Wyatt's Pretend Pledge

by Liz Isaacson

  “My momma taught me that sometimes it’s okay to lip sync.” She smiled up at him. “Which is always for me. I can’t carry a tune.”

  Wyatt’s eyebrows went up as her eyes twinkled at him. “Is that right? I didn’t know that about you.”

  “Now you do. And I expect to know one of your flaws before lunchtime.” She hipped him, clapped along with the song, and moved her mouth, no sound coming out.

  A rush of affection for her filled Wyatt, and he pressed his lips to her temple. Even her flaws were awesome, and Wyatt fell a little further in love with her in that moment.

  He took time to savor the feeling, because the moment the service ended, his family descended. “Are we heading straight to the ranch?” Rhett asked.

  “I need ten minutes with the food,” Jeremiah said.

  “Ivory has to change her shoes.” Tripp started for the exit first, thank goodness. The others followed, Liam’s new baby crying and Whitney pressing one hand to her pregnant belly as she followed everyone.

  Wyatt watched them all go, and he caught sight of the dumbfounded look on Marcy’s face as she stood in the aisle too. “It’s going to be fine,” he said.

  “I hope I don’t get married last,” Micah said, joining them in the aisle. “Can you imagine?” He shook his head and reseated his cowboy hat. “It’s a good thing Skyler says he’s never getting married.”

  “He says that?” Wyatt looked at his youngest brother in surprise.

  “All the time,” Micah said. “And you’ve met him. He’s not serious about much of anything.”

  “He’s getting good grades in college,” Wyatt said.

  “Yeah, and taking mostly things like yoga and flower arranging, with one accounting class thrown in.”

  “He takes yoga?” They started toward the back door, and Wyatt realized he needed to talk to Skyler more often. “Wow, that’s a really low low, right?”

  “I think he thinks it’s a high,” Micah said, chuckling. “Comparatively.”

  “Oh, we’ve all had our hearts broken,” Wyatt said. “Look at Jeremiah. His fiancée left him at the altar, and he got married again.”

  “Skyler said he’s not cut out for it.”

  Wyatt reached the door and paused to let Micah go first. He kept hold of Marcy’s hand as she exited too, and he went right behind her. “Interesting. How are things with you and Simone?”

  “There’s no me and Simone,” Micah said, his voice a little bit false. “We’re just friends.”

  “Yeah, and so were Evelyn and Rhett. And Callie and Liam.”

  “Yeah, and Simone has a boyfriend.” Micah gave Wyatt a piercing glare. “So just drop it.”

  Marcy’s hand in Wyatt’s tightened, and he looked at her. “You okay to go straight to the ranch?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Sure,” he said. “Do you want to change or anything?”

  “I’d love that.”

  Wyatt helped her into his truck and drove to her house, the silence between them comforting and welcome. He waited in the truck while Marcy ran inside, the idea of asking her about a prenuptial agreement rolling around his mind. He hadn’t brought it up yesterday, because they’d had a great morning together taking a dozen boxes to the Salvation Army and then going to breakfast.

  They’d worked through one of the spare bedrooms at her father’s house, and then they’d taken a nap together on the couch while a movie played. He’d bought dinner, and they’d eaten together, and he couldn’t imagine bringing up the idea that he didn’t trust her.

  She came back outside wearing a pair of jeans, her combat boots that got his heart racing, and a jacket in green camouflage. Wyatt found her downright desirable with those blonde curls making her clothing choices oh so feminine.

  “You look great,” he said as she climbed into the truck.

  “Thanks.” She flashed him a smile, and Wyatt flexed his fingers around the steering wheel. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “We’re not moving,” she said. “And you’re kneading that wheel like it’s your next breadstick. Something’s wrong.”

  “I sent everything off to my manager so he could announce the wedding,” he said.

  “Okay,” she said, drawing the word out.

  “He wants me to make the announcement in Dallas on Saturday.” He looked at her. “I want you to come with me.”

  Surprise filled her face. “Oh, this Saturday?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can move a couple of fields,” she said. “I don’t do a whole lot on the weekends.”

