Sweet Texas Fire (13 page)

He sat quietly, trying to process all the information Charlotte had just dumped into his lap. Ever since she’d mentioned that marriage reality show, he’d thought that marrying her would be the perfect way to solve Charlotte’s problem. And also get what he wanted—access to the land in twelve months’ time or earlier if he could somehow convince Charlotte to change her stance. Plus, the immigration website had made it seem so easy. Huh. Did the people on the show that started them on this journey have to go through the same process she’d just mentioned? Or was the TV show sufficient for the immigration department to believe the marriages were real?

His dislike of research was coming back to bite him in the ass.

He twisted the wedding ring on his finger. His assistant knew about his marriage because she’d helped him with the flight arrangements and other necessary details. But he hadn’t even told his brothers yet. Did he want to remove the ring? Admit he’d made yet another mistake?

No.

Marrying Charlotte wasn’t a mistake. He wouldn’t let it be a mistake.

“I take it by your silence you’re seriously considering my suggestion of an annulment.”

He transferred his gaze from his wedding ring to Charlotte. Her eyes, normally vibrant with life and laughter, were dull and sad, and he hated to see them that way.

Gage reached out and ran a finger down her soft cheek. “No.” He leaned closer to her. “No, I’m not considering it. I don’t want an annulment. I need to stay married to you, Charlotte Cooper. We’ll sort everything out, and we’ll convince everyone around us that we are in love and that our marriage is real. Including the federal immigration people.”

He closed the distance between them and kissed her once again. He cupped the back of her neck, holding her close to him as he caressed her lips, his body igniting with fire for her once again. It seemed he only had to touch her and he wanted her. He could think of nothing better than spending each night with Charlotte in his arms. Waking her up each morning with a kiss on the neck. Traveling together to work. Hell, they could even discuss the state of the industry and how best to protect the environment while still achieving his oil-pumping goals before hell froze over.

“Ouch,” she mumbled against his lips.

Charlotte broke the contact between them as she jumped up. “Dammit, Oil Slick, get your claws out of me.”

The cat leaped to the ground and stalked out of the room with its tail swishing from side to side in annoyance. Gage laughed. “I swear, that cat is an old enemy of mine who has been sent back to torment me.”

“You have a lot of enemies? Do I need to be worried?”

Her comment boosted his confidence. She was going to stick with their plan.

“Nope, you don’t have to be worried.”

“Good to know.”

He reached out and took hold of her hand again. “So, are we good, Red? We’ll stick with our plan?”

“Umm, maybe,” she murmured before glancing back to the bed where, if his annoying feline hadn’t interrupted them, they could’ve been on the way to making love right this moment. Gage’s cock hardened even more at the thought and ached to be released.

He ran a hand through his hair, thinking a cold shower was a necessity right at that moment. “I’ll leave you to unpack. But before I go, I want to say one more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Nothing changes. Understand? I made you a promise to help you get your green card, and I won’t go back on that.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded and walked out the door. At the end of the day, he was the winner. Not only did he have a beautiful wife, but now he had also access to an oil-rich piece of land. And considering the terms of their marriage were changing with regard to the length of time they stayed together, he could make a little amendment, too. He would adjust his own plans. Instead of waiting until after the marriage ended to get the land surveyed to find out how much oil was there, he would see if he could arrange it within the next couple of weeks. He’d already given the surveyor some preliminary information, which the surveyor had confirmed receipt of just before they’d left for Vegas. He’d just tell him to proceed with it now. It would be noninvasive, and Charlotte would never have to know.

It was Saturday morning, and Charlotte had been a married woman for one week. She still slept by herself, and at the moment she and Gage were more roommates than husband and wife.

They hadn’t talked anymore about her obtaining a green card or the process they would have to go through. She had found the name of a good immigration lawyer, but there was no way she was planning on contacting him until she was confident that she and Gage could present a united front and give the lawyer no doubts that they loved each other.

