A Country Affair(57)

“Just get inside the truck, would you, before someone comes along and finds us arguing?”

“I need your promise first.”

Luke ignored her. “You’ve got a reputation to uphold. You can’t let people in Nightingale see you tipsy. The school board will hear about this and that’ll be the end of your career.”

Kate smiled, shaking her head, then impulsively leaned forward and kissed him again. Being with Luke took the hurt away, and she refused to suffer that kind of pain ever again. “Will you please do what I want?”

“All right,” he muttered, clearly exasperated. “What is it?”

“Oh, thank you,” she murmured, and sighed expressively. This was going to shock him, but no more than it had already shocked her. She didn’t know where the idea had come from, but it seemed suddenly, inarguably right.

Kate smiled at him, her heart shining through her eyes. “It’s simple really. All I want you to do is marry me.”



Two


Early the following day, Devin Logan walked hesitantly into the kitchen where Kate sat drinking her first cup of coffee. She smiled a greeting. “Morning, Dad.”

“Morning, Princess.” He circled the table twice before he sat down.

Kate watched him curiously, then rose to pour him a cup of coffee and bring it to the table. It was a habit she’d begun after her mother’s death several years earlier.

“Did you and Mrs. Murphy have a good time last night?” Kate asked, before her father could comment on the rumors that were sure to be circulating about her and Luke Rivers. She hadn’t seen Luke yet, but she would soon enough, and she was mentally bracing herself for the confrontation. What a fool she’d made of herself. She cringed at the thought of her marriage proposal and didn’t doubt for a second that Luke was going to take a great deal of delight in tormenting her about it. She suspected it would be a long while before he let her live this one down.

“Looks like rain,” Devin mumbled.

Kate grinned good-naturedly, wondering at her father’s strange mood. “I asked you about last night, not about the weather.”

Devin’s eyes flared briefly with some unnamed emotion, which he quickly disguised. His gaze fell to the steaming mug cupped in his hands.

“Dad? Did you and Mrs. Murphy enjoy yourselves?”

“Why, sure, we had a grand time,” he said with forced enthusiasm.

Kate waited for him to elaborate. Instead he reached for the sugar bowl and resolutely added three heaping teaspoons to his mug. He stirred it so briskly the coffee threatened to slosh over the edge. All the while, he stared blankly into space.

Kate didn’t know what to make of Devin’s unusual behavior. “Dad,” she said, trying again, “is there something on your mind?”

His eyes darted about the room, reluctantly settling on Kate. “What makes you ask that?”

“You just added sugar to your coffee. You’ve been drinking it sugarless for forty years.”

He glared down at the mug, surprise written on his tanned face. “I did?”

“I saw you myself.”

“I did,” he repeated firmly, as if that was what he’d intended all along. “I, ah, seem to have developed a sweet tooth lately.”

It was becoming apparent to Kate that her father’s experience at Clay and Rorie’s wedding reception must have rivaled her own. “Instead of beating around the bush all morning, why don’t you just tell me what’s on your mind?”

Once more, her father lowered his eyes, then nodded and swallowed tightly. “Dorothea and I had...a long talk last night,” he began haltingly. “It all started innocently enough. Then again, I’m sure the wedding and all the good feelings floating around Clay and Rorie probably had a lot to do with it.” He paused to take a sip of his coffee, grimacing at its sweetness. “The best I can figure, we started talking seriously after Nellie Jackson came by and told Dorothea and me that we made a handsome couple. At least that’s what I remember.”

“It’s true,” Kate said kindly. Personally she would have preferred her father to see someone who resembled her mother a bit more, but Mrs. Murphy was a pleasant, gentle woman and Kate was fond of her.

Her father smiled fleetingly. “Then the champagne was passed around and Dorothea and I helped ourselves.” He paused, glancing at Kate as if that explained everything.

“Yes,” Kate said, hiding a smile, “go on.”

Slowly Devin straightened, and his eyes, forthright and unwavering, held hers. “You know I loved your mother. When Nora died, there was a time I wondered if I could go on living without her, but I have, and so have you.”

“Of course you have, Dad.” Suddenly it dawned on Kate exactly where this conversation was leading. It shouldn’t have surprised her, and yet... Kate’s heart was beginning to hammer uncomfortably. Her father didn’t need to say another word; she knew what was coming as surely as if he’d already spoken the words aloud. He was going to marry Dorothea Murphy.

“Your mother’s been gone nearly five years now and, well, a man gets lonely,” her father continued. “I’ve been thinking about doing some traveling and, frankly, I don’t want to do it alone.”

“You should’ve said something earlier, Dad,” Kate interjected. “I’d have loved traveling with you. Still would. That’s one of the nice things about being a teacher,” she rambled on. “My summers are free. And with Luke watching the ranch, you wouldn’t have any worries about what’s happening at home and—”