by Zoe Matthews
In the process, he’d fallen in love with the woman caring for his son and one thing had led to another. A true whirlwind romance, with a happily ever after ending.
Spencer was currently basking in the glow of having found his true love in a woman he’d met online. He was feeling very romantic and easily accepted that Sheridan was experiencing the same thing.
“So, the girls are going to be over the moon,” Spencer told him as he navigated the final turn that would let him approach the small runway at the edge of the meadow.
“I’m wishing now that I’d prepared everyone for her arrival. It’s been a long couple of days, what with packing up her house, not to mention going through her sister’s belongings.”
“So, the sister? What happened there?’ Spencer asked, pulling back on the throttle and slowing the plane down.
“We were together for a few weeks and I thought she was the one. My forever. I asked her to marry me and she threw it back in my face. She couldn’t stand the thought of being stuck on a ranch in the middle of nowhere for the rest of her life. Glenna liked the city life more than she liked me.”
“Rough! So, you never heard from her again?”
“I thought she was still in Pinedale. She’d been gone for several days before I even knew it. I knew she was from Texas, but not where. Looking for her would have been like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
“Impossible,” Spencer murmured.
“Precisely. So, I chalked it up to poor judgment on my part and got on with my life.”
“Do you think she would have ever told you about your son?”
Sheridan thought about that and then shook his head. “Probably not. I don’t think she ever intended for me to know. I guess the paternity test she had done was just as a precaution in case something ever happened to her. I’m sure she never thought something actually would.”
As they talked, Spencer kept his eyes on the runway, which was lit up with the newly installed runway lights. Winter had descended upon the Colorado Mountains with a vengeance and it was now getting dark around 4:30 p.m. each day.
He expertly set the plane down and then taxied it over to the small shed that had been built to house the plane from the elements. He glanced out the window and then pointed, “Here comes Logan and Hunter now. I asked them to watch for us and bring the gator over to take us back up to the Ranch House. “
“That was smart thinking,” Sheridan told him.
“Yeah, well, there are five adults and one child, plus luggage. One gator isn’t going to cut it now.”
“We’ll make two trips,” Sheridan said.
Spencer grumbled a bit but nodded his head. “Let me get the door opened and then we can get it all sorted out.”
Hunter and Logan were waiting at the bottom of the stairs for Sheridan when he stepped off the last step. “Thanks for coming out in this weather to get us.”
It was currently snowing hard, and already, their shoulders were white with the fresh snowflakes.
“Welcome back. Do you have any luggage?” Hunter asked him.
Before Sheridan could answer, Spencer stuck his head out of the plan. “We’re gonna need to make two trips here. Who wants to stay here with me and help me get the plane in the shed?”
Hunter nodded his head. “I can help you, but why two trips?”
Spencer looked at his brother and then shook his head. “You didn’t tell them yet?”
Sheridan rolled his eyes. “I haven’t had a chance.” Turning back to the other two men, he told them, “I come bearing gifts. In addition to several pieces of luggage, I’ve brought home a wife and son.”
The two men were speechless and then Logan smiled. “Congratulations?”
“Yes, it is a good thing, Logan.”
“Good. Well, let’s get things moving then because Stella and Kathy have been cooking all day, and I’m starving.”
Sheridan started handing luggage into the gator. “Why have they been cooking all day?”
“With Thanksgiving only four days away, they’re trying to decide on the menu. At this rate, we’ll all need to go on a starvation diet after the first of the year to take off all the pounds we’ve gained being their taste testers,” Logan said with a grin.
Sheridan laughed and when he turned back, he paused to watch a sleepy Megan stand up in the door of the plane, gazing in wonder around her. “It’s like a winter wonderland.”
He walked up the steps and offered her his hand, “Come on down.” Once she was on the ground, he introduced her around. “This is Hunter and this is Logan. Climb into the gator and I’ll get William.”
Sheridan hurried back up the steps, quickly unbuckled the still sleeping toddler and then quickly wrapped him in the blanket Megan had been using earlier. William stirred, “Shh. Daddy’s here.”
He carefully made his way back down the steps and then handed the slowly awakening boy to Megan. “Can you hold him, or do you want me to?”
“I’ve got him. Hi, sweetheart. Did you have a good nap? I bet you need a diaper change and some dinner, don’t you?’
Sheridan finished loading their luggage into the back of the gator and then climbed in behind her. The soothing dialogue she kept up with William not only kept him calm, but he found it enjoyable to listen to. William didn’t actually respond, except to lay his head on his aunt’s shoulder and put his thumb into his mouth.
Sheridan was silent on the ride back to the Ranch House, his mind awash with how best to introduce her to the rest of his family. Before he could come up with an answer, they had arrived and the decision was taken out of his hands. The entire family came out to greet him, their mouths hanging open in surprise when they saw the woman and small child that he’d brought home with him.
Chapter 12
The next three days were a flurry of activity. Everyone was thrilled to meet Megan and William, and while no one asked many questions, Sheridan knew it was only a matter of time before his sisters cornered her and the interrogation began.
