He glanced over his shoulder. "It's just as well I knew you were smiling when you said that. Does this mean we're not shopping for a wedding ring tomorrow?"
"Wishful thinking. If we're going to do this properly, then a ring is essential. Don't worry, I don't have expensive taste."
"There's no such thing as a woman with cheap taste," Trent scoffed.
He disappeared into the kitchen and Gracie sighed. It hadn't felt the least bit satisfying lying to Karen, let alone lying to herself. Pretending Trent was the sun, moon and stars all wrapped up in one amazing package hadn't been hard. Because if she was really honest with herself, he was amazing. Totally drop-dead-in-your-face amazing. And so not the person she needed in her life.
"I bought something for you in Las Vegas."
Gracie looked at the bag dangling from his fingers. He gave it a wiggle when she didn't reach for it. Whatever was in there must be important. She'd never seen Trent so excited about a shopping bag. Especially a little blue one. With white handles and a logo she couldn't quite make out stamped on the outside.
"Take it. And before you ask-no, it's not a T-shirt."
She lifted her hand, reaching for the bag before he dropped it in her lap. The words, 'Tiffany & Co.' blazed back at her. She stared at Trent.
"Open it, woman."
Gracie looked inside the bag and pulled out a blue box tied with a white ribbon. She ran her fingers along the satin, not sure whether opening it would be a great idea.
"Sometime in the next few minutes would be good."
"I don't know, Trent. The box alone probably cost more than most of the jewelry in my room."
"I didn't buy what's in there to compete with your other things." He sat down beside her. In a soft voice that melted her heart, he whispered, "Open it, Gracie."
She untied the bow and lifted the lid. The most spectacular opal pendant she'd ever seen glowed inside the box. Red, blue, and green swirls of color streaked across the surface of the gemstone, almost as if little pieces of the solar system had been gathered together and placed inside the pendant.
Trent moved closer. "The colors remind me of the rainbow we saw over Union Falls in Yellowstone."
"It's beautiful, but I can't accept it. It's too expensive."
"Nonsense. I went to the Bellagio during our lunch break on the first day of the conference. As soon as I saw it I knew it was meant for you." He ran a fingertip along Gracie's clenched jaw. "I can't return it, so you might as well give in."
She gazed down at the pendant, then back at Trent. A line of fire ran along her skin where his finger had stroked her face. She didn't want to feel the rush of warmth filling her heart to overflowing. Or the shiver of need that teased her body.
Trent lifted the opal out of the box, locking the clasp into place at the back of her neck. "All done," he said softly. "Now turn around so that I can see what it looks like."
Gracie swiveled in her seat, reaching up to touch the gemstone sitting above her heart. Trent's gaze dropped to the pendant. She swallowed when she saw the longing on his face. He was a good man. She didn't want to hurt him, didn't want to be the one to leave, but eventually she'd have to. She couldn't stay with him and give him what he so desperately wanted. Not without love.
"What are we going to do?" she sighed. "I have to teach in Bozeman in two weeks and then I'm going home for my friend's wedding. What will we tell your family when I leave?"
Trent didn't say anything for a few minutes. He turned back to the table, staring at the half-eaten plate of cake. "We'll tell them you're coming back to Montana after your friend's wedding." He looked up, staring into Gracie's eyes. "Until then you can return your rental and use the Nissan to commute into Bozeman. If you decide not to come back from New Zealand, I'll tell everyone that ranch life wasn't for you. It won't be the first time it's happened."
She took a deep breath, thinking about how his family would take the news of her departure. Thinking about her husband's. She felt miserable.
Trent pushed himself off the sofa. "It's been a long day and we're both tired. Come to bed and we can work something out in the morning."
She looked at the hand reaching out to help her to her feet. Maybe a good night's sleep would help put everything into perspective. But the thought of going to bed with Trent didn't exactly send her into a slumberous mode. "You sound like an old married man already. Just remember the rules. No touching."
A slow grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Yes, ma'am. I wouldn't dream of breaking the rules."
