The Cowboy's Convenient Bride Page 5

Tanner didn’t say anything; he simply sat quietly while she composed herself. He knew what it was like when you found out the person you thought you loved turned out to be totally different. Though at least Brit hadn’t been a felon. Just...not who he thought she was.

  “The baby’s his?” he finally asked.

  She nodded miserably. “When they left with him, he looked right at me and said he’d be back, just like last time. Not to worry, he’d come find me when he got out. The way he said it...it made my blood run cold. It wasn’t reassuring. It was a threat. If he knew about Rowan...”

  Tanner looked from her to the sweet baby bobbing in the bouncy chair. The two of them weren’t his, but damned if he didn’t feel protective of them just the same. “He’d come after you both.”

  She nodded again. “Yeah. I had to give a statement to the police and I found out a lot about his past. I was so stupid, Tanner. So blind. I believed every lie he fed me. How many kinds of idiot could I be? And then to get pregnant...”

  The agony in her voice was real. “I’m pretty sure you didn’t mean for that to happen,” he said quietly. He got up and moved to the end of the sofa so he was closer to her, and he reached out and put his hand on her knee. “Listen. Remember that marriage I mentioned? I was totally in love with this girl Brittany from Lincoln. She and a couple of girlfriends moved to Vegas, and I thought I’d surprise her one weekend. It was crazy.” He decided to leave out some of the more sordid details about the weekend activities. “By the end of it, we’d gotten married at a chapel on the Strip.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Oh. And when I asked how long it would take her to pack up and come home with me, she laughed. She had no plans to leave. She loved it there. She loved the lights and the excitement and the party. She certainly didn’t love me. It was all a crazy, fun adventure to her.”

  “And you were dead serious.”

  “You betcha.” He smiled wryly, trying not to think of the moment when Brittany had all but fallen over laughing at him. “We all make mistakes. And I guess now I understand why you haven’t set the record straight. Because you’ll take the gossip if it means keeping your daughter safe.”

  A tear slid down her cheek. “Oh, damn. I spent enough time crying. You’d think I’d be over it by now.” She rubbed the tear away. “It’s such a relief to actually tell someone, and I think it’s made me super-emotional. Maddy only knows the bare minimum and no details. I couldn’t stand the thought of her thinking Gavin had cheated on her any longer. He loved her so much.”

  “But it’s rough on you.”

  “It’s worth it if Rowan stays safe.”

  “Damn, Laura. Why not move somewhere else, where no one knows?”

  Once more she looked into his eyes, and he saw shadows there.

  “The only way I could get this house was if Gramps and Gram cosigned the loan, and that was before all the rumors. There’s no way I’ll get financing for another place, not with the little bit of freelancing I’m doing. And I’m having a hard time building the business because I don’t want to put my full name on anything. It’ll make it too easy to find me, you know?”

  “So you’re stuck.”

  “Yep. I mean, I grew up here, but it doesn’t mean it’s not awkward.”

  Awkward was putting it lightly. “Gavin was helping you, wasn’t he?”

  “Yeah, with some of the legalities. And he did the legal fees for the house pro bono. His partner’s been keeping me updated on Spen...on my ex’s sentence.”

  She sighed, looked down at Rowan. The bouncing had stopped, and Tanner saw that each blink of Rowan’s eyes was slower than the last.

  “I feel like I’m spinning my wheels.” Her shoulders were slumped a bit as she rested her elbows on her knees. “I want to start over, but it’s hard to do when you want to remain invisible. At least with the contract work, my name was kept out of it. But if I’m going to freelance, I can’t stay anonymous. Even if I’m careful, it’s not hard to find the trail.”

  “Too bad you can’t change your name,” he replied, half joking. “Then he’d be looking for Laura Jessup and not Laura someone else.”

  A crazy, ridiculous, ludicrous idea flitted through his brain.

  No. She’d never agree and besides, it was a dumb idea. He kept hearing Brit laugh and say how he wasn’t husband material. Maybe not, but perhaps he could be friend material. No one else was stepping up to give Laura a hand. The only one who had was gone, and she had no one to be on her side.

  Plus, he was tired of living at home. This could be beneficial to both of them.

  “Laura, how open are you to harebrained schemes?”

  She lifted her head, chuckled softly. “Why? Do you have one?”

  Something twisted in his gut, in an oh-my-God-are-you-really-going-to-ask way. His palms started to sweat and his breath caught. He’d said the words once before in his life, but this time it was different. This time it wasn’t for love. So why was he so tied up in knots?

  “I just might. And you’re going to be tempted to say no, but hear me out.”

  Her eyebrows pulled together in a puzzled look.

  “Laura,” he said, not quite believing what he was about to say. “I think we should get married.”

  Chapter Four

  Laura started laughing. Marry Tanner? That was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. “Oh God,” she said, between breaths of mirth. “You shouldn’t even joke about that.”

  He was chuckling, too, which was why his next words surprised her even more. “I’m actually perfectly serious. I’ve wanted to move out of the house for a while now. And if you married me, you could be Laura Hudson. Laura Hudson could set up her own business in that name and not be so easy for this guy to find.”

