Autumn Promises (9 page)

“T
his looks very festive,” Meg managed to say, her heart thundering and Evan’s breath stirring her hair against the back of her neck. She took a hurried step forward and thankfully he let go of her shoulders.

“You sit on down. I’ll put it on the table.”

She sank bonelessly into the chair. But then good sense reasserted itself. There was a way to fix this. While he was busy at the oven, she surreptitiously moved her place setting down the table by six inches, then slid down the bench till it was in front of her.

Evan carried the salad to the table, and though he didn’t seem to notice her shift, he slid his place setting toward her, and when he sat his knee brushed hers. Meg nearly shrieked at that, dropping the knife she’d been toying with. It clunked onto the place mat
and she shoved her hands under the table, clasping them together.

“So, are you feeling okay after that scare you had?” he asked.

She blinked. She had to get it together. He wasn’t talking about anything but her fateful ride. “I’m fine, and really, I wasn’t scared at all. I knew the horse would return to the barn.”

Evan looked at her askance. “No, she wouldn’t have. At the angle you were headed when I found you, you wouldn’t have come to the ranch buildings. Glory hasn’t been here all that long, and she’d never been that far afield. The snow probably had her as confused as it had you.”

That gave Meg pause. “Then once again I thank you for coming to my rescue,” she said as graciously as she could.

He grinned. “It was my pleasure, Meg.” He dipped his head then and said, “Let’s pray and get to this dinner.”

She watched Evan as he offered a prayer of thanksgiving for the meal and the celebration of life that it was. He thanked God she’d been found safe and that she’d been brought into his life to remind him of the Lord he too often forgot. He also mentioned Beth and Jack and prayed that Beth would be home soon. Just after he ended with an
amen,
the phone rang.

He hopped up to answer it and Meg took advantage of his distraction to move her place setting yet
another six inches farther along the table. Evan returned with the soup bowls and stopped short, a puzzled look on his face as he lowered her bowl to the place mat in front of her. But the confused look cleared and she assumed she’d successfully pulled off her little maneuver.

“So do you want your next course served at the other end of the table?” he asked. “At this rate you’ll be on the porch for dessert.”

A teasing light sparkled in his blue eyes. They were blue tonight, reflecting the royal-blue shirt he wore. Meg felt her face heat. “I just thought with such a big table we should spread out a little.”

His smile spread. “Oh. Good. For a minute there I thought you were afraid to be alone with me. But you wouldn’t have any reason to feel that way, would you?”

“Certainly not,” she asserted, then realized that she might have just backed herself into a corner. There was a calculating look mixed in with Evan’s teasing expression. Almost as if he was pleased with himself and her answer—the answer he’d maneuvered her into giving.

“That’s right—you just said you don’t scare easily. Good. That was Jackson calling from Beth’s room, by the way. The twins arrived safely. He’d like to talk to you after dinner.”

“Then I’d better get to eating it, hadn’t I?” she said, and devoted her attention to her meal. It was
probably the best Italian food she’d ever eaten. Unfortunately, at that moment the soup tasted like dishwater and the pasta like sawdust. But she gamely choked it all down, determined to hide her nerves. How dare the man make her nervous?

“How about coffee and dessert in front of the fire?” Evan asked.

The living room was a huge spread-out affair. Oh, why had she thought of that particular noun just now? Nothing like that could ever happen to her again. She quelled the urge to leap to her feet. “What a good idea. How can I help?”

“By going in and relaxing. You’re a bundle of nerves tonight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this. I told you Jim and Crystal got there with the babies just fine. They may even stay in Greeley tonight so Beth can have time with them in the morning. Nothing else is wrong, is it?”

Meg called on her acting ability. “What could be wrong?” she calmly asked, then turned and fled at a leisurely pace. It was a studied gait she achieved by picturing
War and Peace
balanced on her head.

She entered the living room and studied the area like a general planning a campaign.

She eyed the lone leather chair. That would be rather obvious and might give away her nerves. The sofa was out, of course. With the odd way Evan was acting, he might want to share it with her. The twin rockers close to the fire were a possibility, but they
were near the raised hearth. Evan might opt to sit there. He’d be closer than if they shared the sofa. The hearth was out for the same reason. He could get too close.

