“Sophie if you push that salad around your plate one more time I’m going to take it away from you.”
She dropped the fork. Sophie hadn’t heard her say something like that since she’d been a little girl and wouldn’t eat after her parents had died. For the longest time she’d thought her grandmother was being mean, but then she’d realized she didn’t want Sophie to mope around and become malnourished. And poor Grans had been suffering, too. She’d lost her only child and daughter-in-law. When she’d snuck out of bed one night and walked by Grans’s door she’d heard her in the room crying like she couldn’t believe someone could without their heart breaking into tiny pieces.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so down in the dumps. I’m home with you, and I need to be better company.” She patted Grans on the back of the hand.
“I know what will cheer you up. A nice soak in the whirlpool.”
“You sure you don’t mind me using it? I mean it’s for your paying guests.”
Her grandmother looked at her watch. “At this time of the afternoon most of them are out and about exploring the mountains and trails.”
“I don’t have a swimsuit,” said Sophie, quickly realizing she hadn’t packed for sitting in a hot tub.
“I know there’s an old one of yours still in a box on the top shelf in your room.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“I thought it might come in handy one day, and you see I was right.”
Sophie stood and she tapped her on the butt. “Go on, get changed and have a nice soak while I put the pie in the oven.”
Sophie had to admit her grandmother had always known how to cheer her up. She went upstairs to her room and got on tip-toes to reach up for the box she’d seen sitting there. As she pulled on it, the lid opened up and not only did her old swimsuit fall out but photos of her and Wade, and also a bridal magazine.
She sat on the floor and pulled it onto her lap. He hadn’t asked her to marry him. She thought he would as soon as she’d turned eighteen, but he hadn’t. Sophie had pressured him, and that’s when he’d told her he thought they should go to college and get an education before they settled down. She had bought the bridal magazine as a way of hinting to him that she was ready. He had never seen it because the day after she’d been to the bookstore to buy it, she’d met Travis when he’d checked into Mountainview. He’d stayed two months while he was working on a project for one of his senior classes at the University of Washington.
Sophie took a deep breath and opened up the page she’d dog eared. She’d even picked out the dress she’d wear when she married Wade.
Sophie put the magazine and photos back in the box, not wanting to dwell on them a minute longer. She took off her clothes and slipped into the swimsuit. As she expected it was a tight fit. As well as being slightly fuller now, especially in the breast area, she might have grown an inch or two as well.
Still it would have to do. She grabbed a towel and headed down into the guest area. She peeked around the corner. Grans had been right. There wasn’t anybody about at this time of the day. She hurried over to the tub, turned it on, and climbed over the side and got in.
Maybe when she made a fortune with her design business she’d think about installing one of these into her townhouse. Yeah, out on the deck where she’d have a view of Puget Sound, even if she would need binoculars to see it.
She closed her eyes and rested her head back. Nothing like soothing hot water to take the tension out of your body. If only it could take the sadness out of my heart, too.
Wade would be dining with her and Grans later today, and she hoped neither of them would raise the topic of what he and Cathy did last night. Just the topic of Cathy would be deadly.
Sophie pinched the bridge of her nose, suddenly seeing an image of Cathy spread-eagle with Wade moving up and down between her legs. More than likely he was a wonderful lover. He probably gave her an orgasm each time they had sex.
She shook her head. Why am I torturing myself like this?
But no matter how much she tried she couldn’t get the image of Wade and Cathy both naked and having sex out of her mind.
“Forget about him,” she said under her breath. “Forget about who, Soph?”
Sophie opened her eyes and looked up to see Wade standing there looking more handsome than the day before.
“That looks very inviting,” he said. “You mind if I join you?”
*****
He hadn’t expected to find Sophie in the hot tub when he’d taken a short cut through the guest area. He’d heard the tub bubbling, seen some stream rising up from it, and assumed some guests were soaking there.
