C.J. Carmichael - Her Cowboy Dilemma

Laurel held out her hands to Winnie. “You’re making me dizzy up there.” Winnie jumped, and then Cassidy followed.

“I’ll call them,” she said, unable to stand the waiting anymore. “I’ll go get my phone.”

She slipped out of the antechamber, intending to head for the minister’s office at the other end of the hall. All three of them had left their purses—including their phones—in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet.

But a late-arriving guest caught her eye. Dan Farley, the local vet, was as darkly handsome as ever, and the distraction of seeing him unexpectedly like this made her momentarily clumsy. As she tripped over her own feet, Dan gave her a quick, dismissive glance.

Not quick enough, however, for her to miss the disapproval in his expressive dark eyes.

Or was it dislike?

Probably both, Cassidy decided, as she continued down the hall, trying not to think about the broad-shouldered vet or the beautiful woman who’d been standing by his side.

Who was that woman? Her brothers hadn’t mentioned anything about Farley having a new girlfriend. She entered the minister’s office, went to the filing cabinet at the back and pulled open the drawer.

Then again, why would they tell her? No one had any reason to assume she’d be interested in Dan Farley’s love life.

Nor was she. Not particularly.

She grabbed her phone and called up Brock’s number. As she waited for him to answer, she made her way back to the antechamber. As she slipped inside the door, she heard Winnie whispering something to Laurel, but she stopped talking as soon as she saw Cassidy.

“Brock isn’t answering.” Cassidy ended the call, frustrated. “I’ll try Corb.”

No answer there, either. “Damn.”

Finally, she called Jackson. Again, nothing. “If this is some sort of prank, I’m going to kill them.”

Actually, if she saw them right now, she’d be more inclined to give them all hugs. She was really worried and—

“Someone’s coming!” Winnie was back at the window. “I think it’s Jackson’s SUV.”

Cassidy hurried to Winnie’s side. Please let her be right! But one glance dashed all her hopes. “No. It’s the county sheriff’s vehicle.”

She looked at Laurel, then Winnie, seeing in their eyes the same fear that was making minced meat of her stomach. They watched in suspended dread as the local sheriff made her way out of her vehicle toward the church.

“Who is that?” Laurel asked.

“Sheriff Savannah Moody,” Winnie answered. “She’s a good friend of Brock’s. We were going to invite her to the wedding, but he said there was bad blood between her and B.J. I don’t know the details.”

Neither did Cassidy. One of the drawbacks of being the youngest in the family was that no one told her anything. Still, she knew the trouble went back a long time, to the last year B.J. had lived at home.

Cassidy rushed out of the antechamber in time to see Savannah make her grand entrance. The crowd—expecting to see a bride—was quelled at the unexpected sight of the sheriff.

Aware of Winnie and Laurel coming up behind her, Cassidy made room for all three of them to follow in Savannah’s wake.

“I need to talk to someone from the Lambert family.” Savannah’s official-sounding voice lifted and carried through the silent church.

B.J. stood first. “Savannah. What happened?”

Olive Lambert rose next, clutching her son’s arm. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m s-sorry, Olive. There’s been an accident. Jackson’s SUV hit a moose on Big Valley Road, about five miles from town.”

A collective gasp by the congregation was followed by a few seconds of stunned silence.

Cassidy flashed back to the days when her father had been teaching her to drive. “Always drive slower at dusk. That’s when your chances of hitting wildlife are the greatest. And pray that you never hit a moose, Cassie. They’re lethal.”

“Brock?” Winnie whispered.

Savannah rotated slowly, not having realized the bridal party was standing at her rear. “I’m so sorry, Winnie. Brock was in the front passenger seat—the impact point with the moose. He didn’t have a chance.”

Cassidy felt as if she’d been kicked in the solar plexus. She was doubling over, just as she heard B.J. ask, “What about Corb? And Jackson?”

“Jackson was driving, wearing his seat belt, and the air bag was able to cushion him from the worst of it. He’s badly bruised and shaken, but he’s okay. Your other brother was in the backseat. He should have been fine, but I’m afraid he wasn’t wearing his seat belt. As we speak he’s being medevaced to Great Falls. I can’t say how bad his injuries are. You’ll have to talk to the doctors for that.”

“Is he conscious?” Desperately Cassidy prayed for Savannah to say yes.

But the sheriff shook her head. “No.”

Brock, dead. And maybe Corb, too? No, no, no, no...

Cassidy wanted to run screaming from the church. But Laurel tugged on her arm, gesturing to Winnie. The bride was tottering on her heels, shaking violently. Cassidy reached out for her and, between them, she and Laurel managed to keep her from crashing to the floor.

“We need a sweater or a warm jacket,” Laurel called out to the crowd.

A second later, a man’s suit jacket was settled over Winnie’s shoulders, and a white cotton handkerchief was pressed into Cassidy’s palm.

She glanced up to see Dan Farley ordering the crowd to step back and give Winnie some space as he swooped the bride into his arms and carried her out into the fresh air.

Cassidy stood back to let them pass, her hand fisted over the handkerchief. Farley must have given this to her. Only then did she realize that tears were cascading down her face.

Chapter One

Ten months later

What did it say about her relationship with her family that the person Cassidy Lambert was most excited to see when she got home wasn’t a person at all, but her border collie, Sky?

Sky had been her father’s birthday surprise for her fourteen years ago. Sky was loyal, loving and, most important, uncomplicated. Cassidy knew, no matter what, that Sky would always love her and think she was the most wonderful person on the planet.

The same could not be said of her family.

Cassidy lowered the driver’s side window of her vintage 1980 Ford pickup to let in the warm spring air, then cranked up the tunes as she barreled along the 80 toward home. She knew she should reduce her speed, not only to avoid a ticket but also to prolong the drive, which she was quite enjoying.

But she was on a high. After five long years she was finally done with late nights at the library, relentless assignments and tough exams. She’d worked hard to complete the Accounting Master’s Program at Montana State University, but she’d done it, and hopefully soon would follow a high-paying job at one of the top accounting firms in Billings.

Josh Brown—her friend and would-be boyfriend if she could make up her mind about that—also had plans to move to Billings. Josh had wanted to come with her to Coffee Creek Ranch. He said it was time he met her family.

“I wouldn’t be so anxious if I were you,” she’d told him. He thought she was teasing, but she wasn’t.

“They can’t be that bad. Look at you. Unless you were adopted?”

“No such luck.” She had her mother’s delicate features and the long, lanky body that came from the Lambert side of the family. She had a soft heart—like her father. But was also headstrong and stubborn—like her mom.

Yet despite all the family resemblances, she’d always been a misfit. Part of the problem came from being the only girl in a family with three boys—four if you counted her foster brother, Jackson, who’d been with the family since she was nine. She knew it wasn’t her imagination that her mother was harder on her than the guys. And her father had treated her differently, too, when he was alive.