The Great Texas Wedding Bargain by Judy Christenberry Read Free Book Online Page A

help. He only has one hand who comes a couple of days a week.”
    “I’ll ask Mac if Rick can be included. But he’ll have to help the others.”
    “Of course. That would be great,” Megan said with a smile, hoping Rick would be pleased. She loved to see that slow grin that warmed her to her toes.
    No! No, that wasn’t the reason. She was just trying to fulfill her role. A rancher’s wife. Even if it was only a pretense.
    “Are we ready?” Samantha asked.
    Megan blinked several times, pulling herself back to the present. “Yes, of course. The first patient is Mr. Herkimer Jones. He’s complaining of a painful knee.”
    Samantha sighed. “That’s the problem with a small town. Everyone knows everyone else’s problems. Herk has arthritis, but he won’t accept it.”
    “Poor man. Can you help him?”
    “We’re trying some new things, but he won’t always follow directions. Show him in.”
     

    D R. G IBBONS finished her office hours at one on Tuesdays and Thursdays. After tidying the examination rooms, Megan finished the notes on the patients they’d seen, then stopped by Samantha’s office.
    “I’ve finished. Is there anything else I need to do?”
    “No, thanks, Megan. I appreciate your work. It was too much for Doc’s nurse before you got here.”
    Megan smiled, appreciating the compliment. “I’m enjoying it.”
    “Good. See you tomorrow afternoon.”
    They alternated their Tuesday-Thursday schedule by working afternoons on Monday and Wednesday. Then they worked on Saturday mornings every other week. It left Megan more time to spend with the children and her mother.
    She hurried to the apartment they’d rented in town. Her mother had a sandwich ready for her.
    “You sit down and eat. Then we’re ready to go. Torie and I packed while Drew took his morning nap,” Faith informed her.
    “I put my toys in a big sack,” Torie said proudly.
    Megan loved the happiness in her little face. When Andrea had left Drake and moved back home, Torie had been a silent, unhappy child. Not because she missed her father, but because her mother was unhappy.
    “What a good helper you are,” Megan bragged, giving her a hug.
    Torie beamed back. “Now we can go play with Daisy.”
    “I don’t know if Daisy will be at the house. I think she works with Rick.”
    “A dog has to work? What does she do?” Torie asked, her blue eyes, like Megan’s, rounding in wonder.
    “She makes the cows go where Rick wants them to go… I think.” Megan looked at her mother for confirmation.
    “You’re probably right. We’ve got a lot to learn, don’t we?” Faith said cheerfully.
    Megan frowned. Her mother somehow made their arrangement sound permanent. Or maybe she, Megan, was hypersensitive. She sighed and ate her lunch. It didn’t matter. They had to go through with the marriage anyway.
    “Did you talk to Dr. Gibbons about not working tomorrow?”
    Megan looked at her mother. “Why would I do that?”
    “Because tomorrow is your wedding day, of course!” Faith exclaimed. “In fact, I think you should take off the rest of the week.”
    “Mother, I can’t do that. Besides, the wedding isn’t until seven tomorrow night. I’ll be through work long before that.”
    “And Thursday morning? I suppose you’re going into work like it was any other day?” Faith sounded offended at the idea.
    “Mom, we may have to pretend this is a…a romantic marriage, but you and I know the truth.”
    “Rick—”
    “As long as you fix him breakfast, Rick won’t complain about anything.”
    “Well, of course, I’ll fix him breakfast. That dear boy is half-starved to death. But I think—”
    “Time to go,” Megan announced, rising from the table, her sandwich half-eaten. But she couldn’t listen to her mother’s opinion about her marriage any longer. Her words, immediately heard by Torie, stopped her mother’s argument.
    “Daisy! Daisy!” the child shrieked at the top of her voice.
    “I had no idea she was that