it’s a big deal. Huge. Today I get to be judged. Alone.”
For a moment he considered skipping the meeting. He hadn’t considered how upset she might be over it, and in hindsight he probably should have talked to her first before calling Gram. But he’d been disconcerted after their talk last night, and he hadn’t considered all the ramifications. And he’d learned something new—something that surprised him. Going toe-to-toe withAlex was invigorating. When they argued they left all pretence and awkwardness behind. They were honest. It was liberating.
Alex sighed, a mixture of frustration and resignation. “I’d better get started tidying this place up, then.”
He took his empty plate to the sink. She was furious. It was in the way her eyes refused to even glance in his direction, in the icy set of her cheek. It shouldn’t matter, but it did. Despite how alive she looked when she was wound up, he didn’t like being at outs with her.
“I’m sorry, Alex. I certainly didn’t intend to upset you. With any luck I’ll be back by lunch, and she won’t be here yet. Or I can make a few phone calls. Maybe I can reschedule the meeting, and then we can face her together.”
She turned, raised her chin defiantly.
“I can handle your grandmother,” she retorted. “It’s the fact that I have to that I don’t like.”
“Point taken.”
“If you want me to stay, don’t let it happen again.”
He couldn’t help but smile a bit at her steel. She might be down but she would never admit to being out. The more they talked, the more he realized how resilient she was. He wondered what she’d left out about her life last night during their walk. “Agreed.”
He stepped closer to her and laid a hand on her cheek. A few tendrils curled around her face and whispered against the rough skin of his hand. Her hair…He’d resisted the temptation thus far to sink his hands into that rich carpet of darkness. But this morning it was out of her customary ponytail and rippled down her back. There wasn’t a man in this hemisphere who could resist hair like that.
“I’m sorry I didn’t think this through better.” He made the apology clear. “But, Alex?” At the questioning look in her eyes he smiled. “You’re amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman more determined than you. You’ll be great.”
He pressed a kiss of reassurance to her forehead as he left for his chores. He’d lied. He’d met one woman more determined…and Alex was going to meet her too, very soon.
THE eggs and ham, what she’d managed to eat of them, stayed down. Alex showered, dressed in clean jeans and T-shirt, and wished she had something nicer to wear. Grandmothers were not on her top ten list of things she wanted to do today. Alex knew that if she didn’t pass muster, chances were the wedding would never take place.
She fussed with the hem of her shirt. Well, there was nothing she could do about her dearth of a wardrobe. Instead she went to work, tidying the house, dusting and vacuuming, and making sure the appliances gleamed. She took pleasure in looking in at the rooms, tidy and shining. It felt…already…like a home.
She frowned. Two days. Two days and she was thinking of this as home. She had to be careful and remember that this was temporary. If she got too invested, then she was only setting herself up for heartache when it became time to leave. And leave she must. They would go their separate ways, and she would find a new place for herself and the baby she’d be bringing up alone.
But first she had to deal with Connor’s grandmother. The fact that she had to made her blood boil. Of all the nerve. Connor had sat there, calm as you please, and just announced that he’d told his grandmother about their plans. Now he was off “working”, and she was left to deal with the fallout alone. How typically male!
She’d get lots of mileage out of this one. He owed her big time for dropping this on her and leaving.
She was heading upstairs when a horrible thought took hold. What if the revered lady arrived expecting to spend the night? Was Alex already in the room she would expect to occupy? Would his grandmother be expecting her to be sharing Connor’s bed?
The thought of sleeping next to Connor all night made her stomach roll over. It was bad enough the tricks her mind was playing on her; she wasn’t sure how she could handle lying close to his body through the night, listening to his steady breath, feeling his warmth. She had no business feeling this elemental attraction to him, not when their relationship was temporary and she was pregnant. And who knew what would happen while they were sleeping? She was apt to wake up draped over him, and how embarrassing would that be? As if Connor would be attracted to her—poor, plain Alex, pregnant with another man’s child. Briefly she remembered how gently he’d touched her last night, and her stomach twisted again. Maybe it was possible that he was attracted, she supposed, but someone had to keep a clear head around here!
She could switch her things to the other spare room. It wouldn’t take but a moment, and then Mrs. Madsen could have the white room. She was just taking the steps with fresh linens in her hands when the doorbell rang. Her heart sank. She’d run out of time.
She put the linens on a chair and opened the door with a heavy and panicked heart.
“You must be Alexis. I’m Johanna Madsen, Connor’s grandmother.”
Of course you are. Alex held the thought inside and tried to keep her mouth from dropping open. The woman was tall and imperious, dressed in a stylish black pantsuit with a real silk scarf twined about her neck.
But she was looking at Alex in a friendly, grandmotherly sort of way, not with the glare of suspicion and dislike that Alex had completely expected.
“Please, come in,” Alex said automatically, then felt ridiculous. Johanna belonged here so much more than she did!
Alex stepped aside and Johanna came in, pulling a suitcase behind her. Alex’s heart sank. Johanna was planning on staying.
“Connor’s gone to a meeting,” she said haltingly, hating the uncertainty in her voice.
Johanna’s brow crinkled in the middle. “All this fuss—all these meetings he has to attend when there’s hay to be cut. It looks like a good crop. He’ll need it.”
“He will?”
Johanna smiled at Alex indulgently, making Alex feel like a simple child. “When you can’t sell beef, you’ve got to feed the ones you’ve got.” She put a friendly hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Let’s have tea.”
Alex was helpless to do anything but follow Johanna into the kitchen. The woman had been in the house less than five minutes and already she was in charge. Alex wasn’t sure whether to be offended or strangely relieved as she paused in the doorway to the kitchen, unsure of what to do.
Johanna placed the kettle on the burner, and then knelt down with her head in the cupboard, searching for teabags. A rancher’s wife, born and bred. It made Alex feel even more like an impostor.
“So, when are you due, Alexis?”
Alex’s
