Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 47222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
10
RANGER
You’re going straight to hell. I’m mad as a snake at myself.
I keep looking at Darcy out of the corner of my eye. We’re weeding the vegetable garden together, and it’s a scorcher of a day.
I want to marry Darcy. In fact, I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life. I’m madly in love with the curvy girl and I know she’s supposed to be mine. And when I asked her last week if she’d be my wife, I meant every word I said. In fact, tomorrow, we’re supposed to go to the courthouse downtown and make it official.
But try as I might, I can’t ignore the devil on my shoulder: Darcy has no idea who I am and I’m a monster for asking her to marry me without telling her the truth.
Hell, she doesn’t even know my real last name. Darcy thinks I’m a traveling ranch hand named Ranger McLeod, with not a penny to his name. I wince a little as I look at her again. My beautiful fiancée notices, and we smile quickly at each before turning back to the task at hand, each of us lost in our thoughts.
We talked about her changing her last name at dinner last night. But I managed to convince her to keep ‘Fields’ arguing that it’s an apt one for a farmer.
And she fucking bought it, you bastard.
On so many occasions over this past week, I’ve considered telling Darcy the truth about myself, to see if she’d still want to marry me once she found out. But each time, I’ve retreated like a fucking coward. Still, it has to happen sometime. There’s a marriage certificate to be signed, and she’s going to get the shock of her life when she sees she’s actually marrying a man named Rock McLaughlin. Goddamn.
“There’s a lot we still need to learn about each other,” I decide to broach the subject again as I pluck out a stubborn weed. “I’m glad we’re getting married, but I think it’s important to remember that.”
“Come on Ranger, I already know that you snore,” Darcy teases me.
“But still, we’ve only known each other a few months. There’s going to big life stuff to figure out, you know?” I feel my pulse quicken.
Darcy pauses her weeding and sits back on her heels. “What kind of stuff?”
Once again, my courage fades and I try another angle. “How we’re going to run the farm, what to do if the crop doesn’t yield what we need it to. That kind of stuff.”
Darcy nods thoughtfully. “It’s happened before. It’s not ideal but…”
“So would we keep working the farm?”
My pretty fiancée pauses in her work.
“Why wouldn’t we?” Darcy is puzzled.
“I just mean, I know there are offers on the table, if it came down to it.”
“Where’s all this coming from, Ranger?” Darcy looks at me suspiciously, and I retreat.
“I’m just thinking about our future, that’s all. I want to provide for you, and any kids we might have.” I turn my attention back to the garden.
Darcy smiles at me, soothed by the thought of children. “Ranger, we’ll figure it out. Don’t worry. We’ve got the land, and sometimes it’s a pain, but it usually pulls through.” I smile at her weakly and go back to working.
Later that night in bed, I can’t sleep. Beside me, Darcy’s gentle breathing is a balm against the guilt building inside me. But it’s not enough.
I want to marry her, but should I?
The question startles me because it’s making me doubt everything. I think back to that precious moment on the porch swing. When I’d asked Darcy to be my wife, it had felt spontaneous and right. But now, lying in the dark bedroom, I have to acknowledge the fact that my intentions are less than honorable because marrying Darcy means I will have access to everything: bills, paperwork, and the deed to the farm. And even if she won’t readily volunteer to put my name on the deed, I know I can sweet-talk her into doing so.
The question is, do I want to do that?
I look over at the beautifully innocent girl sleeping soundly next to me.
This all started because my goddamn brothers couldn’t be trusted to behave in a civilized manner. I grimace as I imagine telling them about marrying the beautiful woman. They’ll probably howl and tease me to no end before clapping me on the back and making a grab for her property.
I groan and immediately look to make sure I didn’t wake Darcy. Her breathing is steady.
God how am I going to tell her?
Darcy hates my family. She detests the McLaughlins, and it’s as simple as that.
I don’t entirely blame her.
Over the last few months, what had started as necessary questioning about Darcy’s situation had turned into genuine curiosity. Unfortunately, it came at price. I learned even more just how horrible my brothers have been toward her family, and I cringe as I think back to our conversations.