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with some friends until the arrangements are made, but if she needs rest, she can stay here. Rosa will spoil her, and I'll make sure she doesn't overexert herself."
    Rosa started clapping her hands in delight. "Married! Oh! You're going to be married. I'm so happy for you! I'll make a cake and we'll have a celebration. I love weddings."  Doctor Peters was looking from one to the other. His shrewd eyes didn't miss much, but all he saw was an unspoken understanding between them. “How soon?”
    Luke’s gaze met and held Susan’s. “We haven’t set a date, but we don’t want to wait much longer.”
    "Then, I'll add my congratulations. It sounds like a good match to me. You two can come into the clinic on Monday and get some blood work done. I'll examine Susan a little more thoroughly then. She may need a vitamin supplement, but I think she just needs to slow down for a little while, eat right and get some sleep."
    "Sounds good, Doc. We'll be there early Monday. I appreciate your coming today," said Luke.
    The doctor shrugged aside the words of thanks. He was already re-packing his bag and preparing to leave. Rosa offered him lunch, but he declined. It was Saturday; he had a fishing trip planned and was anxious to be on his way.
    Susan added her thanks and the men headed outside together. She accepted a big hug from Rosa, but she was still feeling a little disoriented and bemused by the sudden turn of events. Apparently, she'd just accepted Luke's proposal. Acceptance by lack of rejection, to be exact. She could only pray it wasn't the biggest mistake of her life.
    He didn't love her. Once upon a time she'd been half in love with him, but she wasn't the same person now. Too much had happened in the intervening time. She couldn't give her heart too freely or completely because it was severely damaged. She needed firm control of her emotions. Any more traumas and she might not survive.
    They might still be fascinated with each other, but all they seemed to have going for them was physical attraction and a desire for a family. Maybe, just maybe, it could be expanded to a really caring relationship.
     
    Chapter Three
     
     
    Luke had ordered her to take it easy. Susan didn't want to blindly obey him, yet she wasn't feeling strong enough to protest. Sheer exhaustion kept her submissive. He asked what boxes or bags she needed from the rental truck and carried the necessities to a room Rosa kept prepared for guests.
    After a short discussion regarding her intention to stay and give their relationship a chance, they'd agreed to store her small collection of furniture and family keepsakes in another spare bedroom. One of his ranch hands was ordered to return the truck to the rental agency. Susan watched it leave the property with a sense of slowly burning her bridges.
    She called her friend, Lora, and told her she'd changed her mind about coming to Houston. Lora had wished her luck, but thankfully hadn't asked a lot of questions. She’d accepted her decision, wished her well and told her the offer was open-ended. That made Susan feel a less stressed about the decision not to move right now. On Monday, she would have to call the bank and tell them she’d decided not to accept the teller’s job. That would mean burning the final bridge, but she’d have a couple more days before completely giving up her safety net.
    Luke warned her that he expected her to follow the doctor's orders and relax. He didn't want her working with the horses or doing anything more strenuous than unpacking some suitcases.  She didn't have the strength to disobey those orders, either, but she wasn't used to having idle time on her hands. The last few years had been spent in a frenzied attempt to stay too busy to think.
    Over the next couple hours, she spent time moving into her room and reacquainting herself with Luke's home. The room she'd been given was one of six huge bedrooms with adjoining baths on the second floor. It was brightly lit with two long