by Tina Leonard
“I don’t think Sabrina would come back to Diablo for an engagement party.”
“She doesn’t want to see Jonas that badly?”
“I didn’t say that,” Seton said carefully. “I just think it would take a more serious reason to bring her back.” Yet Seton knew Sabrina really had to come to Diablo.
“Could you tell her your aunt needs her?”
“I could, but she’d just wonder why I couldn’t handle whatever it was. And I’m not going to lie and tell her Aunt Corinne is sick, because then she’d come home and know I’d lied.”
“It’s almost a straight shot to Las Vegas,” Sam said cheerfully. “Just about nine hours, as the crow flies.”
Seton took a deep breath. “A quickie marriage would defeat the purpose of getting Sabrina home, wouldn’t it?”
“True. We’d have to get married at Rancho Diablo for it to work. And sooner rather than later, I suppose.”
Seton glanced at Sam. “Are you proposing again?”
He laughed. “It would solve my situation, get your sister home to Jonas before he’s snagged by an overeager female—and in his current state, that could happen—and it would get you off the egg timer.”
“I’m fine. Thanks.”
What if she said yes? Could it work?
Would they later on regret getting married?
She didn’t have time to find out. “I guess it might be worth a try.”
Sam reached over and patted her leg again. “You’re an excitable female, I can tell.”
Seton shook her head. “When are we doing this?”
“Takes three days to get a marriage license, I bet. Blood work, find a priest…oh, shoot.”
“What?” Seton’s gaze snapped to him.
“Aunt Fiona and Uncle Burke will want to be here for the wedding.”
“Were they at Rancho Diablo for Rafe’s and Julie’s?”
“No,” Sam said, “and that’s why I don’t think they’ll miss another one. Bode’s lying low, and life is quite different from when they left. We’ve got to give them enough time to book flights, and that’ll be just enough time for you to get cold feet.” Sam glanced her way. “I don’t think I can risk it.”
“Trust me,” Seton said grimly, “I will not back out of marrying you.”
“Really?” he asked. “Finally realize my offer is a winner?”
She moved his hand off her leg. “That’s right, cowboy.”
“Works for me,” Sam said. “I don’t care how I get you there, just so long as I do. You find a dress, and I’ll take care of everything else.”
“Lovely,” Seton said, and felt a secret shiver that the cowboy she’d always wanted was finally going to be hers.
At least for a little while.
Chapter Five
“So I’d love for you to be my maid of honor,” Seton told Sabrina the next day. “Would you?”
“Oh, Seton,” she replied. “I’m so happy that you’re getting married. I always knew you had a thing for Sam, but—”
Seton jumped in before her sister could say no. “Who else would I want to be my maid of honor but you?”
“All right,” Sabrina said. “Of course I will.”
Seton smiled. “Thank you, Sabrina.”
“No need for thanks. I wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world. Have you told Mom and Dad?”
“I’m going to. I wanted to talk to you first. Do they know about the bab—”
“No,” Sabrina said. “So your wedding will have lots of surprises.”
“Mom’s going to flip when she finds out you’re pregnant.” Seton glanced out the window of her office, seeing Sam striding across the street toward the courthouse. She caught herself staring at him, admiring his long legs and loping walk.
I hope I’m not getting in over my head with this con we’re pulling.
She realized Sabrina had been speaking while she’d been thinking about Sam. “I’m sorry, what did you say, Sabrina?”
“I just said that she’ll be excited about her first grandbaby, once the shock wears off. At least I hope she will be. So what color am I wearing?”
“I haven’t decided.” Seton thought the style of the gown was probably more important than the color, considering Sabrina’s predicament. “How far along are you?”
Sam came into her office, and Seton felt the familiar jolt of attraction. She motioned for him to sit down.
“Five months,” Sabrina said.
“What?” Seton exclaimed.
“I’m five months pregnant,” her sister said, “so I think something with an empire waist might be best, and perhaps as dark a color as you can manage, maybe? I’m pretty petite, so there isn’t a lot of space for baby. I already look like I’m carrying a prize-winning pumpkin.”
Seton stared at Sam, swallowing past the sudden tightness in her throat. Diablo was going to be all atwitter when Sabrina returned. Jonas was going to be shocked, and Aunt Corinne… “How do you feel?” she asked.
“Like a house,” Sabrina said cheerfully. “But I’m very fortunate. The doctor says I escaped the Callahan curse.”
“What curse?” Seton thought she better know up front about any curse she might be bringing on herself. Sam grinned at her, and she held up a finger to let him know she’d be off the phone in one moment. He shrugged, then reached over to take the hand she was resting on her desk in his big warm one.
Why did she feel so safe and yet so electric whenever he touched her?
“The baby bingo curse.” Sabrina laughed. “Didn’t you notice that almost all the Callahan pregnancies have been multiples? I think Fiona put something in the water out there.”
