Rhett's Make-Believe Marriage

by Liz Isaacson

  Liam sat down, the sound thudding through the kitchen. “Are you really married?”

  “Yes,” Evelyn said, her eyes glued to Simone’s.

  “For real?”

  “It’s real,” Rhett said quickly, so Evelyn wouldn’t explain the situation. No one needed to know he was helping her with her business. Well, Callie probably knew, and the way Simone nodded and went to sit next to Tripp told Rhett she probably knew too.

  But his brothers didn’t need to know. In fact, he was hoping Evelyn could work her matchmaking magic on the three of them, and then they’d stop badgering him about, well, pretty much everything.

  Evelyn shifted closer to him, and he looked around as Simone sat down too. He pulled out his chair and then hers, and they sat too. The silence in the kitchen was almost as bad as all the yelling and confusion from a minute ago, but Rhett knew better than to touch Jeremiah’s food.

  He looked out the wall of windows to see Callie gesturing wildly, her mouth moving a mile a minute. “How long is that going to take?” he asked Evelyn.

  “Oh, she’s just getting started.”

  Simone scoffed—at least Rhett thought it was a scoff. But when he looked at her, she had her hand over her mouth, and she was clearly trying not to laugh. She lost that battle as a giggle slipped through her fingers.

  Evelyn started laughing too, and all the ice in Texas broke. Finally.

  “I’ll get them,” Rhett said.

  “Maybe you should let me,” Liam said.

  “Sit down,” Tripp said quickly. “I’ll go see how long we have to wait.” He gave a pointed look to Liam that Rhett didn’t quite understand—and which he forgot all about as soon as Evelyn’s hand landed on his knee.

  He jerked his attention to her, and she nodded toward the windows. Rhett looked out the window to see Callie hugging Jeremiah, and then she gripped his shoulders at arms-length. As Tripp opened the door, the two of them turned toward it, and most of the anger had fled from Jeremiah’s face.

  The two of them came in, and Tripp closed the door as if he was the butler. There were clearly spots for Jeremiah and Callie between Tripp and Liam, but they didn’t sit down.

  “Jeremiah’s made brisket and mashed potatoes,” Callie started, glancing around at everyone. She reached up and brushed her blonde curls out of her face, taking a deep breath. “He’s already sliced the rolls, and he even bought a bagged salad, though he doesn’t understand green food.”

  He glanced at her, more unrest melting off his face. She nodded at him, and he sighed.

  “Miah,” she said in a stern voice.

  “Fine,” he said. “I’m sorry I caused a scene.” He looked around at everyone. “The food should still be hot, and—”

  Callie cleared her throat, and Jeremiah looked at her again. She chin-nodded toward where Rhett and Evelyn sat, and he rolled his eyes.

  “I’m very happy to have you all here today,” he said. “I do like cooking for a crowd.” He glared at Callie. “Happy now?”

  “Yes,” she said, smiling at everyone. “Rhett, you’re up.”

  He was up? Up for what? He looked at her, but he didn’t know Callie nearly as well as Evelyn, and he had no idea what she wanted him to do.

  “Call on someone to say grace,” Evelyn said, coming to his rescue.

  “Oh, sure. Yeah. Right. Uh…Tripp, will you say the prayer so we can eat?”

  “Yes.” Rhett took off his cowboy hat, and Tripp waited a few seconds while all the Walker brothers did too, and then he said grace.

  Jeremiah directed everyone back into the kitchen with their plates, where the food was served buffet-style before sitting back down to eat. The chatter felt normal, lively, the way it had been in the past when the two families had come together for meals. Not that they’d done so too regularly, but they’d shared a few nights together over Jeremiah’s food.

  His brother still wouldn’t look at him or speak directly to him, but Rhett knew he’d come around. Jeremiah was family; he’d forgive Rhett sooner or later.

  “So,” Simone said once everyone had returned to the table. “Where are you two love birds going to live?”

  “Right here,” Rhett told her. “At the ranch.”

