Lonestar Homecoming (11 page)

She'd never put much stock in her sixth sense, but maybe she should let herself believe.

A woman sat behind the desk. The bailiff stood nearby, pen in hand to sign as witness. The judge's shrewd gaze from behind steel-rimmed glasses caused Gracie to look away.

“Good to see you, Judge Thompson,” Michael said. “It's been a long time.”

“The last time you were in this courtroom, you'd been out tipping cows,” the judge said, her voice severe. “At least you're a law-abiding citizen now.”

Tipping cows? Not the Michael Gracie knew.What had happened to his life that stripped him of his fun-loving side?

The woman turned her attention to Gracie. “I'm Judge Julia Thompson. And you're the bride. Gracie Lister, is that right?”

“Yes, ma'am. Er, Judge.”

“Are you both entering this agreement of your own free will?”

Gracie glanced at Michael. “Yes,” she said.

“You bet,” Michael said.

“Good.” The judge turned to Michael first. “Michael, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto her, for so long as you both shall live?”

Gracie hadn't been to a wedding in a long time. She'd forgotten what the couple promised. Oh, to be comforted and loved for her lifetime! That was only a dream, wasn't it? How could Michael even promise something like that?

“I will,” he said in a steady voice.

“Gracie, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto him, so long as you both shall live?”

A knot lodged in her throat.What did she know about honoring this kind of sacred vow? She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

“Gracie?” Michael asked in a whisper.

“I will,” she said in a firm voice.

“Soldier, take your bride's hand.”

Gracie clutched his hand like a life raft. Heart palpitations filled her chest. Maybe this was a mistake.

The judge's no-nonsense tone droned on. “Repeat after me: I, Michael, take you, Gracie, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward.”

Michael repeated the words, his voice steady.

Cherish
. Had there ever been such a lovely word? Gracie's parents had cherished her once. Once upon a time, she thought God did too— until she couldn't think of him without shame. Until she didn't deserve anything from him.

She realized the judge was waiting for her to repeat the vows as well. “Sorry.” Gracie managed to get through the vows by clinging to Michael's warm hand.

“Do you have a ring for the bride?”

Michael nodded and dug a plain gold band out of his pocket. He slipped it on her finger, and she thought she might suffocate. She had no ring for him. Nothing to give him. She was a pauper who would be on the street if not for him.

The cold band encased her finger, and she stared at it. The vows she'd just spoken mocked her.What did she know about any of this? She'd been running for years without taking time to develop real relationships. She was a poor judge of character—look at how Cid had blinded her.

“Do you have a ring for the groom?”

Gracie started to shake her head, but Michael slipped another ring into her hand. “Yes,” she said, closing her fingers around it for a moment before she slipped it onto his finger. So that's where he'd gone right after lunch.To get rings.

“Inasmuch as Michael and Gracie have consented together in wedlock and have witnessed the same before this company, and pledged their vows to each other, by the authority vested in me by the State of Texas, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The judge smiled. “You may now kiss your bride.”

Gracie looked up at her tall, handsome husband. Her gaze went to his firm lips, and her own parted. Michael took advantage of her unspoken invitation and leaned down. His warm breath touched her face, and she inhaled the scent of him, a scent that had attracted her from the moment she met him. His warm lips probed hers.

She wasn't quite certain about the sequence of events that followed. One second she was returning a chaste kiss, and the next she had pressed her lips to his in an ardent embrace and had her arms wrapped around his neck.The kiss heated the pit of her stomach and made her gasp for air. If she didn't know better, she would have said Michael was kissing her like he meant it.

She tore herself out of his arms. Heat flamed in her cheeks, and she didn't dare look at him.What must he think of her?

9

M
ICHAEL'S WEDDING RING CLUNKED AGAINST THE STEERING WHEEL OF HIS
truck. He'd either made the biggest mistake of his life or. . . He couldn't finish the thought. His gaze slid to his bride, who sat pressed against the opposite door of the truck as if she might jump from the truck any minute.

