Cowboys Don't Buy Their Bride at Auction

by Jessie Gussman

  He leaned against the back of the stool between them, thinking. “You’re sick because you’re pregnant.”

  “Yes. You know, morning sickness.”

  Chapter 11

  Boone’s face scrunched up.

  It was adorable, and Roxie knew she was letting her guard down. She shouldn’t. He insisted he wasn’t after the ranch, and she knew she should believe him. All his actions had backed up the words he’d just uttered. But it was so hard to believe that someone could be as...nice as Boone seemed to be.

  “I guess this is what we missed at the getting to know you stage.” He reached in the bag and pulled out two containers, setting one in front of her and opening the other for himself. “I haven’t been around women much. My two sisters are a good bit younger. Things people learn on TV or whatever, we never watched it. Didn’t have time. No dad and a lot of mouths to feed.” He grinned. “Some of us ate more than others.” He nodded at her soup. “You done with that?”

  She gave him an uncertain look. “Yes?” He was looking at it like he was planning on eating it.

  Sure enough, he took it from in front of her and started to spoon it into his mouth. Okay, yeah, so they were married, but only for a few hours, and seriously, he was eating after an almost perfect stranger?

  “Basically,” he said, “if you’re expecting me to know a bunch of stuff about women, I’m gonna disappoint you. Unless it’s bovine related.”

  That really wasn’t disappointing to her. Not much.

  “So you need me to explain morning sickness?”

  “Nooo.” He drew his answer out. “I think I have it figured out. You’re gonna be sick in the morning and act like you hate me because you’re pregnant.”

  “I did not act like I hated you.”

  “So, obviously, you don’t know much about men.” He picked up his burger. “Let me clue you in. When you cry at the sight of me, it makes me think you hate me. I think that’s a universal trait.”

  “I had a headache, and I was throwing up. I didn’t cry at the sight of you.” She picked up a fry.

  He stood, walking to the refrigerator and returning with ketchup. He held it up with a questioning look.

  “Please.”

  He squirted it on the lid of her container. “So you’re not sick now?”

  “No. I was last night. But that might have been nerves.”

  “You were nervous?” he asked incredulously.

  “Yes. Absolutely. Wouldn’t you have been?”

  “I’d have walked. No way I’d agree to get married to a stranger unless I chose to.”

  “I told Ryder I would. It was the only way he’d let go and marry Nell.”

  As she figured he would, he nodded. He’d have done the same for any of his family; she was sure of it.

  She allowed a little smile to touch her lips, still not ready to bare all of her feelings for him. “Plus, I’m not unhappy with the way it worked out. I’ve been learning, sometimes, when you let things go, rather than try to control everything, things work out better than you think they would.”

  There was humor in the crinkle of his eyes as he chewed on his hamburger and met her gaze. He swallowed. “A hard lesson, huh?”

  She grunted. “I guess it’s harder for some of us than others.” He seemed like such a relaxed, easygoing person; he probably had no idea of her struggle.

  “You know everyone has things they have to deal with or overcome in their personality.”

  “I know. I assume it would be so much easier, though, to have a personality like yours.”

  “Maybe if I were a little more forceful, more determined to get my way, I wouldn’t have let you change my mind.” He held his burger in front of his mouth. “I’m not really complaining, though. Think I won’t mind a little bossiness.”

  He didn’t say “in the bedroom,” but she couldn’t help but wonder if he thought it.

  “I meant every word of the vows I said last night.” His casual tone hadn’t changed, but there was a new tension in his shoulders as he put the last of his burger in his mouth. He watched her, and she figured he wanted to know where she stood on their marriage, too.

  She drew a fry through the ketchup, back and forth. The familiar stirring in her blood when Boone was around heated up. She wondered, exactly what he was thinking, how their marriage would play out.

  She finally looked up. “I did too.”

  Maybe she imagined it, but she thought she saw relief in his eyes. “Then we have the rest of our lives. We started out kinda fast. Maybe we can back up and start again. Go a little slower this time?”

