The Sheikh And The Cowgirl

by Holly Rayner

  With her stomach in knots, Steph put the photos back in the box and closed it up, carrying the tiara downstairs before folding the stairs back up into the ceiling. She headed to her room, where she set the tiara in her suitcase. Her mother called from the living room.

  “Stephanie! Did you find the headpiece?”

  “I did,” Steph called back. “It’s already packed!”

  When she didn’t hear footsteps coming in her direction, Steph perched on the small windowsill of her tiny bedroom and stared out as the Vermont sun sank beneath the trees, casting an indigo glow across the carpet of forest that stretched as far as the eye could see. She looked at her phone again, tapping it open and looking at the picture of her in the tiara.

  She had never looked more scared in her life.

  Her parents came upstairs, then, knocking on her door.

  “Come in,” she said dully, closing out the screen and setting the phone down next to her.

  “Are you ready for tomorrow?” her father asked, ever enthusiastic.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Steph answered.

  Jerry nodded as though he understood, which of course he didn’t at all. “It’s going to be wonderful. We’ll have much to celebrate in the next few weeks, and there will be lots of time for you to get to know your new beau. You’re going to have fun. You’ll see.”

  Her father walked over and planted an affectionate kiss on her brow, giving her an encouraging smile as he left the room, his hand squeezing his wife’s shoulder.

  Elora stared at Steph for a moment longer before she came and sat on her bed. “Do you have any questions for me?” she asked gently.

  Steph was taken aback. Elora had a way of being tough and cold, but loving all at the same time. It was difficult to explain. She simply showed her emotions differently, and while Steph knew she was deeply loved, it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to have an emotional conversation with her mother. A moment ago she would have jumped at the chance, but now, faced with the opportunity to tell her all her fears and worries, her tongue felt firmly tied.

  “Not that I can think of,” she said, even as her brain screamed at her for not telling the truth.

  What good would it do? Her fate was sealed now.

  After a moment, her mother released a breath. “I know how frightening it can be,” she said. “But you must know that we would never put you in a bad situation. We have done our due diligence by you, and I believe very firmly that you will be happy.”

  “What am I going to do without you?” Steph asked in a small voice.

  It was the one unasked question none of them had wanted to answer. Having found a man in El Farah, it wasn’t clear whether Steph’s parents would also stay in the country. Steph had been trying to come to terms with the fact that she very likely would be alone, married to a stranger in a foreign country that she felt no allegiance to.

  It wasn’t exactly the most comforting of thoughts, and while her parents believed they had chosen a good man, Steph knew that anyone could look good on paper. That didn’t mean they weren’t lying or hiding some aspect of themselves. What if she got trapped in a terrible marriage? What if she had to find a way to escape?

  Elora placed a warm hand over her daughter’s, startling her. “You’re going to make it through this just fine, Stephanie. Take your fears and pack them away. I would never send you to a man who could not provide for you in all ways. The emotional connection can grow between a man and a woman. I promise.”

  Elora hesitated before wrapping Steph in a tight hug. In a moment that was meant to be touching, Steph felt cold and awkward. After a moment, Elora stood and exited the room, reminding her daughter to get a good night’s sleep.

  Curling up under the comforter, Steph imagined that would be much more difficult that it seemed. Somehow her eyes managed to close, and the last thing she saw was the image of her frightened face on her phone, floating in her mind’s eye.

  THREE

  Steph

  Steph woke up to a stream of gentle sunlight caressing her face. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the light, and smiled. She had left her window open all night, and the scent of pine and fresh earth permeated the space, reminding her to keep her American roots close even as she prepared to pull them out from under herself.

  Her father was at her door a moment later, checking to make sure she was awake.

  “Big day!” he said, giving her two thumbs up.

  Steph began to wonder if some of that enthusiasm wasn’t a little bit forced for her benefit. She had always been close to her father. Perhaps he was emotional at the thought of be separated from her, too? Perhaps he was giving up a piece of himself for her happiness, too, though Steph’s was clearly at risk.

  Then again, wasn’t love a risk, no matter what?

  Steph took a steadying breath before sitting up, prepared to face the day. Not that there was much to face. The journey would take thirteen hours, and then they would be in a totally different time zone, recovering from jet lag. Not exactly the most exciting prospect, but what came after would be the adventure. Steph would get to set foot on a land that was in her blood, a part of her that had always been missing in so many ways.

  She double checked for her passport before lugging her suitcase out to the front door and setting it next to her parents’. Her mother had made a traditional El Farahn breakfast of toasted pita bread with spices and a sweet mint tea. Elora didn’t always make El Farahn food, so Steph knew it was her way of getting her accustomed to what she would be eating from now on, though part of her wished she’d made scrambled eggs and toast, just for one last hurrah as a full-time American.

