Marissa knew the whole scheme was crazy, but Michelle had taken crazy to a new level and look at how that had worked out. Even knowing that Trace was only going through with this arrangement to protect an unborn life, Marissa could feel a connection with the cowboy she couldn’t remember with anyone else.
Snuggling under her blankets, Marissa mentally shook her head. “I’m completely crazy,” she whispered into the silence of the room. “I feel like some character in a fairytale, but I don’t care.” With her final words, Marissa rolled over and drifted off to sleep.
***
“You look nice,” Michelle said the next morning as Marissa walked into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee.
“I have a date,” Marissa said knowing she had surprised her sister. “Trace asked if I’d like to spend the day with him, and I said yes.”
“You’re kidding,” Michelle said in surprise.
“I’m not a complete ogre you know,” Marissa said. “And before you start I’ve been completely honest with that cowboy.”
Michelle bit back the questions she had. Arguing with Marissa had never done much good. “So what are you doing today?” she asked instead.
“I don’t know yet. I’m letting him surprise me.”
“He’s a good guy,” Michelle commented lifting her mug as her sister took a seat.
“I think I’m going to marry him,” Marissa said hiding her grin behind her as her sister gaped.
“What?” Michelle practically shouted. “You don’t even know him.”
“Like you knew Kade,” Marissa shot back.
“That was different. If you’re just looking for a way out of the mess you got yourself into it isn’t fair to drag someone else into it.”
Marissa snorted. “Right, because you didn’t do that at all. You practically disappeared from your old life and ended up married to a stranger.”
“That was different,” Michelle tried.
“How?” Marissa spat slamming her cup onto the table and splashing coffee over the rim. “Trace knows about my problem, and he is the one who came up with this idea. It’s not like I’m trying to trap him into something. He already knows what he’s getting into, which is more than I can say for how you treated Kade.”
“I didn’t even know it was Kade I was marrying,” Michelle protested grabbing a towel to mop up the spilled coffee. “I was just getting out of my other situation.”
“I’m not discussing this,” Marissa said standing. “I’ve made an arrangement I can live with, and it’s none of your business. I thought you might see my side of it especially since Trace has those same crazy religious ideas as you. Who knows maybe he’ll bring me around,” she finished heading for the door that was already opening.
“Good morning!” Kade said walking into the house with Kadence in his arms. “What’s for breakfast?”
Marissa stormed through the already open door not even looking at Kade as hot tears spilled from her eyes.
Why couldn’t Michelle understand how desperate she was to have someone who she could lean on if she needed to? Trace had offered her a safety net, and she had grabbed on with both hands.
Marching down the stairs and dashing the tears from her eyes Marissa gazed around her not sure where she was headed. Behind her, she could hear Kade’s confused voice asking Michelle what had happened as he closed the door.
Chapter 14
Almost on instinct, Maris found her way to the barn and slipped behind the big doors, out of sight.
She wasn’t usually this emotional and was pretty sure that her hormones were to blame, but she was also hurt by her sister’s comments.
Standing in the shade of the big barn, she looked around hoping she would catch a glimpse of Trace, but the barn was quiet and only the occasional huff of a horse, stomp of a steel-shod hoof drifted her way.
Plopping into the old camp chair at the edge of the door, she put her head in her hands and wept.
The soft sound of male voices drifted along the wide-open aisle that stretched the length of the old barn, and Marissa lifted her head listening.
She recognized Chase’s voice then Red Dixon’s. Red was an old rodeo clown that Chase had hired to help keep the ranch staffed and he could often be found doing odd jobs around the Broken J.
As the words drifted through the quiet barn Marissa sat up listening, but when she heard Trace’s soft baritone join in she felt a trickle of excitement race through her.
Although Marissa couldn’t hear every word, snippets of the prayer reached her, and her sorrow and anger seemed to melt away at the hopeful cadence of words lifted to heaven. Perhaps she didn’t believe in the concept of God, but the fact that Trace did was oddly comforting.
Each word descended like the brush of angels' wings.
The sound of a door opening and closing made Marissa get to her feet and peer over a stall door as if she hadn’t been eves dropping only moments ago.
The sound of men laughing and chatting as they made their way to various jobs around the ranch had Marissa focusing on the young horse in front of her as she quietly stroked its wide blaze face.
“Marissa?” Trace’s voice made her turn but she didn’t look up. She didn’t want him to see that she had been crying like some silly teen.
“Hi Trace,” she said forcing her voice to be cheerful.
“What’s wrong?” Trace asked, placing a finger under her chin and forcing her to meet his eyes.
“It’s nothing,” Marissa insisted shaking herself from his grip and trying to turn around.
“I can tell it isn’t nothing,” Trace said turning her into his arms and pulling her close.
Marissa sank into the cowboy’s arms with a sigh, resting her head on his shoulder. It felt good to let someone else take some of the burden for even a few moments.
“Have
