Cowboy Country (19 page)

He grabbed her hand and stopped her momentum toward the dressing room. "Do you like it?

"Well yes, but—"

"Do you love the dress?"

"Yes," she whispered, afraid she would make him mad if she admitted to the extravagance of the gown.

The sales woman grinned in the corner.

"We'll take it and the shoes. She'll also need a wrap of some sort to go with it."

"Tucker, we can't—"

"Yes, we can, Jacie. The dress was made for you. I'll hear no more about it." He smacked her on the butt and gently pushed her toward the dressing room. "Pick out three more. There are two balls and we'll be having dinner with some people during the next couple of weeks, so you'll need some clothing for those too."

Over the next several hours, they shopped and shopped some more. He bought everything from evening dresses to capes, purses and shoes besides filling in her wardrobe for the rodeo itself with new jeans, blouses and boots. She lost track of the money he spent, but she was determined to give it all back, every penny when she got home. The remark the reporters made at the arena bothered her. His buying all of this almost felt like prostitution when she thought about it. Even if she enjoyed making love with Tucker, the money he spent on her soured her mood and brought the reality of her situation into sharp clarity.

By the time the dinner hour arrived, exhaustion had set in, but Tucker had made reservations at the swanky restaurant downstairs with some of his business acquaintances and he requested she attend with him. After they'd returned to the room from their shopping trip, she'd curled up on the bed and quickly fell asleep. The whisper of his lips over her shoulder, up her neck and his teeth on her earlobe brought her out of her nap with a smile on her face.

"Mmm. Keep it up and we won't make your dinner engagement."

"Sounds good to me, but unfortunately, I have to attend," he grumbled. "Do you want to shower before we go down?"

"A quick one, yes. I need to do something with my mop of hair and change clothes," she replied, stretching like a contented cat on the bed.

The low growl from his throat brought a smile to her lips. She loved when he made that sound. "Care to join me?"

"Witch."

"Just a thought." She giggled. "But then again, maybe not. We wouldn't make your meeting at all then. But I promise later, we'll finish what you started."

"We'll leave early." He kissed her hard. "Off to the shower with you woman, before I throw the whole thing to the wind and stay holed up with you right here in this bed until morning."

It took well over an hour to shower, curl her hair and tuck one side of it back into a gorgeous diamond clip Tucker had insisted on buying earlier. A few swipes of makeup over her cheeks and eyes and she stood ready to meet his business associates.

She stepped out of the bathroom, completely unprepared for the sight of her
husband
in his finery. Stark black suit jacket over a brilliant white tuxedo shirt and tie brought out the color of his blue eyes. The man stole her breath. She thanked her lucky stars and whatever cosmic alignment brought them together in Littleton, Oklahoma even if it could only be for a short time.

"Wow. You clean up pretty nice, Mr. Marshall."

"So do you, Mrs. Marshall."

"You'd better be careful with calling me that. I might get used to it," she quipped, hoping to make light of the nervous flutter in the pit of her stomach.

"I might get used to it too." He held out his arm and said, "Shall we?"

Before she could even think of a reply, he had her out the door and inside the elevator headed downstairs. The room he'd reserved inside the Picasso restaurant gleamed in the subdued light of the restaurant. Crystal stemware, real silverware, gorgeous floral arrangements and beautifully dressed women were everywhere. There must have been at least fifty people in his little party.

"I didn't realize you'd invited so many people, Tucker," she whispered with a nervous twitter to her voice.

"You'll do fine, honey. Relax and stick with me," he replied, placing his palm on her lower back to guide her. "Ah. I see someone I want you to meet. I think you'll get along fabulously."

They walked toward a very handsome couple standing off to the rear part of the room. The man had dressed similar to Tucker with dress jacket, white shirt and black Stetson, but the woman next to him was stunning.

"Justin, it's great to see you. It's been way too long," Tucker said, holding out his hand in greeting.

"Tucker Marshall. You old dog. I haven't seen you since last year." The man's eyes stopped on her and he cocked a questioning eyebrow. "And who might this lovely lady be? You've been holding out on me, Tucker."

