The Rancher's Unexpected Twins--A Clean Romance

by Trish Milburn

  “Me neither. Do you think him being so accepting will make it harder when we end this?” He remembered Jonathon’s words the night before, that he didn’t want to see Sunny get hurt again, and how he’d responded that he’d never hurt her.

  But she wasn’t the one emotionally invested in this pretend romance.

  “Or he expects it to not last long so isn’t making a big fuss,” she said.

  Dean smoothed his hand down Pecan’s back.

  “Maybe we should follow his lead then and not stress over any of this, just have fun with it.”

  “That sounds like a great idea.” She shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. “So, you up for a real date tonight?”

  He knew that by “real date” she likely only meant going somewhere without the twins or her dad being third, fourth and fifth wheels, so he nodded.

  “Sure. What do you have in mind?”

  “Maya said they’re still doing the outdoor movies this summer and that she’d babysit. I might have already told Dad we were going.”

  “Good to know I have a say in this relationship.”

  Sunny stuck out her tongue at him.

  Dean laughed. “Some things never change.”

  * * *

  SUNNY MADE A sound of appreciation and closed her eyes as she savored the delicious pulled-pork barbecue sandwich. Beside her on the blanket they’d spread out at the small town park, Dean chuckled.

  “Don’t laugh,” she said. “This is top-tier barbecue.”

  “Be careful or you might get disowned by your father for eating that before we can even get hitched.”

  The way he so casually referred to their plans to get temporarily married caused her to suck in a breath and subsequently choke on the bite she’d taken a moment before. Dean beat her on the back then handed her the large cup of lemonade he’d brought back for her from the circle of food trucks at the edge of the park. Movie in the Park night always increased the dining options in Jade Valley threefold.

  “If he didn’t toss me out for saying I preferred pork chops to steak when I was a kid, I think I’m safe now. Besides, this is ambrosia.” She held the sandwich up to him, offering him a bite.

  “I think I’ll stick with beef, thanks.” He wiggled his hamburger then took a bite so big she couldn’t help but laugh at him.

  “I still can’t believe it’s true.”

  Sunny looked up to see Olivia Redmond staring at her and Dean, her arms crossed.

  “Olivia,” Sunny said, trying to keep her voice as neutral as possible. Which was a feat since Olivia caused her jaw to clench on a good day. Her parents owned the only bank in town, and she suffered fully from “big fish in little pond” syndrome. She also thought everyone’s business was hers.

  “Seems to me you’d want to date someone who actually lived here,” Olivia said. “At least in the same state.”

  The way she said those words and looked Dean up and down made it abundantly clear who she thought that someone should be. A heated dislike flooded Sunny’s body and she deliberately reached over and placed a possessive hand on Dean’s knee. Even if they weren’t in a pretend relationship, she’d do this to save him from Olivia’s manicured claws.

  “I’m actually surprised you still live here,” Sunny said before Dean could respond. “But maybe I shouldn’t be. You have a pretty good life here.”

  “Not all of us run away from our families.”

  Sunny felt as if she’d been stabbed right in the center of her heart. She’d known Olivia wasn’t the nicest person ever, but she hadn’t counted on her being hateful.

  “Olivia,” Dean said, his voice hard and sharp.

  “What? She started it.”

  “No, you did. Plus, how old are you?”

  Dean took Sunny’s hand and threaded his fingers with hers then squeezed. Thankful for his support, she looked up at Olivia. If she was successful in moving her family to California, she would not miss Olivia at all.

  “Whatever,” Olivia said, tossing her long blond hair over her shoulder as she walked away.

  “When did she get so nasty?” Sunny asked.

  “Probably about the time I told her once and for all that I had no interest in dating her.”

  “Oh, that explains a lot. Though I don’t think she’s given up based on how she was looking at you like I’ve been looking at this barbecue sandwich.”

  Dean laughed and his smile was prettier than she remembered. Though she didn’t have a lot of experience seeing it this close.

  “I assure you she has zero chance.”

  Sunny wasn’t entirely sure why his saying that made her happy, but it had to be because the thought of him with Olivia...well, she wouldn’t wish the woman on her worst enemy let alone a good friend.

  When he released her hand, she had the craziest urge to not let him go. But then the movie started and she focused her attention on the screen and consuming the rest of her food before it got cold.

  A few minutes in, Dean leaned over and spoke next to her ear.

  “Olivia is watching us, so I’m going to put my arm around your shoulders, okay?”

  Chills ran down her extremities. Had Dean’s voice always been that deep? She managed to remember he’d asked her a question, so she nodded.

  When his arm settled on her shoulders, he also slightly tugged her next to his side. She was glad night had fallen because otherwise Olivia and anyone else in the vicinity might very well see how startled Sunny was by how nice the contact felt.

  She really needed to make time for actual dating when she got back home. Though if she had her dad and the twins to consider then, she’d have even less free time than before. And real dating was way more awkward and uncomfortable than pretending with Dean.

