Pretending to Wed

by Melissa Jagears

  “I was told from the opposing party’s lawyer you were considering dissolving the marriage. That your wife had separated from you.”

  His heart began beating so fast at the thought, surely the judge could hear it. “She’s attending to business with my uncle in Denver. I have no intention of divorcing my wife.”

  Mr. Driscoll turned to the judge. “We don’t question Nolan Key’s intention to officially stay married, Your Honor. The problem lies in why they did it in the first place and how they plan to live thereafter. And considering the woman he chose―that’s the real evidence for why this marriage doesn’t fulfill Lewis Key’s will.”

  Nolan gripped the table as Mr. Driscoll called Matt to the stand.

  Matt shot a glare at Sal and Annie, as if they were at fault for being called up as witnesses.

  “Tell us, Mr. Key, why do you doubt your cousin’s integrity in fulfilling his father’s wishes?”

  “Because he’s a stickler for everyone being righteous and trustworthy, but the woman he wed is anything but.”

  The sounds of chairs creaking and people sniffling ceased.

  Nolan was about to burst out of his skin. Why had he believed for a second Matt would keep this to himself?

  “How do you know such about the woman in question?”

  “Can we object?” Nolan asked Jacob loud enough for the whole court to hear.

  “My fiancée discovered Corinne Key lived with a married man eight years ago, a Mr. Kurt Stone. She wanted his money, and once under his employ, seduced him, and became his mistress.”

  “Hearsay!” Jacob called out amid the gasps coming from behind them. “He’s assigning motivations―”

  “Quiet.” The judge shook his head at him. “It’s not your turn.”

  Jacob stood. “I’m sorry to point this out, Your Honor, but we rarely follow correct court procedure when you’re presiding.”

  Judge Morrisey tilted his head with a half shrug as if Jacob had a point, but shook his finger. “Don’t interrupt like some four-year-old. And why, Mr. Driscoll,” The judge turned back to the lawyer. “Is this relevant?”

  “My client knows Mrs. Key is not the kind of woman who’d entice his cousin into marriage under normal circumstances. A woman like her, however, would willingly join a scheme to defraud a man as long as it was to her benefit―as the paper you possess proves.”

  The room got even quieter. Jacob and Mr. Driscoll stared at each other as if sizing each other up, and Annie’s face had turned paler than cream, making her freckles stand out.

  While his smirking cousin returned to his seat, Nolan tried to keep his face expressionless. It would’ve been better to have handed the deed over and let everyone think him a fool than have Corinne’s past dragged out for all to hear.

  Jacob called a Mr. Agee.

  Nolan frowned, unfamiliar with the name, and watched as the man who’d been scraping his dirty fingernails came to take the stand.

  What did this man have to do with his ranch?

  Matt shrugged as if Mr. Agee were inconsequential, but he noticeably stiffened. Mr. Driscoll leaned over to ask him something, and Matt shook his head.

  “Mr. Agee, how do you know Matthias Key, Jr.?”

  “I don’t know him from Adam, really.”

  Jacob ran a hand through his hair. “I mean, how are you acquainted? What has been your involvement with the man seated at the plaintiff’s table?”

  “It’s the same as what I told you and Mr. Dent last night.”

  “Please tell the court what you have against Matthias Key, Jr.”

  “Objection, Your Honor.” Mr. Driscoll stood.

  Judge Morrisey smacked his gavel. “Mr. Hendrix, Matthias Key is not on trial here.”

  Jacob raised a hand. “Mr. Agee’s testimony brings Matthias Key’s creditability into question, along with the evidence he’s presented against Nolan Key.”

  The judge swung his gavel halfheartedly as permission to proceed.

  Jacob couldn’t hide the big breath he took before returning to his witness. “Sorry about that, Mr. Agee. Please inform the court what you told me and Deputy Dent last night. Start with how you’re acquainted with Matthias Key, Jr., if you would.”

