Raining In My Heart (Book One of the McKay's) (27 page)

Kellie
came in, and stood timidly to the side. "You look great, Mom."

"You think so?"
Julie
was happy
Kellie
was at least speaking to her now.

Kellie
had on jeans and
a
western shirt, and it suited her,
Julie
noticed. She had taken to being a little cowgirl.

"He'll love it
.
"
Kellie
smiled
for the first time
.

"Not overdone?"
Julie
questioned.

"Not a bit
.
"
Kellie
smiled
again.

Julie
didn't think, she ran to hug her and
Kellie
let her.
Julie
held on to her for a long moment.

"He's downstairs, Mom,
waiting
,
"
Kellie
finally said when
Julie
didn't turn lo
o
se of her.

"Oh…oh yes…well, thank you."
Julie
pulled away and went down.

Cade
stood in new jeans too, boots polished and a western shirt with a bolero tie completed his look. His Stetson was new too.

Julie
smiled as she came down the stairs. She wanted this to go good for her and Cade, only to impress
Kellie
,
of course.

"You look great
.
"
Cade
smiled.

"Thank you, so do you." She smiled back.

"Hope you
like steaks, 'cause that's the
best
there is
at the Railhead
,
"
Cade
said.

"Love them and I'm hungry too, I forgot lunch." She slipped up. She didn't want Cade to think she was so nervou
s about the date she didn't eat.

Cade
made casual conversation all the way to the restaurant.
Julie
began to relax now that she wasn't under a microscope by her daughter.

Cade
made reservations, and they didn't have to wait for a table,
but
se
veral ladies recognized
Cade
and waved.

"It seems you are pretty popular
.
"
Julie
chuckled.

"Yeah, some of the boys
have
been
trying to set me up lately, n
othing serious going on with any of them though
,
"
h
e assured her.
"They seem to forget I've known most of these girls since I was a kid, and the best of them are already married and have children."

Julie
's he
ad twisted in question
.
"I guess that's true enough. But I'm really a little surprised that you aren't married by now, Cade. So
,
why not?
"

Cade
shrugged
.
"
Why not what?"

"Why haven't you been interested in some of them?"

"I never thought about it much. I guess I figured if the right girl ever came along, maybe…
"

"You know
Cade
, I've been
wondering about that a lot. I expected you to be married and have a kid or two by now.
"
Julie
's brows knitted.
"In all this time there was bound to be someone that took your interest."

The waiter delivered their drinks and
Cade
shook his head and then clasp
ed
his hands
over his face. "Maybe
."

As his two fingers met at his chin
,
he bounced them off his chin for a minute
.
"And you?"

"I came close, maybe a little too close
.
"
S
he chuckled.

"What happened?"
Cade
stared at her.

She shrugged
.
"I guess they weren't the right one
s, either
."

He nodded.
"Are you still holding
Wade
in that special corner of your heart?"

Julie
blushed again, stirring lemon into her tea. "I think I got over
Wade
a long time ago. And no, I don't measure other men by him, not by any means. Actually,
Wendy
kinda has a crush on him.
I just hope he doesn't break her heart. She's pretty serious about him.
"

"
Wendy
?" Cade seem
ed
to consider that statement. "Well, she has grown up, and they do have a lot in common, but the age difference might be a problem. I mean
,
Wade
would never take the advantage."

"Yes, we know, and it's frustrating
Wendy
to no end…"
Julie
chuckled. "But please, for her sake, don't let on
,
you know."

"I've known for some time. I'm not blind. I just wondered how long my brother would try to ignore what is right in front of his face."

"At least you don't think she's too young for him."
Julie
smiled.

"I didn't say that.
Age can be a factor, but the two of them have so much in common.
Wade
is all business. I think he's afraid to let down his guard around here. Especially with someone that is younger."
Cade
smiled through the dim light at her.

After they ordered,
Cade
sat back and began to relax a little. It made
Julie
much more comfortable with him.

"I guess moving back to the ranch has caused you a lot of heartaches."

"Why would you think that?"
Julie
snickered
,
her finger going round the water glass.

"I assume you had some kind of career going, someone said you were engaged
.
"
H
e chuckled at her.

Pushing back from the table
,
she relaxed a little too. "My career was
as a
senior accountant, and that is a position that can be had in almost any company around. Not astounding, not important. My engagement seemed to hin
ge on the career though so
that was terminated before I arrived."

