Page 80 of Wyoming Heart

THEYWEREMARRIEDin a small wedding chapel, with Mina in her denim skirt and checked blouse, and Cort in his own cowboy regalia. He slid the wedding ring on her finger and kissed her when the official pronounced them married. Tears slid down her cheeks. She hadn’t really believed that Cort was serious about marrying her, until she saw the rings. He was grinning from ear to ear, hardly the look of a reluctant bridegroom. It gave her hope for the future.

They got back into the stretch limo he’d hired and settled her beside him.

“What would you like to do?” he asked, smiling.

“This will sound stark.”

“Try me.”

She drew in a breath. “I’d like to go home,” she laughed.

His eyes twinkled at her. “Puritan,” he accused softly, but with affection. “No curiosity about the steamy side of life?”

She shook her head. “It’s all very pretty,” she said, studying the city lights and marquees as they passed them. “But I think a little Black Baldy calf is the prettiest thing on earth.”

He drew her close and kissed her slowly. “So do I. Except in my case, it would be a purebred Santa Gertrudis calf.”

“Semantics,” she teased.

He chuckled. “Okay, then. Home it is. We’ll pack you and then head south to Latigo.”

Her breath caught. “I can’t wait!”

“Feeling okay?”

She grimaced. “Just a little queasy, but the doctor said that was normal, even all the way through the first trimester.” She looked at him worriedly, because they were newly married and she knew that he wanted her.

“Stop looking like that,” he chided softly. “I’m not going to leave you alone and go hunting women just because you’re sick. I’m not my father.”

“Oh, I’d never think that,” she said at once. “But I know you must want to, and I feel so bad about it.”

“Honey, we have all the time in the world,” he said softly, kissing her nose. “Besides all that, I’m going to be a father.” He beamed. “Damn, I can’t wait to tell my dad and my brothers!”

She laughed. “Why?”

“To see the look on their faces on Skype,” he replied smugly. “I was the odd one out. Now Parker’s going to be.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting your family.” She hesitated. “They won’t think I married you because you’re well-to-do?” she worried.

“You fell in love with a cowboy, Mina,” he reminded her tenderly. “Not a cattle baron.”

Her eyes softened on his face. “So I did. Fell hard, too, or I never would have ended up in bed with you.”

“I figured that out on my own,” he replied solemnly. “It’s a big responsibility.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

His fingers curled into hers. “I have to take good care of you,” he said. “I’ve been responsible for the ranch and half the businesses for years. But it’s another thing, to be responsible for a person. For a family,” he emphasized. “It’s going to be a learning curve.”

“For both of us,” she reminded him. “I’ve lived by myself for several years. It will take time for us to get used to each other.”

He nodded. He smiled. “That learning curve I’m going to enjoy,” he said.

She smiled back. But she was dreading the revelations he had yet to hear. She ground her teeth together. She’d been pregnant while she was crawling through the jungles of Nicaragua on her belly, risking being shot. How would he react, knowing that? And there was still the revelation about her research group and their deadly occupation. She was afraid to tell him, even more so now that she knew she was pregnant. What she’d done was a huge risk. But she hadn’t known about the baby then. Maybe that would help her case. She hoped so.

THEYWENTBACKto her ranch and while she packed, Cort phoned his cousin.

Bart laughed until his sides hurt. “I don’t believe it!” he told Cort. “You, married?”

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