Forever Yours Read online

  Rave Reviews for

  FRANCIS RAY

  Forever Yours

  “Forever Yours is funny, touching, spicy, and delightful.”

  —Ann Maxwell

  “A wonderfully warm and witty tale with just the right blend of sassiness and tenderness.”

  —Dorothy Garlock

  “A delightful romp down the road of romance.”

  —Sandra Canfield

  One Night with You

  “Tenderness and passion that smolder between the pages.”

  —Romantic Times BOOKreviews

  Nobody But You

  “Fast and fun and full of emotional thrills and sexy chills. Everything a racing romance should be!”

  —Roxanne St. Claire

  Until There Was You

  “Ms. Ray has given us a great novel again. Did we expect anything less than the best?”

  —Romantic Times BOOKreviews (4 stars)

  “Crisp style, realistic dialogue, likable characters, and [a] fast pace.”

  —Library Journal

  MORE. . .

  The Way You Love Me

  “A romance that will have readers speed-reading to the next tension-filled scene, if not the climax.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Fans of Ray’s Grayson and Falcon families will be thrilled with the first installment in the new Grayson Friends series. And this is done very well…told with such grace and affection that this novel is a treat to read.”

  —Romantic Times BOOKreviews (4 stars)

  “Francis Ray is, without a doubt, one of the Queens of Romance.”

  —Romance Review

  Only You

  “Francis Ray’s graceful writing style and realistically complex characters give her latest contemporary romance its extraordinary emotional richness and depth.”

  —Chicago Tribune

  “It’s a joy to read this always fresh and exciting saga.”

  —Romantic Times BOOKreviews (4 stars)

  “The powerful descriptive powers of Francis Ray allow the reader to step into the story and become an active part of the surrender…If you love a great love story, Only You should be on your list.”

  —Fallen Angel Reviews

  “Riveting emotion and charismatic scenes that made this book captivating…a beautiful story of love and romance.”

  —Night Owl Romance

  “A beautiful love story as only Francis Ray can tell it.”

  —Singletitles.com

  “A warm and wonderful contemporary romance with plenty of humor and drama. Adding a fun warmth and reality to these characters and a plot that moves quickly add all the needed incentive to read this fun book.”

  —Multicultural Romance Writers

  Irresistible You

  “Another winner…witty and charming…Francis Ray has a true gift for drawing the readers in and never letting them go.”

  —Multicultural Romance Writers

  Dreaming of You

  “A great read from beginning to end.”

  —Romantic Times BOOKreviews

  “An immensely likable heroine, a sexy man with a heart of gold, and touches of glitz and color, [this] is as unapologetically escapist as Cinderella. Lots of fun.”

  —BookPage

  You and No Other

  “The warmth and sincerity of the Graysons bring another book to life….delightfully realistic.”

  —Romantic Times

  “Astonishing…the best romance of the new year…the Graysons are sure to leave a smile on your face and a longing in your heart for their next story.”

  —RomanceReview.com

  “Great love stories.”

  —Booklist

  Someone to Love Me

  “Another great romance novel.”

  —Booklist

  “The plot moves quickly, and the characters are interesting.”

  —Romantic Times

  “The characters give as good as they get, and their romance is very believable.”

  —All About Romance

  St. Martin’s Paperbacks Titles

  BY FRANCIS RAY

  The Graysons of New Mexico Series

  Until There Was You

  You and No Other

  Dreaming of You

  Irresistible You

  Only You

  The Grayson Friends Series

  The Way You Love Me

  Nobody But You

  One Night with You

  Someone to Love Me

  I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

  Rockin’ Around That Christmas Tree

  (with Donna Hill)

  Anthologies

  Rosie’s Curl and Weave

  Della’s House of Style

  Welcome to Leo’s

  Going to the Chapel

  Gettin’ Merry

  Forever Yours

  Francis Ray

  St. Martin’s Paperbacks

  NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  FOREVER YOURS

  Copyright © 1994 by Francis Ray.

  Excerpt from It Had To Be You copyright © 2010 by Francis Ray.

  Cover photograph © Shirley Green

  All rights reserved.

  For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

  ISBN: 978-0-312-36508-0

  Printed in the United States of America

  PINNACLE BOOKS edition / July 1994

  St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / April 2010

  St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  For daddy, Mc Radford Sr, for all the usual reasons and so much more. I couldn’t have made it without you.

  —K.

  Special thanks to Laree Bryant and June Harvey for their invaluable assistance, to Cleo L. Hearn who introduced me to the extraordinary African-American men and women who follow the rodeo circuit, and to my mother, Verona Radford, who instilled in me a love of reading.

  Chapter 1

  “Have you chosen which one of your young gentlemen you’re going to marry, Victoria?”

  Stunned, Victoria Chandler stared over the silver tea service at her grandmother. Heart pounding in her chest, Victoria carefully set the clinking cup and saucer on the antique clawfoot cocktail table in front of her. From out of nowhere came the childhood chant “liar, liar, pants on fire”. “I . . . er . . . no. I’m still trying to decide.”

