Cowboys & Navy SEALs

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

M agnolia let out a high-pitched cackle as she spun around. “We can’t stay here! In this—” she threw her hands up “—in this atrocity. The town of Remember, the outside of the inn, the lobby, and common areas are all so quaint. But this … it’s like something out of a freak show!” Her eyes swept over the wallpaper, splattered with hearts of all colors and sizes.

Lucas pointed. “I dunno. The cupid statue is kind of growing on me.” The corners of his lips twitched as he sniggered.

Magnolia’s eyes rounded as she looked at the white ceramic statue, dusted with red glitter. A plump, baby-faced cupid wore a cherubic smile as he cradled his bow, the tip of his arrow pointing up. Magnolia’s shoulders shook, mirth building inside her until she could no longer hold it. She burst out laughing. They both laughed long and hard, dissolving some of the strain from the day.

When the laughter died down, Magnolia mopped her eyes. “You know, in all my twenty-six—almost twenty-seven years—I’ve never before seen a heart-shaped bed.” Her head swung back and forth as she pursed her lips. “That’s something.” She was keenly aware that she was alone in the honeymoon suite with Lucas. The enormous, plush bed was a reminder of their impending marriage and all that it would require. Desire spun a twist of ribbons in her stomach. Was it wrong to be excited about marrying Lucas? For so long, she’d been concerned about her lack of devotion to Roman. She’d been fond of him, yes, but he’d never evoked any type of strong emotion within her—be it good or bad. Lucas, on the other hand. Well, all he had to do was walk in the room and the emotion was there, sizzling like a live wire.

A mischievous grin tugged at Lucas’s lips. “So, who gets the bed?” He gave her a lingering look. The smolder in his eyes warmed her blood. His deep blue, button-down shirt brought out the blue in his eyes. Also, it molded well to his abs of steel and his well-defined pecs. She took in his jeans, which showcased his long legs. His cowboy boots had been replaced by mid-tone brown Doc Martens. She actually missed his cowboy boots. They were so intrinsic with his personality. She tore her eyes away from his physique, mortified that she’d been ogling him. “I suppose we could share it. Maybe stack pillows in between us to keep everything prim and proper.”

Heat flamed her cheeks. She didn’t need to look in the mirror to know that they were as bright as the crimson bedspread. “You can have the bed. I’ll take the couch.” She whipped a light tone into her voice. “After all, it’s not every day that a girl gets to sleep on a red, white, and pink plaid couch.”

“Nah,” he chuckled, “I couldn’t do that to you. My mama raised me better than that. I’ll take the couch.” His eyes lit with a teasing sparkle. “Although in a couple of days we’ll be married, and then we’ll have to rethink the bed and couch thing.”

A shaky laugh left her throat. “I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.” Her face was burning to the point where she thought she’d combust. She didn’t know why she was feeling so shy all of a sudden. Maybe it was because of the intense attraction she felt for Lucas. He’d been so larger-than-life back then—Lexi’s older brother. The star football player who had the world by the tail. Heck, he was still all that. The conquering hero, all wrapped up in that tough, sexy cowboy swagger. Even though his clothing had been changed from Western wear to something more neutral, he was a cowboy through and through.

In long, fluid strides, he went over to the couch and put down his duffel bag. “Well,” he drawled, looking around, “what now?”

Magnolia placed her purse on the bed before moving into the bathroom. She took one look, giggling. “Lucas, you’ve got to see this.”

He stepped into the bathroom. The startled look on his handsome face was priceless. She watched with pleasure as his gaze moved over the glistening white clawfoot tub. Red towels embroidered with white hearts were draped over the edge of the tub. Red soaps shaped like hearts were stacked in a pyramid beside the sink. A red fuzzy cover covered the toilet lid. Spread across the black and white checkered floor were two red shag rugs.

“This takes the cake.” He chuckled. “No wonder Lillian had this room open. No one in their right mind could possibly want to stay here.”

