Married in Texas, page 30
With half the town awaiting the outcome of her trip to Cody’s ranch, Sherry hopped in her car and drove to the Lucky Horseshoe. Odds were he’d be out on the range somewhere, so she didn’t know what good her visit would do. Nevertheless, she had to try.
She saw Cody almost immediately. He was working with a gelding in the corral when she arrived, leading him around the enclosed area. Several other men stood nearby, watching and talking among themselves.
Climbing out of her car, Sherry walked over to the fence and stood there for a few minutes, waiting for Cody to notice her. He seemed preoccupied with his task, putting the gelding through his paces. Sherry was sure he knew she was there, and she was willing to be ignored for only so long.
Five of the slowest minutes of her life passed before she stepped onto the bottom rung of the fence and braced her arms on the top one.
“Cody!”
He turned to face her, his eyes blank.
This was much harder than Sherry had expected. On the drive out to his ranch, she’d envisioned Cody’s eyes lighting up with pleasure at the sight of her. She’d imagined him hugging her, lifting her from the ground and swinging her around, his eyes filled with love and promises.
“Yes?” he said at last.
“When you drove away this morning, I... I didn’t think you heard me,” she said weakly.
Cody led the gelding over to one of his hands, removed his hat long enough to wipe his forehead, then strolled toward her as if he had all the time in the world.
Sherry found it impossible to sense what he thought, what he felt. He revealed no emotion.
“I...guess you’re not ready to talk yet,” Sherry said.
“You were the one who told me to go home.”
“I know, but I was hoping you’d have thought things out by now and realized I’d never fool around with my best friend’s husband.” Or anyone else when she was so desperately in love with Cody. It seemed as if their evening with Christina Lynn and Philip had been forgotten.
“It was Rowdy Cassidy you left with, wasn’t it?”
Sherry nodded.
“You certainly have friends in high places.”
“It’s Norah I know, not Rowdy.”
“So you left on a moment’s notice with a man who’s virtually a stranger?”
Sherry closed her eyes and prayed for patience. “Would you stop being so stubborn! If you honestly believe I’m the type of woman who’d run around with a married man, then you don’t know me at all!”
“I’m stubborn!” he exploded. “Do you realize what I’ve gone through because of you? I’ve been the butt of everyone’s jokes for weeks. My reputation with the other ranchers is in shambles—and I’m still scratching.” He removed his glove, rolled up a sleeve and scraped his fingernails across his forearm. “I’ve done everything I can to earn your love, and I’m done.”
“That’s the problem. You want my love, but you aren’t willing to give me yours. It wasn’t really romance I was looking for, Cody, it was love. I wanted you to care about me, enough that you’d be willing to do whatever it took to win my heart.” She said the words seriously, earnestly. “You never understood that. From the very first, you’ve been looking for a shortcut, because you didn’t want to be bothered. Well, guess what? No woman wants to be considered an annoyance.”
“So that’s what you think.”
“What am I supposed to think with the things you’ve been saying?”
“That’s just fine.”
He turned away as if this was the end of their conversation, as if everything that needed to be said had been said. Sherry knew a brush-off when she saw one. Anything else she might say would fall on deaf ears.
She walked over to her car, climbed in and started the engine. She’d shifted into gear and begun to drive away when she changed her mind. Easing the car into Reverse, she pulled alongside the corral fence and stuck her head out the open window, intending to shout at him—but no words came.
She drove out of the yard, tires screeching. It’d been a mistake to try to reason with Cody. Her better judgment insisted she wait several days and let him cool down before she attempted to reopen communications. She should’ve listened to her own heart instead of Mrs. Colson’s and Donna Jo’s eagerly offered advice.
Sherry wasn’t sure what made her look in her rearview mirror, but when she did, her breath jammed in her throat. Cody was riding bareback, chasing after her on the gelding he’d been working with minutes earlier. The horse was in full gallop, and Sherry was astonished that he managed to stay on.
She came to a stop, and so did the gelding. Cody slid off his back and jerked open her car door.
“Are you going to marry me or not?” he demanded. He was panting hard.
Sherry eyed him calmly. “Do you love me?”
“After everything I’ve been through, how can you ask me a question like that!” he snapped. “Yes, I love you. What does it take to convince you I mean it? Blood?”
“No,” she whispered, biting her lower lip.
“I love you, Sherry Waterman,” he said. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She nodded through her tears.
“Hot damn!” he shouted, then hauled Sherry into his arms so fast her breath fled her lungs. A second later, his mouth was on hers.
