Read the book: «The Groom, I Presume?»

One

Chris Cochran slowed his late-model sports car and turned into the lane leading to the O’Brien ranch. He hadn’t visited the ranch since he and Maribeth O’Brien had graduated from Texas A & M College. That had been four years ago.

Four years could be a long time in a person’s life.

Seeing the ranch triggered all kinds of memories for him. In many ways, he was revisiting his child hood… the happiest times of his childhood.

Four years. He wondered what kind of changes had taken place in Maribeth’s life in that time.

The ranch certainly looked prosperous these days. He wasn’t surprised. Travis Kane, married to Maribeth’s oldest sister, Megan, had built a fine reputation as a horse breeder and trainer since retiring from following the ro deo circuit.

As Chris followed the lane to the ranch headquarters located on a rise of one of the hills, he noted several new outbuildings had been erected on the place. In addition, there were new pastures fenced and neatly whitewashed. The lane, previously graveled, was now blacktopped.

The place looked good. Chris was pleased to know that the O’Brien family was doing all right.

Actually, Maribeth was the last member of the family still using the O’Brien name. When Megan had married Travis, there had been some talk around the county that the family might change the name of the ranch. That kind of talk was quickly stopped when the O’Brien sisters had reminded their friends and neighbors that the property had been known by that name for more than a hundred years. As long as any member of the original family continued to live there, the place would be known as the O’Brien ranch.

Chris pulled up and parked in front of the fence that separated the sprawling, native-stone-covered house from the rest of the buildings. He unfolded his long, rangy body and stretched. He’d left Dallas about five hours ago. Not too bad a driving time between the city and the hill country of central Texas.

“Well, look who’s here!”

Chris smiled at the woman loping across the shaded lawn of the backyard toward him. “Chris Cochran, I almost didn’t recognize you, it’s been so long since you showed your face around here!” She opened the gate and waved him through. “City life must agree with you, cowboy. You’re looking real good these days.”

“It’s good to see you, Megan,” he said, giving her a quick hug. If she thought he was looking good, he could say the same about her with complete honesty. Married life definitely agreed with her.

He’d always liked Maribeth’s sisters. They were loving, unpretentious people who made him feel accepted for himself. In the circles he now inhabited, he was cynically aware that the type of gushing attention he generally received was because he was Kenneth Cochran’s sole heir.

“You remember Mollie, don’t you?” Megan asked, motioning toward the other woman who now approached them. “We’ve been enjoying all this nice sunshine—after all those storms we’ve been having lately— by sitting outside and letting the kids play together. With the size of our families, we could start our own day-care center with no problem at all.”

Chris nodded to the other sister and adjusted his Stetson, pulling it low on his forehead so that it rested just above his sunshades. “H’lo, Mollie.”

“I take it you came down a few days early to visit with your mom and grandparents before the wedding, huh?” Megan asked, grinning. “You ready to get all duded up for everybody to stare at?”

“I imagine I’ll be able to muddle through all right,” he drawled. “Speaking of the wedding, is Maribeth around?” He glanced around the area, not seeing her with the children who were still playing well together, despite their mothers’ momentary lack of attention.

“Of course she is,” Megan replied. “Since we finished the new barn for the horses, she practically sleeps out there, looking after the new arrivals. Maybe you’ll have better luck getting her out of there than we have. You can tell her we’ve got fresh lemonade up here for both of you.”

Chris looked back at the newest and largest building on the property, before returning his gaze to Megan. “I’ll see what I can do, but I’m not promising anything. Maribeth is a law unto herself.”

“Don’t I know it,” Megan agreed.

She should know, Chris thought as he crossed the ranch yard to the building that sprawled across the way. Megan had been both mother and father to Maribeth since their parents had been killed. Megan had been barely sixteen at the time, while Mollie had been ten years old and Maribeth eight.

He felt nothing but admiration for that kind of family love and loyalty, neither of which had been part of his childhood. Perhaps that was why he’d sometimes envied Maribeth when they’d been children together.

She took for granted all the love and mutual respect that surrounded the three sisters and their families. He, on the other hand, considered the many warm relationships something of a miracle. He could only witness their interactions with a certain amount of awe.

