The Rancher's Surprise Marriage

Tony stood at the living-room window, his hands shoved into his pockets, and looked out at the view. The sunset colors were brilliant but fading fast.

He’d had a helluva day, had been badgered by his sister, both brothers and just about everyone else who knew his phone number. He’d stopped answering around 10:00 a.m. There were eighteen messages he hadn’t returned, didn’t plan on returning. Of his family, only his father hadn’t weighed in, but Tony figured he’d hear something before too long. Hoyt Young always had an opinion on how his youngest son was living his life, and the fact it looked like Tony had been entertaining someone else’s fiancée wouldn’t sit well with his highly moral father.

Hell, it didn’t sit well with Tony, either, high morals or otherwise.

“I’m so sorry to keep you waiting,” came Maggie’s voice from behind him. “I didn’t know you were coming or I would’ve been ready.”

He angled toward her, was surprised to see her dressed so casually. Her hair was wet, leaving damp spots where it touched her blouse. She was barefoot. She looked ready to bolt, too—nervous and fidgety.

“I was ordered to be here at seven,” he said.

“I hope that’s not true. I hope Leesa extended an invitation for you to come, not ordered you.”

“It may have been politely stated, but it wasn’t a question.”

“Then I apologize. Leesa was pretty frazzled this morning, fielding the frenzy to our photograph, which I assume you saw?”

“My mother let me know this morning around four-thirty.”

“Your—I’m so sorry. Please, would you have a seat? Did Leesa get you something to drink?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” He sat in a leather chair. She perched on the edge of the sofa, as if incapable of settling back or relaxing. Her fingers were interlocked. He remembered how she’d cried last night….

“Were the paparazzi hounding you?” she asked.

“They tried. I made sure they didn’t follow me here.” It had actually been fun ducking them, but he wouldn’t want it on a regular basis.

“I owe you an explanation,” she said.

“I’m all ears.”

“Please understand that I’m going to tell you things I haven’t told anyone else. Even though I’ve turned your world upside down, I’m asking for your discretion. I know I have no right to ask but—”

“I know how to keep my mouth shut.”

She closed her eyes a moment. Her vulnerability hit him hard. Like last night, he wanted to protect her, even though he didn’t know from what. He could easily be a fool for this woman.

“I assume by now you know I was engaged to Scott Gibson,” she said.

“Hard to miss that bit of information.”

“What no one else knows is that he broke it off yesterday. He was here waiting for me after shooting. He said he’d fallen in love with someone else.”

Which answered a lot of Tony’s questions about why she’d slept with him last night—and why she’d been crying. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.” She looked at her lap. “Okay. Biggest confidence now. I’m not sorry. Scott even said as he was leaving that someday I would be happy about it. That someday came a lot faster than I would’ve thought. It came today.”

“How can you get over it that fast?”

“I know it sounds heartless, and the rest of what I’m going to tell you won’t put me in a good light, either, but you deserve the truth, after all the trouble I’ve caused you.” She pushed herself up, moved to stand at the window.

He found he couldn’t sit still, either, so he joined her.

“It’s an incredible landscape, isn’t it?” she asked, apparently stalling. “Not lush but starkly beautiful, especially here, surrounded by the enormous red rocks.”

“Most beautiful in the whole country.”

“You’ve traveled a lot?”

“I did the rodeo circuit for about twelve years. It’s a nomadic kind of life. When it was time to settle down, there was no place for me but here.”

She nodded. “I’m looking to settle down myself.”

He waited, knowing she was working up to what she needed to say.

“It’s why I was marrying Scott. I wanted a home. Some stability.”

“You didn’t love him?”

“It’s…complicated.”

“I’ve got nothin’ but time, Margaret.”

“So, you’ve decided to call me Margaret? Trying to be different?”

“I’m thinking Margaret suits you.” Maggie was who the world saw—strong and feisty. Margaret was vulnerable…and passionate.

She met his gaze and smiled a little. He ignored the tug inside his chest.

“Scott and I met when we were set up to attend a premiere together by our mutual agent and our publicists. It wasn’t the first time I’d done such a thing. It’s part of the job, good publicity for both parties, yada, yada. But things clicked between Scott and me. We liked each other right away and started dating, as much as our situations allowed. We discovered one of the biggest things we had in common was that we’d both lost our parents at a young age. My grandparents had taken me in, raised me with a very strict upbringing, one I didn’t rebel from. He’d grown up in the foster system. We were both searching for a fantasy life, I think.”

“I think we all do that,” he said, glad to see she’d calmed some.

“You, too?”

“Of course. I was even married once. One big fantasy, that’s for sure. Ended with a hard dose of reality.” He hardly ever thought about her anymore, it had been so long. A man who didn’t put the past behind him couldn’t move forward. He’d been bitter for a while, but time had cured that, too.

“Well, Scott understood the pressures of the business, as well as the media, of course. One night he asked me to marry him and I said yes, figuring we had a better-than-average chance for success, since we had similar backgrounds.”

“You didn’t love him? He didn’t love you?”

“We each said so, but looking back, I don’t know. I think we got caught up in the romance of it all. And then before we had time to sit back and reconsider, our publicity machines went into overdrive and the whole world was involved.”

“You could’ve backed out. Better that than make a bigger mistake.”

She turned around, leaned against the window frame and finally looked at him. “Of course you’re right. But by then an old friend of mine, Jenny Warren, had called and asked a big favor. Her family is about to open two luxury hotels, The Taka San Francisco and The Taka Kyoto. The San Francisco opening is scheduled for around the end of September. Jenny asked if I’d hold the wedding there, have a huge, lavish event. They’d assumed all costs. I could just tell them what I want, and it would be done. Publicity for everyone. Win-win, right? Scott wanted the big splash, too, so I said yes. And regretted it right away. ‘Big’ isn’t my style.”

“So you felt stuck?”