Jeremiah's Bogus Bride

by Liz Isaacson

  “Calling Lucy May.”

  “Don’t call Lucy May,” Whitney said, stabbing at the screen between them, where her voice-activated car had started to dial. The call ended, thankfully. “I’m not going out with Blake.”

  “Oh.” He looked at her. “Then who are you going out with?”

  Whitney rolled Jeremiah’s name around inside her head, savoring all four syllables for just a few more moments.

  Then she said, “Jeremiah Walker.”

  Dalton jerked the wheel, nearly sending them over the curb.

  “Dalton,” she scolded.

  “Are you serious? Jeremiah Walker?”

  “Yeah.” She looked at him. “Why? Is that so shocking that he’d want to go out with me?”

  “’Course not,” Dalton said quickly. “I mean, a Walker.” He sounded awed.

  “What’s so special about the Walkers?” she asked, though she had a few reasons of her own.

  “Number one, they’re super rich.” He looked at her as if she didn’t know this. “Number two, Wyatt Walker is like the ultimate cowboy. Did you know he’s won more rodeo championships than anyone, ever? In roping, bronc riding, and bull riding? He’s like, a legend.”

  “I said Jeremiah,” she said. “Not Wyatt, though I could probably introduce you to him.”

  “Really?” Dalton nearly careened into oncoming traffic this time. “Could you?”

  “Don’t kill us,” she said. “I may have bought Granddad’s truck, but I need this car.”

  Dalton waited until he’d come to a stop at a red light. “Really, Aunt Whitney? Could you introduce us?”

  “Let’s see how my date goes first,” she said. “Now, you start talkin’ about Lucy May, or no one’s meeting Wyatt Walker. Ever.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Hey, there he is,” Jeremiah said, laughing as Skyler came into the kitchen with a blue duffle bag in one hand and the other touting along a rolling suitcase. “How was the drive?”

  “I got a ticket,” he said, grinning as if getting a traffic citation was the best thing that ever happened to him. “I just can’t seem to slow down coming out of Laverne.” He dropped everything and stepped over to Jeremiah.

  They embraced, and Jeremiah closed his eyes for a moment. Things were going to be so much better with Skyler home. Maybe Jeremiah would have someone to eat lunch with, though he knew all he had to do was text Orion, and all four cowboys would come to the homestead for food.

  Food Jeremiah could order or cook.

  “Somethin’ smells good,” Skyler said, looking around the kitchen and dining room.

  “Braised short ribs,” Jeremiah said. “Mac and cheese.”

  His brother chuckled. “It’s so good to be home.” He did look relieved, and Jeremiah wondered if college life wasn’t everything Skyler wanted it to be. He’d only been gone for one semester, but he certainly had enough money to eat well. He didn’t have to be the starving student most others were.

  “How are things going?” he asked, watching Skyler’s face. “With school and stuff?”

  “Good,” he said, putting a smile on his face. “Fine.” He didn’t look directly at Jeremiah though, which meant something was definitely off.

  “You seeing anyone in Amarillo?” Jeremiah asked.

  Skyler’s face took on a completely new glow. “Tons of people.”

  Jeremiah rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Forget I asked.”

  Skyler let loose with a loud laugh. “Hey, it’s good to be single among so many younger women.”

  “Do they know you’re thirty-five-years-old?” In Jeremiah’s opinion, that was way too old for a twenty-one-year-old. Heck, some of those “women” were only eighteen. They were girls.

  “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” he said with a wicked grin.

  “You’re ridiculous,” Jeremiah said, honestly not understanding Skyler at all. How could he not be serious about who he went out with? Why was it a party to him?

  Jeremiah turned away from his brother and said, “Want help unloading?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Before they could go back out to Skyler’s truck, the back door opened. Rhett and Liam walked through it, and another chorus of “You’re back,” and “It’s so good to see you,” filled the kitchen.

  Jeremiah hugged Rhett too, who’d been away for a few weeks as he and Evelyn went on one last trip before their baby came. “How was the Hill Country?”

  “Spectacular,” Rhett said. “I’m thinkin’ of buying something down there.”