Chris studied the horse barn as he approached it, amazed at how well the structure had been designed. Stalls ran the length of the barn on either side of a wide walkway. Each stall had two doorways—one that opened out into an enclosed pasture, while the other gave access from inside.

He heard Maribeth before he saw her. She was softly crooning, no doubt getting one of the newborns used to the touch and presence of a human being.

Chris’s pulse automatically picked up in anticipation, even before she came into view. He was amused by his reaction, but not surprised by it. He’d had the same reaction around her ever since they were kids. Some things just never changed.

He paused at the gate to the stall where she was grooming a colt, her voice a steady stream of honeyed endearments while she gently stroked the animal with both hands, only one of which held a currycomb. Since she was unaware of his presence, Chris took the rare moment to study the woman he’d been in love with since he’d first seen her when they were in the third grade.

She’d always reminded him of a shooting star—a blazing flash of light across a darkened sky—once seen, never forgotten. As a child, she’d been filled with vitality and exuberance, eager to embrace the world. The years had subdued very little of that spark, thank God.

The bright red hair of early childhood had darkened gradually over the years, but it maintained its vibrant shade, no doubt still causing heads to turn for a second glance.

Not that Maribeth ever noticed.

One of her most endearing qualities was her blindness to her own beauty. She was totally unconscious of the fact that her tall slender figure, her fair, creamy skin and her wide-set golden eyes could have easily graced the covers of innumerable magazines around the world.

She’d always been oblivious to her looks. Instead she’d grown up wearing boots and jeans, a typical tomboy who enjoyed ranching life and gave very little thought to the world outside of Agua Verde.

Maribeth had been awarc of only one male since Chris had known her—Bobby Metcalf. She’d always been Bobby’s shadow, while growing up. And Bobby Metcalf had been Chris’s closest friend from grade school through college.

So Chris had contented himself with being a part of a small group of friends who spent their time together, never letting on to anyone how he truly felt about Maribeth.

He’d just been grateful for both of their friendships. Without them, his childhood would have been very lonely.

Bobby had given Maribeth an engagement ring for Christmas their senior year in college. Not that anyone who knew them had been surprised. They’d been talking about getting married someday as far back as high school, but for some reason, the ring made everything more real to Chris, symbolizing all that he would never be able to share with her.

Once the three of them had graduated from college, Chris had deliberately stayed away from Agua Verde. He’d recognized that the time had come for him to make a clean break and to get on with his life.

No doubt Maribeth had made the right choice for her. He couldn’t really say that his heart had been broken. How could it be? They had never been more than friends. She’d never given him any reason to suggest that she saw him as anyone other than Bobby’s best friend.

No. His heart wasn’t broken. Maybe dented a little, but there had never been any doubt in his mind that he would recover.

Bobby should be here now, not me, Chris thought with more than a little frustration. He’d lost track of the many times in their lives when he’d wanted to wring Bobby’s neck, but never had he felt the urge more strongly than today.

“Hello, Maribeth,” he finally said to the woman he’d come to see. He kept his voice low in order not to startle either the woman or the colt.

At the sound of the familiar deep voice Maribeth froze. She hadn’t heard it in years, but once heard, Chris Cochran’s voice could never be forgotten.

She spun around and saw him standing in the shadows of the barn. For a moment she forgot to breathe. What in the world was the matter with her? This was Bobby’s friend, Chris.

He looked different, somehow, standing there watching her impassively. His youthful good looks had matured into a formidably handsome, mysterious man. She recalled that nobody had been able to figure out what Chris was thinking. He made a great poker player for that reason.

A tiny shiver danced along her spine. He’d always affected her that way. She wasn’t certain why. There was just an air about him, an aloofness that had always made her feel the slightest twinge of nervousness whenever he was around. And yet…there was no one in her life whom she trusted more.

“Chris,” she whispered, almost to herself, while she slipped through the gate to where he stood. She paused, gripping the currycomb tighter. “You’re early!” Then she felt really stupid to have blurted out such a statement. “I mean, you must be here to visit your mother and grandparents. It’s good to see you.”

His dark eyes always seemed to look deep into her soul. She felt as though any secrets she might have would be easy for him to read.

