The Great Texas Wedding Bargain (12 page)

Rick said nothing else. He wasn’t sure he believed his words either. He’d been married less than a week, and he already felt that Megan, Faith and the children were his family.

Was it because he had no family now? His mother had died when he was young and his father had passed away three years ago.

He was supposed to stay married to Megan for at least six months after the permanent custody was granted. That meant close to a year sharing his life with the woman beside him.

Could he walk away? But if he couldn’t, it was even more important that Megan not know about his wealth. He didn’t want to be fooled a second time. He didn’t want to be wanted because he had a lot of money.

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, feeling Megan’s warmth against him, smelling the floral perfume she wore, wishing, for a few moments at least, to forget the questions about the future and enjoy the present.

M
EGAN SPENT
the evening with the children, playing with and entertaining them, giving her mother some time to herself since she’d had them all day.

Shortly before Drew’s bedtime bottle, Rick joined them, holding the little boy, also taking turns with Torie rolling a tennis ball for Flower. Then he read Torie her bedtime story while Megan gave Drew his bottle.

“Thank you for helping,” she said, feeling almost shy. “You’d already worked hard moving all your equipment this afternoon.”

“’Bout time I got your mother’s room cleaned out. She’s been very patient.”

“Did you have any trouble hooking it all up again?”

“Nope.”

She frowned but he said nothing else. Maybe he was really good with electronics. That certainly wasn’t an area of expertise for her. She could use a computer, but she knew nothing about how it worked.

“I think I’ll go on to bed,” she said when he turned on the television in the living room. “It’s been a long day.”

“Yeah. And congratulations.”

“Thanks.” She went up the stairs, thinking about his warm smile. About his support. His kindness. She was ashamed to admit that she was glad today’s ruling was for temporary custody, not permanent custody, because that would mean the end to their marriage.

That was a horrifying thought.

But Rick was becoming as important to her as the air she breathed. He didn’t always do what she thought she wanted him to do. But he did what he thought best. And he was usually right. When they argued, he allowed her her point of view.

Which proved he wasn’t like Drake.

And when he touched her, she could scarcely think of anything else, even the children.

Sharing the house with him for the next six months was going to be very difficult. Unless she gave in to what she now realized she wanted.

She’d never met a man she wanted to surrender to. A man she could trust, respect. A man she believed was honest. But now, she’d found Rick. She was eager to experience the oneness that came from the ultimate sharing.

She closed the door to her bedroom, as if to physically remind her that she mustn’t cross that line. She’d only known the man a short time. She’d be foolish to even think of making that monumental a decision now.

But darn it, it was hard.

A
FTER WORKING
the morning shift at the clinic with Samantha, receiving her congratulations on Monday’s success, Megan returned home for a late lunch. She and her mother put both children down for a nap.

Then Faith drove into town to meet Florence Greenfield for a shopping trip to Muleshoe. Florence had heard of a great sale in the nearby town.

Still feeling warm and grateful to Rick, Megan decided to spend the afternoon baking. Her first project was a German chocolate cake. When she had it in the oven, she mixed a large batch of oatmeal-raisin cookies. The kids loved those.

Then she started on the icing, the most important part of the cake.

A knock on the front door interrupted her, causing Megan to stare in that direction. No one in Cactus used the front door.

Wiping her hands on the apron she wore over her jeans and T-shirt, she hurried through the house to the front door, followed closely by Flower.

Through the glass she saw a beautiful, sophisticated woman, obviously not a resident of Cactus.

She pulled open the door and greeted the woman.

Instead of returning her greeting, the woman stepped over the threshhold and said, “Please tell Rick I’m here. I’m sure he’s expecting me.”

Megan had had breakfast with Rick that morning and he hadn’t mentioned expecting anyone to come, especially not someone like this woman, dressed in what appeared to be a designer suit, several large diamond rings and a handbag that Megan knew cost as much as their grocery bill for a month.

“Rick’s working. Perhaps he could call you this evening.”

The woman looked down her nose at Megan. “I don’t believe it’s the housekeeper’s business to make that decision.”

Megan considered several answers. Finally, she chose the most polite one, though it took a lot of effort. “Who may I say is calling?”

