Chapter 13

"But Shelly" three voices said at once. "No butts, Marcus, would you use your card as a guarantee for Justin's items, I ordered him a card for my account but it will be tomorrow before they will be able to get it here at the earliest ... well if they value my account it will be here tomorrow. I will take care of Jennifer's items; call it a small payment towards her taking such good care of me the last few weeks."

"Sure Shelly, don't worry about Justin's things, I will see to it everything he needs is taken care of. Give me your phone a moment and I will program my cell number into it so that you can call when you ladies are ready to head to dinner then back to the ranch."

Justin went to talk to the ladies running the store about making sure Shelly didn't overdo it getting up and walking around and that if something happened to give him a call. He knew she would be so wrapped up in picking the perfect dresses for her and Jennifer that she would ignore the pain more then she should. With that both Justin and Marcus kissed their brides to be and head out to do the things they needed to get done before having to go back and pick the girls up.

"Okay ladies, let's start with Jennifer's dress and accessories while I rest a bit, oh and ladies, price is not a factor."

Ring ... ring ... ring

"Shelly Withers speaking ... yes Mr. Hensley ... I am well aware of your earlier phone call and the condescending manner in which you spoke with my fiancé, and I am not at all pleased with it. If he didn't have my permission to answer my phone he wouldn't have answered it."

"Ms. Withers I am very sorry about that, I am not used to anyone but you answering your phone."

"Apologizing to me does no good, you will apologize to Justin tomorrow and you will show him the same respect and consideration you do for me."

"Yes madam I will."

"I will also need for you to set up a joint checking account so that he will be able to take care of various bills and necessities especially as my pregnancy progress and while I am recuperating from knee surgery. Set it up with $100,000.00 in it for starters."

"Will you require a prenuptial; I very strongly encourage you to have one?"

"That won't be necessary since all of my assets are in trust and in the companies which are owned by the trust as you are well aware, besides he isn't marrying me for my money, but because he loves me, he had no clue about how rich I was when he first told me he loved me and when he got me pregnant, besides I know he would sign it if I asked, but I am not going to."

"Very well, I will see you tomorrow afternoon and we can discuss any other details that might arise."

"Good bye Mr. Hensley." Shelly looked up after closing her phone to see three very shocked faces staring back at her. "What?"

"Nothing Miss, sorry. Miss Jennifer what size do you normally wear and what kind of dress are you interested in wearing?"

"I have never really even dreamed of anything, what would go best with my figure, let's start with that and go from there."

It took about 4 hours for both Jennifer and Shelly to find the perfect dresses and accessories. By time Shelly called Marcus' phone to let them know they were ready, both Marcus and Justin were done getting the things they needed to done that day including having Jennifer's ring sized and ready to be placed on her finger later that evening at dinner. At dinner they recounted the various events of the afternoon and what all had been accomplished and still needed to be done. It was during dessert that Marcus officially asked Jennifer to be his wife.

Getting down on one knee Marcus said "Jennifer, I fell in love with you the first moment I laid eyes on you and dreamed of you being mine even before we got a chance to even speak. That day when you accidently ran into me and I briefly held you in my arms, I knew you were the one for me, will you marry me?"

Jennifer started crying and through the tears replied "Marcus I too fell in love with you at first sight, I never in a million years dreamed that this day would ever happen for me. Yes I will marry you!"

"Well that is a good thing with what I just coughed out for her dress and accessories" laughed out Shelly. Everyone at the table started to laugh at that point, making both Marcus and Jennifer wonder how much it all cost. Shelly would not let the ladies at the shop bring any dresses out that had price tags; Jennifer was not to know at all what that dress she picked really cost her.

"Come on Shelly spill the beans on the price of the dress" Marcus implored.

"Nope not telling, let's just say it cost more than the average office worker makes in a year."

"Okay I have a good clue then, it must be gorgeous as all hell." Marcus replied.

"Okay then what did yours cost then?" Justin asked.

"Honey you really don't want to know that do you?"

