A Rich Man for Dry Creek / a Hero for Dry Creek (26 page)

“Good. That's where we start with the counseling anyway,” the pastor said as he pulled one of the chairs close to the fire and motioned for Nicki to take the one empty chair. “We need to talk about what you want out of marriage.”

Garrett was surprised. “Isn't that kind of obvious?”

The pastor smiled. “Not always. That's why I have a series of questions that I start the session with.”

“Okay. Let's go.” Garrett decided he was going to enjoy this. He'd sure like to know what reason Nicki had for even considering marriage to a man like Lester.

“Well, first I'm going to ask which of the following you think is the most important to you in marriage.” The pastor looked up at Garrett and then Nicki. “Common activity interests, common financial values, common family values, or a common faith?”

Garrett was lost already unless you counted sex as an activity interest. He did have a six-figure savings account and he owned Big Blue outright, but he didn't know that that was fancy enough to be called a financial value. He just hadn't had a lot to spend his money on once he had paid off Big Blue.

“Well, what do you think?” the pastor asked.

“For me, it's the land,” Nicki said in a rush. “I don't know if that is family or financial or what—but I need to marry someone who understands I always want to be part of the Redfern Ranch.”

The pastor nodded. “And that's important to you because…?”

“The land will always be there,” Nicki answered without thinking. “It can never leave me.”

“Ahh, like your mother did?” The pastor nodded again as he marked something down on the tablet he held in his hand. “Commitment to stay. I'll put that as a family/faith value. I can see that would be especially important for you because of your mother.”

Nicki looked around the hardware store to make sure no one else was in the place but the three of them. These questions were a little too revealing for her taste. “I got along fine without my mother.”

Garrett had always thought that it was the sight of a crying woman that made him most want to ride in and save a woman from whatever was paining her. But he was wrong. The sight of Nicki fiercely holding back any sign of tears was even worse.

“You've done great,” Garrett agreed loyally. “Just great.”

“And you? What's important to you?” Nicki turned to him.

“I just want to be able to make her tears go away,” Garrett answered without thinking, and knew he had spoken the truth. Maybe that was half of the reason he'd stopped dating. He wanted to be more than a date to a woman.

“So, you want to be your wife's hero.” The pastor nodded and wrote something on the tablet just like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. “Again, I'd say that's family values.”

“Some women can take care of themselves,” Nicki offered. She sure hoped Garrett wasn't going to end up with some whiny woman who didn't even know how to tie her own shoelaces. “Some women don't need a hero.”

“Well, I don't need to be a hero every day. It's just that—when the time comes, I want my wife to look to me for help.”

Nicki scowled. She supposed she couldn't argue with that. It's just she had never been the kind of woman Garrett wanted to marry. She relied on herself in life and that was about it. She didn't even tell her problems to Reno. “Isn't that called codependency?”

The pastor chuckled. “It's natural for a man to want to protect and help his wife. I'm sure Lester will want to help you with your problems when you're married.”

“Lester?” Nicki couldn't imagine telling her problems to Lester. Maybe that's why they never had any conversation beyond farming concerns. Still, she didn't like the smug look she saw on Garrett's face. “Yeah, sure. He does even now.”

Garrett grunted.

“So we have two family value answers,” the pastor said as he consulted his notebook. “Not bad.”

Garrett snorted. “They couldn't be further apart as answers.”

“Oh.” The pastor looked up from his notebook. “I didn't know we were trying to match the answers. I thought you were both marrying other people.”

Garrett groaned. “That's right. Lester and—Bonnie.”

“Bonnie? I've never heard you talk about any Bonnie.” Nicki knew she was right to not trust that man. He waited until now to tell her there was a Bonnie.

“Well, I haven't met her yet. But if you've got a Lester in your future, I can have a Bonnie.”

“So you do plan to marry someday?” the pastor asked quietly. He didn't even mark anything in his notebook. “I got the impression you weren't really considering it.”

“Well, I'm not.” Garrett crossed his arms. He'd made that decision years ago. He should stick with it.

“So what does this Bonnie look like?” Nicki decided it was only fair that she know more about Bonnie since Garrett knew all there was to know about Lester.

“How would I know?”

“Well, you must have some picture in your head.”

“She wears black spandex.” Garrett knew it wasn't much to go on, but a picture was starting to form in his mind. “And her eyes are green—yeah, a real feisty kind of green that flash when she's upset.”

“That could be anybody.” Nicki crossed her arms.

Garrett didn't even need to look at her to know her eyes were flashing just like his mind was remembering. That would never do. Nicki clearly wasn't describing him as her ideal mate so he shouldn't describe her. “And she likes to ride with me in Big Blue—my truck.”

“Where would you go?” Nicki was beginning to wish Garrett was the kind of guy who could put down roots. Not that she had a future with him anyway on account of the black spandex stuff. Black spandex was what men said when they wanted a woman who was exciting in all of the ways that Nicki wasn't. Garrett would probably even meet his Bonnie when he went back to Las Vegas. The city had lots of spandex women who'd like to meet a hero and drive off in Big Blue.

“I just go where my deliveries take me. No place special.” Garrett frowned. He hadn't realized until now that he didn't have a special place to go to. One city was pretty much the same as the next one. A man ought to have a place that he longed to reach for more reasons than that he could deliver whatever he was carrying.

“I see.” The pastor was thoughtfully looking at Garrett. “I'd say you don't like to be tied down. I hope—ah, Bonnie, is it?—feels the same way. Most women like to have a home.”

