Baby, I’m Yours Read Free Page B

door shut.
    Emory strode over to address him through the truck’s open window. “You’re not going to give me an answer, sir?”
    Walter looked murderous. “The answer is no .”
    Anger bil owed in Emory’s chest. “I’m going to ask Shelby to marry me, Mr. Moon, with or without your blessing.”
    “Do what you gotta do, son, and so wil I.”
    The man pul ed out of the parking lot, spewing gravel.
    Emory ground his teeth. If Walter Moon had his way, Shelby would live with him her entire life, waiting on him hand and foot and working in that shabby grocery of his.
    He whipped off his hat and slapped it against his thigh in frustration. He had a good mind to cal Shelby and tel her to be waiting, that he was coming by to pick her up.
    Then he pul ed his hand down his face. This wasn’t the way he wanted to do things. He wanted to walk in and surprise Shelby, to see the look on her face when she spotted him in his uniform. He doubted if Walter would tel her they’d met—he probably hoped he’d scared off Emory altogether.
    But he hadn’t. If anything, he’d made Emory even more determined to get Shelby out of this town.
    Angry and exasperated, Emory decided to stop by to see his father before going to surprise Shelby. His dad always gave him good advice.
    Dr. Cletis Maxwel had an office in an old building near the town center that he shared with a florist and a bakery. Emory bypassed the patient entrance and walked to the loading dock built to accommodate supply trucks and ambulances. He rang the doorbel and a few seconds later, Nancy Cole, his father’s longtime office manager, opened the door.
    Her mouth rounded and her eyes lit up. “Emory!”
    He pul ed her into a hug.
    “Your dad didn’t mention you were coming home.”
    “He doesn’t know.”
    “Come on in. I’l sneak you into his office and tel him a sales rep is waiting for him.” She beamed. “He’l be so happy to see you.”
    Nancy slipped him into his father’s private office to wait. Emory walked around, looking at photographs on the wal s—photos of him and the Armstrong boys in Little League, family photos taken when his mother was alive, his prom photo with Shelby, and a picture of Emory in his U.S. Army uniform.
    The door opened and his father walked in, wearing a white lab coat and reading a file. “I’m in a bit of rush,” he said, then looked up. When he saw it was Emory, his face transformed. “Son.”
    “Dad.” Emory pul ed him into a long embrace. Unlike Mr. Moon, his dad was a softie. When he pul ed back, his dad unabashedly retrieved a handkerchief to wipe his face.
    “You look good. What a nice surprise.”
    “Last-minute leave for five days. Porter came home with me.”
    His father smiled. “Good. Emily wil be happy to have one of her chicks home.”
    Emory blinked. Despite the fact that the Armstrongs and Maxwel s had been neighbors for years, he’d never heard his father cal Emily Armstrong anything other than “Mrs.
    Armstrong.” Was it possible a romance had blossomed between the widow and widower? The thought made him smile.
    “I’m sure Shelby was happy to see you.”
    Emory removed his hat and ran his hand over his short hair. “She doesn’t know I’m here yet.”
    “Is something wrong?”
    “I came home to ask her to marry me, Dad.”
    His father’s face lifted in a smile. “Wel , it’s about time. Congratulations, son.”
    “Don’t rent your tux yet,” Emory said with a sigh. “I talked to Walter.”
    “And?”
    “And he refused to give me his blessing.”
    His father’s mouth tightened and he shook his head. “I’m sorry to hear that. Walter is a good man, but when it comes to Shelby, he’s blind to what’s best for her.”
    “What do you think I should do?”
    His dad hesitated, then clapped him on the shoulder. “I think this is between you and Shelby. Whatever the two of you decide, Walter Moon is going to have to accept it.” Then he grinned. “Oh, and a dozen red roses from the