Chapter Six
“T he next time you come up with an idea like this… don’t !” Maggie had called just as a rain cloud had ended their brief tour of the springs and opened a floodgate as they made it back to the porch of their cabin. They had both parted to find a change of clothes before thoughts of dinner could be discussed.
“Tori, are you on your best behavior? Remember, you can get more done with honey than vinegar.”
Tori shook her head. “Maggie, this is business, and I don’t think honey would go far with this man. Anyway, I have been pleasant.”
“Pleasant…why does that not sound so pleasant?”
“He’s stubborn. He’s already made up his mind and this is going to turn out to be a waste of time.”
“Has he said that?”
“Not in so many words, but I just don’t think he’s taking this seriously. It’s a game of some sort.”
“Then it’s up to you to teach him some new rules of the game. You’ve fought long and hard for this idea to come to fruition and now you have him sort of captive so make the most of it. I would say use your charm but that might be asking too much.”
“A lot too much. But I’m not giving up yet. It’s pouring rain right now, but once it passes, we’ll get back on track. If this fails, it won’t be because I didn’t try.”
“That’s the spirit.” Maggie agreed with a laugh. “That’s the Tori we all know and believe in. Now go smother him with sweetness and all those facts packed in your head… and smile !”
“Smother him,” Tori said aloud as she dropped the phone back onto the bed. “That might be more manageable than smiling at him.”
“So, I shouldn’t close my eyes tonight for fear of a pillow being dropped on me?”
She swung toward the doorway and the man in question stood looking around the edge of the slightly opened door.
“I did knock. But I guess you couldn’t hear for the thunder and rain on the metal roof.”
“Well, you should have knocked louder then…and waited for a response before just barging in. And you might work on looking more apologetic.”
“Apologetic? You are asking a lot there, Miz Mayor.”
“And my name is Tori. You may use that and drop all this Miss Mayor stuff.”
“Tori,” he tried it out. “And that would be short for?”
“Victoria. But few people call me that unless I’m in trouble and that is usually my family.” Why had she shared that with this man?
“Tori does suit you…in most cases. But I’ll keep an eye out for those situations where Victoria might be more appropriate.”
She grimaced inside. Too much information shared. She knew better. But there was something about this man that seemed to keep her off her usual centered self. And that was just another irritant to chalk up to the cowboy.
“Was there some reason you’re standing here talking to me?”
“Right. Yes, the rain is not letting up, so I took the liberty of calling over to the lodge and they’re delivering food in one of their vehicles. And I’ve got a fire going in the fireplace out here to get the chill out. So don’t worry about getting out in the weather again. Hope that’s okay with you?”
“Sounds like you’ve handled everything, so I’ll just finish up in here and be out in a minute.”
He just nodded and closed the door.
Tori was hoping for a dining room with other people and now they would have to find conversation between only the two of them. The evening suddenly loomed ahead. But Maggie was right. This was the final chance to do something that would mean a lot to so many. Squaring her shoulders, she decided she would be up to the challenge.
*
The food arrived and Cade began arranging it on the small table he’d found by the back door and moved it closer so that it was a few feet from the fireplace. He added two chairs. He glanced at the candleholders on the mantelpiece, but quickly shook that thought away. This was not an intimate dinner between good friends. It was at best to be a stilted negotiation. The door creaked open behind him as he laid the last napkin on the table.
“I’m just about to set the food on the table,” he tossed over his shoulder while placing the last of the silverware. “I wasn’t sure of a preference for you, so I got both beef and chicken fajita platters. It was that or…” He made the mistake of turning at that moment to speak directly at the woman who had entered. That’s when his brain stalled on him.
Tori…or was it Victoria…had changed. Nothing too major but it was just enough. Fresh jeans topped with a nice figure-hugging deep blue sweater, the tiny pearl-white buttons of the front catching the firelight as she moved slowly into the room. But it had to be her hair that caught him off guard. Gone was the customary ponytail. A mass of hair fell over and below her shoulders, its rich sable-brown color caught the light in the softer golden streaks through it. There was a sudden itch in his fingers gripping the salad forks to feel its softness…test to see if it felt as it looked.
“Or?” Those blue eyes had grown even more blue as they watched him with a quizzical glint in them.
“Or…” Snap to it, brain.
“You said there was another choice you almost made?”
“Fish. It was fish.”
“Good. I’m allergic to fish. So best we steer clear of visiting the ER tonight. Wouldn’t want the constituents back home thinking you might have done it on purpose.”
“Done it?”
Now she was looking at him far closer.
“Fed me something that is bad for me. Did something happen since our last conversation? Are you okay?”
