Wooing In Wyoming (At The Altar #11)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  It was strange to think that she’d only known Al for two weeks. Very very strange.

  Her phone rang, and she tugged it from her pocket, smiling when she saw the name on the display. “Hey, Dr. Lachele.”

  “It’s your favorite crazy woman calling to make sure your marriage hasn’t fallen apart. How’s everything going, chica?”

  “It’s good. The first few days were awkward, but I think we’ve found our stride.” Erin paused for a moment. “Or we had before we came home from Switzerland.”

  “Okay, tell Dr. Lachele everything. What’s bugging you?” The older woman’s voice was soothing, and it was obvious she was in counseling mode.

  “Did you know he took me to Switzerland for the honeymoon so we could tour chocolate factories, and he could take it as a tax write off?”

  Dr. Lachele laughed. “That’s sounds like Al.”

  Erin sighed. “I haven’t figured out yet if I should be offended or not! And as soon as we got back, he was working. Like within minutes. It was nuts!” She sat down on the bed in the room, wrapping her arm around one knee and curling the other leg around her foot. Beau curled up beside her, and she realized the dog missed Al as much as she did. “I barely see him. He comes home, we eat dinner, and he goes into his office to work. Mealtimes and bed are all I get from him.”

  “At least you’re getting bed. Tell him to cover you in fudge sauce and…” Dr. Lachele laughed. “Oops, did I say that out loud? Sorry…”

  Erin shook her head. “You are not. You said it on purpose to make me blush, and you know it.”

  “Did you blush?”

  “Nope. I expect that nonsense from you, so I refuse to blush.”

  “Well, that takes all the fun out of it for me!” Dr. Lachele laughed for a moment, but then her voice turned serious. “Al’s a really good man, and he’s the right one for you. Give him some time to get over his obsession with work, and I think you’ll have a good marriage.”

  “I sure hope so. I—I’m developing feelings for him already, but he’s always so busy, I feel like he doesn’t even notice me.”

  “I was watching his face at your reception, snickerdoodle. Trust me. He notices you in every way a man should notice his wife.”

  That made Erin smile. “I hope so.”

  “Didn’t I just finish telling you to trust me?”

  Erin laughed. “You’re awfully bossy, you know.”

  “I know. It’s one of my most endearing qualities.”

  Erin shook her head when she realized the phone had gone dead. Dr. Lachele wasn’t much for goodbyes. She tucked the phone back into her pocket and got back to work. She was turning the spare room into an office where she could work. Planning her lessons and grading tests needed to be done somewhere, and this was the perfect place.

  She glanced over at Beau. At least she had him to keep her company.

  *****

  Erin had lunch with her parents on Saturday, because she knew her mother needed to see her. She didn’t have a ton of time, because she wanted all of her things put away before she went to bed that night. Not having to worry about them while she was with her sister Sunday, would allow her to have a much better visit.

  “Do you regret marrying him?” Mom asked, studying her carefully. They were at her favorite barbecue place near the high school. Erin often ate there with Angela.

  “Not at all. He’s a good man.” Erin took a sip of her drink. “How many times have you used your fudge discount?” There was no doubt in her mind her mother had gone to Frank’s Fudge several times while she was in Switzerland.

  Mom grinned, taking a bite of her turkey. “Well, I didn’t say I was disappointed you married him, did I?”

  Dad shook his head. “You’re both more than a little crazy about his fudge. I’ve tried it, and it’s no different than any other fudge I’ve tasted.”

  Erin’s eyes grew wide. “With an attitude like that, you never get to have Frank’s Fudge again. What is your problem?” Cleary Al’s fudge was superior to all other brands. Why couldn’t he taste the difference?

  Mom sighed. “I didn’t realize when I married him that his taste buds were broken. I’m just glad you inherited your sense of taste from me and not from him.”

