Married In Montana (At The Altar Book 1) (10 page)

"Have you taught history before?"

She shook her head.  "No, but I took almost enough hours to be certified in it.  I've always loved history."

He didn't say anything to that, because to him, history was just a bunch of stories about dead people.  He loved science, though, and had excelled in every science class he'd ever taken, particularly biology.  The knowledge had prepared him well for ranching.   He had majored in management.

"So you'll be teaching just the first semester?"  He needed to make sure that hadn't changed.  He wanted her home.

"Yes, I'm going to take over for Mrs. Childers.  She's due to have twins on September fifteenth, so she decided to take the entire semester off."

"Bethany Childers?" he asked.

"Why?  Did you date her too?"

He laughed.  "Nope.  Not her.  I dated her younger sister, though."

"Of course you did."  She rolled her eyes.  It seemed as if he'd dated every woman in the entire state sometimes.

After dinner, he told her to stay put, and then he cleared the table, putting the dishes in the sink and running water over them.  He came back from the kitchen with a box of chocolate.

She smiled as she looked at it.  They were all milk chocolate covered caramels.  "You really listened to me."  She jumped up and threw her arms around him.  "Thank you!"

He grinned, hugging her back.  He took her hand and led her toward the back door, opening it wide.  When she stepped out onto the porch, she stopped, staring in astonishment.  There was a brand new hot tub sitting on the porch on the opposite side from the porch swing.

"A hot tub?"

"I talked to Lachele Simpson, and she told me that water is calming for women, so if I was going to continue to act like a dumb man, I should at least get you a hot tub so you could de-stress."  He shrugged. 

Savannah put her hand over her mouth, trying to hold in the laughter that wanted to bubble up.  "Thank you for listening to her!"  She shook her head.  "Are you trying to get points for being sweet?"

"I'm trying to get back the points I lost for giving you a present I bought for my dead mother and then accusing you of having PMS.  I've done some dumb things with women, but I really need a dumb man award for messing that up so badly."

She did laugh then, unable to hold it in any longer.  She threw her arms around him and hugged him.  "Thank you!  I accept."

"You accept what?  The hot tub?"

"Your apology.  I know I'm going to be getting a lot of them over the years, and they don't always have to be this grand."  She didn't want him to think that he needed to spend thousands of dollars on her every time he made her mad.

"So the chocolates would have been enough?  Jesse said I needed a big gesture for being
that
stupid."  Scott shrugged.  "Just so you forgive me, I'm happy."

She smiled and nodded.  "How could I not?"  She waved her hand toward the hot tub.  "This is a big apology." And one she really wanted to get into.

He walked to the other side of the hot tub and picked up something hidden from her.

She smiled.  Flowers.  "Petunias.  I love petunias."  She took them from him, burying her face in the bouquet.  "Thank you again."  She shook her head at him.

"What?  Why are you shaking your head?"

"I'm forgiving you, but lavish gifts won't always fix what's wrong between us."

"I know.  I just wanted you to see that I really was sorry."  He waggled his brows at her.  "Wanna do some naked hot tubbing?"

She sighed.  "Now I see why you apologized." 

"Nah.  I got that even when you were mad."

She laughed, the sound making his heart beat faster.  "You are a mess, Scott Ward."

He shrugged.  "That's what you like about me!"

"I'm not so sure about that."  She quickly stripped and got into the hot tub, surprising him.  "You didn't think I'd do it, did you?"  She hadn't been sure she'd be able to do it either.

He shook his head.  "Not at all.  I'm not complaining though!"  He followed suit, removing everything and stepping into the tub beside her.  He'd thought to bring towels out and have them beside the tub, and he was thankful for his foresight then. 

She sighed as she sank deeper into the water.  "This is nice.  I think I'll really like it in the winter."

He put his arm around her shoulders and smiled.  "I finally did something right, didn't I?"

She laughed softly.  "You sure did.  How many people did you get advice from?"

