Annie And The Cowboy (Western Night Series 3) (81 page)

“I’m not upset that you bought the ranch, I’m kind of upset that you traded one of our mares, but that’s not why I haven’t been answering your calls. You just don’t get it, Carl.” She said, turning from him and starting to walk toward Chris and Brenda to help bring in the horses. She saw Brenda laughing at something Chris had said and they were standing beside one of the stallions talking. Jennifer felt a pang and didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to disturb their bonding but she also didn’t want to be by Carl. She started to divert her path but Carl reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“Then explain it to me. Don’t just walk away from me, that’s not what we do. When things get hard we work it out! We always have.” Carl said, pulling her back to him. Jennifer felt tears fall from her eyes and slide down her cheeks.

“You don’t treat me like your partner, Carl. Ever since you got promoted to director and then to VP it was like your decisions were the only ones that counted. What about what I want? What about my opinions?” She shouted, the tears flowing freely. Carl gave her a sad look and held on to her so she would run from him.

“I’m sorry you’ve felt that way. Everything I’ve ever done I’ve done for you, the kids,
us
. I’m nothing without you. Why do you think I’ve been saving for this ranch?” He said. Jennifer’s eyes widened in surprise and her mouth gaped open.

“You, what?” She asked. Carl smiled at her and ran a hand through his salt-and-peppered hair.

“When we got married I promised I’d give you everything you’ve ever wanted. I know how much you love horses and our getaways to the countryside, so once I made VP I began saving. When I got my bonus promotion this month, I finally had enough. I’ve had an agent looking for land for me for the past two years and finally the money and perfect property came together so I bought it. I didn’t ask you because it was for you. You don’t ask me about gifts you get me.” He explained with a chuckle. Jennifer wobbled a little and reached out for him.

“But you’re right, I got too excited and shouldn’t have made the trade without talking with you. That’s why I renegotiated and traded one of the stallions instead.” He said. The tears coming out of Jennifer’s eyes were for a completely different reason now as she clutched on to her husband.

“I love you, Jenny. Always have.” Carl told her. Jennifer collapsed in his arms and kissed him. They broke apart by the clearing of a throat and turned to look at her daughter and Chris standing behind them.

“Um, we’re going to go grab some dinner. We’ll be back later.” Brenda said, looking over at Chris with growing affection. Chris smiled at her with just as much brightness and showed her to his truck. Jennifer grinned and turned back to Carl.

“I guess everything’s working out.” She said, kissing him again as her daughter and Chris drove away.

THE END

BONUS BOOK 3

A Brides Bandit Heart

Mail Order Bride

By: Avril Adams

A Brides Bandit Heart

“Excuse me sir, I’m so sorry to bother you but I seem to be a bit lost.” A young woman said, walking up to the cashier at the gas station. The clerk noticed the woman’s beautiful and brilliantly white smile that stood out against her caramel complexion and couldn’t help but to return it. He’d been working this job for over twenty years, but he’d never seen a customer of her sweetness before. He ran a hand over his balding head to smooth out the wayward gray hairs and straightened his shirt. The woman continued to smile pleasantly at him, her eyes hidden beneath large sunglass which covered most of her face—except for the smile. She had a scarf tied around her hair and he looked out the window to see her convertible stopped in front of one of the pumps while another man filled the tank. The clerk’s heart sank a little bit to see this beauty with another man, but he reminded himself it wasn’t like he had had a shot anyway. His shoulders slumped a little and his eagerness to help her dissipated. The young woman seemed to notice this and reached out a small hand, clad in a burgundy leather glove and gently touching his shoulder.

“I’m struggling to find the interstate that will take me to the city. There seem to be so many options on the map, my brother and I can’t seem to make sense of it. Do you mind pointing out the best route?” She asked, stressing the word brother. The clerk’s sense of hope returned to him and he straightened back up.

“Oh, well sure thing Miss. I take it you’re heading South, then?” he asked, gesturing to the map. The woman’s smile widened and she nodded, a tendril of black hair falling over her forehead. She turned to the side a little, facing the window and looking out at the busy road beyond the gas pumps. The man who had been filling the tank seemed to have disappeared but the clerk didn’t notice.

“So that there is I-60, right?” She asked, pointing to the highway in front of them. The clerk nodded, focusing his attention on the woman and the map in her hands.

“Yup. To get to the city you’ll want to take that about fourteen miles and then exit to I-34. That’ll take you East a little ways, until you reach the exit for southbound highway 46. That’ll take you right into the city.” The clerk explained. The woman nodded and followed his directions with her finger as she traced the path he described for her. The clerk’s eyes followed her delicate finger as if hypnotized.

“That seems relatively simple. Thank you so much sir, I’m not sure we ever would have figured that out!” She said, beaming at him and touching his shoulder gently. The clerk began to sweat a little and returned her smile.