  She thought she understood what he was saying, and the idea made her feel like their relationship was important to him. “What, exactly, do you mean by ‘a little slower’?”

  The cleft in his chin deepened when he smiled.

  “Time frame,” she added, because she wasn’t sure he understood and she wasn’t ready for any awkward physical descriptions.

  “Couple months?” he said, scratching his chin. Then the humor slid from his face. “Do you have any idea what the lawyer meant when he said we’d have a test?”

  “Well, I think he gave me a letter about it at some point. But basically, it’s something that we have to pass to keep the ranch and money.”

  “Then we don’t need to worry about it? You didn’t seem like you cared about the ranch.”

  “I’m sure I did give that impression. It wasn’t very nice of me to be pushing like that, but I wanted to test you, just to see if you’d fight to keep it.”

  “I suspected as much, but I was being dead serious. I like it, but I’m not attached to it. Not like I’m attached to you.” He nodded at her half-eaten sandwich. “You finishing that?”

  She pushed it toward him. “You’re not even going to surprise me by eating it. Have my fries, too.”

  He laughed. “I should have gotten myself two.” He pulled it toward him. “What does the test consist of? Multiple choice answers? Essay questions? Fitness activities? Roping steers?”

  It was her turn to laugh. “I hope not. I’ll not be very good at that.”

  “Eh, don’t worry about it. I’ll rope your steers, and you can answer my essay questions.”

  “Hmm. I really don’t know. It’s just going to be something that we have to pass. I think the letter said he’d be here to give it to us and we’d have a week to do it.”

  “I see. Well, if keeping the ranch and money is important to you, we’ll figure out what to do to ace it, whatever it is.”

  In the time that she’d moved to Sweet Water, the ranch had felt like home. She’d noticed a huge difference in Spencer, and she wanted to raise the baby she was carrying here, too. It was a family thing. Something they’d had for generations. It made her proud to be part of it. “I’d like that.”

  “I think we’ve gotten the big stuff settled. I know what morning sickness is and that you don’t hate me.” She harrumphed. “We’re both committed to staying married and trying to pass the test. You know I don’t know anything about women.” He stacked her empty container with his. “Oh, and I warned you that I was planning on a slow seduction campaign.”

  She waved her hand. “We’re married. That’s not necessary.”

  He stopped.

  Her breath hitched as he turned toward her slowly. “Maybe I think it is. Maybe this isn’t something I’m willing to compromise on. Maybe I think you’re worth it and wish that I had done it right the first time.”

  Her heart slammed and jerked in her chest, and she had trouble looking him in the eye. He was too serious, too...too good to be true. She’d never met anyone else like him. Maybe because she hadn’t lived in North Dakota, and there just weren’t guys like this in the city. Or maybe it was just Boone. Whatever it was, it scared her. A little fling she could handle. Something that didn’t scratch past the surface.

  But Boone wanted more from her, and something told her he wasn’t going to be satisfied until he had everything.


  She wasn’t sure she wanted to go down that road again.

  She already knew his tenderness could make her cry. And she didn’t want to be one of those weak women who melted at the sight of a man. She’d worked long and hard to become self-reliant and self-contained.

  Just because she allowed herself to be sold at auction to fulfill her promise and the stipulations in her uncle’s will didn’t mean she was going to sell her heart and soul along with it.

  He had stopped stacking their containers and watched her. His fingers came up and landed lightly on the edge of her jaw. “What?”

  She forced a pleasant look, despite the war going on inside of her—her heart begging her to trust, her mind reminding her of Bryan’s betrayal and the infidelity that occurred all around her on a regular basis when she was married and living in New York.

  “Nothing.” She shrugged and moved, and his hand fell down. “I guess I’ll keep my room, and I’ll show you to the other side of the house where you can stay.”

