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They wore their straight black hair in adorable, beribboned pigtails, and stared at her with dark, serious brown eyes. Their noses were small and their chins dainty, like their mother, but they had high, sharp cheekbones that reminded her of Billy. They were tall for six-year-olds and dressed exactly alike in collared blouses tucked into denim coveralls and white tennis shoes.
“Hello, Raejean,” she said, addressing the child who had her arm wrapped comfortingly around the other’s shoulder.
The child’s eyes widened in surprise at being recognized. Then she said, “I’m not Raejean, I’m Annie.”
The other twin’s mouth dropped open, and she glanced at her sister. Then she turned to Cherry, pointed to her chest with her thumb, and said, “I’m Raejean.”
“I see,” Cherry said. They were both missing the exact same front tooth. No help there telling them apart. Billy had said Raejean was the confident one, so Cherry had assumed it was Raejean who was giving comfort to her sister. But maybe she had been wrong.
“I need to use your phone,” she said, moving toward where it hung on the kitchen wall.
Cherry felt the girls watching her while she dialed.
“We don’t need another housekeeper,” the twin who had identified herself as Annie said. “We’re going to stay at Nana’s house until Daddy gets home.”
Cherry felt her heart miss a beat. She turned to Mrs. Trask and said, “Billy went into town for supplies. He should be back any time now. There’s no need to take the girls anywhere.”
“I’ll be the best judge of that,” Mrs. Trask said. “Go upstairs, girls, and finish packing.”
The twins turned and ran. Cherry heard their footsteps pounding on the stairs as the ringing phone was answered by her sister, Jewel. Of her seven Whitelaw siblings, Jewel was the sister closest to her in age. Jewel had been adopted by Zach and Rebecca when she was five—the first of the current generation of Whitelaw Brats.
It had taken Cherry a while to straighten them all out, but now she could recite their names and ages with ease. Rolleen was 21, Jewel was 19, she was 18, Avery was 17, Jake was 16, Frannie was 13, Rabbit was 12, and Colt was 11.
Of course Rabbit’s name wasn’t really Rabbit, it was Louis, but nobody called him that. Jewel had given him the nickname Rabbit when he was little, because he ate so many carrots, and the name had stuck. Colt was the only one of them who had been adopted as a baby. The rest of them had all known at least one other parent before being abandoned, orphaned, or fostered out.
“Is anybody there?” Jewel asked breathlessly. “If this is the kidnapper, we’ll pay whatever you ask.”
“It’s me, Jewel.”
“Cherry! Where are you? Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. I’m at Billy Stonecreek’s ranch.”
“So he did kidnap you! I’ll send Daddy to get you right away.”
“No! I mean…” Cherry had turned her back to Mrs. Trask and kept her voice low thus far, but she figured there was no sense postponing the inevitable. “Billy didn’t kidnap me. Last night we flew to Las Vegas and got married.”
She was met with stunned silence on the other end of the line. Which was a good thing, because Mrs. Trask gave an outraged shriek that brought the two little girls back downstairs on the run.
“Nana! Nana! What’s wrong?”
“I have to go now, Jewel,” Cherry said. “Tell Zach and Rebecca I’m okay, and that I’ll come to see them soon and explain everything.”
“Cherry, don’t—”
Cherry hung up the phone in time to turn and greet the twins a second time. Again, she identified the twin taking the lead as Raejean, which meant the one standing slightly behind her was Annie. “Hello, Raejean. Hello, Annie.”
“I’m Annie,” Raejean contradicted.
Before Annie could misidentify herself as Raejean, Mrs. Trask snapped, “Don’t bother trying to tell them apart. They’re identical, you know.”
“But—” From Billy’s descriptions of them it was so obvious to her which twin was which. Couldn’t Mrs. Trask see the difference?
“What’s wrong, Nana?” Raejean asked. “Why did you scream?”
Mrs. Trask’s face looked more like a beet or a turnip than a human head, she was so flushed. It was clear she wasn’t sure exactly what to say.
“Your grandmother was just excited about some news she heard,” Cherry said.
“What news?” Annie asked.
“It’s a surprise I think your Daddy will want to tell you about himself when he gets home,” Cherry said.
“We’re not going to be here that long,” Mrs. Trask retorted. “The girls and I are leaving.”
