Baby, I’m Yours (3 page)

“Your dad didn’t mention you were coming home.”

“He doesn’t know.”

“Come on in. I’l sneak you into his office and tel him a sales rep is waiting for him.” She beamed. “He’l be so happy to see you.”

Nancy slipped him into his father’s private office to wait. Emory walked around, looking at photographs on the wal s—photos of him and the Armstrong boys in Little League, family photos taken when his mother was alive, his prom photo with Shelby, and a picture of Emory in his U.S. Army uniform.

The door opened and his father walked in, wearing a white lab coat and reading a file. “I’m in a bit of rush,” he said, then looked up. When he saw it was Emory, his face transformed. “Son.”

“Dad.” Emory pul ed him into a long embrace. Unlike Mr. Moon, his dad was a softie. When he pul ed back, his dad unabashedly retrieved a handkerchief to wipe his face.

“You look good. What a nice surprise.”

“Last-minute leave for five days. Porter came home with me.”

His father smiled. “Good. Emily wil be happy to have one of her chicks home.”

Emory blinked. Despite the fact that the Armstrongs and Maxwel s had been neighbors for years, he’d never heard his father cal Emily Armstrong anything other than “Mrs.

Armstrong.” Was it possible a romance had blossomed between the widow and widower? The thought made him smile.

“I’m sure Shelby was happy to see you.”

Emory removed his hat and ran his hand over his short hair. “She doesn’t know I’m here yet.”

“Is something wrong?”

“I came home to ask her to marry me, Dad.”

His father’s face lifted in a smile. “Wel , it’s about time. Congratulations, son.”

“Don’t rent your tux yet,” Emory said with a sigh. “I talked to Walter.”

“And?”

“And he refused to give me his blessing.”

His father’s mouth tightened and he shook his head. “I’m sorry to hear that. Walter is a good man, but when it comes to Shelby, he’s blind to what’s best for her.”

“What do you think I should do?”

His dad hesitated, then clapped him on the shoulder. “I think this is between you and Shelby. Whatever the two of you decide, Walter Moon is going to have to accept it.” Then he grinned. “Oh, and a dozen red roses from the florist next door would be a nice touch for when you pop the question. At least it worked with your mother.”

Emory laughed. “Thanks, Dad.”

Cletis Maxwel pul ed out the pocket watch Emory had always admired and made a rueful noise. “Sorry, son, I have to get back to my patients. And you’d better get going before the gossip mil grinds and Shelby finds out you’re here. I assume you’re staying at the house?”

“Sure, Dad. I’l see you later.”

His father smiled. “Good luck.”

Thunder boomed overhead and the lights flickered for a few seconds, then came back on.

“Looks like we’re in for a storm,” his dad said.

Emory donned his hat. “Guess I’d better get going before al hel breaks loose.” He left and hurried to his SUV, studying the somber clouds rol ing overhead like boiling water.

Although considering the way the day was going and how angry Shelby had been when they’d last talked, he might be better off taking his chances with Mother Nature.

Shelby banged on the unresponsive cash register, to no avail. She looked up at Thelma. “Is my father back yet?”

“Haven’t seen him.”

Mitch came hurrying up. “Shelby, the coolers and freezers are out, too.”

Her shoulders fel . “Did you flip the breakers in the fuse box?”

“Twice.”

“Phones are down, too!” Betsy shouted from the upstairs office.

Shelby’s mind raced to assess the situation. The power had blinked for a few seconds. The overhead lights had come back on, but the outage had zapped most of their aging appliances. They couldn’t transact purchases, and within an hour, they’d have perishables going bad. Customers stood in line, antsy to leave before the looming storm descended, but unwil ing to abandon their purchases.

And everyone was looking at her, as if she had the answers. Frustration wel ed in her chest, and she was on the verge of succumbing to tears when she realized everyone was instead looking at something
behind
her.

What now?
Shelby turned, expecting to see another situation that needed her attention.

And her heart vaulted.

Standing at the door was Emory in his dress uniform, tal and tanned and heartbreakingly handsome, holding a bouquet of red roses.