  Clair Chandler Benson’s nut-brown face creased into an indulgent smile. “You told me you were having trouble choosing from your four young men. It’s a dilemma not many women are faced with. But you’ve been blessed with the same striking looks as your great-grandmother. Like you, she had long black hair, hazel eyes, and honey-colored skin, a vision. However, I have complete faith your heart will guide you in the twenty-one days you have left.”

  Feeling as if the floor shifted beneath her feet, Victoria fought the panic that threatened to overwhelm her. “Grandmother, why don’t I wait and decide at the end of summer, when things aren’t so hectic at the stores?”

  Clair shook her blue-gray head of hair. “That won’t do at all. It will be beyond the cutoff date and you’ll lose Lavender and Lace.”

  Victoria’s tenuous hold on her emotions slipped. Fear widened her eyes and left her momentarily speechless. “You-you’
re serious, aren’t you?”

  “I’ve never been more serious about anything in my entire life,” Clair answered. “I know we haven’t discussed it in some time, but I thought I had made myself quite clear. I remember our agreement well. We were sitting in this very room and I gave you six months to get married or I would call in the loans for your three stores. Victoria, you did mark your calendar, didn’t you?”

  Slowly Victoria rose to her feet. Her eccentric grandmother wasn’t playing. She meant every word. Fool that Victoria was, she thought she could evade the issue by telling her grandmother that she couldn’t choose between four men. The trouble was, there were no men in her life—and that was the way Victoria wanted to keep it.

  “Grandmother, marriage is a serious matter.”

  “Of course it is. You’re talking to someone who celebrated her thirty-fifth wedding anniversary last month.” Clair smiled, showing natural white teeth. “I completely understand your apprehension. After my first husband died I never dreamed I’d find anyone like him. Then I met Henry at a charity dinner. I’m sure you’ll be as fortunate as I was in finding a wonderful second husband.”

  “Men have changed since then. They aren’t all honest and forthright like grandfather,” Victoria said with a tinge of anger.

  “I know that, dear, but you’ve picked the best Fort Worth has to offer; a doctor, a lawyer, a cattleman, and a banker.” Clair looked at her only grandchild with unabashed pride. “Although, I must admit I rather favor the cattleman, since you mentioned his ranch is in the area. It would be nice to have a horseman in the family again. Your great-great-grandfather, Hosea Chandler, was a buffalo soldier with the Ninth Cavalry unit.”

  Victoria groaned inwardly. Those nursery rhymes again. Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief. At the time, she knew even her unconventional grandmother wouldn’t have believed Victoria was dating an Indian chief. Out of nowhere a “butcher” and a “baker” had popped into her head. Before she knew it they became a cattleman and a banker.

  “What if I can’t make up my mind?”

  “Oh, dear.” Distressed, Clair paused in adding a dollop of cream to her specially blended tea. “Then you might have a problem.”

  “What do you mean?” Victoria’s stomach muscles clenched.

  “You know how much your grandfather and I love you, and I was afraid I’d lose my nerve and call off the whole thing. On the other hand, you know how much pride I take in a person keeping their word. So, I turned everything over to my lawyer.”

  Victoria slumped into the nearest chair. “Grandmother, how could you have done this to me?”

  “Because I love you. You’re thirty years old and still dragging your feet about remarrying and carrying on the Chandler name. I simply decided to help you.”

  Sheer panic propelled Victoria once again to her feet. She felt trapped as she glanced around the sitting room full of overstuffed furniture, antiques, and heirlooms that had been handed down through five generations of Chandlers. The Chandlers had been a prominent and well-respected family in Texas since reconstruction and each generation coined the name with pride.

  She wondered if the hardships her ancestors endured were any greater than hers had been when she was married to a selfish, greedy man who demeaned her and took from her until nothing was left . . . not even her self-respect. The thought of marriage tied her stomach in knots.

  Unconsciously, Victoria shook her head. “I need more time.”

  “You have twenty-one days.” Clair picked up her tea and took a sip, then assessed her granddaughter critically. “Perhaps if you bring your young men over, on separate visits of course, your grandfather and I can help you choose one. You’re so compassionate, you’re probably worried about the three losers, but it can’t be helped.”

  Victoria looked at the seventy-two-year-old woman who sat before her, lovable and cuddly in chiffon and pearls, and wanted to shake her. But experience had taught Victoria that when her grandmother was in one of her stubborn moods, she developed tunnel vision. It was easier trying to reason with a two-year-old child. Still, for Victoria’s own sanity, she had to try. “I’m not marrying anyone in twenty-one days.”

  “You will if you want to keep Lavender and Lace,” Clair reminded her, then leaned back on the blue silk couch. “I told you, it’s in my lawyer’s hands now. I can’t change it. And it isn’t as if you don’t have any prospects. At least you can choose your own man. In the past, women seldom had that luxury.”

