Knox hadn’t been in too many serious relationships in his life, so meeting-the-father moments had been far and few between. This was the first time he was meeting his in-laws and it didn’t seem to matter that this was a marriage based on a wager. He was still nervous.
“You’d better fill me in more about your family,” he said to his bride as he drove his truck to the Lawrences’. From their previous conversations, Knox knew that Genevieve was the oldest of three daughters and the only one who wasn’t married with kids. He was well aware of the fact that Lionel, Genevieve’s father, could be rigid, old-fashioned and didn’t approve of his daughter’s chosen profession.
“I don’t know...” his wife said. “What can I really tell you in ten minutes?”
Their decision to elope without a plan had come back to bite them several times and they weren’t even a whole day in to the ruse.
“Just tell me what you think I should know.”
“My mom, Jane, stayed at home with the kids. Lionel sold industrial farm equipment until he retired. The man was absolutely horrible at being retired, so we were all thrilled when he started going to farm equipment auctions with his friends, buying old equipment and refurbishing for resale. It keeps the man busy and out of my mom’s kitchen,” Genevieve said with a smile. “I have a sister Margo—married with four kids. I told you about her. And then there’s Ella—she’s my youngest sister—married, of course, with two kids and one on the way. I am the only Lawrence daughter who isn’t married.”
“Not the case anymore.”
“Hey! That’s true. I am married.” Genevieve held up her hand to look at the gold band on her left hand. “One less thing for the folks to complain about.”
The Lawrences owned a small homestead on the outskirts of town. The house was a classic two-story whitewashed farmhouse; there was a wraparound porch with a swing and the front door was decorated with heavy leaded glass. Next to the house was a two-car garage with a flight of stairs leading up to an apartment.
“This is home,” she said as they pulled up and he detected the slightest catch in her voice. On the outside his new wife appeared calm, but she was, beneath the surface, understandably rattled.
“We’re in this together.” Knox wanted to reassure her.
She sent him the slightest of smiles but it disappeared quickly.
“Oh! Shoot! Let me get Oscar before he spots Silver.” Genevieve hopped out of the truck and jogged over to the front porch where a giant orange tabby cat was sitting as still as a statue. Genevieve scooped up the massive cat, hugged it to her body and then disappeared inside the house.
Knox looked down at Silver, who looked up at him and then tried to lick him on the chin. “She is going to come back, isn’t she?”
After a couple of minutes waiting, Genevieve reappeared on the porch and waved her hand for him to join her.
“All right,” he said to his canine companion. “Here goes nothing.”
With Silver cradled in his arms for extra protection, Knox walked up the porch stairs to meet his bride.
“You’re going to meet my mom first. She’s the easy one.”
Knox stepped into the Lawrence home and it was like stepping into his grandmother’s hug. The house was tidy and decorated with farmhouse decor—chickens and roosters and cows. The old wide-planked wood floors were dinged up from years of use, but an obviously recent coat of polish brought out their color and luster. There was something that smelled mighty good cooking in the kitchen at the back of the house. They walked past a stairwell leading to the second floor on their way to the kitchen and Knox noticed that there were framed pictures of family everywhere—on the walls, on the fireplace mantel, on every surface.
“Is that you?” He stopped to look at one of the framed pictures on the wall. The young blond girl was executing a perfect handstand on the back of a horse.
“Yes.”
“You were a wild child even back then, weren’t you?”
Genevieve laughed and he was glad to hear the sound. “Always, much to my mom’s dismay.”
As they approached the kitchen, Genevieve called out, “Mom!”
Knox had never met Mrs. Lawrence before, so he didn’t really know what to expect. A heavyset woman appeared at the end of the hall wearing an apron covered in yellow flowers. She threw open her arms, a welcoming smile on her face.
“Ladybug! What are you doing home this time of day?”
“Ladybug?” Knox asked under his breath, loving the fact that his tough-as-any-cowboy wife had such a sweet nickname.
