Priceless Marriage

by Bonnie Gardner

  She wished she could feel as confident about Sam as he apparently did about her.

  In spite of her nagging insecurity, Ruby liked the feeling of his hand against her body, loved the feeling of connection and oneness it brought. If only that unspoken link would continue forever. She hadn’t expected to be able to sleep a wink, but with Sam’s comforting presence, Ruby settled into a deep sleep, in spite of her mental turmoil.

  SAM WOKE FEELING RESTED and refreshed and ready to start his day. He yawned and stretched, then slid out of bed.

  Ruby was still sleeping, and he hadn’t the heart to wake her. She’d been as busy as he’d been preparing for the party, so she deserved a few extra winks. Maybe he could surprise her with breakfast in bed.

  He tiptoed through the quiet house to the kitchen and started the coffee, forgotten last night in all the excitement of the party. Then he turned back to the bathroom, where he took his morning shower. Maybe by the time he was finished, Ruby would be up. Or maybe she’d join him.

  She didn’t.

  Still, Sam was willing to let her sleep. Ruby had seemed bothered by something last night, and there was plenty of time for her to work on the farm later. It sure wasn’t going anywhere.

  With a cup of freshly brewed coffee and one of Gwen’s delectable pastries, he settled down, phone in hand, to call Cap. Sam took a sip of coffee, a bite of pastry, and chewed thoughtfully before he dialed. He knew Cap was anxious for an answer, and Sam had one for him. His friend wouldn’t like his terms, but there was only one way he would buy into the scheme. Thus fortified, Sam dialed the long distance number.

  Cap could take it or leave it.

  IT WAS TOO FAR from the kitchen for Ruby to hear what Sam was saying on the telephone, but she knew he’d made the call. Maybe it was cowardly of her, but she couldn’t bring herself to get out of bed to find out once and for all. As long as she didn’t know, she still had hope. As long as Sam didn’t tell her, she could pretend to believe, no matter how unreasonably, that he would do the right thing.

  As long as she didn’t ask.

  Suddenly cold, in spite of the warm June morning, she pulled the covers more tightly around her. Today could be the turning point in her life with Sam, or without him. But the good news was that soon she’d have an answer, one way or the other. In the meantime, Ruby was in no hurry to rush it.

  What would be would be.

  It was out of her hands.

  Sam called from the kitchen. “Hey, I’ve got bacon cooking. Are you up for eggs? Or I could make French toast.”

  Ruby’s tense stomach turned at the thought of bacon and eggs, but she swallowed her discomfort long enough to answer. “Just juice and toast for me,” she called, her voice sounding feeble. But maybe it was just because she was buried so deeply in her covers. “I think I had too much to eat at the party last night.”

  “Are you coming, then?”

  Ruby threw the covers aside and gingerly levered her legs over the edge of the mattress. “Yes, I’m up.” Her stomach was quite unsettled this morning. More than unsettled. Her stressed out situation was apparently making her downright sick.

  She stumbled to the bathroom and showered, forcing herself awake. She hadn’t stayed up that late last night, and she hadn’t had a thing to drink. Nothing alcoholic, anyway. Why did she feel as though she were hungover?

  She stayed in the shower until the water ran lukewarm, but still didn’t feel thoroughly herself. Fumbling into her clothes, she made her way slowly out to the kitchen.

  Just as she reached the kitchen door, the phone rang. Ruby didn’t know whether it was the sound of the phone or the smell of the bacon, but her stomach lurched, and she clung to the doorjamb to hold herself up.

  Sam hadn’t seen her. He stood there looking as though he didn’t have a care in the world as he listened to the person who had called. His dear, handsome face widened with a grin.

  Was Cap Horton on the other end of the line? Had he called back to try again to make Sam an offer he couldn’t resist?

  “Hoo-ah!” she heard Sam cheer. “I’m on the way.” Then he hung up the phone and turned for the door, still not noticing Ruby.

  He must have remembered that he’d offered her breakfast, for when he was about to step outside the mudroom, he shouted over his shoulder, “Ruby, I’ve got something to take care of in town. I’ll be back later to tell you all the details about Cap’s offer.” Then he was gone.

  Though Sam had said he’d be back, Ruby couldn’t help wondering if this was the beginning of the end. She closed her eyes, hoping to dredge up some minute bit of strength, and drew in a deep breath. The smell of bacon and coffee slammed into her like a sledgehammer, and she turned and ran to the bathroom.

