A Country Affair(50)

“Mary wasn’t teasing me, was she? You are the new librarian?”

Rorie nodded, smiling up at him, her happiness shining from her eyes. “There’s no going back for me. I’ve moved out of my apartment, packed everything I own and quit my job with barely a week’s notice.”

Rorie had fallen in love with Clay, caught in the magic of one special night when a foal had been born. But her feelings stretched far beyond the events of a single evening and the few short days they’d spent together. Her love for Clay had become an essential part of her. Rorie adored him and would feel that way for as long as her heart continued to beat.

Clay’s frown deepened and his features tightened briefly. “What about Dan? I thought you were going to marry him.”

“I couldn’t,” she said, then smiled tenderly, tracing his face with her hands, loving the feel of him beneath her fingertips.

“But—”

“Clay,” she interrupted, “why didn’t you tell me when I saw you in San Francisco that you’d broken your engagement to Kate?” Her eyes clouded with anguish at the memory, at the anxiety they’d caused each other. It had been such senseless heartache, and they’d wasted precious time. “Couldn’t you see how miserable I was?”

A grimace of pain moved across his features. “All I noticed was how right you and that stockbroker looked together. You both kept telling me what a bright future he had. I couldn’t begin to offer you the things he could. And if that wasn’t enough, it was all too apparent that Dan was in love with you.” Gently Clay smoothed her hair away from her temple. “I could understand what it meant to love you, and, between the two of us, he seemed the better man.”

Rorie lowered her face, pressing her forehead against the hollow of his shoulder. She groaned in frustration. “How could you even think such a thing, when I love you so much?”

Clay moved her face so he could meet her eyes. “But, Rorie...” He stopped and a muscle jerked in his jaw. “Dan can give you far more than I’ll ever be able to. He’s got connections, background, education. A few years down the road, he’s going to be very wealthy—success is written all over him. He may have his faults, but basically he’s a fine man.”

“He is a good person and he’s going to make some woman a good husband. But it won’t be me.”

“He could give you the kinds of things I may never be able to afford....”

“Clay Franklin, do you love me or not?”

Clay exhaled slowly, watching her. “You know the answer to that.”

“Then stop arguing with me. I don’t love Dan Rogers. I love you.”

Still his frown persisted. “You belong in the city.”

“I belong with you,” she countered.

He said nothing for a long moment. “I can’t argue with that,” he whispered, his voice husky with emotion. “You do belong here, because God help me, I haven’t got the strength to let you walk away a second time.”

Clay kissed her again, his mouth sliding over hers as though he still couldn’t believe she was in his arms. She held on to him with all her strength, soaking up his love. She was at home in his arms. It was where she belonged and where she planned to stay.

The sound of someone entering the room filtered through to Rorie’s consciousness, but she couldn’t bring herself to move out of Clay’s arms.

“Rorie!” Skip cried, his voice high and excited, “What are you doing here?”

Rorie finally released Clay and turned toward the teenager who had come to her rescue that August afternoon.

“Hello, Skip,” she said softly. Clay slipped his arm around her waist and she smiled up at him, needing his touch to anchor her in the reality of their love.

“Are you back for good?” Skip wanted to know.

She nodded, but before she could answer Clay said, “Meet Nightingale’s new librarian.” His arm tightened around her.

The smile that lit the teenager’s eyes was telling. “So you’re going to stick around this time.” He blew out a gusty sigh. “It’s a damn good thing, because since you left, my brother’s been as hard to live with as a rattlesnake.”

“I’d say that was a bit of an exaggeration,” Clay muttered, clearly not approving of his brother’s choice of description.

“You shouldn’t have gone,” Skip said, sighing again. “Especially before the county fair.”

Rorie laughed. “You’re never going to forgive me for missing that, are you?”

“You should’ve been here, Rorie. It was great.”

“I’ll be here next summer,” she promised.

“The fact is, Rorie’s going to be around for a lifetime of summers,” Clay informed his brother. “We’re going to be married as soon as we can arrange it.” His eyes held hers but they were filled with questions, as if he half expected her, even now, to refuse him.

Rorie swallowed the emotion that bobbed so readily to the surface and nodded wildly, telling him with one look that she’d marry him anytime he wanted.

Skip crossed his arms over his chest and gave them a smug look. “I knew something was going on between the two of you. Every time I was around you guys it was like getting zapped with one of those stun guns.”