Two Nights with His Bride (15 page)

Or maybe the fact she was picturing Barbara Lovell wetting herself was a sign of impending madness.

“Oh my God.” She pressed her hand to her chest, trying to keep the dress up as she regained her sanity. “What have I done?”

“Don’t
you dare tell me you regret leaving him.”

“No. Never. But—” Reality swooped in, and a violent shiver racked her body. Wyatt shrugged off his suit coat and slid it over her before tugging her against his chest. She buried her face against him and breathed in his fresh, woodsy scent. No cologne. No aftershave. Just deodorant, hard work and reassuring warmth.

And pheromones. Good God, the pheromones!
Her body responded in kind, heating up and stretching to life, eager to get closer. She fought the tide of lust and adoration that hit her hard. Lifting her head from the security of his chest, she glanced around and blinked, realizing for the first time she had no idea where he’d brought her. They stood on a grassy bank with the river ambling along below them. A few feet away stood a small
cabin with an attached stable big enough for one horse. Something felt strangely familiar about the place, but she couldn’t bring to mind any specific memories, only feelings. Excitement. Fear. But maybe those were simply the emotions fighting for control of her now, invading all her thoughts. “Are we still on the ranch?”

“No, I inherited this small plot from my grandparents, but we’re right
on the edge of your land. Don’t tell me you bought the place without inspecting every inch of it.”

She straightened her shoulders, trying to keep her dignity despite wearing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of useless rags. “I bought it for my parents. They took care of everything. I just provided the money.”

And unless she discovered a miracle, she wouldn’t be able to provide any more.
She fought back a wave of desperation, but she must not have hidden it from her face because Wyatt said, “What’s wrong?

“Nothing. Everything.”

“It’ll be okay.” He held her closer. “We’ll figure everything out.”

We.
When had they become a team? She didn’t have the energy to question it. For now, she wanted to forget she was shivering in a ruined wedding gown in the arms of a man who wasn’t her
groom. She pressed her palm against her throbbing temples. She didn’t have time to feel sorry for herself. She had to find some clothes, get back home and start solving her own problems again. She’d fallen for the wrong man and narrowly escaped his controlling clutches. Now she had to make everything right—starting with the man who still held her in his arms.

“Thank you, Wyatt,” she whispered.

His embrace tightened around her. “For what?”

“For seeing all the things I should’ve seen. For being so blunt I couldn’t ignore you. But most of all, for not giving up. I…I owe you everything.”

He gently cupped her cheeks and tipped her head back, his expression rough with barely leashed emotion, his voice even rougher. “You owe me nothing. Please believe that. I didn’t do it because I want
you to feel indebted or grateful.”

“Why did you?” So many of her friends, her family, had clearly seen the same things he had. They’d made their worries clear in their own ways, but only Wyatt had pursued her relentlessly.

His brows drew together, his chest brushing hers with every breath. “Because it was the right thing to do.”

Oh
. For a second she’d wondered whether she’d been anything more
than a damsel in distress to him. What a silly thing to hope for.

It’s not going to happen, Nancylynn
, he’d told her that day she’d tried to kiss him in his truck after he’d picked her up from school.
Never in a million years.

A million years hadn’t passed yet.

Sadness filled her at the thought of facing reality, but she’d gotten herself into this mess by denying it so many times. From now
on, she would force herself to see beyond the surface that people presented to her, not to trustingly take them at their words but to examine their actions and see how the two meshed. “I need to get back.”

“Why?”

“Because.” She couldn’t bring herself to tell him. She’d fallen for Jared because she’d been looking for someone to shoulder her burdens. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. The ball
of stress that had been making her stomach ache all day returned. “I should be there—”

Wyatt cupped her shoulder. “Listen to me. You have people who love you. They’re taking care of everything. Hell, they’re probably so damn relieved they’re laughing and high-fiving each other.”

