Suspicions of the Heart (29 page)

Roscoe's face flushed. "She's a fine
woman."

"Yes, she is. Now, stop fretting. This
is your wedding day, enjoy it."

Roscoe nodded, but she saw him slack up
when one of the hands came up and shook his hand. She glanced
around for Joe but didn't see him. She checked the carnations and
roses, and made sure the cake still looked right before joining
Aggie once more.

"How's Roscoe holding up?" Aggie asked
when she glanced in the mirror at herself.

"He's bearing up."

Aggie shook her head. "I know what that
means. It means he's about to go to pieces out there waiting. Poor
man. I'll never put him through this again. I didn't realize half
the town would show up for this."

"It's not that bad, Aggie." Candy
hesitated, her confidence falling.

"Hey, now, don't tell me it's getting
to you, too." Aggie stood just in front of her and lifted her
chin.

"I know I'm being silly, but Lisa is
out there."

Aggie shrugged. "So?"

"Well, he loved her so, Aggie. And
she's so beautiful."

Aggie frowned, then smiled as she
turned Candy's face to each side.

"What are you doing?" Candy
asked.

"Trying to figure out what you're
worried about. You're just as beautiful, young lady. Don't you know
that? Hasn't anyone ever told you that?"

"I guess…."

"Candy," Aggie took her face between
her callused hands and smiled at her, "Joe is a one woman man. If
he says he's through with Lisa, it's best to believe him. He don't
lie, Candy. And you should realize this real quick."

Candy's face fell even more. "I've
never loved anyone like this before, Aggie. It scares me. I'm
afraid of everything. What's wrong with me?"

"Not one thing." Aggie shook her head
and nearly laughed. "Does he know how you feel?"

"Oh, no, I can't tell him. Not in
words."

"Why not?"

"Because he's the man, he's the one
who's supposed to--he hasn't told me."

"Cat and mouse games. Tell him,
honey."

Candy shook her head. "I don't think I
can. What if he rejected me? I couldn't live with that. Not
again."

"Can you live without Joe?" Aggie
asked, watching her closely.

"Not well," Candy admitted.

Aggie smoothed her silk dress and
glanced in the mirror once more. "Look at me, Candy." She waited
until she had all of Candy's attention, and then finished, "I'm an
old woman, but it was me who started this romance with Roscoe, and
ask me if I'm sorry."

"You? You asked him?" She couldn't
believe it. "Are you? Sorry, I mean?" Candy came closer, looking at
the dress, too.

"Not one bit. He's the one I want to
spend the rest of my years with, girl. And I don't have as many as
you. I've no shame when it comes to what I want. I knew he wanted
it, too, he's just too proud to come forward. So, I did. And I'll
never regret it."

"But you're older." Candy stopped,
ashamed she had mentioned age.

"Oh, now go on, of course I'm older.
But love knows no age barriers. Tell him how you feel, child. As
soon as this is over, tell him. Or you just might lose him. He's
been hurt a time or two, too. He's a little shy on
words."

Candy nodded. "I'll think about it."
After a long pause, she walked around Aggie and smiled. "You are
beautiful. Are you ready to tie that knot?"

"More than ready honey, more than
ready." Aggie took her arm and Candy opened the door.

Joe was standing there, waiting. He
offered Aggie his arm. "Ready?"

"Ready." Aggie took his arm, and winked
at Candy.

Candy went to take her place in the
living room, as Joe led Aggie in with the wedding march. Roscoe
stood regally, waiting, his face shining with a light Candy had
seldom seen in his eyes. She felt tears coming on, but she was
determined not to cry.

All during the ceremony Candy's eyes
were on Joe who stood off to one side. He rarely looked at her, and
it gave Candy an impression that perhaps he was very marriage shy.
She felt her power slipping out of her hands again. Could she tell
him how she felt? She tried to make eye contact with him, but his
attention was on Aggie and Roscoe, and she couldn't gauge his
reactions to any of it.

He had said he was happy for them, and
it sounded sincere, but had he given up on marriage because of
Lisa? She looked about the congregation and found Lisa tucked well
under her husband's arm, a very big smile on her face.

"I now pronounce you man and wife," the
preacher said.

Roscoe took Aggie in his arms and
kissed her like the young man he once was. Candy couldn't stop the
tears from slipping down her face. Her heart swelled, knowing her
uncle was, at last, happy again. She hugged them both to her, and
cried.

"Don't cry, sweetie, we ain't moving
out of state or nothing," Roscoe assured her. "We're just going to
be a bigger family now."

Candy smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'm
so happy for you both."

Then they were bombarded by
well-wishers, and Candy felt pushed to one side. She backed off
into the crowd, letting everyone have their turn. She had seen Joe
grab Roscoe's hand just after she stepped back, but she couldn't
look at him. She needed air, and time to think about what Aggie had
said. She slipped out the back and took a short walk. But she was
totally unprepared for the scene she walked in upon as she wiped
the tears from her eyes.

There out by the cars were Joe and
Debbie Fletcher. Debbie had her hands all over him. Candy's stomach
knotted. She couldn't believe it. She must have made some kind of
sound because their heads turned and they drew apart
quickly.

"I'm--so--sorry," Candy backed away and
took off running, her tears blinding her.

"Candy, wait..."

"Oh, let her go, darling," Debbie said
with a laugh.

"Candy, come back here!" Joe's voice
was impatient.

She owed him something, so she stopped,
turned and waited until he caught up to her. She didn't bother
hiding the tears. It was too late.

"Look…" She was shaking so bad she
didn't know how to handle the situation. Once again bested by a
feline vamp. "You don't owe me any explanations." She started to
turn away, but his voice stilled her.

