“I’d deny it if you ever told your dad. It’d probably kill him if he knew. Your mother was a beautiful and impetuous woman, just like you. I was just hoping you were cut from different cloth.”
“I am. I’ve never cheated. Not…that I’ve had that many long-term relationships, but I’ve never cheated.”
“The ‘other woman’ on the rodeo circuit is still a cheater. How can you be sure?”
“I guess I can’t be. But I’ve never set out to break any vows, or to ruin any homes.”
“Neither did we. It just happened,” he said with a shrug like he was talking about some everyday occurrence. “Give it some thought and let me know if you change your mind. I can give you everything you need, Gwen.”
Except love.
She walked him out of the house and hugged her dad. She was too numb and freaked out by the whole experience to know how to act toward him, and he looked like he wanted to get away too. Roger was right about one thing. He didn’t look like he could handle much more stress. After promising to call him, she waved good-bye as Roger drove his big black and silver Ford F-350 down the ranch driveway.
Hurrying to the barn, she did her morning chores, mulling over the uncomfortable conversation she’d had with Roger.
As she curried and brushed Tutti, she spoke softly. “In the same breath he tells me he’s slept with my mother, and reminds me that the offer to marry me still stands if I change my mind. Who does that, Tutti?” She’d had no choice except to turn him down but in the aftermath she worried how this might affect their original arrangement. Would he still honor it?
Tutti continued munching her breakfast as Gwen quickly fed the few remaining livestock on the ranch and then returned to clean out Tutti’s stall.
Gwen opened the exterior door in Tutti’s stall and blocked it open. “It’s warm enough now. I think we’re pasturing you for the next few days. You’ll like that, I’ll bet.”
Tutti nickered softly and exited the stall into the paddock as Gwen finished her chores. Once she was done, she put Tutti’s halter and lead rope on and walked her out to the large pasture that sloped down the hill behind the house. She thought about digging out her camera and taking some pictures of Tutti out there while she had the chance. It would be nice to have some photographs to remember this time by. She bit her lip, realizing she had no pictures with Julián or Chris at all. She’d have to rectify that.
She went in the house and put on a fresh pot of coffee. She noticed the box on the coffee table as she carried a load of laundry up to her room and stopped to sort its contents out on her way back down.
She paid all of her bills online so she was curious about who had sent her so much mail.
There was a box of Christmas candy from Abigail McIntyre and a thick stack of Christmas cards in colorful envelopes to open, numerous holiday gift catalogs and circulars that could go right into the trash, and a smallish square box. As she munched on a piece of Abigail’s homemade chocolate fudge she examined the label on the box.
The handwriting was familiar and she gasped, nearly choking on the chocolate. “Julián and Chris’s present for me! Yeah!” Just what she needed to cheer her up. She tore open the cardboard box and reached inside, anxious to finally see what they’d sent her. Their thoughtful gift in the mail, even though it had been delayed, made the awful way her day had started seem better. Then her hand encountered a small, velvet box.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Julián heard a soft squeal and the rustle of papers in the living room. Both he and Chris stopped in the doorway and watched her where she sat facing them on the couch across the room. Gwen stuck her hand inside the box once it was open and gasped. They must’ve made some slight noise because she looked up at them, surprise evident on her face.
Something was right about the moment and he smiled as she watched them approach. He’d been so damned nervous about her receiving this gift, wondering how she’d perceive it. He’d worried for nothing because she was smiling.
They sat on either side of her, which seemed to make her very happy. She lifted the little white velvet box from its nest in the shipping peanuts. “This doesn’t strike me as a little memento. Velvet boxes usually mean big bucks, unless you found a box for a Cracker Jack ring.”
Julián chuckled and gestured for her to open it. “No, I promise that didn’t come from a box of kid’s candy. Chris helped me pick it out for you.”
“Before I open it, thank you.” She kissed him, tracing her fingers through the hairs at his nape, sending a pleasant shiver of anticipation racing through him. She turned to Chris and kissed him too, then let him hug her. “You’ve brightened my day.”