MARRIED WHILE INTOXICATED

By Fran Shaff

Classic Contemporary Romantic Comedy

Married While Intoxicated by Fran Shaff

All rights reserved

Smashwords Edition

Coypright 2011 by Fran Shaff

Characters, names and incidents used in this story are products of the imagination of the author and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the author.

January, 2011

Discover Fran Shaff books and short stories available in e-format, paperback and hardcover by visiting her website at: http://sites.google.com/site/fshaff

E-mail Fran Shaff at: WriterFran@gmail.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

MARRIED WHILE INTOXICATED

Melinda tried to open her eyes, but it felt like they’d been glued shut. A heavy object was crushing her chest, and a hundred-pound weight clamped down on her lower body.

A wool sock had somehow covered her tongue.

Maybe waking up wasn’t such a good idea, she decided when regaining consciousness made her feel more miserable than she had in a long time.

She struggled against the restrictions on her body until she was able to dislodge the object lying on her chest. As her torso became free, the glue in her eyes miraculously dissolved.

She opened her eyes and looked straight ahead. Clusters of lilacs against a white background stared back at her. They were beautiful, almost fragrant, but they were totally unfamiliar to her.

This was not her room.

Where was she?

She ran her fingers through her hair, rubbed her sticky eyes and tried to moisten the wool sock on her tongue.

Then she saw him.

His heavy leg, covered by thick denim jeans, lay across her legs, weighing them down heavily.

Suddenly realizing she was in bed with a man she didn’t know, Melinda screamed. She grabbed her aching head when the piercing sound met her ears, and she screamed again.

The man in her bed twisted away from her, pulling his heavy leg from her lower body. He covered his ears with his hands. “Stop screaming!” he shouted.

Melinda responded to his command by screaming again.

He sat up next to her and placed his hand over her mouth. “Stop screaming! In the name of all that is holy, please, stop screaming. My head will explode if you don’t.”

She pushed his hand away from her mouth. “Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?”

“Don’t put your hand over my mouth.”

“You gave me no choice. You wouldn’t stop screaming, and my head feels like Quasimodo is inside using a sledge hammer on his bells.”

“Never mind the haunting hunchback in your head or his clanging bells. What are you doing in my bed?”

“Your bed?” he asked, raising a brow.

She rubbed her temples. No, this wasn’t her bead, wasn’t her room.

She looked around the attractive boudoir with the quaint lilacs on the walls and tried to remember where she was and how she got there. Was she in a hotel? A bed and breakfast?

She looked at him again.

Dear heaven, what had she done?

Maybe he could explain what had happened, she thought.

But he didn’t look anymore clear-headed than she felt.

“Where are we, and how did we end up in bed together?” She decided a direct approach might just bring them both to full consciousness.

He slid his fingers through his thick, disheveled sandy-brown hair, and gave her a shameless grin. “What I’d like to know is how we ended up in bed together fully clothed.”

Melinda wanted to slap the charming smirk off his face. “I’m not in the habit of waking up in bed with a man I don’t know under any circumstances,” she said resolutely.

“Really?” His grin became even more brazen.

She grabbed the collar of his green plaid flannel shirt with both of her hands and got his full, wide-eyed attention. “What happened last night?”

“You don’t remember?” That smirk of his was three seconds away from being slapped away.

“If I remembered how I got into this situation, I wouldn’t be asking,” she said, using every bit of strength she had to try to calm down.

He rubbed a strong hand over his cheek. “You must have been as drunk as I was.”

He tugged her fingers away from his collar, stared at her a moment, and let go of her hands.

Drunk? She’d been drunk?

She wiped her hands over her face and ran her fuzzy tongue around her Sahara-like mouth.

She’d only been intoxicated twice before in her thirty-two years, and this is what it had felt like the mornings after both of those occasions.

But how had it happen?

“Maybe I was drunk,” she admitted. When she looked directly into his eyes she noticed he seemed to be sizing her up. “Where did we meet,” she asked, undeterred by his scrutiny, “and why did you get me drunk?”

“You think I got you drunk?” he said, leaning back and grinning at her. His deep brown eyes twinkled.

Gees, he had gorgeous eyes. Gorgeous eyes had always been her downfall. Gorgeous man-eyes could get her to do almost anything. She’d cancelled important plans she’d made just to work overtime, given up seats on mass transit and left tips bigger than the price of her meal all because exquisite man-eyes had seduced her into giving a man what he wanted.

But gorgeous eyes had never convinced her to go to bed with a man.

“You really don’t remember anything about last night, do you?”

She gnawed on her lower lip and looked away. It was better if she didn’t look into his eyes. She was far too vulnerable at the moment. “What happened last night?”

When he didn’t answer right away, she looked at him. “Are you going to tell me?”

The devilish grin he’d issued too many times already curved his lips once more. “I’m half tempted to let you keep wondering. It hurts a man’s pride when a woman he’s in bed with claims to have forgotten all she meant to him the previous night.”

She threw back the covers. “I’ve had it with you. I’m getting out of here!”

He seized her arm and pulled her next to him. “I’m sorry. I’m not being a very good host.” He pulled the covers over her when she settled back where she’d been a moment before.”

“You got caught in yesterday’s snowstorm. I found you stuck in a snowdrift where our driveway meets the highway. I plucked you out of your car and brought you inside.”

Melinda closed her eyes and massaged the ache in her temples. “The storm.”

“You said you were on your way to your sister’s wedding.”

Sunbeams were finally pushing away the clouds in her brain. “Tamara’s wedding. The snowstorm. Gees, that storm was awful,” she said, looking at him.

“That’s an understatement. We barely made it in my four-wheel drive pickup from the highway to our farmhouse.”

“I’m at your farm?”

“You’re at my family’s farm. My mother runs it. You met her last night.”

More clouds began to dissipate. “Yes, Sheila. Sheila Pottaski. And you have a brother, Derrik, and you are Matthew Pottaski.”

He sent her a stunning smile. “That’s right.”

Matthew. Now she remembered. How could she ever forget that billion-dollar smile? Man, he was handsome. “You rescued me.”

He released a half laugh. “I fished you out of a snowdrift. That’s all. Anyone would have done the same thing.”

“I suppose.”

But not just anyone had rescued her. Matthew had been the knight, and she’d been very pleased. She remembered that much anyway.

“Your mother is a sweet woman. She invited me to dinner. We had roast beef with onions and mushrooms, mashed potatoes, peas and apple pie. I remember it smelled and tasted like a holiday here last night.”

“I’m afraid that meal is standard issue for a North Dakota farm supper.”

“It was very good. She served wine after our meal, didn’t she?”

“Yes, she did.”

Confusion and curiosity settled into her brain once more. “Sheila got me drunk?” But she’d seemed so sweet. “That’s impossible.”

