The Cowboy's Bride

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  “I just want you to know how much last night and this morning meant to me. I want you to know I will always, always remember it,” Callie assured him sincerely as her eyes locked with his. “And that’s going to be true no matter how crazy things get at the wedding, or after.” She just prayed she could handle it, with the sheriff’s help.

  “You’re not going anywhere, Callie,” Cody said fiercely, drawing her back into his arms. “Two hours from now you’re going to be my wife. We’re going to have a lifetime to spend together.”

  “I was afraid of that.” A low voice sounded behind them.

  Callie and Cody turned to see Buck and Pa coming toward them. They’d obviously come in through the back, as Cody habitually left the kitchen door unlocked.

  Callie took one look at their faces and knew they were out for blood this time.

  “I was wondering when you two would show up again,” Callie sighed as she reached inside her purse and surreptitiously punched the code into the beeper the sheriff had left with her. Hurry, she thought. Please, hurry.

  Beside her, Cody had gone completely still. Beneath his shock, a quiet fury was beginning to build.

  “Callie, we got to hand it to you,” Pa crowed. “Your talent knows no bounds. You still know how to lead this young fella around by the nose.” His eyes glittering greedily, Pa turned to Cody and offered up a smug smile. “Buck and I are gonna enjoy living next door to you.”

  Callie had the impression it took every ounce of willpower Cody had not to deck her father. “What are they talking about?” Cody hauled in a deep breath and turned to look at Callie.

  Callie knew she was at a place where she could lose everything again. Panic swelled within her as she regarded Pa and Buck with undisguised contempt. “They’re trying to get rich off you again,” she said, making no bones about how she felt about that.

  “And Callie here’s been in on it all along,” Pa said.

  Buck nodded smoothly and added to the bald-faced lie. “Who do you think helped distract you while we stole Zeus and burned your crops? Why, your little wife-to-be even let us help ourselves to a little cash and credit cards from your wallet.”

  “Not that Callie here isn’t experienced in cons,” Pa continued, beaming with false pride. “Why, she’s been helping me and her brother out for a long time.”

  Callie’s face first turned white, then pink. She knew there was enough truth in everything they claimed to make their story sound plausible. She could only hope Cody knew her well enough to realize it wasn’t true. “They’re lying,” she countered angrily, moving closer to Cody even as she wondered if Pa had brought that gun he’d been brandishing about. Putting her body slightly in front of Cody to block the path of a possible bullet, she said, “I never wanted any part of anything they’ve done.”

  “Oh, really? Then why didn’t you tell Cody we were around again that first night when I met you out behind his cabin?” Buck asked complacently. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one.

  Cody moved so he could see Callie’s face and shot her a quick glance. It was obvious to Callie that he was recalling the cigarette butt he had found outside the cabin that first night and the excuses she’d made.

  Flushing with embarrassment, Callie splayed a hand across her chest. “I didn’t know they would be here,” she said desperately. “I haven’t been in touch with them for years!”

  For Cody, that was a moot point. “Why did you lie to me?” he demanded gruffly.

  Callie held his eyes and worked to slow the pounding of her pulse. “Because I was afraid.”

  Pa and Buck erupted into ugly laughter. “Believe that and I’ve got a silver mine to sell you, too,” Pa chided rudely.

  “I’m going to have you arrested.” Cody brushed by Callie and headed for the cellular phone he’d left in the kitchen.

  As they all followed, Buck drew on his cigarette. “You can try,” he told Cody as they gathered round again in the sunny ranch house kitchen. “There isn’t enough proof to make any charges that you might level at us stick. All your going to the sheriff now will accomplish is that everyone will know what went down in Acapulco years ago.”

  Callie had only to look at his face to know that Cody still felt humiliated by that.

  “They’re going to know that Callie helped us dupe you,” Buck continued, cruelly rubbing it in. “They’re going to know how she played you—and Max—for a fool, then and now.”

  Pa grinned wickedly. “Bet you wish you didn’t have to marry her, don’t you, Cody?” he taunted with an evil leer. “Not that you really have any choice in the matter.” Pa threw up his hands. Spying the bottle of brandy from the night before, he uncorked it. “You don’t marry her, you don’t inherit the ranch. Once you do, of course, you’ll still have to be nice to us.” Pa chugged the liquor deeply, straight from the bottle. “Otherwise, everyone in the county will have to know how we’ve duped you. And the McKendricks will be the laughingstock of all Montana.”

  “Or in other words,” Cody surmised grimly, watching Pa wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, “whether I marry your daughter or not, I can look forward to a life of endless blackmail.”

  “That’s about it,” Pa affirmed as he took another long, careless drink, then passed the bottle to Buck. “But not to worry. Once you’ve seen the light and cooperated with us, Buck and I don’t plan to be around much. With the cash that you and the Silver Spur cattle operation can supply us, we envision many years of living the high life, far away from Montana.”

  “In the meantime,” Buck added, “we want the pleasure of seeing you privately and thoroughly humiliated, as you will be when we’re standing beside you, watching you speak your vows with Callie here. Who knows? With half of Montana invited to the big do, Pa and I might even be moved to speak up when the minister asks if anyone knows any reason why the two of you should not be joined in holy matrimony.”

