Orchard Valley Brides (12 page)

“R
owdy.” Norah couldn't take her eyes off him. It was the first time she'd seen him stand without his crutches. He looked tall and proud—and unyielding. It didn't matter; Norah had never loved him more than she did at that moment.

“What are you doing here?” he asked again.

“I—I came to talk. Sit down, please.”

He leveled the full force of his scowl at her. “You're in my chair.”

“Oh…sorry.” She leaped up as though propelled by a spring and hurried around to the other side of the desk.

“Unfortunately, you made an error in assuming I wished to speak to you,” he informed her coldly once he was seated. “As it happens, I have several appointments this morning.”

Just then Ms. Emerich appeared, carrying two steaming coffee mugs, which she set down on the desk. “Good morning, Mr. Cassidy,” she said cheerfully. Winking at Norah, she continued, “Mr. Deavon called and canceled his nine o'clock appointment.”

Rowdy glared at her as if he didn't believe her. “Call Kincade and have him here by nine.”

“I'm sorry, sir, but Mr. Kincade phoned in sick.”

“Murphy, then!”

“Mr. Murphy's out, as well,” she informed him, then glanced at Norah and winked again. With that, she was out the door, closing it quietly behind her.

“Annoying woman,” Rowdy said under his breath. “All right,” he growled, “you wanted to talk. So talk.” He looked at his wristwatch. “I'll give you exactly five minutes.”

Norah picked up her large purse and deposited it in her lap. The zipper made a hissing sound as she opened it. She rummaged through, then gave up and leaned forward to sip her coffee, noticing that Rowdy hadn't touched his.

“I thought you wanted to talk,” Rowdy reminded her impatiently.

“I do, but I brought a list and I want to go over it with you.”

“A list?”

She nodded absently, sorting through the objects in her purse. “There are some important issues I feel we have to discuss.” She still couldn't seem to locate it and ended up setting her billfold and a paperback novel on the edge of his desk. She could feel Rowdy's disapproval, but was determined not to let him distract her. “Here it is,” she said triumphantly, taking the folded slip of paper from the bottom of her oversize bag.

After returning everything to her purse, she zipped it shut. “Now,” she began in a businesslike voice, “the first thing has to do with the engagement ring.”

Rowdy's face tightened. “You can skip that one.”

“Why?” She looked up from her list.

“Because there won't be one.”

“All right,” she said with a meaningful sigh. “I'll go on to item number two. The vice president. You've got an excellent management team, but as I said earlier, you take on far more than necessary yourself, so I'm suggesting you appoint a vice president you could work closely with over the next few years.”

“Vice president of what?”

“CHIPS,” she returned shortly. “What else? The way I figure it, you're going to need two, possibly three. Valerie said she'd recommend Bill Somerset, John Murphy and/or Earl Robbins. All three are familiar with the operation of CHIPS and very good managers. Valerie also seemed to think it would be a wise move because you're probably going to lose Somerset if you don't promote him.”

“In a pig's eye,” Rowdy argued. “Bill's completely happy working for me.”

“Perhaps now, but he'll be wooed away by some other company that'll trust him with added responsibilities. A vice presidency is a natural progression for him.”

“What makes you so confident of all this?”

“I'm not,” she readily admitted, “but Valerie obviously knows a lot more about it than I do. These are her recommendations.”

“I gathered as much.”

She moved her fingernail down the list. “Another thing. We'll need to make some kind of compromise on the issue of traveling.”

“Traveling?” he repeated.

“I'm not sure how much is justified or necessary, but I'd appreciate having it held down to a minimum. I should
be able to go with you on some trips, and it would be ideal if we could combine business with pleasure. Maybe two or three times a year—depending, of course, on our schedules.”

Rowdy's response was a humorless laugh. “You must be joking. I take that many trips in a month.”

“Exactly. That's far too much. The children won't even know they have a father if you're gone that often.”

“Children?” he exploded.

