Orchard Valley Grooms

“CHIPS stock went up two dollars a share last week.”



Colby was leaping from one subject to the next. “That’s great,” she said cautiously. “I’m sure Rowdy’s thrilled.”



“You should be, too.”



“As a stockholder myself I am, but what’s that got to do with anything?”



“Houston is where you belong, with Rowdy Cassidy and all his millions.”



Rowdy had been telling her the same thing. Not in quite the same words, but he wanted her in Texas. With him. Not a day passed that he didn’t let her know how much he missed her. Rowdy wasn’t romantic; fancy words weren’t his forte. He was as straightforward as Valerie herself. He missed her, he said, missed the time they spent together and the discussions they’d shared. He hadn’t realized how much until she’d left.



“When are you going back?” Colby demanded.



Valerie understood that this was the whole purpose of their being alone together. This was the reason he’d fallen in with her father’s schemes and had walked in the orchard with her. He wanted her out of Orchard Valley and out of his life.



“Soon,” she promised, and her voice cracked with pain. The intensity of it took her by surprise; embarrassed, she increased her pace to a half trot, wanting to escape.



“Valerie.” His voice came from behind her.



“No, please… You’re right. I’ll—” She wasn’t allowed to finish her thought. Colby caught her by the upper arm and turned her to face him, bringing her into his warm embrace.



He took her wrists and placed them around his neck as though she were a rag doll, then circled her waist with his arms and brought her tight against him. Before she had a chance to catch her breath, his mouth was on hers.



Valerie felt as though she’d drown in the sheer ecstasy of being in his arms again. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to feel so right, so good. His mouth was eager and she opened to him as naturally as a flower to the sun.



She clung to him, and then he suddenly jerked his head away. Valerie pressed her face into his shoulder and shuddered. She might’ve been able to forget him, forget these feelings, if he hadn’t kissed her again, if he hadn’t taken her into his arms.



“Valerie, can’t you see what’s happening?”



She nodded. “I’m falling in love with you.”



“We can’t let this continue.”



“But—”



“Are you willing to risk everything we’ve both worked all our lives to achieve? Are you going to change, or do you expect me to? The fact is, you know that neither of us wants to give anything up. So we’ve got to put an end to this. Because, Valerie, we have nothing in common.”



Offhand, Valerie could think of several things they had in common, but she didn’t mention them. There was no point. She understood what Colby was saying. If they went on as they were, it would lead to the inevitable, and they’d be so deeply in love that they’d forget what was keeping them apart. They’d choose to forget that Valerie had a brilliant career waiting for her back in Houston. They’d choose to forget that Colby wanted a woman who’d be a dedicated homemaker. They’d overlook even the most obvious differences. For a while, their love would be enough, but that wouldn’t last, not for long.



“It’s time to go back,” Colby said, releasing her.



“Dad won’t be worried.”



“I’m not talking about your father. I’m talking about you, Valerie. Go back to Texas,” he said, his dark eyes holding hers, “before it’s too late.” He turned and walked away. It was the second time he’d pleaded with her to leave, and this time hurt even more than the first.



Eight



“Colby’s taken Sherry Waterman out three nights in a row,” Norah said casually over a cup of coffee Saturday morning. “They’ve gone out every night since Dad’s been home.” She nibbled her toast, but her gaze managed to avoid Valerie’s, as though she felt guilty about relaying the information.



“I assume there’s a reason you want me to know this.”



“Yes,” Norah murmured. “Sherry was at the hospital, and we had a chance to talk. She says she can’t understand why Colby keeps asking her out. The spark just isn’t there. They enjoy each other’s company, but they’re never going to be more than friends. It almost seems as if Colby wants to make it something it’s not.”



“Perhaps Sherry’s reading more into the situation than is there.” Valerie didn’t actually believe that, but she felt compelled to suggest it. She knew exactly what Colby was doing—escaping her, fighting everything he felt for her.



“Sherry realizes Colby’s in love with someone else, and she also knows he’s fighting it.” Norah’s words were an eerie echo of her own thoughts. “It’s you, isn’t it, Val? Colby’s in love with you.”



“I can’t speak for him,” Valerie insisted, munching furiously on her toast.



“Do you love him?”



She gave a careless shrug and answered the question with one of her own, always a good business move. “What do I know about love?”



“You know enough,” Norah argued. “Please, do everyone a favor and put the poor guy out of his misery.”



“How would you suggest I do that?” Valerie asked, genuinely curious. She was miserable, too, but no one seemed to take that into consideration. In other circumstances, she would’ve talked to Steffie, but her middle sister was obviously having relationship problems of her own—not that she was forthcoming with the details.