  True fear began to creep up Victoria’s spine. “Grandmother, don’t do this. You know how much my shops mean to me. If you love me, you’ll stop this now.”

  “It’s because I love you that I won’t stop. Besides, I have complete confidence that you’ll decide within the time left.” Clair looked at her granddaughter with steadfast brown eyes. “When your precious father and mother were killed in that tragic boating accident eighteen years ago, you became the daughter I never had. Each night I say a prayer for that man who pulled you to shore safely. Victoria, your father would have wanted me to guide you in this matter. I’ve only got a few good years left and I want to see you happily settled before I go.”

  “I am happy,” Victoria cried.

  “You can lie to yourself, but not to me. I see the wistful look in your face when you see a baby or a small child.” Clair set the delicate china on the table. “You are a sensitive, caring woman. You want and deserve children of your own.”

  Her grandmother’s perceptiveness caught Victoria off guard. She had tried to forget her dream of children just as she had tried to forget her failure as a wife. Apparently, she was successful at neither. Her shoulders straightened, causing her emerald green wrap dress to tighten across her hips and rise above her knees.

  “Many women want children. My wanting them doesn’t prove anything,” Victoria said, taking a seat beside her grandmother.

  A gentle hand caressed Victoria’s shoulder-length hair. “It might not, if you didn’t also crave what’s required in order to have children.”

  Blushing, Victoria stood and walked to the open French doors on the other side of the room. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Yes, you do.” Shrewd eyes swept Victoria’s rigid posture. “You stayed with Stephen out of a sense of duty, not love. You’ve yet to find the man who can kiss you senseless.”

  “Grandmother!” Victoria whirled, her mouth open in shock.

  “Oh, my darling Victoria,” her grandmother said, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “Sometimes you’re such an innocent. It’s going to be a pleasure to watch you fall in love and blossom.”

  “Where is grandfather?” Victoria asked as she stepped onto the terrace and looked out over the immaculate lawn to the flower gardens beyond. “Perhaps he can talk some sense into you.”

  “Henry is in the rose garden and he and I are in perfect agreement.” Clair folded her hands in her lap. “We both decided the best way to get you to the altar was through Lavender and Lace. You wouldn’t raise an eyebrow if we threatened to cut you out of our will.”

  Anger replaced irritation and fear. Victoria stalked back to her grandmother. “I earn my own way, just like I earned Lavender and Lace. I slept in the back office to cut expenses, did without, and worked fourteen hours a day to make the first store successful.”

  Clair was undisturbed. “Against my advice and wishes, but you proved me wrong. I’ve never been prouder of you.”

  “Then give me the time to pick my husband,” Victoria said, unable to keep the pleading note out of her voice. She’d spent the last eight years regaining her self-respect and her independence; she wasn’t about to let a man destroy her again. “Let me choose in my own time.”

  Her grandmother shook her coiffured head. “You have twenty-one days or the lawyer will call in the loan. I’m thinking about letting DeShannon manage the stores for me. They’ll give Henry’s niece a reason to get up before noon.” Clair took a sip of tea. “Although I don’t know what she’ll do once
she gets to your office. She’s as flighty as a hummingbird,” she said almost to herself.

  Clair picked up a wafer-thin cookie and critically eyed the cherry center. “Hard to believe your grandfather is related to that family,” she continued. “Oh well, that’s their side of the family. What I intend to do is preserve mine. The Chandler bloodline will continue in you.”

  Discarding the cookie, Clair picked up her cup of tea and drew in a long, deep breath. “Smell those roses. Your grandfather is working hard to keep them pretty in hopes you’ll change your mind about a civil ceremony and get married in the garden. I hate that you won’t be a June bride, but you can’t have everything. April is a beautiful month to get married.”

  Clair glanced sideways at the silent Victoria. “Do you think you could manage to get pregnant right away?” The older woman looked wistful. “I don’t want to rush you, but we’re all getting older. A boy would be nice, but we could name a girl Chandler to carry on the name, or you could hyphenate Chandler with your married name. Which idea do you like best?”

  “Why ask me when you obviously have everything planned?” Victoria said tightly. “You probably have my obstetrician all picked out.”

  Clair looked thoughtful. “I haven’t. Perhaps I should begin looking into the matter. The best ones are difficult to get.”

  Her head pounding, Victoria plopped into an ornate straight-back chair near the terrace window. How could you love someone and want to throttle them at the same time?

  Two days later, the anger and frustration Victoria felt about her grandmother’s unimaginable proposition hadn’t diminished. She sat in one of downtown Fort Worth’s most elegant restaurants and couldn’t have cared less. Her salad fork pinged against her plate as she speared an olive. “Grandmother, how could you do this to me?” she said absently.

  Seated across the restaurant table from Victoria, Bonnie Taylor lifted a perfectly arched brow and slowly smiled. “So that’s why you’ve been so preoccupied during lunch. I thought there was a problem with one of your stores.”