The Cowboy Imports a Bride(The Cowboys Of Chance Creek #3) (13 page)

After a moment, she laughed breathlessly.

"I keep thinking that when we finally make love we're going explode. I can't believe how good you feel."

"I'll gladly explode if it means I can make love to you." He kissed her again. "I'm bringing you back here on our wedding night, and I'm going to make love to you under the stars on this very ground."

"I can't wait," she said.

"Neither can I."

* * * * *

As they gathered their things and made their way back to the river, Morgan's legs were shaking and she had a feeling her biceps would be sore tomorrow from bracing herself against that log.

It was worth it, though. She'd never experienced anything like that before. Her desire for Rob seemed to be unquenchable. Only the feeling that she should be there when Claire and Jamie left for their honeymoon compelled her to hurry back to the wedding rather than stay here in the starlight with Rob.

Well, she'd have a lifetime of nights like this, wouldn't she? The thought made her smile. Rob wrapped an arm around her waist and hoisted her into his arms as they crossed back over the creek.

On the other side, they had quite a hunt to find the high-heeled slippers she'd tossed to the wind, but when they found them they made their way back up the hill to Rob's truck and climbed inside.

Morgan felt like a lifetime had passed since they'd pulled up on this hillside, instead of an hour. Something important had changed, and she struggled to define it, until in a flash it became clear:

She trusted Rob.

Not blindly, and not out of some foolish hope – but from her intimate experiences with him. Rob brought her to the highest heights, but he did so every time with the utmost respect for her, for her feelings and for her boundaries, as well. Many people who'd known her for years didn't respect her half so much, or spend nearly as much energy trying to bring her joy, for that matter.

As he climbed in the driver's seat and took her hand, she gripped it tightly. Eyes suddenly damp, she turned to him and hoped he could see the love shining there.

"I know," he said. "I feel it, too. We're supposed to be together, aren't we?" He leaned over and kissed her cheek softly.

Yes
, she agreed with him silently. She thought they were.

* * * * *

"Over my dead body."

Rob tightened his hold on Morgan's waist and stared up at his father, a dark shape in the dim porch light. It was past two in the morning, and he and Morgan had said their good-byes to Ethan and Autumn after helping to do some preliminary cleanup as the wedding wound down. Claire and Jamie had left hours ago for a night at a hotel in town before they flew to Hawaii in the morning for their honeymoon. Holt must have been snoozing on one of the porch chairs, waiting for them. Damn Jake – couldn't he keep his mouth shut for one night?

No, damn Ned
, Rob thought. Jake would have kept his mouth shut, but Ned wouldn't. He loved to make trouble; always had.

"Over your dead body, what, Dad?" He knew exactly what his father meant, but he wasn't going to make it easy on the old man.

"Over my dead body you're going to rip up this good rangeland and plant…grapes." Holt spit out the word.

Morgan stood stiffly beside Rob, and he could only imagine how she was feeling. "Dad, it's late, and my fiancée is tired…"

"Your fiancée has some nerve coming here thinking she can ruin this family's legacy," Holt boomed. Morgan jerked as if she'd been slapped and anger filled Rob until he could barely hold it in.

"You'll shut your trap and we'll work this out later, between the two of us," he said, tugging Morgan toward the stairs. "I'm putting Morgan to bed and then I'm coming back out to make sure you're gone. Don't even think about sticking around."

"You think you can talk to me that way?" Holt roared, taking a position at the top of the steps that would force them to push past him if they wanted to reach the front door.

"Rob?" Morgan's voice was thin with strain and he knew she'd be devastated by the way this was playing out.

"Damn it. Come on, Morgan," He grabbed her hand and pulled her back the way they'd come.

"Where are you going?" Holt hollered after them. "Get back here. I haven't had my say!"

Rob helped Morgan back into the passenger seat of his Chevy, and rounded the cab to climb in the other side.

"Where
are
we going?" Morgan asked him, her face white.

