Part 1: No Regrets(Divine Creek Ranch 2)(49)

“But you do love him?”



114

Heather Rainier

“I adore him, Kelly. If I had any idea how good it was going to be, I wouldn’t have said no to him for as long as I did. All I could see was all the women hanging off of him every night. I didn’t think I could deal with that.”

Kelly laughed. “He’s a total ho magnet, isn’t he?”

“Kelly! He’s your brother. He can’t help it.”

“Yeah, he can’t help it he’s yummi-licious.”

“You do know Charity Conners! Did you say your brother is yummy?”

“What? I’m not blind! He’s got that whole badass biker dude-slash-gentle giant thing workin’ hard for him. Worked on you, didn’t it?”

“Only totally, bad girl. Only I find him to be more of a cross between an Indian warrior and a Viking.” Rachel chortled and looked around them to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. Kelly gave her a salacious thumbs-up and then got a startled expression on her face.

“Wait a minute! You’re friends with Grace! Are you the one who saved her ass? You are, aren’t you! Oh, I have so got to meet that Hot Mama.

Three freakin’ husbands. She must be a dynamo!”

“Shhh! You maniac! Sure, I’ll introduce you, but you gotta ixnay on the ee-thray usbands-hay! Grace shops here, honey. She used to work here, too.”

“Oops, sorry, big mouth here.” Kelly patted Matthew’s back gently.

“I’ve gotta meet her!” she said more softly.

“Help me pick out a shower curtain and rings. I’m anxious to get back home and see how the guys did at the apartment. That was thoughtful of him to not want me to go over there. Facing all my burned up stuff would not be near as much fun as shopping with you.”

Originally, she had intended to go, but Eli had talked her out of returning with them to the burned-out apartment. The fire chief had said that while they were welcome to come and salvage they should not hold out much hope of finding much more than ash and charred remnants of her belongings. They would bring whatever they could to her, be it a little or a lot. Rachel was thankful she’d invested in the renter’s insurance policy because everything was covered, and her claim was already being

processed.

Kelly asked, “Did he say if they recovered much?”



Her Gentle Giant, Part 1: No Regrets

115

It sounded to Rachel like they’d made some progress, maybe even found a few things that weren’t ruined that she could still use, but they didn’t give her any specifics.

“No, just that it looks even worse over there in the daylight. I’m not holding out much hope, but it would be nice if a few things were salvageable. Which one do you think I should pick?” Rachel asked, gesturing to the shower curtain samples.

“Well, you picked blue towels, and your rugs are blue. Not going very girlie here, are we?”

“Blue is my favorite color, but I wanted things that Eli would feel comfortable using if he came over.”

“Okay, but go more girlie on the shower curtain. Stuff like that doesn’t bother him near as much as you might think. You’re going to need a king-sized comforter on your bed. With Eli under the covers, it will be too small, and you’ll freeze.”

Rachel snickered. “Trust me. I don’t worry about freezing in bed with Eli.”

“Like a sick kitten to a hot brick, huh?” Kelly said suggestively. “Still, you should get the king size. You can use it on his bed after you get married.

Lemme have it. I’ll be right back. Don’t get the paisley shower curtain, get the girlie white lace, and make sure and get the clear liner and a window curtain to match for the bathroom window. Be right back.”

Rachel smiled, watching Kelly as she scampered away. Talk about

dynamos. She picked the white lace shower curtain and got the clear liner and plain white hooks. Kelly came back with another wedding ring quilt in a king size, but with brighter colors and fewer muted shades.

“Is this one all right? The colors are a little different but very pretty.

The ivory background will match your sheets. You done?”

“Yes, that’s fine. I think I like it even better than the one I picked out.

You’ve got a good eye, Kelly. I like your style.”

Kelly brightened up, not missing the opportunity to self-promote. “See?

You should let me plan your wedding. You would be so happy!”

They arrived home as the men were unloading Eli’s pickup into the entrance of the garage, setting everything inside for when she settled down enough to go through it all. Mike and Rogelio came over, grinning, to help her carry in all the shopping bags. She carried the first bags she’d picked up