Hawk's Way: Carter & Falcon: The Cowboy Takes A Wife

For some reason, Carter appeared distressed by the compliment. Then she realized he hadn’t said anything about how she looked. It didn’t take much imagination to figure out why. She had done nothing to hide the scar on her face. She had seen how his eyes skipped away from it. But he was still here. And apparently ready to go through with the wedding.

The judge entered his chambers in a flurry of black robes. “I’ve only got a few minutes,” he said. “Are you two ready?”

“There are three of us, Judge Carmichael,” Carter said, nodding in Nicole’s direction.

“So there are,” the judge said. He peered over the top of his black-rimmed bifocals at the little girl. “Hello there. What’s your name?”

Nicole retreated behind her mother’s skirts.

“Her name is Nicole,” Desiree said.

“All right, Nicole. Let’s get your mommy married, shall we? Why don’t the two of you stand together in front of my desk?” the judge instructed Carter and Desiree. He called his secretary and the court bailiff to act as witnesses.

Desiree suddenly felt as shy as her daughter and wished there were a skirt she could retreat behind. Carter reached out to draw her to his side, but she quickly scooted around him so the unblemished part of her face would be toward him while they said their vows. She wished she could have been beautiful for him. It would have made all this so much easier. But she wouldn’t have needed a husband if things had been different.

“Are we all ready?” the judge asked.

“Just a minute.” Carter searched the room for a moment. “There they are.” He crossed to a bookshelf and picked up a small bouquet of flowers. “When I arrived your secretary offered to put these in here for me.”

Desiree stared at the bouquet of wildflowers garnished with beautiful white silk ribbons that Carter was holding out to her. A flush skated across her cheekbones. The thoughtfulness of his gesture made her feel more like a bride. It made everything seem more real. Her heart thumped a mile a minute, and she put a hand up as though to slow it down.

She stared at Carter, seeing wariness—not warmth—in his blue eyes as she reached out to take the flowers. “Thank you, Carter.”

His features relaxed and the wariness fled, replaced by what looked suspiciously like relief. Unfortunately, Carter’s trek for the flowers had taken him across the room, and when he returned he ended up on her right side, the side with the scar. She hid her dismay, but lowered her chin so her hair fell across her face.

“Now are we ready?” the judge asked impatiently.

Desiree nodded slightly. She felt Carter’s fingertips on her chin. He tipped her face upward until he was looking her in the eye.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes,” she croaked.

“Keep your chin up,” he murmured. He turned to the judge and said, “We’re ready.”

Desiree appreciated Carter’s encouraging words but had no idea how to tell him so. She heard very little of what the judge said. She was too conscious of the man standing beside her. She could smell a masculine cologne and feel the heat of him along her right side. On her other side, she was aware of Nicole’s death grip on her hand.

“The ring?” the judge asked.

“Here.” Carter produced a simple gold band, which he slipped on Desiree’s left hand.

He turned back to the judge, who was about to continue the ceremony when Desiree said, “I have a ring for you, too.”

She saw the surprise on Carter’s face, but he didn’t object. She fumbled in the pocket of her skirt until she found the gold band she had so painstakingly selected. She was aware of the calluses on Carter’s palm and fingertips as she held his hand to slip on the ring. Desiree dared a glance at Carter’s face when she saw how well it fit.

He smiled at her, and she felt her heart skip a beat. She turned to face the judge, feeling confused and flustered.

Carter took her hand in his and waited for the judge to continue. It wasn’t long before he said, “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

To Desiree, the wedding ceremony was over too quickly, and it didn’t feel “finished.” She realized the judge hadn’t suggested that Carter kiss his bride. She waited, every muscle tensed, wondering if he would act on his own. A second ticked past, another, and another.

Which was when Nicole said, “Are you going to kiss Mommy now?”

“Nicole!”

Desiree’s face reddened with embarrassment. She couldn’t bear to look at Carter, afraid of what she would see.

The sound of a masculine chuckle was followed by the feel of Carter’s hand on her unblemished cheek. She closed her eyes, flinching when she felt his moist breath against her face. She heard him make a sound of displeasure in his throat and felt his hesitation.

Desiree forced herself to stand still, waiting for the touch of his lips against hers, but her body stiffened, rejecting before it came, this sign of masculine possession.

Soft. So soft. And gentle.

Desiree’s eyes flickered open, and she stared wide-eyed at the man who had just become her husband. Her breathing was erratic, and her heart was bumping madly. It hadn’t been a painful kiss. Quite the contrary. Her lips had…tingled. She raised her hand toward her mouth in wonder.

Carter was staring at her, the expression on his face inscrutable. She had no idea what he was thinking.

She had married a stranger.

It was a terrifying thought, and Desiree felt the panic welling up inside her. Carter must have sensed her feelings, because he quickly thanked the judge, shook Carmichael’s hand, watched as the witnesses signed the marriage certificate, in which Desiree had once again given up her maiden name of Parrish, and hustled her and Nicole out of the courthouse.

“I’ve made reservations for lunch at Benham’s,” Carter said, naming one of the fanciest restaurants in Casper.

Desiree put a hand to her queasy stomach. The last thing she wanted right now was food.

“I’m starving,” Nicole piped up.

“I guess that’s settled,” Carter said. “Let’s go eat.”

“Not in a restaurant,” Desiree protested. “I put a roast in the oven before I left the ranch. Please, let’s go home.”

“Home,” Carter said. It had a wonderful sound. “All right, then. Home. I’ll follow you in my pickup.”

Desiree welcomed the brief respite before they sat down to their first meal as husband and wife. Once in the truck, Nicole focused her attention on Desiree’s wedding bouquet, which left Desiree free to mentally compare this wedding with her first one.

She had been only eighteen years old and desperately in love with Burley Kelton. Burley had come to work as a cowhand for her father, and she had fallen hard for his broad shoulders and his rakish smile. After a whirlwind romance they had married in the First Presbyterian Church. She had worn her mother’s antique-lace wedding gown and carried a pungent bouquet of gardenias.

Desiree had been a total innocent on her wedding night, naive and frightened, but so in love with Burley that she would have done anything he asked.

Only Burley hadn’t asked for anything. He had taken what he wanted. Brutally. Horribly. Painfully. She didn’t dare cry out for fear her parents would hear her in their room down the hall from her bedroom. So she bore her wedding night stoically. She survived, to endure even worse in the next weeks and months of her marriage.

They lived with her parents, and Burley continued working for her father. She kept up a front, refusing to let her parents know how bad things were. Then her mom and dad were killed in a freak one-car accident, and she was left alone with Burley. It was a ghastly end to what she now realized were girlish dreams of romance.

Burley told her the pain she felt when he exercised his husbandly rights was her fault. He had to work hard to find any pleasure in her, because she was frigid. He should have married a woman who had more experience, one who knew how to satisfy a man.

Even though Burley found her wanting in bed, he was insanely jealous if she so much as said hello to another man. When she suggested they might be better off apart, he became enraged and said he had taken his vows “Till death do us part!” and that he had meant them.

It had almost come to that.