Marriage On Demand. Susan Fox P.

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СКАЧАТЬ to hers. His voice dropped lower, and his words sent a double stroke of heat through her.

      “Civilized people used to marry each other to stop wagging tongues. We can do that if the land deal falls through and you’re still worried about how this looks.”

      Rena felt again that peculiar mix of fear and excitement, but she couldn’t seem to pull her gaze away.

      “We need to get moving,” he said then. “It’d be nice to have you settled in before supper. We’ve got plans to work out before we get the license tomorrow.”

      Her insides were quivering with added anxiety at the mention of a marriage license, but she did her best to conceal it. Besides, she hadn’t yet thanked Ford for what he’d accomplished for her. She made an awkward start.

      “I’m obliged to you for putting yourself out in there with my father, and I’m…grateful.”

      He came right back with, “We’re both obliged. To each other for what we’ll get out of the deal, and for a marriage.”

      There it was again, that glimpse of implacability. The fear Rena felt made her give a nod before she faced forward, relieved when Ford turned to walk to his truck.

      The moment his back was turned, she secretly watched him go, wondering how on earth she would ever adjust to him.

      Ford had seen the fear in Rena’s troubled gaze. She was terrified of marrying him. He’d be willing to bet her terror was sharp enough that she’d almost give up the chance to inherit Lambert Ranch if it meant she wouldn’t have to go through with a wedding.

      He wasn’t offended by that, he was touched. Unfortunately there might be little he could do to ease her terror in the short time between now and the end of the week.

      Perhaps it wasn’t fair to try. Her father had put her in an impossible position, and Ford himself had just upped the ante for her. To be honest, he didn’t trust Abner any more than she did, but the details of the legal agreement he’d be signing might at least make the old man think twice about reneging later.

      In the meantime, he had to somehow keep Rena from bolting while he tried to decide if getting his hands on more land and water was truly worth the trouble of marrying her.

      By the time Rena angled the horse trailer near the stable at Harlow Ranch, she was shaking. She switched off the truck engine and got out to unload her horses, sick with misgiving.

      Ford had driven in ahead of her and now he joined her to open the trailer gate and pull out the ramp. He introduced three of his ranch hands who offered to take care of her horses, but Rena gently declined, preferring to settle them in herself.

      “Then one of you can get this trailer unhitched and taken back to Frank Casey at Lambert Ranch,” Ford told his men as he took the two horses’ lead ropes, leaving the filly for Rena. “The other two can take her truck up to the house. Miz Zelly’ll show you where to put Miz Lambert’s things.”

      Rena got in a quiet “Thank you” to the men, though Ford’s brisk directions to them cranked her nerves several notches higher. Things were happening too fast. She should have been able to slow them down, to reconsider the shocking events of the day and make certain what she truly wanted, but her brain was pounding with it all.

      The filly immediately began to act up, yanking away and fidgeting at the end of her lead. The abrupt move claimed Rena’s attention and she struggled to calm herself while she gave the filly a reassuring rub. Ford had already taken her horses into the stable, so Rena led the filly and followed.

      Three large stalls halfway down had been prepared, complete with measures of grain and fresh water. Rena put the filly in the center stall, removed her halter, then waited while the yearling inspected her new quarters. Her horses took the change in stride. Ford and the ranch hand who was returning the trailer to Frank Casey got her tack stowed in the tack room, and once Rena was satisfied her animals were comfortable, she joined Ford for the walk to the main house.

      The Harlow Ranch house was a sprawling two-story Victorian, with a large back patio overhung by leafy shade trees. Both the front and back verandas were decorated with urns of colorful flowers, which gave the whole place a look of energy and hospitality.

      Nothing like the stark simplicity of the Lambert Ranch house, which had always seemed colorless and grim.

      The kitchen was alive with the same vitality and color, from the display of hanging cookware over a large island counter in the main part, to the hanging pots of flowers and trailing vines and gaily colored tile of the large floor.

      Food preparations were scattered over the island counter and parts of two others. The warm smell of baking bread and the rich aroma of roasting beef reminded Rena she hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

      Zelly Norman turned from her work to give them a wide smile of welcome. Ford quickly introduced her to Rena, who greeted the small woman quietly.

      “She’s a handsome choice, Boss,” Zelly remarked, and Rena was uneasy with the expression.

      She considered the word handsome a masculine word, or one related to horses, but the happy smile on Zelly’s face couldn’t be mistaken for anything less than genuine approval and enthusiasm.

      “Welcome to Harlow Ranch,” Zelly went on. “I hope you’re happy here. Let me know if there’s anything you need.”

      “Thank you,” Rena said, unable to defeat the awkwardness she felt or the tremor of her smile.

      Ford whisked her away for a quick tour of his home. The house was far larger than the Lambert main house, the rooms spacious and filled with light. The dimness and hint of oppression she was accustomed to was absent here.

      It was a man’s house, with lots of wood and leather and color, but the feminine touches—needlework pillows, the occasional delicate chair or water-color painting and burst of ruffled curtains—made it all a pleasing combination that interested the eye, and Rena was surprisingly comfortable with the homey feel of it.

      The upstairs tour dampened that feeling of comfort, if for no other reason than the fact that she’d never been near a bedroom in a man’s presence, much less accompanied a man into his own bedroom.

      She might have lingered outside the room if she’d realized the huge bedroom was Ford’s, but he’d led her past most of the other six doors along the hall to this one, so she’d assumed he was leading her directly to the room his housekeeper had prepared for her.

      The masculinity of the room and the obvious absence of her boxes of belongings, made her halt uncertainly a few feet inside.

      “This’ll be our room after the ceremony on Friday. The walk-in’s big enough for your things, so we can move in all but what you need every day as soon as you want to unpack. Zelly’s cleared drawers in the dresser and the chest in here for what you don’t want in the closet. Your room’s through there,” he said, indicating the door at the side of the room, “to make it convenient.”

      Rena’s startled gaze shot toward the open door that connected Ford’s bedroom with the next one. Ford went on as if he’d sensed the spark of horror she felt and meant to confront it head-on.

      “We’ll be sharing a bed in a handful of days. It’s best for us to live close to each other’s habits between now and then.”

      “I СКАЧАТЬ