He put his free arm around her, squeezing a little but keeping a hold of Elaine’s hand. His mom could be a little overwhelming, and Elaine wasn’t pushy enough to stand her ground.

  Finally she pulled back, looking him up and down like she was making sure he hadn’t grown a second head.

  “You’re more pale than I’ve ever seen you. Are you feeling okay?”

  “Just fine, Mom.” He pulled Elaine to his side and dropped her hand so he could put his arm around her. “This is my wife, Elaine.”

  His mom looked at Elaine for the first time. “My goodness, you’re as white as a sheet.”

  Elaine’s mouth held a half-smile, like she wasn’t sure what kind of reaction to give to a statement like that.

  Rem didn’t know either. “It’s winter in North Dakota. We’re not out in the sun much this time of year.”

  “We? Like you’re a North Dakotan?”

  He didn’t want to start an argument, so he bit his tongue rather than give the answer that wanted to slip out.

  “You have a beautiful place here, Mrs. Martinez.” Elaine’s voice was sincere.

  “Thank you, sweetie. It takes a lot of work to keep this place up. I don’t know if Rem told you or not, but his dad is sick, and we could really use his help.” His mother’s tone was only a little condescending; probably she was still mad because he hadn’t told her he was married. He didn’t want Elaine to have to pay for that.

  But a more immediate issue had arisen. Rem had noticed that the grass was a little high, weeds were growing in places where they’d never allowed weeds to grow before, and being that it was spring, there should be cows in the near pasture so they could keep an eye on them before they freshened. But there weren’t.

  Was the ranch in trouble?

  “Where’s Dad?”

  “He’s sleeping. The treatments really take a toll on him.”

  “Max?”

  His mother drew in a breath and pushed it back out. “He’s taken Olivia’s leaving pretty hard.”

  Rem studied her. Back when they were younger, he’d been the one with the drinking problem. It had taken two stints in jail and a determination to focus on a championship for him to overcome his issues.

  Max, on the other hand, had always been a casual drinker. Something like this might have pushed him past the socially acceptable point and into a problem area.

  “In what way?” he asked cautiously.

  “He’s depressed, of course.” His mother tilted her head, tugging her shirt down, before she said, “You remember Cord Wingate? His dad was president of the First National Bank of Texas?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Well, she...ran off with him.”

  “You’re kidding. They haven’t even been married a year.”

  She lifted a shoulder in a graceful shrug. “Cord bought the Triple D hunting camp that’s about forty-five minutes south of here. Six point two million dollars. I think that was looking a little better than this, with all the work there is to do here.”

  “You need to hire some people.”

  “You know how your dad is. He wants to do everything himself. Except now he can’t, so he’s pushing Max to do it all. Max can’t take the pressure.”

  Elaine’s arm slipped around his waist, and he realized they were still standing in the yard. His mother hadn’t invited him in.

  “I assumed we’d stay here tonight?”

  “Oh, yes. Of course.” His mother put a hand on her head and gave it a little shake. Her auburn hair stayed firmly in place. “I’m sorry. Please, come in. I have your old room ready. I assumed you’d want to see your dad then maybe ride around the ranch some?”

  He walked around and pulled their bags from the trunk. “I don’t know. We’ve been up most of the night. I’m tired, and Elaine probably is too.” He looked down at her. She didn’t have to tell him she was tired; he could see it in the tightness of her eyes and the drooping of her shoulders. She leaned against him as they walked.

  “Oh, really?” His mother’s green eyes flashed to Elaine. Her mouth tightened like she disapproved. “You’re not going to be here long. I thought for sure you’d want to see everything.”

  “We’re here because Dad’s sick and I want to see him. You also said he wanted to talk to me.” Rem opened the door for his mother. He met Elaine’s eyes as she went through. Elaine wasn’t getting the best of welcomes here, but she didn’t seem upset. Not like he was. He knew his mother was angry that he married without her knowledge and without her knowing his bride, but it was wrong for her to be punishing Elaine.

