step forward. If she didn’t hold on to something, she would fly out into the night.
“Cade?”
What might have happened next was erased by a knock on the door.
“It must be the judge,” Rusty said tightly, and stepped away.
“Probably,” Cade agreed, forcing himself to walk over to the window and think about snowstorms. He touched the windowpane and felt its cold touch against his skin. Control, he chastised himself. It wasn’t working. Ice storms. He’d focused on sleet and avalanches. So focused was his concentration that the man who entered the room was subjected to Cade’s back for a long unexplained moment.
“Sorry I’m late, Rusty,” he was saying when Cade turned around. “Had a flat tire on the way.” He gave Rusty a quick kiss on the cheek and walked into the room. “Is this the temporary husband?”
“Yes.” Rusty took one look at the expression onCade’s face and stepped between them as Cade moved around the chair into the light. “Judge Meekins, I’d like you to meet Cade McCall.”
The judge was short, red-faced, and abrupt. He glared at Cade with suspicion. “Well, you aren’t what I expected.”
“That seems to be the general consensus.”
The judge gave a startled shake of his head and moved to the desk. “All right, let’s have a look at the agreement, though I don’t know why you feel the need to have one. In my day, if a woman wanted a baby, she got married and then got pregnant. I don’t think much of reversing the order.”
He placed his briefcase on the desk and snapped it open, pulling out a sheaf of legal-size papers. “I’ll just hit the high spots here. You can look them over and sign them now, or I’ll pick them up tomorrow.”
“Go ahead, Judge, tell me what they say.” Cade walked around the high-backed chair pulled up to one corner of the desk. He needed something in his hands, something he could focus on.
After the judge rattled off the terms of the agreement Cade forced himself to hold on to the chair, before saying forcefully “There are two very big problems left unanswered. First, I won’t be a kept man—for anybody, for any reason. If I stay here, I have to have something useful to do.”
Rusty looked puzzled. “I have no problem with that, Cade. What do you have in mind?”
“Obviously I don’t know anything about cattle, but I can learn. But I do know about water supplies and pipelines. I believe that I can contribute,and I want the right to work included in the contract. Is that agreed?”
“Agreed. What’s the second thing?”
“That may be more difficult.” He walked around the chair and came to stand beside Rusty. With little regard for the judge’s surprise, Cade turned her to face him. “I was abandoned by my father. I won’t do that to my child. Any children I have will have a mother and a father, or they will never be born.”
“But—but—but,” the judge stuttered, “that means a permanent marriage, and that wasn’t part of Rusty’s plan.”
“Not necessarily. It only means that I intend to be a father to my children. The details can be worked out if the need arises. Will you agree, Mrs. Wilder?”
“Yes,” she finally whispered. “If there are children, we’ll work out those details to your satisfaction.”
“Eh—well, I suppose that I can rewrite the temporary marriage clause, if you’re sure.”
“We’re sure,” Letty said, striding into the room, dragging a broadly smiling Eugene behind her. “And we’re the witnesses. You need witnesses, don’t you, Judge?”
“Eh, well—well, yes.” The confused man’s face turned even redder. After a moment he turned to the papers and began to make adjustments. “Now, if the parties affected would just initial the changes here—” he waited for Rusty and Cade to focus their attention on the legal document and sign, “and here—and here.”
“Where do I make my X?” Eugene said seriously,as he wrote Eugene Philip Wesley Manderville, III, in
“Cade?”
What might have happened next was erased by a knock on the door.
“It must be the judge,” Rusty said tightly, and stepped away.
“Probably,” Cade agreed, forcing himself to walk over to the window and think about snowstorms. He touched the windowpane and felt its cold touch against his skin. Control, he chastised himself. It wasn’t working. Ice storms. He’d focused on sleet and avalanches. So focused was his concentration that the man who entered the room was subjected to Cade’s back for a long unexplained moment.
“Sorry I’m late, Rusty,” he was saying when Cade turned around. “Had a flat tire on the way.” He gave Rusty a quick kiss on the cheek and walked into the room. “Is this the temporary husband?”
“Yes.” Rusty took one look at the expression onCade’s face and stepped between them as Cade moved around the chair into the light. “Judge Meekins, I’d like you to meet Cade McCall.”
The judge was short, red-faced, and abrupt. He glared at Cade with suspicion. “Well, you aren’t what I expected.”
“That seems to be the general consensus.”
The judge gave a startled shake of his head and moved to the desk. “All right, let’s have a look at the agreement, though I don’t know why you feel the need to have one. In my day, if a woman wanted a baby, she got married and then got pregnant. I don’t think much of reversing the order.”
He placed his briefcase on the desk and snapped it open, pulling out a sheaf of legal-size papers. “I’ll just hit the high spots here. You can look them over and sign them now, or I’ll pick them up tomorrow.”
“Go ahead, Judge, tell me what they say.” Cade walked around the high-backed chair pulled up to one corner of the desk. He needed something in his hands, something he could focus on.
After the judge rattled off the terms of the agreement Cade forced himself to hold on to the chair, before saying forcefully “There are two very big problems left unanswered. First, I won’t be a kept man—for anybody, for any reason. If I stay here, I have to have something useful to do.”
Rusty looked puzzled. “I have no problem with that, Cade. What do you have in mind?”
“Obviously I don’t know anything about cattle, but I can learn. But I do know about water supplies and pipelines. I believe that I can contribute,and I want the right to work included in the contract. Is that agreed?”
“Agreed. What’s the second thing?”
“That may be more difficult.” He walked around the chair and came to stand beside Rusty. With little regard for the judge’s surprise, Cade turned her to face him. “I was abandoned by my father. I won’t do that to my child. Any children I have will have a mother and a father, or they will never be born.”
“But—but—but,” the judge stuttered, “that means a permanent marriage, and that wasn’t part of Rusty’s plan.”
“Not necessarily. It only means that I intend to be a father to my children. The details can be worked out if the need arises. Will you agree, Mrs. Wilder?”
“Yes,” she finally whispered. “If there are children, we’ll work out those details to your satisfaction.”
“Eh—well, I suppose that I can rewrite the temporary marriage clause, if you’re sure.”
“We’re sure,” Letty said, striding into the room, dragging a broadly smiling Eugene behind her. “And we’re the witnesses. You need witnesses, don’t you, Judge?”
“Eh, well—well, yes.” The confused man’s face turned even redder. After a moment he turned to the papers and began to make adjustments. “Now, if the parties affected would just initial the changes here—” he waited for Rusty and Cade to focus their attention on the legal document and sign, “and here—and here.”
“Where do I make my X?” Eugene said seriously,as he wrote Eugene Philip Wesley Manderville, III, in
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