The Cowboy Claims His Lady

by Meagan Mckinney

  Hazel hesitated. For there was nothing to refute the truth of Lyndie’s words.

  “He’s gonna come here to see you. You know that, don’t you?” the cattle baroness finally said.

  “Let him. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be friends.”

  The word friend got her cold ball of tears melting. She so desperately didn’t want to be friends with Bruce; she wanted to be his partner, his lover, his wife, the mother of his children. The last thing she wanted was to be friends.

  “I’ll send in a tray of my homemade stew. Darling, you don’t look too well, and I want you to rest.” Hazel hugged her. “I may be a fool old woman, but I’m not giving up.”

  “I can’t have you interfering, Hazel.” Lyndie held her gaze. “It’s that important, okay?”

  “I won’t do a thing.” Hazel held up her hands.

  Lyndie shoved the sweaters aside and laid down on the bed. Suddenly she was exhausted.

  Hazel gave her a worried frown. “I have to tell you, darling, that Bruce Everett’s a man who gets what he wants. If he decides it’s you, you’ll have to surrender.”

  Lyndie just closed her eyes. “If I’m what he wants, he’s doing a poor job of showing me.”

  A day later, Hazel rolled her Caddy along the rock-strewn road to the mill. Just as she thought, she found the lone male figure standing by the wheel, watching the water pour from the baskets.

  Bruce looked up at the sound of the car.

  Hazel took no time for warm-ups. She got out of her car, slammed the door and strode over to him.

  “Somehow, I think this has to do with your grand-niece,” he quipped, his eyes on the cattle baroness.

  “Damn right,” Hazel cursed. “What did you do to her?”

  “I’ve done nothing except give her money for the business, watch her day and night, force her to stay at the ranch when all she wanted was to go home. She used me like a bronc at a rodeo, and now you’re asking me what I did to her?”

  His disbelief was genuine, Hazel could tell.

  She was caught off guard. “Your MDR Corporation made a good investment in All for Milady,” she began.

  “And she still thinks it was you who gave her the money?”

  Hazel nodded.

  “And she thinks you own Mystery Dude Ranch, and I’m nothing but a poor cowhand. And now how do I go about telling her the truth without thinking for the rest of my life that she married me for my financial assets and not the feeling in my heart?”

  The older woman’s groan was audible. “This is a fine mess. I’ve never seen a worse stalemate. She made me promise to not interfere, so I can’t just lock you both up in a cabin until you both admit you love each other.”

  “She told me our relationship was ‘just a lust thing.’ I don’t know if she could ever love me.” He picked up a rock and skipped it across the tumbling waters.

  “Well, I told her I won’t interfere, and I won’t.” Hazel’s blue eyes narrowed. “But I’m telling you this, take it for what it is. You both need to find out what’s in your hearts, and leave the world and finances out of it.

  “The best thing you could do would be to spirit her away, take her to your daddy’s stone hunting lodge up on Mystery Mountain, and don’t let her leave until you both have an understandin’.”

  Hazel made to leave. “Now that’s all I’m sayin’, you hear me? I’m not interfering, and if she asks if that was my idea, I plan on denying it. You’re a man I’d be proud to have in the McCallum family, son, and yet, you got to be like a McCallum and just go after what you want.”

  Bruce looked at her steadily.

  Hazel drove away, breathless at the thought of the resolve she’d seen in his eyes.

  The horse trailer pulled up to the ranch house at about eight o’clock the next morning.

  When Lyndie arose, she looked outside at the ruckus. There was Girlie, all tacked up and ready to go, Beastie Boy right beside her.

  “What?” she whispered, tying her flannel robe tightly around her waist.

  “I think he’s gone mad,” Ebby said, her gaze glued to the parlor window.

  “What’s he up to?” Lyndie asked.

  “He says you’re going riding with him as soon as you’re awake. Hazel didn’t tell me anything about this.”

  “Where is Hazel?” Lyndie fumed, her instincts telling her that her great-aunt was all over this idea.

  “She went to Billings for a cattle show. Said if the weather got bad, she won’t be back till tomorrow.”

  Lyndie heard the front door thrown open and the sound of cowboy boots on polished oak floors. She turned to the parlor entrance. Bruce stood there, an impatient expression on his face.

  “You up?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Then, get dressed. We got a two-hour ride up the mountain.”

  “I never agreed to this. I told Hazel—”

  “The old gal’s got nothing to do with it. I’m here doing it, and I say we’re going up the mountain.”

  She wanted to stay and bicker with him, but she just didn’t have the energy. Instead, she went with Ebby to get dressed and suck down a cup of tea and some biscuits.

  “Ready?” He smiled as she strode through the hall toward him. The wolf was back.

  “I don’t recall being asked about this. You know, if you’re forcing me to go with you, technically that’s kidnapping, and it’s a federal charge.” She raised one eyebrow at him.

  He shrugged his broad shoulders and grinned. “Sure. I understand. And when we get back, if you want to call the feds and press charges, you can call from my phone. But now, let’s go.”