  “Something?” Jeremiah asked. “Like a small something or a big something?”

  “A big something,” he said. “There are entire ranches full of miniature horses. The land is beautiful. Gorgeous. You’d love it there.”

  “I’m not going to the Hill Country,” Jeremiah said, his voice maybe on the barky side of things.

  Rhett simply grinned at him. “Oh, me either. I’m just saying.”

  What was he saying? Jeremiah honestly didn’t know. “Let’s go help Skyler get unloaded,” he said, and the work was easy with four of them instead of just two. Jeremiah put his suitcases and boxes in the room he’d been in before, when he’d lived here for only a month.

  “Micah’s not here?” he asked, glancing at the empty room in the quad that took up the entire west wing of the homestead.

  The twins’ room was likewise empty now that Liam and Callie were married, and Tripp had that big estate on the east side of town. Rhett had been gone for a long time, and Wyatt and Jeremiah had bedrooms kitty-corner from one another.

  “No,” Jeremiah said, a pull of sadness moving through him. “He said he had some loose ends to tie up in Temple. I just don’t think he knew how loose.”

  “What’s the problem?” Liam asked.

  “It’s a who,” Jeremiah said. “Her name is Stephanie.”

  “Oh, boy,” Rhett said.

  “Maybe I should call him,” Liam said. “I mean, I had a hard time leaving Austin because of a woman.”

  “You do that,” Jeremiah said. “He doesn’t listen to me.”

  “Like he’s going to listen to me,” Liam said with a scoff. “Rhett should call. He’s the oldest.”

  “And say what?”

  “Whatever,” Jeremiah said. But if he were Rhett, he wouldn’t call either. Micah was a good man. A fine brother. But he’d always marched to a different beat. He did what he wanted, when he wanted to do it. Their mother had often said, “Oh, it’s just Micah. He’ll come around to my way of thinking soon enough.”

  And that was that. Everything had to be his idea, or it wasn’t worth doing.

  “Wyatt should do it,” Rhett said. “They’re the closest.”

  The brothers continued squabbling as they went back into the kitchen. Jeremiah began to make coffee, enjoying the new life that had entered the homestead the moment another Walker had. He grinned around at everyone so much that Liam finally asked, “What is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing,” he said quickly, straightening and bringing his coffee mug to his lips to hide the smile.

  Liam glared and cocked his head, his eyes narrowing.

  “How’s your project?” Jeremiah asked.

  “Something’s going on.” Liam ignored his question entirely. “Does he seem…happier to you?”

  “Definitely,” Rhett said.

  “And I saw a strange truck here a couple of days ago,” Liam said.

  Jeremiah’s pulse pounded, and he turned away. He could deny that he had anything going on—again—but he wouldn’t. In a household of seven brothers, he’d learned a few survival tricks, and one of the biggest ones was silence. Nothing to interpret if nothing was said.

  “What kind of breed were the mini horses?” he asked Rhett.

  “You’re right,” he said to Liam, also ignoring Jeremiah’s question.

  “I’ve got to get back to the boys,” he said, heading for the exit though Orion and the other cowboys were not expecting him on the ranch
that day. No, today was about family and visiting and getting Skyler settled in. Jeremiah should’ve known his brother would live out of his suitcases for at least three weeks before he decided to hang up a single item of clothing.

  Rhett stepped in front of him, probably the one person Jeremiah respected the most. Well, he respected a lot of people. The cowboys he met with at his ranch owner’s meetings. The men who worked for him. The Foster sisters.

  Whitney.

  Her name entered his mind, and it was almost like Rhett could see the seven letters of it flashing on his forehead.

  “Oh, this has to do with a woman,” Rhett said slowly, his eyes widening.

  “No,” Jeremiah said.

  Liam joined Rhett, creating a virtual wall of Walker muscle between Jeremiah and the exit. His insides tightened, tensed, while he tried to figure out if he should flee or fight.

  “Whitney?” Liam asked. “Was that her truck here the other day?”

  “It was just yesterday,” Jeremiah practically growled.