Her stomach plummeted at the thought of trying to fake being in love with Gage—not because she found him repulsive. It was just the opposite. The problem was, it would be easy to fall for Gage. He’d been nothing but the ultimate gentleman. He was being attentive and sweet, making sure she had everything she needed. And at the end of each night, he would give her a kiss on the forehead and head to his room.

 His actions confused her.

“Hey, you want to take a drive?”

 She yelped in fright. “My goodness, Gage, you could’ve at least knocked.” She hadn’t expected Gage to be up at almost eight in the morning. She figured he’d be one who slept in on the weekend. “I could’ve been changing or coming out of the bathroom in a towel.”

Gage walked into her room, a first since the night she’d had her meltdown about the visa and the situation they now found themselves in. “Sorry. I’ll remember next time. But, if you need help changing or drying off I’ll be more than willing to help.”

“Umm tempting as you may think that might be, not going to happen. So what do you want?”

“I thought we could spend the weekend down at Sweet Ridge. I haven’t spoken to Gavin or Grayson since we got married. I figured it would be best if we told them our news face-to-face and together. You know, present a united front.”

He hadn’t spoken to his brothers about their marriage? She hadn’t thought to ask him about it even though they’d Skyped her parents the other night and informed them. The initial surprise and worried looks on her parents’ faces had concerned her. If they couldn’t convince her parents, the people who knew her the best, they were in love and happy, how could they convince the immigration department? She needn’t have worried. Gage had been super-attentive, and she hoped his actions and her reactions to him had been enough to convince her parents they had a genuine relationship. It had taken everything in her not to jump every time he touched her during their call. And it wasn’t because she didn’t like his touch. She found that at times, she wanted more little brushes against her arm or his arm around her waist. She’d lost count of the number of times she’d told herself it was a business arrangement, nothing else. The fact that her parents hadn’t e-mailed her at all since the call confirmed to her that they’d convinced them all was well in their marriage. But could they fool Gavin and Grayson and the good folk of Sweet Ridge?

She studied Gage as he stood leaning against the chest of drawers. He looked relaxed, but she could see the slight tension in his shoulders, as if he expected her to turn him down. After everything he’d done for her, it wasn’t too much to ask her to do this one thing for him.

“That sounds like fun. Where are we going to stay?”

“That’s the best part. I thought we’d stay at the house on the land. What do you think?”

“I love that idea. But we’ll need to get some sleeping bags and air mattresses. From memory I don’t think there are any beds there.” Charlotte couldn’t contain her excitement at the idea of spending time in the house. Although knowing that she wouldn’t be able to follow through with her plans of making it a holiday house dimmed the glow a little. But what did it matter? For the next few months, at least, they could make regular visits and she could clean the place up. Give it a fresh coat of paint on the inside and outside. She could always hope that when the survey had been completed in a year’s time, it would show there wasn’t a lot of oil on the property and then Gage wouldn’t drill there after all.

“By the time we get packed and sorted out, we’ll be able to stop at a camping store and pick up the necessary things. Can you recall whether there was a refrigerator in the kitchen?”

“I can’t remember. But if there’s not, we should be able to pick up a small one from Walmart that will serve us for the time being.”

“That works. How long will it take you to pack a bag?”

“I can be done in thirty minutes.”

“That will give me time to sort out what we have to take for Oil Slick.”

“We’re taking the cat?”

Gage looked at her as if she had three heads and each head asked an even sillier question than the previous one. “Of course. You don’t think I’d leave her here on her own, do you? I’ve already had to replace three cushions on the couch before I started taking her to the office with me. I’m not going to leave her alone for a whole weekend. We’d come back to a wrecked house.”

Charlotte laughed. “Wait till I tell your brothers a ball of fur has got you wrapped around her tail.”

Gage shrugged it off with a smile. “Eh, they’ve teased me for worse things. And Gavin’s dog, Merle, goes everywhere with him, so he won’t blink an eye at me taking the cat with me wherever I go. He was the one who gave me the leash when I became Oil Slick’s new daddy.”