Meg was horrified when Evan outflanked her, carrying a tray to the coffee table in front of the sofa. He sat and looked up at her expectantly. Was he taunting her? Daring her?

Worry over impressions flew right out those floor-to-ceiling French doors. She plunked herself down in the nice oversize leather chair, choosing defense over appearance. Snuggling into the corner, she crossed her legs, then her arms and smiled.

“So,” he said, not showing any reaction at all to her seating choice, “where are you going after here?”

“I’ve thought about a cruise to Hawaii since I’m halfway to the West Coast, but it isn’t written in stone. I’ve been on so many cruises, they’ve begun to bore me. I belong to a travel club and often pick up bargains at the last minute, so I might check those out.”

“Jackson said you often take off at a moment’s notice. Any particular reason you don’t plan vacations ahead of time?”

“Oh, I do that as well, but I like to stay fluid. What about you?”

He frowned. “Before I came here I traveled enough to last a lifetime. Spur-of-the-moment to me
meant I didn’t know where my next meal would come from or when it’d be. Roots. That’s what I care about. How about you? You seem to be a rolling stone.”

“Appearances can be deceiving. I still live where my roots are. Laurel Glen was one of the original Penn land grant properties. You don’t get much deeper roots than that in the United States unless you have Native American blood.”

Evan stood and brought her a scrumptious-looking multilayered cake-and-mousse concoction on a plate and a cup of rich coffee. She took them from him and nearly swallowed her tongue when he perched on the sturdy rolled arm of the chair, a mug in hand. Her hands now full, she felt hemmed in.

“But Laurel Glen isn’t yours,” he said.

Why had she never noticed how mesmerizing his voice was? She stared up at him, struck dumb by the play of the firelight in his hair and eyes. “Roots are about family, not real estate,” she finally managed to say.

“The family is really your brother’s family, though.”

“That’s true, but I helped raise Hope and Cole. We’re closer than your traditional aunt, niece and nephew.”

“But Jackson is your family, now that you’ve found each other. And Beth and the kids. Maybe you ought to consider moving here?” His fingers played
in her hair, sending a tingle down her spine. “Be a part of this family?”

“Evan,” she protested. “What are you doing?”

He chuckled, and again a shiver ran down her spine. “You can’t tell?”

Meg slid gracefully to her feet and put the coffee and cake on the coffee table before turning to face him. “I don’t do things like this.”

All innocence, his eyes widened. “Things like what?”

“I don’t have affairs!”

“Well, I’m glad to hear it. Neither do I. Nor did I suggest one.” His eyes smiled even though his mouth didn’t. Somehow that was all the more maddening. He was teasing her. “That isn’t what I want, and I think you know it,” he finally said.

“I don’t date, either.” She tried again, fighting to maintain her temper.

“Again—good to know. Neither do I. At least, I didn’t. But I want to now. I want you to give me a chance to convince you to stay here. Not for Jack and Beth or the kids. For us.”

“There is no us.”

He smiled. “There could be.”

She wanted to say yes. Panicked, she said, “No. Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” he demanded, but his tone was one of infinite patience. The kind one uses with a recalcitrant child. She was not a child!

“Because…just because. I don’t have to give you a reason. I don’t answer to you. I don’t answer to anyone.” That sounded more childish than anything that had come from the twins’ little bow-shaped mouths thus far.

“I didn’t ask to be your father, Meg. I have children. Why can’t you relax and see where these feelings take us?”

“What feelings?” she asked, deciding to play dumb.

Within the next split second Meg learned something about Evan she hadn’t known. He could move with the speed of a panther. In less time than it took her to uncross her arms and prop her hand on her hip Evan was up and cupping her face in the palm of his hand.

“These feelings. The ones we both feel when we touch, when one of us walks into a room the other’s already in, when I do this,” he finished, then bent his head to press a kiss to her lips as he threaded his fingers in her hair. Then he lifted his head and smiled gently. “Those feelings, blue eyes. We owe it to ourselves to find out where this could take us. I’ll see you in the morning.”

And then the rat, the louse, the sneak left through the side door before she could come up with a rebuttal.

