He shook his head. “My Air Force buddies call me Raven. You’re not my pal from the service. You’re the woman I—“ He coughed. “You’re my lover. I want you to call me Aaron.”

  “I just—”

  “I need you to call me Aaron.” He spun to face her. “It’s my effing name, Caitlin. My name. A part of who I am. If you can’t say it when you look at me, let alone when I’m making love to you, that’s a problem. A big one.”

  “I don’t know what to do about it!”

  “I don’t either, damn it! All I know is I can’t fix this. You’re the only one who can, and…” He ran his fingers through his hair and stared out the front window. “God, I hate like hell to say this…”

  She clenched her hands in her lap, heart pounding, waiting for the ax to fall.

  His voice grew hoarse. “We shouldn’t see each other anymore until you do.” He cleared the emotion from his throat. “If you ever do.”

  She nodded. “I’ll be out of here in five minutes.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  From heaven to hell. Aaron continued to pace while Caitlin dashed into his bedroom to put on her clothes. He hated sending her away. He longed to take it back, apologize, promise to drop the subject. If only he could drop it!

  He’d tried ignoring the issue ever since she’d set foot in his house last night. He’d pretended it didn’t matter but had secretly waited in vain for that magic moment. When she’d called him soldier a second time, he could see that becoming her go-to, a work-around so she’d never have to say his name. Forget that shit.

  She’d said she’d be gone in five minutes. She reappeared in four.

  He unhooked her purse and camera bag from the coat tree. “Just to warn you, I need to talk this out with someone. Learned that when I was in the hospital.”

  She met his gaze. Hers was filled with enough pain to last him a lifetime. “By all means.” Her voice was toneless, robotic. “Talk to whoever you need.”

  “The thing is, Badger’s on his honeymoon and I don’t feel like dealing with Cowboy. I’m going to call Kendra, see if I can come out for a ride soon. I know you’re often there for senior pictures, so I—”

  “Don’t worry about running into me. I didn’t make appointments for the first part of this week. I’ll be busy with wedding pictures.”

  “Okay, then.”

  She took a shaky breath. “I’ve hurt you and I’m sorrier than I could ever say. I shouldn’t have come over here last night.”

  A knife twisted in his gut. “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s true!” She looked away. “I accepted your invitation knowing I hadn’t faced the reality of the name problem. I don’t know what I expected.” Her laugh was bitter. “A miracle transformation in my thinking, I guess.”

  He closed his eyes. He’d inspired bitterness and recrimination in a woman who was the personification of sunshine and joy. What had he done?

  “Instead, every minute I spent with you made it worse.” There was a catch in her voice.

  He opened his eyes.

  Tears glistened in hers. “You’re the exact opposite of him. Why do you have to have his name?”

  He swallowed a howl of pain. “Why does he have to have mine?”

  “Well said.” She swallowed and reached for the doorknob. “I’ll be in touch.”

  “I’ll…focus on that possibility.”

  “Goodbye…” She took a shaky breath. “Goodbye…Aaron.”

  She’d choked it out, clearly forced herself to utter those two syllables. Point taken. After she’d closed the door behind her, he hit it hard with his fist. It rattled in the frame. Damn it. Damn it to hell.

  Kendra had an opening to go riding with him on Monday afternoon. Since Kendra was dog-sitting while Luke and Abigail honeymooned in Hawaii, Delilah would tag along on their ride. Suited him just fine. The pup might provide some much-needed comic relief.

  Kendra assigned him Jake, as if sensing the smooth-gaited Tennessee Walker was just the horse he needed. She took Licorice to give the mare a break from her rambunctious colt Eclipse. At five months, he was all legs and full of the devil.

  Delilah pranced with eagerness as they saddled up. Kendra made small talk about the wedding, although she didn’t mention Caitlin. Not once.

  Evidently she’d figured out Caitlin was why he was there. He’d mentioned having an issue to discuss, one that was best handled during the ride. She’d likely seen him leave the reception with Caitlin. That had probably set some tongues wagging.