“A-any time. Is there anything else I can get you?” He asked, trying to keep her from leaving. The woman shook her head and slid her hand down his arm until it fell to her side.

“No thank you, but you’ve been most helpful.” She said, giving him another smile before coolly walking out of the convenience store. The clerk watched her get in the convertible, the man she had called her brother sitting beside her in the driver’s seat. She turned back to the clerk, as if she knew he was still watching her, and waved. The clerk waved back and watched the beauty drive away. He sighed and watched until the convertible was just a tiny dot in the distance. If he had been paying more attention, he would have noticed that she went the opposite direction from where she had said she was headed. If he had been paying more attention, he would have noticed her kiss the man on the cheek as they got on the highway. The clerk turned back to his counter and froze in shock. If he had been paying more attention he would have noticed the man enter the store. If he had been paying more attention he would have heard the man open the register and clean out all the cash. If only he had been paying more attention, instead of letting the beauty mesmerize him and distract him from his duty. The clerk cursed and picked up the phone to call the police.

“Yes, I’d like to report a robbery.” He said into the line.

***

Lucy heard the sirens screaming out in the distance and smiled. They were headed in the opposite direction and by the time they were searching the highways for convertibles, her and Elias will be long gone. They had bailed the highway after five miles and took to the side streets, weaving in and out of subdivisions in every direction so that if anyone did report their car, the police would have no idea which direction to even begin looking in. Lucy took off her gloves and reached over to run her fingers through her husband’s dark hair that wasn’t covered by the baseball hat he wore.

“How’d we do?” She asked, closing her eyes and loving the feel of the wind in her face. Elias shrugged and smiled at her, glancing over at her and then back to the road.

“Not bad. I’d say close to a thousand. Small stores like that don’t keep too much in their drawers.” He said, chewing on his thumb nail absently. Lucy reached over and swatted his hand away. She hated his bad habits.

“Well that’s enough to get us some tickets to somewhere nice. What if we went to a beachside town, a little one off the coast somewhere, and got a house. You could do some freelance construction work and I could—” she started, her tone becoming more and more excited as she imagined their life. They’d been together since she was eighteen and now, nine years later, she wanted to actually settle down. Elias laughed and shook his head, chewing on his nail again.

“You could what? Cook? Clean houses? The only skills you have sweetheart are the skills of distraction. Why would we give this life up to go straight? You’d hate it. You’d be bored within the month and begging to get out of the lease so we could hit the road again.” Elias said, laughing. Lucy frowned and retracted her hand from his hair.

“I could do something else. I could work in a store…” she started. Elias gave a burst of laughter and Lucy turned to him, shocked.

“Yeah right. You? Around all that money? Three days and you’d start stealing it and then you’d get caught and we’d both be done for.” He interrupted. Lucy pouted and looked over at the stretch of fields spanning before them.

“But we could start a family. We could get married, for real. Not just common law or with your cousin Frankie’s blessing.” She said, still watching the rows of wheat flash by her.

“Hey, Frankie’s blessing is more than legitimate. It’s enough for me.” Elias said, hitting the button to put the top up to the convertible. They were approaching a little town and would stop for a while. They had put more than seventy miles between them and the con, making it safe to finally pause and get something to eat. Lucy sighed and began to untangle the scarf from around her head. Her short, black hair fell in a straight bob just above her shoulders and she swept the bangs out of her eyes once the scarf was completely removed. She took off her large sunglasses and put on a smaller pair that wouldn’t put so much pressure on her nose and cheeks. Elias glanced over at her and groaned. He pulled into a diner parking lot and shut the car off. He removed his gloves and large sunglasses as well, hiding their disguises in the glove box. He took off his plain black hat and scratched his head. He looked over at Lucy and sighed.

“Alright, I might had a solution for us.” He said, pulling out his phone. Intrigued, Lucy leaned over and looked at the screen to see what he was pulling up. It was an ad for a bride. Frowning, she raised an eyebrow and looked over at her husband with confusion.

“What’s this?” She asked, her voice flat and unamused. Elias smiled at her and stroked her cheek. Lucy pulled back, not wanting him to touch her until he clarified his intentions.

“It’s our final scam. This rich guy down in Arizona puts out this ad for a wife, right? Well I check him out, turns out the guys is worth more than a million.” Elias explains. Lucy’s eyes widen and she takes the phone from his hand to read through the ad for herself.

“So what’s your plan?” She asked, reading the sweet and blatantly honest ad regarding what this man was seeking for his life partner. Her heart skipped a beat just at his words and for a moment, she caught herself wishing Elias said things like that about her. “
I’m looking for the woman to be my companion and keep me company for the rest of our lives. I’m looking for a friend, a partner, a lover and everything in between.
” She read to herself. Her stomach fluttered at the words and she felt a sense of serenity come over her.

“My plan is to have you answer it.” Elias said. Lucy’s head snapped up and she looked at her husband with disbelief.

