Country Bride: Country Bride / Woodrose Mountain

“Like a brother.”

“Princess, sisters don’t kiss their brothers the way you just kissed me.”

He apparently believed that was argument enough. Not knowing how else to respond, she shook her head. “I love Clay! You keep ignoring that or insisting I don’t—but I do. I have for as long as I can remember. I can’t marry you. I won’t!”

“For heaven’s sake, forget Clay.”

“It’s not so easy!” she shouted.

“It would be if you’d try a little harder,” Luke muttered, obviously losing patience. “I’m asking you to marry me, Kate Logan, and a smart woman like you should know a good offer when she hears one.”

So much for love. So much for romance. Luke wasn’t even listening to her, and Kate doubted he’d understood a single thing she’d said. “This conversation isn’t getting us anywhere.”

“Kate—”

“I think you should leave.”

“Kate,” he said, firmly gripping her shoulders, “how long is it going to take you to realize that I love you and you love me?”

“Love you? How can you say that? Until a few weeks ago I was engaged to marry Clay Franklin!” Angrily she pushed away his hands and sprang to her feet.

“Yes. And all that time you were going to marry the wrong man.”

Luke didn’t seem to find that statement the least bit odd, as if women regularly chose to marry one man when they were really in love with another. Kate shook her head, releasing a harsh breath.

“It’s the truth,” he said calmly.

She glared at him. Reasoning with Luke was a waste of time. He repeated the same nonsensical statements over and over, as if his few words were explanation enough.

“I’m going to bed,” she said, turning abruptly away from him. “You can do as you like.”

A moment of stunned silence followed her words before he chuckled softly, seductively. “I’m sure you don’t mean that the way it sounds.”

* * *

As Kate expected, the small community buzzed with the news of her fiasco with Eric Wilson. Neighbor delighted in telling neighbor how Luke Rivers had swooped her into his arms and how the entire Friday-night crowd at the Red Bull had cheered as he’d carried her off the dance floor.

Kate needed every ounce of courage she possessed just to walk down Main Street. Her smile felt stiff and false and she was convinced she had the beginnings of an ulcer.

To worsen matters, all the townsfolk seemed to believe it was their place to offer her free advice.

“You stick with Luke Rivers. He’s a far better man than that city slicker,” the butcher told her Saturday afternoon.

Blushing heatedly, she ordered a pork roast and left as soon as she’d paid.

“I understand you and Luke Rivers caused quite a ruckus the other night at the steak house,” the church secretary said Sunday morning after the service. “I heard about the romantic way Luke carried you outside.”

Kate hadn’t found being carried off the least bit romantic but she smiled kindly, made no comment and returned home without a word.

“What’s this I hear about you and Luke Rivers?” The moment Kate entered her classroom Monday morning, Sally Daley appeared.

“Whatever you heard, I’m sure it was vastly exaggerated,” Kate said hurriedly.

“That could be,” Sally admitted with a delicate laugh. “You certainly know how to keep this town talking. First Clay’s wedding reception, and now this. By the way, Clay and Rorie are back from Hawaii, and I heard they both have marvelous tans.”

“That often happens in Hawaii,” Kate said, sarcastically, barely holding on to her composure.

No sooner had Sally left than Linda showed up. “Is it true?” she demanded, her eyes as round as quarters.

Kate shrugged. “Probably.”

“Oh, good grief, the whole thing about squelching rumors backfired, didn’t it?”

Miserably Kate nodded. She was afraid she’d dissolve in a puddle of tears the next time someone mentioned Luke’s name. “After what happened to me Friday night, well... I just don’t think it’s possible to feel any more humiliated.”

“I thought you said you hadn’t met Eric,” Linda said, clearly puzzled.

“I hadn’t when you and I talked. Eric and I ran into each other at the grocery not ten minutes after you mentioned his name.”

Linda slumped against the side of Kate’s desk. “I try for months to meet a new man and nothing happens. It doesn’t make sense. A few minutes after you decide to look, one pops up in front of you like a bird in a turkey shoot!”

“Beginner’s luck.” Except that Friday night could in no way be classified as lucky.

“Oh, Kate, you’ve really done it now.”

“I know,” she whispered in a tone of defeat.

Kate’s day ended much as it had begun, which meant that by four o’clock she had a headache to rival all headaches. After school, she stopped at the pharmacy and bought a bottle of double-strength aspirin and some antacid tablets.

When she left the pharmacy, she headed for the library, wondering if Rorie would be back at work so soon after her honeymoon. Her friend’s smiling face greeted Kate the instant she walked through the doors.

“Kate, it’s so good to see you.”

“Hi, Rorie.” Kate still felt a little awkward with Clay’s bride. She suffered no regrets about bringing them together, though it had been the most painful decision of her life.

“Sally Daley’s right,” Kate said with a light laugh as she kissed Rorie’s cheek. “You’re so tanned. You look wonderful.”

Rorie accepted the praise with a smile that shone from her dark brown eyes. “To be honest, I never thought I’d get Clay to laze away seven whole days on the beach, but he did. Oh, Kate, we had the most wonderful time.”

“I’m glad.” And she was. Rorie radiated happiness, and the glow of it warmed Kate’s numb heart.

“I was just about to go on my coffee break. Have you got time to join me?” Rorie invited, glancing at her watch.

“I’d love to.” Kate crossed her fingers. She hoped Rorie hadn’t heard any of the gossip—no doubt colorfully embroidered by now—about what had happened Friday night. At the moment, Kate needed a friend, a good friend, someone she could trust to be objective.

While Rorie arranged to leave the library in the hands of a volunteer assistant, Kate walked over to Nellie’s Café, across the street from the pharmacy. She’d already ordered their coffee when Rorie slipped into the red upholstered booth across from her.

“What’s this I’ve been hearing all day about you and Luke? Honestly, Kate, you know how to live dangerously, don’t you? And now Luke’s buying the Circle L and your father’s marrying Mrs. Murphy. We were only gone seven days, but I swear it felt like a year with everything Mary had to tell us once we got home.”