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He couldn’t hold back a grin. “Now you see why. I’m not much good with domestic details.”
Megan rolled her eyes.
Faith was more sympathetic. “It’s hard to do everything. I think this arrangement will suit us well.”
“Megan mentioned the end of the month,” Rick began, relief filling him that he’d hadn’t blown the whole thing.
“Must we wait that long?” Faith asked.
“Mother, we’ve paid rent until then,” Megan inserted.
“I know, but that’s three weeks away. I don’t see any reason to wait.”
“You might even get some of your rent back,” Rick added, hoping Megan would agree with her mother. Home-cooked meals right away. He smiled.
“You’re thinking about food again,” Megan accused.
Damn, she was able to read him too easily. He felt a little unnerved.
“Megan, quit teasing Rick. He’s being most cooperative.”
Megan smothered her groan and dropped her gaze to her half-eaten meal. There was nothing wrong with the food. It had been excellent. But her appetite had dwindled as the evening had progressed.
She had promised to marry the man beside her? To share a house, if not his bed, for at least a year? To see him every day?
Already she was learning to read his thoughts, to feel sympathy for him, to want to help him. She had to remain apart from this man. She wasn’t going to fall into the trap that had claimed her sister.
“Today is Saturday. I think Wednesday would be a good day to be married,” Faith said, beaming at Rick. “We could move in Thursday, and, by next weekend, be all settled.”
“I think that sounds great,” he agreed.
He would, Megan thought to herself. He was thinking in terms of his comfort. Selfish man. Suddenly, she was filled with regret. He was providing what she’d asked for. It wasn’t his fault she was in the position she was in. She shouldn’t hold it against him.
“Okay, fine. Is there a justice of the peace in town who can marry us?”
“Megan, no!” Faith returned, alarm on her face.
“What, Mom?”
“Mr. Brown, the pastor of our church, will marry you.” She turned to Rick. “We can’t manage a real wedding, but a nice ceremony and then dinner at Jessica’s restaurant would make it a festive occasion.”
To Megan’s fury, Rick smiled at her mother and nodded agreement. “I think you’re right. It will make it nice.”
“Are you two crazy?” Meg asked, then realized her voice was too shrill and lowered it. “This is a business arrangement, not a romantic occasion.”
“But do you want the rest of the town to know that?” Rick asked calmly. “When the time comes for the court to decide who gets the children, do you want them to suspect that it’s a business arrangement? Or a romantic, love-at-first-sight marriage?”
Her mother and Rick stared at her, united in their decision, waiting for her response.
First round to them.
Chapter Three
Megan lost a lot of battles in the next few days. Mostly with herself. She might have to pretend that her marriage was a love match, but she wanted to keep her heart whole.
Her sister had fallen for the entire package. Swept off her feet by a wealthy, charming man, she’d felt like Cinderella with her handsome prince. Less than six months after her fairy-tale wedding, Andrea had discovered the flip side of her romance. Prince Charming had grown more and more abusive.
But by then she was already pregnant. She told Megan she had to stay for the sake of Victoria. Then she became pregnant with Andrew. After his birth, Andrea had hoped her marriage would change. It hadn’t.
Finally, she’d left Drake. Then he’d asked her to discuss everything with him. He’d picked her up, without her realizing he’d been drinking, and killed her in an automobile accident.
Megan wasn’t going to be swayed by romance.
Or hormones.
But it was an uphill battle. Rick Astin was definitely charming. He had a smile that could turn her heart upside down. And he was as handsome as sin.
At least he wasn’t wealthy, though he’d offered to foot the bill for the dinner reception at The Last Roundup. She and her mother had argued with him about that. After all, they weren’t paying him to marry Megan. They’d finally agreed to split the cost.
With that settled, her mother’s attention had turned to Megan’s dress. “We’ll go into Lubbock to shop.”
“No, Mom, we don’t have time. I have that cream-colored suit I bought last year.”
“But, dear, you should wear white. You’ll make a beautiful bride,” Faith said, a smile on her face.
Megan was glad her mother was doing better. She’d shown more energy and hope since Saturday night than she had in almost a year. But she was getting carried away.
“If we’re going to move to Rick’s place on Thursday, we need to do some cleaning out there,” she pointed out, knowing her mother would be distracted with their move. “You know he’s a terrible housekeeper.”
“Yes, the poor dear. He needs someone to make a home for him. Cal says he’s a hard worker. Everyone likes him.”
Megan ground her teeth. According to her mother, Rick was perfection. But then she’d thought the same thing about Drake at first, too.
“We’ve set everything up with Reverend Brown. We’ve made reservations with Jessica. I have something to wear. Let’s go to Rick’s and see what we can do to get the house ready,” Megan suggested.
She’d been right. Her mother fell for her distraction. “Yes. If we go now, we can put the kids down for a nap, giving us some uninterrupted time.”
“Actually, Florence’s housekeeper volunteered to keep the kids for the day,” Megan told her. Florence Greenfield, wife of one of the doctors, was an old friend of Faith’s, one of the ladies who had suggested Rick as a potential husband.
“How wonderful. I’ll call and see if we can drop them off right now.”
In the end, Megan found herself one in a small army of women. Her mother’s friends, Florence, Mabel Baxter, Ruth Langford and Edith Hauk joined them, as well as several of their housekeepers.