“I. . . I'm sorry,” he said.

She turned her head from the passing yucca and prickly pear cactus. “Sorry?”

“For the kiss.” He cleared his throat. “I had no right to kiss you like that.You don't have to be afraid.”

She straightened. “I'm not afraid.”

He raised one brow at her. “So that's why you're about to bolt out the door?”

A slight chuckle escaped her lips. “I. . . I'm just not sure about what we did.”

“It's a little late now,” he said, his tone sharpening. “The marriage is legal and we've signed the papers to apply for adoption of the kids.”

“I know.” Her head fell back against the headrest. Caesar took advantage of her proximity and swiped his tongue across her cheek. She sat back up. “What's next?”

“We wait for Wally to call.The papers are signed, and he thought he could rush it through.”

“How long?”

“Maybe just a couple of weeks. Judge Thompson will work with him.”

“So you have to stay alive until then.”

“Something like that. Would you be sorry if I died?” Her lips parted, and her eyes widened. “Scratch that,” he said. “Stupid question.”

“Yes, it was.” She grabbed her purse and began to rummage through it with jerky movements. “I wouldn't have married you if I didn't think we could at least be friends, Michael. I'm not some kind of mercenary who marries for money or security. I thought this was going to be a partnership.”

“I'm sorry,” he said for the second time in two minutes.The kiss had changed everything. He'd thought he was doing this for clear, logical reasons.The way his memory kept returning to the softness of her lips had nothing to do with logic, though.

Her cell phone rang. She glanced at Michael, then laced her fingers together and looked away.

“Aren't you going to answer that?”

“No.”

“Who has your number?”

“Just Cid and his family. One or two others.”

“No friends?”

She shook her head. “I don't have many friends.” The cell phone quit ringing.

“Hiding your head in the sand doesn't work. Isn't it better to know what he wants?”

“I'd rather not worry.”

“How can you not worry if you have no idea what he might say? It's illogical.”

“So I'm illogical. My life changed today. I've got enough to worry about without adding more.”

“At least check your caller ID and see who it was.”

“I'm sure it was Cid. And I don't want to talk to him. Not today.”

He pressed his lips together and turned into the driveway that led back to the Bluebird Youth Ranch. Horses grazed on the other side of the fence.A particularly bony one caught his eye. “Looks like they've rescued a new horse,” he said. The bay had sores on his rump and a long cut, probably from barbed wire, on his chest.

Gracie glanced at the horse, then looked away. “The poor thing.”

“You don't like horses.”

She fingered a scar on her forehead. “I haven't been on one since I was thrown at twenty.”

“You shouldn't let fear rule you.”

Her hands trembled, and she clenched them together. “I. . . I'm not a child, Michael. I've been running my own life without suggestions from you for quite a few years.” She inhaled quickly. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have raised my voice.”

Did she really think she was doing a great job of running her life? Had she forgotten he found her fainting from lack of food? He knew he should back off, but the words wouldn't stay locked behind his teeth.

“Is that why you were on the run with no money to your name and no way to care for your daughter?”

Her head came up. Her cheeks colored. “I guess I deserved that.”

He rubbed his head. “No. No, you didn't. Strike that remark. I have no room to throw stones. Not with my track record of failure in my first marriage.”

“You sound like you have regrets.”

He gave her a wry glance. “I guess it was hard on her—my being deployed so long.”

The wariness in her eyes ebbed. “It was no less hard for you.”

“We were so young.” He raked his hand through his hair. “I'm not sure she knew what being a soldier's wife meant. It seemed adventurous at the time.”

“Then reality set in. For both of you.”

“Exactly.”

“Did you fight a lot?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “She knew I loved her, but she didn't respect the sacrifices I was making—for our country, for the kids, for her.”

“Did you think of her sacrifices? I'm sure she wanted to be with you.You were her partner, the man she loved.”

