tightened in resignation. “I’m sorry, Merri. You and I should be focused on the kids now, getting them adjusted to the changes in our lives. Instead…” He paused, shook his head then sent her a beseeching glance.
They had houseguests.
Lots of very attractive, very smitten female houseguests.
Chase continued, “When I issued the standing invitation to everyone in my unit, I wasn’t married.”
Merri knew the appearance of his army buddies was unexpected—although maybe she and Chase should have gotten a clue from the holiday gift basket and card, and all the signs the women were holding up in the photo.
But that only made it a tiny bit better. Because Chase was right…it would be best if they could focus on the kids—and being married—without an audience of half a dozen very interested admirers.
Still, it was the holiday season, a time of thanks and giving. And these were friends and colleagues who had served in the military field hospital alongside Chase. Merri put her emotions aside, dug deep and called up the generosity the situation required.
She reached out and touched his arm gently. “It’s okay, Chase. Really.” She looked into his eyes, so he would know she meant what she said from the bottom of her heart. “It’s only for a couple of nights, and we have room at the ranch—if everyone doubles up and two people volunteer to sleep on sofas.”
Chase’s brow furrowed as he calculated, same as Merri. There were two guest rooms, two sofas, one master suite…and eight adults.
“Obviously, you’ll have to sleep in my room temporarily.” Merri stepped back slightly. Thinking about what it would be like to share the sheets with him, she struggled to control a self-conscious flush.
Chuckling, he took her hand. Warmth spread throughout her body as his fingers engulfed hers. “There’s always the barn....”
Merri’s throat went dry as she gazed up into his mischievous eyes. “Hilarious,” she muttered, then returned to the matter at hand. “But like it or not, we’ll have to sleep together as long as we have company. Otherwise people will speculate more than they already are.”
“How do you know they’re speculating?” he asked in surprise.
Seriously? Merri rolled her eyes in exasperation. A hot development like the marriage was probably all over the hospital and town grapevines. “Did you not see the looks we were getting in the cafeteria when your lady friends arrived?”
“Uh…” Chase shrugged his broad shoulders, looking every bit the clueless male. “Not really…”
“What about before that?” Merri pressed. “When we said hello and the kids were anything but happy to see their new dad?”
A look of hurt flashed in Chase’s eyes, then disappeared. That he apparently did recall, all too acutely, and Merri’s heart went out to him. He had already missed so much. First steps, first words. All those Christmases and birthdays. The first day of preschool. Through no fault of his own.
His expression sobered, becoming all the more sincere. “I think you’re being too sensitive,” he countered softly. “People understand we just got married and are in an adjustment period here.”
She studied his big, scrub-clad frame, deciding he was way too sexy in whatever he wore. Way too masculine and capable and kind. Aware that she could fall hard for Chase if she wasn’t careful—and she intended to be careful, particularly with a bevy of female admirers suddenly in the picture. Merri folded her arms in front of her. “Maybe people also understand a lot more than we’d like them to—which is why everyone is so skeptical when they look at us.”
What if they couldn’t fool his friends? Merri worried nervously.
Or anyone else, for that matter. What would Judge Roy do if she concluded that Merri and Chase were just scamming the court, as a means to an end? Laramie County was a close-knit community. Sooner or later, everyone knew everyone else’s business. Or at least most of it.
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