“Start what?”
“Telling everybody the wedding is canceled.” The tears that had dried up earlier suddenly reappeared. She impatiently wiped them away, then blew her nose on the handkerchief. “I feel like such a dope, patiently waiting for years for him to return home to marry me when all this time he—He’s been—”
There was no reason for her to finish that particular line of thought.
“You know what?” he said, making the effort to sound brisk and matter-of-fact. “What you really need to do is to get away from here for a while. Why don’t you come back to Dallas with me? I’ve got a big place with plenty of room. It would give you a chance to distance yourself from the situation until you can come to terms with what’s happened.”
His suggestion brought a quiver to her lips, as though she was attempting to smile. “You’ve got to be kidding, Chris.” Yes. Definitely a watery smile. “I’d never hear the end of it from my family if I went off somewhere with you.”
“We could get around that.”
Her expression when she cut her eyes around to look at him clearly showed her doubt.
“I have a suggestion that might solve some of this for you.”
“What? Put a notice in the paper? I already thought of that, but it’s too late. The weekly paper will be out in the morning.”
“No. I’m suggesting that you go ahead with the wedding.”
“What in the world are you talking about? I can’t have a wedding without a groom.”
“I know. So I’m volunteering.”
She straightened away from him, pushing herself up until she was standing, looking down at him. With a disbelieving shake to her head, she said, “You can’t be serious!”
Chris took his time getting up. When they were facing each other once again, he met her bewildered gaze with a level one of his own. He let her see what was in his eyes, what he was feeling, before he replied, “I’m very serious, Maribeth.”
If she lived to be a hundred, Maribeth knew that she would never experience a day like this one. “Why?” Blurted out that way, her response had sounded almost insulting.
“I have many reasons, none of which matter in the least if you find the idea repulsive.”
Marriage to Chris Cochran repulsive? Many feelings came to mind, but repulsion wasn’t one of them. For a day filled with shocking disclosures, this one was as great as any she’d heard so far.
Marriage with Chris? Why, she’d never thought of him in that way. At least…not exactly. Even though she had teased him earlier today about the women in his life, he’d always seemed too much of a loner for her to ever imagine him married to anyone.
He made her nervous in a way she couldn’t quite describe. What would it be like to be married to him? To live with him? To sleep with him? To make loveWell! He’d certainly taken her mind off the news he’d brought. She’d gotten so caught up in his proposal—and that was exactly what it was, she realized with a dazed fascination—that she had momentarily forgotten that the entire county was going to turn out for her wedding in three days, unless she got busy and explained to everyone what had happened.
Chris wished he knew what she was thinking. Her expressive face revealed a bewildering series of thoughts and feelings, none of which he’d been able to decipher.
“This doesn’t sound at all like you, Chris,” she finally said. “You’re not the impulsive type. So why would you suggest something so unusual?”
He took her hand, placed it on his palm and traced the length of her fingers with his other hand. “What’s so unusual about it? Think about it for a moment. You’ve been planning to get married for sometime now. You can still get married. You’ve known me for almost as long as you’ve known Bobby, so it’s not as if we’re strangers. You pointed out earlier that you had spent most of your life on the ranch. Well, now you can come with me and see something more of the world.”
“I can’t take advantage of you,” she said slowly, her gaze fixed on their linked hands.
Chris couldn’t help but be amused. She sounded so earnest. And so scared. “Sure you can. You have my permission to take advantage of me at anytime, starting right now.” He released her hands and tipped her chin up so that she could see his face. He’d never been more sincere in his life when he said, “I can’t think of anything that would give me more pleasure than to marry you, Maribeth.”
Her expression was difficult to make out. It was only then that he realized the light was fading rapidly from the sky.
“Oh, Chris,” she said in the gathering darkness. He could hear the tears in her voice. She wiped her hand impatiently across her eyes once again. “I don’t know what to say.”
A surge of exultation shot through him. She hadn’t turned him down cold. Was it fair to take advantage of her while she was so vulnerable’?
Something needed to be done. And done quickly.
Giving in to temptation, Chris slid his arm around her waist and with his other hand, tilted her chin upward. Moving slowly in order to give her time to stop him if she wished, he leaned closer until his lips brushed hers.
She didn’t flinch and she didn’t pull away. That was enough encouragement for him to put all the yearning he felt into the kiss that he’d fantasized giving her for more years than he could remember.
Her lips were even softer than he had imagined. She tasted of tears and temptation. He took his time molding his mouth to fit hers, easing his way as her innocence imprinted itself on him.
He pressed her against him, his hands exploring her back from her nape to the base of her spine while he nudged her lips apart and dipped into the sweetness of her mouth.
By the time Maribeth understood that Chris intended to kiss her, he was already doing it. The first touch of his mouth froze her into immobility. This was Chris Cochran kissing her! She would have known it was him even if she’d been wearing a blindfold because of the tingling sensation she’d experienced as soon as he touched her. Her body must be some kind of tuning fork where he was concerned!
That was her last coherent thought. Maribeth had thought that she was experienced in the art of kissing at least, but she’d never experienced anything like this before. All she could do was wrap her arms around his waist and hold on.
By the time he drew away from her with obvious reluctance some untold time later, she was having trouble getting her breath. He seemed to be having a similar problem. He leaned his forehead against hers.
“So what do you say?” he whispered. “Shall we shock everybody and do it?”
She was already in shock, and all she’d done was kiss Chris Cochran. Perhaps it would be better to say that Chris had kissed her.
Her head was still swimming.
In a few short hours everything she thought she knew and understood about herself and her life had been turned upside down. She’d been grieving over Bobby one minute and wholeheartedly participating
