The Marriage List (11 page)

Grey glanced over at her from time to time
and smiled.

"So where is this little cabin?" Carrie
asked, raising her voice to be heard above the wind whooshing
through the small convertible.

"Geneva Heights, about an hour northwest of
Pine Grove."

"We're not stopping to see the rest of your
family are we?" She sat up straight, panic in her voice.

"It would take me some time and alcohol to
prepare you for that."

Carrie breathed a sigh of relief. That would
be too serious and she wasn't ready to think about... How could she
get serious with him, she didn't even know where her life was
going. Keeping the status quo was fine with her. She'd deal with
the future when it arrived. She sat back, staring at his handsome
profile as he expertly maneuvered the Jag along the winding, leafy
parkway.

****

The log cabin was nestled in a small clearing
in the woods. A gravel path wound around trees and large shrubs
about one hundred feet to the house from the driveway. The key was
over the door sill as the realtor promised. Grey carried Carrie's
suitcase and his own small bag to the door then opened it.

The musty smell of a closed up house greeted
their noses as Carrie ventured in. She looked around, admiring the
use of space. There was one great room with a large fireplace
serving as living room, dining room and kitchen combined. A sofa
and love seat were at right angles in front of the fireplace with a
square coffee table between the two. Under the front window of the
cabin was the dining room table with six chairs. On the opposite
wall was the kitchen. With white appliances and counter space
filling the length of one wall and a small oak table with four
chairs doubling as kitchen table or work space.

Off the back of the house were two bedrooms.
Grey eased by her and went into the far bedroom with light green
walls to drop off their bags. Carrie opened windows to let in the
fresh air and pulled back curtains to welcome the sunshine. Two
doors opened off the kitchen, one to the bathroom and one to the
deck behind the house and the outside.

The décor was a charming cross between
hunting cabin with plaids in dark green and cream and country sweet
with small print bedspreads in lavender and white and matching
curtains. Carrie liked it. When she was done, she joined Grey in
the bedroom, flopping down backwards on the bed.

"I love it here! This is wonderful, Grey! You
were so right."

He looked up from the suitcase he was
unpacking and smiled at her, then joined her on the bed. He climbed
on, crawling up to her to plant a kiss on her pink lips. Carrie
wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.

"When is Jenna coming," Carrie whispered in
his ear.

He gave her a wicked grin and replied, "Don't
think we have time to make love…they're due soon, but if we close
the door…"

"Hello! Hello? Anyone here? Grey?" a feminine
voice called out from the front door.

"Too late," Grey muttered as he pushed up
from the bed.

Combing his hair with his hands, he walked to
the door. Carrie got off the bed and grabbed her purse, searching
for a brush. As Grey walked through the bedroom door, Carrie heard
a feminine voice.

"Am I interrupting something?" Jenna asked,
her eyes twinkling.

"We just got here," Grey said, approaching
his sister.

Jenna stepped up to her brother and planted a
kiss on his cheek. At that moment, Carrie exited the bedroom,
fluffing her hair. She wore a rust-colored scooped-neck long sleeve
fine cotton sweater over light blue denims.

Jenna stopped, stared then smiled.

"Wow, you're prettier even than Grey said…I'm
Jenna," she said.

Carrie smiled and extended her hand. Jenna
brushed her hand aside and gave Carrie a big hug. Jenna wore blue
jeans that emphasized her long slim legs but with a dark turquoise
sweater that set off her strawberry blonde hair.

"So are you," Carrie remarked when Jenna let
her go.

They were interrupted by the arrival of a
tall, slim man with dark brown hair, two days' growth of beard and
shining dark brown eyes. Carrie walked over to him and extended her
hand.

"You must be Bill?"

"You must be Carrie," he replied, taking her
hand.

"There's nothing in this house to eat," Jenna
announced, after opening and closing cabinet doors and the
refrigerator. She threw her jacket on and tossed the car keys to
Bill.

"Grocery shopping is on the agenda, I fear,"
Grey said, tossing Carrie her jacket.