She stuck out her hand and said, "Jacie—"

"Marshall," Tucker added. "My wife."

"Your wife? Are you serious? When did this happen and why wasn't I invited to the wedding?" Justin laughed as he pulled her into a hug.

"For the same reason I wasn't invited to yours," Tucker grumbled and turned to the woman. "Hello again, Kat. I'm so glad to see you. Are you keeping this rascal in line?" Tucker replied, kissing the other woman on the cheek and giving her a hug.

"I'm doing my best, Tucker, but you really should have told us you'd gotten married. You know we would have loved to been there," Kat said, and then turned to her. "I'm Katrina Wilder, Justin's wife. It's very nice to meet you, Jacie."

"You too. I'll admit I'm not used to these big business parties."

"Stick with me, honey and we'll kill 'em together. I hate these things too, but Justin insists I accompany him."

"Do you two live here in Vegas?" she asked Katrina.

"Yes. We own a place outside of town."

"We'll be back in a bit, darlin'," Tucker said. "I see some people I need to talk to."

"Of course." Tucker kissed her on the cheek and grabbed Justin around the shoulders to lead him off. The two men had very close to the same coloring. Justin had big brown eyes though, where Tucker had eyes so blue, they could see right through her. Same height and same build. The two of them together would make any woman lose her heart fast.

"How long have you two been married?" Katrina asked as she sipped from the fluted glass in her hand.

"Not long," she replied, watching Tucker walk away and feeling very intimidated.

Katrina touched her arm. "I, for one, am very glad he's found someone. By the way he looks at you, I would say your husband is very much in love with you. I never thought I'd see the day Tucker Marshall fell in love."

In love? Tucker in love with me? That would be the day.

"We're very happy."

"I can tell," Katrina replied. "Why don't we get you something to drink from the bar? You look like you could use something fortifying."

Jacie liked Katrina already. "Thank you. How can you tell?"

"You look terrified."

"I haven't had to attend anything on this grand scale since my graduation ball."
Oh shit.

Katrina smiled and winked. "I thought you looked like someone of breeding even if you try to hide it. What is your maiden name?"

"Hawkins."

The laugh coming from Katrina's mouth sounded lilting and clear. "I thought you looked familiar. Olivia Hawkins is your sister. Correct?"

"Yeah. My twin in fact." Katrina continued to giggle. "How do you know Olivia?"

"Justin has had business with your parents and I do have to say, they have a very nice place."

"Thank you. I'll tell them next time I see them."

"Make sure you tell Olivia hello for me as well. She's not quite the stuffy sister your other two are."

Jacie couldn't help but smile. What Katrina said about Olivia was the complete truth. Even if her twin wasn't quite the adventurous type Jacie turned out to be, she still didn't quite fit into the Hawkins’ roll of perfect daughter.

"I think it's funny you married Tucker."

"Why?"

"Because he's had such staunch arguments about not getting hooked up with anyone who could possibly be after his money and here he is, married into one of the richest families in Tennessee."

She didn’t realize Tucker had returned to her side until she heard. "Excuse me? What did you say?"

"I told Jacie I thought it hilarious because you were so dead set on not marrying anyone who could be after your money and here you are married into one of the wealthiest families in Tennessee," Katrina repeated.

Jacie couldn't blame her. The other woman had no idea Tucker didn't know who her family was. The grip on her hip tightened and she waited for the explosion to come.

"If you will excuse us. I need to ask my
wife
something," he said to Katrina. "We'll be back in a minute." He guided her away from the crowd and into a corner. "Who is your family, Jacie?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. "What does it matter, Tucker. We aren't really married and have no plans to be."

"Tell me."

"Carl and Dorothy Hawkins."

He raked his fingers through his hair and cussed a blue streak.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes," she whispered, almost afraid of what he would do now that he knew the truth.

"So all this time, I've been worried you might be after my money when you probably have more than me in your own bank account, much less whatever mommy and daddy have. You should have told me you're loaded, Jacie."