“That's point number seven, but I'll address the subject now. I'd like more than one child, Rowdy. I enjoy children, and I'm looking forward to being a mother. Now, I agree six may be out of line, but—”

“Six.” He leaned forward, arms rigid and hands clutching the edge of his desk.

“I know, I know,” she said with a sigh. “My dad seems to have that number fixed in his mind. But don't worry, I was thinking four would be good. It'd be nice if we had two boys and two girls, but it really doesn't matter.”

Rowdy eyed her as if she'd gone completely berserk.

“Item number three,” Norah went on without a pause. “You probably won't ever work less than forty hours a week and more likely fifty. Valerie told me there were times you didn't even bother to go home—you just slept at the office. However, I feel that would be detrimental to your health and to our relationship. If I'm going to marry you and move to Houston, I'd appreciate if you made an effort to come home every night. I do realize you're needed here and I can live with whatever hours you deem necessary, provided the house is within easy commuting distance.”

“Anything else?”

“Oh, yes, there are several smaller items. Things any couple needs to discuss before marriage.”

Rowdy made a show of glancing at his watch. “You might want to hurry since you've got approximately two minutes left.”

“Only two minutes?”

He nodded, his look stern and unwavering.

She folded the piece of paper. “Then I won't waste any more of your time on compromises.”

“Fine.”

“I'll talk about my most important reason for coming here. I made a mistake when I rejected your proposal, Rowdy. You caught me off guard—I wasn't expecting it. You were right, all I could think of was what I wanted, not what you were looking for in our relationship. So I've given you my list of possible compromises to think over.”

“One minute left.”

Norah stood, forgetting that her purse was in her lap. It fell unceremoniously to the floor. She stooped down to pick it up and straightened awkwardly. “Could we meet and talk again soon? Then I'll listen to whatever you have to say. Actually, I'd be interested in knowing why you want to marry me when you've always been so set against marriage.”

“Which is the question I've been asking myself for the past two weeks. It's unfortunate that you don't understand business practices, Norah.”

“I don't even pretend to.”

“And that explains why you came here. You see, the offer was made and you rejected it.”

“Yes, but as I told you, I acted in haste. I should've thought things through before I—”

“Apparently you don't understand,” he said without emotion. “I've withdrawn my offer.”

She blinked, and a feeling of dread overwhelmed her. “But—”

“It's too late, Norah. Two weeks too late.”

A numbness took hold of her limbs and she forced herself to exhale slowly. “I see… I'm sorry. I assumed, erroneously it seems, that your proposal was genuine.”

“At the time it was.”

“No, Rowdy, it couldn't have been. Love isn't a business transaction, something to be offered and retracted at will. It's a
feeling
and it's a commitment. That doesn't disappear overnight.”

“I'm not an impulsive man, Norah…generally,” he added with some reluctance. “But I was when I proposed to you. Actually you did us both a favor by rejecting my offer.”

Norah was too stunned to respond for a moment. “You don't mean that.”

Rowdy said nothing, and since there didn't seem to be anything else for her to say, either, she turned away from him, barely aware of where she was going.

“Goodbye, Norah.”

She didn't answer him and walked blindly out of his office. She paused and closed her eyes to compose herself before proceeding.

Ms. Emerich's voice drifted toward her. “My, that didn't take long, did it?”

“Not at all,” Norah returned cordially, smiling at the older woman. She stood, as though paralyzed, in the outer office. She'd made such an idiot of herself coming to Rowdy like this!

“Are you okay?”

It took a few seconds for Ms. Emerich's question to sink in. “Ah…oh, yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking.” She nodded toward the closed door that led to Rowdy's office. “Take care of him for me, will you, Ms. Emerich? He doesn't eat right and he works far too many hours. He—he needs someone.”

“I've been telling him that for the past five years, but he doesn't listen.”

“He's too stubborn for his own good,” Norah agreed with a weak smile.

“Won't
you
be here? I was so hoping you two could patch up your differences.”

Norah slowly, sadly, shook her head. “I'm afraid I…waited too long.”

