The Colton Bride

by Carla Cassidy

  “Trust me, you’re still going to have the next big wedding at the ranch,” Catherine replied. “Gray and I are just having a basic ceremony with just you two and Trevor as witnesses and no guests.”

  “Are you sure that’s what you really want?” Gabby asked as if unable to believe that any woman wouldn’t want the crowded church, the elegant wedding gown and the flowers and bows of a big wedding.

  Catherine nodded. “It’s exactly what I want. I want to be Gray’s wife, but it doesn’t feel like the right time to have a real celebration.” She glanced over at Allison’s grave and then back at Gabby. “I just need you two standing with me and Gray beside me and everything will be as fine as it can be at this moment in time.”

  She looked up at Gray, a deep sadness in her eyes. “Can we go home now? I’m tired.”

  “I think it’s time we all get home,” Trevor said as he stepped up to Gabby’s side. “There’s nothing more we can do here.”

  Gray led Catherine to his truck, instinctively knowing she didn’t want to talk, that she was still immersed in the grief over Allison, who had died trying to save her.

  Gray didn’t have the words to make her feel better. He knew it would take time for some of this pain to ease. As he started the engine, he smelled the scent of her, that evocative fragrance that pulled forth memories he wanted to forget.

  He refused to allow the scent to make him remember loving her. What he had to stay focused on was that the marriage to Catherine was temporary, that love had nothing to do with it and all he needed to do was keep her safe.

  Chapter 9

  A hundred times...a thousand times over the next three days Catherine alternated between going forward with the marriage to Gray and fighting against the very idea.

  Still, when Saturday late afternoon arrived, she’d finally resigned herself completely to the crazy scheme, knowing that there was nobody else she trusted in the entire house more than him.

  The idea of having him by her side both during the day and through the long nights was both comforting and unsettling. She didn’t want to care about him, she didn’t want to think about him as anything but a necessary evil to keep her safe.

  She now stood in front of her window, gazing at the low gray clouds that obliterated any sunshine and the rain that freckled the glass of the window.

  “Happy is the bride that the sun shines on,” she murmured as she turned away from the window and headed for her closet, trying to decide the appropriate attire for a temporary wedding to a man who didn’t love her and one she didn’t plan to stick around forever.

  Of course she didn’t love him, either. This whole marriage was just a ruse and the last thing she wanted to do was fall into any fantasy that it would become real or lasting.

  The staff had made sure that her room was pristine, with no residual sign of the drama that had occurred in the suite. The window that had been opened had been cleaned of the fingerprint dust, the broken lamp replaced by a similar one. There was no shadow of Allison on the carpeting, nothing to haunt her except for her own memories of that horrible night.

  “Are you going to pick a dress or be late for your own wedding?” her sister Amanda asked. She stood nearby, already clad in a beautiful navy dress and heels. “You should have bought a real wedding gown, Cath. It’s not every day you get married.”

  “I didn’t want to go to all the trouble. I told you this is just a simple affair.” Catherine pulled a long cream-colored Dior from her closet. The bodice sparkled with tiny crystals and it was a gown she’d never worn before. It was perfect for this empty ceremony.

  Minutes later as she stood in front of her bathroom mirror clad in the dress, she couldn’t help but think of all the fantasies she’d once entertained about her wedding day.

  Gray had been in those youthful fantasies as had the vision of her father walking her down the aisle. The church had been filled with smiling friends and family as the sweet scent of flowers eddied in the air.

  Instead of that fantasy, Gray was marrying her under false pretenses, her father was in a coma and everything and almost everyone had taken on the shadow of potential evil.

  Gabby flew into the room, also wearing a navy dress. She gasped. “Oh, Cath, you look positively beautiful.”

  Catherine turned from the mirror and hugged her sister. “Thanks.” She released her hold on Gabby and fought the impulse to twirl her hair right off her head. Her anxiety level was through the roof. Was this a wise or completely insane decision? Only time would tell.

  “I just came up to tell you that it’s raining but Trevor has the car ready to take us to the chapel,” Gabby said.

  “And it’s time to go now,” Amanda added with a glance at her wristwatch.

  Nerves swelled in Catherine as the three sisters left her suite. They headed for the front door where Trevor had brought a vehicle to carry them all to the small chapel in the distance.

  Would he be there? Or had Gray gotten cold feet and run in the middle of the night to the ranch in Montana like he had when they were teenagers.

  No, she knew with certainty that he would be there. Rain misted the windshield as Trevor drove toward the chapel. She reached up and touched the necklace hidden beneath the dress. The aquamarine stone served as something blue. Amanda had loaned her a pair of shoes that matched her dress and Gabby had surprised her with a delicate bracelet that had belonged to their mother.

  Her bases were all covered...something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. The only thing she was missing was a groom who loved her and one she could wholeheartedly love back.

  Her hand drifted down to her tummy. This was why she was going through with this farce, not just to keep herself safe, but to assure the safety of her baby.

  When Trevor pulled up to the chapel entrance, Catherine had a sudden impulse to jump out of the car and run as far and as fast as she could, but ultimately she knew there was nowhere to run.