  Sunny shook her head at that thought. She couldn’t get caught up in her own charade.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What? Oh, just a mosquito.” She fanned her hand in front of her face and next to her right ear as if to shoo away the nonexistent little bloodsucker.

  Sunny split her attention between the movie and the people around them, about an equal number of families, friend groups and couples obviously on dates. The park was so full that it would be easy to believe half the population of the town was there. And they were all seeing Dean Wheeler with his arm wrapped around her. They weren’t only deceiving her dad, but also the entire town of Jade Valley.

  She was about to pull away from Dean out of guilt when he shifted and she found herself way too easily letting her head ease onto his shoulder. Dean didn’t seem to mind. In fact, after a few seconds he leaned his cheek against her head and rubbed his hand gently up and down her arm.

  This felt like a real date. Her heart fluttered in response to that thought.

  She nearly shook her head to dissipate that strange thought but stopped herself in time so that she didn’t have to repeat her mosquito excuse.

  “You feel tense,” Dean said so that only she could hear him.

  “This feels weird, doesn’t it?”

  “You’re thinking about it too much. Remember, we’re just going to go with the flow and have fun with it.”

  “Do you not question what we’re doing every day?”

  “We can quit whenever you want to.”

  She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked him straight in the eye.

  “No, we made a deal. I don’t want you bearing the brunt of the fallout.”

  But wouldn’t he have to anyway if he was the one left behind? Either he’d be blamed for running her off for good, along with her family, or he’d be pitied that she’d abandoned him.

  She thought of Olivia’s words earlier.

  “Do you think other people view me like Olivia does? That I abandoned my family?”

  “Why are you giving what she said a second tho
ught?”

  She looked down and picked at a loose thread on her shorts.

  “Maybe because I’ve thought it about myself on more than one occasion.”

  “Don’t.”

  “I almost came back right after Jason and Amanda’s accident. When I went back home, I fell apart. I was so afraid that something would happen to Dad or the twins.”

  “But he told you to stay, didn’t he?”

  She looked up and saw understanding in Dean’s face.

  “He told you?”

  Dean nodded.

  “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re about as close to Dad as a person can be without sharing DNA.”

  “You know he’s proud of you, right?”

  “Yeah. He’s said that over and over, and I know Mom made him promise to let Jason and me follow the paths we wanted to, even if that took us away from the ranch and Jade Valley. Still, I can’t help feeling guilty sometimes, like despite what he says, he wished I’d made a different choice. Stayed here like you and Maya.”

  “I can’t say that he wouldn’t have liked that, but he’s never resented you finding your life elsewhere. He knows the opportunities are limited here. He’s always telling me and the rest of the guys, really anyone who will listen, about your latest travels. I’m fairly certain I’ve seen every postcard you’ve sent from all over the world.”

  Sunny smiled. “I know postcards might seem old-fashioned, but I’ve always liked them.”

  “They’re nice because people don’t use them as much anymore. It shows extra effort and thought. Maybe if I make the ranch a big tourist destination someday, I can have Riverside Ranch postcards.”

  Sunny smiled. “I’ll buy the whole set and frame them.”

  “Pretty sure I’d just send you a set.”

  “Maybe you can hand deliver them.” She liked the idea of taking Dean around and showing him all the places in the Los Angeles area he might actually like—the Griffith Observatory, the Angeles National Forest, Solstice Canyon and of course the beach.

  He met her eyes and smiled.

  “Maybe I will.”

  Someone nearby shushed them, so Dean pulled her back against his side as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

  “I feel like a naughty teenager getting shushed at the movies,” he said quietly so no one else would hear.

  She swatted his jean-clad leg.

  “Watch the movie.”

  She needed to do the same and not think about being naughty teenagers at a movie together. This was her friend Dean, the guy she’d known her entire life, and not a real date no matter how much they were trying to convince everyone around them otherwise.

  They must be doing a good job of it judging by the smiles sent their way at the end of the night as they walked toward Dean’s truck hand in hand. It was almost enough to convince her.

  “So, how was your first official date?” Maya asked when they arrived at her house to pick up the twins.

  “We got shushed for talking too much during the movie,” Dean said as he lifted a sleepy Liam in his arms as if the kid’s twenty-three solid pounds were no heavier than a taco.

  “For talking? You should have at least been scolded for smooching.”

  “Maya!” Sunny said it so loud that both twins startled. She’d deserve it if it now took her half the night to get them back to sleep.

  “What? You want people around here, people who have nothing better to do than gossip about you two, to believe you’re a real couple, then you’re going to have to do some public smooching at some point.”

  Sunny couldn’t look at Dean, and her face felt as red as a chili pepper.

  Tacos, chili peppers. She must be craving Mexican food.

  “She might be right,” Dean said.

  Sunny jerked her attention to him, her mouth falling open. But when she saw the huge, teasing smile on his face, she swatted him on the arm.

