“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I needed to talk to you, and no, it wasn’t convenient getting here, but I’m here, and I won’t have him interfering. Men can be useless, and clueless, and Joe is no exception.”
Sophie didn’t know if she felt better or worse. “Maybe we should call, tell Granddad.”
“They’re both out on their horses, riding in the backcountry. I’ll be back before he even notices that either of us are gone,” she said, emphasizing the last words, even as her gaze met Sophie’s and held. Most pointedly.
Sophie’s heart fell. So Summer had seen her carry all her bags out to the Jeep. And now she was here, despite driving being painful for her.
Sophie rubbed at her forehead, the dull ache intensifying. “It’s not what it looks like,” she said. “All my bags in the car.”
“I’m not here to tell you what to do, Sophie. I’m not here to judge you, either. Marriage is hard, even when you’re madly in love with the other person. I can’t imagine how challenging it must be to marry a virtual stranger.”
Sophie’s head jerked up and her gaze met Summer’s.
“I know more than you think I know,” Summer admitted with a faint smile. “I know about the wife wanted ad on that agriculture dating website—”
“What?”
Summer nodded. “Billy told me. And then I found it, thanks to my iPad. I love my iPad.”
Sophie’s head was spinning. “So that first day when I arrived at the house… you knew?”
“I knew you’d come to Montana to marry my Joe, yes.”
“You weren’t happy.”
“I didn’t know you, and I was suspicious. What were your motives? Why would you give up your life in California to move to our ranch in Paradise Valley?” She paused, lips pursing. “And then you married at the courthouse just days later. I was not happy, but I was also intrigued.”
Sophie’s mouth dried. “How did you find that out?”
“My good friend Alice Watkinson works at the courthouse and spotted you two getting your marriage license, and then heading upstairs to the judge’s office.”
“So you’ve known all this time?”
“Yes.”
“But you said nothing.”
“I was interested in seeing how you two were going to make this work. You’ve surprised me. I didn’t think an internet relationship would be successful, but you two have proved me wrong.”
“So if you knew about the courthouse wedding, why are we doing this second wedding?”
“Because I wasn’t there at the first, and none of my friends were there at the first. Dad wasn’t there. Joe’s brothers weren’t there. We want to celebrate with you.”
Sophie’s eyes narrowed. She eyed her mother-in-law suspiciously, remembering Joe’s words, she’s that smart.
“Why do I feel like the wedding plans were a test?” Sophie said after a moment. “Because you weren’t happy in the beginning. You were mad—”
“Not mad, but concerned. I had my doubts.”
“So all those painful, uncomfortable wedding discussions…”
“They weren’t all uncomfortable,” Summer answered with a faint smile.
“Most of them were. You were so…” Sophie struggled to find the right word. “Difficult. And stubborn. You wanted what you wanted.”
“I did. You’re absolutely right. I wanted my Joe happy. I wanted my son to marry someone who cared about him. I wanted my son to have a wife who put him first, because as much as I loved Charity, and I did adore Charity, she never put Joe first. She couldn’t understand why the ranch was so important to him, and yet you, an outsider, got it right away. And you, Sophie Correia Wyatt, are the wife he deserves. You’re exactly the wife I would want for him. Exactly the wife I’d pick if it were up to me. Strong, kind, independent, loving. You’re the perfect wife for him, and once I realized that, I wanted you two to have a proper wedding. Because you deserve it. You both deserve all the happiness in the world.”
*
Sophie left Joe’s truck in town, parked in front of the Wright Salon, and drove Summer back to the ranch in the hunter-green Jeep. Joe was standing in the middle of the circular driveway when they arrived home. He helped his mom out of the car, and saw her into the house before returning outside to join Sophie on the long covered porch.
“You came back,” he said roughly.
There was a raw note of pain in his deep voice and it reached into her chest and made her heart knot and ache.
“I had to come back,” she said. “Your mom needed a ride.” Then she added, “And because I made a promise to you that if I leave, I’ll always come back. We’re supposed to be a team.” Her voice cracked and she felt so bruised on the inside. “And let’s be honest, Joe. You were the one that left me.”
“I didn’t leave you. I was simply giving you space.”
“But you moved out into the bunkhouse. You didn’t talk to me. You did everything you could to avoid me. You effectively shut me out, ignoring me as if I no longer existed.”
“I thought you might need it.”
“Why would I want to feel rejected and abandoned?”
“I didn’t reject you,” he growled. “That’s not what happened.”
“No? What happened then?”
“We made love and you regretted it—”
“I didn’t regret it.”
“You cried.”
“Because the orgasm was intense.”
“You cried for a very long time, Sophie.”
“I know, and I’m sorry if it made you feel weird. I was just overwhelmed.”
“That’s why I left. I wasn’t punishing you. I was trying to give you space, and privacy—” He broke off before he finished tightly, “I know you still have feelings for Leo and I’m beginning to realize you have regrets—”
“Oh, Joe, you’ve got it all wrong. I don’t love Leo. I don’t love him anymore, at all. Did he hurt me? Yes. He betrayed me, and broke my trust, but I don’t love him, or miss him, or want to be with him.”
“You cried after we made love.”
“I cried because the sex we had, you and me, was so good. I cried because it felt so right. I cried because I realized what I once felt for Leo was nothing compared to what I feel for you.” She grabbed him by the shirt and gave it a fierce shake. “Being with you, making love with you, made me realize how lucky I am to have found you—”
He interrupted her words, silencing them with a kiss. The kiss went on and on, and she clung to him, thinking no one and nothing had ever felt better.
When he finally lifted his head, she smiled a watery smile up at him. “I love you. Madly in love with you, Joe, and terrified you will stop wanting me—”
“No, never. Ever. Sophie, I love you.”
Her skin prickled all over. Her hair rose on her nape. “Did you just say…”
“Yes. I love you, and I think I fell in love with you the moment you stepped off that plane and walked into the terminal with your long gorgeous hair and those polarized sunglasses. You looked like a movie star and then you took your glasses off and I saw you’d been crying and all I’ve wanted since that day was to take care of you. I want a life with you, a big life, a happy life. I want everything with you.”