“Not until Billy gets back,” Cherry said firmly. “I’m sure Raejean and Annie want to wait and say goodbye to their father.” Cherry turned to the girls and asked, “Don’t you?”
Raejean eyed her consideringly, but Annie piped up, “I want to wait for Daddy.”
Mrs. Trask made an angry sound in her throat. “I hope you’re happy now,” she said to Cherry. “My grandchildren have had a difficult enough time over the past year, without adding someone like you to the picture.”
Cherry reminded herself that Mrs. Trask was always going to be Raejean and Annie’s grandmother. Throwing barbs now, however satisfying it might be, would only cause problems later. Zach and Rebecca would have been astounded at her tact when she spoke.
“I’m sorry we surprised you like this, Mrs. Trask. I know Billy will want to explain everything to you himself. Won’t you consider waiting until he returns before you leave?”
“No.”
Of course, there were times when being blunt worked best. Cherry crossed to stand beside the twins. “I’m sorry you have to leave, Mrs. Trask. The girls and I will have Billy give you a call when he gets home.”
Cherry saw the moment when Mrs. Trask realized that she had been outmaneuvered. She wasn’t going to make a quick and easy escape with Billy’s children. Cherry was there to stand in her way.
Billy chose that moment to pull open the screen door and step into the kitchen.
Annie and Raejean gave shrieks of joy and raced into his wide open arms. He lifted them both, one in each arm, and gave them each a smacking kiss. “How are my girls?” he asked.
Raejean answered for both of them.
“Some man got mad at Mrs. Motherwell because she didn’t know where you were and Nana came and Mrs. Motherwell packed her bags and left and Nana said we should pack, too, and go live with her until you came back home, only this lady came a little while ago and said you were coming home really soon and we had to wait for you because you have a surprise for us. What’s our surprise, Daddy? Can we have it now?”
Cherry had watched Billy’s narrowed gaze flicker from his daughter to Mrs. Trask and back again as Raejean made her breathless recital. When Raejean got to the part about a surprise, his gaze shot to her, and she thought she saw both panic and resignation.
“What are you doing back here so soon?” Mrs. Trask said. “I was told you were going into town for sup plies.”
“I got stopped by the police long before I got there and arrested for kidnapping,” Billy said.
“Then why aren’t you in jail?” Mrs. Trask demanded.
Billy’s lips curled. “I showed them my marriage license.”
“Who got kidnapped, Daddy?” Annie asked.
“Nobody, sweetheart,” Billy replied. “It was all a big mistake.”
“Then, can we have our surprise now?” Annie asked.
He knelt down and set them back on their feet. Keeping an arm around each of them, he said, “The surprise is that you have a new mother.”
Annie’s brow furrowed. “A new mother?”
Raejean frowned. “Our mother is in heaven.”
“I know that,” Billy said in a sandpaper-rough voice that made Cherry’s throat swell with emotion. “I’ve married someone else who’s going to be your mother from now on.”
Raejean and Annie looked at each other, then turned as one to stare with shocked, suspicious eyes at Cherry.
Raejean’s head shot around to confront her father. “Her?”
Billy nodded.
Raejean jerked free and shouted, “I don’t want another mother! Make her go away!” Then she ran from the room.
Annie’s eyes had filled with tears and one spilled over as she stared at Raejean’s fleeing form. Cherry willed the softhearted child to accept her, but Annie paused only another moment before she turned and ran after her sister.
Cherry met Billy’s stricken gaze. She felt sick to her stomach. The two charming and innocent little girls she had married Billy to save from harm, didn’t want anything to do with her.
“You’re a fool, Billy,” Mrs. Trask said, grabbing her purse from the kitchen counter. “I don’t know what you hoped to accomplish with this charade, but it won’t work. I’m more convinced than ever that my grandchildren belong with me.” She gave Cherry a look down her nose. “I’ll see you both in court.”
She made a grand exit through the doorway that led to the front of the house. Cherry and Billy stood unmoving until they heard the front door slam behind her.
“She’s right,” Billy said. “I always intend to do the right thing, but somehow it turns out wrong.”
“This wasn’t wrong, Billy. If I hadn’t gotten here when I did, Mrs. Trask would have taken the children and been gone before you returned. At least Raejean and Annie are still here.”