"Yes I do, how much did you spend on your dress?"

"It was in excess of $60,000.00."

Just about everyone at the table nearly choked on their drinks. Six pair of very large shocked eyes settled on her.

"What? I am so worth it, besides I finally find the man I am going to spend the rest of my life with, one who will never leave me, who will always love me, why shouldn't I have the perfect dress for him to see me in?"

"Your right, I will always love you and will be by your side till the end. Just seems like a lot of money for a dress you will only get to wear for one day. But I want you to be happy and if that is what you want, who am I to complain, after all I get to see you in it and remove it from you later that night and take you as my wife, not just the love of my life."

"Well said there my love, and yes while it seems like a lot for a dress, it is something that we can pass down to our daughter when we have one and she finds the man of her dreams as I have with her father."

"Well it is getting late all and I believe Shelly needs to get some rest and off of that leg of hers" said Justin.

"Yes I am a bit tired and need to have someone scratch an itch that I have" Shelly said with a very wicked smile on her lips, one that had the blood rushing to Justin's cock, it sprang to life with a mind of his own, knowing full well he was going to be enjoying every inch of her lovely body once they got back to the ranch.

Marcus insisted on paying for dinner since Shelly had paid for their lunch that day, also he knew that what Shelly spent on Jennifer's things were far greater then what he had spent for his and Justin's put together, even if instead of renting a tuxedo, Marcus paid to have a rush put on a customized tux that Justin would need for various function in Shelly's world as well as being measured for custom tailored suits and shirts. For while he too knew Shelly would never rejoin society like she had been forced to previously, there were still plenty of events and dances that she would have to attend and as her husband, Justin to would be forced to go.

After returning to the ranch Marcus and Jennifer headed to Marcus' room while Justin proceeded to carry Shelly back to their cabin, about half way to the cabin they ran into Chris and Cassie who were heading back to Cassie's cabin after going for a swim in the pond.

"What in the hell happened to you two today?" asked Chris.

"We had a bad start to our day but things did get a bit better as the day progressed" replied Shelly.

Justin could tell by the looks on their faces that they weren't going to accept that as an answer especially seeing that big somewhat bulky brace on Shelly's leg. "Shelly's knee gave out on her when she got up this morning, then she decided to get sick and threw up a significant amount of blood so Doc had me meet him at the hospital."

"Yeah I got a bit sick and was dizzy while sitting there on the floor but no big deal" Shelly said off handedly.

"What do you mean you were dizzy sitting down; you never said anything about that to me or Dr. Carter?"

"Opps!! I didn't, hmm I could have sworn I did, oh yeah I left that part out here at the ranch, since you were already worked up way to much over my fall and sickness, didn't want you over reacting."

"Over reacting, damn it Shelly, you need to learn to say everything that is wrong not just bits and pieces. From now on you will tell me everything, no matter how minor it may seem to you or not. This is you and our child's health we are talking about, don't you ever keep anything like that from me again."

"Yes dear!" Shelly said somewhat sarcastically. Shelly could see a smile creep across everyone's faces she was trying to lighten the mood that had somewhat turned dark.

"And for your information Dr. Carter confirmed today that Shelly is indeed pregnant! There is also some significant damage in her knee, she will have to wear this brace fairly constantly, in bed, the shower or swimming are the only times she is supposed to be out of it. I am going to be counting on you two to help me and Jennifer with her care, especially as her pregnancy progresses, we will be unable to leave until the baby is born and they can safely operate on her knee, once Shelly is fully recovered from both we will be able to return to her home."

"While it's not as much fun holding Shelly in my arms as it is Cassie, and since I prefer not to get my butt kicked by you or have Cassie turn me from our bed because I said no, I guess I have no choice. Damn you guys are slave drivers." Everyone did break out laughing at that point. "Besides it is because of Shelly that I have Cassie in my arms at night anyway."

Still laughing from Chris' statement, Justin replied "Just wait to you see the crap you two have to haul to our cabin tomorrow, Shelly decided to do some shopping at the quilt store for the baby, and it is in her SUV, new sewing machine and all."

