Priceless Marriage

by Bonnie Gardner

  “As far as I know it is,” Ruby said, getting up, too. “Of course I don’t mind if you go home, Gwen. You need your rest.”

  Gwen looked around for her purse. “Thank you for inviting me,” she said, and started for the door.

  “Bye, Gwen,” Ruby said, then watched her friend lumber away.

  Then her gaze rested on the telephone on the wall. “Oh. What about the phone message?”

  Gwen looked over her shoulder. “I wrote it down on the message board. It was for Sam.”

  Ruby smiled. “Thanks, Gwen. I’ll pass it on to him.”

  Then she looked at the message scrawled on the board.

  “Call Cap,” Gwen had written. Below it was a number. The rest of the message read, “It’s a done deal.”

  “Oh, God,” Ruby murmured, sinking back into the chair she’d just vacated. Not after all this time. “Why now?” she wailed. She’d always liked Cap, but she’d never liked his schemes. Sam had.

  If she told him about the phone call, Ruby was convinced that Sam wouldn’t hesitate to accept.

  She was caught on the horns of a dilemma. If she simply erased the message off the board, it would be as if the phone call had never happened. Sam would never know. But then Ruby remembered Cap’s persistence. He would call back.

  He would pester Sam until he accepted. And Sam would be off again, flying into danger. And she’d be home worrying as she always had.

  Even if she didn’t tell Sam, and Cap accepted Sam’s failure to call him back as disinterest, she would know. It would worry at her conscience until she had to tell Sam.

  She wondered how long it would take her husband to accept the offered opportunity for more excitement than he would find in slow, sleepy Jester, Montana.

  Just when Ruby had thought that she and Sam had finally worked through most of their problems, Cap had to call. Now they were all the way back to square one. Ruby wanted to kick or throw something. It wouldn’t accomplish much, but there was something satisfying about hearing a nice, solid thump, or the sound of something crashing to the ground. But she didn’t. She had company to tend to, though she’d lost any semblance of a festive mood.

  She pasted on a fake smile and hurried back outside to her guests.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sam was waylaid at least three times on his way back to the house by guests thanking him for the invitation and making their excuses to leave. If he weren’t in such a hurry to find Ruby, he’d have enjoyed the short chats, but a familiar, odd feeling in his gut told him that something was wrong. He’d learned to trust that feeling in action, and he’d trust it now. There was no way Ruby would be hiding inside when she had guests to entertain if everything were okay.

  Gwen came out of the house, looking tired and ready to go home. Sam stopped to help her settle her bulky form into her car, then directed traffic to allow her to get out onto the lane ahead of the other vehicles. He’d been careful about how much alcohol any one party guest had consumed, but he also knew that Gwen was exhausted, and he wanted to make sure she made it home safely before the rest of the guests crowded the roads.

  He stood and watched as her car bumped down the lane, and hoped that the rutty conditions would not hurry her into premature labor. Not that he knew very much about those sorts of things. Once he saw Gwen’s headlights turn onto the paved main road, Sam relaxed.

  He turned toward the newly painted house, hoping that no one would stop him this time.

  Feeling like a kid who’d broken curfew and was dreading the consequences, he hurried inside.

  Ruby was slumped over the kitchen table, her face pale, her green eyes downcast, looking as if she’d lost her last friend. Certainly not the right attitude for a woman who’d recently reconciled with her husband and was throwing a party to celebrate.

  He rushed to her and took her hands in his. They were cold, adding to his feeling of unease. “What’s wrong, Ruby? Have you had some bad news?”

  Ruby shook her head as if she hadn’t realized he was there. She blinked a couple of times and seemed to focus. “No, nothing’s wrong. I’m just tired,” she said, not sounding very convincing to a man whose gut was telling him a different story.

  “Then why are you sitting here alone in the kitchen?” Sam tried not to sound threatening, but something was bothering Ruby, and he had every intention of getting to the bottom of it.

  Vaguely waving toward the wall phone behind her, Ruby answered, her tone still listless, “You had a phone call. Gwen took the message.”

