His Montana Bride

by Brenda Minton

  She felt more at ease because she wasn’t chasing after love. She was waiting for the right person to find her.

  She never again wanted to hear the words “Katie, I thought we were just friends.”

  Neither of them had to let this be a “thing” between them, though. Chemistry happened to people all the time. It was unexpected but not the end of the world. Really.

  Katie swallowed, pasted a smile on her face and plunged forward. “So let’s go find some photos.”

  “We can start by seeing what Robin Frazier has unearthed in her genealogical research,” Julie offered, further breaking the uncomfortable moment.

  Katie had been introduced to Robin in passing at the reception the first night in town. Robin was doing genealogical research for her master’s and the trail had led her to Jasper Gulch. She’d been in town for several months, Katie had been told.

  “Lead the way.” Katie jumped at the chance to look at the photos, and the opportunity to be distracted.

  “It isn’t far to lead. She has a, well, basically a closet at the back of the building.” Cord motioned Katie through the gate. “I think Olivia Franklin is in there helping put stuff together. She’s worked at a historical museum so we’re pretty happy she came back to town when she did.”

  Julie bumped a shoulder into Katie’s. “We’re not as happy she came back as Jack McGuire is. They’re joining us in the fifty-couple march down the aisle.”

  More happy couples, just what Katie needed.

  * * *

  Cord shook his head as he followed his sister and Katie through the gate. What a mistake, hugging the pretty redhead who had fallen into his life. He could chalk it up as spontaneous and grateful, because she’d come to his rescue twice in the past two days. Yesterday she’d saved him in the situation with Marci and Lulu. She’d known what to say to Marci, a child he’d known her entire life, whom he’d helped to raise.

  “Did you find someone to help Marci and her grandmother?” Katie asked, glancing back at him as he stepped forward to open the door to the small room being used to put the museum together, or at least the beginning stages of a museum.

  “Yes, we did.” He shot his sister a look because he saw surprise all over her face. “A retired nurse is going to stay with them for a bit, just to make sure things run smoothly. I’m hoping Lulu won’t have to be put in a nursing home. At least for a while.”

  “I hope that’s the case.”

  “Did I miss something?” Julie jumped into the conversation.

  “Lulu had a spell yesterday.” Cord sighed, knowing spell didn’t quite explain. “Her dementia is getting worse.”

  Julie touched his arm. “I’m so sorry, Cord.”

  “So am I. There isn’t much we can do about it.”

  “No, but you have to remember you have family to help.”

  Cord nodded, wanting to let the subject go because Katie was already being yanked into their lives a little too far and maybe she didn’t have to be all the way in.

  They entered the room where he knew Robin Frazier and Livvie had been working most of the morning. Robin was alone in the room. He glanced around, but in a room this small, it wasn’t as if Livvie could be hiding. Robin had photographs in her hand and a look on her face that Cord didn’t quite get. It was somewhere between guilty and unsure. He didn’t want to be the suspicious one, but there was something about Robin Frazier and he couldn’t quite figure it out.

  He’d like to know before his dad tried to marry her off to one of his younger brothers. Adam and Austin were being cautious with all the matchmaking going on. And good thing they were.

  “Find something interesting?” He stepped forward, flanked by his sister and Katie.

  Robin spread photographs across the table she’d been working at. “Not really interesting. Well, I don’t know. I just noticed that in every photo I’ve found, Silas Massey wore the same suit. Why?”

  Cord shrugged it off. “Maybe he had more than one suit but all the same style?”

  Julie stepped closer, fingering the pictures. She lifted one and gave it a careful look. “I heard that he didn’t have the ability with money that Ezra Shaw had. Maybe he wanted to look the part of wealthy businessman? He had a reputation to uphold, after all.”

  Next to him, Katie picked up a few pictures. “Is this Lucy?”

  Cord took the picture from her. “Yes. That’s the car that went over the bridge, too.”

  “You all look so much alike. It’s the eyes. Even in the black-and-white photos, you all have very distinct eyes.” Katie held the photo up and looked at him. Cord met her gaze and he thought he could say the same about distinct eyes.

  Hers.

  They drew a guy in, even when he wasn’t planning to be drawn. Those eyes, the color of a meadow in spring, flickered and glanced away. He had a real urge to turn her face so that he could look a little closer, feel a little more.

  He shook it off, the way he did when he landed wrong on his knee, reinjuring what had happened years ago when he’d been going through a saddle-bronc phase.

  Katie set the photo on the table and moved on, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she sifted through the photos. He looked away, his attention focusing on Robin Frazier as she settled her hand on the same picture Katie had commented on. Shadows lurked in her blue eyes as she studied that picture and then pushed it to the side.

  He started to say something, to ask if she was okay, but he knew that sometimes a person needed space to figure out what they were looking for.

  Katie didn’t have a difficult time finding what she was looking for. Within thirty minutes she had a neat collection of wedding photos. She browsed the brides in their wedding finery, a faint smile playing at the corners of her pretty mouth.