  She turned away, busying herself brushing three crumbs off the counter and into her cupped hand. Boone hadn’t moved. She carried the crumbs over and brushed them into the sink, making a much bigger job out of it than it was. When she turned, he still hadn’t moved.

  “What?” she asked, like she didn’t know. “You want to move into my room after all?” She wanted him there. With all her heart, she wanted him there. And maybe if he was, they could continue with the shallow relationship they’d started two weeks ago.

  “No,” he finally said.

  She didn’t allow her disappointment to show on her face. She couldn’t allow him to see how much she wished she could believe he was different.

  “Okay then. You can follow me.” She moved toward the back hall and the steps,

  “No.”

  Now she was the one who didn’t understand. She tilted her head.

  “I’ll sleep in the barn.”

  “The barn?” She was shocked, and her voice showed it. “It’s not heated. You’ll freeze.”

  “Nah.”

  “How long are you going to stay there?”

  One broad shoulder moved up. “I think we’ll know when it’s time for me to move.”

  She shivered. He didn’t say “move into the house,” and she felt like he was saying when he moved, it would be to her room, like he wasn’t going to sleep anywhere in the house except with her.

  “Okay.” Her voice was once again calm. They could be friends. She actually wanted them to be friends. Boone was a nice guy. But he wasn’t as perfect as what he was pretending to be. He couldn’t be.

  “There will probably be some folks coming to move their stuff out. And when I was out feeding with Bill this morning, there were still a few cattle and three horses that hadn’t been taken.”

  “Okay.” She wasn’t sure what that had to do with her. Her domain was the house.

  “You want to come out and look around with me?”

  “I’m tired. I think I’ll take a rest. I have some work to do in the office, too.”

  “What is it? I can help.” He threw the containers in the trash and waited for her response.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be with him. She did. But... Why not? Why not enjoy his company? They were going to be together for a long time. So she’d just enjoy him, but she wouldn’t let him get too close.

  Some of the tension in her body eased as she made a solid decision. “Sweet Water, the town, usually has a Thanksgiving meal in the school gymnasium, but I volunteered to host it here at the ranch this year. I have a budget from the town, and I was going to throw in a little more and make it a nice event. I had everything redone this spring for the big ball, and I have ideas for fall décor as well as a meal plan plus seating arrangements—”

  “Whoa.” Boone put up his hand. “You love doing this.”

  “Well, yes. Who doesn’t?”

  He snorted. “You just got animated, and your cheeks got pink, and your eyes flashed, and you looked like a girl I met at a wedding not long ago. I danced with her for a bit.”

  He didn’t even make an insinuation about what happened later, and she figured that was on purpose. So she went with it, tossing her head. “Really? You sound like you kind of like this girl.”

  “I did.” He came a little closer, and she backed slowly toward the office door where all her folders and plans were. “But I never got her name.”

  “Well then, you need to work on your moves. You shouldn’t have let her out of your sight without her name and number.”

  “Oh, my moves were good. I even taught her some. She was a fine dancer.” He closed the distance as her back hit the office door.

  She reached around for the knob. “Did you tell her?”

  “I couldn’t talk. All I wanted to do was watch her.”

  “That was your first mistake. You have to look in her eyes.” She twisted the handle, and the door opened behind her. She stepped in, almost wishing she had the nerve to stand and see what Boone would do if she let him catch her. Of course, she wasn’t moving so fast that he couldn’t have gotten her if he wanted. Maybe he was just playing and wanted her to enjoy herself, too.

  If her happy heartbeat and the fact that she couldn’t stop smiling was any indication, he was successful.

  She kind of thought that maybe when Boone was around, she’d better plan on having a good time.

  Chapter 12

  Boone was moving a wrapped hay bale from the stack beyond the corral when Roxane’s son came walking up the lane. The bus must have dropped him off at the end of the lane. Of course it did. Just because it was Sweet Water Ranch didn’t mean the bus treated the boy any differently than any of the other kids who got dropped off at the end of their lanes.

