A Rich Man for Dry Creek / a Hero for Dry Creek (28 page)

A ripple of surprise went through the congregation.

“She might even open a business here,” Mrs. Hargrove added proudly. “She's got quite a business head on her.”

Mrs. Hargrove went on to announce the name of each Hargrove family member as she lit the corresponding candle for them. By the time she had finished, the church glowed brighter inside.

Linda went to the altar next and lit a small green candle standing in a cup from the café. The candle was scented with pine and it started to give off its scent as soon as she lit it.

“I'm grateful for the café,” she said quickly as she turned to walk back to her seat. “Business is good.”

“And it will be even better with their new Romance Special,” the pastor added from where he stood. “See me later for details.”

Linda turned around and smiled at the pastor. “Thanks.”

“We're determined to get that Jenkins' place bought.” The pastor looked over the congregation. “Besides, a little bit of romance will be good for this town.”

Everyone laughed and then grew silent.

Garrett watched the candles burn as others in the church brought up their candles. Before long there were candles of every color and size. And the holders were as individual as the people in this town. But almost all of the candle holders looked as if they'd been brought to the altar for many years and had followed the lives of their owners during the good and the bad of that time.

“I'm going to go up now,” Garrett whispered to Nicki. “Do you want to come with me?”

Nicki nodded and Garrett didn't know when he'd been as proud. Nicki was willing to walk with him in front of the whole town.

Nicki felt her hand tremble slightly as she steadied her candleholder and took a quick look at the man beside her. The soft light of the candles played on Garrett's face and Nicki decided her first impression of him had been right. He was kind and handsome and—“She's got flowers,” a young girl said in awe when Nicki walked past. “And they're beautiful.”

Nicki smiled down at the girl, Amy Jenkins. The six-year-old was clearly writing a story in her head about the flowers and the romance they implied. Nicki almost corrected her and then decided to let it be. Maybe there wasn't as much harm in fairy tales as she'd come to believe.

“You first,” Garrett whispered when they reached the altar.

Nicki put her candle on the altar and lit it. Then she turned to face her friends. “This year I'm thankful for—” Nicki stopped. She always said the ranch. But the flowers seemed to promise more than land. She looked out at the candlelit faces around the church. So many of them looked back at her with hope and love on their faces. Why hadn't she seen it before? She might not have had her mother around to help her grow up, but she'd had dozens of mothers and fathers in this church. “I'm thankful for all of you.”

“And him,” Amy Jenkins whispered from her pew. “You have to be thankful for him.”

Nicki knew who the little girl meant. “I'm thankful for everyone tonight.”

“I hope she doesn't mean Lester,” Garrett said out of the side of his mouth as they stood in front of the altar. “That man isn't good enough for you.”

Nicki didn't think he needed to know who made the little girl's eyes sparkle. “It's your turn to light your candle.”

Garrett hadn't noticed until he set the cup down next to Nicki's that he was using one of the mugs that advertised the hardware store. He turned around to face the people. “I'm thankful that I get to meet new people and travel to new places like Dry Creek.”

A ripple of appreciation went around the pews.

“We're glad you're with us, as well,” the pastor said as Garrett reached to light his candle. The pastor also turned to Lillian. “We have two special guests this Thanksgiving.”

The warmth of the people in the church made Garrett bold and, when he and Nicki sat back down, he took her hand to hold. It wasn't much of a move. He'd made bigger one's before and never given it a thought. But holding Nicki's hand seemed momentous.

He felt complete.

Everyone stood and, with Mrs. Hargrove playing the piano, sang “Amazing Grace.” When the last chord of the song faded, everyone remained standing for a minute as though savoring the evening together.

“Now let's give your neighbors a hug and wish them a happy Thanksgiving,” the pastor said. “Then go home and get some sleep. I understand we have ten turkeys waiting for us tomorrow—not to mention Mrs. Hargrove's apple pie.”

Garrett was grateful that none of the townspeople had sat in the pew with Nicki and him. Nicki wouldn't have a question about who she should hug since he was the only one sitting next to her.

Nicki's hair smelled of lemon and strands of it gently tickled Garrett's chin while he hugged her. Garrett thought he heard Nicki give a soft sigh of contentment, but he couldn't be sure. Maybe it was just his heart giving the sigh. For the first time in his life, he felt at home.

Garrett kept Nicki in his arms. The townsfolk silently filed out of the church and soon they were the only two left inside. Still, he didn't want to let her go.

Nicki stirred. She was sinking and she couldn't afford to. She was the one who would need to get on with her life when the fairy tale ended. She looked around the empty church. “Did you see Lester leave?”

Garrett frowned. “I didn't even see him come in.”

“Oh, I'm sure he's here. I wanted to be sure he got an invitation for tomorrow.”

Nicki stepped back farther so she could breathe easier. “I'll catch up with him before he leaves. People generally hang out for a few minutes outside and talk. He'll be there.”

Garrett felt the cold as Nicki walked away from him. Did Lester even know what a lucky man he was? He followed her down the aisle of the little church and out into the cold dark night. There was no snow falling, but small drifts of snow stood at the edges of the spaces where the cars had parked.

“Brrr—” Garrett rubbed his hands together. Sharp tingles of cold ran up and down his fingers and, when he breathed, a white puff of air circled his head.

Clusters of people stood and talked together in the area where the cars were parked. The night sky was clear and as black as velvet. Garrett looked up and saw a million stars twinkling down at him.

“That's something, isn't it?” the pastor said as he came over to Garrett. “I never get tired of looking at all those stars.”