“Not one word, cowboy,” Genevieve ordered.
“Oh!” Jane Lawrence noticed him but first enveloped her daughter in a tight hug. “This is such a wonderful surprise.”
“Mom.” His bride untangled herself from her mom’s hug and turned to him. “I want you to meet Knox Crawford.”
Genevieve had inherited her mother’s lovely cornflower blue eyes; Jane’s eyes twinkled with pleasure as she welcomed him into her home. Genevieve had also inherited her mother’s smile. It was a smile he had always appreciated from the first time he’d met the pretty farrier in person. Knox was invited into a crisp white and cheerful yellow kitchen that was filled with refurbished 1950s appliances. Stepping into Jane Lawrence’s kitchen was like stepping back in time.
Jane clasped her hands together, her eyes darting excitedly between her daughter and him. Knox got the distinct feeling that Genevieve didn’t bring men home very often.
“I had no idea we were going to have company.” Jane touched her short blond hair self-consciously. “I didn’t even put on lipstick.”
“It’s fine, Mom.” Genevieve scooped Silver out of his arms.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
“Oh, it’s such a pleasure to meet you.” Jane smiled. “You know, I saw your father at the post office once. He’s so tall!”
Knox didn’t think it was possible, but he felt immediately at home in Jane’s kitchen. She offered him a cup of coffee and made a place for him at her small round kitchen table. Then she filled a bowl of water for Silver. He’d never experienced such a warm welcome as he received from Genevieve’s mom; he only hoped it would continue once she found out that he had eloped with her daughter.
“Where’s Dad?” Genevieve, who had been rummaging in the refrigerator, popped a couple of grapes in her mouth before she joined them at the table.
“He’s outside tinkering with his toys,” Jane said. “He brought a trailer heaping with rusty gold, as he calls it, from the auction yesterday.”
Knox met Genevieve’s gaze and he knew what she was thinking: When and how do we break the news? Jane was watching them closely, no doubt curious about this unusual morning visit.
“What do you think?” Genevieve asked him.
“No time like the present.”
Jane clasped her hands on top of the table. “Is there something I should know before we get your father?”
“Ma’am, there really isn’t any easy way to say this...” Knox stopped to clear his throat.
“We eloped,” Genevieve said plainly and held up her hand so her mom could see her wedding ring.
There was silence at the table as Genevieve’s mother took a moment to digest the news she had just received. Jane’s expression changed from welcoming to confused to happy in a span of moments. She jumped out of her chair, embraced her daughter, kissed her once on the cheek and then quickly came around the table to embrace him. Jane clasped her hands together happily in front of her body, and Knox was shocked to see tears of joy glistening in her eyes.
“Oh, ladybug! You’re married?!”
Genevieve’s jaw was still set as if she was ready to deflect a bad reaction that wasn’t coming. “I’m married. As of yesterday.”
Jane rejoined them at the table, her face brightened from the news. She reached for her daughter’s hand. “This means that you’re going to stay in Rust Creek Falls!”
That was the moment when Knox understood why Jane had reacted so positively to the elopement. She didn’t care that she had missed the ceremony, she only cared that her daughter wouldn’t be moving away from home. When he first made this wedding wager with Genevieve, all he could think about was proving a point to his own controlling father. The impact of the fake marriage on someone as sweet and genuine as Jane Lawrence hadn’t occurred to him in the least. When the marriage ended and Genevieve moved to California, Jane was going to be heartbroken. And, in part, it would be his fault.
Jane spent the next several minutes asking expected questions. She knew how they met because Genevieve had told her about servicing the horses of the Ambling A, but she wanted all the other details—the romantic bits.
“I can honestly say,” Knox said to Jane, “that I have never met anyone like your daughter before, Mrs. Lawrence.”
Jane reached over and took his hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. “I always knew that my ladybug would find a man who truly loves her just as she is.”
