Marriage For Sale

“I take it you mean you’ve been driving teams of horses,” he commented dryly.

“Four in hand and eight in hand. Among those in The Community, I am considered quite good.”

“I bet.” He showed her how to work the handle of the door, then opened it for her. She reached for his arm and gathered her skirt. He boosted her inside the truck, all too aware of his bird’s-eye view of her well-shaped rump. The long dress followed her moves gracefully, including the awkward hiking up she had to do to sit in her seat.

Settling the skirt around her legs, she turned her bright, white smile on him. “Thank you.”

He nodded, rather than reply, refusing to give away the lust he felt. Never been kissed, never been married—what was wrong with the men around here?

Plunking down behind the steering wheel, he checked the rearview mirror, hoping the filly had settled down. No, not the filly. “Summer.” Linc rolled his eyes. “We’ll be heading into the town of Tall Timber first.”

“I expected as much.” Rachel noticed the sure way he handled the steering of the truck. The confusing mix of levers and dials and displays that made up the dashboard unnerved her. The engine roared into life, startling her enough to cause Linc to comment.

“There is nothing to be scared of.”

“Good.” Still she wondered what she had gotten herself into. The answer came in the square male knees and taut thighs encased in blue denim edging her vision. Lean muscle bunched as he pumped the pedals built into the floor of the truck. In the enclosed cab, the back of his hands loomed large and dark. She had just held those hands and been comforted by their strength. But the look of that strength now raised gooseflesh along her arms. He’d better be gentle with her, she thought. He was so much bigger than she.

She jumped as his arm snaked behind her neck along the top of her seat. He twisted to look out the rear window, oblivious, it seemed, to her total awareness of him. He backed the truck out slow and easy and started down the rutted dirt road that would take them directly to the highway. “I was wondering if you might be intimidated about going to town.”

“It is thoughtful of you to mention it. I must admit I am. Most people in my situation would be.”

“There is nothing to worry about. Tall Timber is a nice little town. You’ll get used to living there in no time.”

“Am I mistaken?” she asked. “I thought you owned a ranch.”

“I do. It’s very isolated, though. Believe me, you’ll be better off in Tall Timber. You can make friends and have a regular life.”

“I beg to differ. I am not one for friends, for gossip and socializing.” She removed the roll of money from her skirt and showed it to him. “What I had hoped to do was to turn some of my bought price into smaller bills.”

“They gave you the money I paid for you?”

“It is my stake for the future. I wish to use a small portion for clothes similar to the denim you wear, for working on your ranch.”

“Did you really think I bought you to have you slave around my ranch?”

Her confused expression told Linc that was exactly what she thought. “Let me make myself clear,” he said. “I bought you to free you.”

“Free me from what?”

“Bondage. I want you to be able to live your own life, without other people telling you what to do. You should be on your own, discovering what is important to you.”

“I already know what is important to me. You.”

Linc swore under his breath. “That’s what I mean. You shouldn’t build your life around anybody, especially a man. Your life belongs to you.”

“My life does belong to me in the way that you say. But now I dedicate myself to spending my life with you.”

“I free you from your obligation. Y’see, I’m not interested. The only reason I bought you was to prevent you from being sold to somebody else.”

“I am a good worker, a good companion. I promise to be of much value to you on your ranch. That is the life I most enjoy, the life I know best.”

“Don’t you ever dream of seeing more than a Podunk community in the middle of Montana?”

“Montana is my home. Why would I wish to leave the place where I have found my most profound happiness?”

It was hard to argue with profound happiness. It was also hard to argue with an unsophisticated thinker like Rachel. “Trust me on this, honey. Give Tall Timber a chance. You won’t have to answer to anybody. I’ll walk you through finding a job and a place to live. Then you’ll have a chance to be on your own.”

“You are to leave me alone there?” She sounded shocked and looked it, too, with her eyes widening, making him think of storm clouds moving across a brilliant blue sky.

“Tall Timber is not a big city or anything. Believe me, it won’t be as hard as you think.”

“This is not right. Husbands and wives are supposed to stay together. This is not what I agreed to, when I said my wedding vows.”

“You’re not exactly in a position to refuse.”

“Of course I may refuse. I will not allow myself to be abused in this way.”

“Abused! I’m trying to help you, for God’s sake.”

“For God’s sake? I think not. You aren’t interested in my welfare. You said my happiness is of so little consequence that I should give it up in favor of living among strangers. I return to you my selling price. Please take me back to The Community so I may be sold to someone else.”

“Put your money away, Rachel. You’re not going back.”

“Then take me to your ranch.”

He inwardly counted to ten, all patience gone. He didn’t care how new to the modern world she was; he wasn’t taking her to his ranch. “We’ll take a drive through Tall Timber. You’ll see what a nice town it is. Who knows, you may change your mind.”

“I never change my mind.”

He sent her a sharp glance. “There isn’t a woman alive who doesn’t.”

“Then you have never met a woman like me.”

He gave her a good once-over, but she was staring out the window, ignoring him, which made him all the more impatient with her. What was her problem? She had to recognize the fact that living in town was going to be plenty easier than living with a wild goodol’ boy on a windswept ranch in the middle of nowhere.

If he was going to change her mind, he needed to give her his full and undivided attention. The kind of attention she might not particularly like, but it would definitely change her mind. Without warning, he pulled the truck over to the side of the road.

“Why are you stopping?”

The tiniest bit of alarm flickered in her eyes. Finally, he thought. “Why do you think you can trust me—a man you know nothing about?”

“You are my husband. I trust you because of it.”

“You just met me. Maybe I bought you for the worst of reasons.”

Her expression softened, blossoming into one of complete understanding. “Linc, if you were a man of unsavory character, you would not have bothered to purchase me, a complete stranger to you.”

Such unshakable conviction was going to land her in plenty of hot water if she wasn’t careful. “Maybe I’m not as noble as you think.”