The Cowboy Earns a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek Book 8) (27 page)

“Y
ou’ve done such
a fantastic job,” Rose said happily two days later as Mia showed her the menu Fila and Camila had come up with for her wedding. Rose and Cab had chosen to hold their reception in the Cruz guesthouse and the meal would be served buffet style, as befitted a casual affair.

“Fila and Camila worked hard to pick entrees that wouldn’t be too sloppy to eat.” Not an easy trick with all the sauces they served.

“Good idea.” Rose smiled. “I can’t believe it’s finally happening. And you know what? I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to exhibit my paintings after the wedding—just as soon as I can find a gallery or other space willing to show them.”

“That’s terrific! You must be so excited to see your art career take off.”

“It hasn’t taken off yet but I hope it will.”

“I’m sure it will. Let’s go over the flower arrangements one last time.”

Mia felt better today. She’d made sure to eat a full dinner—sitting down—during one of the slow periods at the restaurant the night before. Camila had called everyone she knew and found a woman looking for a part-time job who would come in today to help work the counter. Fila had bought Mia a stool to sit on, too, although she rarely got the chance. Maybe that would change with an extra person up front.

Plus she had her meeting with Luke to look forward to this afternoon at Linda’s Diner. She thought meeting in a public place was a good idea. Maybe it would force both of them to keep their tempers under control until they could talk their issues through.

By the time she arrived at Linda’s Diner, however, her good mood had slipped away again. The new girl—Frieda Smith—had so much to learn that she slowed Mia down instead of speeding things up. Mia knew that would change with time, but right now her patience was worn to a thread.

“Sorry I’m late,” Luke said, sitting down on the other side. “Got tied up at the ranch.”

“That’s okay. I only have a half-hour, though.”

“The restaurant still doing good business?”

“Too good, if you ask me.”

“And how’s
your
business?”

Mia wasn’t sure how to answer. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yeah. I really want to know.” He took her hand. Squeezed it.

“It’s good and bad,” she said slowly, very aware of her hand in his. She felt alone a lot these days. She missed living with Luke—missed his presence beside her at night, too. She wished she knew which was the real Luke—the man who cared enough about her to ask these questions, or the man who always thought he knew better than her what to do. “Rose loves what I’ve done for her wedding and it’s all really coming together. Tracey has had more issues. So far I’ve managed to solve them, but it’s been a rocky road, and Lila White…well, she’s not as happy.”

“What’s wrong with Lila?”

She waited a beat to see if he really wanted to know the answer. When he didn’t say anything, she pressed on. “I botched up her tents. I was supposed to reserve three large tents for her family reunion, but by the time I called the rental companies, all the really big ones were taken. Autumn helped me come up with a work-around, using a bunch of smaller ones in a creative way. Lila went for it, but she’s not pleased and she lets me know about it every time we talk. No matter what else I do to make up for that, it’s not good enough.”

“That’s too bad.”

She waited for him to tell her what she’d done wrong, or to reiterate this was all too much for her, but he didn’t.

Instead, he asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Mia blinked back tears. Help? God, could she use help.

“No, I’ve got it,” she said, but didn’t pull away from him. Instead she found herself threading her fingers through his and holding on for dear life.

“Well, you just let me know if that changes. I’ve got two hands and a strong back, and I’d be glad to loan them to you.”

She was definitely going to cry if he kept that up. “There are a few other parts of you I could use.” She bit her lip at her lame attempt at a joke, but it worked to shift the conversation.

Luke squeezed her hand again. “Oh yeah? Which ones?”

“Why don’t you come over tonight and see? Don’t be too late, though. I’m exhausted these days,” she confessed.

“I’ll come over and rub your feet.” He smiled at her. “If you’re still awake afterward, we’ll see what else happens.”

Luke was happier
than he could say when Mia managed to stay awake through his foot massage that night and welcomed him into her bed afterward. He took things slow—really slow—because he worried about how tired she looked, but she seemed to enjoy his body moving within hers.

