The Cowboy’s Outlaw Bride

by Cora Seton

  “You’re freaking me out. What’s going on?” Noah made his way toward the kitchen. Something smelled good. Stella was at the stove when he walked in.

  “Jed and Liam tell you about their crazy idea?” she asked.

  “Not yet. What is it?” When he spotted the pot roast she was lifting out, he nearly groaned with impatience. “Are there biscuits? Tell me there are biscuits.”

  “There are. Wash up first.”

  He moved to the sink. “What’s the crazy idea?”

  “It isn’t crazy.” Jed elbowed Noah out of the way and washed up, too.

  “Well?” Noah asked when they were all seated. “Come on. Spill it.”

  Maya entered the kitchen and slid into her seat. “Have you heard—?”

  “No. No one will tell me.”

  Stella served him a plate of pot roast and a biscuit. Noah knew he should wait for the others, but he was too hungry. He made short work of buttering the biscuit, dipped it into the gravy, blew on it and took a bite.

  Heaven.

  “Jed’s opening a tubing business,” Liam said. “We fixed the irrigation channel so it reconnects to Pittance Creek downstream and got more water flowing into it. It’s perfect. We’ll charge ten dollars a head and—”

  Noah dropped his biscuit on his plate. “A tubing business? What are you talking about?”

  “You know—people riding on inner tubes, like a lazy river ride at a water park. We’ll rent out tubes, ferry people back when they’re done for another ride—”

  “In our irrigation channel?” Noah couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “You’ve gotta come see—”

  “After dinner,” Stella said firmly.

  “But the creek’s gone down—”

  “We fixed that,” Liam said. “The channel is full, and the water’s the perfect speed. We made it so it loops back to the creek—”

  “Ten bucks a head,” Jed said with satisfaction. “That’ll add up in hot weather like this.”

  “You fixed it?” All thought of food forgotten, Noah pushed back his chair. “How did you fix it?”

  “The Coopers messed with the creek first,” Liam said, but he wouldn’t meet Noah’s eye.

  Hell.

  “What have you done, Jed?”

  “Liam worked the machinery,” Jed said primly.

  Noah just bet he did—under Jed’s careful direction. Liam loved using the tractor’s backhoe attachment. And Jed—well, Jed loved screwing things up between them and their neighbors.

  “The Coopers messed with the creek first,” Liam said again. “I went down there this morning, and there was barely a trickle coming into the irrigation channel. They changed the course of the creek last night, Noah. They’re only getting what they deserve.”

  “If we’re getting enough water to fill our channel full, how much did you leave the Coopers?” Noah demanded.

  Liam ducked his head again.

  Just as Noah had thought.

  “If you left them nothing, then we’re worse than them.” He stood up.

  “Eat your dinner,” Stella told him.

  “Not until I see what they’ve done.”

  “Noah, you’re not going to fix it tonight. There’s still water flowing in Pittance Creek. Eat,” Stella ordered. “Besides, the tubing idea might be a good one.”

  “You can’t be serious.” Despite himself, Noah sat and scooped up more gravy with his biscuit. He was starving, and he needed to keep up his strength.

  “Just for a little while, anyway. We need cash.”

  Stella kept the books. They must be getting awfully short if she was willing to do something like this.

  “Do you seriously think people want to tube in our irrigation channel?” He couldn’t think of anything more ridiculous.

  “Some kids might. What else is there to do on a hot summer day in town?”

  “They can go to Silver Falls or Runaway Lake,” Noah pointed out.

  “Not everyone has the time to go that far,” she pointed out.

  “Look, we’ve got the inner tubes, and we’ve already put out the word,” Liam said. “We start tomorrow.”

  “You know the Coopers are going to retaliate.”

  “Let them,” Jed said. “They’ll be the killjoys ruining everyone’s good time. Then people will remember who the true heroes of this town are.”

  Noah waited for everyone to laugh at that pronouncement.

  When they didn’t, he knew they were really in trouble.