"You don't think I could have thought of this all on my own?"  He put a hand over his heart.  "I'm offended!  You've wounded me to the quick!"

"I know you talked to Dr. Simpson and Jesse.  Who else?"

He shrugged.  "Just Jake.  He told me I should do it all today while you were gone, and I should cook dinner.  The chocolates and flowers were Jesse's idea.  The hot tub was Lachele."

She looked at him.  "What was your idea?"

He pulled her onto his lap. "I'm not much of an idea man, but I did come up with the idea of luring you into the hot tub naked all on my own."

She laughed softly.  "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me at all."

"See?  I do have
some
good ideas." 

She kissed him.  "This is the best idea you've ever had.  I'm really impressed."

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not just a pretty face."

Savannah could do nothing but laugh in response.  The man was crazy.  Was it any wonder she was falling in love with him?

Chapter Nine

The last two weeks in August were teacher in-service days.  Savannah was required to be at the school every day, and she worked on decorating her classroom and planning her lessons.  She would go mostly by what Mrs. Childers had left for her, but there were a few modifications she'd make as she went along.  She couldn't follow another teacher's lesson plans exactly.

It was Wednesday of the first week of in-service when she started feeling sick.  She threw up twice before breakfast, but after some dry toast she felt better.  Since she would have little contact with others, she didn't worry about being contagious and just pushed through, going to work anyway.

When the same thing happened both Thursday and Friday mornings, she stopped at a pharmacy on the way home from work for a pregnancy test.  She was late, but since her cycle had never been terribly regular, she hadn't been concerned.  It wasn't until the vomiting started that she worried something was wrong.  Or maybe right.  It really depended on how she looked at it.

She wasn't certain she was ready to be pregnant.  She and Scott had just figured out how to live together without making each other crazy.  They were doing much better than she'd dreamed they would be doing at this point.  He still did stupid man things on a regular basis, but knowing that he cared, and that he was trying, made a big difference in her mind.

She put the test in her purse before heading into the house, not wanting him to see it if he was home for some reason.  Usually he was still out on the range when she got home, but he'd surprised her a couple of times, and she didn't want him to get his hopes up until she knew for certain.

She went straight upstairs and into the bathroom, sitting on the window seat in there to read the instructions for the test.  It said it could be taken at any time of day, with first thing in the morning being most accurate.  She decided to give it a try anyway, and hope it came out right.  If it was negative and her symptoms persisted, she could always take another.

Five minutes later, she stood staring at the test, her heart filled with hope and dread at the same time.  She was pregnant.  She'd wanted her husband to love her before that happened.  She wanted the baby with everything inside her, but seeing the second line on the test filled her with sadness.

She went into the bedroom and cried, wishing she could feel more positive about her future.

After a few minutes, she pulled herself together.  Walking into the bathroom, she looked at the test one more time.  Taking a deep breath, she made the decision to do something she never thought she would.  She would wait to tell Scott.  She needed to know he cared for her before she told him.  She would never feel secure otherwise.  How could she?

*****

Scott could sense a change in Savannah that evening, and he couldn't figure out why.  When he asked her about it, she just shook her head and looked teary.  He didn't know how to deal with a woman's tears, so he backed off.

"How would you like to take a weekend trip to New York?" he finally asked, hoping it was just a touch of homesickness that was bothering her.  "We could get tickets for
Wicked
."

She smiled, happy that he remembered how she felt about the musical.  "That sounds nice.  Can you take the time off?"

"Will it make you happy?" he asked.

She nodded.  "I'd be happy to see my mom and go see a play.  I want to show you New York."  The idea of showing him her city excited her.  She wanted to show him Broadway and Central Park. 

"Then I will make the time."  He hugged her close.  They were on the porch swing watching the sunset.  It was her favorite way to end the day.  They got into the hot tub after the sun went down most nights, but for some reason, she wanted to watch the sun go down from the swing.

