Page 8 of A Week To Wed
I hope he’s not the old-fashioned type that wants to wait until the wedding night. I might have to throw myself at him. Naked.
After Lincoln introduced Loki and me to Harley upon my arrival at the ranch, I’d gotten straight to work on planning the wedding. Apart from frantically googling caterers, florists, and bakers in the region, Harley was a wealth of knowledge. No internet search engine needed.
I’d wanted to insist that Harley not trouble himself unpacking my things, but I enjoyed listening to him talk as he helped me get settled.
While Lincoln went out to join Ray in moving the cattle to the next pasture, Harley told me almost everything a person would want to know about the ranch and Darling Creek.
I liked Harley right away. He petted Loki, fed him biscuits, and gave him a dog toy.
Today I learned Harley was a cowboy here for most of his life. Now, with arthritis, he stays close to the ranch and handles most of the cooking. When his joints allow it, he tends the chickens, helps with the horses, and tidies the house.
He’d filled me in on Ray, who I didn’t meet until hours later as I was making supper. About ten years younger than Lincoln, Ray seems to be still sowing his wild oats if Harley is to be believed.
He filled me in on some local gossip, including the nearby rancher, Zeke, who’d recently inherited a baby and, because of some crazy mixup, ended up with a wife instead of a nanny.
Harley stopped short of straight-out blabbing to me that it was Zeke’s predicament that gave Lincoln the idea to seek out a mail-order bride, but he vaguely mentioned that Lincoln had always been a procrastinator with figuring his life out.
“He tends not to put much stock in relationships. Familial or romantic. But I guess he received a wake-up call,” he said.
I still wonder what that means as I stare at the pitch-blackness of my room, unable to sleep. My room. Will I be moving into Lincoln’s room at some point?
Harley had gone quiet when I pressed him on the relationship, so I let it go.
After watching me spread out my three-ring binder full of wedding paraphernalia on the kitchen table, Harley went outside to plant mums in the ceramic pots on the porch.
When Ray had arrived back at the ranch, the two border collies bounded in first. Molly and Frank greeted Loki and me with as much enthusiasm as I’d expected. Loki surprised me by tolerating the usual sniffing from the other dogs but then put them each in their place with a nip when he’d had enough.
Although I’d made plenty of food for everyone on this first night, Harley and Ray politely declined, saying they would hit some place called Willie’s, a local pub in Darling Creek.
“I hope I didn’t step on your toes by taking over the cooking,” I’d said to Harley.
He’d just smiled and shook his head. “No, ma’am. We’ll let you two love birds have a nice private dinner to get to know each other.”
Indeed, Lincoln and I had gotten to know each other a little, and then he’d declared it was time to go to bed.
It’d felt too early.
At first, we stood at the top of the stairs, staring at each other like a couple of mute cows.
I replay that conversation over and over in my mind, wishing I’d flirted with him. Because maybe he was waiting for a signal from me that I wanted to be kissed.
“You have to rise early to tend the herd?” I’d asked, immediately scolding myself.Of course, he does. You know that, silly.
“Yep,” he’d answered, stretching his arms overhead and yawning. It was so cute I wanted to hug him around his midsection.
I waited and finally said, “I think I’ll explore the town tomorrow. Care to join me when you’re done with chores?”
“I’ll be late. I took off most of today to pick you up, and Ray had to cover for me, so I’m giving him tomorrow afternoon off.”
“Oh.”
“You can take the Bronco if you want. There won’t be anything open on Sunday, though. Except for the Corner Cafe…and Willie’s.”
“The bar?” I’d asked, remembering Harley and Ray mentioning it. Biting my lip because I knew I shouldn’t bait Lincoln, I’d said, “That sounds like the place to be. Maybe I’ll meet some friendly folks there to show me around.”
I was right. I shouldn’t have said that. That straight line of a mouth went completely rigid, and his face looked tight.
“On second thought, why don’t you wait until Monday. I can take you around on my day off.”
