The Sheriff's Nine-Month Surprise

by Brenda Harlen

  “You’re nervous,” he realized.

  “A little,” she admitted.

  “Why are you nervous?”

  “Because I really want this to work for you, Reid.”

  He lifted a brow. “And you think I’m going to screw it up?”

  “I think you sometimes hold too much back,” she told him.

  “I think you sometimes share too much,” he countered drily.

  “I know I do,” she acknowledged. “But we’re not talking about me—we’re talking about you.”

  “You’re nagging me.” He handed a corsage box to her when she finished with his boutonniere. “And on my wedding day, too.”

  “What’s this?”

  “Katelyn asked me to give it to you.”

  She looked at the flower inside the box, then at him. “Why?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t remember exactly what she said—something about traditions and honoring family members who aren’t in the wedding party.”

  “Oh.” Trish’s eyes filled with tears. “Damn, I really do like that girl.”

  “I like her, too,” he said.

  “She’s probably too good for you,” his ex-wife warned.

  “Probably,” he agreed easily.

  “And yet, I think she could be exactly what you need—if you let her in.”

  “I’m marrying her, Trish. I’m not sure how much more ‘in’ there is.”

  She sighed. “Well, hopefully you’ll figure it out.”

  And with those last cryptic words, she kissed his cheek and walked out of the anteroom.

  * * *

  A short while later, Caleb and Liam returned, then the minister summoned them all to take their positions at the front of the church. The pews were filled with invited guests and other well-wishers from the community, and the pianist was playing something Reid vaguely recognized but couldn’t have named.

  Emerson came down the aisle first, wearing a strapless lavender dress and carrying a bouquet of long-stemmed flowers that matched the one he was wearing. She winked at him as she took her place on the opposite side of the aisle. Sky followed a few steps behind Emerson, wearing the same style of dress in a slightly darker shade of purple and carrying a similar bouquet. She gave him a quick thumbs-up as she took her place beside Emerson.

  The music changed—and Reid’s heart started to pound harder and faster against his ribs. Then, finally, the bride was there, at the back of the church, and Reid felt as if all the air had been sucked out of his lungs.

  He vaguely registered the presence of her father beside her, but his focus was on Katelyn—absolutely, undeniably the most beautiful bride he’d ever seen.

  He didn’t know enough about fashion to know the fabric or style of her dress, he only knew that the sparkly bodice hugged her breasts and the skirt trailed behind her as she made her way down the aisle toward him. Her hair was pinned up in one of those fancy knots that always made him want to unpin it, but today there were loose strands that framed and softened her face. In her left hand, she held a bouquet of lilies. Her right was tucked into the crook of her father’s arm.

  When they reached the altar, David lifted the delicate veil away from her face and leaned in to kiss her cheek, whispering something in her ear that made her lips curve in a tremulous smile. Then the bride’s father offered his hand to the groom before stepping back and taking his seat in the front pew.

  “We are gathered together today to celebrate the relationship of Katelyn Theresa Gilmore and Reid Thomas Davidson by joining them in marriage...”

  Reid held Katelyn’s hand and her gaze throughout the ceremony.

  The vows he made to her weren’t new, but he wanted her to know that they were true. Maybe he didn’t love her, but he would honor and cherish her for the rest of their days together.

  When they’d both recited the requisite lines and exchanged rings, the minister said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Then he nodded to Reid before addressing his next words to Katelyn. “You may kiss your groom.”

  Reid lifted his brows in response to the not-quite-traditional instruction; Katelyn only smiled as she pulled his mouth down to hers.

  * * *

  “I can’t believe you managed to put together this wedding in four weeks,” Reid said to his bride as they finished distributing pieces of wedding cake to their guests.

  “There are some benefits to being a Gilmore in Haven.”

  “Such as rewriting the minister’s lines?”

  “It was a minor amendment, and Pastor Richards likes to go off script sometimes, just to make sure the congregation is paying attention.”

  “But kissing the bride is the part a groom looks forward to,” he said. “So I kind of feel like I was ripped off.”

  “Do you really need to be told when you can kiss your bride?”

  “No,” he said, drawing her closer to him. “One of the benefits of putting a ring on your finger is that I get to kiss you whenever I want.”

  “You think so, do you?”

  “Yes, I do,” he confirmed.

  And he kissed her then to prove it.

  “I think I’m going to like being married to you,” Katelyn said when he finally ended the kiss.

  “I hope so, because you’re going to be stuck with me for a very long time.” He gestured to the dance floor where her grandparents were dancing, cheek to cheek. “That’s going to be us in fifty years.”

  “They’ve been married fifty-eight years,” she told him.

  “They’re an inspiration, that’s for sure.”

  “My parents were the same,” Katelyn said. “After my mom died, there were days I wasn’t sure my dad would survive the grief of losing her.”

  “It couldn’t have been easy on any of you.”

  “It wasn’t,” she confirmed. “But they were so...connected. Like two halves of a whole, each one incomplete without the other. They met at The Silver State Stampede and immediately fell in love, and there was never any question in either of their minds or hearts that it was forever.”