“Looks like life’s been treating you fair enough,” he said, deliberately covering his intense reaction to her. “You look as frisky as one of those fillies out there.” He motioned to one of the enclosed pastures with a nod of his head.

She chuckled nervously, and used the back of her wrist to shove wisps of curls off her forehead. “I look like a saddle tramp, and I know it. As you can see, I wasn’t expecting company.” She looked around as though unsure of what to do next. “I, uh, didn’t expect to see you for another couple of days. I suppose Bobby told you the wedding rehearsal and dinner are scheduled for Friday.” She turned away and began to straighten various items hanging on the side of the stall.

“Yeah, he told me.” He glanced around the barn. “Looks like you’ve got enough to keep you busy these days.”

She picked up a saddle blanket and motioned him to follow her back to the tack room. “Well, I needed to do something. Once Bobby decided to follow in Travis’s footsteps and take up the rodeo circuit, Travis offered to give me a job as one of the trainers.”

“He’s doing well, isn’t he?”

“Travis? You bet. Things couldn’t be better.”

“I was thinking about Bobby.”

She continued to be too busy to look at him. “Yes. He’s making a real name for himself.”

Maribeth put the currycomb and saddle blanket away before leading the way to the entrance of the barn. Pausing in the wide doorway, she looked out at the view.

“You know, Chris, sometimes it’s hard for me to realize that the three of us are twenty-six years old. You and Bobby left and started working on your careers, while I seem to have gotten caught up in some kind of time warp.” She turned and faced him, wrapping her arms around her waist. “All I’ve done is stay here on the ranch. I’ve spent most of my life here.” She gave her head a tiny shake. “Not that I’m complaining. Bobby and I always planned to live on his family’s place after we got married. It’s the only life I know, after all. It just seems a little strange to realize that four years have gone by and I’ve done nothing more with my life.”

“When was the last time you talked to Bobby?”

She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. “Let me think. He called last week. He was in Nashville at the time. He’d done well and was high on his success. However, he made a cross-his-heart-and-hope-to-die promise that he would be here no later than noon on Friday.” She looked at him as though daring him to doubt Bobby’s word.

Chris nodded, unwilling to comment on that particular subject at the moment. “He’s still winning a goodly share of the bull-riding events, I suppose.”

“Yep, trying his best to win world champion. You know that’s been his dream for years.” She grinned at Chris. “I doubt that he’ll ever beat Travis’s record, but he sure wants to try. He deserves that chance.”

Chris had his own opinion of what Bobby deserved, but once again, he refrained from sharing it with her. Instead he motioned to the new pastures and their occupants with a sweeping arm gesture. “Speaking of Travis, this is quite an operation he’s got going here. I’m impressed.”

“Isn’t it amazing? He’s really done well. Of course he’d built a name for himself in the business while he was following the circuit, which didn’t hurt when he decided to stay home. Every time I ask Bobby when he’s going to head back home, he reminds me of the legend of Travis Kane and how much effort he needs to work in order to make as big a splash.”

“I guess I’ve lost touch with what’s been happening in Agua Verde county these past few years. I thought Bobby was already working with his dad until he called to ask me to be his best man at the wedding. I guess I’d sort of figured you’d gone ahead and gotten married without inviting me.”

“You should know better than that, Chris. Bobby would never get married without you by his side. Y’all used to talk about that. You’d each be there for the other.”

“I remember. I’ll admit I was surprised to find out he’d been traveling for most of these years. It must have been hard on you.”

Maribeth heard the sympathy in his voice. Darn it. Seeing Chris again so unexpectedly was bringing up all kinds of emotions that she wasn’t ready to deal with. But wasn’t that normal for a bride-to-be? She wasn’t having any doubts. Of course not. Why, she’d loved Bobby forever and then some. In three days she would be married, after years of making plans.

“I’ll admit that I’ve missed him during some of his longer road trips. At first, he’d come home every week or two. Then later, it was mostly a month at a time before he’d make it home.” She could no longer hold Chris’s steady gaze and looked away. “It will be different once we’re married.”

“Will it?”

She glanced back at him. “Well, of course it will. We’ll be living together, then. He’ll be home more.”

“Has he told you that? Or is that what you’re hoping?”

