by Liz Isaacson
“How long do you think we need to be married?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Whitney swallowed. She could sleep in a bed in Jeremiah’s room if she had to. She’d only been inside the homestead at Seven Sons a time or two, and she certainly had no idea what lay down the hallway that veered left just before the kitchen. Maybe there was another bedroom there she could slip into after Wyatt thought she and Jeremiah had gone to bed.
“There’s a place for my computer?” she asked.
“Big office at the front of the house.”
“You’ll let me bring my cats?”
“Of course.”
“I can keep my house, for you know, after all of this ends?” Whitney tried to see the end of this. Would they break-up? Was she going to marry him, and then…then what? she asked herself. She’d been asking the same thing of the Lord, but she hadn’t gotten an answer.
Well, she had, but she didn’t dare admit to herself or anyone else that she could actually have a real relationship with Jeremiah. A real marriage. One that didn’t have to end, and one where she could then sell her house and become a permanent part of Seven Sons Ranch.
Such thoughts were dangerous, and Whitney didn’t dwell on them for long.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “Keep your house.”
“I can shoot on the ranch?”
“That’s part of the deal.”
She stepped in front of him, needing to see his eyes when she asked this next thing. “And us, Jeremiah?”
“Us?”
She squeezed his hand with both of hers. “What happens to us? What’s the end of this?” She looked around, but she couldn’t enjoy the splendor of these hills. Mania rose within her, and she half-laughed and half-scoffed. “I mean, what do you see happening to us? Me and you.” She swallowed, her mouth so dry. “I like you.”
“I like you too,” he said, not bothering to correct his dogs as they strained against their leashes. “I don’t know what will happen with us, honestly.”
“I don’t like that answer.”
“I don’t have another one.” He exhaled and shook his head. “It’s a crazy plan. I don’t know all the steps. I don’t know the end from the beginning.”
Whitney couldn’t help hoping that they could fall in love for real. She did like Jeremiah, and other than Blake, he was the only man in the past decade that had intrigued her at all.
But he didn’t know about Lake Winters, and she wasn’t anywhere near ready to tell him. He’d keep your secret, she told herself, but she still didn’t open her mouth to tell him.
No, when she opened her mouth again, she said, “So we’ll sleep in the same room, but we’ll not be sleeping together. Do I have that right?”
“Yes,” he said, his voice tight and low. “I’m not going to take advantage of you. I…I…I’m not even sure I’m ready to kiss you.”
“Maybe if you talked about your ex-fiancée, you’d be able to move forward,” she said. Her heart thrashed in her chest, because she’d been secretly hoping to share a kiss with him at the summit. She saw that possibility disappearing into the rising sunlight.
“I do talk about her,” he said. “With Doctor Wagstaff.”
“What if I wanted to know about her?” She nudged him. “If I’m your wife and all.”
That jaw jumped, and Whitney didn’t like it. Not one little bit.
She didn’t push Jeremiah, because she’d learned that he’d talk eventually. This time, it took him all the way until they’d reached the top of the little hill before he said, “Her name was Laura Ann Palmer. We were together for three years, the last one of that engaged.” He let go of her hand and took the dogs over to the edge of the trail, his breath lifting his shoulders up and down, up and down.
“I loved her,” he said. “I loved her so much. I wanted to be married so badly.” His head dropped, and Whitney wasn’t sure if she should approach him or not. He faced her, the sunlight glorious on his face. “I didn’t see what I should’ve seen.”
“This happened in Austin?”
“Yes.”
“Does she still live there?”
“I have no idea where she is,” he said. “She left the golf course where we were getting married, and I don’t know which direction she went in. I spoke to her once, and Rhett bought the ranch, and my life is here now.”
Whitney smiled. “I’m glad it is.”
“Me too,” he said, coming toward her. He paused just outside of her reach. “I’m glad I’m here, and I really don’t want our first kiss to happen at our fake wedding.”
Whitney’s eyes widened. “Me either.”