Magnolia moved to leave the room. As she walked by Lucas, her hand brushed against his, sending a tremble of a spark through her. This energy building between them was wildly unnerving. She hoped she wasn’t the only one feeling it.

She traipsed over to the couch and plopped down. She looked out the window. They were on the second floor, giving her a splendid view of the large, wooded yard. Snow was still falling. A tall pile collected on the windowsill. She looked out at the large trees, their intricate network of branches clothed in a soft blanket of fresh snow. It was a feast for the eyes, almost magical.

Magnolia’s heart skipped a beat when Lucas came over and sat down beside her. He angled to face her, his leg touching hers. “So, what do we do now? We have several hours to kill before the live nativity.”

Lillian had invited them to attend the live nativity celebration held on the town square. Magnolia had never been to a live nativity before. She thought it sounded like fun. And it would give them something to do. Otherwise, they’d just be sitting in this outlandish room, twiddling their thumbs.

She glanced at his lips as a heatwave swirled through her. She could think of a few things other than twiddling their thumbs that they could do to occupy their time. Amusement flickered in Lucas’s eyes, making her think for one crazy moment that he’d read her thoughts. “What?” she laughed.

He arched an eyebrow as he draped his arm over the ledge of the couch, behind where she was sitting. “You wanna kiss me.”

The cocky expression on his face caused the hair on the back of her neck to rise. “I do not,” she retorted. Sheesh . This was embarrassing. Was she that obvious?

A corner of his mouth pulled into a crooked grin. “Yes, you do,” he murmured as he leaned close. Her skin zinged when he brushed a hand across her cheek. “You’re blushing.”

“You certainly have a high opinion of yourself, Lucas Romeo,” she said tartly. “I’m sure you think all the girls are after you.”

Rich, melodic laughter flowed from his lips. “Not all the girls.” He gave her a meaningful look. “Just the one that matters.”

Her breath hitched as her eyes searched his. “Do I matter to you?” The words had trickled out of their own accord, leaving her vulnerable and exposed. “Scratch that,” she blurted, giving him an apologetic look. She looked down at her hands. Lucas was marrying her for two reasons—to get his ranch and to pay off his parents’ house. It was so easy to confuse the situation, with him sitting here gazing at her with those compelling eyes that glowed with such an inner fire that it stoked the adventurous part of her, making her believe that anything was possible. Earlier, when he’d taken on those three hoodlums, fear had struck the center of her heart. The thought of Lucas getting hurt filled her with such a dark dread that she knew she had to come to terms with her feelings about him.

He interrupted her thoughts. “Yes, you matter. More than I realized.”

Her head snapped up. “You’re not just saying that—” her throat clogged. She coughed to clear it “—because of the money?” She regretted her words the instant she saw his stricken expression.

A heavy sigh pushed through his lips. “What do you want me to say?”

“Nothing.” Traitorous tears rose to her eyes. She blinked to stay them. “Of course you’re here for the money.” She swallowed. “We both are.” A sad smile touched her lips. “I guess it’s just hard to keep things straight in my head.” She motioned, her hand encompassing their surroundings, as a weak laugh blipped through her throat. “I mean, look where we are.”

He brushed her jaw with the tips of his fingers. His touch was tantalizing, hypnotic. A peculiar expression flitted over his features.

“What?” she murmured.

“If we’re gonna make a convincing case for a couple in love, we should probably get lots of practice in.” His eyes were so deep and liquid blue that she felt like she could lose herself in their depths.

“Ah,” she laughed softly, “I see where this is going, you wanna kiss me.” She felt his need for her, wrapping her in wings of euphoria. He did care. She could see it in his eyes.