  There, scrawled on the chalk board, was a note that his best air force buddy had called. “Cap called? When?”

  Ruby shrugged. “Gwen took the message,” she said. “I wasn’t here. I think it was when we were being interviewed by the blonde from the television show.”

  Sam glanced at his watch. He’d love to talk to Cap, but it was late, and it was two time zones later where Cap was. “I’ll call him tomorrow. I’d like to hear what he has going for him.”

  That was exactly what Ruby did not want to hear. The only thing that would have eased her mind would have been for Sam to tell her completely and definitively that he did not want to take that job. Not now. Not ever. Her hopes plummeted. It sounded as if he might actually be considering it.

  Ruby had thought she’d made her feelings about Sam being in danger perfectly clear when he’d taken that assignment overseas. If she hadn’t then, surely she’d made her point by filing for divorce.

  Now she wasn’t at all sure Sam cared.

  “The guests are starting to leave,” he said, interrupting her train of thought. “We should go out and say goodbye. Then I have to see to it that everything is put away.”

  “Yeah, you go,” Ruby said, not really caring about her guests at this moment. “I’ll see to putting the baked goods away in here.”

  There was no way Ruby could muster up anything that came close to a festive mood, so she continued to hide out in the kitchen. She busied herself arranging the few remaining pastries from the party platters onto one. Anything to keep from looking at Sam.

  Ruby was afraid if she did, she’d give her feelings away. And one thing she did not want to do was influence Sam’s final decision about Cap’s job offer in any way. She would only be certain that Sam truly wanted to be with her if he made his decision on his own.

  The screen door slammed, telling her that Sam had gone out, and Ruby felt free to let her feelings go. Maybe if she got it out of her system now, she’d be able to face Sam later without him suspecting. She felt the sting of unshed tears, and tried to blink them back.

  “Ruby? Is something wrong?”

  She looked up to see that Honor had come in just as Sam went out. Ruby swallowed and turned away. “No, I’m okay,” she lied, her voice strangely thick and gravelly.

  “You are not. I’ve known you for most of our lives, and there’s no way you can make me believe you’re all right,” Honor said, sitting down next to Ruby. “Look at me.”

  “No,” she said stubbornly. She squeezed her eyes shut, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to hold back the impending flood.

  Honor took her hand and tugged it, forcing Ruby to look at her. “Something is wrong, my friend. Tell me about it. You know you’ll feel better. Is it something about your mom in Denver?”

  Ruby shook her head. “No, Mom’s fine. The heart doctor said that if she stays on her diet and continues to exercise there’s no reason for her not to live a long and healthy life.” As much as she tried to keep her voice calm and level, a sob escaped at the end of her little speech. “Oh, Honor, I don’t know what to do.”

  “About what, honey?” Honor said, flipping her long blond hair over her shoulders. She took both of Ruby’s hands in hers and looked deep into her eyes.

  “One of Sam’s military buddies has invited him to go into business with him,” Ruby wailed, no longer trying to choke back her tears.

  “But that’s good, isn’t it?”

  “No, Cap was alway
s talking about setting up a bodyguard service. And Sam was always right there with him making those plans.” She picked up one of the paper party napkins remaining on the table and studied the pattern intensely.

  “Oh, Ruby,” Honor said. “And you’re afraid Sam’s going to take his friend up on his offer and leave again?”

  Tears coursing down her face, Ruby nodded numbly.

  “Has he said he would?”

  Ruby shook her head. “He said he’d call Cap back in the morning. I can’t bear the thought of more years of sitting at home alone and worrying about him like I did before. Not now.”

  “But he didn’t say he would accept it, Ruby.”

  “He didn’t say he wouldn’t.”

  Honor squeezed Ruby’s hands. “You have to ask him about it.”

  “I can’t,” Ruby said again, stopping to swipe at the tears that were blurring her eyes. And probably her thinking, too.

  “Sure you can. You’ve been married to Sam for ten years. You two can talk about anything.”

  “Not about this,” Ruby insisted. “I don’t want to influence him. I need to be sure he really wants to be here with me.”

