Authors: Linda Howard
Breathing swiftly, only inches apart, they stared at each other. His expression was hard and sensual, his eyes dilated with arousal, his lips still gleaming from the moisture of their kiss. He was bending back toward her when another call for her flight stopped him, and he slowly released her.
Her entire body ached for him. She waited, hoping he would say the words that would keep her there, but instead he said, “You'd better go. You'll miss your flight.”
She couldn't speak. She nodded instead and walked away on shaky legs. She didn't look back. It was bad form for a grown woman to howl like an infant, and that was what she was very much afraid she would do if she gave in to the need to see him for even a split second.
She had gotten off the plane in Billings feeling confident and alive with anticipation. She left twenty-four hours later feeling shattered.
R
OBERT MET HER
plane in New York, which told Madelyn how worried he'd been. She gave him a parody of a smile and saw his pale eyes sharpen as he immediately read her distress. The smile wobbled and collapsed, and she walked into his arms. She didn't cry; she didn't let herself cry, but her chest heaved with convulsive breaths as she fought for control.
“I'll kill him,” Robert said in a very soft, almost gentle tone.
Madelyn shook her head and took one more deep breath so she could talk. “He was a perfect gentleman. He's a hard-working, salt-of-the-earth type, and he said I wasn't suitable for the job.”
He rocked her gently back and forth. “And that hurt your ego?”
She raised her head and managed a real smile this time, though it was just as wobbly as the first. “No, I think he managed to break my heart.”
Robert gave her a searching look, reading the expression in her bottomless gray eyes. “You don't fall in love in one day.”
“Sometimes you don't, sometimes you do. He didn't feel the same way, so it's something I have to live with.”
“Maybe it's just as well.” Keeping his arm around her shoulders, he guided her toward the entrance. “I investigated himâI know, you told me not to,” he added warily as he saw the menacing look she gave him. “But he would be a tough man for any woman to live with. He's understandably bitter about the raw deal he got in his divorceâ”
“I know,” she said. “He told me about it.”
“Then you know that any woman he marries will have a cold marriage. He's still carrying a lot of anger inside him.”
“I saw the ranch. He has reason to be angry.”
“His ex-wife and her family took him to the cleaners. I've dealt with themâcautiously. You have to be careful when you wade into a pool of barracudas.”
“I'd like for you to ruin them financially, if you can, please,” she said in the manner of a socialite idly asking for another glass of champagne.
“That won't give him back what he lost.”
“No, but I'm vindictive enough that I want to see them get what they deserve.”
“You don't have a vindictive bone in your body.”
“Yes I do,” she said in the same gentle tone he occasionally used, the one that made smart people back away.
He kissed her hair and hugged her closer. “So what are you going to do now?”
“Carry on, I suppose.” She shrugged. “There's nothing else I can do.”
Robert looked at her, wryly admiring her resilience. Madelyn was a trouper; she always carried on. Sometimes she needed a crutch for a while, but in the end she
stood upright again and continued on her own. Reese Duncan had to be a lot of man to have gotten to her this way.
T
WO WEEKS LATER
, Reese got back into his truck after seeing his latest visitor, Juliet Johnson, off on the bus. He cursed and slammed his fist against the steering wheel, then lit a cigarette and began smoking it with fast, furious puffs.
This had all been a damn waste of time and money. The schoolteacher, Dale Quillan, had taken a good hard look at the isolation of the ranch and politely told him she wasn't interested. Miss Johnson, on the other hand, had been willing to take on the job, but he couldn't bring himself to make the offer. That was the sourest woman he'd ever met, humorless and disapproving of almost everything she saw. He'd imagined her as the family-oriented type, since she had sacrificed her life to care for her invalid mother, but now he figured she had been more of a cross than a blessing to the poor woman. She had informed him tartly that she would be willing to perform her duties by him once they were sanctified by marriage, but she hoped he didn't plan on a lot of foolish shenanigans because she didn't believe in such. Reese had told her just as sharply that he believed she could rest easy on that score.
Three applicants. One he wouldn't have, one wouldn't have him, and the other was all wrong for the job.
Madelyn. Long, beautiful legs. Silky blond hair and deep gray eyes. A soft mouth and a taste like honey. What would ranch life do to someone that elegant and unprepared?
But he'd spent two weeks turning his bed into a
shambles every night because his frustrated body wouldn't let him sleep, and when he did manage to sleep he dreamed about her and woke up in even worse shape than when he'd dozed off. His loins ached, his temper was frayed, and he was smoking twice as much as normal. Damn her for being more than he wanted, or could afford.
She had clung to him and kissed him with such a fiery response that he hadn't been able to sleep at all that night, but she'd walked away from him without a backward glance. If she'd turned around just once, if she'd shown the least reluctance to go, he might have weakened and asked her to stay, but she hadn't. She'd even wished him good luck in finding a wife. It didn't sound as if his rejection had wounded her too badly.
He could have kept her. It drove him half-wild to know that she would have stayed if he'd asked her, that they could have been married by now. She would be lying under him every night, and the bed might get torn up, but it wouldn't be out of frustration.
No. She was too much like April. If he ever let her get her claws into him, she would rip him to shreds even worse than April had done, because even in the beginning he'd never been as hot to have April as he was to have Madelyn. She was used to city life, and though she'd appeared to like Montana and the ranch, the real test was living through a winter here. She'd never make it.
He ground out the cigarette and lit another, feeling the smoke burn his throat and lungs.
Fury and frustration boiled over. He got out of the truck and strode to a pay phone. A call to Information got her number. This was probably another waste of time; at this time of day she'd be at work, but he was
driven by an urgency he bitterly resented and was still unable to resist.
