Alex was helpless to do anything but follow Johanna into the kitchen. The woman had been in the house less than five minutes and already she was in charge. Alex wasn’t sure whether to be offended or strangely relieved as she paused in the doorway to the kitchen, unsure of what to do.
Johanna placed the kettle on the burner, and then knelt down with her head in the cupboard, searching for teabags. A rancher’s wife, born and bred. It made Alex feel even more like an impostor.
“So, when are you due, Alexis?”
Alex’s mouth did drop open then, and she stood paralyzed. Johanna took the kettle off the burner and poured, unhesitating in her movements. The woman was making tea like she’d just asked about the weather. Connor had distinctly said he hadn’t told his grandmother about the baby. How on earth could she know? The shirt Alex was wearing covered most of her belly, and she was barely beginning to show. She should have been prepared for the question, but she wasn’t, and she floundered horribly.
“Mrs. Madsen…”
“Oh, dear. None of that, I hope.” Johanna turned with a carton of milk in her hands. “You can call me Gram, like Connor does, or Johanna—whichever suits you best.”
Alex paused. She was on shaky footing. The woman before her was shrewd, and exuded an aura of power and competence that Alex found intimidating. Yet at the same time she seemed very down to earth and without artifice. Alex couldn’t read her at all, and her discomfort grew as the woman raised a questioning eyebrow at her continued silence. Somehow she had to try to gain control of the conversation, yet without seeming adversarial. She’d already argued with Connor this morning; she wasn’t sure she could stand to go three rounds with his grandmother.
“Mrs. Madsen.” She used the formal name as a shield. “I’m sorry. Your question took me by surprise,” she finally got out.
“You are pregnant, aren’t you?” Johanna turned her back to Alex, putting the cream and sugar on a tray with the teapot.
Alex dropped her eyes and her shoulders tensed. Never in her life had she felt more deceitful, more undeserving. Johanna had guessed about the baby—and that was sure to create problems. The best way to deal with it was head-on.
“Yes, I am. Fourteen weeks.”
“And Connor says you met on Friday?” Johanna turned back, bringing the pot to the table.
Oh, didn’t that sound lovely? Alex flushed. By the way, I’m marrying your grandson. I’ve known him for less than a week. She might as well march right upstairs and repack her bag. She knew how it looked, no matter what the reality was. In a cool voice she replied, “Yes. I fainted downtown and he came to my rescue.”
To her surprise, a tender smile spread across Johanna’s face. “Oh, my. That sounds just like Lars.”
“Lars?” Alex was intrigued by the radiant look that transformed Johanna’s face, making her look twenty years younger.
“My husband—Connor’s grandfather.”
Johanna brought the tray to the pine table while Alex hesitantly perched on a chair. They sat across the table from each other while Johanna poured the tea. Alex was wary, but found herself curious about Connor’s grandfather, and what kind of man held the power to put that particular soft look on Johanna’s face.
Alex wanted to believe this woman was on a friendly mission. But until she could be sure she had to be very, very careful.
“Lars was the noblest man I ever knew.” Johanna chuckled a bit, on a lovely little note of remembrance. “When we met I was fifteen. I had a bicycle, you see. I’d fallen off and scraped my knee quite badly. Lars saw me by the side of the road.” She smiled warmly at the memory. “His father…Connor’s great-grandfather…had bought a truck for the farm the week before. Lars put my bike in the back and drove me home. He was twenty-three and, oh my, so handsome. It’s where Connor gets his looks, you know.” She stared at Alex knowingly over the rim of her cup.
Alex shifted in her chair. How was she to respond to that? Of course Connor was handsome. Devastatingly so. But to agree would be admitting to an attraction she didn’t want, and to ignore the comment…she didn’t want to be insulting, either. It would make her look like she was only after his money. She couldn’t win.
“Connor is handsome. You’d be blind to miss it,” she stated matter-of-factly, revealing essentially nothing.
“It’s the Madsen men.” Johanna nodded sagely. “There’s a picture of Lars’s grandparents around somewhere, on their wedding day. He was a looker too.” Johanna rose and retrieved the bag of cookies from the pantry, handing one to Alex. “It was Lars’s grandfather who settled this place, you know. The government was offering homesteads. He traveled all the way from Norway to start a life here. And the farm has never left the family.
“Which is where you come in.” Johanna pushed her mug aside. “I know that this isn’t a regular marriage. My question is, why are you willing to marry a man you hardly know? And how much of his money do you expect to get out of the deal?”
“I beg your pardon?” Alex put down her mug, confused at the sudden turn of the conversation. First she was friendly, and now she was putting the screws on her? Alex was finding it hard to keep her balance. She understood now that it had all been a part of Johanna’s strategy. Lull her into a friendly conversation and then hit her with the big guns. Alex burned inwardly with indignation. She wasn’t a bad person. This whole situation wasn’t as cold as it sounded.
“What’s in this for you, Alexis? Because being a rancher’s wife isn’t the easy way out, let me assure you.”
Johanna’s eyes were sharp, her lips a thin, unreadable line. Alex had never seen a woman so completely put together: not a hair out of place, not a wrinkle in her clothing, even though she’d been nearly two hours in her car. Alex tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and tried to shake away the feeling of a chastised child. She hadn’t done anything wrong or deceitful. She’d made the mistake of falling for the wrong guy once, and now she was dealing with the aftermath in the only way she knew how. She didn’t deserve to be judged.
Alex dropped her cookie to the table. “I don’t have any plans of being a rancher’s wife. And I resent the implication that somehow I’m extorting money out of your grandson. I’m doing this for one reason and one only. Security for me and my baby.”
For a few months she could pretend she lived in this secure, traditional world. A husband and a house, and no stress about where the next meal was coming from. It was a sham, all of it, but she had a desperate need to belong somewhere, even for such a short time. But how could she explain that to this woman? Their family tree went back several generations, right here on this farm. She would never understand how displaced and alone Alex had been for most of her life.
“When Connor met me I was alone, working as a waitress, with no real home and a baby on the way.” She looked squarely into his grandmother’s eyes, and gambled that Connor had outlined their agreement already.
“This all took place because he wants to save Windover, plain and simple. Connor marries me so that he can access his trust fund. After the baby is born we’ll go our separate ways, and he’ll help support us until I can get my feet under myself again.”
She didn’t use the word “divorce”, even though it was the proper term. Somehow it seemed cold and hateful, even in a platonic marriage such as this. She did not look away from Johanna’s serious expression. Alex didn’t want to anger Johanna, but neither would she be a doormat, nor accused of being a gold-digger.
“And, to be clear, Connor approached me, not the other way around. I didn’t go looking for a sugar daddy, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I