waved and smiled as she pulled out of the drive, then shoved his hands in his pockets and frowned thoughtfully as her car disappeared from sight.
What on earth had possessed her to come up with such a crazy idea, he wondered as he headed into the barn to do a checkup of the animals in his care.
He and Mellie were not winners when it came to the romances in their lives, but they were absolute champions when it came to their friendship with each other. Bailey would never do anything to risk that friendship. And nothing could ruin things like a marriage.
Twenty minutes ago he would have told anyone that Melanie Watters was the most grounded woman he’d ever known. She was bright, logical and had both feet firmly planted on the ground. But that had been before she’d voiced her crazy idea about marriage and pregnancy.
Maybe the approach of her thirtieth birthday at the end of the year had picked her feet up off the ground and put craziness in her head, he thought as he left the barn.
He entered the house by the back door and walked into the large, airy kitchen he rarely used. As a confirmed bachelor, most of Bailey’s meals were either zapped in the microwave or eaten at the local diner.
The only really good home-cooked meals he ever got were when either his mother or Melanie took pity on him and cooked for him.
At the moment the last thing he wanted was dinner. All he wanted was a nice warm shower and to kick back with a cold beer.
He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told Melanie it had been a miserable day. Not only had he been confronted by several well-meaning mothers of potential contestants, he’d had to put down a beloved old dog who’d belonged to friends of his.
He walked into his bedroom and kicked off his shoes, then walked into the bathroom and stripped off his still-damp jean shorts. He tossed them in the direction of the hamper, pulled a towel from the linen closet, then yanked open the shower door and yelped in surprise.
The dark-haired, naked woman standing in his shower smiled. “Hey, Bailey, I thought maybe you’d like me to scrub your back.”
“Jeez, SueEllen, what the heck are you doing?” Bailey wasn’t sure whether to cover himself with the towel in his hand or cover her. He finally managed to sling the towel around his hips and grab another from the closet and throw it to SueEllen Trexlor.
SueEllen took the towel, but instead of wrapping it around herself, held it out from her. “I just thought I’d show you some of the talent I can’t show you during the pageant,” she said.
Bailey groaned and quickly turned his back on her. “Would you get out of my shower and get dressed. What on earth would your mama say?”
“My mama wants me to be Miss Dairy Cow.”
Bailey groaned again and left the bathroom. He grabbed a pair of jeans from a drawer and went into the living room, where he quickly pulled them on.
A moment later SueEllen appeared in the bedroom doorway. To his relief she had pulled on the sundress she’d apparently arrived in, although the top several buttons were undone to expose her ample chest.
“I’ve always had a thing for you, Bailey,” she said, her voice a seductive purr as she advanced toward him.
Had every woman in Foxrun gone stark, raving mad? Bailey wondered if there was something alien in the air, a weird position of the moon, as he backed away from her.
“I’m flattered, SueEllen, but you need to get on home now,” he said. “This isn’t right.”
“And what’s wrong with it? I’m an adult and you’re an adult. We’re both free and single.”
“But I’m not,” Bailey protested.
SueEllen stopped in her tracks. “You aren’t what?”
The conversation with Mellie was still ringing in his ears, and he grasped at it desperately. “I’m not single…I mean, I just got engaged to Melanie Watters.”
SueEllen frowned in obvious dismay and reached for the buttons of her dress. “Why didn’t you say something sooner, Bailey? You know I would never steal somebody else’s fiancé. I do have my standards.”
She tossed her head and flounced toward the front door. She pulled on the door, then turned back to face him with a sly smile. “I hope you won’t hold this against me in the pageant. I meant it when I said I’ve always found you attractive, Bailey.” Her smile widened. “And now I know for sure just how attractive you are.”
Bailey felt the heat of a blush sweep over his features. Thankfully she apparently didn’t expect a reply, with a waggle of her fingers, she disappeared out the door.
Instantly Bailey dropped to the sofa and waited for his heart to stop pounding so frantically. He’d been joking with Melanie when he told her he was afraid some contestant would be in his bed. It hadn’t crossed his mind that the oversexed, attractive SueEllen might be waiting for him naked in his shower.
Thinking of showers…he pulled himself up off the sofa, carefully locked both the front and back doors, then headed for the shower once again.
It wasn’t until he was standing beneath the hot spray of water that he realized what he had just done. SueEllen and her mother were two of the biggest gossips in the town of Foxrun, and he’d just told SueEllen that he was engaged to Mellie.
He quickly shut off the faucets and, still dripping water, grabbed jeans and a shirt. He had to get hold of Mellie. He had to tell her what had happened before she heard it through Foxrun’s prolific grapevine.
Chapter Two
The Foxrun Elementary School was a charming two-story brick building a block off Main Street. For nine months of the year Melanie taught second-graders on the second floor, and during that time the old brick building felt like home.
Her classroom welcomed her with bright colors on the bulletin boards and the familiar scent of chalk and children. As she slid into the chair behind her desk, she marveled that in less than a week’s time the school year would be over and the decorations on the bulletin boards would be taken down until next year.
The teachers held two parent-teacher conferences each year. The first was held just before Christmas to discuss what improvements needed to be made and any areas of weakness the child displayed. This conference at the end of the school year was to talk about what improvements had been made and what the parents might want to do to help the child prepare for their next year of school.
Melanie checked her watch, then pulled out the folder for Becky Altenburg. Becky’s parents would be here at any minute and they would be happy with Becky’s progress. She was a delightful little girl, both bright and cheerful.
With her paperwork ready before her, Melanie leaned back in her chair and tried not to think about Bailey. From the moment she’d left his place, she’d been kicking herself for speaking aloud the nutty idea that had momentarily taken possession of her brain.
The very last thing she would ever want was to do something that would destroy the precious friendship they shared. They’d even gone to the same college together in Kansas City. The only time they’d really been apart was when he’d met and married the
