Small Town Girl (30 page)

“Lauren Smith, will you marry me?” he asked.

She answered before he had even finished, “Yes, yes. Yes, I will marry you, Caleb Cochran!” She was laughing and crying at the same time. With shaking hands, she untied the knot in the ribbon and slipped the ring off, holding it in her palm. Caleb picked it out of her hand and, taking her left hand in his, he slipped it on to her third finger.

“Oh, it’s a perfect fit!” she exclaimed.

“Of course,” he laughed, and then he kissed her. “Of course it’s a perfect fit.”

“Caleb, it’s beautiful!” She held her hand out in front of her. The last rays of the sun caught in the stone and flashed like a lighthouse.

“I figured the beer on the porch steps was important to us,” he explained shyly. “Remember, it was the first time we really discovered each other.”

“I remember,” she giggled significantly. Suddenly, she heard something. “What’s that sound?” she said. “Did you hear that?”

Caleb lifted his head to listen. “Nope. Didn’t hear a thing.”

She held up her finger and listened carefully again. He sat there in silence, a smile playing on his lips.

“I do hear something!” Lauren insisted, standing up. “It sounds like, like a squeak or — or some kind of bird or something.”

Caleb got to his feet. “Maybe it’s your engagement present,” he said.

Lauren stared at him. “What are you talking about?” She held up her hand, flashing her ring at him. “What’s this?”

Caleb planted a kiss on the back of her hand, like an old-fashioned knight in shining armor might have done. “That, my lovely, is my desire of you, and you wearing it is your pledge to me. Now for the engagement present. Wait right here on the lawn.”

He strode through the gate and opened the back door of the cab of his pickup. When he turned around, he held a large cardboard box in his arms. Lauren heard scuffling and whining. Caleb set the box down in the grass, and a blond ball of fluff scrabbled over the side and rolled out onto the lawn.

It was a puppy. “Oh! Oh, Caleb!” Lauren cried, utterly charmed. “That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!” She bent down and picked up the puppy, who grunted contentedly as she cradled his little pot belly. He was soft as silk. She held him up to her face, and he covered her cheeks with eager puppy kisses.

“He’s a golden retriever,” explained Caleb proudly. “Do you like him?”

“Oh, I love him!” she said with a sigh, holding the puppy close. “I haven’t had a puppy since I was a little child. With my lifestyle, I just couldn’t have a dog.”

“Well, you’re lifestyle is different now. You’ve just signed on. And I didn’t want you to be up here all alone. You need a dog.”

“Does he have a name?”

“His name is Brady.”

“Ooo, that’s a wonderful name,” said Lauren, setting the puppy down in the grass. He immediately pounced on her foot and began to chew her sneaker.

They walked around the yard, hand in hand. The puppy muddled around after them, digging and chewing and making them nearly choke on their beers with laughter.

Caleb said, “I called Joan today and had her list my house.”

Lauren stopped mid-stride. Brady pulled at her sneaker, but she was unaware. “Caleb, is this really what you want to do?”

He looked at her, his soul shining in his eyes. “Yes,” he said. “I thought we would live here. It’s bigger, and you’ve done so much work on it. And it’s your house, Lauren. I want to live here with you, in your house.”

She was silent, letting his words sink in. He squeezed her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her fingertips.

“There’s no competition between you,” he said, knowing what she was thinking. “I loved Julie very dearly, but we were children together. Lauren, to you, I pledge my love as a man.”

“Oh, Caleb!” she whispered. She clasped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I love you so much!”

Then she did something she hadn’t done for too long a time. She brought her cell phone out of her pocket and punched in her mother’s number. She smiled at Caleb as she heard her mother’s voice.

“Mother! It’s me,” she said. “How are you?”

“Well, I’m just fine, baby, and so is your father. How are you?”

“Mother, I am better than I have ever been in my life!”

“Really! Are the wedding plans proceeding nicely, then?”

“That’s why I called, Mother. The wedding plans are proceeding wonderfully! I want to tell you about them.”

The evening was warm for early June in New England. The sky was deep purple velvet studded with the first twinkling stars. A crescent moon hung in the sky like a chandelier, and the errant petals of the last apple blossoms floated fragrantly at the slightest puff of the crystalline air. Throughout the large lawn and flower gardens, white clothed tables, alight with candles, had been set amongst the thickets of young birches, lilac bushes, and old maples trees. Small groups of candles and torches were glowing in the small orchard and lit the aisle between rows of white folding chairs where the guests sat, patiently waiting. The night was fragrant with the perfume of the June roses.

At the head of the garden, underneath a backdrop of old lilacs, two massive arrangements of white flowers cascaded from stone urns. Kelly, dressed in a long, midnight blue gown, stood beside one of the urns. All day she had been shouting orders and moving tables, directing caterers, and pruning the occasional rebellious lilac branch, making sure this day would be unparalleled. Now, she stood quietly smiling, holding a large bouquet of white and yellow roses, freesia, and lilies, and looking as fresh and sweet as a dew-bejeweled flower. Bob Cochran stood beside the other urn, dressed in a blue blazer, red striped tie, and gray slacks. He was smiling from ear to ear. Between them was a young man in a white collar and black robe, peering into the deepening evening.