  Once they’d gone through the pasture gate, Delilah got busy searching the underbrush for rabbits. The path was wide enough for two horses, which had prompted Kendra to call it the Trail of Secrets. Appropriate.

  He turned to her. “Before I start, has Cowboy said anything?”

  “Oh, he says things all the time, but he hasn’t mentioned you recently. Does he know about this issue you want to discuss?”

  “Some of it. Badger had too much champagne Saturday night and some info came to light that shouldn’t have. Cowboy asked me to clarify, which I did. He…wasn’t happy. Just so you know. I’m not one of his favorites right now.”

  “Good grief. Ryker loves you. You’re the last person I’d expect to be on his bad side. What did you do?”

  “Tricked Caitlin into believing I was someone else for three evenings last week.”

  “What the hell?”

  “Yeah, I know.” And Caitlin had forgiven him. He winced at the injustice of that. She’d forgiven him and he’d held her feet to the fire over the name situation. What a guy.

  “Badger came up with that scheme, didn’t he?”

  “Well, yeah, but I went along with it.”

  “I knew something had happened. Just the way Hayley looked at him when she said I love you even when you’re an idiot set my antennae vibrating. Sounded like a recent transgression to me.”

  “He meant well.”

  “He always does.” She sighed. “Okay, son, take it from the top.”

  He loved that she called him son. She didn’t mean it literally. Then again, maybe she did. There was a reason he was comfortable laying this problem at her feet. She’d deal with him as if he were her flesh and blood.

  Taking a deep breath, he plunged into his narrative. It sounded more ridiculous each time he had to tell the story. How had Caitlin fallen for such a lame performance?

  He knew the answer. She had a kind heart. She had romance in her soul and had wanted to believe. The optimist who captured wonder and beauty with her lens had fallen for the tale of a lonely vet.

  He glossed over the sexy parts, but Kendra had five grown sons. She’d get the gist.

  When he’d finished, she pulled up her horse, nudged back her hat and gazed at him. “What a great plot for a daytime soap opera.”

  He reined in Jake. “No kidding. It’s a damn mess.”

  “That too. Let me be sure I have everything straight. The plan sort of worked, but in the end, it blew up in your face because she still can’t think of you as Aaron Donahue. Is that about the size of it?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Whew. This is a tough one. I went to school with a kid named Jason. A real snot. Jason is a perfectly fine name and Ian wanted it for one of our sons. I told him no way. I still have a negative reaction when I meet somebody with that name.”

  His restless gaze settled on the rugged bulk of the mountains. “Yeah, I knew a rotten little girl named Annabelle in fifth grade. Lied, swiped other kids’ stuff, bullied the smaller kids. Never did like that name after that.”

  “What if Caitlin had been named Annabelle?”

  He blinked and turned to her. “I never thought of it that way.”

  “Helps to stand in another person’s boots.”

  “I like to think it wouldn’t have mattered, given how much I admire her, but…who knows?” He grimaced. “Maybe it’s hopeless, then.”

  “It’s difficult, but not hopeless. Definitely worth it for us to take a shot at Caitlin’s prejudice against your name.”

  “Us? You mean you and me?”

  “Oh, sorry. I jumped ahead a few moves. Usually when I say us in the context of a campaign, I’m talking about the Whine and Cheese Club.”

  “A campaign? With those ladies? Hang on, Kendra. I’m not asking you to—”

  “You look a little panicked. Don’t worry. We won’t do anything without your approval.”

  “Good, because her reaction is totally understandable. More so now that you got me to look at it from her side. I wouldn’t want to…to cause her distress.”

  “You already have.”

  He groaned. “Okay, then. More stress.”

  She reached over and patted his arm. “Chin up. This is a complicated situation, but we’ve faced other complicated situations and come out ahead.”

  “You mean the Whine and Cheese Club.”

  “I do. Look, we’re women and you’re not.”

  He choked on a laugh.

