The Great Texas Wedding Bargain

by Judy Christenberry

  “Yeah, if we’ve got a fair judge.” Mac blew out a suppressed breath.

  “Give me his name and I’ll see what I can do,” Rick said.

  “Rick, I can’t be a party to bribery or—”

  Grinning, Rick reassured Mac. “I’m not going to do anything illegal. I’m just going to let some people know I’ll be there, and make sure there’ll be some attention paid to what happens.”

  Mac gave him the name.

  “Can I use the phone here? I don’t want to make the calls from the house.”

  Mac offered him Alex’s office. She wasn’t in this morning.

  After Rick left the room, Cal looked at Mac. “Will that do any good?”

  “Depends on how interested those people will be in Rick’s business. What did he do before he came here?”

  “He’s never said. I assumed he worked on a ranch. He’s pretty knowledgeable.”

  “I know he grew up on a farm, but—he did have a tux for the wedding.”

  Cal frowned. “Damn. I’m supposed to be the observant one. That would be unusual for a cowboy, wouldn’t it?”

  Mac nodded.

  “Maybe I should’ve done a little investigating about him, but he’s a friend now. I’d feel funny looking into his background.”

  “Yeah.”

  As they sat there, thinking about the situation, the door opened and Rick reappeared.

  “Did you do any good?” Mac asked.

  “Maybe. The mayor plans to be in the courtroom Monday. He knows the Moody family. Doesn’t care for them much. Said he’d make sure the press picked up on it.”

  “Good.” Mac didn’t say anything else, but he looked worried.

  “What?” Rick asked.

  “Damn, it’s awkward to ask, but…but why would the mayor care?”

  Rick slumped down in the nearest chair, his lips pressed tightly together. He’d known the time would come when he had to reveal his past. But he’d been enjoying his anonymity.

  Finally, he lifted his head and stared at Mac. “Have you ever heard of CAP Computers?”

  Cal frowned, but Mac nodded at once. “Of course. It’s a major computer company out of Austin. The guy who started it sold it last year for a few billion,” he said, grinning.

  “Yeah.” Rick didn’t say anything else.

  Cal and Mac stared at him. Finally, Cal said, “That was you?”

  He nodded.

  “Damn, man, what are you doing chasing ornery cows?” Cal demanded.

  “I could ask you the same question, Cal. You’ve got a job. I know the oil money your family has makes working unnecessary. And you, too, Mac.”

  Both men nodded.

  Rick pulled out his billfold and extracted a business card. Handing it to Mac, he said, “Send any bills to this man. They’ll be paid.” Before Mac could respond, Rick continued, “I need both of you to keep quiet about this. Even to your wives. I don’t want anyone to know.”

  “What about Megan? Does she know?”

  Rick shook his head, his lips pressed tightly together. “No. And it’s important she doesn’t find out.”

  MEGAN HAD Torie dressed in tiny blue jeans, a pink T-shirt and sneakers, her blond hair in a ponytail, bobbing with every movement.

  “Where are we going?” the child asked.

  “Rick is going to take us for a ride,” Megan explained for the tenth time.

  “When?”

  “He should be here any minute,” Megan said again. “Why don’t you go watch cartoons? I’ll call you when he gets here.”

  “I’m hungry.”

  Megan sighed. “Okay, get in your chair. You can have two cookies and a glass of milk. But that’s all.”

  Torie chuckled. “You sound just like Mom—” She stopped, confusion and sadness in her gaze. “Why did Mommy go away?”

  Megan poured the milk and carried it to the table with a plate of cookies before she answered. “Mommy died, Torie. Remember, we talked about it? She’s in heaven with the angels. She’d come back if she could because she loved you very much.”

  “Did she love Drew?”

  “Of course she did.”

  “Did she love Daddy?”

  Tricky question. “She did, once. But Daddy…changed. He was mean to you. Mommy didn’t like that. Remember? That’s why you all moved in with Grandma.”

  “I ’member. I was glad.”