A single, invisible musician began to play a violin from somewhere in the garden. Caleb, also dressed in a blue blazer, gray slacks, and red striped tie, with a rose boutonniere, walked up and stood beside his father. The guests turned as one in their seats and looked down into the orchard.

Lauren pierced the evening darkness with radiant bridal splendor. She walked up the grassy path between the apple trees, dressed in an elegant satin dress with tiny spaghetti straps that set off her figure to perfection and trailed out, sweeping the ground behind her for six feet. Her hair was swept up in a simple twist and held with a large rhinestone barrette. She wore diamond studs in her ears. Her bouquet, of the same roses, lilies, and freesias as Kelly’s, was larger as befitted the bride and filled out with variegated ivy, cascading down to her knees. Lauren walked to meet her love on the arm of her father, a tall, thin man. His long hair was gathered back in a neat pony tail, and although he was unaccustomed to the jacket, tie, and gray flannel slacks he wore, his big white teeth showed in a wide grin from beneath his handlebar mustache. Brady, nearly grown and decked out in a large white bow, padded alongside his mistress, looking up at her with a newfound dignity.

Lauren’s blood pounded in her ears. Through the gathering darkness and candlelight, her eyes met Caleb’s. They reached out and caught each other’s fingertips. Lauren’s father released her arm from his, and she stood, clasping hands with Caleb. The young man in the white collar began to speak. Lauren could barely hear him, but her eyes never left Caleb’s as she repeated her vows, and he, his.

Caleb slipped the circle of diamonds that was her wedding ring onto her finger. Lauren took the gold band from Kelly and put it on Caleb’s finger, smiling all the while.

“Lauren Smith, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.”

“And Caleb Cochran, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.”

“Then I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Their kiss was warm, full, romantic. Then they turned and faced the laughing, applauding guests, and Brady began to bark. All the noise faded into the background, though, as Lauren felt Caleb turn her around to face him. Once again their lips met, but this time it was that passionate kiss they had always shared.

This is what I want,
she thought contentedly.

The End

Corporate Affair

Will opening the door for business close the door to love?

A Small Town Girl novel by Linda Cunningham

A
IDEN
S
TEWART
S
TOOD
W
ITH
his head bent, letting the pulsating hot water of the shower beat down on the back of his neck. He remained there, motionless, for a minute or two before he reluctantly turned the water off and stepped out onto the soft, white bath mat. He grabbed one of the fluffy towels and began to dry himself.

Aiden was just vain enough to catch his own reflection in the mirrored wall surrounding the free-standing bathtub opposite the shower. He took pride in the tall, lean body he saw reflected there. His muscles were not bulky, like a man who spent too much time trying to outdo his last bench press. Instead, they were the long, supple muscles of a true athlete, the muscles of a healthy, thirty-two-year-old man who was comfortable in his own skin, who was used to doing anything physical with ease and grace. He was pleased with how his dark brown hair, even damp and tousled after his shower, dipped attractively over his forehead. He liked how his slightly bushy brows accented his black-lashed, clear brown eyes. He smiled at his own image and saw how his long nose and high cheekbones were softened by the curve of his full lips and the flash of white teeth.

Aiden was just vain enough to take pleasure in his own physical attributes and, whenever he had the opportunity, use them to get what he wanted. Especially from women. He thought about this as he picked up his toothbrush. He was juggling four girls at the moment, and it seemed like overload, even for him.

A bold knock on the bedroom door jolted him out of his self-serving reverie.

“Yes?” Aiden called out, wrapping the towel around his waist and going to the door.

“You in there, son?” It was his father. Aiden loved visiting his parents’ gracious home outside of Portland, Maine. The house was welcoming, soothing, and beautiful, much like his mother herself, and a visit always made Aiden feel secure and comforted.

“I’m here.”

“Well, open the door and let me in!” A visit with his mother, however, also meant a visit with his father. The cantankerous old Yankee had built his life from the ground up and was careful not to let anybody forget it. Aiden rolled his eyes, sighed, and opened the door.

“You’re not dressed yet!”

“It’ll take me two seconds,” said Aiden calmly as he began to pull on his clothes. “What’s the big hurry?”

“Are you all prepared for this meeting?”

“Ah, yes, I guess so.”

“Now, Aiden, you’ve got to be prepared. I need to acquire this company to keep us on top. Trade Winds is still the biggest communications company in northern New England, and I want to keep it that way! Acquiring Chat Dot Com will give us a greater range and a jump on where the growth will take place over the next twenty years. I want Trade Winds customers to know our company offers more choices than our competitors.”

“Dad, I know all this. We talked about it last night.”

“You’ve got a three-hour drive ahead of you. Why did you stay out so late last night? Was it that Webb girl?”

“I was out with Jennifer Webb, yes.”

“Well, you stayed out too late.”

“Dad, I’m thirty-two.”

“Is it serious between you? You’ve been seeing her off and on since high school.”

“That’s just it, Dad, off and on.”

“Well, I’m not that impressed with her. Never was. She thinks she’s entitled, like so many kids your age. She thinks because her father is head of the finance committee and she went to Harvard she’s better than everybody. I’m not that impressed with her father, either, if you ask me.”

“I didn’t ask, Dad,” Aiden muttered as he threaded his belt through the loops of his gray slacks. He picked up a blue and yellow striped tie and turned toward the mirror over the dresser.