The Texas Rancher's Marriage

And yet, Merri thought, Kate obviously continued to sense something was up.

Eager to end this line of questioning, Merri slid her hand into Chase’s and sent him a warning glance. “I think she’s concerned because no one knew you and I were thinking along these lines, Chase.”

Kate nodded soberly, picking up where Merri left off. “You have to admit it’s a shock to the community at large.”

Aggravation twisted the corners of his lips. “It’s also no one else’s business,” he stated in a flat, implacable tone.

Suddenly feeling as if she were dealing with a bull in a china shop, Merri continued to play peacemaker. She stood, dragging Chase along with her. “I—we—understand where you and Dr. Carrigan are coming from, Kate, and believe me, we appreciate your concern.”

Merri flashed a reassuring smile, while Chase played along, wrapping an arm about her waist. “But there’s really no need to worry.” Drawing strength from his warmth, she took another bolstering breath. “Chase and I know we did the right thing in getting married. Not just for the two of us and our future, but for the twins.” She paused, letting her words sink in. “The kids need a daddy. And Chase and I are going to see that they get the complete family they deserve.”

* * *

CHASE’S EXPRESSION WAS maddeningly inscrutable as they left the hospital counseling center. “You didn’t have to defend us,” he stated.

Merri flushed self-consciously. “Uh, yeah, I did.”

“How come?” he asked.

Aware this was a conversation that should not be overheard, she ducked into a small alcove in the painted, cement-block corridor. Defiantly, she lifted her chin. “Laramie County is a small, close-knit community, remember?”

He folded his arms across his chest and shot her a laser-sharp look.

With her back against the cool hospital wall, she ignored the sexual heat radiating from him, and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Everyone watches out for everyone else here.”

He shrugged and leaned in closer yet, dropping his voice, too. “So?” he prodded in a sexy murmur.

Merri drank in the crisp, masculine fragrance emanating from him. “So people are understandably concerned and confused…given how fast this has all come about.” She drew a breath, reassuring herself that despite the impact of their post-nuptial kiss, they were in no real danger of hooking up in the near future. Both of them were much too sensible. “You don’t agree?”

He braced his hands on his hips, his expression becoming even more guarded. “I think they should mind their own business. We’re adults, after all.”

She forced herself to glance away. “Who, you have to admit, are now acting very mysteriously.”

He bent down, caging her with his arms and lowered his face until their mouths were an inch apart. He lifted a strand of hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. Came even nearer, so their bodies were touching and she could feel the heat emanating from his. “So what you’re saying is we’ve got some convincing to do if people are going to believe this marriage is for real,” he proposed silkily.

Out of the corner of her eye, Merri saw people lingering at the far end of the corridor, near the elevators.

“No.” She swallowed as he cupped her face in his hands. “That’s not what I said at all.”

“Too bad,” Chase murmured, the amorous glint in his eyes letting her know he planned to make their union as realistic and convincing as possible, for all the doubting Thomases in the vicinity. After all, he knew as well as she did that word of the incident would quickly spread, through the hospital grapevine, then the community at large.

His lips touched hers in a sweet, chaste kiss. “Because it’s what I say,” he vowed, planting a hotly possessive kiss on her mouth.

Merri knew it was all for show. As his lips moved slowly and sensually over hers, she swore that she wasn’t going to kiss him back, but instead would let him do all the work.

It was a good plan. A very safe, intelligent way of resisting him. Unfortunately it backfired big-time. Before even a millisecond went by, her lips parted beneath the persuasive pressure of his. Her knees weakened and her heart rate skyrocketed. Succumbing, she wreathed her arms around his neck and kissed him back, melting against him.

And that was when the polite throat-clearing sounded, followed by rapid footsteps. Breathlessly, Chase and Merri moved apart, only to see Jessalyn and Jeffrey skid to a halt on the shiny linoleum floor.

Then came the confused, indignant demand, “Mommy! Why are you kissing that man!”

* * *

REMINDED THAT ALTHOUGH Chase might secretly be the kids’ biological father, they barely knew who he was—a fact that would quickly have to be rectified—Merri flushed. “We’ll talk about it at home.” She took the children’s hands and told Sally, “Thank you for watching over them.”

“No problem,” the nursing student replied cheerfully. “And congratulations, you two! Everyone is saying this came out of left field, but the way the doc was kissing you just now? No way!” she proclaimed. She pointed to Merri and Chase before heading off to resume her duties. “That’s definitely the real deal.”

“Mommy! You didn’t answer my question! Why were you kissing him? Again!” Jessalyn said in annoyance.

“Because we’re married and married people kiss sometimes. Especially—” Merri elbowed Chase “—when they are trying to make a point.”

He leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Hey, it worked, didn’t it?”

To rev her up, maybe. And start more gossip.

Jeffrey and Jessalyn looked at each other, perplexed. Clearly, they didn’t know what to make of this. “So what now?” Chase asked as he and Merri left the hospital, kids in tow.

“I still want to go milk the cows,” Jessalyn insisted.

“Me, too,” Jeffrey chimed in.

Chase waited for Merri to decide. “Actually, we do have to get back to the ranch,” she said eventually.

“Hurrah!” Jeffrey and Jessalyn cried in unison.

“I thought you got rid of the beef cattle years ago.” Chase held open the car door for the kids.

“I had to. Scott and Sasha went deep into debt to pay for their fertility treatments, and it was the only way to settle the estate so it could get through probate.”

Chase didn’t look surprised to learn his brother and sister-in-law had gravely mismanaged the ranch. “And you’ve just leased the land since, for crops and grazing?”

Nodding, Merri leaned in to help Jessalyn fasten her safety harness. “Initially, all I did was allow others to plant alfalfa, hay and corn on the farmable land, and rotate the cattle on other parts, for grazing.”

Chase did the same for Jeffrey. “And that brought in more than enough to pay the mortgage and the taxes and the upkeep on the property?”

“As well as a small salary for me.”

“But…?” he prodded, sensing there was more.

Merri climbed into the passenger seat. “Eventually, I realized I needed to build something of my own for me and the kids, and take a more active part in the running of the ranch.” She tugged her dress down over her knees. “Which is when I converted the barn on the south part of the property to a milking operation, hired one full-time hand to help me manage it and bought a dozen Jersey cows and a dozen Guernseys.”

Chase did a double take. “You’re turning the Broken Arrow Ranch into a dairy farm?”

“Uh, yeah.…I am.”

His jaw tautened. “You never mentioned it in any of your letters.”

That’s because I knew you wouldn’t approve. “Hmm. Didn’t I?”