To keep up their ruse, they were both sleeping in his suite of rooms; luckily, the sitting room had a wonderfully comfortable pull out couch. Megan had insisted that she should sleep on the couch, and that William could share with her, but Kathy and Sierra had taken that off the table their first night home.
Kathy had asked Jed to go up to the attic storage and soon the crib that Sadie had used with her daughter Brooklyn was being dusted off and installed in Sheridan’s rooms. Bedding had been located and freshened up, and even though William had taken a two hour nap late in the day, he fallen asleep in Sheridan’s arms right after dinner.
“I’ll take him up and get him ready for bed,” Megan told him, seeing her chance to escape and go to bed herself.
“Why don’t I come up with you as well? It’s been a long day.” He looked at his siblings and the others gathered in the great room of the Ranch House. “We’ll see you all for breakfast tomorrow.”
Kathy stopped him and offered to take William with her for the evening so that he and Megan could have some privacy on their wedding night, but Sheridan had assured her that wasn’t necessary. They were both too tired to do much more than snuggle together and fall asleep. A wedding night would come, but not this night.
Sheridan was relieved when Kathy nodded and wished them a goodnight’s sleep. “What time does the little one wake up?”
“Tomorrow, it would be hard to say. If we’re not down here at a normal time for breakfast, don’t worry about us. We’ll take care of ourselves when we do come down,” Sheridan replied.
“Alright. Sleep well.”
Sheridan escorted Megan up to their rooms, watched as she quickly and efficiently changed William’s diaper and put his pajamas on. When she shivered, he stepped to the gas fireplace that was present in every suite of rooms, and lit it.
“Here, why don’t you go take a warm bath and I’ll put him down?” he told her, taking his son from her arms and breathing in his scent.
Meg
an looked towards the connected bathroom and nodded her head. “Thanks. I love the snow, but for some reason I can’t seem to get warm tonight.”
“You’re just tired. I’m going to get him settled and then turn in myself. See you in the morning.”
“Okay.” She turned away and then she paused and turned back to him. “Sheridan, thank you. I think if you would have taken him away from me, it would have completely broken my heart.”
Sheridan started to speak, but she turned away and entered the bathroom, shutting the door quietly behind her. He stood there for a moment and then carried his precious cargo over to the crib and laid him down. “Goodnight son. Welcome home.”
****
Thanksgiving morning arrived and with it a fresh blanket of snow. When everyone was gathered around the dining room table for breakfast, Hunter suggested a morning of cross country skiing for those that were not going to be engaged in the cook-a-thon that had already begun.
“That sounds good to me,” Logan said.
“Count me in,” Cade agreed.
“They don’t want my help in the kitchen, so I’m game,” Sadie said.
“Megan, how about you? Do you ski?” Hunter asked.
Megan looked up and smiled. “I love to ski.”
“Good. It’s Sheridan’s favorite winter past time, did you know that?”
“I didn’t, but now I do.” She smiled at Hunter and then at Sheridan.
“Good, let’s go right after breakfast,” Hunter smiled, rubbing his hands in anticipation.
“Uhm…but what about the kids?” Megan wondered
“Oh, don’t you worry about them,” Kathy told her. “Jed’s got a morning full of turkey making all lined up for the young’uns.”
“Turkey making?” Megan asked, glancing around the table for an explanation.
Sadie smiled. “What Kathy is trying to tell us is that Uncle Jed is going to let our children play with finger paints while we go have a few hours of fun.”
Megan looked at Sheridan and whispered,” Finger painting? With a two-year-old?”
Kathy leaned down and whispered back, “Don’t worry, I’ve covered every available surface with plastic. They’ll paint themselves and the walls and the floors and then they’ll all get baths before lunch is served.”
Everyone laughed at her look and she ducked her head and hid her grin. This group of people was so amazing. They seemed to take everything in stride and they had so much fun being together with one another. Sheridan had told her it hadn’t always been that way, but from what she could see, they all belonged together. And she was now a part of them. She wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve this, but she wasn’t going to question it. She was just going to enjoy it.
She looked back at Sheridan as he and the others discussed which trail they were going to tackle and she realized that even though she’d only known him for a little under two weeks, he was exactly the type of man she would have liked to have met and fallen in love with.
He was loyal, compassionate, and treated everyone around him as if they truly mattered. That was so different than the few men she’d gone out with in her early twenties, she’d almost convinced herself men like Sheridan didn’t exist.
But they did. And she was married to one of them. But only in name, and the more she grew to know about him, the more she wondered how she was going to continue the charade of their marriage without wanting more. Much more.
They had a great morning cross country skiing. Sheridan had also brought a sled and they each had taken a turn down a hill that looked like it had been cleared of trees for that purpose. Sheridan regularly held her gloved hand when he could and he kissed her on the cheek a few times. She knew he was acting like he loved her for his siblings’ sake, but Megan was starting to believe it herself.
