The Manning Sisters (23 page)

“You make me sound so weak, so insecure.”

“You're not. You're loving and gentle and good. James is a fine young man, but he's not the one for you.”

Without question her parents would be upset with her, but in time they'd realize she was doing what was best for both her and James.

Christy left the Lazy P soon afterward, not waiting to see if Cody was going to come for her or not. From the way he'd left the evening before, she suspected he had no intention of keeping their dinner date.

She found his place without a problem and parked her car. She took several minutes to compose herself before making her way to the front door.

An eternity passed before he answered her knock. “Christy?”

“I believe we have a dinner date,” she said boldly, damning her voice for shaking. She didn't want him to guess how terribly nervous this confrontation made her.

“A dinner date? You and me? Forget it, sweetheart. If you want to go out, call your fiancé.”

“I
'm not going to marry James,” Christy explained in a voice that demanded Cody listen to her and at the same time begged for his understanding. Cody wasn't in the mood to do either. From the moment he'd left Christy the night before, he'd fought to push every thought of her from his mind.

With very little success.

“Who you marry or don't marry is none of my business,” he said, his words sharp and abrupt.

Christy flinched at his disdain, and it was all Cody could do to keep from reaching for her and asking her forgiveness.

“Please, if you'd give me a chance to explain….”

She was so beautiful, with her cobalt-blue eyes and sweet, innocent face. Until he'd met Christy and Taylor, Cody had never seen eyes that precise shade of blue.

He groaned inwardly, struggling against the need to take her in his arms and bask in her softness. Equally strong was the instinctive urge to protect his heart and his orderly life from the havoc she was sure to bring.

Cody was the sheriff-elect, but there was little that could terrify him the way this woman did. It was essential to keep his eyes off her. Everything about her was sensual and provocative. It was difficult enough to fight her, but the battle grew even fiercer as he struggled with his own desires. This was much harder than he'd ever imagined it would be.

“At least talk to me.”

Her voice was soft and compelling. The mere sound could drive him straight through the bounds of what was fast becoming his limited self-control.

“I think you should leave.”

There, he'd said it. He didn't mean it, but he'd said it, and that little bit of resistance lent him a sense of control, which had been sadly lacking to this point. Christy wasn't aware of that, but he was.

“I'm not leaving until you've listened to me.”

“Then you're going to have to do your talking from the street.” It astonished him how forcefully he came across. He blocked the doorway as he leaned indolently against the jamb, trying his best to suggest that he hadn't a care in the world.

She hesitated, then surprised him by nodding. “Fine. If that's what it takes, I'll shout at you from the middle of the street, loud enough for the entire block to hear.”

“You're wasting your time.” He'd played these games with another woman once, and he wasn't about to fall into that trap a second time.

Feeling suddenly confident, he straightened, leaned forward and braced his hands against her shoulders, keeping her at arm's length. It was a risk to touch her, but one he was prepared to take. Perhaps he felt the need to convince himself that he could be close to her and not want to kiss her….

His plan backfired the instant she looked directly up at him. To complicate matters, she flattened her hands on his chest. His heart reacted immediately, and he was sure she could feel the effect she had on him. Maybe touching her wasn't such a smart move, after all.

“I meant what I said.” He narrowed his eyes, hoping she'd take the hint and leave. In the same breath he prayed she wouldn't.

“You have every right to be angry,” Christy continued, her eyes pleading with him. “I don't blame you. I intended to tell you about James and me. Remember when we were in the kitchen before dinner? I told you there was something I had to talk to you about.”

She didn't give him a chance to answer. Not that it mattered; he did remember, all too well.

“It was never my intention to mislead you. I would've explained everything except James phoned before I had the chance.”

Cody felt himself weakening. This wasn't supposed to be happening. He should be a tower of strength. A bastion of fortitude. With little more than a shrug of his shoulders he ought to send her packing. One woman had mercilessly used him before. Only an idiot would allow it to happen again.

“I realized the first time you kissed me that I could never marry James,” she persisted. “Maybe even before then. I know it should've been a simple decision, but it wasn't. I had to think everything through. The answer was so obvious, so clear—but it frightened me.”

She
was frightened! Cody was shaking in his boots!

He dropped his hands; touching her had been a tactical error.

“So you've broken it off?” he asked, hating the way his hopes rose at the possibility that she was free.

Christy dropped her eyes. “Not exactly. But I promise you I will the minute I get back to Seattle.”

Cody's blood turned to ice. So she intended to string him along. At least she was honest about it, but frankly that didn't count for much.

“I know it sounds bad,” she said softly. “You might think it'd be better if I told James now. I thought so myself, but then I realized it wouldn't be right. James doesn't deserve to be treated so heartlessly. He's a good man—it would be wrong to call him and just tell him I'd met someone else. It's cruel to do it over the phone.”

Cody snorted a soft laugh. She was a candidate for the loony bin if she expected him to buy into that. Either she was engaged to James or she wasn't. Either the wedding was on or it was off. As simple as that.

“All right,” she said, and he could see her fighting to hold on to her composure. “If you can't accept that, I'll phone James and talk to him right now.”

“Fine.” He led her into the house and didn't stop until he reached the kitchen phone. Feeling slightly cocky, he lifted the receiver and handed it to her, fully expecting her not to go through with the call. She was putting on a brave front, but he was sure she had no intention of following through.

She stared at the receiver for a moment before taking it out of his hand. When she did, Cody saw how deathly pale she'd gone.

