When All My Dreams Come True (32 page)

She dismounted without a word. He took her reins and led both horses.

Upon their arrival at the Cromwells, Matt pulled Bobbie into a warm embrace. “How’ve you been, Bobbie? Rebecca and I have been praying for you.”

“Thank you, Matt. I appreciate that. I’ve been fine. Maybe that’s because of your prayers.” Bobbie looked around. “Is Rebecca in the kitchen?”

“She sure is, along with Ella Ramsey. Just go on in.”

Cade walked in from the kitchen and heard the tail end of the conversation. “The meal’s almost ready, Bobbie, so it’s safe to help.” He grinned as he pulled her into his arms.

Bobbie stepped back and gave him a playful slap on the arm, then shook her finger at him. “I’ll have you know that I’ve learned a lot since that night. Haven’t I, Jace?”

Jace pretended to be examining something on the ceiling as he rocked on his heels.

She swatted his arm too. “You’re a big help.”

“Well, I’m waiting for an invitation to find that out for myself,” Cade said.

“All right. Next Wednesday. You come out and eat, and you can ride back to the study with us.”

“And you’re doing the cooking?”

Bobbie planted her hands on her hips. “Of course.”

“Done. I’ve got to see this for myself.”

Bobbie made a face at him before she headed for the kitchen. Cade laughed, then he and Jace followed Matt into the living room. Cade plopped down on a chair, leaving Jace the sofa.

“So, Jace?” Cade grinned at him.

“So what?”

“So, does Bobbie know you’re in love with her?”

“Cade!” Matt sent him a scolding look.

“What? I think everyone knows how he feels, except for Bobbie.”

“That’s still none of your business,” Matt shot back.

“Sorry, Jace.” The grin remained fixed to Cade’s face.

“Are you two planning on getting to the picnic sometime today?” Pete called up the stairs.

Bobbie stood at the top of the steps wearing one of the new dresses Annie made for her in her favorite color of green. She glanced at Annie and grinned. “Men!”

“I’d like to try to get there before all the food is gone.” Pete turned to Jace. “Women. Waiting on one is bad enough, but when you put two of them together, it’s a nightmare.”

“I heard that,” Annie said as she led Bobbie down the steps.

Pete gave his wife a hug before herding his family out the door.
Bobbie heard him inform Annie that he had already loaded the wagon with all the food and baskets.

Bobbie eyed Jace as she came down the steps. He looked distracted. She knew he hated the idea of leaving the ranch site unattended and had managed to convince Dew and Beans to take turns watching the place. The plan probably relieved only a fraction of his worry.

When he glanced up and saw her, a slow smile spread across his face. “You look beautiful, Bobbie.”

“Thank you.” She found herself tongue-tied as he lent her his elbow and escorted her to the wagon. “So what all will be taking place today?” she finally managed to say.

“The first thing we do is eat,” Pete said.

Annie turned around. “After that is a pie-judging contest followed by a pie-eating contest. Needless to say, the men who participate are so full, they’re quite useless for the next two or three hours.” Annie paused before turning to Pete. “So dear, are you planning on participating in the pie-eating contest again this year?”

Pete sent a playful scowl toward his wife. “I wasn’t useless for three hours last year.”

“No, your uselessness was closer to four hours.”

“What’s after that?” Bobbie asked.

“Then there are various games that everyone can participate in, like sack racing and horse racing. There’s even a greased pig for the kids to try to catch. That’s usually hilarious.”

“They have a shooting contest that you ought to compete in, Bobbie,” Jace said. “You’re sure to win.”

“I’m not dressed for that.”

“What makes you think you have to be wearing trousers to shoot a gun?”

Bobbie’s mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to come up with a good answer, but words failed her.

They arrived in town, and Pete helped Jace unload the food and baskets before taking the horses and wagon to the Cromwells’ for the day. When he returned, they all joined the growing line of people loading their plates from the tables set up with so much food Bobbie expected them to collapse.

After they were done eating, Bobbie followed Annie to the pie-judging contest and examined the pastries laid out on the table. Jace came up behind her. “Think you could make a pie that looks like one of these?”

She elbowed him in the stomach before turning to smile up into his face. “You know very well that Annie’s been teaching me how to cook and bake. In fact, the meal I made for Cade turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. And look, you’re still alive.”

When Jace chuckled, Bobbie realized how much she enjoyed making him laugh. She expected him to wander off to find the other men. Instead, he continued to follow her as they moved down the table.

They were just leaving the pies when two young women approached. The taller of the two had long blonde hair twisted into tight curls. She wore a flamboyant lavender dress much too fancy for a picnic. The other girl was dressed much plainer, but to Bobbie, she was prettier than the blonde because she didn’t wear an air of superiority. The girl walked behind the blonde as though accustomed to standing in her shadow.

“Hi Annie... Jace.” The blonde’s gaze never left Jace except for a quick glance at Bobbie.

“Hello, Cassie. How are you, Sondra?” Jace sent them both a warm smile.

Sondra returned his smile and nodded. Cassie linked her arm through Jace’s and began to walk. That left her friend and Bobbie to follow behind. Jace glanced back at her but continued walking with the young lady.

Bobbie wasn’t a betting woman, but if she were, she’d be willing to wager her ranch money that Jace Kincaid would never accuse
that delicate flower of stealing his cattle! She wanted to run away from the torment of seeing Jace with another woman and the way he looked down into Cassie’s upturned face.