She ran into his open arms, unable to believe it was real y him. He kissed her and although she could feel his barely banked passion, they managed to keep it PG. Their audience was smiling and clapping when they final y dragged themselves apart.

“Surprise,” he murmured, handing her the flowers.

Shelby thanked him, then touched her hair self-consciously. “You look so handsome and I’m a mess.”

“You’re beautiful,” he said, his gaze intense.

He’d always made her feel beautiful, she realized. Then she swatted at his chest. “Why didn’t you tel me you were coming?”

“It was al last-minute.”

“How long are you home for?”

“Five days.”

She grinned—after being separated for so long, five days seemed like an eternity. “Great! Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?”

He suddenly looked apprehensive. “Sure, but I was hoping we could duck out now, baby.”

Shelby bit her lip. “I’m sorry—I can’t leave. The electricity is out. Everything is down and Daddy’s not here.”

“Can’t someone else take care of things?”

“No. He’s relying on me.”

Emory’s mouth quirked downward. “As always.”

Anger sparked in her stomach and she remembered why she’d hung up on him when they’d last talked. She took a half step back. “Don’t start, Emory. I have responsibilities.

They might not seem important to you, but they’re important to me.”

His square chin went up. “I thought I was important to you.”

Shelby leaned closer and whispered, “If you’d let me know you were coming, I could’ve arranged to take some time off.”

“If I’d let you know I was coming, it wouldn’t have been a surprise.”

Her heart shivered in disappointment that the same old issues continued to spring up between them. “I’m not going to argue with you in front of al these people,” she said in a low tone. “I’l see you this evening when I get off work.”

He looked contrite. “Wait—is there anything I can do to help?”

Her mind jumped ahead to her father’s reaction to finding Emory there “helping” in his absence. The two men were as territorial as a couple of bucks. If anything else went wrong, her father would probably accuse Emory of making things worse.

“No,” she said, then kissed him. “Please…just go and let me deal with this.”

He didn’t look happy, but he nodded. Then he turned around and walked out.

Shelby released a sigh and watched him stride through the parking lot, his body language stiff and angry. Everyone was at the end of their rope today.

The sound of glass crashing sounded from the back of the store.

“The PA is working,” Mitch’s voice boomed cheerful y over the loudspeaker. “Cleanup on aisle three.”

She closed her eyes briefly. For a split second, she wanted to tear off her apron and run after Emory, getting as far away from this place as possible. She even took a half step toward the door. Then she turned and climbed the short set of steps to the office with the window that overlooked the store, lovingly put the roses in a rinsed-out coffee pot, and hit the PA button. “Attention, Moon’s customers. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience caused by the power outage. If you could just bear with us for a few minutes to get situated, we’d appreciate it very much.”

This would be a good time for a cel ular phone, she mused. But since they didn’t yet have service in Sweetness, she picked up her purse and fished out several quarters. Then she dispatched Betsy to a pay phone to cal an electrician. Next she gathered tablets of paper and a couple of calculators and passed them out to the employees. “Add up the orders and write down the total, along with the customer’s name. Everyone can pay later.”

Thelma’s eyes rounded. “What if people don’t come back to pay?”

Shelby shrugged. “That’s a risk we’l have to take.”

While the orders were being processed manual y, she went to assess the damage from the broken glass on aisle three and to make sure no one had been injured.

Then she circled around to ensure the freezer and cooler doors weren’t ajar—they needed to conserve what little refrigeration they had.

She rounded up Mitch and together they moved bags of ice to the meat case, their most valuable perishable merchandise. Betsy returned and said she’d located an electrician, who promised to come as soon as he could. Shelby was in the dairy section, pushing product to the rear of the shelves where it was cooler, and starting to feel like things were under control, when her father found her.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his face a mask of concern.

She brought him up to speed on what happened, and what she’d done. By the time she was finished, though, she couldn’t tel from his expression if he was pleased or upset.

“Daddy, I didn’t mean to take over, I was just trying to do what I thought was best.”

He smiled and gave her a one-armed hug and kissed her hair. “You did exactly what I would’ve done, better even. What would I ever do without you?”

