Mariette And The Cowboy (Western Night Series 2) (78 page)

              She pressed her lips against his, glorying in her first kiss in what felt like forever.

            
 “
He knows I love you
!”
Kyle said, burying his face in her neck.

            
 “
He knows that I love you too
,”
she replied, pulling away from him and moving back up for one final kiss.

              They stood in the stable for a long time, kissing and speaking until everything left unsaid had been said.

Epilogue: Five Years Later

              The wedding of Harlan and his bride, a beautiful and sweet girl named Daisy, was a small affair. The bride was radiant as she walked down the aisle, her happiness seeming to light her from within. Harlan watched her as though she was the only girl in the room, and perhaps to him she was.

              Lucy Granger, age five, smoothed down her best dress and watched with glee as Uncle Harlan married Aunt Daisy. To Lucy, there was nothing as fascinating as a wedding, and thought that they had taken a very very long time to get around to doing it.

              Everyone told her that she looked just like her Daddy, which made her confused given the fact that she was a girl, but she never asked for an explanation. Sure, she had his hair, which often turned yellow in the sun, and his nose, if anyone paid attention to that. But she had her Momm
y’
s eyes, the same shade of green, so she thought that maybe her Mommy should have some sort of credit too.

Mommy had told her that Uncle Harlan had used the newspaper to find Daisy, and they had spent a long time writing letters back and forth before they had decided to meet. Lucy thought that it was romantic, even if she did
n’
t really understand what romantic meant.

She sat on her Dadd
y’
s shoulder during the ceremony, and cheered happily when Uncle Harlan and Aunt Daisy kissed, only quieted when her Mommy shushed her.

Afterwards there was cake and dancing, and Lucy had all the cake she wanted, and danced happily with her Daddy, Mommy, and of course Uncle Harlan and Aunt Daisy. Her eyes grew heavy as she allowed herself to be carried by her Daddy. She rested her head on his shoulder and listened to the sound of the fiddle in the background, the laughter of the bride and groom. Aunt Daisy had looked beautiful in her white dress, and it was then that Lucy made up her mind.

“
Mommy, Daddy
,”
she told them solemnly as they walked back to the newly constructed house on ranch property
.“
I think
I’
m going to find my husband in the newspaper, just like you did
.
”

Lilah and Kyle exchanged looks
.“
Well, sweetheart, we did
n’
t exactly find each other in the newspaper
,”
Kyle said.

“
Although I do admit if it were
n’
t for the newspaper, we never would have met
,”
Lilah added.

The two of them exchanged looks that made Lucy want to stick out her tongue at all the mushy feelings.

“
I do
n’
t care, Mommy, Uncle Harlan did it to find Aunt Daisy, you found Daddy, and
I’
m going to find my husband
.
”

She grinned at the idea of it
.“I’
m going to find
so many
husbands
!
”

Kyle sighed as they entered their house, turning back to look at the festivities going on in the distance. He looked at Lilah who was trying very hard not to laugh.

“
Sh
e’
s certainly going to be a handful when she gets older
,”
he said.

“
Yes I am
!”
Lucy replied.

The three of them laughed as they closed the door, momentarily forgetting the little gir
l’
s future in order to focus more on the here and now.

THE END

BONUS BOOK 2

Lust With A Cowboy

Mail Order Bride

By: Avril Adams

Lust With A Cowboy

“
What do you mean you bought a ranch?” Jennifer asked. Her voice was hesitant and she tried to remain calm until she gained more information from her husband. Carl gave her a guilty smile and opened his arms to her.

“Surprise!” He said with slight trepidation. Jennifer’s mouth dropped open and she glared at Carl. She’d been married to him for thirty years and she was well aware of his impulsive personality trait but he had never done something like this without consulting her before.

“Surprise? Seriously? How much did this cost us?” She shouted. She looked down at the picture he handed her of a ranch. The ranch had eighty acres of land along with a dozen horses to care for. The house on the land was, as her husband described, ‘small’ and ‘cozy’. She flicked through the pictures on his phone and shook her head.
It was a shack is what it was
, she thought. She glanced around her beautiful two-story home with a walkout basement and professionally landscaped yard. That was her personal oasis. She looked back at the photos and groaned. He had overpaid. She knew it.

“It wasn’t that bad! We can afford it, I just got that bonus at work.” Carl tried to reason with her. Jennifer lifted her hazel eyes and glared at her husband. Carl flinched from her stare and took a step back.

“How much?” She asked again through clenched teeth. Carl averted his dark eyes and dragged his toe against the ceramic tile floor of their kitchen.

“Oh, it was only $400,000.” He said quietly.

“Carl!” Jennifer squeaked. She wanted to throw his phone at him. She wanted to strangle him. She could not believe he had not included her in this massive decision. Yes, he was right, they had the money but that wasn’t the problem.

