Jennifer's Journey Read online

  “I can understand that,” she said softly. She still thought he should change his name, but she wouldn’t tell him that. And she knew he’d want her to take his name, so Jennifer Butts it was.

  “I hope you can. It’s very important to me. I was raised by my father’s parents. They raised me to be proud of my name—even if it does make me the butt of every joke.”

  Jennifer laughed aloud. “I’m glad you have a sense of humor about it.”

  “How could I not? It is a ridiculous name. There’s no doubt. But it’s one that I’m proud of at the same time.”

  “I think you should be proud of it. It sounds like you have good reason to be.”

  “So, you’re not going to ask me to change it?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not. How could I?” She still didn’t want to take his name, but she decided they’d tackle that at a different time.

  “You’re all right with being Mrs. Maynard Butts?” he asked softly.

  That time she couldn’t control her cringe. “I’m happy with being your wife,” she said honestly.

  “But not with my name.” He sighed. “I had a feeling that would happen.”

  “Look, it’s your name. I think you’re a good man, and I’m going to adjust to it. It might take me a little while, but you’re worth it.”

  “I hope so.” He looked over his shoulder and saw that everyone was heading toward the event barn for the reception. “I think it’s time we went to the reception. It would seem a little strange if the whole ranch were there for a party and not us.”

  She nodded, carefully getting to her feet. She was wearing so much dress, it was hard for her to get up and down. “Let’s go be a happy couple.”

  Maynard put his hand on her arm and stopped her. “I don’t believe in divorce. We have to make this work.”

  “I’ll do my best.” Jennifer smiled at him, realizing this man had made a commitment to love her forever. And she had committed to love him back. At the moment, it seemed terribly easy. In another hour, she wasn’t certain it would.

  As they walked toward the event barn, she hoped everything would go as planned. She had worked out all the details for the reception with Lily, the event planner at the ranch. She promised herself it would be okay, even if it didn’t go exactly as planned. It would all be fine.

  When they arrived at the barn, Jennifer was surprised at the resounding cheer. Where she’d come from she was more often booed than not. For a moment, she wanted to look behind her to see who they were cheering for, but then she realized it really was her. Her and her husband, Maynard Butts. She would have to get used to the name, because there was no doubt in her mind he was keeping it.

  Jennifer saw her mother smile at her, her face full of pride. Has she forgotten all the horrible things I’ve done? How can she be proud of me? “I’d like you to meet my parents.” She led him straight toward the two of them, standing alone off to one side of the barn. “Mom, Dad, this is my new husband, Maynard. Maynard, these are my parents Frederick and Frederica.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Olson. I already think a great deal of your daughter.”

  “We think a lot of her as well,” Mr. Olson said with a smile. “I’m very proud of the woman she’s become.”

  Meaning he wasn’t proud of who I used to be, but who would be? “They’re spending the weekend in Quinn Valley, and they’ll go back home to Colorado tomorrow night.”

  “I like Quinn Valley,” Maynard said with a grin. “We should buy a house there.”

  “Really?” Jennifer asked. She loved the idea of living close to her Quinn Valley friends, and only being a half hour from her River’s End friends.

  He looked at her with a grin. “If you want to, I’m all for it. Then I could commute and not have to live on the ranch when we’re filming here.”

  “Filming?” her father asked. “Are you an actor?”

  “Yes, I am. I have the lead role in the show Legacy that is being filmed here on the ranch.”

  “Lead actor? That’s wonderful. I haven’t heard of the show…” Mr. Olson said.

  “Our pilot was picked up, and we’re filming the first ten episodes now.” Maynard was very proud of the show, and he was excited to do it.

  “I hope you’re not one of those ladies’ men. My daughter needs a man who will respect her and treat her well.”

  “I’m not a ladies’ man at all, sir. I’m a small-town boy who is going to be living in Idaho as he works on a show. I’m not a fan of living in LA, and I won’t if I can avoid it at all.”