She plunged her fingers through her long hair. “No way. That lovely old lady could not possibly have gotten me drunk.”

She searched her memory trying to recall how much wine Sheila had offered her. “I had only two small glasses of wine,” she said when clarity returned. “That’s not enough to get me drunk.”

He shifted and turned solidly on his side. “Maybe you weren’t drunk. Maybe you were just so tired you passed out once the wine relaxed you.”

That made sense. “Yes, that’s probably what happened.”

He shrugged. “Probably,” he said, giving her a look which seemed to suggest there was much more to the story.

She tilted her head and scowled at him. “Why were we sleeping in the same bed?”

A knock sounded at the door just before it opened. Sheila slipped inside. She smiled at the couple in bed and rubbed her hands together. “Good morning, my children,” she said sweetly. She flicked her short, gray curls with her slender fingers. “I hope you slept well.”

Melinda grabbed the sheet and pulled it up to her neck as though she were covering a lot less than a navy blue sweater and jeans. “Sheila, I know what this must look like. You’ve got to believe me when I tell you nothing happened between Matthew and me.” She tried to tug the sheet higher. “I would never do anything to disgrace the family who took me in the way you did. I’m very grateful for your protection from the storm.”

“Nothing happened?” she asked, raising a brow in the same fashion Matthew had shown earlier.

Melinda shook her head vigorously. “No, nothing. I swear.”

“But you don’t remember everything about last night,” Matthew said suggestively. “You said so yourself.”

Melinda gave him the nastiest look she could muster. “I’d remember if something had happened between us, Matthew Pottaski.” She turned to Sheila. “Nothing happened.”

Sheila came to the bed and took Melinda’s hand. “That’s a shame, sweetheart. Maybe next time.”

“What?!” Melinda yanked her hand away from Sheila. Had she heard the elderly woman correctly? Was that a look of disappoint in Sheila’s eyes? She should have been relieved Matthew and Melinda had managed to pass a celibate night, shouldn’t have she?

“Maybe next time the two of you will have a more…shall we say, interesting night together.”

“Mother!”

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

Matthew got out of bed and tucked his flannel shirt into his jeans. “For heaven’s sake, Mother. How can you suggest something as improper as an intimate relationship between Melinda and me should take place? She’s a guest in our home, stranded by a quirk of nature. I would never take advantage of her--”

“Take advantage of her?” Sheila interjected. She shifted her gaze from Matthew to Melinda and back to her son. “But how can you call having intimate relations with your wife taking advantage of her?”

“What?!” Matthew and Melinda said in unison.

Sheila reached for Melinda’s hand. “You’re married now, dear,” she said, squeezing her hand, “and I’ll be wanting grandchildren. The sooner, the better.”

She looked at Matthew. “She’s a lovely girl, son. Treat her right, and get her in the family way as soon as possible.”

Melinda was so shocked by what Sheila had said, she couldn’t speak.

Sheila pulled back her hand just as Matthew’s brother Derrik entered the room. He was tucking his blue-gray flannel shirt into his jeans. “Good morning, you two,” he said, his blue eyes twinkling brightly.

“Derrik,” Matthew said, walking toward his brother. “Something’s wrong with Mom. She’s talking nonsense. She claims Melinda and I are married. Set her straight, okay?”

Derrik slapped Matthew’s shoulder. “Be happy to, brother.”

Melinda got out of the bed and pulled her sweater down over her hips. “Sheila,” she said, gently taking the older woman’s hand, “you’ve been a dear. You took me in, fed me and gave me a warm place to wait out the storm.”

“You’re a gift sent from God himself, my dear.” She patted Melinda’s hand. “You’re the answer to my prayers. I’ve been hounding Matthew for years to take a wife. I’m so glad he finally has.”

Sweet or not, it seemed Sheila’s gray matter had been replaced by a block of Play Doh. “That’s a lovely thing to say, but I’m afraid you’re a bit confused.” She released Sheila’s hand.

“You see what we’re up against, Derrik?” Matthew said. “Straighten Mom out.”

“Yes, Derrik,” Sheila said, “straighten me out. Straighten all of us out.” She looked at Matthew, Melinda and finally Derrik. “Are these two married or not?”

Derrik straightened to what seemed to be a six-foot height, falling short of Matthew’s stature by about two inches. “Yes, Mother, these two are married. I married them myself last night.”

“You married us?” Melinda asked incredulously. “By what authority do you marry anyone?”

“By God’s,” Sheila quickly replied. “Derrik’s a minister.”

Melinda’s stomach churned. “You’re a minister?”

Derrik slid his fingers through his dark blond hair. “I’m afraid so.”

“But he didn’t marry us. Not really,” Matthew said. “This is all some sort of joke.” He looked at Sheila. “Tell her what a prankster you are, Mother.”

She looked at Melinda. “I’m a prankster.”

“There, you see?” Matthew went to Melinda and took her hand. “I’m terribly sorry for this nasty joke my brother and mother have played on you.” He gently pulled her toward the door. “Why don’t you go into the bathroom and freshen up? I’ll fix something for breakfast, and I’ll send a certain beautiful elderly lady and a maniacal minister out into the storm so they can cool down their senses of humor.”

Sheila reached out and took Melinda’s free hand. “Wait just a minute.”

Matthew and Melinda stopped and looked at Sheila.

She quirked a brow and lifted her chin. “I’m a prankster, all right, but this is no joke. Derrik married the two of you last night, and I’ve got the video and the marriage certificate to prove it.”

***

Melinda was thoroughly grateful to Matthew for remembering to bring her suitcase along with them when he’d rescued her from her snowbound car. Having fresh clothes to wear after her shower helped her feel much better.

Her headache had lightened, thanks to curative steam and the scent of Sheila’s lilac soap, and her mouth wasn’t a storage bin for cotton anymore, thanks to mint-fresh toothpaste.

As she stood ahead of the bathroom mirror and combed through her long blonde locks, Melinda tried to digest Sheila’s proclamation regarding the marriage she claimed had taken place the night before. She smiled and fantasized about really being married to Matthew Pottaski.

Man, he was handsome. A woman could very quickly get used to waking up with someone like him everyday.

She snagged a snarl with her comb and chided herself for thinking such ridiculous thoughts.

Then she fantasized some more.

“Matthew and Melinda Pottaski.” That might look pretty good on a matchbook cover or a place card--or on a front door, she mused. “Mrs. Melinda Pottaski. Melinda Pottaski. Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Pottaski.” Melinda grinned as she finished combing through her hair. “Wouldn’t that just shock the pants off them all if I showed up at Tamara’s wedding with a husband on my arm?”

Having finished combing her hair, Melinda took out her makeup kit and added a little color to her cheeks and a dusting of powder to her face. Satisfied with the fit of her jeans and red sweater, she left the bathroom and went to meet her new family for breakfast.

