Read Online The Great Texas Wedding Bargain by Judy Christenberry - Free Book Online

She couldn’t ask that question. It sounded ridiculous. “It’s time for me to go in to work. Do you have everything under control here?”
    “Yes, I do. But hurry home. The wedding starts at seven, you know.”
    Megan bit her lip again before giving her mother a smile and slipping out the door. Like she’d forget that she was marrying a stranger this evening! That wasn’t a normal occurrence in a woman’s life.
    At least it shouldn’t be.
    A picture of Rick Astin popped into her head. He was the epitome of a romantic hero. Broad shouldered, narrow hipped, a handsome smile. She remembered his gentleness with Torie. He more than looked like a hero. He acted like one. At least he had so far.
    The future, however, frightened her. When Andrea had married Drake, they had all thought the future looked bright. True, he hadn’t interested Megan. She’d thought Drake was a little heavy-handed, but her mother accused her of being too independent. But even then, Megan hadn’t realized how Drake would change.
    So, even though Rick seemed like a nice man, Megan would hold back a judgment.
    “You’re being ridiculous,” she said to herself, as she parked the car by the clinic. “It doesn’t matter, because you’re not really going to be married. It’s a temporary thing.”
    That comforting thought made it possible to put a smile on her face.
     

    R ICK SPENT THE morning of his wedding day doing his usual work. He surveyed the calf he’d just discovered in the back pasture, already nursing, with satisfaction. His crop of calves was exceeding his expectations.
    He’d made all kinds of projections on the computer, planning his year as a rancher. But he knew paper expectations could go to hell in a handbasket if Mother Nature decided not to cooperate.
    But the bull he’d chosen and purchased was giving him strong babies. Black Boy hadn’t had much of a track record, which is why he got him for the price he did, but he was really paying off.
    Jose rode over. “Another healthy one?”
    “Looks like it.”
    “We’d better move the mothers and babies closer in. I heard there’s a pack of coyotes that have been killing calves in the area.”
    “Where’d you hear that?”
    “At the bar last night. One of the cowboys from the Marcus spread was talking about it.”
    “Okay, we’ll move this pair into the next pasture. Then I’ll see Tuck and Spence tonight and ask if they’ve had any problems.” His spread was between the two men and they’d become friends since his move to Cactus. The two experienced ranchers had offered advice and assistance when he’d needed it.
    “Is there a party tonight?” Jose asked.
    Rick frowned. He hadn’t thought about asking anyone to the wedding. Tuck and Spence would be there because of their mothers, friends of Faith. “Well, sort of. I forgot to mention that I’m…” Somehow the words stuck in his throat. He’d never expected to say them again. He cleared his throat and managed to say, “I’m getting married tonight.”
    His cowhand stared at him. “You forgot?”
    “Um, I didn’t forget that I was getting married, but I didn’t—I haven’t been much involved in planning it. Tuck and Spence will be there because Ruth and Edith, their mothers, are helping with it. Can you come?”
    “You sure you want me to come? I mean, if it’s just family…”
    “Hell, Jose, I don’t have any family. You can be my family. Find a pretty lady and come on. We’re to be at the church by seven. Then we’ll have dinner at The Last Roundup.”
    “Hey, I’ll be there. Congratulations, man!”
    “Yeah, thanks.” Congratulations to him. Congratulations to repeating the biggest mistake of his life.
     

    M EGAN DIDN’T get home from the clinic until almost six o’clock. Samantha apologized for keeping her so late, but they had an emergency come in at the last minute.
    “Don’t worry about it,” Megan assured her. “They can’t have a wedding without the bride, so they’ll