Lone Star Holiday Proposal

Nolan could hear Raina moving around toward the back of the store. He flicked a look her way and saw her laying out egg cartons and wicks and precut blocks of what he assumed was wax. JJ was doing his best to help. Raina moved quietly behind him and straightened up the things he laid out for her, and every now and then she paused to wipe his little nose.

She did everything with grace and an effortless elegance that mesmerized Nolan, and he had to force himself to look away and remind himself he was here to gather intel about the Courtyard, not spend his time mooning over one of the proprietors. He was on the verge of leaving the store when he overheard Raina talking to JJ.

“Well, how about that?” she said, putting her hands on her hips and looking around the workroom. “We’re all done, JJ. I couldn’t have done it all so fast without your help.”

Nolan fought back a smile. He had no doubt she’d have had it done in half the time, but it tugged at his heart to see how she took the time to make JJ feel special and his efforts valued. Then came a fresh debilitating wave of sorrow as he remembered all he’d lost. Even so, he still couldn’t tear himself away from the tableau in front of him.

“I’m a good boy, aren’t I, Mommy?” JJ said, his little chest puffed out with pride.

“Yes you are. The very best. And you’re all mine!” She reached out to tickle him and he giggled and squirmed out of reach. “How about, as a reward, I take you to the diner for dinner before your sitter comes tonight.”

The little boy nodded vigorously. An idea occurred to Nolan. This was an opening he could use. He still owed JJ an ice cream. What better opportunity to fulfill his promise to the kid and to accidentally bump into his mother again and draw her back into conversation.

She’d mentioned a sitter. Did that mean there was no Mr. Patterson around? He gave himself another mental shake. Whether there was or not, it made no difference. This would merely be another opportunity to ask her more questions about the Courtyard and Winslow Properties.

At least that’s what he told himself.

Two

Raina heard her cell phone ring in her handbag as she was securing JJ in his car seat. Whoever it was would just have to leave a message, she thought as she did up his harness and checked to make sure he was snug. Finally satisfied, she got in the driver’s seat and turned on the ignition.

“Seat belt, Mommy!”

She smiled at JJ in the rearview mirror. “Yes, sir!”

He giggled in response, the way he always did, and it made her heart glad. She thanked God every day for the gift of her son. Jeb Pickering might have been a useless no good son-of-a-bitch but he’d left her with a gift beyond price. While it would have been her ideal wish to have provided JJ with both a mommy and a daddy who loved him, she was happy to parent alone. In fact, given Jeb’s reliability, or lack of it, and his predilection for gambling and drink, JJ was better off not knowing the man even existed. Of course, being a single mom running a business brought its own issues, including relying on sitters when her dad wasn’t free to help out. Which reminded her—the phone call. Maybe it had been her sitter calling.

“I’m just going to check my phone, JJ, then we’ll head to the diner, okay?”

“C’n I have nuggets ’n’ fries?”

“You sure can.”

“Yum!”

Satisfied that he could have his favorite meal, JJ hummed quietly to himself, kicking a beat on the back of the front passenger seat while he waited. Raina stifled the admonition that sprang to her lips when he started to kick. She didn’t want to enter into an argument with him now. Instead, she reached into her bag and dragged out her phone. One missed call, unknown number. A sick feeling of dread crept into her gut. Quelling the sensation, she listened to the message.

“Hey Rai, it’s Jeb. I hear you got your little shop up and running again. That’s good, ’cause I’m in a bit of a bind. I really need some money, honey.” He sniggered and Raina cringed. He sounded drunk, again. “Anyway, I owe some guys... I, uh, well, I’ll tell you when I see you. Soon, babe. By the way, how’s that kid of ours? Later!”

Raina deleted the message instantly, her skin crawling. She felt as if she needed a long hot shower. Hadn’t it been enough that he’d emptied out her bank account and skipped town when she’d been at the hospital in labor with JJ? And what about the extra five grand she’d given him early last year for what she’d told him was absolutely and totally the last time ever?

“Mommy, I’m hungry!” JJ demanded from the back, his kicks picking up in tempo.

Raina reached across to still his little legs. “JJ, what’s the rule about kicking in the car?”