  Rhett hooted, the laughter coming soon afterward. Liam just stood there and watched Jeremiah. “What?” he asked.

  “You’re…going out? Or…what?”

  “Yes,” he said coolly. “We’re going out this weekend.”

  “When?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Liam cocked both eyebrows. “Where?”

  “Unclear.”

  “So you don’t have a date with her.” Rhett looked a bit perplexed too.

  “I asked her out,” Jeremiah said stiffly with a glance at Skyler. He watched Jeremiah too, but his expression carried more amusement. Rhett seemed worried, and Liam simply looked…resigned? Disinterested? He sure was staring a lot for someone who didn’t care if Jeremiah went out with the gorgeous photographer or not.

  “She said yes,” he finished. “That’s it.”

  Broken echoed through his mind, only amplified when Liam said, “Wow. Are you ready for that?”

  The truth was, Jeremiah didn’t know. He wanted to be ready. He wanted to spend time with Whitney. A lot of time. He wanted to know everything about her, and see if he could tell her precious things about him too. He’d dreamt of kissing her, getting that red lipstick all over his mouth too.

  His face heated, and broken ran through his mind again. “I’m capable of dating,” he said stiffly.

  “I didn’t say you weren’t,” Liam shot back.

  “Whoa, okay.” Rhett held up his hands and made a triangle with the three of them instead of a face-off. Skyler edged around him, and Rhett backed up to make room for him. “Jeremiah, we just want to support you. Do we need to have a family meeting? Then you can tell us what’s going on.”

  “Nothing’s going on,” he said. “I’m going to text her and set something up for Friday or Saturday. I’m allowed to date.”

  “I’m just shocked you want to,” Rhett said. “Who’s Whitney?” He looked at Liam.

  “Dark hair. Bright red lips. He held her hand at the New Year’s Eve parade.”

  “Oh, of course.” Rhett looked back at Jeremiah. “I thought she ghosted you.”

  Jeremiah winced, the words so sharp and so raw…and so true. His pulse accelerated, his flight mode fully employed. After all, that was what Jeremiah was good at. Running away. Hiding in the homestead, away from the prying eyes of everyone in town. Keeping everyone except his brothers at double-arm’s length. He didn’t trust anyone he wasn’t related to, except Callie. He didn’t feel anything for anyone except his blood relatives.

  “Well?” Liam asked.

  “I guess she did ghost me,” Jeremiah said. “But I ran into her, and the old boyfriend isn’t in the picture anymore, and—”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Rhett actually held up his hand. “She ghosted you for an old boyfriend?”

  Jeremiah wasn’t going to answer that. He already had.

  Rhett settled onto his back leg, his expression edged now. With what, Jeremiah couldn’t quite be sure. “Wow, Jeremiah. I can see you really like her.”

  “You know I do,” he whispered. “You both know. I’ve talked to you about her.”

  “Family meeting,” Rhett declared. “Tonight.”

  “I’ll call Tripp,” Liam said.

  “I’ll tell Wyatt,” Skyler said, and Jeremiah felt betrayed by the man who’d hardly said anything.

  “We can do it right after dinner,” Rhett said, like he just got to decide everything, and everyone would fall into line because he said so.

  Funnily enough, Jeremiah didn’t argue. Maybe he did need the help of his family. Maybe, if he told them how he was feeling, he wouldn’t mess things up with Whitney for a second time.

  Jeremiah stayed at the kitchen sink even after Rhett said, “Family meeting.” He really didn’t want to have this conversation, and he didn’t understand why they couldn’t just have a nice dinner to welcome everyone back to Three Rivers and Seven Sons.

  “Jeremiah,” Rhett said, absolutely no emotion in his voice at all.

  He finally turned away from the already clean kitchen and glared at his brother as he entered the living room. Thankfully, none of the wives had come for the family meeting, and Jeremiah was glad Rhett had some sense.

  “All right,” Tripp said. “What’s going on?” He looked from Rhett to Jeremiah, as if he knew the two men were in a battle of wills. Jeremiah’s fists clenched, and he deferred to Rhett. After all, he’d called the meeting.

