Joshua and the Cowgirl (18 page)

A flicker of pure mischief dashed through his eyes as he reached for the buttons. “I think I like this crying stuff, after all.”

Her gaze narrowed suspiciously. “Because?”

“You’ve never asked me to take off my clothes before.”

“Joshua, I am not asking you to take off your clothes,” she retorted even as she watched him dutifully unbutton his shirt. Her protest was entirely too weak. “I just meant…”

“Oh, I know what you meant. Normally you’re just too shy to ask. Now you have an excuse.” He stripped the shirt away and threw it over the chair, then reached for the waistband of his jeans.

“Don’t you dare!” she ordered, but it was more whisper than command. Her eyes were locked on the breadth of his bare chest.

“But…” Joshua implored with all innocence.

Swallowing hard, she dragged her gaze up to challenge his. “If you even think about touching that zipper, I’m out of here.”

Disappointment streaked across his face. “Too bad,” he said, snapping the jeans closed just as Mrs. Mac came into the room and gasped.

“Oh, my,” she said breathlessly. The starch was back in her voice in no more than a heartbeat. “Joshua Ames, put your clothes on right this instant. Garrett, I’m surprised at you. Casey could have been the one walking in here instead of me.”

“It’s…it’s not the way it looks,” Garrett explained hurriedly. “Joshua’s shirt got wet. He was just taking it off so Elena could dry it.”

“Humph!” Her expression was disbelieving.

“True,” Joshua said. “Much to my dismay, our intentions were purely innocent.”

“I doubt you were innocent the day you hit the cradle, young man. Wet or not, I suggest you put that shirt back on until you get another one from upstairs.”

With a wink at Garrett, he put it back on every bit as slowly as he’d taken it off. To her dismay, she watched every bit as avidly as she had his disrobing.

“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get to that doctor. I can’t wait to watch you taking something off.”

“Joshua!” She shot a worried look at Mrs. Mac, but she was chuckling.

“The cast, darlin’. The cast.”

“Oh,” she said and could have kicked herself for not keeping the disappointment out of her voice. The man was entirely too smug without her giving him more to gloat over.

“I like you in pink,” he noted. “What do you think, Mrs. Mac?”

“Very becoming.”

Garrett glanced down at her red shirt and blue jeans. “Pink?”

“Your cheeks.” His grin widened. “Fascinating. Now they match that shirt.”

She glared at him. “I wonder if Red would drive me to the doctor.”

Before she realized what he intended, she was off the floor and in Joshua’s arms. He glowered fiercely. “Not likely. You and I have a date and I get real testy when a lady stands me up.”

“Has anyone ever dared?”

He considered the question thoughtfully. “Not since the first grade Halloween party. Lynda Dixon.”

“You still remember her name?”

“A man’s not likely to forget a woman who rejects him.”

“Obviously she was a very shortsighted woman.”

“Exactly what I told her when she begged me to take her to the senior prom.”

Laughing, she settled comfortably in his arms. “Okay. Okay. I get the picture.”

He nodded approvingly. “I thought you might.”

* * *

Joshua’s grip on the phone tightened. This was the last thing he needed. After weeks of delicate maneuvers to assure Garrett of his feelings, he couldn’t leave Wyoming now. She’d never trust him again. Now that she was out of that cast and on her own two feet, she’d take off on him like a shot at the first hint of what she perceived of betrayal. “Suzy, tell him I’ll be back in a week or two,” he told his assistant. “Reschedule the appointment.”

“He’s adamant, boss. You’ll see him by the first of the week or he’ll hire someone else.”

Joshua wanted to tell the man to go to blazes, but he didn’t dare. Not that he couldn’t sacrifice this account and a dozen more. He didn’t need their money. However, he did need to keep his reputation for reliability intact. That, every bit as much as his financial skill, was what kept him in business as an investment consultant. Obviously he’d put off this prospective client just as long as he could.

“Tell him I’ll meet with him on Monday morning. I’ll fly back late Sunday.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Suzy said.

“Anything else?”

“Nothing I can’t handle. Is everything okay out there? Are Mrs. McDonald’s finances untangled yet?”

“As much as they’re ever likely to be. I think she’d be content to keep her spare cash in a cookie jar, if she weren’t so set on amassing a fortune to leave to Cal.”