  “Why wouldn’t you be certain? It’s plain as the nose on your face that he loves you.”

  “Is it? It’s not to me,” Ruby whispered, a litany of unvoiced doubts coming into her mind.

  “Oh, come on, Ruby,” Honor said, her gray eyes as cloudy as Ruby’s surely were. “Anybody who looks at him can see it. Why, I’d give anything to have a man look at me the way Sam looks at you. What makes you think he isn’t head over heels in love with you? My goodness, Ruby. The man practically camped out on your porch till you took him back. I never saw a guy as determined as he was,” Honor added.

  “Then why hasn’t he brought home all his belongings?” She twisted the napkin in her fingers.

  “He hasn’t? I saw him load his car up with his things from the apartment.”

  “I mean the rest of his stuff—the stuff in storage that he took with him overseas. All he brought with him to Jester were the bare necessities, not much more than would fill an overnight bag.” Ruby let go of the twisted napkin and watched as it relaxed and unrolled. If only she could relax. “Why would he leave his possessions in storage unless he thought he’d need to make a fast getaway? When I asked him why he didn’t have more, he said he was waiting until he was sure.”

  “He could have meant that he wanted to be sure you still wanted him,” Honor suggested quietly.

  Ruby shook her head. “No, it’s what he didn’t say. Three little words.” She looked down at the shredded mess that was once a party napkin. “All this time he’s been saying he wanted me back, but he’s never said he loves me. Not once. I can’t help wondering if it’s more a matter of male pride and ownership than love,” she murmured, voicing the nagging doubts that had been lying so close to the surface since Sam had come back to Jester. “You know how men hate to lose at anything.”

  Honor gathered Ruby into her arms for a tight bear hug. “Oh, Ruby, I don’t think it’s anything like that. Sam loves you. I’d bet my half of the Mercantile on it.”

  Ruby pushed herself out of her friend’s embrace and managed a watery smile. “I hope you’re right,” she said. “Though I’d hate to relieve you of your livelihood,” she added with a feeble chuckle.

  Honor waved dismissively. “I’m not worried. I’ve got a million bucks I can live on.”

  “Well, why doesn’t he say it, then?”

  Honor pushed herself up out of the chair. “Considering I’m the oldest living virgin in Jester, I’m the last one to give you advice for the lovelorn, but I’ve read enough books to know a thing or two about men. In theory, anyway. And they’re not talkers. If you want to know if Sam loves you, you might have to ask him.”

  “I can’t. It has to come spontaneously from him, or I’m not sure I’ll believe it.”

  “Believe me, Ruby. That man loves you.”

  “I don’t know, Honor. I just have to wait and see what he does about Cap’s plan. If he doesn’t take the job, maybe then I’ll ask him.” Ruby pushed herself to her feet and began to fiddle with the cookies, rearranging them on their plates.

  “If he doesn’t take the job, Ruby,” Honor said quietly, “then you won’t have to ask him.”

  Ruby wiped her eyes on another party napkin and sniffed back one last tear. “You’re probably right. I guess I can hang on a little longer.”

  “Believe me, kiddo. By tomorrow, you’ll know for sure.”

  Ruby pasted an anemic smile on her face. “From your lips to God’s ears,” she said. Now, if she could only survive until tomorrow.

  SAM STOOD OUTSIDE and directed the stream of friends, neighbors and guests out toward the highway. All the while, he silently worried about why Ruby wasn’t there with them to see their guests off. It wasn’t like her. Not at all.

  He watched as the Rocky Gulch Band packed up their instruments and drove away. When the last car had pulled out of the driveway and its red taillights had disappeared into the darkness, he silently blew out the tiki torches, then disconnected the lights over the makeshift dance floor.

  Alone in the night, illuminated only by the security lamp and the lights from the house, Sam drew in a deep breath of fresh air, tinged slightly with the scent of hickory smoked barbecue, and sighed with satisfaction. All in all, he’d have to say it had been one hell of a good party. Until the last few minutes, anyway.

  Ruby had been the consummate hostess up until then, and no one could have looked more beautiful than his lady in red. Of course, there would be plenty of work to do tomorrow to get everything cleaned up, but it had certainly been worth it.