The fragrance of fried bacon tantalized her senses as she followed the hallway leading to the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled, and she realized she was starving.

She found Sheila in the bright yellow kitchen setting a plate of bacon on the table next to a platter filled with eggs and toast. A bowl of fruit salad sat at one end while a serving bowl full of oatmeal sat at the other.

“Sheila, this is a feast,” Melinda said when she saw the large meal resting happily on top of a cheery gold and white checkered tablecloth. “You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble.”

“I didn’t. Matthew made the breakfast, everything except the oatmeal. Derrik made that. I had to run out to the barn and tend to one of the horses. When I came in, Matthew told me to set things on the table while he took a quick shower in the bathroom upstairs.”

“Can I help with anything?”

“You can pour the coffee, if you’d like.”

“Of course.” She went to the coffee maker and retrieved the decanter. As she went about the business of filling the cups at the table, she said, “You say you were outside? Has the storm stopped?”

“Oh, my, no. It’s raging as fiercely as ever, but a woman’s got to tend to her animals, doesn’t she?”

“I guess she does.” Melinda finished pouring the coffee and went to the window. “How on earth did you manage to find the barn through the thickness of the storm? I can barely see it from here.”

Sheila stood next to her and laid her hand on Melinda’s arm. “Honey, when you’ve lived on a farm for forty-two years and been through dozens of snowstorms, you learn how to negotiate through anything. And when one of your animals is sick and needs you, you’ve got to do whatever it takes to help it.”

“I suppose.” She gazed into the mass of whiteness. “I can’t imagine living any one place for forty-two years, let alone on a farm in the middle of nowhere.”

Sheila laughed and patted Melinda’s arm. “You think this is the middle of nowhere? You should see the place where I grew up.” She motioned for Melinda to return the coffee decanter to its hotplate. “Ever been to eastern Wyoming?”

“No,” she said as she returned the coffee pot to its perch.

A look of reverie crossed Sheila’s face. “Some of the most beautiful countryside on earth sets as stately as a god right there in eastern Wyoming, but a person is hard-pressed to find another human being unless she’s near a main highway.”

“Sounds like a lonely place.”

“It can be lonely in Wyoming, but not as lonely as it gets in Alaska. I did a stint up there after I finished high school. I tell you in all sincerity, I saw more bears on a daily basis than I saw people in Alaska.”

“I can’t begin to imagine what that would be like. I wonder,” she said thoughtfully, “if you’d discovered you didn’t really like lonely places when you lived in Alaska, why do you live in this desolate area?”

“Melinda, my darling, this farm is the antithesis of desolation. Why, there’s more life here than I ever thought I’d find anywhere on earth.”

Melinda decided Sheila’s mind must have been farther over the edge than she’d thought earlier. From the little she’d seen through the snow of this isolated county in North Dakota the Pottaski farm was one of the loneliest places on the planet.

“My husband’s here, God rest his soul, and as long as I have him with me, my soul is filled to the brim. Between Garth and God, I’m never lonely. Everywhere I look here, I see them both.” Sheila lifted her chin. “I tell you, once I met Garth, I never knew another lonely day in my life. And now you’ll know exactly what I mean because you have Matthew to share your life.”

“Did someone say my name?” Matthew came into the kitchen looking drop-dead handsome. His red-plaid flannel shirt couldn’t hide his perfect, masculine build any more than his jeans could obliterate the strength of solid his legs. His thick, sandy brown hair, wet from showering, looked darker, almost as dark as his deep brown eyes. From twelve feet away his eyes could speak directly to Melinda’s heart. And she liked what they were saying, how they were toying with her heart, how they were telling her she belonged right where she was.

Oh, brother, she was fantasizing again.

“Matthew, is Derrik coming? Our food will be stone cold if we don’t sit down right now and eat.” Sheila ushered Melinda to the table. “Sit right there, dear, next to your husband.”

“Mother…”

Once she’d made sure Matthew and Melinda were seated next to each other, Sheila made herself comfortable across from them. Derrik joined them a few seconds later.

“Ah, bacon, eggs, oatmeal…it smells heavenly in here.”

“You should know, Reverend,” Sheila said, smiling proudly at her son. “Melinda, why don’t you say grace for us this morning? Derrik did the honors last night.”

Melinda swallowed hard. She wasn’t sure what she should say. She didn’t know what denomination the Pottaskis were. “All right,” she said, clearing her throat. “This is a prayer I learned when I was a child.” She bowed her head, folded her hands and closed her eyes. “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest. Let this food to us be blessed.”

“Amen,” everyone said in unison.

“And one more thing, Lord,” Sheila added quickly, “along with the food, please, bless this newly married couple. Help them to be fruitful and multiply.”

Melinda’s eyes popped open. “Sheila!”

“I want grandchildren.” She passed the bacon to Melinda. “Eat up.” She handed Matthew the toast and eggs. “Eggs are filled with protein and other nutrients, son. They’ll give you lots of stamina for your honeymoon.”

“Mother!” he said violently as he took the plate of eggs and toast from her. “You’ve got to stop this nonsense. Melinda and I are not married.” He transferred two pieces of toast and three eggs to his plate. “You can carry a joke too far, you know.” He handed the platter to Melinda, and sent her a remorseful gaze. “I’m sorry if she’s making you terribly uncomfortable.”

“I can apologize for myself, if it is necessary,” Sheila interjected. “And it isn’t necessary!”

“All right, all right,” Derrik said as he filled his cereal bowl with fruit salad. “Let me explain exactly what happened.”

“Please do,” Sheila and Matthew said in unison.

Derrik glanced from his mother to his brother before he focused on Melinda. “Last night, at the supper table, you seemed terribly distracted. Naturally, we realized you had to be quite upset because of the unfortunate circumstances which caused you to be stranded in a house full of strangers.”

“It was God’s will that Melinda be here, the answer to my prayers. You should have realized that more than anyone, Derrik.”

He looked at Sheila and smiled. “Be fair, Mother. Let me finish explaining to Melinda and Matthew just what took place last night. Their memories,” he said, grinning at his brother and Melinda, “seem to have failed them.”

“Wine can do that to a person,” Sheila said as she offered an even bigger grin than Derrik’s.

The reverend focused on Melinda once more. “As I was saying, you seemed frightfully upset. It took a while, but you finally began to talk.”

“After I poured you a glass of wine.” Sheila couldn’t stay out of Derrik’s explanation. “It loosens the tongue.”

“Mother…” Matthew shifted his attention from Sheila to his brother. “Go on, Derrik.”

“Once you started talking, all you wanted to discuss was your sister’s wedding. You said you were terribly distressed because your little sister Tamara was getting married before you were.”

Melinda shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she swallowed a mouthful of half-chewed eggs. “I’m afraid that was quite petty of me.”