“A fortune he doesn’t want or need. The only thing that man needs is family. Can’t she see that?”

“Maybe if he’d stay out here for more than fifteen minutes at a time, she’d realize it. Instead, the harder she tries to bribe him into staying, the quicker he is to run.”

“Maybe this time’ll be different. Cal called this morning and said he and Marilou were leaving for the ranch at noon. He wanted to know if there was anything you wanted me to send along with him. I told him I’d just sent you half a dozen faxes and that anything else could wait until you got back.”

“You didn’t know I’d be coming back Monday.”

“Sure I did,” she said. “I can read you like a book. I’d already made your plane reservations, but Cal said you could fly back with them.”

Joshua chuckled ruefully. “It’s nice to know I’m so predictable.”

“Not that predictable,” she assured him. “For instance, I would have sworn you’d be back two minutes after you landed. Guess you hadn’t gotten that cowgirl out of your system, after all.”

“What do you know about Garrett?”

This time Suzy laughed. “Come on, boss. I can add two and two as well as you can. See you Monday.”

“Yeah,” he grumbled. “See you Monday. Maybe I’ll surprise you and be late.”

“That wouldn’t just surprise me. It would send me into shock. Bye-bye.”

Joshua would have growled something about the fate of disrespectful help, but she’d already hung up in his ear. Instead he simply sat and stared out the window. His fingers curled around the jewelry box in his pocket. He’d bought the engagement ring on his shopping trip with Casey. She’d helped him pick it out. The blue star sapphire shimmered like lights. The diamonds around it glistened like stars in a midnight sky. The ring had reminded him of the dazzle in Garrett’s eyes when she had stared up at him in the heat of passion. He’d known at once that a simple diamond would never do. He planned to give it to her tomorrow night. With any luck the birthday party would turn into an engagement celebration. Now he wondered how much celebration he could hope for, once she learned that he was about to go back to Florida.

* * *

Garrett stood in front of the full-length mirror and slowly turned. She couldn’t believe that the woman reflected in the glass was really her. The blue satin dress bared shoulders that were pale as cream. The hem skimmed her knees, displaying slender calves and well-turned ankles. She could barely tell that she’d just had a cast removed from one leg, though she had been forced to wear flat shoes rather than the heels that would have been more traditional with the gown. Over her objections, Casey had brushed her hair until it hung in a shiny wave below her shoulders. It was caught back from her face on one side by a rhinestone studded comb lent by Mrs. McDonald. The two of them had pronounced her
gorgeous
thirty minutes ago. She still couldn’t quite get over the possibility that they might be right.

There was a tap on the door. Expecting Joshua, she called out, her gaze still fastened on her reflection. A soft, wolf whistle shimmered across her nerves. A thousand butterflies took flight in her stomach. She turned slow and found not Joshua, but Marilou Rivers, Cal’s wife.

“Stay away from my husband,” Marilou said, but her eyes were sparkling with amusement and there was an approving smile on her lips. “You look drop-dead gorgeous. Joshua won’t know what hit him.”

“Are you sure?” Garrett said, her voice filled with uncertainty. “It’s not too much?”

“Maybe for a rodeo, but this is a party. You look perfect.”

“Like a lady?” she said wryly. “That’s what my daughter said. She sounded stunned.”

“You know, Garrett, being a survivor and being a lady aren’t incompatible. It’s just a matter of balance.”

“Maybe. Sometimes, though, I think what Joshua really needs is someone who’s all woman.”

Marilou chuckled. “I suspect you’re as much woman as he could ever hope to handle. Just because you put on jeans and live on a ranch doesn’t mean you can’t be feminine underneath. Since Cal and I got married and I found myself living on a Thoroughbred farm, I’ve taken to wearing the frilliest lace underwear I can find. The first time he discovered that he almost had a coronary. Now every time he sees me in those pants, all he remembers is what I’m wearing under them. Believe me, he never forgets for one single second that I’m a woman.”

Garrett wondered if Joshua always remembered her lace underwear and pink toenail polish when he discovered her in the barn with hay in her hair and dirt streaking her face. Maybe tonight she’d be able to give him new memories to cling to during those times when she was dusty and tired from a roundup. Maybe it was possible to give Joshua the lady he needed without losing her sense of self in the process.