  The chapel was a simple building—one room with wooden pews on either side of a narrow aisle. A small stained-glass window hung high above the altar, but there was no sun streaking through to show off its beauty today.

  Her heart swelled as she saw Gray, clad in a black suit, standing next to Horace Black. Gray looked achingly handsome and in that moment when he caught sight of her, his eyes appeared to light up. What appeared to be a genuine smile curved his lips.

  It’s all make-believe, Catherine reminded herself as Gabby and Amanda walked up the aisle in front of her and got into the positions of bridesmaids.

  There was no music except the pounding of her own heartbeat. She walked slowly, solemnly up the aisle. She got halfway to where they all waited for her and her steps slowed. A million thoughts whirled through her head.

  She was more accustomed to seeing Horace working on a baling machine or fiddling with some kind of machinery than she was seeing him in his suit and tie, and now twice in one week she’d seen him dressed to perform. A funeral and a wedding in less than seven days—it all just felt so wrong.

  Then she looked at Gray once again. In the broadness of his shoulders, in the strength of his arms and the resolution on his face she saw safety in a sea of danger.

  She quickened her steps and joined them in front of Horace who smiled at her benevolently. When he wasn’t acting as a minister, he was the general handyman who fixed things. He had no idea that what he was about to do was temporarily fix a situation that had nothing to do with abiding love and enduring vows.

  The ceremony passed in a haze. It was only when Gray slipped a gold band on her finger that the haze lifted, and as she gazed into Gray’s gold-flecked brown eyes and Horace pronounced them husband and wife, it felt too real.

  “Kiss your bride,” Gabby said as there was an awkward moment of silence.

  “Yeah, what are you waiting for?” Amanda added.

  The kiss. Catherine hadn’t thought about the traditional kiss that always followed the pronouncement of husband and wife. Gray wrapp
ed her in his arms and lowered his lips to hers.

  She’d expected a mere peck, but his mouth took possession of hers, kissing her deeply and she found herself responding, melding into him as his tongue danced erotically with hers. It was just as she remembered...the heat...the fire.

  “Okay, you two. Get a room,” Gabby said with a laugh that quickly halted the kiss.

  Catherine straightened, reeling with the sensual pleasure that they’d just shared. She wasn’t sure she liked him, she definitely didn’t want to love him, but she had to admit the lust that he’d always managed to stir in her hadn’t diminished over the years.

  “Let’s get everyone back to the house before this misty rain turns into a torrential downpour,” Trevor said. “Reverend Black, I’ll be more than happy to drive you to your place.”

  Horace smiled, displaying several missing teeth. “I won’t melt in a little rain. You get the family safely back inside the house and I’ll walk home.”

  Within minutes they were all loaded in the car and heading back to the house where life as Catherine had known it would now be different.

  Half of her closet already held Gray’s clothing. Her bathroom had his toiletries next to hers beneath the sink cabinet although his trophies and winning belts and most of his personal items were still in his employee room upstairs. He intended to keep that room for when the marriage ended and he went back to being staff. Still, from this moment on they would be together at all times.

  Trevor parked at the front door where they all got out of the car, and to Catherine’s surprise Gray swooped her into his arms to carry her over the threshold where many of the house staff were gathered to congratulate the newlyweds.

  Like a reception line, Catherine and Gray were greeted with hearty well wishes from the maids, the kitchen help and at the end of the line Mathilda, who wiped happy tears from her eyes.

  Surreal. It all felt incredibly surreal to Catherine. It was as if she’d stepped into somebody else’s life and had no idea where it would take her.

  Head cook Agnes stepped out of the line to address Gray and Catherine. “An intimate dinner has been prepared for the two of you and will be served in Miss Catherine’s suite in half an hour if that’s agreeable.”

  “That sounds lovely,” Catherine said. What she wanted to do more than anything was escape this crowd of people who’d been fooled, stop the forced smiles that stretched her lips again and again.

  “I think we’ll head to the suite now,” Gray said. “My bride has already had a long day.”

  Catherine gazed at him gratefully. He smoothly led her away from the crowd and down the hallway to her suite. Somebody had filled the sitting room with vases of flowers...pink roses mingled with fragrant gardenias and delicate tulips.

  “Wow, somebody went to a lot of trouble,” Gray said as they entered the room and he closed the door behind him.

  “My first guess would be my sisters with the help of a couple of maids,” Catherine replied, fighting back emotion that made her want to cry. “I think I’ll go change into something more comfortable,” she said, needing to escape Gray’s presence, needing a few minutes alone.

  She walked through the bedroom and carried with her into the bathroom a long lounger gown in soft jewel tones. Once she was alone she sat on the edge of the tub and tried to rein in her crazy emotions.

  Maybe it was pregnancy hormones starting to kick in, but she felt like weeping because they’d fooled everyone, because everybody seemed so happy for them.

  More than anything she wanted to cry because she felt as if she’d given away a piece of herself in entering into a temporary, loveless marriage for the sake of personal safety.

  * * *

  While Catherine was in the bathroom, Gray changed from the suit and tie he’d worn for the ceremony to a pair of comfortable jeans and a brown sweater. He placed his holster and gun on an end table next to the chaise and then sank down into the cushion.