"Back to Ethan's. He'll put us up for the night, and tomorrow I'll talk some sense into my old man. Don't mind him; he's more bluster than bite." But he knew she was too smart to believe the lie. Hell, he was deep in it now. He had no idea how he was going to turn this around.

But he was going to turn it around. He was going to get Morgan that vineyard.

No matter what his father said.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"I wish you two could stay," Autumn said the following morning after breakfast. It was a rare morning off for her, since they hadn't booked guests for the weekend because of the wedding. As Jamie was gone for the remainder of the week, Rob was helping Ethan, and Morgan was in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher while Autumn put her feet up. "Jamie's old cabin is empty. You could take it. It's traditionally been for the ranch's horse trainer, but now that Jamie and Claire have built their house, no one's living there."

"Thanks, but we have to patch things up with Rob's family."

"Well, if that doesn't work out, you can hold your wedding here. We've done two so far this summer, I'm sure we can handle another one. I'm beginning to feel like a pro." She began to get up, but Morgan waved her down again.

"Rest. How are you feeling?'

Autumn dropped a hand to her still-flat belly. "Pretty good, actually. My morning sickness finally stopped, so I feel almost human. I'm really hungry these days and I've got this urge to clean everything. If you weren't here, I'd probably be sorting out the attic. I peeked up there last week and it looks like no one's touched a thing in ages."

"No shifting boxes around for you. You take it easy while you still can. You'll have enough to do when the baby gets here. I can't believe you're starting this business while you're pregnant."

"What about you? You'll be starting a winery. Are you and Rob going to put off having kids?"

The question brought a surge of heat through her body at the thought of making love to Rob, then a cold wash of anxiety as she remembered what had happened last night. "We'd planned to get right to it, actually, since a certain someone scared me to death with her stories about women waiting too long. All I can think about since you told me about your Mom's patients is having my kids as soon as humanly possible."

Autumn laughed. "Sorry. Mom talks about it so much I guess I blurt it out these days. I'm glad to hear you're not waiting, though. I want our kids to be able to play together."

"I hope it works out that way," Morgan said.

Autumn grew serious. "Tell me what you and Rob are going to do about Holt. What if he doesn't give you the land, after all?"

"We'll still get married," Morgan said. Rob had covered her with kisses last night when they'd finally settled in the spare room at Ethan's bunkhouse, and promised her he'd get her a vineyard no matter what it took. She'd tried to tell him it didn't matter, but secretly she was relieved he was so adamant about it. It did matter to her, and without Holt's gift of the land it was going to be nearly impossible to get one started. "Rob said he'll talk to his mother and get her to make Holt hold up his end of the bargain, but then what?" She appealed to Autumn. "It'll be awful living there if Holt and Rob's brothers hate us. I wanted to come here to be with family, not to be fighting with them."

"I'm sure things will settle down," Autumn said.

"But it's my fault," Morgan said. "I'm the one who wants to grow grapes. Apparently that's not done around here."

"You said there were other wineries in Montana, so it must be done somewhere around here. It's just a new idea, and ranchers don't like new ideas. Give Holt some time to get used to it. I bet Lisa can sweet talk him around, and as for those brothers of his – they're just mad they didn't marry fast enough to get the land for themselves."

"You actually think there's a chance it will be okay?"

"I'm sure there is. Meanwhile, I've got a proposition for you."

* * * * *

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Rob said to Ethan as they rode out in Ethan's truck to check on the cattle. "The only reason Morgan and I jumped into everything so fast was to get that land. Don't get me wrong, I'm marrying her no matter what happens," he said when Ethan darted a look at him, "but she's got her heart set on that vineyard. She left her job for me. Hell, she left her country for me. I can't let her down. Besides," he kept his eyes on the road, unwilling to meet Ethan's gaze while making this confession, "I did a little work at the vineyard back in Victoria – the one where Morgan worked? And I liked it."

This time Ethan's eyebrows shot up. "Really? What kind of work?"

"Pruning the vines. You've got to get the balance right of foliage to grapes to get them to ripen efficiently. There's kind of an art to it."

"Huh." Ethan seemed nonplussed. "Never figured you for a farmer."

