The Texas Rancher's Marriage

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  She was right about that, Merri thought. Their union wasn’t about the feelings she and Chase had for each other.

  “I think you’re just doing this to provide access to the children slash heirs and get back control of the family ranch.”

  Merri blinked. What?

  “Your Honor. There has been no request from Mr. Armstrong for control of the children’s estate,” Liz interjected with lawyerly calm.

  Judge Roy waved her hand, then drew her glasses farther down the bridge of her nose and peered at Chase. “Don’t tell me you’re happy about what happened to the ranch you grew up on. Armstrongs and the Broken Arrow have always raised beef cattle. Not dairy cows.”

  “That’s true,” Chase admitted with admirable candor. “What’s happened there would not have been my choice. But I do understand.” He turned to glance at Merri. “My wife had to raise these kids on her own and take care of the property. She’s done the best she could under the circumstances.”

  Unmoved, Judge Roy continued, “But you could do better?”

  Chase lifted his hands. “I’m a surgeon.”

  Sternly, the judge commanded, “Answer the question, please.”

  He released an exasperated breath and looked at her, squaring his shoulders deliberately. “Yes. I think I could do better. But that’s not the point, Your Honor.”

  “Actually, Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong, I think that is exactly the point. Mr. Armstrong is back in town and wants what was previously denied him by his mother’s estate—control of the ranch and its assets, which are currently held in trust for the children. To get that, he would have to be co-guardian of the kids.” Priscilla Roy paused meaningfully. “And to achieve that, at least in my courtroom, he has to be married to Merri Duncan. Which he has managed in very short order, with no prior courtship, at least that anyone in the county seems to know about.”

  Merri didn’t know what they could say to that, without breaking the promise she and Chase had made to each other to keep the twins’ biological origins private and hence protect the children from scandal. It was bad enough that they’d been orphaned at eight weeks of age, without making Scott and Sasha out to be conniving liars.

  Thank heavens the twins didn’t understand any of this. At four and a half, they simply wanted Merri to be their mommy, and hopefully soon, for Chase to be their daddy.

  “Judge,” Liz interrupted, “if I may… I have spoken at length with my clients. They both want what is best for these children. Jeffrey and Jessalyn need a father and a mother, and my clients are willing to make the necessary sacrifices and work together to provide that.”

  Judge Roy looked at Merri. “An early Christmas gift?”

  Wary of making a mistake that would put them in even deeper trouble, she admitted cautiously, “Something like that.”

  “Correct me if I’m wrong. You worked as a wedding planner before settling back in Laramie County?”

  Merri nodded. “That’s true.”

  Judge Roy rocked back in her chair. “And isn’t that a romantic profession?”

  Merri winced. “It’s a profession that provides romance. I don’t know how romantic it is for the planner at the end of the day.” She sighed. “Weddings can be very stressful. And a lot of time, the days leading up to the ceremony are anything but romantic.”

  The justice pushed her glasses back into place. “So in other words, your work left you jaded.”

  Merri shrugged and risked a tiny glance at Chase, who stood beside her, sober and strong. “Maybe. A little.” As had her personal experiences with relationships. “But also exceedingly practical.” She paused, searching for the right words. “I do want what is best for the children. And I think having Chase in their lives, as their dad, will provide that.” It was certainly better than splitting the children up, one night at her place, one night at his.... Which was the only other fair alternative.

  “Okay.” Judge Roy sat back, folded her hands on the desk. “You’ve convinced me to give you a chance. But that is all it is. An opportunity to prove that your marriage is a real one, not a sham, and what you are proposing is in the best interest of the twins. If I find out you’re misleading this court in any way, if this marriage is simply a means to an end, I’ll remove you both as guardians.”

  Remove? Merri blinked in shock.

  Judge Roy turned to her clerk. “Schedule another hearing, for January 3.” She banged her gavel, signaling their hearing had come to an end.

  Stunned, Merri left the courtroom with Chase and Liz, as the next case was called. Their lawyer guided them down the hall to a spot where they could talk privately.

  “Would the judge really do that?” Merri asked, her voice wobbling as badly as her knees. Clapping a hand over heart, she sank down on the closest wooden bench. “Take the kids away from us?”

  “It’s within Judge Roy’s power. But she’s not going to do that, as long as this is a genuine attempt to build a loving, supportive family that will benefit all of you in the long run.”

  “It is,” Chase said firmly, with laudable assurance. “Merri and I will make this work.”

  Merri only wished she felt as confident.

  “So much for our plans to divorce if things don’t work out,” she murmured as the two of them walked to the parking lot. She still felt shaky and at a loss. Chase, on the other hand, looked more confident than ever.

  “Judge Roy had a point. Nothing good was ever accomplished with one foot out the door.”

  Merri knew the words were truer than she wished. Still… “I’m scared.”

  He caught her to him as they reached the car. “Don’t be,” he murmured with both hands on her shoulders. He looked deep into her eyes. “We’re two very strong people, who want only the best for the kids. We’ll find a way to make it work.”