Wade had almost tripped over his own feet when he’d noticed Sophie sitting in there. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail; her face was free of makeup, and he had to say it was as gorgeous as the one with blusher and mascara. Her eyes had been closed, her chin in the air…she’d looked like the stuff dreams, or at least his dreams, were made of.
“Sorry if I startled you,” he said.
“No, I was just miles away thinking.”
“Anything in particular? I mean I heard you say forget about him when I walked up to you.”
“Just reciting a line from a song I was thinking about. It’s been in my head all day.”
“Not a crying in your beer song by any chance.”
Sophie smiled. “Nope, a happy one.”
“Doesn’t sound like it if she has to forget about him.” He grinned and then put his nose in the air. “Is that huckleberry pie I smell cooking?”
“Grans said she was going to make all our favorites.”
“So that means we’re having chicken fried steak, country mashed potatoes and…
“Green beans,” said Sophie finishing his sentence.
Wade rubbed his stomach. “This cowboy is feeling hungry all ready.”
“You didn’t get enough last night…food I mean.”
“It was good, but nothing like your grandmother’s homemade goodies – which reminds me I should find her, so we can start talking about the case. Your fingers look like they’re puckering. I think you should get out of there.”
“I will in a minute or so.
“Why don’t you do it right now so I can hold the towel for you?”
“It’s okay.”
“No, really. You know my dad raised me to be a gentleman.” He lifted the towel as Sophie stood. Had he totally lost his senses? The swimsuit was a good size too small for her. Her butt cheeks hung below the hem, and her breasts spilled over the top. A darkish hue where the water had made the suit transparent appeared on her mound. He bit his lip.
He wrapped the towel around her shoulders, intending to let go so she could take over, but instead he held it there and squeezed her.
“Wade.”
“What?” he whispered in her ear.
“Do you think this is a good idea?”
“What?”
“You know what?”
“You know I have to kiss you, don’t you?”
“Yes, but …”
He didn’t want to hear buts or whys, or even becauses today. He put his lips on hers and pulled her in close. The towel fell to the floor as her water-drenched body pressed into his. He didn’t care that his jeans and shirt were getting sopping wet.
Her skin was like silk as he ran his hands up and down her back, feeling each of her vertebra rub against his hands. She placed her arms around the nape of his neck. He liked it. He liked it a lot.
Wade lowered his hands and rested them on her ass. She’d had a flat bottom when she was a kid, but now it was womanly, shapely and oh yeah, just right for doing this. He put a hand over each cheek and squeezed them, which forced her body to curve into his.
He was rock hard again, and he wanted her to know what she did to him. Maybe he should carry her upstairs to her old room and make love to her. They’d wind back the clock and pretend the last eight years had never happened.
It sounded like the best idea he’d had in a long time.
Wade hooked his finger under one of the straps of her swimsuit and was about to ease it off her shoulder when someone coughed loudly behind them.
Julie Rogers stood there holding a mug of coffee and was obviously on her way back to reception from the kitchen.
Sophie pulled away and then stepped back from Wade, almost slipping on some water that had splashed on the floor when she gotten out of the tub.
“Sorry to disturb you, but I could see the two of you all the way out in the garden. Maybe you should get a room. We have four of them available tonight.”
Sophie had turned crimson, and Wade guessed by the burning sensation in his cheeks, he had, too.
Without saying another word Julie was gone.
“Good thing she came along when she did,” Sophie said. She wrapped the towel tightly around her shoulders.
“I was thinking just the opposite.”
“Wade, I don’t think we can be alone from now on. Who knows where this sort of thing can lead to?”
With that Sophie turned around and walked away.
Wade turned the whirlpool off, hearing just a deadly silence now, and looked out of the window.
Not be alone with Sophie. That’s all he wanted to do. And as for Cathy. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her last night, so he’d made the excuse he didn’t have a condom and he was too tired to go and buy more. He was about to tell her that he wouldn’t be taking her to the police fundraising dance after all because he had work to do.