Gracie didn't like the look of that grin. Keeping to the rules didn't seem to be one of Trent's strong points. And if the gleam in his eyes was anything to go by, he didn't really care.
***
"What on earth are you wearing?"
Gracie looked down at her pink pussycat pajamas. She thought she'd play it safe on their first night together, just to make sure both of them remembered their sleeping rules. Flannel pajamas buttoned to the neck, complete with thick, green socks seemed a sensible option for a girl whose hormones had a mind of their own. "Did you think I'd be wearing a sexy French negligee?"
"If I had to guess what you'd be wearing, I wouldn't have chosen pink pajamas with cats on them." A hopeful note crept into his voice. "Do you have some whiskers and a pair of pointy ears in your closet as well?"
"Wrong dream, cowboy. That one has a black leather cat-suit and a whip."
"Damn, disappointed again. You're going to have to move out of the children's section, Gracie. Otherwise, I might have to ban flannel from the bedroom."
"Ban away and see how far it gets you." Disappearing out the door, she came back carrying six pillows. She threw them at Trent and crawled into bed.
"Is this when you start building the Great Wall of China?"
"If it worked for the Chinese Empire, it's good enough for me." She rearranged the pillows until they were stacked in a straight line, two high and three long. Snuggling under the duvet, she stared dubiously at her masterpiece.
"Gracie?"
"Yes?"
"What's going to happen if the pillows fall over during the night?"
Gracie sighed. "I'll build them up again."
A laugh drifted across the cotton and foam wall. The pillows weren't exactly enough to keep a big, bad, wolf away, and Trent could be really bad when he put his mind to it. "Trent?"
"Yes?"
"What are you wearing?" He'd already dived under the duvet before she'd arrived in the room. Knowing Trent, he'd push the limits of their 'no touching' rules to his advantage.
"Nothing."
There was a moment's silence from Gracie's side of the bed. "Nothing? What do you exactly mean by nothing?"
He moved in the bed. Two seconds later his head popped up over the top of the pillows. "Want to have a look?"
Gracie turned on her side to give him an unrestricted view of her pink pussycat back. "No, thank you. I've got principles, unlike someone else I know."
"Yeah right. You forget that I've been living with you for the last month. I'll turn the light out, shall I?"
Gracie scrunched her eyes tight as she heard him push back the duvet and move around the bed. When the light went out, she opened her eyes a smidgen. She started breathing again when she felt Trent's side of the bed move.
"Sweet dreams, honey. I hope all that pink flannel doesn't get too hot in the middle of the night."
Gracie hoped so, too. She could already feel her temperature rising, but whether that was from the flannel or the man lying buck naked beside her, she didn't know. So much for the pajamas keeping her safe. They might just end up being her downfall.
***
Two hours later the Great Wall of China collapsed in an almighty heap on the floor.
"Gracie McKenzie, would you please stop twitching and jumping around like you've got fleas on your side of the bed. I can't sleep with all that bouncing going on."
Trent's grumpy voice irritated Gracie even more than she alread
y was. "Don't you, Gracie McKenzie me. I'm hot and I can't sleep with all these layers on."
"For goodness' sake woman, take something off and go to sleep."
Gracie grumbled for a few more minutes, tossed some more, then finally got out of bed. "Do you promise on your best Boy Scouts promise not to get all touchy-feely on me?"
He growled. "I was never in the Boy Scouts. But if I had been, I would swear profusely on my honor not to touch any part of your anatomy. I've got to be up in four hours. I need to get some sleep."
Gracie looked at the shadowy lump in the bed beside her, cursing hot flannel. Tiptoeing back to her room, she whipped her pajamas off and slipped a nightshirt over her head. Her whole body quivered as the cool cotton touched her skin. As quietly as she could, she made her way back into their room.
"Tiptoeing isn't going to do much good at this stage."
"I was being respectful."
Trent grunted and rolled onto his side.
"Hey, where have my pillows gone?"
"Don't push your luck, short-stuff. After the last couple of days we've had I'm more interested in sleep than exploring nocturnal activities with you. Goodnight, Gracie."
