The Texas Rancher's Marriage

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  He laughed and squeezed her hand. “Including, as it happens, the two of us.”

  Merri identified with that notion, all right. She hadn’t expected to have a hot, wild, passionate relationship with Chase, never mind start to fall in love with him. But both were happening....

  “The point is,” Kate continued, “the foundation of every happy family is the strong love and enduring relationship between the parents.”

  Her husband nodded in agreement. “You can’t have a successful family without that.”

  The couple helped Merri steer the loaded carts toward the door. “It’s obvious you and Chase have something very special and unique,” Kate said.

  But was it love? Merri wondered. She knew how she was beginning to feel. She knew Chase desired her and enjoyed being with her and the kids. That he loved the twins was also evident. But did he love her—in the way that Kate and Sam had been talking about?

  Would Chase ever care for her that way? And what would happen in the long run if he didn’t? Would a one-sided emotion be enough to sustain them?

  * * *

  “WHAT WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT with Kate and her husband this evening?” Chase asked later, after they had put the very sleepy twins to bed.

  Merri closed their bedroom door and filled him in on the conversation.

  He couldn’t say he was surprised. “I figured she’d come around,” he admitted with a great deal of satisfaction. “Everyone would, given a little time. When they realized we weren’t behaving recklessly…”

  Merri nodded, looking comforted, too, by the outpouring of love and good wishes they had received. “It felt good, having the community support us that way.”

  Chase knew now how sensitive she was to the opinion of others. He was glad the wedding reception had made her feel better about their situation.

  Merri unknotted his tie and pulled it off. “I don’t know where to begin to thank you,” she whispered emotionally. “It really was an incredible party.”

  And she’d been an incredible bride.

  She looked so beautiful. Even more so than she had on their wedding day. And that was saying something.

  “And the ring,” she said softly. “It just makes our union all the more official.”

  Was that why she thought he had given it to her? Chase wondered in alarm. For appearances sake?

  To his disappointment, it seemed so.

  Wary of pushing her too hard, too fast, Chase reined in his quickly escalating feelings. The two of them had made a deal—to have a union based on friendship, co-parenting and sex. He had to stick to that. At least for now. Maybe in time more would be possible, but for right now they both needed to be grateful for all they had, which was a lot.

  He cleared his throat. “You deserve it, Merri, and so much more.” He watched as she took off her cardigan, then her dress. She slipped into the bathroom, returned in just a robe. “You’ve been a great wife to me. A great wife. And a great mother to our kids.”

  Merri smiled and glided closer. Their gazes meshed and she searched his eyes. “Thank you. You’ve been a great husband, and a great dad.”

  Silence stretched between them. Chase had no idea if she was ever going to want anything more than what they had right now. But he knew what he wanted to have happen. And to get there, he would need to do a lot more work on his half of the relationship.

  Smiling, he toyed with the belt on her robe. “Technically, it’s not our wedding night.”

  She undid the knot then ever so slowly released the ends. “I guess it’s not.”

  Damn, he was hard already. “But we are still on our honeymoon.” He opened her robe all the way.

  She was naked. Incredibly beautiful and hot. And waiting. For him. To catch up.

  She let him go and moved back, to lounge against the bureau, hands braced on either side of her, robe open.

  More than ready to join her, he held her eyes as he stripped off his shirt, kicked off his shoes and shucked his pants.

  Naked, too, he sauntered toward her.

  Eyes glittering mischievously, she tilted her head and picked up the threads of their conversation. “I don’t know, Doc, if we can still be on our honeymoon after a month.”

  He slid his hands inside her robe. Her skin was as hot as he was. He kissed his way down her throat, to the sensitive spot at the base of her neck. “Maybe we’ll always be on our honeymoon.”

  She sighed and leaned closer, her nipples beading against his chest. She turned her head so their lips met, and kissed him back, until both of them were trembling. “I think I could live with that,” she whispered.

  “So could I.” Chase carried her to the vanity and sat down with her on his lap. “Ever feel like it’s Christmas already?” he asked, as he finished unwrapping her.

  Merri smiled. “Every day.”

  Aware that she needed some serious loving—they both did—after the momentous month they’d had, Chase set about claiming her as his. She did the same for him, rocking against him, and urging him on, even as he surged into her, entering and withdrawing in shallow strokes that had them both panting and moaning for more.

  They drew it out as long as possible, savoring every second, and when they’d finally reached their peak and were drifting slowly, inevitably down again, he held her while she cuddled against him.

  An unimaginable tenderness swept through him. Chase knew it had been only a matter of weeks that they’d been together, but he could no longer imagine his life without her.

  He sensed she felt the same.

  Whether she knew it yet or not, it was a lot more than simple honor, or a desire to do the right thing, keeping him with her and the kids.

  Some unions were just meant to be.

  Theirs was one of them.

  * * *

  THE DAY AFTER THEIR RECEPTION was challenging, to say the least. With Chase at the hospital, Merri had her hands full.