Garrett grunted. “Makes the sky kind of crowded.”

The pastor laughed. “I understand that when you get close to them, there's lots of room between the stars. Some might even think an individual star might be lonely. I imagine even a star wants company sometimes.”

“Yeah, well.” Garrett saw that Nicki had found Lester. He was standing over there talking to Elmer. The cold didn't seem to bother Lester and he had his coat open in the front as he talked. The man wore a plaid Western shirt.

Garrett frowned as he thought of the overalls he had waiting for him back at the ranch. All he had was either workclothes or the tuxedo. Neither one showed him off to his best advantage. He needed a sweater. Women always liked a man in a sweater.

“So, how's it going?” the pastor asked a little tentatively.

Garrett turned to look at the pastor square and forced himself to stop the frown. “She's gone to give Lester a personal invitation to Thanksgiving dinner. She didn't give anyone else a personal invite.”

A couple of cars had turned on their headlights and the stars were no longer visible. But the people were a lot clearer and Garrett could even see Lester smile.

“Ahh.”

“Not that it matters, I suppose. I'm heading out as soon as my cousin gets here anyway.” Garrett pulled his eyes back away from Lester and looked at the pastor again.

“I see.” The pastor nodded. “Well, then, I guess it's just as well she's inviting Lester. He's a solid man and he'll still be around.”

Garrett snorted. “He's too old for her. Besides, she deserves somebody better.”

Garrett could see that Nicki had turned and was walking back toward him. She was smiling so he assumed Lester was coming to dinner.

“Nicki deserves to be happy,” the pastor agreed.

“He's coming,” Nicki said when she came close to Garrett again. “I wanted to be sure he was coming because Reno should be back. Reno likes to have someone he can play cards with once the dishes are done.”

“Oh, well.” Garrett felt immediately better. “That's good he can come then.”

If Lester kept Reno busy playing cards, Garrett would have even more time to talk to Nicki. He might even convince her to sneak out under the stars with him and dance a waltz or two. If they didn't freeze to death, it would be quite romantic.

“Maybe Chrissy will be here, too, by then,” Nicki continued. “Maybe she and my mother can play bridge with Reno and Lester.”

Garrett was beginning to like the sounds of Thanksgiving better and better all the time. It was all a matter of planning things.

“Well, I'd better get home and get the twins into bed so we can enjoy tomorrow.” The pastor smiled as he turned to join Glory and his sons. He had only walked a couple of steps when he turned and looked at Garrett. “You know, you deserve to be happy, too. Don't sell yourself short. Think about it—we'll talk more later if you'd like.”

Garrett almost automatically disagreed with the pastor. He wasn't selling himself short by knowing his limitations. He'd always believed happiness was too much to ask for and he was right. He was no good at things like marriage and forever after. His highest hope had only been to have short-term fun.

“What was that about?” Nicki asked.

“We'd been talking about the stars,” Garrett answered with a small smile. He doubted the pastor knew about short-term fun. “I think he's trying to get them to move a little closer together.”

“Oh. That doesn't sound very easy.” Nicki frowned.

“He didn't say it would be easy.” Garrett wondered if the star who stood beside him could be any prettier. The cold had turned Nicki's cheeks red and her eyes sparkled. “Come on, let's go home.”

Nicki rode in the front of the limo with Garrett and Nicki's mother rode in the back.

“I never knew this road could ride so smooth,” Nicki said as Garrett made the turn onto the Redfern Ranch property. “I wonder if Reno will let us trade the baler in and get a limo.” But in spite of her words, she wondered if a limo would be the same without Garrett at the wheel.

“I wish I had Big Blue here so you could take a ride in her, too. She'll show you some smooth riding. Too bad she's back in Vegas at Chrissy's.”

“I don't suppose you ever drive by Dry Creek when you're delivering your loads?” Nicki held her breath. She'd wondered about that more than once this evening. “You could stop in.”

“There's not much trucking that goes by here.”

“Oh.” It was probably just as well, Nicki thought. It would be hard to settle down with someone like Lester if she kept remembering Garrett.

“You could meet me someplace when I'm in Vegas or Salt Lake City.”

“Sure.” Nicki doubted she would ever hear from Garrett after he left. She certainly wasn't going to hang out in either place hoping to catch him when he drove through. It sounded too depressingly like what her mother must have done years ago. Nicki wasn't like her mother, and she wasn't going to make the same mistake of leaving her land for the empty promise of excitement somewhere else.

Oh, well, Nicki thought to herself as she saw the house come into view. She might not have more than a memory, but it would be something to remember that she'd once had a date with Prince Charming. How many ranch women could say the same?

Somehow the thought of it didn't cheer Nicki like she thought it would. Regardless of what moment she had in her past, living a practical life day in and day out was sounding duller with each passing hour. At least things would return to normal when Garrett and her mother finally left.

“We're here,” Garrett announced as he pulled the limo under the tree that had become its parking space. The dog, Hunter, seemed happy to share the area once he'd smelled the tires a few times this afternoon.

The kitchen was chilly when they came inside.

“Well, I'm tired,” Nicki's mother announced. “If no one minds, I'm going to head up to bed.”

No one minded. In fact, no one even noticed the smile Nicki's mother had on her face as she started up the stairs.

“I should be going to bed, too,” Nicki said as Garrett helped her off with her coat. “Unless you'd like some tea?”

“I love tea.” Garrett hoped no one ever got struck down for lying. His fellow truckers would laugh themselves silly if they saw him drinking a cup of tea. He bet it was even herbal.

“Peppermint okay?” Nicki asked as she walked over to the counter.