Marrying a Cowboy

by Anne-Marie Meyer

  She nodded and slipped the camera off from around her neck. “Yes.” After placing it on a nearby rock, she turned.

  “You sure? Your city hands just might not be able to take it.”

  She scoffed and walked over and stopped a few inches from him. He could smell the sweet scent of her hair. Feel the closeness of her body next to his. He swallowed. What was he doing? He should be sending her away not inviting her to come closer.

  “I can do anything you big country boys can do.” She folded her arms and studied him.

  He held up his hands. “Okay. But, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He grabbed the handle of the shovel and motioned toward the hole where he’d just been digging. “See those big rocks? I loosen them and you pull them out.”

  She shot him an annoyed look. “That’s all?”

  He nodded. “That’s all.”

  “Sounds easy enough.” She wandered over to the hole and removed a large rock. “Where do I put it?”

  He motioned over to the growing pile next to him. “There’s fine.”

  The rock fell with a plop when she threw it over. After brushing the dirt from her hands, she turned to him and gave him a smug look. “See?”

  He just smiled and nodded. Lifting up the shovel, he shoved it into the dirt and began removing it. Every time he hit a rock, he stepped back and Emma dug around in the dirt until she got a good grip on it and pulled it loose. Once it was out of the way, he’d go back to digging.

  After a while, Emma began to sweat. Austin tried to ignore how her skin glistened in the sun. How her hair blew around while she tried unsuccessfully to wipe it away. It returned within moments. She swiped at it again, leaving a dark streak of dirt across her cheek. Austin cleared his throat. How could she be so disheveled and adorable at the same time?

  “Why are you smiling like that?” she asked as she arched her back as if she were trying to crack it.

  Heat raced to his cheeks. What was he supposed to say? Telling her she looked adorable didn’t seem like the right thing. He grabbed the shovel and moved down a few feet to start digging a new hole. Taking this break gave him the needed time to come up with something that sounded less idiotic.

  “I’m just trying to figure out how you’re still single.” That was less idiotic?

  When she didn’t say anything, he turned to look at her. He’d said the wrong thing. Man, what was wrong with him?

  “But I’m not single. I’m married.” She gave him a look as she moved a few paces to prop herself up against the nearby tree.

  “Ah, good deflection,” he said. Emma wasn’t being truthful and she knew it.

  Folding her arms, she sighed. “What do you want from me, Austin?”

  His thoughts swam inside his head from her question. What did he want? Despite the fact that he seemed to be losing control of his emotions when he was around her, he did enjoy her company. He wanted to learn things about her. More than fake husband and fake wife stuff. Like deep, personal, Emma only things. Was that so bad?

  “I guess, I want to know you. The truth.” The depth of his voice surprised even him. He glanced over at her to see her reaction.

  She was studying her dirt covered hands. Had he said the wrong thing? He leaned against the shovel handle and watched her. That’s not what he wanted to do. They were supposed to be helping each other out, not creating stress for the other person.

  “Sorry, Emma. You don’t have to tell me anything. That’s not part of our agreement. I won’t ask again.”

  Her took a deep breath and glanced up. “I guess I’m just trying to figure out a way to tell you that there just might be a chance that I may be that unlovable.”

  His brow furrowed as he stared at her. She was joking. Right? “Why would you even say that?”

  She scoffed and pushed off the tree, placing her hands on her hips. She squinted as she stared off across the field. “You don’t know me, Austin.”

  Leaving his shovel to fall onto the ground, he approached her. When he was in reach of her elbow, he grabbed it and pulled her to face him. “You are extremely lovable. You’re sweet and funny.” His voice grew deeper as he leaned down to catch her gaze. “And sexy.”

  Her eyes widened as she glanced up at him.

  “I’m just saying, fake husband to fake wife,” he said quickly.

  “See, now that’s exactly what a fake husband would say.”

  He studied her expression. She’d been hurt. Badly. Reaching up, he ran his fingers across the dirt smudge on her cheek. She closed her eyes as his hand lingered on her skin. He had never realized that she had the most adorable splatter of freckles across her nose. “I thought those things before I became your fake husband.”

  She bit her lower lip as she kept her eyes closed. He allowed his gaze to fall to her lips. For a moment, he wondered what it might feel like to kiss them. His heart picked up speed. What was he doing? Why was he even thinking about that? He and Emma were from two different worlds. Worlds that could never be brought together even if they wanted them to.

  Their marriage was a means to an end. He was not supposed to get wrapped up in thinking about what a life with her might be like. A real life. A real marriage.

  It kind of went against his promise to himself to never open up his heart again. He would just get hurt and if there was a small chance that he could hurt her, he’d never forgive himself. It was his idea to do this fake marriage thing. It was his responsibility to make sure that she got out of this arrangement in one piece.

  So, despite his heart telling him to stay close, he took a step back and spoke the words that felt bitter to say, “That’s what friends are for.”

  Her eyes opened and she glanced up at him. No matter how much he wanted to interpret her expression as one of sadness, he brushed the thoughts aside. He couldn’t have feelings for her and he most certainly couldn’t let her have feelings for him.