  “I play cards when I’m not working the railroad. That gentleman over there has been at the gaming tables a lot lately.” He pointed at Matt. “He flaps his gums an awful lot, ’specially when he’s had a pint. Mentioned a time or two he was going to take back the Key ranch, though he never said how. One time he did say he was going to poison the man’s stock or something, but we figured he was just distracting us so we didn’t notice what he was doing card-wise because he’s awful lucky. I mean, who’d just outright admit to crimes like that? But we never could catch what he was doing.”

  “About how many men could attest to that?”

  “Half a dozen maybe.” Mr. Agee crossed his arms over his chest and leaned forward. “Last week, he was really getting on our nerves. Started boasting about how he was getting his ranch back by the end of the month, cockier than he’d ever been. He started playing sloppy, so I took advantage. Won a hundred and fifteen off him. He didn’t take kindly to that. After he cut his losses and knocked the table over, he started slandering me. My boss at the railroad heard and fired me. I wanted the deputy to help me get a cut of Key’s new ranch, considering he’s the reason I’m out of a job.”

  Mr. Driscoll’s face was blank, but Matt wasn’t even trying to hide the glower he directed at Mr. Agee.

  Jacob stepped closer to the witness. “How did the plaintiff slander you?”

  “He told my boss I was a cheat and that I’d been sleeping with his wife behind his back.”

  “And are you?”

  “No!” Mr. Agee straightened in his chair. “Have you seen my boss’s wife? No offense to the lady or nothing.”

  “Your witness, Mr. Driscoll.”

  The lawyer stood, but didn’t approach. “I have no reason to question a bum who’s trying to get a cut of what he heard my client was soon to inherit after finding himself unemployed. He knows nothing about this case.”

  Mr. Agee turned to frown at the judge. “Others heard what he said about me, and can tell you it ain’t true. Shouldn’t I get something?”

  “I’m afraid, Mr. Agee, that you’ll have to press your own charges if you want to take him to court for restitution.”

  “Aw, you mean I have to come back here again?”

  Jacob encouraged him to return to his seat upon his dismissal, and Mr. Agee stomped away, grumbling loudly about how he’d been brought in for nothing.

  With a knock of his gavel―most likely to startle Mr. Agee out of his muttered tirade―Judge Morrisey addressed the few in attendance. “I’ve no need to take a recess. The terms of the will, provided by the defense, appear to have been met. Nolan Key maintains ownership of the ranch.” He pointed toward Matt. “I’d suggest you, young man, find a way to earn your living rather than fleece it from others.

  “And Mr. Agee.” The judge gestured to the man who’d plopped into his seat. “If you hope to get anything from this man, you better press charges before he high-tails it out of town. Court’s adjourned.”

  Nolan blinked.

  He’d won!

  God bless Judge Morrissey. Plus, Jacob and Sal for forcing him to stay. He turned to smile at his foreman, who tipped his hat at him.

  Matt rushed off in a huff, his lawyer following.

  “Congratulations, Nolan.” Jacob gripped his shoulder, and Annie walked up with a pleased expression, her cheeks no longer aflame.

  No soul in the courtroom looked toward him with anything reminiscent of pity or disgust. So they were all going to chalk up Matt’s testimony against Corinne as slander, like what he’d invented to ruin Mr. Agee?

  “I told you.” Jacob shook his shoulder. “Never give in to a thief. They get their comeuppance sooner if not later.”

  He could only muster a half-smile―it didn’t feel right to rejoice over his
cousin’s downfall. “Thank you, both of you. I was certain I’d lost everything. I shouldn’t have underestimated the friends God gave me.”

  After a round of hugs, Jacob and Annie left and Sal came up.

  His foreman gave him a quick handshake and put his hat back on. “Seems I still need to stop at the feed store and pick up corn for the missus’s new hens. Anything else you want me to get?”

  Nolan sagged in his seat. Just an hour ago, he’d thought he was heading to Denver, the ranch no longer his concern, but now…

  He had a profit to make so he could split it with Corinne―as promised.

  “I’ll come with you.”