“Carl, did you think this through at all?” She asked, striding over to him and furiously slamming his phone down on the table. Carl winced and lifted a shoulder, half-shrugging. Even though he was a foot taller than her and broad with a strong physic, he was still intimidated of the hot temper that resided beneath her petite, feminine frame. That’s why he had fallen in love with her, she was passionate, strong but she could also be delicate and soft. They had loved to run together, lift together, and they early in their relationship they would stay up all night, laughing, playing and fucking. But Carl knew she was stringer than him, emotionally and she would also be a match for him physically, especially in the bedroom. Now, her tone was low and sharp, and her eyes darkened and lips pouted. She told him he better be careful.

“Of course I did! You love horses, I thought this would be a great summer get-away. We can remodel the house to be our dream home, well second dream home.” He said, quickly correcting himself at the narrowing of her eyes.

“That’s all nice, Carl, but we know nothing about taking care of horses! How are we going to keep the land up and make sure they don’t die? They’re living creatures, Carl!” She shouted. Carl winced again and lifted his hand to put on her shoulder but one look at her fiery eyes made him rethink that and he dropped his hand back to his side.

“We’ll hire someone to take care of them. There’s plenty of cowboys out of work looking for jobs. We’ll get a ranch hand to take care of the property and horses for us year-round. He can live in the existing house and that will allow us to start from scratch for our house!” He said excitedly, trying to build positive energy to relax his wife. Jennifer crossed her arms, still glaring at him. It wasn’t the worst idea, and would be the only way they could keep the land.

“What are the chances of resale?” She asked, looking for one final possible out. Carl shook his head slightly and Jennifer sighed.

“We’re obliged to keep it by the contract, aren’t we?” She asked. He nodded slowly.

“For two years, and then if you still hate it we can put it back on the market.” Carl told her. Jennifer groaned. It was moments like this that she wished she hadn’t married so young. They were only eighteen when they got married, maybe she should have held out a little longer.

“Fine. Since we are contractually obligated to keep the property then we will. You will have to find someone to take care of the ranch and all the upkeep required because I sure as hell am not going to clean up this mess for you.” She growled, spinning around and heading toward the back door. She needed to go for a walk to clear her head or something. She was just too frustrated with Carl to even look at him.

“And if one horse dies from neglect there will be hell for you to pay!” She shouted back over her shoulder. Carl nodded and waved to her as she stormed off.

“Yes, dear!” He shouted back. Oh man, he was not going to hear the end of this for at least a decade.

***

Chris wandered around the ranch, taking in all the details. It was an incredible size and all the horses were in beautiful condition. He glanced over at the business man behind him and tried not to sneer. Big money men, they thought they could just buy whatever they wanted whenever the fancy struck them—even him. The man looked so out of place standing in the pasture in a dark tailored suit with expensive sunglasses and his impeccable hair. His light brown hair was tinged with hints of gray making Chris wonder just how old he was. The man’s big, clueless grin made him look to be about thirty or somewhere around Chris’s age, but the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and mouth confirmed he was at least ten years older.

“So what do you think?” The man asked excitedly. Carl turned his attention back to the ranch and bit the inside of his cheek. It was his dream job: living on a ranch and taking care of horses and the land but not having to pay property tax. He’d be given a place to stay, a monthly paycheck to cover utilities and food and some extra so he could get his own benefits. Chris looked over his shoulder at the house he would be living in. It was in pretty good shape and wasn’t too big—which he liked. It was a two bedroom, one bath, with a living room and a kitchen; that was all the space he needed. It might need some repairs here and there but as long as Money Bags behind him paid for it, he didn’t mind. He nodded and lifted the brim of his cowboy hat to wipe at the sweat collecting on his forehead.

“Alright, you’ve got a deal.” He said, turning around and extending his hand. The rich man smiled and shook his hand excitedly.

“Great! I am so glad this was so easy, my wife will finally be able to get off my back.” The man joked. Chris forced a smile and nodded. Great, there was an angry billionaire housewife he was going to have to deal with. Undoubtedly she’d come to croon at the horses and criticize his work even though she knew nothing about it. At the last ranch he worked as a hand at, the wife had been miserable. She did exactly that and would follow him and his coworkers around yelling at them for doing their jobs correctly. Eventually he just snapped and went off the handle at her. Needless to say, he was fired and for the past two years it had been almost impossible to find a job. The bitch had blacklisted him and all he could get were odd jobs but nothing stable. All because he couldn’t take being disrespected and belittled. He shook his head to clear it and heaved a sigh. Well, angry housewife or no, this was still the best offer by far that he’d had in a very long time.

“Will she be visiting often?” Chris asked hesitantly. Money Bags took in a deep breath of the fresh air and shook his head.

“Honestly I’m not sure. I’m hoping that she’ll get excited about this and start planning the house we want to build on the property. Don’t worry, we’ll keep it a good distance from you and the stables so as not to interfere. Maybe we’ll building it an acre or two over that way.” He said, pointing off to the west at a small, grassy hill. Chris nodded, not really caring but glad to hear that at least the husband had no intentions of interfering with his work. Perhaps he could pass that along to Mrs. Money Bags.

“Alright. I’m just trying to get a feel for who all might be coming or going.” Chris said. Money Bags smiled and nodded.