Derrik shrugged. “Perhaps, but not unusual. Older siblings tend to think they need to lead the way for their younger brothers and sisters. My guess is Tamara spent a good deal of her life looking to you for leadership, and, now that she is taking a major step in her adult life before you take the same step, you might be feeling like you’re losing that part of your baby sister who always looked to you to show her the way.”

“But her baby sister didn’t take the step to marriage first. Melinda is already married, and Tamara won’t be married for three more days.”

“Mother, please let me finish my explanation.”

Sheila wiped her lips with her gold checkered napkin. “You’re too slow, Derrik. Get to the part where you married them.”

He looked at Matthew and Melinda. “After a glass or two of wine, the two of you both began to speak more freely. Melinda, you were in tears due to your sister’s beating you to the altar, and Matthew, you became her gentle comforter.”

“I remember all of this,” Matthew said impatiently.

“So do I…most of it, anyway,” Melinda said as Derrik reminded her of the previously forgotten behavior which she now found quite embarrassing.

“Derrik had to take a phone call,” Sheila said. “So the three of us talked for a while, remember that?”

“That is where everything starts to get a little fuzzy,” Melinda reluctantly admitted.

“I remember the three of us clearing the table as we had our wine,” Matthew said.

“And we loaded the dishwasher,” Melinda added.

“Yes, that’s right,” Sheila said.

“When I finished my call, I returned to the kitchen to find the three of you had cleaned things up, finished off two bottles of wine and retired to the parlor.”

Matthew sat up ramrod straight. “Two bottles! That’s impossible!”

“I had only two glasses. That much I do remember,” Melinda proclaimed.

Derrik leaned forward. “When I returned to the kitchen, there were two empty wine bottles. We’d emptied only one before I’d left. I remember placing the empty bottle in the sink when I went to answer the phone. Another bottle sat on the counter unopened.”

As the three of them seemed to come to the same conclusion all at once, six eyes turned on Sheila.

Her cheeks glowed as red as ripe apples. “I was only trying to calm the two of you,” she said, looking at Matthew and Melinda. “You were upset, dear Melinda, and you, Matthew, seemed to be feeling her pain just as if it were your own. Have you ever heard the expression, ‘Wine is the drink that gladdens men’s hearts?’ I think it comes from the Bible.” She gave them a look which was the picture of fake innocence. “I just wanted to gladden your hearts and take away your sadness so I kept filling your glasses when you weren’t looking.”

“But things didn’t work out that way, Mother.” Derrik turned his attention to Matthew and Melinda once more. “When I encountered you in the living room after my phone call, you two were as glum as ever over Tamara’s wedding.”

“So I offered the perfect solution,” Sheila interjected. “I said, ‘Melinda, how would you like to marry my Matthew?’ And you said, ‘He’s the most perfect man I’ve ever met.’”

“She did not!” Matthew exclaimed.

“Yes, she did,” Derrik confirmed.

“You did?” Matthew asked Melinda.

Her cheeks felt two hundred degrees hot. “I don’t remember.”

“Well I do remember because it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard. So then I asked Matthew, “Wouldn’t this lovely girl make a beautiful wife for you and a perfect mother to my grandchildren?’ And you said, ‘Mother, she’d be perfect for Derrik.’”

“I did not!” Matthew shouted.

“Yes, you did,” Derrik said.

“You did?” Melinda asked, disappointment tugging at her heart.

The Adam’s apple in Matthew’s throat bobbed up and down. “I don’t remember.”

“Well, I do remember because you surprised me at first with your answer until you said what you really felt,” Sheila said smugly.

“And what was that?”

Melinda was glad Matthew asked. She wanted to know how he really felt too.

Sheila wiped her eye. “You took Melinda’s hand, gazed into her eyes and said, ‘If I ever were going to get married, I’d want to marry a woman exactly like Melinda.’”

“I did?”

“You did?” Melinda asked Matthew.

“I don’t know,” he said softly. “I don’t remember.”

“At this point,” Derrik continued, “Melinda started blubbering uncontrollably about Tamara getting married before she did.” He laughed gently. “There was nothing else we could do, Matthew. The only way we could convince Melinda to stop crying over her sister’s wedding was to give her a wedding of her own so she could be married first.”

“That’s right,” Sheila said.

Matthew and Melinda started to laugh.

“You are a prankster indeed, Sheila,” Melinda said, grinning. “While I certainly don’t approve of your plying me with alcohol, I do understand your reason for doing so. You were only trying to get me out of a bad mood.”

“Of course, dear,” she said, her eyes showing a guile which seemed to contradict her words. “I was only trying to help.”

Matthew leaned forward. “I’m convinced your explanation as to why you gave Melinda too much to drink might make sense, but why did you keep refilling my glass?”

Sheila shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “It didn’t seem fair to give only Melinda a little extra wine. Why shouldn’t the both of you cheer up?”

“But I wasn’t sad.”

“Weren’t you, really? I thought you were. You acted terribly empathetic towards Melinda. You seemed almost as sad as she was.”

“Never mind the whys and wherefores now,” Derrik said. “Let me finish my explanation so I can clear up everything, and we can all have a good laugh over this whole situation.”

“I’m for that,” Matthew said.

“I could use a good laugh too,” Melinda said.

Derrik folded his hands and laid them on the table. “Once the two of you agreed to marry each other so Melinda could be wedded ahead of her sister, Mom got out the video camera and I got out my marriage licenses and my prayer book. I married the two of you in an authentic ceremony, we filled out the certificate and that was that.” Derrik got up and went to the desk on the other side of the kitchen. “Here is the certificate you both signed and Mother witnessed.” He handed it to Melinda. “Maybe you’d like to keep it as a souvenir,” he said jokingly.

She took it and looked it over. She’d never seen a more official looking document in her life. “It looks so real,” she said as she looked up at Derrik and handed the license to Matthew.

“It is real, but it isn’t legal,” Derrik said reassuringly. “In order for it to be legal, it has to be filed at the county hall of records.”

A pang of disappointment filled Melinda’s tummy. She’d known Matthew and his family for less than twenty-four hours, but she felt in so many ways that she belonged with them--that she and Matthew were meant to be together.

All right, she understood such feelings were stupid, but she couldn’t help how she felt.

“You’re sure this isn’t legal?” Matthew asked. “Because it looks awful damn legal to me.”

“I’m telling you, it would only be legal if it were filed at the hall of records. And I have no intention of filing it,” Derrik said emphatically.

Melinda let out a deep breath, half out of relief and half out of disappointment.

“Mother,” Matthew said firmly, “don’t ever do anything like this again. No more wine for any of us unless we ask for it.”

Melinda felt a need to scold Sheila as well. “No wine and no putting unconscious people in bed together.”

