The Country Bride: Billionaire Marriage Brokers Book 4

by Lucy McConnell

  Noah’s shoulders slumped. “I guess not.”

  Paige softened a bit. Noah might be rough around the edges, but his heart was in the right place.

  “I should get going. Thanks to you, I have a new camp counselor to train this afternoon.”

  “Is she pretty?” Paige nudged him with her shoulder.

  “I’ll let you know.” Noah sauntered to his truck.

  Paige went to check on Annie May. She poked her head over the stall and found Christopher checking the horse’s shoes. She felt her neck grow warm. “I take it you heard that?”

  Christopher let the foot drop. He put his hand on Annie May’s back and passed behind her before lifting her other leg. “I did.”

  Paige lifted the latch and let herself into the stall. Annie May puffed air through her lips, and Paige placed her hand on the horse’s velvet nose. Wanting to change the subject, she asked, “How does she look?”

  Christopher stood and leaned against the horse. She in turn leaned toward him, and Paige got the feeling they’d passed time together like this before. “She looks great. I never did tell you how glad I was you outbid Diego.”

  “Oh?” Paige had only a vague memory of the man she’d outbid at the auction.

  “He gets results, but I’m not a fan of his methods.”

  “Oh.” Paige rubbed between Annie May’s ears. “I can’t imagine anyone needing to raise a hand to this horse. She obeys on a kiss.”

  Christopher’s eyes gleamed. “Just like her mama.”

  “Has she had any more foals?” Paige hoped so. With a connection to Serenity Stables, she could buy all May June’s foals and her place in the training field would be secure.

  Christopher pushed his hat up with one finger. “May June died in the wreck with Kylee. This was her only foal.” Christopher’s palm went to Annie May’s back, as if he were drawing from her strength.

  “I’m sorry.” For Paige, Kitty and Buttons were extensions of her family. They didn’t belong in the house or sit at the kitchen table, but they were as much a part of her life as any of her siblings. Buttons nursed her though elementary school, junior high, and her run-ins with the mean girls. Kitty soaked up her tears after her disastrous prom, and laid everything she had on the line when Paige competed. Paige was sure that many had mourned Kylee—Christopher included, but he’d probably been alone in his sorrow for May June. “She was somethin’, wasn’t she?” Paige could still see May June’s powerful muscles as she ran into the arena at full speed and practically spun around the barrels.

  Christopher’s eyes drew in from his daze and focused on Paige. “That she was.”

  Paige smiled. “I’m glad Annie May is in her stall. It’s fitting she should be here—even if it is only for the night.”

  “More than the horse is fitting for this place.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Christopher opened the stall door and motioned for Paige to exit first. She stepped through and peeked over the next door at Buttons, who had already found a spot to lie down. Paige smiled. Travel always wore the pony out.

  The latch to Annie May’s stall clicked, and Christopher cleared his throat. “You may have come for Addison, but I hope you’ll stay for Cody.”

  Paige tipped her head, considering his words. “That wasn’t the agreement we made.”

  Christopher just smiled. “He needs you just as much as Addison does. He just doesn’t realize it yet.”

  Badger barked, as if he understood their conversation and wanted to add his agreement to Christopher’s assessment of the situation. Paige smiled at the collie and patted her thigh; he scrambled over and sat on her boot. “I get the feeling Mr. Walker tolerates me, but just barely.”

  Christopher shoved his hat back down. “Stick to your guns and you’ll do just fine. Cody needs a challenge.”

  Paige’s hand stilled on Badger’s head. “I hardly think I’m much of a challenge for Mr. Walker.”

  Christopher threw back his head and laughed deeply. “You’re exactly the challenge he needs.” He stepped to the meager pile of hay Noah had stacked by Paige’s truck. “I’ll get this moved inside. Why don’t you head on in?”

  “Are you joining us for lunch?” Paige yanked her foot out from under Badger. He scooted close again and nudged Paige’s hand with his cold nose. Paige rolled her eyes but gave in for one more good scratch.

  “I think I’ll stay out here and make sure these beauties settle in.”