"Goodnight," she muttered, settling down for a good night's sleep. What was left of it, anyway.
***
Gracie woke up before Trent stirred. She doubted even the cows were mooing, it was so early. Dragging her feet to the floor, she stumbled toward her bedroom. Trent wasn't going to catch her anywhere near his bed on their second official morning of being married. She liked a little bit of adventure in her life, but she'd be pushing her luck way too far if she thought she could get away from his wandering hands.
A slight detour in their marriage plans wasn't what she needed. Slight detours could be lethal, especially given their detour in a hotel room in the middle of Sin City.
She smiled as she quietly pulled on her jeans. It wasn't often a girl woke up to the first day of her marriage, well, the first day she knew she was married, getting dressed in another bedroom. She'd bet her last paycheck that most new wives wouldn't want to be out the bedroom door before their husbands popped an eyeball open. But here she was, Gracie McKenzie, on the run and proud of it.
"Gracie?"
"Out here." She pulled a sweatshirt over her head and ran onto the landing. "I'm about to go downstairs and make breakfast."
Trent stood in their bedroom door, squinting at the glare coming through the windows. "What are you doing up so early?"
"It's six thirty. The cows are calling your name."
Glancing down at his watch, he groaned. "It must be the emotional toll you're taking on me. A man's nerves can only stand so much stretching until something has to give."
Gracie's eyes traveled over his half naked body. She frowned at the grin slipping across his face. "You'd better be careful it's not the elastic in those boxers doing all the giving."
He leaned against the door frame. "Worried you might like what you see?"
She laughed as she skipped down the stairs. "Have you forgotten? I've already seen what you have to offer." And he didn't need to bother asking if she'd liked what she saw. He knew she had.
***
"I'm not going in there."
Grabbing Gracie's hand, Trent pulled her toward Dominique's. "There's no way I'm going into Aladdin's Cave to buy you an engagement ring. It's here or nothing."
"Would you stop causing a scene," she hissed. "I will not spend thousands of dollars on a chip of diamond that won't be on my finger for long."
"Stop being so pessimistic. You'll be old and wrinkly before you know it and still threatening me with divorce."
Pulling her hand out of Trent's grasp, Gracie scowled at him. "You might as well give in because I'd sooner go without."
He looked down at his pint-sized rottweiler. Gracie's red hair practically sizzled with indignation as she glared up at him. It didn't matter how long she stayed his wife. She'd remember each week with more than a chip of synthetic crystal attached to her finger. If it was the last thing he ever did, she'd be wearing the biggest diamond ring he could find. But looking at the scowl on her face, it wouldn't be happening today.
"Fine. Forget about an engagement ring. We'll only get our wedding bands from here." He pulled her through the door and up to the front counter before she had time to argue.
A sympathetic man might have felt insulted by the withering look she sent his way, but he was made of sterner stuff. Trent glared right on back, until the sales assistant interrupted their contest to see who could glare for the longest.
After a lot of debate, Gracie finally chose a slim gold wedding band. No decoration, no inset jewels. Just a plain, gold, band. The sales assistant tried her best to entice Gracie toward some of the more flamboyant designs, but she wouldn't listen. Plain gold suited her just fine.
While Trent paid for the ring, Gracie shot outside.
"Was the sight of all those diamonds too much?"
She poked her nose in the air. "No. I just needed some fresh air after all that schmoozing you did with the sales assistant."
"Schmoozing? Whatever do you mean?"
"You know very well what I mean, Trent McKenzie. Every time that woman got near a tray of diamond rings you kept drawing attention to their setting and color. The poor girl thought all her commission days had come at once."
"Weren't you even a little tempted?"
"Nope."
Trent smiled. "Not even by the princess cut diamond you kept zig-zagging back to?"
"I didn't zig-zag back to anything," Gracie said. "I was just trying to get out of the store before you charmed the poor girl behind the counter into marrying you as well."
"One wife's enough. We'd better go and get something to eat before you chew my other leg to the bone about the cruel barbarian I've turned into."
