Baby Love (21 page)

204 CATHERINE ANDERSON

and he'll be handling the situation with Heidi as well. Once we're married, we'll be one step closer to getting temporary custody of her, and in regards to Jaimie, Lon-nie's hands will be completely tied. "

Oh, how Maggie wished she could be absolutely sure of that, but experience made her almost afraid to hope.

"And when will the marriage take place?" she asked. "It sounds as if you're pushing for soon. "

"In a situation like this, the sooner it's all a done deal, the safer we are. "

She couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze.

"Honey, what is it?"

"It just seems—" Maggie bit her lip. "It's all happening so fast, is all. " She gathered her courage and looked up at him. "Here I am, about to get married, and I can't even get out of bed yet. "

He touched a fingertip to the end of her nose. His voice was laced with amusement when he replied, "If you were completely well, you'd probably spend the first week of our marriage in bed. "

Maggie's stomach felt as if it dropped through the mattress beneath her and plopped onto the floor. Fiery heat flooded into her face.

He sighed and braced a hand on each side of her, his broad chest forming a canopy of muscle over her and the baby. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't tease you like that. " When she averted her face, he leaned around to look her in the eye again. "Maggie... " he said in a gently scolding tone, "I told you not to worry about it.

Right? It'll be fine, I promise you. Whatever it is you're afraid of, just put it straight out of your head. "

He made it sound so easy, only it wasn't. At least not for her.

Shifting his weight to one arm, he trailed the back of his knuckles over her cheek. "You're not going to back out on me at the last minute, are you?"

Jaimie's warm little body lay pressed against her, a reminder of all that she might lose if she did. "No, "

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she managed to say. "I don't want to back out. " She felt some of the tension ease from him. "You're sure? If you're having second thoughts, speak up now,

sweetheart, before it's too late. " He acted as if she had a choice. "I'm sure, " she said hollowly.

Late the following afternoon, Maggie became Rafe Kendrick's wife, with only Heidi in attendance as one of her family members, and Ryan and Becca acting as witnesses. For Maggie, the quick bedside ceremony was an ordeal.

"Do you, Margaret Lynn Stanley, take this man, Rafael Paul Kendrick, as your lawfully wedded husband, promising to love and honor him, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

the judge asked.

Maggie directed a panicked glance at Heidi and then at the bassinet. Through the flannel gown, Rafe's hand felt as big as a baseball mitt curled over her ribs. "I, um... I do. "

His fingers tightened when the judge finished his recitation and it came his turn. Then, in a strong, steady voice, he said, "I do. "

"Do you have the rings?"

When cued by the judge, Ryan stepped forward with the rings. When he flipped open the lid of a red velvet box and held it toward her, Maggie plucked the man's plain gold wedding band from the folds of white satin.

Rafe drew his arm from around her to extend his hand. She stared at his long fingers, the knuckles cal-loused and scarred from a lifetime of grueling work. She

206.

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was aware of Becca sniffing and saying, "Oh" in a quavery voice.

"As you slip on the ring, Maggie, please repeat after me.,. " Judge Barker instructed.

The sound of the judge's voice and her own tangled in her mind. As she aimed the ring at Rafe's finger, it slipped from her grasp and fell to the carpet, bouncing before it landed between her bare feet.

As Rafe crouched to retrieve it, he curled a warm hand over her ankle, which was hidden by the hem of her nightgown. Maggie leaped like a startled gazelle. He tipped her a look, his expression changing swiftly from concern to bewilderment. As he pushed erect, his gaze held hers. This time he helped guide the ring onto his finger.

After that, everything seemed to happen with dizzying haste, and the next thing she knew, Rafe was saying in a strong voice, "With this ring, I do thee wed. "

Maggie gaped at the wedding set he slipped on her finger. The intertwined diamonds looked as big as a nickel in her blurred vision. When he released her hand, her arm fell to her side as though an anchor were attached.

He slipped his arm back around her waist. Was it only her imagination, or did he touch her differently now? Maggie felt certain the tips of his fingers nestled more intimately beneath her breast.

The judge smiled and snapped the book closed. The sound reminded Maggie of a lock tumbling. "Rafe, you may now kiss your bride. "

Rafe framed her face with his hands and staked gentle claim to her mouth. Her mind went blank. She couldn't feel her lips and swayed when he let go.

"I wish you both all the best, " the judge said.

"Thanks, Harry. " Keeping his left arm locked around her, Rafe leaned forward to shake hands with the judge. "And you can stop worrying. I'll make her happy or die trying. "

2o8 CATHERINE ANDERSON

Maggie blinked. Rafe sounded almost defensive. She focused on the judge, who was eyeing her with concern. Ryan wore the same worried expression. Was her reluctance to marry Rafe so obvious?