  The house was cool as they stepped in and removed their shoes. The tile floor was even cooler through his socks. He marveled at the differences. In Texas, everything was about keeping them cool and comfortable. In North Dakota, they were always trying to stay warm.

  Compared to the house they lived in, his old home felt like a mansion, with high ceilings and large rooms all decorated in earthy colors. It was wide and spacious; he’d forgotten how much he loved this house.

  “You know where your room is.” His mother broke into his thoughts. “If you want to ride around the ranch, you know you’re welcome. I have a nice meal planned for tonight with a few old friends. I told people to come around seven. Reeva is getting the back barbeque pit area ready, and our chef has a brisket in the smoker.”

  “Will you text me when Dad wakes up?”

  “I will. I know he’ll want to see you.”

  “Thanks.” He pulled on Elaine’s hand and led her past the large kitchen with the big bar that seated ten people, through the living room with comfortable couches and greenery and artwork placed in strategic locations, and down the hallway to his old room on the right.

  They stepped into the oversized room. The comforter on the large wooden bed was new. But the bed itself, along with the two matching dressers, was the same as he’d grown up with. The door was open to the master bath where there was a whirlpool tub and a stand-up shower. The shades were open. His windows overlooked the hill country to the south. It was a view he’d loved all his life.

  Walking into his room felt like coming home in a way his mother’s arms had not. He turned to Elaine. “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m fine.”

  He figured that’s what she’d say.

  He tried a different tact. “You want to ride and see the ranch? Or do you want to rest?”

  She swallowed and looked at the bed. He hadn’t considered that they’d be sharing one tonight. Although she seemed comfortable with him and they had a solid friendship, he’d not suggested moving into her room, and she hadn’t made the offer again. It was going to happen eventually, sooner rather than later, probably, but he didn’t want her to have any regrets. Going too fast might be a problem, but going too slow wouldn’t hurt anything.

  “I can sleep on the floor if that makes you uncomfortable.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, no.” Her cheeks reddened. “I wasn’t thinking about that. I was just considering, I’ll be fine if we see the ranch, and I really want to.” She stepped closer to him and ran her hands up his chest. Yeah, she was definitely comfortable with him. “This is where you grew up, and you love it. I want to love it, too.”

  His hands slid over her back and pulled her closer. “I love it, that’s true. I guess I’d forgotten how much until we drove up today. But there’s a ranch in North Dakota that has stolen my heart.”

  She reached up and kissed the bottom of his jaw. “Show me your ranch, Rem.”

  His eyes closed, and his hands tightened on her back before he let her go. “Come on, you’re gonna love it.”

  Chapter 18

  When Rem said “ride,” he’d meant horses. Elaine had never ridden a horse in her life. Because of James, they kept three for the children. Elaine could brush them, clean their stalls, and even clean their hooves, but she’d never been on their backs.

  She’d been terrified and trying to hide it, although she’d always heard a horse could tell. Either her horse was a little slow on the uptake, or she was a good faker. Whichever it was, she’d managed to ride beside Rem without falling off or having a panic attack.

  Rem had probably noticed her discomfort more than the horse. He constantly amazed her by how he seemed to know what she was thinking and feeling. In this case, he’d kept the horses to a walk. Maybe that was the normal speed at which they rode.

  Regardless, she’d been grateful, since she had no idea how to get her horse to go faster or, more importantly in her opinion, how to steer it or get it to stop. Thankfully it was happy to plod along beside Rem’s mount. Meanwhile, Rem never mentioned her inadequacy, and she had a great time, listening to Rem brag about his home and the state he loved.

  Still, she was pretty happy to get off the horse. She was also sore. Muscles that she hadn’t even known she had twinged in painful chorus as she pulled the saddle off her horse.

  Rem’s phone buzzed as they walked into the house.

  “Mom says Dad is awake. You mind getting a shower while I run in and talk to him quickly?” Rem asked, holding the door open for her.

  “Not at all,” she answered, wondering if she might not even meet his dad.

  “Can you find your way to our room?”