  He knew that she’d wanted the same thing—love at first sight and happily-ever-after. And though he was sorry she’d had to compromise her ideals, he intended to do everything in his power to ensure she wouldn’t ever regret it.

  “Even if it wasn’t love at first sight between us, there was definite lust at first sight,” he said, attempting to lighten the mood.

  She tipped her head back, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “At first sight?”

  “Oh, yeah,” he confirmed. “The minute you walked into that conference room, a hint of black silk peeking above the button of that blue jacket, the matching skirt displaying mouthwatering long legs that went all the way down to sexy black shoes with heels that put your mouth almost level with mine.”

  “That’s some detailed recollection,” she noted.

  “You caught my attention,” he assured her. “And then you invited me back to your room.”

  “There were a couple of steps in between,” she noted. “But the minute I saw you, I wanted you, too. In fact, the prospect of sharing a bed with you weighed heavily in the yes column when I was considering your proposal.”

  He smiled. “And you said ‘click’ wasn’t a factor.”

  “I’ve reconsidered my position on the matter. In fact, I’m hopeful that later we’ll be sharing a naked and horizontal position.”

  He lifted a brow. “You’ve got ambitious plans for tonight.”

  “It is our wedding night,” she reminded him. “And I don’t think anyone at our respective offices would be surprised if we were a little late for work tomorrow.”

  “About that,” Reid said, withdrawing an envelope from his jacket pocket.

  “What’s this?”

  “Open it and see,” he suggested.
>
  She lifted the flap to peek inside. “A travel itinerary?”

  “I know we said we shouldn’t take any time away right now,” her new husband acknowledged, “but Connor promised that he could handle anything that came up in the Sheriff’s Office through the weekend and Beth managed to clear your schedule for a few days so that we can have a honeymoon, albeit an abbreviated one.”

  She pulled the pages out to scan them more closely. “The flight is at 5:50 in the morning?”

  “Yeah, so we won’t be sleeping in tomorrow. In fact, we’re probably going to want to skip out of the party early tonight.”

  “Or now,” she said, sounding excited and just a little bit panicked. “We need to go home and pack.”

  “I’ve already packed my bag, your sister packed one for you and our boarding passes are printed.”

  “You’ve thought of everything.”

  “I know this isn’t exactly the wedding day of your dreams,” he told her. “But I wanted to do it right, as much as possible under the circumstances, and not having a honeymoon just didn’t seem right.”

  “Why San Francisco?”

  “It’s relatively simple to get there from here, it’s close enough that we won’t lose a lot of time traveling, and it’s one of your favorite cities.”

  “How did you know that?”

  “I asked Emerson for some help with the planning,” he admitted. “And bribed her not to breathe a word about it to you—and since your reaction assures me that she didn’t, I’m going to be carting a ton of Ghirardelli chocolate back from San Francisco.”

  “Make that two tons,” she said.

  “You can cart your own chocolate,” he teased.

  “It’s not for me,” she said. “It’s for the baby.”

  “You’re going to milk that for the next five-and-a-half months, aren’t you?”

  “As much as possible,” she promised.

  He smiled as he dipped his head and touched his lips to hers. “Let’s go say goodbye to our guests and get this honeymoon started.”

  * * *

  As eager as Kate had been to get back to her apartment—their apartment—and get naked with her new husband, now that they were alone together, she suddenly felt shy.

  Reid shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it over the reading chair in the corner of her—their—bedroom.

  “Are you tired?” he asked, somehow sensing her hesitation.

  “Tired but not sleepy,” she said. It had been a long day, and her limbs were weary but her blood was humming with nerves and anticipation.

  “The sugar from that cake should keep you revved for a while—” he grinned as he unfastened his tie “—I hope.”

  She watched as his nimble fingers made quick work of the buttons that ran down the front of his shirt. Her mouth went dry when the fabric parted, revealing a strip of beautiful, bronzed skin.

  “Do you need a hand with your dress?” he asked.

  “Probably,” she admitted. “Emerson tied up the corset, so I’m not sure how to get out of it.”

  “I think getting my wife out of her clothes is going to be one of my favorite husbandly duties,” he said.

  “You might not think so in a few months.” She turned her back to him, so he could see how the dress was done up.

  “I will always think so,” he promised, starting to work on the corset.

  When the lace had been loosened and the bodice began to drop, she caught and held it in place.

  He didn’t say anything about her impeding his efforts but only dropped his head to press a kiss to her bare shoulder. The brush of his lips on her skin raised goosebumps on her flesh.

  Then he kissed her again, midway between her shoulder and her neck. And again, at the base of her throat.

  She shivered.

  “Your skin is so soft...so sweet.”

  Her eyes closed as his mouth moved up her throat, skimmed over her jaw.

  “I want to taste you—” he teased her lips “—all over.”

  Heat pulsed in her veins, melting her resistance.