“What about packing for yourself? I see you didn’t mention that. I hope you don’t plan on spending the whole weekend in the same clothes.”

Gage chuckled. “I’ve already packed.”

“Oh, you were that sure I was going to say yes and go with you, were you?”

“Of course I was. I knew you wouldn’t need much encouragement to go see the house. I’ll see you in thirty.”

He breezed out of the room, leaving her standing there, wondering if she’d just been conned.

• • •

The drive down to Sweet Ridge passed without too much drama. Charlotte fully expected to travel down in two cars, as she knew not everything they were taking and needed to buy would fit in Gage’s sports car or her sedan. So she was taken aback at the shiny blue SUV idling under the building’s portico. It seemed Gage had two cars. Once everything was packed in and Oil Slick fastened into the special seat Gage had purchased, they started their trip, only stopping at Gander Mountain, where Gage went in and purchased everything they needed. She stayed in the SUV with Oil Slick. While waiting, she let herself dream of future trips like this … only instead of having the cat in the car, there were two children chatting happily in the back.

She yanked herself out of the daydream pretty quickly. No matter what her imagination might think she wanted, her practical side had enough sense not to get too carried away with fanciful thoughts of a future with Gage.

Their marriage was temporary—if you could call having to be married for two years “temporary”. Splitting after two years would give everyone the impression they’d given it a red-hot go.

They pulled up at the house. After not seeing it for a couple of weeks, she’d forgotten how cute it looked and how much it fit in, sitting on the rise in the land.

“Why don’t you go inside and start opening the windows to let some fresh air in while I unpack? I told Gavin and Grayson we’d meet them at the Silver Spurs at one.”

“Do they know I’m coming with you?”

Gage leaned over and kissed her quickly on the cheek. The action was unexpected. “Nope. I thought I’d surprise them.”

Oh boy, were they going to be surprised. “Are you planning on telling them the real reason we got married?”

Gage pulled a couple of bags out of the back of the SUV. “Nah, I’ve been doing some research of my own after our conversation, and in case we do get investigated, it would be best we keep things about our arrangement on the down-low. The fewer people who know, the better.”

“That makes sense,” she said as she walked away toward the house. She opened the door. The musty odor of abandonment assailed her nostrils—what she’d expected the house to smell like the first time she’d visited. She should probably ask around town to find out who had looked after it before and get them to continue to do so.

As she walked around the house, methodically opening all the windows, she let herself think about Gage’s suggestion about presenting their marriage.

He was all Mr. Executive this weekend, treating their marriage like the business deal it was. And he was good at business deals. He’d started out in menial jobs on rigs before ascending to the executive suite. According to the magazine articles she’d read about him, he had a natural instinct for the oil business.

She should probably get those details about his journey up the oil rig ranks if they were going to pull off this marriage charade.

But that would be later—and especially not in front of his family.

Charlotte had just finished opening all the windows upstairs when Gage appeared on the landing.

“Do you want your bag in the master bedroom, seeing as this is your house and all?” he joked…maybe.

“Sure, that sounds as it should be. I haven’t checked to see if we have running water, have you?”

“Nope, but I know this house is connected to the town water supply, as well as having a rainwater tank at the back. I’ll check to see if things are working.”

She nodded, even though he had already walked away. She headed back downstairs while a million other thoughts about the house entered her mind. The living room would need a good cleaning, even though it had been reasonably dust-free the last time they were there. The soft tread of shoes hitting the hardwood floors sounded behind her. She turned as Gage joined her in the room.

“Did you check to see if we have a fridge?” she asked.

“Yeah, I turned it on, but it needs a clean-out.”

“Maybe after lunch we can stop off and get some cleaning supplies. I should’ve thought of that before we left Houston.”

“We should make a list of everything we need and what needs a quick fix. This house hasn’t been lived in for a long time. I’m surprised it’s not covered in more layers of dust than it already is.”