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Something he had overheard his father tell Cactus right after Shane’s mother left kept running through his mind. At first, Carolyn McDermott had loved living on the ranch and hadn’t minded the isolation. But as the years went by, being snowbound for weeks on end and having no neighbors close by had taken its toll and she had come to hate the picturesque valley.
After living on the ranch for a while, would Lissa end up feeling the same way? Would her resentment grow to the point that she left and never looked back?
Unlike his mother, Lissa was from Aspen and well aware of what the weather was like in the Rocky Mountains. But she had lived in California for the past eight years and although she said she missed the winter activities, she also liked living on the beach. After being snowbound a few times, what if she decided she preferred the more temperate climate of Malibu? And what if instead of leaving her child behind as his mother had done, Lissa took their son with her?
Staring at the dark computer screen, Shane drew in a deep breath. He didn’t think Lissa would do that to him. Even before he’d convinced her to let him do the honorable thing and make her his wife, she had told him that arrangements could be made for him to be part of their child’s life.
Rising from the chair, he turned off the desk lamp and left the study to head upstairs. Lissa had told him she wanted to try living on the ranch and that was really all he could ask of her. Only time would tell if her enthusiasm would turn to loathing. As long as he kept that possibility in mind and didn’t allow his fondness for her to develop into a deeper emotion, he should be fine.
Unfortunately, he was finding that harder to keep in check with each passing day. Lissa was quickly becoming an addiction, and one that he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to live without.
Eight
“How was your meeting with the other Jarrod Ridge investors this afternoon?” Melissa asked when Shane stopped by the spa the following afternoon.
“Long and boring as hell.” He chuckled. “At least it was right up until I made my little announcement about our engagement.” Laughing out loud, he shook his head. “You should have seen Elmer Madison’s and Clara Buchanan’s faces.”
“Let’s go into my office and you can tell me all about it,” she suggested, not wanting to talk in front of the spa staff and resort guests.
They had agreed that he would tell the other members of the investment group they were getting married, but decided to wait until after the wedding to let them know about the pregnancy.
Once they entered her office and closed the door, she turned to face him. “Tell me what happened.”
“When Elmer asked if there was any more business we needed to discuss, I stood up and announced that I’d asked you to marry me and that you had said yes.”
He took off his cowboy hat and sailed it over to land on the couch. Then, pulling her against him, he kissed her until she saw stars.
“I—I want…details,” she said, trying to catch her breath when he finally lifted his head. “What could they possibly find wrong with our getting married? You didn’t mention the baby, did you?”
“No, that would have probably sent both of them into outer space.” Shane shook his head. “I think they are both scared to death that, by marrying you, I’ll get in on an investment they won’t.”
“That’s ridiculous.” She frowned. “All investments for special events are done through the group. They can pull out of the group at any time or choose not to support a project, but we offer all investment promotions to the group as a whole, not to individuals.”
“I know, angel.” He shrugged. “It might be they are afraid that once I’m married to you, I’ll start contributing more and end up getting a bigger return on my money. Either that or they’re both a few cards shy of a full deck.” He grinned. “My guess is it’s a little of both.”
“Did they say anything?” She couldn’t imagine what it would be if they had.
“Nope. They didn’t say a word.”
“Then how do you know they had a problem with our getting married?” Maybe Shane had misinterpreted their reaction.
His blue eyes twinkled with humor. “When I said that you and I were getting married, old Elmer turned so red in the face, I thought he might bust that blood vessel that stands out on his forehead whenever he gets upset.”
“What about Clara?” Melissa asked, trying not to laugh at the visual picture Shane was painting. “What was her reaction?”
“She was taking a drink of water and got so choked, I thought I was going to have to perform CPR on her.” He made a face. “I’d rather climb a barbed-wire fence buck naked than put my mouth on hers.”