“Oh, I didn’t put the two of you in bed together. Once the wedding was over, Matthew couldn’t wait to take you into his arms. He whisked you off to the guest room, and I don’t know what happened after that.”

“Nothing happened,” Matthew and Melinda said together.

“As I said before,” Sheila said, “maybe next time something will happen.”

“Mother!”

“The wine…” Melinda said, deliberately changing the subject. “With a minister in the house…you’d think…”

“What?” Derrik asked. “That drinking wine would be frowned upon?”

Melinda bit her lip and shrugged. “Some ministers think it is a sin to drink alcohol.”

Derrik chuckled. “But such a notion is ridiculous for a Christian minister. Jesus drank wine. He changed water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana. Jesus was incapable of sinning, so if He consumed wine, how could drinking wine be a sin?”

Melinda shook her head. “I’ve never thought it was a sin to drink.”

“Drinking isn’t a sin, but,” Derrik said, raising a finger, “drinking too much can lead a person into a weakened state in which he or she might be tempted to commit a sin or to do something foolish like--”

“Marrying someone you don’t know,” Melinda said, chuckling.

Matthew and Derrik joined her laughter, but Sheila did not.

“Come on, Mother,” Matthew chided, “you can enjoy your little joke. We’re all laughing now that we know this whole marriage was some colossal prank.”

A smug look covered Sheila’s face. “I’m afraid it’s no joke, son. You and Melinda are married.”

“Mother, the ruse is over,” Derrik said. “I saved the certificate so they could see it, but now I am going to tear it up, just as I told you I would last night.”

Sheila pushed away from the table and stood. “It’s too late, Derrik. I’ve wanted Matthew married for years, and now I’ve finally got what I wanted. And I couldn’t ask for a more delightful daughter-in-law than Melinda.” She ran her fingers through her silvery curls and smiled. “I faxed a copy of that license to the county hall of records early this morning. It’s on file, and they are legally married.”

***

“I’ll take care of this, Melinda.” The sincerity of Matthew’s tone did nothing to quell the storm beneath her sternum. Her gut was raging with conflict. Part of it was sick over the sudden change in her marital status and part of it was euphoric over the sudden change in her marital status. Thanks to Sheila, Tamara would now not beat her to the altar.

No…no. It wasn’t victory over a sibling rivalry which filled her heart with a joy she didn’t truly own. She was happy with the prospect of marriage to Matthew because she found him utterly attractive.

Yet, she really didn’t know him. First impressions were certainly not something a woman could count on when choosing a husband.

“What can we do?” she asked, trying to set her mind squarely on the genuine problem she faced in straightening out Sheila’s mistake--even if part of her didn’t want to fix it. “I suppose we could get an annulment. That would probably be the most sensible thing to do.”

“I suppose,” he said as he stared out the living room window

They were alone in the Pottaski parlor. She touched his arm, and he looked at her. “I’m sorry for making such a mess of your life. If I hadn’t lodged my car in a snowdrift by your driveway--”

He touched his fingers to her mouth, stopping her words, and smiled at her. “If things hadn’t happened the way they did, I wouldn’t have had such an interesting way to pass this stormy confinement.”

She smiled back at him and pushed his hand away from her mouth. “Interesting?”

He touched her chin with his finger and drew back his hand. “Yes, interesting. Intriguing, in fact. Actually, down-right entertaining! How often does a man get drunk and end up married to a beautiful woman?”

“And not remember a thing about it!”

They laughed together.

Had he called her beautiful? Her cheeks burned.

He pushed a lock of hair from her forehead. “I can certainly think of worse ways to wait out a storm than being in the company of a lovely lady with long blonde hair and eyes the color of a July-blue sky.”

His flattery only made her cheeks hotter.

The whole room seemed suddenly warmer. Melinda decided to go the window closer to the storm outside so she could cool down the tempest raging inside her. This attraction she felt to Matthew was growing by the minute.

He followed her to the window and looked out. “As soon as the snow stops and the wind dies down, we’ll take the snowmobile to the county seat. It’s only a few miles from here.”

“I heard on the radio that all the county and state offices in the entire eastern half of North Dakota are closed. If you were thinking of checking out Sheila’s story to see if she really did fax a copy of the marriage license, we won’t be able to do that until the offices reopen.”

He looked at her and cocked a brow. “If the offices are closed when we’re ready to go, we’ll have to wait for them to open, of course. But I think we should be in the courthouse the moment the offices open. If we can intercept the fax Mom sent, if she indeed did send it, before it is officially received and filed we can put an end to this practical joke without any further damage or embarrassment.”

“You think we could pull that off?” His plan sounded both romantic and rather sleuth-like. “Wouldn’t it be illegal to take possession of a legal document and essentially steal it?”

“We wouldn’t be stealing anything. It’s our marriage certificate.”

Blast her racing heart! Her pulse throbbed more enthusiastically than ever when he reminded her once more she was married to this completely irresistible man.

She took a calming breath. “Matthew, this is so embarrassing,” she said, referring to their unusual situation…and also to her secret fantasies about really being married to him.

He rubbed his hand over his strong jaw. “For me it’s embarrassing,” he said. “Unbelievably embarrassing. For you it’s a terrible inconvenience.” He touched his fingers to her chin. “I am truly sorry, Melinda, for what my mother did. I swear she’s never done anything like this before. I don’t know what got into her.”

Those gorgeous eyes of his stared into her soul, and his gentle fingers against her chin warmed her clear to her toes.

What had he just said?

He dropped his hand. “I guess the lovely Ms. Sheila Pottaski wants me married even more than I thought she did.”

Melinda took a step back. She needed to put some distance between them before she blurted out something stupid--like maybe they should give their marriage a try…at least until the snowstorm subsided.

“Mothers are like that,” she said when she’d taken a few steps away from him. “My own mother has been nagging me to get married since I turned twenty-five.”

He grinned at her. “And you don’t want to be married?”

She chuckled and blushed at the same time. “I think I made myself abundantly clear last night. Obviously, I do want to be married. Why else would I be so upset about my sister’s wedding taking place before mine?”

“Do you have a fiancé? he asked tentatively

She shook her head. “I’ve been too involved in my work to become involved with a man.”

“Sounds like me,” he said, smiling at her. “I spend twelve hours a day six days a week at my body shop.”

“You fix cars bodies?” she asked, placing her hand over her chest. “I work on cars too. I’m a mechanic.”

“You’re a mechanic?” He gave her a skeptical look. “No way. You’re too beautiful to be a mechanic.”

She giggled like a teenager. “How a woman looks has little to do with her skills.”

His cheeks began to redden. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything negative by what I said.” He shrugged and smiled. “Most of the mechanics I’ve worked with have been paunchy or rail-thin guys named Rusty or Butch or Harvey. I’ve never worked with a mechanic who looked anything like you.”

