His Marriage to Remember

That didn’t make any sense. It was his fault he hadn’t been paying attention, not hers.

When a dull pain suddenly reverberated through his head, Sam groaned and shut his eyes. A vision of Bria standing on the front porch with tears streaming down her face immediately flashed behind his closed eyes, then in a matter of seconds it disappeared along with the headache.

His eyes snapped open. Could that have actually happened during the past several months? A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. In all their years together, he could never remember seeing Bria look so unhappy, so filled with sadness. What could have possibly caused her to look as if her heart was breaking?

Over the past year or two, she had let it be known on more than one occasion that she would like him to be home with her more. But of all their arguments about the time he spent out on the road with the rodeo company, he could never remember her being that miserable. Had things between them escalated to that point? Or had something else happened to cause her such heartache and he just couldn’t remember?

Lost in his disturbing thoughts, it took a moment for Sam to realize Bria was standing beside his chair with her hand on his arm. “Sam, are you all right?”

“I … uh, yeah,” he said, not sure if the image had been a fragment of recovered memory or his imagination working overtime. Taking her by the hand, he pulled her down to sit on his lap. “I’m fine.”

“This isn’t a good idea, Sam.” She placed her hand on his chest as if she intended to get up, then stopped abruptly. “Something is wrong. Your heart is racing.”

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he kissed the tip of her nose. “You know that always happens when I’m close to you, sweetheart.”

He didn’t want to ask her about the vision just yet. Just the thought of Bria actually experiencing that kind of emotional pain was gut-wrenching.

“Do you feel like coming into the kitchen for dinner or would you rather I bring a tray in here for you?” she asked, her gaze not quite meeting his.

“What’s wrong, Bria?” he asked. “And don’t tell me ‘nothing.’ I know you well enough to tell when something is bothering you.”

“I … guess I’m just worried,” she said slowly, as if choosing her words carefully.

Bringing his hand up, he gently brushed a strand of auburn hair from her soft cheek. “I’m here. My muscles are still a little sore, but I’m okay—we’re okay. And once I convince the doctor to release me to go back to work, everything will be back to normal.”

Lowering his head, he started to cover her mouth with his, but to his surprise she pulled away from him and stood up. “Of course, everything will go back to the way it was. Why wouldn’t it?” Her eyes sparkled with anger. “You’ll go back to traveling from one rodeo to another with the livestock and I’ll—” She stopped abruptly, took a deep breath, then to his utter bewilderment, she smiled. “I’ll be just fine. Now, do you feel like coming into the kitchen to eat or do you want me to bring your supper to you in here?”

Sam frowned. “Bria, what’s going on?”

He had never known her to switch gears quite that fast. If he didn’t know her better, he would swear she was trying to hide something from him. But that didn’t make any sense. Their relationship had always been based on honesty and sharing whatever was on their minds. With the exception of his life before he and Nate entered the foster care system—a life filled with mistakes he never intended to share with her or anyone else—they knew everything about each other. There wasn’t a single thing he could think of that she might feel the need to keep from him.

“Don’t mind me. It’s been a long day and I’m tired, that’s all.” She motioned toward the kitchen. “But I do need to know where you want to eat. If you’d like to finish watching the news—”

“Kitchen,” he interrupted, slowly rising to his feet. “I wasn’t paying much attention to the news, anyway. Since I can’t remember what’s been going on in the world for the past six months, there isn’t a lot of it that makes sense right now.”

As he followed Bria, Sam couldn’t help smiling. Even after three years of marriage, he loved watching the sexy sway of her shapely backside. It never failed to cause his heart to pound and his temperature to rise. This evening she looked exceptionally appealing in her summery pink sundress with skinny little straps that kept falling off her shoulders.

His smile suddenly turned to an all-out grin. Although he wasn’t used to being idle and viewed taking off work as a complete waste, he had a feeling that his forced downtime might not be that bad after all. Bria had been after him for the past year or so to slow down and spend more time with her and he saw no reason why they couldn’t enjoy his unexpected vacation for as long as it lasted. In fact, it might be just what they needed to make the baby they had both been anticipating.

The moment Sam stepped up behind her where she stood at the sink, Bria felt a warm tingling sensation course from the top of her head all the way to her toes even before he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her back against his solid frame. The chemistry between them had always been that way. Sam just had to walk into a room and all her senses went on high alert.

“Why aren’t you putting those in the dishwasher?” he asked, nodding toward the dishes she was washing. His warm breath feathering over the side of her neck sent a wave of longing straight through her.

She would have liked nothing better than to turn in his arms and have him kiss her until her knees gave way. But falling back into old habits now was not going to help her rebuild her life once Sam regained his memory and she left Sugar Creek Ranch for good. She needed to keep that uppermost in her mind.

Concentrating on the plate she was washing to keep from doing something she knew she would later regret, Bria shrugged. “Since Rosa is visiting her sister and no one’s been here for the past few days, there really weren’t enough dishes to warrant using the dishwasher. Besides, after we hired her to do the cooking and cleaning, the only time I get to be domestic is when one of the guys has a birthday and I make a celebratory dinner. I’ve missed doing things like cooking and washing a few dishes. It makes me feel useful and needed.”

