Chapter Ten
Josie didn’t want to be Lincoln’s mistake. It troubled her that he looked at relationships with such cynicism. His ex had shredded Lincoln’s heart with her evil claws, telling him he wasn’t good enough for her. Savannah’s parents were wealthy, and the woman acted like a spoiled heiress. What Lincoln had ever seen in that woman was beyond Josie’s comprehension and no matter how much he insisted that was over and done, she suspected he was just doing lip service. She wondered briefly if his past with Savannah had anything to do with why he’d pulled away. Her parents were wealthy, too, but surely he could see she was nothing like his ex.
After pulling up outside the jeweler’s, she didn’t have to wait long for Jean to walk out and head to the passenger side. The second the older woman was in, she handed Josie a jewelry bag.
“Thought you’d like what I did. Take a look.” Josie’s heart sank. She hoped it wasn’t something she was going to have to feel guilty about when she and Lincoln called it quits for real.
Letting her car idle, she pulled the box out of the bag and opened it praying it wasn’t one of Jean’s engagement rings.
Inside was the necklace Jean’s family had given her a year ago. It was a silver heart with the names and birthstones of each of her grandkids’ names. In the middle of it, under Casey’s name, Josie’s name and birthstone had been added.
Josie had to fight back tears. She’d always thought of the Bradfords as family, and maybe in some way she’d crushed on Lincoln all those years ago because she’d wanted to actually be part of it. “It’s beautiful.”
“Are you okay, honey? You’ve been acting weird lately.”
“I have?” She thought she’d been doing a good job of keeping her emotions in check.
“Uh-huh. Are you and Lincoln having physical problems?”
“Physical?” Josie hoped Jean wasn’t going where she thought she was.
“Booty calls, knocking boots, whatever you’re naming it. That’s not going well?”
What could she say to that? Lie and say yes, they were booty calling left and right? Speak the truth and say no, the phone wasn’t ringing? Josie wished she could tell Jean the truth, but feared she’d screw up Lincoln’s lie if she did and hurt the chance the fire station would get what it needed. “Um…it’s…fine.”
“You make it sound like things are as exciting as watching Horace clean his dentures.”
“Horace?”
“One of my geezers.” Jean waved her hand like the name didn’t matter. “He wanted me to be his girlfriend and offered me a ring.”
Josie tried to keep up. “So you’re dating Horace?”
“Good heavens, no. He’s boring and egotistical. Any one of those is the kiss of death in a relationship let alone both together. I had to let him go on down the road. You gotta keep things spicy.” She put her seatbelt on and wagged her eyebrows.
“Lincoln and I…we’re spicy,” Josie said, knowing she’d fumbled the ball by the look Jean gave her.
When they arrived at the fairgrounds where the hayride was held every year, Josie parked, but Jean stopped her from exiting. “My grandson is a good man.”
“I know that,” Josie said softly.
“But he’s too cautious with his emotions for his own good. Likes to play it safe. Makes me think of this kid I knew who took a few baseballs upside the head and one square on the nose. He quit going after the ball as hard after that. The other team earned a lot of home runs off that kid. So you know what happened because he kept playing it safe?”
Josie shook her head.
“He got splinters in his ass from sitting on the bench because the coach quit putting him in the game. Life is too short not to play ball with everything you’ve got no matter how many times you get hit.” Jean pushed open her door. “Lincoln’s not the only one who’s cautious.” She stepped out and slammed the door.
Josie got out and walked around the side. “Taking things slow in a relationship is a good idea. It takes time to get to know someone.”
“Sweetie, there’s slow, and then there’s sitting on the bench. You’re headed for splinters.”
Her love life was on the bench, Josie knew that, but it wasn’t from lack of trying. She’d dated. Once she and Lincoln parted ways, she’d be back out in the dating pool. It didn’t sound any more appealing now than it had before she and Lincoln became a “couple.”
Not wanting to dissect her dismal prospects or dwell on the thought of her and Lincoln going their separate ways, Josie reached for Jean’s arm to help the older woman walk to the main attractions. Jean smacked her hand away. “Beat it. I have a geezer on my graydar and he’s headed over here.”
Josie hesitated. “Isn’t that Ron Alexander?” The man owned several businesses in town and was well known as a philanthropist.
“Yes, now scram. Unless you need booty call advice?”
“I’m good.” Josie made a hasty retreat and glanced back over her shoulder right before she reached the funnel cake stand. Jean was already in conversation. When Josie turned back toward the festivities on the main thoroughfare, Lincoln’s mom was squeezing through the crowd to get to her.
As soon as she was within reach, Beverly gave her a long hug. A few minutes later, she leaned back and held Josie at arm’s length. “You look beautiful as always.”