  “Where’s the shotgun?” Lance shouted when he burst in through the back door after dinner.

  Olivia, hands deep in a sink of soapy dishes, shrieked, then fought to catch her breath. “Heck, Lance, don’t do that. What do you need the shotgun for?” She wiped her hands quickly on a towel and rushed after him as he strode through the house toward the gun safe in the first-floor office.

  “I’m going hunting. I’m going to get me some Turners.”

  “Lance, slow down! Where’s Steel?”

  “Where is he ever? I sure as hell don’t know. He’s not here helping me protect our property!” Lance kept going.

  She remembered Steel said he’d be gone today. “What did the Turners do?” Olivia tried to keep up.

  “They diverted the water. Now it’s all running into their irrigation channel. Hardly any is reaching ours.”

  “So let me get this straight.” Olivia put on a burst of speed, got past him and blocked his way, remembering the promise she’d made herself. “You diverted the water away from their irrigation channel, they diverted it away from ours and now you’re pissed?”

  “Get out of my way!”

  “No!” Olivia shoved Lance back when he tried to advance.

  “What the hell, Olivia?”

  “Don’t you see what you’re doing? You’re ruining everything for us! What are you going to do? Shoot Liam? Or Noah—or Jed? And then what? You’re going to spend the rest of your damn life rotting in a jail like Dad did? How does that solve anything?”

  “I’m just trying to—”

  “You’re just trying to make sure the rest of my life is as shitty as the first part was!” Olivia shoved him again. “If you wind up in jail—or dead—who’s going to run this place? Who’s going to put food on our table? Who’s going to be left in my family, Lance? Huh? Tell me! Because Dad’s gone, Mom’s gone, Tory’s gone and Steel’s never around!”

  She’d never shouted at Lance like this before, but now that she’d started, Olivia couldn’t seem to stop. “I can’t do this all by myself. So stop being so goddamn selfish, and start thinking for once!”

  For a moment she thought Lance might push past and get the shotgun after all. Instead he turned on his heel and walked out and slammed the back door so hard the house shook. Olivia scrubbed at her face, wiping away the tears she found there.

  She didn’t know what Lance would do next.

  Didn’t know how to stop the feud from escalating even more. How was it going to end? With someone dead?

  Her hands were shaking when she pulled her phone from her pocket, and it took her two tries to make the call to Noah.

  “Pick up,” Olivia muttered. “Pick up, pick up.”

  “Olivia?” Noah answered.

  “We need to meet. To talk. Lance was coming to get his shotgun when he saw what you did to the creek. I stopped him, but I can’t vouch for what he’ll do. We need to stop this.”

  “I know. I told Liam there’d be more trouble.”

  She heard Noah breathing. Thinking.

  “Where and when?” he finally said.

  “Tonight. Camila’s old cabin. It’s empty, right?”

  “You can’t come here. Are you crazy? Liam’s got a shotgun, too, you know.”

  “I’ve snuck onto your property hundreds of times.” She let that sink in. “I’ll be there. Ten o’clock.”

  “I’ll be there, too.”

  Her phone beeped, and she looked at the screen. “I’ve got another
call.” It was Caroline.

  “See you later.” When he was gone, Olivia eagerly greeted her friend, hoping for a break from the day’s worries, but Caroline’s voice was too thick with tears for Olivia to understand her words.

  “Slow down. Say that again. What happened?” Olivia clutched the phone, wondering how much misery one day could bring.

  “He took it. My lottery ticket,” Caroline sobbed. “He said he needs a new truck.”

  “Oh, Caroline.” Olivia didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t surprised, but she’d hoped things wouldn’t turn out like this. “You need to stand up for yourself. That money is yours.”

  “I… tried.” She was crying so hard she could barely form the words.

  “I’m coming over. We’ll—”

  “No!” Caroline cut right over her. “No, you can’t come. I just need you to listen.”

  “But—”

  “Olivia, you can’t come over here.”

  Olivia took a deep breath. “Is he still there?”