They all piled into Jenna's mini SUV, since
Grey's car was too small. Bill drove to the nearest grocery
store.

"There's a liquor store, Bill and I'll get
some wine. Here, have fun," Grey said, folding a small wad of bills
into Carrie's hand before he joined Bill.

Carrie opened her hand and counted out two
hundred dollars.

"A bit much for a weekend, isn't it?" She
said to no one in particular.

"Grey is generous, always has been," Jenna
remarked, slipping her arm through Carrie's and entering the
store.

Carrie manned the cart while Jenna shopped.
They discussed what to cook and food allergies and dislikes were
shared. They picked up the ingredients for lamb stew, one of Grey's
favorites, according to Jenna. Carrie volunteered to bake an apple
pie. Bacon, eggs, popcorn and other snacks were thrown into the
cart along with juice, mixers and beer. In the dairy section, the
young women stopped to look over the cheese.

"You are amazing, Carrie…perfect match for
Grey and the list, too," Jenna said.

"The list? That's the second time I've heard
a list mentioned in the past ten days. What is this list?"

Jenna put her hand over her mouth and her
cheeks colored.

"Come on, Jenna. You know you want to tell me
about the list. What is it? Give!" Carrie wheedled.

"Grey will kill me. It was a slip. Forget
it."

"I can't forget it. First Spence, then
you…"

"Spence mentioned the list?"

Carrie nodded.

"As long as I'm not the first. I suppose
there's nothing wrong with telling you…" Jenna said, justifying her
slip of the tongue.

Carrie pulled Jenna over to the bread section
where they could be alone and Jenna spilled everything about the
list, everything she knew. With every sentence, Carrie's eyes got
wider. When the shopping was done, the women filed silently out the
door.

"Please don't be mad at me, Carrie…" Jenna
pleaded.

"I'm not mad at you, Jenna. I'm grateful you
told me."

"I sort of helped though."

"I need to straighten this out with Grey,"
Carrie said, sticking her chin out a bit and clenching her jaw.

The men tried to start conversation in the
car but the ladies were unresponsive. Carrie kept her eyes trained
on the road, refusing to look at Grey. Bill and Grey exchanged
puzzled looks and finally sat silently until pulling into the
driveway of the cabin.

Grey took two bags in then pulled Carrie
aside, took her into the bedroom and closed the door.

"What's going on?" he asked, his hand clamped
around her upper arm.

"You tell me. Tell me about your list," she
said, standing with legs apart, hands on her hips.

Grey turned pale and dropped his hand.

"So it's true. You have a list of
qualities…or should I say
qualifications
for a wife?"

"Sort of…" he stammered.

"And I meet these requirements?"

"You do."

"So now…I'm 'it'?"

"It's not like that, Carrie. You're
different…"

"How so? If I hadn't met all
those…things…would you still be seeing me?" She asked, watching him
squirm.

"Maybe…maybe not. But you do and you're
spectacular…way above and beyond…"

"Bullshit, Grey!" She hollered.

Grey gave a quick glance at the closed
bedroom door.

"Let's go for a walk. We can talk in the
woods where it's more private. How did you find out about the
list?" He asked, moving toward the door.

"Jenna told me." Carrie stated flatly.

Grey opened the door.

"Jenna!" He yelled, his face turning
purple.

Jenna saw his face and ran out the front
door. Bill put down the groceries he was unpacking and followed his
wife.

"It isn't her fault…it's yours!" Carrie
pulled Grey by his sleeve toward the back door.

They walked in silence through the woods to a
pond. Carrie found a large rock jutting out of the earth and sat
down, pulling her knees to her chest.

"I don't know what's wrong with having a list
of the qualities you're looking for in a mate, Carrie. Women do the
same…or so Jenna told me. Why are you upset?" He sat down on the
rock next to her.

Carrie shot him a withering look.

"Explain it to me, honey." He stroked her
arm.

She yanked herself away from him and stared
out at the pond.

"Do you think I'm some sort of Stepford Wife,
one who will cook for you, decorate your house and give you all the
sex you want at the drop of a hat?"