  She let go of the bodice and wriggled out of the dress.

  He stroked his hands down her sides, his thumbs gently caressing the slight swell between her hipbones.

  “There’s our little bean,” he said, his tone soft, almost reverent.

  “Actually, our baby is the size of a lemon now.”

  He shook his head. “Little bean sounds better than little lemon.”

  “Is our baby still going to be ‘little bean’ when he or she is the size of a honeydew melon?”

  He eased her back onto the bed. “Are you growing a baby in there or making a fruit salad?”

  “A baby,” she assured him.

  “Our baby,” he clarified, then pressed his lips to the curve of her belly.

  “Some men are...turned off by the changes in a woman’s body during pregnancy,” she said cautiously.

  “Some men are idiots.”

  His blunt response made her smile, but still, she wasn’t convinced he knew what he was in for.

  “This is still the early stages,” she warned. “When our baby is the size—”

  He touched his fingers to her lips. “I know your body is going to change as our baby grows inside you, but getting naked with you is always going to be a huge turn-on for me.”

  “Really?” she said dubiously.

  “Really,” he confirmed. “You are beautiful and amazing and the sexiest woman I’ve ever known, and it’s going to give me infinite pleasure to prove it to you throughout the next five-and-a-half months and beyond. Starting—” his hands moved to her breasts, already a little fuller and a lot more sensitive, his thumbs tracing around the areola “—now.”

  That night, all through the night, Kate learned that her husband was a man of his word.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kate had always loved California—Sacramento and San Diego and every stop in between—but San Francisco was one of her all-time favorite cities. From the Golden Gate Bridge and the sparkling waters of the Bay to Lombard Street and the cable cars, Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf, there was so much to see and do that she never got bored. And because Reid had never been to the city, she was able to see it again for the first time through his eyes.

  Of course, the sheriff wanted to go to Alcatraz, and his wife did not. She told him, without regret, that there wouldn’t be any last-minute tickets available during tourist season, because it was usually true. But the hotel concierge worked some magic and Reid presented her with two tickets for the ferry to the infamous island prison—cleverly hidden in a basket of Ghirardelli chocolate. It was a blatant bribe, but one she couldn’t refuse, so they went to the island, toured the prison and the grounds, the former being much creepier and the latter much prettier than she’d anticipated.

  Another day, they walked to Pier 39 to see the sea lions sunning on the docks and enjoy the talents of street performers. Later, they browsed the shops at Fisherman’s Wharf, ate fresh shrimp out of plastic cups from a local food truck and sourdough rolls from the Boudin Bakery. They rented bicycles and cycled across the bridge, walked hand in hand through Golden Gate Park and took a cable car to Union Square to browse the upscale shops.

  And when they finally went back to their hotel room, they made love, every night.

  The morning sickness that had plagued her daily for several weeks had passed long ago, though it continued to make an occasional appearance—including their last morning in San Francisco.

  Reid set their packed cases beside the door and did a quick check around the room to ensure they hadn’t forgotten anything.

  “Looks like we’re good to go,” he said.

  Kate nodded hesitantly as her stomach decided it was unhappy with the brioche French toast and fresh fruit cup that had tasted so
good only half an hour earlier.

  “Katelyn?” he prompted.

  “I’m sorry, but—” That was all she managed before she raced to the bathroom and slammed the door.

  Reid knew she’d suffered from morning sickness earlier in her pregnancy, but she’d told him—with her fingers crossed—that the nausea had finally subsided. Listening to her retch through the door, he thought that her crossed fingers might have been a little premature.

  “Katelyn?” He jiggled the handle of the door, frowning when it refused to turn. She’d been in a hurry to reach the toilet but she’d still managed to lock him out.

  “Just give me a minute.”

  He heard the toilet flush, then the water turn on.

  He rummaged through the suitcase for her toiletry bag, pulled out her toothbrush and toothpaste and had them waiting when she unlocked and opened the door again.

  “Thanks,” she said, not looking at him as she retreated with the items into the bathroom again.

  They’d planned to take the BART to the airport, but Reid called the front desk and asked for a cab instead, which bought them a few extra minutes and gave his wife a little more privacy to feel miserable. He also took the plastic liner for the ice bucket and tucked it into his pocket, just in case.

  When she came out of the bathroom, she looked tired and pale—not at all like a woman who’d enjoyed her brief holiday. She tucked her toothbrush and paste away again and zipped up the suitcase.

  “Sorry for the delay,” she said.

  “Why are you apologizing?”

  “Because I’ve put us behind schedule and if we miss the train, we’ll be late checking in for our flight and—”

  “There’s a cab waiting for us downstairs,” he said.

  “To take us to the train station?”

  “To take us to the airport.”

  “That’s going to cost a fortune.”

  “Only a small one,” he said. “And worth it, because we won’t feel rushed and you’ll be able to close your eyes and relax for a little while.”

  “You’re taking care of me, aren’t you?”

  “I’m trying to,” he admitted. “But you don’t make it easy.”