Sara Orwig - Her Torrid Temporary Marriage

They walked through the spacious barn, where Josh showed her the tack room, and then they strolled to a fenced pasture where mares were grazing. They stood beside the fence to look at the horses that were as fine as any she owned. Josh leaned against the fence and turned to face her. He caught her braid in his hand and toyed with it, the tugs against her scalp too faint to be the cause of the tingles she experienced. She wanted to back up because he was standing so close.

“I gave thought to what I wanted before I asked you, Mattie,” he said quietly. His brown eyes were compelling as he searched her gaze.

She looked up at him and realized again that he was one of the few men she had known in her life who made her feel petite. “It’s just impossible. I don’t know anything about babies. I really don’t know anything about men, either.”

“You work with men daily. You have all your life.”

“I’ve never dated, and that’s different,” she said, feeling her nervousness increase. Her skin felt prickly, and she was too conscious of him.

“It doesn’t matter one iota to me that you’ve never dated. And I doubt if never is the correct description. You’ve dated some,” he said. “You dated in college.”

“Very little, and it meant nothing. I feel like I’m an anachronism, a real throwback to another age and time when there were women like me. I’ve never seriously dated anyone.”

Josh wondered about the stories he had heard. She was skittish as a colt around him, but he suspected it was because of his proposal, not the fact that she was out with a man. Her gaze remained on the mares. Only the pink that suffused her cheeks gave a hint to her feelings.

“I thought you dated someone seriously in college. That’s what I heard.”

The corner of her mouth lifted slightly in a wry smile. “Then you heard wrong. Gran might have started a rumor because she has always wanted me to find a man—but no, I didn’t. I’m taller than most men I know. Growing up I was a tomboy. Sometimes I think I scare some men.”

“You don’t scare me,” Josh said quietly, wondering about her, realizing maybe she had been hurt by the boys she had grown up with. And he wondered how much her father had kept men away.

Josh’s gaze roamed over her profile, her wide brow, the thick blond hair, her big eyes and full rosy lips. His gaze dropped to her slender throat and full breasts that thrust tautly against her blue shirt. The woman was more than attractive. Surprised at himself, he studied her more closely. She was a good-looking woman, but he had never really noticed her before. And he was amazed how he noticed her now. It was the first time he had really looked at a woman since Lisa’s death.

“You work with men. You ride in rodeos. If you haven’t dated, it’s been your choice some of the time.” Another blush deepened the color of her cheeks, and he saw that he was right.

“Maybe so.”

He caught her thick braid and tugged on it slightly to get her to look at him. As she turned her head, he looked into guileless green eyes that held tiny gold flecks in the center. “You don’t have to know men or have dated. Our marriage wouldn’t be much different from your life now except we’ll be under one roof and you’ll be in charge of Elizabeth’s nanny. I don’t care about a physical relationship. I wouldn’t ever force myself on you. I’ll give you all the room you want.”

Another blush, this time fiery, turned her throat and cheeks red. “I can’t imagine the arrangement you’re suggesting, and I think within six months from now, you would regret it terribly.”

“You’re wrong. I’ve given this a lot of thought.”

“Besides a sham marriage being something you shouldn’t rush into, there’s another reason for me to say no. I’ll tell you something I’ve never told anyone else. I wouldn’t ever tell Gran, as a matter of fact.”

Mattie paused, and he wondered what deep secret she was about to reveal to him. He was still thinking about her as an appealing woman. Why hadn’t anyone dated her? He decided it definitely had to have been her choice most of the time.

“What haven’t you told anyone?” he prompted, wondering what secret she harbored.

Her green eyes went beyond him as if she were gazing into the horizon. “Someday I hope to sell the ranch and get far away from here.”

Stunned by her admission, feeling a sudden painful stab of guilt for trying to involve her in a plan that was to his advantage, he dropped her braid. As he looked down at her, he felt all his plans crumbling to pieces.

Three

“You don’t want this?” he asked, waving his hand and feeling astounded. “I figured you would live and breathe and sleep ranching. That’s all you’ve ever done. What else do you want?”

“My father always relied on me, and he brought me up to carry on when he was gone. But I want something else.”

“Lord, generations of your family lived on that ranch! You’d just let it all go?”

She raised her chin, her eyes flashing fire, and he guessed that when Mattie made up her mind, she could be mule stubborn. “My sisters left without a qualm. If my family is all gone except me, why do I have to preserve a heritage that I no longer want?”

“It’s hard to imagine you don’t want it,” he said, thinking about some of his arguments with Lisa over his staying on a ranch.

“I would never have done anything to hurt Dad, but ranch life isn’t all I want. He never asked me. He just assumed. He let my sisters go. By the time they were high school age, they were in boarding schools, and they’ve never returned. Nor will they ever.”

“Your father’s gone now, so what’s keeping you here?”

“I have Gran. I won’t hurt her by selling out while she’s alive. I’ll stay until Gran is gone.” Mattie shifted and raised her chin higher, and he saw the determined glint in her eyes. “You have to swear you won’t tell anyone, Josh. I’ve never told a soul. It would kill Gran, and I won’t have her hurt.”

“I won’t tell,” he answered perfunctorily, still perplexed and mulling over her revelation. “What do you want to do?”

She looked down and ran a slender finger along the rail. Her nails were neatly trimmed, and her hands looked delicate, even though he knew she probably had as many calluses on her palms as he did.

“It may sound foolish, but for years I’ve dreamed of going to law school. I’ve read some law books.” When she looked up, he saw the defiance in her bright gaze, as if she expected him to laugh at her.

Instead, he felt defeated, because she had seemed the perfect answer to his dilemma. And he felt the old guilt tug at him as he remembered how much Lisa had hated ranch life and begged him to move to the city.

“Well, there goes that idea.”

“I appreciate your offer,” she said, dropping her hand from the fence. “I’m flattered.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “You were the perfect solution. I thought we’d fit together like salt and pepper.”

“I can’t imagine moving here,” she said. “But I’m flattered.”

He gave her a faint smile and tugged on her braid. “You underestimate yourself.”

Pleased, she smiled up at hun. “Can you take me home now?”

He nodded and started walking back toward the pickup with her. “Are there any other relatives to take over the ranch?”

“No. Dad’s only brother settled in Arizona on a ranch that belongs to his wife’s family. Uncle Dan won’t leave Arizona.”

“Maybe you should have discussed this with your dad.”

“It never occurred to him that I could possibly want anything else, and it hasn’t occurred to Gran. And neither one would have accepted it. My sisters had a long history of rebellion from the time they were old enough to know there was some other place in the world to live.”