Chapter 13
Two days after Thanksgiving, Megan came downstairs after putting William down for his afternoon nap to hear Sheridan and Spencer arguing.
“Spencer, you’ve got to get these types of things right! The future of the ranch depends upon it.”
“Sheridan, I’m trying. I’m not a bookkeeper and this crazy program was supposed to be designed for idiots like me, but I still haven’t figured out all the tricks to make it work right!”
“Hey guys!” Megan said, announcing herself.
They both turned to look at her and Sheridan smiled. “Megan, is William sleeping?”
She nodded. “I just put him down for his nap. I overheard your conversation. You remember that I’m a certified public accountant, right?”
Sheridan actually had remembered, but he hadn’t wanted to pressure her while she was still settling in.
“What? Do you know how to use this program?” Spencer asked, picking up a computer program box and showing it to her.
“Of course. Maybe I could take a look at what you’re doing and help pinpoint the areas that are causing you the most problems?”
Spencer nodded, but then he shook his head. “I can’t today. I have to do a supply run over at the next town. Logan and Bridger are going with me and we won’t be back until late.”
“Well, if it’s okay with you, I could take a look at them while you’re gone?” Megan offered.
Spencer looked at Sheridan and then nodded. “That would be great. Thanks.” He jotted the passwords down on a piece of paper. “Those will get you into the computer and the program files.”
“Awesome! I’ll take a look at things and then maybe we can discuss my findings tomorrow sometime?”
“Sure, sure.” Spencer grabbed his keys and headed for the door, skirting around her on his way out the door. “Thanks, Megan.”
She looked at Sheridan and asked, “Are you okay with me looking at your books?”
“I’m perfectly fine with it. Spencer hates doing it, and frankly, he doesn’t do it very well. I’m sure you’re going to find all sorts of problems,” he said wryly.
“Well, I’ll do what I can. Will you be around, in case I have some questions?”
“I have some paperwork I need to get finished up, but I can easily bring it in here to do. Why don’t you get started and I’ll be back in a few minutes?”
“Okay.” Megan booted up the computer and entered the passwords. When the book program came up, she started going through the files just as if she was doing an audit of the books. She immediately saw several problems with the way accounts had been classified and she fixed them.
She was so engrossed with what she was doing, she didn’t hear Sheridan come back in until he set a cup of hot cocoa on the desk in front of her. “I thought you might need something sweet to help offset all of the errors I’m assuming you’re finding.”
She looked up at him and then found herself unable to look away from his deep blue eyes. He seemed to be caught up in the same spell, and it wasn’t until a laugh from the baby monitor burst through the room that they were able to look away.
“I’ll go get him,” Sheridan told her, grabbing the monitor and leaving the room.
Megan took a sip of the hot cocoa and tried to figure out what had just happened. The last few days, she’d found Sheridan watching her when he didn’t think she was looking. And she’d found herself doing the same thing to him.
Nighttime had been even harder, with both of them retiring at the same time to put William down for bed, and then the awkward moment when they would head off to their own beds. So many times she wanted him to hug her, or kiss her like he had the day of their wedding, but she couldn’t decide if he would be receptive to that, or angered by her violation of their agreement.
So, she’d kept silent. But now…
Sighing, she took another sip of the drink and got back to work. That would keep her mind off of things that weren’t meant to be more than anything.
Sheridan reappeared without William a few minutes later. “Was he not awake?”
“Yes, he was. But Brooklyn informed me she was having a tea party and Sadie kidnapped William to go j
oin them.”
“A tea party? That should be interesting. I hope Brooklyn doesn’t end up hating her new cousin after this.”
“Trust me, Brooklyn is an expert at getting her way. She’ll have William doing what she wants him to do, and he won’t even realize what’s happening. If that doesn’t work, Sadie’s staying up there to play mediator.”
“That’s probably a good thing.”
“So, how badly did Spencer do?” Sheridan asked, stepping up behind her chair and peering at the computer screen over her shoulder.
Megan took a breath, but that only served to remind her how much she liked his cologne. Swallowing, she pointed out the changes she’d made, and others that she was in the process of making.
“He just made rookie mistakes. Anyone probably would have done the same thing without proper training. And your accountant would have found these when he went to file the taxes.”
Sheridan was quiet and when his hand came to rest on her shoulder, she swallowed loudly and then closed her eyes. “Sheridan?”
He took a step back and seated himself in the chair. “Sorry.”
She took another breath and then turned to face him. “I’m not.”
Sheridan looked at her and then searched her eyes. “Megan?”
“I’m…not sorry for how I feel when you’re around,” she blurted out, knowing she might regret it.
“This isn’t going to work is it?” he asked.
She tried to decipher whether or not that was a good thing or a bad one. Deciding to be honest with him now that the conversation had started, she shook her head. “No. If I’d met you in a different way, I would have wanted more. I do want more. I keep….”
“You keep what?” Sheridan asked when she hesitated.
“I keep thinking about the kiss you gave me when we married.”
Sheridan looked at her and then sighed. “I guess we need to talk.”