Genevieve was squirming uncomfortably in her chair in a way he’d never seen before. Like him, he had a feeling Genevieve was just starting to fully appreciate the impact that their ruse would have on everyone in their lives.
“And ‘Mrs. Lawrence’ is too formal for family.” Jane’s eyes started to glisten with happy tears again. “Shouldn’t you call me Mom?”
“Let’s not rush into anything,” Genevieve interrupted.
“Do you mean like a marriage?” Jane countered with a sweet, motherly smile.
Knox had to appreciate how quickly his mother-in-law had turned the table on Genevieve. He had a feeling it didn’t happen very often.
“I’m actually kind of shocked you aren’t upset that you weren’t at the ceremony.” Genevieve ran her finger along a groove carved into the top of the table. “I thought you would be.”
“I never expect you to have a typical anything, ladybug. Why would your marriage be any different?”
“Point taken.”
“I can throw you a reception!” Jane said, as if the thought just occurred to her. “We can have it here and we can invite all of your friends and family. It will be the first time that the Crawfords and Lawrences come together. What do you say?”
Genevieve looked a little like a deer caught in the headlights. Knox was surprised too. Like Genevieve, he had never considered the idea that their families would want to celebrate their union. Still...
“I like the idea,” Knox said, wanting to please Jane for some reason.
“You do?” Genevieve turned to him, her eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Sure.” He nodded. “Why not?”
“Sure,” she repeated slowly to her mom. “Why not?”
“Oh, that’s so wonderful!” His mother-in-law’s cheeks were flushed a happy shade of pink with excitement. “Now. I think it’s time that we tell your father.”
Genevieve started to get up but Knox stood up and held out his hand. “This is for me to do, Gen.”
His wife resettled in her chair. “Hey, it’s your funeral.”
He winked at her. “Promise to take care of Silver if I don’t make it back?”
Genevieve crossed her heart. “Girl Scouts honor.”
Jane stood up and moved to the sink. “Genevieve was asked to leave the Girl Scouts for setting a tent on fire.”
“A total accident!” his wife exclaimed.
Knox turned to his mother-in-law. “Mrs. Lawrence—”
Jane frowned at him for still using the formality.
He started again, this time correcting himself as he addressed her. “Mom...will you take care of Silver should I not make it back in one piece?”
“I would be honored to take care of my grandpuppy, yes.” She nodded emphatically and gave him a smile.
“I find this whole conversation insulting,” Genevieve said as she pointed to the back door. “You’ll find Lionel out that’a way. God speed, young man.”
Knox walked the short distance from the back porch to the shed in the backyard like a man walking the plank. He’d never met Lionel before and now he had to tell the man that he had eloped with his daughter? Not exactly starting off on the right foot.
“Hello, sir.”
Lionel Lawrence was a man of average height, slender, with narrow shoulders and a ramrod straight back. He had deep-set blue eyes and about a day’s worth of silver and brown whiskers on his long face. Lionel wore a faded green John Deere baseball cap and glasses with thick black frames.
“How do?” Lionel pulled a rag out of the back pocket of his jeans and wiped the sweat from the back of his neck.
Knox extended his hand. “I’m Knox Crawford.”
Genevieve’s father reached out his hand. “I’ve heard the name.”
According to Genevieve, the Lawrences had been longtime friends of one of Rust Creek Falls’s main families, the Traubs; even still, it wasn’t a town secret that there had been a long-standing beef between the Traubs and the Crawfords. Knox was relieved that he didn’t hear any carryover of that feud in Lionel’s tone when he greeted him.
“What can I do for you, young man?”
Knox swallowed several times, finding that his tongue seemed to be stuck to the sides of his mouth.
“Well, sir...”
“While you’re here, would you mind helping me move this aerator? Darn thing is too awkward for me to move myself.”
Knox was grateful for the stay of execution. He grabbed one side of the piece of farm equipment while Lionel grabbed the other. Together, they moved the aerator out of the shed and into the yard. Lionel lifted up his hat, scratched the top of his head and then repositioned the ball cap so it shielded the sun from his eyes.