“Well, if he’s still traveling, then I’ll go with him.” She tilted her chin slightly. “There won’t be anything wrong with his wife traveling with him. He just needs a little time to settle down, that’s all. He’s still young.”

Chris raised one of his eyebrows quizzically. “We’re all the same age, remember?”

Maribeth smiled. “Maybe so, but you were born old, Chris. I swear. When I look back at some of the things the three of us did together when we were kids, I figure the only way we managed to scrape by as well as we did was because you always saved our butts.”

“Well, you have to admit that you and Bobby are a bit impulsive.”

She shook her head emphatically. “Not me. Not anymore. I’m grown up now.” She waved to the row of stalls behind them. “I’m steadily employed, thanks to Travis. I have a fulfilling job, a great family and a whole passel of nieces and nephews. Why, my life couldn’t be better!”

What could he possibly say to that? He let the silence that fell between them speak for itself. When it stretched into an uncomfortable length, Chris reached over and gently tugged on the thick plait of hair draped over her shoulder. “How about taking a ride with me?” he asked. “I’ll show off my newest toy.”

He could almost see the tension leaving her body. She pushed the wisps of hair off her forehead with a gesture that made him ache with a sense of tenderness.

“Sounds great,” she said. “Let’s go.”

“You won’t get in trouble for sneaking away from work, will you?” His tone was teasing and she responded with a lighthearted chuckle.

“Are you kidding? Travis is always complaining that I spend too many hours out here, and that by comparison I make him look like a lazy bum.”

They strolled toward his car. “I’m amazed at the number of changes that have been made to this place since I was last here.”

She gave his arm a gentle tap with her fist. “All that shows is that you haven’t been visiting often enough. I figured that once you’d moved to Big D, you didn’t have time for us country yokels.”

“That’s not true. I’ve just been really busy.”

“Doing what? You used to talk about working for your father after graduation. Is that what you’re doing?”

“In a sense. I pilot one of the company planes whenever they’re shorthanded. I guess you would call me a troubleshooter. I fill in wherever I’m needed.”

Maribeth stopped in her tracks. “You’re a pilot? I never knew that!”

“Yeah. I started taking lessons as a teenager while I spent my summers in Dallas with my dad.”

“You never said a word about it.”

“It wasn’t something to be tossed into a conversation.”

“But it was something you were interested in, something obviously important to you. I remember you would listen to me when I was going on about all my pet projects whenever we got back together after summer vacations. But you never said a word.”

“It was no big deal, Maribeth. Really.”

She just shook her head. “Sometimes I think you work at being a mystery man.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know. I remember in school how all the girls acted around you. You’d come back each year with this big-city polish, rarely talking to anyone, and never about yourself. It used to drive us crazy.”

He laughed. “Well. Now you know one of my deep, dark secrets. I was spending summer vacations playing up in the clouds. Feel better now?”

They had paused by his tomato red sports car. He leaned past her and opened the passenger door. She got a whiff of after-shave that brought back even stronger memories of the young man she used to know. She’d always liked that particular scent. When she’d asked him about it once, he said it was a gift from his father one year and he’d used it ever since. It smelled expensive, woodsy, and infinitely male.

She searched frantically for something casual to say. “I’m a little surprised that you’re content to stay in a large city after spending so many years living here on a ranch.”

“That was more my mother’s choice. She never liked living in the city.”

She tapped his large, silver belt buckle. “You still dress like a country boy, what with that hat, fancy buckle and boots. What is it they say? ‘You can take the boy out of the country, but…’”

“I suppose I’ll always be a country boy at heart, but I don’t think I could ever make ranching my life. I need a challenge that I can come to grips with… not worrying over the price of beef and the uncertainties of the weather.” He motioned for her to get into the car.

She paused, and waved to the two women who were watching them from comfortably reclined lawn chairs.

“Megan, if Travis comes looking for me, tell him I’ll be back in a little while.” With a wink toward him, she added, “Chris is going to take me for a ride in his fancy little car.”

“Are you going to take that from her?” Megan asked without moving. “She doesn’t deserve such courtesy if she’s going to make fun of your trusty steed.”

Chris walked around the car, saying, “The woman has no taste. We all know that, now, don’t we?”

