B.J. Daniels - Shotgun Bride

She was also completely wrong for him, and he suspected she would know it soon enough.

He’d known even before he reached her that she would turn him down for a date. He would have been disappointed if she hadn’t.

“Maybe some other time,” he’d said, looking regretful as he backed off. But as he left, he saw out of the corner of his eye that she was watching him leave. Her cousins were at her side, whispering something to her. No doubt encouraging her.

Smiling to himself, he left, betting himself he’d have a date with her before the day was out.

Maddie Cavanaugh wasn’t getting away. Too much was at stake here.

“SO TELL US about this Maddie Cavanaugh,” Lantry said at breakfast several mornings later.

Jud grinned. He was going out for lunch with Maddie and planned to take her to the theatre in town tonight. But while he had to return to his film in Canada tomorrow, he had another date with her to the rodeo the day after. “You’ll see for yourself when you meet her.”

“We’ve been waiting to meet her,” Lantry said. “Come on, fess up, there isn’t any Maddie Cavanaugh. You made her up, thinking it would buy you time.”

“I couldn’t make up a woman like Maddie,” Jud said in all seriousness, then concentrated on his breakfast. Juanita had served huevos rancheros with homemade tortillas and beans, his favorite.

“So when are you going to bring her out to meet Dad and Kate?” Dalton asked from the end of the table. “Or isn’t that Hollywood charm of yours working?”

“All in good time,” Jud said. “When you’re serious about a woman you need to take things slow. You’ll learn that if you ever date a woman more than once.”

Lantry cocked his head at his brother and narrowed his eyes. “You’ve never been secretive about any of the women you were dating. Quite the contrary. You’re up to something.”

“Just true love,” Jud said with a grin.

TWO DAYS LATER, Shane had his feet propped up on the porch railing and his hat pulled down low against the afternoon sun. He appeared to be asleep, but Grayson knew better.

“You still planning to go back to the Texas Rangers?”

he asked quietly.

Shane didn’t stir. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Grayson suspected his son’s wounds ran much deeper than the gunshot wound he’d suffered a month ago. “Montana could use a good lawman.”

Shane chuckled and pushed back his Stetson to look at his father. “Subtle.”

“Kate says I need to be more direct.”

“You’re plenty direct the way you are,” he said, sitting up.

Grayson smiled. “I get the feeling you’re ticked off at me.”

“You think?”

“What’s wrong with wanting my family close by?”

“You’re the one who moved to Montana.”

“You goin’ to hold that against me?”

Shane sighed. “What’s going on, Dad? It isn’t like you to sell lock, stock and barrel and leave Texas the way you did.”

Grayson shook his head. “Love changes everything, son. I hope you find that out for yourself one day.”

“No, thanks. Not if it makes me change everything about myself.”

“Is that what you think happened to me?”

“You’ve got to admit this letter thing is beneath you.”

Grayson leaned back his chair and stared out across the summer-green prairie. This land, with its rolling grassland that ran to coulees filled with juniper and scrub pine and rocky outcroppings before dropping into the Missouri River gorge, had drawn him the first time he’d seen it.

He loved the sweet summer scents, loved the way the place was steeped in history, loved riding across the great expanse of country, the grasses, tall and green, undulating in the breeze.

But mostly he loved this place because it had once been Kate’s and was now hers again. He’d given her the ranch, but it was so little compared to what she’d given him. His heart swelled at the mere thought of his wife.

But his marriage and this move had put more than miles between him and his sons. He couldn’t bear the thought that he might lose them because of it.

“It’s selfish of me,” he said to Shane. “To want to uproot you boys to make an old man happy.”

Shane laughed. “Blackmail first, now guilt?” He shook his head. “Hell, why don’t you pull out all the stops and tell us you’re—” Shane stopped as if the word dying had caught in his throat. Swallowing, he said, “Does this really mean that much to you?”

“Yes,” Grayson said, meeting his son’s gaze and holding it. “It means that much to me.”

Shane looked into his father’s eyes, his pulse drumming in his ears. His next breath came hard as he realized he might have stumbled onto the truth. “You aren’t…sick, are you?”

He couldn’t bring himself to say the D word. He’d come too close to saying it only moments before. Grayson looked as healthy as a horse, but there was no denying he’d aged. His hair had grayed and there were deep lines furrowing his brow.

“I’m fine,” Grayson said and looked away. “I don’t want you to feel…”

“Trapped?”

“No.” His father’s gaze came back to him, his eyes shiny. “I raised you boys to be your own men. I would never want to do anything to change that.”

Shane swore under his breath. He’d told himself his father wasn’t going to make him feel guilty about not going along with this stupid marriage pact, and yet he felt guilty as hell right now.

The phone rang inside the house. Neither man moved. After the second ring, Juanita picked up. Shane could hear her and knew even before she stepped to the porch doorway that the call was for him.

“It’s Jud,” she said, handing him the phone. “He says it’s urgent.”

KATE HAD been into the town of Whitehorse as few times as possible since her return to Montana. She’d let Juanita take care of the shopping and was happy to stay out at the ranch, venturing out only to ride the property and marvel at how fortunate she was to have a man like Grayson Corbett in love with her.

But she couldn’t keep making excuses for avoiding town without someone getting suspicious. So she’d started venturing in a few times, making the trips short.

She knew that she’d eventually come face-to-face with her past.

Today she’d gone into the hardware store to pick up an extension cord, and as she came out she practically ran into a tall, slim, older cowboy waiting on the sidewalk.

Even after all these years, Chester Bailey hadn’t changed much. He was still a good-looking man. His blond hair was graying at the temples and there were lines around his blue eyes, but she had no problem recognizing him.

“Kate?” He sounded incredulous. “Kate Wade?”

“It’s Corbett now,” she said. “Hello, Chester.”

He stared at her, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. “I heard someone had bought your folks’ ranch…Corbett.” He smiled. “So that’s you.”

She nodded. “How have you been?”

“Good. I suppose you heard. Lila and I are divorced.”

She hadn’t heard because until recently she’d made a point of putting Whitehorse behind her. “I’m sorry,” she said. “You were married a long time.”

He nodded, head dipping. “Over thirty years.”

Kate felt all those old emotions stir inside her and wished she’d never come to town. Never come back here. As she stood there, she was afraid of what she would say next and terrified of what Chester might reply.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to worry. A middle-aged woman came out of the local clothing store, laughing with a friend. She and the friend parted company, and the woman headed toward Chester.

Kate saw at once that this was who Chester had been waiting for. The blonde was younger than Chester, her hair short and curly, her smile coming easily.