Marrying Dr. Maverick

by Karen Rose Smith

  Brooks took his seat next to her and they faced her family. He covered her hand with his again and she knew to everyone gathered there, they looked like a loving couple.

  Yet her father was frowning as he stared at them. “So tell me again why you’re rushing into this marriage so fast, without giving us all breathing space, and time to get used to the idea.”

  Her whole family had come—Abby and Jackson, Laila and Cade, Annabel and Thomas, Jordyn Leigh, Brody and her parents. Jazzy knew Jordyn was on her side. After she’d seen the phone picture of Brooks Jazzy had sent her, she’d insisted he was too good to let go. But the rest of her family... She had to make this good.

  However, before she could open her mouth, Brooks, protective as ever, stepped in. “I’m not sure you can explain the bond that forms when two people just click, sir, the way Jazzy and I did from the beginning.”

  That definitely didn’t allay her father’s concerns. “So you’re just going to move up here, away from us, without discussing it with the family?”

  Jazzy exchanged looks with Abby, Annabel and Laila who’d gone through the process of falling in love. Her look said Help me out here, sisters! Abby did. “You know how true love works, Dad. You’ve seen me and Laila and Annabel go through it. When it’s right, it’s right.”

  “We won’t see you very much,” her mother said, a little sadly.

  Brooks assuaged her mom’s concerns. “We’ll visit you often. Jazzy’s going to want to make sure you’re part of our lives, and I will, too.” The look he sent Jazzy said he meant that.

  “You folks can stay with me the next time you’re in town,” Barrett told them. “Brooks still considers me an invalid and won’t let me overdo anything. I’d be glad to have the company.” He stared at Jazzy’s dad. “I hear you’re good with horses. I’ve got a few.”

  The tension around the table eased. The two men began talking ranch life. Jordyn gave her a thumbs-up sign. Brody, however, eyed her suspiciously as if he still didn’t believe what was going on. Her sisters and their husbands fell into conversation, too.

  Brooks interlaced his fingers with hers on the table, leaned close and said only loud enough for her to hear, “It’s going to be all right.”

  But as she felt the heat between them, as his breath fanned her cheek, as his gaze unsettled her the way no other could, she thought about her vows tomorrow and wondered if everything could be all right.

  Chapter Ten

  Brooks knew he must be crazy. Today he was going to marry a woman he was seriously attracted to, yet he didn’t intend to sleep with her! If that wasn’t crazy, he didn’t know what was.

  He adjusted his tux, straightened his bolo tie, wishing all to heck that Jazzy hadn’t almost knocked his boots off last night when he’d seen her in that red dress. And when he pushed her chair in and saw her skin peeking through that cutout in the back, he’d practically swallowed his tongue.

  There was a rap on the door. He was in the anteroom that led to the nursery area in the back of the church. He knew Jazzy was in a room across the vestibule that was used exactly for situations like this—brides and their bridesmaids preparing for a wedding.

  Preparing for a wedding.

  After the dinner last night, and the suspicious and wary glances of her family, he’d retreated inward. He knew that. He also knew it had bothered Jazzy. But how could he explain to her that she turned him on more than he’d ever wanted to be turned on? How could he explain to her that this marriage of convenience might not be so convenient, not when it came to them living together?

  Still he was determined to go through with this. Their course was set. He wasn’t going to turn back now.

  After a deep breath, he opened the door. Jazzy’s sister Jordyn stood there with an unsure smile. She’d been the one person to treat him like the brother-in-law he was going to be.

  “Everything’s all set,” she said. “Once you’re in place at the altar, the organist will start the processional.”

  Stepping into the vestibule, he saw his dad beckoning to him from the doorway that would lead up to the altar. He also saw Jazzy’s dad looking more like a soldier than a father, standing by the door to the room where she’d emerge.

  Mr. Cates frowned at Brooks.