  Callie sucked in a horrified breath and glared at her kin. She knew they were just mean enough to do it. “You wouldn’t—”

  Buck shrugged carelessly. “Might be kind of fun,” he allowed cruelly. “‘Course, we might be persuaded not to cause a scene at the weddin’ if your sweet hubby-to-be will just sign some property over to us now. For instance, he could start by giving us the papers to Zeus, free and clear. One hundred thousand from the sale of that bull ought to hold us for a few days, right, Pa?”

  Callie felt sick as her pa nodded.

  “Then of course we’d be back for more,” Buck promised.

  Callie had seen and heard enough, and so had Cody. She turned to Cody and gripped his arm. “I don’t want you to lose anything on account of me, Cody,” she told him fiercely. “Marry me so you can inherit the ranch, and I’ll leave right after.”

  Pa studied Cody. Instinctively seeming to know that Cody was having doubts because of all she hadn’t yet confided in Cody, Pa said, “Of course, if you don’t marry Callie, all Callie has to do is say yes to marrying you in front of all those witnesses, and she gets it all.”

  “I don’t want your land or your money, Cody. I never did. If you want me to prove it, I’ll go to the wedding and refuse to marry you. Then I’ll have no claim to anything here, and neither will Buck or Pa,” Callie pleaded.

  “And Cody will still lose his ranch, ’cause he can’t inherit anything without you.”

  Callie’s chin lifted defiantly as she rounded on her kin. Tears in her eyes, she stormed, “Cody can make his fortune in ranching all over again if he has to. He could even live happily enough without it. What he can’t live with is the likes of you, and neither can I. I’ve had it with the both of you! I am not going to take any more! Do you hear me?”

  “What a regular little actress you have turned into,” Pa drawled with a great degree of surprise and pleasure.

  Buck shook his head in agreement and placed a mocking hand over his heart. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d be taken in myself.”

  Silence fell between
them. Callie turned to look at Cody and knew she was once again on the verge of losing everything. Only this time she was not going to run. This time she was going to stand and fight and put everything on the line. “You either believe I love you or believe I don’t,” she said firmly, choking back a wealth of hot, bitter tears. “This isn’t the way I would have chosen for either of us to find out. But one way or another, Cody, you have to decide now.”

  01:30

  CODY WATCHED her lower lip tremble. He saw the hurt pride mingled with the fear in her eyes and knew it was the moment of truth. Callie wanted to know if he lumped her in with her no-account relatives. She wanted to know if he believed their ridiculous lies. The truth was he could have cared less what Callie’s no-good family thought or did. So what if they wanted to humiliate him in front of half the state of Montana? Callie was what mattered now. Callie was all that mattered. He was not going to let Pa or Buck hurt her anymore.

  His mind made up, Cody held out a hand to her. “Let’s go,” he said gruffly. “The wedding starts in less than an hour and the minister’s waiting.”

  Buck and Pa exchanged a look then shook their heads in mutual derision.

  “As touching as this scene is, I’m afraid we can’t let it continue,” Pa said in a wheedling tone, stepping to bar their way to the door.

  “Yep. Looks like we’re going to have to go with Plan Two,” Buck said.

  Callie and Cody drew apart slightly. Callie gasped as they noticed Buck was holding a small revolver.

  “There is no way anyone but Callie is going to inherit the Silver Spur cattle operation,” Pa continued, fury kindling in his eyes. “Even if it means we have to kill Cody and let Callie collect as his widow.” He pulled out their missing marriage certificate.

  “So you had it,” Cody said grimly.

  “Yep,” Pa admitted. “Took it from y’all’s hotel room in Acapulco same time we lifted Callie’s goodbye letter. Of course it wasn’t much good to us without Callie. But we figured it might come in handy again, in case she ever showed up. And sure enough, it has.”

  “I will not be a part of this con or any other,” Callie vowed passionately.

  Though she was still held loosely in Cody’s arms, Pa grabbed her by the elbow. “You are going to be a part of this con, little lady, or Cody dies.”

  One hand clutching the belt at Cody’s waist, Callie turned. Still holding tight to Cody, she squared off with her pa. “You’ve never been violent before,” she countered coolly.

  She had a point, Cody thought. Callie’s brother Buck and her pa were unconscionable thieves, yes, and liars extraordinaire, but they were not cold-blooded murderers. If they had been murderers, they would have killed him in Acapulco rather than let him live and possibly talk....

  “There’s never been so much cash at stake before,” Buck said. His eyes were full of greed. Watching him, Cody wondered if Callie’s family was about to turn the corner from con artists to murderers.

  “You value his life, you will come with me and come with me now, Callie,” Pa ordered.

  Callie sighed her regret. Like Cody, she seemed very much aware that both Buck and Pa were watching her carefully.

  Callie turned back to Cody. “I guess this is it,” Callie said sadly. The soulful look only he could see told him that she planned to do just the opposite.

  Gearing up for battle, Cody nodded. “Just like when Zeus was in the cabin,” he replied meaningfully, catching Callie’s intent. “You start out thinking everything’s going to be fine, and then you find out it’s not.”

