Chapter Fifteen
"Andrew?" Bethany said, though she knew her voice was far too quiet to be heard over the music currently blaring out of the radio. She was fearing for her speakers lives as a matter of fact.
And Andrew? He was dancing back and forth in his seat and kept sticking his head out the window, letting the wind blow through his dark hair and smiling from ear to ear. Bethany was fearing for his sanity nearly as much as she was fearing for her speakers. Though she couldn't lie, his lighthearted spirit was refreshing. Bethany herself had never been lighthearted. She worried too much about everything to ever let herself just be free.
"Andrew?" she called again, just a little more loudly. Still he didn't seem to hear her as he drummed his hands on the dashboard. Who would have known that Bon Jovi would have crossed such a large generation gap?
"ANDREW!" Bethany finally exclaimed, shocking even herself. Andrew quickly turned down the radio and was still grinning from ear to ear as he looked over at her, "That's great music! Nicole never has played the radio on her truck. You did say that was called a radio didn't you?"
"Yes," Bethany replied as she pulled her car to a stop at a red light. "Are you ever just calm?" she asked as he swatted at the tiny dolphin air freshener hanging from her rear view mirror.
"Calm?" he asked as he frowned and a crease formed on his forehead. "I don't know."
"I think I do," she replied dryly. "Now we'll be at the dress makers soon and I have to figure out who I'm going to tell everyone you are."
"Who am I?" Andrew asked and he flashed Bethany a smile that had her stuttering and forgetting how to speak momentarily.
"W..well we," she cleared her throat, "We can't say that you're from 1875 without everyone thinking we've lost our minds so how about we say that you are." Bethany bit her lip as she thought for a moment and she saw Andrew's eyes become locked on her mouth.
A horn blared behind them and Andrew jumped and swung around, pulling his gun as he moved, "Stop!" Bethany exclaimed in horror as she realized the light was green and the car behind her had merely been trying to make her aware of that fact. "You can't shoot people just because they honk their horns at us."
Andrew grinned sheepishly and turned back around in his seat, "I probably wouldn't have. Ian is the one that shoots everything."
Bethany just shook her head. How had Nicole been doing this for three days? It had only been thirty minutes and already Bethany felt as if she was going to go crazy. Then again Andrew was awfully good looking even though he acted like an overactive Pomeranian.
Bethany sighed, "I spent the summer out in Kansas at my aunt's house, how about we say that you are a friend of the family and you...."
"Friend of the family? I don't even know your family. How about we say you just knocked me plumb off my feet and I chased after you?" h e asked with a wink.
Bethany let out a loud bark of laughter and then realized he wasn't joking. She shook her head and gave him a look of disbelief, "No one would believe that for a second!" she exclaimed. "I'm not exactly the sweeping a man off his feet type."
"Maybe that's what swept me off my feet," Andrew replied with a shrug and then his attention was diverted by a woman jogging down the side of the road in nothing but a sports bra and a pair of short spandex shorts. She had her bright blond hair pulled back and her impressive assets were bouncing with every move she made.
Bethany said nothing but felt a sting of jealousy and just a bit of sadness. Bethany was tall and lanky. She had more arms and legs than she knew what to do with and her chest? Well let's just say it would not have that nice to and fro motion that the blonde's had.
"I'll be dipped in tar and rolled in feathers! Did you see that?" Andrew exclaimed as he turned back to look at her. "Why I've heard of advertisement but there ain't nothing like just putting all the wares on display is there?"
"If you've got it flaunt it," Bethany said dryly as she pulled the car into the parking lot of the tiny dressmakers shop.
"If you flaunt it can I watch?" Andrew asked with a grin and a furious blush covered Bethany's cheeks as she quickly put the car in park, took the keys from the ignition and jumped out.
Andrew frowned as he watched her. Why did she either laugh or blush every time he tried to compliment her? He tapped on his hat in his lap and then scratched at his hair. She was a mystery. He was used to women who laughed huskily and touched and teased when you said things to stroke their egos.
He climbed out of the car and went to her side, "So I'm from Kansas, huh? I've spent some time in Kansas before. Won quite a bit of money there and got to know quite a few wh....." Andrew stopped talking quickly and flashed a smile, "Kansas is nice."
"Are you ever serious?" Bethany asked incredulously as she shook her head.
Andrew pretended to think real hard for a moment, squinting in the bright afternoon sun, and then his smile broadened, revealing those deep dimples in his cheeks, "Nope," he replied. "I've learned that the minute you get serious is the minute you get old. Just ask Cav and Jamison."