"Actually honey there really is no room in our cabin for me to really set up right. Could you ask Marie if I could have one of the smaller meeting rooms to set everything up in? As once I set this stuff up it will stay up all the time. Quilts are a work in progress type of activity and trying to setup and take down takes a lot of time and energy, both of which I don't have."

"Sure I don't think that will be a problem. I will ask her in the morning before we unload the SUV."

"Well I am ready to get some sleep" Shelly said trying to hide a huge yawn "it has been a long day and I am tired, spending money can do that to you."

"Night you two, and be good!" Justin told Cassie and Chris "I will see you at breakfast so don't leave till I get there. So we can get the day's game plan in place, before Miss grumpy wakes up."

Justin kissed Shelly right as she opened her mouth to protest her being Miss grumpy in the mornings. Sighing Shelly just put her head on Justin's chest and closed her eyes enjoying the feel of his rock hard chest under her head. By time Justin got Shelly to the cabin and ready for bed it was well after 10pm, giving her the pills Doc said she need to take at bedtime, Justin climbed into bed next to her and pulled her gently into his arms. Despite wanting to make love to Justin, Shelly was so tired that she didn't try to do anything but let him hold her close, putting her head on his shoulder, she kissed him goodnight and fell asleep knowing that she was where she was meant to be with the man of her dreams.

Shelly woke up the next morning, she had slept longer then she meant to, she had hoped Justin would wake her up when he got up, but the door closing behind him is what finally woke Shelly up. Shelly got up and at first didn't see that stupid knee brace, but once she looked around a bit noticed it on the table. Damn she thought to herself, I hope I don't fall again, I would hate to be on the floor waiting for Justin's return. Slowly getting up and gingerly taking baby steps, Shelly made it to the table and got herself strapped in. Once she took care of her morning toiletries, Shelly got dressed and decided that even though she knew she would get yelled at for walking, she was starving and didn't want to wait, besides she justified to herself, if she didn't move and walk some, she would end up with more problems later.

Shelly was being careful and not walking to fast towards the dining hall, when she looked up seeing Marcus on the balcony, as he spotted her he picked up his cell and Shelly knew he was calling Justin to tell him she was up and walking. Shelly made it to the doors of the dining hall and as she opened the door, she saw Justin standing there not looking at all happy with her.

"What I am fine and the walk didn't hurt much at all, Justin, I brought my cell with me just in case I couldn't make the entire trip safely or somewhat pain free, I already promised you I wouldn't over do it." To prove she wasn't lying, Shelly pulled her phone out and showed him that she did have it with her.

"You are supposed to be staying off that leg" Justin said his eyes black with anger.

Shelly straightened her shoulders and tilting her head back slightly to look at him she replied "Justin, I am not a child, and you will not treat me like one. If I feel I can handle something then I will do it. If I can't then I will ask for help. I woke up as the door was closing behind you, I knew you had other duties to attend to and the pain killers you gave me last night were still working. I need to eat to take more of them so I got dressed and took my sweet time walking down here. I cannot nor will I allow my other muscles to go into atrophy just because you are afraid I might over do it." That being said, Shelly continued walking into the dining hall and went to get what she wanted to eat. All Justin could do was stare at her back as she stiffly made her way to get something to eat. She was right and he knew it, he may want to baby her, but he had to trust that she would keep her word about not over doing. Justin had woken up in a bad mood this morning and couldn't explain it, not that he really got much sleep last night. Yesterday morning's events had shaken him more then he wanted to admit and then last night finding out that Shelly had been dizzy sitting down before going to the hospital, really pissed him off, why didn't she tell him or doc at the hospital? Sighing, he knew he had to apologize to her. The last thing he wanted was to lose her or have her get so worked up that something happens to her or their child.

