Heart of Texas Volume 2: Caroline's Child

“This shouldn’t be such a difficult question,” Grady said, glaring at her.

“Yes and no. Some people will come with dates and some won’t.”

He mulled that over. “Does Caroline have a date?”

Savannah had to restrain herself from hugging Grady’s neck and crying out for joy. He wasn’t as dense as she’d thought. “Not that I know of.” This, too, was said casually, as though she hadn’t the least bit of interest in Caroline’s social life.

“Oh.”

Grady was back to testing her patience again. She waited an entire minute before she ventured another question.

“Are you thinking of inviting her and Maggie?”

“Me?” Grady’s eyes widened as if this were a new thought.

“Yes, you,” she returned pointedly.

“I’m…thinking about it,” he finally said.

Her face broke out in a smile and she clapped her hands. “That’s wonderful.”

“What’s wonderful?” Richard asked, wandering into the kitchen. He reached for a banana, peeled it and leaned expectantly against the kitchen counter.

Grady and Savannah exchanged looks. “The church dinner,” she answered for them both.

“Yeah, I heard about that,” he said with his mouth full. “Either of you going?”

“I think so.” Again Savannah took the initiative.

“Then I’ll give some thought to attending, too.”

Both Grady and Savannah remained silent.

“I should probably have a date, though, don’t you think?” He pondered his own question. “Caroline. I’ll ask Caroline,” he said triumphantly. “She’ll jump at the chance to go with me.”

3

“YOU’RE A DAMN FOOL, THAT’S WHAT YOU ARE,” Grady muttered as he barreled down the highway toward Promise, driving twenty miles over the speed limit.

The reason for this hasty trip had to do with Caroline Daniels. By dinnertime he’d recognized that either he made his move now and invited her to the church dinner or let Richard beat him to the punch. Of course, he could have just phoned and been done with it, but that didn’t seem right, not when anyone on the ranch could pick up a telephone receiver and listen in on the conversation. By anyone, he meant Richard. Besides, Grady preferred to talk to Caroline in person; it seemed more…meaningful.

He’d never been good at this courtship thing, but damn it all, he wasn’t going to let his brother cheat him out of taking Caroline and Maggie to that church dinner. Richard wasn’t interested in Caroline—Grady was sure of it—any more than he’d fallen head over heels in love with Ellie Frasier. His brother was far more concerned with cheating him out of the pleasure of Caroline’s company. Except that he had no intention of standing idly by and letting it happen.

Once he’d made his decision, Grady knew he should act on it. Naturally there was always the risk that he’d arrive at Caroline’s with his heart dangling from his sleeve only to learn that Richard had already asked her out for Saturday night.

Even knowing he might be too late didn’t stop him. He wanted to attend the dinner with Caroline and Maggie more than he’d wanted anything in a long while. It surprised him how much.

The drive into town, during which he thought about the approach he’d take with Caroline, seemed to take no time at all. His goal was to ask her to be his date before Richard did, and at the same time keep his pride intact if she refused. No small task, considering past experience.

He parked in front of Caroline’s small house and leaped out of the truck cab. Eager to get this settled, he took the steps up to her front door two at a time and leaned on the buzzer.

Caroline opened the door, her face registering surprise.

“Grady, hello.” She recovered quickly and held the screen door wide.

“Would you like to sit outside for a spell?” he asked, instead gesturing toward the porch swing. Since he was nervous about this entire thing, staying outside in the semidarkness felt more inviting than her well-lit living room.

“Sure.”

She glanced over her shoulder, and Grady noticed Maggie playing by herself in the background. She had her dolls sitting around a small table and was chatting amicably as she stood in front of her play kitchen cooking up a storm. He grinned at the sight.

Caroline sat down, but Grady found it impossible to keep still.

“Did Savannah phone?” he asked. It would be just like his sister to give Caroline a heads-up. He hadn’t announced where he was going when he left the ranch, but Savannah knew. After all, she was the one who’d steered him in this direction in that less-than-subtle way of hers. Grady tolerated Savannah’s matchmaking only because he wasn’t opposed to her efforts to promote a romance between him and Caroline. Frankly he could use the help. He wasn’t keen, however, on letting her know that.

“Savannah phone me?” Caroline repeated. “No, she hasn’t.”

Grady released a sigh, and some of the tension eased from between his shoulder blades. “What about Richard?”

“What about him?”

“Have you spoken to him recently—say, in the last four or five hours?”

“No,” she answered curtly. “Is there a reason for all these questions?”

Grady could see that Caroline was growing impatient but he needed the answers to both questions before he could proceed. “Of course there’s a reason,” he snapped, annoyed with his lack of finesse when it came to romance. “I don’t want to end up looking ridiculous, thanks to Richard.”

“What’s Richard got to do with anything?” Caroline demanded.

“If he’s been here first, just say so and I’ll be on my way.” The thought of Richard and Caroline together did funny things to his stomach. He’d never been a jealous man; it was an unfamiliar—and unpleasant—sensation. But he wasn’t about to let Richard walk all over him.

“It seems to me, Grady, that you don’t need Richard in order to look ridiculous. You do a damn good job all by yourself!”

Her words took him by surprise. He exhaled, counting to ten, in an effort to calm his racing heart, then leaned against the porch railing and faced her. “All I want to know is if Richard already asked you to the church dinner.”

Her eyes briefly widened when she understood the reason for his unexpected visit. Caroline smiled slowly and sweetly. It was a smile he’d seen all too rarely from her. He found it difficult to look away.

“Why do you want to know?” she asked.

“I told you already,” he blurted out. “If Richard’s already asked you, then I’ll save my breath.”

“What if I said he hasn’t asked me? Does that mean you will?”

His pride was a fierce thing and had gotten him into trouble with her in the past. He tucked his hands in his back pockets, shrugging as if it was of little concern. “I might.”

Caroline set the swing in motion and relaxed enough to cross her legs. She was wearing shorts, and the movement granted him the opportunity to admire those legs.

“Let me put it like this,” Caroline said after a moment. “If Richard had asked me, and I’m not saying he has, I’d turn him down.”