  “Come on, we’ve got to finish this fence before night.” He moved away from her and over to his shovel. He picked it up and turned back to see her take a deep breath and walk over to him.

  “Can I shovel?” she asked.

  Austin raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

  She nodded.

  He handed it over. “Sure.”

  They spent the next few hours digging until all the holes were made for the new posts. After their conversation, Austin wasn’t sure how to react to anything that was said. Should he bring it up? Apologize?

  Instead of opening his mouth and sticking his foot in it, he decided it was best to just keep quiet. Emma seemed to have the same feelings.

  As the sun began to set behind the trees, Austin sighed. Perhaps this whole fake marriage thing had been the wrong idea. But, he’d got this far with it, might as well see it to the end. After all, his grandmother was going to be here tomorrow. Or at least that’s what her message had said earlier.

  With Alayna Maverick, plans changed on the dime. For the first time, he was looking forward to meeting with his grandmother. Because once everything was settled with the lawyers, he’d be free to be alone. And that’s why he’d started all of this. He couldn’t lose focus. Not now.

  Chapter Nine

  Emma

  Emma tried hard not to wince as she shoved the tip of the shovel into the ground. The wood slid against her palms, sending stabs of pain up her arms. She gritted her teeth. One more hole and they’d be done for the day. No use in giving up now. Sweat dripped down her forehead. Focus on something else. Anything but the pain coming from her hands.

  Who knew being a rancher came with so much sweat? Her shower this morning felt like a complete waste.

  Her cheeks blazed as she thought back to this morning. Good, that would be an effective distraction. Blast Montana and its need to be two hours behind New York. What was five in the morning here, was seven back home. And no amount of tossing and turning helped her fall back asleep. So, she’d gotten up for the day. Little did she know that Austin would come bursting into the bat
hroom in a sleepy daze.

  She let her gaze slip over to him as she thought about the way his whole face had turned red when he’d realized she was in there. The way he’d slapped his hand over his eyes and stumbled from the room. Or the way he’d come back to try and convince her that he really hadn’t seen anything. He was a good guy. And that was refreshing especially when it felt like there were no decent guys left.

  She scooped some dirt out of the hole and dumped it onto the pile that was growing next to her. Just as she tipped the shovel to let it fall to the ground, a searing pain shot up her hands. She winced and let the shovel’s tip fall to the ground. She didn’t want Austin to see her in pain.

  “What’s wrong?” his deep voice asked.

  Crap. He’d seen. She plastered on a fake smile and looked over at him. “Nothing.”

  His eyebrows were drawn together and he was studying her. “That didn’t look like nothing.” He brushed his hands on his jeans as he made his way over to her. He took the shovel from her hands and dropped it on the ground next to them. Then he reached out and gently pulled her hands up and turned them over. She heard him suck in his breath as he studied her palms.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were getting blisters?” he asked.

  Emma was trying to ignore the zaps of electricity rushing over her skin from the touch of his hand on hers. “I didn’t want you to think I was weak.”

  Austin ran his thumb across her raw skin. The softness of his touch caused her stomach to flip. Why was she having such a reaction from this? From him? This was not what they had planned. She wasn’t allowed to get feelings for her fake husband. They were married to fulfill a requirement and that was it.

  Emma twisted her hand free. Austin resisted for a moment but then let them drop to her side.

  “We should get that cleaned up,” he said, nodding toward her hands.

  Emma ran her thumb against her palms, trying to rub the feeling of Austin’s fingers against her skin away. This was not the plan. None of this was part of the plan. She needed his grandmother to come, see the fake marriage, and sign over the farm so Emma could leave.

  “Okay,” she said.

  Austin grabbed the shovel and her camera and turned to make his way back to the house. The sun had begun to set which allowed the breeze to cool her skin. Wrapping her arms around her chest, she followed after Austin. Why had he touched her like that? Was it possible that he could be feeling things too? Or did he just feel bad that she got injured under his watch?

  She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. She needed these thoughts to leave as soon as possible. Questioning everything he did was going to drive her crazy. Right now, the best thing she could do was to stop thinking that Austin cared for her. She was there to help him fulfill a requirement, that was all. To think she meant more to him was crazy.

  They walked across the field until the gravel road came into view. Crunching under their feet filled the silent air as they turned and made their way toward his house.

  The sound of a vehicle coming up from behind them caused her to turn. Sean was half hanging out of the truck, waving his massive hand in their direction.

  “Dude, there you are! I’ve been searching everywhere for you two.” He got a mysterious look on his face. “Doing newly, wed stuff?”

  Heat flooded Emma’s body. Austin let out a groan and shot Sean an exasperated expression.

  “We’re not married.”

  Sean held up his hands. “Oh, right. I forgot.” He chuckled as he flipped the radio off that had changed to playing commercials. “The back pasture’s all cleaned up from the storm last week. We lost a few trees, but that was it. You get the fence fixed?” He pulled open his door and hoped out of his idling truck.

  Austin shook his head. “We got the holes dug for the posts but then had to quit. Emma hurt her hands.”

