The Widow's Little Secret

by Judith Stacy

  She stepped into his embrace and he welcomed her with hot kisses that trailed down her neck. His hands cupped her bottom, pressing her against him, then rose to capture her breasts.

  Her hands wandered over his wide shoulders, through the curly hair of his chest, then lower. Jared groaned, kissing her more deeply, then scooped her up and onto the bed.

  He couldn’t get enough of her. The taste. The feel. The scent that was her. Jared kissed her, touched her, explored until she writhed beneath his hand. She returned his favors, teasing, caressing, until he couldn’t tolerate the wait.

  Mattie slid her leg along his, urging him closer. He eased between her thighs, fighting the need to drive himself into her, remembering that inside her, along with the supreme delight only she could provide, was also his baby.

  Instead, he rocked gently against her—cautiously, carefully, straining to hold back.

  Mattie didn’t make it easy for him. She pulled at his hair, pushing her hips up to meet his until she exploded around him. He held on for a few seconds, then followed. Sweet relief overtook him, and he collapsed on the bed beside her.

  “I have a confession,” Mattie whispered.

  “Hmm…”

  Beside her, Jared lay with his eyes closed as evening shadows stretched across the bedroom. His chest rose and fell evenly; his features were relaxed.

  “I asked Billy about you, about what kind of person you are.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Mattie pushed herself up on her elbow. “Jared, are you listening?”

  “Hmm?” His eyes opened, then fluttered closed again. “Yeah…sure…”

  “I wanted to ask him if you’d been to the parlor house since you’d arrived in Stanford, but I was too embarrassed.” She stroked her fingers across his chest. “But I have my answer now. You’ve been saving up, all right.”

  Something resembling a grin pulled at his lips. “Just for you…”

  “Jared?”

  “Hmm…?”

  “This would be a good time for you to ask me to marry you.”

  “Okay…” A moment passed, then Jared opened one eye. “Huh?”

  Mattie smiled. “I said, this would be a good time to ask me to marry you.”

  “Huh?” Jared launched himself upright in the bed, sending pillow and coverlet flying. “What? Huh? What did you say?”

  Mattie fell back on her pillow. “You heard me.”

  “You’ll marry me?”

  She traced her finger down his chest. “If you ask me.”

  Jared caught her hand, kissed her palm, then pressed it against his cheek. “Mattie, will you marry me?”

  “Yes, Jared, I’ll marry you.” Mattie opened her arms, expecting a hug, a deep kiss to seal their commitment. Instead, Jared jumped out of bed.

  “Come on. Get up. Let’s go,” he ordered, scrambling around the room, gathering their clothes.

  “Go? Go where?”

  “To the church. Right now.” He stopped and pointed his finger at her. “I’m not taking any chances that you’ll change your mind.”

  “I won’t change my mind.”

  Jared jerked his thumb. “Out of bed. Now.”

  Mattie rolled her eyes. “Reverend Harris is going to love this.”

  “Reverend Harris?” Jared called, striding through the church door, pulling Mattie along with him.

  The minister, seated in the first pew, head bowed in prayer, got to his feet. “Is something wrong, Sheriff? Did something happen?”

  “No, sir. Everything’s fine. Fine and dandy.”

  “I was just praying for the McCafferty baby,” Reverend Harris said. “Praying for a good home.”

  Jared nodded toward the door. “Your wife told us you were here. She’s on her way over.”

  “What for?” The reverend looked back and forth between the two of them.

  Taking Mattie’s hand firmly in his, Jared said, “I want you to marry us. Right now.”

  “No, no, no.” Reverend Harris wagged his head so hard his shoulders shook. “I’m not marrying you two. Not after last time.”

  “She wants to marry me. Just ask her.” Jared nudged Mattie with his elbow. “Tell him, honey.”

  “It’s true, Reverend. I love Jared very much.”

  “See? She loves me.”

  “And I want to marry him.”

  “Right now,” Jared added.

  Mattie smiled. “Yes. Right now.”

  “I don’t know…” Reverend Harris stroked his chin, shaking his head.

  The church door opened and Mrs. Harris bustled down the aisle, carrying a bundle of daisies. “The baby’s sound asleep, like a little angel.” She pressed flowers to her heart and smiled warmly at Mattie. “Oh, a wedding! I love weddings.”

  “There’s not going to be a wedding,” Reverend Harris said.

  “Sure there is.” Jared grabbed the daisies from Mrs. Harris and thrust them at Mattie. “See? We’ve got flowers. It’s a wedding. Come on. Let’s get this show on the road.”

  “Jared, please.” Mattie patted his arm. “Reverend, I know I wasn’t sure the last time we were here, but I’m sure now. I love Jared. I want to be his wife. Please, marry us.”

  Reverend Harris’s gaze swept between the two of them. “You truly love this man?” he asked.

  Mattie snuggled closer to Jared. “Truly.”

  “And you love this woman?”

  “Oh, hell, yes—excuse me, Reverend. Yes, sir, I love her.”

  Another moment passed while Reverend Harris contemplated their future, then he finally nodded. “All right. I’ll marry you.”

  “Great.” Jared waved his hand. “Get on with it.”