His little mouth firmed in a stubborn line. Pick your battles, Raina reminded herself, morphing into distraction mode instead. “Are you having ketchup with your chicken nuggets?”

“Yay! Ketchup!”

“Let’s go then,” she said with a smile as she put the car into gear.

It was a short drive into Royal but traffic was heavy. Raina was lucky to get a parking spot on the road about a block away from the diner. JJ skipped and jumped, holding her hand, as they walked along the pavement. Judging by his energy levels, she hoped he’d be okay to go back to day care tomorrow.

When they entered the Royal Diner, JJ hopscotched along the black-and-white checkerboard linoleum floor. They took a booth near the back and settled in on the red faux-leather seats.

“Be with you soon, hon,” a waitress said with a smile as she poured glasses of water and left them with the sheet menus that everyone knew by heart but still pretended to study anyway.

Raina’s appetite was gone, but she decided on a green salad with ranch dressing because she knew if she didn’t eat, she’d be running on empty by the time her craft class started in a couple of hours. Shoving all thoughts of her ex to the back of her mind, she focused instead on her son and the evening ahead.

All going well, JJ would eat his dinner and she’d take him home to shower before the sitter arrived. Once the sitter was there, she’d be able to head back to Priceless to open up for her first class. Bookings had initially been slow but they’d picked up in the past day or so, and she hoped the simple candle-making class would be well received and that word of mouth would bring more students. With more students would come more overhead but she’d done her homework. After the initial outlay was met, the classes would bring in more sorely needed income, as well.

A movement across the booth made her look up from the menu she was staring at but had stopped actually seeing several minutes earlier. JJ was waving at someone. Thinking it might be their waitress returning for their order, Raina looked up with a smile, only to feel it freeze on her face and the hairs at her nape prickle to attention as she recognized the man walking toward them. Nolan Dane. What was he doing here? Surely he was more likely to be dining out at the Texas Cattleman’s Club, or at the hotel in town?

It took only a few seconds to notice that he’d changed. His jeans were new and fit him perfectly, and the black Henley he wore under a worn leather jacket seemed to stretch across his chest as if it caressed him. Her cheeks flamed at the thought.

“Mommy! Man!” JJ said from his booster seat, and he waved again.

“Hey there,” Nolan said as he drew next to the table.

“I’m having nuggets ’n’ fries,” JJ informed him importantly. “You wanna eat with me?”

“Oh, no, JJ. I’m sure Mr. Dane has other plans,” Raina said quickly, feeling her blush deepen on her cheeks.

“Please, call me Nolan and, actually, no, I don’t. But I don’t want to intrude. I can eat at another table.”

Raina felt terrible. She’d all but told him he wasn’t welcome to sit with them. JJ’s face fell. How bad could it be? she asked herself.

“Oh, please sit down. Seriously, it’s okay. We haven’t ordered yet, anyway. Join us.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

She nodded and gestured to the empty space next to JJ’s booster seat. Nolan slid into the booth and stretched his long legs out under the table. She shifted slightly as his leg brushed hers.

“Do you guys eat here often?” Nolan asked.

“No, this is a treat for JJ. Aside from the mess with your suit, he’s been a really good boy for me today, haven’t you, JJ?”

JJ nodded emphatically and reached for his water glass. Nolan helped him steady the large glass as he drank and then put it back on the table for him.

“You’re good at that,” Raina commented. “Do you have kids of your own?”

A bleak emptiness appeared in his eyes, its presence so brief she wondered if she’d imagined it, but it was enough to make her realize she’d been prying where she had no right to.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so rude. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No, it’s okay,” Nolan brushed off her concern. “Maybe we should just put it down to self-preservation. I’ve seen how lethal he is with an ice cream cone.”

* * *

Nolan watched Raina from across the table and silently congratulated himself on managing to keep his past locked firmly where it belonged. The waitress came by and took their orders, distracting Raina from asking any further questions. She was less relaxed than she’d been when he’d left the store. Was it his presence at the table that did that to her, he wondered, or was it something else? The waitress returned promptly with JJ’s order, and while the little boy dug in, Nolan thought it time to ease conversation back to the Courtyard.

