“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.
RICK, 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.
“RICK, 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.
“ANY 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 w
asting her time and escort her out.”
Megan’s eyebrows soared. What was Rick talking about?
“I’m sure she’ll tell you.”
But Megan wanted to hear, too. She waited, hoping Mac would ask questions.
Before he could, even Megan heard Louann through the phone, her voice at its highest level. But she was too far away from the phone for Megan to be able to distinguish words. Darn it!
“Thanks,” Rick said, raising his voice, before hanging up the phone.
“What was she going to sue for? The ranch? And why?” Megan asked, worrying that Rick might lose the one thing he loved.
“I’ll tell you later,” he said, seemingly unconcerned. “We may need to take Mac and Samantha out to dinner one night to make up for unleashing Louann on him, though.”
“I’d enjoy that.”
“Yeah, it’d be our first date,” he said with a smile.
Megan stared at him in surprise. “But we’re married.”
“Yeah, I haven’t forgotten. It came in handy with Louann.” He bit a cookie in half.
“Well, I’m glad I could help!” Megan snapped.
MEGAN WANTED ANSWERS. She’d gotten over her irritation with Rick for his remark about how useful their marriage had been for him. After all, that was the purpose of their marriage. To be useful for both of them.
But he didn’t get to keep secrets.
He’d said later, and she’d had no choice but to wait. She couldn’t abandon the children. She had to finish up the cookies. Then there was dinner to prepare. Her mother had returned, eager to talk about her shopping trip.
But now all the chores were done, the children were in bed, her mother had retired to her bedroom with a new murder mystery she’d bought earlier. There was nothing to keep Rick from explaining.
Except that Rick, too, had retreated.
Megan headed up the stairs. Knocking on his door, she waited impatiently for him to answer.
“Megan! Is anything wrong?” he asked as he opened his door.
Why did he sound so surprised? Who else would be knocking on his door at eight-thirty? “No, nothing’s wrong, but you promised to explain about the lawsuit.”
He frowned and looked back over his shoulder.
“Do you have company?” she asked, feeling ridiculous.
“No, of course not. I was just working on something on the computer, but I’ll save it and work on it later. Just a minute.”
He didn’t ask her in, so Megan stood at the door, like a formal visitor. An unhappy formal visitor.
He returned to the door. “Want to go sit in the porch swing?”
“All right.” She turned and hurried down the stairs.
“You got any more cookies?” he asked as they reached the kitchen.
“You had cake after dinner.”
“Are you saying I’m getting fat?” he asked, patting his flat, hard stomach.
Exasperated, she opened the cookie jar and held it out to him. “No, of course not. I’m just wondering where you put it all.”
He grinned and helped himself to the cookies.
When they reached the back porch, the peaceful quiet of the night enveloped them. Rick sat and immediately put his arm on the back of the swing, curving it around her shoulders as Megan sat down.
She didn’t waste any time. “Now, tell me why Louann is suing you.”
“Thought about suing me, you mean.”
His smug look didn’t supply the answers she wanted. Jabbing him in the stomach, she said, “Tell me.”
“Ow! Okay, woman, if you’re going to torture me.”
She relaxed slightly. Obviously the situation wasn’t too serious, if he could tease about it.
“Actually, I owe Torie. She’s the one who routed Louann.”
“Torie?”
“It was Torie calling me Daddy. She thought we’d had an affair while I was married to her. She was going to sue me for being unfaithful.”
“But you would never—” Megan began and then halted. She didn’t know how she knew Rick would never break his wedding vows, but she did.
He leaned over and kissed her, a kiss not as brief as his earlier ones. More lingering. More sensual. More memorable. “Thanks, sweetheart, for the vote of confidence.”
“So…so Mac set her straight?”
“Yeah.” Then he kissed her again.
She reached up to push him away, but somehow, she lost track of her intention by the time her hand rested on his muscular chest. Instead, her fingers smoothed their way over his chest, feeling the warmth and strength of the man.
His arm curved tighter around her, and he re-slanted his lips over hers, taking the kiss deeper and deeper.
When he raised his head, he whispered, “I sure am glad I’m married to you, because I don’t think I could remain faithful to another woman with you in my arms.”
Chapter Thirteen
Megan fought her emotions for a week.
That night on the porch, in Rick’s arms, she’d almost forgotten the purpose for their marriage. The promises she’d made to herself about any man, even Rick.