  “You said our daddy was going to be home for dinner!” Jeffrey grumbled.

  Merri helped her son on with his coat and knelt to zip up the front. The extra excitement and late hours the evening before, and an unusually short nap that afternoon, had turned both twins cranky. Merri hoped an afternoon ride on their tricycles would help get their endorphins going and calm them down.

  “He was supposed to be home in a little bit. But another surgeon got sick, so Daddy has to stay at the hospital and take her shift this evening.”

  “I don’t care!” Jessalyn crossed her arms sulkily. “I. Want. My. Daddy. Now.”

  Feeling a little overtired and overwrought herself, Merri turned to Jessalyn and assisted her into her jacket. “Well, unfortunately, that is not going to happen.”

  “Why not?” the twins chorused in perfect unison.

  Merri sighed and gave up trying to explain. Hands on their shoulders, she ushered both out the door and onto the front porch. “Because it just isn’t.” She held their hands as they climbed down the steps. The fresh air and cold winter sunshine had to help. “You two wait right here while I get your tricycles out of the garage.” Merri punched in the code and watched as the electric door rose.

  By the time she had stepped inside, grabbed the bikes and walked back out, Jeffrey was no longer where he was supposed to be.

  Jessalyn, meanwhile, had sunk down on the driveway and was pulling at the Velcro strap of her athletic shoe. “Mommy!” she whined. “Fix this!”

  Merri set the bikes down. “What�
��s wrong with it?” She scanned the area for Jeffrey and found him, to her utter dismay, climbing on the stacked firewood, a short distance from the house.

  “Oh, my…Jeffrey! Get down from there right now!”

  He glared at her with all the pugnacity a four-and-a-half-year-old could muster. Merri knew he was testing her. On days like this, it seemed as if all the twins did was test their limits in one way or another. “I mean it, Jeffrey. You could get hurt!”

  Jessalyn continued to wail indignantly, demanding her share of attention, too. “Mommy! My shoe!”

  Who said Christmas was a happy time? Merri wondered irritably as she started toward Jeffrey. “I’m counting.” If she made it to three, there would be a time-out. A fact her son very well knew.

  He picked up a splintery piece of kindling and threw it to the ground as hard as he could.

  “One.” Merri kept going. Jessalyn kept screaming. Jeffrey threw another piece of wood.

  “Two.” Merri picked up speed. Another stick went flying, this one so heavy that throwing it nearly rocked Jeffrey off his feet. Merri rushed forward. “That’s it, then. Thr—” She had to dodge hard to avoid another as the last piece of split firewood came tumbling toward her.

  Jeffrey screamed again. This time not in rage, but in pain.

  * * *

  THIRTY MINUTES LATER, with the cacophony in the car still at earsplitting levels, Merri was nearly at the hospital. “Jeffrey, Jessalyn, please calm down. It is just a splinter.”

  “It hurts!” Jeffrey wailed. Beside him, Jessalyn sobbed in sympathy.

  Merri knew this was not exactly life or death. She also knew there was no way she was going to be able to get the offending piece of wood out on her own. So here they were, about to make an hysterical entrance into the E.R. that no one would soon forget.

  Merri could only imagine what Priscilla Roy would make of this calamity, if and when the esteemed judge heard about it, which she most surely would. Merri eased into a parking space reserved for patients, and cut the motor. She turned to face the twins. “Listen to me,” she said in her most stern but soothing voice. “We are going to go in the hospital and—”

  “See our daddy!” Jessalyn stopped crying momentarily.

  Merri hoped they would. But wary of making another promise that might not come true, especially if Chase was currently in surgery, she said, “We’re going to get one of the nurses or the doctors to help us fix Jeffrey’s hand. But to do that, we first have got to be quiet, because there are sick people in there. And we don’t want to hurt their ears with all this crying.”

  Amazingly enough—maybe because they had exhausted themselves on the thirty-minute drive to town—the twins fell silent, nodding in assent. There was nothing Merri could do about their red and tear-swollen faces, however, as she got them out of their car seats and guided them into the E.R.

  Brianna, one of the triage nurses, came forward. “Hey, Merri.”

  When Jeffrey burst into tears, Jessalyn teared up, too—out of sympathy.

  “What have we got here?” Brianna asked gently.

  “A splinter,” Merri said, pointing at Jeffrey’s hand, which he promptly clasped against his chest.

  Merri asked, “I don’t suppose Chase…?”

  Brianna shook her head. “He’s been in surgery. But I heard—”

  The elevator doors opened. A big, handsome man in blue scrubs stepped out.

  “Daddy!” Jessalyn shouted in joy.

  “Daddy!” Jeffrey wiggled out of Merri’s arms and ran toward Chase. “Daddy, I got a splinter!” He burst into fresh tears, and Jessalyn joined in. Both hurled themselves into his arms.

  And it was only as Chase picked them both up and cuddled them close that Merri realized what the twins had just said.