Ryan tossed the ring boxes onto the foot of the bed. "Move aside, brother. It's my turn now to kiss the bride. Maybe I'll get a more enthusiastic response. "

Rafe gave a halfhearted laugh and drew his arm from around her, whereupon Ryan grasped her by the shoulders. She found herself looking up into gray-blue eyes very like her husband's. Uncertain what to expect, she tensed as Ryan bent his head, his lips barely grazing hers. Then he whispered in her ear. "He's a big old teddy bear. Don't look so worried. "

As Ryan released her and stepped away, she glanced up at her groom's dark face. His jaw muscle twitched, and she saw an unmistakable glitter in his eyes that reminded her of light glancing off ice chips.

A teddy bear?

"Congratulations, Maggie! Wow, you're married. I can't believe it!" Heidi gave Maggie a quick hug. Then she turned to Rafe. He grinned and drew her close. "Does this mean you're my brother?" Heidi asked.

Ryan reached out to tousle the ten-year-old's hair. "It means you've got two brothers, pillbox. I've finally got a kid sister to torment. " He tweaked the end of Heidi's nose. "What do you think about that?"

Heidi's eyes sparkled with gleeful anticipation as she glanced from Ryan to Rafe. Dressed in a brand-new pink top and a pair of pricey designer jeans, she looked glowingly happy, and the undiluted adoration in her gaze hinted that she had already developed a crush on Maggie's new husband and her brother-in-law.

"Are you gonna torment me, too, Rafe?"

Rafe chuckled. "Probably. It's an irresistible pastime for older brothers. Only until you turn sixteen, though. Then we'll switch gears and make life miserable for all your boyfriends. "

"Boyfriends? Yuck!"

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The child's undisguised disgust at the thought made everyone in the room laugh. As the sound trailed away, Maggie felt the attention center on her.

She pasted on a smile and said, "Well, thank goodness that's done. "

She winced even as she spoke, for she sounded like someone who'd just undergone surgery without anes-thetic.

"Yeah, " Rafe said dryly. "Thank goodness. "

"Not quite, " the judge said. "There are the papers yet to sign. " He motioned at the dresser.

Rafe led Maggie to the opposite side of the room. Her hand shook as she signed her name to the documents, and she was acutely aware that her new husband kept his arm around her as he took the pen and bent to scrawl his own signature. As he straightened, he said, "Feel as if you just signed your life away, Mrs. Kendrick?"

How she felt—about anything—didn't really matter. In that moment, it seemed to her that it never had.

"Don't we all when we get married? People don't usually think of it as a temporary thing, after all. "

"My sentiments exactly. " He grasped her lightly by the shoulders and steered her toward the bed. "You've been up long enough. Back to prison. "

That was how she felt as she slipped between the crisp sheets, that he was returning her to a cage. He plumped the pillows. His knuckles grazed the flannel over her breasts as he smoothed the top fold of the sheet. Her nipples puckered into hard points. He felt the tips thrusting against his hands and glanced up.

For several heartbeats, they stared at each other. Then he drew away, the backs of his fingers brushing against her even in retreat. She knew the touch was unintentional, but it was no less disturbing, for all of that.

"Well!" Becca said, wiping beneath her eyes and snuffling. "This wedding was as beautiful as any I've ever seen, absolutely beautiful. "

Maggie glanced down at her flannel nightgown.
Beau-

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CATHERINE ANDERSON

tiful?
Her groom was dressed in jeans and a chambray work shirt. As a little girl, she'd imagined getting married someday in a lacy white wedding gown with a long train and veil. She'd abandoned that dream years ago, but she still felt sad. Real life never turned out to be anything like you imagined it might be when you were a child, not even if you married the modern-day equivalent of a handsome prince.

The rings winked on her finger as she toyed with the sheet and absently listened to Heidi's chortling. She wondered if Rafe had selected the rings or simply barked another order into the phone, leaving the jeweler to choose for him. As big as the diamonds were, the intertwining design was delicate and feminine.

"I hope you like them, " he told her in a voice as scratchy as sandpaper.

Maggie jerked her head up to find him still standing over her. Angling her thumb across her palm, she touched the underside of the bands that felt so strange on her finger. "They're beautiful. How did you know my size?"

"I guessed. If you don't like my taste, we can exchange them. " His mouth quirked at one corner, and he shrugged. "The design reminds me of you, somehow. Delicate but radiant. "

So he had chosen the setting himself. Maggie was glad. Somehow it made the rings mean more to her, knowing that. "I like them just fine. " They were lovelier than anything she might have chosen herself and had probably cost the earth. Unfortunately, her pleasure in them was ruined. This didn't feel like a real marriage to her. It was more a convenient arrangement. And if it happened that they split up later, she'd have to pay for the diamonds. She felt as if she were getting in deeper with every breath she drew.