Sam was stroking Seton’s palm and driving her nuts. She could hardly concentrate on local legend when he was making her think about things she shouldn’t be thinking about. “So…just one?” she asked carefully, not wanting Sam to guess what they were talking about, though he seemed much more interested in her body than her conversation. He made his way up her wrist, and Seton tried not to melt into a pool of languid yes, whatever you want, Sam. If he wasn’t so darn sexy—
“Yes, just one,” Sabrina said, snapping her back, “but I don’t know the sex, so don’t ask. I’m going to be as surprised as everyone else on the big day.”
“It’s going to be so wonderful....” Seton let her voice trail off before she could say, “wonderful to have a baby in the family.” “Sabrina, listen, I’ve got to run, but I’ll pick out a wonderful gown for you.”
“You’d better.” She laughed again. “I don’t want to look like I’m wearing a tent when I’m standing next to the most beautiful bride Diablo has ever seen.”
“You won’t, I promise. I love you, sis,” Seton said. “Goodbye.”
“Love you, too. Say hello to handsome for me.”
They hung up and Seton freed her hand from Sam’s. “It’s lunchtime. Your routine is usually to appear when I’m closing up shop at night. What brings you by?”
Sam leaned back in the chair, a teasing expression on his face. “How about a wedding in five days at the ranch?”
“That fast?” Married in five days! That made Seton start thinking about wedding nights and making love… She practically shivered at the thought of being in Sam’s arms.
“Cold?” Sam asked, and she quickly said, “No, no. I’m fine.”
He smiled. “I’ve got a caterer lined up, the town grapevine ready to roll as soon as we give the signal, and I made sure my tux fits.” He put a jeweler’s box on her desk, and Seton’s gaze jumped to his.
“What is it?” she asked, knowing but not sure she wanted to know.
“What every man gets the woman he’s marrying,” Sam said. “Open it.”
“I— Sam, we really don’t need to be super-fancy,” Seton protested. “It’s a fake wedding. It would feel wrong to wear a ring—”
Sam raised his brows and smiled. “In Diablo, you wear a ring or lots of gossip gets started.”
“I guess
so. You’re right.” Reluctantly, she opened the box and smiled at the sparkling diamond band. “I love it,” she said. “Sam, it’s perfect. It’s feminine and beautiful, but not flashy. Thank you.”
He nodded. “Glad you like it. Slip it on.”
She hesitated. “I hadn’t given any thought to rings. What about yours?”
“My what?” His expression filled with innocence she was certain was a deliberate ploy.
“Your band,” Seton said.
“Oh, I’m not wearing one,” Sam said, and she snapped her box closed.
“I’ll get you one.”
“I’m a cowboy. I can’t wear a ring,” Sam said, and Seton knew he was trying to get her worked up.
He was succeeding admirably.
“All your brothers wear wedding bands.”
“Yeah.” Sam leaned even farther back in the chair, looking completely at ease, a man of the world who made the decisions everyone else lived by. “But they’re pansies.”
Seton’s lips thinned. She wasn’t certain if she should push the ring issue. It was a marriage of convenience, after all. “If you don’t want to wear a ring, it makes no difference to me,” she said nonchalantly. “But I thought the purpose of us getting married was so that you’d get your part of the ranch without having to marry someone your aunt fixed you up with. And if she suspects our marriage isn’t real, she may forfeit your portion.”
“That’s true.” Sam’s brow creased. “‘No tricks’ is in the papers she had drawn up for the ranch. And I suppose not wearing a ring would encourage other ladies to wonder if I was available.”
“Probably,” Seton said sweetly. “If that’s what you want, I’m sure Lacey and Wendy would be happy to figure out that we have a fake marriage.”
He frowned. “Since you want me to wear a ring so badly, I guess I’ll swing by the jeweler’s and pick one up.”
“You do that,” Seton said. “In the spirit of the masquerade, it’s probably best.”
“I just want you to be happy, my dove.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Sam, don’t overdo it.”
He laughed and pulled an identical ring box out of his pocket, putting it next to hers. “I’m into looking one hundred percent legitimate.”
She opened the box and gazed at the plain gold band. “Simple and effective. I approve.” She handed it back to him, thinking he was a rat and she was going to have to keep her wits about her or he’d be deviling her all the time.
“So put yours on.” He indicated the box still sitting on her desk.
“No, thanks.” She handed it back to him. “I’ll wait until the big day. It’ll be more meaningful that way, don’t you think?”
Sam’s lips quirked. “If you say so, bride.”
“I do say so.” She could tell he was disappointed she wouldn’t put the ring on, but after the charade with his ring, it served him right. “Sabrina’s going to be my maid of honor.”
He raised a hand for her to high-five. “We did it!”