They pulled away amid the laughter of the three women. Ever curious, Maribeth scrutinized the dash, peeked behind the seats at the area that was little more than a shelf, then settled back into the luxurious leather seats with a sigh.

“I should have been watching you closer. How in the world did you manage to get into this thing? With a shoehorn?”

“It’s not so bad once you get used to it.” He pointed to the floor. “At least there’s plenty of legroom once you’re inside.”

She just shook her head. “It’ll never take the place of a full-size pickup truck.” She glanced around her once again. “Why, you could barely haul anything in this dinky li’l ol’ thing.”

Chris tried to stifle his laugh, then gave up, allowing the laughter to ease the tension he was feeling. “Maribeth, you are definitely one of a kind.”

She looked at him in surprise. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that. You’re definitely unique.”

“Is there anything wrong with that?”

“Not at all. There are times when I find myself envying your attitude toward life. You’re content with what you have. I’ve never known you to yearn for something someone else has.”

She grinned. “That’s because I already have everything I want.”

After a pause, he said in a more sober voice. “Everything?”

She glanced at him in surprise. “What more could I possibly want? I have my family, and in three days I’m marrying the man I’ve loved most of my life. As the old saying goes—’who could ask for anything more?’ “

“I know you must have had a tough adjustment, coming back to Agua Verde while Bobby took off to follow his dream. That took a lot of courage for you, not objecting to his plans when you expected to get married as soon as we graduated.”

“I was really naive back then, wasn’t I? Just because I was ready to get married didn’t mean that Bobby felt the same way. I guess that’s the biggest difference between men and women. Men want to take longer to find themselves or whatever.” She looked out the window, then back at Chris. “I probably wouldn’t admit this to another soul, but when Bobby first left, I thought I would die from missing him, missing all the fun times the three of us used to have together.”

“I know what you mean. It felt really strange to live in Dallas year-round.”

She looked at him, surprised. “You missed us? I find that hard to imagine. You always seemed to be content with your own company… sort of a loner, you know?”

“Yeah. I know.”

They rode along in silence for a while before Maribeth began to speak, her voice very soft. “For those first few months after he left, I would lie in bed at night, thinking about him being so far away. Wondering if he missed me as much as I missed him. Then I thought about how it would have been if we had gotten married, and he’d gone on the road afterward. Finally I consoled myself with the fact that at least we’d never been—” She paused and cleared her throat. “Uh, we’d never had—been intimate.” Talking faster, she said, “I think that would have made it so much worse, knowing what I was missing while he was away. It was bad enough just imagining what it might have been like to…” After a longer pause, she muttered, “Oh, you know what I’m trying to say.”

Chris turned off the highway they’d been on and followed a little-used road until it ended at the top of bluffs overlooking one of the rivers in the county.

“Why don’t we get out here and enjoy the view while we talk, okay?” He reached behind his seat and grabbed a blanket.

“Sure. Why not?” Maribeth hopped out of the car and looked around. “I haven’t been here in years. We used to come here when we were kids, remember?”

“Oh, yes. I remember everything we ever did together.”

He spread the blanket on the ground and they sat side by side, looking across the Texas hills to the horizon.

Chris waited to see if Maribeth was going to say anything more. When she didn’t, he cleared his throat, then gruffly said, “I know it’s none of my business, but I’d just assumed that you and Bobby had already been intimate. I mean, neither one of you has ever dated anyone else, through high school or college. I just figured that kind of commitment was because—Well, you know what I’m saying. I guess that’s why I’ve been so surprised that he could stay on the road for so long, all the time knowing that you were here, waiting for him.”

He gave her a quick, sideways glance in time to see her face turn as rosy as her hair.

“Um, well, I guess lots of people have assumed that.” She turned so that she was facing him. “I’m not sure that anybody else but you could possibly understand this, Chris—” she began, then stopped.

Chris swallowed. Well, hell. He’d brought up the subject, hadn’t he? And it looked as though she was going to unburden herself. He just wasn’t certain he was ready to hear all that she was going to say.

He was still reeling from the sudden knowledge that she had never made love to his childhood buddy. That news went a long way toward helping him forgive Bobby for his thoughtless behavior.