“So tell me a little more about the Courtyard,” he started.

“The idea for it really only took off a few months after the tornado. A lot of us lost our stores and several of Royal’s local artisans lost workshops and homes. The Courtyard gave us all a fresh start—gave us a new community to be proud of.” Her eyes grew worried and a frown marred the smoothness of her forehead. “There’s talk that some oil company is looking to buy the land. It worries me.”

“Why’s that? What difference would a new landlord make?” Nolan probed.

Raina looked away, her face thoughtful, before directing her blue gaze straight back at him. “The Courtyard actually became a symbol of hope for a lot of us. A chance to get our feet back firmly on the ground and get us back to normal in a world that got turned upside down in one awful day. You can’t put a price on that. We need stability now. We need to be able to know from one day to the next that after all our hard work, we aren’t simply going to be turned out.

“An oil company isn’t going to want to keep us as tenants, you can be sure of that. They’ll want the land for testing, although why they think there’s oil there, I don’t know. I haven’t lived in Royal all that long and even I know the land is barely suitable for grazing, although with the drought that’s questionable, too.”

She fiddled with the salt and pepper shakers in front of her. “No, the Winslows did the right thing turning the ranch buildings into the Courtyard. Mellie assures me they’re not selling. I only hope nothing happens to change her mind. None of us there can afford to have our businesses fold or see our rents increase. What with the cost of increased insurance premiums and setting up all over again, it wouldn’t take much to destroy us.”

A pang of guilt pulled at him. If he was successful in changing the Winslows’ minds, and Rafe got hold of the Courtyard, Nolan knew there were no guarantees that his boss would keep the tenants. And it was true. Raina had a point—while the greater Maverick County area had yielded some successful oil fields, none had been in this general area. Nolan shifted uncomfortably. For the first time he was seeing the personal face of his assignment: someone who’d be directly and negatively impacted by his boss’s plan. And he didn’t like it. Not one bit.

He took a sip of his water and decided a change of subject might be in order.

“So, the tornado. That must have been terrifying. People are pretty resilient here, though,” he commented.

Raina smiled and once again he was struck by how natural and effortless her beauty was.

“Sometimes I think Royal is the epitome of the ‘get down and get on with it’ ethic. Some people have moved on, which is completely understandable, but most have just licked their wounds and carried on. And of course there are also the lucky ones who are benefiting from the damage. Tradesmen have been at a premium in the district and we’ve seen an influx of out-of-towners coming in to fill demand. Bit by bit Royal has found its way back to a new normal. Is that what brings you here? The rebuild?”

Nolan was saved from immediately answering as their waitress dropped their meals in front of them with a smile. “Good to see you back, Nolan,” she said before racing off to her next customer.

Raina looked taken aback. “You’re local?”

“No, not anymore. I’m here to see family.”

“You grew up here, then?”

He nodded. “Yeah, but I’ve been living in California for several years. I’m only here for a visit.”

“Then I’m sure you would have heard all about the tornado from them.” Raina’s voice held a note of reserve that had been missing before.

“From their point of view, yeah. Dad’s in family law, and he said he’s seen an unfortunate upswing in business in the wake of the tornado. Families breaking up under the strain of trying to put their lives back together—more domestic abuse.”

Raina nodded. “Yeah, it’s sad. So often these events pull people closer together, but if they don’t they seem to have the complete opposite effect. I guess I’m lucky I didn’t have to factor that in. It’s just me and JJ, and my dad. Dad’s retired and usually travels around the country, but he came to stay in the trailer park just out of town so he could be on hand to help me reestablish Priceless and get me and JJ back on our feet again.”

Nolan couldn’t help it: a swell of relief that there was no partner in Raina’s life bloomed from deep inside. He pushed the sensation away. She was still out of bounds. She was the kind of woman who had long-term written all over her, while he was only planning to be here long enough to complete the land purchases to Rafiq’s satisfaction.

And then there was the kid. He certainly didn’t want to take on a package deal of mother and child, no matter how much his libido sizzled like a drop of water on a hot skillet whenever he was anywhere near Raina. He needed to keep his eye on the main goal. He was here to do business, not dally with the locals or become emotionally involved in the town he grew up in. He’d made his choice to walk away from Royal and all the pain it represented seven years ago. He had no plans to stick around. Even so, he perversely wanted to know more about the woman sitting opposite him.