  He smiled at her, his stomach clenching and not only because it was hungry. “There’s one more thing.”

  Marcy nodded and swallowed, the movement drawing Wyatt’s attention to that slender throat.

  “Jim is insisting you sign a prenuptial agreement.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t think it’s necessary, for the record. I know you’re not marrying me for my money.”

  Marcy had that look again, the one that said he’d hit her upside the head with a frying pan. “You said you wanted to.”

  “I do,” Wyatt said.

  “It’s a favor for me,” she said. “I would never—”

  “Marce,” he said, because he hated the panic in her voice. “I know all of that. Jim’s job is to make sure my assets are protected. He just said it would be wise.” He put the truck in reverse, because sitting there talking was way worse than driving while they had the same conversation. “It’s no big deal. He sent me the form. All you do is sign it.”

  She folded her arms and looked out the passenger window. “Okay.”

  Wyatt sighed internally, because he didn’t want her to think he was frustrated with her. He was simply annoyed at the situation. “You have a lot of assets,” he said.

  “I know you would never try to take Payne’s from me,” she said.

  “I wouldn’t,” he said. “And I don’t think you’d ever try to take something from me either.”

  “Do you have this form with you?”

  “I need to print it,” he said, navigating out of her neighborhood. “If you don’t want to, it’s fine. I just told Jim I’d mention it, and I did.” And foolishness had every organ in his body rioting.

  Okay, cowboy, let’s get something straight: You like this woman. Don’t ruin this.

  “Marcy—”

  “I’ll sign it,” she said. “It’s smart, and I don’t want anything to be hard for you.”

  “Marcy, it’s not about being hard.”

  “It is if we split up,” she said.

  He jerked his attention to her then.

  “And so I’d like you to sign one too.” She clenched her arms across her body and didn’t look at him.

  Wyatt got on the highway and got the truck going faster. “I’m sorry to bring it up. I shouldn’t have.”

  “It’s fine,” she said. “You can print at the homestead, right?”

  “I’m not having you sign it on the same day you’re meeting my whole family.” Wyatt shook his head. “It can wait.” He glanced at her. “Honestly, Marcy, I don’t care about it.”

  She finally looked at him, and Wyatt wasn’t sure what emotions she had swimming in her eyes. He couldn’t look at her for long, as he was driving highway speeds and needed to focus on the road.

  “I’ll do it,” she said. “It’s fine.”

  Wyatt may not have had a lot of girlfriends, but he knew when a woman said “it’s fine,” in that way-too-casual tone, it definitely wasn’t fine.

  But he had no idea what to do about it, and he sent up another prayer like the one he’d issued during the sermon. Just a hint, he pleaded. Of what to do or say so I don’t mess this up.

  An idea entered his mind, and he toyed with it as the miles rolled by under his tires.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The silence in the truck suffocated Marcy, but she didn’t know what to say. Prenuptial agreement.

  Of course, it made sense fr
om Wyatt’s point of view. He did have a lot of money and a lot of assets, and he was only marrying her so she could get Payne’s Pest-free.

  Even as she thought it, she knew she was wrong. Wyatt was doing her a favor, sure. But he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart, and he truly liked her. No man could kiss the way he did and not mean it.

  He pulled up to a beautiful, sprawling ranch that screamed wealth from the fences that stretched east and west to the giant house sitting back off the road. The landscaping obviously had someone with a deft hand looking after it, and she felt like the Lord shone the sun differently on this piece of land than any other.

  “Wow,” she said.

  Wyatt put the truck in park behind several others already in the driveway. “Marcy,” he said. “We’re okay, right? I mean, I’m stupid for bringing it up, but you said you were tone deaf. Maybe I just didn’t want you to think you were the only one with flaws.”

  An instant smile formed on her face, and she giggled as she turned to look at him. “You’re not stupid.” Looking at him fully now, that compassion rampant in his eyes, and she knew he didn’t believe she would do something to hurt him financially, even if they did break up.

  And she didn’t want to break up.