Bethany cursed the way her eyes followed the movements of his lips. They were fuller than most men's but the sharpness of his cheekbones and the stubble he was sporting kept him looking masculine and rugged.
"Bethany, there you are!" Andrew saw a woman with pale skin and nearly black hair rush from the dressmakers shop and toward them. She was short, barely more than five feet and while her figure was womanly and curved in all the right places, her features were tiny and childlike.
"Hi, Lisa. Sorry I was a little late," Bethany replied. "Nicole came by papaws house and the appointment slipped my mind until the last minute." Bethany replied as she crossed her arms over her chest and slid her hair behind her ear.
Lisa gave Andrew an odd look, her eyes widening when she saw the gun on his hip but then she looked back at Bethany, "How is Nicole?" she asked.
Bethany suddenly looked uncomfortable and Andrew wondered why, "She's doing great." Bethany replied.
Lisa didn't look convinced but she nodded and then looked at Andrew again, "Who is this?"
"Name's Andrew, ma'am," Andrew replied holding out his hand. Lisa shook it though she tried to hold it longer than Andrew thought she should and he was quick to pull his hand away.
Something wasn't right about all of this. Bethany kept staring at her feet and lacked any sort of confidence. This Lisa woman seemed nice enough but there had been something in her eyes when she had mentioned Nicole that he didn't like. As far as Andrew was concerned Nicole was family and if Lisa didn't like her then Andrew didn't like Lisa.
"He's a family friend from out in Kansas," Bethany added quickly. "He wanted to come out this way for a change of scenery and happened to be at papaws. He needed a ride into town so...."
"Don't lie to the woman," Andrew countered with a grin and a wink. Bethany's eyes flashed warningly at him and he slid his arm around her shoulders and then looked at Lisa, "I came this way 'cause I missed her something awful," he finished with a smile.
Lisa's light blue eyes widened more and Bethany pulled away from him, "He's a jokester," she assured Lisa with a nervous laugh.
Andrew frowned and crossed his arms over his chest with a grunt as Bethany hurried Lisa into the dressmakers shop. Andrew was stumped. He'd never before met a woman he couldn't charm. Most women would already be eating out of his hand and batting their lashes at him, ready to follow his lead wherever it led but not Bethany. She seemed to be determined to completely blow him off and it bothered him greatly.
He rubbed his palms on his thighs, letting the denim fabric scratch against his itchy hands. He recognized this feeling. The restlessness in his legs, the constant humming in his brain and the swirling in his gut. The only thing he had found to ever help calm it was whiskey. He saw a store down the road and saw the advertisement for alcohol out front.
He began to chew at his bottom lip and his legs nearly took over and started him in that direction but then Bethany stepped back out of the dressmakers shop and waved for him, "Come on, Andrew, I can't very well leave you out here all alone," she said and suddenly the restlessness, humming and swirling were gone and Andrew loped toward her quickly.
***
Bethany didn't know what to make of the man currently out in the shop. She was in the dressing room, looking at herself in the mirror and dreading showing everyone what she looked like in her dark red bridesmaid dress.
Bethany had given up on growing breasts or hips when she'd turned seventeen and they'd remained invisible. Now at eighteen she knew they weren't coming. And her long brown hair just hung limp. She knew that everyone else was already out in the shop, twirling in the mirrors and fawning over themselves and it would be expected of her as well. But the dressmaker had done a good job. At least the dress didn't hang off of her the way it had when she had first tried it on a few weeks ago.
Bethany was sure that Andrew was probably out in the shop enjoying the view of all the other ladies and for some reason that caused that jealousy to form a burning ball in the pit of her stomach again. She was mad at him. There was no reason that man was truly interested in her and so clearly he must be the type of man that found himself flirting with everyone he met. Bethany hated men like that and yet she couldn't make herself hate Andrew.
He was too good looking was the problem. Those happy brown eyes and those deep dimples made it nearly impossible to stay angry at him when he smiled her way....
"Are you coming?" Pearl, the mother of the bride and Bethany's aunt, demanded as she poked her head in. Bethany nodded quickly, let out a nervous breath and forced her dread filled legs to carry her out into the shop and the big dais surrounded by mirrors and flanked by couches.
***
Andrew had been picking at the beads on a dressed up mannequin, despite the swats the dressmaker was landing on his knuckles every few minutes with that damn pencil in her hand. He was doing his best to ignore the stares he was getting from the women in the shop. He felt as out of place as a whore in a convent and he was wondering where in the hell Bethany was at.
All these women were 'oohing' and 'aahing' over their dresses, and yes, Andrew had to admit that for the most part they all looked pretty good, but they weren't what his body was craving.