  She followed him out the door and let him give her a leg up on Girlie. Before she knew it, they were past the Lazy M, heading north up Mystery Mountain.

  There was a lot they could have talked about, but somehow, she didn’t feel like talking. On this beautiful ride past shimmering golden aspens and mountain ponds glistening the blue of the sky, she was in no hurry to acquire another rejection. Instead, she let the peace of the landscape soothe her frazzled nerves.

  One hour fed into another, until they came upon a small fieldstone cabin nestled deep in a ravine on Mystery Mountain. Smoke wafted from the chimney.

  She didn’t think they would stop, but Bruce immediately dismounted and held Girlie for her.

  “So, what’s this?” she asked, steadying herself. “You know these people?”

  “My dad built this cabin. It was a place to go when he needed to think, or when he and my mom just wanted to get away from all their kids. They had a bunch, I think I told you.”

  “It’s lovely,” she remarked.

  “Go on inside.”

  She hesitated, then opened the battened door. A fire crackled in the hearth; at the table was a bouquet of black-eyed susans stuffed into a coffee cup. No one was home.

  Transfixed, she walked farther into the little room. In the corner was a pine bedstead with piles of hand-made quilts. Over the bed was a faded linen needle-point that said Home is where the Heart is.

  “This cabin’s mine now. Mom and Dad both died.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  He stared at her. “Do you like it?”

  “You live here?” she asked, amazed.

  “The place has no electricity, no phone, nothing but comfort and the beauty of the landscape.”

  She softened. If he loved her, she’d live in the small cabin with him, no questions asked. But still, there had to be love.

  “All right. I give up. What’s this about?” she finally asked. “If Hazel’s not orchestrating this, then you are, and what’s the message?”

  He went to her and slipped a strong hand around her waist.

  She had to admit, his touch was like a drug, one which she hadn’t known she was in withdrawal from, until now.

  “I kidnapped you and brought you here so that maybe we could start over.” His eyes were dark with apprehension. “I know you think what we had was only
a ‘lust thing,’ as you called it, but it was more to me. The minute I saw you, I was drawn to you. I realized that I needed you in my life for so many reasons, and when you left for New Orleans, I realized I had to go get you and bring you back.”

  “Because why?” she asked, holding her breath.

  “Because I love you. I want to marry you. I want to have a bunch of kids just like Mom and Dad. And I want to go to my grave loving one woman and one woman only.”

  She stared at him, wondering if she was dreaming. It didn’t seem possible that all this was inside him and she had never known.

  But somehow, she was awake and the words were clear as day.

  “Do you think you could tolerate a life of me loving you, girl?” he whispered, his face hard with uncertainty.

  She couldn’t quite take it all in—he loved her.

  She had been wrong about him; he wasn’t just another man out to sexually conquer—he loved her.

  Terrified, and yet desperately wanting, she stammered, “I n-never thought I could trust another man. After Mitch’s betrayal…”

  He pulled her to him and kissed her hair. “That’s gone now, girl. It’s a whole new world up here in Montana. A whole new world.”

  “He killed everything inside me. Everything. I never thought I would feel again.”

  “I know,” he answered, brushing the hair from her tear-bright eyes.

  She locked gazes with him. The eyes that had once seemed so steely and cold now held nothing but the warmth of love, and she believed him. “But I feel now. I feel everything again,” she wept. “And you are the one who gave that to me. You. Only you.”

  “Then, you’ll marry me?”

  She laughed through her tears. “Yes. Yes. Yes,” she repeated, the ice ball melting inside her, the tears flowing fast and furious. “I loved you when we made love in your tent. I knew then that I didn’t want to return to New Orleans, that I could move Milady to Mystery if I wanted to, but I thought it was no use. If you didn’t love me, there was no future here. And I couldn’t tell how you were feeling—you’d gone so cold.”

  His mouth twisted in a wry frown. “Guilt is a terrible thing to have to wrangle with. I’m sorry. It took me a while to sort out what had happened between us and why. But when I knew, I knew.”

  He kissed her then, the kiss of a soul mate.

  She felt him pull her to the rough pine bedstead. He sat and brought her to him, slowly, erotically unbuttoning her fleece shirt.

  Her breath quickened. The longing inside her built, and she was so exquisitely happy to be alone and in love with him.

  Sheepishly, she said, “Not to change the subject, but do you think we could put in electricity here, at least when the kids come along? You know that might be sooner than later…”

  “Let’s get started on that first baby right now.”

  Her hand went unconsciously to her still-flat belly. “I have a shock for you, Mr. Everett. We’re way ahead of the game.”

  He stopped, then stared at her as if she’d suddenly grown wings and turned into an angel. “True?” he gasped.

  Fear fluttered inside her. But it was too late to back out now. “It’s true. We’ve got way less than nine months to get to the chapel, but I never liked big drawn-out weddings, anyway. A short and sweet ceremony in front of the justice of the peace is fine with me. I hope this won’t be a problem.”

  He tossed his head back and laughed.

  “Darling, none of that’s going to be a problem. Trust me.”

  And she did.

