Chapter Six
T hey ate dinner at a burger place in a small town on the way to Liam’s friend’s cabin in the Absaroka mountains. Val ordered a salad with chicken and Liam ordered a hamburger and fries.
“Are you sure that’s enough food for you?” Liam asked.
“First, I have to ask if you’re one of those people who hate sharing their food.”
He laughed. “I don’t mind. I take it you want to share my french fries.”
“Just a few. But if you don’t want to—”
“It’s fine, Val.”
When their food came Liam asked for an extra plate, putting half his fries on it.
“I don’t need that much!” she protested.
“You’re eating for two,” he reminded her.
She rolled her eyes.
Once back in the truck Val fell asleep. Which was fine with him since he wasn’t sure how to proceed with her. She wasn’t a one-night stand, which other than a few dates that went nowhere, was all he’d had since Caroline had jilted him. But Val was his wife . A wife who he’d never even taken on a date. It dawned on him that if he wanted this marriage to be more than one of convenience, he’d have to remedy that.
Sex, he had a feeling, was going to have to wait. At least until they got to know each other a little better. That seemed odd to say considering they’d been neighbors as long as he could remember, but while he knew Riley inside out, the same couldn’t be said for how well he knew Val. The answer to that question was not very.
She was still asleep when they reached the cabin. Liam looked at her thinking she looked young and vulnerable. Hell, she was young and vulnerable.
“Val. Wake up.”
She didn’t stir. She must be really tired. He touched her arm and repeated her name. Val opened her eyes slowly, her gaze puzzled when she saw him. “Liam? What are you—oh, yeah.”
“Did you forget we got married?” he asked, barely stifling his laughter.
“Honestly? Yes.” She looked a bit pugnacious. As if to say, what about it? She unbuckled her seat belt and got out. “What a cute cabin. It was awfully nice of your friend to let us stay here. Does he come here often?”
“I don’t think so,” he said as he got the bags out of the truck. He set the bags down, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.
Val stepped inside. “I’ve got to find the bathroom.”
“It’s attached to the bedroom.” The only bedroom and bath. As she disappeared, he stuck both bags in the bedroom and decided to worry about who slept where later.
But he continued to think about it. He could offer to sleep on the couch but when they got to the ranch they’d have to share a bed. Maybe he should reassure her that he didn’t expect her to have sex with him right away. Yes, they’d talked about it but now that the time had come, he wasn’t sure what she wanted. She’d kissed him back when he kissed her, but kissing was a long way from having sex.
They’d picked up food. Stuff that was easy to make since neither cooked much. He put away the groceries, wondering what had happened to Val. It seemed like she was taking an awfully long time in the bathroom. Maybe she was sick. He walked into the bedroom and stopped short. Val was lying on the bed, sound asleep.
She’d changed into jeans at the church. Nice, tight jeans which had him wondering— Nope. Not going there. She still wore her tennis shoes, which was interesting since he wasn’t sure he’d seen her in anything but boots. Well, okay. In the summer she didn’t always wear boots. At any rate he took off her shoes and dropped them on the floor. She didn’t move a muscle. He found a blanket and draped it over her, leaving her to sleep.
He made himself a grilled cheese sandwich, figuring he could make another for Val when she woke up. After he ate and washed up he picked up the paperback he’d been reading. One of Cici’s thrillers. Damn, she was good. Not having a lot of free time, he didn’t read much fiction. But the story caught and held his interest.
“Liam?”
He glanced up. Val stood in the bedroom doorway. “Hey, sleepyhead.”
“Sorry I conked out on you. Have you eaten?”
“Yes. Want me to fix you something? I make a mean grilled cheese.”
“I can do it. You don’t have to wait on me.”
“You’re tired. It’s no big deal. Have a seat and I’ll make it.”
The cabin’s main room was a living room and kitchen in an open arrangement. There was a small table and a couple of chairs near the kitchen. Val took one of the chairs. “What do you want to do tomorrow?”
“Do you fish?”
“Never have, believe it or not. Do you?”
“Some fly-fishing but it’s hard to get away from the ranch to do it often.”
“I get that.”
“Do you want to hike?” He started to add that they could go on an easy one but thought better of it.
“That sounds good. But not too early. Lately I’ve been spending mornings in the bathroom.”
He finished making her sandwich and put it down in front of her, along with chips. He poured her a glass of milk. He wasn’t sure she liked it, but he thought it was good for a pregnant woman.
Val smiled when she saw the milk. “Luckily, I like milk, or I’d accuse you of stereotyping pregnant women.”
He took the other chair. “Can’t help that. I know basically nothing about pregnancy in humans.”
She took a bite of her sandwich and drank some milk. “I don’t know anything either.”
“I guess we can learn together.”
“Letty bought me a couple of books. I’ve been afraid to look at them.”
“Why?”
“Makes it too real.”
He laughed. “Didn’t the wedding do that?”
*
She remembered thinking the wedding had seemed surreal. “Not really. I’ve been trying to ignore everything. Throwing up daily makes that hard, though.” Crap. She wasn’t about to explain the little fantasy she’d had going that they’d married because they loved each other.
He patted her hand, then left it there. “Try not to worry. We can read the books together.”
Slowly, she turned over her hand and linked her fingers with his. “Thank you. For…everything.”
He smiled at her and squeezed her hand before letting it go. “Eat your dinner.”