“I have a home. In the back of Big Blue's cab—there's a bed and a battery-operated television. I even have a small refrigerator.” Garrett wondered when his life had gotten so depressingly single. “The bed sleeps two if they're cozy.”

Nicki didn't like thinking of Bonnie in Garrett's bed. She turned her attention back to the pastor. “Do you have any questions about how much conversation a married couple need to have for a good marriage?”

“Well, there's no set amount. But don't worry. You two seem to be talking pretty good.”

“I mean with Lester.”

“Oh.” The pastor didn't even look down at his questions this time. “I'd say if you're bothered by the amount of conversation, then there's a problem.”

“But if I'm not bothered, then it's okay?” This was the first good news Nicki had heard in this whole time. She was fine with not talking to Lester.

“Well, I wouldn't exactly say that—”

The door opened and a gust of cold air blew into the store followed quickly by Glory. “Sorry it took me so long.”

The pastor stood. “That's all right. We were just doing a practice marriage counseling session.”

“Oh.” Glory raised her eyebrow. “What makes it a practice one?”

“We're marrying different people.” Nicki wondered how a woman ever got the kind of polish that Glory had. Her copper-colored hair waved and curled and just generally shone. “So it's a practice for when we do it for real.”

“I find it helps people relax for the Big One,” the pastor said as he walked over to his wife and gave her a quick kiss. “It'll only take us a minute to wrap up.”

“Take your time.”

Garrett frowned. Watching the pastor kiss his wife made him realize what he was missing. Those kind of affectionate kisses weren't part of his moves. When he kissed a woman, it was just a rest stop on the road to someplace else. That used to be enough for him.

“Actually, your husband has already given us lots to think about.” Nicki shifted in her chair. “We could save the rest for later.”

“Yeah,” Garrett agreed quickly. He didn't like the feelings those questions stirred up. He'd been a perfectly happy single male a week ago. “I should go check the limo anyway.”

Garrett got up from the chair and smiled a goodbye. He would have gone to check the
Titanic
if it would have gotten him out of the store, but no one needed to know that. They didn't even ask what he needed to check on the limo. It was a good thing, he told himself as he stepped out of the store, because he didn't need to check anything.

“I should go check on the twins, too,” the pastor said to Nicki. “They're at Mrs. Hargrove's place. Her niece is taking care of them, and they can be a handful.”

Nicki waited for the pastor to leave before she turned to Glory. “You don't happen to sell black spandex stuff in the store, do you?”

Glory shook her head. “We have black duct tape that stretches, but that's about all.”

Nicki doubted Bonnie would wear duct tape.

“I do have the makeup, though,” Glory said as she held up a paper bag. “You're welcome to pick out what you'd like to borrow. I hear you've got a big date coming up tonight.”

Nicki nodded. “The Thanksgiving Eve service at church.”

“Why, that's a good idea—I've been looking forward to the service ever since Matthew told me about it. I hear it's been a tradition in Dry Creek since the turn of the century.”

“That's why people bring their own candles. Back in the early days, the church couldn't afford to buy any candles, and since the service was at night they needed light. The church didn't have electricity back then—actually, the church didn't even have a building. Everyone just met in the back room of Webster's store for services. I don't know who came up with the idea of people taking their candle to the front of the church and leaving it on the alter when they said what made them thankful.”

Glory nodded. “Matthew told me the altar back then was made of a stack of cans set on top of some boxes. I can almost see those first candles in my mind. I've been thinking I might paint a scene of them—Elmer and Jacob told me there were all kinds of candles and candleholders. The cowboys sometimes just brought their candles in their tin drinking cup. That was all they had.”

“And Mrs. Hargrove has a silver candelabra that belonged to her mother—she says her mother bought it specially for the Thanksgiving service so she'd have enough candles to represent every member of her family.”

“Candlelight can be very romantic,” Glory said as she opened the paper bag and rummaged around. “I even put some perfume in here.”

“It's only a little bit of a date. He'll be gone after Thanksgiving.”

Nicki wondered if going out on a date with a handsome man who was leaving town was the smartest move a woman could make. She'd be forever comparing her dates with Lester to her one date with Garrett.

“Then you'll need a touch of lipstick, too,” Glory said as she examined Nicki. “I think with your coloring we need to go with the rose.”

“I'm not very good with the lines,” Nicki confessed as she peered into the bag of cosmetics Glory had brought over. There were lipsticks and lip liners. Mascara and eye shadow. “What's that?”

“A pot of smudge for your cheeks—it adds some glitter.”

“Won't I look kind of funny?”

“Not if you ask your mother to help you with it all.”

“Oh.” Nicki had almost managed to forget that her mother was here. “She and I don't have that kind of a relationship.”

“Who knows what kind of a relationship you can have? Give it some time.”

Nicki was going to point out that twenty-two years was a lot of time to give someone when they made no move to contact you, but she didn't get her mouth opened before she heard footsteps on the porch and the door of the store opened.

“There you are,” Nicki's mother said as she entered the store and saw Nicki standing at the counter. “Garrett said you were here. I asked him to go into Miles City to buy groceries and wondered if you would go with him.”

“We have enough groceries at the ranch.”

“Do you have a hundred and ten pounds of turkey and forty pounds of potatoes?”

“No, but we don't need those kind of groceries,” Nicki said even as her unease grew.