"Neither did I. But I wasn't making much of a rancher, either."

"You haven't seemed happy in a long time. Apart from the Morgan thing, I mean. I used to think you'd go on the rodeo circuit in a big way. Never seemed to happen, though."

Rob was relieved that Ethan understood. "I haven't been happy. Low man on the totem pole for too many years at my family's place, and never much cared for the work anyway. I just didn't know why. As for the rodeo, you're right – I probably should have made a real go at that. Maybe I'll try again before everything's said and done."

"Seems to me you and Morgan could be a great team building a winery together. You could tend the grapes and she could brew the wine. Have you talked to her about it?"

"Not yet. And now what's the point? We won't have any land, anyway. Hey – where are we going? You've got cattle over here?" He glanced out the window and realized Ethan had turned onto the same track he and Morgan had taken the previous night. Ethan drove past the acreage that now belonged to Claire and Jamie. Their brand new log cabin drew the eye, but Ethan kept on going.

"Nope. I want to show you something." He pulled to a halt at the end of the track just as Rob had the night before. When Ethan got out, Rob followed him, wondering what this was all about.

"Jamie's hundred acres end over there," Ethan pointed. "This area between here and the road, and down to the creek isn't being used. It's about 150 acres. You interested?"

"Interested?" Rob started forward. "What do you mean? What's the price?"

"What can you afford?"

"Aw, hell, Ethan, I'm not going to lean on you. I told you, I've only got eight grand in the bank."

"That'll do for a down payment. This land isn't making me any money, anyhow. You can work off the rest over time – I need some help. Claire was supposed to partner with Jamie to run the trail rides and activities for our guests, but she still wants to spend most of her time doing interior design projects. Carl's house alone is keeping her busy, and she told me yesterday a bunch of her old clients from when she worked at Ledstrom Designs have been calling her. I can only count on her part time, at best. Jamie can't do it all himself, and you were a whiz at entertaining the guests last month. What do you say? We'll draw up a contract and part of your
payment
," Ethan finger-quoted the air, "will go to your mortgage, and the rest you can keep."

"Shit, you'd do that for me?"

"I can't think of anyone I'd rather do business with. Come on – you, me and Jamie, all working together? Can't beat that! On the side, you and Jamie can build up that horse-breeding business if you like, and you can even teach rodeo skills to guests who are interested. Maybe run some classes for local kids, as well. It all fits together. Heck, even the winery fits in. We'll serve Morgan's wines at all our dinners, and our guests can tour the winery and go to her tasting room, too. Some of our more refined guests might prefer that to mucking out stalls."

Ethan looked pleased as punch, and Rob nodded his head. They could have a lot of good times if they all worked together. Then his stomach dipped. "Speaking of the vineyard, I still need that cash for Morgan. I wanted to have it by the wedding. I'll use my eight grand for a down payment on your land, and I'll do everything you need me to do here and more, but I've got to find something else, too – some other job that will pay me a lot of cash, fast. Twenty thousand dollars in the next month."

"Morgan will understand if it takes you a little longer to scrape up the money. She's going to be happy you found another way to get the land, right? I'll get Matt Underwood to draw up a contract tomorrow. As soon as Jamie's back, we'll get the papers signed."

"Yeah, you're right," Rob said, but as happy as he was about this turn of events, he'd made a promise to his fiancée, and he was determined to see it through.

* * * * *

"Hello! Hello? Yoo-hoo!"

Morgan rushed to the top of the Big House stairs to see who was barging through the front door. When Autumn had offered her a temporary job helping her cook and clean for the guests, she'd jumped at it.

"I know it's not as glamorous as running a winery," Autumn had said, "but I could really use the help. Tracey and Rose have been filling in for weeks, but they both have real jobs and they can't keep doing this. Eventually I'll hire someone permanently, but I can't really afford it yet. You won't get started with the winery for a while, right?"

"If ever," Morgan said gloomily.

"Think of this as something to fill the time, then," Autumn said. "Thankless hard work for slave wages. What could be better?"