Page 21 of Sweet Beginnings (Honeysuckle, Texas #1)

“Hot coffee?” A carafe of fresh coffee in her hand, Sarah Sue stood by the kitchen table.

“Thanks.” Carson held out his cup. “Don’t tell Mom I said so, but your coffee is amazing.”

“I heard that,” the family matriarch’s voice could be heard from the laundry room.

Rachel and Jillian chuckled at their mother’s declaration. Sarah Sue, on the other hand, looked totally mortified.

On his feet, Preston took his plate to the stove and scooped two more spoonfuls of his mom’s potato salad to go with the second helping of ribs already on his plate, then he leaned into where Sarah Sue stood.

“You’re doing great.” Without thinking, he kissed her temple, delighted deep down when she smiled at him.

For over almost a month, still unable to secure lodging away from the ranch, they’d been playing the role of happy newlyweds for everyone.

The thing that got Preston was that everything came so naturally.

How they behaved in front of friends and family wasn’t all that different from how they behaved when alone.

He’d even gotten used to rolling over in his sleep and bumping into Sarah.

A time or two…or three… he’d woken up with Sarah Sue curled into his side, or his arm around her.

The only challenge had been resisting the urge to kiss her awake.

That had not been part of the arrangement.

“Somebody spike your coffee?” Garret came to stand beside him at the stove.

“What?”

“You look like you sucked on a lemon or someone put sour milk in your coffee.”

Shaking his head, he wasn’t quite sure what to say.

His brother, who’d returned from his summer camping trip a week ago, had been keeping an unusually close eye on Preston and Sarah Sue—at least that’s how it felt to Preston. Garret rolled his eyes at his big brother. “Spit it out.”

Now his brother sounded lost in some oral metaphor or food fixation.

“You’re making faces. I know you’re thinking about something other than the cows that keep escaping the south pasture.”

Even though he wasn’t thinking about that, the south pasture had been a thorn in their side for almost a month now.

Every time they replaced a downed section, the cows would knock over another area.

If they’d not actually continued to find all the wayward cattle, Preston would have sworn that Ray was behind the continued setbacks, but the south pasture had nothing to do with the thoughts currently running through his mind. “It’s nothing.”

“Trouble in paradise?” Garret teased.

The innocent jab shouldn’t have struck a raw nerve, but it did. Preston bit down on his back teeth and willed the sharp words rushing to his tongue to settle down. “Paradise is just fine.”

Garret shook his head and glanced over his brother’s shoulder.

Unable to resist, Preston turned to see what had captured his brother’s attention. The women seated at the kitchen table laughing and chatting over who knew what, brought a slight smile to his face. The family scene seemed so normal, so happy, and so…right.

“Mom,” Garret called out. “I’m going to finish lunch on the back porch.”

“No feeding Brady. He’s starting to get a little thick around the middle.”

“No, Ma’am.” His brother shrugged an apology to the dog seated at his feet. “You heard her,” he whispered to the devoted German Shepherd.

Preston would have sworn the dog sighed. Lately, he was beginning to believe Brady was a human inside that fur coat.

“Join me, brother.” Garret cocked his head toward the back door and didn’t wait for a reply.

For as long as he could remember, whenever the siblings needed to work through something, whether personal or business, the best thinking and brainstorming was done at the table on the back porch.

Even though they’d discussed the current family situation, including his and Sarah’s marriage for the trust, ad nauseam, Preston knew it was time for one more conversation.

“Want to tell me now what you were thinking?” Garret settled into a seat and stabbed at his food.

“Not much.”

“I call bullshit.”

Preston didn’t need a mirror to know his brows had just shot up kissing his hairline.

“Sorry. I may be younger than you are, but I can read that face like an open book.”

“Grown up or not, Mom would wash your mouth out with soap if she heard you.”

Garrett shrugged. “So what’s eating you? For real?”

Did he dare tell his brother that this charade had become so real for him? That every time Sarah walked into a room his heart rate picked up? How every morning when he woke up before her, he felt like he’d died and gone to heaven?

“Is there a problem between you and Sarah?” Garret stabbed at his food before looking up. “From the first minute I heard of this crazy hare-brained idea I could see trouble coming, but honestly, y’all make it look easy.”

“Thanks.” Rather than say anything more, he slurped a long sip of his still hot coffee.

Garrett swallowed his food. “And a good thing too. That first trust payment was enough to buy some time with the bank and sprinkle a little seed money to keep an income coming in.”

“That’s the plan.”

“But falling in love wasn’t?”

If Preston’s head had snapped up any faster, it would have rolled off his shoulders.

“It’s pretty obvious this is not a school play.”

He moved his mouth but nothing came out.

A small smile ticked at the corner of Garret’s mouth. “Thought so.” He sighed. “I debated if it was concern for who goes next and that there hasn’t been a plan as plausible as yours and Sarah’s, but this morning, when you kissed your wife and she smiled up at you, I saw it.”

“It?”

“The same look Dad had every time Mom came near him. It was subtle, but there. And you have it.”

On a sigh, he raked the fingers on both hands through his hair. “What am I going to do?”

Garrett shook his head. “This is just one reason why the whole pretend marriage idea is insane.”

“But it’s saved the ranch so far.”

“And if one of us doesn’t find a spouse willing to go along with this charade and get more money rolling in, it will all have been for nothing. We’ll lose the ranch anyhow.” Now Garret was the one who looked like he’d sucked on a lemon.