  The family enjoyed a pleasant breakfast before locking up the house and loading the car with their luggage. Steph took the time to really listen to the radio, feeling a sense of doom. Everything was the last—the last breakfast, the last car ride, all of it. With each step they took, it was getting harder for her to tell herself that it wasn’t actually going to happen.

  They parked in long-term parking at the airport, taking a shuttle to the main terminal and checking their suitcases. Somehow, Steph had managed to pack everything that really mattered to her in a regular-sized suitcase. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not; she had had a full and wonderful life up to that point, so shouldn’t she have had more to show for it?

  As they boarded the plane, Steph squeezed in between her parents in coach, prepared for a long, uncomfortable flight. An attendant walked down the aisle until she stopped and looked at their seat numbers.

  “Are you the O’Hanlon family?” the woman asked, and Jerry confirmed that they were.

  The attendant smiled. “If you’ll please come with me,” she said, taking a step back.

  Steph and her parents looked from one to the other in confusion. Not knowing what else to do, they stood and followed the woman up the aisle toward the front of the plane. She stopped at a row in first class.

  “You have been upgraded, courtesy of your future son-in-law. He didn’t provide any other information outside of that.”

  Steph and her parents stared at the woman, as though they were waiting for a punch line or for her to send them back to coach, and then they all burst into laughter.

  “See, I told you he was a catch!” Elora said, beaming from ear to ear as she settled into one of the plush seats with plenty of leg space.

  Settling into her own seat, Steph couldn’t help but be charmed by the generous gesture. It had cost her dad a pretty penny to get the three of them out to El Farah, and this upgrade was a reminder of the lifestyle they had once enjoyed. As Jerry sat down next to his daughter, she leaned in, ready to pry out some details.

  “Okay, spill. You have to tell me something about this guy, Dad. Just one tiny little detail!”

  Jerry shook his head, casting a glance at Elora, who was accepting a glass of mimosa while she perused the movies that were available to watch during the flight. Her expression was one of pure bliss. Steph re
alized that her mother had lost much when their stock had turned against them, though she had never once complained. She had simply soldiered on, ensuring that the rest of the family did, too.

  “Not a word from me, missy. I will not suffer your mother’s wrath by breaking with tradition. I’d never hear the end of it.”

  “Come on, she’s not even listening. Look!”

  Elora had her headphones on and what looked like a romantic comedy playing as she snuggled under a plush blanket and sipped on her morning cocktail. Jerry hesitated, and Steph saw an opening.

  “I’m going to marry this man, Dad. Don’t you think I deserve to know about him? What’s his job? What does he like to do for fun? Anything! Throw me a bone here!”

  Jerry considered her request, pursing his lips as he stroked his cleanly shaven chin. “All right,” he said, turning to her in a conspiratorial way. “He’s the kind of man who would put your whole family in first class on the way to meet him. Doesn’t that speak volumes about his character?”

  “I guess,” Steph mumbled, disappointed. It was clear that she wasn’t going to get any more information before the big day.

  Pulling up her own blanket and pointedly ignoring her father, Steph snuggled in and picked a very long movie. She would be watching several of them on the way to her new home country.

  That was, if she could really stomach the possibility of what waited on the other side.

  ***

  Many hours later, the pilot came on the speaker to inform them that they would be landing in El Farah in twenty minutes. It had been a luxurious day of lounging, snacking, and watching movies, as Steph had opted to make the most of the situation by enjoying some of her last moments with her parents as a single woman.

  By the end of the week she would become somebody’s wife, and according to her mother, that took precedence over her relationship with anyone else besides any children she might have. Steph tried to ignore how old fashioned that sounded as she fought to savor every little bit of her time with her parents. As the ocean came to an end, an arid desert landscape, laced with palm trees and scattering pieces of oasis, came into view. A few gleaming cities dotted the scene, but the country seemed to be comprised mostly of beaches and desert.

  Steph watched with curiosity as her mother’s homeland came into view. Of course she had seen pictures, but nothing compared to the real thing. The plane approached the runway, landing gently as it touched the ground, sealing Steph’s fate.

  There would be no turning back now. She was in El Farah, possibly forever. She felt a sudden wave of homesickness wash over her, and she silently chastised herself. How many times over the years had she wished for an opportunity like this? To get away from her small Vermont life and see the world and all it had to offer? Missing home wouldn’t do her any good, she reminded herself over and over until eventually the feeling subsided.

  Being in first class, the O’Hanlons were among the first off the plane. They quickly made their way through customs before stepping out into the hot, desert air.

  Steph lost her breath in the dry heat, which was scorching compared to Vermont. She instantly longed to be sitting by her town’s lake, basking in the gentle Northeastern sun, not being beaten down by this harsh desert one. Her father hailed a cab, and before she knew it, Steph was speeding along toward their hotel, staring out the window at this foreign land that shouldn’t have been foreign.