“Yes. No…the food came, that’s all. Trying to think if I ordered all we need.” He stepped to pull her chair back, his brain kicking into gear.
And he had an answer to his previous thought as his fingers on the chair encountered strands of the thick hair on her shoulder. He jerked them back as if they were hot to the touch. The movement wasn’t lost on her by the way she glanced up at him. He moved around the table and took his own chair. It’s just a simple business dinner. Get with it.
The silence threatened to become deafening as they each tasted their food.
“The food is…”
“Didn’t know if…”
They both stopped as soon as they spoke in unison.
“Ladies first,” he said, gaining his faculties.
“I was about to say that the food is quite flavorful. A good choice for a rainy night.”
“Thanks. And I was going to say I didn’t know what you preferred to drink until I remembered you preferred iced tea that evening at your home. So, I did order unsweet but also ordered a lot of sugar in case you liked it sweet.”
“That’s thoughtful of you, thank you. I do love some tea with my sugar,” she said with a grin at the joke she had made. “I’m a Texan who loves sweet tea.”
“No apologies for that. So do I. Afraid I never quite got into the wine thing.”
“Really? But there is a wine that has your ranch’s branding on it…or did I dream that?”
“No dream. That would be my sister’s part of the family business. Granddad left her a place down in the Hill Country and she took to wine making. Five years and it just might pay off for her.”
“It’s just you and your sister, correct? I’ve never met her.”
“Correct. We are the last of the Lockwoods. Unless she gets busy and leaves her vineyards long enough to find a husband and procreate.”
“And you leave your cows long enough to do the same? Sorry, that was personal.”
“If I frowned, it’s not at the question being personal. It’s just something I don’t put much store in happening.”
“I would say that I see, but not really. You had a real rapport with that little boy earlier.”
“Maybe I might adopt later on…or just be a favorite uncle and spoil them and make my sister pay for all her antics growing up…which I usually got blamed for.”
“It’s the marrying part that you don’t seem keen on.”
“Very astute of you…Tori. A person in my position, well I am aware that my bank account is catnip for many women. But I have seen some good marriages…even a great love story, but I’ve seen more bad than good. And now, I get to ask where are your husband and kids…or are you destined to move up the political ladder alone?”
“I don’t know about the political ladder. I’m happy right where I am in Destiny’s River. This is home. And if I can talk my other siblings into it and have them move nearby, then that will be perfect as far as I’m concerned. I won’t be greedy and ask for more. Just a good place for those I love.”
“And you work very hard for that…and for a lot of others. I’ve heard your praises sung often enough around the county. You seem to want to accomplish a lot. But there are some battles you will win…and some you won’t. The question will be if you can handle that defeat when it comes.”
“I’m not a stranger to disappointment or defeat. I’m not a dainty hothouse flower. I do know what is worth fighting for and what is not meant to be. And on that note, Mr. Lockwood, if you haven’t realized it by now, I intend to fight like hell to get you to change your mind on the springs on your property. It means too much to too many and I intend to show you that tomorrow…given that old Texan saying…if God is willing and the creeks don’t rise between us and the rest of the things here that you need to see. Thanks for this dinner. But this politician does have a job and a briefcase of paperwork I brought with me. I’ll leave you to enjoy the fire.”
She stood and he did the same. Time had gone faster than he thought it would. Imagine that. And he was sorry it had done so. “Would you like me to set a fire in the fireplace in your room?”
Tori smiled at him. It suited her. “Thanks, but if I want one later, I do know how to start it myself. And don’ worry about disturbing me if you come in later and I’m asleep.”
“Don’t worry about me. I think I’ll be just fine on that couch over here. It’s longer than that bunk bed in there. This will do for me.”
“There are extra blankets in the closet in there if you need them. I can get them for you.”
He stopped her with her hand on the doorknob. “No thanks. I found a couple in the hall closet and pillows, too. You don’t have to worry about me, Tori Parker. I’m one constituent of yours who knows how to take care of himself. One less for you to worry about.”
“We’ll see. Sleep well.”
The shutting of the bedroom door made the room seem less warm…have less light in some way. Cade looked around. Nothing had really changed except she had left the room. And he was alone. Why should that make a difference? He had been okay with being alone with himself for a good number of years. One determined female with blue eyes wouldn’t be changing that.
“Sleep well, yourself, Miss Mayor. You aren’t changing this man’s mind.”
Would it have sounded better to his ears if he had stomped his foot as the period on the sentence? Because for the first time in a long time, there was something strangely resembling cautiousness in his display of optimism at winning out. Well, tomorrow the storm would have passed, the sun would be back, and he would feel like himself again. Perspective. That was it. He had something clouding his usual perspective. But tomorrow…clarity would be back, and she would see that she had lost this battle.