  * * *

  “THEY CALLED YOU DADDY,” Merri said, after the splinter had been taken out with one swift, sure, painless pluck of the tweezers, and the tiny hand disinfected, then wrapped with a Scooby-Doo Band-Aid.

  “I know.” Chase’s smile was as big as all Texas. “I heard.” He kissed Merri tenderly. “Who said Christmas doesn’t come early?”

  She and the kids stayed long enough to have a quick dinner with him in the hospital cafeteria, then headed home. Merri skipped baths and put the kids in their pajamas, then in bed. They were asleep before their heads hit the pillow.

  The next morning, Chase hit the shower as soon as he got home from the hospital, and she gave the twins bubble baths before breakfast. When her turn came, there was once again no hot water.

  Chase grinned, looking surprisingly pleased when she told him she was going to wait an hour or so until the tank had filled again.

  “Actually, you may have to delay a little longer than that today,” he said, rubbing his jaw.

  Merri wasn’t surprised he wanted to make love. He often took advantage of the time they were alone, when the kids were at preschool. But he didn’t kiss her or lead her toward the bedroom.

  Instead, he led her toward a front window.

  Two utility trucks were rumbling down the driveway to the ranch house. Merri read the writing on one. “You called a plumber?”

  “And an electrician. And someone from the gas company.” The trucks parked side by side.

  She blinked. “Why?”

  Chase hugged her close and grinned. “It’s time for your next gift.”

  * * *

  “SO YOU LIKED THE TANKLESS water heater?” Emily asked the following day, when she dropped by the ranch house for coffee.

  Merri eased away from the kitchen table, where the twins were busy painting the wooden trains they had selected as Christmas gifts for their daddy.

  “It’s great.” She walked Emily out to the garage to show her the new appliance mounted against the wall. “You can see how little space it takes up. And there’s no limit on how much hot water is available, since it literally makes it on demand before it goes through the pipes. It can supply three different spigots at once, without any disruption in service.” She beamed. “Which means we can have the shower going and still be running the dishwasher and the washing machine, and be okay. The best part is that it’s energy and cost efficient.”

  “You are besotted,” Emily teased as they walked back into the house.

  Merri cast her friend an amused glance over her shoulder. She moved to the stove to put on the teakettle, thinking about how much fun it had been when she and Chase had christened the new water heater the previous afternoon, after the workmen had left, and again this morning, before the twins woke up. “Besotted by a water heater?” she asked innocently.

  As at home in Merri’s kitchen as her own, Emily got down two mugs. “I was thinking more about the husband who gave it to you.”

  Was it that evident? Merri brought out a selection of teabags and shrugged. “I am still on my honeymoon, as everyone keeps pointing out to me.”

  “Uh-huh.” Emily plucked a peppermint tea out of the mix and ripped open the seal. “Then what is bothering you? Because I could tell the moment I walked in that something was on your mind.”

  Merri kept her voice low to avoid alerting the twins, who proved daily they couldn’t keep a secret. No matter how hard they tried, they always divulged it in about five seconds. “I haven’t been able to figure out what to get Chase,” she whispered, dropping a blackberry tea bag into her cup. “Christmas isn’t even here and he’s already given me a diamond ring, a wedding reception and, as you just saw�
��” Merri wrinkled her nose playfully “—the water heater of my dreams.”

  Emily’s eyes danced. “Maybe he’s the one besotted.”

  They both were, Merri thought. At least sexually. Romantically? Well, that was still up in the air, and would be until—or if—he fell all the way in love with her.

  Because if he didn’t, they’d be left with a lopsided arrangement, with her caring more about him than he did about her—and Merri had vowed, after her breakup with Pierce, that she would never put herself in that situation again. But she had, and the weird thing was, she loved Chase so very much, she wasn’t even all that sure she minded. He made her so darn happy! Every single day. She could live with loving him more than he loved her. But that wasn’t the primary problem today.

  Sobering, Merri dragged her attention back to her dilemma. “I know this sounds stupid and frivolous, but I’m serious. Christmas Eve is tomorrow, and I want to do something extra special for Chase. Yet I’m still coming up blank.”

  Everything she looked at, everything she considered, seemed just plain wrong. Lifting the whistling kettle off the stove, Merri admitted, “The only thing I have gotten him so far is a framed photo of him and the kids.”

  Emily glanced at her. “Not one of the two of you?”

  Carefully, Merri filled both their mugs. Reluctant to admit she was still trying not to jinx it, she said, “We’re waiting for the proofs from the party photographer. Chase wants to use one of those for his office.”

  Which made sense, of course, since they were both in their wedding finery.

  Emily added sugar to her tea. “Have you asked him what he wants?”

  “Yes.” Merri removed her tea bag and took a sip. “He says the same thing I always say—that I already have everything I want.”

  And, Merri realized dreamily, for the first time in her life, it was true. Or would be, if Chase would only fall in love with her the way she was falling in love with him.