The Texas Rancher's Marriage

Stunned, Merri left the courtroom with Chase and Liz, as the next case was called. Their lawyer guided them down the hall to a spot where they could talk privately.

“Would the judge really do that?” Merri asked, her voice wobbling as badly as her knees. Clapping a hand over heart, she sank down on the closest wooden bench. “Take the kids away from us?”

“It’s within Judge Roy’s power. But she’s not going to do that, as long as this is a genuine attempt to build a loving, supportive family that will benefit all of you in the long run.”

“It is,” Chase said firmly, with laudable assurance. “Merri and I will make this work.”

Merri only wished she felt as confident.

“So much for our plans to divorce if things don’t work out,” she murmured as the two of them walked to the parking lot. She still felt shaky and at a loss. Chase, on the other hand, looked more confident than ever.

“Judge Roy had a point. Nothing good was ever accomplished with one foot out the door.”

Merri knew the words were truer than she wished. Still… “I’m scared.”

He caught her to him as they reached the car. “Don’t be,” he murmured with both hands on her shoulders. He looked deep into her eyes. “We’re two very strong people, who want only the best for the kids. We’ll find a way to make it work.”

Chase was as good as his word. He was there to help, with dinner and baths and story time. Jeffrey and Jessalyn still regarded him with wariness, but they were slowly warming to him, Merri could tell. As was evidenced by the last question of the day, as they were being tucked in for the night.

“Is Chase going to be our daddy…now that you two are married?” Jessalyn asked.

Merri looked at Chase. He waited, leaving the answer up to her. They hadn’t broached the subject yet, because they hadn’t wanted to rush the kids. “Yes, this makes him your daddy,” Merri said, with as much ease as she could muster.

“Is that okay with you?” Chase asked.

Jessalyn and Jeffrey exchanged looks. Two lower lips slid out truculently. “No,” Jeffrey said.

“We don’t want a daddy right now,” Jessalyn added.

Chase’s expression was inscrutable, but Merri could tell from the faint sheen in his eyes that he was crushed. As was she. “Why not?” she asked the kids, when she found her voice.

“Because we already got a mommy, so we don’t need a daddy,” Jessalyn explained.

“It’s okay,” Chase assured them, seeming to understand that he had upset the equanimity of the household.

“You can change your minds anytime,” Merri felt compelled to add.

Jeffrey sighed and hugged his teddy bear tightly. “We’re not going to.”

Jessalyn nodded in agreement. And that, it seemed, was that.

* * *

“SORRY THEY WEREN’T MORE cooperative,” Merri said as she and Chase went down the stairs together.

“They’ll warm up,” he predicted.

Merri hoped so. Thanks to Judge Roy’s ultimatum, they didn’t have a lot of time to make this work.

Unfortunately, Chase had an early call at the hospital. So the twins didn’t see him at all the next morning before preschool.

“Try a lot of short visits,” Merri’s friend Paige said, when she talked to her later that morning. Paige was not only a dedicated pediatrician, but also an experienced mother of demanding triplets. “It will help the kids get used to Chase and vice versa, and put a lot less pressure on all of them.”

Deciding it was good advice, Merri stopped by the hospital complex, after picking up the kids from school.

“How come we’re going to the hospital?” Jessalyn asked.

“I don’t want another shot,” Jeffrey whimpered, holding his hand over his thigh.

Paige held open the door to the hospital annex, where all the physician offices were located. “You’re not going to get one today. You already had your flu shots last month, remember?”

Jeffrey rubbed his thigh in memory. “That’s why I don’t want another one.”

“So how come we’re here, if we’re not going to the doctor?” Jessalyn persisted, pausing to study the festive turkey and cornucopia display taped outside the pediatric services suite.

Merri took the children’s hands and pressed on. “I thought we’d surprise Chase and see if he’d like to have lunch with us in the cafeteria.”

More frowns. “I’d rather go to the Dairy Barn,” Jessalyn said with a pout.

Merri paused outside the general surgery suite. “Another time,” she promised.

She ushered the children in, only to be told by the receptionist, “You just missed him. He went down to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat.”

“Perfect!” Merri smiled and ushered the children back out into the hall. Not surprisingly, they grumbled and dragged their heels all the way to the cafeteria.

Chase had already gone through the line. Tray in hand, he was searching for a seat when he saw them. He flashed a devastating smile, set his tray on a table for four and strode toward them.

He was looking more handsome than ever in blue surgical scrubs and a white doctor’s coat, and Merri felt her heart quiver in response. She knew this wasn’t a real marriage in the traditional sense, but at the moment, it felt as if it were.

Aware that all eyes were on them, she beamed at him. “Hey.”

Still smiling, Chase pressed a quick, casual kiss to her temple, then leaned down to do the same to the kids.

Instead of welcoming the gesture, they both shrank back, out of reach. The twins clung to Merri, hiding their faces in the fabric of her wool trousers.

“Can we go home now?” Jeffrey’s voice was muffled against her leg.

Merri patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Let’s have some lunch first, okay?”

The little boy was about to protest when a loud cheer went up behind them. Squeals of delight were followed by a chorus of “There he is!” “What a sight for sore eyes!” “Handsome as always, Dr. Heartbreaker!”

Dr. Heartbreaker?

Merri turned, coming face-to-face with the half-dozen young women from Chase’s photo. They were clad in desert-hued camouflage pants, jackets and form-fitting beige

T-shirts, and were all incredibly glad to see Chase. From the welcoming expression on her now husband’s face, he was equally thrilled to see them.

En masse, the women streamed toward him. And one after another, with everyone in the hospital cafeteria looking on, they greeted Chase with more whoops and hollers and heartfelt hugs.