Razzmatazz-DDL (16 page)

Before she could move, Alex took her hand, oh so casually, but the effect was anything but. She instinctively tried to tug it away, but his grip only tightened as he leaned closer, his gaze lingering on hers, his expression puzzled. “Aren’t you glad to see me?”

“No!” she whispered. “Especially not here!”

He cast an appraising look over her shoulder. “The natives are getting restless, my dear—ah, good. The reserves have arrived.”

Kennie spun to see the Ladies’ Auxiliary pour in a chattering mass through the side door to collect their “angels.” She attempted to free her hand from Alex’s, but he tightened his grip.

She felt herself being propelled forward, her fist still captured in his, and he swept her into his arms and kissed her. She pushed against his shoulders with her free hand, struggled against his hard body, her anger fueled by frustration, by humiliation, and even a bit by relief that the idiot hadn’t disappeared from the face of the earth. It took every ounce of will she had, but somehow she managed to keep the anger uppermost, to tamp down the oh-so-familiar tendrils of response that threatened to start in her toes and wind their way up her body.… By the time he released her, she was quite dizzy from lack of oxygen and found herself grasping his arms for support, staring into his laughing eyes and feeling the world shift again beneath her feet.

“Mrs. Carruthers,” he whispered, and her lips parted in shock, “aren’t you going to introduce me?”

“Oh, dear,” she whimpered, remembering their audience. “Oh, dear.”

Slowly, agonizingly, she scanned the shocked faces of the Ladies’ Auxiliary and the gape-mouthed wonder of the girl “angels.” The mutual disgust of the boys was voiced most emphatically and eloquently by R. J. Delaney’s loud “Yuk!”

“Why, Kennie Sue,” one of the women said in a syrupy drawl. “Have you been hiding something from us?”

Kennie raised her chin stiffly and forced a smile, forced a steady voice, forced down the urge to kill. “I’m—I’m sorry. I want you to meet a—a friend—”

“Her husband,” Alex interjected smoothly, releasing her at the very moment her legs threatened to buckle from the shock. He sauntered forward and extended a hand. “Alexander Carruthers.”

“I….” the woman stammered, taking his hand as if it carried a disease, her gaze flying from Alex to Kennie. “Did he say husband?”

“I did,” Alex answered with one of his dazzling smiles, and, to Kennie’s relief and disgust, the woman’s suspicious frown melted into an expression of awe.

But not Mrs. Delaney. Rusk’s mother stepped forward, almost as wide as she was tall, her fiery hair a helmet of curls. “That girl’s mother is my oldest friend, and she ain’t said a word ’bout Kennie gettin’ married.” The glaring woman ignored Alex altogether, settling her full venom on Kennie instead.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Alex’s laughter spilled between them. “Of course she didn’t. I made Kennie promise not to tell her dear mother until I was here to share the moment. Now, you ladies aren’t going to spoil our surprise, are you?” he chided them, then turned to Kennie. “Which reminds me, I suppose you can start wearing your ring now, can’t you?”

“Ring?” Kennie asked, feeling for all the world as if she were caught in a very bad B-movie.

Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out an exquisite lacy gold ring. As the Auxiliary gasped and oohed and aahed, he took her limp hand in his and slid the ring on her finger. “A perfect fit.”

He tugged gently on her hand, and she knew what he was doing—pulling her to him again for another kiss—and she refused. She refused! Gulping and pulling back, she forced some semblance of calm into her voice as she said, “I think I’d better get home to Mama before the—” she cleared her throat “—wonderful news beats me there.”

“Of course.” He placed his hand on her back. “If you ladies will excuse us, I hope to get to know you all better at a later time.” There was a garbled echo of agreement and confusion as he pushed her firmly down the center aisle of the church.

As they reached the double doors, one swung open with a loud screech. A massive male silhouette filled the doorway.

“R.J.? Ma? I’ve been honkin’ for you for five minutes! What’s the holdup?”

“Rusk,” Kennie blurted, then clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Where’s that brother and mother of mine? I’ve got to get back out to the ranch.” And then, after a startled look over her shoulder, he asked, “Who’s this?”

“I don’t have time to explain,” Kennie moaned. “I’ll talk to you later, and whatever you hear, don’t believe too much of it.”