His eyes craved to see Bethany. His nose craved the apple scent of her. His body wanted to know what she felt like and his lips wanted to know what she tasted like.......
His less than gentlemanly thoughts were interrupted by another sharp rap from that pencil and he stuck his throbbing knuckles in his mouth and glared at the short, blond dressmaker. She was older, probably around fifty, though he'd been raised to never comment on a woman's age, and she had perfectly styled, short blond hair and stern gray eyes.
"I will kick you out of here if you keep touching my dresses, young man. I don't approve of having roosters in my henhouse anyhow."
"Poor hens must be bored to death," Andrew replied with the charming smile he knew made most women's knees weak but it simply made the dressmaker scowl. It was clear she wanted to say something else but then Andrew caught sight of movement from the dressing room and he walked away from her, the beaded dress and pencil forgotten.
Bethany stepped up onto the dais and Andrew was speechless. A first for him. His mouth had gone dry and his eyes were fixed on her and only her as every other person in the room seemed to disappear.
The top of the red satin dress she was wearing hugged her body like a second skin and the skirt flared away from her with folds of fabric falling gracefully to the floor. Her skin was pale, like ivory, and her face and neck were flushed. He realized she was shaking and appeared scared. What in the world did that woman have to be scared about? She was clearly the most beautiful woman in the room.
***
Bethany felt Andrew's eyes on her and she looked over and felt her breath catch in her throat when she saw the way he was looking at her. She had never in her life been looked at that way. His brown eyes were locked on hers and even an inexperienced eighteen year old who had only experienced romance while lost in the pages of a novel recognized the hunger she saw there.
But how was that even possible? Before she could think any further on that Lisa and Helen, another of the bridesmaids, walked over to her and blocked her view of the handsome cowboy.
"It's nice but I really think you're too pale." Helen stated. Lisa nodded in agreement.
"Yes you really need to go to that place in town that does those spray tans," she agreed.
Bethany nodded quickly and made a mental note to make an appointment. All the other women here had tans that seemed to glow and she certainly didn't want to be the only snow white woman walking down that aisle.
"We'll have to do something with that hair," Pearl added.
"You need a pair of these too," Helen said with a laugh as she grabbed a pair of silicone breast enhancers off the shelf behind the mirror. "They'll help you fill it out better!"
The women all laughed and Bethany felt herself flush red with shame as her hand automatically went to her chest, "Probably wouldn't hurt...." she said with a fake smile, trying to hide the hurt and embarrassment she was feeling.
"Come on, cousin, don't be mad. I got the bod and you got the brains," Lisa said with a wink as she ran her hands up and down her sides and did a little shimmy. Bethany forced a laugh at the comment she had heard constantly growing up and would probably hear a million more times before her life was over.
"I think she looks damn beautiful just the way she is," Andrew's voice spoke up, loud enough to be heard over the din of women gossiping and talking about Bethany's lack of femininity.
"Andrew..." Bethany hissed, blushing deeper as she crossed her arms over her chest to hide herself.
"Is that right, cowboy?" Helen asked with a lust filled smile as she looked him up and down. Andrew looked down his nose at the woman. Normally he made a point to never be rude to a lady but this bitch was no lady. True, she looked like his type, or at least what his type had been before seeing Bethany. She was average height, around five and a half feet and her hair was golden and shimmering. She had a big chest, flat stomach and curved hips. But after hearing the way she spoke to Bethany, Andrew was convinced she was the ugliest damn woman he had ever seen.
"Yeah that's right," he replied.
"You sure are good looking. You know I'm the only woman among the wedding party that doesn't have a date to the wedding...."
"Helen!" Lisa scolded. "He's with Bethany."
Helen's eyes widened with disbelief, "What?!" she laughed haughtily and Bethany covered her face with her hand. Helen had been her arch nemesis all through school and probably always would be. "You have to be joking. Bethany doesn't date she just stays locked up with her books."
Andrew didn't know what a date was but he knew when a woman was trying to put another woman down. He shook his head and pushed between Lisa and Helen, earning a gasp from them both and a sharp scolding from the dressmaker but he didn't care.
He went to the dais where Bethany was standing with her face covered. He knew she didn't even realize he was right in front of her and he smiled, "You are beautiful." he stated.
Bethany dropped her hand and stared at him with shock, "And you are a liar."
Andrew felt anger fill him. A liar? Back in his time that was the type of insult he'd have beaten a man for, "I never lie," he countered. "I might omit certain facts from time to time but I never lie. You are beautiful. Your skin is perfect, it ain't too pale. It looks like ivory and it's soft." He ran his knuckle over her bare shoulder and he saw her pupils dilate in her brown eyes.
