Her Cowboy Groom (Blue Falls, Texas Book 5)

by Trish Milburn

  “I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out when I call him.”

  “Just wing it,” Keri said. “The right thing will come out.”

  Linnea laughed. “I’m not so sure about that. I’ve run through dozens of scenarios, and I still don’t know what to say.”

  “No time like the present to try one out,” Chloe said, a mischievous grin tugging at her lips.

  After her friends returned to work, Linnea kept thinking about what she was going to say to Owen and how, especially when he hadn’t said anything about being in love with her, either. Maybe she could just ease into it, start with something that didn’t have anything to do with the two of them. Chloe was right, though. No time like the present. She picked up her phone and dialed Owen’s number.

  Half an hour later, her heart leaped as she saw Owen walk in the front door of the bakery. She smiled wide but kept her seat, unsure how he would react if she hopped up and hugged him the way she wanted to.

  “Hey,” she said, feeling awkward and nervous.

  “Hi.”

  Her smile faltered a little at his simple response. “It’s good to see you.”

  “You, too. Was surprised to get your call.” He shifted on his feet, as if he wasn’t sure he was staying, before slipping onto the chair across from her.

  Linnea slid a wrapper with two spice cookies in it toward him. “Got your favorite cookies for you.”

  He looked up at her with a questioning expression.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t call while I was gone.”

  “It’s okay.” He acted as if it was no big deal, and for a moment she wondered if she’d just made a series of horrible mistakes. Could she live in a town the size of Blue Falls and not be with the man she loved?

  But there was something about how he was holding himself, on the edge of the chair as if he might bolt for the door at any moment, that gave her hope. Was he shielding himself because he thought what they had was over and he didn’t want it to be? While her mind was sifting through all the possibilities, he looked up and caught her gaze.

  “Did you have anything to do with Michael dropping the charges against me?”

  She nodded. “You won’t have to worry about him anymore. Neither will I.”

  He looked at her a little more intently. “Should I ask?”

  She laughed a little. “I didn’t do anything I could be arrested for, don’t worry.”

  “Good.”

  “But it’s amazing what can happen if you apply pressure in just the right place.” She told him about the ultimatum she’d given Michael and how she’d planned it so carefully that she, his family and hers were all safe from Michael.

  “You think he’ll stick to the promise?”

  “Trust me. The last thing he wants is to lose the nice income he has. I think he’s going to need it, considering what Danielle has planned for him.”

  Owen laughed, and the knot that had been sitting in the middle of Linnea’s chest relaxed.

  “You have time to go for a short walk?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

  As they headed for the door, Linnea looked beyond the display case full of treats to where Keri was giving her two thumbs-ups and a giant smile. Linnea had to press her lips together to keep from laughing.

  When they were out on the sidewalk, Linnea started walking toward the store she now owned two doors down. “I didn’t just go to Dallas to deal with Michael.”

  “I know you had to get back to your business.”

  “Yes, I did, but not for the reason you think.” She stopped in front of the empty store and turned to face the big display window. “I went to make arrangements to sell my part of the business to my partner so I could buy this. I’m going to start a new bridal store here, and I’ll be working with Keri, Skyler and Elissa on coordinating different wedding services.”

  Owen took a step toward the store, then turned back to look at her. “You’re moving to Blue Falls?”

  She shoved away the concern that she had perhaps just freaked him out and held up her key to the front door. “Would you like to see?”

  “I’ve been inside before.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “But not when it’s empty.”

  Her hope that had taken a dip a moment before surged again as she hurried to the door and opened it. Owen’s boots echoed against the wooden floor, and she found herself hoping that she’d get to hear that sound a lot in the future. She wasn’t going to push him, especially after she’d assured him that she didn’t expect commitment. But that didn’t mean her heart didn’t hope for their relationship to eventually grow into more. She was already in love with Owen. She just had to wait to see if he eventually felt the same. And if he didn’t, she still had to believe that this move was the right thing to do. It felt right.

  She led him through the building, sharing her plans for her new store. She’d been the owner of the building less than an hour, and she could hardly wait to start ordering display cases, shelving and, best of all, the beautiful products she would sell to brides-to-be. She took a moment to envision the end result and was so glad that her experience with Michael hadn’t ruined her love of weddings forever.

  When she finally got to the back of the building and realized she’d been talking nonstop, she turned to face Owen, who looked a little shell-shocked by the barrage of details she’d thrown at him. “Sorry. I guess I’m a little excited.”

  “It’s okay. You deserve this.”

  But even as he said he was happy for her, her excitement dimmed a little. In her imaginings, when she’d told him about staying in Blue Falls, he’d swept her into his arms and confessed his love for her. But she realized that was a silly romantic fantasy, a fairy tale. She had to be okay with real life, no matter how much part of her still yearned for the fairy tale. But she’d already planned one fairy-tale happily ever after only to discover it had been built on lies. She’d take real life built on truth any day.

