Megan's Marriage

A shiver ran over her at the word husband. Travis Kane? She would have to be out of her mind to consider marrying him, of all people. For any reason.

Even if it means saving the ranch? a little voice whispered inside her head.

For the first time in her life she finally understood what the preacher was talking about when he chose the subject of temptation for his Sunday sermons.

Temptation was a mighty insidious thing. It teased and tantalized, making all her beliefs dance and jump around, stand on tiptoe and fall over.

Travis Kane had been a pest as a kid, and his constant need to tease her had come close to breaking her heart in high school. Of course he’d never known the crush she’d developed on him back then. She had no intention of ever letting him know.

What would the star-struck girl back then have done if she’d known that someday in the future the ever-popular Travis Kane would actually come to her and propose marriage.

As a friend.

He didn’t love her, of course. Hadn’t he just said so?

But then, she didn’t love him, either. She knew better.

So. It would be a business deal, that’s all. It would have an expiration date.

“A year, you said?”

“It can be longer, if you want.”

“Oh, no. A year would be fine. It would give me some breathing space, like you said. I’d have some time to make plans, decide whether I should try to sell the place. After that, I could—” She paused, her thoughts finally leading her to ask, “I, uh—I guess you’d expect to live here, then?” She laughed nervously and answered her own question. “Well, of course you would. We’d be married and it would look strange to everybody if you continued to live at home with your folks.” She knew she sounded rattled because she was. This was the most bizarre thing that had ever happened to her. Even more bizarre was the fact that she was actually considering accepting his outlandish offer… because the alternative was too painful for her to face. She’d been praying for a miracle, hadn’t she? She just hadn’t realized before God’s strange sense of humor.

“I’m not home all that much, anyway, Megan,” Travis was saying, quietly. “I’m still following the rodeo circuit.”

“Oh, that’s right!” she replied, unable to hide her obvious relief. “Well, that would work out okay.” She went on, hopping up from the table. She began to pace. “I mean, we’ve got plenty of room,” she said with an expansive wave of her arm. “Why, this old house rambles in all directions. There’s several bedrooms…” She came to an abrupt halt, her voice trailing off. She eyed him uncertainly. “Would you expect to share my room?”

He took a deep breath and held it, his gaze never leaving hers. When he finally exhaled, he gave her a lopsided smile. “Whatever you’re comfortable with, Megan.”

“Oh.” She thought about the idea of sharing a bedroom with Travis Kane and shivered. “Well, I’m certainly not comfortable with the thought of sharing my room with you…or anybody…really.”

“I see.”

She began to pace once again. “Well, I mean, the whole idea takes some getting used to, you’ve got to admit. I never expected to get married so I’ve never given it much thought.”

“Why?”

She’d reached the window and was looking outside, wondering when the girls would be getting back from town, wondering how she could possibly explain to them what she was thinking about doing. She whirled around to face him, vaguely recalling his question. “Why what?” she repeated. “Why give it much thought? Because I’ve had other more important things to think about.”

Travis stretched his long legs out straight, then tipped his chair back and crossed his ankles. “No, I want to know why you never thought you’d get married.”

She threw her arms wide and grinned. “Who would be interested in marrying somebody like me who’s trying to keep a run-down ranch going as well as raise a couple of sisters? Nobody in his right mind is going to be interested in getting involved in a situation like that.” She eyed him speculatively.

“I am,” he said mildly.

She continued to study him. Had she found the fly in this particular ointment? Had he fallen off a bull onto his head one too many times and scattered his brain cells? He appeared rational enough, but his suggestion had all the earmarks of a crazy man. However, he’d been smart enough to place a time condition on the agreement. She smiled at him as she reminded him. “Yes, but only for a year. Believe me, after a year you’ll be more than ready to get away from this place.” She nodded, seeing more and more advantages to his wild suggestion. “By that time Mollie will have graduated from high school. Who knows? Maybe both of them will want to move into town. Or maybe to Austin or San Antonio.”