He scowled at her. “I gave her everything to make up for that, Gracie. I was the one in the line of fire every day. She didn't respect that.”

Gracie nodded. “She had an affair, didn't she?”

“Yep,” he said hoarsely. “I don't like to think about it.”

Her gaze held his. “I won't do that, Michael.”

He wished he could read the intensity in her eyes. “I never thought you would.”

Her eyes darkened, and she opened the door without saying more. Had he offended her in some way? Michael sat behind the wheel, breathing heavily. He'd blamed Kate for three years, but what role had his job played in the failure of his marriage? Surely he'd done everything he could to make her happy. If he was out of town, he sent flowers on her birthday and their anniversary. He wrote to her every day when he was stationed overseas. He called at every opportunity. When duty called, he made sure he answered.Wasn't that what a man was supposed to do?

Now, he wasn't so sure.

G
RACIE STOPPED TO EMPTY HER FLIP-FLOPS OF SAND
. F
OR JUST A MINUTE,
she'd allowed herself to hope they might be a real family, but she wasn't sure Michael understood what being a husband was all about. Didn't he know a woman needed the man she loved to put her first? Not his job, not his country, but her. And to say he didn't think she'd have an affair—was it because he found her unattractive and thought other men would too?

She sighed. Hope was safe now.That was all that mattered.

Allie met her at the front porch. Dressed in jeans and a red shirt, Allie turned a fresh face toward Gracie. Her smile faltered. “What's wrong?” She watched Michael walk toward the paddock.

“Men are unfathomable.”

“I was about to take feed to the horses. Come along and tell me about it.”

Gracie fell into step beside her. “Where are the kids?”

“Rick took them with him to the back pasture. He was going to let them rope some particularly dangerous stumps.”

Gracie smiled. “Are you always this calm?”

Allie smiled. “I can rant and rave with the best of them. So what did Michael do?”

Gracie paused to shake a rock from under her arch. “He dispenses advice like Pez candy. He's hardly led the perfect life himself.According to him, his divorce is all his ex-wife's fault.You'd think he'd at least admit he wasn't there for her.”

“Rick said she ran off with a neighbor in El Paso when they were living there.The neighbor had a wife and son.”

“I'm not condoning what she did, but no marriage breakup is solely one person's fault. I'd go crazy too if my husband was always off somewhere. It's clear to me that he put his job above his marriage.”

They reached the barn door, and Allie paused. “I don't know him well. But I can see where Michael might tend toward being a crusader. That's something to appreciate about him, though. Not many men would have gone as far as he did to help you.”

Gracie's ire began to ebb. “I'm grateful for that,” she said. “I'm an adult. I have a brain.”

Allie swung open the barn door. “So tell me about the wedding.And congratulations! I didn't get a chance to tell you I'm happy for you.”

Gracie laughed. “You think I'm overreacting from wedding jitters, don't you?”

“I wouldn't judge that,” Allie said primly, but she slid a sly glance Gracie's way, and both women laughed.

Gracie followed her into the barn. The strong scent of hay and horses took her back to the home where she'd grown up.The big two-story stucco house in the high desert outside Pecos,Texas, bloomed strong in her memory again, as vivid in her mind as this big barn. She stopped inside the doorway and watched the dust motes dance in the sunlight through the windows. Tack hung on the walls, and rough wooden paddocks divided the interior.

Her mother would be lying dead in the stall right there.

“I don't think I can go in,” she managed to say before she backed away, then turned and bolted outside.

Allie followed her. “Gracie, what's wrong?”

Gracie ran from the barnyard out across the desert, her flip-flops kicking up sand behind her. She ran until she couldn't hear Allie calling anymore. She ran until her lungs caught fire, but she couldn't outrun the memories.Tears blurred her vision, and she didn't see the rock in her path. Her big toe struck it, then she was falling. She put out her hands to catch herself, and her left hand drove into a prickly pear cactus.The fiery sensation that enveloped her palm brought her to her senses.