Jeremiah’s gaze dropped to Whitney’s mouth, and he moved. Acted. Took her right into his arms, swept his cowboy hat off his head, and lowered his lips to brush hers. Oh, he was a tease, testing, but barely.
She pulled in a breath, steadied herself with her hands on his shoulders, and leaned into him. He kissed her again, really making the connection this time, and Whitney knew then that she never wanted to kiss another man.
He may not have kissed a woman in almost four years, but he certainly hadn’t forgotten how. Oh, no, he had not.
Whitney could not get enough of him. Could not get close enough. Could not stop kissing him.
Chapter Fourteen
Jeremiah’s senses heightened, and the scent of Whitney’s perfume was so strong. The silky smoothness of her skin beneath his fingers. The taste of the lemon drops she’d been sucking on during their hike.
He kissed her, and kissed her, and kissed her, his fear of her shoving him away disappearing after the first few seconds. She kissed him back, so he couldn’t be doing too bad of a job. Right?
He finally regained control of himself—it had been a long time since he’d kissed a woman, and he’d forgotten how wonderful it could be—and pulled away. He sucked in the cool morning air, hotter than he’d ever been.
Probably not, but it sure felt like it.
“Wow,” he said, opening his eyes and looking right at Whitney. Heat had crawled into her face, and she cleared her throat and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I mean…wow.”
Whitney giggled and shook her head. “You just haven’t kissed anyone in a long time.”
That was totally true, but Jeremiah had never experienced this sprinting of his pulse in his chest. Even when Laura Ann had squealed, let him slip a diamond on her finger, and then she’d kissed him.
But even then, that pulse-pounding had been from his nerves, not because he’d just experienced the best kiss of his life. So much of the anger he’d been carrying with him simply disappeared, and he took Whitney’s face in both of his hands again.
“I guess maybe I better kiss you again just to be sure.” He touched his lips to hers again, more sure this time. But his passion didn’t accelerate so fast he felt thrown out of his own mind, and he was able to go slower, explore deeper.
He pulled away again, still definitely in the wow-category. He drew her into his arms and held her, not caring that she pressed her cheek to his chest, so she’d know how she affected him.
Eventually, the sun’s rays touched the top of the hill where they stood, and Whitney stepped away from him. He had so many other things to say, lots they needed to talk about, but he didn’t know where to start.
“If we go now,” she said. “We’ll have time for a quick breakfast.” Whitney’s eyebrows lifted. “You in?”
“Breakfast with you? Always.” He smiled as he took her hand and started back down the trail. “And I don’t want you badgering me about a proposal. A man likes things to be special.”
A peal of laughter filled the sky, and Jeremiah chuckled too. He whistled for the puppies to come to him, which surprisingly they did. He stooped to pick up the leashes, then re-centered his hand in hers.
“Just because this might not be entirely real doesn’t meant it can’t look like it,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
�
�Do you want to tell your parents that you’re marrying me to prove to my brothers I’m not broken?” The sting of what Wyatt had said months ago barely shocked Jeremiah anymore. Kissing Whitney had healed him much more than he’d been able to anticipate.
“No,” Whitney said.
“Yeah, because when they ask you why you’d do that, I don’t think ‘so I can shoot at the ranch when I want to’ would go over very well with them.”
Whitney nodded, her eyes trained on the ground as they navigated a rocky patch in the path. “So it looks real on the outside.”
“It has to look real on the outside,” he confirmed. “And in that case, maybe I’ll just wait another couple of weeks, propose, and say we want a fast wedding. Then my brothers don’t have to know. The secret is really a secret.”
“Our secret,” Whitney said. “That way, it’s easier to tell the same lie to everyone.”
Lie. Jeremiah didn’t like the sound of that. No, he hadn’t exactly been on his knees a whole lot over the past few years, but he didn’t want to lie either. That certainly wouldn’t get him into God’s good graces.