He enjoyed it, too. Going slow meant he could really concentrate on his movements and her reactions. He could learn exactly what she liked—and what she loved—and change things up to make the most of it. After he brought her to a first climax, he started over, going even more slowly, making love to her even more thoroughly. This time he came with her. The wave of sensation washed away any worry he had about what they were to each other.

Afterward, he cradled her in his arms until she fell asleep. As he lay awake watching her dream, the tension that had filled him for weeks slowly ebbed away. His focus had been on the wrong thing for a long time. Mia wasn’t a prize to be won; she was a partner to be wooed and cared for and nurtured. He couldn’t just put together a magic chain of actions that would result in them standing side-by-side at the altar, as if that was the final goal, because it wasn’t. It was just the start. They had to create their goals together and figure out how to move toward them at the same time.

That meant he had to be a partner to her right now, before they were married.

Which meant he needed to get his priorities straight. Who was he to tell Mia what she could and couldn’t do when his own business dealings were messed up? Why was he spending all his income paying off a fancy truck when Mia obviously didn’t care a fig what he drove? Why was his credit card maxed out when he was working morning, noon and night? It was time to sit down and figure out where he’d gone wrong, and what he needed to do to get back on track. He might never be a millionaire, but he owed his future wife more security than his current debts could offer her.

He would set up an appointment with Matt Underwood, and lay everything out on the table. Matt would know what to do. He remembered Carl’s business card sitting at home on his dresser. Carl might have some ideas as well, if he could swallow enough of his pride to ask the man. He heaved a sigh. He probably should do just that. Carl knew more about business than he did—that was for sure.

He settled closer to Mia, tucked a tendril of her hair back behind her ear and kissed her neck softly. Wrapping an arm around her sleeping form, he basked in a peace he hadn’t felt in months. He was right where he wanted to be.

“You realize when
you ruin Lila White’s reunion, everyone’s going to blame me,” Mia’s mother said the afternoon before Tracey’s wedding. Enid ran a finger along Mia’s bureau in her room at the guesthouse and humphed, even though Mia was positive she hadn’t found any dust. Autumn was a meticulous housekeeper and even though Mia had begged her not to consider it her job to clean her room, she refused to give up dusting and vacuuming it.

“It’s good exercise for me,” she’d said, when Mia told her not to bother. “I have all this pregnancy weight to lose, and you’re so busy. It’s a win-win situation for both of us.”

Mia didn’t believe that, but she accepted the help in the spirit it was given. It burned her that her mother would criticize Autumn’s handiwork.

“I won’t ruin Lila White’s reunion.”

“You already did. You forgot to order her tents. Yes, I know all about that. Everyone does.” Enid’s mouth was set in a hard line. Mia knew how much her mother hated to be judged and found wanting. Too bad Enid never considered how it felt to those around her when she passed those judgments on.

“I fixed that problem.”

“I doubt your fix will meet her approval. If I were her, I would have broken my contract with you and found someone with more experience.”

“Who would have charged her triple what I’m charging her,” Mia snapped. “Lila White knows exactly what she’s doing, Mom. And so do I. Her reunion will be beautiful.” She hoped that was true.

“Well, it’s a shame how you’ve triple-booked yourself this weekend. There’s no way any of your clients are getting the service they expected.”

“All of them are perfectly satisfied.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Yes, we’ll see. Mom, is there a reason you’re here?” It certainly wasn’t to lend a helping hand, or to be a cheerleader.

“Rumor has it you and that Luke Matheson have been spending time together again. Is he going to marry you or just keep dangling the possibility in front of you so you keep putting out?”

“Mom!” Mia took in a shaky breath. She couldn’t take this anymore. Wouldn’t take it. “I need you to leave. Right now.”

“But—”

“No buts. Don’t come back, don’t call, don’t do anything until you’re ready to be on my side for once.” She strode to the door and held it open until Enid huffed and left the room. Out in the hall, she turned on Mia.

“You should be ashamed for talking to your mother like that.”

“No, Mom. You’re the one who should be ashamed.” Mia herded her downstairs and out onto the front porch, then slammed the door.

