Ten Rules for Marrying a Cowboy

by Linda Goodnight

  Praying, he barely noticed the Blue Springs city limits sign, but the sound of sirens grabbed his attention.

  Holt glanced at his instrument panel. He was speeding.

  Lights flashed in his rearview mirror. He slowed to pull over for the inevitable ticket. A police car wailed around him, followed closely by another.

  They weren’t after him.

  Then who?

  He was very afraid he knew.

  Mind racing, heart thundering, Holt followed the flashing lights and watched as they sailed into the parking lot of the Beacher Motel.

  Uniformed police swarmed the place like ants.

  Holt’s entire body began to shake.

  Was he too late? Had something unthinkable happened to AnnaLeigh?

  Fighting for the composure that had made him a champion bull rider, Holt parked on the street and made his way up the incline, across the pavement, and around the side of the sprawling motel.

  The entrance to Room 7 crawled with police. He recognized two of them. Evan, and the Calypso County sheriff, Lawson Hawk. They stood on either side of the door, weapons drawn.

  A primal roar ripped up through Holt’s chest and out of his mouth. He broke into a run.

  A uniformed cop body-blocked him. “Sorry, sir. You can’t go any further.”

  Holt gave the officer a push. “My wife’s in there!”

  The officer grabbed both of his arms. “Sir! Stop. This is a crime scene. Let us do our jobs.”

  Crime scene?

  Terror shot through Holt’s brain like a bullet. “Is she hurt? Is that it? Something’s happened to her?” He fought against the strong hands. “Tell me. Is she hurt?”

  “I don’t have that information, sir.”

  The vision in his head of a wounded, suffering AnnaLeigh was so terrible he thought he might crumble. Holt strained toward the hotel room, his eyes glued to the doorway.

  “Please, God, please,” he whispered, praying in earnest, not even noticing the cold day or the fact that he’d left his coat in the truck.

  Suddenly, he spotted long blond hair. He strained to see better. The officer, still gripping one arm, shifted to give him space.

  Then she appeared, led by yet another police officer.

  “AnnaLeigh,” he cried.

  Her head jerked up. She was pale, so pale. When she saw him, her mouth fell open. Her face brightened.

  “Holt.” He couldn’t hear her, but her mouth formed his name.

  He pushed against his captor. This time, the officer let him go.

  AnnaLeigh was afraid to hope, and yet she did. Holt had come for her. That had to mean something. Yesterday, he’d said he loved her. But had he forgiven her?

  With legs heavy as stone, and quaking like a leaf in a tornado, she moved through the mass of law enforcement. How they’d found her, she didn’t know, but they had, and they’d arrested Alan. She didn’t know the particulars and didn’t need to. She was safe. Alan was in custody.

  Suddenly, a pair of cowboy-strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her trembling body close. He trembled too.

  “I was so scared,” he whispered against her hair.

  “Me, too.” Somehow Alan had tracked her to the motel and forced his way in. The last few hours had been a living nightmare.

  “Scared of losing you and our baby.”

  “Our baby?” She leaned her head back, away from his chest, and searched his rugged, wonderful face. “Do you really mean that?”

  “I do.” His hand went to her stomach. The light and tender touch brought moisture to AnnaLeigh’s eyes.

  “I hope so. Oh, I hope so.” She sucked in a shuddering breath. As hard as it was to discuss, she had to tell him the ugly truth. If he rejected her and the baby now, she’d understand, but she had to know for sure.

  “The first time Alan and I had an argument, he-he-“ She paused, her face heating with humiliation. “Alan’s a man who takes what he wants. He wanted me, mostly as punishment for standing up to him. After that, I felt so used and worthless and scared, I didn’t argue. About anything.” She turned her head aside and gulped down the shameful memories. “Until I found out I was pregnant. Then I knew, for the baby’s sake, I had to get away.”