With a haughty look, the woman said, “His wife, of course.”

It felt good to be in the saddle again.

Yesterday reminded Rick why he’d left the business world to be a rancher. Of course, he used his truck, and a lot of other modern equipment, but there was a timelessness to a man and his horse and dog, working to make a living.

Jose shouted and Rick urged his mount in that direction. A cow was in distress, the birthing not coming easy.

“I think we’ll have to pull it,” Jose said, already dismounted.

Rick did the same, leaving the reins trailing the ground, knowing his horse was trained to stay in place. “Yeah. Well, let’s see what we can do to help this little mama.”

Half an hour later, both men were hot and sweaty and covered in blood and other sundry fluids, but they were congratulating each other on their success, when Rick’s cell phone rang.

He’d started carrying it when Megan and her family had moved in, telling her to call him if there was an emergency. He hurried to his horse and dug the cell phone out of his saddlebag.

“Meg? What’s wrong?”

There was static and he strode a few paces over to higher ground. “What did you say? I couldn’t hear you.”

“I said,”
she repeated with exasperation, “there’s a woman here wanting to speak to you. She claims to be your wife!”

Uh-oh. Louann must have seen something in the papers, giving his location. His ex-wife hadn’t known where to find him the past year.

And by the sound of Megan’s voice, he was going to have some fence-mending to do with her when this was over. “Is she tall, blond and dripping in diamonds?”

“Why, yes, she is. How did you know?”

“Just a guess,” he told her, his words as sarcastic as hers. “Put her in the living room and leave her alone. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

He turned to Jose. “I’ve got an emergency back at the house, and I don’t know how long it will take.”

Jose looked at his watch. “I’ll circle the back pasture. If I don’t find any problems, I’ll push the mamas and babies toward the house and come on in.”

“Good enough. Thanks, Jose.”

He tucked the cell phone away and swung into the saddle. He’d like to think he could dismiss his
ex
-wife in a matter of minutes, but he had his doubts. Once she smelled money, she was hard to dislodge.

He only hoped Megan left her alone. He didn’t want any sharing of confidences between the two women.

That would be a disaster.

M
EGAN GAVE
the woman Rick’s message, at least the living room part of it.

The woman stood in the room, surveying it, a sneer on her face, and Megan forgot her own dismay when she’d first seen the room. It was out of date, and, at the time, dusty, but she and her mother had cleaned and polished. Now it looked nice.

“Bring me something to drink,” the woman ordered, after sinking onto the couch with a sigh. “A martini would be nice.”

“It might be nice, but all I have to offer is iced tea or grape juice.” And she didn’t even bother to apologize.

Another stare, this one plainly calling her an un-civilized heathen.

Megan shrugged her shoulder and started out of the room.

“Oh, all right, I’ll take some iced tea.”

The ungraciousness of her words made Megan consider spilling the iced tea down the front of her fire-engine red designer suit.

Instead, she counseled herself to have pity on the woman. She must be dumb as a post to have given up Rick Astin as a husband. Maybe she deserved a little pity.

A teaspoonful…maybe.

She carried a glass of iced tea back to the living room, set it down without saying anything and walked away.

As per instructions.

She finished up the icing and began to put it on the cooled cake layers, stopping only to take a tray of cookies from the oven.

She was just finishing up the cake when Torie appeared in the kitchen.

“Mommy, Drew is crying.”

Megan had forgotten to turn on the baby monitor. “Oh, dear. Wait right here, sweetie, while I go get him. Then I’ll fix you some milk and cookies.”

“Can Flower have a cookie, too?” Torie called after her as the dog raced to the little girl’s side.

“No!” Megan called back as she hurried up the stairs.

She changed Drew and brought him back to the kitchen. As she was putting him in his high chair and warning Torie not to let Flower jump up, the kitchen door swung open and their guest stared at the three of them.

“Children? Where did they come from?”

Megan glared at her and said nothing.

“Who’s that?” Torie asked.

“I have no idea, sweetie. Get in your chair if you want cookies.”

“How long am I supposed to wait in this God-forsaken place?” the woman demanded at the same time.

And to top it all off, the backdoor opened and a smelly, dirty Rick stalked into the kitchen.

