The Texan's Engagement Agreement. Noelle Marchand

much time left, but I guess he doesn’t want to know how bad it really is.”

      “But what if there’s something a specialist could do to help?”

      “I hope there is. That’s why I want him to see one. Until then, we may not know what—if anything—could make him better, but we know that stress can make it worse.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “This whole debacle with my supposed engagement has spiraled out of control. It’s bound to upset him if I tell him I’ve deceived him all this time.”

      “I know, but he needs to know the truth.”

      Chris knew she was right. He couldn’t keep this going. Especially not now with Adelaide’s return. There was only one thing left to do. “I’ll go back to the store. I’ll take my pa aside and explain everything as gently as possible, like I should have done long ago.”

      “Wait.” She caught his arm to keep him from turning away. “You don’t have to go in there alone.”

      Chris recognized her offer for what it was—an olive branch bridging past the disaster of their engagement back to the friendship they’d once shared. He’d missed their friendship. He’d missed her. Unfortunately, going back to the way things had been before was impossible. Even now, the hurts from the past that should have been healed flared with old pain.

      He took her hand, removed it from his arm and gave it a small squeeze before letting it go. “Actually, Adelaide, I’d prefer it.”

      * * *

      Stunned by Chris’s gentle but unmistakable dismissal, Adelaide stared at him as he turned on his heel and walked away.

      She charted his progress down the alley as he neared the front of the store. His steps were determined but slow. His head was down. She recognized that posture. It meant he was thinking hard about something—no doubt trying to summon the words he’d need to break the news to his father.

      Or some other way to twist the truth? Surely he wouldn’t. Perhaps she ought to make sure.

      She pushed away from the wall, grabbed her hat from where it had fallen in the dust and followed him inside the mercantile. She found that the number of customers hadn’t dwindled in the least, which meant that folks were sticking around to see what would happen next. They might as well have gone home. All of the excitement was over. There was nothing more to see here.

      She caught sight of Everett leaning against the store’s gleaming oak counter with his arms crossed in front of him. He lifted one brow, then pinned her with his brown gaze. She swallowed and found herself easing closer to Chris’s side. “Oh! Hello, Pa.”

      “Is there something you’d like to tell me?”

      “Um, I—” Her panicked gaze refused to meet his. Instead, it flitted to where a wide-eyed Ellie stood by a shelf of books. Lawson stood beside her looking decidedly confused. Finally, she saw Mr. Johansen watching from his spot in front of the register. A smile tipped his lips, and he offered her an encouraging nod. Chris’s words concerning his father’s health filled her mind. She hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a strain around Olan’s eyes and tiredness to his bearing that hadn’t been there five years ago.

      She hated the mere possibility of anything bad happening to him. He was such a kind soul. Even when she and her mother had missed a payment or two toward their store credit, he’d always welcomed them into the mercantile and his home. He was a fixture in the Peppin community. He served on the school board, was a deacon at church and was always the first to support a charitable cause. He didn’t deserve the embarrassment that would come his way if she answered her stepfather’s question, in front of all these people, with complete honesty.

      That being the case, she said the one thing that would make her sound guilty without being an outright lie. “I can explain.”

      “Well, you’d better. And, while you’re at it, I’d like to know why this is the first I’ve heard of your engagement.”

      Chris turned to level her with his gaze. Surprise and bewilderment flashed across his face. To an outsider, his reaction might have seemed to be prompted by the news that she hadn’t mentioned their engagement to her stepfather. However, she knew it was because she hadn’t immediately spilled the truth. His jaw flexed. Indecision warred in his eyes before he gave in with a minuscule nod.

      She swallowed, unable to drag her gaze from his even as she addressed Everett. She didn’t want to lie—but there were some evasions she could make while still being honest. “Mother didn’t want me to mention it.”

      Chris glanced away, freeing her to meet her stepfather’s eyes. Everett frowned. “Your mother knew?”

      “Well...let’s just say she preferred to ignore it.” That was also true.

      “That does sounds like her.” He ran a hand over his beard, weighing her words and searching her eyes. He gave up trying to figure her out with a little shake of his head. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your fiancé?”

      “Of course. Pa, this is Chris Johansen. Chris, this is my stepfather, Everett Holden.” She smiled as she watched the two them exchange a handshake. Everything would be all right. Rather than air all of the Johansen’s family business before their customers, she’d given Chris a reprieve. He could tell his father the truth in private later. If he didn’t... Well, as much as she hoped he would, that wasn’t her concern. She was leaving on the next train out of Peppin.

      Olan stepped around the counter. “You must come and have supper with my family this evening.”

      Everett nodded. “Yes, I think we’d better.”

      Panic filled her. “Oh, but our train—”

      “It’s all right. We’ll stay at the hotel tonight and catch the train that leaves in the morning.”

      She bit her lip to keep from protesting again as Chris offered to see them to the hotel. Mr. Johansen waved his customers toward the register and it went back to business as usual inside the mercantile. Adelaide said goodbye to Ellie and Lawson before hurrying toward the door where Chris and Everett waited. They were already deep in conversation as her journalist of a stepfather plied Chris with question after question. By the time they made it to the hotel, Everett had learned Chris’s entire life story, from his humble beginning in Norway to his future plan of running the mercantile for his family.

      While Everett spoke to a hotel clerk about renting rooms for the night, Chris caught her hand and tugged her into a quiet corner of the lobby. “I know you’re just trying to help. At least, I assume that was the motivation behind this. I would just like to point out that you’re making things more complicated.”

      “I’m not sure that’s possible. Look, I thought this through. Where’s the harm in keeping up the act for one more night? I’ll play along until it’s time to leave, then we’ll pretend to fight and you’ll say we ended the engagement.”

      He shook his head while exasperation filled his voice. “Adelaide, we both know that your plans never work out. They always do the opposite of what you intended for them to do.”

      “Pardon me. It’s been five years. You don’t know the first thing about me or what I’ve accomplished anymore, so I’ll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself.” At his disbelieving look, she rolled her eyes. “Fine. Maybe you’re a little bit right, but you have to admit my idea is much better than letting your father be humiliated in front of all of his customers. This plan will work.”

      He ran his fingers through his hair. “Well, it doesn’t really matter because there’s no going back now, is there?”

      “Nope.”

      He sighed. “I’m going to go let my mother know we’ll be having company for supper. I’ll meet you and your stepfather here at six and we’ll walk over to my parents’ house together. All right?”

      She nodded. He offered her a rather poor excuse for a smile before he