“What are you reading?” she asked Liam between bites.
“One of Cici’s thrillers. Logan gave it to me.”
Cici again. She knew she had no reason to be jealous of Cici. Liam swore he had no problem with Cici marrying Logan. But she sure came up a lot in conversation.
After she ate and took her plate to the kitchen she said, “There’s no TV.”
“No, it’s kind of bare bones in that department. Do you want me to make a fire? It’s getting chilly.”
“That would be nice.” She watched him lay the fire with the logs sitting beside the fireplace. After he finished, he sat beside her.
“What should we do now?” she asked.
“Are you still tired? If you want to go to bed that’s fine.”
“There’s only one bed,” she blurted.
“I noticed that,” he said with a smile. “Do you want me to sleep on the couch? I can if you want.”
“No, that’s silly. We’re married.” Stupidly, she hadn’t thought this through. There was nothing in the world she wanted as much as to make love with Liam. But…not like this. It wouldn’t be ‘making love’ or even anything approaching that. Oh, God, what had she done?
“We don’t have to have sex.”
Oh, great. Maybe he didn’t want to. “I didn’t say I didn’t want to have sex.”
“No, but you’ve been looking at me kinda like you expect me to pounce on you any minute.”
“I don’t think that.” No, she was more worried that he didn’t want to have sex with her and never would. Or he’d do it because that’s what he was supposed to do. Hell, you dummy. He’s a guy. Sex isn’t that big of a deal to him.
“How about we take it easy? And slow. I think we should get to know each other better because we don’t. Not really.”
He had a point. Maybe if they knew each other better, being together wouldn’t be so awkward. “Okay. What do you want to know?”
“Are you leaving Riley in the lurch by coming to live with me? Do you need to commute back and forth?”
He was so thoughtful. But then, Riley was his best friend. “Riley has things handled. We talked about it last week. He’s got a great ranch manager and several full-time hands. Even though I’ve always been involved with the horses and the breeding operation, Riley has always had the final word. And it’s not like I won’t ever give him my opinion again.” Although she wasn’t sure how much her brother valued her input. He’d never said. Sure, she knew he took her advice sometimes, but only when it coincided with his own opinion.
“That’s good. I can really use the help, especially from someone with your experience.”
“What about your mom?”
“Like I said, I’m trying to convince her she can leave the ranch. With you to help me she won’t have that excuse.”
“What if she still doesn’t leave?”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
“Speaking of experience, you realize I know paints, not quarter horses.”
“Some quarter horses are paints.”
“True and we have some. But if I’m going to help you, I need to know more about quarter horses. Breeding and whatnot.”
“I have some literature I’ll give you. But you know horses and that’s the main thing.”
“I’m a quick learner.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
“Tell me about your horses. I’ve seen them, of course, but I don’t really know that much about them.”
His eyes lit up at that. “Blackjack is my stud. He’s a smoky black.” He went on to explain the horse’s lineage, the awards he’d won, and the offspring he’d sired, including the most recent. “My broodmare is Moondance. She’s a buckskin. A real sweetheart.” He talked about her background and his plans for her future. The mare also had a championship bloodline.
“How in the world did you get two horses with those pedigrees to breed?” They must have cost a fortune.
“I bought Moondance as a filly. Her owner was selling all his horses and moving. Said he was getting out of the business. So she was relatively cheap.”
“I bet Blackjack wasn’t cheap.”
Liam laughed. “Not by a long shot. But I knew I wasn’t going to have what I needed to make my business successful without a good stud. It was rough for a while.”
“I bet.”
“That reminds me, are you bringing any horses besides your mare with you?”
“No, just Starlight.” She’d named her mare after the star on her forehead. She was a tobiano chestnut paint with white markings. Val had raised her from a filly and broken her. She was really smart. Val had trained her to do a variety of tasks and some tricks as well. But honestly, the best thing about her was that she had the sweetest disposition of any horse she’d ever been around.
“You should get some sleep,” Liam said.
“Why, do I look that bad?”
“Not bad. But you look tired.”
“I am,” she admitted. “I’m not sure why.”
“Because you’re pregnant?”
“I guess. Okay, I’m going to bed.” Obviously, they weren’t going to have sex. “You’re not sleeping on the couch, are you?”
“Not unless you want me to.”
“I don’t. We might as well start getting used to sleeping together.” In the true sense of the word and not as a euphemism for sex. Unfortunately. “What side of the bed do you sleep on?”
“All of it.”
“Very funny. Choose one.”
“Left.”
“Good. I sleep on the right.” They both got up from the couch and she took a step toward the bedroom.
Liam stopped her with a hand on her arm. “You’re forgetting something.”
“What?”
He tapped his lips. “A good-night kiss.”
Instead of answering she put her arms around his neck and pulled his head down so she could reach his mouth. He was smiling when she kissed him. She didn’t give him a peck on the lips. She threw herself into it, determined to make him realize that, pregnant or not, she was a woman with needs.
At first he hesitated but then he took control of the kiss, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth to meet hers, demanding a response, pulling her flush against him to where her breasts were pillowed against the hard muscle of his chest. As the kiss deepened his arms tightened around her, one hand falling to her butt to press her gently against him.
Hello. She knew what an aroused man felt like and Liam definitely was. But he didn’t push. Instead, he let go of her and said, “Get some rest. I’ll be in later.”