Page 29 of Montana Groom of Convenience (Montana Cowboys #5)

Carly stepped outside. He realized she’d been sticking close to home, too. Though likely not for the same reasons.

He went to her side.

“It’s one of the Marshall cowboys,” she said. “I wonder what he wants.”

The man rode closer. He touched the brim of his hat in greeting as Father Morrison came from the barn to see who had ridden up.

The rider turned in that direction and handed Father a bundle of harnesses. They spoke for several minutes.

“Let’s go see what’s going on.” Carly headed for the barn.

“Thank you,” Father said, and the man rode away.

Father held up the harnesses. “When Annie’s father, Bud, heard I was fixing old harnesses, he said there was a pile at his place that he’d like fixed.

” He began to turn away, then stopped. “Aye, he brought a message, too. I bought three more Hereford bulls. They’re ready. You two will bring them home.”

“Bring them from where?” Carly demanded, her voice thin with suspicion.

Sawyer had his own qualms about what her father was up to .

“Why, at the Bar None Ranch. Where else would they be?”

“Father, that’s two days’ ride away.”

“Only one if you’re in a hurry. But I don’t want those bulls pushed hard. Take your time bringing them home. You can leave tomorrow morning.”

“Sir, what about Jill?” Sawyer asked.

“Dinnae I tell you? Logan has agreed young Beth can come over. She’s fourteen and capable of taking care of us.”

Carly sputtered her protest.

Sawyer wasn’t happy about the arrangement either. “It will be just the two of us?”

Father came round to face them. “I expect the pair of you can handle three animals.”

Neither Carly nor Sawyer spoke, though she practically vibrated with her upset.

Father nodded. “Then that’s how it’s to be. Might be good for the two of you to work together.” He limped back into the barn, his attention already on the harnesses he held.

Sawyer understood then that the old man knew exactly what he was doing and what he hoped to gain, and it wasn’t solely the safe delivery of three bulls. What he didn’t know was both Sawyer and Carly had given their word that their marriage would be a business arrangement only.

How was Sawyer to remember that if they were to be alone day and night for probably three days?

He prepared provisions and a bedroll that night. Carly did the same, muttering under her breath comments directed at her father .

They left early the next morning as soon as Logan brought Beth over.

They rode in a silence broken only by the thud of horses’ hooves and the call of the birds. They kept up a steady, mile-eating pace, heading to the northwest over rolling hills, keeping to the eastern slopes.

Sawyer had things he wished he could say. Such as, could we change the agreement we made regarding our marriage? But pride and fear stopped him. They’d been gone about two hours when the humor of the situation hit him, and he started to laugh.

Dusty perked up his ears at the sound.

Carly gave him a confused look. When he didn’t stop, she rode closer. “What’s so funny?”

He stopped laughing but kept smiling. “You’re father fancies himself a matchmaker. I’m surprised he didn’t send someone along to keep an eye on us.”

She harrumphed. “I suppose he thought if we were alone, we’d do what he considers the right thing.”

“Maybe we should tell him about our agreement.” He had no doubt how Father Morrison would react to the information. The man’s voice echoed through his head. Ack. Now, wasn’t that a foolish thing to agree to? So why don’t we all just forget about it? You and Carly are married. Time ye acted like it.

Carly shook her head. “He’d say we aren’t married at all and then what would happen to the ranch?” She let that soak in. “And a home for Jill? She’s really settling in, don’t you think?”

“Aye, and I believe you’ve learned a few tricks from your father to bring Jill into the discussion.”

Carly grinned. “Aye, and maybe I have. But seriously, I don’t see we have any choice but to honor our agreement.”

He slouched in his saddle. Why had he even allowed the thought to take root that she might be willing to reconsider that agreement? Obviously, she wasn’t.

They rode on, silence again their companion.

As the sun reached its zenith, he began to look around for a place where he could suggest they rest the horses for a bit.

“There’s a place over there where we can stop.” It was as if she had read his mind. And the idea did nothing to make him forget how much he wanted to change their agreement.

They turned aside to a grove of trees along a little stream and let the horses rest, eat and drink. She pulled biscuits and cookies from her saddlebag and shared them with him. They sank to the cool grass to eat.

“Do you like this country?” she asked.