The thorough examination he gave her sent her heart into overdrive once more. “Maybe you should,” she said, smiling. She hadn’t meant to say her coquettish thought out loud.

“Yes,” he said thoughtfully, “maybe I should.”

She turned away from him.

“Do you own your own business?” he asked.

She looked at him again. “Yes, I do. I opened my shop four…no, four and a half years ago.”

“That’s wonderful. I’ve been in business almost six years.”

“Excuse me,” Sheila called as she entered the room, “but I could use some help in the barn, Matthew. Would you mind?”

He looked at Melinda with a trace of disappointment in his eyes. Looking back at Sheila, he said, “No, Mother. I don’t mind helping.”

She nodded toward him. “Wonderful. You come along too Melinda. There’s plenty that needs doing.” She sent her a mischievous grin. “Maybe when we’ve finished working,” she said as she started to move out of the room, “the two of you could take a little roll in the hay.”

“You’re incorrigible!” Matthew shouted at Sheila’s rapidly retreating back. He looked at Melinda, his cheeks as rosy as a pair of ripe tomatoes. “I’m sorry, Melinda.”

The sound of the back door closing indicated Sheila had returned to the outdoors.

“Forget it, Matthew,” she said, waving away his apology and his mother’s colorful cliché--which she was certain was still hanging in the air.

He stepped toward her and pressed his hand to the middle of her back. “You’re wonderful to be so generous with her. She doesn’t deserve it, you know.”

“She deserves a lot more than generosity from me. I shudder to think what would have happened to me if you and your family wouldn’t have taken me in. I’ll never be able to repay you.”

“Don’t be too sure of that. When Mom finds out you’re a mechanic, she’ll have you working on every machine on the farm. She’ll keep you constantly busy until you’re able to leave if you let her.”

“She will?”

“Absolutely,” he said as they entered the kitchen. “Ever since Dad died she’s been without anyone to maintain the machinery in the way she thinks it should be cared for. She practically treats Dad’s tools and the machinery he left behind as though they were living beings, like they were an extension of him. That being the case, she’s very fussy about their care. Since she’s already terribly fond of you, she’s probably going to want to take advantage of having a mechanic available whom she can trust implicitly.”

“Thanks, I think. I mean, it’s flattering to hear that your mother thinks highly of me.”

Sheila, dressed in her winter gear, opened the kitchen door which led to the back porch and bobbed her head inside. “Shake a leg, you two. We’ve got a ton of work to do.”

“We’ll be ready in a minute,” Matthew said.

Sheila looked at Melinda and smiled. “We’ll find something for you to do, dear. I hope you don’t mind working for your keep. Everyone who visits works while they’re here. That policy cuts down on long-time visitors.” She wiped a drop of melted snow from her cheek. “Not that I don’t want you to stay a good, long while. I do. Daughters-in-law are always welcome, but they do have to work too.”

“I love to work,” Melinda replied. “You just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

Sheila quirked a brow and sent another impish grin Melinda’s way. “Know anything about carburetors?”

Matthew chuckled.

Sheila waved a hand imperturbably. “Ah, I’m just teasing a little. I know you’re too pretty to know a spark plug from a manifold, Melinda, but that doesn’t mean you’re not as smart and as capable as anyone I’ve ever met.” With a flourish, she hustled out the door.

Matthew helped Melinda into her winter outerwear, put on his own winter coat and led her into the outdoors.

The Pottaski family and Melinda spent the remainder of the day working on various chores.

The storm subsided by evening, and Matthew and Derrik worked to clear the snow in the yard. The next morning Melinda and Matthew would attempt to go into town.

* * *

Melinda felt someone gently shaking her as she slept. She opened her eyes and saw Matthew looking down at her. “What time is it? Why are you waking me?”

“It’s about six, Melinda. We’ve got to leave within an hour if we want to arrive at the courthouse before it opens.” Matthew took her hand, and she sat up.

The memory of her marital predicament came rushing back to her. She brushed her hair off her face with her fingers. “Yes, of course. Thanks for waking me.”

Matthew sat on the bed next to her. “It is my pleasure.”

She looked up at him and tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. “What are you smiling at?”

“You,” he said, broadening his grin. “You are absolutely amazing. Not only did you get the tractor in tip top shape, fix the hydraulics on the scoop, and the hiss in the motor on the milk pipeline, you also managed to set Mother back on her heels with your mechanical prowess. She wants to hire you full time.”

Melinda ran her fingers through her hair and smiled. “I’m glad I could help.”

Matthew touched her cheek with his fingers. “And on top of all of your accomplishments, you manage to awaken in the morning after a very rough day looking as beautiful as ever.”

Her cheeks began to burn. “Matthew, don’t say that.” His intimate words made her uncomfortable. No matter how attracted she was to him, they were virtual strangers--even if they had a marriage certificate which indicated otherwise.

He drew back his hand and stood away from the bed. Mischief settled into his gorgeous, brown eyes. “But you are beautiful, Melinda. You’re so beautiful, in fact, that I have half a mind to dismantle the engine on the snowmobile so we can’t make our trip to the county seat. A man would be a damn fool to let a woman like you get away.” He smiled at her and casually turned to walk to the door. When he reached the doorway, he turned back to her. “The problem is, if I did fix the engine so it wouldn’t work, you’d have it repaired in no time, and we’d still be on our way to intercept that paperwork.” He nodded toward her. “I’m going make some bacon and eggs. I’ll see you in the kitchen in a few minutes.”

Melinda lay back on her pillows when he left the room. If only he weren’t kidding when he said what he’d just said. The more time she spent with Matthew, the more she liked him.

It wasn’t long before the scent of bacon forced her from the warm sheets. She dressed quickly, ate with Matthew and joined him on the snowmobile ride to the county seat.

A few of the streets in town had been plowed, but none of the roads they’d crossed in the country had been opened. Drifts ranged from four to ten feet high.

They arrived at the courthouse thirty minutes before the offices were scheduled to open.

They decided to use their extra time to make a plan of action. They’d talked a bit at the house before they left, but they didn’t have a lot of time to make plans. Sheila and Derrik had gone to the barn to help the hired men with the milking, but Matthew had feared they’d return and catch them preparing to make their clandestine trip into town in order to undo Sheila’s errors.

Consequently, they’d needed to eat as quickly as possible and leave.

They went to the café across the street from the courthouse and laid out a plan of action over cups of coffee.

At two minutes before eight Matthew and Melinda, confident they had devised a fool-proof strategy to retrieve the fateful fax before it was filed, went to the courthouse.

They’d decided if the clerk on duty at the hall of records were a man, Melinda would distract him. If she were a woman, Matthew would do the distracting while Melinda searched for the offending fax.