  Paige bit her lip. “I could use a buffer between me and Mr. Walker. Any chance you’d like to join us?” she asked the dog. Badger panted in reply. “Didn’t think so.”

  Paige went to her truck and retrieved her purse and her huge duffel bag. There were several boxes and a couple saddles in the back, but they could wait until after lunch. The sum of her worldly possessions was kind of pitiful. She’d invested more money in tack than in clothes. Since she lived at home, she didn’t own any furniture. In fact, Hannah had probably commandeered Paige’s room and covered the walls with her Captain America and Iron Man posters.

  Paige stood by her truck, unable to move towards her temporary home.

  Every journey begins with a single step.

  Once begun is half done.

  Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.

  Paige couldn’t bring herself to move.

  Addison stepped through the iron gate. “Lunch is ready,” she called.

  Even from where she stood, Paige could hear the uncertainty in Addison’s voice. It raised Paige’s protective instincts. “I’ll be right there!” Paige called back, her feet tripping to get to the girl.

  Addison needed her, of that Paige was certain. All the stuff Christopher said about Mr. Walker needing her too ... that was unsettling, to say the least. Mr. Walker was handsome, strong, and tender with Addison, but he had a way of getting Paige’s hackles up. It was like he knew exactly how to nettle her. She should have put up more of a fight over the horses, but when she’d seen the emotionally scraped and bruised look in his eye, she couldn’t bring herself to force him. She didn’t want to ever be the reason someone looked so lost, and she found herself wondering what she could do to ease his pain.

  Chapter 17

  Cody had decided to lay out a spread instead of make sandwiches, because he had no idea what Paige liked. He dug through the pantry and found a bag of potato chips and a box of the crackers Addison had chosen at the store. They were pink and he was pretty sure no crackers could be made pink with natural ingredients, but a few of them with a healthy lunch couldn’t hurt.

  He backed out of the pantry and bumped into Paige, who was carrying two bags—one of them quite heavy. She leaned precariously to the heavy side before righting herself.

  “Sorry,” Cody blurted. “I didn’t see you coming.” Or we’re destined to collide in every way. The flicker of attraction he’d felt when Paige was close spurted like a lighter low on fuel. Cody couldn’t believe how sensitive he was to everything all of a sudden. His eyes drifted from her boots up her shapely legs, admiring the way the fabric of her dress brushed against her ivory skin. Clearing his throat, he looked quickly away.

  “S’okay.” Paige set her bags down by the counter and went to wash her hands. She didn’t appear to have noticed his appraisal, and Cody admonished himself to keep his eyes and thoughts in line for the rest of the meal—the rest of the year! “Looks good. Did you help?” Paige asked Addison.

  “Yep. I got the pickles and the cheese and the mustard.”

  Addison had been eager to please as they set out the meal. She’d sprung to the fridge when he asked her to find the pickles. In her haste to get them on the table, she’d tripped over her own feet. Thankfully, the bottle didn’t break when it hit the wood floor, but Addison looked like she might. Her face crimped as she’d tried to hold back her tears.

  “I just wanted everything to be perfect,” she’d confessed as Cody wiped her cheeks, his guilt growing in size to rival the Hidden Valle
y Wildlife Area. His argument with Paige over the stupid horses had done more damage to his daughter than he could have foreseen. From now on, he would be amiable—well, as soon as the horses were off his property. He’d even provide a trailer to haul them away. It would be his wedding gift to Paige.

  “Three of my favorite parts to a sandwich.” Paige flicked her wet hands at Addison, making her squeal.

  They took seats at the table, Cody at the head, Addison next to him, and Paige on the other side of her. Cody glanced at the empty seats. “Is Noah coming?”

  Paige shook her head. “He had to get back home.”

  “Christopher?” Cody had hoped they’d have more people around to help break the ice.

  Paige shrugged. “He said he had things to do.”

  Cody reached for Addison’s hand for the prayer. She took his and offered hers to Paige, who smiled as they linked together. With the physical distance between them, Cody couldn’t take Paige’s other hand in his. For this, he was grateful. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he touched her in his heightened emotional state.