  “Good man. I expect to see you in Colorado for Christmas, and I want to know that you are still treating her right then.”

  “Yes, sir. I can promise you I will be.” Maynard was confident in his ability to get along well with his wife. He’d never really had a long-term relationship before, but he was convinced he could do it with her.

  “Well, don’t let us monopolize you, Jennifer. Everyone here is wanting a turn to talk to the happy couple. You can’t spend the whole day with us.”

  Jennifer took a few deep breaths before she turned around to face all of her wedding guests. She was surprised to see Maynard do the same. Was he worried he would say something to offend everyone present as well?

  Jennifer shook hands and hugged many of her ranch friends. “Dr. Michelle! You came back!”

  Dr. Michelle grinned, patting her huge belly. “Of course, I’m here for your wedding. I had to be. Steven had to be back for Maynard’s wedding. He’s the producer after all.”

  “Well, that’s true. I’m just glad to see you. When are you due? Does anyone know you’re even pregnant?”

  “Well, everyone who’s seen me today knows I’m pregnant. No one else does.” Michelle smiled. “It’s a girl. I think we’re going to name her Zuri.”

  “Zuri? That’s a pretty name. I guess you’re not adjusting anyone while you’re here!”

  “No, I’m not. Are you feeling bad?”

  Jennifer rubbed her neck. “Just the neck thing. You know I keep a lot of tension there.”

  “Have you seen Maddy?” Dr. Michelle asked. “I think she could do a lot for your tension.”

  “Probably.” Jennifer shrugged, not mentioning that she had gone to Quinn Valley for a massage just the day before. She wasn’t sure how Dr. Michelle would feel about that.

  Dr. Lachele wandered over with her husband. Jennifer saw an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. “Dr. Lachele, this is Dr. Michelle. Dr. Michelle, Dr. Lachele. And go!”

  The two doctors looked at Jennifer for a moment, but then they turned to each other. “What are you a doctor of?” Dr. Lachele asked.

  “I’m a chiropractor. You?”

  “I have a PhD in psychology, but I mainly just match people up at the altar.”

  “Oh, my! I’d have gone to you before I met my Steven!”

  Dr. Lachele grinned. “I have a perfect track record. None of my people have ever divorced.”

  “That’s really amazing.” Dr. Michelle shook her head. “I have some friends I may need to send your way.”

  “Well, of course you do!” Dr. Lachele pulled a lavender business card from her purse and handed it to the chiropractor. “Have them call me. I will make sure they find the people who are just right for them.”

  At those words, Jennifer felt a little spark of hope. She’d always thought the only way someone would marry her with the way she acted toward others was if she married a stranger. And she had. But was it possible he truly was the right person for her? Was he feeling all the flutters in his stomach she was feeling in hers? Did men feel those things?

  Jennifer stole a glance at Maynard, and saw him looking at her with a goofy grin on his face. “I hope she’s right,” Maynard whispered softly, his lips against her ear. Again, she felt the flutter in her stomach, and she shivered visibly. His lips could do things to her that should be outlawed in all fifty states.

  “Me too. I want to be the right girl for you.”
r />   “Then I’m sure you will be. We’re going to make it work. I promise.” He looked up as Kelsi came hurrying toward them, a baby in her arms and a little girl holding onto each of Shane’s hands as he followed in his wife’s wake. “Hey, Kelsi.”

  “Hey, Maynard!” Kelsi said as she grabbed Jennifer in a one-armed hug, as her baby squirmed and let out a whimper between them. “I know you’re going to be happy, Jennifer. I can feel it in my bones!”

  “In your bones? Is that where this sort of thing is felt?” Jennifer was feeling it in her tummy. Deep inside her.

  “Depends on who you are, I guess.” Kelsi glanced back at Shane who was shaking hands with Maynard. “Are you going to stay here in Riston? Close to the ranch?”

