The Marriage That Didn't Stay in Vegas (BWWM Romance) (3 page)

              I turned from her.

              “Honey, is it that cowboy up in Calaveras County? James had me searching for that man all night. I thought he was some kind of underground cock or dog fighter.”

              “No, just my husband.” I sighed.

              “Oh, Honey, he seems like a real nice guy.” I just stared at her. “Oh, James doesn’t approve of him?”

              “I have to go, Caress.”

              “Phoebe, if you love him and if you want to be with him, then let it be.  This is your decision, not anybody else’s." 

              I gave her a hug and headed out of the bathroom. I packed my briefcase and laptop.  I had to make this look as professional as possible. I knew Caress would keep her mouth shut; she had to for thirteen years.  I was sure she had seen and done things I didn’t want to hear anything about. 

              I called Addison’s phone and it went straight to voicemail.  I told her that I would be out of town for a couple of weeks before I went home and packed. By the time I was done, it was a little after one.  I decided to go ahead and take the drive out to Calaveras County. It took me two and half hours to get there and the drive was beautiful.  Caress had gotten me a room at one the local resorts, a five-star establishment.

              When I pulled in, I noticed right away the ratings for this place had to have been a couple of stars at the least.  It looked a little wild, weeds were unruly and, there were only three cars in the giant parking lot.  I dragged my bags to the front door and had to rest before I continued. 

              An elderly man came out to help me. “Welcome to the Calaveras County Five Star Resort.”

              “Hello.”

              “You must be the lawyer.”

              “Well, um, yes sir.”

              “Ah, now, none of that 'sir' business. I’m Ben, and here's my lovely wife, Pauline.”

              “It’s very nice to meet you both,” I said with a smile.

              “Now, Sugar, the lady on the phone didn’t tell us how long you’d be staying,” she said with a smile. 

              I wondered if there was a convention coming to town because there wasn’t anybody here. 

              “Maybe a week or two. Is that alright?”

              “Oh yes, Sugar. We just like to know, that’s all. Benji! Benji!” she yelled. 

              A pimple-faced teenager came from around the corner, texting. 

              “Take Mrs. . . .” She dragged the Mrs. part out because she didn’t know what my last name was.

              “Ms. Courtland,” I quickly answered. 

              “Take Ms. Courtland’s bags up to her room.”

              Benji reached around and threw the bags on a luggage carrier. 

              “Blessed be, Benji. Be careful with those, and where’s your hat?”

              The teen pulled a round hat from his back pocket.  It was all crumpled and smashed.

              “Well,” Pauline breathed out in a huff. 

              I signed the three forms and went up to my room.  There were only three floors there and I was on the top.  Benji was standing outside my room when I got there. 

              He never lifted his eyes from his phone as he said, “Here’s the bathroom, kitchen area, bedroom's in there, and here’s your sitting room.  Have a nice stay.” He walked out of the room.

              I held a bill out for him, but he was too busy texting to notice.

              “Benji?” I called after him.

              “Yes, ma’am?” He finally looked up and saw the twenty-dollar bill dangling in his face.  His eyes got wide, and he gave me a huge smile.  He had the biggest braces I’d ever seen.  And, good grief he had horse teeth. I prayed those braces helped with that mouth of his.

              “Thank you, Ms. Courtland and if you need anything else, just call down to the front desk.” Benji left, staring at the twenty all the way down the hall. 

              I changed clothes and decided to go ahead and try to find Xavier’s farm.  I put on a t-shirt and jeans with a pair of rain boots.  I had a feeling I would be knee deep in something squishy or liquid like.  I went down to the front desk, and Ben was behind the counter now. 

              “Excuse me, Ben. I’m trying to find Xavier Luther’s farm.”

              “Well,” he laughed.  I watched him carefully. “Let me show you.” He walked outside and I followed.  He went around to the back of the resort; we walked along the deck.  He pointed in the distance “There’s Xavier’s place… All of that… and there… and even there.”

              It was ginormous and I wasn’t prepared for all of this. 

              “You really don’t need to drive that little car down there. How about I give you a lift and you just call me when you’re ready to come on back?”

              I nodded with a smile. 

              We got in Ben's pickup and bounced all the way to Xavier’s place.  It took us about fifteen minutes, and I couldn’t see a thing but trees until we pulled up to the front gates.  They were massive and looked like they were guarding the grounds.  I’m sure these trees were planted years ago and not placed here a year or two ago.  The gates had to be ten feet tall all the way around.  Ben pushed the buzzer and someone spoke through the box. 

              “Is he expecting you?” Ben asked me in a whisper. 

              I shook my head.