  “Me too!” Erin forked up another bite of her potato salad. “Al’s a good man. He rented this pretty little chalet with a beautiful view of the mountains in Switzerland, and we had a nice time.” She pointed to her earrings. “And he got me chocolate diamonds for Christmas. What kind of man thinks to get his new wife chocolate diamonds?”

  “A fudge maker, obviously,” Mom said with a grin. “I’m glad he’s a good man. I was really worried about you marrying a stranger and immediately leaving the country with him. I was sure you’d lost your mind. Especially after I met Dr. Lachele. That woman seems like she’s a little bit on the tipsy side…all the time.”

  Erin grinned. “She’s a character, that’s for sure. I really like her. She called last night to see how we’re doing, and she gave me some good advice. I like that she’s following up with me.”

  Dad nodded. “I ran a background check on him while you were gone. No felonies.”

  Erin stared at him in shock. “How’d you do that?”

  “Friend on the police force. He understood that I needed to know what my baby had gotten herself into.”

  “Did you do a background check on Bob?” she asked indignantly. “Megan had only known him for a couple of months when they got married!”

  “Of course, I did. Who do you think you’re talking to? I treat my girls equally. I wouldn’t do a background check on one of your new husbands and not the other. Wouldn’t be right.”

  Erin snorted, somewhat appeased. Megan was actually her half-sister. Mom’s first husband had died when she was barely pregnant. Dad had always treated them exactly the same though. No favoritism for his only biological daughter. “Does Bob have any felonies?”

  “Nope. Do you really think I wouldn’t have dragged Megan home to live with us by now if he did?” Dad shook his head at her. “You know me better than that!”

  She shook her head. “I think we’re both big girls and old enough to take care of ourselves, Dad.”

  “Maybe. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try to keep you on the straight and narrow.”

  “We’d worry there was something wrong if you didn’t.”

  Chapter Nine

  Al got a call just before they were supposed to leave for Culpepper the next morning. “It’s work. I have to take it.” There was apology in his eyes, but that didn’t make Erin feel any better about it.

  She sighed, going to get a bottle of water from the fridge and curling up on the couch with her Kindle, noting that Beau sat beside her, leaning against her. She’d never been one to waste time, and she wasn’t nearly caught up with all the books Jolene Gold had written. The woman seemed to crank out books faster than babies cranked out dirty diapers!

  Five minutes later, Al joined her. “Sorry about that. I’m not taking any more work calls today. I’m all yours.”

  Erin nodded, hating that she was jealous of his work, but she didn’t know how to stop it. “Sounds good.”

  “Are you in the mood for Bob’s burgers?”

  “Always.” She stood up. “I’m glad we’re having a day with no work. It’s time.” Beau looked at her with sad eyes, obviously knowing they were leaving. He hated to be home alone all day. She wished they could take him, but then he’d just be cooped up in the car while they had lunch.

  He sighed. “I know it is. That business has been my everything since Misti moved out. I guess I need to remember that there’s a special woman in my life now.”

  “Or you could just keep ignoring me…I’m getting used to that!”

  “I don’t ignore you!” He shook his head. “I’m trying to get things sorted out so I can spend less time worrying about work and more time with you.”

  “That would be wonderful.” Erin started to say more, but
she stopped herself. She couldn’t take out her frustration on him. He wasn’t really doing anything wrong. “We need to go. I wanted to be out of here ten minutes ago.”

  “Let’s go then. Am I driving?”

  “If you wouldn’t mind!”

  “You’ll have to give me directions, but I don’t mind driving.” He preferred it, but he didn’t say so. He didn’t want her to take it wrong. He’d dated a girl once, and she had assumed he didn’t trust women drivers, but truthfully, he just preferred to always be the driver. He wasn’t about to go down that road with his new wife. He wasn’t a stupid man.

  “Do you want me to grab you a bottle of water for the road?”

  “That’d be nice.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, kissing her. “I am sorry about all the business calls. I didn’t realize how many I got until we got married.”

  “It’s good to be aware of these things.” Erin bit her lip against what she wanted to say. She’d never considered herself a jealous woman, but she was very jealous of all the time he spent working.