Of course they were. They’d been trying to warn her away from Jared without being too pushy. They must’ve been relieved
to see her fleeing toward the woods with another man. And not just a man. Wyatt, the man her dad had sent to check up on her as a teenager. He’d ridden to her rescue again, this time on a horse instead of his truck. She was sick of needing his help. He must have been sick of giving it to her.

“Do you get cell coverage out here? I want my parents to know I’m okay.”

He nodded toward the jacket
she wore. “Inside pocket. I don’t get coverage, but I have an emergency communication app that uses satellites. Do you know their number?”

“Holy crap. Technology, eh?”

“Comes in handy when you’re in the middle of nowhere and the shit hits the fan.”

“Well, great, because that pretty much sums up my life right now.” She handed him the phone and told him the number for her parents’ house phone—the
only one she could remember. He dialed before handing it back to her.

Please be there.

She needed to hear their voices. Needed to show them she was all right.

“Pruitt house,” Wyatt’s dad said.

She gripped the phone tighter. “Aaron?”

“Na—uh… Ned. How are you, buddy?”

Wyatt shifted away, as if to give her privacy. The move felt so strange that it took her a second to realize Jared had crowded
her whenever she’d spoken to anyone on the phone. He’d passed it off as being interested in her, but now she could see how he’d been monitoring her.

“I’m okay,” she said. “I’m with Wyatt. I guess you’re not alone.”

“Nope. You might’ve heard we had a big shindig here today. We’re still cleaning up.”

“Are my parents okay?”

“Oh, sure! Best I’ve seen for a long, long time.”

Some of the tension
melted from her shoulders.

“Good. Is Faye there?”

“Yep, but it’s really not a good time.”

“Okay. I understand. Can you tell her to call me on Wyatt’s satellite thingy?”

He laughed. “You must think I was born this century. I have no idea how to do that.”

Wyatt didn’t look like he overheard, so she waved him over. “He wants to know how to call you on this thing.”

He got close enough to the
phone to say, “Ask Austin.”

“Will do. Hold on.” Aaron’s voice was muffled as he said to someone at the ranch, “No, it’s a former ranch hand we haven’t heard from in a long time.” He paused, and Nancy heard Jared’s mom snap something at him. He snapped right back. “Yes, I know who you are. Now ask me if I give a shit. Give a man some privacy when he’s on the phone.”

Guilt swept through her at
the thought of her loved ones having to deal with the fall-out of her bad decisions. Once Aaron was back on the phone, she said, “Can you tell everyone I’m sorry?”

“If that’s true, you’re the only one. So no, I’m afraid I won’t do that.”

His reassurance didn’t dissolve her queasiness, but it did help reassure her that she’d done the right thing. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Come on down and
we’ll go hunting sometime. Today’s not good, but I’m free tomorrow or the next day.”

“Got it. Thanks again.”

“No problem. Nice to hear from you. It’s been too long.” He hung up, and she gave the phone back to Wyatt. “I love your dad.”

“He’s pretty great.” He slid the phone into one of the outside pockets on the jacket she still wore. “I couldn’t help but overhear that last part. Sounded to
me like he was telling you not to come home tonight.”

“Yeah.” But that wasn’t really an option. “I need to talk to Faye and do damage control.”

“Dad’s probably finding a way to get her away from everyone so she can call you.”

She pulled the jacket’s lapels together over her bedraggled feather dress and ruined corset. “Do you have anything here I can wear?”

“There’s a closet inside. Go take
a look. I’ll stable the horse and be in in a few minutes.” Wyatt handed her a set of keys, singling one out, and she used it to open the cabin’s door. What was left of her wedding dress dragged in the dirt as she stepped over the threshold into a humble fishing cabin. Rods and reels decorated the walls. A kitchen counter, sink and kerosene camping stove lined one wall. A twin bed lined the other.

Not exactly how she’d pictured her wedding reception.