  “I read his Facebook messages. And I suspected…” Something dangerous flashed in Holt’s brown eyes. He glared toward the motel. “I could pulverize the guy with my bare hands for what he did to you.”

  AnnaLeigh gripped his upper arms, shaking her head. “No. Please. I never want anyone to know.”

  His jaw tightened. “He deserves it.”

  “But this baby doesn’t.”

  With a sigh, Holt relented. “You’re right. Regardless of his beginnings, a child is a gift from God.” He touched her belly again. “He’s part of you, and that’s all that matters. That makes me love him. If you can forget the rest, so can I.”

  AnnaLeigh’s hope surged. Nothing he could have said would have eased her mind the way this did.

  “Be certain, Holt. I want my baby to have you for a dad, but I don’t want you to ever feel trapped.” Holt was such an honorable, do-the-right-thing kind of man. But she wanted him to love her and the baby from his heart, not from a sense of duty. “Don’t feel obligated because of the contract.”

  Holt pulled back a little to stare into her eyes. “Obligated? Are you crazy?”

  “Yes. Crazy about a certain cowboy and hoping and praying he can forgive my past, my deceit.” She took his face, oh, that beloved face, between her palms. “I’m so sorry. I can’t say the words enough. I wronged you, and I’ll spend forever proving how sorry I am if you’ll let me.”

  He pressed a finger against her lips. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life.” His dark eyes filled with a love and acceptance she could hardly believe. “But you’re not one of them. Not you. Not this baby.”

  A commotion sounded, and AnnaLeigh turned her head to look.

  Alan, in handcuffs, was being loaded into the rear of a police car.

  Holt tenderly touched the side of her face, drawing her back to him. “He hurt you. Again.”

  She leaned her aching cheek into his hand. “It doesn’t matter now. You’re here, and our family is safe from him.”

  Holt’s jaw tightened. For one brief moment, he glared toward the police car as if he could rip the door off and execute justice on the spot. “No man will ever hurt you again. You or our baby. You have my promise.”

  She placed a hand over his heart, loving his fierce defense, grateful in a way she didn’t know how to express.

  Gently, Holt placed his lips against the dark bruise. “I should have been there for you. I should have listened more and reacted less.”

  A lump tightened her throat. “My fault, Holt, not yours. I married you under false pretenses.” She lowered her head, ashamed for using him. “With a new name and a new place to live, I thought the baby and I would be safe from Alan’s reach and could start fresh. I should have told you about him and about the baby during our first online meeting, even if it meant losing you.”

  “Maybe. But maybe this is for the best.” He tugged her head up. What she saw in his eyes humbled her. “If you’d told me, I might have done something stupid and let you go. The police would still be trying to catch Watts. And I wouldn’t have you, the love of my life.”

  “But I deceived you. I wronged you. Can you really forgive that?”

  “I can. I have.”

  AnnaLeigh’s heart soared. From shame to jubilation.

  Jesus had forgiven her. Now, her husband had forgiven her, too.

  Holt touched his lips to hers. “I love you, Mrs. McNeil. Will you marry me?”

  Catching his meaning, AnnaLeigh tilted the corners of her mouth. “What about the ten rules for marrying a cowboy?”

  “What rules?” He rocked her back and forth in his arms.

  “And the contract?”

  “What contract? I’m a man in love with a beautiful woman, and I’m asking her to marry me. No
strings attached.”

  “Considering we have a daughter who prayed for a mama…”

  “And a baby on the way who needs a daddy.”

  AnnaLeigh’s smile bloomed, her heart full of this wonderful man and grateful to a merciful God. “I love you, Holt McNeil, and I’d love to be your wife. For real, this time.”

  “And you won’t keep anything important from me ever again?”

  “Never.”

  “Then I now pronounce us husband and wife.”

  She bracketed his face with her hands. “You may kiss the bride.”

  Though police stirred around them and the air threatened to give them bronchitis, a smiling Holt lowered his head and kissed his bride until her knees trembled and her heart raced. This time from joy.

