Chapter 5
Shane walked back downstairs and couldn’t believe the two of them were still sitting there. If they had been smart, they would have left. But Caroline never had been very smart. She still thought that he would have no clue of what had happened. She was so convinced of herself.
“You two are fired, effectively immediately. Sad too because Sammy, you’ve been a good help here, but you followed the wrong woman.”
“I didn’t mean to Sir, but Caroline would have gotten me fired if I didn’t.”
Shane nodded, understanding the situation clearly now. “Yes well, my wife will not want you around because of it and I don’t blame her. You are lucky she doesn’t want to call the police. You need to ask yourself if Caroline is worth jail.”
Sammy looked over at Caroline and Shane could see that he didn’t think so. He walked out without another word and Shane knew that it was the last of problems with him. Caroline was still sitting there, back straight. It was as if she didn’t even hear his words or believe that he would fire her.
“Shane, I was here when your parents ran this place.”
“Sadly I wonder what other manipulations you caused through the years.”
“I was only trying to help Shane. I promised them I would and that bitch will ruin you. Look at you already, like she is some flower to be protected!”
She stood up pissed, her face red as she walked towards him. She was confrontational and he expected the slap across the face when it came. “This is why you will always be alone Caroline. No man wants you and even Sammy will see you for who you are.”
“We could have been good together.”
Shane made a sound of disbelief in the back of his throat. That was the last thing on his mind. “See yourself out of I will call the police.”
Shane went back upstairs and saw that Dasha was back in her own room. He knocked softly. He was afraid that after everything that happened in her first day, she would want to leave. If it was him in that situation, he thought that maybe he would want to leave himself. When she opened the door and was wearing her wedding gown, his heart stopped and then finally restarted. She wasn’t going to leave him after all.
“You still want to get married Dasha?”
“Yes. You will be good husband. Do you still want to marry me?”
“More than anything else in the world.” He watched her eyes and hated to see the bit of timid in her face. Something that he had expected was heartbreaking to see and before he could stop himself, he had pulled her to him. She looked up at him, her lips quivering and he moved down to brush his lips ever so softly against hers. Dasha sighed and then opened her mouth to let his probing tongue in. Shane took it as an invitation and they were both out of breath by the time he pulled away. Her taste like a drug and her blue eyes held something else now. Shane left before he ruined it by pushing too far and made his way to his own bedroom to get something on for the ceremony. The reverend was going to be there in a little while and now that there were less people, it would just be that much more intimate.
***
“Dearly Beloved…”
The reverend went on with the words that were in everyone’s hearts and minds. Shane couldn’t hear them, only seeing Dasha. She looked down, unable to keep his gaze. Her own mind was riveted with an idea of what would happen next. She had to be prompted to respond when finally asked if she agreed. Looking back up at him, she thought to herself, how could she not?
“I do.”
He had already said his part and when they were made official, her heart skipped as he moved in for another kiss. She could still feel him on her lips and they melted together with the touch. Shane had to pull himself together when he realized that there were people watching him and he pulled away with a red face. Her eyes were still closed.
It was official. They were married and she was his. The day had been a crazy one and he knew that it may not end the way he wanted it to, but it didn’t matter. In that moment, it was perfect. She was perfect and the way she finally looked up at him, he wouldn’t have changed for the world. She looked at him like he was the man on the white horse to save her. Dasha felt safe with him and he took that trust very seriously.
The pastor left and everyone else went back to work. There was to be no honeymoon for the two of them, especially not two people short on the ranch, but Shane was not going to work anymore that day. He just wanted to spend the rest of the day with her.
They went back inside after everyone left the small gathering and Dasha was quiet. She looked nervous and Shane wasn’t sure why.
“Are you okay Dasha?”
It was too much, hell it was too much for him and he was used to the craziness of the ranch. He felt bad about what happened and he just wanted her to feel okay with it.
“I’m fine, just a strange day. Is it always like that here?”
“Not like that, but there is always something going on. I got rid of Caroline and Sammy, so it will be calmer now.”
“Why Caroline?”
Shane paused, should he tell her. “She pushed him to do that.”
Dasha nodded. “She wanted you as her husband?”
He was surprised she put it together so quickly.
“Yeah, something like that. How did you know?”
“A woman knows. Were you two…”
“No, no, nothing like that. She is not my type at all.”
Dasha seemed to like that answer, though she still wasn’t smiling about it. Dasha moved to their bedroom and started to put away the rest of her things. She didn’t know what else to do after the day she was having. Her emotions were everywhere, but the one constant feeling was how safe she felt with Shane. The idea of him with that blonde woman made her angry in a way that she didn’t quite understand.
“What would you like to do today Dasha? I know that this isn’t a regular marriage, so I am not sure where to go from here.”