Suddenly feeling more lighthearted than she’d felt in weeks—no, more like months—Megan realized that she was starved. She went over to the refrigerator and opened the door. “Speaking of the girls, both of them stayed in town last night with friends. I don’t know when they’ll get home tonight, but I don’t intend to hold supper for them. I’m hungry.” She peered over her shoulder at him. “Do you want to stay and eat with me?”

He smiled and in a gentle voice, said, “I’d like that, Megan.”

She began to rummage around inside the refrigerator. “It won’t be anything fancy. Mollie’s the real cook around here. I just throw together some of the basics and—”

She straightened and backed away from the refrigerator with her hands full, then turned to find Travis immediately behind her. He took the dishes out of her hands and placed them on the nearby counter, then reached behind her and closed the refrigerator door.

“I think we should seal the bargain, don’t you?” he murmured, trapping her between him and the refrigerator.

Megan couldn’t remember ever having been caught so off guard. Before she could think, his lips were pressing against hers. A bolt of electrical shock went through her. Travis was kissing her. Travis Kane. Kissing her. Her…Megan O’Brien…tomboy…the girl who…

Her thoughts scattered as her senses took over. She became aware of the woodsy scent of his after-shave, the minty flavor of his mouth, the muscled wall of his chest as it pressed against hers, his uneven breathing as he tilted his head to another angle, teasing her with his tongue. Her eyes drifted closed, savoring all the new and glorious sensations that were sweeping over her.

She’d never been kissed by a man before, a man whose hands were tracing her spine, shaping her buttocks and pulling her closer so that she could feel—could feel…

Megan’s eyes flew open and she gave him a sudden shove. Caught off guard, he took a couple of quick steps back before regaining his balance.

They stared at each other, both of them breathing unevenly. Her heart felt as though it were going to leap out of her chest.

“It was just a kiss, Megan. That’s all,” he said quietly.

“Yeah, and Carlsbad Caverns is just a hole in the ground. That’s all,” she said, mimicking him.

“That’s true,” he replied, smiling.

She spun away and began to busy herself with making some sandwiches, doing her best to forget how she’d felt when Travis kissed her.

“I take it you don’t want me to kiss you,” he finally said in the silence that stretched between them.

She bit down on her lower lip, knowing that she couldn’t lie to him, but not knowing exactly what the truth was. Continuing to keep busy with their meal, she said, “It isn’t that. I—It’s just that—I mean, I don’t have a lot of experience in these things, and…” She couldn’t think of how to continue.

He kept his distance from her when he said, “And you think that I mind? Just because you’re innocent doesn’t mean—”

She turned and glared at him. “I’m not innocent!” She closed her eyes and swallowed. Now she was really giving him the wrong idea about her! She opened her eyes and tried again. “I mean—What I meant was that anyone raised on a ranch knows all about reproduction and sex and—Well, you know what I mean. It’s just that—” She waved her hand helplessly, not knowing how to explain how confused she was feeling at the moment.

He watched her intently. “Yeah, you’ve told me. You haven’t done much dating. I understand.”

She turned back to the counter, picked up the plate of sandwiches she’d prepared and carried it to the table. After refilling their glasses she motioned for him to sit down. “I don’t know what you expect from me, that’s all,” she finally muttered, sitting down across from him and looking everywhere but at him.

He reached for a sandwich and put it on his plate. “I don’t expect anything you don’t want to give,” he said in a careful tone of voice. “I realize that what I’m suggesting isn’t the usual way of doing things.”

“It’s crazy, that’s what it is. Who’s going to believe it? It doesn’t make any sense. I can’t believe I’m actually considering it!” She took a big bite out of her sandwich, concentrating on eating and trying to distance herself from the familiar stranger across the table from her. How could she know somebody so well and yet not know him at all? How could she hate him—well, resent him anyway—for not noticing her when he was the big man on campus and she had so wanted him to see her as a young woman, and not the tomboy he’d pestered on the bus for years. She’d been invisible to him then. So why now? Why was this happening all these years later?

“I have a suggestion,” he said, after finishing one of the sandwiches and reaching for another.

“What?” she asked suspiciously.

“I think we should keep the arrangement we’ve made just between the two of us. I think we’ll both be more comfortable that way. Why don’t we tell our families that we suddenly discovered our true feelings for each other and—”