Chapter Fourteen
Under the circumstances, Carmen didn’t want to drive Alex’s truck, so she accepted Josh and Lori’s invitation to ride with them. At a quarter to seven they were seated at a table with Bill and Katie. The waitress approached the table.
“Are you ready to order?”
“No,” Josh answered, pointing to an empty chair beside Carmen. “We have one more guest.”
The waitress nodded and left them. Carmen frowned at Josh.
“He won’t be here.”
Josh took a sip of his drink. “Sure he will. He squinted at his watch in the dim light. “He still has ten minutes.” He patted Lori’s hand. “He’s full of surprises, isn’t he?”
Lori laughed. “I still can’t believe you did that. Poor Alex. Beating his brains out trying to get that log house built and you’re suspecting him of courting me. When would he find the time? He was with Carmen almost every minute he was in the state. And then there’s his latest venture.”
The conversation was moving a little fast. Carmen stared at Lori. “What log house?”
Josh eyed Carmen skeptically. “What house? she says. As if you don’t know. Don’t play innocent with us. You’ve got to know he had that log house built.” When she continued to stare at him blankly, he shook his head in disbelief. “And I thought I was the last to know. You’ve got to be joking - the house overlooking yours.”
The log house on the hill? Why would Alex build a house there? Of course, he liked the land around her farm - but building a house was a major investment, especially that one. Apparently his relationship with Lori was mostly business. So why had he challenged Josh? And then she knew. Because he thought she and Josh were discussing their engagement, not Lori and Josh. Would he be here tonight? He said they weren’t going to get his blessing, so it was highly unlikely. They might as well get started without him. The sooner they finished, the sooner she could find him and explain. What if he had gone back to Texas? No, he had the house - and whatever he was working on now. She glanced at Lori.
“What’s this latest venture you mentioned?”
Lori smiled. “The clinic. I know he mentioned that to you because he told me he did.”
Carmen glanced at Lori and then at Katie.
“Clinic? I knew he planned to build a clinic sometime, but I thought . . . “
Carmen felt her face getting hot. Did they think she was lying about the house? Obviously they thought there was something sordid to hide.
A disturbance at the entrance caught their attention and Carmen turned to see Alex striding purposefully across the floor toward them. His attention was riveted on her as he altered his course to stop at the table in front of her.
“I can’t let you go through with this, Carmen. Not when you’re still in love with me. We can work this thing out . . .”
His voice faded off as he realized that Lori and Josh were sitting at the opposite end of the table from Carmen. His neck turned red.
“This is something you’ve all cooked up, isn’t it?”
Josh laughed. “Alex, have a seat there beside Carmen. This engagement dinner is for Lori and me.”
Alex glanced around at the interested faces at the tables near them, and pulled out the chair. He sat down beside Carmen and scooted his chair in. Sliding an arm across the back of Carmen’s chair, he leaned close, speaking softly in her ear.
“Fill me in. I’m making a fool of myself.”
All eyes were on them as Carmen turned to him.
“You’re in good company. It seems we were all a little lost. Briefly: Josh thought you were chasing Lori so he told you to knock it off. When you didn’t deny it, I thought it must be true. I didn’t know you thought Josh and I were engaged.” She paused and frowned at him. “It’s all your fault, you know. “Why didn’t you tell anybody about the house?”
He glanced at Lori and shrugged. “I wanted it to be a surprise. I didn’t know it was creating a problem.”
His gaze traveled around the faces at the table and came to rest on Carmen.
“I can’t believe you guys. I’ve been openly courting Carmen from day one, but all I have to do is see Lori a couple of times and you think we’re romantically involved.”
“Day one?” Katie said, giving Alex a scalding look. “You told me you were coming up to see the goats give birth.”
He shook his head. “No, you assumed that - and I merely kept my mouth shut.” His eyes twinkled with humor. “If you’d been doing that for the last year, I wouldn’t have thought about coming up here. The picture was the last straw.”
Katie stared at him. “I thought you were determined to remain a bachelor.” Her gaze sifted to Carmen. “I hope you two have considered all the problems.”
Carmen shot Katie a warning look. “We still have a lot to discuss.” She glanced back at Alex. “After dinner.”
The soft chocolate gaze met hers and the smooth lips tipped up slightly at the corners.
“My place or yours?”
She blushed. “Yours. I want to see this house everybody else knew about. Do you give tours?”
His hand found hers under the table and he laced his fingers through hers.
“I think we could work out something.” He glanced around the table again. “I believe this dinner is for Josh and Lori.”
The attention shifted back where it belonged and stayed there for the rest of the dinner. Carmen ate with her left hand, unwilling to let loose of Alex for one second.
When dinner was over, Alex escorted her out the door, leaving the rest of the party talking in low tones. His truck was in the parking lot, so he had been back to her house. Had he seen Josh pick her up? She smoothed the folds of her skirt nervously and waited for him to open the subject, but he was silent until they reached the log house.
He led her across the wide porch and unlocked the door, flipping on the light. Carmen gasped as they stepped into the empty living room. The room was large, with a hardwood floor and a huge fireplace. A large bay window sported a roomy window seat.
“I didn’t get any curtains or furniture yet. I thought those were things you might like to buy.“
She glanced up at him. Was that supposed to be a proposal? Surely Alex would come up with something better than that. Of course, a proposal of marriage was something that didn’t come easy for him.
“It’s beautiful,” she responded. “I like the window seat. It overlooks my farm, doesn’t it?”
