Page 6 of Montana Groom of Convenience
Kate waited for Sawyer to realize he needed to step back. “Can you tell me what happened?” She examined Jill as she talked.
Sawyer answered, though Carly wondered if Kate haddirected the question at Jill. “She ran full speed into the street without looking to see if it was safe. The horses saw her and reared in fright. If she hadn’t tripped and fallen, she would have been kicked.” He spoke in a flat tone.
Carly wondered if he was as unfeeling about seeing his sister in such dire straits as he sounded.
Kate stepped aside. “Apart from the goose egg on her forehead, she seems unhurt. I suggest you keep her awake for the next eight or twelve hours to make certain she’s okay.”
Now was the time for Carly to speak her mind. “Kate, can you watch her for a minute?”
Kate nodded, her brows raised in curiosity.
Carly turned to Sawyer. “May I speak to you in private?” Not waiting for him to agree or otherwise, she headed for the door that led to the doctor’s living quarters. With Sawyer on her heels, she crossed the front room and entered the kitchen, sparing a quick glance around.
Last spring, Kate, her friend Isabelle and Sadie, the teacher, arrived in town, along with Dr. Baker. The doctor and teacher were to replace those who’d left after the devastating fire that leveled a block of buildings in Bella Creek. Now, the three female newcomers were married—all to Marshall men. And Annie Marshall, Carly’s best friend, had recently married Preacher Hugh Arness. Carly had never thought to be joining them in wedlock, but her father had left her little choice.
She reached the outer door and was about to grab the handle and head outside, then changed her mind. It would be much harder for him to escape her demandswith her back pressed to the closest exit. “Did you offer to marry me only to mock my need?”
He sank back on his heels. “Did you not say there would be a problem in getting married?”
“Nope. Sure didn’t. Said it might be a problem getting the preacher to agree to marry us.”
His eyebrows lifted marginally, barely enough for her to guess that he wondered what she meant.
“That woman you saw me with earlier is my best friend, Annie. She’s one of the Marshalls. Of course, that means little to you at this point, but you’ll soon learn that the Marshall family is pretty much in charge of Bella Creek.”
His eyebrows remained arched in question.
“Grandfather Marshall started the town so people would have a safe place to live. Until then, Wolf Hollow was the only town in the vicinity, and it’s a rough mining town.”
He nodded, though she wondered if anything she said was making sense to him.
She continued, “Annie married the preacher. Preacher Hugh Arness. Likely, they’ll have an opinion about my decision to marry a stranger.” She considered the alternatives and could come up with nothing but asking Hugh to marry them. There was no other preacher nearby, and the judge wouldn’t be around until who knew when.
Of course, it might not be a problem if Sawyer had changed his mind. “That is if you were serious about marrying me.” Life had come to a pretty pass when she had to beg a complete stranger to agree to a marriage...or rather, a pretend marriage.
“I’m serious about getting a home for Jill.”
They studied each other.
Carly wasn’t sure what she expected from him but after a moment of silent study, one of the other, she realized he’d said all he meant to say on the matter. “Then we are agreed?”
“I’d say so.”
“Then let’s get Jill and go find the preacher.” She pretended she didn’t feel an uncomfortable tremor in the pit of her stomach. This marriage would change nothing except to have a man in the little bedroom and a child chasing after butterflies.
They returned to the examining room where Kate waited with Jill who now sat cross-legged on the gurney. They both watched Carly and Sawyer step back into the room; both wore curiosity-filled expressions. Carly knew that Kate must wonder what Carly needed to say in private to a stranger, and Jill likely wondered how their conversation would affect her.
“She’s fit to go,” Kate said. “Bring her to Father if you have any concerns.”
“How much?” Sawyer asked.
Kate named a sum, and Sawyer pulled the coins from his pocket and gave them to her.
Carly watched Jill. What they planned to do was partly on behalf of this child. Didn’t she need to be informed?
“Let’s go,” Sawyer said.
Jill jumped down and headed for the outer door.
