She momentarily closed her eyes with regret. Sincerity rang in her voice as she said, “I’m sorry, Tucker. To the marrow of my bones, I am so very sorry that I caused you and my parents and my friends even a minute of worry. But that’s no reason to change everything.”
His brown eyes glittered. “Did you miss the part where I told you I loved you? What about that? It doesn’t escape my notice that you haven’t responded to that declaration in any way.”
“You’re not being fair, Tucker. You want to change the rules of the game.”
“This is no game, Gillian. It’s life. Real life. And it can end in the blink of an eye.” He snapped his fingers in emphasis.
“That’s true. It can. Maybe if you’d pulled this on me yesterday, I would have gone along to get along, but today is today, and I had an epiphany of my own.” She pointed her thumb at her chest and announced, “This girl got grubby and learned I will survive. Just call me Gloria Gaynor.”
“What?”
“The song. 1980s, I think.”
He exhaled loudly, but she barreled on. “I grew strong. You helped me with that, Tucker, not just what you taught me on our wilderness weekend, but what you’ve taught me since, well, the very first day we met. I am not the woman I was last September or even in January, but I’m only now learning who that woman is.”
“I know exactly who she is,” Tucker said, throwing out his arms. “She’s the Magnificent Mrs. McBride. Strong. Smart. Sexy. Stunning. When I got here a few minutes ago, you said I’d be proud of you because of how you’d managed. I’m proud because you’re generous and gutsy and gorgeous. You’re glorious. You’re my Glory, and I need everyone to know that you’re mine!”
Tears spilled from Gillian’s eyes and trailed slowly down her cheeks. Her emotions were a riot. That was both the most beautiful thing any man had ever said to her and the most tone-deaf. “And I need you to keep your word to me, Tucker.”
Temper sparked in his eyes. He dragged a hand across his mouth as if attempting to hold back his words, and Gillian knew that she’d offended him. Well, tough. “You promised me no pressure in Las Vegas. I’m feeling very pressured. I think I love you too, but not so very long ago, I thought I loved Jeremy. I couldn’t bear to make another mistake.”
“Just so you know, it really chaps my ass when you compare me to Jeremy effing Jones.”
“I’m not comparing you to anyone, Tucker. From what I can tell, you are incomparable.” He snorted, and she prepared to elaborate, pushing to her feet because having him stare down at her gave him an advantage. She needed equality. She needed balance.
“You called me all those S words and G words … well, now it’s my turn. Tucker, you are incomparable. I’ve never known another man like you. You’re adventurous. You’re trustworthy and loyal and loving. You’re confident. You’re intelligent. You make me laugh.”
“I’m a paragon of virtue,” he grumbled, shoving his hands in the pockets of his pants as he scowled at her.
“You are a really great guy. I would say you’re the greatest guy I’ve ever dated, except we never dated, did we? We went from friends to spouses without ever being boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“So, is that the problem, here? You want to go out to dinner together? To a movie?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. That’s the point, Tucker. You’ve come at me out of the blue, wanting to change the terms of our deal, and you want an answer right now.”
“So, I’m jumping the gun by a week. One week. I have to pull the trigger on Nevada one way or the other when we get back from Colorado.”
It was a valid point, but dang it, he’d given her his word! “Well, a week is a week is a week and I want it. That’s our deal. And if you think for one minute that today, of all days, after my poor mother has scolded me like a six-year-old once already, that I could tell her I got married by Skinny Elvis in Las Vegas and not only didn’t invite her but didn’t tell her for two months afterward that it had occurred, then I have tickets to sell you to this year’s Texas A&M versus UT Thanksgiving Day game!”
As any sports-minded Texan knew, the Aggies versus Longhorns gridiron rivalry had ended with the 2011 game, when the Aggies bolted the Big 12 Conference for the greener pastures of the Southeastern Conference.
Tucker balled his fists. “Dammit, Gillian.”
She put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin. “No pressure. You promised. I’m holding you to your word. End of topic.” She paused to see if he would continue to argue, but the man had the sense to keep his mouth shut, so she continued, “Now, want to help me break down my camp? That’s another lesson you taught me. Leave it as you found it.”
With a tight-lipped smile, his caramel eyes snapping with frustration, Tucker nodded once, briskly. Gillian knew the subject was far from closed.
Somewhere deep inside herself, she thrilled at the knowledge.
* * *
Back in Redemption, the combatants retreated to their respective corners. For the next week, Tucker walked around with a hundred pounds of torque in his jaw. She had boxed him in, and he didn’t see a way out of it.
That’s what made him grouchy as a cornered coyote. She had him dead to rights. She was asking for nothing more than what he’d promised her.
That morning in the canyon after he’d told her to stay off her ankle and sit still and let him deal with the camp, they’d exchanged little more than a dozen words before Boone returned with the MULE. Then once he got her home, her mother was there for some fussing and some fuming, so he didn’t hang around. That pretty much set the scene for the next few days until what seemed like half of Redemption traveled to Eternity Springs for Jackson and Caroline’s big event.
They’d arrived separately, the day before yesterday, Gillian with the “bride tribe” and Tucker with Jackson, Haley, and a passel of relations from Texas. The Callahan family’s North Forty could best be described as a private ranch resort that included lakeside property. Each family from that part of the Callahan clan—and there were lots of them—had private homes in the compound. However, it also boasted a large dining hall and sound stage set up for concerts the music-loving family often hosted and opened to the public. Other amenities included floating docks on Hummingbird Lake for boats and water toys and swimming, and a stand of tree houses that were Brick Callahan’s pet project. Brick and his wife, Liliana, were full-time Callahan residents of Eternity Springs. Throughout the year, one family group or another could almost always be found at the North Forty.
Upon the McBride cousins’ arrival in Eternity Springs, Brick had put them right to work doing everything from logistical tasks for arriving wedding guests to mowing a lawn. As a result, Tucker had seen little of his secret spouse. The women had spent last night up at Brick’s glamping resort, Stardance River Camp, to be ready for the sunrise bridal portraits Jackson had explicitly requested. They’d returned to the Callahan compound twenty minutes ago, and he was determined to have a private conversation with her.
He tracked her down in the room she was sharing with Maisy, and for once, she was alone. “Come for a walk with me, Gillian.”