“It’s good cow country.”

“You said that before.”

“Yup.” Why did he get the feeling she wanted something more than his opinion about the land?

“You can see yourself happily settled here?” She paid a whole lot more attention to the biscuit she held than it required.

He sat up. So that was her concern. “I want a home for Jill. She’s happy here. But more than that, I said I would stay. And I keep my word,” even when it was hard.

Carly nodded. “Just checking to see if anything has changed.” She lifted her head then, and her brown eyes were dark and unreadable. Yet he sensed more questions.

“Has anything changed for you?” Sawyer asked.

“I’m committed to our agreement.” Her look went on and on, searching, probing.

It was not the answer he’d hoped for. Yet it was the one he expected. He finished his lunch, went for the horses, and they resumed their journey.

They rode hard all afternoon. As the shadows lengthened, he asked, “How much farther?”

She pulled up and seemed to consider the question. Finally, she spoke. “If we rode hard until dark, we could get there, but I’m not sure what we’d find.”

He had no idea what she meant. “Your father wouldn’t send you into a dangerous situation.”

She sighed. “We’re supposed to be man and wife. Will they want us to sleep in their guest room?”

He grinned. Quite the quandary for her to consider.

“I think we’ll put up until morning, then pick up the animals and return home.”

Sawyer could not deny that the prospect pleased him very much. A night out under the stars with her. He could foresee all sorts of pleasant moments.

“There’s a good camping spot not too far ahead.” They rode on until she guided them to a quiet stream. Within minutes, he had a fire going. He’d brought cans of food, opened them, and set them to heat. Meanwhile, Carly took care of the horses and tossed the bedrolls to the ground.

He eyed their placement. Hers to the left of the fire, his to the right. Anyone coming along would think they weren’t man and wife.

Well, they were. And they weren’t. And they had one, possibly two, more nights on the trail. He allowed himself to think things might change in his favor.

It was almost dark by the time they finished eating, but neither of them made a move toward crawling into their bedrolls.

“The stars will soon be out,” Carly said.

He shifted his thoughts back to the night sky. “Do you know the constellations?”

“Just the Big and Little Dipper.”

He jumped to his feet. “Come on over here, away from the fire, and I will introduce them to you.” He lay on the grassy slope.

Without hesitation, she lay beside him, which set his hope soaring. Maybe this would be the time and place to talk about changing their agreement.

“It’s a perfect night for stargazing.” And the perfect companion, but he kept that observation to himself. “There’s The Maiden. She’s carrying a grain of wheat and a staff.” He pointed and edged closer to guide her until she made out the stars forming the constellation. “There’s Leo the Lion.”

“I see it. It makes sense.”

He pointed out several more.

She propped up on one elbow to look at him. “How do you know all this?”

“My pa taught me. Wherever we went, he would go outside and find the stars. He said, ‘The stars don’t change. Just like God.’ He’d take a big sigh. ‘I guess it’s me that’s changed.’”

“What did he mean by that?”

Sawyer could not make out her expression, so hung on to the gentle tone of her voice. “He changed when Ma and Johnny died. Seemed like a stranger to me.” He lay back and looked at the sky. “Except when he took me to look at the stars. Then I felt like he was my father, and he cared about me.”

“Thank you for showing them to me.” She lay down against his side. “It’s nice you have this good memory of him.”

“And now I have another good memory of looking at the stars.” He took her hand.

She stiffened. But she didn’t shift away. “Me, too.” Her voice was as soft as the evening breeze.

Neither of them moved. He wished he knew what she thought.

“I could look at the stars all night,” she said. And even though he’d just talked himself into settling for their pretend marriage, he hoped she meant she enjoyed more than the stars, and she enjoyed his company, too.

“We have lots of riding to do tomorrow, so I’m going to bed down.” She rose and went to her bedroll.

“Yeah, me, too.” He crawled into his bedroll and lay staring at the stars as his mind struggled with wishes.

He wished he had the courage to speak of his growing feelings toward her, but he couldn’t take the risk that she would say he hadn’t lived up to their agreement, so it was null and void.

Better to accept things the way they are.

Better to harbor a secret fondness than to end up with nothing.

Jill had a home now. That made any risk even more unappealing.

He only wished it was enough for him.