Operation: Married by Christmas (13 page)

Will digested that information. “Are you happy, Haley?” He knew he was stepping out where he might not really want to go, but he suddenly wanted to know. He wanted to know if walking away from him had given her everything she'd dreamed of. He wanted to know if walking away from him had been worth it.

“Everyone keeps asking me that. Who's ever happy all the time?” Two lines of concentration stood up between her eyebrows and her lips flattened. “Really, I'm not ecstatically happy. But I'm busy. I like the industry. It's really fast-paced, and the money's ridiculous. Especially compared to this market. The price of homes in California is mind-blowing as a whole. I mean, you have areas out here in Texas, like Austin and some of your other metropolitan areas that are seeing a market boost, but in general, it's crazy on the coast. What?” she asked, pausing.

Will rubbed his jaw. “Nothing,” he said. “Listening to you I just realized I've never actually heard you talk about your work. I guess I never thought about you, well—”

She looked straight at him. “You never actually thought about me in a business sense.” Her words were flat, her eyes steady.

Will felt their sting of truth. “Yeah,” he admitted.

Sam brought their burgers and fries, and told them to enjoy and take their time. He winked at Will before leaving…. So much for Sam not thinking much about Will and Haley sitting together.

“I know it's hard for you to believe, but I'm really good at what I do.”

“Haley, I know that.”

She lifted her chin slightly. “Really?”

“Yeah, I do. You'd have to be to make it to the level you have. So, what are your plans for the future now that you're not getting married?” The question surprised him. That he wanted to know didn't.

She paused, midbite. “Aren't you full of questions today?”

Will scowled.
Why was he pushing this?
They were just having lunch. He hadn't planned on giving her the fifth degree. But then he hadn't come to town planning on having lunch with her, either. That had been a spur-of-the-moment decision prompted once more by Clint before he'd gone back to work. Will was going to have a long talk with his friend about minding his own business. At least he and Haley were talking without getting mad at each other. They'd made some progress since she'd first come to town. But, still—

“What about you?” she asked. “Honestly, I don't understand what you did.” Her brows crinkled, her expression hardening as she set her food on the plate. “Why would you change all our plans, tell me you'd decided we should live in Mule Hollow, but the minute I left, you left, too.”

There was pain in her eyes as she stared him down. He'd started this, but he didn't want to answer her question. He very well couldn't tell her he'd wanted to live in Mule Hollow with her. He couldn't tell her that when she'd left he couldn't take it. Everywhere he'd looked he'd seen her and it had hurt too much. Cut too deep. What was the use? He'd come back after all these years because he'd felt compelled to. It didn't mean that he hadn't thought of her often.

“You left, so what does it matter? You made a choice.” He couldn't totally hide the bitterness in his words.

She met his gaze straight on. “Obviously, we both did.”

 

Right after leaving Will at the diner, Haley had gone home and saddled Puddin. Chancing a run-in with another hog suited her mood just fine. She rode the big horse down to the river as her mind replayed their conversation. Will had no idea what she'd done since she'd left him at the altar. He had no idea how lonely her life had been when she'd first run away. She'd gotten a job as a waitress and started going to real-estate school in the evenings…. All the while her heart had been broken. Sure, she'd left three men at the altar. Will kept bringing that up, but he was responsible for her inability to commit. Poor Darin. He'd come into her life when she'd needed a friend. He'd been kind and ambitious and fun, and she'd needed fun and also someone who shared her ambition and respected her for wanting to become something. But she'd never loved him. It had been a whirlwind of a romance in which she'd let her broken heart guide her by trying to forget how Will had hurt her. Darin had fulfilled the gulf that Will hadn't. He'd believed in her ability. They'd planned a quick, cheap wedding…. At least for that one there had only been the two witnesses and the judge to see her run away. She'd come to her senses in time and would have given anything not to have hurt Darin. But she could honestly say that her broken heart had been to blame for what she'd done to him. A person just didn't think rationally when their heart had been betrayed. And that had been Will's fault. Hadn't it?