They slapped palms briefly, and before she knew what was happening, Sam took her hand and pressed it to his lips. Her eyes went wide. He kissed her fingers, every one, and then he said, “And not a moment too soon.”
She told herself to breathe. “Too soon for what?”
“For my ham-headed brother. Wendy asked Jonas to take her shopping in Santa Fe, and he actually said yes.”
All the joy went out of Seton’s day. “Surely he’s not falling for Wendy!”
Sam shrugged. “It’s too soon for that, I think, but Sabrina better get here and stake her claim if she’s going to.”
Seton shook her head. Five days from now, she’d be married, at least temporarily. And Sabrina’s news would be all over town.
“I hope this is what you want,” Seton said to Sam, and he winked at her and departed as her office phone rang.
Suddenly, she felt a little nervous.
Surely this wedding was the right thing to do.
AT THE MAGIC WEDDING Dress shop, Seton chose a knee-length ivory suit for herself and a deep emerald suit for Sabrina. The color would be perfect for her sister’s hair and skin tone, the green refreshing and springlike. The shorter style of Seton’s ivory wedding suit was modern. There was no need for long and lacy. She’d been married before, and though she’d never worn the magic wedding dress, she didn’t believe in magic.
Even though she knew every other bride who wore it did become big believers in the tale.
“I have to be practical,” Seton told Darla and Jackie as they checked her suit for fit. “I’m too old for fairy tales.”
“But the gown was your mother’s.” Darla, who was married to Judah Callahan, looked at her in the mirror. “This suit is lovely, it fits you like a glove, but we’ve all worn the gown. Trust me, Seton. You want to, too.”
“I don’t think so.” Seton looked at herself with satisfaction. “This is a very practical choice.”
“Who wants practical on their wedding day?” Jackie asked. She was married to Pete Callahan, and they seemed happier all the time.
“This is exactly what I want. And Sabrina will be here tomorrow to have hers fitted.” That was going to be more of a challenge, and the secret would be out. But there was no hope for it. Seton sighed. “I have an appointment in Santa Fe. Do you mind choosing all the appropriate accessories for me? Shoes, stockings, maybe even some small bouquets?” she asked hopefully.
“No problem,” Darla said, and Jackie chimed in, “We do it all the time.”
“What kind of appointment do you have, Seton?” Darla asked, opening a bridal magazine and looking at the latest fashions. “How about a bouquet like this?”
“Fine.” Seton barely glanced at the page. “Thanks, girls.” She went into the dressing room and changed, tossing the suit into Jackie’s hands as she dashed out. “You’re lifesavers, both of you. I couldn’t do this without you. See you tomorrow for Sabrina’s fitting!”
She ran out the door.
Jackie looked at Darla. “She’s in a hurry.”
Darla laughed. “We would be, too, if we were getting married in two days.” She hung up the suit in a plastic bag. “I wonder where Seton’s going?”
“Maybe a hair appointment.” Jackie looked over the off-white pumps they had in stock, her lips pursed. “Does it seem like this is sort of a fast-food wedding?”
Darla glanced up. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know,” Jackie said. “Just fast. Like hold the pickles and the mayo, extra cheese, please.”
“Oh. Because she’s having us pick everything out.” Darla shrugged. “Seton’s got a lot to do.”
“Yeah.” Jackie looked at the plain suit with some concern. “Not very romantic, though.”
“The romance probably comes later.”
“I guess so.” Jackie couldn’t put her finger on what exactly was bothering her. But this was Diablo, and if Seton was keeping secrets about her and Sam’s wedding, they wouldn’t be kept long.
THREE HOURS LATER, Seton sat in a doctor’s office in Santa Fe, looking at a young go-getter of a doctor who was probably fresh out of med school and not married long. But she’d looked up his credentials, and he was supposed to be excellent for her situation.
“Considering your health history of an ectopic pregnancy and consequent loss of a fallopian tube, yes, you may experience some difficulty in conceiving,” Dr. Stewart told her. “But it’s by no means impossible.”
She didn’t have time for a leisurely route to pregnancy. If she got a chance at conceiving, she’d need to have as much in her favor as possible. “I’m a bit worried.”
“I wouldn’t worry,” the doctor said, “but in cases like yours we have had some success with a low dose fertility drug. It may be an appropriate choice for you to consider.”
Seton’s heart flared with hope. “What is it?”
“Generally, what we’ve experienced is that the dose is low enough not to cause multiples. Of patients who suspec
t that their chances of pregnancy may be reduced, those who have taken the drug have had more success in conceiving than those who didn’t.”
Seton felt a flash of sneakiness. Sam would never know. He wanted a wife, and she wanted a family of her own. Sam was right: her biological clock was ticking like the second hand on a watch.
“I’ll try it,” she told Dr. Stewart, who wrote the prescription and handed it to her.