  When they reached Culpepper, they picked Megan and Bob up and drove to the restaurant. Kari, Bob’s manager, greeted them. “Hey there, Megan. How are you feeling?”

  Megan patted her stomach with a grin. “My little future burger-eater is content as can be!”

  “Glad to hear it! No morning sickness?”

  “Nah. I had some at first, but I’m fine now. Bob had a talk with him.”

  Kari laughed. “And this is your sister…Erika?”

  “Erin,” Megan told her. “But close.”

  “Good to see you again, Erin.” Kari led them to a booth off to one side. “I’ll get some fried cheese curds for the table. Drinks?”

  Megan grinned at her sister after Kari had walked away. “The best thing about being married to the owner of the place is everyone bends over backward to make me happy.”

  Erin nodded. “That would be a plus.” She handed the bag with Frank’s Fudge emblazoned on the side to her sister. “I haven’t checked out what he brought, but Al made you a box.”

  Megan immediately opened the bag and pulled out a large box. “This should last at least a week. Thank you, Al!” She opened it and looked at the pieces inside. “This is amazing. There must be eight different flavors here!”

  “Twelve,” Al responded. “And if you pick up a piece, I labeled what kind it is under each one.” He’d gone to extra trouble for her, but she was Erin’s sister.

  Megan looked at her sister with a grin. “You should have married him years ago.”

  Bob rolled his eyes. “She used to love only me, because of my burgers. Now I think she’s half in love with her own brother-in-law, because of his chocolate. Have you noticed yet the women in this family are obsessed with food?”

  Al smiled at Erin. “I’ve noticed my wife is obsessed with chocolate, and I heartily approve.” He squeezed Erin’s hand under the table. “It’s what gives her skin that healthy glow.”

  Bob looked at Megan. “You told me it was pregnancy!”

  Megan laughed. “The pregnancy cravings cause more chocolate consumption. They’re linked!”

  Once they’d finished eating, Bob took Al back to show him the kitchen and talk a little business. “Do you think they’ll talk about anything other than chocolate and burgers back there?” Erin asked Megan.

  Megan shook her head. “When Bob starts talking business, there’s no stopping him. What about Al?”

  “Same. I swear, I think he forgets that I exist when a business call comes in.”

  Megan nodded. “It used to annoy me about Bob, but I realized I’m the same with my business calls. I’ll get a call from someone wanting to see a house, and nothing exists until I finish that phone call.”

  “I’m not like that, but maybe it’s because I’m a teacher? It’s not like my students call me.”

  “Maybe. Does it really bother you that much?”

  Erin sighed. “I didn’t think it would, but it does. I feel like he’s choosing his work over me, and I want to come first.”

  “I think you do. Has he taken any calls today?”

  “Yeah. He got one just before we left, and he promised he wouldn’t take any more today.” Erin shook her head. “He even works Saturdays. We only have one day a week together.”

  “Does he have a choice about working Saturdays?”

  “I don’t know. We’ve never really discussed it.”

  “Maybe you should. There may be a perfectly good reason he needs to work on Saturdays. I’m sure he’s not doing it to avoid you or anything!”

  Erin frowned at her sister. “It never occurred to me he was avoiding me until you mentioned it. Thanks, Megan!” Now it would play in her mind over and over. Dang it!

  Megan shook her head with a laugh. “You know that’s not what I think.”

  Erin sighed. “I need to just get over it. He runs a business. I guess I just keep comparing him to Dad. Dad has always run a business, but he made sure he had time for his family too. Is it too much to ask that Al do the same?”

  “Dad’s business was established for a few years before he met Mom. We don’t know what it was like in the early days, do we?”

  “I guess not. I’m just grumpy. It’s no fun being a newlywed all by myself!”

  “Have you talked to that crazy purple-haired doctor woman about it?” Megan asked. “Maybe she has some insight.”

  “Actually I talked to her on Friday night. She didn’t really have any insight, but she told me to stick with him, and it’ll get better.”

