The Rancher's Unexpected Twins--A Clean Romance Read online

  “I wish you hadn’t had to deal with so much loss.”

  “Me too.”

  The sadness in her voice prompted him to lie back beside her.

  “Hopefully after all this craziness is over, you’ll be able to relax with your family all together.”

  “Yeah.” She was quiet for a moment, then turned her head to face him. “I hope your plans work out too. I hate thinking about you out on the ranch all by yourself.”

  He smiled. “Are you worried about me?”

  “Sure. Can I not worry about a friend?”

  A friend. That’s all he’d ever be. Never would he be in the position he was now and be able to reach over, pull her toward him and kiss her the way he ached to do. But if he tried that right now, it would be awkward at best. At worst, it would send her running and end their time together.

  Instead, he returned his attention to the sky in time to see a satellite moving across the star-studded background.

  “I wonder if that’s the space station,” Sunny said, evidently having spotted the same object.

  “Possibly. Or one of the thousands of satellites floating around up there.”

  They drifted into comfortable silence watching the beauty of the night sky. There was nothing quite like a clear, moonless night for really seeing everything the heavens had to offer.

  “This is one thing I miss living in LA,” Sunny said. “Even if I drive out of the city, the sky just isn’t the same there.”

  He suspected she meant due to pollution, of the air and light varieties.

  “One of the benefits of only six people per square mile,” he said.

  “More cows than people.”

  “And cows aren’t driving cars.”

  “Though if you did have a car-driving cow, that would certainly bring people to the ranch,” Sunny said with a little laugh.

  “Even I don’t want to diversify that much.”

  This was nice, hanging out joking, pointing out constellations, sharing memories. He would miss this when she left, whether it was with Jonathon and the twins in tow or on her own.

  “When do you have to go back to your office?”

  “I put in a request today that when my vacation time ends I be able to work remotely for a while. Even with the accelerated rate we’re doing things, it simply can’t all happen within the space of my vacation time.”

  “Speaking of accelerating the process, I guess I should faux-propose.” He dug in his pocket, trying not to think about why he was still carrying around the ring he bought even though he’d been home and changed clothes since buying it.

  “If you get down on one knee on the side of the road, I won’t promise I won’t laugh.”

  “Shall we test that out?” The best way through this was to make it as absurdly funny as possible. So he sat up, scooted off the end of the tailgate and dropped to one knee in the dust on the side of the road, holding up the copper ring. “Sunny Breckinridge, will you be my fake wife?”

  Getting into the goofy mood, she brought her hands to her mouth and gasped in mock surprise.

  “Yes, I will fake-marry you.”

  He laughed as he got to his feet, determined to ignore the part of him that felt like doing the opposite. He slipped the ring on her finger.

  “I can’t tell what it looks like.” She pulled out her phone and used the flashlight feature to look at the ring she now wore. “Oh, it’s pretty.”

  “I’m glad you like it. I didn’t figure going the whole diamond-engagement-ring route was called for despite us trying to make everyone believe this is the real deal.”

  “Actually, this is more realistic. I’m not really a diamond-wearing kind of gal.” She held up her hand and looked at the ring again. “I actually love this. Can I keep it in the divorce?”

  He swallowed past the sudden, potato-sized lump in his throat.

  “Sure. I don’t think I’d have much use for it.”

  He certainly didn’t want it lying around as a reminder when he would need to focus on moving on with his life once Sunny was gone.

  CHAPTER TEN

  SUNNY FINALLY GAVE up trying to talk sense into Maya. Even though her best friend was in on the truth of her upcoming marriage to Dean, for some reason Maya had insisted on Sunny having a “proper wedding.” And thus why Sunny was not only now the owner of a white eyelet dress and would be wearing a crown of daisies on the big day, but half the town had been invited to the outdoor ceremony.

  Resigned to letting Maya have her way, Sunny sat on the porch alternating between watching the twins stack blocks then knock them over to uproarious laughter and Maya directing where all the white folding chairs should be placed. Sunny shook her head. She still couldn’t believe that her dad had agreed to pay for not only all the hasty wedding preparations but also a big reception with a live band afterward. He hadn’t put up any fuss at all, which made her wonder if he’d broken his former personality along with his leg.

  Sunny looked down when Lily crawled into her lap and held up a red plastic block, a drooling grin on her sweet little face. She wiped Lily’s face then tickled her tummy.

  “I think you, your brother and I are the only sane people left around here.”

  “I heard that,” Maya said as she approached.

  “It’s the truth.” Sunny motioned toward where the crew was now assembling a white metal arch where she and Dean would exchange vows the next day. “This is excessive.”

  “What? It’s totally appropriate for a wedding.”

  Sunny clenched her jaws for a moment before responding.

  “Maybe if it was a real wedding,” she said.

  Thankfully Dean had taken her dad into town for a checkup on how his leg was healing, and the twins were too young to understand what she was saying.