  Sal about-faced and Nolan grabbed his crutches to follow him out. Funny how little elation he felt at being able to return to the ranch.

  With the cattle soon to be sold, it’d be a while before he saw Corinne again.

  And though Annie had convinced him his wife wasn’t looking to leave, Corinne’s drive to succeed and eschew romantic nonsense meant she’d not cotton to him abandoning the ranch at this critical time. Especially not to ask her face-to-face if he could court her, considering they’d be separated indefinitely.

  With a sigh, he headed to the feed store. He likely had a better chance at winning her heart by doing as she’d requested, no matter how badly his arms ached to hold her again.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Taking off her bonnet, Corinne spotted Nolan sitting on the parlor sofa, staring out the side window toward the evening sky. He must be doing some serious thinking to have missed hearing her come in.

  The room seemed bare. Crates were stacked behind the furniture. Had he been packing up before the court case?

  She couldn’t help but smile knowing the ranch was safe. She’d seen Annie in town, and the woman had nearly run to welcome her back and share the good news from this morning.

  Uncle Matthias and his lawyer had taken the sudden change of plans well. After they found Matt and delivered the summons to appear in court for embezzlement, they planned to find hotel rooms for the night and return to Denver on the morrow.

  She’d rented a horse and rode straight home.

  Why was Nolan slumped? Was he still in pain? She looked around for his wheelchair, but only saw crutches. Was he on the mend or pushing himself more than he ought?

  She took a step forward and her heartbeat clattered at the thought of reciting the speech she’d rehearsed on the train ride here. She stopped and took a deep breath.

  She had pursued financial security and patents for years and finally had success within her grasp. But validation paled in comparison to what she really wanted―what she’d assumed God would never permit. She wanted a man to whisper romantic nonsense in her ear and she wanted to let herself believe it.

  She’d never get that chance unless she told him she loved him.

  Dropping her bonnet on the chair, she forged into the room, letting her feet thump to stir Nolan from whatever he was daydreaming about. “What are you doing?” she asked gently.

  With a jerk, he straightened in his seat and turned. His face lit for a fraction of a second before his mouth fell open. “I―I was trying to decide what to do. I was asking God about it.”

  “What was God saying?”

  He shook his head, his eyes wide like a lost child’s. “I didn’t feel like He was talking to me at all. But since you’ve shown up…” He glanced over at his crutches for a second, but turned back to her. “Why are you back? Did something go wrong with my uncle?”

  “No, but I…” She took another step closer. “I heard about Matt. Annie caught me at the train station and told me about the court’s ruling. I’m glad he didn’t get what he wanted.”

  “Me, too. I think.”

  He wasn’t glad? She closed her eyes and shook her head. She’d not get sidetracked. She needed to spit out what she could remember of her speech before her courage flagged. “I came back because I didn’t get what I wanted, either.”

  He frowned. “How’s that?”

  “The day I left? You didn’t say very much to me at the train station.”

  His face scrunched with confusion, and he ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t want to say anything that would’ve stopped you from pursuing your dream.”

  She pursed her lips and slowly exhaled. “So it wasn’t because you were afraid you might let some nonsense slip out?”

  He blinked. And blinked again, one eye sort of twitching. “I’m confused.”

  “Did you want to tell me something but felt you couldn’t?” She moved to sit beside him, then leaned over, nearly brushing his ear with her lips. “Do you want to know what I should’ve said?”

  He let out a shaky breath.

  “I should’ve told you I’m no longer interested in being your business partner.”

  He tensed.

  “That I’ve cried myself to sleep thinking there’s nothing special enough about me for you to break your vow to keep all romantic nonsense to yourself. I was hoping before I left that you’d tell me you wouldn’t be able to breathe without me, or that you’d be cold without a woman as lovely as a summer’s day at your side, or… or… I don’t know.” She sat back and played with the seam of her glove. “I tried to come up with something sweet you could’ve said―things that only months ago would’ve made me roll my eyes, but now…”

  She chanced a look at him. He still sat rigidly, but his eyes took in every inch of her face, as if trying to determine whether what she said was truth or a trap.

