“Listen you little st . . .” he shot a quick look at Carmen. “Stay away from my girl.”
Alex raised his brows. “Your girl? Have you got a number stamped on every girl in the county? Why don’t you make up your mind and stick to just one?”
Then it was true. Alex was interested in Lori. Why not? They were the perfect couple – and Lori didn’t want children.
Well, at least she was spared the embarrassment of telling him she still hadn’t figured out what God was trying to tell her. But poor Alex. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
“I’ve got my mind made up,” Josh responded testily. “And you’ve been horning in on the action. Now just to show you what a nice guy I can be, I’m inviting you to an engagement party tonight at Fred’s Hickory Inn. Six O’clock. You be there to show her what a good sport you are.”
Alex shifted his gaze to Carmen. “Is it true?”
She nodded. It didn’t give her much pleasure to win by default. Especially when she wasn’t sure she could hold him.
He grimaced as he jammed the rifle down into its boot. He shook his head. “My loss is your gain, Josh. I only hope you can make her happy. Don’t ask for my blessing, though, because you’re not going to get it.”
He swung the horse around and headed down the hill toward the creek. He’d be back after a while and they could talk. Maybe by then she could make up her mind - if he was still interested.
Alex didn’t come back. Maybe that was what finally opened her eyes. It hit her as she was dressing to go to the party. Neither Alex nor children were the key to happiness - she was. She could go on feeling sorry for herself because she couldn’t have children, or she could accept the cards that had been dealt her and settle for less than perfection. If she searched for the rest of her life, she might never find a better mate than Alex. After twenty or thirty years of marriage, they would still be alone together, whether or not they had any children. What she needed was a little of that stuff she had been pitching at Josh . . . trust. That was why everything was working out for everyone else. Planning ahead was a good thing up to a point. After that it was obsession. Somewhere, somehow, everyone had to release themselves to chance. Alex had learned that. Why was it so hard for her? Probably for the same reason it had been for him so many years. Because he didn’t realize what he was doing.