5 Minutes to Marriage - Carla Cassidy

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but a washed-up rocker who she’d already seen as useless and ineffectual.

      She was bright and beautiful and he could want her, but it was a desire he didn’t intend to follow through on. She was here for his boys and that was enough for him…it had to be enough.

      As the day wore on Marisa told herself again and again that she was here for David and Mick and nothing more.

      She could not allow herself to get caught up in her overwhelming attraction to Jack. She refused to allow herself to admit that she liked him. Still, she could admire the man he was now despite the fact that she had a feeling she would have disrespected the man he had once been.

      During the afternoon she met Kent Goodall, who was one of Jack’s closest friends. He was a tall, blond man who told her he used to play bass in a band with Jack when they’d been teenagers. He was affable but didn’t stay long.

      She also met the two ranch hands who worked for Jack. Sam and Max Burrow were brothers who had the dark leathery skin of men who had spent their entire lives out in the elements. They appeared quiet and uncomfortable as they stepped into the kitchen through the back door.

      Sam had been sent to town to pick up childproof locks for the windows and doors in the house. Once he gave them to Jack the two disappeared back outside.

      As Jack put them on, Marisa sat with the boys on the sofa and read them a story. David snuggled next to her on one side and Mick on the other. She had already lost her heart to the boys, who were definitely rambunctious but also responding to her gentle guidance.

      It was at bedtime that things got wild as Marisa instructed Jack to put the boys to bed in their room. Every few minutes the boys came out of the bedroom and Jack carried them back in and tucked them in once again.

      The boys screamed and cried, and Jack shot Marisa frustrated looks as he carried them back to their beds. It was after one in the morning when he returned from their bedroom and flopped on the sofa. Silence reigned.

      “It will be easier tomorrow night,” she said.

      He scowled at her. “I hope that’s a promise.”

      She smiled. “I forgot to mention that there are going to be moments in this process when you’ll probably hate me.”

      His scowl lifted, and he offered her a sexy half grin that ripped at her heart. “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at myself for not doing this when I first got them here.” His smile fell, and he gazed at her curiously. “Why aren’t you married with a dozen kids of your own? It’s obvious you love children.”

      The question pierced through her, bringing forth a longing that she knew would never really be satisfied. “I’m young. I have plenty of time for all that in the future,” she replied airily.

      “Are you seeing somebody?”

      She nodded. “Yes, I have somebody I’m seeing.” She needed to let him know that, but she also needed to remind herself. Patrick. Patrick was the man in her life at the moment and she definitely needed to remember that.

      She stood, suddenly needing to escape from Jack. “Time to call it a night,” she said. “Tomorrow is a brand-new day.”

      He got up as well, and together they walked down the hallway toward the bedrooms. “You’ll let me know if you need anything?” he asked as they stopped in front of the room where she’d be staying.

      “I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she replied. She released a soft gasp as he reached out and grabbed one of her hands.

      “I just want to tell you how glad I am that you’re here,” he murmured huskily. “You have no idea how grateful I am.”

      Those crazy butterflies winged through her stomach, and she pulled her hand from his, uncomfortable by the way his touch made her feel.

      “Good night, Jack.” She escaped into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

      What on earth was wrong with her? She had to get hold of herself and stop thinking about Jack as a man rather than a client.

      She moved into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Her attraction to him wasn’t just a physical one. There had been moments in the day when she’d sensed a deep loneliness inside him—one that had called to something deep inside her.

      She was intrigued as well. There was a desperation about him that went far beyond a father concerned with his sons’ behavior.

      

      The light of dawn awoke her the next morning, but she remained in bed for several long minutes, going over the things she intended to accomplish that day.

      She wondered why Jack hadn’t already hired a nanny or a babysitter for the kids. Surely he needed to be outside doing things to keep the ranch running smoothly.

      For the past four months, since the boys first came here, his life had been on hold, and it showed in the stress lines on his face when he dealt with the boys. He was muddling through parenthood, but he wasn’t having any fun.

      It was forty-five minutes later when she left her bedroom, freshly showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and a coral-colored tank top.

      The house was quiet, but the scent of fresh brewed coffee led her through the house and to the kitchen. Jack was there, seated at the kitchen table as he stared out the window.

      He didn’t see her, and for a moment she simply stood in the doorway and looked at him. Once again she was struck by the sense of loneliness that clung to him. This man had once had thousands of adoring fans, but at the moment he simply looked like a man in over his head and so achingly alone.

      “Good morning,” she said as she walked into the room. She waved him down as he started to stand. “Just point me to the coffee cups and I can help myself.”

      He pointed to a nearby cabinet. “Did you sleep well?”

      “Like a baby,” she said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She joined him at the table and tried to ignore the kick of pleasure she felt at the sight of him.

      He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a gray T-shirt that enhanced the gunmetal hue of his eyes. His jaw was smooth-shaven, and his hair was still damp from a shower.

      “What time does Betty usually get here?” she asked.

      “She doesn’t work on the weekends, so we’re on our own for today and tomorrow. Meals are usually as easy as possible on Saturdays and Sundays.”

      “This morning I’d like to have breakfast alone with the boys,” she said. “You can take an hour or two and go outside to chase a cow or ride the range or whatever you need to do.”

      “Really?” He sat back in his chair and looked at her in surprise.

      She smiled. “Really.” She took a sip of coffee and then continued. “Jack, you need to relax a bit. You’re so tense when you’re around the boys, and I think they’re picking up on that. What you need to do is enjoy the process of raising them. You need to have fun with them.”

      He looked at her as if she were speaking a foreign language. “Fun?”

      She laughed. “Remember fun, Jack?”

      He smiled ruefully. “Actually, I don’t remember it.”

      “That’s what I’m going to bring back to your life, but I have to warn you things are going to get a little tough around here for the next couple days. You’d better enjoy your morning because there are going to be times you won’t know who you want to strangle more—me or the kids.”

      He laughed. “I can’t imagine that.”

      It was the first time she’d heard him really laugh, and the sound of his deep, rich

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