Reese pulled back and looked down at his bride. He felt surreal and prayed that if he was dreaming, he would never wake up. Rachel leaned up and kissed him on his lips.
“What are you thinking about, husband?”
He felt the chills run down his back as she spoke those words. Rachel was his wife. Forever were in their vows.
“I was thinking how lucky I am and now you are stuck with me, legally.”
She laughed. “More like you are stuck with me,” she kissed him again. “Thank you for giving me another shot.”
He looked over her head at the people who had come to witness their vows. Sarah had her head resting on Ben’s shoulder, both of them beaming at him and Rachel. His kids were busy eating their slices of cake. His brothers were talking with their mother as Greta and Jack stared longingly into each other’s eyes. If he was a betting man, he figured there’d be another wedding in the future.
He looked back down at Rachel. “I’m glad you came to your senses and realized that I’m the man for you.”
She rested her head on his chest and he closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her in his arms.
“You are the only man for me and I’m the only woman for you.”
“I can’t disagree with that.”
“Do you think your brothers will ever find this happiness?”
Reese shook his head. “I don’t think so. Jackson is happy being single and Ryker is having too much fun traveling around. I think it would be hard to find the right woman when you are on the road all of the time.”
Rachel laughed. “I’ll bet you a thousand bucks that Ryker not only finds the love of his life on the road, but that Jackson is married within two years.”
He pulled back and stared at his wife. He loved her sense of humor. “I’ll take that bet but didn’t you say it was two grand on Jackson?”
“Oh, that’s right. The ladies have a bet on who will snag him. You can’t join in that pool; women only.”
“Isn’t that discrimination?” he teased.
“Only if you take it that way,” she laughed. “So, are you up for the challenge?”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in closer. Glancing back over at his brothers, he nodded his head. “I’m always up for a challenge. I married you, didn’t I?”
~The End~
Thank you for reading my story, Falling, Fallen. Stay tuned for Jackson and Ryker’s stories. Will Rachel win the bet against her husband, Reese?
In the meantime, you can find more of my cowboys on my Amazon page; https://geni.us/RaeAnneHadley
Here’s a sneak peek at my best-selling boxed set, Elk Creek Cowboys.
Welcome to Elk Creek Cowboys
Prologue
“I hate your guts! I wish I had never met you, let alone marry you!”
He dropped his head and shoulders, feeling defeated. He knew his wife was venting her frustration about the loss of their ranch but he was getting tired of being the target of her anger. He was losing a lot too; it wasn’t just her.
He heard the back-door slam and the car start up but didn’t go after her. She needed her space and time to cool down, just like he did. The past couple of months had been delicate between the two of them and divorce had been brought up several times. He didn’t want one but it was getting harder to find the things they still loved about each other. He often wondered if there was anything about him, she loved at all.
His phone rang and he pulled it out of his back pocket to see who it was. Everyone was calling lately; the bank, people interested in buying their ranch, people wanting to buy the livestock or equipment and people just wanting gossip. He wasn’t in the mood for any of them but his caller id showed it was the bank and he needed to take that call.
“Hey Travis, it’s Steve. I’m afraid I don’t have any good news. With the drop-in cattle prices and what the appraisal came back on your ranch, there’s just no way we can refinance it for you. You are upside down.”
Travis sucked in his breath and tried to eliminate the rock that was in the pit of his stomach. “Thanks for checking into that for me, Steve. I kinda figured but thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”
“Absolutely, it never hurts. If you had a family member or any other assets, we could sit down and refigure.”
“Nope, no family that can help. We all seem to be in the same boat.”
“Yeah, it’s been a tough couple of years. I’m sorry, Travis.”
“Thanks, Steve. Have a great day and thanks for getting back with me so fast.”
“You bet. Say hi to Marianne for me.”
“Sure. Will do.”
He hung up the phone and sat down on the mud bench. This was it. There was no way to save the ranch. He didn’t want to tell Marianne yet because he was worried he would lose his marriage on the same day.
Today
The idea of dating someone online sounded ridiculous and foreign to him. His best friend, Jon, had set up his profile two weeks ago despite his reluctance.
“Dude, you have been separated for nine months. It’s not like your wife died. She left you. Her loss. There are plenty of good women out there and you deserve the best.”
“Man, you are way too harsh on Marianne. She was going through a lot and didn’t know how to deal with it all.”
Jon grabbed Tavis’s shoulders and shook him. “God I’m so tired of you defending her! You were going through it too. She left you to deal with it alone.”
“She just didn’t know what to do. It was a helpless situation. We lost everything, remember?” Travis was tired of having this argument with his friend.
“Exactly, you both lost everything and the bankruptcy was in both of your names but you seem to be the focus of her blame! This wasn’t your fault.”
Travis rubbed a hand over his face. He couldn’t get Jon to understand that she had been lost, angry and hurt by the situation; that he allowed her to take it out on him. He had promised to be her rock and wasn’t going to break that promise. Even after the divorce released him of those vows.
“Fine, you already set up my profile. What more do you want?”
“Well you have quite a few swipes in your favor. Message one of them, go out on a date. That’s the whole purpose of this.”
