The Maverick's Accidental Bride

“So...?”

“So I’m off to Missoula, to UMT, in the fall. I’m all enrolled and ready to go. I have a little money from Grandpa Cates, and I’ve saved enough to manage it, as long as I find a job once I get there. So I do have a plan. I have a dream, Will, I really do. I want to get my degree and have a meaningful, productive career. I’m leaving Rust Creek Falls at the end of August. And I don’t care what a few small-minded people there say.”

He set down his knife and fork and slowly shook his head. “I don’t believe you. I think you do care. And I care. I don’t accept that you should ever have to feel shamed or embarrassed by what happened Saturday night. And even if you’re leaving, I live in Rust Creek now. I want to be known as a man who honors his commitments.”

“But if it’s not a real commitment—”

“It is a real commitment.” He said it roughly, almost angrily. “We are actually married. No, it’s probably not going to last forever. But it is a commitment that we should both take seriously, that we need to treat with respect and dignity. I’ve said it before. We need a better plan. And I have one, a plan that will keep other people out of our business, a plan that doesn’t necessarily have to interfere with your going to college.”

She gulped. “You do?”

“Yeah. When did you say your fall term starts?”

“Orientation is second-to-last week of August.”

“That should work fine.”

“Uh, it should?”

“We’ll stay married through the summer. You’ll move in with me at my new place.”

That had her sitting up good and straight. “Tell me you didn’t just say that I would move in with you.”

“That is exactly what I said. You’ll move in at the ranch, and if anyone asks about your college plans, you’ll tell them all about how proud and supportive I am of you, how I’ve insisted you have your education, that it’s your lifetime dream, and I intend for you to have your dream.”

She tried to make a joke of it. “Gee, what a guy. I think you’re my hero.”

He didn’t miss a beat. “You’ll say how, even though you’re going to UMT this fall, you’ll be coming home often, because we hate to be apart.”

“I will?”

He nodded. “How long until you know if you’re pregnant?”

“You know, I think we ought to slow down a little here and—”

“How long, Jordyn?”

She knew that mulish look. He would be keeping after her until she answered him. “Oh, fine. A couple of weeks, I guess. I’m, um, pretty regular. Or I can probably take a home test sooner than that.”

“Say a couple of weeks, then, just for a reference point. If you are having a baby, we’ll figure out a way to make the marriage work. If not, we’ll file the papers at the end of July, and we’ll be divorced by the time you leave for Missoula.”

She fiddled with the salt shaker. “I’m just not sure this is such a good idea.”

“Well, I am. Questions?”

She had a powerful urge to bop him upside his thick head. “As a matter of fact, I do have a question.”

“Hit me with it.”

Oh, I wish. “Do you mean for us to share a room?”

He looked vaguely offended. “Jordyn. You know me better than that. I’m trying to help you, not put a move on you.”

“I think I would be better off just to be honest with everyone and deal with the fallout—and move on.”

The man did not miss a beat. “Well, you’re wrong. My way is better for both of us—and where was I? Oh, yeah. Separate rooms. But everywhere except in bed, we would be together, making it work.”

“But it would be a lie, Will. We would be lying to everyone.”

“No, we wouldn’t. Because we really are married. And it’s nobody’s business but ours how we choose to be married. And if it did turn out that you were pregnant, we would already have a life together. Think about that. Think about our innocent child.”

A wild laugh bubbled up inside her, and she couldn’t quite hold it back.

Those black brows drew together. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s just...you, Will. Determined to protect my reputation, so set on doing what you consider the right thing. I mean, we don’t even know if we had sex, yet you’re already talking about protecting the baby.”

He looked a tad insulted. “Exactly. On all counts. What of it?”

“So...I would pay you rent?”

He scowled. “Of course not.”

“But if I’m going to be staying at your place—”

“You mind doing some of the cooking, keeping things tidy, generally helping out around the house?”

“Of course I don’t mind, but I should still pay you—”

He cut her right off again. “You help out where needed. That’s more than enough payment for me. Believe me, there will be plenty of work to do. And the house has three bedrooms. I can only use one myself.”

A minute ago she’d been laughing. She wasn’t laughing now. She held his gaze across the table and silently admitted to herself that she really had been dreading facing everyone alone, being a joke, a laughingstock. “Some people will still gossip,” she warned.

“So what? Let ’em talk. They’ll get bored with it pretty quick when they see that we’re just a nice, happily married couple. They’ll have to find something else to talk about.”

“I just...”

The waitress appeared. She refilled their coffee mugs. “Can I get you two anything else?”

“A check.” Will waited as the woman pulled the bill from her apron and set it on the table. She scooped up his empty plate and moved on. He regarded Jordyn silently for a second or two before prompting, “You just, what?”

She forked her fingers through her hair. “Are you sure you really want to do this?”

“It’s my plan. You bet I’m sure.”

Jordyn marveled at him. She thought back to all those years growing up, when he used to thoroughly annoy her with his overbearing know-it-all big-brother act. She probably should have appreciated him more. If she had to be accidentally married to someone, it helped that she’d chosen a guy who’d always looked out for her, a guy who wanted the best for her, one who intended to stand up for her, stand up with her, until she left Rust Creek Falls behind. “You’re one of the good guys, Will, a real hero. And I mean that sincerely this time.”

“Just say that you’ll do it.” His quiet voice was gruff.