by Rosie Harper
Without realising it, Lilah had taken to visiting the apple tree where Ellie was buried, spending silent company with her in an effort to feel closer to Kyle, even if she saw him every day. How could she be so unfair to Harlan, who had been nothing but kind? It wasn’t as though she was being cruel to him, merely distant, but part of her couldn’t stop torturing herself over the fact that she did not love him.
She sat beneath the apple tree, holding a book in her lap, but staring out over the plains. The quiet calmed Lilah, and she enjoyed watching the cattle graze peacefully this way and that. The calves were getting so big as well, and she found herself attached to them.
Lilah was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn’t hear the soft footfall of someone behind her.
“Hello.”
It started her for a moment, causing her to jump a little bit, but she couldn’t help but smile when she turned around and saw him.
“Oh, Kyle. Hello.”
He had to be able to hear the fierce pounding of her heart, and he helped her climb to her feet. She felt dizzy for a moment, and nearly toppled over, but he grabbed her by her waist to make sure that she didn’t. Their faces were so close together, she looked up at him and desperately wanted it to happen. She wanted that kiss, she wanted everything, and her lips parted in anticipation before he gently but firmly pushed her away and took a step back.
“I can’t do this,”he said.
“I’m sorry,”she replied in shame.“I didn’t mean to…”
“I thought I could,”he said quietly.“I really did. I’m…”He ran his hand through his hair and put his hat back on his head,“I can’t,” he said as he walked away.
She watched him walking, wondering precisely what he meant, and what he meant to do.
#
Harlan was unusually quiet at dinner, but watched Lilah thoughtfully as he ate. She merely picked at her food, and it wasn’t until after-dinner brandy was served that he decided to speak.
“Kyle has decided to leave the ranch,”he said quietly. Lilah gasped, and wondered if that would give her away. The look in Harlan’s eyes was pained, and for a fleeting, terrifying moment, she knew.
“Lilah, I must admit that I’ve been incredibly happy to have you around here these past few weeks. However…”
He took a gulp of his brandy and grimaced.
“I am having hesitations about our arrangement.”
Lilah’s heart both dropped and soared.
“I’m not fully sure that I, I mean that we...are compatible.”He seemed relatively sorry to say it.
“I think you are a dear friend!”she cried.“I think you’re a terrific man, and your ranch is absolutely delightful.”
He smiled at that.“Oh yes, and you are welcome here for as long as you’d like. You’re terrific with the horses as well as the cattle, and I can always use a hand around here. But usually...well usually we like to have ladies on the ranch be tied to someone.”
Lilah ignored the prickling feeling in her stomach at this, thinking it was ridiculous, but that was the way life was. Of course, her mind immediately went to Kyle, but what was the point now that he was leaving. Something occurred to her. She jumped to her feet.
“You knew?”she asked Harlan. Harlan smiled and it wasn’t as bitter as Lilah thought that it would be.
“I guess, but not immediately. You two are very respectful, but anyone could see that you’re crazy about each other.”
Harlan’s expression grew sad then, and Lilah’s heart went out to him. She marched over to him and kissed him gently on the cheek.
“Any woman would be lucky to have you,”she said, and she meant it. He smiled up at her.
“Yes, but next time I’m going to pick her up myself. Now go, go before he leaves, he should still be in the stable.”
#
Kyle was saddling up the black stallion when Lilah entered the stable with a pounding heart and sweating palms.
“Wait!”she cried.“Wait! Don’t go.”
Kyle looked at her with a startled face, he stared at her as though unsure of whether or not she was real, and it was only until she walked up to him and placed her arms around his shoulders that he relaxed.
“You better not leave, Kyle Granger!”
Sadness flooded his eyes.“I have to, I can’t watch you try to love another man, I thought I could do it but I can’t.”
“You won’t have to!”she insisted.“Harlan and I are through, we never were, we both realised we were better as friends, and what’s more…”
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 Mommy’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 didn’t really understand what romantic meant.
She sat on her Daddy’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 didn’t exactly find each other in the newspaper,”Kyle said.
“Although I do admit if it weren’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 don’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 manyhusbands!”
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.
“She’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 girl’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: Avri
l 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.