Staring out across the churning water, Haley fumed. The man truly acted as if he had no idea that he'd done anything wrong. It was baffling. Could he really not get it?

Feeling cold, she rode back through the woods, her mind and heart no more settled than when she'd saddled her horse. It didn't matter because she knew now that she was going back to Beverly Hills as soon as possible. She would make it through Christmas…for Applegate. And then she'd go back to where she belonged. And with any luck she would finally put Will out of her head and her heart.

 

Norma Sue had called an emergency meeting of “the Matchmakers of Mule Hollow.” Things had stalled between Haley and Will, and the consensus was that they needed to do something quick. They'd thought after the two had shared lunch at Sam's that things would start rolling of their own accord, but instead lunch had killed everything dead in the water. And Applegate, well, he was about to have a conniption. He was trying hard to play it low-key in front of Haley, but the man could just see her slipping from his grasp and leaving him high and dry right after Christmas, if not before. It was all they could do to keep him from marching over to Will Sutton's and giving the cowboy a “kick in the duff,” as he called it. Poor Applegate had assumed all he would need to do was put Haley and Will in the same vicinity for a few days, and wondrously the years would fade away, Will would charm her socks off and bam, “Operation: Married by Christmas” would be a done deal.

Not even close.

“So what do y' all think?” Norma Sue asked, looking from Adela to Esther Mae. “Do you think we're going to be able to come through on this for Applegate?”

They were sitting around Adela's kitchen table drinking coffee and eating warm gingerbread.

Esther Mae finished off the big hunk of spicy cake she'd been gobbling down. “That is so delicious. Adela, you have outdone yourself.”

Though they had pressing issues to discuss, Norma dropped her chin and gave her friend a warning eyeballing. “You do realize that size twelve you've been so happy about fitting into is disappearing as fast as you're shoveling that cake in?”

Esther Mae dabbed her lips and smiled. “Hush, Norma, I'm allowed a snack. I started on a new diet and exercise program. Hank picked me up one of those miniature trampolines, and I'm jumping on it several times a day now. And having fun, fun, fun!”

Norma grunted, glancing at the bright green velour warm-up suit that Esther Mae wore and the matching headband that fit snugly about her red head. “Like I said, you keep eating that gingerbread like you're doing and that trampoline won't hold up to too much more jumping.”

Esther Mae chuckled. “I'm going to tell Hank to pick you up one the next time he's over in Ranger. You could use a little bouncing yourself.” She patted Norma's stomach.

“Hey, watch it.” Playfully, Norma swatted Esther's hand away. “I made peace with my full figure a long time ago. You're the one always complaining about your weight, so I was just giving you a friendly reminder that tomorrow you're going to regret your indulgence.”

Esther Mae plunged her fork into the last piece of gingerbread. “Thank you for caring, but there is no need for you to worry about me. I'm a reformed woman. All I needed to do was add some exercise to my lifestyle. You know, I think I'm going to start walking tomorrow. Now, about Haley Bell, do you think we need to figure out a way to get those two alone together again?”

Adela gingerly set her china cup down then clasped her fine-boned hands together and laid them on the table in front of her. “I've been thinking about that, too. They seem to be getting along fine in the group, but they are avoiding each other. Though their failed lunch date and subsequent avoidance seem to look like a problem, I think that some alone time might be just what is needed.”

“I agree,” Norma Sue said.

Esther Mae harrumphed. “Well, we need to do it quick. After all, we don't know how long Haley will remain here before going back to the West Coast. So we need to pick up the pace. Christmas is two weeks away and if we want a wedding by Christmas or thereabouts, well something major has got to happen. That's all there is to it.”