However, she’d shown him the dress she’d bought especially for the occasion, and a friend was coming into town to look after Max.
He’d felt bad enough that he’d made some lame excuse about the condoms, and then knowing she’d spent money for a dress, he’d left things as they were. He’d made a promise to himself that after the dance he’d sit down with Cathy and tell her that while he thought she was a nice person who’d he’d be glad to have as one of his friends, he didn’t see a future for them.
Sure, he might be making a mistake. When he’d first met Cathy, he had liked her well enough to think the like could turn into love. That wasn’t to be. Once he’d set eyes on Sophie again, he knew he could only ever truly love one woman. Maybe she’d want him; maybe she wouldn’t. Perhaps they’d have a fling, and they’d be done. Right now that was fine with him. He’d rather have one night with Sophie and a lifetime of hurt than live the rest of his days with a woman who didn’t light up his heart the way Sophie did. Cathy would understand. He knew she would. He hoped a guy would come along for her and have feelings for her like he had for his Soph. Everyone deserved that.
“Wade.”
He turned around to see Emily standing there wearing an apron.
“Hi, Emily. How you doing today?”
“I’m fine. I didn’t know you’d arrived. Did you see Sophie?”
“Yes, she was using the hot tub, but I think she’s gone up to change.”
“Why don’t you come through and have some lemonade? And I made your favorite Beehive cake to go with it.”
She put her arm around him and walked him through to the owner’s apartment.
*****
After the incident at the hot tub, Sophie was reluctant to go back downstairs. She knew Wade would be there with her grandmother. Plus, he was staying for dinner. If Julie hadn’t come along when she had, Sophie knew she would have let Wade make love to her right there on the tiled floor around the tub.
That would have been embarrassing and awkward to say the least.
Good thing her swimsuit had been wet because it had hidden the telltale signs of her excitement when Wade had grabbed her ass. His erection had been strong and urgent when it had pushed into her belly. She’d creamed the second he’d come in contact with her. At first she’d put it down to not having sex for what seemed like forever, but truth was Wade did, and always would, excite her like no other man on earth.
She got out of the shower and rubbed the towel between her legs, letting its roughness catch on her clit. She murmured, not realizing just how good it felt. She passed it over her folds again, all the time wishing it was Wade’s hands, maybe even the top of his shaft. She let the towel drop to the ground and now replaced it with her hand, separating her legs as her index and middle fingers worked her swollen and aching nub.
Sophie murmured Wade’s name as she worked faster, now holding the door frame to steady herself as her climax drew close. She called out his name one more time and placed her forehead on the door jamb. Taking a deep breath, she fell to the floor, enjoying the simple release but at the same time wishing that Wade had brought about her orgasm.
What would it be like to make love with him? It wouldn’t be too difficult to talk him into them having sex, she knew that.
However, she wouldn’t do that to Cathy even though she didn’t think she was the right woman for Wade. Sophie couldn’t put her finger on it but there something about her that didn’t quite seem right.
Sophie stood, still shaky on her legs. She had to face Wade sometime because she couldn’t spend the rest of the afternoon in her old room.
She hadn’t even got around to unpacking all of the contents of her suitcase yet. She placed it on the bed and unzipped it, pulling out a pair of white jeans and a light blue t-shirt. Sophie shook both of them before slipping them on. She checked that her hair looked okay and headed downstairs to find her grandmother and Wade sitting on the couch both drinking lemonade.
“There you are. I was beginning to think you’d fallen asleep,” said her grandmother.
“No, decided to take a shower to get the chlorine smell off my skin.”
“Help yourself to some lemonade,” Grans said.
Wade poured her a glass and handed it to her. Their fingers brushed slightly. Sophie decided to sit in the chair opposite the couch so she could keep her distance from Wade.