“So do you.” She’d always admired Beverly’s style and the other woman’s warm personality that made her so lovable. Even when Josie had dragged Casey into trouble countless times growing up, Beverly had made it clear that her support for Josie never wavered.
Beverly touched the side of Josie’s face and smiled with eyes glimmering from unshed tears. “I wanted to tell you that regardless of what happens between you and my son, I will always be here for you. You’ll always be part of this family.”
Josie’s throat tightened.
“If you and Lincoln do end up deciding to get married, I would be honored to help you in any way that I can.”
Josie ducked her head. There were dozens of times in her life when Lincoln’s mom had stepped in to be there for her when her own mother wouldn’t. Guilt at the charade she’d put Lincoln and herself in cut into her, and she couldn’t do anything but nod.
Beverly hugged her again. “I’d better go find my husband before he eats too many corn dogs.”
As she walked away, Lincoln came up to his mother. They had a brief conversation Josie couldn’t hear, then Beverly handed Lincoln something that he shoved into his pocket. Then he made his way over to where she waited. “The cotton candy is calling.” He held out his hand. “And we have to play the part of sweethearts.”
Here we go…
She put her hand in his and followed him past a group of teenagers taking selfies, and women from the historical society. “Okay, but tomorrow, no more setbacks. We break up. First thing.”
“Agreed. We can eat breakfast at the diner while we put the play in motion. News always spreads faster there.”
Josie’s steps faltered as she saw her mother approaching. She recognized the slight frown and pinched lips. It meant she’d looked at Josie and found something lacking. She tightened her grip on Lincoln’s hand.
Her mother kissed the air beside her cheek and pulled back. She inspected Josie’s clothes and then uttered a small laugh. “Honey, that outfit should be a thrift store donation.”
“Hello, Mom,” Josie said, not taking the bait.
“I think she looks amazing,” Lincoln said quietly. “She rocks everything I’ve ever seen her wear.”
Josie’s mother focused her attention on him. “I have to admit when Josie first told me about you, I thought she was lying. I never imagined her with you. I encouraged her to lose weight…” Her critical gaze swept over Josie again.
Josie smiled and held up her hand to stop Lincoln’s rebuttal mid-sentence. “Mom, I’m fine the way that I am.”
“I’m not trying to be unkind, dear. I worry about you. Men don’t like women who let themselves go. At least not long-term.”
Josie knew her mother had been subjected to the same criticisms that she was now dishing out. While she hated that her grandmother had done that to her mother, she wasn’t going to let the cycle keep repeating itself.
She leaned into her mom and gave her a hug, effectively ending the talk. “You and Dad have a good time tonight. I’ll see you later.”
She swept passed her.
“She’s wrong, you know,” Lincoln said when they were out of hearing range.
Josie sighed. “I know.”
“I can still remember the day I realized how hot you are.”
She looked at him. “Really?”
“Oh, yeah.” He put his arm around her shoulder and they walked a few feet down the fairway and stopped at the ring-around-the-bottle game.
“I can beat you this year for sure.” Josie put her money on the counter and took the set of plastic rings the guy manning the bottle toss booth offered. Squinting, she tossed each one in turn and missed.
Lincoln flexed his fingers. “You know you still owe me a beer from beating you last year, right?” He paid the guy and after he got the rings, tossed two at the same time. Both sailed perfectly onto the bottles. When he tossed the last two, they also ended up on the bottles.
Josie sighed as Lincoln collected the small stuffed frog and passed it to her. “Next year I’ll win,” she said.
He draped his arm across her shoulders again. “Keep dreaming, my breakup girl.”
They wandered the fairway until they reached the cotton candy stand, and Josie chose one of the blue and pink swirled treats. She began tearing off small bites of it when they started walking again. “You know what I just realized? Within a year of them being named sweetheart ambassadors, every couple married.”
Lincoln took a piece of her cotton candy. “Morganville’s very own horror story.”
Josie stepped off the pathway and onto the grassy area to let a couple with a baby stroller get past them. “It’s really too bad you feel that way about marriage. I bet you’d be a great husband and father.”
Lincoln’s brow furrowed. “Marriage and fatherhood is just one more way for a guy to fail. No thanks.”
His words shocked Josie. “If there is one thing that you’re not, and never could be, Lincoln, it’s a failure.”
He tossed the piece of cotton candy he held in a trash can and brushed his hands together. “Let’s watch the go-kart races.”
Had Lincoln been one of her clients back when she’d had her counseling practice open, she would have told him he was using avoidance to keep from dealing with an issue. Wanting to help, she said, “If you need to talk—”
Lincoln managed to lead the way through a throng of people to a spot at the edge of the go-kart activity so they had a clear view. “I don’t. My man feelings are fine.”