“And angry and unhappy.”
“We can change that with time.”
“I hope so. It won’t help much to argue in court that I’ve got a wife to take care of my children, if my children hate her guts.”
“We have a more immediate problem,” Cherry said.
“What’s that?”
“Zach Whitelaw.”
“What about him?”
“He’s going to kill you on sight.”
Billy gave a relieved laugh. “Is that all? I thought it was something serious.”
“Don’t joke,” Cherry said. “This is serious. Three years ago a boy tried to force himself on Jewel at a Fourth of July picnic. I’ll never forget the look in Zach’s eyes when Jewel stood crying in his arms, her face bruised and her dress torn. He took a horsewhip to the boy and nearly flayed him alive. Both families kept it quiet, but you know how that sort of thing gets around. None of us girls has ever had any problems with boys since then.
“That’s why it surprised me when Ray… If Ray hadn’t been drunk, he would never have done what he did.”
“And we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Billy said. “I won’t let any man whip me, Cherry. If your father tries—”
“I’m only telling you all this so you’ll understand why I have to go home and explain all of this to him by myself. Once he understands I was willing and—”
Billy shook his head. “We go together, or you don’t go at all.”
“Zach’s going to be furious with me.”
“All the more reason for us to go together. You may have been his daughter yesterday, but you’re my wife today. No man is going to threaten my wife. Not even her father.”
Cherry stared wide-eyed at Billy. She supposed she should have told him that no matter how angry Zach got with her, he would never raise a hand to her. In the past she had been sent to her room without supper, or been forced to spend a day alone thinking about the wisdom of a course of action. But the Whitelaws had always used reason, rather than force, to teach their children right from wrong.
Billy wouldn’t have to defend her, but she reveled in the thought that he was willing to do so. Of more concern to her was the possibility that the two men might provoke one another to violence. She already knew that Billy liked to fight. Zach would be more than willing to give him one.
“I’ll let you come with me on one condition,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“We bring the girls with us.”
Billy frowned. “What purpose would that serve?”
“Zach won’t be able to fight with you—or yell at me—if he’s busy meeting his new grandchildren.”
“Raejean and Annie don’t even like you. What makes you think they’ll take to your father?”
“Trust me. Zach Whitelaw could sell snow in Alaska. He’ll have Raejean and Annie eating out of his hand in no time. Besides, we have no choice but to take them with us. Mrs. Motherwell is gone.”
“I forgot about that,” Billy said as he headed toward the door that led upstairs. “Damn. All right. Let me go get them. We might as well get this meeting over with.”
“Billy,” Cherry called after him. When he stopped and turned to her, she said, “We can still call the whole thing off.”
He walked the few steps back to her and lifted her chin with his finger. “Buck up, kid. You’re doing great.”
Cherry felt tears prickle her eyes and blinked to keep them from forming.
Billy leaned down and kissed her mouth. His touch was gentle, intended to comfort. “I’m sorry, Cherry. I shouldn’t have left you here alone and driven away. It’s not easy to admit it, but I was scared.”
Cherry searched his eyes. If he had once been afraid, the fear was gone now. If he had regrets, he wasn’t letting her see them. She wished she knew him better as a person. Could she rely on him? Would he be there for her when the going got rough?
When he pulled her into his arms and hugged her, she felt safe and secure. She knew that was an illusion. Her father had made her feel safe, too. But they had been torn from each other. It was better not to try and make more of this relationship than it was.
Before she could edge herself away from Billy, the screen door was flung open. Billy threw her aside to confront whatever danger threatened them.
Zach Whitelaw stood in the doorway.
CHAPTER FIVE
“DADDY, DON’T!” Cherry cried as Zach took a step toward Billy, his hands tightened into angry knots.
Zach froze, his eyes wide with shock.
It took Cherry a second to realize she had called him “Daddy” instead of “Zach,” something she had never done before. She felt confused, unsure why she had blurted it out like that, especially now, when she wasn’t going to be his daughter anymore, but someone else’s wife.
“Please don’t fight,” she said.
“Stay out of this, Cherry,” Billy said, his hands curling into fists as menacing as Zach’s.
“How did you get here so quickly?” Cherry said to her father. “I just got off the phone with Jewel.”