  Owen walked slowly toward the far corner and then turned back toward her. “You should contact Ryan Teague, Simon’s brother. He does beautiful woodwork. I bet he could make you some pretty cabinets and counter space that would have more personality than something you could buy through a catalog.”

  It might not be a declaration of love, but Owen’s suggestion showed that he did care about her at some level. She could tell herself all day that she was okay with living her new life alone, but her heart was begging her to make an effort toward what she really wanted—a life with Owen.

  * * *

  THE NEXT TWO weeks went by in a blur. From early in the morning until late at night, Linnea was busy settling into her new life. She considered it a good sign that she’d made the right decision when her condo sold within two days of her listing it. So she made a quick trip to Dallas for the closing and to arrange for movers to pack up her things and deliver them to her new apartment above the Blue Falls store.

  While in Dallas, she had gone to her parents’ house for dinner to find her entire family there. She could tell they were concerned about the abrupt changes in her life the moment she stepped through the front door.

  Her mom was the first to say something when Linnea accompanied her into the kitchen to carry food into the dining room. “Don’t you think you’re rushing into this, honey? I mean, you just went through an awful experience. This feels so drastic.”

  Linnea placed her hand on her mother’s forearm and looked beyond to where her father had entered the room. “Trust me when I say I’ve thought about this a lot. This is something I really want. I can’t wait to have the store up and running so you all can come see it.”

  As she now looked at her boxes piled high on the sides of her new apartment, she knew it was going to be at least a month before she should have everything fixed just how she wanted it before her family descended to make sure she was doing okay.

  The sound of banging and male voices on the first floor drew her from her thoughts, and she hurried down the stairs. The
sight that greeted her reminded her of something she’d seen on TV about an Amish community coming together to build a barn. It felt as though every guy she knew in Blue Falls was busy installing her cabinetry that Ryan and his brothers had arrived with that morning.

  “I still can’t believe you got all this built so quickly,” she said as she approached Ryan and his brother Nathan.

  “Amazing what you can do when you have a taskmaster for a sister-in-law.” He grinned as he looked over his shoulder to where Keri was placing a box of muffins and donuts on one of the newly installed display cases.

  “I heard that, Ryan Teague,” Keri said.

  Linnea’s heart filled with love for all the people surrounding her, helping literally build her new life. A different type of love swelled her heart when she made eye contact with Owen, who stood a few feet away taking a drink of water. The intensity in his gaze made her wonder if he was thinking about the times they’d made love, if perhaps he was planning a repeat performance. They hadn’t been together that way since she told him about moving to Blue Falls. For a few days after that, she’d wondered if maybe their time together was in the past. But then he’d arrived with a bouquet of bright orange lilies and finally kissed her again. She’d wanted to sing and dance, but she still wasn’t willing to lay all her cards on the table.

  She counted it a good sign, however, when Chloe gave her a knowing smile late in the afternoon before vacating the premises, leaving only Owen. He looked as though he was about to leave, as well. Wanting to take another tentative step toward being able to tell him the truth about how she felt, she approached him.

  “Thanks for all your help,” she said.

  “No problem.”

  “I know you have a lot of work of your own and you don’t have to be here.”

  Owen closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. It felt so good to be so close to him again.

  “How about you pay me with a kiss?”

  “Don’t mind if I do.”

  After they’d kissed for a bit, she pulled back and looked up into those eyes she wanted so much to look at the rest of her life. “I’d like to make you dinner tomorrow night.”

  “There’s no need for that, not after you’ve worked all day. We can just grab something at the café.”

  “I don’t mind. Please say you’ll come.”

  He stared down at her for a moment before nodding. “Okay. I do have to work at the ranch tomorrow, but I can be here by six-thirty or seven. That okay?”

  “Perfect.”

  So much excitement was pumping through Linnea after Owen left that she spent a huge chunk of the night setting up as much of her apartment as she could. When she finally fell into bed exhausted, she still didn’t go immediately to sleep. Instead, she lay there imagining the dinner going so well that Owen would admit he loved her.

  She tried not to let her hopes soar too high the next day as she decorated the table with a red, lacy cloth and white candles in silver holders. While the meal finished cooking, she fixed her hair and makeup and then hurriedly slipped into the new blue dress she’d bought at India’s store and strappy silver heels. By the time six-thirty arrived, she was ready. She’d told Owen to come up the back stairs that led to the apartment’s second-floor entrance. So as the minutes ticked toward seven o’clock, she found herself pacing to the back door to look out, then to the front window that overlooked Main Street to see if maybe he’d parked there instead.

  As the top of the hour came and went, she started to wonder if something had happened at the ranch that had him running late. He could have called to tell her that, but she was trying not to be annoyed. She wanted this night to be perfect, and it wouldn’t be if she was in a sour mood when he arrived. But when twenty more minutes passed with no sign of him and no call, she decided to call the ranch.

  After several rings, Owen’s dad answered.

  “Hey, it’s Linnea. Is Owen around?”

  “No, hon. He left for a meeting a while ago.”

  A meeting?

  “Oh.”

  “I’d tell you to try his cell, but he rushed out of here so fast he forgot and left it here. Can I give him a message when he gets home?”

