An Unexpected Wife

by Masters, Constance

  “Fine, are you going to let me in on this new idea that you have for my family’s ranch?” Sage had filled the coffee pot and banged it down on the stove as she turned on the flame underneath to heat it.

  “Of course, but I would like my breakfast first and you can stop banging things around. There’s no need to get yourself all worked up; you won, there’s nothing to argue about anymore. Why don’t you make some breakfast for yourself while you’re cooking and we can talk while we share our meal?”

  “I’ll have coffee, and some fruit.”

  “Fruit is what you eat between meals or inside a pie or with pancakes. Fruit isn’t a meal on it’s own.”

  “It’s what I like and as you have already pointed out, you’re not my friend anymore so why should you care what I eat?” Sage was hurt and she could feel anger and resentment bubbling inside her.

  “I do still care. You’re my business partner. I need you to be healthy.”

  “Well, even if that were so…” Sage left the sentence dangling for a few seconds while she thought about what it was she actually wanted to say. “You’re not the boss of me.” There you go, very mature and worth waiting for.

  “Please yourself.”

  Sage sighed, realising she was making things worse. “If I were to eat fried foods and biscuits and such for breakfast every day, then my backside would be as big as a house.”

  “Rubbish, your backside, is perfect,” Cliff said, surprised at his own words clearly visible on his face, “and none of my business.”

  “Well, thanks for that.” Sage forced herself to smile. “And you’re not getting biscuits anyway because I don’t know how to make them. You can have eggs and toast.” The young, not really wife, opened the fridge and pulled out a bowl of eggs that had obviously been collected that morning.

  “That will be fine.”

  Did he just smile? Sage was sure she’d seen a smile. Not a big one, just a slight turn up of the corners of his lips, but it was there. Not only had this brut gotten angry at her for being rightfully confused, then stripped her down and spanked her like a child, now he was having a joke at her expense. Well, he’d keep. Every dog had its day.

  “These are good eggs, Sage,” Cliff said, stabbing a morsel with this fork and taking a bite of toast.

  “Thanks.” She sipped her coffee and wished she’d made herself a plate of eggs as Cliff had suggested. She didn’t know why she said she’d only chosen to have coffee for breakfast; she liked food when she was at home. Coffee and fruit for breakfast was a city thing, a lack of time thing and a cheap thing. Fresh, hearty food was in abundance in the country, even on a ranch that wasn’t really a ranch. “Are you going to tell me what this big idea you have is?”

  “I am as a matter of fact.” Cliff wiped his face with his napkin and placed it down beside his plate. “Last night, while I was looking for somewhere to lay my weary head, I chose the bunkhouse next to the barn,”

  “I saw you. I didn’t make you go and sleep out there you know,” Sage said, her voice defensive.

  “Nothing to do with what I was going to say. What I was going to say was, it got me thinking, the bunkhouse itself. It needs some work and an extension, maybe even another building eventually, I’m not sure yet until I look into it, but I think we could use it to make this place into a sort of indoor camp, where folks can come and stay and play ranch hand.”

  “Like a dude ranch?” Sage asked. That was one of the ideas her dad had mentioned once. Her dad was an ideas man, unfortunately not a lot of them had had the chance to actually come to fruition.

  “We’d have to start much, much smaller than a dude ranch. Think rustic and cute.”

  “I don’t think people will pay to come and stay in our bunkhouse. No one’s used it for ages, I don’t think we even used it at all for its proper purpose. It was a great place to hide when I was a little girl. A place for teenage boy relatives and friends to stay once when we had a family reunion.”

  “The plumbing still works; the basics are there. With some strategically placed walls, and the bunks redressed, maybe some private rooms for the adults, we could make this like an indoor camping trip. Breakfast and dinner could be barbecued; we could provide sack lunches for picnics. People could swim and fish in the river in the summer and, of course, maybe some trail horse riding? In the winter, we could offer some fun family winter sports, like sledding. I think with some paint and comfortable mattresses, we could make this into a fun holiday place for families that maybe couldn’t afford a real dude ranch.”

  “I like it.” Sage was impressed and that didn’t thrill her at all. She didn’t want to like Cliff’s ideas at the moment; she didn’t want to like Cliff. Still, even through her irritation she could see the value in this idea. Not only would it solve the financial problem, it would bring this old place to life. Her dad would be proud.

  “Well, that might just be the first thing we’ve agreed on since we got married.” Cliff finished the last of his breakfast and then stood, taking his plate to the sink.

  It was her opportunity to apologise, to try and repair things but she didn’t, the words just refused to come. Instead she made a casual enquiry. “So, what are you up to now?”

  “I’m going to exercise the horses and then go back to my place to touch base, take Grandad’s truck back and collect mine. I might bring back one of the guys to take a look with me and do some measuring up.”

  “Okay, will you be back for lunch?”

  “Of course. It would be good if you could maybe give the bunk room and the shower room and facilities out there a bit of a clean.”

  “Why? If you’re going to be working on it, what’s the point of cleaning it now?”

  “Well, apart from the fact that it needs it, I thought that would be obvious. At the moment, I’m sleeping out there.”