  Chase was as good as his word. He was there to help, with dinner and baths and story time. Jeffrey and Jessalyn still regarded him with wariness, but they were slowly warming to him, Merri could tell. As was evidenced by the last question of the day, as they were being tucked in for the night.

  “Is Chase going to be our daddy…now that you two are married?” Jessalyn asked.

  Merri looked at Chase. He waited, leaving the answer up to her. They hadn’t broached the subject yet, because they hadn’t wanted to rush the kids. “Yes, this makes him your daddy,” Merri said, with as much ease as she could muster.

  “Is that okay with you?” Chase asked.

  Jessalyn and Jeffrey exchanged looks. Two lower lips slid out truculently. “No,” Jeffrey said.

  “We don’t want a daddy right now,” Jessalyn added.

  Chase’s expression was inscrutable, but Merri could tell from the faint sheen in his eyes that he was crushed. As was she. “Why not?” she asked the kids, when she found her voice.

  “Because we already got a mommy, so we don’t need a daddy,” Jessalyn explained.

  “It’s okay,” Chase assured them, seeming to understand that he had upset the equanimity of the household.

  “You can change your minds anytime,” Merri felt compelled to add.

  Jeffrey sighed and hugged his teddy bear tightly. “We’re not going to.”

  Jessalyn nodded in agreement. And that, it seemed, was that.

  * * *

  “SORRY THEY WEREN’T MORE cooperative,” Merri said as she and Chase went down the stairs together.

  “They’ll warm up,” he predicted.

  Merri hoped so.
Thanks to Judge Roy’s ultimatum, they didn’t have a lot of time to make this work.

  Unfortunately, Chase had an early call at the hospital. So the twins didn’t see him at all the next morning before preschool.

  “Try a lot of short visits,” Merri’s friend Paige said, when she talked to her later that morning. Paige was not only a dedicated pediatrician, but also an experienced mother of demanding triplets. “It will help the kids get used to Chase and vice versa, and put a lot less pressure on all of them.”

  Deciding it was good advice, Merri stopped by the hospital complex, after picking up the kids from school.

  “How come we’re going to the hospital?” Jessalyn asked.

  “I don’t want another shot,” Jeffrey whimpered, holding his hand over his thigh.

  Paige held open the door to the hospital annex, where all the physician offices were located. “You’re not going to get one today. You already had your flu shots last month, remember?”

  Jeffrey rubbed his thigh in memory. “That’s why I don’t want another one.”

  “So how come we’re here, if we’re not going to the doctor?” Jessalyn persisted, pausing to study the festive turkey and cornucopia display taped outside the pediatric services suite.

  Merri took the children’s hands and pressed on. “I thought we’d surprise Chase and see if he’d like to have lunch with us in the cafeteria.”

  More frowns. “I’d rather go to the Dairy Barn,” Jessalyn said with a pout.

  Merri paused outside the general surgery suite. “Another time,” she promised.

  She ushered the children in, only to be told by the receptionist, “You just missed him. He went down to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat.”

  “Perfect!” Merri smiled and ushered the children back out into the hall. Not surprisingly, they grumbled and dragged their heels all the way to the cafeteria.

  Chase had already gone through the line. Tray in hand, he was searching for a seat when he saw them. He flashed a devastating smile, set his tray on a table for four and strode toward them.

  He was looking more handsome than ever in blue surgical scrubs and a white doctor’s coat, and Merri felt her heart quiver in response. She knew this wasn’t a real marriage in the traditional sense, but at the moment, it felt as if it were.

  Aware that all eyes were on them, she beamed at him. “Hey.”

  Still smiling, Chase pressed a quick, casual kiss to her temple, then leaned down to do the same to the kids.

  Instead of welcoming the gesture, they both shrank back, out of reach. The twins clung to Merri, hiding their faces in the fabric of her wool trousers.

  “Can we go home now?” Jeffrey’s voice was muffled against her leg.

  Merri patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Let’s have some lunch first, okay?”

  The little boy was about to protest when a loud cheer went up behind them. Squeals of delight were followed by a chorus of “There he is!” “What a sight for sore eyes!” “Handsome as always, Dr. Heartbreaker!”

  Dr. Heartbreaker?

  Merri turned, coming face-to-face with the half-dozen young women from Chase’s photo. They were clad in desert-hued camouflage pants, jackets and form-fitting beige

  T-shirts, and were all incredibly glad to see Chase. From the welcoming expression on her now husband’s face, he was equally thrilled to see them.

  En masse, the women streamed toward him. And one after another, with everyone in the hospital cafeteria looking on, they greeted Chase with more whoops and hollers and heartfelt hugs.

  “What are you-all doing here?” he asked, beaming as if he had just won the lottery.

  And maybe he had.

  One of the ladies flashed a megawatt smile. “You said we could visit anytime and you’d put us up!”