“Fine. Will that get you to shut up?”
Jon nodded and smiled. “Yes, as long as you tell me how the date goes too.”
“You are such a dog.”
“Woof.” Jon pulled out his cell phone and loaded up Travis’s profile. “So, here are the hotties that have shown interest in you. What do you think?”
Travis glanced through the profiles, trying not to look as bored as he felt. He just wasn’t interested in dating. He stopped when he came across an emoji of a cow head. “Hey, this one looks interesting.”
Jon punched him in the arm. “Are you crazy? An emoji instead of a profile pic means that she is too ugly to post her real picture. And check out her lame email address; annieoakley69atannie.com. How lame is that?”
“No, it doesn’t. Maybe she’s just not that interested in looks and has a sense of adventure.”
“Woof, woof.”
“You keep doing that and you will turn into a dog,” Travis glared at his friend. “Right now, you are looking like an ass.”
“Chill, my friend. I’m just saying you have the options of dating any of these hotties, and you go immediately to a cow emoji. Wrong move dude.”
“Who’s dating site is this?”
“Fine, go with the cow chick. Let me know when you want to date a real woman.”
“Deal. Just tell me what I’m supposed to do now.”
“Oh, my gawd, dude. How will you ever survive in this era? You click on her profile. See that tab that says message? You tap on that and start a conversation. Simple pimple.”
“Okay. I’ll send her a message later.”
“Yeah and if you are as good at that as you are with modern technology, you’ll lose right out of the gate. Let me just hel
p with the first message then I’ll let you be on your own.”
Travis glared at his friend. “Seriously? You’re not going to let me do this on my own?”
Jon returned the glare. “Bro, who’s divorced and hasn’t dated since all of that?”
“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Fine. Let’s just get this done.”
***
Travis grabbed a beer and walked out on his porch, slowly lowering himself to the rocking chair. He took a long pull from his bottle and looked around. He often wondered how he got here. What decision, what moment, what specific choice had he made that turned the direction of his life downhill? It boiled down to them buying the ranch.
He had lived what he had thought was a charmed life. Everything came easy to him, people liked him, he had good luck with his cattle and hay fields, met and courted Marianne before she agreed becoming his wife. So many things that contributed to his happiness.
It all turned when they had bought the ranch in the southwestern Colorado mountains. Their perfect place; it had everything he and Marianne had wanted. The horse paddocks and arenas for Marianne’s beloved horses and his acreage and space for his cattle.
They had been filled with excitement despite knowing that it would mean doubling their already full workload but they were willing to take it on. Its success would mean financial security for their retirement, a pure family life and being able to raise their children with the basic foundations they had both been raised with themselves. It was everything they believed they could take on. Man, how wrong they had been.
He startled when his phone chirped. Glancing down he saw a text message from Jon.
Have you received a message from Cow Girl?
Travis took another swig of his beer before setting it down and responding. If he didn’t respond he knew Jon wouldn’t leave him alone
Not yet, going to check messages today. Been busy.
He followed through with his message by opening up the dating app Jon had set up on his phone. There was a message in his in folder. He felt his stomach give a little lurch. Excitement? Dread? Surely it couldn’t be butterflies?
He clicked on the message and opened it up. Taking a breath, he began to read.
Hi Travis. I’m so glad you decided to message me. My name is Annie. I enjoyed your message. It sounds like you and I have a lot in common. I’m a country girl and enjoy the outdoors too. Anyway, enough about me. Tell me more about you. What are your interests? Looking forward to hearing from you.
He smiled as he read the message. She seemed nice and she was country. At least she said she was. There was a difference between those who dressed country, listened to country but had never bucked a bale of hay, got covered with shit and afterbirth pulling a calf from a struggling cow’s labor, or bucked off a horse because they got a burr up their butt to an individual who had done all of the above; usually in one day. It wasn’t an easy life but if it was in your soul, it sure was a fulfilling one.
What are his interests? He hadn’t had a chance to go fishing since the divorce and he had moved to the smaller ranch. He hadn’t had a chance to go dancing since, hell, his and Marianne’s wedding. Though he had promised her many times that he would take her soon. Soon had turned into years as one crisis after another would pop up and change their weekend plans.
He closed his eyes against the unwanted memories that popped up. He hadn’t exactly been the husband or given her the life he had promised. To be honest, it hadn’t been the life he had dreamt of. Would it be fair to bring another woman into his life and let her down too? He needed to get his shit together first.
As quickly as he could get his fingers to hit the screen letters, he messaged Annie back.
It’s nice to meet you, Annie. I’m a divorced cattle rancher who’s trying to get his life together. At this time, I’m not pursuing any romantic interests but I sure wouldn’t mind having a friend. I have a little ranch in Colorado that keeps me pretty busy. Have you ever ranched? Have a great day.
He sent the message and leaned back in his rocker. He enjoyed his beer a little more and relished the bubbly liquid that cooled his throat. He was going to change his life and make it what he had always dreamed of. Only then would he be interested in bringing another woman in his life. The big question was; would he be happy with anyone other than Marianne?
Falling, Fallen- Reese Page 5
