His Marriage to Remember - By Kathie DeNosky Page 0,16

Sam growled impatiently. “This had better be good.”

While he reassured Nate that he was feeling a lot better now that he was out of the hospital and back home, Bria walked over to pick up the breakfast tray. “Your brother was up earlier than usual,” she said, carrying it over to the bed as Sam ended the call and placed the phone back on the nightstand.

“I’m betting he hasn’t gone to sleep yet.” Sam shook his head. “I’ve told him that he needs to use some of that fortune he’s won riding the rough stock to buy a ranch, then find himself a good woman like I did and settle down. But that wild streak in him is a mile wide.”

Bria couldn’t argue with Sam’s assessment of his younger brother. She loved her brother-in-law dearly, but for as long as she had known him, Nate’s escapades with women had been legendary. He loved the ladies and they loved him.

“I told you I could make it to the kitchen on my own steam,” Sam said, scowling at the tray as he started to get out of bed.

“Last night was an indication that you still need to take it easy,” she said, handing him the tray to keep from dumping it in his lap as she would have liked. “And whether you like it or not, I enjoy doing things for you.”

His stubborn pride was beginning to grate on her already frayed nerves, but she didn’t want to upset him. The whole point of her moving back to the ranch temporarily was to keep him calm and hopefully speed up the recovery of his memory, not prolong the amnesia. The sooner he remembered the events of the past six months, the sooner she could get on with the rest of her life. And if she kept reminding herself of that fact, she might be able to avoid throttling him.

“What happened out on the porch last night was a fluke,” he groused, clearly irritated that she had brought up the incident. He tried to hand the tray back to her, but she ignored him. “I’m going to take a shower and get dressed, then—”

“Please, Sam, I don’t want to argue.” Reaching for the pillows, she took her time propping them up between him and the headboard in an effort to stay calm. If she didn’t, she just might take one of them and bop him with it. “Sit back, enjoy your breakfast and then take a shower.”

When he set the tray on the bed, then stood up, anger and resentment threatened to put an end to her resolution not to argue with him. “I wish just once you would let me feel like I’m your wife and let me do something for you. It would be a refreshing change to feel as if you needed me for more than making love,” she said before she could stop herself.

He frowned. “What the hell do you mean by that?”

Bria knew that if she didn’t put some distance between them she would end up saying more than he was ready to hear. “I’ll take this to the kitchen,” she said, picking up the tray. “I’d ask you to wait until I return before you get into the shower in case you become light-headed, but you wouldn’t listen and I’m tired of trying to convince you to follow doctor’s orders.”

“I don’t need—”

“Save it, Sam,” she said as she walked to the door to take his breakfast downstairs. “I’ve already heard it more times than I care to count.”

* * *

Standing in the shower, Sam frowned as he tried to figure out why Bria was so upset. What had she meant by that comment about wanting him to let her feel like his wife?

He could remember her mentioning it a few times in the past couple of years, but he hadn’t understood it then any more than he did now. Did fussing over him make her feel more like a wife? Or did she think she wanted him to sit flat on his rear and let her do everything for him?

If so, she was in for a huge letdown. He wasn’t going to let any woman take care of him. That wasn’t what a real man did.

From the moment he knew he wanted to marry her he had worked his ass off to make sure he could provide her with the best life had to offer. He had done everything he possibly could to see that she had