"Fuck you, Tucker. I didn't ask you to drag me into this. What my parents have has nothing to do with me. I live on the money I have coming in from my job, not what they have in the bank. Yes, I have a trust fund and it will be mine someday. I don't care about it. I don't want it." She brushed the tears now streaking down her cheeks, away with her fingers. "I'm proud of my small house. I pay my own way without my parents. I asked them for the money for the tires. They refused saying I had to figure out a way out of the mess I was in by myself. I didn't ask for your help."

"I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter anymore." She downed the rest of the champagne in her glass and shoved it into his hands. "You can do this by yourself. You don't need me and I don't need you. Find some other desperate female to be your arm candy. I'm done."

Without another word, she marched across the crowded restaurant and into the lobby of the hotel. Tonight would be the end of the fairytale life she'd lived during the last several days with him. When he returned from this business meeting, she'd find another room somewhere in Vegas, do her rodeo run, and then figure out how the hell she would get her horse home.

* * * *

"Do you want to explain what that was all about?" Katrina asked as he returned to her and Justin's side without Jacie.

"Not really."

"Come on, Tucker. Something is going on. Spill it. We're your friends."

"Fine. Jacie and I aren't really married."

"Okay. So why did you say you were?" Justin asked, slipping his hand behind his wife.

"It's a long story. How about we get this business stuff taken care of, then we'll get a drink. I'll explain then."

The next two hours seemed to drag by. He wanted nothing more than to go upstairs and find Jacie. He needed to talk to her. The future of his heart depended on it. Why he couldn't let her walk away seemed to be a moot point now.

When the business meeting finally concluded, he, Justin and Katrina found a table at the bar. He talked for over an hour, explaining to his friends how he and Jacie met in Oklahoma and their arrangement while they stayed in Vegas.

"I had no idea who her parents were until you said something tonight. I cornered her and asked her about it, but she went on the defensive and stormed out."

Katrina shook her head. "What are you going to do now, Tucker? You can't let her walk out of your life. You're in love with her."

Hearing someone say the words brought it all home. For some weird reason, he loved Jacie, but he didn't think she loved him. Jacie didn't want a man in her life—any man, including him. Yeah, they found happiness in each other's arms each time they made love, but compatibility outside of the bedroom had to be there too.

"I need to talk to her."

"Yes, you do," Justin said. "Believe me, I've been in your shoes and it's not a pleasant place to be. Admitting your feelings for her is a start, but you have to admit them to her and not to us."

"Thanks you two. I'm glad you found each other," he replied. "I need to get upstairs. I'll call you later in the week and we'll get together for dinner or something."

"Sure. Take care of her, Tucker. She's somethin' special," Katrina added with a smile.

He grinned and walked out of the bar.

The door of the hotel room loomed in front of him when he reached their floor. Apprehension slithered down his spine and settled in his gut like a stone.
What do I say? How can I explain this to her?

He exhaled on a sigh and slid the key card into the door. The room was bathed in darkness as he walked in. No lights were on and he wondered if she had even returned to the room. He closed the door softly behind him and moved further inside waiting for his eyes to adjust. The sound reaching his ears tore at his heart. Almost intelligible sobs reached his ears from the darkness near the bed.

He jerked off his jacket and tie before he unbuttoned the first couple of buttons on his shirt. The boots came next and his toes thanked him. When he walked around the partition separating him from Jacie, the sight of her curled up on the bed with her face buried in the pillow tore his heart to shreds. The last thing he wanted to do was make her cry.

The bed dipped with his weight as he lay down beside her and her sobs quieted. "Come here, darlin'."

She hesitated a moment, then launched herself into his arms. "I'm sorry, Tucker. I shouldn't have said those things downstairs. I should have been truthful with you since the beginning about my parents. I knew how distrustful you are about women being after your money, I just didn't want you to think it about me."

"I never once thought like that about you, Jacie. I could tell you didn't have the same mentality of someone after money. You didn't want to make the deal I proposed for your tires, but you couldn't see any other way around it. You didn't want to take the clothes I bought. Hell, the prices on the menu made you gasp. How could a woman who is so unselfish be after my money?" He wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks with his thumb. "Don't cry, baby," he whispered kissing her face, then her lips.