  “I realize that sounds like an obvious statement, but our perspective is much different from yours. We’re also women of a certain age. Our combined store of wisdom could solve most major world problems if we were given the reins.”

  “That I do believe, but this is a very delicate—”

  “Which is where we shine. First question. Does Caitlin know you’re telling me about this?”

  “Yes. I told her before she left. Until Saturday night, only the four of us knew—me, Badger, Caitlin and Hayley. Cowboy knows but won’t tell anybody. By telling you, I’ve increased the number to six.”

  “I want to increase the number to eleven.”

  “I thought there were only five of you.”

  “Virginia’s a member, now.”

  “Oh.”

  “This’ll be her first adventure. It’ll be good for her to get her feet wet.”

  “Kendra, I love you and I believe your friends are capable, but that’s a lot of folks to be in on this secret. I don’t give a damn about myself, but I don’t want Caitlin to be embarrassed by town gossip.”

  “Nothing goes out of our group that shouldn’t. We’re surgical, quiet and discreet.”

  “Quiet and discreet? You were on a float in the Fourth of July parade wiggling your asses to Shake Ya Tailfeather!”

  She laughed. “Discreet when it’s called for, outrageous when necessary. Look, nothing will happen if I contact Caitlin and she has no interest in discussing the matter with me. But I have a hunch she’ll need to vent, just like you.”

  “Maybe. Hayley’s not here, which leaves her with nobody unless she wants to share the whole mess with someone new. I doubt she does, at least not at this point.”

  “And you said she doesn’t know how to fix this?”

  “She doesn’t.”

  “But she’d like to?”

  “I think so. I hope so.”

  “Then if you’ll trust me to handle the problem with love and compassion, my friends and I may be able to help.”

  He hesitated.

  “What have you got to lose?”

  He laughed and shook his head. “Badger asked me that when I balked at going forward with his plan.”

  “You just told me you don’t regret going through with it, even knowing how snarled up it’s become.”

  “Yeah, the only thing I regret is causing Caitlin pain.”

  “Like I said, there’s a ton of firepower in this group of women. If this can be fixed, we’ll fix it.”

  He drew courage from her confidence. “Okay. Go for it. And holler if you need my help.”

  “I doubt we will, but I could use it right now.”

  “Oh?”

  “Delilah’s found a stick and that means she wants someone to throw it for her. I get tired of throwing it long before she gets tired of chasing it. She’s insatiable with that stick routine.”

  He swung down from the saddle. “Then allow me. I could use a mindless physical task.” Then he paused as the light dawned. He looked up at her. “And that’s why you asked me to do it.”

  She smiled. “Throw the stick, son. Throw it hard. After thirty or forty times, you’ll feel a whole lot better.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Desperation drove Caitlin to accept Kendra’s offer of an evening of brainstorming with the Whine and Cheese Club on Wednesday night. If Hayley hadn’t been in Paris with Badger, she would have been the sympathetic ear Caitlin needed, the friend who could advise her how to navigate her way through this debacle.

  But without Hayley, she was in danger of doing something stupid. She almost called her mother. Pouring out the whole miserable story on the phone would accomplish nothing, though. Her parents had only visited Eagles Nest once, right after she moved here, and her mom wouldn’t know any of the players. Seemed pointless to drag her into this ridiculous drama.

  Two nights in a row she’d picked up her keys with the intent of going over to his house in the wee hours. She missed his strong, loving arms, his laughter, his kiss. Surely they could work this out.

  Both times she’d put her keys away because nothing had changed. She’d fallen head over heels for a man with the wrong damn name.

  By working like a galley slave, she finished the wedding albums, both physical and digital, on Wednesday afternoon. She ate a quick dinner and made it to the ranch at eight on the dot. Lights glowed in the windows.

  She climbed out of the Jeep, her laptop under her arm, and mounted the steps to the front porch. As she crossed the porch and reached for the wrought-iron door knocker, laughter erupted inside the house. If nothing else, these women might help her locate her missing sense of humor.