Shelly really didn't have much of an appetite but knew for her health and for the baby's she had to eat, grabbing some fruit and milk Shelly decided to take her food back to the cabin, where she could eat in private, then she would climb back into the bed for awhile and try to get more sleep, she really hadn't gotten that much sleep last night, she just couldn't get comfortable, a strange thing since she was in Justin's arms, normally she slept like a baby.

Justin went back to the table Chris and Cassie were at figuring Shelly would join them once she got what she wanted to eat. But that to didn't go the way he expected. The chair he was sitting in originally had his back to both the breakfast buffet and the door.

"I take it Shelly decided not to join us, what in the hell did you say to her Justin?" Chris asked.

"What do you mean," Justin didn't feel like explaining it to either of them. He turned to look and saw Shelly limping out of the door with very little in her hands to eat. Seeing this put Justin into overly concerned mode again, he knew he would have to be careful about what he said to her and how he said it. He excused himself and left the table to follow her, it took every ounce of control in him not to go running after her, even though that is exactly what he wanted to do, instead he increased his pace just a bit, knowing she wouldn't be going quickly anyway. Justin was just a few steps behind her and was about to call her name when he saw her wipe her eyes, shocked to see the back of her hand wet with the tears she was shedding. "Shelly" he gently said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Shelly stopped dead in her tracts at the sound of her name on his voice. She knew he loved her and worried about her, she needed him more then he knew, and that scared her.

Justin stepped around her to face her, she was trying so hard not to cry in front of him and he loved her even more for it. "I am sorry I was a jerk back there, I worry about you and love you so much that when Marcus called and said you were walking I got pissed. You should have called me to let me know and I could have met you half way just in case. It's not that you got up and walked it is that I had to hear it from someone else. That and last night was the first night I didn't sleep well. I can't explain it, I guess my worry for you and our child" Justin gently laid his hand on Shelly's womb "kept me from sleeping well."

Shelly couldn't hold back the tears anymore, Justin pulled her into him and let her cry, when she had somewhat regained her composure, she pulled back slightly and looked up into his eyes. "Justin, I..." a glazed look came to Shelly's eyes then just darkness. Shelly had passed out and if she wasn't already in Justin's arms, she would have end up on the ground in a heap. When she finally regained conscience, Shelly was again in bed, stirring trying to find Justin for she knew he wasn't lying next to her, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Justin" Shelly called out and still no answer. Shelly went to get up knowing that nature was calling and she had to go. As she went to get up, she noticed her brace had been taken off and her knee elevated on a pile of pillows. Shelly slowly moved her body so that she was on the edge of the bed to get up. She made her first attempt to get up and promptly fell back into bed. On her second attempt she managed to get up and take 5 steps towards the bathroom, when she felt her knee give out. Screaming out in pain as she went down, knowing there would be no one near enough to hear her scream or come to help her. Shelly was desperately trying to get off of the floor when Cassie knocked on the door. "Come in" a pain filled voice told her.

"Oh shit Shelly!" Cassie exclaimed.

"Justin, Chris get your asses in here now" Cassie screamed behind her.

With that both of them came running into the cabin at practically the same time, seeing Shelly laying on the floor with her leg in the position it was in they both went to one side and Chris helped Justin pick Shelly up, trying not to jar her already damaged leg some more. They tried to take her back to bed but she stopped them saying she need to go to the bathroom badly. Once they reached the door to the bathroom, Chris step back knowing the three of them would never fit through the doorway. Justin got Shelly to the bathroom and made her promise to call him when she was finished. Shelly took care of what she need to and thanks to the position of the sink Shelly was able to get up without putting any weight on her knee and washing her face up before she planned on calling Justin. Justin heard the toilet flush and got up from the chair at the table to go get Shelly when he heard the sink running. Damn it he thought to himself, she is up on that knee again, will she ever learn. Justin knocked on the door right as Shelly called out for him. He saw her standing there but her right foot wasn't on the floor at all. Shelly saw the look on his face "Not to worry my love, I didn't put any weight on it at all. My face was hot and I wanted to wash it to help cool me down a bit that's all."