"Thank you. "

Becca lifted Jaimie from the bassinet and motioned to Ryan. He began piling baby paraphernalia inside the basket under Becca's direction.

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LOVE 211

"What are they doing?" Maggie asked Rafe.

"Becca's taking Jaimie and Heidi to Ryan's place for the night so we can be alone. What with you being sick, we'll postpone the cake, champagne, and gift opening until next week. I was afraid too much hoopla today might tire you. "

Her attention riveted to Jaimie, Maggie stifled her objections. This
was
their wedding night. Rafe had been patient about having Jaimie around, never once complaining or growing cross, not even when the baby cried. As her husband, he did have a right to expect at least one night alone with her.

With a worried gaze, she watched Becca exit the room with Jaimie in her arms and Heidi on her heels.

Ryan trailed behind them, the bassinet clutched waist-high. "Don't worry about any of the chores, " he called over his shoulder. "I've got the men taking care of the cattle, and I'll drive back over to feed the horses. "

The judge snapped his briefcase closed, flashed Maggie a farewell smile, and joined in the sudden exodus.

"I'll be back in a while, " Rafe told her. "I need to show Harry out and take care of a few things. "

She was in no great hurry. When the door closed behind him, she relaxed against the pillows and closed her eyes, unable to forget how he had accidentally grazed the front of her gown with his knuckles. Her nerve endings felt raw, every brush of the flannel against her breasts making her skin burn.

A sick feeling settled in her stomach as she turned the rings on her finger. She'd done it. They were married. She had to remind herself that her sister and son were safe and try not to think of anything else.

She listened to the loud ticking of the case clock across the room, its pendulum marking off the seconds.

Their wedding night.
Oh, God.
But she could think of no way around it. She supposed she could tell Rafe she still felt tender from giving birth, but she'd always been a lousy liar. Better to just take her medicine than to risk

212 CATHERINE ANDERSON

making him angry. Getting through tonight would be enough of an ordeal without that.

Nearly twenty minutes passed before he pushed open the door. He held a silver tray balanced in his hands. Tucked under one arm, he carried two silver candle-holders bearing long tapers. "Hi, " he said, flashing a grin as he came toward her. "I decided we should celebrate by sipping fine wine from my grandmother's Wa-terford. "

Maggie gazed at the delicate, long-stemmed goblets. "They're lovely. "

"She collected it for years. My grandmother gave it to my mother on her wedding day, and she, in turn, gave it to Susan on hers. The entire set will be yours now. "

A lump of resentment rose in Maggie's throat. She was living in Susan's house, had possibly been sleeping in her bed, and now she had married the woman's husband and was inheriting her wedding gifts.

Secondhand Maggie. She felt like an interloper.

He shoved the lamp and telephone aside with his forearm to make room on the beside table. Becca had gone to a lot of trouble, laying out finger foods on lacy paper doilies: cheeses, slivers of dill pickle, green and black olives, sliced ham and beef, and dainty crackers. He'd also brought along the bottle of wine.

"For refills, " he explained when he saw her looking at it. "I thought—" He straightened and pushed at his hair, which had fallen over his forehead in loose, glistening black waves. He looked nervous and sort of harried, as if he'd been rushing around and was only just now getting a chance to catch his breath. As he uncorked the bottle and poured them each some wine with an economy of motion, he said, "I know you're a little nervous. I thought this might help. "

"Can I have the whole bottle?"

The words no sooner popped out than Maggie wanted to kick herself. But instead of seeming perturbed, Rafe only laughed. Still smiling, he sat down and settled a

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thoughtful gaze on her. Two seconds in, and Maggie started to feel as if those gray-blue eyes were turning her skin inside out. She plucked tensely at the dusty-rose fuzz of the blanket.

"You really
are
nervous, " he finally said, his voice low and silky. "I apologize for that. I've been so busy making arrangements, I put you on hold and ignored you. "

"You've taken care of the two people who matter most to me. I don't mind being put on hold. Really. "

"I'll just bet you don't, " he said, his tone laced with gentle amusement. "And that's my fault. I should have been trying to make you feel more at ease about this. "

"You've tried. " Maggie lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "I'm sorry I'm—it's just—kind of sudden. I mean, in ways I feel as if I've known you forever. I hate being in bed, so every minute I've been sick has seemed years long. But then I think—did I even know you a week ago? I'm—"

"You don't have to explain. " He slipped his hand to her neck, his fingertips making those heart-stopping circles on her skin again, as he'd done when he kissed her in the Cessna. "I understand. We'll take it nice and slow. "

Slow? She preferred the quick and painless approach. She was relieved beyond measure when he drew his hand away to reach for the wineglasses. Her fingers quivered as she grasped the cool stem of the goblet he handed to her. He extended his toward her. "To us and many happy years together. "