  Kendra opened the door and smiled. “Come on in. Everybody’s excited to dig into this problem.”

  “Um, okay.” Excited? Really? Bemused by that description, she walked into her first-ever meeting of the Whine and Cheese Club.

  “Hey, Caitlin!” Virginia put down her wine and hurried over to give her a hug. “You poor thing. Going through all this in the middle of all the wedding hoopla.”

  “Yeah, well…” She was saved from having to come up with a response as the other members took turns hugging her and expressing their concern. Got her a little choked up. Made her miss her mom.

  “Have a seat, have a seat.” Diedre, a curvy woman with curly hair in an eye-popping shade of red, ushered her over to the couch by the fireplace. “I want to see your pictures of him. I have an idea how we can use them.”

  “We need to get the woman some wine, Deidre.” Judy, a short brunette, stood on the other side of the coffee table. “Red or white, Caitlin?”

  “Red, please. And thanks.”

  “I want to see the pictures, too.” Christine sat on Caitlin’s other side. She was taller and even more willowy than Virginia.

  “Me, too.” Virginia leaned against the back of the couch.

  “I’m not sure how this will help.” At Kendra’s request, Caitlin had pulled out images of Aaron from the wedding and added them to the ones she’d taken outside his house. She opened her laptop and turned it on. “If I can’t think of him as Aaron in person, how can—”

  “I’ll explain once we’re all gathered,” Deidre said. “And have refills.”

  Kendra laughed. “I’ll bring out the bottles.”

  “I’ve set this up as a slide show.” Caitlin called up the file. “Pulled some stills from the video I took at the reception.”

  “He was a dancing fool at that reception,” Deidre said. “I had to quit asking him to dance with me because Jim was getting miffed.”

  “And when he waltzed with my grandmother,” Virginia said, “I just melted.”

  “Who’s ready?” Kendra came in with red in one hand and white in the other.

  “All of us,” Christine said. “We need fortification for this project.”

  “Absolutely. Here you go, Caitlin.” Judy handed her a goblet.

  Kendra glanced around. “Does this remind anybody of that awful kid, Jason?”

  “Ugh, yes.” Judy made a face. “I still can’t stand that name.” She turned to Caitlin. “Not sure if you knew Deidre, Kendra, Christine and I were in the same class.”

  “Yep. Heard that.”

  “And in the same class with Jason the Jerkoff,” Christine said. “He was the worst, Caitlin. Went around snapping our bras, making remarks about our boobs, telling dirty jokes to see if we’d blush.”

  Judy started laughing. “Then Deidre got fed up and told him he had a classic case of small wienie syndrome. That was a priceless moment. I’ve never seen a face that red.”

  “Because I nailed it.” Deidre grinned. “The obnoxious ones never have decent-sized schlongs.”

  “So true.” Jo, an elegant woman with short gray hair, saluted Deidre with her wine glass. “I’m glad you put that little twit in his place.”

  “It was fun.”

  “I’ll bet. Hey, before we get started, I propose a toast. To the friendship of women.”

  “Perfect.” Kendra lifted her glass.

  Caitlin glanced around at friendly faces and kind eyes. Whether they helped her solve this problem or not, she was blessed because they were willing to try. She raised her glass. “I’ll drink to that.”

  After everyone had taken a generous sip, Deidre settled back on the couch. “Let the slide show begin.”

  Caitlin sat quietly as the women exclaimed over the shots. She’d saved the sepia-toned one for last.

  “That one.” Deidre pointed to the screen. “Oh, God, that’ll do the trick.”

  “Time to reveal your grand plan, Deidre,” Kendra said. “Are you going to have her stare at that for two hours a day?”

  “Not exactly. But sort of. Caitlin, I want you to project that life-sized on your wall in your apartment. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Oh, but before you do, can you Photoshop his name on it? Maybe several times, in different colors and fonts?”

  “Guess so.”

  “Since I’m assuming you’ll only have the one projector, we need to pick out some others you can print up and tack everywhere, and I mean everywhere, with his name on all of them.”