Abe scratched his bald head. “Mind my asking where you got this pretty little wife? You never mentioned her.”
Michael said the first thing that came to mind. “We met in church. I didn’t know she cared about me, but when she mentioned marriage, I thought it was a good idea.”
They all nodded as if he’d explained. Michael had the feeling if any woman had ever mentioned marriage to any one of them she would have been forced to take all three. They came as a set.
“Now, clean up and wait for me inside.” He smiled as they hurried around the house, heads down. The food might sound good, but washing had always been treated like a disease.
Michael didn’t know what he expected to see when he walked into the main house on the ranch, but a mansion wasn’t it. The place shone grander than the hotels he’d seen in Fort Worth and Austin. It had a long staircase and candles everywhere on tall gold candlesticks.
He straightened, feeling out of place. No way did he belong here. How could he hope to pull this off? He knew nothing about ranching and even less about women.
Cozette waited at the bottom of the stairs talking to an old woman who looked like she might be the housekeeper. He just stood watching Cozette and wondering how he could even be allowed on the same planet with such a creature.
When she noticed him, she moved away from the old woman and walked toward him, her hand out.
“We need to see my father, but the doctor is with him now.” Her fingers closed around his. “Maybe we can talk while we wait.”
He let her lead him to a long bench outside two massive doors. All his life everywhere he’d been had been small: his uncles’ small cabin, the jail cells, the one-room school. For the first time ever, indoors he felt like he could stand tall and breathe without using up too much air.
She sat next to him, almost touching. “We need to get things clear between us. I’m aware that I may have tricked you into this but I want to be fair now. You’ve done no less than save my life.”
He nodded, aware that she was leaning into him. “It seemed the only way out for us both.” He didn’t bother to add that she hadn’t given him much choice in the matter.
She nodded her agreement, then whispered, “My father has consumption. His lungs are filling with blood, so we can’t stay long. Only a minute. Last year he moved into his study because the stairs got too much for him.” She looked down at Michael’s fingers, still laced in hers. “I’m not close to him. When I was little, he was never around. I thought he hated me. I wasn’t much of a consideration in his world.”
Michael found it hard to believe she wouldn’t be loved. She was rich. She had a grand home. Hell, she even had him for the asking.
She continued, “My mother was French and never really fit in here in Texas. I guess he thought I never would either, because most of the time I was home from school he managed to be somewhere else. When my mother died, it was like he wished I’d disappear. I remember one Christmas at the school he sent me to, he forgot to send someone after me. I ate Christmas dinner with the sisters and, of course, there were no presents allowed.”
He closed his hand around hers. He’d never received one gift for birthday or Christmas, but he found himself feeling sorry for her. Little angels in white should have presents to open.
She met his gaze. “Promise me, for the time we’re pretending, you’ll never be cruel to me.”
“I promise,” he said, “only we’re not pretending. We are married. I’ll try to be a good husband, and when I leave, you’ll have this place for you and your baby if one grows inside you.”
One tear drifted down her cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ll owe you a great debt. Is there nothing you ask?”
He closed his eyes and leaned the back of his head against the wall. Finally, he formed the words. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to touch you now and then.” He lifted his hand as if showing her an example. “I mean you no harm, but I’ve never been near anyone so fine.”