He punched in her number, and an operator came on the line to tell him how much money to deposit. He dug in his pocket for change, swearing under his breath when he saw he didn't have enough.
“Sir, please deposit the correct amount.”
“Just a minute.” He got out his wallet and flipped through the papers until he found his telephone credit card and read off the account number to the operator. He hadn't used the card in seven years, so he hoped it was still good.
Evidently it was, because the operator said, “Thank you,” and he heard the electronic beeps as the call went through.
It rang three times; then there was a click as the receiver was picked up and that warm, faintly raspy voice said, “Hello.”
“Madelyn.”
There was a pause; then she said, “Yes. Reese?”
“Yes.” He stopped as a truck roared by, waiting until he could hear again. “You've been out here and seen what it's like. Are you willing to marry me?”
The pause this time was longer, and his fist tightened on the receiver until he thought the plastic might crack under the pressure. Finally she said, “The other two didn't work out?”
“No. What's your answer?”
“Yes,” she said calmly.
He closed his eyes as the almost unbearable tension eased. God, he might be making a mistake as bad as the one he'd made with April, but he had to have her. “You'll have to sign a prenuptial agreement giving up all rights to the property I own prior to marriage and
waiving any right to alimony or a lump sum settlement in case of divorce.”
“All right. That's a mutual agreement, isn't it? What's yours remains yours and what's mine remains mine?”
Irritation lashed at him. “Of course.”
“Fine, then.”
“I want a certification from a doctor that you're in good health.”
“All right. I require a certification from
your
doctor, as well.”
The irritation threatened to become rage, but he held it in control. She had as much right to be reassured about his health as he did to be reassured about hers. Sexually transmitted diseases didn't stop at the Montana border, and AIDS wasn't the only concern people should have.
“I want the wedding within two weeks. When can you get out here?”
“How long is the waiting period?”
“Five days, I think. I'll have to check. Can you get here next week?”
“I think so. Give me your number and I'll call you.”
He recited his phone number; then silence crackled along the line. He said, “I'll see you next week.”
Another pause. Then, “Yes. I'll see you then. 'Bye.”
He said goodbye and hung up, then leaned against the booth for a minute, his eyes closed. He'd done it. He'd asked her to marry him against all common sense, but this time he would protect himself and the ranch. He'd have her, but he'd keep her at a distance, and all the legal documents would keep the ranch safe.
He lit another cigarette and coughed as the acrid smoke stung his raw throat. In his mind's eye he saw
her incredulous face when she'd looked at him and said, “
You smoke
?” He took the cigarette out of his mouth and looked at it; he'd smoked for years, and usually enjoyed it, but he'd been smoking too much lately.
You smoke?
Swearing again, he put out the cigarette. As he strode angrily back to the truck he passed a trash barrel, and without giving himself time to think he tossed the cigarette pack into it. He was still swearing as he got into the truck and started it. For a few days he was going to be in the mood to wrestle grizzlies, and he didn't look forward to it.
M
ADELYN SLOWLY REPLACED
the receiver, numb with shock. She couldn't believe he'd called. She couldn't believe she'd said she would marry him. She couldn't believe anything about their conversation. It had to be the most unromantic, businesslike,
insulting
proposal on record. And she'd still said yes. Yes! A thousand times
yes
!
She had to be in Montana in a week. She had a million things to do: get packed, get the apartment closed up, say goodbye to all her friendsâand have a physical, of course. But all she could do right now was sit, her thoughts whirling.
She had to be practical. It was obvious Reese wasn't giving the marriage much of a chance, even though he was going into it for his own reasons. She wondered why the other two hadn't worked out, because he'd been so adamant that she was wrong for the job. But he wanted her, she knew, remembering that kiss at the airport and the way he'd looked at her. She wanted him, more than she'd ever thought it was possible to want a man, both physically and emotionally, but was that
enough to hold together a relationship when they were faced with the day-in, day-out routine that marriage entailed? Would she still love him when he had a cold and was grouchy, or yelled at her for something that wasn't her fault? Would he still want her after he'd seen her without makeup, stumbling around in the morning with uncombed hair, or when she was in a bad mood, too?
Looking at it clearly, she decided that she should ask the doctor about birth control pills while she was there. If everything worked out and they decided to have children, it would be easy to go off the Pill, but what a mess it would be if she got pregnant right away and then the marriage fell apart. It was something she would already have discussed with Reese if their situation had been a normal one, but nothing about this was normal.
She was making a complete change in her life, from urban to rural, from single to marriage, all without really knowing the man she was marrying. She didn't know his favorite foods or colors, his moods, how he would react to any given situation; all she really knew about him was that his store of miscellaneous knowledge rivaled hers, and that she responded more violently to him than anyone she'd ever met before. She was definitely following her heart here, and not her head.
Reese would want the marriage ceremony to be conducted with as little fuss as possible, before a magistrate or a justice of the peace. She didn't mind that, but she made up her mind that Robert would be there, and her friend Christine. They could be the witnesses, rather than two strangers.
Robert was less than thrilled with the news, as she had expected. “I know you fell for him, but shouldn't you give this more time? You've met him once. Or did
you get to know him
really
well during that one meeting?”
“I told you, he was a perfect gentleman.”
“Ah, but were you a perfect lady?”
“I'm good at whatever I do, but I've never claimed to be perfect.”
His eyes twinkled, and he leaned over to pinch her cheek. “You're determined to have this man, aren't you?”
“He gave me this chance, and I'm taking it before he changes his mind. Oh yes, we're getting married now if I have to kidnap him.”
“He may be in for a surprise,” Robert mused. “Does he know about that bulldog stubbornness you hide behind that lazy walk and talk?”
“Of course not. Give me some credit. He'll learn about that in due time, after we're married.” She smiled that sweet smile.