"Wow, that's an adjustment. Any regrets?"
h
e asked
,
his voice going softer as he took a drink and eyed her over the rim of his glass.

"None.
Kellie
didn't get along well with
Jim
, and neither did I once I realized it was the firm that united us, not our feelings for each other."
Julie
shrugged again.

"Has coming home been as bad as you imagined?"
Cade
quizzed.

"I never imagined coming home, Cade.
Not that I wanted to hide
Kellie
from you all this time, but…well, I also didn't want to disrupt your life either.
And then there was
D
ad.
"
Julie
looked away, not wanting to meet his gaze at that moment. "The reason for staying away seemed concrete and
a
good idea. But it wasn't realistic. I couldn't dodge my father any more than I could dodge seeing you again."

"Were you dodging me?"

"A little, yes. I knew if you saw
Kellie
you might put two and two together. She looks, even acts like you at times. I couldn't hide that. And my father…well, believe it or not
,
I was trying to protect you from his wrath
,
"
Julie
explained.
"You know how old
-
fashioned
D
ad was, he would have marched us up the aisle with his shotgun."

Cade
stared hard now and she couldn't avoid his eyes
.
"You didn't have to protect me from anything
,
Julie
. Marrying you wouldn't have been an imposition
;
it would have been a pleasure. I was in love with you.
I thought you had guessed that.
"

Julie
glanced directly at him
.
"You never said a word…"
Her voice trailed off as his eyes met hers.

"My mistake, I guess."
Cade
firmed his lips.
"There is a stigma to asking a
McKay
girl out, you know."

"Really
?
I knew
D
ad didn't want any of you asking us out, but I never imagined he made it a rule, or anything."

"Well
Julie
, cowboys look at things a little differently than the city breed. Your dad didn't pull any punches with us about dating you girls. He didn't want that happening. He said cowboys with women on their mind didn't make good workers."

"Sounds like him. But he's gone now…"

"Yes…he is…"

Julie
blushed despite herself.

The waitress came with their food and they didn't talk anymore.

During the ride to
Orwell
's Dance Saloon, they chatted amiably about anything and everything except themselves.

And once inside they were lost in the crowds of people that showed up.

Cade
asked her to dance several times and
Julie
gladly accepted as she loved to dance. She wasn't bad and she was surprised that
Cade
could dance rather well too.

But he managed to keep the conversation light and she actually enjoyed their date.

Bringing her home brought the tension back to the air and
Julie
didn't know what to expect from Cade.
One minute he was saying he loved her and the next how unattached he was.

As they pulled up in the drive
,
Cade
cut the motor and looked at her.

"Well, I'd say we had a nice date, nice conversation, nice meal, nice dance. Think our daughter will be please
d
?"
Cade
asked.

"I would think she would. I enjoyed it
;
thanks a lot
,
Cade
." She started to get out of the car.
"I hadn't been dancing in a long time."

"Oh, where did you and
Jim
go on your dates?"

"Out to dinner mostly.
Jim
wasn't much of a dancer."
Julie
shrugged.
"We usually combined dinner and business."

"Dancing can be a lot of fun.
But the business end of it could put a damper on it, couldn't it?
"

"Funny, I never pictured you being the dancer type."
Julie
chuckled.

"I learned some of the country steps a few years back
,
"
h
e teased her with his light conversation.

Cade
beat her to the draw and came to open her door for her. As she stepped out
,
their eyes met like on a collision course for each other.

"Well
,
I enjoyed our date
. And since I'm supposed to be a gentleman, I'm going to go for that. I'll walk you to your door and say goodnight, like a good little cowboy should."

Julie
smiled and relaxed, sure he w
ouldn't try to kiss her
.

But at the door, his hand went around the back of his neck and he knocked his hat crooked
.
"It's hard being a gentleman
Julie
, because I'd sure like to kiss you, but I
’
m not gonna.
We got a little girl, wants to see things done right, and I'm not gonna disappoint her, but I am gonna tell you that the kiss we're missin' sure would have tasted good about now.
I've never known a woman I like kissing more than you.
Kind of like a strawberry pie, with whipped cream on top. You know the kind you have to lick your lips to enjoy.
"