His words were casual, but his tone…she sensed something deeper in his meaning. “Where have you been?” When he didn’t answer, her pulse picked up. “Daddy, is everything okay?”

A screeching sound came over the PA, then a familiar male voice said, “Shelby.”

She frowned. “Emory?” She glanced up to the office and saw him standing in the window with the microphone.

Her father made a harrumphing noise. “What’s he doing here?”

“Emory’s home on leave, Dad. He came by earlier, but I told him I’d see him tonight.”

“Good girl,” her father muttered.

She started walking toward the front of the store, passing customers. Her dad fol owed close at her heels.

“Shelby,” Emory continued, staring at her, his voice booming into the quiet store. “I came home because I have something important to ask you.”

Her heart quickened. Her skin tingled. Her feet moved faster.

“Shelby Moon…wil you marry me?”

She gasped and ran to meet him, brimming with happiness. By the time she got to the office, Emory had descended the stairs. He took off his hat, got down on one knee, and held up an open ring box to reveal a sparkling diamond solitaire. Their audience of customers oohed and aahed.

“Emory,” she breathed. Her heart was jumping in her chest.

“Right now,” he said, his face earnest. “I want to marry you this minute. We can go to the justice of the peace and have this done.”

He glanced behind her and to her dismay, Shelby realized he was looking at her father. She turned and saw the way the men were scowling at each other in defiance. And suddenly it dawned on her where her father had been earlier—meeting with Emory.

“I didn’t give my blessing to this,” her father announced, confirming her suspicions.

“And I told you I was going to ask her anyway,” Emory said through gritted teeth.

Shelby felt sick to her stomach. Emory hadn’t proposed to her over the PA system to make a grand gesture—he’d done it in her father’s store out of spite. And she didn’t want to dash down to the justice of the peace to say quickie vows, as if they were trying to get away with something. Not after al this time together. She wanted to walk down the aisle at the Presbyterian church they’d attended since they were children, surrounded by people who had witnessed their lifelong romance.

She felt caught between the laser glares of the two most important men in her life. This wasn’t the way she’d imagined her marriage proposal. And if Emory didn’t understand that, then he wasn’t the man she thought he was.

Her tears of happiness turned to ones of grief. Shelby choked back a sob, then looked at the man she’d planned to spend the rest of her life with. “No, Emory, I won’t marry you.”

At Shelby’s words of refusal, Emory went cold with disbelief. He’d joked with Porter about the possibility of her saying no…but deep down, he’d been confident she’d say yes.

With dawning dread, he realized he’d taken a huge gamble by asking Shelby to marry him in such a public place…and he’d lost. He had no exit plan.

The faces of the people gathered around mirrored the anguish crushing his chest. Like him, they’d expected a happy ending. The silence was resounding, the disappointment, thick.

He slowly pushed to his feet and put on his hat. Then he realized he was stil holding the refused ring. He’d scrimped and saved for over two years to buy a diamond that represented their big love. Now the sparkling stone mocked his efforts. He closed the box and gripped it in his hand. Then after one last look at the woman he’d planned to spend the rest of his life with, he walked out.

A stinging wind hit him in the face as he walked to the parking lot, but it felt good. He’d total y blown the most important day of his life, and he felt the need to be punished. He looked up into the raging sky and wished it would rain already, pelt him and wash away this horrible pain.

By the time he reached his SUV, he knew where he wanted to go. To the place he’d gone so many times when he needed to be alone to think things through.

To the water tower.

He drove as far as he could take his four-wheel-drive vehicle, to a spot about halfway up the trail where it narrowed. Then Emory parked, shed his jacket and hat, and climbed the rest of the way on foot. It was a chal enging hike, even for someone in army condition, but the exertion felt good. His chest ached from pent-up emotion. He felt so miserable over Shelby’s rejection, he wanted to bel ow like some wounded beast.

Several minutes later, his dress shirt soaked through with sweat, he reached the plateau where the water tower had been erected by the town’s founding fathers. Here the ground was thick with grass and brush, but the path was wel -worn, despite signs warning against climbing the tower, at the risk of injury, fines and arrest.