  No man could have shown his friends and neighbors any better how much he loved and adored his wife and how happy he was with his newfound life.

  If anyone had ever told him, back when he was on active duty, that he’d love being a farmer, he would have laughed him out of the room. But now he realized he really did like the slower, easy pace of life. And it didn’t hurt that he and Ruby had money and the Mercantile to fall back on.

  Sam took another deep breath of night air. Yeah, he was gonna love growing old with Ruby. It might be damned cold out here in Montana in the winters, but with her there to snuggle up with and keep him warm, he’d learn to love the ice and snow as much as he loved her.

  The lights blinked off in the kitchen behind him, reminding Sam just how late it really was. It was well after midnight, and now that he stopped to think about it, he realized he was dead tired. He stowed what stuff he figured stood a chance of blowing away and decided the rest could wait until morning.

  For now, the most important thing was getting his tired body to bed.

  With Ruby.

  MAYBE IT WAS COWARDLY of her, but Ruby was in no mood to talk to Sam tonight, much less make love. She’d rushed through straightening up the kitchen and her evening beauty ritual, and made certain that she was in bed with the lights off before Sam came inside. She might lie awake all night, but she would do anything to make him think she was sound asleep.

  Morning would come soon enough. And then she’d know how Sam felt.

  Once and for all.

  She lay there in the concealing darkness, covers pulled up to her chin in spite of the summer warmth, and listened to the sounds of the night. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the cottonwood tree outside the open window, and the old house creaked and groaned as it settled down for the night.

  She listened as Sam came inside, locked the doors and made his nightly rounds, checking window locks, turning off the rest of the lights. Slowly the sounds of his footsteps came nearer, and Ruby tensed.

  Surely he was as tired as she. But what would she do if he wanted to talk? Or to make love?

  How would she conceal her true feelings? How would she be able to keep from begging him to stay?

  No, she told herself as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut. It was late, and she was unusually tired. S
he would not think about that. She needed this one last night to fortify herself for what might come.

  Sam’s footsteps came down the hall, and Ruby watched him walk past, his shadow momentarily blacking out the light sliding under the door from the hall. She heard the sound of water running and all the other normal bedtime sounds that had become so familiar as she’d become accustomed to having Sam home again. Then the hall light blinked out, extinguishing that feeble bit of illumination.

  The door swung quietly open and Sam tiptoed in. “Ruby, are you asleep?”

  She said nothing, and he must have taken her silence as an answer. The mattress dipped and creaked with his weight, and Ruby listened as he removed his shoes and peeled off his socks. She recognized the rustling sound as he removed his Western shirt, worn especially for the festive occasion, and then the distinctive sound of his zipper sliding down. The bed dipped and rocked and shook as he slowly removed his clothes.

  Then he lifted the covers, letting in a rush of cool air, and slid under them.

  Ruby thought that would be it, and that Sam would settle down to sleep. But what he did next surprised her. She felt Sam lean over her, brush her hair away from her cheek and gently kiss her, and she pushed aside a momentary desire to roll over and return the kiss. Then, with a satisfied sigh, Sam rolled back to his territory on the mattress.

  She felt the rustle of the covers as he plumped his pillow and made himself comfortable on his side of the bed, settling in like an old friendly dog on a rug in front of the fire. Finally, the shaky movement of the mattress came to an end, and Ruby realized she was feeling vaguely queasy.

  Breathing in the familiar, tantalizing fragrance of Sam’s aftershave, Ruby was surprised that it was still faintly recognizable this late in the evening. She pushed back a wave of desire, swallowed and rolled carefully to her side. She hugged her pillow and clung to the edge of the mattress. Now she just had to make it through the rest of the night.

  Suddenly, she felt Sam’s hand settle possessively on her hip. She felt the heat of desire in his touch as he seemed to brand her, as if to prove she belonged to him. She stifled a small gasp, but concealed it with a subtle shift of position. She’d hoped to dislodge the hand, but she couldn’t brush it away, and Sam continued to hold her, to own her.