An Honorable Texan

Christie thought the man looked at her with a little extra scrutiny. Was he Cal’s attorney? Probably. Had Cal talked to him about her…and Peter? Maybe.

“Nice to meet you,” she said. Raven then went on to introduce Ida and Rodney Bell, Clarissa Bryant and Bobbi Jean Maxwell.

“I’m sorry my husband, Burl, couldn’t be here tonight,” Bobbi Jean said. “He’s getting over a nasty summer cold or he wouldn’t have missed this going-away party.”

“It’s nice to meet all of you,” Christie said, hoping she could remember everyone’s names.

Just as the introductions were finished, Christie felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around to discover Cal standing behind her, a longneck in his other hand and a hat pulled low over his military-short hair. He looked tall, fit and sexy, and her heartbeat increased as she drank him in.

“Christie,” he said, his only greeting. After the way they’d parted, she wasn’t sure of his mood. She had brushed him off. At that time she hadn’t expected to see him again so soon. She wasn’t ready to deal with their issues, she realized.

All she wanted was a night out.

“Cal,” she replied. Why did he have to be so close? Just the memory of him barging into Toni’s office that afternoon made her anxious about being in the same town with him, much less in the same honky-tonk. Not to mention the same house!

She couldn’t have imagined that any man would insist two near strangers get married because they’d accidentally made a baby together. A marriage had to be based on more than a child, especially when the mother could provide perfectly well for her baby. She understood why women had needed to get married years and years ago. But not now, not even in a small town with traditional values.

He leaned in close, which must look very intimate to everyone at the table, and whispered in her ear, “Where’s the baby?”

“Peter is at the motel with a good babysitter,” she whispered back, feeling instantly defensive. Cal wasn’t interested in her, despite his hand on her shoulder and his whispers in her ear. He just wanted to know about his son.

She straightened, smiled and looked at Raven and Troy. “So, when are you actually leaving?”

“Um, tomorrow around noon, probably. We still have to load the SUV,” Troy answered.

“Yes, we’re taking it to New Hampshire,” Raven said with a sigh. “My green Volvo, Pickles, isn’t quite up to the trip, so she’s staying in Texas.”

“It’s a wonder you made it down here,” Troy said with a shake of his head.

“She’s very loyal. She wouldn’t break down on the road.”

Cal snorted. Rudely, in Christie’s opinion. He probably didn’t think much of women who named their cars. Christie found it delightful to be living in a town with such interesting people…and one sexy, perplexing and stubborn baby-daddy.

“Take a seat,” Cal said, which probably seemed like a request for him but sounded like an order to her ears.

Christie saw that the only chair at the table was right next to him. With a smile plastered in place for everyone else at the gathering, she sat down. She did not want to take the focus off the going-away party atmosphere for Troy and Raven.

“Here are the drinks,” the waitress said as she arrived with a tray. She must have just noticed Christie, because she said, “Oh, hi again. Where’s your adorable baby?”

“Yes, where is my nephew?” Troy asked with a big grin.

Christie turned to glare at Cal. So, he’d broken the news. Couldn’t he have given her some time to adjust? Couldn’t they have told everyone together, quite calmly and in private?

He shrugged. “I told you I wasn’t keeping it a secret.”

“I know that, but…I didn’t think you’d blurt it out for everyone like this.”

“Why? I’m not ashamed. Besides, Troy’s my only brother.” He turned to his family and friends. “Just so we’re clear, I want everyone to know that I’ve already asked Christie, the mother of my son, to marry me.”

“Good move!” Twila said.

“Congratulations,” James Brody said to Cal.

“You most certainly did not!” Christie said, feeling outraged and flushed at his pompous tactics.

Cal narrowed his eyes, just as he’d done this afternoon. “I did, too. Right in Toni’s office.”

“No, you did not ask. And I most certainly didn’t agree to any such foolishness!”

“It’s not foolish to do the right thing.”

“We are not having this argument again.”

Rodney Bell chuckled. “You two sure do argue like a married couple already.”

Chapter Four

“Rodney! That’s none of our business,” his wife, Ida, said.

“Cal, you should have asked in a more romantic spot than Toni’s office,” Raven said gently.

“That’s where we were when it occurred to me,” he replied.

“Over a wet diaper, a squirming infant and a package of baby wipes,” Christie said, deciding to bolster support for her side.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Clarissa Bryant observed.

“No, not good at all,” Sandy Brody said.

At least the women understood. “I’m not getting married because we have a child together,” Christie reiterated.

Christie heard Bobbi Jean Maxwell whisper to Ida Bell, “I thought she was a widow.”

“Stubborn woman,” Cal grumbled as he unrolled his napkin, then snapped it across his lap.

“Stubborn man,” Christie answered, reaching for her own rolled napkin and flatware.

“Well,” Raven said to Troy, “I guess we’re leaving Brody’s Crossing about the time things get very interesting.”

He smiled. “Looks that way. We can always come to visit…and mediate.”

“Bring bandages,” Christie said under her breath. If Cal kept up his overbearing ways, he’d need them.

They ordered dinner and managed to remain civil throughout the meal. Raven and Troy seemed to have a good time, although they got nostalgic with their friends about all the things that had happened since Raven had temporarily—and accidentally—moved to Texas over a year ago.

Christie declined another beer and was thinking about leaving when Cal grabbed her hand. “Let’s dance,” he said as he pulled back her chair. She was so surprised she went along with him.

There was no band on this weeknight, but country-western songs came through the speakers in the bar and dance area. The rustic wood enclosed them as Cal led her onto a floor scuffed by thousands of boots.

Without a word, he led her into a fast two-step. Fortunately, she’d danced at Billy Bob’s and Gilley’s, so she kept up with his quick pace.

“You’re a good dancer,” he said close to her ear as they danced straight down the length of the floor.

“Thanks. You’re pretty good yourself. I don’t guess you got much practice while you were in the military.”

“Hardly.” He slowed as the music transitioned into a song Christie recognized was by the Dixie Chicks. “Come out to the ranch tomorrow,” he said.

“Was that a request or an order?” Cal really needed to work on his people skills. He wasn’t still in the army, and she definitely wasn’t a ranch hand.

He sighed. “Sorry. What I meant was that I’d like for you to see the ranch. I got to thinking that you can’t make a decision on where to live until you see the house.”

“Good point. I have an appointment with a Realtor in the morning, but I could come after lunch.”

“Are you taking the baby on the appointment?”

“Yes. I only have a babysitter for tonight. Actually, this is the first time I’ve been out in a long time.”

He seemed to consider that as he turned them through the corner. His arm tightened and she brushed against his chest. She almost apologized, which seemed ridiculous since they’d made a baby together. In many ways, though, he was a stranger. He even looked different, with his more serious demeanor and the scar at his temple. The wound was an outward reminder that he’d been gone, serving his country, risking his life.

While she’d been home, giving birth to his baby and wondering about how to break the news. “I’d love to come to the ranch tomorrow after Peter’s nap. I’ll bring him, and we can spend the afternoon.”

He seemed surprised, but then he nodded and said, “Good.”

They finished the slow dance without speaking again. She tried to relax and enjoy the music and the man, but he made her too nervous. Christie wanted to protect herself and, most especially, Peter. She had to do what was best for all of them.

But what was best? Maybe she’d find out tomorrow.

Everyone was talking as she and Cal returned to the table. As Christie excused herself to go to the ladies’ room before leaving for the drive to Graham, she was surprised when Raven joined her.

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