“It’s not a lie,” he said. “We’re getting married. No one will ask why.”
“Really?” She glanced at him. “Your brothers won’t be surprised?”
“Maybe that I got engaged again at all,” he said. “I’ve always said I wouldn’t.” He paused, tugging on the leashes to get the puppies to stop. “Maybe we should just run away to City Hall. Today.” Though, in his mind, he knew they couldn’t tie the knot today. Liam had told him he’d had to wait seventy-two hours from the time he got a marriage license to when the I-do’s could happen.
“My mother will go ballistic,” Whitney said. She pulled on his hand now. “Keep moving, cowboy. Daylight is burning, and I’m already going to be late.”
“We don’t have to go to breakfast,” he said as he got his feet moving again.
“Yes, we do,” she said. “We need to keep talking about the engagement and the wedding and the after-the-wedding.”
“Oh?”
Whitney gave him a look out of the corner of her eye. “How long did it take Laura Ann to plan your wedding?”
Jeremiah sucked in a breath. “We were engaged for a little over a year,” he finally said.
“And you want to wait a couple more weeks to propose and then get married in August. You’re talking six weeks.”
“We’ll say that the only way I agreed to an engagement at all was to have it be really short.” He liked the sound of that, but he couldn’t believe he was talking about this.
“My mom will still go nuts,” she said.
“I’ll help with whatever,” Jeremiah said. “Money, planning, food, whatever.”
“Maybe I should text her right now and give her the heads up.” She actually let go of his hand and slid her backpack off her shoulders, taking her phone out of the pocket while she kept pace with him.
Their conversation stalled, and Whitney didn’t speak until they got back to her truck. Then she lifted her eyes from her device and asked, “What date are we looking at?”
Jeremiah’s whole life flashed before his eyes in that moment, and he could not believe he was even considering getting married again. Especially because this one was fake. Fake! Why put himself through the trouble?
“How about August fourth?” she asked. “That’s a Saturday, and then I can have the next couple of weeks off during the busiest time for produce.” She smiled as she said it, her dark eyes twinkling at him.
“Will you still be expected to work at the store after we’re married?” he asked.
“Probably,” Whitney said. “And Jeremiah, don’t think my family won’t try to rope you into doing something too.” She grinned and went back to her phone.
“Me?” he asked, putting the backpacks in the back of the truck and lifting the puppies into the cab. “What could I possibly do?”
“You don’t know my mother very well if you have to ask that,” Whitney said, and Jeremiah’s anxiety rose a notch. No, he didn’t know her mother all that well. Sure, he knew Molly; they’d talked plenty of times.
“Don’t you sell your cattle for beef?” Whitney asked as she handed him the keys. “I need you to drive, cowboy. My mother wants me to call.” She gave him a smile that looked absolutely gleeful and got in the passenger side.
Jeremiah stared at her as she lifted her phone to her ear. Then he rounded the truck and got behind the wheel. He couldn’t believe she was going to let him drive what was now her most prized possession—after her camera, of course.
Her grandfather’s truck. He remembered the day she’d bought it, because she’d posted about it on social media, and he’d wished he’d been there to take it for its inaugural drive. Of course, Blake hadn’t been in any of the pictures either, and Jeremiah wondered about that.
She only spoke with her mom for a few minutes, and she didn’t give any details. She said things like, “We’re not sure, Mom,” and “I’ll let you know as soon as I know,” before hanging up.
“When did you get this truck?” he asked, the width of the steering wheel a bit awkward, as he wasn’t used to it.
“I bought it the day after Blake said he needed to find himself in Chicago.” She rolled her eyes. “Or wherever he went.”
“You don’t know where he went.”
“I do not, and I don’t care.”
Jeremiah pulled up to the diner, though he much preferred the pancake house. But they were much busier, and while their service was fast, they could get coffee and doughnuts to go at the diner.
“So I suppose I’ll have to start meeting the family,” he said, his stomach filling with a bit of lead.
“I suppose,” she said.