“So, what brought you to Royal?” he asked.

She laughed, the sound self-deprecating. “I followed a man. He left and I stayed. It’s as simple as that.”

Somehow Nolan doubted that it was quite as straightforward as she said.

“Mommy, my hands dirty.” JJ spoke up from beside him.

“Use your napkin, JJ.”

“But it dirty,” he grumbled.

“Here, use mine,” Nolan offered.

JJ held his hands up for Nolan to wipe them. “P’ease?” he implored.

Nolan automatically enveloped JJ’s hands with the large paper napkin and made a game out of cleaning the little boy’s fingers. When he was done, he wiped a bit of sauce from JJ’s chin, as well.

“Hey, you’re good at that,” Raina said with a smile. “Are you sure you don’t have kids?”

Nolan swallowed. This would be the perfect opportunity to segue into the past, to admit he’d had a wife and child, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. It just opened up the floor for too many questions—questions that had no answers and only evoked pity, which he hated.

“Maybe I’m just a clean freak,” he joked, scrunching up the used napkin and tossing it on the table.

“Can we go now, Mommy?” JJ asked.

“No, son. Mr. Dane and I haven’t finished our meals.”

For a second it looked as though JJ would object, but then Nolan remembered his earlier promise.

“What about some ice cream? You never got to finish the one you had before, right?”

“Oh, but I said you didn’t need—” Raina began to protest.

“Need doesn’t enter into it when ice cream is concerned,” Nolan interrupted her smoothly. “What do you say, JJ? Do you want a junior sundae?”

“Wif sprinkles?”

“Sure, my treat.” He looked across at Raina. “How about you? Do you want a sundae with sprinkles, too?”

JJ laughed next to him. “Mommy doesn’t have treats, she’s a mommy!”

Nolan read the subtext in JJ’s words. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Raina went without so that her son could have little treats every now and then. How much had she foregone to ensure her son could still enjoy special things while she rebuilt her business and kept a roof over their heads? Again that urge to protect swirled at the back of his mind.

“Even mommies like treats sometimes, don’t they?” he asked, looking straight across the table at Raina.

“Not tonight, thank you. I need to get back to Priceless. My first class starts this evening and I can’t be late, not even for a treat.”

“Another time then,” Nolan promised, and as he called the waitress to order JJ’s sundae, he found himself wondering just how soon that might be.

Three

Another time? Did he mean to ask her out on a date? Raina wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that. She hadn’t dated since Jeb—hadn’t even been interested in dating as she came to grips with his betrayal, single parenthood and running a business. It had been a painful irony that she’d been duped by the person she’d thought would stand by her, exactly as her father had been.

She had never known her mother and pictures of her had been few and of poor quality. Raina’s enduring memory of the woman who’d borne her was the story of how she’d come home from the hospital with Raina, put her in her bassinet and gone out to buy some milk and never returned. Growing up, Raina had always had more questions about the whole situation than answers and, in retrospect, she could understand why she’d been drawn to the losers.

Despite all the security and love her father had poured into her, Raina’s sense of self-worth had been low. She’d found herself desperate to be accepted by others, only to be walked all over again and again. Jeb had been the last in a string of disastrous relationships, and when he’d cleaned out her bank account while she was in labor with his son, she’d finally learned her lesson—and with it, who she was and where she belonged in her world. Now, she was at peace with her decision to focus her energies on JJ and provide a home for them. She finally, at the sage old age of thirty, felt grown up.

Her friends still teased her about her dating moratorium but she’d avoided all potential setups they’d thrown her way. And in the aftermath of the tornado, it had made far better sense not to get involved with anyone. Life had become incredibly precious and despite her need to nurture and to try to “fix” broken souls, aka the losers she’d dated previously, she’d had to draw a line somewhere.

But a date with Nolan Dane? He was nothing like the guys she’d been out with before. He owned a suit, for a start, and showed the kind of manners her father had always told her to expect from a man.