  At his words, Emma winced. Why did she feel so defeated by his words? She wanted to do well. Prove that she could handle this kind of life. But at that thought, she felt stupid. Why did it matter if she did well? She was leaving once his grandmother signed over the farm. Their marriage was finished and she’d be back home. Alone.

  Sean studied her. “You okay?”

  She nodded. “Nothing a hot shower won’t fix.”

  “We’re headed in for the night,” Austin said.

  Sean shook his head. “Nope. You’re coming out with me. Bernie’s playing at the Tavern tonight. He wants us to come out to see him.”

  Austin cleared his throat. “I don’t think that would be wise. We’re tired.” He shot her a sympathetic look.

  Emma watched him. Why was he acting so weird? “Actually, that sounds nice,” she said.

  Austin’s gaze whipped from Sean over to her. “I—err—”

  “You heard your wife. She wants to come.” Sean reached over and pulled Emma into a hug. “You’ll have fun. We’ll show you how we party here in Montana. Besides, it’s time to bury the past. Bringing your wife there will—”

  “We’ll come if you stop talking,” Austin said.

  Emma studied the two men. What was going on? Why did Austin have a strained expression? She parted her lips to ask, but then decided to keep quiet. If he wanted her to know, he’d tell her.

  She decided not to dwell on it. “I’m fine with it if you are.”

  He nodded, but she could see his jaw muscles twitching. “Yeah. It’ll be fine.”

  Why was he lying to her? If they were married, he should be able to tell her these things. If they were married. They weren’t married. Why couldn’t she remember that?

  Sean whooped and pulled open the door to his truck. “I’ll see you two there in a bit then. It’ll be a party like no other,” he yelled out his window as he backed his truck up and pulled away.

  Once he was gone, Emma turned to Austin. Even in the evening light, she could see that he had paled. What was wrong with him? Why wouldn’t he tell her? As much as she wanted to believe that she was fine with never talking about anything personal, she was beginning to believe that that wasn’t possible. She wanted to know about him. A lot about him. And it was hard to admit, but it broke her heart just a bit that he couldn’t possibly want the same thing.

  The rest of the way to the house, they walked in silence. Emma could feel the stress emanating off Austin. There were a few times she contemplated turning around and asking him what was wrong but then decided against it. Was it so bad that she wanted him to tell her because he wanted her to know? Not because she had to practically pull it from him?

  Once they got to the house, Austin offered the shower to her first and then disappeared into his room. A half an hour later, Emma sat on her bed, slipping on a pair of heels. After a hot shower and a scrub down, she felt a lot better. Her hands still stung, but the water and soap had a cleansing effect on them.

  She’d decided to go with a fitted pencil skirt and a lacy blouse. It made her feel feminine and after a long day of working outside, she wanted to feel feminine. Just as she moved to stand, there was a knock on her door. She swallowed. Austin.

  “Come in,” she said as she stood and brushed down her skirt.

  The handle turned and Austin slowly pushed open the door. She tried to still her heart as it picked up speed when her gaze fell on him. His blue button up shirt highlighted his tanned skin and his dark hair was still damp from his shower. His gaze roamed the room as he shoved his hand into the front pocket of his jeans. The jeans whose tightness caused her cheeks to flush just thinking about them.

  “Are you”—he cleared his throat when his gaze fell on her—“Are you ready?” he asked.

  Emma nodded. Her heart pounding so loud in her ears. Why did she feel this need to know everything about him? She wanted to figure out the reason behind his earlier reaction so bad that she felt like she could burst. Was he feeling this way as well? She was an idiot to even think that he might.

  “You look beautiful,” he said, nodding in her direction.

 
Emma swallowed. Statements like that were not going to help her calm her emotions. “Thanks. So, do you?”

  Even from across the room, she saw his cheeks reddened. He dropped her gaze to the floor where he dug the toe of his boot into the carpet.

  Having enough of his mysterious behavior, she closed the gap between them and grasped his hand. He flinched and moved to pull it away but then he paused.

  “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Whatever past you have, you don’t have to tell me. I understand. We can stay home.” She winced as every thought she’d been having since their meeting with Sean came tumbling out. Great. Now she was a blabbering idiot.

  Hoping she hadn’t ruined their relationship by asking too many questions, Emma moved to pull her hand away. But just as she did, Austin tightened his grip on her fingers.

  “I want to tell you,” he said. His voice was low. “But I don’t want you to look at me differently.”

  She hesitated and then glanced up at him. His dark eyes were stormy and full of pain. How could she show him that he could tell her?

  “I won’t look at you differently,” she said, reaching out and resting her hand on his forearm.

  His jaw muscles flinched as he glanced from her and then around the room. “Last year, my mom and I went to the Tavern for some drinks. I had one too many and was pretty out of it. Mom was pretty drunk as well. I didn’t know it, but she got into her car and left before I could stop her. On the way home, she got into an accident. It was fatal.” His voice faded off as he closed his eyes. It was if he were reliving the memory.

  Emma’s heart broke for him. What a horrible experience to go through. “Austin, you have to know—”

  He broke from her grasp and turned. “Don’t say that. Please, don’t say that,” he said, holding up his hand.

  “But it’s true.” Emma wasn’t going to stand by and watch as he beat himself up over this.