  “It is a real wedding. Sure, unconventional and with you both already agreed it’ll end at some point, but you bring a minister and a marriage license into the picture and it’s real.”

  “Imagine, a journalist fixating on semantics.”

  Maya had the temerity to offer a wide, proud-of-herself smile.

  “This will just make everything more difficult to end when the time comes.”

  “Or maybe it doesn’t have to end at all.”

  Sunny stared at Maya, wondering what had possessed the woman who usually displayed good sense.

  “What are you even talking about?”

  “Listen, it’s not that crazy if you think about it. You and Dean are already good friends, your dad and the twins like him, he’s good-looking.”

  All of which was true, but it didn’t mean she and Dean were destined to be a real couple.

  “You’re forgetting why I’m doing this in the first place.”

  “To have your family together and so Dean can own the ranch. Pretty sure that would be easier if you stay married and live here.”

  “Except that my job is in California.”

  “You said yourself that you’ve been working remotely lately.”

  “In a limited way. I can’t attend in-person strategy sessions—”

  “Teleconferencing is a thing now.”

  “And I travel all the time.”

  “Wyoming has airports.”

  Sunny sighed. “Why are you pushing this?”

  “I like having you here, and I really do think you and Dean make a cute couple.”

  “Fake couple. He has said nothing to indicate he thinks of me in any way other than friendship.”

  “Maybe not with words.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Just don’t be so quick to overlook a good thing when it’s right under your nose.”

  “I feel like I don’t know you anymore.”

  “But I know you better than you know yourself.”

  Sunny had no idea how t
o respond, and it ended up not mattering since Dean drove up then with her dad. Since it was nap time for the twins anyway, the next few minutes were spent getting them freshly diapered and settled in bed while Dean made sure her dad made it into the house in one piece. Maya had gone back to her wedding coordinator duties, no doubt with crazy matchmaker thoughts in her head.

  By the time Sunny exited the nursery, her dad was alone in the living room rifling through the most recent mail delivery.

  “Amazingly it’s all mine today,” he said.

  She glanced toward the window but saw that Dean’s truck was already gone.

  “I told him to scoot,” her dad said. “He shouldn’t see you again until the wedding.”

  Sunny barely resisted rolling her eyes. But she couldn’t hold back her curiosity anymore.

  “You seem remarkably okay with this wedding.”

  “Why shouldn’t I be? Dean isn’t forcing you to get married, is he?”

  “Well, no.”

  “Then what’s not to like? I can’t think of a man I’d rather see my only daughter marry.”

  She should put a stop to this before there was no turning back.

  “This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time.”

  And with that one sentence, her father sealed her lips. She also realized that she may have walked herself into a situation that she couldn’t walk out of as easily as she’d imagined.

  * * *

  DEAN HAD BARELY stepped inside his house when his phone rang. When he saw it was Sunny, he knew showering off his afternoon of dirty work on the irrigation system would have to wait.

  “Hey, you’re not getting cold feet, are you?” he teased when he connected the call.

  “I called to give you one more chance to back out of this.”

  He heard tension and worry in her voice. Something had happened.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Doesn’t it feel like this all has gotten way bigger and more out of control than we planned?”

  “I don’t think there’s a normal blueprint for this.”

  “Still, I thought we’d just go see the judge or have a simple family-only ceremony. Now it feels like no one is going to be in town tomorrow because they’ll all be here.”

  He didn’t respond because her silence felt more like a pause than simply an end to what she had to say. His gut was telling him something else had prompted her concern.

  “And Dad had to go and say this is the happiest he’s been in a long time, and now I feel like the worst daughter on the planet.”

  He sank onto one of the wooden chairs that had been in his kitchen his entire life.

  “What do you want to do?”

  “I don’t know. One minute I think I should confess everything and the next I can’t bear to break Dad’s heart like this. But I doubt it will be any easier later.” She sighed and he imagined her rubbing her hand back through her hair like she did when she was frustrated. “Breaking up later might be easier, at least from the standpoint of not embarrassing in addition to upsetting him. And he might not forgive me if I admit everything now when the whole darn town has been invited for a wedding tomorrow.”

  “Hey,” he said, interrupting before her worry train kept on rolling, gaining speed. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll make this work.”

  “Huh?” She sounded startled by his response for some reason.

  “Maybe we’ll have to stay married longer than you’d planned, but you can work remotely some, fly back to California or wherever when you need to. I’ll make sure that your dad and the twins are checked on frequently when you’re not here.”

  “You’d be willing to do that?”

  “Why not? It’s not like we ever settled on a time frame anyway.”

  “That’s true. Still, dragging it out—”

  “Sunny, stop worrying. Instead, try to enjoy tomorrow. You’ll get to see lots of people you know, eat some good food, have a party. And you’ll witness the appearance of a rare species—me in a suit.”

  She laughed. “Well, since you put it that way, how can I resist?”

