Three Reasons To Wed. Helen Lacey
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Название: Three Reasons To Wed
Автор: Helen Lacey
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Контркультура
Серия: The Cedar River Cowboys
isbn: 9781474040617
isbn:
Mother kind of things. Marissa didn’t miss the meaning of his words. Liz was gone and her daughters longed for a mother’s love. She knew that. She’d felt it every time she called them on the phone and the last time she’d come home for a visit. Breanna in particular had craved her attention and had cried when she’d left. It was a memory that had haunted Marissa for months. And Milly...she’d been so close to Liz, and Marissa knew she missed her mother terribly. As for the baby, Tina had no memory of her mom. It was tragic all around. And since one of the last things Liz had asked of her just before she died was for Marissa to look after her girls, she knew she would always endeavor to do exactly that. Liz was her dearest friend and had been a lifesaver when Marissa had lost her own mother.
“I’ll do whatever I can for them,” she said earnestly.
Grady was watching her with such burning intensity she was tempted to look away. But she didn’t. She met his gaze head-on. Steadfast. Resolute.
“Okay,” he said and kind of half smiled. “I’m sure they’ll appreciate any time you can spend with them.”
“I could take them out tomorrow,” she suggested. “Once I’ve settled in and stocked the house with some supplies. I thought I might take Breanna and Milly to see Aunt Violet.”
He nodded. “Sure. You can collect them from my mom’s around eleven. I always take them to her place Saturday morning.”
Marissa knew that. Liz had started that tradition years earlier. And she liked Colleen Parker a lot, too. Grady’s mother was one of those kind, forthright people who was always on hand for a cup of peppermint tea and a chat.
“Great,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nodded again and lingered, as if he wasn’t quite finished speaking to her. “Yeah...right.”
Tension returned and quickly filled the space between them. It was always like that. There was no remedy. No way of altering the fact that they rubbed each other the wrong way. It was instinct. Inescapable. It always would be.
“Goodbye, Grady.”
He stared at her. Through her. His deep blue eyes were unwavering and intense.
“So long, Marissa,” he said finally and urged the bull forward. He got to the gate and then turned. “And Marissa...it’s good to have you back.”
One brow rose. “You sure about that?”
“No,” he said candidly. “Not one damned bit.”
Then he walked through the gate and out of sight.
“So...have you been seeing anyone lately?”
Grady rocked back in his chair and released a squirming Tina, who’d dropped her favorite stuffed frog on the floor and wanted it back. He picked up the toy and placed it into her arms.
He sat in his mother’s kitchen, drinking coffee and having a reasonably deep conversation with his younger brother, Brant, about the other man’s intention to purchase the Loose Moose Tavern. Or at least, what was left of the place after it had been partially gutted by a fire several months earlier. And he would have continued the conversation had his mother, standing by the western red cedar counter, not suddenly started grilling him about his private life.
“I see plenty of people,” he said mildly.
Brant chuckled and Grady glared at his brother. He loved his mother, but when she got into one of her moods and started asking questions about what she saw as his lacking love life, a wall inevitably came up. Colleen Parker was a gem of a person and a wonderful parent, but sometimes she pushed too far and too hard.
“Stop being smart with me,” she said and shook her head as she placed a sippy cup into Tina’s hands. “Are you dating anyone at the moment?”
Grady cocked his head sideways. “Do you mean since you asked me this same question last Saturday?” He shrugged a little too casually and knew his mother wouldn’t be fooled.
“Sarcasm isn’t necessary. It was a reasonable question.” Colleen came to the table and sat down.
Grady groaned. “Then no, I’m not.”
His mother tutted. “How are you ever going to get married again if you refuse to even date?”
“I’m not refusing to do anything,” he replied and sipped more coffee, keeping one eye on his youngest daughter as she wandered around the kitchen table. “I simply don’t have time for dating. Nor do I want a wife at this point in time.”
Colleen tutted again. “Your girls need a mother.”
“They have a mother,” he said, sharper than he’d intended, then softened his tone a fraction. “Just leave it alone, Mom. I’m fine, okay?”
“You’re not and I can’t,” she replied. “I’m concerned about you and my grandchildren. And as your mother, that’s my right. So stop fobbing me off with excuses like not having the time. You have to make time.”
It was the same old song. The one he heard every week. For the past twelve months his mother had become unwavering in her belief that he needed to get married again. But he wasn’t about to jump into anything. Sure, he knew the girls would relish having another woman in their lives...but marriage was a huge step. And he wasn’t sure he had the heart to give part of himself to someone new...at least, not yet. He liked his life...most of the time. Sure, there were times when he got lonely, but who didn’t? And there were nights when he would have liked someone to talk to, someone to curl up to and someone to make love with. But that didn’t mean he was about to get into a relationship he simply wasn’t convinced he was ready for.
He cracked a smile and looked at his mother. “Can’t you point that Cupid’s arrow of yours in his direction for once?” Grady suggested and hooked a thumb toward his brother.
Colleen grinned. “Once you’re settled, he’s next.”
Brant groaned loudly. “Leave me out of this, will you?” he said in a despairing tone.
Grady looked at Brant, who was two years his junior, and smiled. But in his heart he worried about his younger brother, who had recently left the military after a third tour of the Middle East. Grady knew his brother had brought demons home with him. He wasn’t sure what, but he felt it. Brant didn’t say much. He didn’t have to. They had been close all their lives. But something haunted his younger brother, something big. Only, Brant wasn’t talking, and Grady worried that his brother never would.
“Not a chance,” he said and laughed. “Now that you’re back you get to take your medicine just like I have to.”
They both laughed then and it felt good. He loved Saturday mornings at his mom’s. The girls adored their grandmother and their uncle Brant, and having family so close by helped fill the void left when Liz had died. Despite Colleen’s repeated matchmaking efforts, Grady knew his mom understood his need to keep his daughters in a loving and steady routine, СКАЧАТЬ