Wade leaned back, resting his head on the top of the couch and spread his legs apart. He looked very comfortable and relaxed as he glanced over at her. Sophie took a quick sip of her drink, eyeing him over the rim of the glass. Maybe she should have sat beside him because all she could focus on was the nice bulge at the top of his thighs. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t seem to look at anything else in the room. She remembered his erection pushing into her belly less than an hour ago. And then her fingers gliding over her clit imaging they belonged to Wade and not her
She took another sip before cradling the glass between her hands.
“So Michael Ambrose actually stayed here?” Wade asked her grandmother.
“Yes. He checked in for two nights.”
“I’d like to see the registration if I can.”
“Yes, I’ll find that for you,” said her grandmother.
“Was he on his own?” asked Wade.
“Yes, as far as I know. I mean he didn’t check in with anyone else or dined alone.”
“I heard about your altercation with him,” Wade said.
“I think word got around town pretty quickly. Had I known he’d end up with a knife in his back I wouldn’t have been so free with my threats.”
“So what was it about?” asked Wade.
“Earlier that afternoon he sent Julie to fetch me because he told her he needed to discuss business with me.”
“I thought maybe he was a salesman of some sort, so I invited him into the office where he quickly offered me half a million dollars for Mountainview and all the surrounding land. I told him it wasn’t for sale and never would be because it had been in our family for three generations and would one day belong to my granddaughter.”
Grans turned to Sophie and smiled.
“He said he wasn’t the type of man who took no for an answer. I told him I wasn’t the kind of lady who changed her mind, and he just left. I thought I’d seen and heard the last of him. However, that evening I walked through the dining room to check everything was running smoothly, and to chat with the guests, when I saw him sitting eating a steak.”
“And you spoke with him again?” Wade asked.
“Yes, I didn’t want to seem unfriendly. So I asked him how he’d enjoyed his stay and the meal. And that’s when he said it was all very nice, but then he opted to tell me all the things he’d be doing when I’ll he purchased Mountainview. I suppose I was tired, in a bad mood, and I told him it would be over my dead body.”
“And how did he react?” asked Wade.
“He shot up from his seat and said that can definitely be arranged, old lady.”
“Oh Grans,” Sophie said, putting her hand out to her grandmother.
“It didn’t scare me, but then he threatened Sophie. Not by name but he said if you no longer have a granddaughter then there shouldn’t be any problem with you worrying about leaving it to an heir. With that, well, anyone threatens my family. I told him to get out of my B and B before I killed him, and if I ever saw him again I’d stick one of my kitchen knives in him.”
Her grandmother put her hand to her mouth and started to cry. “Oh dear, what did I do, what did I say? It looks like I carried out my threat, doesn’t it?”
Wade scooted up the couch and hugged Grans while Sophie rushed to her side and set her head down on her shoulder.
“It’s going to be okay, Grans, really it is. Wade and I will sort this out for you.”
“So everyone heard him threaten you and Sophie?” asked Wade.
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“Do you have the names of people who were staying here at the time, maybe even dining here that night?”
“Yes. Most of them were from out of town.”
“You feel up to looking through that list for me right now?” asked Wade.
Her grandmother nodded, sending a tear bouncing off her skirt.
“Sophie, you want to help Emily sort through all that, and I’ll make some notes and start checking on everyone.”
*****
Wade sat at the chair in the office as Emily and Sophie looked over the printout of guests who’d stayed at Mountainview the time Michael Ambrose had been there.
Sophie handed it to Wade. “Looks like he listed Boulder, Colorado as his home address.”
Wade skimmed through it noting most of the other guests were from either South Dakota or Wyoming.
“Tomorrow I’ll run these names through the databases and then visit the hotel where he was found. I’m assuming he was staying there after he left Mountainview.”
“So how did someone get one of Grans’s knives?” asked Sophie.
Wade shrugged his shoulders. “By taking one of the knives shows it was premeditated and that they planned to use Emily as the patsy…which tells me one thing.”
“Which is?” Sophie asked.