She took two steps, only to be stopped by Alex’s grip on her arm.

“To the contrary, Kennie, certainly we have time for you to introduce me to the infamous Rusk Delaney.” Kennie groaned as he thrust out his hand. “I’m Alex Carruthers.”

“Glad to meet ya.” Rusk took Alex’s outstretched hand warily. “You a friend of Kennie Sue’s?”

“Alex and I met—” she began.

“Some time ago. I’m her husband,” Alex stated matter-of-factly.

“This must be some kind of a joke.” Rusk turned to Kennie and stared. “Kennie Sue isn’t married.”

“It’s a joke, all right,” she breathed angrily. “And I am married. I’ll see you later.” Before he could ask any more questions, Kennie grabbed Alex’s sleeve. “Come on—now.”

Alex followed her to the sidewalk. “Did you drive?”

“Over there.” She indicated her powder-blue Chevy Chevette coated with West Texas red dirt.

“Good. I’m parked in front of the city hall.” Alex pointed across the brick street. Kennie spotted a small crowd gathered around a red convertible.

An elderly man stepped forward, tipping back his battered straw hat. “Ya gonna give me a chance to win back my money, young feller?”

“Not now,” Alex replied. “I’m afraid I don’t have time for dominoes again this afternoon. But maybe tomorrow?”

“Dominoes?” Kennie repeated.

The old man cackled. “Be ready to lose a bundle, young feller. Ya caught me by surprise this time, but I’ll be lookin’ fer ya next time.”

Kennie gritted her teeth and headed for her car, cursing sharply when her fingers touched the red-hot steering wheel. She started the engine and flipped on the air conditioner, aiming both vents at the wheel. The wheel cooled quickly; her temper didn’t.

Not waiting to see if he followed, she pulled out onto Main Street, then headed west, out of town, with a long screech. She took grim satisfaction in the fact that if Alex mimicked her style, he’d have a fifty-dollar ticket before he passed the town square.

I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry, Mama
—

No, that excuse would get her nowhere.

Now, Mama, it’s not as bad as it seems
.
 

No, it was worse. Worse because the minute she saw him standing in the church doorway, she knew that everything she’d been feeling for him was real. It wasn’t a figment of her vacation fantasy. And the pain she was suffering was something she was going to have to endure the rest of her life.

She followed the flat state highway for a mile and a half. As she passed Honest Dub’s Used Cars, a horn beeped behind her. She glanced in the rearview mirror at the red convertible.

Abruptly she turned off the main road onto a narrow blacktop that turned into a rocky dirt road. A cloud of red dust swallowed up the view behind her, but she knew he’d follow. Along this farm road, the land stretched flat and desolate. She drove beyond an isolated stand of trees toward a deserted and dilapidated farmhouse.

Kennie slowed and swerved into the deserted driveway, fishtailing as she took the turn, spinning in the dry, dusty yard to face the road. By the time Alex’s convertible came into view, she was out of the car and slamming the door shut. His car made the turn easily, and it purred a low roar as it came to rest beside her. Then there was silence, as he cut off the engine. “Nice place,” he said, nodding at the weathered gray structure. “Rustic. I like that.”

“This isn’t where I live and you know it,” she grated.

“I have to admit, I’m relieved.” He eased himself from the car, one long leg after the other. “Dare I hope you have an ulterior motive for bringing me to such a secluded place for our reunion?”

She didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, she plunged her fists into her pockets. She wanted to lash out at him for having come to Tahoka Springs, for having announced their farce of a marriage.

“Kennie.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?”

A sheepish grin spread across his features, and she felt a swell of amazement that even now, even when he’d just about ruined her life once and for all, she had to work hard to keep from responding to his calculated charm.

“I came to...well, it’s hard to explain,” he said.

“To humiliate me?”

“No.” His tone was emphatic.

“Well, that’s exactly what you did.”

“Kennie....” His gaze lingered at her mouth, and without thinking, she caught her lower lip beneath her teeth. He reached toward her.

“Don’t touch me, and don’t look at me like that!” she ordered.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”

Reasons piled one on top of another as his face loomed nearer, his dark eyes closing, his lips parting, his breath warming her as he closed his hands over her upper arms and pulled her close.