Norma Sue agreed completely. That was why she'd called the meeting. “That's right. When Applegate asked us to help him bring Haley home, I never dreamed it was going to be so easy to get her back. But I'm getting worried. Real worried. I just figure, like Applegate, that those two were meant for each other. That they just needed to grow up some and things would work out. But I don't know…”

Adela reached for her cup, lifted it to her lips then paused, a thoughtful look in her eyes. “After all these years, you girls know as well as I do that God didn't just happen to bring them both back to Mule Hollow without a reason. It's no accident. We just have to have faith and God will work it out.”

“But God didn't just give us this hankering to help them for no reason. So I can't just sit back and do nothing,” Esther Mae exclaimed.

Norma chuckled. “Well, then let's get busy and give this covert operation a shot in the leg.”

“Oh!” Esther Mae exclaimed and dropped her fork. It clattered on the plate but no one noticed as her eyes lit up and she waved her hands in excitement. “Girls, I've got it. I have the perfect idea!”

I
t was ten in the morning and Will found himself standing in front of the community center beside Haley.

Norma Sue smiled at them engagingly while waving a hand-drawn map at him. “So, if you follow these instructions you should have no trouble.”

Will took the piece of paper and stared at the drawing wondering how he'd allowed himself to, once again, be roped into doing something he didn't have time for….

But then, he knew how it happened. Norma Sue had told him that Haley had volunteered to go cut the berry branches from some special bush that they just had to have to decorate the tables for the Christmas production. Then she'd told him that Haley might need some help and asked him if he would mind going along just in case.

Of course he would go along. Haley didn't need to be running around out there in the woods alone. Knowing Haley she'd get stuck in a wild hog pen again, and who would be around to find her? Though in an effort of self-preservation, he'd been working hard and trying to avoid her for the last few days, but he couldn't deny that a part of him wanted to go berry picking with Haley.

“Now remember,” Norma Sue continued, “they're purple berries.”

Haley walked up to where Will and Norma Sue stood in front of the convention center. “Are you certain you want purple berries and not red holly berries?” she asked, stopping just short of three inches from Will's left arm. Will was more than aware that she was standing beside him.

Esther Mae hustled out of the community center just in time to hear Haley's question. “Purple's what we want, Haley. They're just the cutest little clusters of round balls that you'll ever see. And when you see them you'll know exactly why we want them.”

Norma Sue nodded. “But if you find some red berries, grab them, too. We can use both colors. Okay, though, y' all better get this show on the road. No sense wasting daylight.”

Anticipation skittered through Will and there was no sense denying that it was because he would be spending the next couple of hours with Haley. It was dangerous for his peace of mind, but for right now he didn't care. “Come on, then, you have everything you need?” She tucked her fingers into the pockets of her jeans, rocked forward on the toes of her boots and nodded. He turned to his truck and opened the door of the passenger side for her.

“Are you sure you have time to do this?” she asked, hesitating before she climbed in.

“If I run into trouble getting my deadlines met I might have to teach you how to use a grinder. Are you game?”

She tilted her head back and startled him by smiling up at him, her blond hair sparkling in the morning light like a sunbeam. Looking at her, he knew he didn't care if he had to spend the next week without sleep to get his last two gates finished; the smile on her face was worth it. The next few hours would be his bonus.

“I always did want to learn how to use a grinder.”

“Well, y' all have fun out there—oh, hang on a minute, I almost forgot,” Norma Sue yelped. Swinging around, she barreled off the steps and yanked open the tailgate of her truck. “Will, come over here and grab this cooler. I put some cold drinks in there and a little snack.”

“Exactly how long do you expect us to be out there?” Will asked, looking from Norma Sue to Esther Mae.

“You never know,” she said, grinning. “I didn't say purple berries were going to be easy to find.”

Knowing exactly what she was doing, he took the cooler and lifted it into the bed of his truck. The ladies never gave up.

“'Bye, now,” Esther Mae shouted, waving wildly as he got behind the steering wheel. Haley waved back as he started the motor and then backed out.

He added a quick wave, held back the big grin he was feeling then drove a little quicker than the law allowed down Main Street, toward the deep woods of Clint Matlock's ranch. As they passed Sam's, he thought he saw Applegate's and Stanley's noses plastered to the glass.