  Glad that he’d apparently helped her past her attack of conscience mixed with a generous dose of freak-out, he made his way to the shower after she said good-night. As he stood under the hot water, however, it was his turn to have his thoughts attack him.

  When this whole charade was over, how were his neighbors going to look at him? If Jonathon didn’t agree to leave and still held title to the ranch, Dean wasn’t sure any of those people would even be his neighbors anymore. Because Jonathon would probably fire him for breaking his baby girl’s heart even if Sunny told her father the breakup was her fault.

  The truth was Dean would take the heat so that Sunny could have her family together and be happy. If that made him pitiful, so be it. He preferred to think that he was the kind of person who cared about others’ happiness. He knew mental health experts would tell him that his happiness mattered as well, and he didn’t disagree. But if his happiness came at the cost of someone else’s, someone he cared about, then he wasn’t willing to pay that price.

  After he ate some leftovers, he attempted to watch TV but couldn’t find anything remotely interesting. Considering he had a busy day beginning in a few hours, he gave up and went to bed. As he stretched out, it really hit him that tonight was the last night he’d be spending in this house alone—at least until Sunny got what she wanted and left for California. But she would not be sharing his bed.

  Instead, she’d be in the master bedroom his parents had once used and which he’d taken over when they moved to town. The larger room made sense for her to use since she’d be putting a crib for the twins in there too. Though there was no firm plan regarding Lily and Liam, they were likely to be doing some back and forth between the two houses on the ranch. He didn’t mind sharing his space with the kids because they were cute and sweet, even if they weren’t self-sufficient. They’d also be a buffer between him and Sunny when they were together in this small space. She wouldn’t need it but he was afraid he might be a different story, that temptation might overrule his common sense and his platonic agreement with Sunny. Not that they’d even discussed that there would be no physical relationship between them. Rather, it was simply understood.

  Even so, he didn’t think it was possible to prevent his mind from wandering in that direction. But he couldn’t act on his imaginings. He’d have to hope that no one noticed that his and Sunny’s public displays of affection never went further than holding hands.

  * * *

  “WILL YOU STOP FIDGETING?” Maya swatted at Sunny’s hand that had been reaching up to readjust the crown of daisies atop her head. “I feel like you’re going to grab one of those daisies and start picking off petals while saying, He loves me, he loves me not.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, and stop making this marriage something it’s not.” Sunny kept her voice quiet so no one outside her bedroom would be able to hear and spread gossip to the rather large assemblage of people outside.

  “You haven’t seen Dean yet. I predict you’ll fall in love before you get halfway down the aisle.”

  “As soon as this wedding is over, I’m disowning you and advertising for a new best friend.”

  Maya laughed, knowing very well that Sunny would do no such thing.

  Sunny took one more look at herself in the full-length mirror, wondering if the last time she’d used it this much was before her senior prom. She had to admit that the dress Maya had helped her pick out was pretty. It was a shame it wasn’t being used for a real wedding. She felt as if she was doing the dress a disservice.

  “Okay, time to get this party underway,” Maya said, then gave Sunny a toodle-oo wave before exiting the room to attend to her wedding coordinator tasks.

  Since her dad was on crutches, they’d decided to forego him walking her down the aisle.
He hadn’t been one bit happy about it, but she’d convinced him it was the thought that counted and she’d rather not have to worry about him taking a tumble on uneven ground on her wedding day. He’d relented but only with the promise that he still got a father-of-the-bride dance with her at the reception even if all he could do was sway in place.

  She’d agreed and kissed him on the cheek, hoping that he’d forgive her one day if he ever found out about all the lies he was taking part in during this wedding. Forgive her for making Dean a son-in-law he liked and then taking him away.

  No, she couldn’t think about the end of things today, not when she was supposed to appear happy about beginnings. Fortifying herself with a deep breath, she grabbed the bouquet of daisies and followed in Maya’s wake.

  When she reached the front door, Maya motioned for her to pause then signaled the cello player who’d driven all the way from Casper to play Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus.” As the first notes of the song filled the air, Sunny’s stomach tightened. She was really doing this.

  “Breathe,” Maya said, drawing Sunny’s gaze to hers. “You look beautiful, Dean looks incredibly handsome, the weather is perfect. Seems like the stars are aligned perfectly.”

  That would all be great if this was a real wedding, but she pushed that thought as far away as she could. As everyone kept telling her, she should stop fretting and enjoy the day. After all, it wasn’t as if she was being forced to marry an ogre.

  Far from it. As she reached the back row of seated guests, she looked toward the now flower-covered arch and almost gasped. Maya hadn’t been lying. Dean looked...gorgeous. How could someone she’d known her entire life, someone with whom she’d spent time every day since she’d been back on the ranch, suddenly look so different?

  She barely kept herself from shaking her head to dislodge the thought she shouldn’t be having as she was minutes away from making legal a fake marriage. Suddenly finding her new husband attractive would make this situation even more awkward than it was already.