  Epilogue

  Faith Family Center wasn’t an especially large building, and today it was filled to capacity in a celebration Holt had never expected to experience. Fact of the business, he’d never wanted to experience a wedding shower, but loving AnnaLeigh had changed his tune about a lot of things.

  If a wedding shower hosted by Rachel Tinsley’s Bible study group, and attended by half the town, made his wife happy, he’d dress up and show up.

  The presents had been opened, Meg Clifton’s once fancy cake from the Cookie Jar Bakery appeared to have been attacked by piranha, and a passel of kids, including Jacey and her two best buddies, Ava and Ellie Skye, chased errant helium balloons around the room.

  The party was breaking up. People stopped to chat with him, offering congratulations and saying their good-byes. Cold air rushed in as the outside door opened and closed over and over again.

  All the while, Holt’s mind was on only one person in the room.

  A short time ago, his wife had drifted away, deep in conversation with Rachel and Mayor Liz about next month’s Valentine’s Day event. He might be surrounded by talkative friends, but he missed AnnaLeigh.

  He searched the dwindling crowd for the slender blonde, and when he spotted her talking to the Brazos sisters, his chest swelled with love and pride. Why had he ever thought she was anything but beautiful?

  AnnaLeigh must have felt his stare because she looked up and smiled. His belly dipped. One smile, and he was a goner.

  His wife said something to the two dark-haired sisters and then began weaving toward him. She stopped to speak to various attendees, smiling and gracious, but her eyes kept returning to him.

  She made a man feel like the toughest rider in the chute.

  A hand clapped against his shoulder. He turned to find a uniformed Evan grinning at him. “Good party, huh?”

  “Yes, sir. For sure.” He rubbed a grateful hand over his neatly pressed shirt, ironed with love by his wife. “Thanks to you I can still have good days like this one. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t listened to me when I called for help.”

  “Just doing my job.”

  It was more than that, and they both knew it. Evan was a humble hero who took no credit for the good things he did, but Holt knew and was grateful.

  “The newspaper says Watts is being charged with a lot more than kidnapping and assault.”

  “Truth.” Evan rotated a tiny glass punch cup in his long fingers. “His house of cards finally tumbled. Once his enemies knew Watts was behind bars, they lined up to testify against him. We should be able to put him away for a very long time.”

  “Best news of the day. I don’t want AnnaLeigh worrying about him, especially now that she’s pregnant.”

  He and AnnaLeigh had prayed long and hard about the dilemma of the baby’s biology. What was the right thing to do? What did God require in such a bizarre situation? Should they keep the baby’s parentage a secret from everyone, especially Alan? Was that wrong?

  In the end, after hours of conversation and prayer, they’d come to a decision. Protect their innocent child in every way possible. Holt was to be the little one’s daddy. End of subject.

  AnnaLeigh arrived, and Holt slid his arm around her still tiny waist, though he could feel the slightest rise in her soft tummy. It made him happy in a way only God could have orchestrated.

  She smiled up at him. His heart turned over.

  God, in his infinite wisdom, had seen two needy people and brought them together in the most unusual way. Maybe the original plans had been Holt’s—and he’d done a messy job of them—but God had worked all things for his good.

  He would ever be grateful for the blessing AnnaLeigh had brought into his and Jacey’s lives. Funny that she said the same thing. That he and Jacey were the blessings she’d prayed for and never expected to have.

  “Saw you talking with the flying Brazos sisters.” He grinned down into her face. “You taking up trick riding?”

  AnnaLeigh bumped him with her hip. “Jacey wants to, remember?”

  Holt groaned. “That’s right. She’s determined to be as crazy as her old her man.”

  “Arizona said she and her sisters will teach her, if and when you approve.” She looked at Evan. “What about Ava, Evan? Would you let her trick ride?”

  Evan’s face darkened. “Not a chance. I don’t let her near a horse. Trick riding is insane. Way too dangerous.”