She looked across the table and noticed that JJ had made short work of his sundae and was now rubbing his eyes and fidgeting in his booster seat. She glanced at her watch—a 1920s timepiece she hadn’t been able to bring herself to sell after she’d discovered it in a boxed lot she’d bought at an estate sale a couple of years ago. If she didn’t get on her way soon, she’d be running late for the sitter and for her class.

“This has been lovely,” she said, gathering her bag and searching for her wallet. “But JJ and I really must get going. Thank you for joining us.”

“No, thank you for your company. Please, let me get this. It’s the least I can do for crashing your dinner together.”

“Oh, but—”

“Please, I appreciated having someone to talk to over my meal.”

Before she could say anything, Nolan left several bills on the tabletop, including a generous tip, and helped JJ from the booth.

“Are you parked far away?” he asked as they walked toward the exit.

“No, not far. A block.”

“Let me walk you,” Nolan said, falling into step beside her on the sidewalk outside the diner.

“Mommy, up,” JJ interrupted, and he lifted his little arms in the air.

“Sure, sweetie,” she said, bending to lift him into her arms.

She wouldn’t be able to keep this up for too much longer. JJ was getting so big and most of the time she had trouble keeping up with her energetic wee man. The fact that he wanted her to carry him spoke volumes about how tired he was. She reminded herself to cherish these moments while they lasted.

They were halfway down the block when she had to readjust JJ’s weight in her arms.

“He looks heavy,” Nolan commented. “Can I carry him for you?”

“No, it’s fine, I can manage,” Raina insisted, even though her back was starting to ache a little.

“Man carry me, Mommy.”

JJ squirmed in her arms, almost sending her off balance.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asked Nolan.

In response, Nolan effortlessly hefted her son from her and propped JJ on one hip. “Of course not.”

At the car, Nolan waited on the sidewalk while she strapped JJ into his seat.

“Thank you for dinner, and for your help with JJ. You didn’t have to,” Raina said as she straightened from the car and held her hand out to Nolan.

He took it and again she was surprised by the sizzling jolt of sensation that struck her as his hand clasped hers.

“Honestly, the pleasure was all mine,” he replied, his eyes locked on hers.

She found herself strangely reluctant to let his hand go and Nolan seemed to feel the same way, but then a group of people coming along the sidewalk forced them apart. Thankful she could disengage before things got awkward, Raina gave him a small wave and settled herself in the car.

Her hand still tingled as she reached forward to put the key in the ignition. It had been a long time since she’d felt anything like this at a man’s touch. As she drove away, Raina made herself keep her eyes on the road in front of her. She wouldn’t look back. Looking back only invited trouble, she told herself, and she’d had bushels of that already in her life. No, she’d promised herself to keep moving forward the right way, and that didn’t involve complicating her life with a relationship or fling with someone who was passing through.

* * *

Nolan watched from the sidewalk until he couldn’t see Raina’s taillights any longer. Why had he done this to himself? he wondered as he hunched deeper into his jacket and began to walk back to his hotel. Carrying JJ had brought back a wealth of hurt and repressed memories of his own son, Bennett.

Holding another small body in his arms...it had been a more bitter than sweet experience. He reminded himself very firmly that using her for information about the Winslows was one thing, but he was in no way embarking on any kind of friendship with Raina. It would be too easy, he knew that. He was already attracted to her, already felt that surge of physical awareness every time she smiled or her gaze met his. From the moment he’d laid eyes on her he’d been drawn to her and he’d been unable to get her out of his thoughts.

Being there in the Royal Diner with Raina and JJ had felt too much like his old life. The life he’d vowed he would never turn back to. No, his home was Los Angeles now. Royal held no allure for him anymore even though everything here still felt so achingly familiar.

He acknowledged the doorman at the hotel with a smile and went straight to his room. It was early. Any other time he’d have stopped in the bar and had a drink. Maybe enjoyed a bit of casual female interest before heading to his room—or hers. The mobile nature of his role as Rafiq’s personal attorney gave him leeway in his life that he’d never allowed himself before and while casual hookups had never been his style, a man had needs—and clearly the women he’d met had needs, as well. But while those encounters may have left him physically sated, there always remained an emptiness deep inside him.