Josie sighed. “Spoken like a true guy.”
He grinned. “Nagging like a true girlfriend.”
Her heart wrenched, but she forced a smile and teased, “You wish I was really your girlfriend.”
“You read my mind. Now come here, we have an audience, sweetheart.”
…
Lincoln wrapped his arms around Josie’s waist as he stood behind her. The area around the track was filled with beaming parents and photo-snapping grandparents. Inside, he felt like a tangled mess, but outside, he kept a smile on his lips and a look of what he hoped was one that suited a man in love.
The guilt from lying to his family, especially after the talk he’d had earlier with his mom, was starting to consume him. He and Josie needed to breakup, and soon. Until then, though, he’d play his part.
It’ll all be worth it when the station gets the funding it needs.
Across the track, he spotted the councilman he’d spoken to and nodded when the other man tipped his head toward him and then gave him a thumbs-up. Everyone in town was starting to believe that he and Josie had something real going on. He wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved everything was going according to plan, or worried that it was so easy for them to play a couple.
The smell of her shampoo, her sweet smile, and the feel of her body against his was starting to wear on him. For the last several hours, he hadn’t been able to shake a strange feeling that his life had consisted of a long journey with only one ending destination. Josie. Thinking about it again shook him to the point that he had to step away from her and cross his arms, pretending that he was more interested in the race.
His sister and Kent joined them, and Lincoln was thankful their presence interrupted his thoughts. Excitement practically radiated from Casey. She beamed at Lincoln, then turned her attention toward Josie. “We have news.”
“We’re getting married,” Kent said.
Lincoln laughed. “We already know that.”
“He means sooner than we originally planned.” Casey gave her fiancé a look of adoration.
Lincoln narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
Casey lightly punched his shoulder. “It’s not what you think. We want to get married before Thanksgiving when Kent already has vacation scheduled. Otherwise, thanks to the staffing cuts, he can’t have any time off for our honeymoon.”
“Thanksgiving isn’t that far away,” Josie said.
Kent put his arm around Casey. “The rush isn’t the way we wanted to do this, but we don’t want to have to put off going on a honeymoon, either.”
“So what do you need us to do?” Josie asked.
His sister shot her a grateful look. “We have a two-week time span to get married in before his vacation and with everything we have left to take care of, it all feels so overwhelming.”
“Just tell us what we can help with,” Lincoln said.
Casey pulled a sheet of paper from the back pocket of her jeans. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She passed it to him. “This is a list of all the errands that have to be done.”
Lincoln scanned it, then gave it to Josie. Once she read it, she said, “It won’t be a problem. If you’ve told the rest of your family your plan, we can team up with them and get everything accomplished faster.”
“Perfect,” Casey said. “Can you meet me at the diner for breakfast tomorrow? We can talk more then.”
Josie gave Lincoln a worried look. “Actually, I’m planning on starting the breakup there tomorrow morning.”
“We’re starting the breakup mutually,” Lincoln corrected.
Casey mulled that over for a second, then smiled the way she always did when she knew a secret that he didn’t. “Okay…um…”
“What about tomorrow evening at girls’ night? We can talk then.”
“Okay, but I can’t stay long. Have fun on the hayride. We can’t stick around for that because we’re meeting Kent’s parents. So I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Lincoln watched his sister and Kent disappear into the crowd.
Josie sighed. “Their wedding will be beautiful. I think your dad is going to have a hard time when it comes to walking Casey down the aisle.”
“Yeah. She’s always had him wrapped around her finger.”
Josie smiled wistfully. “I doubt either of my parents will even come to my wedding. They’d probably schedule a vacation at the same time.” She nudged his side. “I may have to get you to walk me down the aisle when my time comes.”
Walk Josie down the aisle? That sounded as fun as the day he’d wrecked his mountain bike and slid down the trail on his face. She was looking at him expectantly, like he should be seven kinds of honored to agree to her suggestion. He finally settled for saying, “Huh.”
“Are you hungry? Because you always get grouchy when you get hungry.”
“Maybe.” That sounded like a better answer than what he’d really been thinking.
The last lap of the go-kart race ended and they headed toward the food stands. He ordered drinks plus two specials. Hot dogs loaded with everything including banana peppers and coleslaw. Josie went to stake a claim on one of the tables before they filled up.
When he brought their food, she didn’t look up, so he glanced over his shoulder to see what had caught her attention. Last year’s sweetheart couple, Tyler and Carol Myers, were walking arm in arm over to the balloon dart game booth.