The next morning Mia was still shaking with anger over the incident, but she promised herself she wouldn’t let her mother’s remarks get under her skin. Still, when Morgan and Claire walked into the VFW hall where she and several of Tracey’s friends were decorating for Tracey’s wedding, Mia held her breath until Morgan exclaimed in surprised tones, “Oh, it’s… beautiful!”

“Is it? I can’t even be sure anymore, I’m so nervous,” Mia said. Tracey’s wedding started in six hours and she’d been up since dawn to get everything ready. She’d rented long, white drapes and white and fuchsia buntings from the party rental company that they had used to cover the plain hall’s walls and make it more festive. The rented tables were set up, covered with tablecloths and surrounded by white rented chairs, all of which would be moved to the Cruz ranch tonight for Cab and Rose’s wedding tomorrow. The floral arrangements were ready to go, but Mia wouldn’t put those out until the last minute. Fila and Camila had hired extra help for the day, too, so the catering should be on track.

“I have to give you credit,” Claire said. “I didn’t think you could do it, Mia. Someone so young and inexperienced? I’m surprised how good it all looks.”

Mia wasn’t sure whether to feel complimented or insulted. “Thank you.” She decided to feel complimented. “And thanks for stopping by.”

“We wanted to know if you needed help, but it looks like you’ve got everything under control.”

She did. Tracey’s friends had been a world of help, and Mia had planned everything down to the last detail. She was sure she’d hit a snag or two during the course of the wedding, but she was determined she’d pull it off.

If only her feet didn’t hurt so badly. And her back.

“I think I have a handle on it all. Thanks, though.”

Twelve hours later, the wedding was over, the cleaning crew had the VFW Hall mostly restored to normal, and Buddy Hooks, a handyman who also ran a hauling business, was ready to truck the tables and chairs to the Cruz ranch.

“You’d better call it a night, Mia.” Buddy frowned at her. “Don’t you have to do this all over again in the morning?”

“And again the next day, too. I’m just about done here, though. I’ll be in bed within the hour.”

“Glad to hear it. You have to take care of yourself.”

If only she had time to take care of herself. She wasn’t finished with this batch of events and already she was ramping up for three more in June. She was grateful for the business, but it was taking its toll. Especially now. Buddy was right. It was time to go home and get to bed.

“Hi, Mia.”

Mia jumped. “Luke—you scared me.”

“Sorry about that. I wanted to make sure you got home okay.”

“I’m fine.” Just so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.

“You’re going to be up first thing in the morning, right?”

“Yes.” It sounded like a groan.

“Okay, how about this?” He swooped her up into his arms so fast she didn’t have time to protest, then cradled her against his broad chest and smiled down at her. “I drive you home and spend the night. No funny stuff, unless you demand it.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Tomorrow I get up with you and we swing back here to get your truck.”

“That sounds really good.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

She rested her head against his shoulder with a sigh of contentment as he carried her out to his truck. She was home within twenty minutes, and in bed a scant five minutes later. True to his word, Luke didn’t put the moves on her. Just snuggled up beside her. She found his presence more than comforting. Tonight’s wedding had gone off without a hitch—even Tracey’s sister’s crazy bridesmaid gown had looked beautiful, thanks to Ellie’s sewing skills—and she was grateful her first event had gone so well. Tracey, her new husband and both sets of parents had thanked her effusively. It felt good to know she’d helped a couple have the wedding of their dreams.

But tomorrow’s event was much more important—to her, at least. Rose was one of her best friends and everyone she cared about would be at the wedding. They’d all be taking notes on the event—and they’d remember anything that went wrong. She prayed there would be no disasters.

Mia had thought she’d fall right to sleep when she got home, but now her mind buzzed with to-do lists and last-minute plans. Just when she thought she’d have to get up and get a notepad to write everything down, she felt Luke’s hand smooth over her hair.

“Stop thinking and go to sleep.”

“I can’t.”

“Worrying about tomorrow?”

“Yes. I want it to be perfect for Rose.”

“It will be perfect, just like you. Close your eyes.”

“But—”

“I’m serious. Close your eyes.”

She did so, but opened them again when she heard him click on the small, dim bedside light. “What are you doing?”