  He remembered the first night he’d met her, when her sister mentioned the wedding dress that had been their grandmother’s. Katie had smiled and pretended everything was fine, but he’d seen the shadows in her green eyes at the mention of that dress.

  It was the last thing he should have noticed about the woman standing across from him. Unfortunately, he kept noticing more and more about the sister of the bride.

  The door opened and Olivia stepped in. He smiled at the tiny blonde he’d known most of his life. “Hey, Livvie. Sorry for invading.”

  Olivia shrugged it off. “The more the merrier. Looking for anything in particular?”

  “We were looking for wedding photos to use for the wedding,” Cord explained. “Is there anything the two of you need?”

  Livvie shook her head. “Nothing but more space.”

  “Yeah, I hope we can give you that space soon. Hey, Ethan mentioned the church bell. If it isn’t going to be repaired, why couldn’t we take it down and put it in the museum?”

  Her eyes lit up. “That would be amazing.”

  “No promises,” Cord said. “But I’ll do my best.”

  “Do you ladies want to join Katie and me for lunch?” Julie asked as she headed for the door.

  “I brought a sandwich.” Livvie had already bent her head over some papers.

  From her place next to Katie on the opposite side of the table, Robin shook her head but didn’t look up. “No, I think I’ll stay here and keep cataloguing photos. I’ve found that my research is coming in handy for the museum and there are a few ladies who are going to join me today to see if we can put together a one-hundred-year time line of photos. Or as close as we can get.”

  “If you find more wedding photos, I’d like to see them.” Katie held the photos they’d found and Robin handed her a manila envelope. She slid them inside. “You’re sure it’s okay to take these?”

  “I’m sure.” Robin looked to Livvie. “Don’t you think?”

  “Definitely. I think they all have names on the back.”

&
nbsp; “Thank you.” Katie held the envelope of photos and headed for the door.

  “Anything else?” Livvie asked, her tone distracted.

  Yeah, answers, Cord thought. About a lot of things. Again his gaze settled on Katie and he wondered why most of his questions went back to her. She was more interesting than Robin Frazier’s family tree and even more interesting than the photos of Lucy and Ezra that seemed to have gotten lost in the piles of pictures on the table.

  He watched the woman in question leave with his sister and he didn’t follow because there were times in a man’s life when he knew he had to remember his convictions. He needed to focus on this wedding, on Marci and Lulu, on any number of things. The things that would be in his life longer than a month. Katie was easy to be around; that didn’t mean he had to be around her every minute of the day. As a matter of fact, just knowing that should have helped him realize he needed to spend less time in her presence.

  Chapter Six

  Two days later, Katie was back in town with Julie. She’d come to pick up photos that Rosemary at the store had sent off to be enlarged. And poor Julie was her only source of transportation. She wished she’d gone home, at least to get her own car. Maybe next week.

  Julie had gone to the bank down the street and Katie wandered alone, content to check out the different businesses in town. She had already gone into the bakery to talk about wedding cake. The coordinator had taken care of the main cake design. Each couple would have their own small cake. The orders were placed, cake flavors, icing and colors had been chosen. It was a huge undertaking for such a small bakery and Katie had learned that some of the baking would have to take place at Great Gulch Grub. Better known as the café.

  She stopped in front of the empty store she’d noticed before. It was small with a shingled awning and wide windows that gave passersby a decent view of the interior.

  “Still looking at this store?” Julie walked up next to her. Katie smiled at the other woman’s reflection standing next to hers in the window.

  “Yes.” She turned to face Julie. “I’ve always wanted a shop of my own. I’ve actually been saving.”

  “What would you carry?”

  “Clothing.” Katie stopped and with a shake of her head she backed away from the store. “It’s a dream, nothing more.”

  “I had a dream when I was a kid. Dad bought me a few sheep for 4-H. The rest is history. Katie, sometimes a dream becomes our reality.”

  Katie smiled a little easier. “Thank you. It would be amazing, not just having the store but being able to live here.”

  “It would be amazing to be able to buy clothes in Jasper Gulch. I mean, we have the feed store.”

  “Feed store? Clothes?”

  Julie laughed. “Well, jeans, work boots, gloves and work coats.”

  “Designer, I’m sure.”

  “Definitely,” Julie agreed.

  They turned as a truck honked. Cord’s big Ford King Ranch pulled up to the curb. The passenger-side window rolled down and he leaned in that direction.

  “I happen to know the guy who owns that building if you’re interested in renting it.”

  Katie shook her head. “Just window-shopping.”

  “Well, let me know if you change your mind. Would you be interested in looking at the tent they set up today? I know we’re three weeks out, but with all of the events coming up, we’re moving ahead with the tents so that we can make sure we have plenty of room and plenty of time to prepare.”

  “Tents, just what she wants to do on a pretty day.” Julie glanced at her watch. “I have to meet Ryan.”

  “I can give Katie a ride home. If that works for the two of you?”

  Julie looked at Katie and she nodded in agreement. “That works.”