  “No. But I don’t know when he’ll be back, and he’ll be furious if he knows I told you. He said—he said I’m always so selfish. I never think about him. It’s not true—”

  Olivia swallowed the fury that rose in her throat. “You’re right it’s not true. You think about him way too much. He’s not good enough for you.”

  “You don’t understand. He’s had it hard.” Caroline’s sobs began to subside. “His parents treated him so bad.”

  And Olivia knew her friend was lost. They’d had conversations like this before, and once Caroline started defending Devon, she couldn’t be budged. Olivia listened, hoping that her silent support was enough. Knowing it couldn’t be.

  When she’d heard enough, she tried one more time. “You deserve that kitchen upgrade and to pay off some of your mortgage. Don’t you think?”

  “Yes,” Caroline said softly.

  “Devon needs to give you back the lottery ticket.”

  “I know. He will,” she said, though she sounded far from certain about that. “I’ll wait for him to settle down and talk to him again.”

  “I hope he listens to you,” Olivia told her.

  But she doubted Devon would.

  Chapter Eight

  He had to be the stupidest man in the world for taking this chance, Noah told himself as he walked up the steps to Camila’s old cabin. If Liam or Jed found Olivia on their land, there’d be hell to pay.

  The door swung open, and Olivia pulled him inside. It was cool in the cabin and already had the musty smell of an unused home. Noah wanted to take Olivia into his arms and forget about everything that had happened in the past few days, but he couldn’t do that. Not when their families were taking up weapons.

  “We don’t have water for our stock, Noah,” Olivia told him. “The creek’s so low now, it barely flows into the channel.”

  “Your family started this.”

  “Lance said your family diverted water first.”

  “Lance is lying. But you won’t believe what Liam and Jed are up to.” He filled her in on their plans, and for the first time, Olivia cracked a smile.

  “Tubing? On the irrigation channel? That’s—”

  “Insane,” Noah finished for her.

  “And kind of… ingenious,” Olivia said. “I mean, the water’s only a few feet high, but how much do you need, really? Especially if it’s kids we’re talking about.”

  “He wants to charge ten dollars a head. Stella said we need—” Noah cut off abruptly. Hell, he hadn’t meant to say that.

  “You need the cash,” Olivia said when he didn’t. She nodded. “Don’t we all.”

  “I’ll make them change it back,” Noah told her, although he wasn’t sure how Liam would react to that. His brother was changing in ways he didn’t like. He seemed brittle lately. Pushed to the edge.

  “I’m not sure if I can keep Lance from starting something again.” Olivia looked miserable, her arms crossed and her shoulders hunched as if she was cold, although the night was warm.

  “I’m not sure if I can keep Liam on the straight and narrow, either. It might take me a day or two to convince him about the irrigation channel. Do you think you can keep Lance in line that long?”

  “I can try, especially if I have your word that it will happen.”

  “You have my word.” Noah paced the room. “I don’t want it to be like this between our families.” He turned to face her. “I want to be with you.”

  “I know.”

  “How about you? What do you want?” He had to know. Was there any hope for them?

  “I want you, too.”

  Noah was suddenly aware of the cabin in a way he hadn’t been before. It had four walls. A door that locked. Curtains that could be closed. Unable to keep away from her any longer, he stepped forward, caught her up and kissed her. He couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t care about the Ridley property, or the water, or his ranch, or anything else. Or rather, he did, but this was more important.

  He wanted Olivia. Wanted to forget all the rest of his problems and simply be with her.

  Now.

  And Olivia wanted him. He felt it in the way she melted against him. The way she linked her arms around his neck and went up on tiptoe to meet his kiss willingly. Now that he’d started, he couldn’t seem to stop, either. He tightened his embrace, pulled her body against his and groaned.

  She felt so damn good.

  “Olivia—”

  “Yes,” she said definitively before he could even finish his sentence. “Me and you. Together. Now. Screw everyone else.”

  She slipped her hands down between them, tugged the hemline of her shirt up and over her head, and stepped back a moment before crashing against him again and reaching for another kiss.

