Heart of Clay Read online

  Chapter Ten

  Callan slid a chicken and rice casserole she prepared for dinner into the oven as the doorbell rang.

  Too emotionally drained and exhausted to think about entertaining unexpected company, she wondered who in the world it could be. Anyone close to them knew it wasn’t a good time to visit.

  Hastily plastering on one of her fake smiles, she opened the door. Suddenly, the smile became genuine.

  Clay held a beautiful bouquet of baby pink roses in a heart-shaped crystal vase, looking eager to please.

  He stuck out his hand and gave her a dimpled smile. “Hi. I’m Clay. Clay Matthews. You must be Callan. Sorry I’m late for our date. May I come in?”

  Grateful to him for being playful and keeping the mood light, Callan went along with the pretense. She grasped his hand and gave it a firm shake. “I’m Callan. It’s very nice to meet you. I just put dinner in the oven, so you aren’t late. Please come in.”

  Clay handed her the flowers and took off his coat, hanging it in the closet. After removing his boots, he set them inside the closet along with his hat then shut the door.

  “Nice place you have here,” he said, looking around the living room. He grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her. “Kind of girly, but nice.”

  “Why don’t you go sit in the family room while I finish preparing dinner? You’d probably be more comfortable in there.” As they walked into the kitchen, Callan placed the bouquet on the dining table. “The flowers are beautiful. Pink roses are my favorite and I love the vase. Thank you.”

  “I’d like to hang out in here with you, if that is okay.” Clay washed his hands at the sink and glanced around. “What can I do to help?”

  They worked together to get dinner ready and on the table then sat down to enjoy it. It was hard to carry on a normal conversation. When they’d wounded each other so deeply, it was a struggle to find something to say.

  Callan was very thankful to Clay for trying to make the situation less stressful by pretending they were on a first date.

  “So what are some of your favorite things to eat,” she asked Clay, passing him a plate of warm biscuits.

  “Meat and potatoes, meat and rice, meat in general.” Relieved that Callan was willing to play along, he knew they had to do something to get into the habit of talking again. This seemed like an easy place to start. “What are a few of your favorites?”

  “Chocolate, chocolate, and chocolate.” Callan shot him a saucy smile.

  “So are we having chocolate for dessert?”

  “No, carrot cake. I hope you like it.” Carrot cake was Clay’s all-time favorite dessert.

  “That sounds great. I’ll make sure I save room.” Clay helped himself to another serving of chicken casserole. It had been weeks since Callan had cooked a real meal, other than last night’s pork roast, and it all tasted so good.

  She stayed home from work that day. However brief, he was glad she was taking some time for herself. Although he hadn’t expected her to slave away in the kitchen, his stomach was very happy she’d made an effort. Cooking was one way she showed her remorse and let him know she cared.

  While they ate, they continued asking silly questions, like favorite colors, favorite movies, favorite football teams, and what they wanted to be when they grew up.

  It was Clay’s turn to ask a question. “Tell me something about you that no one else knows. Something you’ve never told anyone.”

  Callan put down her fork and looked thoughtful before she answered. “Well, I don’t think anyone knows this, but when I was growing up, I wanted to have a horse more than just about anything. I cut pictures of them out of magazines and I watched them anytime there was an opportunity. My favorite movie was The Man from Snowy River. I was giddy when one of our neighbors bought a horse. They let me ride it once in a while. When I was twelve, I wanted a pair of cowboy boots so bad, I spent the whole summer doing odd jobs to make enough money to buy a pair. I never did get the boots or a horse. I finally realized I wasn’t in a position or a place to have my own horse and let that dream go. It was an unexpected bonus when I fell in love with a cowboy. Occasionally, he lets me pretend I’m a cowgirl with my pick of horses to fawn over out at the family ranch.” The warmth of her smile melted Clay’s heart.

  “Your cowboy is plenty glad you fell in love with him. You can be a cowgirl anytime you want.” Clay squeezed her hand and gave her a teasing wink.

  “What about you?” Callan asked. “Do you have something you’ve never shared?”

  “The day I put in my job application at the college, I was walking across the campus and fell in love with the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. I remember watching her stroll down the sidewalk and thinking that she walked right out of my dreams. Her hair bounced in curls down her back and the breeze blew her skirt around her legs. If I hadn’t been rooted to the spot and terrified to speak to her, I might have thrown myself at her feet and begged her to be mine right then and there.” Clay smiled at Callan.

  “She stopped to talk to a girl named Laken and the two of them left in her little red car. When I took my sorry self home, her dad just happened to be there working on my dad’s tractor. He wanted me to meet her. I was still so awestruck by the girl I’d seen that afternoon on campus, I couldn’t think about meeting anyone else, so I hid in the shop until she left. She was just backing around in the driveway when I stuck my head out the door and realized his daughter was the girl I’d seen that day. I ran out of the shop so fast, I think two of the dogs got whiplash, but not fast enough to catch her before she left. I spent the next month trying to work up my courage to ask her out. Then the opportunity presented itself to see her at the county fair. I stood and watched her dishing up ice cream for half a day before I talked myself into going to meet her. The first time she said hello, this ol’ heart of Clay flew right out of my chest and into her hands.”

  He patted his chest and offered Callan one of his trademark grins. “Of course, she couldn’t resist my good looks or charm.”

  Callan abandoned all effort at eating, staring intently at Clay. She had a hard time digesting what he shared. All this time, she thought Clay had wandered up to the booth at the fair and they just happened to meet. She had no idea he had wanted to meet her, that he knew her name, that he thought she was the girl of his dreams.

  Tears tightened her throat and blurred her vision. “Oh, Clay.” After placing one hand on top of his, she let out a shaky breath. “Truly?”

  “Honest and true.” He pressed a warm kiss to the palm of her hand and gazed into her green eyes. “I knew the first time I saw you I wanted you to be mine forever. It just took me a while to work up to asking you out.”

  “I’m so glad you did. I can’t believe you never told me that before. It is a beautiful, wonderful story. I had no idea.”

  “I know. But every word of it is true. You’ve had me wrapped around this lovely little finger,” he kissed her pinky, “since the very first time I saw you.”

  Callan couldn’t stop the tears as big, fat drops rolled down her cheeks. She raised her hand to Clay’s cheek and held it there a moment before leaning over and giving him a soft, tender kiss. “I love you, Clay Matthews, so very much.”