“That Ambrose’s real killer probably overheard her threatening him that night, which means we’re looking for someone who dined at Mountainview or was in earshot of the exchange.”
“So you think they sneaked into the kitchen and took the knife without Grans or anyone else seeing them do it?” asked Sophie.
“I’d say that’s a safe enough bet. And I’m thinking it’s someone that Ambrose had also pissed off. Emily, you know anywhere else around here that Ambrose went and offered money to buy their land or property? Maybe he tried to make them an offer, and like you they told him what they’d do to him but actually carried through on their threat.”
Emily shook her head. “I don’t know for sure, but that would mean someone from Glacier Valley framed me. I hate to think someone dislikes me that much they’d go to that extreme.”
“You’d be surprised at what people do when murder’s involved,” Wade said, putting the printout in his folder. “You mind if I get Pops to help me out with this?”
“Not at all,” Emily said. “I’d pay him for his time.”
Wade shook his head. “He’s got nothing better to do now he’s retired. It’ll keep him out of trouble, too.”
Wade winked at Emily and closed the folder.
“And what if you and Bob can’t turn up any evidence or find the real killer? I’ll go to jail, won’t I?”
“Emily, I wouldn’t let that happen. Sophie would kill me if I did. And I’m guessing everyone in Glacier Valley probably would, too.”
Emily sandwiched Wade’s hand between both of hers and squeezed it. “Now enough with business and this doom and gloom talk. Let’s go and enjoy our meal.”
The ex-cop in Wade made him all business when he was working on a case, but now it was back to all things social. He couldn’t help but watch Sophie as he walked behind her and Emily on the way to the kitchen. White jeans…I’ve never seen anyone around Glacier Valley or even Cheyenne wear white ones quite like that, and they are smokin’ hot. Well, at least they were on Sophie. She’d always caught his eye, but now she was a very sexy young woman. He’d guess guys in Seattle were falling all over her.
He’d hardly been able to keep his eyes off her chest when she’d sat opposite him. Her nipples and outline of her breasts had been evident through the t-shirt. He smiled remembering when she was about twelve or thirteen and he’d asked her to go riding with him, and she’d told him she couldn’t.
“I have to go into town with Grans because she’s buying me my first bra.”
He’d burst out laughing.
“And what’s so funny about that?”
“You don’t have anything to put in one.”
“I do, too.”
“Then show me.”
“I’m not supposed to.”
“Come on, we’re friends. We used to bath together when we were kids.”
“Okay, but not out here. In the barn, okay?”
She’d grabbed his arm and marched him in there where she’d shut the door a tad but left it open enough so there was enough light for him to see what she was about to reveal.
“Okay, you ready?”
“I’m so ready,” Wade had said.
He’d been prepared to laugh at what he assumed would two objects not much bigger than bad mosquito bites. However, when she’d pulled up her shirt his lower lip had dropped. She was right; she had breasts. Not big ones, but she was no longer flat-chested. Other than the photo of the nude woman that hung in one of the offices at the police station where his dad worked, he’d never seen real breasts before. He stood staring, swallowing a few times in awe of how quickly her body was changing. And then he’d done the unforgiveable. He’d reached out and touched the left one.
“Hey, you’re not supposed to do that to me.”
He’d pulled his hand back like her body were hot coals, and then he’d pulled her to him and hugged her.
Wade had kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help it. Your breasts are very pretty. Don’t tell my dad or your Grans, okay, that I felt your breast because I’ll be in lots of trouble.”
“I won’t, and don’t tell them I lifted up my shirt to show you.”
“I won’t, but I’m glad you did.”
Sophie turned around and looked at him. “What are you grinning about?” she asked him.
“Nothing, just taking a trip down memory lane. It must be the smell of Emily’s cooking that brought it about.”
Yeah, what a liar you are, Linley.
They entered the kitchen, and he and Sophie set the table while Emily put the finishing touches to the meal. Among the three of them, they took all the dishes and bowls containing the food to the table and sat down.