She remembered the hunger she’d felt every time she got near him. The shivers that coursed through her when he’d touched her. The rightness that filled her when he’d kissed her.
There were a mass of contradictions that she didn’t know what to do. She found herself staring into space, losing track of time. She even burned dinner once. Her mother was horrified to serve such a meal to Rick.
When she got to the office on Monday afternoon, she greeted Samantha cheerfully, promising herself she’d keep her mind on her work today.
“Hi,” Samantha returned. “Mac wanted me to ask you if tonight would be good for the four of us to have dinner at The Last Roundup. It seems Rick promised him a dinner for dealing with the ex-wife.”
“Oh, yes, he did mention that. Tonight sounds fine for me. I’ll call Mom and let her know so she won’t cook a big meal.”
She also called Rick, warning him to come in earlier than usual. And then spent the rest of the afternoon trying to forget Rick’s comment about tonight being their first date.
As if he wanted to change their relationship.
His kisses had indicated the same thing.
When she got home, a little after six, she only had a half hour to get ready.
“Is Rick here yet?” she asked as she entered the kitchen.
Faith, feeding the children, said, “He just came in. I think he’s in the shower now. You want to use my bathroom downstairs?”
“Yes, thanks, Mom. And thanks for taking care of the little ones tonight.”
“You know you’ve given me time off, too.”
As Megan started to exit the kitchen, Faith stopped her.
“Um, Megan, do you remember the suit Rick wore when you went to Fort Worth?”
Megan frowned at the strange question. “Of course. It was a nice blue pinstripe.”
“I was putting away his shirts in his closet today and…I didn’t mean to pry, but my eye caught sight of the label.”
Megan shook her head impatiently. “What is it, Mom?”
“The label had the name Armani on it. Isn’t that a really expensive suit?”
“Yes. Yes, it is,” Megan agreed, remembering the disquiet she’d felt at the nice suit, the Rolex watch. The tux he owned.
Then she sighed with relief. “His wife, his ex-wife, that is, had a lot of money, I think. When she came here—”
“She came here? When? Why didn’t you tell me?” Faith asked, astonished.
“It was last Tuesday, Mom. A lot happened, but it wasn’t important. Anyway, she was wearing a designer suit and had lots of diamonds. She probably bought the suit for him. He also had a Rolex watch, but I’m pretty sure she bought it. He said it was a gift.”
“Oh, of course. I was surprised because he accepted our offer and—if he hadn’t needed money, he would’ve hired a housekeeper. Any man who loves to eat as much as Rick do
es would spend the money if he had it,” Faith finished, chuckling.
“You’re right. Now, I’ve got to hurry or I’ll keep everyone waiting.”
She did hurry through her shower, shampooing her hair, then rushing upstairs with it wet. She’d reviewed her wardrobe in her mind several times during the afternoon and settled on a royal-blue dress with a scooped neckline and a belt that emphasized her narrow waist.
It was ridiculous to be so nervous. She’d been living with Rick for several weeks. Tomorrow would be their two week anniversary, of their marriage.
But this was different. This was their first date.
And she could scarcely breathe from the excitement.
RICK SAT at the kitchen table, watching Faith feed Drew and chatting with Torie.
“Megan hadn’t told me about your ex-wife coming. I hope there were no problems,” Faith said, looking at him briefly before turning her attention back to Drew.
Rick chuckled. “Ah, Faith, you missed a real show. My ex-wife is not a nice lady.”
“Sorry I missed it,” she told him with a similar chuckle.
“That’s why we’re going out tonight. I told Mac I owed him a dinner for sending the woman to him.”
“That bad, hmm?”
“The worst.”
“Must make my daughter look pretty good,” Faith said with a smile.
Rick paused. It would be easy to simply agree. But since that night on the porch, he knew he wasn’t going to walk away. If he could help it, there would be no divorce.
“Faith, no one could look better than Megan to me.”
He was relieved that she seemed pleased. She opened her mouth to say something, he didn’t know what, but she stopped when the kitchen door swung open.
Megan, in a lovely blue dress that made her eyes look huge, stood there, smiling.
He rose and crossed to her, catching her chin in his fingers. “You look beautiful,” he whispered, then covered her lips with his.
Torie squealed. “Me, too. Kiss me, too, Rick!”
He released Megan reluctantly. “What happened to calling me Daddy?” he asked.
The Great Texas Wedding Bargain Page 13