  Simone looked at Evelyn, who nodded. Neither of them seemed too happy with the arrangements, and Rhett thought maybe he and Evelyn hadn’t discussed every detail as much as they should’ve.

  “Well, I got a new horse yesterday,” Liam said, looking directly at Callie. “Want to go see him after dinner?”

  “Sure,” Callie said, and just like that, the conversation moved on to something else. Horses, and hay, and Tripp’s upcoming summer bucket list.

  “So she’s back at the house,” Rhett said to Trooper, the brown and white horse that he liked best. “And I have no idea what to do about it.” He glanced toward the homestead, but he could only see the top of the roof above the barns.

  After dinner last night, he and Evelyn had sat on the front steps of the house, because the evening sun shone onto the back deck. Her sisters had left. His brothers took naps or went out onto the farm, the way they always did on Sunday afternoon.

  He’d sat with his wife, and they’d talked about how awkward that dinner was. He’d assured her things would get better. Then she’d kissed him and retreated up the steps. Thankfully, those were right inside the front door, and she didn’t have to see any of his brothers to go to bed. No one else lived on the second floor, so she basically had her own place up there.

  He’d gone to his room too, because he didn’t want to deal with another family yelling match like the one that had already taken place that day. He’d risen early, dressed, and come out to the ranch.

  Jeremiah had come out shortly after that, but he hadn’t seen Rhett with the horses in the pasture, and Rhett hadn’t had the heart to call to him.

  Trooper nudged him, and Rhett pulled out another bite of apple for the horse. “I know,” he said. “I should go talk to her. See what she’s doing today. Right?” Married couples did that, right? Shared their plans for the day with each other?

  His phone rang while Trooper took the apple chunk from his palm, and he saw Barry Forrest’s name on the screen. A groan rose up from his very core, but he swiped on the call, hoping the case the animal control officer would offer would be easy.

  “Rhett,” Barry said, his voice bright. Couldn’t be that gruesome of a case. “How are you?”

  “Just fine,” Rhett said. “You?”

  “Good, good.” Barry paused, and Rhett simply waited for him to continue. “Listen, I know you just got married, but I’m hoping you’ll have time for a small case.”

  Rhett blinked, the man’s words sinking all the way into his ears. Then his brain. Then his soul.

  “How did you know I got married?” he asked, fearing his whole world was about to be blown wide open.

  Chapter Eleven

  Evelyn came downstairs, ready to get over to her own house and get to work in the office that had become her sanctuary this past week. She liked spending time with Rhett, but he lived with three of his brothers, and they didn’t have any privacy. No living room where they could cuddle and watch a movie without Jeremiah glaring at them every few minutes.

  He’d been cordial to Evelyn, but she rarely saw him. She didn’t eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner at the Walker’s. She worked in her office or met with clients in town, and she did her chores around the Shining Star Ranch. She’d spend a couple of hours with Rhett, kiss him until she was breathless, and then go upstairs to sleep in a state-of-the art mattress. In fact, it might have been that mattress that kept her at the wrong ranch.

  She went straight out the front door and practically steamrolled Rhett. “Oh,” she said, stumbling to the right so she didn’t crash into him. Grabbing onto the post, she managed to stay on her feet.

  “Whoa,” Rhett said as if she were a runaway horse. He jumped to his feet and steadied her by the elbow. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
r />   “I just didn’t know you were there.”

  “Yeah, I can see that.”

  With both of her feet solidly under her, she looked at him. He clearly had something to say, as she’d seen this look on his face many times over breakfast. “What’s going on?”

  “There’s two things, actually.” He stepped back, and Evelyn didn’t like that.

  “Okay,” she said. “Did someone else say something about the marriage?” He’d gotten a call on Monday morning, before either of them had even been to town. He’d been panicked when he’d come knocking on her bedroom door that morning, and she’d explained to him the ins and outs of a small town.

  Coupled with the fact that she’d lived there her whole life and ran a secret matchmaking service? Yeah, she should’ve expected the news to spread across town faster than a wildfire. And it had.