  After a short prayer, they worked in silence to fill their plates.

  “Are you still mad at my dad?” Addison asked out of the blue.

  Paige briefly met Cody’s panicked look. He had no idea how to explain the way their marriage was different from a normal marriage. Truth be told, when he and Kylee disagreed, he often gave in to keep the peace. There were so many petty things in life that weren’t worth creating discord over.

  Paige set her chip down and turned her body to fully face Addison. “Sweetheart, married people fight. It happens.”

  “Do your mom and dad fight?”

  Paige’s laugh was full of light, and Cody felt his nerves unwinding. “At least once a week.”

  “And they are still married?” Addison took a huge bite of her sandwich, smearing mustard across her cheeks in the process.

  Paige used her napkin to clean Addison’s face. “They love each other dearly.” Paige’s cheeks flamed, causing Cody to wonder if she wished she hadn’t brought love into the conversation.

  Thankfully, Addison didn’t pick up on that; she was still worried about the argument. “But why do they fight?” she asked.

  “There’s a hundred different reasons. Sometimes it’s something little—like my dad spending too much money on supplies. Sometimes it’s bigger—like when Noah wanted a motorcycle and my mom said it wasn’t safe.”

  “Did he get one?”

  Paige picked up her chip again. “Well, he was five and only had twenty dollars. So they made him a deal that if he saved the money, he could get the motorcycle. By the time he had enough money, he wanted to buy a truck instead.”

  “The white one?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “Oh. So who won the fight?”

  Paige put her arm around Addison. “Here’s the secret. My mom and dad don’t fight to win or lose—they fight to work things out.”

  Cody found himself leaning forward, his elbows on the table. “What do you mean?”

  Paige cleared her throat. “They stuck to the issue. I don’t remember them ever calling each other names or bringing up past disagreements. Most times, they’d end up in each other’s arms after quarrelling, and I knew they weren’t holding grudges.” She lifted a shoulder. “Fighting can be productive.”

  “If it’s done right,” muttered Cody.

  “So was this a good fight?” Addison asked them.

  Paige raised her eyebrows and waited for Cody to answer. He’d never thought about an argument being a good thing. The image Paige painted was a much rosier one than what Cody remembered from his childhood. In those memories, name-calling was prevalent and grudges were common. His parents could reopen an argument they’d started fifteen years before.

  But Cody could see the logic in Paige’s words. What she described sounded more like a business dispute. There were times in Cody’s profession when he disagreed with a supplier or manufacturer and they’d had words. Hadn’t he forgiven Charles from Chrysler the moment they hung up the phone? In the months since their disagreement over delivery dates, Cody hadn’t felt any animosity from Charles either. Should a marriage be any different?

  Besides, it was because of their fight that Cody could really taste his food—as if he were tasting it for the first time. In only twenty minutes, life felt richer, colors seemed brighter, fabrics felt softer. Over time, it might fade; nothing could stay new forever. “I’d say it was a good fight.” Cody offered an apologetic smile to Paige. “We came to an agreement, and I hope Paige isn’t holding a grudge, because I know I’m not.”

  Paige’s eyes warmed to a luminous green. “I’m not holding a grudge.”

  Apparently Addison’s fears had calmed, because she crunched down on a chip.

  Cody tore himself away from Paige and her kaleidoscopic eyes to focus on his lunch. A part of Cody wished they’d been able to finish the fight like Paige’s parents, because he wondered what it would feel like to hold Paige in his arms. Attacking his sandwich with vigor, Cody focused on the slow burn from the spicy mustard to keep his mind from wandering to thoughts best left alone.

  Chapter 18

  Paige spent the afternoon getting settled. Addison was always close by, ready to help. After lining Paige’s shoes up in pairs at the bottom of the closet, she climbed onto Paige’s bed, amidst the shopping bags Paige had yet to unload. Paige planned to hang most of the clothes, so she was saving that chore for last. Paige’s family picture, the one they’d had taken last Christmas in front of the barn, rested in Addison’s lap.

  “No one has hair like you,” Addison commented.

