Montana by Debbie Macomber

Author:Debbie Macomber [Macomber, Debbie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Contemporary, Westerns, Romance, Montana, Large Type Books, Fiction, Ranch Life
ISBN: 9781597220804
Google: iS2PAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 1551669757
Publisher: MIRA
Published: 1997-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

Ten

S am was sitting at the kitchen table when Molly came downstairs the following morning. The coffee was made, and she glanced his way before helping herself to a cup. His silence grated on her nerves. The night had been miserable. She’d slept, but only intermittently. Her dreams had been full of strange fearful scenarios. She remembered one in which she was at her wedding—except that the groom turned out to be Daniel and the preacher Sheriff Maynard.

Judging from the dark shadows beneath Sam’s eyes, he hadn’t slept any better. Neither spoke, although Molly knew he was as aware of her as she was of him. For two people who’d agreed to marry, they didn’t appear to have much to say to each other.

She noticed that he waited until she’d had time to drink half her coffee before he spoke. “Have you changed your mind?”

Molly’s gaze flew across the room. “Have you?”

“I asked you first.”

If he was trying to make her feel like a fool, he was definitely succeeding. “No. I’m willing to go through with a wedding if you are, but—”

“I am,” he interrupted, not giving her a chance to finish. He stood and reached for his hat.

“But,” she continued as though he hadn’t spoken, “I’d prefer the marriage to be strictly a business arrangement.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “You already know my answer to that. We’ll be man and wife in every sense of the word, or the whole thing’s off.”

“But you said…you admitted you’d never have agreed to the marriage if it wasn’t for Gramps’s offer.”

“Think of that as my guarantee.”

“Your guarantee?” she flared. She needed a guarantee if anyone did. This was no love match, after all. Even if her husband-to-be thought they were going to share a bed. That issue wasn’t resolved yet, as far as she was concerned. “Your guarantee?” she repeated. “Of what?”

“Who’s to say that a couple of years down the road, after I’ve worked my fingers to the bone, you won’t file for divorce and kick me off the place?” Sam asked coolly.

“Who’s to say you won’t sell off the cattle and abscond with the profits?” she threw back.

They glared at each other across the room.

Sam was the one to break the tense silence. “It would help, don’t you think, if we could agree to trust each other? The only person who’s shown any confidence in our ability to make a go of this marriage is Walt. For his sake—if not our own—let’s put aside our doubts and agree to make the best of it. Can we do that?”

This was more difficult than she’d thought it would be. Faith and trust didn’t came easily. “All right,” she whispered at last.

He relaxed then. “Good. I’ll get Pete and Charlie set for the day and then we can drive into town and apply for the license.”

“Already?” she gasped.

“Is there a reason to wait?”

No one knew about this yet, not even Gramps or the boys. Molly needed time to discuss it with her children. It wasn’t fair just to spring a stepfather on them.

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