  “I don’t know. We briefly mentioned moving to Quinn Valley, but I don’t know if that will happen. We’ve only been married an hour, and we haven’t really had time to discuss these things yet.”

  Kelsi tilted her head to one side as if considering. “Is it weird that you knew each other before you married when you expected to meet him at the altar?”

  “Not at all,” Jennifer said with a brief head shake. “I kept daydreaming about walking down the aisle toward him, but I didn’t think it could really happen. But it did, and that thrills me.”

  “Oh really?” Kelsi asked, a grin on her face. “I guess Dr. Lachele did better than usual then!”

  “I guess so.” Jennifer glanced back at Maynard who was staring at Jaclyn with a bewildered look on his face. The older woman had a diapered bunny on a leash with her. “Why did you bring your bunny?” She didn’t mind that Jaclyn had brought the critter, but the why was really confusing for her.

  “The other bunnies pick on him. He doesn’t deserve to be treated that way.” Jaclyn turned to Dr. Lachele and hugged her. “Boobie bumps all around!”

  Dr. Lachele laughed. “There’s my girl. How are you, Jaclyn? I will have some free time to spend with you tomorrow if you’re open to it.”

  Jaclyn nodded eagerly. “After church? I told Simon I’d go to church with him.”

  “Sounds good. Sam will be there too. I hope the two men get along.”

  “What does it matter how they feel about each other? They will follow along behind us just as good men should.”

  Jaclyn threw back her head and laughed. “You may have Sam trained that way, but I don’t know about Simon. He’s not as obedient.”

  As the two matchmakers walked off together, Jennifer looked at Maynard. “We should do something, shouldn’t we? Mingle or cut the cake or dance or something?”

  “I don’t know! You didn’t plan that?”

  Jennifer shook her head. “No, I let Lily do it all. I like to attend parties, not figure out how to run them!”

  Maynard grinned and took her hand. “I’m sure someone will let us know when it’s time for us to be all married and stuff. For now, I think I want to just gaze at my beautiful bride. I cannot imagine how no one has snatched you up before now.”

  Jennifer didn’t want to disillusion him. Not yet anyway. By the time they’d been married for a month or two, there’d be no doubt in his mind why no one else had been dumb enough to marry her. Hopefully she could hold out longer than that, but she knew herself, and she seriously doubted she could go that long without saying something incredibly insensitive to him.

  “I don’t know why you were still single, but I’m glad you were. I’m the luckiest woman alive.” She was married to a handsome man who was an actor to boot. She just had to remember that she wasn’t someone above everyone else, and everything would be fine. Snooty Jennifer could not rear her ugly head!

  6

  Late that evening, Maynard and Jennifer left the party in a flurry of well-wishes. “Where are we staying tonight?” Jennifer asked, surprised she didn’t know. “My suitcase is packed and in my cabin.”

  “How would you feel if we just stayed in your cabin then? I’d planned to take my new bride back to the hotel with me, but it sounds like your place is a bit more spacious. We can stop by the hotel and gather my things.”

  “We can if you don’t mind that I’ve packed up most everything. I was expecting last night to be the very last time I slept there.” Jennifer followed Maynard to the hotel where his car was parked. “We can put your suitcase in the car and drive over to my cabin. I have to have everything out in a week, so we can even spend the next week on the ranch if we’d like.”

  “Sounds good to me,” he said, grinning at her. “I’m glad it was you, Jennifer.”

  She sighed, hoping he still felt that way in a month or two. “And I’m glad it was you.” She was. She just hoped she hadn’t completely ruined his life by marrying him. Shouldn’t a man have more of a choice in the matter?

  She waited in the lobby while he ran up to his room to get his suitcase. She thought about following him, but decided she’d rather be a bit more unobtrusive than that. While she waited, she sat in the lobby of the hotel, thinking about how much different things looked as a guest.

  A few minutes later, he was back down with his suitcase in hand—a small wrapped gift in the other hand. “I got you a wedding gift. I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I had to guess.”