  “Of course…” She gripped the back of the sofa to keep herself from scooting away. “If you don’t feel like saying anything like that to me, you don’t have to pretend you do―or ever will. You’ll need to tell me plain though. Because somehow, I need to rid myself of this longing for you that’s stuck inside of me. I’m uncertain about how you feel, and I can’t promise…” She placed a hand against his chest.

  He grabbed her hand and held tight.

  “I can’t promise I’ll be able to make you happy in every way, but I want the chance to try.”

  He remained silent so long her heartbeat began to falter, but then he scooted closer.

  “It’s more that I can’t breathe with you near.” His voice was hushed. “So afraid I’ll say something that’ll push you away from me forever.”

  Her heart tripped. “I’d never do that.”

  He pressed his forehead against hers, and his free hand buried itself in her hair. “This week, I was ready to launch a thousand ships just to be near you again, though I was certain they’d all sink. But I’d have happily gone down with them if it meant your dreams would come true.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re special.” The hand holding hers squeezed harder. “I didn’t realize how much so when I asked you to marry me. No one else had either, otherwise somebody would’ve launched those ships ages ago. But if my leg doesn’t heal well … as I said, I’ll go down with the ship if it means you’ll be happy.”

  “That won’t make me happy.”

  “I can’t promise being with me will, either.”

  “True.”

  His breath caught. After a second, he lifted his head from hers.

  She reached up to keep him from moving farther away. “Expecting you or anything else to make me happy is bound to fail, but I can practice gratefulness. I can thank God for what He has given me―meaningful work, someone to love. For now, my inventions can wait. My ideas don’t have feelings. You do.”

  She played with the hair that curled behind his ear. “You’ve put my needs and wants above yours since before you proposed, and I want to put your needs and wants above mine, too.”

  “But with Kurt,” His words were breathy. “That didn’t work out. You ended up deeply unhappy.”

  “Because he didn’t put my feelings above his. Selflessness needs to be mutual if a relationship’s going to work, don’t you think? And if I’m in Denver, how can I claim I’m loving you more than I’m loving me?�
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  “But if you don’t go―”

  “I have no doubt you’ll find plenty of other ways to put my needs above your own. Every morning.” She traced his jawline with one finger, then skimmed across his bottom lip. “Every night.”

  His breathing stuttered. “And if things don’t go as hoped?”

  “Since God meant marriage for our good, I bet we can find some if we look for it. And right now, distance isn’t going to help us find the good. Perhaps next year we can go to Denver together. Or maybe my dreams will change by then. But I don’t want my aspirations to trample on your happiness in any way.”

  She moved in to kiss him lightly on the cheek, then sat back to trace her fingers along his hairline. “What would make you happy, Nolan?”

  He took hold of her shoulders, as if afraid she might run away. “You. To be mine―in all ways. To spend my life figuring out how to make you happy.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then moved to whisper against her temple. “To know you’ll be by my side even if I lose the ranch and every last one of my limbs.”

  “I’ve already chosen to stay.” She moved in closer and wrapped her arms around him. “That’s why I’m here.”

  He tucked her in tight. “Then I will love you―now and for the rest of my days.”

  “Only if I get to do the same.” She kissed him lightly, then talked against his lips. “As best as I’m able anyway.”

  He moved back a little and gave her a wink. “With your intelligence and determination, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out how to love me beyond my wildest dreams.”

  She leaned in to kiss him again, nearly shaking over the fact he was keeping himself in check instead of kissing her back like he had that one night. “Shouldn’t we get to experimenting then?”

  The side of his mouth curled up slyly. “Scientifically? With variables and all that?”

  She shrugged. “Science comes in handy sometimes.”

  He shook his head. “I have a feeling we’d be better off without it. Something more like … this.”

  He bent his head so slowly, she couldn’t help but whimper a complaint. His eyes twinkled for a second before he brushed his lips against hers, smoothly, tenderly, leisurely…