  Hell, yeah. Screw them all.

  Noah reached over his head, grabbed a fistful of his shirt and tugged it off as well, breaking off the kiss only momentarily before tossing it away, tugging Olivia close so he could undo her bra.

  “You and me,” he echoed. “Just you and me.”

  “Just you and me,” she agreed.

  As her bra fell to the floor, he palmed her breasts, and Olivia moaned.

  Noah could barely think straight. He wanted more. Needed to touch her everywhere.

  This was the only answer that mattered. What was between them—the longing, the lust, the… desire—was far more important than what the rest of the world was dishing out.

  And she was kicking off her boots and undoing her jeans, and he was tugging them down, and she was fumbling with the button at his waist and tugging at his jeans—

  And then they were in a heap on the floor, and Noah didn’t care, because he needed—

  Olivia slipped out of her panties in a maneuver that gave him glimpses of everything he wanted to see. He didn’t know how he got naked. But it was quick, and suddenly he was free, flipping Olivia onto her back, settling between her legs, nudging her thighs apart and—

  Oh, God.

  This was what he wanted. What he needed.

  Where he belonged.

  Forever.

  Olivia gasped as Noah pushed inside her with one strong stroke, sensation bursting through her like clear water running over dry earth after far too long. She clutched at his shoulders, slid her hands to his hips and tugged him back inside her when he pulled back.

  Noah followed her lead, plunging into her again, and Olivia arched her back, sighing at the wonder of it. He filled her perfectly, tugging her further toward ecstasy with every stroke, and Olivia wished it would last forever.

  She wanted more. Much more.

  As Noah increased his pace, she met his rhythm with her own and lifted her hips to meet his thrusts. His fingers dug into her skin in answer to her own urgency. She lifted her head to kiss his neck, run her lips along his collarbone.

  All she needed was Noah. He was here in her arms—inside her—and that was everything. She didn’t care what happened next.

  Noah
worked in and out of her, building the pressure, coaxing her to a climax she already knew would dwarf any she’d had before.

  Noah was right for her. He was meant to be here between her legs. Meant to love her—to make her—

  Olivia cried out as pleasure exploded through her and arched her back, crying out again and again. When Noah joined her, his gruff sounds echoing her cries, she hung on to him, riding the storm of his pleasure, too.

  When it was over, he collapsed on top of her, gathered her up and cradled her against his chest, turning them over to the side.

  “You and me.” He didn’t say more, and he didn’t need to; he’d already said everything.

  They were perfect together.

  They were all each other needed.

  She was never going to let him go.

  As Noah caught his breath and held Olivia in his arms, he knew he was lost. Here they were lying on the bare floor of an empty cabin, and it felt like heaven. How would it feel to be with Olivia in more comfortable circumstances? What would it be like to plan a whole life with her?

  He wanted a whole life with Olivia. A life of waking up to her, of sharing his days with her. Learning all about her. Growing together.

  He didn’t want to sneak around.

  What was the alternative, though? Leave Chance Creek? Start over? He couldn’t walk out on his family the way his mother had.

  Noah glanced at Olivia, who was staring at the ceiling, too. It was a mystery he couldn’t hope to solve. Not without asking his mother some difficult questions.

  Olivia must have sensed his scrutiny. She touched his face. “You’re thinking.”

  He nodded. “About my mom.”

  “Anything in particular?”

  Noah shifted, trying to get comfortable on the hard ground, and smoothed a lock of hair back behind Olivia’s ear. He hadn’t thought about his mother much recently. He didn’t talk to her as much as he should. Their conversations were always so stilted, and he supposed it was his fault. He still blamed her for what she’d done and how his life had changed so suddenly when she’d left.

  “I won’t walk out on my family the way she did.”

  “I’d never ask you to.”

  “I know.”

  “Tell me about her.” Olivia turned on her side to face him, and for a minute Noah got lost in wonder over the beauty of her body. She was comfortable in her skin in a way he appreciated. Her curves entranced him.