“Yes,” he uttered with a ragged fierceness that stripped away all pretense. This had nothing to do with practice. This was blissfully real. Her breath came faster as she parted her lips and leaned in. Regardless of what happened from here on out, she would savor this moment. She’d only kissed Lucas once before, the night at the drive-in. It had lit her on fire. As time went on, she thought she’d probably built up the kiss in her mind. Here and now, she’d find out for sure if her brain had fantasized the exquisiteness of the kiss or if her assessment had been accurate.

He cupped her cheeks. “You were something today, holding that knife, ready to take on those punks.” The tender way he looked at her, the admiration in his voice, filled her entire body with glorious warmth.

“Thank you,” she said softly. Her lips trembled with a deep ache, craving the feel of his lips. If he didn’t kiss her soon, then she’d kiss him. His mesmerizing eyes went to her lips. Her spirits soared with the knowledge that his mouth was about to take hers.

Her phone rang. She jerked, gritting her teeth. “Are you kidding me?”

He lowered his hands from her cheeks. “Maybe you should get it. It might be your grandfather.”

She sucked in a quick breath, nodding. As soon as they’d gotten to the inn, Magnolia had stepped into the cozy living room adjacent to the foyer where she’d called her grandfather to tell him that they would be delayed. He’d not answered, so she left him a message. She went to her purse to retrieve her phone. Her stomach lurched. “It’s Grandfather,” she said as she slid her finger across the screen.

“Hello?” Her voice sounded too high-pitched in her own ears.

“Magnolia,” he began in an unceremonious brisk tone, “what’s this about you getting delayed?”

She swallowed the tightness in her throat. “It’s a white-out. We’re spending the night in The Magnolia Blossom Inn in a little town called Remember.” Before he could respond, she rushed on with a shaky laugh. “Actually, we met a friend of yours.”

“Who’s that?” he clipped.

“Lillian Yates. She owns the inn.” It was with some relief that she heard her grandfather’s voice warm a fraction.

“Lillian. How’s she doing?”

“Really well. She has invited Lucas and me to a live nativity celebration tonight on the town square. According to Lillian, the town is known for it.” This was met with silence.

She tightened her hold on her phone. “Grandfather, are you there?”

“I’m here,” he grumbled. “How did you end up way over in Remember? That’s off the beaten path.”

Her brain scrambled to come up with a response. She couldn’t very well mention that Lucas went looking for a ranch for sale without drawing suspicion. “Lucas and I decided to do some sightseeing along the way.” She winced at her lame excuse.

“In a snowstorm?” His voice was edged with suspicion.

“It wasn’t snowing that hard at the time.”

There was another long pause. “Magnolia, what’s really going on?”

Her heart began to pound. “What do you mean?”

“You were so set on Roman, and now you’re bringing this new guy. What’s his name again?”

The frosty, annoyed tone of her grandfather’s voice took Magnolia right back to her childhood. She used to hate visiting her grandparents. Her father would get wound up as tight as a drum, spewing out all the expectations of how Magnolia was to behave. She felt like she had to be a robot to fit into the impossibly small box of her grandparents’ expectations. “Lucas Romeo.” She glanced at Lucas as she spoke. She could tell from the way his jaw hardened that Lucas knew she was getting grilled. She moistened her lips. “You’ll love him. He’s amazing.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Grandfather said crisply.

Her spine stiffened. “Yep, you and Eric Stanford.” She didn’t try to hide the resentment in her voice.

“What time will you arrive tomorrow?”

“According to what Lillian told us, the snow is supposed to stop tonight. We should be okay to leave mid-morning, assuming that they will plow and salt the roads.”

“I don’t have to remind you that time is counting down. I will need time to make my assessment, as will Eric. I will not be pressed into making a hasty decision simply because you can’t get here on time.”

Magnolia rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know.” The man was relentless. He’d never shown her a shred of warmth or sympathy. No wonder her father was uptight. He’d been raised by Benjamin and Carol Bentley—two of the coldest, most brittle people on the planet.

“I’ll expect you to arrive no later than noon tomorrow.” There was a frigid finality to his tone.