  Brody stood at the entrance to the church, his mother on his arm. He was ready to walk her up the aisle. But when he glanced over his shoulder and saw Brooks, his mouth tightened and Brooks saw the disapproval in his eyes.

  If he were a betting man, he’d bet that someone in Jazzy’s family would stand up and protest at that point in the wedding when the minister asks, “Is there anyone who sees a reason that these two shouldn’t be joined in matrimony?”

  “Abby, Annabel and Laila will give you a chance,” Jordyn assured him as if she could read his thoughts. “And because they will, their husbands will, too. Mom and Dad and Brody will come around as long as they see you make Jazzy happy. And you will, won’t you?”

  After the way he’d left Jazzy last night, with him all silent and brooding, he’d wanted to do something nice to reassure her. So he’d bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate when they got back to his place tonight. That’s when he’d give her the watch. He wanted her to be happy, and he’d do his best to see that happen. But no one could make someone else happy. Everyone had choices, and those choices either led to success or failure.

  So he was truthful with Jordyn. “I want Jazzy to be happy.”

  Jordyn gave him an odd look, as if she suspected everything might not be what it seemed. Then she confirmed it when she said, “I trust Jazzy to make the right decisions for herself. I’ll be around if she needs me. Don’t you hesitate to call me if she does need me.”

  “I won’t,” he promised, and he meant it.

  Brooks crossed the vestibule and approached his father. When they were standing next to each other, Barrett pounded Brooks on the back. “I’m glad you asked me to be your best man. You could have had Gage Christensen or even Dallas Traub, for that matter.”

  He and Dallas had been friends for years, but since his divorce and gaining custody of his three kids, Dallas had had even less time for friendship than Brooks had.

  “I wanted you, Dad.”

  “This day makes me happier and prouder than you’ll ever know. Jazzy will be good for you. She’ll ground you like your mother grounded me. You and me—we’re going to have to have a talk one of these days, about marriage and everything that goes with it.”

  “I think I learned the facts of life a long time ago, Dad,” Brooks said with a smile, trying to lighten the atmosphere a bit.

  His father’s face grew a little red. “That’s not what I mean. There are things...there are just some things we need to talk about.”

  The minister emerged from behind the altar and Brooks nudged his father’s arm. “We can talk. But right now, I think it’s time for me to get married.”

  His father chuckled and side by side, they walked up the aisle to the front of the church.

  * * *

  Jazzy felt like a princess. It was silly, really. This dress wasn’t all tulle and lace. It was more like a dressy, Western dress. But it was white and her boots were white with three-inch spiked heels, and Cecilia had made sure her hat was tilted just right on her head with the tulle flowing down the back of her dress. Mostly she felt like a princess because she could see Brooks waiting for her at the altar, all handsome and starched and pressed, with shiny black boots, and a look in his eyes that was lightning hot.

  Last night she’d been worried because he’d turned so quiet, so expressionless, so unlike the Brooks she knew. What would he be like today after they were married?

  That thrill of anticipation ran down her spine. He was going to be her husband.

  Her dad stood beside her and held out the crook of his arm for her to p
ut her hand through. She knew he wasn’t on board with this wedding, but she couldn’t keep living her life to please her parents. At thirty, it was well past time she flew the coop. She could see her mom sitting in the front pew, her sisters and their husbands in the pew behind that.

  Jordyn Leigh, however, was going to lead the way on the road to this future. She’d worn a pretty, royal blue dress that, in Jazzy’s estimation, was just right for this ceremony. She and Brooks hadn’t wanted pomp and circumstance and long gowns. They’d wanted simple and quiet and just plain friendly.

  The organ music began and with a spray of yellow mums clenched in her hands, Jordyn glanced over her shoulder at Jazzy and then started forward.

  Jazzy held on to her bouquet of lilies and white mums even more tightly, afraid she’d drop it. She was that nervous. As the scent of the flowers wafted up to her, she used the look in Brooks’s eyes as her guiding light. He couldn’t look at her like that and not feel something, could he?

