Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [41]
Her innocence had been something Matt dreaded, but now he felt honored and more than that, deeply moved.
Usually when he slept with a woman, she clung to him, reluctant to let him go, but with Margaret, he was the one who needed to hold her close. He was determined to be a good husband. He might not have married her for love, but he planned to do his utmost to make their marriage beneficial to them both.
Matt woke at dawn, from years of habit, with Margaret’s warm body tucked against his. His arm was around her waist and he grinned, delighted that beneath the ill-fitting jeans and bulky shirts lay the delectable body of a woman. He’d had a hint of it once, during that first visit to her house, but the reality was so much more impressive.
“Morning,” she said with a yawn and rolled onto her back. “Morning, husband.”
“Good morning, wife,” he said and kissed her cheek. “How about I rustle us up some coffee?”
“That sounds wonderful,” she said, raising herself to a sitting position. “But before you do, I thought we should talk.”
“Talk? Before coffee?” He frowned. Experience had taught him that when a woman sought conversation, she was generally unhappy about something. They hadn’t been married twenty-four hours. Had he failed her already? “This can’t wait?”
She took a minute to mull over his question, then shook her head.
He sat upright and tensed. “Okay, shoot.”
“I love you, Matt. I’ve loved you for nearly five years, and I’m fully aware that you don’t love me.”
He’d reached for his pants, but let them drop as he sat on the edge of the bed. She knew, and had married him, anyway. “Then why’d you go through with it?” he demanded, not sure if he should be relieved or depressed.
“Isn’t that the question I should be asking you?”
He shook his head. The answer was obvious.
“I already know you married me for the ranch,” she told him. “I’m not so beautiful, but those cattle of mine certainly are. I’m not naive enough to think you’ve fallen head over heels for me in such a short time.”
He said nothing, silenced by her honesty.
“It’s always been important to me to make everything as clear and above-board as possible,” she stated simply, as though reading his mind.
He nodded.
“I had to say these things because I don’t want you feeling guilty. I knew how you felt when I asked you to be my husband. It was a risk I was willing to take. Naturally, I hope you’ll have a change of heart and that eventually you’ll love me as much as I love you.”
Matt stared at his wife, hardly able to believe that he’d been fortunate enough to marry a woman as forthright and plainspoken as Margaret.
“Do you think you can learn to love me?” she asked quietly.
Margaret was almost completely unfamiliar with feminine wiles and manipulative behavior. She was innocent and trusting. Over the years he’d had more than his share of beautiful women and he’d learned that beauty usually faded. Prolonged exposure to a woman he’d once found gorgeous inevitably resulted in disappointment. Look at Sheryl, for instance—as vain and selfish as she was beautiful. Margaret was the first woman he’d ever known who possessed such genuineness.
“I believe I’m halfway in love with you already,” he said. Then, because it seemed the most natural and perfect thing to do, he made love to his wife.
Sarah sensed almost immediately that there would be problems with the pregnancy. At three weeks she started spotting and, terrified she was about to miscarry, she called Dennis at work.
Her husband, ashen with fear, raced her into the doctor’s office in Grand Forks, cursing the lack of a medical facility in Buffalo Valley. After a careful examination, Dr. Leggatt, who’d been the attending physician for both Lindsay Sinclair and Maddy, had ordered complete and total bed rest until at least February, and maybe longer. If Sarah