              “Now, you ain't coming up here to start no trouble with Xavier, are you?”

              I shook my head no again, but this time with a frown.

              “Alright then,” he gave me a warning tone. 

              “It’s Ben Cumberland, and I have a delivery for Xavier.”

              “Come on in, Ben,” the voice from the box greeted him. 

              The gates unlocked and sounded like it unlocked some more before they started opening slowly.  Once they opened wide enough for the pickup to fit through, Ben drove on in. 

              We drove down a long driveway and I saw the house. Well, "house" was an understatement.  It was more like a compound, big as it was.  Two big droopy looking dogs came running up to the Pickup.  Ben stopped the truck and shut the engine off. 

              “Hey there, Sonic, and hey there, Boom.” Ben greeted both dogs. 

              They jumped up on Ben, and he patted and rubbed at them. 

              I put my satchel across me and jumped out of the truck.  The one he called Sonic came over and sniffed at me then dropped down to the ground.

              “Oh my God!!! What’s wrong with him?” I asked Ben frantically.

              “Ah, he's just flirting with you. Get up from there, Sonic.”

              The dog jumped straight up.  He kept sniffing me, but he never jumped on me, thank God. 

              We walked around to the back of the ranch and then I got the full effect.  There was a pond, two barns, a few sheds, horse stables and then fields and fields of animals everywhere.  There were all segregated, but there were hundreds of them.   I saw a few little houses out in the distance, but it was obvious they belonged to the massive property.  There were so many people walking around working. They acted as if it was nine o’clock in the morning.  I leaned against one of the huge beams just trying to soak it all in. 

              “Ben! What you been up to? Clara said you had a delivery for me.”

              I heard Xavier’s voice coming from the side of us. 

              “Hey, Xavier. Nothing much, just trying to take in as much fishing as I can.  And yes, I do have a delivery for you.”

              I cringed behind the beam, sweating bullets now.

              “Well, where is it?”

              “She
was
right here."

              “Well, hell, who is it?”

              “It’s your wife,” I told him, stepping from around the beam. 

              Everything on that farm got very still and very quiet.  Ben's eyes were wide as dinner plates, and the rest of the nearby crew was frozen by my words. 

              “Goddammit,” Xavier spit through his teeth. “God dammit!” he said a little bit louder now. 

              “Now, you looked at me straight in the eyes and you said you weren’t coming to bring any trouble,” Ben scolded me.

              “Don’t worry, Ben. She fooled me, too. You just go on ahead and take her right on back with you.  She’s not wanted or welcomed here.” He turned from us and started walking in the opposite direction.

              I opened my satchel and yanked the papers out. “Xavier, just sign these papers and you’ll never have to see me again!” I yelled out to him.

              He didn’t stop.  I ran after him and all the workers moved out of my way.  The men tipped their hats at me, and the women all nodded.  He stomped into the horse stables while three men followed him.  They all wore the same style gear.  Wranglers, huge belt buckles, and plaid or solid shirts.  Oh and they wore boots. All I could see were boots and more boots. 

              “Xavier!”

              He still didn’t slow.  He went into a stall and I tucked my jeans into my boots. 

              “Just sign the damn papers, and I’ll leave you alone,” I yelled over the stall at him. 

              The three men in the barn snickered at me. 

              I jumped up and down, trying to get some kind of reaction to him.  He acted as if I wasn’t even standing there. 

              “Just give me the damn divorce.”

              He walked out of the stall and then I shoved the papers in his face.  He never once looked at me.  He walked into another stall. I held the papers over the stall, but he wouldn’t take them. 

              The men were still laughing at me and it was pissing me off.  I growled as I pulled the papers back from over the stall. I dropped the papers in a pile of what I prayed was not manure.  I screamed at the top of my lungs, bent over through one of the gaps in the fence to get the papers, and there was a loud thud.

              Xavier yelled my name and then everything went dark.  

Chapter 3

The Bride

              Once again, my head was swimming and I could not latch on to my surroundings.  I felt a soft bed under me, and there were at least six, maybe seven, pillows. I reached out to both of sides, not knowing what I was reaching for.  I opened my eyes, but there was nothing but darkness.  I didn’t see a strip of light anywhere.  I’d gone blind.

              I remembered that I had been in the stables arguing with Xavier, and there was a loud thud.  My head was throbbing, but now I was blind, and I didn’t know where I was.  I started screaming and crying.  I yelled and screamed some more, and nothing. 
Where was I?

              “Help me! Please! Help me!”  I looked around and around, and nothing came to view. 

              “Phoebe,” I heard Xavier yelling for me.