They planned their trip for Labor Day weekend, knowing that they would have a bit of extra time.  School started the Tuesday following Labor Day, so they'd need to be back in town by Monday evening, but they would have two full days in New York with no problem.

Savannah made the arrangements for the show, and she called her mother to let her know they were coming. 

Mrs. Blyton seemed reluctant to agree to spend much time with her and Scott.  "I'm not sure I'll have time that weekend."

"What's going on, Mom? Don't you want to see us?"  Savannah wasn't upset, but she was very surprised.  Her mother had always put her first in her life, and although she'd gone overboard, this was overboard in the opposite direction.

"Do you remember Joseph Fordman from church?" her mother asked softly.

Savannah grinned.  Joseph Fordman was the man she'd been hoping her mother would agree to date if she was out of the picture.  "Of course, I do.  He's the sweetest man I know."

"We've been seeing each other, and we have plans for that weekend.  He wants to take me to a show, and we're going to do some sightseeing right here in New York.  It's amazing the things he's shown me in the past two months.  I've lived here my whole life and never seen them."

"I'm so happy to hear that.  I've wanted you two to get together for so long." 

Mrs. Blyton was silent for a moment.  "I couldn't have a relationship with a man until I knew you were happily married.  You
are
happy aren't you?"

"Yes, I am.  It was hard at first, because he's—well he's a man, and he doesn't understand women at all.  But he's getting better."

"I'm just glad he hasn't killed you in your sleep!"

Savannah laughed.  She'd been waiting for her mother to say that to her.  "If he was going to do that, I think he'd have done it long ago."

"Probably.  Okay, well, we'll do dinner before your show on Saturday, but that's the only time we can work you in.  You don't mind if I bring Joe, do you?"  Mrs. Blyton sounded almost nervous at the idea of taking him to a family dinner.

"Not at all.  I'll be happy to see him again."  Savannah couldn't have been happier for her mother.  "You should marry him.  He's been in love with you for years."

"We're talking about it," Mrs. Blyton admitted. 

"That's wonderful!  I love the idea."

"I can tell.  Okay, well, he's on his way, and I need to get changed for our date.  I'll see you next week."

"Bye, Mom.  Tell my new daddy 'hi' for me."

Mrs. Blyton laughed as she disconnected the call.

Savannah went looking for Scott, dying to tell him her news.  She found him in his office, frowning at his computer.  "What's wrong?" she asked, worried about his frown.

"Just having some trouble negotiating a good price for a bull I want to bring in for breeding."  He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down onto his lap.  "A kiss from my wife will fix everything."

Savannah stared at him in mock dismay.  "I can't kiss a man just so he'll sell you the bull you want!  I'm a married woman!"

Scott laughed, pulling her down for a kiss.  "You can kiss your husband and make everything better that way, though."

She smiled, happy to be with him.  She was thrilled at the changes their marriage had gone through in the two months they'd been together.  "I just got off the phone with my mom."

"Oh, good.  Did you make plans to see her in New York?" 

"She can only work us in for dinner on Saturday night.  She has plans for the rest of the weekend."  Savannah's eyes danced with excitement.

"Who does she have plans with?" he asked.  He'd gotten the impression her mother had no real social life, so he was surprised to hear she didn't have time to see Savannah while she was in town.

"Joseph Fordman."

Scott shrugged, needing more information.  "Who is Joseph Fordman?"

Savannah grinned, grabbing Scott's shoulders in her excitement.  "Do you remember me telling you that there was a nice man at church who I thought my mom should date?  Because he'd been in love with her for years?"

"Yeah...is that him?"

She nodded.  "Yes, it is!  They spend every possible moment together, and they've been talking about marriage!"  She was all but bouncing up and down.

"That's wonderful!  I guess you don't mind the idea of him as a step-father?"

"I wanted her to marry him fifteen years ago," she told him.  "He's been in love with her for that long."

"I guess he thought she was worth waiting for."  He nuzzled her neck.  "Like her daughter."

"You didn't wait fifteen years for me, and don't even pretend you did."  She shook her head at him.