  “Jared,” Mattie admonished.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled. “You just take your time, Reverend. Handle this ceremony as you see fit.”

  The minister fetched his Bible from the altar and opened it solemnly. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together—”

  “Wait.” Mattie looked up at Jared. “I can keep the restaurant, can’t I?”

  “Sure,” he said, then he spoke to the reverend. “Go ahead.”

  Reverend Harris adjusted his spectacles. “Let’s see, oh yes. We are gathered together to join this—”

  “Reverend? Hold up a minute.” Jared turned to Mattie. “But we’ll get you extra help when you’re further along with the baby. I don’t want you wearing yourself out.”

  Mattie nodded. “That’s fine.”

  “Get on with it, Reverend.”

  The minister cleared his throat. “Do you, Jared McQuaid, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife—”

  “Excuse me, Reverend,” Mattie said. “Jared, I’d like to continue living in my house. You don’t mind, do you? Considering…everything?”

  “Your house is perfect,” Jared declared.

  Reverend Harris drummed his fingers on the pages of his Bible. “May I continue?”

  “Sure thing,” Jared told him.

  He grunted, then lifted his Bible higher. “Do you promise to—”

  “Jared, I just can’t stand the thought of the McCafferty baby going to strangers,” Mattie said. “I know I should have mentioned it sooner, but you should know how I feel before we’re married. Do you think that we, I mean, would it be all right if you and I—”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” He smiled down at her and gave her hand a squeeze. “We’ll talk about it when we’re finished here. See what the reverend thinks.”

  “Oh, of course.” Mattie smiled at Reverend Harris. “Sorry. Please go on with the ceremony.”

  “There’s nothing else you two need to discuss?” he asked, his lips pinched together.

  Mattie and Jared considered each other for a moment.

  “Nope. Not me,” Jared said.

  “I’m fine with everything,” Mattie agreed.

  “Good.” Reverend Harris drew in a deep breath.

  “Do you, Mattie Ingram, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To lo
ve, honor and obey—”

  “Stop!” Mattie rolled her eyes at Jared. “You don’t expect me to obey you, do you?”

  He just grinned. “Mattie, honey, it never occurred to me for a minute that you would.”

  “Then, yes,” Mattie told the reverend. “Yes, to everything.”

  “I now pronounce you man and wife.” Reverend Harris closed his Bible with a snap. “And praise the Lord.”

  Epilogue

  Mattie woke to the same sound she’d fallen asleep to, the gentle creaking of the rocking chair at her bedside. Cold winter winds buffeted the house, but tucked beneath the covers, she was warm and secure.

  And tired. Bringing a new baby into the world caused that.

  Seated in the rocker, Jared looked just as tired. He’d clucked over her relentlessly the last few months of her pregnancy, then paced and fretted, not sleeping a wink last night or this morning during her labor. He’d burst through the bedroom door at the baby’s first cry, haggard and sick with worry.

  But Mattie had been fine, the baby healthy and strong, well on the way to being spoiled rotten, because Jared refused to put the little thing down.

  “Have you been here all this time?” Mattie asked.

  “And where else should I be, besides with my wife and new daughter?” Jared smiled down at the baby in his arms. “The streets of Stanford will be safe without me for a while.”

  The town council had long ago appointed a deputy, not counting Chuckie Waldron, whom Jared had deputized in a ceremony at the jailhouse and presented with a toy gun and a silver star from the Bloomingdale Brothers catalog.

  “Are things going all right at the Cottonwood?” Mattie asked.

  “Billy’s handling things just fine,” Jared assured her.

  They’d hired Billy to manage the restaurant full-time, since Mattie had had little time or energy in the last few months to run it herself.

  “Did you think about a name?” Mattie asked.

  “Ann Elizabeth McQuaid sounds fine to me,” Jared told her. “Is it all right if we call her Annie?”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  “If you’re feeling up to it we’ll introduce her to her brother tonight.”

  A week after they were married, the McCafferty baby had become John Jared McQuaid, and right now was being cared for by Mrs. Harris.

  Jared rose from the rocker, carefully holding the pink-bundled baby, and dug a small package from the dresser drawer. He knelt beside the bed and handed it to Mattie.

  “It’s for our daughter,” he said.

  Mattie smiled, remembering the evening in the restaurant when Jared had insisted on ordering a doll from the catalog to present to the baby the day she was born.

  “A little small for a doll, isn’t it?” Mattie asked, peeling away the wrapping.

  “I decided to give her something different.” “Goodness, you’re full of surprises.” Mattie pried the top off of the box and gasped. “Oh, Jared, what—when—how did you manage?”

  He smiled as Mattie lifted her mother’s brooch from the box. “I bought it from Mrs. Pomeroy.”

  “Mrs. Pomeroy did something nice—for you?” “Yeah, well, I’ve been working my charm on her for a lot of months now. I finally wore her down.”

  “Oh, Jared, thank you.”

  He put one arm around Mattie. “Would this be a good time to tell you that I love you?”

  She smiled. “It would be a perfect time.”

  “I love you, Mattie.”

  “I love you, too.”

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-5988-4

  THE WIDOW’S LITTLE SECRET

  Copyright © 2001 by Dorothy Howell

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