  Steph should have traveled more. Her father had certainly had the money for it when she was younger, but what he’d lacked was the time. He was always working, sometimes day and night, and there was never a good time for a family vacation. By the time she was old enough to take one, all she could afford was a road trip with some high school friends down the East Coast, which wasn’t exactly as exciting as she’d thought it would be.

  As they drove, Steph watched her mother’s face. Elora’s expression was wistful as she laid eyes once again on the land of her birth.

  Steph placed a gentle hand on her mother’s knee. “Please tell me. Just one thing.”

  Elora looked down at her daughter, then, laying a reassuring hand on top of hers. “He is kind hearted, good looking, and wealthy. That is all you need to know for now. The rest you will find out on your own.”

  Steph bit back a frustrated sigh as they drove on in silence, her mother lost in memories, her father lightly snoring with his head drooping onto his chest, and the driver listening to music she had never heard before. When they arrived at the hotel, her father jolted awake before paying the man and getting their bags. They stopped at the concierge to check into their room.

  “O’Hanlon,” her father told the man, who typed their name into the system.

  The clerk’s eyebrows lifted, and he looked back up at her father. “It would seem you’ve had a change of rooms, sir. Instead of a single with two queens, you have been upgraded to the lounge suite on the top floor.”

  Jerry looked down at his daughter with a glance of approval. “He’s really trying to impress you, wouldn’t you say?”

  “How do you know it’s him?” Steph countered.

  The further in she got, the more she felt like she couldn’t go through with the wedding. It was made all the worse by the fact that whoever the groom was, he was obviously kind enough to shower her and her parents with upgrades and gifts before the big day. Could she really walk out on someone like that? On the other hand, could she really go through with marrying someone she didn’t know? What if this was all just a show, a way to win her parents’ trust so that he could do what he pleased to her and they would take his side? If her parents had been willing to give her even a small hint, maybe she could have relaxed, but Steph felt her panic rising with the elevator as they rode to the highest floor of the hotel.

  When her father opened the door, the view they were met with was absolutely magnificent. The whole room was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows, so they had a sweeping view of the majestic El Farah desert as winds whipped curls of sand off the tops of towering dunes. The living room was spacious yet comfortable, with colorful furniture that still managed to be chic. There were three bedrooms, and Steph picked the one across from the suite her parents took.

  They settled in comfortably, resting after their long journey before meeting back in the living room.

  “Steph, we’re planning on checking out that landmark I was telling you about before. Would you like to come?” Jerry asked.

  Steph let loose a huge yawn, stretching her arms to make a big show of being tired. “I think I’m going to rest here for a while. I don’t quite feel like walking around yet.”

  Elora lifted one dark eyebrow. “But you always feel like walking.”

  Steph shrugged. “Okay, well maybe I just want some time to prepare myself for tomorrow. It’s kind of the biggest day of my life.”

  Her tone brooked no argument, and her parents, wanting to be understanding, relented. Once Steph was sure they had made it to the elevator, she sank to the floor, taking deep breaths as she tried to steady her nerves.

  She could do this. She could marry a stranger. The man had set them up in first class and upgraded them to a penthouse suite. He clearly cared about her welfare and happiness, right? She was being silly. There was nothing wrong with getting married this way—she had just grown up in a culture that didn’t understand the merits of it.

  Steph paced around the suite, needing to get all her excess energy out. While relaxing and watching movies was all well and good, her legs felt stiff and unused, and for a moment she entertained the idea of going for a jog to clear her head. Did people jog in El Farah?

  Steph took a moment to stare out at the desert, feeling utterly small as she did so. It was silly to lose one’s mind so close to an event that there was no stopping. Or was there? Did she really have no choice over her own future?

  Feeling trapped, Steph came to a decision. She found a notepad and pen and scribbled a note to her parents, telling them she got hungry and stepped out for som
e food, and not to wait up. After her note was written, she left it on the coffee table in front of an enormous television before grabbing her purse and hotel key on the way out the door.

  It didn’t matter where she was going as long as she wasn’t in that stifling room—and with the responsibilities that came with it.

  FOUR

  Steph

  Stepping back out into the hot desert sun, Steph took a deep breath. The air had a distinct scent to it, almost like a beach. The buildings around her were all rounded at the top, domelike in nature. It was a fascinating style, and she probably would have enjoyed it immensely if she weren’t in the middle of a crisis.

  Casting her eyes downward, Steph began walking. She paid enough attention to avoid crashing into other people, but otherwise she was lost in a tangled web of thoughts, trying to puzzle out her life. She debated with herself at length about what the best option was. She was already in El Farah. There was no turning back.