  Whether he felt something or not, she was going to marry him and see where the future led them. Exciting couldn’t even describe the ripple of emotion inside of her. Everything about today was going to be memorable.

  Just as she reinforced the thought, Laila turned toward her and snapped a picture with her camera. Abby and Annabel had cameras, too, and knowing her sisters, everything about today would be recorded.

  Tears pricked in her eyes. She blinked fast and smiled.

  The church aisle really wasn’t that long, but her walk down toward the altar seemed to take forever. But she didn’t falter as the look in Brooks’s eyes drew her forward.

  Once Jazzy was at the front of the church, her father solemnly kissed her and she took her place beside Brooks.

  “You look beautiful,” he said in an almost awed voice.

  “You look pretty spiffy yourself.”

  At her words, the awkwardness they both seemed to be feeling drifted away. He smiled, one of those Brooks smiles that affected her in a way she didn’t understand, that made her feel hot and giddy and altogether a woman.

  Beside Brooks, his father beamed at Jazzy and in that moment she felt a few doubts about what she was doing. What would happen to Barrett’s feelings about her in a year if she and Brooks separated? But she couldn’t think about that now. Today they were joining their lives. Somehow this would work out.

  The minister welcomed their family and guests.

  Jazzy handed her bouquet to Jordyn as she and Brooks joined hands. His was warm and dry and firm, decisive in its hold on hers. She felt fragile and beautiful and supportive beside him. The words of the ceremony became a blur as the minister talked, as she and Brooks responded.

  They each said “I do” calmly as if they knew what they were doing.

  Then Brooks’s voice was low but strong as he said, “I, Brooks Smith, take you Jazzy Cates to be my lawfully wedded wife...to have and to hold from this day forward...for better or for worse...for richer, for poorer...in sickness and health...to love and to cherish until death do us part.”

  She repeated those same words, looking straight into his eyes so he’d know she meant them. Now his reaction was more stoic, yet the nerve in his jaw worked. The ceremony was affecting him, too. He just didn’t want anyone to see that.

  As Brooks slipped the gold band onto her finger, she could hardly breathe. When she slipped the gold band onto his finger, a hush over their guests seemed to emphasize the importance of the moment. They held hands and gave their attention to the minister as he said a few words about love and marriage, bonds, promises and a union that made the world go round.

  They bowed their heads as the minister bestowed a blessing, and then he said the words the whole church was waiting to hear.

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” In a low voice, he said to Brooks, “You can kiss her now.”

  Well, of course, they had to kiss. They had to show everyone they meant what they’d said...the promises they’d made.

  Brooks’s arms went around her and there was only a moment of hesitation before he bent his head to her. His lips found hers unerringly as if this had been a long time in coming. She certainly felt as if it had, but then maybe he was just determined to get it over with. Yet as his lips settled on hers, it certainly didn’t seem as if he wanted this kiss over with quickly. This meeting of lips took on more than a perfunctory air. It went on longer than she thought it would. In fact, she didn’t know how long it went on because she lost track of time and place and the fact that there were guests watching them.

  Apparently, Brooks forgot, too, because his arms held her a little tighter and he didn’t raise his head and break their kiss until the minister cleared his throat.

  She should feel embarrassed, she really should. But she was so awed by the desire behind what had just happened that she couldn’t even think of anything else. She probably couldn’t have found her way out of the church. But Jordyn handed back her bouquet. Brooks took her arm and, in the next moment, they were walking down the aisle to the smiles and applause of their family and friends.

  She was married. Brooks was her husband. The full reality of that hadn’t set in yet.

  They walked down the aisle to the back of the church, through the vestibule to the reception hall. Once inside, Brooks took her elbow and spun her around. “I had to do that, Jazzy. I had to make it look good.” There was something in his voice that was a little unsettled as if making the kiss look good had unsettled him. And here she’d thought the kiss had really meant something.