              I heard someone running towards me.  I screamed even louder. I heard a thump at the door, and then the room was filled with lights.  There were lights in the ceiling, coming from the walls, and at both sides of the California king bed I was on. 

              Xavier ran over to me and jumped in the bed with me, pulling me up against him.

              “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

              “I thought I was blind,” I cried out into his chest. 

              “What?”

              “I couldn’t see anything. There was no light. I couldn’t see.”

              “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t leave a light on for you.  I didn’t think about what would happen if you woke up and I wasn’t here.”

              “You left me,” I whimpered into his chest

              “What?”

              “You said you wouldn’t leave me, but you left me.”

              “Guys, I think she’s okay. Give us a minute.”

              I turned around and saw five people standing in the bedroom.  I started crying some more, now out of pure embarrassment.  Everyone left the room; it was time for Mr. and Mrs. to have a heart to heart. 

              “Now, what are you talking about?” Xavier questioned.

              “I woke up that next morning and I remembered everything.”

              He didn’t move. I squeezed him a little tighter, but I didn’t even think he noticed.  Xavier was in a daze now and I had put him there. 

              “I called your hotel, but they said you had checked out. Then, I went back to the Vicky’s Café just to see if Mr. Gaines had your number or the name of your farm, but he wasn’t there.” 

              Xavier reached over to the nightstand closest to him, and he put something in my hand.  It was my cell phone. 

              “Go to the H’s.”

              I obeyed and when I made it to the H’s, he tapped the screen and scrolled down.  The name he stopped on was "Hubby". 

              I shook my head, pulled my legs up, and wrapped my arms around them.  I could have called him all this time, but I didn’t know.  We both sat there for a long while, not saying anything to one another. 

              He finally broke the silence.  “Since you came here yesterday and paraded around the fact that we were married, I need you to stay until Sunday.”

              “Why?”

              “Because my entire family is coming today.”

              “Why?”

              He slid away from me and lifted me from the bed. 

              “They’re all coming to meet the bride,” he told me walking out the door. 

              “X.”

              “Don’t call me that.”

              “I’m sorry. My clothes are up at the resort." 

              "I went and got them yesterday.  And, Clara grabbed you a few things from town; they're all in your armoire.” He walked out the door and shut it behind him. 

              I got up and found I was stiff all over. I stretched and that did not help.  I almost had to hobble over to the armoire.  I opened it and frowned. Everything in there was country western type clothes.  I did perk up when I saw there were two pairs of boots sitting by the armoire, a brown pair, and a black pair.  These were my very first real pair of cowgirl boots. 

              I showered and dressed.  I wore a pair of dark wranglers, a pink tank top, and a plaid pink and black button down. I pulled on my black boots and pulled all my hair up in a ponytail.  I looked the part one hundred percent.  I looked in the closet, and it was completely empty.  I checked all of the drawers, and they were completely empty as well.  There was a knock at the door. I went to go answer it. 

              An older Hispanic woman stood there.  “Good morning, Mrs. Luther, I am Clara, Mr. Luther’s head house assistant.” She gave me a genuine smile. 
              “It’s very nice to meet you,” I said.

              "Mrs. Luther, we’re very pleased that Mr. Luther has married, and we want to make this home as comfortable for you as it is for him.”

              “Clara, where does Mr. Luther sleep?”

              She smiled at me and beckoned me to follow her. 

              I giggled and tiptoed behind her. 

              We went all the way down the hall there was a door at the end with three steps leading up to it.  She opened the door, and then we walked in. 

              I was shocked that it was not decorated at all.  All of the walls were tan. There wasn’t anything on them.  He had three identical dark brown dressers, a California king, dark-brown bed, and an oversized rocking chair.  His bedding was cream with a huge soft wool blanket and a giant horse on it.  I imagined Xavier making love to me wrapped all up in that blanket.  I swallowed hard and went back to focusing on his room.  I went into his bathroom. And once again, plain on plain.

              “Clara, why doesn’t he decorate his room?”

              “He told me that his wife would decorate it.  He said he would want her as comfortable as possible here.  Since this is where they would spend most of their time,” she laughed aloud, and I joined in. 

              “Clara, I need your help with a project then.”

              “Anything for you, Mrs. Luther.”

              “I need a very big and secret hiding place.  Somewhere Mr. Luther would never look.”

              “I know such a place,” she giggled. 

              We headed downstairs while I admired every nook and cranny.  Xavier’s house was amazing; everything was made from some sort of wood. We headed into the kitchen for breakfast.  There was a spread on a big table like no other:  all types of meat, eggs, and pastries.  Clara filled my plate and sat me down at a breakfast table right by a window.  I ate while she went through some papers on the counter.

              “Tell me about him?”