“The police called me when they picked up Billy. A phony marriage license isn’t going to save you from me,” he snarled at Billy.
“We really are married,” Cherry said, taking a step to put herself between the two men. Temporarily, it kept them from throwing punches.
Zach snorted. “In a Las Vegas ceremony? That’s no kind of wedding.”
“It’s legal,” Billy said coldly.
There was nothing Zach could say to counter that except, “Come home, Cherry. I know the situation last night must have upset you, but Rebecca and I want you to know we’re on your side. We believe there must be some reasonable explanation for what happened. We can fix this problem.”
“It’s too late for that. Billy and I are married. I’m staying with him.”
Zach glared at Billy. “You should be ashamed of yourself, taking advantage of a vulnerable child to—”
“She’s no child,” Billy said quietly. “She’s a woman. And my wife.” His hands slid around Cherry’s waist from behind, and he pulled her back against the length of his body.
Cherry saw the inference Zach drew from Billy’s words and actions that the two of them had done what husbands and wives do on their wedding night. By the time her father’s gaze skipped to her face, she bore a flush high on her cheekbones that seemed to confirm what he was thinking. There was no way she was going to admit the truth.
She saw the wounded look in Zach’s eyes before he hid it behind lowered lids.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you or Rebecca,” she forced past the lump in her throat.
“Why, Cherry?” he asked. “Why couldn’t you trust us to be on your side? I thought…”
They were good parents. They had done everything they could to make her feel loved and appreciated, safe and secure. But they expected her to believe parents could protect their children from the evils of the world. She knew from experience that simply wasn’t true. She could never trust them completely. She would never trust anybody that much again.
“I’m sorry, Zach.” She saw his gaze flicker at her reversion to the less familiar, less personal title. “Please tell Rebecca—”
Zach cut her off. “You explain this to your mother. I couldn’t find the words.” He turned and left as abruptly as he had come.
Cherry felt her nose burning, felt the tears threaten and fought them back. She had chosen to travel this road. She had no one to blame but herself for her predicament. Crying over spilled milk wasn’t going to accomplish anything.
“Thanks for sticking by me,” Billy said against her ear.
“I’m your wife.”
“Sometimes that doesn’t mean much when parents enter the picture,” Billy said bitterly.
Cherry turned in his embrace and put her arms around him to hug him, laying her cheek against his shoulder. “I’ll try to be a good wife, Billy.” She raised her face to his, only to find herself unexpectedly kissed.
There was as much desperation as there was hunger in Billy’s kiss. Something inside Cherry responded to both emotions, and she found herself kissing Billy back.
“Hey! What are you doing to my dad?”
Cherry pulled free of Billy’s grasp and turned to the child who had spoken. Behind her stood the other twin, her face less belligerent, more perplexed.
“Uh…” Cherry began. She had no idea where to go from there. She expected Billy to make some sort of explanation, but he gave her a helpless one-shouldered shrug. Cherry turned back to the twins and said to the one who had spoken, “Your dad and I were kissing, Raejean. That’s what married people do.”
“I’m Annie,” Raejean said.
“I’m Raejean,” Annie dutifully added.
“Hey, you two,” Billy said. “What’s the big idea trying to fool Cherry?”
Raejean’s chin jutted. “I don’t know why you’re so mad, Daddy. She isn’t fooled at all.” She turned to Cherry, her brow furrowed. “How do you do that, anyway? No one but Mommy and Daddy has ever been able to tell us apart.”
Cherry said, “There’s nothing magic about it. You’re as different from your sister as night from day.”
“We’re twins,” Raejean protested. “We’re exactly alike.”
“You look alike on the outside,” Cherry conceded, “but inside here—” Cherry touched her head. “And here—” She touched her heart. “You’re very different.”
“I’m glad you can tell us apart,” Annie said. “I don’t like fooling people.”
“I don’t care if you can tell us apart,” Raejean said. “I’m not going to like you.”
“Isn’t it a little soon to make up your mind about that?” Cherry asked. “You hardly know me.”
“I know you want to be my mother. I don’t want another mother. My mother’s in heaven!” Raejean turned and headed for the stairs. She hadn’t gone very far before she realized Annie hadn’t automatically followed her. She turned and said, “Come on, Annie.”