  What choice did she have? She didn’t have a car, so she could either infringe on Julie’s time with Ryan, or go with Cord. Cord, who had the rugged, handsome cowboy image all sewed up. And he smelled like mountains, fresh air and leather.

  He leaned a little farther across the cab of the truck and the passenger-side door opened. Katie told Julie goodbye and climbed into the truck. She shot a cautious look at the man behind the wheel. He happened to look at her at the same time. She would have been fine if he hadn’t winked. But he did.

  The fairgrounds were empty of crowds, of course. The rodeo arena was abandoned for the season. The festival hall was locked up tight. Cord’s truck pulled up to a giant white tent. It actually appeared to be two tents pushed together.

  “I hope we don’t get a strong wind between now and the wedding,” she said.

  Cord pulled the keys from the truck ignition and pocketed them. “That’s an optimistic thought. It matches mine. I hope it doesn’t snow.”

  “Yikes, that would be bad.”

  “Very.”

  They got out of the truck and met in front of the tent opening. As they stepped inside, Katie was pulled back in time and she could see it. Maybe without the fifty couples. Maybe just one couple, candlelit chandeliers, Christmas lights and white tulle. Flowers. She didn’t see dark fall colors but whites and muted autumn shades of yellow, burnt orange and red.

  “You’re glowing.”

  She looked up at the man next to her. “Glowing?”

  “The sunlight coming through the tent canvas. And the look on your face. You are seeing it, aren’t you? How it could look that night?”

  “Can’t you?”

  “Afraid not. It’s the guy gene.”

  She reached for his hand and led him inside. “I think you could put seating on both sides of the tent and have them angled toward the center, where the two tents are joined. The brides and grooms could come from two directions. That would give everyone the opportunity to see them. They could meet in the middle and split off. As the bride and groom meet, they would go to one side or the other. Together.”

  “I like that idea.” He took hold of her hand. “So we would have them walk in, brides from one side and grooms from the other?”

  “Yes, that’s it.”

  “What about the bridesmaids and best, um, best men?”

  “They’ll walk in before the couples. I think they come down the center together and then form a half circle at the back of the tent. The brides and grooms will be in front of them, turning to face the guests. We can have Pastor Ethan stand facing the couples.”

  “Good, we’ll give it a try. The couples who are in town are going to be here in less than an hour so they can look at the tent and get a feel for things.”

  “Then let’s give this a try before they get here.”

  He let go of her hand and she missed the touch, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t miss his touch. She couldn’t want his touch. He backed away. “I’ll go to the other side.”

  “To the back far corner. Come in diagonal toward the opposite corner.”

  She watched him walk away. When he was on the far side of the tent, she nodded. “Walk slowly. We have to meet at the same time.”

  He started walking. She watched, matching her steps to his. Sunlight did filter through the white canvas. The air inside was still but cool. The man walking toward her was not, repeat, not her groom. But her heart raced a little and it hurt to breathe.

  They met at the front center of the tents and joined hands. She looked up at him and he wasn’t smiling. “That’s the first time I’ve actually made it down the aisle,” he confessed.

  “It’s the first time I wasn’t a bridesmaid.”

  “Interesting,” he whispered.

  Her heart agreed. And then he leaned, still holding her hand and his lips touched hers. His free hand moved to her back and his mouth lingered on hers. She couldn’t resist moving her free hand to his hair, feeling the soft waves beneath her fingers. When his lips on hers stilled she moved back, parting fr
om him, from the moment. He didn’t let go of her hand.

  “You may kiss the bride,” he whispered close to her ear.

  “I’ve never been anyone’s bride, just the best friend.”

  “I’ve never managed to be the groom. But at least now I know how that kiss feels at the end.”

  She leaned into his shoulder, aware that their fingers were laced together and his hand was still on her back. “I don’t think it counts.”

  “No, probably not. But it did help me to feel a little better about this wedding business. If we can create that same moment for the other couples.”

  She unlaced her fingers and stepped away. “I think they have to create their own moments.”

  His hands went behind his back and he looked around. “But we can help. We have to re-create the warmth of this light.”

  “Chandeliers with candles and Christmas lights.”

  “And no direct lighting inside, maybe just outside so that it glows through the canvas.”

  “Yes. And what about heat?”

  “Hmm, yes, well...” He laughed a little. “I’m not cold, are you?”

  “That isn’t what I meant.” She knew that he knew that.

  He was too much. This situation was too much. She wanted to tell Gwen that it was her fault. The broken heart when Katie left would be Gwen’s fault. Katie wouldn’t do this again. She wouldn’t be the friend, the buddy, the one who listened and helped, not to this man. She couldn’t because she knew that it would hurt worse than it had ever hurt before.

  Gwen! That reminded her. “My sister is coming back tomorrow. For the weekend. I think she’s going to have her dress sized. Do you think we should have the brides meet with us on Saturday so we can make sure they’ve all picked a dress? We can have seamstresses here to make any adjustments.”

  “I’ll call the people supplying the dresses and see if Saturday would work for them. I think they have seamstresses because they want the dresses adjusted a certain way. Don’t ask, because I’m not into clothing.”