Page 72 of Montana Groom of Convenience
Mike chuckled. “She reads those dime-store romances every chance she gets.” His adoring look said he didn’t mind. He leaned closer to Sawyer. “I think it makes her more affectionate, so I buy them for her.”
Ethel again blossomed pink, and Mike grinned.
Carly envied them their marital happiness. Seventeen days ago, she’d thought she didn’t care for any of that—the affection, the touches, the mutual concern—but now she longed for it. Longed for the impossible.
“Father sends his greetings.” Her comment turned the conversation to other things until she knew they must leave. “Thanks for breakfast. I’ve enjoyed the visit, but we need to be on our way.”
Sawyer stood. “It’s been nice to meet you.”
Ethel grabbed his hand. “Please come again. I’ve enjoyed this so much.” She sighed. “So romantic.”
Carly resisted an impulse to roll her eyes. Romantic it had not been. Practical and perhaps, in hindsight, a little foolish. She meant their agreement, not their marriage.
Mike accompanied them out to the barn. “These are the bulls your father bought.”
Carly studied the three animals. “They’re magnificent.”
Sawyer pressed to her side. “They’ll throw more of those fleshy calves showing up in the herd.”
“I’m right proud of the critters,” Mike said. “They’re gentle and will drive easy.”
“Gentle? How will they compete in the herd? I sure would hate to see them all busted up.”
“Don’t you worry, darling. They outweigh the longhorns and will soon establish themselves.”
“That’s reassuring.”
Carly and Sawyer mounted up, and Mike opened the gate. The massive animals plodded along as directed.
“Mike was right about them being cooperative,” she commented as they hit the trail.
“I like Mike and Ethel,” Sawyer said. “Their love for each other is so open and honest.”
Carly didn’t respond immediately. Dare she be honest and admit she’d changed her mind about their marriage agreement? That she wanted...?
She didn’t know what she wanted. Nor did she have the courage to express her thoughts. “Should I have told Ethel that it wasn’t romantic?” Let him say something if he had any of the same feelings as Carly did.
“Why ruin it for her?”
Disappointment sank into her bones. “That’s what I thought.” She reined aside as if to herd the bulls more closely. Not that they needed it.
She kept her distance from Sawyer throughout the morning. If he noticed, he gave no indication.
The bulls had begun to lag when she pointed toward the nearby creek, and they turned aside to let them rest awhile.
She and Sawyer dismounted. Ethel had given them a sack full of sandwiches and cookies, and they sat beside the cheerful stream to eat their lunch.
Sawyer didn’t immediately begin to eat but studied her. “Have I done something to make you angry?”
“What makes you think I’m angry?”
His eyebrows headed for his hairline. “I don’t know. Maybe the way you stayed off to the side all morning.”
“Not all morning.” Just most of it.
“And the scowl that darkened your face.”
“I was squinting against the sun.”