Melinda was pleased to see the only worker on duty at the hall of records was a man. She much preferred being the distracter to being the hunter.

She quickly got the attention of the forty-something fellow with the male-pattern baldness and the dark-framed glasses. She opened the conversation with a discussion of the terrible snowstorm.

He seemed to enjoy their engagement so keeping his attention away from Matthew was very easy.

When Matthew let her know via signals that he’d completed his search, Melinda told the clerk she’d enjoyed their conversation but she’d come to his department by mistake. She claimed she’d meant to go to the county treasurer’s office.

He immediately gave her directions to the office on the second floor and wished her safety in returning home through the snow.

Melinda thanked him again before she left the courthouse and returned to the café to meet Matthew.

She went straight to the booth when she saw Matthew. “Did you get it?” she asked as she slid into a seat across the table from him.

He shook his head. “I looked everywhere. I found a few male magazines, a drawer full of Twix bars and a file filled with women’s nylon stockings, but I couldn’t find the fax among any of the papers or in any of the files or drawers.” He gritted his teeth. “I think we’ve been had.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think Mother never faxed the license at all.”

“You think she lied?”

“Frankly, I don’t know what to think.”

Melinda started laughing.

“What’s so damn funny?” Matthew asked, giving her a hard look.

“Your mother. She’s hilarious. She is a real, honest-to-goodness genius when it comes to pulling pranks. I bet she and Derrik are at home right now laughing their heads off at us. Look at how far we’ve gone, how gullible we are!”

Matthew’s lips began to curve upward. “You really think this is all a joke? That she never did fax the license to the hall of records?”

“I think if she’d have faxed it, you’d have found it.”

He seemed to be giving what she said some thought.

“I suppose there is only one way to find out just what Mother did. We’ll have to go home and ask her.”

“We probably should have spoken to her before we left.”

He slid out of his seat, took her hand and helped her out of the booth. “Knowing what we know now, I’d have to agree with you. However…”

“Yes?” she said, looking up at him.

He rubbed his free hand over his jaw line. “I swear…the look on her face when she said she faxed the license…I swear she meant every word she said. I know her, and I don’t think she was lying.”

Melinda squeezed his hand. “Let’s go talk to her and see what she says. I’m sure we can clear everything up with a good old-fashioned conversation.”

He lifted their clasped hands and patted them with his free hand. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I’m sure I am.”

They walked toward the door of the little café, still holding hands.

Matthew stopped abruptly a few feet away. “What if…”

“What if what?” she asked, looking up at him.

“What if the clerk showed up early for work? He could have already filed the certificate, and we could be legally married.”

A mixture of fear and delight coursed through her veins. “What if indeed…”

Matthew took her to his snowmobile. Within a few minutes she was behind him once more, wrapping her arms around him as they rode back to the farm.

Sheila met them at the back door when they arrived. She appeared to have been returning from the barn. “Where in thunder have you two been? I could have used some help with the milking this morning. Lefty’s got a terrible cold, and Derrik’s bad shoulder is acting up. I had to send Lefty back to the bunk house, and I made Derrik return to bed with a heating pad and some pain reliever.”

“We had an errand to do, Mother. We’d like to discuss it with you.”

“Certainly. Come on in. I could use a cup of coffee, and I bet the two of you could too.” Sheila opened the door and let them inside.

In a few minutes three cups of coffee sat on the table ahead of three people who eyed each other carefully.

Matthew sat forward and took a sip of coffee. He stared at Sheila who sat directly across from him. He opened his mouth, but Sheila spoke before he could say anything.

“Did you go into town?”

“Yes.”

Sheila grinned broadly. “I was hoping you’d gone to town. Let me see the ring,” she said, reaching toward Melinda.

“What?”

“The ring, dear. Your wedding band. That’s what you went to town for, isn’t it?”

“Certainly not!” Matthew exclaimed. “We went to the courthouse to try to intercept the fax you sent before it was recorded.”

“Oh?” Sheila’s expression was impossible to read. She didn’t seem surprised or hurt or disappointed or confused.

“It wasn’t there, Mother. Either it’s already been filed, or you lied about faxing the license. Which is it?” Matthew leaned forward a little farther. “Did you lie about the fax?”

Sheila shook her head. “I didn’t lie. I sent the fax just as I said I did.”

“You sent the fax?”

“Yes.”

He let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. “Then I guess the paper’s already been filed. That complicates everything.”

“Not really,” Sheila said. “If the paper is already filed, it simplifies everything. Instead of going through the rituals of dating and taking months to learn what I already know, that you two are perfect for each other, you skip right to the part where you can start giving me grandchildren.”

“Mother, you are absolutely impossible.” Matthew turned to Melinda. “As soon as the road is clear, you can get out of this madhouse and on to your sister’s wedding. I’ll find out the legalities of our situation and arrange to dissolve this relationship if indeed it is legal in the first place. You have my word on that, Melinda.”

Her heart broke a little when he spoke of the permanent separation which would come to them all too soon.

Sheila pushed herself away from the table. “I can’t stand this another minute,” she said as she stood. She walked to the desk and retrieved two pieces of paper. She held them close to her as she spoke. “Matthew, I really did fax the license to the courthouse just as I said I did, but it was never filed.”

“How do you know the paper wasn’t filed?” Melinda asked.

“I know because I have the fax right here along with the original license.” She laid both papers she was holding on the table. “I felt quite foolish the morning after you arrived, Melinda, when we discussed what I’d done the night before. I’m ashamed I went as far as I did, but I was so sure I was right about the two of you being soul mates. I’ve always had a sixth sense about people, and I was absolutely certain the two of you were star crossed.” She sat down and sighed. “Maybe I was wrong.”

No, you weren’t! Melinda mentally shouted.

“Maybe you were,” Matthew said.

“How did you get the fax back if you’d really sent it?” Melinda asked.

Sheila nodded toward her son. “As you know, Matthew, the sheriff is a good friend of mine.” She looked at Melinda. “I had him pick up the fax and bring it to me when he made his rounds on his snowmobile early this morning.”

“Well, I guess there is nothing further for us to take care of then,” Matthew said flatly.

“Not at the moment,” Sheila said as she stood. She went to the coffee pot and filled her cup. She walked toward the hallway and paused as she was about to leave the kitchen. “But, Matthew, I will be wanting those grandchildren, and it is high time you take a wife.”

“Mother, I assure you, I can manage my own life.”

“Yes, son, I know you’re a very capable man, but that won’t stop me from dreaming. Sometimes our dreams are all we have to get us through our days.” She turned and walked down the hall.

***

The snowplow cleared the road at three in the afternoon. Melinda quickly packed her bag and prepared to leave. Once she’d told Derrik and Sheila goodbye, she left with Matthew to go to her car.

When Matthew freed the car from the snowdrift, he helped Melinda into the driver’s seat. He went around the car and sat in the passenger’s seat.

