Annie And The Cowboy (Western Night Series 3) (72 page)

Chance, on the other hand, had responded to her letter explaining that his older brother had submitted the ad on his behalf, and to warn her that he didn’t usually get involved with this sort of thing. As their correspondence continued, he had shown a wild, tempestuous side that Lucy could not resist playing with.  Mary insisted that it was more than just a game and Lucy was slowly beginning to believe her. They spent an entire month arguing on what the best name for a cow could be. Lucy had insisted that Bessie was the best since it sounded good natured, but Chance had quickly responded by saying that clearly all cows were best suited with the names of grandmotherly women: Mabel, Ethel, Abigail. Lucy had lost sleep over her argument, although when pressed she could not explain a single point. It felt like her and Chance were writing in their own language, no matter what they talked about the attraction just seemed to grow.

But how could that be sustainable? That was what Lucy could not stop wondering when it came to Chance.

There also was, of course, the simple and small fact that she had yet to meet either of these men, so how could she choose? The wedding was equal footing for the both of them, yet perhaps in each other’s presence, Lucy would be able to see them more clearly.

“I hope by the end of your wedding celebration that I’ll have an idea of who I’m going to marry.”

“Lucy! At my wedding? How will you see what a beautiful bride I am if you are spending the entire wedding trying to decide which cowboy you wanna screw?”

Lucy grinned. “Don’t you worry about me, Mary, I don’t know how I’m going to even see these boys since I’ll be blinded by how pretty you look in this dress!” She touched the beautiful white linen of Mary’s wedding gown, feeling a pang of joy for her friend, and a tingle of excitement, wondering when it would be her turn to wear a white dress.

Mary smiled at Lucy’s kind words.

“But what if they fight at my wedding over you?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Lucy said seriously. “I told the both of them about the other, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Good, I just hope it doesn’t become a disaster!”

A week later, Lucy stood nervously in the barn where Mary and Jed were to have their grand entrance as husband and wife any minute now. Mary had looked utterly radiant in her gown, and Jed had stared at her as though he couldn’t believe his own luck. Lucy had originally sworn not to cry, but as soon as Mary and Jed locked eyes she was bawling like a baby. Luckily for her, her own mother wept a little too, so Lucy didn’t feel alone.

She had agreed to meet both of them at the reception, and now her heart was pounding in a frantic, terrified beat as she looked around to see which one it could possibly be. Could the dark haired man who was hungrily eyeing the steaming buffet be Jake? Could the red haired boy speaking to one of the members of the band that Mary and Jed hired for the party be Chance? The only thing she knew was that she had told them both that she was wearing a blue dress.

It was the nicest dress she owned, a cornflower blue that made her eyes almost seem aqua. She nervously smoothed it down in the front, trying to keep herself from playing with her hair; she didn’t want it to lose its curl.

That’s when she saw him.

The first thing she noticed was his smile. Bright, big, and genuine, it belonged to a tall man with sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. There was something familiar about the way the corner of his eyes crinkled up when he smiled, and Lucy had a momentary flash of a little boy sitting beside her in the mud.

“Jake!” she said happily, walking over to him but stopping short as though unsure of how close she was allowed to stand. “It’s you!”

“Lucy,” he replied, moving to give her a handshake before stopping upon realizing who she was. “It’s nice to meet you.”

His voice had a soft, gentle quality, and Lucy wondered if he had ever raised his voice in anger in his life. She wanted to hug him, no question, but didn’t think it was the right moment to do so.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” she replied, and he smiled.

“Hello,” a voice said from behind her. Lucy turned to see a tall man with dark hair and a sweeping five o’clock shadow that Lucy was shocked to find handsome. His eyes were dark brown, almost black, and when he smiled at her it looked like the edge of a knife.

“Chance?” Her voice trembled a little, what had gotten into her? She could see the sharp, worried gaze of her mother from across the room, and Lucy quickly locked eyes with her and smiled to let her know that everything was okay.

Chance approached her and took her hand, Lucy’s stomach flip-flopped as he brought her hand to his lips, placing a single kiss on the back of it.

“Oh my,” she breathed.

“Chance,” Jake said in gruff greeting. Chance bowed his head in greeting back. Lucy, not for the first time, wondered if this was a good idea at all.

“Jake,” Chance replied. “Do you mind if I take our girl out on the dance floor?”

A muscle in Jake’s jaw twitched at the notion, but he merely smiled and nodded slightly.

“Sure, I’ll talk to you later, Lucy, if that’s alright?”

Lucy smiled at him. “Of course it is.”

“Great,” Jake nodded his head at her and then made his way over to her parents. Lucy liked the fact that he was able to talk so comfortably with her father, a hugely kind man, but never really one to go out of his way to make friends. Jake, in the meantime, walked right up to her usually quiet father and began a quiet conversation of their own.

Chance squeezed her hand, gently reminding her that he was there, and she quickly blushed deeply at the realization that they were still holding hands. The band had started playing before Lucy even noticed, and he led her out to the dance floor where Mary and Jed were already cutting a joyous rug as a newly married couple, along with several other couples. Chance pulled her close and it made her dizzy with his closeness. He was a good dancer, which made up for Lucy’s awkwardness as a beginner. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Mary watching her with an expectant, excited look.
Relax
, Lucy thought.
You need to focus on your wedding night!

“Thank you for coming out to meet me,” Lucy whispered into Chance’s sleeve.

“It’s really no trouble,” he replied. “I like to travel, plus, I’ve been dying to see if you’re as cute as you sounded in your letters.”

“And?” Lucy looked up at him. Chance mimicked a disturbed face.

“It’s okay.”