“I'm sorry they pulled you away from work for this,” Haley offered, snapping her seat belt in place. “I told them I was more than capable of following the directions and cutting purple berry bushes down. But then they started to fret that I didn't need to be out there all alone. They forget that I grew up running around these woods.”

“I don't mind. Besides, someone needs to open the cage doors for you after you run inside.”

She smiled and her eyes grew wide. “I hope you didn't tell everyone I got stuck in a hog pen!”

“That's just between us.”

“Thank you. Thank you. I could just see it becoming another egg-salad-fiasco story.”

Will met her gaze directly. “I'm done with telling stories on you, Haley. I'll just keep that one for myself.”

Now why did he go and say that? He focused on the road and tried not to think about the light the statement had brought to her eyes. What did that light mean?

That question tugged at him. “So take a peek at the map and tell me which gate we're supposed to take,” he said about five miles down the road. As per the instructions, he turned onto the dirt road that led them deep into what Will classified as some of the most remote untouched land in west Texas. The ladies seriously wanted some berries if they sent them out here.

“Now where?” he asked when they came to a fork in the road. Haley had been quiet. She studied the map Norma Sue had drawn them.

“It says here to take the fork less traveled.”

Will shot her a glance. She was staring at him with a question in her eyes. “That's all it says?” he asked.

“Yep.”

Tilting his head, he lifted an eyebrow. “You're joking, right?”

Haley mimicked his tilted head with her own then laughed. “Yes, I'm joking. But you looked so serious.”

He smiled and suddenly the years seemed to melt away. This was how they used to be together. “So, what does it really say?”

She sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes at him. “It says, take a left at the fork and follow the road to the next cattle guard. Cross it, then follow the fence line down to the creek. Think you can get us that far?”

“I believe I can manage it.” He loved the huskiness of her voice and the laughter in her eyes. It was a dangerous thing to acknowledge. But he was feeling dangerous himself.

“I don't know, you'll have to prove it.”

Will figured he might have more fun getting them lost. He laughed at the temptation and felt his world grow weightless with the sudden joy of the day.

Looking over at Haley, he knew, dangerous as it was, it was a feeling he could grow used to very easily. He'd been fighting it and trying to deny it. But it was true.

 

“So, do you see anything?” Haley asked, tugging her coat closer around her. Will was a few feet away from her as they trod through dense woods in search of the infamous purple berry bushes. What kind of bush had purple berries? She was beginning to question their existence. They'd been looking for a couple of hours and had turned up nothing. No berries, at least. Tension between them was escalating with each passing second. Haley was struggling to keep her gaze off Will—which could very well explain the lack of berries. Despite her decision to go back to Beverly Hills, she'd done nothing but think of him ever since they'd shared lunch earlier in the week, and it just wasn't a good thing. It just wasn't. She was beginning to think she was a lost cause.

Will glanced over his shoulder at her, his lips curving at the edges, and her heart thudded like a drum. Feeling unsettled, she stepped forward and tried to focus. “I'm beginning to suspect that there is no purple berry bush,” she said and proceeded to step into a pocket of mud. Her boot sank instantly ankle-deep. “Whoops,” she gasped, yanking her other foot back before sinking it, too.

“Are you okay?” Will was beside her in an instant, taking her elbow as she tugged her boot free from the muck. It made a nasty slurping sound when it popped free from the suction of the thick goop. But she was only feeling his touch on her elbow.

“That doesn't look so good.”

Haley chuckled nervously, holding out the muddy boot. “Brings back memories of when I was a kid roaming around the woods.” Moving back a bit, she rubbed the sole of her boot on a thick clump of grass, thinking Will was standing too close, his grin too lethal. “It will be my luck that the only things we're going to find out here are gators and snakes.”

“That's what I'm afraid of,” Will agreed, his tone serious as his teasing smile disappeared. “The wild hog population and the gator population have grown a lot since we were kids. It's getting to be a major problem.”