Suddenly all the women had fallen silent, not that Andrew cared what any of them were doing. All he cared about was this woman, "Your hair is soft too," he added as he brushed a finger across the silky strands. "I like how it shines in the light and smells like apples. And you fill this dress out just fine. I'm not real sure what the hell those things were that woman was showing to ya but you don't need them."
"Just stop..." Bethany begged and then she turned away from him with what he was sure were tears in her eyes and ran to the dressing room. Andrew just stood there and pulled off his hat so he could run his hand through his hair. He didn't understand what he'd done wrong. Was it wrong to come to your woman's defense? Was it wrong to tell her that she was beautiful?
"Would you like a job here? I think if you were here everyday and talked to all the girls like that I'd sell more dresses," the dressmaker stated as she walked over to him.
Andrew shook his head, "Didn't seem to work on that one."
"That's because you're lying to the poor girl. Bethany is nice enough but everyone knows she's not beautiful. Her nickname in grade school was big nose and then when we read that book it became 'Sarah plain and tall'," Helen replied with a wave of her hand.
"You shouldn't talk about her like that," Lisa scolded and Andrew nodded in agreement.
"That's what I was thinking too." he growled. There was only one thing that brought out his temper and that was insulting or threatening someone he cared about.
He decided he was done with this and walked outside to head toward that store with alcohol. A man could only take so much before he had to find a way to numb the craziness. And right now Andrew's mind was racing and needing some numbness.
***
Bethany excused herself the moment she walked out of the changing room. She brushed off the apologies from Lisa and quickly made her escape from the dressmakers shop. She saw Andrew standing beside her car and was shocked to see the bottle of whiskey in his hand.
"Where did you get that?" she demanded.
He gave her a lopsided grin and pointed down the road, "That store." he replied. "The owner seemed all too happy to take some old coins I had in exchange for it. He mentioned something about a pawn shop but I'm not sure what he meant."
"Get in the car and I'll take you back to the house. I already called Nicole on my cell phone and she's still there," Bethany said with a roll of her eyes. Andrew wasn't sure what a cell phone was but he nodded and got in the car.
Bethany slid into the drivers seat feeling extremely awkward next to him. She realized he had already opened the bottle, and taken several drinks it appeared. She didn't like the fact that he drank and yet she knew she had no right to say anything about it. He was a grown man and what he did was no concern of hers.
The silence in the car was tense and finally when they were nearly to the ranch Andrew broke it, "Why don't you like me?" he asked, his brown eyes looking much like a puppies as he turned his gaze to her.
"What makes you think I don't like you?" she replied, licking her lip and looking away from him.
"You don't seem to like it when I say nice things to you."
"Those aren't nice things," Bethany countered. "Those are mean and hurtful things."
Andrew smacked his forehead and looked over at her as if she'd lost her mind, "Mean and hurtful? Did I fall asleep in 1875 and wake up on the moon? Since when does a woman find it hurtful when a man tells her that she is beautiful."
Bethany flushed with shame and stared straight out the windshield.
"You actually believe that horrible woman don't you?" he demanded as realization dawned on him. "You really think you're not beautiful."
"I really don't want to get into this with you." Bethany said as they started up the driveway, "I am nice and smart and from time to time I'm funny but I am painfully shy and have never once, in my entire life, been beautiful and I'm fine with that."
"I think you're beautiful," Andrew countered.
Bethany laughed harshly, wincing when she realized how pathetic that sounded, "I think you're a liar. I think you just like to say what you have to in order to get women to fall at your feet and it won't work with me. I'm not going to fall for pretty words and think you mean them." Bethany had done that once and her heart had been ripped to shreds at her junior prom when she'd come to find that the quarterback of the football team didn't really want her to be his date, he was just hoping that she would help him cheat his way through finals if he took her to the dance.
Andrew shook his head, "I may have done that in the past but I'm not...."
"Just stop," Bethany begged. "Please stop. This was a mistake." She stopped the car and put it in park and Andrew realized they were in front of the house.
"Bethany..." he started but she opened the door and jumped from the car. He followed her lead but when he called out for her she just ignored him and quickly walked up the porch steps and into the house.
Andrew was going to follow her but then Silas was there and 'Baby' was being aimed at Andrew chest, "What the hell did you do to my granddaughter?" Silas demanded, anger flashing in his eyes.
Andrew felt like yelling with frustration and confusion as he threw his hands in the air. He saw his brothers and Nicole walking toward them as well and he took a long drink from the whiskey bottle in his hand before swiping his arm across his lips.
"I just told her she was beautiful."