“That’ll do for now,” his father-in-law said. “I thank you.”
“I was happy to help.”
The two of them stood together for a moment, neither of them speaking until Lionel asked, “Your kin took up at the Ambling A, isn’t that right?”
“Yes, sir.” Knox nodded. “My father and my five brothers. By way of Dallas.”
“It’s a good piece of land.”
“Yes, sir, it is.”
“Good to have family all in one place.”
Knox nodded his agreement.
“So...” Lionel rolled back on his heels a bit. “What brings you out to my neck of the woods?”
“Your daughter, sir.”
Lionel’s small eyes widened for a moment before they narrowed. “My daughter?”
“Yes, sir. Genevieve.”
Genevieve’s father didn’t say anything, but the expression on his face said plenty. He was happy that a man might be coming to court his daughter.
“I don’t know if you’re aware that Genevieve has been coming out to the Ambling A for a while now. For the horses.”
“I heard something ’bout it.”
“Well, we’ve gotten to be pretty close.”
Lionel’s eyes were pinned on his face.
“And, well, sir...”
“Spit it out, son. I’ve only got so many good years left.”
“...I married your daughter yesterday.”
His father-in-law didn’t blink for several seconds; he just stared at him, as if he were an old computer trying to process new information. Lionel stuck his finger in his ear and wiggled it around.
“I’m sorry, son. I don’t think I heard you right. What did you say?”
“Genevieve and I got married yesterday.”
For a moment, Knox actually thought that his father-in-law hadn’t heard him because he just kept on staring at him. Then, Lionel put his hand over his heart, closed his eyes and pointed to the sky.
“Praise the lord,” Lionel said. “My prayers have finally been answered.”
Of all the responses Knox anticipated from Genevieve’s father, this wasn’t one of them.
Lionel opened his eyes and squinted up at him, “Do you love her?”
“I can honestly say that I’ve never met anyone like your daughter.”
“She’s as unique as they come.” His father-in-law gave a big nod of agreement. “You can support a family should you be blessed with children.”
It was a statement more than a question. Still, Knox felt compelled to answer.
“Yes, sir, I can.” What else could he say?
“Do you want children?” Lionel pinned him with a pointed look.
They had already told so many lies, Knox couldn’t bring himself to tell another. Instead, he told Lionel the truth. “Yes, sir, I do. When the time is right.”
“Well, I hope your time is sooner rather than later.” Lionel plopped his ball cap back onto his head. “I bet my Jane is tickled to pieces.”
“Your wife’s already planning the reception.”
“That’s my Jane! She never lets an opportunity to have a party pass her by.” Lionel stuck out his hand, “Well, I suppose congratulations are in order. I don’t know how you managed to get my daughter to that altar, but I’m mighty pleased you did. I’ve been worrying about her, I surely have.”
Stunned, Knox shook his father-in-law’s hand again. Neither of Genevieve’s parents were upset about the elopement. In fact, they both seemed pretty pleased.
“Now, Knox, we Lawrences do have a strict no-return policy.” Lionel looked at his face and then laughed loudly. “I’m just pulling your leg, son! Why would you want to give her back?”
Knox followed Lionel into the kitchen where Genevieve and Jane were awaiting their return with slightly anxious expressions on their faces. Lionel went straight over to his daughter and pulled her into a tight hug before he kissed her cheek.
“I’ve been waiting for years for you to find the right man to marry,” Genevieve’s father told her. “This is truly a blessing.”
Knox caught Genevieve’s eye and he could almost read her mind. Lucky break.
“Now, if only you can get her to quit that ridiculous job of hers and start working on some grandbabies, I could go gently into that good night a happy man.”
“Dad...” Genevieve frowned at Lionel. Knox knew that the subject of her career was a sore spot for both daughter and father.
“Actually,” Knox said, moving over to stand next to his wife, “Gen’s career is what brought us together. I would never want her to give it up.”