The old house began to come alive as lemon-fresh scent replaced dust, changing Rick’s disaster to a comfortable home. Folding a white T-shirt reminded Megan of Rick’s pink shirt Saturday night, and his embarrassment. It brought a smile to her face.
“You look happy,” Mabel said, catching her by surprise.
“Um, yes, of course,” she agreed, remembering the role she had agreed to play.
“I’m glad everything is working out. Now, we need to move Rick’s belongings downstairs. Why don’t you come direct the change?”
Megan swallowed. She didn’t want to make decisions for Rick. But she had no choice.
When it got late in the afternoon, the crew of women began to disperse. After all, they had their own homes and families to deal with. Megan wanted to hang the freshly washed curtains for Torie’s room before she left, and Mabel offered to take Faith to get the children and take them to their apartment.
“I should be finished in a few minutes, Mom, if you want to wait.”
“No, dear, I’m tired. I think I’d better go on with Mabel.”
“Okay,” Megan agreed, frowning. She hoped her mother hadn’t overdone it today.
As Mabel and her mother were leaving, Mabel said, “There’s a casserole in the oven. It needs to come out in half an hour.” Then she disappeared out the door.
Megan realized some of the women had brought in bags of groceries, but she hadn’t realized they’d cooked. She moved to the oven and opened it. A wonderful aroma filled the room.
With a grin, she realized Rick was going to be pleased. It was some kind of enchilada casserole. She checked to be sure the timer was set and closed the oven. She needed to finish her chore and get out of there.
Then she realized she couldn’t leave until Rick returned or the casserole would be ruined.
With a grimace, she went upstairs to hang the curtains. Surely he’d come in soon. It was almost six o’clock.
An hour and a half later, Megan was pacing the floor. It was almost dark. When was the man going to appear? What was he doing?
She’d called her mother to explain why she hadn’t arrived, but her mother hadn’t been surprised.
“Most ranchers work until the light goes, dear. He’ll be there soon. Why don’t you share his supper and then come home?”
“No, I’ll be home as soon as he shows up.”
“But we’ve already eaten—”
“I can take care of myself, Mom. I’ll see you in a little while.”
RICK HAD INTENDED to cut his day a little shorter because he’d promised himself he’d give some time to cleaning the house tonight. Faith had asked if she and Megan could come out today to start moving in and he’d reluctantly agreed, telling her the house would be unlocked.
He should’ve cleaned on Sunday, but even Sundays sometimes required work. It was calving season. And today had been particularly busy. He was filthy and tired.
Next week, after his marriage, he would come home to a clean house and a hot meal. That idea brought a smile to his weary lips.
He parked his pickup near the backdoor and struggled out, ready to drag himself up the steps. He came to an abrupt halt, however, when he discovered a frowning Megan standing at the backdoor.
“Something wrong?” he asked, speeding up his walk.
“Where have you been?” she asked, instead of answering his question.
“Delivering calves.”
“You mean you were actually working?”
Her utter surprise irritated him. “Naw, I was sun-bathing by the pond in the back pasture.” He regretted his sarcasm as her cheeks flushed. “Why are you still here? Is there a problem?”
“No. I waited to take the casserole out when it finished cooking. Then, I thought it would be rude to leave, so I waited, thinking you’d be here any minute.”
He picked out the key word. “Casserole? You fixed dinner?”
“Not me. One of the ladies who helped us today.”
“Well, let’s eat. I’m starving.”
He started to move past her and saw her nose wrinkle in distaste. “Uh, I’ll grab a quick shower first,” he promised even as his stomach protested the wait.
She followed him into the house. “You go ahead. I’ll set out the food and then leave.”
“You’re not staying to eat?”
“No. I need to go to the apartment and help Mom put the kids to bed.” She didn’t meet his gaze, which made him wonder if she was lying, but he was too hungry to care.
“Okay.”
He was halfway across the kitchen when his surroundings pierced his fog of hunger and weariness. The room gleamed in the fading light and smelled great. “What happened?”
“To what?”
“The kitchen. Man, you must’ve worked all day to get it to look like this. Nice job, Megan.” He turned to smile at her, but she was still frowning.
“We had a lot of help. Mom’s friends, the ones who recommended you, came to help.”
“Ah, the matchmakers.”
“The matchmakers?”
“That’s what everyone calls them now, since they had a contest to marry off their sons. You know, Mac, Tuck, Spence and Cal.”
“They were just being helpful to me,” she muttered and turned her back on him. “Hurry and clean up before your dinner gets too cold.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said and bounded up the stairs, spurred on by his hunger.
The hot shower refreshed him, even though it was a quick one. He stepped out and grabbed a towel, doing a quick rubdown. Then, wrapping the towel around his waist, even though Megan was supposed to be gone, he hurried into his bedroom for clean jeans and T-shirt.
And found nothing.
His bedroom was spotless. And the chest of drawers was empty. He opened the closet. Empty. Obviously, the ladies today had taken over the entire house. Now that he thought about it, the bath was immaculate, too. Or it was until he’d showered.
Maybe they moved his things to the downstairs bedroom. He came down the stairs, reaching the bottom as the kitchen door swung open. Megan ran smack into him, her hands coming to rest on his bare chest.
“Oh!”
“Megan! I thought you were leaving.”