The sky had lightened with dawn’s sunshine before
she admitted the truth. Her only reason not to explore her feelings was fear, and that she just couldn’t admit. At least, not to him.

Evan didn’t sleep all night. He’d walked home feeling lighter than air. Then worry and finally fear had crept in. Stupid. Why hadn’t he stuck to his plan? A nice dinner. Talk of the kids. Learn more about her life. Tell her more about him and the things Colorado had to offer. Simple.

But then he’d followed her into the kitchen and found her frozen in the doorway. He’d put his hands on her shoulders thinking to ease her into the room, and he’d been lost. She’d telegraphed her awareness of him and an endearing nervousness that had hit him hard. And he’d veered off course.

Her rapid response reminded him of a spitting kitten—adorable and dangerous, defenseless and captivating. And he hadn’t been able to stop pushing her buttons all night.

Knowing she was attracted to him made him feel so alive. And so frustrated. He was terrified she’d throw away this chance in order to protect her so-called perfect life. A life that from where he stood wasn’t all that perfect.

It was all right, he told himself. She’d promised Jackson she’d help take care of the babies, and she would. He’d have weeks to get her to see that God had sent them into each other’s lives to be more to
each other than Jackson’s other parent and Wade and Maggie’s other grandparent.

He had no intention of giving up on his plan, though he’d blown it last night. But for today, he’d leave her alone. Let her regain her equilibrium.

Seth had asked him to check on a couple of sick cows over at his place to see if he knew what was wrong with them. Seth kept his operation going on a wing and a prayer while working for the Circle A. Evan made sure he was out nearly all morning.

Meg’s rental car was gone when he returned, but he thought little of it, assuming she’d gone to see Beth. He was partly right. The first sign that he’d made things worse than he thought was a call from Jackson. It was an abrupt wake-up call.

“What did you do to my mother?” Jackson demanded without preliminaries.

Guilt weighed on Evan’s shoulders. Fear twisted his gut. “Do? I didn’t do anything. Why?”

“Because she’s gone.”

Gone? “Gone where?”

“Home,” Jackson said, accusation in his tone.

Evan almost said, “But this is home.” He stopped himself just in time.

“Honestly, and I asked her to go easy on
you,
” Jackson went on, disgust evident in his voice. “I guess I should have tried protecting her
from
you.”

If only he’d stuck to the plan. It was enough to make a grown man cry. But that never solved any
thing. And sure as the sun would set, he didn’t want to ask for advice about women from his son. Especially when the woman was his son’s mother.

“You’re upset, so I’ll pretend you didn’t say Meg needed protecting from me. No female has ever needed protection from me. I wouldn’t even smack Cris’s fingers when she was a baby to keep her out of things.”

Jackson huffed out a breath. “I meant emotionally, and you know it.”

Evan didn’t know why, but he lost it. “I don’t know anything anymore. Did she say it was my fault she left?”

“No. Not exactly,” Jackson said a little too carefully, giving Evan an uneasy feeling. “She said maybe she’s a rolling stone after all and that I should ask you what that meant.”

Evan knew it was a message for him. He didn’t think you were supposed to feel it when your heart cracked and broke in two. “She went out riding and got lost in the storm. I found her and brought her home. We had dinner. I can’t help it if she got spooked and ran like a coward,” he told Jackson, but he was talking to himself, as well. He’d followed his instincts and he’d been wrong. “I’m sorry she broke her promise to you and Beth in the process. She’s an adult and this was her decision. She didn’t offer any other excuse?”

“Some nonsense about Cole and CJ. I know some
thing did happen between them, but then Cole left so suddenly Sunday, I thought he was going home to fix it.”

“He and your mother had a long talk Saturday night. I went to the kitchen to lend a hand on cleanup before going home and I heard CJ’s name mentioned. I didn’t want to intrude, so I left by the side door.”

“Then I would have thought it got handled already if Mom told him to go home. It just seems sort of suspicious that she’d fly home now that Beth’s coming home. I’m sorry, Dad. I wanted you two to get along.”

Oh, we got along, all right, he thought. Maybe we got along too well. “As far as I know we got on just fine. But son, I’ve learned over the years that we don’t always get what we want. We’ll handle the kids and Beth just fine alone.”