Torie chose that moment to complicate matters. “Daddy! Do you want a cookie?”

“Daddy?” the woman shrieked. “What does she mean?”

Torie seemed unaffected by the woman’s anger. “Don’t you have a daddy?”

“Oh, yeah, Torie,” Rick drawled, “she has a daddy. How is Mitchell, Louann? Still partying all over Texas?”

“My father is quite popular,” she said precisely. “Now explain this child’s words.”

“I don’t have to explain anything to you. Our divorce decree made that unnecessary, remember?”

“Could you two take your discussion to the living room before you upset the children?” Megan intervened. She wanted to hear what they had to say, she admitted, but not to the point that the children were upset. They’d had enough anger and fighting in their young lives.

Rick surprised her by bending over and kissing her briefly. “I have to clean up first,” he said, gesturing to himself. “We had to pull a calf. By the way, did you introduce yourself to Louann?”

“No,” Megan said, a grim smile on her lips. “The lady didn’t seem interested in meeting the
housekeeper.
”

“Well, then, darlin’, you should’ve explained her mistake. You see, Louann, this isn’t the housekeeper. This is my wife, Megan.”

Then he walked out of the room.

Nice exit line, Megan thought as she sighed. Then she realized the woman hadn’t seemed all that surprised, which meant that she already knew who Megan was. And she also knew Rick wasn’t still her husband.

“I hope you’re not too shocked,” Megan said with sugary sweetness. “Why don’t you go sit down and recover until Rick returns.”

Instead, the woman took a step forward. “Listen, you little bimbo, he was mine first. I want him back, and I’ll get him.”

Though anger coursed through her and a tiny voice inside her protested the idea, Megan remained composed. “Well, that’s between you and Rick, isn’t it? If that’s what he wants, there’s nothing I can do to stop him.” Then she smiled. “But if it’s not what he wants, there’s not anything you can do to persuade him.”

“Darling, I can be more persuasive than you know.”

Megan chuckled and only said, “Okay.”

“Don’t laugh at me!” the woman shrieked.

“Please go back into the living room.”

Torie’s eyes were as big as saucers as she stared at the woman, and Drew was beginning to fuss, disturbed by the tension.

Megan didn’t wait to see if the woman did as she’d asked. She got milk out of the refrigerator and poured some in the baby’s cup and a small plastic glass for Torie. Then she gave them each two cookies.

In the meantime, Louann, as Rick had called her, continued to scream obscenities and threats. Megan picked up the pitcher on the cabinet and began to run water in it. She was not going to tolerate that kind of behavior in her house if she had to dump the entire pitcher of water on the woman’s perfectly styled hair.

However, Flower took care of the situation.

Strolling unnoticed to the kitchen door where Louann stood, the dog lifted her leg and ruined the woman’s expensive Italian leather shoes.

R
ICK, COMING DOWN
the stairs, irritated by the ruckus Louann was raising, was startled by the shrill scream. He stepped up his pace, afraid Megan had done something to her. Not that he wouldn’t understand, but—

When he entered the kitchen, Louann was still screaming, but no one was close to her.

“What happened?” he demanded even as he clapped a hand over his ex-wife’s mouth.

No one spoke except Louann, and he couldn’t understand her because of his hand over her mouth.

When he took it down, she spewed out, “That damned dog urinated all over my new shoes!”

He first looked at Megan and then Torie. “True?”

Both of them nodded, Torie with a guilty look. He noted that Megan didn’t seem at all contrite. “Then, Torie, you should apologize for your dog’s behavior.”

“I sorry,” the child said, her bottom lip trembling.

Rick leaned over and kissed her cheek. “It’s all right, sweetheart, she’s just a baby.”

“And Mrs. Astin owes you an apology, too, Torie,” Megan said, her voice cold. “You and Drew. She used inappropriate language in front of you.”

“You expect me to—” she began, outraged.

“Yes,” Rick said, his voice hard. “Right now.”

“Well, of course I didn’t intend—I’m sorry,” she ended, her voice and shoulders as stiff and cold as a northern wind blowing in.

“Now, if you’ll come with me, we’ll clear up whatever problem you have, and you can be on your way,” Rick said, holding open the kitchen door.

