suggested from now on!”

“Good girl.” He grinned. “Now, I hate to mention this, but the song ended and we’re still dancing.”

The night seemed to fly by after that—a continuous round of chatting, mingling and enough delicious finger foods to pile on a pound or two. Late in the night after the bids and donations had all been tabulated, Meg announced the amount raised and everyone congratulated her as if she’d done it alone. Then he realized she almost had.

He was proud to walk out with Meg under one arm and the elephant under the other. “What are you going to do with that awful thing?” she asked, laughing.

“You mean Jumbo here? Now, that’s a good question. He won’t exactly go with the decor in my cabin back home, will he? I guess Cris can hold on to it until the historical society needs it next year. She’ll have plenty of closets soon.”

Meg showed no reaction to the idea of him going home. She just smiled and said, “No. No, I guess it doesn’t fit in the Western décor of your cabin.”