  “Sure.” The house was big but not twisty, and she could easily find it.

  He pulled her close and kissed her hard and fast. “Thanks, Chica.”

  She was a little dazed as he pulled away and strode in the opposite direction. She stood and blinked, a bemused smile on her face. That kiss could have lasted a little longer.

  “Hey, sister.”

  Elaine jerked around, her eyes searching frantically around the kitchen then the living room for the source of the lazy drawl and the words that were slightly slurred.

  Finally she saw the man slouched on the easy chair in the corner of the living room. She walked slowly closer, thinking this must be Max as there were definitely similarities between him and Rem.

  Rem didn’t hate him. He almost seemed sad when he talked about Max.

  “Hello,” she said. “I’m Elaine.”

  “I know who you are.” The man didn’t move, but his eyes, dark brown where Rem’s were black, followed her.

  “Then you know I’m Rem’s wife.”

  The man snorted. “Rem always lands on his feet. Women or bulls, doesn’t matter. Gets bucked off, lands on his feet.” His hand came down, smacking on his lap as though to emphasize his point.

  “Has it occurred to you that perhaps Rem works hard and isn’t afraid to go after what he wants, even if it involves sacrifices, and maybe that’s why he’s successful?” Elaine laid her hand on the back of the couch, staying a good eight feet away from the man, for all that he seemed to be sloshed but mostly harmless.

  “No,” he said flatly. “It hasn’t.”

  Elaine snorted. “Then maybe it should. Because that’s the truth. Hard work trumps talent any day of the week. Rem sees what he wants, then he works to get it.”

  “He’s got you brainwashed.”

  “I’m just telling you what I’ve seen.”

  “Pretty sure Rem didn’t know any chicks in the Dakotas. You probably haven’t even known him for a year. Half a year, maybe. I’m his brother. I grew up with him.” The man got a sly look on his face. “You know last year this time, Rem’s fiancée was pregnant.”

  As much as she didn’t want the man to get a reaction from her, Elaine gasped.

  “You can finish that story, Max.” Rem arrived at her side on stocking feet. She hadn’t heard him come.

  “I’ll let you tell it, bro. I’m sure your version is better than mine.”

  “I had a drinking problem at one time, Max, as you well know. If you want to talk about it, I’m here.” Rem took Elaine’s hand. The slide of his calloused fingers through hers soothed her like it always did. “You mind coming? My dad wants to meet you.”

  “Of course,” she said as she followed him, hoping she’d hear the rest of the fiancée story. That hadn’t been in the report she’d read. Did Rem have a baby somewhere? He’d not mentioned it at all.

  She put a hand over her stomach. The idea of Rem having a child was shocking, but she could handle that. It was more the thought that he’d kept the information from her that really upset her.

  “What a great son you are, Rem. You know he’s going to give you the ranch. You don’t have to suck up anymore.” Max’s words were even more slurred as his anger rose.

  Elaine waited for Rem to tell Max that he wasn’t taking the ranch. That Max was welcome to it because he had his own spread up north, but he didn’t, and her heart sank a little. Rem walked away without answering.

  It was obvious when they reached the sickroom that Rem had been wise in not delaying the trip to see his dad.

  Sunken features, inability to lift his head off the pillow, and it even seemed like he could barely open his eyes. Oxygen hissed from a canister beside him, and there were deep grooves between his eyes like he was in pain even while he slept.

  “Dad?” Rem said softly.

  The man’s eyes slowly opened. Elaine could see where Rem got his midnight black hair and eyes. And his height, as his feet reached to the end of the bed.

  “Remington,” the man said weakly.

  “This is my wife, Elaine.”

  His eyes, barely open, moved past Rem and landed on her. Despite his weakness, he still had what seemed like a commanding presence. Or maybe that was just Rem, giving him deference.

  “Elaine. That’s a good Texan name.” The man’s voice was gruff although soft. Elaine imagined it had probably been a booming voice back when his health was good.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “Come a little closer, girl.”

  She moved forward, to his bedside, while he peered up at her.

