Lone Star Kind Of Man

She almost laughed at the irony of that. Temptation. Her friends had gone there to start over, to the same town she’d run from ten years before. But of course, Mary Claire and Leighanna didn’t know that.

That was Reggie’s little secret...or was it Regan’s? She almost laughed at the absurdity of the question. She hadn’t thought of herself as Regan since she’d left Temptation. Along with her past, she’d given up her name, choosing instead to call herself Reggie, the nickname used exclusively by—

No, she wouldn’t think about him now. That was another secret.

Secrets, Reggie thought on a weighty sigh. Everyone had them, but few could keep them, not like she had. She’d kept hers for ten long years, although the burden of carrying them had never seemed as oppressive as it did now. Every call from Mary Claire and Leighanna from their new home in Temptation, every mention of the town they’d moved to and the people they had met, every invitation for a visit brought with it a guilt, a yearning that weighed heavily on her heart and mind. Never had she longed for home more than she did now. Never had she wanted so desperately to give up her secret for the opportunity for a past, for a future, for even a glimpse of those she still held dear.

But she couldn’t. She knew that. A person could never go back and reclaim what she had so foolishly tossed aside.

Saddened by her thoughts, she pushed away from her desk and the contracts she’d been reading and settled her spine against the soft, cushy leather of her chair. Unerringly her gaze went to the wall opposite her desk and the Georgia O’Keeffe original that hung there. Soothing in its simplicity, the painting’s bold colors drew her as strongly as they had on the day she’d first seen it hanging in a gallery in Santa Fe; a radiant yellow sunflower projected on a background of cornflower blue.

She’d purchased the painting for the memories it drew of the fields that surrounded her childhood home where sunflowers had grown, tall and proud, their cheery, smiling faces tipped to the sun. The memories of home were vivid, if distant, and secreted away in her heart along with those of the loved ones she had lost—some to death, others sacrificed for a freedom that she’d once thought so important.

The phone rang, jarring her from her thoughts. Since it was after office hours, she was tempted to ignore the call and let the service pick it up, but she knew who was more than likely on the other end of the line and knew, too, that she couldn’t avoid this conversation forever. On the third ring, she punched the speaker button. “Reggie Giles,” she said briskly.

“Do you ever return calls?”

In spite of the feelings of apprehension that pricked her, Reggie found herself smiling. “Hello, Mary Claire. How are you?”

“Fine now. Hold on a second. There’s someone here who wants to talk to you.”

Reggie grabbed for the corners of the desk and curled her fingers around the burled wood in need of something, anything, to anchor herself to. She didn’t want to talk to him. Not now when she hadn’t had an opportunity to prepare herself for this confrontation.

“Reggie! We’ve been calling you for days! Where have you been?”

Reggie wilted at the sound of Leighanna’s voice, collapsing against the chair’s back, her fear giving way to relief. Another reprieve. How many more would she receive before her past caught up with her?

“Working. Where else?” she replied, trying to keep her tone light.

“Well, I’m glad we finally caught you. I have news, we both do. Mary Claire? Are you on the extension?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Okay. On the count of three. One...two... three...”

“We’re getting married!” they chimed in unison, laughing.

Reggie’s eyes widened. She’d known Mary Claire and Harley were getting married, had even suffered a tremendous bout of guilt for not attending their engagement party, had already spent hours fabricating excuses for not attending the wedding. But Leighanna now, too?

“Both of you?” she asked, sure that she had misunderstood.

“Yes,” Leighanna replied, laughing gaily. “Hank asked me to marry him and I said yes!”

“We’ve decided to have a double wedding,” Mary Claire added. “And we want you to act as maid of honor for both of us. Isn’t this exciting?”

Exciting? How about a nightmare? It was all Reggie could do not to put her head down on her desk and cry. She could just see Harley’s face when his stepsister Regan, whom he hadn’t seen since she’d run away from home ten years before, walked down the aisle toward him.

“Well, of course it is,” she replied, trying to force a level of enthusiasm over the knot of dread choking her. Already mentally reviewing the list of excuses she’d offer when she declined their invitation, she asked, “When’s the big event?”

“In two weeks and don’t you dare say you can’t come.”

“It is short notice,” she hedged.

“It wouldn’t matter if the wedding was months away. You’d still find an excuse not to come. Some big real estate deal pending. A client from out of town you had to entertain. A remodeling on one of your rental properties that you had to personally oversee. We aren’t accepting any excuses this time, are we, Leighanna?”

“Nope,” Leighanna confirmed in a no-nonsense tone. “You’re serving as our maid of honor and that’s that.”

“It’s going to be a small wedding,” Mary Claire explained, before Reggie could start offering excuses. “Weather permitting, we’re having it in Harley’s backyard. We’ve just finished remodeling the house, but a garden wedding has such an appeal. We’re only inviting a few friends from Temptation and, of course, Harley’s children will be there.”