  “No, that’s okay. I’ll catch him later.” When she ended the call, she sank down onto one of the kitchen chairs. He’d scheduled a meeting for the same time as their dinner plans? Or at least close enough that it had torpedoed their evening.

  She tried not to be hurt, did her best not to think she’d been a fool yet again. She’d tried so hard to avoid falling for another man, not to push Owen toward something he didn’t want. She honestly believed she’d done everything right this time, but here she sat, all dressed up and with a meal growing cold and past its prime.

  With a determined shake of her head, she stood and strode over to where she’d set up her bedroom area. Her movements were jerky and angry as she pulled off the dress and heels and exchanged them for shorts, a T-shirt and running shoes. After binding her hair into a ponytail, she headed down the back stairs for a run. She needed to burn off the anger so she could refocus her efforts on the store and deriving her happiness from her new venture and her friendships. If the universe was telling her she was supposed to be alone, she was getting the message loud and clear.

  Linnea ran up and down several streets behind her apartment before finally meeting back up with Main Street at the opposite end of the downtown business district. She nearly tripped over her own feet when she spotted Owen’s truck sitting in front of La Cantina. She just stood there for several seconds staring, finally realizing that Owen was probably inside with whomever he’d left the ranch to meet. Though she was sweaty and not at all dressed appropriately to go inside the restaurant, curiosity got the better of her.

  As she walked toward the front door of the restaurant, she told herself she would simply satisfy that curiosity, then go home and map out how she was going to approach the next few days of preparing her business for its eventual opening.

  The hostess was seating another couple when Linnea walked in, so she took the opportunity to poke her head into the main part of the restaurant and look around. The moment her gaze landed on Owen sitting across from a stunning brunette, it felt as if she took a punch to her heart. As if to make things worse, the brunette laughed and Owen smiled in response. Nausea welled up inside Linnea as she took a couple of steps backward.

  “Can I help you?”

  A moment crawled by before Linnea realized the hostess had returned and was looking at her with a warm smile. But as she stared at the young woman, the smile faded to be replaced with a look of concern.

  “Are you okay, ma’am?”

  Linnea took another shaky step backward before finally finding a response. “I’m fine.”

  It was a lie, and that much was probably obvious as she flew out the front door, nearly colliding with an elderly couple. She tossed out an apology but didn’t slow down as she skirted them and hurried toward her new home. Somehow she managed to hold the tears at bay until she climbed the back steps and nearly fell into her apartment. Once she was inside, however, they wouldn’t be denied any longer. She made her way to the bed and curled up into a ball next to the blue dress still lying there. Angry that she’d let herself get hurt again, she used her fist to punch the dress and everything it represented as her tears streaked down to dampen her pillow. She’d hoped to share that pillow with Owen tonight, but he was obviously going to lay his head down elsewhere.

  * * *

  OWEN WAS GROWING more fidgety by the moment, and he wasn’t a fidgety guy by nature. But he was already really late for his dinner with Linnea, and he’d been so excited and anxious when he left the house that he’d forgotten his phone, so he couldn’t even text her. And on top of being so chatty he thought she might make his head explode, Amber Roberts was a big flirt. For the past hour and a half, he’d had to maneuver his way around her obvious attempts to let him know she was interested in more than possibly buying
the two horses he’d trained for barrel racing. He could straight-up tell her that he was involved with someone else, but he didn’t want to do or say anything that would jeopardize the sale of the horses, because he needed that money.

  Amber leaned on the table, giving him a good view of her cleavage. “So, what do you say we go to the music hall after this?”

  He jerked his eyes upward toward her face. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.” Please don’t let this kill the sale. “I’ve already got other plans.” If Linnea didn’t beat him over the head with a skillet the moment she saw him. She didn’t deserve being left hanging like this, not after everything she’d been through.

  Amber pouted. “Just my luck. Well, then, I guess we better finalize our business.”

  About damn time. He kept his thoughts hidden behind a friendly smile as Amber pulled out her checkbook and wrote him a check for the amount of the two animals.

  “I’ll come by tomorrow morning and pick them up,” she said as she extended the check to him.

  That check might not make him as rich as Michael Benson, but it certainly was a step in the right direction. He couldn’t help but think that this moment might not even have happened without Linnea showing the confidence she had in his training business.

  When he finally extricated himself from Amber’s presence five minutes later, he nearly ran to Linnea’s apartment. But when he reached the top of the stairs, it was dark inside. And despite the fact that he knocked half a dozen times, she didn’t come to the door. He turned and scanned the area behind the building, but he didn’t see her there, either, only her car. Worry settled in his stomach, and it stayed there as he drove around town to see if she was out walking. It only increased as he drove back to the ranch. Had she been wrong about Michael leaving her alone? Or was she just avoiding him?

  His dad wandered out of the laundry room with an overflowing basket of clean clothes. “Hey, did you talk to Linnea?”

  “No, did she call?”

  “Yeah, good while ago.”

  “Did she sound okay?”