  “Eat your cookies, sweetie. I think I hear Rick coming.”

  After taking a bite, Torie asked, “Will I like it?”

  “Don’t talk with your mouth full. Will you like what?”

  “Where we’re going?”

  “Yes, I think you will.”

  To Megan’s relief, the backdoor opened and Rick walked in.

  “Morning, ladies.”

  Torie giggled. “I’m not a lady.”

  “Yes, you are. You’re a special lady ’cause you’ve got cookies.” He leaned close and pretended to take a bite of Torie’s cookie. She shrieked and pressed her half-eaten cookies against her chest.

  Megan laughed at their playing. “There’s more cookies for you, Rick.” Without waiting for his approval, she placed several on a plate for him.

  “Thanks, but we’ve got to get moving. I’ve got a lot of work to do this afternoon.”

  “Have you been in town all morning?” she asked, wondering what had been so important. When he looked at her as if she was prying, she hurried to say, “I just wondered.”

  “Yeah.”

  His terse response didn’t encourage any further questions. Fine. If he wanted to have secrets, he could. She didn’t care. Much.

  “Ready, Torie?” Rick asked, taking two cookies in his hand and standing.

  “Yep, I’m ready. What for?”

  Rick knelt beside the little girl’s chair, pulling it from the table so she could get down. “Ready to go get your puppy.”

  There was no holding Torie still after that. She threw her arms around Rick’s neck as she slid from the chair, almost knocking him over. After squeezing his neck tightly, she broke loose and ran around the room, repeating “Puppy! Puppy!” over and over again.

  Before Megan could corral her, she suddenly darted to the kitchen door and ran up the stairs. “Grandma! Grandma! I’m going to get a puppy.”

  “Torie!” Megan called, hurrying up after her.

  Before she could catch Torie, she heard Drew’s cry. She was too late. Torie had awakened her brother from his morning nap.

  Megan calmed the little boy and came down a couple of minutes later, carrying Drew, Torie close behind. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

  “I suspect it’s my fault. I didn’t know she’d get so excited. Are we taking Drew, too?”

  “If you don’t mind. Mom can fix lunch and have it ready when we get back. With Drew up, it would be harder to do.”

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  A HALF HOUR later, Megan discovered just how patient Rick could be.

  Torie had clapped her hands and hugged every puppy at the Jones ranch several times. The puppies, delighted with a new playmate, had jumped up and licked her face over and over again.

  Still, Torie hadn’t made her selection.

  “Sweetie, you have to choose which puppy you want to take home,” Megan urged. “We can’t take any more of Mr. Jones’s time.”

  Torie giggled as another puppy licked her. But she proved she’d heard her aunt. Putting a finger to her rosebud lips, she said, “I want flower.”

  Rick squatted down. “Flower?”

  “That one,” Torie said, pointing to the smallest puppy.

  “That’s the runt of the litter,” Herk Jones warned.

  “He looks healthy,” Rick ventured.

  “She is. But she won’t get as big as the others. Won’t make a good huntin’ dog.”

  “Perfect,” Rick assured the man. “The dog is a pet for Torie.”

  “Well, I reckon the runt won’t cost as much,” the older man said, rubbing his chin.
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br />   Megan jerked her head up. Rick was paying for the dog? She’d assumed Mr. Jones was giving them the puppy.

  She couldn’t see how much Rick paid the man, so she made a note to ask him later.

  Torie gathered the puppy she’d chosen, squeezing it against her chest. Even though it was the smallest puppy, it was almost too big for the little girl to carry.

  Rick bent down and scooped girl and dog into his arms. “Ready?”

  “Yes, Flower and me are ready. Thank you, Mr. Man,” she said over her shoulders to Mr. Jones.

  The man grinned and waved them off.

  Once both children were buckled into their seats, with the trembling puppy sitting between them, they set off for home.

  Megan couldn’t help smiling at the antics of the puppy and the two children in the backseat. Drew was as enthusiastic as Torie, stretching in his car-seat to reach the dog.