  “She’s too soft for you, son.” The man coughed. “She looks like an angel with all that white hair.”

  “She’s not soft, Dad, but she is an angel.” Rem’s hand landed on her shoulder.

  His dad wheezed. “You need a strong woman that’ll work beside you. Not a soft one that you have to carry along with everything else.”

  “Elaine is perfect for me, Dad.”

  “When you’re running this ranch, she’ll be a liability.”

  Elaine expected Rem to gently correct his dad—they were not moving to Texas—but he didn’t.

  “Elaine is as strong as any woman I’ve ever met.”

  His dad coughed then lowered his bushy brows over eyes that were filled with pain but still sharp. “She’s standing there like a church mouse, letting us talk about her.”

  “Strong doesn’t equal loud. Or pushy. It’s not about who can throw the loudest fit.”

  His dad didn’t argue with him.

  “Did you ever think that maybe it takes more strength to deny yourself and give up what you want for someone else’s benefit than it does to demand that you get it for yourself?” Rem’s hand tightened on her shoulder.

  His dad looked away. “There’s some truth to that.”

  “Of course there is. The strongest person in the room is usually not the loudest or the most pushy. It’s the one that’s still doing right when everyone else has quit. That’s Elaine, Dad.”

  Rem’s words warmed her to her very toes, but they also started an ache between her shoulder blades. Did he really mean that? Or was that his way of preparing her to have to give up her home in North Dakota and travel to Texas to live here?

  Part of the reason she’d held on so fiercely to her ranch was because it had been in her family for so long. That was the point of marrying a total stranger—to save it. Rem had come up with a good plan, they’d gotten someone in to do the work that needed to be done on the cabins, work that was almost finished, and Rem’s friends who owned the vacation booking service had said that there’d been a lot of interest in the cabins.

  Everything that they’d been working toward was coming around. Was he going to leave it all and go to Texas? Was he going to expect her to come too? Or, as she feared, was he going to leave her in North Dakota and move south by himself?

  Rem said good night to his dad and pulled her out of the room. She followed silently beside him, trying to reassure herself that nothing Rem had ever done had indicated that he didn’t intend to keep his word. She needed to trust him.

  It was hard. After what James had done, people probably couldn’t blame her for struggling with trust, but no one was going to look at Rem and confuse him with James.

  She needed to shove her doubts aside.

  Max was no longer on the couch as they passed through. Rem’s head turned to look. His hand tightened just a bit on hers, so she knew Max stressed him in some way. Whether it was because Max had been willing to take his fiancée from him, or whether it was concern for Max, she wasn’t sure.

  “You’ve been quiet,” he said as he opened the door to his room and waited for her to pass through.

  “I guess I’m tired.”

  He’d never let go of her hand, and once he shut the door, he pulled her to him. “Talk to me, Elaine.”

  She lifted her head. “What happened to the baby your fiancée was carrying?”

  A shock passed though Rem’s body like he couldn’t believe she would ask something like that. Or maybe he didn’t like thinking about it.

  His jaw tightened. He seemed angry, but she didn’t think the anger was directed at her. “I wanted to move the wedding up. She didn’t.” He lifted a shoulder, but Elaine wasn’t fooled into thinking it didn’t matter to him. “She had an abortion. She paid for it with my money.”

  Elaine gasped softly.

  Rem’s eyes flashed. “That betrayal was worse than when she left me a month later to be with Max.”

  She held him for a minute, knowing there was nothing she could say. In a way, she knew that if Olivia hadn’t done what she did, Elaine might not be married to Rem right now. That wouldn’t ease the pain of loss, though.

  “I’m sorry,” she finally whispered.

  Rem seemed to shake himself. “I’m sorry your welcome hasn’t been better. It’s my fault for getting married the way we did and not telling anyone. Goes back to leaving and the fight with my dad and my brother’s issues...” He sighed. “They’re upset with me, and they’re taking it out on you. I hate that, but with my dad the way he is, I don’t want to leave because of it.” He caught her chin with his hand. “Thank you.”

 

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