  Boone figured the boy would go right in and see his mother after spending the weekend with Ryder and Nell, but the kid dropped his book bag off at the back walk and kept walking.

  Maybe that was his regular routine. Boone kept rolling toward the corral gate. By the time he got there, the kid was standing by the fence, watching. He must have run pretty fast to cover twice the ground the skid loader had.

  Boone didn’t think too much of it and was getting ready to pull the latch to get out when a thought struck him.

  Boone’s dad had died when he was not much older than that kid, but he remembered how much he’d loved just being with his dad, dogging his footsteps and practically worshipping the ground he walked on. Just something in a boy that wanted the father in his life to pay attention to him.

  Instead of gripping the latch, Boone met the boy’s eyes and made a motion with his hand. The kid’s eyes drew together before they brightened and a big smile cut through his face. He ran to the gate, unlatched it, and threw it open.

  Boone drove through, checking behind him where, sure enough, the kid was shutting it. He grinned a little to himself. He’d wanted to get to know the kid. It wasn’t going to be hard if the boy was this eager to help out. It’d just take patience on his part because it was always easier to do things oneself than it was to train someone else to help. Especially a kid. Boone had enough little brothers to know it could be a pain, but the rewards of having a boy work beside him as the kid turned into a man and actually became a real help would be worth the effort.

  Always was.

  Unless, of course, the dad died before he got to see the man his son had become.

  He shoved those thoughts away. He hadn’t thought of working with his dad in years. He’d gotten to work with his brothers all his life and in even closer quarters on the harvest crew he’d just left.

  Now he had a ready-made family and a boy whose dad didn’t seem to be too interested in him. It was funny how the Lord worked sometimes.

  Boone stopped in front of the round bale holder and hopped out of the machine. Spencer had trailed along behind, warily eyeing the cattle that milled around.

  Boone grinned. “They’re big, but they’re not gonna hurt ya. The bull’s out in the
pasture. These are just cows, and they’ll never bother you unless they’ve just freshened. Sometimes you have a new mother that gets a little crazy protecting her offspring, but otherwise, you don’t need to worry.”

  Spencer nodded, still not looking like he wanted to walk much closer.

  Boone’s mother would have flipped her brisket if he’d been out in the corral without changing his school clothes. But they were poor, and keeping school clothes nice to wear for an entire year and possibly more as hand-me-downs was an essential part of their budget. Spencer might not have the same constraints.

  Boone gave quick consideration to the fact that Roxane might be mad at him for letting her son get dirty against the desire to include the boy in his work.

  After three-quarters of a second, he jerked his head. “You have a pocketknife?” When he was that age, he wouldn’t be caught dead without one. He and his brothers had sung specials in church with their weaponry strapped under their dress pants. Or, in some cases, clipped to their pockets and strapped to their chests. They’d had contests as to who could take the most knives to church and throwing contests afterwards as the adults lingered and talked.

  Church wasn’t boring when he was a boy.

  Something told him Roxane might not approve.

  Spencer shook his head, answering Boone’s question and pulling him from his thoughts.

  Boone pulled his knife out, flipped it open, and handed it to him, handle first. “We’re gonna cut the plastic off this bale and cut the strings too. Think you can do it without a trip to the ER? Knife’s sharp.”

  Spencer looked at it like he’d never held one before. Surely his mother didn’t cut his steak for him. If the boy wasn’t twelve, he was close to it.

  “Cut a big X on the bottom of the bale.” Boone pointed to the bottom end that was sticking out.

  Spencer went over and slowly cut a small X, maybe four inches for each line.

  Boone realized right away he should have shown the boy how to do it a few times before handing over the knife. His brothers had grown up outside, waddling around the corral in diapers that sagged in the dirt. So when they were handed a knife, they knew exactly what to do with it, even if they didn’t always have the instincts to keep their fingers out of the way. He had a few scars on his own hands from the same lack of foresight. Funny how a little pain, a lot of blood, and a few stitches helped develop those capabilities.