  Jennifer stared at the small package. “Do you want me to open it here?”

  “Nah, let’s wait til we get to your cabin.”

  As they walked to his car, her heart was beating a mile a minute. She couldn’t believe she was married to this man she was so incredibly attracted to, and…he probably expected her to make love that night. She hoped he’d wait, but she didn’t really have the right to ask him.

  All the way to her cabin, she fretted about how she’d feel if he wanted to go through with the wedding night immediately. She was attracted to him, yes, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for that without knowing him a bit better first. She knew some women went to bed with a man on the first date, but she was not one of those women, and she never had been.

  Finally, as he pulled up in front of her cabin, she got up the guts to say what needed to be said. “Do you think we could spend some time getting to know each other better before the wedding night?”

  He gave her a huge grin. “I was going to suggest that.”

  Jennifer stared at him in surprise. “You were?”

  Maynard nodded emphatically. “I’m not the kind of man who goes to bed with a woman on the first date, you know.”

  She giggled, because she’d just been thinking pretty much the same thing. “I’m glad to hear it.”

  Before she could open her car door, he hurried around the car and opened it for her. As she stepped out of the car, he lowered his head to hers, kissing her softly. “I’m not above kissing on the first date, though.”

  “I’m glad to hear that too,” she said with a wink as she walked to the door and unlocked it. “The cabin isn’t much, but it’s perfect for a single person working on the ranch.” She shut the door behind him, fretting a bit that she may not have thought to make her bed. Usually she did, but she wasn’t always that tidy. “I’m going to go change back into Jennifer.”

  “Don’t change,” he said softly. “You’re perfect just the way you are.”

  “That’s where you’re mistaken,” she said, running into her bedroom and leaning back against the closed door. After a moment, she gathered herself and put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. She wasn’t about to wear something uncomfortable for another minute.

  After gathering her wits about her once again, she opened the door and found him in the living room, his feet up on her coffee table—thankfully he’d taken his shoes off first—and his suit jacket hanging over the back of a chair. He looked perfectly at ease, his thumb on the remote.

  Maynard glanced at her, and his eyes smoldered. “Hey there. I think I like you in shorts more than a wedding dress.”

  “Oh really?” Jennifer asked. She was surprised any man would prefer a woman who was so casually dressed.

  “Sure. I can see your legs in the shor
ts.”

  She laughed even as she blushed, walking around the sofa to sit beside him. “Are you hungry? Can I get you anything to drink?”

  “No, I’m good. I thought it would be nice to just sit and talk for a while. You know, like we would if we were on our first date and not already married.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Jennifer decided then it was time to take control of the conversation. “Where did you grow up?”

  “I’m from a small town in Nebraska. I lived there until I went to college, and then I started doing some commercials in Omaha. I’d never meant to become an actor, but it happened.”

  “Have you lived in California? Isn’t that where you’re supposed to go to land parts and wait tables to pay the bills while you dream of being a big-time actor?”

  He grinned at her. “I kind of skipped that part.”

  “How?”

  “I’m really not sure. My theater professor at school was always trying to push his students into auditioning for everything and anything. He knew of a producer who had open auditions for these commercials, and that was that for me. I got an agent from the commercials, and I’ve never had to work hard at finding work. Of course, I was willing to wait tables, but I did it in Omaha, not in LA.”

  “That works for me. I’m glad you found the job you wanted.”

  “Oh, I’m not sure I’ll act forever, but it’ll be fun for a while at least.”

  Jennifer was surprised at that. “What else would you do?”

  “I have a degree in psychology. I might go on to get my masters and practice. I might find something else I want to do entirely. I just know that this year, I’m acting.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “What about you? How did you end up in Idaho?”

  She shrugged, wondering just how much she should tell him. “I needed a new start. My parents have always been in the hotel business, and it’s what I know, so I was looking for a hotel job outside of Colorado. I ended up here.”