His Marriage to Remember

“Thanks, Ryder,” Sam said. “I appreciate it.”

“No need to thank me,” Ryder said, shaking his head. “You’d do the same for me if I needed help.”

“We’ll be down in a couple of days to help out,” T.J. said as Ryder turned to walk to his truck.

“Are we getting together for my birthday on Sunday, Bria?” Jaron looked hopeful. “You know how much I love your apple pie.”

“Of course,” she said, smiling.

She was glad Jaron mentioned his upcoming birthday. Planning his birthday dinner would give her something to concentrate on besides how much she wished things could be different for her and Sam. Besides, she loved holding family celebrations, and with all the men coming back for the weekend, it would give her a break from the pressure she anticipated being under while taking care of Sam.

Apparently satisfied that everything was as it should be, Sam nodded toward her SUV. “Drive careful, sweetheart.”

Walking to her Explorer, Bria wondered how she was going to make it through the next few weeks without losing her mind. Sam was far too perceptive not to pick up on every little slip, and it was just a matter of time before he realized that things between them were vastly different from what he remembered. Unfortunately, explaining that their marriage was over and why would do nothing but add to the stress he was already under from just trying to recall the past several months.

As she drove from the ranch yard, she sighed heavily. How had she managed to get herself into such a complicated situation? But more important than that, how on earth was she going to get herself out of it and remain on the course she had set for herself three months ago?

With their housekeeper and part-time cook, Rosa, off visiting her sister in San Antonio for a couple of weeks, Bria was in the kitchen cooking supper, while Sam sat in the family room pretending to watch the local evening news. She had insisted that he take it easy and he was trying, but it was damn hard to do. He wasn’t used to being idle and having to sit around with nothing to do made him feel like a worthless slug. He was accustomed to doing what a man was supposed to do—work hard and make a good living for his wife and the family they were planning to have.

Thinking about his stock-contracting business, he smiled. He was proud of the fact that he had started from scratch and built the Sugar Creek Rodeo Company to the level that he could retire right now without any worries for the rest of his days. But he wasn’t of a mind to do that. As Hank always said, everyone needed a purpose. Sam’s mission in life was to work hard so that Bria would never want for anything, never have to worry where money for their next meal would come from. Unlike what his biological father had done for his mother, Sam intended to see that his wife got whatever her heart desired.

As he looked around the room, he tried to remember the last time he had been home for more than a couple of days at a time. It was frustrating as hell not to recall even the simplest of memories, not to mention it was taking a big toll on his pride. Showing any kind of weakness never had been his style. But the fact that Bria was witness to his most recent limitations made the whole situation doubly humiliating.

He was supposed to be strong and capable—the man who took care of her, not the other way around. Unless he missed his guess, she was having just as hard of a time seeing him this way as he was of being the husband with some major limitations and no recent memories.

From the time she had come into the ICU to see him the night of the accident, Bria had been aloof, and their conversations, what few they’d had, were awkward at best. Had the fact that he had been hurt caused her to think of him as being inept? Or had she been there to see the bull run him down and was still traumatized by witnessing the accident?

He tried to think, but like everything else that had happened recently, he couldn’t remember. “Bria, could you come here a minute?”

When she walked in from the kitchen, she looked absolutely beautiful. A few strands of auburn hair had escaped the confines of her ponytail and her cheeks were delightfully pink from the heat of cooking supper.

“Is everything all right?” she asked, a look of concern in her pretty green eyes.

“I’m fine.” He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “I was just wondering if you were at the rodeo. Did you see what happened?”

She nodded. “You were … distracted when the bull got loose. But I thought your brothers told you all about that while I was in town this afternoon.”

“They did.” Frowning, he shook his head. “I just can’t believe I was that careless. I’m normally real cautious around the bulls and especially that brindle. He’s as mean as a rattlesnake. Do you know what had my attention just before the accident happened?”

“They didn’t tell you?”

“No.”

He watched her take a deep breath before she looked down at her tightly clasped hands.

“I had just arrived and you were watching me.”

“That doesn’t sound like me. I never let myself get distracted while I’m working with livestock.” He ran his hand over the tension building at the back of his neck. “And normally when you come to one of the rodeos, you get there well before the events start, not when they’re almost over. Why were you running so late?”

“You know how bad traffic can be on I-35.” She glanced over her shoulder into the kitchen. “I really need to check on the spaghetti.”

“We’ll talk about it over supper,” he said, nodding.

When Bria disappeared into the kitchen, he was more confused than ever. Why had he been watching her instead of what he had been doing? And why did she seem so nervous about it? Did she somehow feel responsible for the accident? Was she feeling guilty?