“That it does.” His voice was husky as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the window seat. There he lowered her to the cushions. He kicked off his boots and sat down beside her, leaning back against the wall. “Come here.” He pulled her next to him, so that her back was leaning against his chest. “Let’s talk.”
Comfortable as the position was, it was hard to relax. Her heart was knocking around inside her chest like an egg in a blender. Was he finally going to propose?
He kissed her neck softly. “About this problem of having children. There are other options. You could still have a child. It wouldn’t physically be mine, but there’s more to being a father than the time it takes to plant the seed.”
She shook her head. “I could never do something like that. If God wants us to have children, it will happen. Otherwise, I can live with it. All I want is you.”
He was silent a long time. Had she pushed him too far again? Was he working up the courage to ask? Why was it so difficult? Finally he cleared his throat.
“Let’s not wait, Carmen. There’s no reason to wait any longer. We love each other. That’s what matters, not a formality that only creates more stress. I can’t wait to make you mine - completely.”
She stiffened. No wonder he was having so much trouble expressing himself. He wasn’t proposing. He was propositioning her - again. And he must know what her answer would be.
“What do you say?” he asked softly.
She brought her elbow around into his ribs and the air escaped his lungs in a startled groan of protest. She jerked away from him.
“Honestly, Alex. How many times do you have to be told no?”
He stared at her, obviously puzzled by her refusal. “What ever happened to, I just want you? I wish you’d make up your mind.”
“I have. I made up my mind when I was a young girl. I’m not going to go all the way until I get married.”
He frowned. “Well, what did you think I was talking about?” Comprehension suddenly invaded the dark eyes and he shook his head. “Let me start all over - in a way I know you’ll understand.”
He rose from the window seat and turned to face her. Going down on one knee, he fished in his shirt pocket and came out with a diamond engagement ring.
Carmen caught her breath and waited. Finally!
He gazed up into her eyes. “Will you marry me, Carmen?”
Her heart skipped a beat. She closed her eyes and said a prayer of thanks before she answered him.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He stood and pulled her into his arms.
“I promise you won’t be sorry, Carmen. I’ll make you happy. I’ll love and cherish you - protect you.”
She hugged him. “I know you will, and I’ll never betray you.”
He slipped the ring on her finger. “Now, I have something else for you.”
He tugged on his boots and led her through a large formal dining room. She peeked into a sparkling kitchen with a dishwasher and range - and an overhead oven. Then he led her out patio doors through a small courtyard, down steps and a concrete walkway to a tidy barn. There he introduced her to Princess, the horse he had been riding earlier.
“I bought her for you. She’ll be the first horse on your ranch.” He directed her to the next stall. She had this pretty little filly with her, and I didn’t have the heart to separate them.
Carmen gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. “Oh my gosh, Alex!”
She held one hand out and the filly nickered, stretching her nose out to touch the hand cautiously. She was mostly white with freckles across her haunches and a few spots on her neck and chest. Brown eyes with long white lashes stared at Carmen with obvious curiosity.
“She’s beautiful,” Carmen finally said.
Alex chuckled. “Her name is Casper. The owner said she was friendly, but he hasn’t had time to work with her. She’s almost a year old. They’re both registered Appaloosa’s.
Carmen patted the mare on the neck. “They’re both beautiful. Thank you.” She hugged Alex again. “I didn’t notice she was a female, today. I thought it was Ed. And when he came out of those trees without you . . . “ her voice broke. “I thought the worst.”
He stroked Carmen’s hair. “And when I came out of those trees, I thought the worst too . . . when I saw you and Josh together.”
Carmen gazed up at him. “I’m sorry. He was only comforting me, though.” She leaned back and met his somber gaze. “I don’t understand. If you were courting me from day one, as you said at the restaurant, then why were you so reluctant to get married?”
He squeezed her shoulders. “I wasn’t reluctant to get married. I was concerned about marrying a woman who was obviously still interested in another man. Every time I set the scene to ask you, his name would crop up . . . or he would. And then when you said you didn’t want to adopt children, I thought I didn’t have a right to ask you.”
She touched his lips with her fingers. “You were afraid I would drop you and marry Josh - because he could give me what I wanted, just like that Nashville agent could give Tessa what she wanted.” She shook her head. “I’m not Tessa, Alex.”
“I know. You’re everything to me. She was using me to get everything she needed.” He smiled tenderly. “And you wouldn’t take anything from me.”
“Does my independent nature trouble you?”
He laughed. “No, I love it. Sometimes it’s kind of hard to figure you out, though. You have a habit of trying to hide your feelings - or disguise them. And then you’re such a strange combination of the past and present. You want the man to wear the pants, but you’re determined to do everything yourself.”
She gazed up at him. “Oh Alex, I can’t help but wonder if some day when I’m bloated and cranky, you’ll wish you hadn’t given up your freedom.”
He chuckled softly and pulled her close. “Sweetheart, if I didn’t feel sorry about that at some point during our marriage, I’d probably be the first man. There will be times like that for both of us. From now on we have to work at this relationship - harder than we’ve ever worked at anything. Determination will make it work - determination and love.”
His lips pressed warmly against hers briefly and then he drew back to look into her eyes.
“Lucky thing for us - we have plenty of both.”
They walked back to the house, their arms around each other’s waist. He led her to the window seat again, and they sat there watching the sun set. It was so peaceful and she felt so content with his arms around her. They talked for hours about their plans together. This was the way she had always imagined it would be. He was the man she had always dreamed of, even though she had not met him yet. Still, what was the most amazing of all was that she fulfilled his dreams as well. Finally things were working out for both of them.