Gracie managed a half decent huff, but still snuggled under his arm when he held her around the waist. She felt pretty fine tucked to the side of him. Trent's heartbeat picked up a notch when he remembered the snuggling that had gone on earlier in the day.
After they'd had breakfast, Gracie left to do her chores and he'd caught up with Jordan. Five hours later he'd headed back to the barn on his own. Gracie had been up to her elbows in water, washing Daisy after a run in the lower fields. Somewhere between the water and horse shampoo she'd ended up in his arms.
Gracie had kissed the daylights out of him in a way that made the hay bales look like a mighty fine landing pad for a set of newlyweds. Until Jordan turned up, that is.
Like the bucket of cold water Jordan tipped over Trent's head, his brother's arrival had cooled the temperature down to a low simmer. Gracie hadn't hung around to help him dry off. She'd used Jordan's arrival to resurrect the no touching policy and had disappeared quick-smart into the house.
"What do you feel like for lunch?"
Trent blinked. The only thing he wanted wasn't on any menu he'd heard about. And Gracie wasn't open to an all you can eat buffet. "How about we head across to the Emerson Grill?"
"Sounds good to me. Isn't Sandra Lee's somewhere around there?"
A groan built in his chest at the thought of another monster shopping trip.
Gracie rubbed the side of his waist with her hand. "I promise not to be too long."
Trent looked down at the long, dark lashes fluttering in his direction. His breath caught in his throat. He'd turned into a ball of mush. No one would believe how much disruption this woman had caused to his well-ordered life. Just when he thought he was heading in one direction, she'd do a three-point-turn and twist him around in knots. The slightest glance out of her big blue eyes left him hanging in midair, wondering when the ground had disappeared.
"There's another person I need to see while I'm in Bozeman."
"Don't tell me," he said. "You've decided to relive our magic moment in Vegas and we're booked in to see a priest?"
"Not quite. Erin's found some more information in the libra
ry records. I said I'd call in on our way home."
"Sounds like it could be a long afternoon."
"Don't worry, Trent. I won't lead you astray."
He wouldn't have been so sure about that.
CHAPTER TEN
Trent pulled himself out of his truck, staring at the rag-tag bunch of vehicles parked along the street. Greg and Jenny Matthews had bought their single story cedar home more than five years ago. They'd been busy renovating it ever since; in-between three children, two dogs and a cat of dubious pedigree.
"Hey, dude."
Trent turned and grinned at Alex Green. His friend walked toward him with the gait of a man confident in his own skin. He looked like the type of cowboy who spent his life falling off bad-tempered steers.
The break in Alex's nose had long since healed, but the crooked bump remained. He thought it gave his face character. Trent told him he was after a sympathy vote from the ladies.
"I didn't know you were back in town," Trent said. "I heard you got roughed up by a pretty little steer over in Idaho."
"Nothing pretty about wrestling with six hundred pounds of prime beef. Mom said you've been doing a little wrestling of your own. I didn't even know you were dating anyone."
Trent had wondered how long it would take the gossip mill to broadcast his marriage to the world. Five days had to be one of the slowest turn-around times in the history of Bozeman. "Happened kind of fast."
"You could say that again. She must be something to get you walking down the aisle so damn fast that you couldn't wait until you got back home."
There hadn't been much walking involved. Sitting in the shuttle while Elvis officiated at their five-minute wedding hardly seemed like the most romantic way to start married life. But then Trent hadn't been interested in romance. Not then.
He didn't have a clue how to explain his marriage to a group of men he'd known for most of his life. Call him a coward, but he hadn't planned on coming into town for the babysitting half of his Friday ritual. But Tess had convinced Gracie to head over to Billings with the other halves of the men sitting inside Greg's home. He was just relieved that Jordan had decided not to come and watch his brother make a fool of himself.
Trent rang the doorbell and waited with Alex for someone to unlock the gates of hell. He could hear Greg's three boys screaming like banshees inside the house, and a deeper voice, probably Greg, making even more noise.