could handle that,” Merri murmured.
Chase nodded in relief. “Me, too.”
Liz continued to frown. “That’s a very generous attitude,” she acknowledged. “Unfortunately, for both of you, it’s not quite that simple.”
Chase and Merri groaned in unison as they waited for the ax to fall.
“You see…I know Judge Roy,” Liz continued bluntly. “She is not going to grant this, even on a temporary basis, unless you are married.”
Well, that was out of the question, Merri thought. When she married, it would be for love. Period. To her relief, Chase appeared to feel the same way.
“Isn’t there another judge?” he asked Liz.
The attorney rocked back in her chair. “No. Priscilla Roy is it for Laramie County, in family court.”
“Well, we can still ask,” Chase insisted, as determined as ever to do the right thing. “Explain the situation to her. All Judge Roy can do is say no.”
“That’s true.” Liz pressed her fingertips together in front of her. “But if you lose, you would then have to go to appeal, which would halt the whole process for at least a year.”
Silence fell as they all thought about that.
The last thing Merri wanted was more time in limbo.
Liz leaned forward and concluded kindly, “What I suggest you do is go home, think about all this, spend some time with the kids…and figure out if there isn’t some way the two of you can handle this unofficially, at least for now. Because once you start this process,” she warned, “believe me, there will be no turning back.”
Chapter Two
Chase settled next to Merri on the porch swing. It was a beautiful fall day, sunny and clear, with the temperature hovering around sixty degrees. Broken Arrow land stretched out as far as the eye could see. But as good as it felt to be home again—and the ranch was home to him, and always would be—Chase was focused on the beautiful woman seated beside him. In tailored brown slacks, ivory sweater, and trendy tweed jacket, she was the epitome of a capable thirty-something woman.
The fact that she was so used to being on her own only made the job of convincing her all the harder. “It doesn’t have to be a real marriage,” Chase continued persuasively, determined to have his way on this whether she liked it or not. “At least not in the conventional sense.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” Merri looked at him with a mix of exasperation and cynicism in her vivid green eyes.
He regarded her seriously, aware he had a responsibility here. “Its only purpose will be to help us meet the objective.”
She exhaled softly. “You becoming a father to your children.”
Chase watched as she crossed her legs and clasped her delicate hands around her knee. When had she gotten so all-out beautiful? “While keeping you as the mother they know and love.”
Her forehead creased. “People will talk.” She pushed herself out of the swing, hips swaying provocatively as she began to pace.
Chase stayed where he was, admiring the view. “A lot less if we’re married,” he predicted.
Merri looked at him as if she knew that was true.
“You already asked me if I wanted to stay at the ranch with you and the kids.” He stood and ambled over to join her.
Her hand encircled a post. “Temporarily. And your first instinct was to refuse.”
She smelled like lavender again. Lavender and woman. “Things are different now. We have a lot more on our agenda.”
“No kidding. Look, Chase, I get that we could handle this unofficially, and not get married, but…I don’t want to live with someone again, without being married.”
I don’t want to feel used, unappreciated, not good enough.
Aware that he was scrutinizing her closely, she continued, “The problem with just living together is that it gets too complicated.”
“I agree if I’m to take on the dad role—us getting hitched and becoming a ‘traditional family’ is the best solution.”
On the surface, from a strictly practical point of view, his suggestion was workable. The ranch house had four bedrooms, only two of which were currently occupied, and comprised four thousand square feet. It was more than big enough for the two of them.
The problem was the enforced intimacy of sharing space. The fact that she was already terribly attracted to Chase and would have to be in his presence at all hours of the night and day. With vows exchanged and wedding rings on their fingers, and the whole world thinking they were husband and wife in a very conventional sense, it would be easy to believe their union was more than a means to an end.
Once before, Merri had deluded herself into thinking that proximity plus friendship and desire would grow into something wonderful. She had ended up feeling terribly disillusioned and disappointed, when Pierce finally admitted he didn’t really love her and didn’t want to marry her. She didn’t want to put her heart on the line that way again, only to be rejected in the end.
Trying not to think what Chase’s steady appraisal and deep voice did to her, Merri said, “When I made the offer for you to move in, I was doing so as one extended family member to another.”
He lounged against the side of the house, opposite her, his hands folded against his chest. “You’re worried our relationship wouldn’t stay platonic.”
Well, duh. Merri stared at him, knowing a guy so virile and sexy had to have needs, too. Stubbornly, she kept her eyes locked with his even as her heart raced like a wild thing in her chest. “Aren’t you?”
He shrugged, considering. “I think we’re both adults and could handle whatever happens. Or doesn’t.”
Could they? Was she older and wiser now? More adept at limiting her emotional vulnerability? Certainly, she had lost the naivete that had made her believe in fairy-tale romance and happy endings for everyone. Merri gripped the porch railing. “So if I wanted to avoid physical intimacy…”
He squared his shoulders, suddenly looking like a knight charged with protecting his queen. “We would.”
Now who was kidding whom? She hadn’t had a man in heaven knew how long. The way Chase was looking at her…the place he had come from…indicated he was feeling equally deprived. Still, from a purely technical standpoint, it was a win-win solution for both of them. Especially Chase.
Up to now, he had been dealt a very bad hand in all this. Merri felt for him, and wanted to make it up to him, in whatever way she could.
“How long are we talking about?” she asked cautiously. She had lived with Pierce five years. And in the end, lost a big chunk of her prime child-bearing years to a relationship that culminated in pure heartache. Had it not been for having guardianship of the twins, she wasn’t sure what she would have done.
Chase’s
