The Great Texas Wedding Bargain

“I’m glad everything is working out. Now, we need to move Rick’s belongings downstairs. Why don’t you come direct the change?”

Megan swallowed. She didn’t want to make decisions for Rick. But she had no choice.

When it got late in the afternoon, the crew of women began to disperse. After all, they had their own homes and families to deal with. Megan wanted to hang the freshly washed curtains for Torie’s room before she left, and Mabel offered to take Faith to get the children and take them to their apartment.

“I should be finished in a few minutes, Mom, if you want to wait.”

“No, dear, I’m tired. I think I’d better go on with Mabel.”

“Okay,” Megan agreed, frowning. She hoped her mother hadn’t overdone it today.

As Mabel and her mother were leaving, Mabel said, “There’s a casserole in the oven. It needs to come out in half an hour.” Then she disappeared out the door.

Megan realized some of the women had brought in bags of groceries, but she hadn’t realized they’d cooked. She moved to the oven and opened it. A wonderful aroma filled the room.

With a grin, she realized Rick was going to be pleased. It was some kind of enchilada casserole. She checked to be sure the timer was set and closed the oven. She needed to finish her chore and get out of there.

Then she realized she couldn’t leave until Rick returned or the casserole would be ruined.

With a grimace, she went upstairs to hang the curtains. Surely he’d come in soon. It was almost six o’clock.

An hour and a half later, Megan was pacing the floor. It was almost dark. When was the man going to appear? What was he doing?

She’d called her mother to explain why she hadn’t arrived, but her mother hadn’t been surprised.

“Most ranchers work until the light goes, dear. He’ll be there soon. Why don’t you share his supper and then come home?”

“No, I’ll be home as soon as he shows up.”

“But we’ve already eaten—”

“I can take care of myself, Mom. I’ll see you in a little while.”

RICK HAD INTENDED to cut his day a little shorter because he’d promised himself he’d give some time to cleaning the house tonight. Faith had asked if she and Megan could come out today to start moving in and he’d reluctantly agreed, telling her the house would be unlocked.

He should’ve cleaned on Sunday, but even Sundays sometimes required work. It was calving season. And today had been particularly busy. He was filthy and tired.

Next week, after his marriage, he would come home to a clean house and a hot meal. That idea brought a smile to his weary lips.

He parked his pickup near the backdoor and struggled out, ready to drag himself up the steps. He came to an abrupt halt, however, when he discovered a frowning Megan standing at the backdoor.

“Something wrong?” he asked, speeding up his walk.

“Where have you been?” she asked, instead of answering his question.

“Delivering calves.”

“You mean you were actually working?”

Her utter surprise irritated him. “Naw, I was sun-bathing by the pond in the back pasture.” He regretted his sarcasm as her cheeks flushed. “Why are you still here? Is there a problem?”

“No. I waited to take the casserole out when it finished cooking. Then, I thought it would be rude to leave, so I waited, thinking you’d be here any minute.”

He picked out the key word. “Casserole? You fixed dinner?”

“Not me. One of the ladies who helped us today.”

“Well, let’s eat. I’m starving.”

He started to move past her and saw her nose wrinkle in distaste. “Uh, I’ll grab a quick shower first,” he promised even as his stomach protested the wait.

She followed him into the house. “You go ahead. I’ll set out the food and then leave.”

“You’re not staying to eat?”

“No. I need to go to the apartment and help Mom put the kids to bed.” She didn’t meet his gaze, which made him wonder if she was lying, but he was too hungry to care.

“Okay.”

He was halfway across the kitchen when his surroundings pierced his fog of hunger and weariness. The room gleamed in the fading light and smelled great. “What happened?”

“To what?”

“The kitchen. Man, you must’ve worked all day to get it to look like this. Nice job, Megan.” He turned to smile at her, but she was still frowning.

“We had a lot of help. Mom’s friends, the ones who recommended you, came to help.”

“Ah, the matchmakers.”

“The matchmakers?”

“That’s what everyone calls them now, since they had a contest to marry off their sons. You know, Mac, Tuck, Spence and Cal.”

“They were just being helpful to me,” she muttered and turned her back on him. “Hurry and clean up before your dinner gets too cold.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said and bounded up the stairs, spurred on by his hunger.

The hot shower refreshed him, even though it was a quick one. He stepped out and grabbed a towel, doing a quick rubdown. Then, wrapping the towel around his waist, even though Megan was supposed to be gone, he hurried into his bedroom for clean jeans and T-shirt.

And found nothing.

His bedroom was spotless. And the chest of drawers was empty. He opened the closet. Empty. Obviously, the ladies today had taken over the entire house. Now that he thought about it, the bath was immaculate, too. Or it was until he’d showered.

Maybe they moved his things to the downstairs bedroom. He came down the stairs, reaching the bottom as the kitchen door swung open. Megan ran smack into him, her hands coming to rest on his bare chest.

“Oh!”

“Megan! I thought you were leaving.”