Sophie laughed when Wade tucked the napkin inside the top of his shirt.
“Laugh if you like, but when a cowboy sits down to a wonderful meal sometimes things get messy.”
Emily patted him on the arm before handing him a bowl of mashed potatoes. “I do so love a man with a hearty appetite.”
Wade picked up the bowl and spooned a more than generous helping onto his plate next to the chicken fried steak.
“I think I might just propose to this meal,” he said before diving into the food.
“Now does that mean you’re thinking of proposing to Cathy soon?” asked Emily. She put a spoonful of green beans onto her plate.
Wade looked over at Sophie who was staring straight at him. “No, not at this point,” he said.
“Wade, I think you’re in serious danger of becoming one of Glacier Valley’s old bachelors,” Emily said.
He shook his head. “I’ll get married one of these days.”
He looked at Sophie again, but this time instead of meeting his eyes, she suddenly looked down at her plate before moving some green beans around its perimeter.
“Come on, Sophie, clear that plate, or you won’t get any huckleberry pie with whipped cream,” Emily said.
Sophie laughed.
“If she doesn’t then I’ll have her serving,” said Wade. “In fact, I’ll probably have a second serving anyway. And you ladies will have to forgive me if I have to loosen the belt on my jeans.”
Emily laughed and slapped his arm again. “There’s only one thing better than a man with a hearty appetite and that’s a cowboy with one.”
“Is there any other kind?” Wade said.
“You know we need to do this again and next time invite your dad over to join us. Sometimes we get so busy the two of us don’t see one another despite being neighbors,” Emily said.
“Oh, he’d love this meal,” Wade said, leaning back and patting his stomach.
Someone knocked on the kitchen door, and in walked Julie. “Emily, someone just said they heard one of the horses making a lot of noise out in the paddock.”
“I’m betting it’s your pregnant mare,” said Wade.
“You think I should call the vet?” asked Emily.
“Nope, me and Sophie can take care of it,” said Wade standing.
“Me?” asked Sophie.
“Yes, you can be my assistant.”
“Okay, but I’m sending you out there with some pie and whipped cream so you’ll have something to eat while you play vet,” Emily said.
*****
It started to rain by the time she and Wade arrived at the paddock. Sure enough the horse in question was making a big fuss and scratching up what little grass there was with one of her front hoofs.
Wade stroked her belly as Sophie watched his hands glide over her shiny brown coat. It was stupid, but now she was even jealous that the horse was getting his attention and gentle caresses.
“Oh, yeah, she’s in labor. How about we take her into the barn so she can get out of this rain?”
Sophie went ahead and opened up the gate as the horse let Wade lead her out toward the barn. Once inside Wade checked her over again.
“Is she doing okay?” Sophie asked.
“She’s got a ways to go, but she’s going to be just fine.”
“You want to eat our pies while we wait?”
“Sure, I can’t wait to taste one of your grandmother’s creations again,” Wade said.
Sophie took the cling film wrap off the plates and handed one to Wade. They sat on a bale of straw, shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh.
Wade took a fork from Sophie and dived into the pie. “Oh, wow, this is even better than I remembered. Soph, I never understood why your grandmother never remarried after your grandpa died. A man would kill for meals like these.”
“I think she had a couple of suitors, but she was too busy raising me by that time. That’s why I can’t let her go to jail for something she didn’t do. I owe everything to her.”
Wade squeezed her knee. “I promise you I’ll find out who really murdered Ambrose.”
The horse kicked a few times and started fussing again.
“Hold my plate for me while I check on her. And no eating my pie when my back’s turned.”
He handed the plate to Sophie, and she balanced it on her knee. She leaned back against one of the oak beams and smiled as Wade walked over to the horse and gently whispered in her ear. He rubbed her nose, and the horse nudged his neck with her nose.
