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She felt sick. Had they gone to all this trouble to lose because they were too far from a bed store? “Do we have time to get to Rapid?” She knew the answer to this, but she hoped Gunner had some insider knowledge, knew about some local wormhole or something.
Gunner glanced at his dash. “No, since we’ll have to get all the beds into the house and up the stairs, and we’ll probably have to put the frames together. CPS probably wouldn’t be impressed if we just throw mattresses on the floor.”
She was sure they’d seen worse. “I’ve never been so happy to have Bull around,” she said.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Is Bull good at putting bed frames together?” He sounded completely serious.
“I have no idea, but I meant that I could see him hoisting a mattress onto each shoulder and taking the stairs two at a time.”
Now he looked at her squarely. “Don’t go sounding too impressed with Bull’s physical strength.”
Despite her stress, she laughed. It didn’t make her feel less stressed, though. “Are you jealous already, husband?”
He narrowed his eyes at her, and she thought he was trying to be playful, but if she didn’t know him the little that she did, the expression would have been fearsome. No wonder Priscilla had been scared of him.
“Don’t worry,” she said, “it never occurred to me to value a man according to how many mattresses he could carry up the stairs.”
“You know now that I have to outdo him in this mattress contest no matter how many hernias it earns me, right?”
“Please don’t. I think we have enough to worry about right now without adding hernia care.”
“I’ll wear one of those weightlifting belts.” When she didn’t laugh, he added, “Sorry, I have no idea what they’re called. I’ve never lifted weights before.” He paused and then mumbled, “At least not on purpose.” He heaved a big sigh. “So, what do we need? Just three basic twin beds?”
Something churned in her stomach. “I think so, and I had another thought ...” She tried to think of a way to express it without making him uncomfortable.
“Are you going to share it with me?” He didn’t sound impatient, only curious.
She took a long breath. “Sure. I was just thinking that if we’re trying to convince her that we’re really married ...”
“Then we shouldn’t buy you a bed,” he tried to finish her sentence.
That hadn’t been what she was thinking. She would never ask him to buy her a bed. “Actually, I was thinking that we should try to make it look like a woman hangs out in your bedroom. I mean, I’ve never been in your bedroom, but I’m assuming it doesn’t look like a woman lives there.”
He groaned. “I’m not sure how we’re going to pull that off in the next few hours.”
“Me neither, but you know part of a good marriage is the ability to problem solve.”
“Oh yeah?” He didn’t sound convinced.
“I mean, that’s what I’ve heard anyway. What color is your bedspread?”
He groaned again. “I don’t actually have a bedspread. And I really don’t ever want you to see the blanket that I use. It’s older than I am.”
“So maybe we start with a pink blanket.” She looked at him. “Does the bed store sell comforters?”
He sighed. “I have no idea. Do we need pink curtains too?”
She giggled. “Maybe. Do you have two nightstands?”
He shook his head and groaned for the third time in two minutes. Or maybe it was just a continuation of the second groan. “We’re going to need to rent a trailer.”
“Does the bed store sell trailers?”
He really laughed at that one, which she hoped made him feel better.
Buildings came into view, signaling the edge of town. “What side of town is the store on?”
“The wrong one.” He accelerated, though they were approaching a reduced speed zone. She silently prayed that they wouldn’t get stopped for speeding. They didn’t have the time. And she was afraid that after Gunner bought three beds, a comforter, and curtains, then he might not be able to afford a speeding ticket. “Maybe we can push the bed against the wall. Then it will look like we only need one.”
