Expecting the Rancher's Heir

“And all this time, I thought you had a secret crush on Clara,” she teased.

His exaggerated shudder and horrified expression had her laughing so hard, she found it hard to breathe. “Not in this lifetime. Just the thought of getting ‘cozy’ with that old bat is enough to make a man swear off women for good.”

She couldn’t stop laughing. Clara was at least twice Shane’s age and always looked as if she had just sucked on a lemon.

His expression suddenly turned serious. “Lissa, I want you to know that although the pregnancy brought about our decision to get married, you don’t have to worry. I give you my word that I’ll always be a good provider and a faithful husband.”

Taken aback by his unexpected proclamation, she stared at him. “I’ll be a good, faithful wife to you. But what brought this on?”

“I know that my reputation of moving from one woman to the next is only slightly better than Trevor’s,” he explained. “I just wanted you to know that I honor my commitments. You never have to worry about me going out and finding someone else.”

After spending so much time with him in the past couple of weeks and seeing him interact with Cactus, she knew for certain Shane wasn’t that kind of man. “It never crossed my mind that you wouldn’t be anything but faithful to our marriage.”

The sudden knock on the door came as no surprise. The spa had been extremely busy all day with guests getting ready for the dinner tomorrow night.

Reluctantly leaving Shane’s arms, Lissa walked over to open the door. “Is there a problem, Rita?”

“I hate to bother you, but Joanie just got sick and had to go home,” her assistant manager explained. “She has two half-hour facials booked and I’m afraid all of the other girls’ schedules are full. Will you be available to take her place or should I cancel the appointments?”

“I’ll be right there, Rita.” When the woman went back to the reception desk, Melissa closed the door and turned to Shane. “I’m really sorry, but I have to get back to work. We’ve really been slammed today. It looks as if I’m not going to get out of here for at least another couple of hours.”

He picked up his hat from the couch and walked over to where she stood by the door. “I need to go anyway.” He gave her a tender kiss, then reached for the doorknob. “I have to pick up my tux at the cleaners and then I have a couple of things Cactus wanted me to get before we go back to the ranch for dinner.” Shane grinned. “He’s planning on making you his world-class beef stew and sour-dough biscuits.”

Just the thought made her mouth water. “That sounds scrumptious.”

Nodding, Shane opened the door. “I’ll be back to pick you up this evening around five.”

Walking out into the reception area, Melissa sighed as she watched Shane leave. She loved him and if she hadn’t known that before, she would have after his reassurance that he would be a good husband.

Cowboys had a reputation for their word being their bond. If it was important enough for him to tell her he would be committed to their marriage, then he fully intended for it to work out between them.

It hadn’t been the declaration of love she would have preferred, but it was enough to give her hope. Maybe one day he would say the three words she longed to hear.

“When would you like to get married? Shane asked as he and Lissa sat in front of the Willow Lodge fireplace. After having dinner with Cactus, he had driven them back to the cabin for a nice quiet evening alone in front of a crackling fire.

“So much has happened over the past couple of weeks, I haven’t had time to give it a lot of thought,” she said, snuggling against him. “But I’d like to wait until after Erica and Christian’s wedding. I don’t want to take anything away from their special day.”

He nodded. “I can understand that. When is it?”

“Christmas Eve.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “What would you think of a New Year’s Eve wedding?”

“Sounds good to me,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “Do you want a big wedding?”

“Not really.” She sat forward and reached for her mug of hot cocoa. “I think I’d like something small with just family and close friends.”

“Whatever you want, angel.” He grinned as he leaned over to kiss away a smudge of melted marshmallow from the corner of her mouth. “I guess the next question would be where do you want the ceremony?”

He watched her look around the great room of the lodge. “I think right here would be nice.”

“You don’t want to get married at Jarrod Manor?” He’d thought she would want to have it at the family mansion.