They were walking again but Will stopped suddenly, put his hands on his hips and surveyed the area, his expression grim. “Come on, we're going back to the truck. I don't want you to get hurt, and it's getting colder anyway.”

Haley scowled. “You're joking, right?”

He shook his head. “No. I'm not.”

“Will, I'm not going to freeze. And the ladies wouldn't send us out where there were alligators. Even if there were any out here, you know as well as I do that those animals are as afraid of us as we are of them. Besides, we can't go back empty-handed. What would we say—“Sorry, we got cold'?”

Haley had enjoyed the morning very much and she didn't want to admit it to Will, but frankly, she wasn't ready to go back yet. Not because of gators or snakes, but because going back would mean her time with Will would be over. They were getting along as if she'd never run away from Mule Hollow. It was as if they'd both left their past at the crossroads where the dirt road met the pavement. And though she might be flirting with a broken heart again, she hadn't had this much fun in years.

“I used to love to wander around out in the woods at Applegate's. I hadn't realized until the other day when I took the horse out how much I'd missed country life.”

Reaching out, she grabbed Will's hand and tugged him up the embankment away from the stream. “Come on. If there's a purple berry out here then we are going to find it. So buck up, buddy, and put those eyes to work.”

He groaned. “I forgot how tenacious you could be.”

When they reached higher ground, all too aware of the feel of his fingers clasped tightly around hers, Haley let go of his hand. She'd grabbed it impulsively, and it was the last thing she needed to be holding. Shaken by his touch, she missed seeing the log in her path, stumbled over it and plunged forward, headfirst down another hill.

She barely had time to scream before she hit the ground, rolled a few times then landed flat on her back in the middle of a bank of cold, wet mud beside the stream.

Dazed and aching, Haley lifted her head and the only good thing she saw about landing in the frosty, mushy mud was that at least she hadn't landed on top of the alligator lounging contentedly three feet away from her.

Her brain repeated the information with a bit more urgency.
Alligator!

But her response was to continue to stare at the prehistoric-looking creature with its flat rounded snout and beady eyes. It was as startled to see her as she was to see it. Still, her fear won out when it lifted out of the mud on its ugly squat legs and hissed at her like a mad cat on steroids.

Okay, so at least if she
had
landed on top of the thing she might have been lucky enough to knock it unconscious instead of being its lunch. Which apparently she was about to become.

She'd been too busy tumbling down the hillside and meeting up with the six-foot-long gator to realize that Will had tripped on the same log and was tumbling down the hill right behind her. That was, until all one hundred and eighty-five pounds of him landed facefirst in the mud between her and the hissing gator.

It all happened in a matter of seconds, and it was over quicker than that. Thanks to the good Lord, Mr. Gator, aka Chicken Little, took one look at Will's sludge-covered face as Will lifted up from the mud and took off! Haley watched in shocked amazement as the scaly beast trotted away, tail swaying in its wake.

Will's face was so slimy with mud that Haley didn't blame the reptile. But she was so relieved to see the gator's tail disappearing into the stream ten feet away that instead of screaming or running, she sat up and did the unthinkable—she laughed.

Not
a good thing to do in the presence of an angry man.

 

“What are you laughing at?” Will yelled, scrambling out of the mud watching the water ripple where the small gator had just disappeared. Will was shaken by how close Haley had just come to being attacked by the animal. Reaching down, he grabbed her by the arms and hauled her up out of the mud to hold her close. He'd been so intent up on the hill watching her eyes dance that he hadn't seen the log. When she'd flown forward, he'd lunged for her, hit the same obstruction, and followed her straight down the hill—and into the path of the alligator. Thank goodness God had put him between her and the gator.

“Are you all right?” he asked now, angered at his carelessness. Alarmed at the thought of what had almost happened to her, he pulled away and ran his hands quickly down her arms then back up to her shoulders. They were both covered in mud, but he didn't care. He had to make sure she hadn't broken anything—had to make certain she was safe.