  “I think I’m done with the both of you for tonight.”

  “Not if you want to go home, you’re not.” Dean sidestepped another smack, chuckling.

  Sunny rolled her eyes but was grateful the strange feeling she’d had with him earlier was now gone. It had simply been a combination of him listening then telling her what she needed to hear, the realization that she’d not been held or shown affection by a man in a long time and sinking perhaps a little too far into the role she was playing. She was grateful to him for a lot of things, nothing more.

  When they reached the ranch and Dean helped her once again carry the twins to bed, he for some reason stayed while she sang them to sleep.

  “You’re good with them,” he said, looking at her across the top of the crib in the room lit only by a small table lamp shaped like a carousel. It had been Sunny’s gift to Amanda at her baby shower.

  “It’s easy,” she said. “Sometimes it startles me how much I love them.”

  “Do you want some of your own someday?”

  “I honestly don’t know. Sometimes I think yes, but then I start worrying about if something happens to me and I leave them alone.” She looked at the twins and resisted the urge to rub her hand gently over them. “And I think maybe raising these two will be more than enough, like what I’m supposed to do instead of having my own.”

  “You could do both.”

  She looked at him and huffed out a quick laugh.

  “I do have to work and sleep at some point, you know?”

  “You’d have someone to share the workload.”

  If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he was volunteering to be that person. But in reality he was speaking of some hypothetical husband who’d be the father of the hypothetical children.

  “Speaking of workloads, I need to address some of mine before I go to bed.” She eased toward the door of the nursery and Dean followed.

  “So, I heard you two were cozy at the movie,” her dad said when she and Dean entered the living room.

  “I don’t know how Maya manages to keep the paper afloat when news travels so fast between issues.”

  Her dad looked at her then Dean.

  “When the two of you going to get hitched?”

  Sunny’s mouth fell open.

  “Did you fall again while we were gone and break your brain this time? What kind of question was that?”

  “Don’t act so surprised. You two obviously like each other, and dating is about getting to know each other but you have known each other your entire lives. Plus, you’re not getting any younger.”

  “Yes, please, I’m on the verge of collecting Social Security.” She looked at Dean. “I’m sorry—my dad seems to have temporarily misplaced his sanity.”

  Dean shrugged. “He’s not wrong.”

  Had everyone in the world been affected by some sort of weird mind-altering event to which she was immune? She was literally without words to respond.

  But this was what she’d wanted, right? She’d never imagined that it would be so easy though, so easy it was suspicious. She shifted her full attention to her dad.

  “Are you saying that you wouldn’t mind if we went and got married tomorrow?”

  “Why would I? Dean’s the only person I wouldn’t have to worry about if you were getting married. I know this boy as well as I know you.”

  So his outburst about Dean not getting his hands on the ranch unless he married her hadn’t been anything against Dean but rather the strength of her dad’s resistance to the idea of selling the ranch.

  “So you wouldn’t mind if I stole your ranch foreman and took him home with me?”

  Her dad laughed. “Dean would fit in where you live about as much as I would.”

  “But that’s where my job is.”

  “You can do it from here. Isn’t that what you’ve been doing sitting at the kitchen table with your computer
? And if you need to fly off somewhere, Wyoming has airports.”

  Had Dean been right when he’d said her dad would love to have her living back here in Jade Valley but didn’t want to steer her from her chosen path? Did he see her “romance” with Dean as a way to get what he wanted without having to say so? Who was playing who now?

  “If she said yes, I’d marry her tomorrow,” Dean said, almost causing her to suffer from whiplash. The ride her life was on sped up to where she was getting dizzy.

  “You have my permission,” her dad said.

  “What!”

  They’d both gone crazy. And then Dean had the nerve to smile and wink at her when she met his gaze. She huffed and deliberately refocused on her dad.

  “I think the person who needs to give permission is me, don’t you?”

  “Well, I just assumed you’d say yes, and I was getting the formalities out of the way since I figured Dean’s the kind of man who’d ask the father for his daughter’s hand in marriage.”

  This had to be a dream. She was going to wake up any minute and breathe a sigh of relief that it was her subconscious mind—and maybe a guilty conscience—messing with her while she tried to rest.

  But nope. A couple of minutes later when she accompanied Dean outside, she realized she was very much awake.

  “What was that all about?” she asked as she pulled Dean to a stop halfway to his truck.

  “It’s what you wanted, right? And you’ve been worried about how to make it happen quickly but believably, and your dad just made it easier for you.”

  “Too easy.” She kicked a piece of gravel so hard it bounced off Dean’s back tire. “He’s obviously doing this to get me to move back here. This was the most bananas idea I’ve had in my entire life.”

  “Quite possibly.”

  She pointed at Dean. “You are not helping.”

  “Actually, I am.”

  Okay, he had a point there.

  “Why don’t we go for it?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Getting married,” he said slowly. “The quicker we do that, the quicker we can get to the other steps.”