  And promptly threw up.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sam grinned as he pocketed a wad of cash big enough to choke his billfold and then shook hands with Tex Youngblood. “Good doing business with you, man,” he said, slapping the grizzled garage mechanic on the back.

  “Any time you want to come back and visit, you’re welcome to,” Tex said, wiping his greasy hands on a rag only marginally cleaner than he was.

  “Thanks for the offer, Tex, but I’ve had my fill of her. I got something that works better for me now.”

  Still pleased with the bargain he’d made, Sam headed out to the parking lot.

  “Yup,” he told himself as he started the powerful engine of his new truck. “This is gonna be the start of something big. The sky’s the limit.” He rolled down the window and let out a triumphant yell. “Hoo-ah!” he cheered. “This is gonna be the first day of the rest of my life.”

  Then he gunned the engine and headed for the road.

  RUBY FINALLY PULLED herself together, dressed and managed to choke down some dry toast and orange juice. She still felt awful, but she didn’t think she’d throw up again. The last thing she needed right now was to find out she’d poisoned all her friends and neighbors with something she’d served last night. Instead, she just hoped it was a simple case of nerves.

  Something rattled the mudroom screen door, and Ruby looked out to see Oscar pawing at the door as if he were trying to come inside.

  “What’s the matter, little piggy? Are you hungry and nobody’s come out to feed you?” She forced a smile, not that Oscar would probably notice it, as she made her way outside. It was amazing to her how much like a dog Oscar seemed. Or like a child. A child that might grow up to weigh hundreds of pounds.

  She stepped outside, the bright morning sun causing her red, irritated eyes to sting and burn. She squinted, but didn’t stop to find her hat or sunglasses. A few minutes out in the sun wouldn’t hurt her, one way or another. Not compared to the constant ache in the space where her heart should be.

  Oscar snorted urgently, and Ruby picked up her pace toward the hog shed. “Okay, babe. I’ll feed you and the family.”

  Surely Sam would have taken care of the pigs, she thought. But maybe he was feeling as ill as she was. Then she remembered. He’d gone to town.

  The piglet trotted behind her, his little hooves beating a merry tattoo behind her. At least somebody was in a good mood today, Ruby couldn’t help thinking. She wasn’t sure she ever would be again.

  As they approached the hog pen, Petunia, with Oscar’s littermates, scampered to the fence. They lined up along the fence rails, expectantly waiting to be fed. Petunia voiced her indignance at being kept waiting, and the others picked up her complaint in a chorus of petulant oinks.

  “I’m coming. I’m coming,” Ruby said, feeling suddenly peeved and harassed. “Three months ago your mother was out there in the woods foraging for food, and now you complain about being fed an hour late?” she grumbled, not expecting an answer.

  “Okay, smarty pig,” she said. “Maybe if I give you an extra ration of food you’ll grow big enough not to keep slipping under the fence.”

  She turned, went into the shed and scooped up a bucketful of dry hog chow. “You know,” she told O
scar as she poured the food into the trough, “I sort of enjoy having you trot around after me right now, but one day you will be an adult hog. Maybe I should get a dog.”

  Oscar gave her a wounded look, then turned his attention to the trough and the chow, gobbling it down with a grunting chorus of approval.

  Something told her to look up, and Ruby glanced toward the road, to where a huge black truck she didn’t recognize was bumping toward her, sending up a dusty plume behind it.

  She shaded her eyes and watched it as it approached. Ruby just hoped it wasn’t somebody coming from the county health department because her barbecue had made half the population of Jester sick.

  Finally the big black truck pulled up in front of the hog shed. Ruby tried to see who was inside, but she could make out nothing more than a shadow through the tinted windshield.

  Then a familiar figure stepped out of the cab and waved.

  Suddenly Ruby’s world seemed right again. “Sam!” she called, half surprised, half elated. She ran forward and rushed into his arms. “Where did you get this enormous truck? Where’s the Corvette?” she demanded from the shelter of his arms.

  “Hey, sweetness. One question at a time,” Sam said, crushing her in a bear hug and kissing the top of her head. “I ordered the truck a couple of weeks ago. The Corvette just wasn’t working out that well as a farm car. Got the call it was in at the dealership in Pine Run this morning.”