  Never in a million years would he have imagined himself married to Catherine Colton and living in a suite of pink rooms. Never in a million years would he have thought that a mandated kiss could have shaken him up so badly.

  He’d just intended to give her a peck, a mere touch of his lips to hers. But the moment he’d drawn her into his arms, the moment their lips had met, there was no way he could pull back his need to drink of her, to kiss her as fully, as deeply as possible.

  That had been a mistake because now the taste of her, the feel of her warm in his arms was all he could think about. He stared into the next room where the end of the king-size bed was visible. There was no bed big enough in the world for him to be comfortable in it with her by his side.

  She probably wanted him to sleep on the chaise anyway. He frowned, trying to imagine folding his six-foot frame into some form of comfort on the delicate pink-and-black patterned chaise longue.

  Despite the floral fragrance of the flower arrangements, her scent filled the air, and that along with the memory of the hot kiss they’d just shared created a sharp edge inside him, an edge that held the slightest hint of irritation with himself...with her.

  His irritation crept higher as she came out of the bathroom, a vision of soft colors in a gown that shimmered across her breasts and fell to the floor. She looked like a princess. Actually, she looked like a very nervous princess.

  “I suppose you expect me to sleep here on the chaise,” he said, his voice more gruff than he intended.

  She looked at him and shook her head. “You’re too big for that. I’ll sleep on the chaise,” she replied as she sat in the pink chair next to the furniture in question.

  “That’s not going to happen.” His voice brooked no argument. “You’re pregnant. You’re going to sleep in your own bed where you’ll be most comfortable.”

  She glanced over at the bedroom and then back at him. “It’s a big bed. I suppose we could share it without ever touching each other.”

  At that moment a knock fell on the door. Gray grabbed his gun and went to answer. As he saw Lucinda pushing a cart laden with food covered by lids, he tucked his gun into the back of his jeans so he wouldn’t give the kitchen worker a heart attack.

  “Here you are,” she said with a bright smile. “A nice, romantic dinner for the two newlyweds.” She pulled a lighter from her pocket and lit the candle that stood in a single crystal candle holder in the center of the cart. “I’ll just come back to take out the cart in the morning.” Her sly smile indicated that she assumed they would be busy with other things for the remainder of the night.

  “Thank you, Lucinda,” Gray said, and the young woman left the room. Gray locked the door after her and then set his gun back on the end table.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked as he maneuvered the cart between the chair where she sat and the chaise. “I’m sure Agnes went to a lot of trouble to fix us something special for our wedding meal.”

  He began to pull off lids, exposing spinach salad with fresh strawberries and juicy prime rib cooked just to perfection. Baked potatoes and fresh asparagus were side dishes, along with yeasty rolls and a small white cake sporting a plastic bride and groom figurine on top.

  “It does look good,” she admitted as she pulled a napkin from the cart.

  “It’s definitely better than anything I’ve eaten in the employee dining room,” Gray replied. “I guess that’s one of the perks of being married to a Colton. Better food, nicer sleeping arrangements and the joy of spending time in your company.”

  “Stop that,” Catherine said, her chin shooting up a notch and her eyes glittering with a hint of anger. “Don’t make fun of what we’ve just done. We’ve lied to everyone we know and love and you shouldn’t feel good about it.”

  “I was just making a joke, trying to ease some of the tension,” he replied. “And I don’t feel good about lying to everyone, but nobody will make me believe what we’ve done is wrong. You and that baby are what are most important and this was the only way I could make sure that you both st
ay safe.”

  She lowered her gaze from his and drew a deep breath. “Sorry I snapped. I’ve been switching between the need to cry or scream all day.”

  Gray picked up his fork. “Catherine, I know this isn’t the way you wanted things to go and I know this is going to be difficult for a while, but we’ll get through it together. It’s not like it’s a permanent thing. You only have to put up with me until somebody figures out who the bad guys are.”

  “Let’s hope that doesn’t take too long,” she replied. “And now we’d better eat before this all gets cold.”

  She was quiet through the meal. He tried to keep up a running conversation about his chores and how he’d delegated to some of the men more work and appointed Dylan the official foreman in charge for the time being, but eventually he gave up trying to keep any talk going.

  The logistics of this marriage would take some getting used to. Not only did he have things that needed to be done as ranch foreman, but he also knew she had events and activities to attend and the petting barn animals to care for.

  They would have to work together, to compromise in order for them to never be apart from each other. There was no way Gray intended to leave her side or allow her any freedom to leave his.

  “What do you usually do in the evenings after dinner?” she asked once they had finished eating and Gray had moved the tray next to the suite doorway.

  “Drink a beer, visit with Dylan or read crime procedural books and mysteries.”

  “Read?” she looked at him in surprise.

  “Yeah, this dumb cowboy can actually read,” Gray replied with a hint of defensiveness.

  She reached a hand up to her hair and began the fast twirl of a strand. “Don’t be an ass.” She released a frustrated sigh. “We’ve only been married a couple of hours and I’m already in the mood for a divorce.”

  “Maybe you need a pickle,” Gray said in an attempt to lighten things up once again.