“Because I’m begging you not to,” she said. It was more a whimper than a request; she felt ashamed that she couldn’t muster better than that. But when he dropped his hands and drew back, his eyes were clouded.

“How uncanny,” he murmured, dragging his fingers through his windswept hair, smiling regretfully. “You’ve presented me with the only appeal I find myself compelled to honor.”

“I wish I’d thought of it sooner,” she grumbled, wrapping her arms around herself. Why was the rage in her veins suddenly subsiding?

“Why did you leave me?”

His question caught her off guard. She’d been so angry, so frustrated, so afraid of what she was feeling, she’d never stopped to consider that he wouldn’t automatically know why. “Because you lied to me.”

“What?”

“The court date. We could have gotten an annulment and I could have come home and it would all be over. But you turned that down. You complicated things. You lied to me.”

“Kennie….”

“What do you want from me?”

“Kennie, I lied. But do you understand why? You just said it in your own words.”

She could only shake her head.

“It would all be over. You’d leave Reno, you’d leave me... it would all be over.”

“It had to end. It still will end. Only now it’s going to be messy and embarrassing.” He didn’t answer. “How did you find me?” she finally asked.

He leaned against the fender of her car and tilted his head. She was blazingly aware that even as he spoke, his gaze wandered over the length and breadth of her, searching, probing. “It wasn’t too hard. I rented a car in Odessa, bought a Rand McNally map, then asked for you at the city hall, which was the equivalent of a town history and social commentary. They said you were directing the Angel Choir because the minister’s wife is expecting another baby, and you’re the only one fool enough—or with guts enough, depending on who I quote—to take on the little varmints. So, as I was told that the entire Ladies’ Auxiliary would come down on my head if I disrupted choir practice and, thus, their meeting, I decided to be the gentleman for once and let you finish your commitment before announcing my arrival.”

“How gallant,” she remarked.

“Yes, I thought so.”

“And you killed the time by allowing the local domino sharks to fleece you. How much did those old geezers take you for?”

Alex reached deep in his khaki pocket and pulled out a handful of nickels. “Who took whom?”

“Keep that up, and they’ll run you out of town,” she grunted. “Speaking of which, there’s no way Mama hasn’t heard about this mess by now. We’d better get back into town and meet her face to face.” Her voice faltered; she closed her eyes and shuddered. “Although I don’t know what the hell I’m going to tell her.”

“Well....”

His tone of voice was dangerously thoughtful, broaching reasonable, she mused, glaring at him from the corner of her eye.

“We have several options. Before we make up our minds, may I suggest a simple little experiment?”

“I’m afraid to ask what.”

“No reason for that. Just be still...very still.” His smile was dazzling in the blaze of the west Texas setting sun. “This won’t hurt a bit...I promise.”

Her breath caught as he approached and dipped his head low. His lips brushed hers fleetingly, then he stopped, a breath away from a kiss. “Remember...all you have to do is say no.…”

She inhaled deeply, drawing in a huge gulp of hot, dust-laden air and evergreen scent and the wild, pungent smell of his cologne. Her lips moved to form the word no, but the air they circled was silent of anything but raw, strident katydid screeches and the hot wind circling above them. She tried again, and this time she managed to get the “
n
” out but he captured the vowel with his seductive kiss, taking a firm negative and turning it into a languorous sigh that vibrated between them.

At first only their lips met, but mere moments of that lovely contact brought her to the point of uneasy submission to his confident demands. So, despite her nagging conscience, she slid her arms around his neck, accepting defeat gracefully, if not gratefully.

“Did you say something?” he murmured into her ear.

“Just shut up and kiss me,” she sighed, and his arms circled her and pulled her closer as their mouths fused.

Moments later he pulled away. “Yes, I definitely think that settles it.”

“Settles what?” She rested her head against his shoulder, not caring that it was a false sense of security that enveloped her.

“There’s only one thing to tell your mother. The truth.”

A niggling little warning lodged in her mind. “Which truth? That we got smashed and decided to get married just for the hell of it? That you and Chris flipped a coin for me?” She narrowed her eyes. “Or how about that there’s a dandy little inheritance floating around out there somewhere that we’re waiting on?”