He shrugged.  "I did wait for you, because no one else was quite right."

"No one else was willing to put up with your nonsense, you mean?"

"That too.  But think about this, I didn't think anyone else was worth stopping my nonsense for.  I've only ever bought a hot tub for one woman, and she's sitting on my lap right now."  He nuzzled her neck affectionately.

Savannah laughed at that.  "Well, I hope that's the case.  You can't just run around buying hot tubs for every woman you treat badly on a date.  Why, half the women in Montana would have hot tubs in their yards if you'd done that."

He glared at her.  "I wasn't that bad on dates."

She simply raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"Okay, maybe I was that bad on dates, but I didn't
care
that I was that bad on dates until I met you.  And I've gotten better. Admit it."

"You're a million times better than you were."  She brushed her lips against his.  "I'd have run for the hills otherwise."

He grimaced.  "I'm glad you stuck it out.  Lachele did a good job with us, didn't she?"

"I hate to admit it, but she did.  You know, we should see her while we're there.  Maybe have dinner with her and Sam.  He was so sweet about giving me away."

"I'd like that.  We'll have to meet up with them."

*****

By the time they left for New York the following Friday, Savannah had a loose itinerary in mind.  She knew the things she wanted to show him, and she was excited to have the opportunity.  The only hard thing would be hiding her morning sickness from him, but he probably wouldn't notice if she threw up on his feet.  The man wasn't known for his attentiveness.

During the flight she kept thinking that she needed to tell him about the baby, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.  She needed to be more sure of him first.  Hopefully this weekend would draw them closer together.  They'd never had three days off in a row where neither of them had to work before. 

"I want to take you to Central Park tomorrow, and I thought we could have a picnic.  Okay?" she asked.  She thought Central Park was one of the most romantic places in the world, and she wanted to share it with him.

He nodded.  "Whatever you want to do.  I'm just along for the ride.  You're the one who knows the city."  He didn't want to sound uncaring, but he really did want to leave it up to her. 

"I talked to Mom and we're going to have dinner at an Italian place in Little Italy tomorrow.  We'll have an early meal because the show starts at seven-thirty.  Of course, that's going to feel like five-thirty to us."  She found it strange that she'd adjusted to the new time zone so easily.  Eastern Standard had always felt like the right time to her.

He nodded.  "It was weird when I flew in last time, but I wasn't even there for twenty-four hours."  He stifled a yawn.  It had been a long hard day, and they had hours to go before they'd be able to climb in bed.

"We won't have a lot longer this time, but at least we can do a few things."  She knew they wouldn't be making a lot of trips to New York in the near future with a baby on the way.  She didn't think she'd want to fly a lot with a small child either, so this could be their only chance for a long while. 

She'd made reservations at The Plaza Hotel, because most of the things she wanted to do were right there in Manhattan.  She'd never had the opportunity to stay there before, but it had always been a dream of hers.  When he hadn't balked at the cost, she'd booked it.

Once they were in the cab on the way to the hotel, she felt energized.  She'd gotten a bit of a nap on the plane, and it helped her.  She'd been exhausted for the past couple of weeks and had felt incapable of ever having any energy again.  She knew it was a combination of the baby sapping her energy and the new job, but between the two, it was all she could do to get out of bed in the morning.

She leaned forward as far as the seatbelt would allow, looking at everything around her as if she'd never seen New York before.  She pointed out things that would be of interest as they passed, talking softly to Scott in the back seat.

"The Plaza Hotel, where we're staying, has an incredible amount of history if you're interested in that. We'll be close to everything we want to see.  We're within walking distance of Central Park, Broadway, Rockefeller Center, Times Square and even the Empire State Building." She hugged his arm to her, getting more excited by the moment.  "Are you hungry?  We should probably get something to eat tonight."

"We can't just do room service?" Scott asked.  He knew he sounded cranky, but he hadn't been able to nap on the plane.  He was tired.  He needed sleep more than he needed food or anything else.