Lucy faked a gasp and swatted him on the arm. When they had first started dancing, Lucy had kept casting little glances in Jake’s direction to make sure he was getting along okay, but as the dance progressed, she felt as though she was forgetting everything, Chance was so engaging. They laughed a little too loud, drawing stares from the dancers around them, but in all the fun she was having, Lucy didn’t seem to care.

“Well, you’re almost exactly how I pictured it,” Lucy told him. Chance looked surprised at that.

“Oh really?”

“Sure, surly, grumpy looking…”

Chance frowned grumpily. “I’m not grumpy looking.”

“That’s because you’ve clearly never looked into a mirror.”

“Oh you think you’re funny, right?”

“Lucy!” Lucy’s parents had taken to the dance floor, holding each other closely. Her mother waved at her, and her father smiled almost apologetically over interrupting her, but that wasn’t Lucy’s concern.

“Where’s Jake?” she asked her father. He pointed over to the punch bowl, where poor Jake sat, holding a cup of punch and watching the dancers. Flushed with shame, Lucy took a step back from Chance and gave a little curtsy.

“Thank you for dancing with me, Chance, but I think it’s time for me to talk to Jake for a little while.”

Chance smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Of course,” he said.

As she walked away, he couldn’t help but frown as he watched her walk away. Lucy was everything that he could ever want, smart, beautiful, and with a spirit he had never seen in another girl. As he watched her take Jake’s hand and pull him to the dance floor, he decided that he couldn’t allow it to happen. He was going to try his hardest to win Lucy’s hand, even if it was the last thing he did.

              Lucy was sad to see the wedding end as it was at the end of her time with Jake and Chance. Everyone happily wished Mary and Jed well as they went off on their honeymoon in the mountains, Lucy sat awkwardly on the front porch of her house, looking down at the both of them, wondering if now was the time she would have to make a choice.

              “I just can’t do it,” she said sadly to them. “I can’t make up my mind.”

              The two boys exchanged looks before Jake spoke up.

“It’s hard to make a decision so big so quickly,” he said. “I have family in town, why don’t I stick around for a few days before I head back to the ranch?”

Lucy’s eyes brightened at the idea of it. “Really?”

“I can do that too,” Chance said quickly. “Friends in town would be more than happy to put me up for a few days if needed.”

Lucy was too happy at the notion of more time that she didn’t notice the cold look Jake shot Chance.

“That would be terrific!” she said.

“Lucy Granger! It’s bed time!” Lucy’s mother called from indoors.

“Coming, mother! Good night, you two. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”

“Good night,” Jake and Chance echoed, as they watched her walk back into her home. Once she was gone, Jake turned to Chance with a guarded look on his face.

“May the best man win?” he said with a sardonic smile.

“It’s not a contest,” Chance replied. “Nor do I think it’s a matter of best and worst.”

“Then what is it a matter of?”

Chance shrugged and turned to start walking down the street to where he would now be staying for a few days. Jake watched him go, feeling annoyance bubble up inside of him.

“Chance!” he cried. “What is it a matter
of
?!”

Chance slowed down but didn’t turn around. He merely tossed his words casually out as though it were nothing.

“Love, which isn’t about a better or worse, but just what fits.”

Jake didn’t say anything as Chance finally turned around, studying Jake’s face with something close to amusement.

“What’s it about for you, McGraw?”

Jake said nothing as Chance continued down the street, trying to ignore the distinct feeling that he might be in over his head.

It wasn’t too long before the news that Lucy Granger was attempting to choose a suitor spread across the town of Virginia City. Despite this being something that Lucy should of expected, she couldn’t help feeling very strange about it anyway. Usually she would have relished the opportunity for some sort of attention, a thing that Lucy loved very much, but it turned out that this sort of attention did not suit her very well.

              At first she had given both of them a fair shake. If she went for a walk with Chance in the afternoon, for example, she would sit on the porch with Jake in the evening. If Jake took her horseback riding, Chance would also take her horseback riding. Even though she loved horses and riding very much, it was beginning to take its toll on her poor legs. They throbbed so much from riding. She also noticed that it also seemed to make her stronger; every day seemed to be a little easier on her, which came as a surprise.

              After a week or two, she also had gotten a bit of an idea of how each of them would fit into her life. Jake, already familiar with her father, seemed as though she would fit into his life, and vice versa, remarkably well. She could picture her life so perfectly there, living on Jake’s ranch, taking care of the horses that they breed. It seemed like a peaceful life but also one that seemed so...boring.

              Chance, on the other hand, was not the next in line to inherit his father’s cattle ranch and instead made his way as a cowboy. He drove the cattle through the mountains for months out of the year. Chance knew that it wasn’t necessarily the best situation for a wife to deal with; her husband being gone for months, but he had always dreamed of having a wife who would go on those trips
with
him, which seemed like a crazy thing to expect from a partner, and yet...Lucy was intrigued. She had never thought that her life would be anything other than what it was at the moment, maybe in different locations and with the occasional new person, but never something completely different. Her parents, her mother especially, seemed a little worried at the notion that she would actually go for that sort of lifestyle. Out of parental concern they had thrown their support behind Jake. Lucy suspected that it was simply a matter of the devil that they knew.

              “Jake is absolutely perfect for you,” her mother said one morning at breakfast, as Lucy was waiting to go out riding with Chance. “I think that you two would get along very well.”

              “But what if I don’t love him?” Lucy asked, and this was a very real concern she had. When riding with Chance, sometimes he would look at her and it would make her shiver with excitement, but while she did certainly have warm feelings towards Jake, a feeling of comfort and stability, the heat was nowhere to be found.