Annie hesitated briefly before she turned and followed her sister.
Cherry whirled on Billy the instant they were gone. “I can’t do this all by myself, Billy. You’re going to have to help.”
“You can’t blame them for being confused, Cherry. After all, the only woman they’ve ever seen me kissing is their mother.”
“Then maybe we shouldn’t let the girls see us kissing. Maybe you should keep your distance when they’re around.”
Billy thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t want to do that for two reasons. Penelope would be sure to notice if we never touched each other. It would be a dead giveaway that there’s something fishy about our marriage.”
“And the second reason?”
“I don’t want my daughters to see me ignoring the woman they believe is my wife. It would give them the wrong impression of what marriage is all about.”
“I see.” What she saw was that Billy had all sorts of reasons for kissing and hugging her that had nothing whatsoever to do with actually loving her. But loving hadn’t been a part of their bargain. She had to remind herself of the rules of this game. Help each other out. Don’t get involved. Don’t start to care. That way lay heartache.
“All right, Billy,” Cherry said. “I’ll play along with you where the kissing and touching is concerned. So long as we both know it’s only an act, I suppose neither of us can be hurt. Now that we have that settled, I believe you need to get to town for those supplies, and I’d better get some lunch started.”
Cherry turned her back on Billy, but she hadn’t taken two steps toward the sink before his arms slid around her from behind again, circling her waist. Her treacherous body melted against him. She forced herself to stiffen in his embrace. “Don’t, Billy,” she said in a quiet voice.
“You’re my wife, Cherry.”
“In name only,” Cherry reminded him. “We can pretend for everybody else, but I think it’s best if we’re honest with each other. We aren’t in love, Billy. We never will be.”
Billy’s hands dropped away, but he didn’t move. She felt the heat of his body along the entire length of her back. Her eyes slid closed, and she held herself rigid to keep from leaning back into his fiery warmth.
“If we’re being honest,” Billy said in a husky voice, “I think you should know I’m more than a little attracted to you, Cherry. I have been since the moment I first laid eyes on you.” Billy took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. “That’s the truth.”
She lifted her eyes to meet his. “That’s lust, Billy. Not love.”
His dark eyes narrowed, and his hands dropped away from her shoulders. “There’s nothing wrong with desiring your wife in bed.”
“I’m not your wi—”
“Dammit, Cherry!”
When Billy took a step back and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets, Cherry had the distinct impression he did it to keep himself from reaching for her again.
“You are my wife,” he said through gritted teeth. “Not forever. Not even for very long. But we most definitely are married. I suggest you start thinking that way!”
Before she could contradict him, he was gone, the screen door slamming behind him.
BILLY COULDN’T REMEMBER a time when he had been more frustrated. Even when he had been arguing with Laura about whether or not she should try to get pregnant again when the doctor had advised her against it, he hadn’t felt so much like he was butting his head against a stone wall. Deep down, he knew Cherry was right. It would be better for both of them if he kept his distance from her.
He had made up his mind to try.
Of course, that was before he stepped into Cherry’s bedroom the morning after their wedding. He had expected her to be up and dressed, since he had helped her set the alarm for 5:30 a.m. the previous evening. Apparently, she had turned it off.
He found her sleeping beneath tousled sheets, one long, exquisite leg exposed all the way to her hip, one rosy nipple peeking at him, her lips slightly parted, her silky red curls spread across the pillow, waiting for a lover’s hands to gather them up.
He cleared his throat noisily, hoping that would be enough to wake her. All she did was roll over, rearranging the sheet, exposing an entire milky white breast.
He swallowed hard and averted his eyes. He sat down beside her, thinking maybe the dip in the mattress would make her aware of his presence.
She slept on.
His gaze returned to rest on her face. Close as he was, he could see the dark shadows under her eyes. She must not have slept very well. He could understand that. He hadn’t slept too well himself. He had resorted to a desperate act—marriage—to solve one problem and had created a host of others in the process. Not the least of which was the fact he wanted to have carnal knowledge of his new wife.
He debated whether he ought to kiss her awake. But he wasn’t Prince Charming. And Sleeping Beauty had never had such a freckled face. Nevertheless, his body responded to the mere thought of pressing his lips against hers, of tasting the hot, sweet wetness of her mouth.