Wyatt’s coat was long enough that she let go of the dress and corset and wrapped the coat tightly around herself. Her boobs had bounced out of her strapless bra during the hard ride, but she hadn’t wanted to adjust herself in front of Wyatt. Now she took the bra off. She didn’t exactly need it for support or coverage. In fact, its main job
was to make her look like she had breasts at all. Her garters showed just below the bottom hem of the coat, hooking onto her muddy, no-longer-white thigh-high stockings. She’d lost her shoes before they’d even entered the woods, so the feet of the stockings were brown.

And yet, for all the ways she looked like she’d been dragged to hell and back, she was relieved.

She padded across the room
and found the closet. When she opened its door, she was blinded by a sea of plaid flannel and recoiled. “Oh, ew.”

“You could always just keep my coat on.” Wyatt leaned against the doorway, apparently finished taking care of the horse. His gaze roamed over her, catching on the garters circling her thighs. “I mean, I wouldn’t complain, but you might get a bit chilly.”

“You’re right. Beggars can’t
be choosers.” The adage had haunted her throughout her childhood. Not that she remembered anyone saying it to her face. Her parents had certainly never considered themselves beggars. As she rifled through the ancient clothes, she fought the urge to hurl. “You know, I was twenty the first time I bought clothes that weren’t second-hand. I swore I’d never again wear someone else’s clothes unless
they were a costume.”

She didn’t know why she’d admitted that out loud. Maybe because Wyatt knew how rough her parents’ financial situation had been. Maybe because she trusted that he’d never judged her for it. He stilled for a second before unbuttoning and shrugging off his white dress shirt. “Here. Wear this.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful.”

“You didn’t. But you shouldn’t have to
wear these dusty old clothes. I just got this shirt for today, so it’s not
too
used.”

He held the shirt out to her, but all she could see was his bare chest. “Um, you should probably put that back on.”

“Why?”

Because we’ll never leave if you don’t…

Guilt swept through her—

Wait. She wasn’t married, wasn’t even engaged. It was okay for her to be tempted by him.

Good thing, because she couldn’t
stop herself.

She took the shirt, but he turned his back to her before she did something stupid.
Idiot. He rode to your rescue because that’s what he’s always done, not because he wants you himself. He probably thinks you’re a complete mess because he has to keep doing it. And what kind of a woman are you, lusting after a man at a time when you should be toasting your new husband?

A very stupid
one, apparently.

“Jesus,” Wyatt murmured, pulling out a flannel shirt. “I should burn some of these.”

“Don’t do that. Someone somewhere could use them.” If she hadn’t been watching the play of his muscles across his shoulders as he flicked through the shirts, she would’ve missed the way they tensed. She focused on doing up the row of buttons lining the oversized shirt. “I’m sorry. I don’t know
why I keep bringing it up.”

He gave up the search and faced her, his arms crossed over his bare chest. “Bringing what up?”

“Money. I don’t think I’m usually this obsessed with it.”

“Really? That would surprise me.”

“Why?”

“Sweetheart, you grew up with almost nothing. That’ll affect who you are and how you see the world for the rest of your life. And now that you could probably buy whatever
you want? Of course it’s something you think about.”

“I’m not
that
rich.”

“And you’re not so jaded that you’ll trade your future to become that rich—or forget that other people could use my old fishing shirts.” He reached out and tugged one of the locks of her hair that had come undone in the swift ride. The tug seemed to pull something deep inside her belly, releasing a rush of heat she fought
to ignore. “I like that about you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

His words filled her with a reassurance she hadn’t know she was looking for. In some ways, being around him was a reminder of all the things she’d tried to forget. In others, it was a huge relief. No more pretending. No more acting like she understood the difference between a corset worth thousands and one worth hundreds.

“Tell
me the biggest thing that’s worrying you.”

A million dollars.

The ranch.

Homelessness.

Falling for you.

“Nothing.”

He snorted. “For such a good actress, you’re a really crappy liar.”

“No, I’m not.” And she should know. She’d fooled herself into buying every single lie she’d told herself.

And there had been plenty recently.

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