  “Thank you so much,” she murmured to the man beside her.

  “It will keep her busy while we’re gone Monday. I told Mac to make us reservations with his for the flight early Monday morning.”

  Megan’s smile disappeared. “You talked to Mac?”

  “Yeah.”

  “When?”

  He gave her a cautious look. “While I was in town this morning.”

  “Did you discuss the—the situation with him?” Her insides were churning.

  “A little. I had a couple of questions.”

  “You had no business doing that. Mac is my attorney, and he shouldn’t have discussed it with you.” She’d watched her sister’s husband take control over her life. Nothing Andrea did had remained in her control. Megan wouldn’t allow that to happen to her.

  “Calm down, Megan. He didn’t reveal anything much.”

  “I will make the decisions about this case, Rick. It has nothing to do with you.”

  “I think it does. I’m your husband.”

  “No, you’re not! And you don’t make the decisions. I do! I’ll decide if we’re flying to Dallas!” She knew she was out of control, but fear boiled up in her.

  “Okay, but if we drive, you’ll have to share a bed with me, because I’m not sleeping on any damned couch this time.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Saturday Megan apologized.

  She served the crow along with breakfast, the one time of the day when she and Rick were alone. “I lost control. I panicked, and I’m sorry.”

  “What caused you to panic?” he asked.

  “My…my sister’s husband took over her life. She wasn’t allowed to make even the smallest decision. He’d contradict her even if it wasn’t what he wanted. I have to make the decisions. You’ve been wonderful, but if things go wrong—”

  “Fair enough,” Rick agreed. “I wasn’t trying to take over, but I guess it was a little insensitive of me to talk to Mac without your knowledge.”

  “Thank you,” she murmured, feeling he’d been more than generous. “I’d like us to fly with Mac Monday morning, if you don’t mind. I’ll arrange for the tickets.”

  “I never told Mac to change the arrangements. He said he’d take care of the tickets and bill us. So don’t worry about it.” He paused, then added softly, “Unless you want to contradict me just to prove me wrong.”

  Her head snapped up, realizing he was repeating her words about Drake. Was she doing that?

  A shudder shook her. “No. No, I don’t want to do that. Thank you for making the arrangements.”

  He nodded and continued to eat as if they hadn’t argued.

  She’d prepared a special breakfast, making pancakes, frying bacon and cutting up fresh fruit. As she’d learned early on, the way to Rick’s heart, or forgiveness, was through his stomach.

  “Good breakfast,” he said, wiping his face with his napkin.

  “Would you like more? I can fix—”

  “No,” he assured her with a smile. “I won’t be able to get on a horse if I eat any more.”

  He shoved himself back from the table.

  “Um, I’m going in to work this morning,” she said quickly.

  “I thought you were off until Monday?”

  “I was, but I need Marybelle to work for me because of the trip to Fort Worth. So I traded with her.”

  “Okay, will your mother be okay with the kids?”

  “With the kids and Flower?” she added with a wry smile.

  “Oh, yeah. How’s Flower doing?”

  A little yip outside the kitchen door was his answer.

  Megan crossed over and opened the door for the puppy. While she had quickly learned her way to the kitchen, the pup hadn’t quite learned to push her way through the door.

  “I’ve got to let her out at once. We’re working on the housebreaking, but—” Megan stopped because Flower was demonstrating her lack of training on the kitchen floor.

  “Damn,” Rick muttered. “I’ll get the mop.”

  THEIR FLIGHT left at six-ten Monday morning. Megan got up at four-thirty to give herself plenty of time to make sure she looked as professional as possible.

  It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn’t discussed Rick’s appearance with him. Would he have a suit? When they went to church yesterday, he’d worn pressed jeans, a shirt and a tweed sport coat, standard attire in Cactus.

  And it would be just fine, she assured herself. Rick was a good, honest man, unlike her brother-in-law. Whatever he wore would be fine.

  That determined decision made his appearance all the more of a shock.