“I was disappointed that you didn’t come by to ask me to this party, Jace. I thought after our conversation a few months ago that you planned to escort me to this celebration like you did last year.”

Jace stopped and turned to Bobbie. “Cassie, Sondra, have you two met Bobbie?”

“I’ve seen her in church,” Cassie said, still holding fast to Jace’s arm. Her haughty gaze started at the top of Bobbie’s head and traveled all the way down to the hem of her dress. “Where are your trousers?”

Bobbie’s mouth went dry. The look of shock on Jace’s face at Cassie’s rude and malicious question helped keep her calm. She took a deep breath and smiled. “I decided to leave them at home today. But you sure have a beautiful dress.”

Cassie’s brows rose. “Thank you,” she said, though her thankfulness didn’t show on her face.

Jace stepped away from Cassie as he pried her fingers from his arm. “It was good to see you and Sondra again, Cassie, but if you’ll excuse us, we need to be moving along.”

Cassie grimaced and stomped her foot. She grabbed Sondra’s arm and pulled her along as she flounced away.

“I’d understand if you wanted to go after her, Jace,” Bobbie said. “I don’t want to come between the two of you.”

Jace smiled. “That’s nice of you, Bobbie, but there’s nothing between the two of us. I’m perfectly happy right where I am.”

She inclined her head before turning away. He had no idea what his comment did for her heart.

Rebecca Cromwell walked up with Ben and Sara and announced that the pie eaters were getting seated to begin the contest. They all wandered over to watch the fun. Several pies lined the tables, and Pete sat in the center with Matt Cromwell right beside him. There were
still two empty seats. They tried to get Jace to join them, but he refused, stating that he couldn’t possibly eat another bite. They turned to Pastor Robbins and to Cade and convinced the two to join them.

Sheriff Thomas officiated the contest. Once all the men had their arms behind their backs, he fired his gun into the air, and the men dropped their faces into the middle of the pies. Pete briefly came up for air before stuffing his face back into the pie.

“Oh my goodness!” Bobbie exclaimed. “Did you see Pete’s face?”

“Well, at least this year he chose an apple pie,” Annie said. “Last year, he chose blackberry, and his face and shirt were all purple. Now
that
was a mess.”

Bobbie jumped when the gun went off again, informing everyone the contest was over. Sheriff Thomas walked over and held up Matt’s arm. “The winner!” Everyone cheered and applauded as Matt stood and accepted his ribbon, wiping his face on a towel the sheriff offered.

How long had it been since she’d had such fun? Sadly, she couldn’t remember.

The crowd moved off toward the next competition while the members of the study group followed at a slower pace, enjoying their time together. They arrived at the sack race just as it ended.

“You know, Bobbie,” Matt said, “there’s still time to enter the shooting contest. Jace tells me you’re quite good.”

“No thanks, Matt. I’m just here to enjoy myself today. Shooting is a small part of what I do for a living, and I don’t plan on doing anything even remotely like work today.”

Jace leaned down to Bobbie’s ear. “That’s a better excuse than the one you gave me.”

Surprised, she looked up at him. “I’ll tell you what, Jace. You catch that greased pig, and I’ll join the shooting contest.”

Jace gave her a fiendish look and turned toward the pig contest. She ran after him and grabbed his arm.

“Where are you going?”

“To catch a pig.”

“But you’ll get all dirty.”

“It’ll be worth it.”

“Jace!”

“Yes?” Jace finally stopped walking and turned to look at her.

“You’re not really going through with this, are you?”

“You gave me a challenge and I accepted.”

Bobbie blocked Jace’s path and looked up to find him trying to withhold his laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

“You. Quite a predicament you’re in, don’t you think?”

She made a face. Maybe if she stomped on his toes hard enough, he wouldn’t be able to run very fast, not to mention it would sure make her feel better. The only other thing she could think of was a kiss on the cheek. The gesture worked on Beans. But this was Jace.

He placed his hands on her shoulders. “Bobbie, if you don’t want to be in the contest, just say so. You don’t have to make up excuses.”

Bobbie glanced at his cheek then looked down at his toes. She shook her head. “I don’t want to be in the contest,” she said as she peered into his face.

“All right. Now, wasn’t that easy?”

A sudden warm breeze blew some of Bobbie’s hair across her face. Jace reached up to tuck it behind her ear. “You really don’t like to draw attention to yourself, do you?”

Bobbie shivered at the tenderness in his voice and shook her head. He leaned toward her until they stood inches apart.

“Well, you’d better get used to the attention, Bobbie. You’re so beautiful, people can’t resist looking at you.”

Bobbie tried to deny his comment, but what she saw in his eyes stole her ability to speak.

“Come on, you two,” someone yelled. “You’ll make us late for the greased pig.”

Bobbie looked over to find the entire group watching them with interest and amusement. Jace extended his elbow, and Bobbie
hesitated only a moment before she accepted. The day had just taken an interesting turn.

As they stood waiting for the pig to be released, Jace leaned down to her ear. “I see someone I’ve been wanting to talk to, Bobbie. Do you mind if I leave you for a minute or two?”

“Not at all. I’ll be right here.”

Was she a fool for trying to resist him? The hurt he caused with his doubt and mistrust was still fresh. Each time she tried to bury the pain, the memories resurfaced and her fears were rekindled, but her feelings for him couldn’t be ignored.