Impulsively she hugged Marilou. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For making a future for Joshua and me seem almost possible.”

There was another tap on the door and this time it was Cal who stuck his head in and whistled. “Wow! Two of the prettiest women in town and they’re hiding out upstairs. Joshua come see the transformation.”

Marilou gave him a mock glare. “I thought you said I was always beautiful.”

“Oh, you are,” he said hurriedly, winking at Garrett. “Must be that the color you’re wearing is particularly flattering.”

“Quick thinking,” Joshua said approvingly as his gaze sought Garrett, who was still standing in the background. When he found her, his eyes widened. Cal and Marilou chuckled.

“Well, he’s down for the count,” Cal said. “Come on, wife. I think I hear our names being called from downstairs. We’d better get there before Grandmother hires an architect to build that house for us.”

When they had gone, Joshua stepped into the room and held out his hands. “Come, let me look at you.”

Garrett took his hands and held on tight.

“Scared?”

“A little.”

“Sweetheart, these are your friends downstairs.”

“But I’m used to running into them in a diner or maybe at the feed store. I’m out of my element on a dance floor.”

“You wouldn’t be out of your element at the White House. I’m very proud to have you on my arm. Now let’s get going before Cal eats all the food.”

“Cal and an entire army couldn’t eat all the food Elena and the caterer have prepared.”

“Elena? I thought the caterer was doing it all?”

“She wasn’t convinced he’d make quite enough. Truthfully, I think she was feeling left out. Mrs. Mac wanted her to feel like a guest tonight, but she was still refusing to leave the kitchen last time I checked.”

“How close did you come to refusing to leave the barn?”

“It crossed my mind, but I figured you and Mrs. Mac would have a posse out after me.”

His gaze lingered on the bare curve of her shoulder, then drifted to the swell of her breast. “There is something to be said about the barn,” he murmured, his breathing a little faster.

“Not on your life. I didn’t get all dolled up to go tumbling into a haystack. Let’s go, Mr. Ames.” She tucked her arm through his and went with him downstairs. Halfway down she realized that the dozen or so early arrivals were all standing at the bottom, all eyes on their descent. It was a wonder she didn’t trip and land in their midst. Joshua gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze.

“Showtime, darlin’. You’re going to knock ’em dead.”

The only impression Garrett really worried about, though, was the one she made on the man by her side. The fact that she cared so much worried her. Her gaze rose to meet Joshua’s and found the sought-after approval blazing in his eyes. Her confidence soared.

“You’re the most handsome man in the room,” she confided, lacing her fingers through his. “I’m very glad to be your date.”

With his gaze locked on hers, he whispered, “We’re going to make it a night to remember.”

After that, everything became a blur. It was nearly midnight when the pace slowed and the band finally struck up the promised waltz. Garrett had sensed Joshua’s increasing frustration with the lively square dances that had filled the evening. Every time the caller had insisted that he change partners, he’d done so with obvious reluctance. His possessive gaze had never strayed from her, especially when she’d been hand-in-hand with Red. Even now he still didn’t fully realize that he had nothing to fear from the foreman. She thought of Red as a wonderful friend, an older brother almost, but nothing more.

Now, though, the first note of the waltz floated on the air and with a gleam in his eyes, Joshua held out his arms. “This is our dance, darlin’.”

Garrett stepped into the embrace, her heart thundering in her chest as his hands settled on her hips and fit them snugly against him.

“Watch it,” she whispered in his ear. “Mrs. Mac will be over here with a ruler in a minute to see that you keep a proper distance between us.”

“She wouldn’t dare. I’ve been waiting all night to hold you like this.” He leaned back just enough to look into her eyes. “Happy?”

“Incredibly,” she said and rested her head on his chest. “It’s been an evening of magic.”

“That’s just what I promised. It could be like this always.”

Oh, how she wanted to believe that. If anyone could convince her, Joshua could. “Always is a very long time.”

“But I’m very good at making magic.”

“You have an ego the size of Texas.”

“It’s not ego if it’s fact.”

“Then it’s just plain old bragging,” she teased, her fingers weaving through the hair that had grown long enough to brush the collar of his shirt. Heat flared in his eyes.