  The smoke had mostly died down now, though Evelyn still got a few curious looks whenever she went into town—which was a lot more now that she was booking more clients again.

  “No, nothing about that,” he said. “But Tripp told me a woman smashed a bottle of pickles right in front of him at the grocery store yesterday.” Rhett cocked an eyebrow, his question very loud though he hadn’t spoken.

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” Evelyn said, and she couldn’t have convinced anyone with that false, too-high tone. “Did it ruin his boots?”

  “No.” Rhett drew the word out. “Evvy, we agreed that my brothers were off-limits for your…services.”

  “Did we, though?” Because Laura Pitt was perfect for Tripp, even if he didn’t know it yet. The pickle-jar-fiasco had even been her idea, and all Evelyn had to do was make sure Laura knew when Tripp would be at the store.

  “Yes,” he said. “Yes, we did.”

  Frustration welled within Evelyn, along with a dose of embarrassment. “Okay, I know. It’s just—do you know how many women want to go out with them? They’re the hottest commodities in town, and now I’m in with you guys.”

  “In with us?” he asked. “You have never eaten a meal here. Jeremiah actually asked me about you last night, and not in a good way.”

  Evelyn blinked and slowed down for a moment. “What did he say?”

  “I don’t want to tell you.” Rhett reached up and ran his hand along the back of his head, pushing his cowboy hat forward. “Look, can’t you just have a piece of toast in the morning?”

  “I just drink coffee for breakfast,” she said.

  “That’s so not true,” he said. “We eat a full spread every Tuesday.”

  “And that tides me over on the other days.”

  Rhett exhaled, and he was clearly not buying her excuse, and he was obviously not happy. Evelyn wasn’t exactly riding off into the sunset on a unicorn either, but she didn’t know what to do about it. Business was ten times better than it had been before she and Rhett had said “I do,” and it had only been a week.

  “What’s the second thing?” Evelyn asked, because she didn’t want to argue with Rhett. She honestly didn’t. She just wanted to go back home, get some work done, and make sure she and her sisters had enough to eat.

  “You can’t just sleep here,” he said darkly.

  “You wanted us to live together,” she said. “We do.”

  He shook his head. “No, this isn’t living together. I think…I think we might need to get our own place.”

  Evelyn couldn’t understand the words. They were clearly English, but her brain couldn’t comprehend them. “What?”

  “Our own place,” he said again. “I’ve been looking, and there’s a—”

  “No, no, no,” she said with a laugh that wasn’t even on the scale of humorous. “No. We’re not buying or renting or whatever it is you’re thinking a place. No.” She started down the steps, her heartbeat thrashing inside her chest.

  She’d only ever lived at Shining Star. That ranch meant everything to her and had been in the Foster family for generations.

  Callie and Simone still live there, her mind whispered as her shoes hit the sidewalk at the bottom of the steps.

  “Evelyn,” Rhett said, hurrying after her. He grabbed her arm, and she spun back toward him. Everything stilled, because she seriously liked this man. He’d been nothing but generous and kind to her over the course of the past year.

  He’d married her just to help her.

  “Just think about it,” he said.

  She nodded a couple of times, because that didn’t require the use of her voice, and then she got the heck out of there.

  “Okay,” she said later that day, a binder open on the table between her and Sami Schwartz. “I have a couple of options for you.” She’d had three, but Liam had been tabled that morning. As much as she didn’t want to adhere to her agreement with Rhett, she didn’t feel right about going behind his back.

  “Bennett Lancaster. Blond. Tall. Very strong. He’s out at Three Rivers Ranch. Seems like he was a bit of a player a few years ago, but he’s grown up a lot recently.” Evelyn pointed to a picture of him she’d taken from the town’s website. “He loves to dance, loves chocolate chip cookies, and your best bet of running into him is at Heidi’s bakery.”

  Sami looked at Bennett’s one-sheet. “I don’t know if he’ll ever settle down.”

  “With the right woman, he will,” Evelyn said, wondering if she was the right woman for Rhett. He’d been creeping into her thoughts since they got married, which for a normal person, that would be fine.