“Of course, Richard, darling. We’ll clear everything up,” she said sweetly, but she shot Megan a malicious look over her shoulder.

You do that,
Megan silently responded. If Rick Astin wanted that kind of woman, then Megan figured she was better off without him.

Then she calmed down. She knew Rick didn’t want his ex-wife. He’d made that clear the first time they’d met. And no one would—unless he was swayed by money. Clearly, the woman had money. Had Rick married her because of it?

No. Rick was honest. That was the one thing she was sure of. He didn’t play games with people’s emotions. He didn’t take advantage of them either. He was an honest man.

With an ex-wife who claimed to still be married to him.

“More cookies,” Torie called, though the words were slurred by the cookie still in her mouth.

“R
ICK, DARLING
!” Louann cried as soon as they were in the living room, throwing herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’ve missed you so!”

“Cut it out, Louann,” he ordered sternly, pulling her arms down and pushing her away.

“But I have!” she insisted, scrunching her face into what he supposed she thought was a mournful pose.

To him, it made her look less attractive than ever. Unlike Megan, when she’d fought the tears that had filled her blue eyes on occasion. With good reason.

“Rick, I want you back. I want to have a baby. I’m ready to be a mother. We’ll have our family, as you wanted. It will be perfect, you’ll see.”

“I thought I was speaking English when I introduced my wife, Louann. Didn’t you hear me?”

“Surely you can’t be serious. She’s so…so frumpy! Darling, who would settle for day-old bread when you can have the best in the world?”

“Megan
is
the best in the world, Louann. She’s got you beat all to pieces.”

Anger built on her face. “How dare you! I…” Suddenly her eyes narrowed and Rick prepared himself for the next volley.

“What did that child mean, calling you Daddy?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Were you betraying me? Was she your mistress while you were married to me? Perfect! I’ll sue you for everything you’ve got! No one gets away with two-timing me!”

“Like you did me? You’re being ridiculous, but if you want to waste your money on a lawsuit, feel free. My attorney’s name is Mac Gibbons. His office is in Cactus on the square.”

“You’re taunting me! But you’ll be sorry. Juries don’t like men who have mistresses! You’ll see! I’ll ruin you!”

The greed in her eyes almost made Rick laugh. So much for her professed love. He might’ve felt sorry for her, if he’d believed for a minute that she regretted the unhappiness of their marriage.

But all she regretted was the loss of his money.

When she slammed out the front door, he headed for the kitchen. All the trauma made him hungry, and he was sure he’d seen freshly baked cookies on the kitchen counter.

“A
NY COOKIES
for me?” Rick asked as he entered, almost tripping over the mop Megan was wielding in front of the door.

“I don’t know,” Megan drawled, stopping her work. “It depends on whether you’re changing wives anytime soon.”

He grinned. “Not a chance, sweetheart. You’re stuck with me.” He gave her another brief kiss and moved to the table. Sitting down by Drew, he pretended to bite his cookie, causing the little boy to squeal and giggle.

“Here! Bite mine!” Torie cried, laughing, snatching it back when Rick obliged.

“All right, that’s enough playing. I don’t want to be mopping up spilled milk, too.”

“Flower would lick it up,” Rick assured her. “But she’d probably consider it a reward for her bad behavior.”

Megan’s cheeks fired up and she looked away. “Right.”

“Mommy already gave Flower some milk,” Torie announced.

Megan groaned. She hadn’t planned on telling Rick about her spiteful behavior.

He chuckled, drawing her gaze. “Did she? What a kind mommy.”

She put the saucer of cookies in front of him. “At least I didn’t feed the dog your cookies.”

“I’m pleased about that. And thanks for staying calm,” he added, his voice serious. “She’s not easy to deal with.”

Megan thought of the pitcher of water still sitting in the sink. Maybe she should think of more rewards for Flower. Another minute of Louann’s screaming, and Rick wouldn’t be thanking her. “Um, well—no, I guess not.”

“Oops, that reminds me.”

Before Megan could ask anything, Rick crossed the room to pick up the receiver on the wall phone and dialed. “Mac? This is Rick. If a blond woman, angry as hell, storms into your office and threatens to sue me, give her your card, tell her she’s wasting her time and escort her out.”