She offered him a quick, reassuring smile. “You're right,” she said weakly. “I shouldn't be thinking about James's feelings at a time like this. You have feelings, too. It's probably best to get this over with now. James will understand. I know he will.” As if her fingers weighed a thousand pounds, she lifted her hand and slowly punched out a series of numbers, then closed her eyes as she waited. “He's probably still at the office.”

After what seemed like an inordinate amount of time, and a short conversation with the receptionist, Christy replaced the receiver. “James already left. He must be home by now. I'll try there—only…” She looked up at him, her eyes wide and full of tension. She was willing to do this because Cody demanded it of her, but it was so hard. To know she was humiliating
James,
causing him pain…

“Only what?” he prompted.

“Could you kiss me? I seem to need it right now.”

His mouth found hers even before she'd finished speaking. He'd planned to brush his lips gently across hers. This wasn't the time for anything more.

To be on the safe side, he kissed her again—just so he'd know for a fact that he could walk away from her in the blink of an eye.

That was Cody's second tactical error of the evening.

She tasted like heaven, sweet and warm. His mouth continued to move over hers until her lips parted. She sighed deeply and sagged against him. Then she buried her face in the curve of his neck. Her breathing was as hard and uneven as his own. His hands were splayed across her back, and he held on to her with what little strength he'd managed to reserve.

“Give me a moment and I'll phone James at his house,” she whispered, her voice raspy.

Cody framed her face in his hands. “No,” he whispered.

“No?”

“I'm not happy with the situation, but you're right. Breaking the engagement by phone would be insensitive. I can wait until you get back to Seattle and talk to him face-to-face.”

She lowered her eyes in gratitude, her thick lashes sweeping her cheek. “Thank you.”

He nodded.

“Oh, Cody, please believe me, I'm going to end it. I'm being as completely honest as I can.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

He nodded. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. “I don't know where that leaves us,” he said. “Or even where we go from here.”

“I don't, either,” Christy whispered, but he felt her sigh of contentment as she relaxed against him.

 

“You're as jumpy as a grasshopper,” Russ teased three days later. “I swear you keep looking out that window as though you expect the Mounted Police to come riding over the hill.”

“Not the Mounted Police, just one handsome sheriff.”

“Ah, so you're seeing Cody again.”

“I've seen him every night this week.” Christy could feel herself blush as she said it, which was exactly the reaction her brother-in-law was looking for.

“Quit teasing my sister,” Taylor said. She was sitting at the kitchen table, Eric nestled in her arms, nursing greedily.

Every time Christy watched her sister with the baby, she felt astonished at how easily Taylor had taken to motherhood. She acted as though she'd been around infants all her life. She seemed so comfortable, so
confident
with her son, whether she was breast feeding him or diapering or rocking him to sleep.

“Where's Cody taking you this afternoon?” Taylor asked, glancing up at her.

“He wouldn't say. It's supposed to be a surprise, but I have a sneaking suspicion we're headed into the wild blue yonder.” At her sister's raised eyebrows, she explained. “I think he's planning to take me for a plane ride. He told me earlier that he has his private license and twice now he's mentioned flying.”

“I thought you were afraid of planes,” Taylor commented. When it was first decided that Christy would come to Montana, she'd immediately rejected the idea of flying into Miles City. Driving to Montana appealed to her far more. Neither Taylor nor their mother had pressed the issue.

“I'm not excited about flying,” Christy admitted.

“But you don't mind going up in a plane with Cody?”

“No.” She trusted him beyond question. Enough to place her life in his hands.

“If I were you, I'd make sure his little surprise doesn't involve horses,” Russ warned, and his eyes connected with his wife's as though they were sharing some well-kept secret.

“Cody doesn't ride that often.”

Russ poured himself a cup of coffee and joined Taylor at the kitchen table. He smiled at his son while speaking to Christy. “You certainly seem to know a great deal about the sheriff's habits.”

“I…” Christy could feel warmth invade her cheeks. She hated the way she blushed whenever the subject of Cody was introduced.

She and Cody had spent every available moment together. With her vacation vanishing like melting snow, each day was more precious than the one before. It was as if they were cramming several months of a relationship into two short weeks.

Cody wasn't pleased that she remained technically engaged to James, but he'd graciously accepted the situation. It wasn't easy for him, but he never questioned her about the other man, or brought James into their conversation.

For his part, Cody had never said anything to Christy about Becca and the way he'd been duped by the other woman. Knowing what she did made her more sensitive to his needs, made her love him all the more.

Christy did love Cody. This wasn't infatuation or hormones or anything else. For some reason, unknown to them both, they were meant to be together. She knew it. He knew it. Yet Christy never spoke of her feelings, and neither did Cody.

She understood his hesitancy. He couldn't talk freely about their relationship while James was still part of her life.

Once she was back in Seattle and had broken the engagement to James, then and only then would she tell Cody she loved him. And he in turn would be free to tell her what she already knew.

Christy would've liked to hear it sooner, but if Cody could display this much patience, she could do no less.

“I don't know when we'll be back,” Christy said. “Is there anything I can do for you before I leave?” she asked, looking at Taylor.

Her sister grinned. “Just have a good time.”

“I will.” She was already having the time of her life.

“I was in town earlier today,” Russ said. He paused to be sure he had their full attention.

“So? You go into town at least twice a week,” Taylor reminded him.

“Noah Williams, who works at the insurance agency, stopped me.” Once more he hesitated as if this news was significant.

“Old Man Williams stops anybody who'll listen to him,” Taylor interjected. “That man is the biggest gossip in three counties, and you know it.”

Russ rubbed the side of his jaw. “Yeah, I suppose I do.”

“Would you say what's on your mind and be done with it?” Taylor grumbled.