Ms. Emerich's eyes revealed her dismay. “Oh dear, and I was sure everything would work out.”

“So was I,” Norah whispered and moved toward the elevator.

 

The hotel where she was booked was a short distance from CHIPS's headquarters. Norah almost wished she'd walked, but with traffic so heavy and huge semitrucks roaring up and down the streets it didn't seem prudent, so she opted for a taxi.

The first person she called when she got back to the hotel was Valerie. When she told her sister what had happened, Valerie exploded.

“The man's a fool!” her sister snapped. “He's doing the same thing with you that he tried with me. Obviously he didn't learn anything the first time. Okay, fine. We'll just have to teach him all over again.”

“He didn't try to bribe me, Valerie, nor did he issue any threats.”

“How could he? You're holding all the cards.”

Norah didn't know what her sister meant, and frankly she felt so defeated and miserable that it didn't matter. “I've already changed my flight plans. I'll be home this afternoon.”

“No, you won't,” Valerie told her. “That's exactly what Rowdy expects you to do. He doesn't mean a word of it, you know.”

“That's not the impression he gave me.”

“Wait and see,” Valerie assured her. “My advice to you is stay where you are. Take in the sights, do a little shopping, relax, vacation. The last place Rowdy will ever think of looking for you is in his own backyard.”

“But, Valerie—”

“Promise me,” Valerie demanded. “Not a peep out of you. I can't get over this,” she fumed. “That man's certainly a slow learner! Don't you worry, though, we're going to educate him once and for all.”

“He isn't going to call me.”

“I'm betting you'll hear from him in twenty-four hours. Thirty, tops.”

“All right,” Norah agreed reluctantly, although from the look on his face, Norah couldn't imagine hearing from Rowdy in thirty
days,
let alone thirty hours.

“Trust me, Norah. I know how Rowdy Cassidy operates. The only way he can deal with emotions is by treating everything like a negotiation. A business deal.”

“I did what you and I discussed. I approached him as though it
was
a business deal, and I went through my list.”

“Good. That he can understand.”

“But it didn't do any good.”

“It will, it will. Now stay right where you are, and I'll let you know as soon as we hear from the great and mighty Rowdy Cassidy.”

Norah wasn't sure she was up to playing hide-and-seek, but she trusted her sister and accepted Valerie's advice. Really, she had no other option if she intended to work out her relationship with Rowdy.

For two days she lazed around the hotel pool in the morning, shopped in the afternoon and visited museums and art galleries. In the evenings she dressed for dinner and dined by herself at the hotel. She'd never felt lonelier.

On the morning of the third day, her phone rang. Norah was still in bed, although it was almost noon. She'd stayed awake most of the night worrying, certain that she should have arranged a flight back to Orchard Valley. Hanging around a hotel room like this was crazy.

“He's here,” Valerie whispered when Norah answered the phone. “Dad's talking to him now, and he's doing a masterful job of keeping a straight face. He's pretending he doesn't know where you are.”

Norah scrambled into an upright position. “You mean Rowdy's there…in Orchard Valley…right this minute?”

“Yup. None too happy, either, by the looks of him.”

“Aren't you going to tell him I'm in Houston?”

“I might. Then again, I might not.”

“Valerie Winston, that's cruel! Put Rowdy on the phone. I insist. Do you hear me?”

“I'll make it up to him,” Valerie promised with a delighted chuckle. “Colby and I have talked it over and I've decided to accept Rowdy's offer to head up CHIPS Northwest. Hold on a minute, and I'll get him for you.”

A minute had never lasted longer. Although she strained to hear what was happening in the background, Norah could only catch bits and pieces of the conversation. The next instant Rowdy was on the line.

“Norah?”

“Hello, Rowdy. I—”

“Valerie says you're in Houston. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

He cursed under his breath. “No doubt Valerie put you up to this. If I wasn't so grateful she's agreed to take on the Northwest assignment, I'd have her hide for this.” Norah could hear her sister saying something in the background and Rowdy saying something in return.