  When he came to the kitchen at five, she was pouring two glasses of orange juice. Fortunately she hadn’t yet picked them up to carry them to the table.

  Standing before her was Rick, looking like the perfect cover model for GQ magazine. A navy pinstriped suit, a red and blue silk tie, a crisp white shirt, a gold watch that looked like—a Rolex.

  “You have a Rolex?” she blurted out.

  He looked at his watch in surprise. “Er, yeah. It was a gift.”

  She immediately decided it had been a gift from his wife. And she hated it! She was so preoccupied with his watch that it was several minutes after they sat down to eat the breakfast she’d prepared that she remembered the rest of his appearance.

  “That’s a nice suit. You look very…very sophisticated.”

  “Thanks. So do you.”

  She blushed. She’d tried to look as professional as possible. But her best suit was the one she’d worn at the wedding, and she felt sure Rick had recognized it.

  He said nothing else, however, concentrating on his food.

  She shouldn’t have been surprised. Food was important to him. She managed a few bites, but she found the coming events of the day too distracting to eat more.

  “We’d better go soon. Hurry and eat.”

  “I’m finished.”

  “Meg, you didn’t eat enough to feed a bird.”

  “I can’t,” she insisted, carrying her plate to the sink.

  He followed her. As he put his plate in the sink, Megan reached over to brush a biscuit crumb from his suit.

  “That was very wifely,” he told her with a smile.

  It was the nicest conversation they’d shared since their argument. But it made her nervous. “I didn’t mean—”

  “I’m teasing. Let’s go.”

  The ride to the airport was silent. Megan’s mind remained focused on the children and how things would turn out.

  They picked up Mac at his office and drove to the small airport nearby. Soon they were in the air. Mac and Rick kept up a running conversation, but Megan only grew more and more nervous.

  When Rick reached out and took her hand, giving it a warm squeeze, she should’ve told him she could manage without his help. Instead, she held on for dear life, finding the contact helpful in keeping her courage up.

  After they reached Fort Worth, Mac picked up the rental car and the three of them drove to the courthouse.

  “How long will we have to wait?” Megan whispered.

  “We
have about half an hour before we’re to appear in court,” Mac said, consulting his watch.

  “There are a lot of people around,” Megan said with a frown.

  Rick quickly said, “Mac, why don’t you take Megan on in. I’ve got a phone call to make.”

  Megan watched as the two men seemed to be communicating something, but she wasn’t sure what. Mac took her arm and led her into the courtroom without any more conversation.

  Just as they entered, there seemed to be a concerted rush of people behind them, but the door closed before she could be sure. “Is something exciting going on out there? Should we have a look?” she asked.

  “Best not. We wouldn’t want to get hung up on something and not be on time. The judge would frown on that.” Mac ushered her to a front pew. “Besides, I want to go over a few questions again before we start.”

  Since nothing mattered more than the children, Megan immediately cooperated. Who cared what was happening outside? Only the children mattered.

  RICK ANSWERED the reporters’ questions patiently. When he’d dropped out of sight a year ago, there had been speculation about his plans, but interest had died down. Now that he’d surfaced, the reporters wanted to know where he’d been.

  He steered the conversation to the hearing, explaining his concern, in subtle ways, hoping to keep their interest on the events to take place.

  The reporters had done their homework and knew the basic facts about the case. Rick encouraged them to report the verdict and interview the judge. When an older couple approached the courtroom, accompanied by a man who was obviously their attorney, he pointed out the probability that they were the Moodys.

  He remained outside the courtroom until almost nine o’clock. If he went in early, some of the reporters might follow him and ask questions in front of Megan.

  While he wanted to do everything he could to help the children remain with Megan, he didn’t want her to know of his wealth. His ex-wife, impatient with his long work hours and insufficient income, though it was certainly more than the average family, had left him for a wealthier man.

  Once he’d sold the company for the phenomenal amount printed in all the papers, she’d dumped her new love and come running back to him. Cupboard love, his mother would’ve said. He wanted none of it.