  “You didn’t always think that way,” Holt added. “Weren’t you and Mesa and her wild, daredevil ways a thing back in the day?”

  “Friends.” Evan scowled at him. “That was a long time ago.”

  “I remember more than friends.”

  “Because you’re in love, and you think everyone else needs to be.”

  “Not a bad thing.”

  “According to Lark and Arizona, Mesa is moving back to Refuge soon,” AnnaLeigh said.

  Something shifted in Evan’s expression. Was that interest in his eyes? “That a fact?”

  Holt gave his friend a nudge. “There you go. Rekindle old flames.”

  “I told you—“

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. Just friends.”

  Evan’s radio crackled. He grunted and set his empty cup on a white-clothed table. “Duty calls. Good party.”

  Holt decided not to press the issue about the trick rider. Not today, anyway. “Thanks for coming.”

  The undersheriff headed toward the door, stopping briefly to speak to Ava and then to his parents, before making his exit.

  Holt pondered his pal’s reaction to the news about Mesa Brazos before deciding Evan was right. The lawman and the trick rider were a very long time ago.

  AnnaLeigh’s face hurt from smiling. She was that happy. She rubbed her cheeks and settled on the couch in front of the fire Holt had built as soon as they’d arrived home.

  Home. Her wonderful, eclectic home.

  She was still pinching herself.

  Jacey plopped down beside her with a dramatic sigh of contentment. “When I get married and have babies, I want a big party like that one.”

  Holt ambled in from the kitchen, holding out a cup tea for AnnaLeigh. “In about fifty years.”

  “Uh-huh. After I’m too old for trick riding. And being president.”

  AnnaLeigh kissed the top of her daughter’s hair. The carefully curled locks were now an endearing tangle, as usual. “You’d make a great president.”

  “That’s what Ava said, ‘cause I’m bossy.”

  The two adults exchanged smiles.

  Holt lowered his frame on AnnaLeigh’s opposite side and tilted his head against hers.

  Every nerve ending in her body danced with happiness.

  In a stage whisper, he asked, “Should we tell her?”

  “I don’t know. She’s had a big day. Do you think she can bear the excitement?”

  “Tell me what, Daddy?” Jacey clasped her hands prayerfully. “Am I getting trick riding lessons from the Flying Sisters?”

  “Something better than that.”

  “I can’t think of anything better.” Green eyes grew serious. “I already have the best daddy and mommy ever.”

  Tenderness welled in AnnaLeigh for the swee
t, perky little girl. “I think you’ll like this surprise.”

  “Remember how you’ve wished for a brother or sister?” Holt asked.

  Jacey bolted upright, almost spilling AnnaLeigh’s tea. Excited green eyes went from Holt to AnnaLeigh and back again. “You mean, we’re having a baby?”

  “Yep.”

  “Jesus did it again!” In full blown drama mode, Jacey fell back against the sofa cushions, hands crossed over her chest. “He’s so nice to me.”

  “What do you mean?” Holt asked.

  “I prayed for a mommy, remember? And he sent me one. So, then, I prayed for Mommy to have a baby. And she is. Jesus really can do anything, exactly like you said.” Jacey whooped and hopped off the couch. “I gotta call Ava and Ellie. Okay?”

  Before either parent could muster a reply, she shot from the room, giggling all the way.

  Holt turned a stunned gaze to AnnaLeigh. “I hope she doesn’t pray for twins.”

  While they laughed together in astonished joy at the grace of God, AnnaLeigh snuggled against her husband, safe in his love and free at last. Free from her lonely, damaged past, her mistakes and her shame. Free to love a good man and their children, how ever many God chose to send.

  In his mercy and grace, the Heavenly Father had taken her, a broken vessel, and made her life into something beautiful.

  The fire flared and crackled. Outside, the January wind howled. And here in her honorable cowboy’s arms, a thankful AnnaLeigh had finally come home.

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