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“It’s too soon—”
“Yeah, I get that. But it’s been three weeks. How long do you think will help? Six weeks? Six months? Time is one thing we don’t have. You said it yourself the other day. We can’t do this to Zach. We need to get married.”
“We can cut it off—”
“No, bullshit. I’m not staying away from you and you’re not leaving. I’m non-negotiable on those points.”
“So, you’re telling me my only choice is marriage?” She raised an eyebrow as if humoring him, but she shifted restlessly and he could feel the nervous tension she was trying to hide.
“That’s what I’m telling you.” He spread his fingers wide over her supple skin, preventing her from moving away from him.
As she stared up at him, the apprehension on her face easy to read, laughter floated on the air, coming from the living room. The sound of Zach’s amusement was easily identifiable, and Janet’s features softened as she heard it. And Jeff was ruthless enough to use his son against her. “I need help with my kid, baby. You’re so good with him.”
She licked her lips as if tempted. “But marriage,” she dropped her eyes. “We’re not in love.”
“No, we’re not, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work. In fact, going in, we could have an agreement, we could be a team. You and me. It’ll be so good, baby. You’ll have a job in the marriage, and I’ll have mine.”
She swallowed, staring up at him. “And just to clarify,” she cleared her throat, “My job would be the house, the kids, and—”
“Yeah, and sleeping in my bed. That’s it. I’ll take care of the rest. I’ll make the money, I’ll keep expanding the ranch—”
“Expanding it?” she asked, her jaw dropping.
“Yeah.”
“It’s huge already,” she exclaimed.
“Nah. I’ve got twenty-four sections. I want more.”
She looked troubled. “How much is a section?”
“Six hundred and forty acres.”
“So, you’ve got—” she stalled as she began multiplying in her head.
“A little over fifteen thousand acres,” he answered.
“That’s huge!”
“No, I want more,” he repeated.
She studied him warily as if worried he’d gone off the deep end. “Why? How much will be enough?”
“Enough land?” he asked, not entirely understanding her question.
“Yeah.”
“There’s no such thing. Not in my mind. I’ll keep trying to acquire more land until the day I die.”
As she continued to silently study him with an edge of worry, he said, “It’s a bad habit. So sue me.”
“But why?”
“Look, we’ve gotten a little off track here. What can I say? I like land. It gives me satisfaction, that’s the only way I can explain it. But since we’re on topic, you need to know going in that you’re going to sign a pre-nup.”
She shrugged her shoulders as if unconcerned but began shaking her head. “Whatever. That’s the least of my worries.”
“So, what’s the most of your worries?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s that you seem to think you have the supreme right to control me. Maybe it’s because you’re jealous for no reason. Or maybe it’s the fact that I’m aligning myself with someone I don’t know very well, who only wants to marry me so he can sleep with me?”
He felt a stab of satisfaction blending with a bolt of humor, one side of his mouth tipping up. “Is that a yes?”
She paused a moment before answering. “It’s not a no. I’ll let you know by Monday.”
He leaned down and kissed her. Feeling the desire she couldn’t hide, he took a deep breath as he forced himself to release her.
For whatever reason, he wasn’t too worried.
****
Immediately after the school bus picked Zach up on Monday morning, Jeff seemed to waste no time, as if taking her consent for granted. “We’re losing daylight. Courthouse opens at eight. Get ready.”
Get ready? Well, that was damn romantic. So, he just expected her to fold and agree to his plans? And was she agreeing? Not to mention the fact that getting Hannah ready to go anywhere usually took an act of Congress, and it wasn’t something that could be ‘hurried.’
So, this was it. Her moment of reckoning. But was it really? Applying for a marriage license wasn’t the same as actually getting married. Wouldn’t this give her at least three more days to make a real decision?
Jeff paced as she began preparing a small bag with the necessities that any trip required, a bottle, diapers and wipes. As she moved around the room, his eyes seemed to track her movements before he slowly exhaled and then leaned against the wall, continuing to watch her, almost like he was savoring the moment.
As she began to put on some basic make-up, he stood to his full height and followed her into her bathroom. “What the hell are you doing now?”
“Putting on make-up?” Trying to delay the inevitable? Trying to delay a bit more while her brain caught up and stopped her from doing something so ill-advised?
“What for? We’re applying for a license, not doing the deed.”
Well, that was true—and the only reason she was being so amenable about this. She gave him a dirty look but she did try to speed up a bit as nothing within her psyche was putting the brakes on. Come on, sanity, kick in!
But it didn’t happen, and forty-five minutes later, holding Hannah to her chest as Jeff ushered her inside the imposing Courthouse building, she ran smack dab into a tall, slim deputy sheriff as Jeff held open the door.
The man’s hands fell to her shoulders, steadying her. “Whoa. You all right, ma’am?” the officer asked.
Jeff’s hand fell to the side of her neck where he pulled her backwards, out of the reach of the other man, although he spoke congenially enough. “Thompson. How’s it going?”
The deputy studied her curiously before snapping his gaze to the man who held her all but shackled to his side. “Good, McIntyre, you?” the lawman answered slowly and succinctly, as if wanting information about her.
Jeff was completely silent on the subject, giving no introduction or explanation as the other man held the door for them to enter, although he paused and offered the lawman his hand. As the other man enclosed it in a firm grip, Jeff drawled, “Voted for you in the early polls, man. Good luck.”
The lawman briefly tipped his hat in thanks and after he’d left the building and they’d entered it, Janet asked Jeff, “What was that all about?”
“Nothing. Thompson is running for sheriff, that’s all. He’s a good man—went to school with him.”
With that, Jeff escorted her to the correct office and twenty minutes later, after showing their documentation, she and Jeffrey McIntyre had a license to get married, a license that was good for ninety days.
****
After they got back from town, Jeff went out to his barn office and phoned his attorney, catching his lawyer up on the situation, and the speed in which it had happened.
“And you want the pre-nup by when?” the other man asked.
“We’re getting married on Friday. Before then.”
“We can have it ready by Wednesday afternoon, barring any unforeseen circumstances.”
“Everything’s on the up and up. You won’t find any issues,” Jeff stated, damn glad getting the paperwork done wouldn’t be a problem.
“What about her child?” his lawyer asked.
“What about her?”
“Are you planning on petitioning the court for adoption?” the other man questioned.
Jeff hadn’t once thought about the matter, but now that it had been brought to his attention—yeah, he wanted to adopt Hannah. “Yes.”