“Despite everything that happened in the last couple of days, Melinda, I am very glad the snowstorm brought you to us,” he said, smiling at her.

She returned his smile. “So am I. I’ll never forget any of you.”

“Really?”

“Really.” She shifted in her seat, turning herself sideways so she could face him better. “When I’m back in Kansas City with my head stuck under the hood of a car, I’ll remember the wrench Sheila threw into our lives.”

Matthew chuckled at her joke then sobered quickly. “Did you say Kansas City?”

“Yes.”

“You live in Kansas City?”

“Yes.”

Matthew sat back and gave her an odd look. “I don’t believe this,” he said, his eyes wide and bright.

“What are we, seven, eight hundred miles from Kansas City?”

“Something like that. I know it seemed like it took me forever to get this far.”

“This is impossible.”

“What is impossible?”

“This is absolutely impossible! You realize that, don’t you?”

“Perhaps I’d be able to agree with what you think is impossible if you told me what you were talking about,” she said, puzzled by his unusual behavior.

“I live in St. Joe. We’re practically neighbors, and we meet hundreds of miles from where we live? In the middle of Nowhere, North Dakota? Don’t you think this is impossible?”

“It certainly is,” she said, stunned by his explanation of the strange coincidence.

“Wow,” he said, his voice trailing the word.

“Wow, indeed,” she said in the same manner. She took a few minutes to let the fact that he lived near her sink in.

“Why did you move so far away from home? People need body repairmen everywhere. Surely you could have opened a business in Fargo, Grand Forks or maybe over the border in Minnesota.”

“I could ask you the same thing. In fact, I think I will.” He gave her a smug look. “Why did you move so far from your family in Moorhead?”

She smiled at him when the irony of the answer she was about to give him struck her. “I wanted to get out of the snow and cold.”

He immediately began to chuckle. “Me too.”

They laughed together.

“It is a lot warmer and less snowy in St. Joe, but right now I wouldn’t trade a Northern Plains snowstorm for a warm Florida beach.”

“You wouldn’t?” Her heart began to beat faster as she took in the implications of his declaration. “Matthew,” she said hesitantly as she struggled to quell the rapid rhythm of her heart, “why are you here now? The holidays are long over. It isn’t your mother’s birthday. Why would you travel here in winter to visit your family?” She’d wondered all along why he’d come home, but she hadn’t asked him. She hadn’t wanted to pry.

“Well,” he said, looking around at the fallout from the storm, “I sure wish I didn’t have a need to come home in winter beyond spending the holidays with my family, but Dad couldn’t choose the time he died. He died on a cold winter night six years ago. I came home because this week was the anniversary of my father’s death.

“I see.”

Pain filled his eyes. It’s still pretty hard on Mom. It seems to help her get through the hurtful memories if I come home to spend a week with her and Derrik when the anniversary of Dad’s death comes round.”

She couldn’t help but reach out to him. “Oh, Matthew, you’re so kind and thoughtful,” she said, squeezing his shoulder.

He stared at her a long moment before he took her hand from his shoulder and wrapped it inside his warm fingers.

“I don’t want to talk about my father or my mother now, Melinda. I want to talk about us.”

“Us?” Her pulse began to throb again.

He moved closer to her. “I thought after today we’d never see each other again. Frankly, that bothered the hell out of me. I’d like very much to see you again.” He moved closer still.

Her heart beat faster. “You would?”

“Yes.” He slid even closer.

She smiled at him, and he closed the remaining space between them.

“Would you like to have dinner with me and maybe go to a movie a week from Saturday? I’ll take you anywhere in Kansas City you’d like to go if you’ll be back from your sister’s wedding by then.”

Gorgeous brown eyes were seducing her again. “I’ll be back by then, and I’d love to go out with you.”

He gazed into her eyes until she thought her insides would melt. “I don’t think I can wait ten days to find out what I’ve needed to know since the first time I saw you.”

She gave him a coquettish grin. “And what is that?”

He smiled at her, leaned closer to her. “I’ve just got to know if your lips are as sweet as I’ve imagined.”

She blinked her eyes and hoped he couldn’t hear the thunderous sound of her heart pounding against her ribs. “There is only one way to find out, Matthew.”

He spent the next several seconds gazing into her eyes, touching her hair.

When at last he kissed her, Melinda realized every daydream she’d had about him was wrong.

The reality of him--his tenderness, his sweetness, his self confidence and masculinity--far surpassed the fantasy man she’d imagined he was.

And, strangely enough, as Matthew spent the next few minutes tantalizing her in a most profound way, Melinda could almost hear Sheila’s voice saying, “Matthew, you may kiss your bride.”

THE END

More Romantic Comedy from Award-Winning Author Fran Shaff

CROSSED WIRES, Short Story: Hank Garcia, thinking he’s been summoned to Melanie Baker’s house to fix an electrical problem, gets the shock of his life. Available now at e-book stores for 99 cents.

MALE FRAUD, Novella Coming in 2011. A woman pretends to be a man in order to get a trainer job with a pro football team and ends up falling for the coach.

About the Author

Fran Shaff is the author of contemporary and historical sweet romance, young peoples’ novels and short stories. Her books are available in hardcover, paperback and e-book formats. Her short stories have appeared in such places as Woman’s World magazine and at prominent places on the Internet.

Fran is a native of South Dakota. She has also lived in Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Fran’s books are found in libraries and bookstores throughout the country and on the Internet.

Awards and Honors

Fran Shaff has won the following awards and honors: Write Touch Readers’ Award, More than Magic Award, Herbert W. Blakely Award, Golden Rose Award, EPPIE nomination for children’s literature, two Recommended Read Awards from Fallen Angel Reviews, Top Pick Award from Romance Reader at Heart, E-book of the Month Award from MyShelf.com, and two CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Awards, one nomination.

Books by Fran Shaff which are currently available or coming soon in hardcover, paperback and electronic formats include: “The Trading Game,” “Change of Heart,” “Montana Match,” “The Love Trap,” “Ever so Humble,” “A Partner’s Promise,” The Heart Junction Series consisting of “Laura’s Lost Love,” “Stephanie’s Surprise and “Mari’s Miracle,” “Montana Magic,” “Stolen Son,” “Kelly and the Candidate,” “For Love of Maggie,” “Male Fraud” and more. Short stories include “Crossed Wires” and “Married While Intoxicated.”

For more information on all of Fran Shaff’s currently-available books visit her website at http://sites.google.com/site/fshaff her MySpace page at: www.myspace.com/franshaff her Twitter page at: www.twitter.com/franshaff You’ll also find her at Facebook, Jacket Flap, Good Reads, Manic Readers, Library Thing and Linked In.

* * *

Table of Contents

Married While Intoxicated