His kiss left her trembling. “Cody...” she said, breaking away from him. “You maniac! You chased after my car on a horse just the way Luke came after Ellie, and you always said that was such a stupid thing to do.”
He opened his mouth as though to deny it, but didn’t say a word. He blinked, then smiled sheepishly. “So I did. Guess this is what love does to a man.”
“Do you really love me?”
“Love you?” he cried. “Yes, Sherry, I love you.”
“But you—”
“Don’t even say it.” He kissed her again, this kiss far less urgent, more...loving. After a few minutes he released her and said, “Let’s go.”
“Where?” she asked.
“Where else? A preacher. I’m not giving you the opportunity to change your mind.”
She threw her arms around his neck again. “I’m not going to, not ever.” It was Sherry who initiated the kissing this time, and when they finished, Cody was leaning against the side of her car. His eyes were closed and his breathing was labored. Then he reached for her again and swung her off the ground.
“Put me down,” Sherry said. “I’m too heavy.”
“No, you’re not,” Cody declared. “I’m calling the preacher right now and we’ll get the license this afternoon.”
“Cody,” she said, “put me down!”
He finally did, then looked at her firmly. “I’ve waited ten long years for you, and I’m not putting this wedding off another day. If you want one of those big fancy shindigs, then...” He paused.
“A small ceremony is fine.” She grinned.
“With a reception big enough to fill the state of Texas, if that’s what you want.”
“I want my family here.”
“I’ll have airplane tickets for them by noon.”
“Cody, are we crazy?”
“Yes, for each other, and that’s just how it’s supposed to be. Luke told me that, and I didn’t understand it until I met you.” He grimaced comically. “Sherry Waterman, what took you so long?”
She stared at him and felt the laughter bubble up inside her. Flinging her arms around his neck, she kissed him soundly. “For the life of me I don’t know.”
* * *
Sherry returned to the office sometime later to find both Mrs. Colson and Donna Jo standing on the porch waiting for her.
Sherry greeted them as she strolled past.
“How’d it go with Cody?” Donna Jo asked urgently. The pair followed her into the clinic.
“Everything went fine,” Sherry said. She couldn’t help it; she enjoyed keeping them guessing.
“Fine?” Mrs. Colson repeated. She looked at Donna Jo. “What does fine tell us?”
“Nothing,” the waitress responded. “I learned a long time ago not to listen to the words, but to study the expression. Fine, the way Sherry just said it, tells me there’s going to be a wedding in Pepper soon.”
“Isn’t the lunch crowd at the café by now?” Sherry asked.
“Ellen can handle it,” Donna Jo said, sitting in the closest chair.
“She’s not wearing a diamond,” Martha Colson pointed out.
“No diamond?” Donna Jo looked incredulous. “I was sure you’d come back sporting the biggest rock this side of Mexico.”
“You mean one like this?” Sherry dug into her purse and pulled out the ring Cody had given her. She slipped it on her finger, feeling heady with joy and excitement. Mrs. Colson and Donna Jo screamed delightedly and Sherry hugged them both.
“When’s the wedding?”
“Soon, just like you said,” Sherry told them, her heart warming. She and Cody had called Sherry’s family and made what arrangements they could over the phone. Afterward, Cody had given her the ring, one he’d been patiently carrying with him for weeks.
Sherry wasn’t able to explain more. The door opened, and Heather let out a cry and vaulted into her arms.
“Who told you?” Sherry asked when she caught her breath. Cody had planned to pick up his daughter after school and bring her over to the clinic so they could tell her together.
“Dad,” Heather explained. “He came by the school. Men are so funny—they can’t keep a secret at all.”
Cody walked into the clinic behind her, looking sheepish. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not.” Sherry hugged her soon-to-be daughter.
“Hey, I need a hug, too,” Cody said, wrapping his arms around Sherry and holding her against him.
“Now that’s romantic,” Mrs. Colson sighed.
“I could just cry,” Sherry heard Donna Jo say.
“How soon do you think it’ll be before Sherry has a baby?” Heather whispered.
“A year,” Mrs. Colson whispered back.
“A year?” Cody lifted his head. He smiled down at Sherry and winked. “I don’t think it’ll take nearly that long.”
* * *
ISBN-13: 9780369720795
Married in Texas
Copyright © 2022 by Harlequin Enterprises ULC
Norah
First published in 1992. This edition published in 2022.
Copyright © 1992 by Debbie Macomber
Lone Star Lovin’
First published in 1993. This edition published in 2022.
Copyright © 1993 by Debbie Macomber
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Debbie Macomber, Married in Texas