  “So when we all unexpectedly got a month’s leave and decided to go on a road trip, we figured we’d take you up on it,” a striking brunette added, going on tiptoe to give Chase another long, lingering hug. She drew back, the name-necklace at her throat glittering, and with an air of feminine possessiveness punched on his broad shoulder playfully. “Besides, what’s a holiday without our favorite guy?”

  Okay. Enough was enough, especially with a big chunk of the hospital visitors and staff looking on, absorbing every word.

  “Or his family,” Merri interjected sweetly, asserting herself once again.

  The women all turned to look at her and the children.

  Abruptly recalling his manners, Chase stepped back. Drawing Merri and the kids around him, he said, “Ladies, I’d like you to meet my wife, Merri, and our kids, Jeffrey and Jessalyn.”

  Our kids. Merri liked the sound of that almost as much as the sound of my wife.

  “Wife?” the women echoed in shock.

  The brunette with the name necklace—Starr—stepped forward. “Kids?” she demanded. “Since when?”

  “Don’t tell us you were married all along, you heartbreaker!” the freckled redhead said.

  “Actually, we just got married yesterday,” Merri told them.

  Six brows furrowed in confusion.

  Chase lifted a palm, not about to go into it there with the entire hospital cafeteria crowd still watching. “It’s a long story,” he said mildly.

  “Fortunately,” the striking brunette, Starr, said with a playful moue, “we’ve got all the time in the world to hear it.” She insinuated herself between Chase and Merri, snuggled up to his side and gazed up at him adoringly. “That is, if you’re still as good as your word, Chase Armstrong, and intend to put us all up for the Thanksgiving holiday, Texas-style.”

  Chapter Four

  “It’s too much to ask.”

  Maybe for a casual friend, but for a presumably loving wife? Merri wondered.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Chase told her, after his army buddies had promised to meet up with him when he got off work at five-thirty.

  To Merri’s relief, the bevy of attractive women had gone, en masse, to the shops on Main Street, to purchase some genuine “Texas” duds for their three-day stay. The twins were seated at a table by the window, happily chowing down on some ice cream, while Merri and Chase talked quietly, just out of earshot.

  “I’ll figure something else out,” he promised, sipping his coffee.

  Merri leaned her back against the cafeteria wall, glad most of the lunch crowd and staff had dispersed. She turned to Chase, feeling the heat of his gaze like a physical caress. “Really?”

  He didn’t take his eyes off her. “Really.”

  She ran a hand through her hair, suddenly feeling a little too aware of her hunky new husband. “Where are your friends going to go? It’s the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Every hotel room in a hundred-mile radius has been booked for months.”

  A conflicted glimmer appeared in Chase’s eyes. Obviously, he hadn’t thought about the impact the holiday would have on hotel room availability in rural west Texas. He did, however, seem to realize that Merri was suddenly feeling as if she had been relegated to seventh-wheel status, in the pecking order of go-getting females who’d traveled thousands of miles to be with him.

  His handsome features tightened in resignation. “I’m sorry, Merri. You and I should be focused on the kids now, getting them adjusted to the changes in our lives. Instead…” He paused, shook his head then sent her a beseeching glance.

  They had houseguests.

  Lots of very attractive, very smi
tten female houseguests.

  Chase continued, “When I issued the standing invitation to everyone in my unit, I wasn’t married.”

  Merri knew the appearance of his army buddies was unexpected—although maybe she and Chase should have gotten a clue from the holiday gift basket and card, and all the signs the women were holding up in the photo.

  But that only made it a tiny bit better. Because Chase was right…it would be best if they could focus on the kids—and being married—without an audience of half a dozen very interested admirers.

  Still, it was the holiday season, a time of thanks and giving. And these were friends and colleagues who had served in the military field hospital alongside Chase. Merri put her emotions aside, dug deep and called up the generosity the situation required.

  She reached out and touched his arm gently. “It’s okay, Chase. Really.” She looked into his eyes, so he would know she meant what she said from the bottom of her heart. “It’s only for a couple of nights, and we have room at the ranch—if everyone doubles up and two people volunteer to sleep on sofas.”

  Chase’s brow furrowed as he calculated, same as Merri. There were two guest rooms, two sofas, one master suite…and eight adults.

  “Obviously, you’ll have to sleep in my room temporarily.” Merri stepped back slightly. Thinking about what it would be like to share the sheets with him, she struggled to control a self-conscious flush.

  Chuckling, he took her hand. Warmth spread throughout her body as his fingers engulfed hers. “There’s always the barn....”

  Merri’s throat went dry as she gazed up into his mischievous eyes. “Hilarious,” she muttered, then returned to the matter at hand. “But like it or not, we’ll have to sleep together as long as we have company. Otherwise people will speculate more than they already are.”

  “How do you know they’re speculating?” he asked in surprise.

  Seriously? Merri rolled her eyes in exasperation. A hot development like the marriage was probably all over the hospital and town grapevines. “Did you not see the looks we were getting in the cafeteria when your lady friends arrived?”