  For her, where their marriage was only real on the certificate Rhett had gotten, thinking quite so much about him didn’t seem healthy.

  “You’ve also got Todd Larson,” she said, switching the papers. “He owns a large strip of property on Main Street, but his cowboy hat is as big as everyone else’s in town.”

  Sami didn’t dwell on Todd. “I think Bennett.” She looked up at Evelyn, who reached for her papers. She never left them with her clients, as they took a long time to make, and she could reuse them. “Fair enough. He doesn’t get to town much, so we’re going to have to be patient and creative with our initial meet.”

  “How do you know he’s the one?”

  “Oh, only you can know that,” she said. “But based on everything you’ve said, I think you two will get along really nicely.”

  There were other matchmakers in town that Sami could try. One who’d lived here a very long time, in fact. But Evelyn operated a little stealthier, and she wasn’t really matchmaking. She was simply helping cowboys get out of their own way.

  “How did you know Rhett was the one for you?” Sami’s big, blue eyes were so wide, so innocent. But her question had stabbed right through to Evelyn’s heart.

  It ska-skipped every other beat, and the seconds ticking by certainly didn’t help her case. She plastered a smile on her face. “When you know, you just know.”

  Feeling idiotic, she flipped open her folder and put the pages back inside. “I’ll start working on the initial meet.”

  “Okay,” Sami chirped. “What do I do?”

  “You wait for me to call,” Evelyn said. “Hopefully it won’t take too long. I have a contact out at Courage Reins I’ll call later today.” Carly Sanders worked in the reception area there with her husband, Reese, and the two of them had helped Evelyn with two or three cowboys out at the ranch north of town.

  In fact, Evelyn thought today was probably a really good day to bake some cookies and go for a drive past all the new housing on the north end of town and out to the biggest ranch in the county.

  With three operational businesses on it, Three Rivers Ranch had grown and grown over the years, and Evelyn loved taking a horseback ride there and catching up with the ranch gossip.

  You should take Rhett with you, she thought, and she picked up her phone to text him.

  We can go horseback riding at Seven Sons, he responded, clearly not getting it. Evelyn smiled at Sami and stood up. “Thanks for meeting with me today.”

  “Sure.” Sami walked her to the door.


  “I’ll have more for you soon.” Back in her car, Evelyn stared at her phone, wondering what to tell Rhett. In the past, she didn’t have to run anything by anyone. If she wanted to bake cookies and drive for an hour to ride a horse, she did it.

  She pulled out of the driveway and navigated back to Main Street. Dialing Rhett, she joined the line at Pop’n Fizz to get a soda. “Do you want something to drink from Pops?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Diet Mountain Dew with mango.”

  “Okay.” Evelyn inched forward as another car moved up. “Listen,” she said. “I need to go out to Three Rivers, and I invited you so we could spend some time together.” She wanted the fairy tale relationship, where she fell head-over-heels in love with a man as they got to know each other.

  Problem was, she’d spent the last year getting to know Rhett. She already knew him. Liked him. Some of the magic and mystery for her had been removed simply because of their friendship.

  “Okay,” he said. “I didn’t get that, but I do now. I’d love to go horseback riding at Courage Reins.”

  “Okay,” she said, looking out the window at the menu, though she already knew what she was going to get. The Summer Lovin’ had everything that made Evelyn happy, from the Diet Coke to the raspberry flavoring to the dash of vanilla.

  “Also,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about what you said this morning, and you might be right.”

  “I’m sorry,” Rhett said, his voice clearly mocking her. “I didn’t quite hear you.”

  “Yes, you did,” she said with a laugh. Maybe the first laugh she’d allowed since the wedding.

  “I think you said I was right,” he teased.

  “I’m hanging up,” she said, doing so as he laughed in her ear. She couldn’t help shaking her head and giggling—exactly the kind of relationship she wanted to have with her husband someday.

  “He is your husband,” she reminded herself as the girl on the speaker chirped, “Hey, what can I get for you?”