  Her laughter died in her throat. She was starting to think he meant it. Her face went hot. Sure, Tanner was good-looking. Extraordinarily so, but she hadn’t really thought of him in a romantic kind of way. For a moment, an image flashed through her mind—of her and Tanner doing things that married couples do. Her face burned hotter.

  “Tanner, I... I mean, you and me...”

  He seemed to understand what she was getting at. “Laura, I’m not talking about a real marriage. It would be in name only, of course. We hardly know each other.”

  “My point exactly.” She exhaled a relieved breath. They were, at best, friends. Their contact had been limited to the ambulance ride to the hospital, running into each other and chatting on a few occasions in town, and the events of the last few weeks. Sure, she liked him well enough, but she wouldn’t be roommates with someone she knew so little of, let alone husband and wife.

  Husband and wife.

  He leaned forward, put his elbows on his knees and peered into her face. “You said you were hesitant to put out your shingle online because it made you too visible. Even if you use a company name, your contact info is going to be listed somewhere. When you register your website, or fill out business forms for taxes and stuff.”

  All true, but it wasn’t as simple as a different last name. “Tanner, it’s not like it would be impossible to figure it out, even if I did change my name. There’d be marriage records to show that I was once Laura Jessup.”

  “Maybe,” he conceded, “but it would make it more difficult. And if you’re married, chances are that even if this guy did find you, he’d probably think that the baby was, well, your husband’s.”

  “Yours,” she said, the word echoing in the strangely quiet room.

  “Yes.”

  Silence fell. He’d hit her squarely where it hurt—her daughter. Her top priority was protecting Rowan. It was why, after all, she let the town of Gibson collectively assume that the baby was Gavin’s...even though that made her an adulteress and a home wrecker. But this was different. This was marriage. A wedding. A
nd she wasn’t sure what Tanner wanted to get out of it. There must be something. There was no way it was a purely altruistic move.

  Good gracious, was she actually considering it?

  Of course she wasn’t. Harebrained was a great way to characterize the idea. She’d made enough mistakes over the last few years; she wasn’t too keen to compound them by marrying a stranger just so she could change her name.

  She got up and walked to the window, looking out over the backyard. The grass was greening up, but there were dry, bare patches where the ground was hard and unyielding. Laura sighed. Yes, she had her own place, but it wasn’t much. She kept it clean, but it was hardly better than the lousy apartments in Reno. Rundown and unloved. Funny, she was starting to think of herself in those terms, too.

  Marrying Tanner was a stupid idea. She’d just keep on doing what she was doing and figure it out somehow. She always did.

  “Tanner, I appreciate the offer, but I don’t need to be rescued. It’s a crazy idea and I think it would be a disaster.”

  “Why? I like you. And I think you like me.” He smiled at her. “We’d be roommates, that’s all. No funny business, I promise.”

  She frowned. “If you want to move away from the ranch, do it. There’s nothing stopping you. You don’t need to live with me to do that. You’re a grown man.”

  He paused, and then nodded. “That’s true.” He frowned a little. “Can you sit down, please? You’re making me nervous standing up there.”

  His voice actually sounded as though he wanted to have a serious conversation, which at this point seemed so surreal it was laughable. No one did marriages of convenience anymore. She certainly didn’t. When she eventually said her “I do’s,” she wanted to mean them.

  An ache settled in her heart. That day might never come. She didn’t have a whole lot of faith when it came to romance. Now she was a single mom, which made relationships even more complicated.

  Laura sat on the sofa, crossing her hands primly on her knees.

  “Laura,” Tanner began, “I have my own reputation to live down in this town. My three-day wedding in Vegas is still talked about. There’s always been speculation about it and I have never said anything because...well, my mom always taught me that a gentleman doesn’t talk about a lady. So the consensus seems to be that I’m not serious about matrimony. The truth is, I was the serious one. She wasn’t. I didn’t come to my senses and want the marriage annulled. She did.” He hesitated. “I asked her to come back here with me and she laughed in my face and told me I was the kind of guy girls wanted a fling with, but not marriage.”

  “If this is your sales pitch, it needs work,” she replied dryly.

  He gave a little huff that might have been amusement at her witty response. “The point I’m trying to make is that this would be purely an arrangement to get you out of a bind and to get me out of a house where I’m surrounded by—” he made a face, as if tasting something bad “—people who are in love and show it all the time.”

  “If you’re looking for a roommate, why even bring marriage into it? This isn’t my grandparents’ generation. People actually live together. Even boys and girls.” She rolled her eyes. At least she could still find a little humor in the situation.

  She’d lived with Spence, because she’d been a dumb idiot who’d had her socks charmed off. As well as various other articles of clothing.

  “Because the marriage part is what gives you the freedom to put your business out there. We could do it quietly, at the courthouse, and down the road, when we both think it’s time, we divorce. Nice and quiet and friendly.”

  He did have a point. And she was longing to get a site built and start taking on more clients. Still, marriage was incredibly drastic. “You’re crazy.”

  “You’d be saving my reputation, too. I’m starting to get tired of the Good Time Charlie label.”

