Page 114 of Summer Weddings
Mitch lost count of the number of times he’d tried to reach Bethany by phone. He’d left Chrissie with a high school girl who lived next door and then walked over to Bethany’s house.He stood on the tiny porch and pounded on the door until his fist hurt, despite the padding provided by his thick gloves.
Clearly she wasn’t home. He frowned, wondering where she could possibly have gone.
Even as he asked the question, he knew. She’d gone to Ben’s. Folks tended to let their hair down a bit on Friday and Saturday nights.
It wasn’t uncommon to find Duke and John lingering over a cribbage board, while the other pilots shot the breeze, talking about nothing in particular. Every now and then, some of the pipeline workers would wander in on their way to Fairbanks for a few days of R and R. Things occasionally got a bit rowdy; Mitch had broken up more than one fight in his time. He didn’t like the idea of Bethany getting caught in the middle of anything like that.
When he stepped into the Hard Luck Café, he found the noise level almost painful. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen the place so busy.
He caught sight of Bethany dancing with Duke Porter. Mariah Douglas was dancing with Keith Campbell, a pipeline employee and friend of Bill Landgrin’s. Mitch didn’t trust either man.
Christian O’Halloran sat brooding in the corner, nursing a drink. Mitch noted that he was keeping a close eye on Mariah. Mitch suspected she wouldn’t tolerate or appreciate Christian’s interference and that Keith knew it and used it to his advantage.
Frowning, Mitch made his way into the room. He wanted to talk to Bethany, reason with her if he could. He understood her complaints far better than she knew. Her accusations had hit him like a…like a fist flying straight through time. Those were the words Lori had said to him day after day, week after week, month after month… .
Before he’d really grasped that it was Bethany talking to him and not his dead wife,Bethany had left. He needed to explain to her that hedidknow what she was experiencing. He’d been through it himself.
In January, when daylight was counted in minutes instead of hours, people did feel trapped in their homes.
He wanted to sit down and tell her what had been burdening his heart for weeks now. Since Christmas.He loved her.So much it terrified him. He wanted to tell her about Lori; he hadn’t, simply because he was afraid of her response. Most of all, he wanted to tell her he loved her.
Bill Landgrin saw him, and they eyed each other malevolently. From the look of it, Bill was more than a little put out over their last meeting. Judging by the gleam in his eyes, he’d welcome a confrontation with Mitch.
Mitch wasn’t eager for a fight, but he wouldn’t back down from one, either.
Bill glanced from Mitch to Bethany and then back again. He set his mug on the counter and stomped over to the other side of the café, where Bethany was sitting, now that her dance with Duke was finished. Mitch started in her direction himself, scooting around tables.
Bill got there first.
“Beth, sweetie.” Mitch heard the other man greet her. “How’s about a dance?”
It seemed to Mitch that she was about to refuse, but he made the mistake—a mistake he recognized almost immediately—of answering for her.
“Bethany’s with me,” he said, his words as cold as the Arctic ice.
“I am?” she asked.
“She is?” Bill echoed. He rubbed his forehead as though to suggest he found it hard to believe Bethany would attach herself to the likes of Mitch. “Seems to me the lady can make her own decisions.”
It took Bethany an eternity to decide. “I don’t think one dance would hurt,” she finally said to Bill.
Mitch’s jaw hardened. He didn’t blame her for defying him; he’d brought it on himself. But the fact that she’d dance with another man, for whatever reason, didn’t seem right. Not when she’d said she lovedhim!
He sat down in the chair she’d vacated, and as he watched Bill draw Bethany into his arms, his temperature rose. He wasn’t much of a drinker, but he sure could have used a shot of something just about then.
The song seemed to drone on for a lifetime. When he couldn’t bear to sit any longer, Mitch got to his feet and restlessly prowled the edges of the dance area. Not once did he let his eyes waver from Bethany and Bill.
Something that gave him cause to rejoice was the fact that she didn’t seem to be enjoying herself. Her gaze met his over Landgrin’s shoulder, and she bit her lip in a way that told him she was sorry she’d ever agreed to this.
He resisted the urge to cut in.
Although Bethany was in another man’s arms, Mitch found himself close to laughter. She’d said she loved him and in the same breath had called him an idiot. He was beginning to suspect she was right. Hewasan idiot. Love seemed to reduce him to that.
The song was finally over, and as Landgrin escorted Bethany to her table and reluctantly left her there, the tension eased from Mitch’s body.
He made a beeline for her, regretting now that he hadn’t been waiting for her when she returned. But he didn’t want to give her reason to think he didn’t trust her.
Unfortunately Keith Campbell reached her before he did. “A dance, fair lady?” Keith asked, bowing from the waist.