  “By your own choice. If you choose to sleep in the dirtiest place on the property, I think that would be your job to make it comfortable for yourself. I don’t need you to tell me what to do.”

  “Look, Sage, I know I agreed willingly to this business arrangement, but let’s just remember whose idea it was to keep our distance.”

  “I said you could sleep in another room, not in the barn or the bunkhouse or what ever you want to call it. That was your idea.”

  “Sleeping out there is common sense, at the moment.”

  “Of course it is. I’m sure it has nothing to do with finding new and exciting ways to torture me.” Sage narrowed her eyes. “You know what? Why don’t you just leave me a list of things you’d like me to do, after all I am the hired help.” How dare he? Acting like he owns the place, telling her what she should be doing with her day. Talk about rude.

  “Where on earth did you learn to be such a brat?”

  His words took her by surprise.

  “Maybe you could take just a minute to look at this from my point of view. I meet up with an old friend slash pain in the ass, aka, you and I realise you’ve grown up a lot. I feel terrible that you have so much on your plate. Then I find I am really attracted to you and I’m pretty sure you’re attracted to me because when I kissed you, you kissed me back and I know this might be hard for you to hear but I know you enjoyed it; I felt your body lean into me and I felt your nipples harden as your chest was pressed against me as closely as you could get. I also know that when we gave into our lust that one night, it was so good that you just about exploded under me and I know that I have never had such an intense sexual experience before.”

  He rubbed a hand over his face and paced in a circle before coming back to keep talking. “You were hot for me, darlin’, just as much as I was for you! Another little snippet for you to store in your stubborn little head, I still want you. I know, terrible isn’t it? I want to sleep with my wife. I want to hold you in my arms and kiss you until you have no more breath and then I want to bury myself deep inside your soft warm body. Trouble is, I only want this to happen when you are sure that you want me. I want to feel your
legs wrapped around me, holding me tight because you want to make love to me too. It isn’t easy for a man to sleep in a house, in another room to a person he wants to sleep with, especially one who walks around wearing practically nothing.”

  “Oh,” Sage said. Good answer there genius, she thought.

  “I’m going to my grandparents’ house,” he said brushing past her to get to the back door. He stopped though to slap her bottom hard. “Put some clothes on,” he said, “and for the record, even though this is a business arrangement, you better behave like an adult or else, and that’s a promise. Somebody needs to remind you how to control yourself and use your manners and I would be only too happy to take on that role.”

  Sage was so embarrassed that she had to fight tears. There was no way she was going to cry in front of this Neanderthal. She practically threw her coffee cup in the sink and thumped her way up the stairs.

  “Where are you going?” Cliff asked.

  “I thought that would be obvious,” she shouted down the stairs before slamming her bedroom door. In fact, she had nothing she needed to do upstairs or anywhere else. Nothing was obvious, even to her.

  * * *

  Cliff shifted in his seat, maybe telling Sage exactly why it was so hard for him to be in the house with her had been a mistake. Just actually giving his thoughts a voice while Sage stood there wearing nothing but a glorified t-shirt, had made him hard. Frustration at the moment was making it difficult for him to concentrate and act rationally. The whole situation was made so much worse by the fact that he had been privy to the delicious delights that were hidden just beneath the hem of that fabric and those legs, man he’d just wanted to bend her over and spread them. There he went again, making himself all hot and bothered over a woman who either really didn’t want him, or was in complete denial. There was nothing he could do but attempt to play it cool and hope she too realised that she wanted what he wanted. So, he would get stuck into the renovations, once he’d planned it out properly.

  As he pulled up at his grandparents’ house, Cliff realised that the best person to take and do measurements with him would be his grandpa. They had built this place together and it hadn’t cost that much either. The old man was skilled at using what was available before you spent money.

  “Hey there, Grandma, Grandpa.” He walked straight over to the sink where his grandma was working.

  “Where’s Sage?” she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “I made some carrot cake muffins.”

  “Well, I’ll eat them,” Cliff said. Damn, he hadn’t thought this out very well. Of course they would be expecting him to bring Sage with him, they were newlyweds after all.

  “I know you’ll eat them but that doesn’t answer my question. Where’s Sage?”

  His grandma had that look on her face that said she meant business and she also had a spoon in her hand. “She’s just a little tired is all.” His grandpa put his hand over his mouth to hide a slight smile, an unusual mistake on his part. It was the old man that copped the spoon.

  “Don’t be crass,” she muttered at her husband but then turned her eyes to Cliff.

  His face was hot and he felt like a teenager who was home late from school. “It was a big day yesterday, that’s all.”

  “Well, you better take some of these back for her then.” Grandma had already started to pack up a few of the muffins into a container.

  “Thanks, Grandma.” There was no point skirting around the older woman. “She’ll love them I’m sure.”

  “Gramps, I need to find a way to make Sage’s ranch pay and I had an idea.”

  “Oh?” Grandpa listened intently, waiting for him to continue.

  “Well, the out buildings are there, and there’s definitely enough land, I was wondering how hard it would be to set the place up as like a farm stay?”

  “Might have merit.”