  Rhett stared steadily back at Jeremiah, as if he should start. Several long moments passed in pure awkwardness, and Rhett finally sighed and looked away. He had always been so calm and steady, and Jeremiah did envy him that.

  Of course, he hadn’t been standing at the altar while his almost-wife was fleeing the scene as fast as her feet could take her. Still in her wedding dress. As if the thought of becoming his wife was the worst thing in the world.

  Jeremiah swallowed, his throat narrow even though he’d been working through these feelings for four years.

  “Jeremiah has a date this weekend,” Rhett said.

  All eyes swung to him, though this really couldn’t be a surprise to many of them. Maybe Tripp, who’d been scarce around the ranch since Christmas.

  “And he’s nervous about it,” Rhett said. “And he might need some extra support.”

  Jeremiah relaxed slightly. This type of discussion was exactly why he liked having his family close by.

  “Who with?” Tripp asked, not a trace of teasing on his face.

  “Whitney Wilde.” Jeremiah cleared his throat.

  “My wedding photographer?” Tripp’s eyebrows shot sky-high. “Holy stars in heaven.” He looked at Liam, who already knew this information. “I miss a ton by not being here.”

  “I told you that.”

  “There wasn’t a ranch out here,” Tripp said.

  “You have a great house,” Liam said. “Beautiful land.”

  “I miss being here too,” Rhett said.

  Jeremiah listened to his brothers lament how they’d like to spend more time at Seven Sons, where they’d all come originally to heal and hide. Jeremiah thought he’d do that forever, but none of the others.

  “How’s the therapy going?” Liam asked, and that brought the focus back to Jeremiah.

  “Good,” he said. “Really good.”

  “Good enough to ask out a woman,” Tripp said. “I’m still a bit stunned by that.”

  “Maybe he sees all of us happily married and wants that too.” Rhett watched Jeremiah, who refused to look at him.

  He’d always wanted to get married. Always. Out of all of the brothers, he’d been the first one to propose. It had taken a year to plan the wedding, and while everyone else dated, none of them bought diamonds.

  So yes, seeing three of his brothers happily married might have spurred him toward a different path than he’d been on a year ago. Being so close to Liam and Callie may have turned him toward therapy so he could overcome some issues so he could get back to the altar.<
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  “Is that what you want?” Liam asked. “To get married?”

  “I don’t know,” Jeremiah said.

  “You said you’d never do that again,” Tripp said.

  “I know what I said.” He also didn’t want to be alone forever. And one thing he’d learned in January after Skyler had moved out for school, after Liam had married Callie and moved next door, after Wyatt started spending time with a mystery woman, was that Jeremiah didn’t do well alone.

  “Being married is great,” Liam said.

  “So great,” Tripp agreed.

  Jeremiah finally looked at Rhett, and it was clear he sure did like being married too. The bottomless pit that Jeremiah had sealed four years ago opened, and the pain went on and on. And on. He felt like he might drown in it, and taking a breath hurt his chest and spiraled through his lower back.

  He really wanted to be married and had for a long, long time. Jeremiah was made to be married, as he experienced most things with a great deal of passion, from being frustrated with pests in the corn fields to loving a woman and wanting to dedicate his life to taking care of her.

  Maybe you should just marry Whitney, he thought.

  “Guys,” Rhett said. “He’s not ready for that.”

  “Why not?”

  “He’s…improving—”

  “He needs more time.”

  “I’m not broken,” Jeremiah said amidst all the other talking, but no one heard him. At least they acted like they didn’t.

  “Once he’s healed, he’ll be fine.”

  “Maybe dating will heal him.”

  “Maybe it’ll just break him further.”

  Jeremiah couldn’t take any more of the bickering, of the speculating about how he felt, and he really, really hated that they all thought he was still damaged. Even if he was.

  He got up and walked out of the living room, Wyatt and Tripp still arguing about how whole Jeremiah was.

  Broken echoed through his mind, almost drowning out Rhett calling after him. He simply increased his speed and made it to his bedroom despite Rhett following him.

  “Jeremiah,” he said again as Jeremiah went into his bedroom. He closed the door and leaned against it, his chest heaving.