  “You certainly made it look good. I’m not sure what my parents thought of it, but afterward your dad was grinning from ear to ear.”

  “They’ll all be in here in a minute. We just have to be clear about how we’re handling it. No honeymoon now because of taking care of Dad’s practice, as well as setting up mine. We’ll be moving back to Rust Creek Falls as soon as we find a good place. Not a house, though. Not yet.”

  “Your father’s going to think we’re planning to build on your grandmother’s property.”

  “I’m not going to tell him we will. If that’s what he thinks, fine.”

  Her hand on his arm, looking up into his eyes, she said, “Brooks, I don’t like deceiving anyone, especially not him.”

  But Brooks didn’t have a chance to respond because their guests started pouring in and they began receiving them like a newly married couple would.

  Brooks’s dad pounded him on the back, congratulating him. Jazzy’s sisters gathered around and gave her a group hug. She and Brooks got separated more than once as guests migrated to their tables and conversations abounded. They had almost greeted the last of their guests and Brooks had stepped aside to speak to the minister, when Dean took Jazzy’s arm.

  “I can’t believe you went through with this so quickly.”

  “You’re going to be doing the same soon.”

  “That’s different and you know it. I’m still getting the feeling that something’s off here. That all of this happened too fast.”

  “Dean, Brooks and I just got married. Why can’t you simply wish us well?”

  “Maybe you married Brooks to escape Thunder Canyon and your family, but is that a valid reason? Shelby and I are getting married because we can’t live without each other.”

  “Are you judging what I feel?” Dean was an old enough and good enough friend that she could ask the honest question.

  He shook his head. “I’m just hoping you’re head over heels in love and this isn’t something other than that.”

  Looking him straight in the eye, she assured him, “I’m head over heels in love.” That thought still shook her up, made her feel queasy, instilled in her the knowledge that she could easily be terribly hurt.

  But it was absolutely true. She loved Brooks Smith.

  Dean’s eyes widened a bit as h
e could see the truth. He gave Jazzy a big hug. “Then congratulations. I hope the two of you have a lot of happy years together.”

  She was hoping for one year that would stretch into a lifetime.

  * * *

  Jazzy sat beside Brooks during their wedding dinner, wondering what he was thinking. He smiled, but the smile didn’t light up his eyes. He spoke to their guests, but there was a surface quality about it that troubled her. Every once in a while, he’d reach over and squeeze her hand or drop his arm around her shoulders. But the gestures felt forced. She just wanted to give him a hug...nestle in his arms. That’s what a wife would do when she was feeling unsure.

  Jordyn, who had taken over as facilitator for the day—and Jazzy was so grateful because this sister wanted to help, not interfere—tapped Jazzy on the arm and addressed Brooks, too. “It’s time to cut the cake. Are you ready?”

  She and Brooks hadn’t really talked about this...or prepared a script. This would be a go-with-the-flow moment.

  Brooks stood without a word and held Jazzy’s chair for her. Once she’d gotten to her feet, he took her arm and escorted her to the table where the multilayered cake stood.

  “You can have the top layer to take along,” Jordyn told them. “For a midnight snack,” she teased with a wink as if she imagined what they’d be doing then.

  What would they be doing at midnight? Jazzy wondered. Sleeping? Pacing their separate bedrooms, thinking about whether or not they’d done the right thing? How many doubts was her new husband having?

  “I bought you a special cake-slicing knife so you’ll remember this moment,” Jordyn said with a smile and handed them a cake knife with their names and the date engraved on the handle.

  “Oh, Jordyn,” Jazzy said with tears filling her eyes. “Thank you.”

  As she hugged her sister, flashes from cameras went off and she realized her family was recording the moment. She heard Brooks sincerely thank Jordyn, too.

  Then it was time. With friends and family looking on, Brooks’s hand covered hers over the handle of their first wedding gift. There was a stack of presents on the table beside the cake. Even though this was a sudden wedding, their guests were taking the opportunity to give them something to start them on their way.