  “I was thinking, nothing fancy, just a place for families that didn’t want to spend a lot of money but wanted to do something a little different for a vacation. Would you come over and take a look with me? I’ll explain more as we walk through. Maybe take some measurements?”

  “Sure. That okay with you, honey?”

  “Of course,” the older woman said with a sparkle in her eye as she passed grandpa the muffins. “You can check up on Sage and see that everything’s all right.”

  “Everything’s fine, Grandma, what could possibly be wrong?”

  “I don’t know; you could have had an argument or something.”

  Cliff rolled his eyes and deftly dodged the spoon that was coming his way. “We better get going,” he said. He followed his grandpa over to the trucks.

  “See you there, boy.”

  Cliff started his truck and as soon as his grandpa drove off, he grabbed his phone, sending a quick text to Sage.

  Please put my stuff away where Grandpa won’t see it

  As discreet as his grandpa could be, if the older man’s wife asked him a direct question, he’d tell her the absolute truth, and he didn’t want his grandmother knowing any of the trouble Sage and he were having. He didn’t even know who he was protecting or why. Was it himself from his grandmother’s wrath if she found out they were already fighting? Or was he protecting his grandmother from worry? Maybe he was protecting the idea of his marriage to Sage, because he wanted this marriage to be real more than anything. Maybe he just didn’t want his grandma over here trying to fix things. Who knew, he just hoped to hell that Sage got his message and acted on it.

  * * *

  It took a while, but eventually Sage was able to push away her extreme embarrassment so that she could decide on her next move. She decided to clean the bunkroom. Of course, she would have to leave a sarcastic touch just to make her feelings about being bossed around known. Of course she wasn’t exactly sure what that touch would be yet, but something would occur to her.

  Armed with the strongest cleaning products she could find, a bucket, mop and vacuum cleaner, Sage headed to the bunkhouse to make a start. She was a little shocked to see the state of the shower room. A thick layer of somewhat wet dust made her wonder how Cliff had managed to shower at all and come clean. Half an hour’s elbow grease though and she had the porcelain white again and the chrome shinier than it had been. Sparkling would have been nice but a stretch. This stuff was pretty old.

  As she vacuumed and dusted, Sage wracked her brain for something she could do to show Cliff that she wasn’t going to just take his orders. Finally finished, she sat on the bunk and looked around at the now much cleaner room. Not half bad if she did say so herself. Her phone buzzed; it was a message from Cliff.

  Please put my stuff away where Grandpa won’t see it

  “Really.” That sounded like a favour one friend would ask of another friend to her. This could be the exact thing she was hoping for that would help her make a point. She smiled at the inanimate object of a bag as if it was actually a person and then gave it a pat. Guess I better prepare lunch, shame I don’t have time to stop and check my phone for messages. Sage then smiled; maybe she could go a little bit further than just preparing lunch. She could provide a whole lunchtime experience.

  * * *

  “You want to to go straight out back and check things out?” Cliff had an uneasy feeling. He hoped that Sage had lost her morning mood.”

  “No, I think I’ll deliver your wife’s muffins to her first and say hello. The barn will keep.” Grandpa headed straight for the porch and Cliff followed.

  “Sage honey, we’re home!” Cliff called. He hoped like hell that she heard the panic in his voice and played along. If nothing else, it would be nice to pretend they were a happy couple again, even if it was just for appearances.

  “I’ve been expecting you.”

  Cliff did an awkward giggle, chuckle, choke thing as his wife came into view, dressed he supposed, for payback. Maybe it hadn’t been a smart move to define the jobs in such a sexist way.

  “Grandpa! How nice to see you,” Sage said, patting he
r new up-style hair do and straightening her frilly apron.

  “Nice to see you too, honey.” Grandpa looked confused. “Grandma made you some carrot muffins.”

  “Oh how sweet!” Sage took the offering with a big grin. “Come into the kitchen. I have a fresh cup of coffee and an icy cold jug of sweet tea.” She stood back and let Grandpa past.

  Cliff took hold of her arm to let his grandfather get out of earshot. “What’s all this?” he hissed.

  “I’m being a 1950s housewife. You wanted cooking and cleaning, Cliff, that’s what you’ve got.”

  As she sashayed away from him he had to smile, doubting that many 50s housewives wore jeans. “Aren’t 50s housewives submissive?”

  “I’m a hybrid.” She stuck her tongue out and scooted into the kitchen. “I knew you were coming so I thawed out a cake, would you like some?” she asked Grandpa sweetly.

  Cliff had no real option if he didn’t want to make a scene, and he was sure there would be a scene when she was finished with her game. She’d put some effort in, he had to give her that. On the wooden kitchen table was a table cloth with matching napkins and what looked like the good china, not that he would know what the good china looked like because they’d only been married a day. There was a small vase of flowers as a centrepiece and glass of water next to three table settings. “I’d love some,” he said, watching as she cut it from the main cake, just in case his had been laced with something.

  “Me too,” Grandpa added, seemingly oblivious to the show that was going on around him. “And I’ll take an iced tea too if that’s okay.”

  “Of course it is, Grandpa,” Cliff said, flashing Sage a sweet smile. “Sage just loves to serve people, don’t you, honey.”