              “He’s kind. He’s very quiet. He’s really smart. He’s a great boss, and he supports his whole entire family.  A man like that deserves the best.” I nodded back at her. 

              “How did this happen between you two?” she asked.

              “I met him in a diner, and I fell in love with him on a Ferris wheel.”

              She gave me a big grin, and then there was a buzzing noise.  She excused herself and left the room. I awkwardly sat there, finished my breakfast in silence, and then cleaned my dishes. 

              I was curious to see the entire house, but I didn’t know it well enough to go exploring. So, I went out the side kitchen door to find Xavier.  Everyone was friendly and eager to help me find him.  One of the staff told me that he was in the brown barn up on the hill.  I was walking up towards the barn when Sonic ran up to me.  He just sniffed and sniffed before he fell out in front of me again.  I had to laugh at him, this time because I was aware of his trick.

              “Sonic, why do keep doing that? I see you, silly.” I bent down and rubbed his stomach real good and he went bananas. 

              “You shouldn’t have done that.  He’s going to expect that from you here on out.”

              I didn’t turn around; I didn’t need to.  I could pick out his voice in a crowd of complete strangers talking. He had a stern, thick voice; it reminded me of honey. I stood straight and Sonic whined and moaned at my feet.  I patted him on his head. He licked my hand.         

              “Can I help with anything around here?” I looked up at Xavier and he was staring at me.

              “What do you want to do?” he asked as his left eyebrow rose with curiosity.

              “I don’t care. I just don’t want to mess up anything.”

              “Are you afraid of chickens?”              

              “I don’t think so… I’ve never been around one.”

              “Follow me.”

              We went down by the brown barn. I saw a long strip of little tiny houses that were fenced in.  Xavier handed me a pair of black rubber boots. They were similar to my rain boots but thicker.  I took my leather boots off and put on the rubber ones.  He handed me a big, wire basket with a cushion at the bottom of it.  The cushion had little dips in it.  He opened the door and I walked in behind him.  There was a wall of little boxes with hay in them.  Every last one of them had eggs in it. 

              “Get the eggs from the empty nest and put them in the basket,” he said.

              “Okay.”

              My basket was full in no time.  He handed me another and then another.  I started paying attention now, and I counted the eggs.  There was a spot for twenty-four eggs in each basket. I was on my fifth basket now and I had several more boxes to go.  Xavier just leaned against the counter and watched my every move.  Normally, when someone watched me like a hawk, it made me feel uncomfortable.  But, Xavier watching me didn’t make me feel that way.  I wanted to do the job right and I wanted him to correct me when I messed up. 

              “How many eggs are picked up daily?”

              “About two hundred or so.”

              “And then where do they go?”

              “To the markets.”

              “Markets?”

              “Grocery stores.”

              I nodded. “Where are the cartons?”

              “We have to clean them first.”

              When I finished getting all the eggs, he piled all the baskets up on a dolly.  I changed my boots again, and then we wheeled the eggs over to a building behind the chicken coop.  The steel building was cold like a refrigerator.  Xavier handed me a big coat, but he didn’t wear one.  There were four big machines in the steel building. 

              “We place the eggs in that tray and then you press this button. This will clean the eggs.  Once we're done cleaning them, we will place them in this machine and this will dry them.  Once they're dry, we can put them in the cartons, and then they're ready for the stores.”

              “Wow!”

              He grinned at me. “Do you like eggs?”

              “Yes, and now I have a whole new respect for them.”

              There was a buzzing noise followed by someone paging Xavier through the speakers.  The announcement said that he had a guest in the main quarters. 

              He closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling.  “Come on.”

              “But we didn’t finish the eggs.”

              “Someone else will finish them. Come on.” He held his hand out for me, and I took it. 

              I turned around and looked over at the big machines one more time. 

              “We can come back and finish them. I won’t let anybody touch them,” he told me with a smile. 

              He helped me get out of the big coat.  We held hands as we walked back towards the house.  I could see a group of people standing next to the red barn. I gripped Xavier’s hand a little tighter.

              “It’s okay. Just pretend like you’re in love with me.”

              I looked over at him with a slight frown and he was looking straight ahead. 

              “How many of me has it been?”

              “What? I’ve never been married before,” he said as he stopped walking to look at me head on. 

              “I meant, how many girls have you introduced them to?”

              “None.”

              “Oh…”

              He turned back around and almost dragged me behind him. 

              “Xavier,” I whispered so he would slow down a little. 

              He slowed a bit and took in deep breaths. 

              I could make out the people now.  There were eight men and six women.  No one had a smile on their faces and that made me nervous.

              “They all look mad,” I stated aloud.

              “Furious.”