"No, I don't. But just for the record,
she kissed me, I didn't kiss her. She's leaving, for good." His
voice was hard and unrelenting. "She means nothing to
me."

"Too bad. Maybe you should go with
her," Candy returned and headed straight for her car.

"Are you going to turn your back on
everything we could have together?"

"Funny, you never mentioned that to
me."

"No." He sighed heavily now, as she
turned to look at the dejection in his face. "I guess I didn't. I
guess I sorta expected you to know. Expected you to trust. But
then, that's asking too much, isn't it? To trust me? You never
have. I don't know what makes me think you should now."

"If you'll excuse me, I don't think
I'll stay for the barbecue." Candy unlocked her car. "Goodbye." She
choked on the words.

"Candy," he called, his voice hoarse
with something akin to pain.

But she couldn't turn back. Not this
time. It was like some kind of replay in her mind. Fargate with his
secretary, Joe with his lady friend. She wouldn't repeat history.
She just needed an escape. She needed to go somewhere and let her
heart break in peace.

Chapter
Seventeen

It had been two long weeks since he'd
heard a word from her. He told himself it was for the best. Better
to find out now that she didn't trust or love him. But he just
couldn't get those big fawn-colored eyes out of his mind, or the
tears in her eyes when she said goodbye.

Dammit, he loved her! So, why had he
let her walk out of his life? They had something special, he knew
that. With or without trust. Life without her held little meaning.
Even his Longhorns didn't fill the void this time. Nothing
did.

He'd known he loved her a long time. He
wasn't sure when it had happened, it just had. One day he was
rescuing her, the next day he was head over heels. Just hadn't
quite admitted it to himself. He didn't want to make another
mistake like Lisa, and waste years pining over the wrong woman
again. But everything about Candy pointed to the right woman at
last.

Why couldn't he just go over there and
tell her? Because she didn't trust him. She never had and she never
would and that was the end of it.

No, it can't be the end! He could make
her trust him. No, anyone messing with that little wildcat knew you
couldn't make her do anything she didn't want to do.

Why he had let Debbie near him again he
didn't know. He knew how she was. But then he did know why, too.
During that damn ceremony he felt trapped. As though he were the
one tying the knot. A man waits as long as he had, gets skittish,
he told himself. He had seen Candy staring at him while the
minister spoke those words. He was sure if he'd looked straight at
her, he'd see the same love he felt right now, in her
eyes.

So, what had she wanted? A confession
of love, you big dope!

Funny, when it came right down to it,
he was as skittish as she about commitment. Not that he had any
qualms about how he felt. He didn't. He loved the woman, despite
her inability to see him as the guy in the white hat. But what the
hell did he have to do to prove it?

He could almost taste her sweetness,
smell her delicate skin, feel the satin of her skin against him. He
remembered all those little throaty moans she'd make when he
touched her. The shy smile she gave him just before he had made her
his.

Bells. That's what she had said. She
hadn't heard any bells yet!

Sam passed him in the barn, caught him
talking to himself and shook his head.

"What's your problem, Sam?" he
barked.

"Nothing boss. Just…well…" Sam
scratched his head and shot his boss a sardonic smile. "If I was as
crazy about a woman like you are over that little redhead,I think
I'd be making some tracks."

"Oh, yeah, I don't see you married,
Sam."

"Nope. Was once. Sweet little thing,
but she up and died on me and that was the end of that. But then I
never found another woman that would have me."

"What makes you so sure she'd have
me?"

"Well," Sam paused a minute to spit,
then glanced at the boss with a big grin, "I seen her. And she was
in just as ornery a mood as you. Bit my head off when I invited her
over here. But I also saw dark circles under her eyes, like she'd
been crying, too."

Joe clenched his jaw tight. Tears? Dear
God, give him some peace of mind. There wasn't any time left to
debate the issue. Candy wanted no part of him, unless he could come
up with some kind of a plan.

Roscoe and Aggie were coming this
evening for dinner and he was anxious to ask them about
her.

Still, it nagged at him that he hadn't
once told her he loved her. He'd held that back. He loved her
enough to die for her, he just couldn't seem to get the words out.
In the first place, he had feared her denial. He was afraid of the
very rejection he had received from Lisa. "Dammit, Lisa was in love
with George. When you gonna get it through your thick
skull."

Looking back, he couldn't even compare
his feeling for Candy with what he felt for Lisa. Lisa was like his
own imagination playing tricks on him. Candy was real; he'd tasted
her and he damned sure had an addiction for her.

He dusted his shirt and pants, and
headed for the house. It was too late to reprimand himself any
longer. Roscoe and Aggie were getting out of the car and coming
toward the house. He'd just have to wind the conversation around so
he could ask about her.

Aggie hugged him and Roscoe smiled
almost sadly at him. "Joe, how's it going?"

"Oh, fine, how 'bout the two of
you?"

"Well, after that trip to New Mexico,
we're feeling pretty good. It was kinda nice getting
away."

Yeah, getting away. It had been his
plan to get them away so he could have Candy to himself, but that
sure hadn't panned out. Instead, he was more alone than he could
stand, barking at his men for two solid weeks, and even making the
cattle shy from him. Butch wouldn't come near him, and it was just
as well. He'd probably bark at him, too.

There had to be a way to undo all the
bad. There had to be. Otherwise he was going to go insane from
wanting one hard-headed little red-head.

"We thought Candy might come tonight,
too," Aggie said, her eyes narrowing on him.

"I sent her an invitation. She said she
was busy," Joe countered.

"Sent her an invitation?" Aggie frowned
as though he'd done something wrong. "Sounds pretty formal to
me."