“What?” She asked, perplexed. Elias nodded and scrolled down to the picture of the man. Lucy’s breath caught in her chest but she tried to disguise her attraction. His skin was tanned to a dark complexion from being out in the sun and his green eyes were startling clear.

“Yeah, you answer his ad, swoon him for a week or two, and just before the wedding we take him for everything he’s got. You scout out the house and valuables—try to find a safe or something while you’re at it—and get back to me.” Elias told her. Lucy couldn’t take her eyes of the man in the picture and her heart sped up. She didn’t really want to do this, not to him not to anyone. She just wanted to get on with her life peacefully and discretely. She looked up at Elias finally, her eyes wide and pleading. Elias wrapped her in his arms and stroked her cheek lovingly.

“After this, I promise we can finally settle down. Just like you want. We’ll find a house on a beach somewhere, but we’ll be set for cash that we won’t have to work. We can live like kings and queens.” He said, brushing his lips against hers. Lucy accepted his kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. She doubted it would be as simple as he thought, but she wanted his pretty promise so badly she was willing to lie to herself about it and believe him.

“Alright, I’ll do it. But you swear this is the last one?” She asked, breaking the kiss and looking him in the eyes. Elias grinned at her and nodded, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

“Promise.” He repeated, giving her one last kiss before pulling away completely and getting out of the car.

“Now let’s get some food. I’m starving!” He said, pulling some of the stolen cash out of the armrest to pay for their meal. Lucy sighed and nodded, getting out of the car to join him.

***

Colby couldn’t believe his eyes. He’d finally gotten a reply to his ad. He was getting worried that he sounded too needy or pathetic and no woman was going to be interested in him when he hadn’t heard anything for the first week. But now, he had received a reply from a woman whose interests matched his own. She was lovely, and her words appealed to the romantic in him. She was looking for the exact same things in a life partner that he was and she specified that she wanted to get away from her crazy life and retreat back to a simpler lifestyle. Colby gazed around his ranch in Tucson, Arizona and let out a deep breath. It was isolated on the property his family had owned for generations. His home was built on one third of the land his family owned while his parents and brother each lived on the other two thirds. Their family land stretched on for miles in every direction, so even though they were all still living on it, they still couldn’t see each other’s homes form their patio. It was simple, discrete, and lonely. He could see the cattle roaming freely on the fields in the distance and smiled. They had the best stock in the state and their meat was coveted around the nation, but financial success wasn’t enough. The setting sun cast a red glow around his empty ranch and he leaned against the back door. It would be nice to finally have someone else to share his evenings with. To have dinner with. To lay beside at night and wrap his arms around.

Colby sighed and stretched, reaching his long, sinewy arms above his head. He scratched his head, running his fingers through his long blonde hair that he typically kept pulled back in a ponytail at the base of his neck while he was working. Since the day was over, he had taken the leather band out hours ago and just let his shoulder-length hair fall free. He thought about cutting it time and again when he was stuck in the desert sun, but he always seemed to forget once the moment of being over-heated and exhausted passed. He went back into his office and looked again at the picture of the woman that she had attached with her response to his ad. Her caramel skin was smooth and beautiful. Her eyes were dark brown and her black hair was sleek in its short bob. She said her name was Lily. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Colby smiled at the picture and began formulating his reply.

“
Lily, I am honored to receive your response. I would love to meet you and have you stay with me for a week while we get to know each other better. If we are compatible and meet each other’s expectations, I would like to move forward with marriage arrangements. I look forward to getting to know you. Sincerely, Colby.”

He wrote his message and read it over a few times to make sure that was what he wanted to say. Satisfied with it, he sent his reply and waited. It didn’t take long before she emailed him back, accepting his offer. Colby smiled and suppressed a yawn. He sent her another message requesting her information to buy her a plane ticket to get to him but she refused.

“Colby, I appreciate your offer to fly me out to Tucson so that we can get to know each other before proceeding with wedding plans. However, I am not very fond of planes or airports so I will be driving. Please send me your address and I will make my way to you. I apologize that this mode of transportation will take longer, but it is the best for me. Lily.”

He shrugged at her explanation and accepted her reasoning. He didn’t have a fear of flying himself, but he could easily see where people got one. He sent her his address and leaned back in his chair. If she was driving to him that gave him some extra time to prepare his house for her arrival. He looked around the ranch again and twisted his face at the sight. There were old food containers, clothes, and magazines strewn over multiple flat surfaces. He winced at the mess and turned away from it. That’s what happens when you’re a bachelor into your thirties, he supposed. He’d lived alone since he was twenty-four and for the past ten years had had no one to pick up for except himself and the occasional guest. Stretching again, he stood and made his way to the shower. Well, the mess will still be there in the morning, no use worrying about it now when he was this exhausted from herding the cattle into the south field all day. With another yawn he began to undress and prepare for bed. He would prepare for his bride in the morning.