  “Like I said, it’s smart.” She reached toward him and cradled his face in her palm. He pressed into her touch, and then leaned toward her to kiss her.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

  “You can buy me a ticket to Dallas,” she whispered back. “And we’re not sharing a hotel room, cowboy. So pull out the money bags to pay for two.”

  “You wanna make it a weekend while we’re there?”

  “Definitely.” Marcy kissed him again, and she thought a weekend in Dallas would be exactly what the doctor ordered for her weary soul. She pulled away from Wyatt and looked toward the house. “I think they sent a spy.”

  “That’s my nephew, Oliver,” Wyatt said. “He’s great, and he’s probably just excited to tell me about the new horse Orion got.” He grinned toward the house. “We should go in, though.”

  Marcy wanted to meet his brothers and their wives and families. She did. She spent so much of her time alone, and she knew it was time to stop flying solo on everything. Still, she was comfortable with solo. She knew how solo worked. What it looked like at dinnertime, and what it smelled like in the morning.

  Wyatt slid out of the truck, and before Marcy could move, he opened her door and extended his hand toward her. She put her fingers between his, and suddenly everything was going to be okay.

  “Uncle Wyatt,” the little boy called from the porch, and Wyatt turned toward him as he closed the truck door.

  “I know about the horse, buddy,” he said. “I was here when Orion paraded him around.”

  Oliver came flying down the steps, his excitement apparently too much to be contained by the porch. “Will you take me out to see him after we eat? Uncle Jeremiah says he’s too tired, and Tripp says I can’t ask Liam because of the baby.”

  He skidded to a stop and looked up at Wyatt expectantly from under the brim of his child-size cowboy hat.

  “Sure thing, bud,” Wyatt said with a chuckle. He reached for the boy and gave him a quick hug. “This is my fiancée, Marcy Payne. You can be the first to meet her.”

  Oliver looked at her then, and ridiculously Marcy wanted the little boy to love her as much as he obviously loved Wyatt. “Hey,” she said, her experience with children limited. Another flaw, and Wyatt was going to know in a matter of seconds.

  “Good afternoon, ma’am.” He swept his cowboy hat from his head and bowed.

  Delight filled Marcy. “My, what proper Texas manners.”

  “Can you tell my mom?” he asked, putting his hat back on. “I get a quarter every time I remember my manners.”

  Marcy laughed then, and they made room between the two of them for Oliver, each of them taking one of his hands, whether they wanted to or not. Marcy looked at Wyatt over the top of the boy’s head, and when their eyes met, the familiar and excited crackle of attraction snapped between them.

  “You go tell everyone we’re here,” Wyatt said when they reached the top of the steps. “I have to talk to Marcy alone for a sec.”

  Oliver skipped inside, leaving the front door wide open behind him, which gave them no privacy.

  “Dear Lord,” Wyatt said. “I can hear them all already.” He looked at her with an apology in his eyes. “I’m sorry about this. Maybe we should’ve gone out with them a couple at a time.”

  “No time for that,” she said. “You have a million brothers.”

  He grinned and leaned closer to her. “Just real quick. You know how we have things to work out between us?”

  Marcy could fall into a hypnotic state within seconds when Wyatt spoke in that low, sexy voice that was almost a growl. “Yeah.”

  “I just thought of one: kids.”

  “Oh.”

  “Do you want kids?”

  “I’ve got to have someone to pass Payne’s onto, right?” She looked up at him, that dazzling rodeo king smile on his face. In that flash of time while he breathed before he spoke, she could see a future with him, with a couple of little boys with those eyes and that smile on their faces.

  “I’m going to take that as a yes.”

  “It’s a yes. You?”

  “I love kids,” he said. “I’ve got to have someone to show new Tennessee walking horses to, right? Teach them how to throw a rope and how to hold onto a bucking bull.”

  “What if we have girls?”

  “Girls love horses,” Wyatt said without missing a beat.

  “They don’t ride bulls,” Marcy said.

  “Yet.” Wyatt gave her another grin and pressed his cheek right against hers. “I sure am falling in love with you, Miss Payne.”