Grans had always told her you could gauge how good a person was by how animals reacted to them. Animals weren’t dumb enough to be nice to someone they knew had an evil nature.
Judging by this horse, and all the other animals she’d seen Wade interact with while they’d been growing up, she’d say he had the purest heart of any man.
All the more reason to think herself an idiot for doing what she had. Not that Travis was a bad person; he wasn’t. However, thinking about it now, Sophie never had, and probably never would, ever meet another human being quite like Wade.
He was kind, considerate, generous, and yes, now drop-dead gorgeous, too. She watched as he spoke to the horse some more, stroking her nose, and then checking her belly.
“How’s she doing?” asked Sophie.
“She’s almost ready to become a mother. Hey, you’re not touching my pie over there are you?”
Add great sense of humor to his list of positive attributes.
“Maybe.”
“You better not be.”
“You know you’d never catch me if I took off running.”
“Don’t be so sure about it. I’ve had experience in the police force catching criminals. And you’ve been stuck at a job where you sit most of the time.”
Sophie stood and walked over to him. “Catch anyone interesting in Cheyenne?”
“One or two bad guys. Do you want to stroke her nose while I check her out to see if a foal’s starting to emerge?”
Sophie rubbed the horse’s mane and then ran her hand down her nose. She jerked up when Wade touched her rear end.
“Okay, don’t get feisty. Usually ladies like me touching their rear.”
Sophie bet they did. She secretly wanted to be one of them.
“Hey, Soph, this is so beautiful. Come and look.”
Sophie walked to where Wade stood and saw the foal emerging from its mother’s body.
Wade didn’t say anything but put his arm around her and pulled her in close as they watched the scene together. “Nothing quite like the miracle of birth,” he said.
She had to agree. Since she’d been a little girl she’d fantasized about having Wade’s babies. Sophie looked over at the corner of the stable. Wade looked there, too.
“Are you going down memory lane again?” he asked.
She nodded.
Over there at that very spot he’d insisted on seeing her boobs, which she’d known was a bad thing to do. And over in that corner they’d had a pretend wedding when she was eight and he was ten.
They’d married themselves. They’d both slipped on wedding bands which were really curtain rings Sophie had found in Grans’s sewing box. Sophie had worn an old lace drape she’d found in the attic, and Wade one of his dad’s older jackets. They’d looked quite the pair that day.
“We now pronounce ourselves husband and wife,” they’d said in unison.
“I may kiss the bride,” Wade had added.
It hadn’t been on the lips but on the cheeks.
“Now we have to go on our honeymoon,” Sophie had said. “Other than lots of hugging and kissing, what’s so special about those?”
“It’s the start of their new life together,” Wade had said.
“And they start to share a bed. You want me to come and sleep in yours, or will you sleep in mine?”
“Hey, Soph, I really like my bed all to myself.”
“Okay, but will we still be married?”
“Sure we will.”
“If you say so. Oh, and when bride and grooms come into Mountainview, the groom carries his bride up to the room.”
“I can carry you, no problem. And you know what this means, don’t you?”
“No what?” Sophie had asked.
“That we can never marry anyone else,” he had said, holding both her hands. “It would be against the law, and we’d get in all sorts of trouble.”
“I promise I won’t.”
Sophie closed her eyes thinking back to what he’d said and how she had broken her word.
“We’re nearly there.”
Sophie glanced at Wade as helped the horse deliver her foal. It slipped out onto the straw.
“It’s a boy, and he’s a handsome one,” he said, stepping away so the mother could clean up her newborn.
“I wonder if the owner got rid of her because he knew he’d have another mouth to feed?” asked Sophie.
“Maybe. If Emily doesn’t want to keep it I think Pops might like it. He had to have his horse put to sleep last month, and you know how he loves to ride. At least with a foal he could raise and train it. I think he’d really enjoy that.”
Wade slipped his arm around her waist, and she set her head on his shoulder. She loved this man so much it physically hurt.