  Thirteen

  Hazel’s cinnamon-and-black Fleetwood pulled into the Lazy M’s drive late the next day. She hardly had time to get out of the car before Ebby ran out with the news.

  “Bruce asked Lyndie to marry her. They’re in town right now picking out the ring!”

  The cattle baroness didn’t bother to hide the “I knew it!” look on her handsome face. Her smile made her look ten years younger.

  “They have to have the wedding here.” Hazel placed her hands to her cheeks. “We’ve got to get busy! No sense in wasting time. They should tie the knot before Christmas. That way when the baby comes—”

  “Baby!” Ebby looked close to fainting.

  Hazel shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, but I’d place a bet on it. So let’s get going. It takes a lot to throw a wedding in just a few weeks. We’ve got to notify the minister, get a caterer, a tent…”

  Just as Hazel finished, she turned to find Bruce’s trusty old red diesel truck pulling into the ranch. Lyndie was sitting next to Bruce in the middle, as if they were already a married couple.

  Hazel beamed a grin. “I heard the news!” she hollered. “And to think, this is the first match that I had nothing to do with!”

  Bruce helped Lyndie out of the truck. Hazel grabbed her left hand and oohed over the perfect diamond solitaire that had been slipped on her ring finger.

  “He spent too much, I think,” Lyndie confessed. “I’m afraid we might need the money to put an addition on our cabin—for our, uh…little addition.”

  Bruce grinned. His smile told her it was all right with him.

  “But first things first.” Lyndie reached inside her purse. She took out an envelope.

  “Before I get any more in debt, I want to pay you back for the loan you made.”

  She handed Hazel the envelope. “This is for MDR Corporation. It’s half. I’ll have the other half for you when I dissolve the stores down in New Orleans.”

  Hazel looked at the envelope. Then at Bruce.

  Lyndie looked at both of them, confused.

  Bruce put his arm around her. “Darling, I guess you’d better just hold on to that check. Hazel doesn’t own MDR Corporation. I do.”

  Confused, Lyndie studied his expression, then turned to Hazel.

  “He’s right there, dear,” Hazel confirmed. “MDR stands for Mystery Dude Ranch. He owns that, too, by the way.”

  “But I always thought you owned that,” Lyndie exclaimed.

  “You just always assumed I was behind everything. But it was Bruce, really, all along.”

  Squeezing his hand, Lyndie turned to him. “But if you have the ranch, why do you live in that tiny cabin up Mystery Mountain?”

  He shook his head and dazzled her with an apologetic grin. “I told you my parents used that to get away from it all, and so do I. But, honey, I got an old ranch a hundred miles from here, with a ranch house big enough for ten children.

  “I do the dude ranch in the summer just for fun. I monitor my cattle online. Which is how you’re going to run your shops when you put your corporate headquarters up here.”

  Stunned, she finally said, “But you hardly knew me when MDR put up that money. Why would you take such a risk for a stranger?”

  “From the minute I saw you I never felt you were a stranger.”

  He looked at Hazel.

  The cattle baroness winked.

  “I admit,” he added, “I did have a little head start on getting to know you from your great-aunt.”

  “Yes, her and her wicked matchmaking ways,” Lyndie accused.

  “Not guilty!” Hazel objected, the grin still on her face.

  “But when you arrived,” Bruce continued, staring down at her, “I realized this was it. It was easy to invest. Hell, I even liked the name of your store.”

  “You mean All for Milady?” she asked.

  “Yep,” he answered, smiling, kissing her. “But I’ve got to confess, in my mind I call it ‘All for My Lyndie.’”

  The following week, the Mystery Gazette read:

  Wealthy Montana cattleman Mr. Bruce Everett wed New Orleanian Ms. Melynda Clay, in a private ceremony at the ranch of the bride’s great-aunt, Mrs. Hazel McCallum. The bride wore an antique blue satin gown. After a honeymoon steamboating down the Mississippi, the couple will reside in Mystery, which will be the new international headquarters for the bride’s chain of lingerie stores, All For Milady.

  Hazel read and reread th
e announcement as Ebby poured her an after-dinner glass of aged sherry.

  “A happier husband, I don’t think I’ve ever seen,” Ebby commented.

  The cattle baroness put down the paper and reached for her sherry. “Let’s toast another successful match in Montana.”

  Ebby poured herself a glass and clinked the fine crystal with Hazel. “So, does this mean you’re finally going to retire from this matchmaking game?” she asked.

  “Do I lose heifers in a whiteout?” Hazel’s famed Prussian-blue eyes twinkled. “The McCallums always have to find new territory, Ebby. It’s in our blood.”

  Ebby rolled her eyes and went to take her sherry to the kitchen to finish the dishes. “The west was settled a hundred years ago,” she called back. “There is no new territory.”

  Hazel quipped to her departing back, “Not true, Ebby. The biggest territory lies ahead.”

  The housekeeper stopped. “And what territory is that?”

  Hazel smiled to herself. “Why, it’s love, of course.”

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-8612-6

  THE COWBOY CLAIMS HIS LADY

  Copyright © 2003 by Ruth Goodman

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