Her insides tightened. “Like I said, so long as they plow and salt the roads, we should be fine to get there by then.”

“Make sure that you do. I’m running out of patience.” He ended the call.

“I love you too,” she growled as she pressed her lips together, shaking her head.

“What was that all about?”

“My grandfather’s ticked that we didn’t arrive today, as scheduled.” The words left a sour taste in her mouth as tears of frustration rose in her eyes. She tossed her phone back into her purse. “He’s so infuriating.” She put her hands on her hips, glancing up at the ceiling as she tried to get a handle on her emotions.

Lucas patted the spot beside him. “Come here.” The tenderness in his voice called to her soul, breaking the dam. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks. Hastily, she swiped at them with the palms of her hand, embarrassed that Lucas had seen her crying.

“Magnolia. Please. Come over here.”

His voice was achingly tender. She went over and sat down.

He gathered her hands in his. She loved the rough feel of his working-man hands. They were such a nice contrast to Roman’s soft hands that it made her all the more aware of Lucas’s masculinity. He looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

She frowned, searching his handsome face. How could he be so rugged? So virile? A young Clint Eastwood and John Wayne rolled into one. “For what?”

His eyes deepened with regret. “If I hadn’t taken us on that wild goose chase to see the ranch, then we’d already be in Asheville. Your grandfather would be fine, and everything would be hunky-dory.”

Surprised laughter sloshed in her throat. “I don’t think anything will ever be hunky-dory, as far as my grandfather is concerned.”

“Well, at least he wouldn’t be on the warpath.”

“That’s true.” When Magnolia woke up from her nap earlier and realized that they were out in the middle of nowhere, in a snowstorm, she’d had a panicked moment that quickly morphed to anger. Then, when Lucas told her it would only take an hour out of her schedule, her ruffled feathers had been smoothed. She’d tamped down her irritation because she wanted to make peace with Lucas. She didn’t like the two of them arguing all the time. It was too taxing emotionally. Of course, things took a crazy, unexpected turn, and now they were here.

“I promise you that I’ll do everything I can to make a good impression on your grandfather and Eric Stanford.”

The sincerity of his tone struck a chord inside her. “Thank you,” she said hoarsely.

He brightened. “The good news is that once they sign off on your marriage, the deal with the trust fund will be done. Your grandfather and Eric Stanford will no longer be in our business. We just have to get through the next three days, and then we’ll be in the clear.”

Her feelings must’ve shown on her face.

“What?” Lucas asked with a note of wariness.

She grimaced. “I’m afraid there’s more to it than that.”

His brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“After our wedding, we’ll get the first installment. Every year on our anniversary, we’ll get another installment, providing that we adhere to the terms of the trust. We’ll continue this process for five years, until the money is paid in full.”

“Your grandfather has you on a short leash.” The resentment in his voice mirrored Magnolia’s own feelings.

“Yes, he does,” she grunted.

Several emotions that Magnolia couldn’t pinpoint pinged over his features before giving way to resolve. Lucas squeezed her hands. “We’ll get through this … together.”

She nodded.

His eyes locked with hers. “I mean it. We’re in this together. I promise. As long as you need me, I’ll be here.” He steeled his jaw, and she caught the ferocity in his voice.

His words were a healing balm to her soul . I’ll always need you, her heart replied . “Thank you,” she uttered. Suddenly a grain of truth penetrated to her core. For so long, she’d prayed for a solution to her dilemma about the trust fund and her marriage to Roman. It had bothered her that she wasn’t in love with Roman. She’d prayed that she would grow to love him. And then, when he betrayed her, everything came crashing down. Now, here she was with Lucas. Caring for him came as easily as breathing. It would be so effortless for her to fall head over heels in love with him. She’d never really fallen out of being enamored with him. He was her greatest crush. Her teenage heart had yearned for him. She laughed inwardly. It wasn’t just her teenage heart that had yearned for him. Her adult heart seemed to be following the same path. She wasn’t sure at this point if her infatuation with Lucas would be her deliverance or her undoing.