Tears burned behind Reggie’s eyes. Harley’s children ? Tommy and Jenny? How many years had it been since she had seen them? They’d be almost grown now. Would they remember their Aunt Regan?

“You don’t even have to shop for a dress,” Mary Claire assured her, unaware of Reggie’s state of distress. “You can wear that darling blue silk sheath with the matching jacket that you wore to the Chamber of Commerce banquet in the spring. It’ll be perfect with the color theme we’ve chosen. And you’ll adore the best man,” she added. “He’s a doll. I think I’ve mentioned him to you before. Cody Fipes? He’s the sheriff of Temptation and a good friend of both Harley and Hank.”

Cody? Pain, red-hot and searing, burned its way through Reggie’s heart at the mention of his name and she had to press her fingers to her lips to stifle the sob that rose to her throat. She could see him still in the hayloft that night so many years ago when she had thrown herself at him, begging him to run away with her and marry her. He’d held her tight in his arms, offering her comfort as he had so many times in the past... then had broken her heart by steadfastly pushing her to arm’s length and telling her that he couldn’t marry her. Another year, he’d told her, and she’d be able to make the decision to leave without running, without tying herself to a man who had nothing to offer her.

There was a moment of silence while Reggie struggled to choke back the tears, the memories, the regrets.

“Please say you’ll come, Reggie,” Leighanna begged. “It would mean so much to me. To both of us.”

Reggie gulped back tears, knowing that if she ever gave in to the emotion she might never stop crying. Her heart warred with the secret she’d harbored for so long and the longing to be a part of her friends’ wedding and their lives. If she agreed, her secret would be out and she would have to face them all. Harley, Tommy, Jenny...Cody. If she refused, she would disappoint Mary Claire and Leighanna, and ultimately lose two friends whom she held dear.

“I can’t,” she finally managed to choke out “I’m sorry, but I just can’t.”

The road to Temptation stretched before Reggie like a ribbon of silver in the bright sunshine. She drove with her hands cinched tight around the steering wheel of her Lexus, praying with each passing mile that her arrival wouldn’t ruin what should otherwise be the happiest day in her friends’ lives.

The decision to attend the wedding hadn’t been an easy one, in fact she’d vacillated almost daily. She’d carefully weighed the pros and cons, just as she did every decision she made. The pros were obvious: continued friendship with two dear friends and, she hoped, the renewal of a family relationship she’d turned her back on ten years before. The cons were just as obvious and a whole lot more daunting: having Harley call her Regan and expose her secret, subjecting herself to possible rejection and public humiliation, seeing again the man who had rejected her, the man she’d never been able to forget.

In the end, cowardice had given way to duty and love and she’d decided to take her chances, telling no one of her plans, hoping that the element of surprise would work in her favor.

As she drove through Temptation, she kept her gaze focused on the road ahead, denying herself even a glance at Carter’s Mercantile, Will Miller’s barbershop or any of the other landmarks that remained from her childhood. There would be time enough for a nostalgic tour later, she promised herself. But for now she had to reach Harley’s ranch where the weddings were to take place.

She had timed her arrival carefully, waiting until the very last minute to appear, hoping to avoid seeing anyone other than Leighanna and Mary Claire before the actual wedding took place. With her hands damp on the wheel of her car, she turned onto the drive, parked behind the other cars and trucks already there and climbed out, pausing only long enough to listen.

The murmur of voices and soft strains of music came from the backyard, and she knew, as she’d prayed, that everyone was already gathered there, waiting for the ceremony to begin. With her heart pounding in her chest, she hurried to the front door. Taking a deep breath, she stepped across the threshold of her childhood home.

Once inside, she closed her eyes, fighting back the ghosts that rushed at her, then opened them to look at the room where her family had once known such happy times... before tragedy had struck, robbing her of her mother and stepfather, before Harley had brought home his bride, Susan.

She steeled herself against the hate that flooded her. She wouldn’t think about Susan now. Wouldn’t think of the cruel things she’d said and done. She wouldn’t think of how miserable Susan had made her life, until Reggie had finally run just to escape the torment.

She was here for a wedding, she reminded herself. A celebration of life and love. She wouldn’t think about the past. Only the present.

Certain that the brides would be in the master bedroom, waiting to make their entrance, she slipped down the hall. She found them, just as she’d expected, in the room once shared by her mother and stepfather. The sight of the two of them brought tears to her eyes.

Wearing an ivory suit, Mary Claire sat in front of a cheval mirror. Leighanna, dressed in soft pale blue, stood behind her, struggling to pin Mary Claire’s veil into place.

“For heaven’s sake, Mary Claire!” Leighanna fussed. “Be still or I’ll never get this on straight.”

“I am sitting still,” Mary Claire snapped impatiently. “It’s your fault the dang thing’s crooked. Your hands are shaking like a leaf.”