“Well I’m going to try and convince her to come out and take a look while I’m in New York for the next couple of weeks. Maybe then she’ll understand why I bought this place for us.” He said. Chris forced a smile and nodded.
Great, that means I’ll have a pissed off housewife staying with me.
He thought bitterly.

“Well okay! I’ve got the papers put together for your contract already, I’ll just need you to initial and sign your name.” The man said, walking over to his little sports car and pulling out a stack of papers. Chris’s eye widened a little and he briefly wondered what he was getting himself into.

“This just states everything we already discussed as well as hold you to employment for a minimum of two years unless there is grounds for immediate release of employment such as theft, neglect of duties, drug use, misconduct, etc. Sign here.” He explained, handing Chris the pen. Chris skimmed the document, adding his initials behind each clause. At least he was guaranteed work and housing for the next two years provided he did his job.
That won’t be a problem,
he thought. He finished reading the document and signed his name at the bottom.

“Excellent! You are free to move in and start immediately. I’ll tell my wife to give you a couple of days to settle in before coming down to check it out. I’m so glad we can work together Mr. Harper.” The man said, shaking Chris’s hand again. Chris nodded.

“Me too, Mister, uh…” Chris trialed off, trying to remember the man’s actual name.

“James, but please call me Carl.” Carl said smiling at Chris. Chris nodded again and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Alright, Carl.” He said tersely. He watched Carl get into his car and speed away. He let out a sigh and turned back to his beat-up truck.
Might as well start moving in,
he thought with a smile. Finally, a stroke of luck. Hopefully, the housewife wouldn’t be unbearable and would just keep to herself in her big city mansion.

***

“So what do you think?” Carl asked excitedly. Jennifer rolled her eyes and then refocused her attention on the road.

“I’m not there yet, I’m still driving. This is out in the middle of freaking nowhere.” She said. Carl chuckled on the other side of the phone.

“Well yeah, you can’t have a ranch in the middle of a suburb.” He teased. Jennifer shook her head and gave him an obligatory laugh. She wasn’t as mad at him as she had been, but she was still upset with him for not consulting her. It was her money, too. She may not work for a big corporation like him, but it was with the sales of her paintings that they were able to put their kids through college.

“Are you there yet?” Carl asked again. Jennifer debated hanging the phone up on him and just stared blankly at the road.

“You’re like a child.” She said. She took the next right onto a thin, dirt road. Rolling hills and grassy knolls stretched out for miles on both sides of her and her heart swelled at the sight. There was a small cluster of trees on the south side that looked like a tiny forest and she could hear a creek babbling nearby.

“Alright, this is gorgeous.” She admitted. Carl gave a celebratory yelp and Jennifer couldn’t help the smile that came to her face.

“I knew you’d love it! See, it wasn’t totally irresponsible.” Carl said. The happy feeling that was starting to fill Jennifer turned cold at his comment and she was back to being upset with him.

“Yes, it was.” She said coolly. She could tell that Carl was trying to organize his thoughts to say something else that wouldn’t make the situation worse. Jennifer pulled up to the small house which, she hated to admit, looked cozier in person than it did in the pictures.

“Well… I—” Carl started, struggling to form a good sentence.

“Don’t bother. I’m here. I’ll call you in a couple of days once I’ve had enough time to form an opinion.” Jennifer said, cutting him off. Carl sighed in relief and she could picture him nodding enthusiastically on the other end.

“Yes, yes. That sounds good. I love you.” He said and his tone held a hint of pleading. Jennifer looked down at her phone and pursed her lips.

“I love you, too.” She said back and then hung up. It was true, she did love him—she just didn’t like him very much right now. He was always doing things like this to her. Their whole lives together he’s gotten to be the one to go off and have fun and make impulsive, crazy decisions while she got stuck with cleaning his messes up. It wasn’t the way their marriage was supposed to be; it wasn’t the way her life was supposed to be. Heaving a defeated sigh, Jennifer got out of her car and looked around. Carl had said he’d hired someone to work the ranch and told him to move in already but she couldn’t see him anywhere. His truck was parked in front of her car so she assumed he was on the property somewhere but first glance didn’t reveal him. Carl had told her that she could stay in the second bedroom of the house while she got to know the place but Jennifer refused. Not only did she not want to stay in the same house as some strange man, but she didn’t want to invade his privacy. This was his home now and it wasn’t her place to intrude. Walking over to the front door she knocked loudly, waiting for someone to answer. After a couple of minutes she knocked again and the door was flung open. Jennifer tried her best not to gape, but she was not prepared for what she saw.

Standing in front of her was the most beautiful man she’d seen since the day she met Carl. His short blond hair was darkened by the water dripping from it and his skin was a rich bronze from spending hours in the sunlight. Jennifer watched a drop of water drip from his hair and slid along his square jaw, his thick neck, and down the contours of his bare chest before getting absorbed by the towel around his waist. Jennifer’s eyes snapped up, knowing that she had been staring speechlessly for far too long. Her eyes met his blue amused ones and he just watched her admire his body silently.