He stroked her jaw, his voice going deliciously husky. It titillated her senses, sending them swirling to an acute awareness. “You are so beautiful.”

She exulted with the knowledge that he was finally going to kiss her.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Seriously?” she muttered, gritting her teeth. “Another interruption?” It was like fate was deliberately toying with her.

Lucas grinned. His expression was boyishly cocky, like he was getting great delight out of knowing that she was aching to kiss him. “We’ll have plenty of time later to practice,” he winked. “Come in,” he called.

The door opened as Sam stepped in. When he saw them together on the couch, he cleared his throat, dipping his head slightly. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said cordially, “but Lillian thought you might be interested in attending a play.”

“What kind of play?” Magnolia asked.

“ A Christmas Carol is being performed at our local playhouse.”

Lucas glanced out the window at the snow, frowning. “Are they still having it in this weather?”

“Of course,” Sam answered resolutely. “We get lots of snow in these parts. Life goes on.”

Magnolia looked at Lucas. “Would you like to see a play?” The horrified expression on his face answered her question. “Come on,” she urged, “it’ll be good to get a little culture infused in those rawhide bones.”

“Well, if you put it like that.” Lucas grinned broadly. “Sure, we’d love to go.”

“The seats are on the front row,” Sam continued.

“Thank you,” Magnolia said. “How much do we owe you?”

Sam looked surprised. “We wouldn’t dream of charging you for them. We are in your debt.”

“We’re glad we could help,” Lucas said casually. He gave Sam a shrewd look. “It’s a shame that you and Lillian weren’t able to get your tree. With it being so close to Christmas.”

Sam blinked a few times, his face gathering color. “It’s no problem.” He smoothed a hand over his tailored sweater. His posture was so erect that Magnolia could almost imagine that he had a board attached to his spine. He was so regal and elegant … almost too formal. “I’ll drive you to the theater. Meet me in the foyer in twenty minutes?”

“Will do,” Lucas said.

“Very well.” With a brief smile and nod, Sam turned and strode out.

Lucas tipped his head. “Did you see the tree in the common area of the inn?”

“The massive one in the living room?” Magnolia had noticed it because it was so impressive with the red ribbon and gold decorations.

Lucas nodded, a thoughtful look crossing his face. “I don’t think Lillian and Sam were out looking for a tree.”

“What do you think they were doing?” In the heat of the moment, Magnolia had been so worried about Lucas’s safety when facing down those delinquents that she hadn’t given much thought as to why Lillian and Sam were in that remote location. She had no reason not to take their statement at face value. Although, now that Lucas was raising questions, it did seem strange that Lillian would be outside with a walker—in her condition—looking for a tree to cut. Lillian had some sort of ailment that made it hard for her to get around.

“Those teenagers were looking for something.”

“What do you think it was?”

He shook his head. “I dunno, but I get the feeling that there’s more to Lillian and Sam than meets the eye.”

She nibbled on her lower lip. “Well, I guess we’ll never know the full story.” With any luck Lillian would make good on her promise to tell Magnolia’s grandfather about Lucas’s heroic actions. Magnolia could tell that her grandfather thought highly of Lillian Yates. Lillian didn’t seem like the type to run in her grandfather’s circles. She was much too gaudy and outlandish in her appearance, and her manner was too open and frank. Then again, the wealthy were very eccentric. Was Lillian wealthy? It was hard to say what she was. At any rate, it didn’t matter. Magnolia would be grateful for any help that Lillian could offer. She and Lucas needed a miracle. She realized Lucas was studying her. A smile tugged at her lips. “What?”

“I was just wondering what thoughts were circling around in your pretty little head?”

Her heart gushed at the compliment. “I’m just glad that you were there to save Lillian and Sam.”

A smile tipped his lips. “That we were there.”

Her heart beamed. “Yes, we .”