A Husband of Her Own (Dundee, Idaho #2)(41)
Author: Brenda Novak

“I don’t think so. My mother will be here.”

“She could come with you.”

“No, that wouldn’t be a good idea.” He chuckled uncomfortably. “She’s a little resistant to the idea of me getting married.”

Evidently Buddy’s mother had already encountered Rebecca. “Rebecca’s the type of girl who grows on you,” Josh began. “Maybe with a little more exposure—”

“It’s not that,” he said. “My mom lives out of state and hasn’t had a chance to meet Rebecca. She’s just not sure I’m ready for marriage.”

“Oh.” Josh straightened in surprise. How old was this guy? Hadn’t Rebecca said he was twenty-six? “In that case, you’re probably right to spend some time alone with her.” If Buddy’s mother hadn’t come face to face with Rebecca yet, he certainly didn’t see any advantage in muddying the waters. “We’ll just have it the next weekend, then, since you’ll already be here.”

“That would work.”

“Good.” Josh stared at the trees between the stable and the house, watching as a single yellow leaf swirled to the ground. He’d reached the point in the conversation where he should promise to get back in touch and finish the call. But he hadn’t made any headway in convincing Buddy to remove Rebecca from his life as soon as possible—thereby saving him from his own personal Delilah. “So your mother’s worried you might be making a mistake, huh?” he said, looking for some way to draw Buddy out.

“You know how moms are.”

Josh knew how his mother was—strong-willed and sometimes overbearing. But he was just as strong-willed and, while he loved Laurel Hill tremendously, he’d never let her stand between him and the woman he wanted to marry. If he ever found the woman he wanted to marry…“She’s pretty protective?”

“You got it. She keeps going on and on about the permanence of marriage and how you never really know a person until you live with her. The scary thing is, she’s usually right about stuff like that.” An uncertain pause. “Not that I’m particularly worried, of course. That isn’t the reason I postponed the wedding. I just thought it would be smarter to save a little more money. And my great-aunt really wants to come. That had a lot to do with it. She can’t make it until after the first of the year.”

“Your great-aunt?” Josh repeated.

“Yeah, she’s never been to Idaho and thought it would be nice to see the state.”

“Oh.”

Buddy segued from a discussion of his aunt to the importance of being fiscally conservative at this point in his career. Then he talked about rent savings and vacation days and giving his mother time to adjust. But each new excuse began to sound flimsier than the last.

Josh tried to reclaim the sense of purpose with which he’d originally phoned Buddy. He even made an attempt to say Rebecca would make him an excellent wife. But he couldn’t bring himself to put any conviction, real or fabricated, behind those words. The more he listened, the more convinced he became that Doyle Wells was right. Buddy wasn’t a good match for Rebecca. Rebecca was a spirited, sleek mare, Buddy a plodding workhorse without enough spunk to muster anything beyond a walk. He couldn’t see Rebecca with someone so…neutral. She’d be bored within a year.

“You know, I hate to say this because Rebecca and I have been friends for ages,” he said. (Buddy wouldn’t know any better, anyway.) “But I think your mother’s probably right. Maybe you should give your relationship some time, get to know Rebecca a little.”

Had those words really come out of his mouth? If Buddy waited, he might not marry Rebecca. If he didn’t marry Rebecca, Josh might end up pursuing her himself. If he pursued her, he could end up falling in love with her. And if he fell in love with her, God help him. Then she’d finally have real power over him. He’d be handing his heart to the one woman in the world who’d promptly stomp on it and hand it back.

But he simply couldn’t see her with this guy.

“Why do you say that?” Buddy asked, instantly alert.

“Rebecca is…” Josh searched for the correct word “…unusual. You have to know how to handle her.”

Apparently the frank honesty in his voice came through, because Buddy quit trying to pretend he wasn’t worried.

“What do you mean by that?”

“She’s temperamental. You’ve probably heard what she was like growing up.”

“No, actually I haven’t. She’s never said much about her past.”

Josh smiled, recognizing the incredible opportunity that had just fallen into his lap. “You don’t know about the time she nearly burned down the high school?”

“…No.”

“Or the time she broke Gilbert Tripp’s nose?”

“She broke someone’s nose? A man’s nose?”

Biting back a laugh at the memory of the purple bruise that had marred Gilbert’s face for the next three weeks, Josh proceeded to enlighten Buddy. Once he started on Rebecca’s past, he couldn’t seem to stop. He related every crazy thing she’d ever done—and he knew more than most people. Then he enumerated all the reasons someone like Buddy would never be happy with someone like Rebecca and, when he was finished, he felt a definite sense of satisfaction that had nothing to do with his original agenda and everything to do with serving some deeper purpose. He’d called to talk Buddy into a wedding, not out of one. But anyone who could be talked out of marrying Rebecca didn’t stand a chance with her in the first place.

“HEY, YOU FINALLY DONE?”

Rebecca glanced up from the salon door she was locking to see Booker leaning against his motorcycle. It had been busy for a Sunday, but more so in the morning. Afternoons always slowed a bit, both in appointments and walk-in business. During the last hour, Rebecca had only one cut—for a ten-year-old boy.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, surprised to see him waiting for her.

“I ran into Katie down at the diner. She said you were closing tonight, so I decided I’d come by.”

“You ran into Katie? Or you followed her?”

He grinned. “I think it came off looking accidental enough.”

Rebecca couldn’t help laughing. “She interested in going out with you?”

“Of course not. But then she doesn’t know me very well.”