  “Is Jean really going to do the same thing you did? Meet a man at the altar?”

  Erin smiled, nodding. “She is. Jean’s so serious and straight-laced. It’s hard to believe she’ll really go through with it, but she made me promise to be there for her wedding.”

  “If Al doesn’t want to go, you’ll have to take me as your date!”

  “Why?” Erin asked, frowning.

  “Because I want to see how nervous she gets. I mean, you seemed nervous, but I think Jean will be crawling up the walls, she’ll be so freaked out.”

  “You have a mean streak, Megan. Has anyone ever told you that?”

  Megan shrugged. “You’ve told me about thirty-thousand times over the years. I can’t help it! I was born this way!”

  Bob and Al came back to the booth then, sliding in next to their wives. “How soon do you think you can have the fudge here?” Bob asked.

  Erin looked at her sister and rolled her eyes dramatically.

  “I can have some here by next weekend. In fact, Erin and I will deliver it personally. Erin could use some more sister time, I think.”

  Bob nodded. “I know Megan would like that. You should drive down after work on Saturday. We’ve got a spare room that hasn’t yet been turned into a nursery.”

  Al nodded. “That sounds good. We’ll do that.”

  By the time Al and Erin left Culpepper that afternoon, the men were fast friends. As Erin hugged her sister goodbye, she nodded at her husband. “I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.”

  Megan grinned. “I’d complain, but I don’t think it would do any good.”

  Erin wrinkled her nose. “Brat.”

  “Only those who know me best would ever call me that!”

  On the way back to Laramie, Erin looked over at Al. “I’m glad you and Bob hit it off. Will make family gatherings easier.”

  Al nodded. “I hope you and Misti get along just as well.”

  “I’m sure we will. We had a little time to talk at the reception, and she seems really sweet. And I adored little Kristi and Tristi.”

  “I told her those names were stupid, but she wouldn’t listen to me.”

  Erin looked at him with surprise. “If I have a son, his name will be Darren. I love rhyming names.”

  He groaned. “Are you kidding me? What if it’s a girl?”

  “Sally, and we’ll call her Sal.”

  “Don’t turn me into
one of those! I beg of you!”

  She smiled happily. If he didn’t like it, then she wouldn’t really do it. But she would torment him with the possibilities for as long as she could. It would make her happy. “We don’t even know yet if we can have kids.”

  “Why wouldn’t we be able to?” The possibility had never even occurred to him. They were both healthy. Kids were inevitable in his mind.

  She shrugged. “I’ve had some friends who were never able to conceive. It happens.”

  “But there’s nothing that makes you worry we can’t have kids, right?”

  “No, there’s nothing wrong with me, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Good.”

  She was silent for a moment, wondering if he’d want to end their marriage if she couldn’t have kids. Finally, she just asked him point blank. “Will you divorce me if I can’t have kids?”

  Al felt a shock run through his body. How could she even ask that? Didn’t she know what she meant to him? They’d only been married two weeks, and already she meant the world to him. “Of course not!”

  “Good. I just had to be sure.”

  He decided then that he needed to tell her he loved her, because it was true. But he didn’t want it to be something he said while they were kissing or in bed together. She hadn’t gotten a spectacular proposal from him, so she deserved a perfect declaration of love—something she’d always remember. He wasn’t sure yet what it would be…but he was going to make it happen.

  *****

  As the days passed, Erin felt like she and Al were drifting further and further apart. They had the kind of marriage she’d expected when she planned to meet a man and marry him. Not the kind of marriage she’d come to expect during their honeymoon in Switzerland.

  They’d been married around six weeks when she once again decided to eat in her classroom, and she didn’t invite Angela to join her. She needed some time to think. Her friend surprised her by showing up anyway.

  “What’s your deal lately? You seem to get sadder and sadder. You’re almost as bad as you were after Randall died.”

  Erin shrugged. “I don’t mean to seem sad.”