“For the love of heaven,” Norah cried, “just marry him. He’s crazy about you. Any fool can see that, and you’re in love with him, too.”



“Sometimes love isn’t enough.”



“Yes, it is,” Norah insisted.



Perhaps to Norah, who was young and idealistic. But there were too many complications Valerie couldn’t afford to ignore in her relationship with Colby. Besides, he’d been pretty explicit about wanting her to leave.



“I think you should quit your job, move back home and marry Dr. Winston,” Norah said decisively.



“And do what?” Valerie asked. “Take up politics? Learn to knit? If I was really lucky, I might find some job in town that’s about a tenth as interesting as the job I have now. Listen, I’ve been an active businesswoman for the past eight years. Do you honestly think I’d be happy sitting at home knitting sweaters for the rest of my life?”



“You would eventually. It’ll take a little adjusting, that’s all.”



“Oh, Norah.” Valerie sighed and gave her starry-eyed sister a pitying smile. “You make everything sound so simple. It just isn’t. Colby isn’t exactly pining away for me, not if he’s spending all that time with Sherry. If he wants me to stay, he’ll ask.”



“What if he doesn’t? Are you willing to throw away a chance at happiness because you’ve got too much pride? You should tell him you’re willing to stay,” Norah said heatedly. “Why does everything have to come from Colby?”



“It doesn’t, believe me. But it’s too late.”



“What’s too late?” their father asked from the kitchen doorway. He was dressed in his plaid housecoat, the belt cinched tightly at the waist. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, looking as though he’d only just awakened.



Norah automatically stood and guided him to a chair.



“What are you two arguing about?” he asked. “I could hear you all the way in the back bedroom.”



Their father was sleeping downstairs because Colby didn’t want him climbing stairs yet. Although he hadn’t complained, Valerie knew her father was anxious to return to his own room.



“We weren’t arguing, Dad,” Valerie said, paying no attention to Norah’s angry look.



“I heard you,” David countered, smiling up at Norah as she brought him a cup of coffee. “Seems to me I heard Norah suggest you should marry Colby. That’s what I’ve been saying for weeks. So has everyone else who’s got a nickel’s worth of sense.”



Valerie’s throat seemed to close up on her. “He has to ask me first. And…and you acted as if you felt Rowdy and I—”



“Phooey. Rowdy Cassidy’s a good man, but he’s not for you. If it sounded like I thought you should marry Rowdy, that was just to get you—and that stubborn doctor—thinking. As for Colby not asking you, ask him yourself.”



“Dad…” The list of objections was too long to enumerate. The best thing to do was ignore the suggestion.



“You’ve never been shy about going after what you want. I’ve always admired that about you. You love him, don’t you? So ask him to marry you—or at least to give a relationship with you a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised by what he says,” Norah told her.



“It wouldn’t work,” Valerie said sadly. “Colby’s as traditional as they come. When he’s found the woman he wants to marry, he’ll propose himself.”



Neither Norah nor her father offered a rebuttal, which suited Valerie. A few minutes later she left the kitchen and went up to her room to dress, but she didn’t get far. Sitting on the end of her bed, she closed her eyes and tried to think. Was she being unnecessarily stubborn? Was Norah right? Was she allowing pride to impede happiness? Questions came at her from all directions, and she felt at a loss to answer them.



There seemed to be only one way of learning what she needed to know and that was to confront Colby. For years she’d been finding solutions in all kinds of unlikely situations. It was her greatest strength in business; however, when it came to her own life, she drew a blank. There had to be an answer that suited them both, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.



She was obviously the last person Colby expected to see when he answered his door. Valerie saw the astonishment in his eyes and felt encouraged. She’d hoped to catch him off guard and had succeeded.



“Hello, Colby,” she said.



“Valerie…hello.”



She’d dressed carefully, taking time to select the perfect outfit for her purposes. Something that would remind him that she was a woman—but not a pushover. She’d chosen a lovely pale pink sweater dress Steffie had brought with her from Italy.



“Would it be all right if I came in for a few minutes?” she asked when he didn’t immediately invite her inside.



“Of course. I didn’t mean to be rude. I was writing.”



“Writing?” She followed him into his living room and when he gestured toward the sofa, she sat there, hoping she appeared cool and serene. As though her visit was nothing more than a social call, when in fact the direction of her whole life depended on it. She had too much experience in negotiating to permit her feelings to show, but she was more nervous about this meeting than any business deal she’d ever accomplished.