Page 50 of A Montana Fake Marriage

“Caleb,” she pleaded. “Will you… just… hold me?”

Still, he hesitated. They were in the middle of a battleground as far as he was concerned. He’d be tempting fate if he did as she asked. To climb into bed with her, even though they were married, seemed like such a big step. He wasn’t sure he wanted to take it when he got the feeling their lives hung in the balance.

“Please,” she whispered, her voice emotional.

He couldn’t stand the pain in that singular word. All he wanted to do was pull her close to him and take away all the heartache her father had thrown at her. Finally, he nodded. Wordlessly, he pulled off his socks and changed into a pair of pajama pants. Then he climbed atop the bed, the comforter layered between them. The only blanket that covered him was a throw that had been placed at the foot of their bed.

Caleb faced Sammie, and she scooted into him. She pulled his arm beneath her head, and he draped his other arm around her waist. He breathed in her scent, soaked up her warmth, and reveled in this moment—because he knew it would be fleeting. He didn’t know what would change in the coming months, but something would, and he wanted to be able to appreciate what he had while he had it.

Sammie’s phonevibrated on the table between them. Caleb’s eyes snagged on the device before lifting to Sammie’s face. She didn’t even bother to glance at it before she dug her fork into her salad, nor did she look in his direction.

That reaction alone told him everything he wanted to know.

Her father was still trying to reach out to her.

“Why don’t you just block him?”

Her eyes flitted up to meet his, unreadable.

“I’m serious, Sammie. He’s not doing you any favors. He’s trying to sabotage everything you’ve worked for.”

She huffed. “But that’s just it, isn’t it? I didn’t work for a dime of what he’d be giving me. I haven’t earned it.”

His eyes narrowed. Is that what this was about? She didn’t think she deserved to have the money that her mother set aside for her? Caleb reached across the table and took her hand, forcing her to abandon the fork she held. Slowly, her eyes lifted to meet his. “That money is yours, Sammie. Whatever you want to do with it, you should be able to. He can’t stop you. Everything we’ve done is for our future.”

Something dangerous flickered in her eyes. He couldn’t tell what it was, and he was honestly scared to ask her what she was thinking. His thoughts shifted back to the night when he’d held her while she’d cried.

Sammie pulled her hand from his and nodded. “You’re right. I know you’re right.”

Even to him, her voice didn’t sound like she believed herself. “Sammie…” he hedged. “It’s your inheritance. Your mother would have wanted you to have that money so you could be happy.”

Her brows creased together, and she scowled at her food. “Money doesn’t bring happiness, Caleb.”

He stiffened. “I didn’t say that.”

“Didn’t you?” she challenged him. This time, her eyes drilled into him as if she accused him of lying. “What has this whole year been about? Every single paycheck I’ve earned has been accounted for. Every dollar is being saved so that I can afford what Ineed. You yourself have been trying to help me understand that money isn’t the source of happiness.”

“It isn’t, but?—”

“So let’s not talk about it. I don’t want to talk about my father. I don’t want to talk about my inheritance. If I get it, I get it. If not, we’re going to be okay, right?” There was something deep about her question, as if she wasn’t sure he’d give her the answer she wanted.

“Right,” he insisted. Still, the instinct to tell her that she should stay away from her father, block him on her devices, and refuse to speak to him without someone present gnawed at him.

He wanted to assure her that they were married. They’d been married for a year now. There was nothing her father could say or do to hurt them.

More than anything, he wanted to tell her that he would protect her.

But he didn’t.

All he could do was watch from the sidelines as she made her own decisions on how to deal with her wretch of a father.

The more time that slipped past after her father’s visit, the better Sammie looked. Occasionally, she’d look at him with concern knitting her brow, but then he’d flash her a smile, and that doubt flickered away.

Whenever the local vet stopped by to check on the herd and speak with Caleb on how the feed patent was going, Sammie would appear. She’d ask questions about the veterinarian career path and what a job like that would entail. Little by little, Sammie’s light returned.

Caleb didn’t notice any more missed calls or messages—then again, Sammie could very well be hiding them from him. Based on how she was doing, however, he didn’t think that was the case.

They were still deep in the throes of two different waiting games. News on his patent and updates on her inheritance. The weather was getting warmer, and they spent more of their time outside, sitting beneath large shade trees or swaying on the porch swings.

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