LITMIR.BIZ

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quit teasing Rick. He’s being most cooperative.”

      Megan smothered her groan and dropped her gaze to her half-eaten meal. There was nothing wrong with the food. It had been excellent. But her appetite had dwindled as the evening had progressed.

      She had promised to marry the man beside her? To share a house, if not his bed, for at least a year? To see him every day?

      Already she was learning to read his thoughts, to feel sympathy for him, to want to help him. She had to remain apart from this man. She wasn’t going to fall into the trap that had claimed her sister.

      “Today is Saturday. I think Wednesday would be a good day to be married,” Faith said, beaming at Rick. “We could move in Thursday, and, by next weekend, be all settled.”

      “I think that sounds great,” he agreed.

      He would, Megan thought to herself. He was thinking in terms of his comfort. Selfish man. Suddenly, she was filled with regret. He was providing what she’d asked for. It wasn’t his fault she was in the position she was in. She shouldn’t hold it against him.

      “Okay, fine. Is there a justice of the peace in town who can marry us?”

      “Megan, no!” Faith returned, alarm on her face.

      “What, Mom?”

      “Mr. Brown, the pastor of our church, will marry you.” She turned to Rick. “We can’t manage a real wedding, but a nice ceremony and then dinner at Jessica’s restaurant would make it a festive occasion.”

      To Megan’s fury, Rick smiled at her mother and nodded agreement. “I think you’re right. It will make it nice.”

      “Are you two crazy?” Meg asked, then realized her voice was too shrill and lowered it. “This is a business arrangement, not a romantic occasion.”

      “But do you want the rest of the town to know that?” Rick asked calmly. “When the time comes for the court to decide who gets the children, do you want them to suspect that it’s a business arrangement? Or a romantic, love-at-first-sight marriage?”

      Her mother and Rick stared at her, united in their decision, waiting for her response.

      First round to them.

      Chapter Three

      Megan lost a lot of battles in the next few days. Mostly with herself. She might have to pretend that her marriage was a love match, but she wanted to keep her heart whole.

      Her sister had fallen for the entire package. Swept off her feet by a wealthy, charming man, she’d felt like Cinderella with her handsome prince. Less than six months after her fairy-tale wedding, Andrea had discovered the flip side of her romance. Prince Charming had grown more and more abusive.

      But by then she was already pregnant. She told Megan she had to stay for the sake of Victoria. Then she became pregnant with Andrew. After his birth, Andrea had hoped her marriage would change. It hadn’t.

      Finally, she’d left Drake. Then he’d asked her to discuss everything with him. He’d picked her up, without her realizing he’d been drinking, and killed her in an automobile accident.

      Megan wasn’t going to be swayed by romance.

      Or hormones.

      But it was an uphill battle. Rick Astin was definitely charming. He had a smile that could turn her heart upside down. And he was as handsome as sin.

      At least he wasn’t wealthy, though he’d offered to foot the bill for the dinner reception at The Last Roundup. She and her mother had argued with him about that. After all, they weren’t paying him to marry Megan. They’d finally agreed to split the cost.

      With that settled, her mother’s attention had turned to Megan’s dress. “We’ll go into Lubbock to shop.”

      “No, Mom, we don’t have time. I have that cream-colored suit I bought last year.”

      “But, dear, you should wear white. You’ll make a beautiful bride,” Faith said, a smile on her face.

      Megan was glad her mother was doing better. She’d shown more energy and hope since Saturday night than she had in almost a year. But she was getting carried away.

      “If we’re going to move to Rick’s place on Thursday, we need to do some cleaning out there,” she pointed out, knowing her mother would be distracted with their move. “You know he’s a terrible housekeeper.”

      “Yes, the poor dear. He needs someone to make a home for him. Cal says he’s a hard worker. Everyone likes him.”

      Megan ground her teeth. According to her mother, Rick was perfection. But then she’d thought the same thing about Drake at first, too.

      “We’ve set everything up with Reverend Brown. We’ve made reservations with Jessica. I have something to wear. Let’s go to Rick’s and see what we can do to get the house ready,” Megan suggested.

      She’d been right. Her mother fell for her distraction. “Yes. If we go now, we can put the kids down for a nap, giving us some uninterrupted time.”

      “Actually, Florence’s housekeeper volunteered to keep the kids for the day,” Megan told her. Florence Greenfield, wife of one of the doctors, was an old friend of Faith’s, one of the ladies who had suggested Rick as a potential husband.

      “How wonderful. I’ll call and see if we can drop them off right now.”

      In the end, Megan found herself one in a small army of women. Her mother’s friends, Florence, Mabel Baxter, Ruth Langford and Edith Hauk joined them, as well as several of their housekeepers.

      The old house began to come alive as lemon-fresh scent replaced dust, changing Rick’s disaster to a comfortable home. Folding a white T-shirt reminded Megan of Rick’s pink shirt Saturday night, and his embarrassment. It brought a smile to her face.

      “You look happy,” Mabel said, catching her by surprise.

      “Um, yes, of course,” she agreed, remembering the role she had agreed to play.

      “I’m glad everything is working out. Now, we need to move Rick’s belongings downstairs. Why don’t you come direct the change?”

      Megan swallowed. She didn’t want to make decisions for Rick. But she had no choice.

      When it got late in the afternoon, the crew of women began to disperse. After all, they had their own homes and families to deal with. Megan wanted to hang the freshly washed curtains for Torie’s room before she left, and Mabel offered to take Faith to get the children and take them to their apartment.

      “I should be finished in a few minutes, Mom, if you want to wait.”

      “No, dear, I’m tired. I think I’d better go on with Mabel.”

      “Okay,” Megan agreed, frowning. She hoped her mother hadn’t overdone it today.

      As Mabel and her mother were leaving, Mabel said, “There’s a casserole in the oven. It needs to come out in half an hour.” Then she disappeared out the door.

      Megan realized some of the women had brought in bags of groceries, but she hadn’t realized they’d cooked. She moved to the oven and opened it. A wonderful aroma filled the room.

      With a grin, she realized Rick was going to be pleased. It was some kind of enchilada casserole. She checked to be sure the timer was set and closed the oven. She needed to finish her chore and get out of there.

      Then she realized she couldn’t leave until Rick returned or the casserole would be ruined.

      With a grimace, she went upstairs to hang the curtains. Surely he’d come in soon. It was almost six o’clock.

      An hour and a half later, Megan was pacing the floor. It was almost dark. When was the man going to appear? What was he doing?

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