  Paige tapped her fingernail on the glass. “Neveah’s is the same color. Jacob’s and David’s hair is curly, but they keep it too short to be able to tell, and it is brown. My mom’s used to be like mine before it went grey. See, you can see how curly it is.”

  “Yeah.” Addison continued to stare at the picture as Paige puttered around the room.

  There was a soft knock on the open door. “Does Chinese food sound okay for dinner?”

  Paige felt a thrill at having Mr. Walker in the room. She’d tracked his movements all day using some new sonar she had that was tuned directly to him. Any time he’d come near, she’d smoothed her hair and moistened her lips. It was ridiculous of her to behave in such a manner, but she couldn’t stop herself.

  She checked her alarm clock. “Ohmygosh! I can’t believe it’s so late. I’m sorry—I would have fixed something, but I got caught up in all this.” She waved her hands around to indicate her attempts at organization.

  “No big deal.” Cody—Mr. Walker—stuffed his hands in his pockets. He wore a pair of jeans, softened by a hundred trips through the washer and dryer, and a long-sleeved plaid shirt over a white T-shirt. He didn’t look like a billionaire; he looked like a guy Paige would have flirted with at the rodeo.

  Paige continued to paint the image of Mr. Walker leaning against a horse trailer wearing a straw hat … his gray eyes brooding in the shadow under the brim …

  “So … Chinese?”

  Paige jolted out of her head and back to her room where Mr. Walker and Addison stared at her. “Yes,” she blurted. “Chinese is great. Orange chicken. I mean, I like orange chicken.” She looked back and forth between Addison and her dad, her pulse dancing erratically. “Do you guys like orange chicken?”

  “Uh-huh.” Mr. Walker nodded as if he were talking to a crazy person.

  Perhaps he was. Paige pressed her cold and clammy palm to her burning forehead. “Good,” she squeaked.

  “Do you want to ride along?” he asked Addison.

  “No, thank you.”

  “’Kay, I’ll be back in a bit.”

  Paige stared at Cody’s—Mr. Walker’s back as he crossed the sitting room, and barely turned before she was caught ogling. Feeling as though she could use a calming influence, she dropped the socks she held into the top dresser drawer and shoved i
t closed. “Let’s go check on the horses,” she said to Addison.

  “Okay.” Addison slid off the bed.

  Paige considered Addison’s dress. “You should probably change into jeans and boots if you’re going to help with the horses.”

  “You wore a dress to the barn today.”

  Paige smiled. “Yes, but that was before the horses had a chance to poop in the barn.”

  Addison’s nose wrinkled. “They do that.”

  Paige laughed. “Every day. It’s our job to clean it up.”

  Addison’s eyes grew wide.

  “C’mon. Let’s find you some pooper-scooper clothes.”

  Though she looked a little green, Addison didn’t argue anymore about changing her attire, and they were soon on their way to the barn. Paige had seen that look on dozens of kids at camp. In a couple days, they were completely over their aversion to cleaning stalls and could shovel along with the best of them.

  Her steps slowed. Addison wouldn’t have days with the horses; Paige had to find a place to board them tomorrow. The idea of leaving Kitty, Annie May, and even Buttons with strangers weighed heavily on her mind.

  Addison walked gingerly into the shaded interior of the barn. Her big brown eyes swept the floor, looking for any sign of animal mess. Paige held back a laugh. Introducing Addison to the crew was going to be fun.

  Paige walked to Kitty’s stall first. She was getting on in years, and instead of being full of spirit, she’d mellowed. The spirit still ran free in the arena, but Paige had noticed her spurts weren’t as quick as they used to be and her breathing labored more than before. At seventeen, the horse couldn’t keep up with the youngsters anymore, but Paige couldn’t bring herself to sell her trusted friend.

  Opening the stall door, Paige motioned for Addison to join her. Squatting so she was on Addison’s level, Paige looked up at Kitty. From down there, the horse looked huge. “Addison, this is Kitty. Kitty, this is Addison.”

  Kitty didn’t disappoint. She stuck her nose into Paige’s hair and blew out. Addison laughed as Paige scowled.