  “Why are you lurking out here?” Tripp said. “Come in already. Jeremiah’s been holding the prime rib, and I have holes in my chest from the way he’s been staring at me like it’s my fault y’all are late.”

  Wyatt turned toward his brother during the short monologue and said, “Oh, come on. We’re not late, and we weren’t lurking.”

  Marcy smiled at Tripp as Wyatt took her past him. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Oh, right.” Wyatt paused in the entrance of the house. “One of the twins, Tripp. He’s Oliver’s dad.”

  “Nice to meet you too, ma’am.”

  “I see where he gets the manners.” Marcy shook Tripp’s hand. “I’d give him a dollar just for being cute.”

  “And then we’d be broke,” Tripp said with a wide grin, gesturing for them to go first down the hall that led to all the noise.

  Marcy went with Wyatt, and it could’ve been her imagination, but it sure felt like he was barely walking by the time they arrived in the living room, the dining room and kitchen expanding beyond that.

  The shared space really was huge, so that the fifteen or so people in the room—many of them broad-shouldered, six-foot-tall cowboys—fit easily. Comfortably.

  All at once, Marcy realized what kind of luxury Wyatt was used too, and she couldn’t believe she’d asked him to live in her father’s house.

  “Everyone,” Wyatt said, and that got most of them to quiet down. The baby fussed still, despite Callie’s efforts to soothe her with a pacifier. “This is Marcy Payne, my fiancée. I’ve given her a quiz on all of you, so she knows your names already.” He took a breath. “But Marcy, this is Whitney, Simone, and Evelyn.” He nodded to the three women sitting on the huge sectional in the living room. “Micah, Liam, Callie, Rhett, Ivory, Jeremiah, and you met Tripp.” He finished with the man she’d already shaken hands with.

  “Oh, and Liam and Callie have two kids, Denise and Ginger. And Rhett’s got his son, Conrad. And we met Ollie on the porch.” Wyatt nodded once, like that was everyone. “Who did I miss?”

  “No one,” Jeremiah said. “Welcome, Marcy.” He actually stepped over to her and gave her a quick hug. “Let’s eat.”
/>   Just as quickly as the noise had muted, it came roaring back, and Jeremiah somehow succeeded in calming everyone again so they could say grace. He said it himself, and the man didn’t waste words. Dear Lord, thank you for this food, bless us and this food, amen.

  “Some of the prime rib might be a little overdone,” he said, stepping over to the stove. “But if that bothers you, just don’t eat it. Penny, Winston, and Willow like it at any temperature.”

  “Those are the dogs,” Wyatt murmured, and that got Marcy to smile. Of course Jeremiah would feed his dogs steak. Didn’t all cowboy billionaires do the same? As if summoned now that he’d spoken their names, Marcy saw all three dogs outside on the back deck, their noses pressed up against the glass as if they knew their master had prime rib, and they’d get some if they looked forlorn enough.

  In the blink of an eye, Wyatt let go of her hand, and she got separated from him almost instantly.

  “Nice to see you again, Marcy,” Liam said. She’d met with him about dusting the Shining Star Ranch next door. She nodded and smiled, smiled and nodded at everyone in the room.

  She went through the line and got her prime rib—cooked perfectly medium, despite what Jeremiah had claimed—and mashed potatoes, a roll, and roasted vegetables. “This is amazing,” she said to Jeremiah. How he could feed this many adults and have everything hot and ready was amazing. And he didn’t run out of anything, even as the last person moved through the buffet-style line at the island and went to sit at the dining room table.

  “Thank you for agreeing to feed the family for the wedding,” she said.

  “Oh, I secretly love it,” he said with a smile. “I do want to talk to you about the menu and how many people there will be.”

  “I just have a couple of cousins,” she said.

  “Don’t you have a brother?” He spread butter on both sides of his roll.

  “Uh, I need to talk to him and see if he can come.” For some reason, she didn’t want Bryan to see her marry Wyatt, as if her own flesh and blood would be able to smell the scam from a hundred miles away.

  “Aunts, uncles, grandparents?”