“I can think of something a lot more fun for an after-dinner activity that will make you feel just as needed,” he said, his tone low and intimate. He brushed her long hair aside to slowly nibble kisses from just below her ear, down her neck to her bare shoulder. “Why don’t you put the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher and go upstairs with me. I can’t remember the last time I made love to you, but it feels like it’s been a while.”

She wasn’t certain if it was the temptation of once again being loved by Sam, of experiencing his tenderness and the mastery of his touch, or the fear that she wouldn’t be able to resist him, but Bria’s heart skipped erratically, then took off beating as if she had run a marathon. “I don’t think that would be in either of our best interests,” she said truthfully, pulling the thin strap of her sundress back on top of her shoulder.

He stopped his sensual assault and turned her to face him. “You want to explain that?”

The frown on his handsome face was a good indication that whatever explanation she came up with needed to be reasonable and something that he would have no trouble accepting. Thinking quickly, she smiled. “The doctor told both of us that you need to take it easy for a few more days. I’m going to see to it that’s exactly what you do.”

“Okay,” he said, his grin wicked. “I’ll just lie there and let you make love to me.”

Staring up at him, she was reminded of how things had been during the early days of their marriage—the playfulness, the inability to keep their hands off each other. That had been before the Sugar Creek Rodeo Company had become a resounding success and Sam had become obsessed with making it bigger and better than any of his competitors.

“I’ve got a better idea,” she said, turning back to the sink when he started to lower his head for a kiss. “Why don’t I finish the dishes and then we can go out onto the porch and watch the sunset together.”

“Seriously?” She could hear the frustration in his voice and knew that he wasn’t going to give up easily. “You’d rather watch the sun go down than to go upstairs and try to make a baby with me?”

Her chest tightened with the mention of the baby they had both wanted. He couldn’t remember and she couldn’t tell him that there had been a baby—a baby they had both wanted and that she had lost. Nor could she tell him how much his absence had affected her when she’d had the miscarriage.

“Sam, it’s not a good time—”

“Ah, so that’s what the deal is,” he said, his tone suddenly filled with understanding. “Why didn’t you just come out and tell me you’re having your period? You’ve never been shy about that with me before.”

She had intended to explain that it wasn’t a good time to discuss starting a family while he was recovering from the concussion, but his misconception would keep her from having to make excuses for at least a few more days. Besides, by not correcting his assumption, she wasn’t exactly lying to him. She knew he probably wouldn’t see it that way, but it really was best for both of them.

“I had other things on my mind,” she said evasively. Deciding it was time for a change of subject, she added, “I’ll be finished with the dishes in a few more minutes. Why don’t you go on out to the porch and get comfortable in the swing.”

“Since it looks like that’s the most excitement I’m going to have for the evening, I guess I might as well.” He kissed the side of her neck, then releasing her, started toward the back door. “Don’t be long.”

Bria waited until Sam had closed the kitchen door before resting her forearms on the edge of the sink to sag against it. By the time Sam regained his memory, she was going to be thoroughly exhausted from dancing around the truth, as well as fighting the temptation he posed. No matter how disillusioned and angry she had been with him over the past several months, no matter how many times she told herself that she couldn’t live with a man who was never there for her, she still wanted him.

Deciding that she was going to need reinforcement, she quickly finished washing the last of the dishes and walked into the study to pick up the phone. When her sister answered on the second ring, Bria said, “Mariah, I need your help. Get down to the ranch as soon as you can. And plan on staying a couple of days.”

“I thought you told me you’d only be a few minutes,” Sam said when Bria walked out onto the porch. “I was just about to come looking for you, sweetheart.”

Instead of sitting beside him on the swing as he thought she would, she walked over to stand by the porch rail. “I was on the phone with my sister.”

“How is Mariah?” Sam asked, unable to remember the last time he had seen his sister-in-law. Five years younger than Bria, the two sisters were as close as he and his brothers.

“She’s coming down from Amarillo for the weekend.” Bria turned to give him a smile. “She offered to help me make dinner for Jaron’s birthday.”

Sam wasn’t the least bit surprised that Mariah planned to attend the birthday dinner for his brother. Aside from the fact that the vivacious brunette attended all the birthday celebrations Bria arranged for him and his brothers, it was no secret that Mariah had a huge crush on Jaron. That his brother thought of her as off-limits because she was Bria’s sister and ten years younger than himself was no secret either.

“It’ll be good to see her again,” Sam said, meaning it. He liked his sister-in-law and thought she would be good for Jaron—help settle him down. But it wasn’t his place to interfere. That was Jaron’s business, and Hank had taught them all not to stick their noses in where they didn’t belong.

“Why don’t you come over here and sit down?” he asked when Bria continued to stand by the rail.

She hesitated a moment, then slowly walked over to lower herself onto the porch swing next to him. “You looked comfortable and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Sam released a frustrated breath. “Dammit, Bria, that run-in with the brindle bull didn’t turn me into an invalid. I may still have a couple of aching muscles, but give me some credit. I’m made of stronger stuff than that.”

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