  “So you have to do what you have to do,” Callie added without missing a beat. “What worked then has to work now.”

  Just that quickly, they broke apart. Cody went for Buck’s gun, Callie elbowed her pa in the stomach, hard. There was a tussle, and then both Buck and Pa were down on the floor. Cody came up holding the gun.

  “Get on the shortwave radio and call the sheriff,” Cody said.

  00:57 CALLIE WAS AS ANXIOUS to see if her call for help had been received, via beeper, as she was to get Pa and Buck out of their lives. Her whole body sagging with relief, she said, “Gladly.”

  “Wait a minute,” Cody said, glancing out the window. “Talk about timing. There’s Sheriff Anderson now.”

  “I’m glad you called me,” Sheriff Anderson told Callie minutes later as Buck and Pa were handcuffed, read their rights and loaded into two squad cars by the two deputies assisting him in the arrest.

  “You don’t seem surprised I did,” Callie murmured softly as she walked with him back to the front porch. She had expected to feel guilty for turning in her own kin. Instead, all she felt was relief. Cody was safe from harm, his legacy from Max still intact. Now all they had to work on was their future together. Compared to what they’d already been through, that wouldn’t be hard at all.

  Sheriff Anderson gave Callie a fatherly smile. He patted her on the shoulder. “I had an inkling you’d do the right thing when it came right down to it.”

  “Wait a minute,” Cody said to Sheriff Anderson as he came up to join them. He looked from one to the other, stunned, then narrowed his eyes at Callie. “Are you saying that you and Callie talked about this situation before this afternoon?”

  Too late, Callie realized she should have confided in Cody about that visit sooner. But she hadn’t, because she hadn’t wanted to spoil the mood.

  In answer to Cody’s question, the sheriff nodded. “I stopped by last night shortly after the lights went out. Callie told me she suspected her pa and Buck were up to no good again. Since the phone lines were down, I gave her a beeper and preset it with the code to notify me if they came back to bother her.”

  “I see.”

  “Callie must’ve hit the alarm button on it the moment they showed up,” Sheriff Anderson continued.

  “I did,” Callie admitted.

  “Well, I’ve got a lot to do if I want to make it to that wedding on time. I’ll see the two of you later?”

  Cody extended his hand to the sheriff. He shook hands stiffly. “Yes,” he said, sounding unusually vague. “We’ll talk later.”

  The sheriff got back in his squad car and drove off.

  Callie turned to Cody. The brooding look was back in his ocean blue eyes. She reached out to take his hands. His fingers did not close over hers as she hoped they would. A chill of foreboding slid down her spine. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Withdrawing even further into himself, Cody shouldered by her and headed back into the house. “Like you even have to ask?”

  Callie dashed after him. She grabbed his arm to stop his flight. “I thought you’d be happy that the truth was out in the open.”

  His disappointment in her evident, Cody stared down at her grimly. “I’d have been a lot happier if I’d known what was going on a lot earlier. Say, while it was all happening,” he finished.

  The lack of understanding in his eyes was as chilling as the thought of a life without him. Callie drew in a deep breath. “I didn’t want to upset you,” she explained.

  Cody’s biceps flexed beneath her fingers. A mixture of hurt and disappointment glimmered in his eyes. “Sure that’s all it was?” he taunted.

  In a panic, she edged closer. The rigidness of his arm, the fact he clearly did not want her touching him made her drop her grip and step back a pace. “What else could it have been?”

  Cody regarded her furiously. “Suppose you tell me.” Silence fell between them.

  Cody’s lips curved up in a cynical smile. “You know,” he drawled pointedly, “I thought my days of being left on the sidelines were over. Guess not,” he finished, his voice heavy with irony. Brushing past her, he slammed into the house, tore through the hall and back to the kitchen.

  In a panic, Callie hurried to catch up with him. “This isn’t the same as what happened when you were younger, with Patience and Trace,” she said breathlessly, watching as Cody snatched up the keys to his pickup truck and shoved them in the pocket of his jea
ns.

  “You’re right,” he retorted, whirling around to confront her. “It’s worse. A hell of a lot worse. You had every opportunity to confide in me last night, but you still shut me out. The first time we were together, I made allowances because you were so young. But for you not to confide in me now, after all we’ve shared-” His voice broke. He was so angry he couldn’t go on.

  “I’m sorry, Cody.”

  “We both are. It doesn’t change a damn thing.”

  Silence fell between them, more painful than before.

  Cody caged her against the counter. “You want to know what really gets me?” His voice dropped another devastating notch. “The fact you could tell Sheriff Anderson what was going on, but you couldn’t tell me. Was anything ever going to change between us? Or is this the way it will always be? You with your secrets. Me with barely a clue as to what’s going on.”

  Too late, Callie saw she had made a tremendous mistake in not confiding in him sooner. “I was trying to protect you.”

  Cody shook his head and pushed away from her. His lips thinned in disgust. “That, I have heard before.”

  Callie watched as Cody stalked into the mudroom and snatched up a pair of heavy work gloves. “Where are you going?”

  His expression was fierce as he whirled on her. “Where does it look like? Out to work on the ranch.”