  “Don’t you think your rep would be resurrected when we divorced? I mean, if I were nuts enough to go along with this stupid idea.” She shook her head. “Tanner, do you even want to be marriage material? Or care what the town thinks of you? Your reasons are flimsy at best, so it makes me think there’s something more to your offer.”

  * * *

  TANNER WAS QUIET for a few beats, and then he pushed his hands against his knees and straightened. She was right. It was a crazy idea and if he wanted to move out, he could. He didn’t need to get married to do it.

  It was something else. It was the fear in her eyes when she mentioned this “Spence” guy. She was afraid of him and Tanner suspected she had a real reason to be, if the creep was serving jail time. He liked Laura, and she was struggling after having made some bad decisions. The simple truth was, he wanted to help. Even if it was temporary, if standing in front of the justice of the peace or a judge meant she could have some measure of protection, he was willing to do it. If he helped her, he’d feel that he was doing something important. Meaningful. He couldn’t deny that he felt a strange responsibility toward her and her daughter.

  “Laura,” he said softly, “I’m not looking for love, and I’m not looking for a real marriage. I was burned once before. Is it so wrong that I feel terrible that you have to deal with this? I know what it’s like to have everyone look at you sideways.”

  “So you’re doing this entirely out of the goodness of your heart? Out of charity?”

  “Are you too proud to take it? Not everyone likes to accept help.” He expected she’d had to swallow a lot of her pride over the last year. Maybe she was tired of it. “If not for me, do it for Rowan.”

  “You realize that the idea of offering me the protection of your name seems very...well, it’s straight out of one of those historical novels my gram likes to read.”

  He grinned. “Some would call it chivalry.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Some would call it antiquated. And an affront to feminism.”

  He went to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Sweetheart, my mama always taught me that feminism means the right to choose whatever path you want. You can choose what you want to do now. And there is no shame in choosing something that makes your life a little bit easier and safer for your child. I can’t think of a better reason, actually.”

  Laura blinked. “That’s what my mom used to say to me, too. That it was about owning your choices. I’ve made some horrible ones, and I don’t want to leap into another, you know?”

  “Then let me leave it with you. Just think about it. Yes, it’s unorthodox. And it’s for sure not what you planned, but it could be a solution.”

  He got up to go. There was no sense banging on about it. Either she’d take him up on it or she wouldn’t. And perhaps he was completely crazy to even offer. It seemed like a no-brainer, that’s all. When someone was in trouble, you stepped in to help. Sure, this was kind of extreme, but it was also really simple. Never mind that the thought of her ex made his gut clench. Whatever he’d done had to be pretty significant for her to want to be invisible and let everyone think the worst of her.

  She walked him to the door. He was on the front step when her soft voice stopped him. “Tanner?”

  He turned and looked at her, standing there in the doorway. Her hair curled around her shoulders in dark red waves, and her eyes were clear and soft, perhaps a little sad. She didn’t smile. She looked resigned.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly. “For offering to rescue me. First Gav, now you...well, even if it’s a dumb idea, the fact that you offered shows me there are still good men in the world. It means a lot.”

  “Hell, Laura, you don’t need to be rescued. You’ve got a spine of steel. You couldn’t have dealt with the last few months if you didn’t. Either way, the offer’s still open.”

  “It’s too much.” He started to protest, but she raised her hand. “I know, it’s only temporary. But it’s too extreme.”

>   A cry sounded through the open door; Rowan was awake and complaining. “I’d better go,” she said, taking a step back. “See you around, Tanner.”

  “Bye.”

  He waited until she shut the door before he went to his truck. He thought about her all through the drive home. Thought about how pretty and sad she looked—except for when she looked at her daughter. Then her face was contented, happy and beautiful. He thought about the tiny house and the little things in need of repair, and wondered how she’d manage on her own. Thought about the man she spoke of and wondered how dangerous he really was. And Tanner thought about his own life, and how long he’d been holding back his real feelings of discontent because there was nothing to be done about them.

  The ranch was a family operation and he was needed there. He knew it and it wasn’t even that he resented it. It was more of a general feeling that he wanted something more. Something meaningful. Opportunities for that were slim in a town the size of Gibson. Particularly for a rancher with no formal education beyond his EMT certification. Maybe he couldn’t make a difference to a lot of people, but maybe he could to one. Well, two. He smiled, thinking of Rowan’s soft, dark hair.

  When he arrived back at the ranch, he saw Maddy’s car out front. She’d be there with her twin boys and she and Ellen, Tanner’s mom, would be talking about recipes and all sorts of other domestic things. He thought again of Laura and how she’d admitted she wasn’t much of a cook. Maddy was a town darling, and Laura was a pariah, even though she hadn’t done what everyone thought she had.

  He cut the engine but stayed in the truck, frowning as he surveyed the front yard, everything neatly trimmed around the front porch and a velvety carpet of grass surrounding the property. It wasn’t that he begrudged Maddy any happiness. God knew she’d had a rough time, losing her husband. But her life was coming up roses, and Laura was scared...and alone.

  It didn’t seem fair.

  Instead of going inside, he walked to the pasture just west of the barn where the newest calves frolicked about on long, gangly legs. There was something about them that he gravitated toward. They were so cute and unencumbered and playful.