“Let me guess.” Carson slid into the empty seat at the old patio table. “Planning who’s next.”

“I’m trying.” Rachel kicked the kitchen door shut behind her. “It’s not that easy finding people willing to put their lives on hold for a year.”

“No kidding, Sherlock.” Garret rolled his eyes.

“Men are such dogs.”

“Excuse me?” Carson’s eyes bulged from their sockets.

“Not you. Men I’m not related to.”

“I don’t get it.” Garret shook his head. “What the heck are you talking about?”

Hands on her hips, she practically spit. “Sex.”

Sarah Sue stepped out onto the porch with the others just as Rachel practically ground out the word sex. Frozen in the doorway, she considered retreating into the house when her sort of sister-in-law waved at her.

“Come on out. There are no secrets in this family.” Rachel took a sip of coffee and kicking her head back, sighed before looking over at her siblings.

“I was just explaining to my brothers why men are dogs. Apparently, there are a lot of men willing to hook up for a price—and sex—but none so far are willing to keep things platonic for an entire year.”

“Where are you finding these guys?” Garret nearly growled under a frown.

“Online. I created a fake profile and have been discreetly fishing. So to speak.”

This wasn’t the first time she’d heard her sister-in-law grumbling about finding a man to marry for money, but Rachel had never brought it up with her brothers.

“What about you two?” Rachel took another sip from her mug.

The way the two brothers stared down at their food in silence said everything.

“So you’re not having any better luck either?”

Carson shook his head. “Let’s just say the internet isn’t as productive as I’d hoped.”

“Ditto,” Garret muttered.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Rachel turned to Sarah. “So, moving on, how’s the dog placement business going?”

“Could be better.”

“Fewer dogs?”

“That would help.” Sarah chuckled. “It’s just hard to find a home for the most difficult rescues.”

“I bet. Brady wasn’t easy when he first arrived.

Recovering from his physical injuries was the simpler part.

” Carson’s gaze shifted to the dog in question perched at the top of the porch steps, vigilantly surveying the horizon, prepared to do battle with any rodent or vermin who dared to encroach on his family’s territory.

“Somehow, Mom knew exactly how to deal with Brady’s emotional challenges. ”

And that was why Sarah Sue had desperately wanted Alice Sweet to take on Samson.

If Alice hadn’t suffered painful injuries in her battle with a barbed wire fence, Sarah had no doubt that her mother-in-law would have been a perfect fit.

But a hundred-pound dog with post-traumatic stress was not the kind of rest and recovery the doctor had in mind for Alice Sweet.

At least the rescue ranch had found a suitable home for the troubled pup.

She hoped he was as happy there as Brady seemed here.

“As a kid,” Carson spoke up, “I thought Mom could do anything. As an adult, I haven’t changed my mind.”

All of Alice Sweet’s children nodded. Sarah Sue felt the same way. It was going to take a miracle to bring the family ranch back to life, and with or without money, Alice Sweet was the only person Sarah Sue would place bets on.

For the next few minutes, the two single brothers chatted back and forth naming just about every single woman within a hundred-mile radius and so far, the conversation wasn’t anymore productive than the previous conversations over the last month.

“You okay?” The soft brush of Preston’s hand against hers, combined with the smooth timbre of his voice, had Sarah forgetting none of this was real, even if it felt very real to her.

Without a word, she bobbed her head.

His head tipped to one side, Preston’s hand squeezed hers and he inched closer, his voice lower, intended only for her. “The look in your eyes tells me something’s up.”

There was no way she was going to share that what she’d feared had come to be. She’d fallen head over heels in love with Preston Sweet. “I was just thinking about Samson.”

A frown settled between Preston’s brows. “I thought they found a placement for him?”

“They did, but the more difficult ones always seem to needle their way into your heart a little more than the others. I was just hoping he’s happy where he is now.”

Lifting her hand to his smiling lips, Preston placed a barely there kiss. “That’s just one of the things I love about you.”

Love? Love . Stunned at the word, it took everything in her not to jump to conclusions. People love pizza, and sailing, and puppies, and movie marathons. The four-letter word was often tossed around and with little reverence to the big L.

As if a fly on the wall, ready to swoop in and save her from finding something intelligent to say, her phone rang and Aaron’s name flashed across the screen.

“Speak of the devil.” She plastered on a forced smile. “Probably calling with an update. Hey, Aaron. How’s it going?”

“Samson is back.”

“What?”

“Long story. The foster was an experienced German Shepherd owner, but totally unprepared for a dog with PTSD. If you thought he was stressed before, you wouldn’t recognize him now.”

“Poor baby.” That just broke her heart.

“It gets worse. Yesterday, a volunteer dropped a bowl near Samson. The clatter of the metal dish spooked him and he lunged at her. Thankfully, she was close enough to the gate to escape unharmed, but…”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she muttered “oh hell” and closed her eyes.

She shouldn’t have let the wedding rush distract her from placing Samson herself.

Strong fingers curled around her shoulders.

So caught up in the phone call, she hadn’t noticed Preston push away from the table and come stand behind her.

This man was simply too good to be true.

If only he were really hers. “Aaron, buy me some time. We can fix this.”

“I’ve bought this boy as much time as I can. All we’ve got is twenty-four more hours.”

A few more words were exchanged and she disconnected the call, knowing she had to move fast to save Samson—and she was going to need Alice’s help to do it.