That didn’t make any sense. It was his fault he hadn’t been paying attention, not hers.

When a dull pain suddenly reverberated through his head, Sam groaned and shut his eyes. A vision of Bria standing on the front porch with tears streaming down her face immediately flashed behind his closed eyes, then in a matter of seconds it disappeared along with the headache.

His eyes snapped open. Could that have actually happened during the past several months? A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. In all their years together, he could never remember seeing Bria look so unhappy, so filled with sadness. What could have possibly caused her to look as if her heart was breaking?

Over the past year or two, she had let it be known on more than one occasion that she would like him to be home with her more. But of all their arguments about the time he spent out on the road with the rodeo company, he could never remember her being that miserable. Had things between them escalated to that point? Or had something else happened to cause her such heartache and he just couldn’t remember?

Lost in his disturbing thoughts, it took a moment for Sam to realize Bria was standing beside his chair with her hand on his arm. “Sam, are you all right?”

“I … uh, yeah,” he said, not sure if the image had been a fragment of recovered memory or his imagination working overtime. Taking her by the hand, he pulled her down to sit on his lap. “I’m fine.”

“This isn’t a good idea, Sam.” She placed her hand on his chest as if she intended to get up, then stopped abruptly. “Something is wrong. Your heart is racing.”

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he kissed the tip of her nose. “You know that always happens when I’m close to you, sweetheart.”

He didn’t want to ask her about the vision just yet. Just the thought of Bria actually experiencing that kind of emotional pain was gut-wrenching.

“Do you feel like coming into the kitchen for dinner or would you rather I bring a tray in here for you?” she asked, her gaze not quite meeting his.

“What’s wrong, Bria?” he asked. “And don’t tell me ‘nothing.’ I know you well enough to tell when something is bothering you.”

“I … guess I’m just worried,” she said slowly, as if choosing her words carefully.

Bringing his hand up, he gently brushed a strand of auburn hair from her soft cheek. “I’m here. My muscles are still a little sore, but I’m okay—we’re okay. And once I convince the doctor to release me to go back to work, everything will be back to normal.”

Lowering his head, he started to cover her mouth with his, but to his surprise she pulled away from him and stood up. “Of course, everything will go back to the way it was. Why wouldn’t it?” Her eyes sparkled with anger. “You’ll go back to traveling from one rodeo to another with the livestock and I’ll—” She stopped abruptly, took a deep breath, then to his utter bewilderment, she smiled. “I’ll be just fine. Now, do you feel like coming into the kitchen to eat or do you want me to bring your supper to you in here?”

Sam frowned. “Bria, what’s going on?”

He had never known her to switch gears quite that fast. If he didn’t know her better, he would swear she was trying to hide something from him. But that didn’t make any sense. Their relationship had always been based on honesty and sharing whatever was on their minds. With the exception of his life before he and Nate entered the foster care system—a life filled with mistakes he never intended to share with her or anyone else—they knew everything about each other. There wasn’t a single thing he could think of that she might feel the need to keep from him.

“Don’t mind me. It’s been a long day and I’m tired, that’s all.” She motioned toward the kitchen. “But I do need to know where you want to eat. If you’d like to finish watching the news—”

“Kitchen,” he interrupted, slowly rising to his feet. “I wasn’t paying much attention to the news, anyway. Since I can’t remember what’s been going on in the world for the past six months, there isn’t a lot of it that makes sense right now.”

As he followed Bria, Sam couldn’t help smiling. Even after three years of marriage, he loved watching the sexy sway of her shapely backside. It never failed to cause his heart to pound and his temperature to rise. This evening she looked exceptionally appealing in her summery pink sundress with skinny little straps that kept falling off her shoulders.

His smile suddenly turned to an all-out grin. Although he wasn’t used to being idle and viewed taking off work as a complete waste, he had a feeling that his forced downtime might not be that bad after all. Bria had been after him for the past year or so to slow down and spend more time with her and he saw no reason why they couldn’t enjoy his unexpected vacation for as long as it lasted. In fact, it might be just what they needed to make the baby they had both been anticipating.

The moment Sam stepped up behind her where she stood at the sink, Bria felt a warm tingling sensation course from the top of her head all the way to her toes even before he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her back against his solid frame. The chemistry between them had always been that way. Sam just had to walk into a room and all her senses went on high alert.

“Why aren’t you putting those in the dishwasher?” he asked, nodding toward the dishes she was washing. His warm breath feathering over the side of her neck sent a wave of longing straight through her.