"I don't, I don't think of you that way."

"Then how do you think of me?" Tears stung at
the back of Carrie's eyes but she was determined to blink them
away.

"I think of you as my ideal woman, smart,
creative, resourceful, sexy…the woman I love," he said, slowly,
quietly.

"That stupid list! Everyone knows about
it…everyone but me! Jenna wouldn't explain the third item on the
list, said she didn't know exactly what it was but it had something
to do with getting enough sex and then she blushed redder than the
beets on display in the produce department."

Grey laughed.

"What's so funny?" Carrie sniffed.

"You are. Do you care that my friends
and…Jenna…know about my list? Don't you think it's amazing I found
a woman I'm crazy about that also has those qualities?"

"I think it's amazing I haven't killed you
yet…" She sniffed, turning away from his warm stare.

"I admit those things are important to me,
because…because…well the other three horsemen complain about their
wives lacking those things. So I thought, if I could get those in a
mate, then I'd be a lot happier than they are."

"Now finding a spouse…the best spouse is a
four horseman competition?"

"It's more about me than about them. I want
to get married once and have it last forever. I'm picky…okay, maybe
fussy is a better word…but look at you…and how lucky I am?"

With his last words he bent down and kissed
her. Carrie tried to remain angry but couldn't. His kiss stole her
anger away.

"Stop that," she said, pushing him away.
"You're trying to make me forget."

"Am I? I thought I was enjoying kissing my
girl," he whispered.

"This is how you made your money, isn't it?
Sweet talk, charming people into getting your own way."

"If I had my way, we'd be back in our bedroom
in the cabin doing something completely different than arguing
about a dumb list." His eyes made contact with hers while his hand
touched hers tentatively.

"So what exactly was that third item on your
list," she asked, casting her gaze at the rock for a second before
looking into his eyes. She linked her pinky with his.

"Sure you want to know?"

"I asked, didn't I?" she said, turning angry
eyes on him.

Grey shifted his weight and cleared his
throat before he explained the third item on the list. Carrie
stared at him in disbelief, then she burst out laughing.

"I can't believe you've basically told all
your friends and family how I feel about sex…that I'm as horny as a
man. And then you sit there telling me I'm foolish to be
embarrassed!"

"Oh, I thought you were really laughing
there, for a minute. Actually it is funny if you look at it from a
different perspective…"

"From what perspective? I can't face the
other three horsemen and your sister…your sister who was too
embarrassed to even make reference to it…and her husband who
probably knows all about it…" Tears spilled over and streamed down
cheeks flushed with humiliation.

"What's wrong with being sexy?" Grey said,
taking her in his arms.

"It's private. What goes on between you and
me is private," she stated.

She gave him token resistance but stopped
when he wouldn't let her go. Carrie loved being in his arms. She
felt safe, loved and protected. She closed her eyes and let those
feelings wash over her again.

"Let them all be jealous that we are
so…so…compatible," he chuckled.

"Compatible! You've told them I want sex all
the time! Which isn't true, by the way," she said, then turned her
face into his chest.

"I never told anyone that…or mentioned
anything we do together. I spoke of you that way and I wouldn't,"
he insisted.

She burrowed her face into his shoulder while
her breathing returned to normal.

"Let's not let this ruin our weekend, Carrie.
We're here in this great cabin with Jenna…and I could tell you
plenty of embarrassing things about her…and Bill, too. I just might
if they give you a hard time. Let's be together and be in love,
honey," he said, stroking her hair.

Carrie was seduced by him as always. His
soothing manner, his sense of humor and his sexy, hard body coupled
with his desire for her…she found him irresistible. When she moved
back and looked up at him, his mouth came down to cover hers in a
passionate kiss.

"I'll try," she said, wiping her cheek with
her fingers.

Grey pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket
and dried her tears. He pushed off the rock to his feet then
offered his hand to Carrie. She took it allowing him to pull her
up. They turned to find their way back to the cabin, Grey with his
arm around her shoulders and Carrie with her arm around his
waist.