“I don’t do well with the family,” he said, glancing at her before getting out of the truck. He handed her the keys when they met at the hood, and she grasped his fingers.
“Jeremiah, you’ve already met all of them. This is not a big deal. I’m the one who has to meet your burly brothers. Six of them.”
“Burly?” Jeremiah laughed, glad when Whitney did too.
“Oh, and I need a special meet and greet with Wyatt.”
“Wyatt? Why?” He held the door open for her, the scent of frosting and cinnamon reminding him that he didn’t normally hike before dawn.
“He’s a huge rodeo champion, Jeremiah. And Dalton is obsessed with the rodeo.”
Jeremiah chuckled. “Ah, I see. All right. I’ll talk to him.”
“Sit,” he said a few days later. He pointed to the ground, expecting both dogs to obey him. They did, going right down, their doggy eyes looking up at him with the most pleading of expressions. He tore off a chunk of cheese and gave a bite to Willow first, then Winston.
He held out his hand, clearly showing them the treat they’d get if they listened. “Stay.” He backed up a step and repeated the command. Willow whined, and Jeremiah already knew she was the more vocal of the brother-sister duo. “Stay,” he told her again.
After several steps, he said, “Come on,” and both dogs ran over to him, their claws slipping on the hardwood floor in the homestead.
He laughed as he gave them each another treat and then scrubbed behind their ears. He’d only had the puppies for five days, and they were already such good friends. He loved having their warm bodies next to his while he lounged on the couch in the evening, while he slept at night, and while he worked around the ranch.
He loved taking care of them, teaching them to walk on a leash by going the half-mile to the Shining Star Ranch and back every evening. Whitney had taken to joining him if she didn’t have a shoot, which meant she’d come once.
Jeremiah needed to get to town tomorrow and buy her a ring, and pure dread filled him from top to bottom. His heart stalled for a moment, reminding him of everything that had happened once he’d gotten on the diamond path before.
But Whitney wasn’t Laura Ann, and this wedding wasn’t even real. He could do this.
He would, if only to show Wyatt and Liam and anyone else who thought he was still too damaged to have a woman in his life exactly how wrong they were.
He felt better than ever, and he opened the door and said, “All right, guys. Time to get to work.” While he made his way across the lawn to his office in the barn, his mind moved though alternate scenarios to him purchasing a ring for Whitney. She seemed like the type of woman who knew exactly what she wanted and where to find it.
Maybe we should go ring shopping together. He typed out the words and sent them to her. Tomorrow?
I have a shoot in the morning, a birthday party for my niece in the afternoon, and a shoot in the evening, she sent back. Maybe after the morning shoot, before the party? But then you’d have to be prepared to come to the party with me. And that means meeting everyone at once.
“Everyone at once,” Jeremiah said, almost like a sinister echo. He looked up, wishing he had someone to talk things through with. Maybe meeting everyone at once was the way to do it. Like ripping off a Band-aid—get it all done quickly.
The ranch was always busy, but June seemed to be particularly so, especially after a wet spring like they’d just had. It felt like everything on the ranch grew in June, from the trees, to the bushes, to the undergrowth, to the crops and hay. Jeremiah had mowing to do, and baling to attend to, and inventory on their feed, hay bale rotation, the cleaning of another barn….
And Whitney had two shoots in one day. If she had time to go buy a ring before the birthday party and then attend it, so did he.
Tell me what time and where to pick you up, he said. And I’ll be there.
I’m shooting downtown in the morning, she said. I can meet you at TRJ.
He puzzled over the letters, even going so far as to search for their meaning online. A horse snuffled on the other side of the wall, and Jeremiah knew he needed to pocket his phone and get to work.
“Oh, of course,” he said when the Internet spat out the answer he needed. “Three Rivers Jewelers.” His chest seized. His throat narrowed. He very nearly threw up.
He could not believe he was going to go buy a diamond ring and make Whitney his fiancée tomorrow.