“Everyone calls them the ideal couple,” Josie said.
Lincoln passed a drink to Josie. “Trying to figure out what your ideal man would be?”
“I’m looking at him.” She laughed when his grip went slack and the hot dogs tilted forward. He barely managed to rescue them before they went topping side down on the table.
“Before your face freezes in that dear-God-Josie-likes-me expression, I was referring to the fact that you’re ‘my guy.’”
“Oh.” Lincoln sat down, glad his heart was returning to its normal beat.
“But if you want to know what my ideal man looks like, that’s easy. He has to be kind, courageous, and a man of his word.” She took a bite of her hot dog, chewed, and swallowed, before adding, “And before you think I’m noble, he also needs to be sexy as hell.”
Lincoln sighed dramatically, fighting back the urge to smile. “I knew it. You have a thing for me. Every word you used describes me.”
Josie laughed. “And your ideal woman?”
“Kind and strong.”
“Strong?” She frowned as she toyed with her straw.
“To be able to wash my truck, rotate the tires—”
She balled up a napkin and threw it at him. “Seriously?”
“Seriously, I don’t think about it.” He was afraid if he did, he’d see a familiar face. His perfect plan didn’t include falling in love, especially not with Josie. No matter how ideal she was. It would only lead to problems and heartbreak.
Once they had finished their food, Rosa Jordan, one of the event organizers, hurried to their table wearing the same harried expression she wore for every hayride. “The bands are starting in five. Get ready to announce.” With a tight smile and without waiting for an answer, she was gone.
“Well, sweetheart, you ready to dance?” Josie asked.
“Looking forward to it. Every step pushes us closer to the hayride and then it’s over and we’re out of the spotlight.” Lincoln began clearing the remnants of their food and Josie rose to help. When the table was clear, he took her by the hand and led the way to the stage just beyond the short platform built for dancing.
Together, they walked up the steps and stood in front of the first band, a returning local group that had performed last year. After they introduced the band, Lincoln helped Josie down the steps and out to the dance floor. Holding her close was near torture as they swayed to the music. His hands burned where they rested on her waist, and he couldn’t stop himself from pulling her closer. Then, during the second dance, Lincoln’s phone rang. “It’s Grayson.”
“Go on. I’ll just enjoy the music.” Josie moved closer to the stage.
Lincoln walked off to the sidelines to talk to his brother. Halfway through the conversation, he had to put his finger in his ear to tune out the lead singer talking in the middle of a song. When loud yells and cheers rippled through the crowd, he looked up.
The lead singer was tugging Josie up onto the stage. Holding onto her hand, he stepped up to the microphone with a huge grin on his face. “Every year the hayride is famous for one thing and this year is no different.”
At the back of the crowd, Wyatt, a guy who worked at the hardware store, groaned with frustration and said, “He’s screwing up my proposal.”
Lincoln felt like he was stuck in slow motion as he looked at the stage, then at Wyatt.
The lead singer called for the “lucky guy” to come forward and claim his love.
Wyatt scowled and crossed his arms. “That’s supposed to be my girl up there. The idiot got the wrong woman. I’m not proposing to Josie.”
From where he stood, Lincoln could see the shock on Josie’s face. In a few seconds, the singer would realize his mistake and then she would be humiliated. Not to mention the town gossips would spread the story like wildfire.
“I gotta go.” Lincoln ended the call with his brother and pushed his way through the crowd until he reached the dance area, then he jogged the rest of the distance to the front. After running up the stage steps, he went to his knees, sliding across the polished surface until he came to a stop at Josie’s feet.
He could see the tears glistening in her eyes and the flush of embarrassment on her cheeks. Taking her hand in his, he pressed it to his heart. “Josie Moore, will you marry me?”
He stared up at her, willing her to say yes. As long as he protected her now, they could sort out the logistics of this screwup later. And this was definitely a screwup.
She smiled, and the gratitude shone in her eyes along with something else he couldn’t name. “Yes,” she practically whispered.
Lincoln dug out one of his grandmother’s engagement rings his mother had shoved at him right after he’d arrived. He held it up for a second before sliding it onto Josie’s hand, and then he slowly rose.
Josie flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. She trembled against him.
The crowd chanted, “Kiss, kiss!”
Josie raised her head and mouthed the word sorry.
He smiled to reassure her, and then pressed his lips gently to hers. Josie kissed him back while she gripped his arms, as if fearing she’d fall if she didn’t hold onto him. He lost the noise of the crowd and found Josie. Her body pressed against him. Her lips moved beneath his. If he didn’t know for certain it would screw up his plan and their friendship, he could almost wish that this moment and everything between them was real.