  “That’s where you rushed off to this morning? To pick up the truck? What did you do with your car? You loved the Corvette.”

  “Tex has been pestering me to buy it ever since I started garaging it with him between my leaves from duty. I finally let him have her.” He paused and patted his hip pocket. “Well, I didn’t exactly give it to him. He drove a hard bargain, but we made out all right,” he said, grinning and patting his pocket again. “And he said I could come visit her anytime I felt lonely for her.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I wanted to surprise you,” Sam said, setting her back out of his arms. “Can’t a guy get just a little bit of pleasure from surprising the lady he loves now and then? Come. Look.”

  Ruby started to let Sam show her the truck, then stopped stock-still in the middle of the farmyard. “What did you say?”

  Sam looked at her, his gray eyes puzzled. “About what? I said, come look.”

  “No, before that.”

  He shook his head, his eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed, obviously still puzzled.

  “The L word. Did you really mean it?”

  Suddenly, what Ruby was asking seemed to dawn on Sam, judging by the look on his face. “That I love you? Didn’t you know that already? Hell, I came back for you.” He yanked Ruby into his arms.

  “I thought so,” she said. “That’s why we had the party. But after that phone call last night, I wasn’t sure you’d be content to stay here.”

  “What? Cap’s business proposition? I took him up on it.”

  Ruby’s heart ceased to beat. “You what?” She pushed herself out of Sam’s arms and stared up into his dark gray eyes.

  How could he do that to her? How could he make her so happy one minute and then disappoint her so much a moment later?

  “I agreed to be a partner in Horton Security,” he said. “A silent partner. I figure I’ll front some of the money and let Cap do all the work.” He shrugged. “Maybe he’ll make a go of it, maybe he won’t. But we go back a long way. I couldn’t turn him down.”

  Her heart kicked back into rhythm, and Ruby drew a deep breath. “You mean you’re not going to leave me here while you go off and…”

  “Fight the bad guys?” Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Why would I do that when I’ve got you and the pigs and, maybe one day, a houseful of little Cades to play with?”

  Ruby’s heart swelled with joy. “You really mean it? You want to stay here for the rest of your life and farm and start a family with me?”

  “Of course I do! I’ve got the most beautiful wife in the world. You’ve waited for me to settle down long enough. It’s time now. I feel it.” Sam reached for her and drew her back into his arms.

  “Then why didn’t you bring all your stuff home?”

  “What stuff?”

  “Your belongings. You didn’t bring anything but what you could put in a suitcase.”

  “I told you already. I wanted to be sure you’d let me stay. It would have killed me to have to pack up and leave you again.”

  “Oh, Sam. I’ve waited forever to hear you say that.”

  “Ruby Albright Cade, don’t you know that you are the most precious thing to me? Our marriage is priceless. I swore I’d move heaven and earth to get you to let me come back.”

  “And I thought you were just waiting for another, better offer.”

  “Sugar, spending the rest of my life with you is the best offer any man could have.”

  Sam scooped her up into his arms. “Say, let’s go inside and rest up after our exciting night,” he said, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. “Maybe we can get started on that baby thing.”

  Ruby smiled, pressing her face against Sam’s broad, strong chest, feeling his heart beating steadily against her cheek. Suddenly her queasiness made sense. “I certainly don’t mind going inside with you, Sam,” she whispered, a little awestruck at her realization. “But you’re a little late with that particular proposition. I’ve been queasy all morning.”

  He stopped, seeming not to understand. Then his eyes lit up with realization. “You mean—? We’re gonna—?”

  Ruby nodded. “I haven’t seen Dr. Perkins yet, but I think so,” she said, smiling up into Sam’s eyes. “But it wouldn’t hurt to keep trying just in case it’s a false alarm,” she said, feeling her eyes fill with tears of happiness.

  “Hoo-ah!” Sam cheered, and he turned toward the house. “Got that in one. Let’s go. I can’t wait to get started on the rest of our lives together!”

  Ruby just smiled, her head resting against the chest of the man she loved. And who loved her!

  As far as she was concerned, they already had started the rest of their lives. But then, she thought, with a baby on the way, the best was yet to come.

  Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to

  Bonnie Gardner for her contribution to the

  MILLIONAIRE, MONTANA series.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-6869-5

  PRICELESS MARRIAGE

  Copyright © 2003 by Harlequin Books S.A.

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