by Cora Seton
The truth was, she felt torn about her single status. On the one hand, everyone around her was getting married, and she felt left behind. On the other hand, she wasn’t sure she was ready for a relationship with anyone. She had things to do—changes to make in her life. She had a feeling Eric was the kind of guy who liked things to stay the same.
Steel probably relished a challenge. He struck her as the kind of man who could wake up one morning and change everything about himself.
Which didn’t make him boyfriend material, she reminded herself severely. Eric was far more appropriate. He ticked off all the right boxes as a potential mate, and she liked him. Admired him.
But she never found herself daydreaming about him—not the way she daydreamed about Steel.
When Eric bent down again, angling for her mouth this time, Stella pulled back. “I’m going to try to be a deputy,” she blurted. “And I need to pass the physical fitness test. Do you want to train with me sometime?”
He blinked. Pulled back, wary at this sudden change in conversation. “Well, I… sure, Stella, if that’s what you want.” It was obvious his mind had been on an entirely different activity they could do together.
“Well, you passed it, right?” she barrelled on. “I mean I know it was a long time ago, and maybe you don’t even remember the test, but…” Oh, this wasn’t going well at all.
She was pretty sure Eric sighed. “I’m not ancient. I do remember the agility test.”
Had she hurt his feelings?
“I know you’re not ancient.” She tried again. “That wasn’t what I meant at all. I meant maybe you’re too busy for something like that.” Over his shoulder she spotted her uncle Jed talking with Steel’s aunt Virginia. Those two were known to get into heated arguments, so she knew she’d better keep an eye on them, but they were chatting amicably enough for now.
“I’m never too busy for you.” Eric tugged her closer again. “But are you sure you’ve thought this through? Being a deputy isn’t a walk in the park.”
Stella straightened. Did he think she couldn’t handle the job? There weren’t too many female deputies in town, but it wasn’t like she’d have to break new ground.
“I work at the station, remember? I have a fair idea what it’s like.” At the refreshments table, Jed offered Virginia a piece of cake. Virginia stabbed a finger at a plate piled high with cookies, and he added several of them to the dish and handed it to her. Stella bit back a smile. She was fairly certain Jed had a crush on Virginia, despite the way they fought.
“You’re not exactly brawny.” Eric spanned her waist with his hands as a visual demonstration, pulling her back to their conversation. “I’m not sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.”
“Well, I’m sure,” Stella said crisply. So much for romance. Now she was good and annoyed. She didn’t need him talking down to her like that. She was a strong woman, not some debutante in a hoop skirt.
Eric must have sensed her anger. “Heck, Stella, sorry—that was out of line. You’re a smart lady, and I’m sure you know your capabilities. I’d be glad to help anytime.”
Stella relaxed a little and let him move her around the dance floor again. “I do know my capabilities,” she said. Now Virginia was supervising while Jed loaded up a plate of desserts for himself. She could see her giving him a lot of advice. He reached for something, and Virginia swatted his hand away. Her shrill voice carried over the music. “That cake’s filling has cream in it, and it’s sat out for far too long!”
Eric frowned. “You can’t blame me for worrying about you. I’m a man. Guess I like to think of myself as the protector in this relationship. If you’re a deputy, too…”
“Then maybe I’ll be the one doing the protecting,” she quipped. “Welcome to the twenty-first century, Eric. I’ll be fine.”
He growled in a playful way. “Every time I turn around something’s changing. Guess I’ll have to change, too.”
“Guess so.” She spotted her younger sister, Maya, heading over to the refreshment table. Was she doing refills or beginning to pack things away? “I’d better go help out a little. Maya’s looking for me.” She spotted her mother, Mary, and Enid Cooper coming to join her sister. They’d done a lot to help set up the wedding, and Stella was happy that the two of them had rekindled their old friendship. She hadn’t exactly patched things up with her mother, but she supposed she’d get there someday.
“Do you have to?” He made no move to let her go.
“I have to. See you around, Eric.” She disengaged herself from his arms, not giving him time to try to kiss her again or ask what she was doing later.
“Everything all right?” Maya asked when she joined her.
“Everything’s fine.” But as her gaze traveled over the assembled guests, Stella realized she was looking for Steel even though she knew he wasn’t there. Everything wasn’t fine. She was too smart to be pining for an unsuitable man. Steel was as much a thief as his father was rumored to have been.
And he’d run off with her heart.
Steel slipped away between the trees, satisfied that his sister was safely married and would be cared for by the man she loved. He would have liked to tell her how happy he was for her, but it would be a long time before he could talk openly with his family again. He’d worked too hard to get to this point in his investigation. People needed to place him firmly in the camp of the bad guys in their minds. That way the bad guys might finally see him as one of them.
It took him a long time to make his way across several ranches to the place where he’d hidden his truck. In the morning he’d get back to work searching for answers. Meanwhile, he’d drive back to Silver Falls, to his new base of operations.
Shortly before midnight, he was sitting in the doorway of the ramshackle trailer he’d recently purchased for a song, lost in thought, trying to calm his mind in preparation for sleep, when the wind shifted and a cool breeze ruffled his hair.
Steel straightened, but it took him a moment to realize what had roused him.
A smell. A certain heaviness to the air.
He looked to the sky again—to the west where clouds already obscured the stars. A storm was gathering. He watched it come his way.
And smiled as the first drops of rain began to fall.
Guests had already begun to head for home when the rain started, stopping all of them in their tracks. All around Stella, people tilted their heads back to feel the pitter-patter of drops hitting their skin, such a familiar feeling but one they’d missed for far too long.
Tears pricked Stella’s eyes, and she swallowed in a throat that suddenly ached—with gratitude. Finally, this crazy drought would end. It had been a long hot summer that had left the ground as hard and dry as concrete and everyone’s tempers stretched to the limits. Their crops had struggled. Their morale, too. Rain was just what the doctor ordered. She hadn’t realized how much the constant worry had affected her these past few months until the muscles at the back of her neck relaxed. She blinked back the sudden rush of emotion that welled inside her as the raindrops fell, but glancing around, she realized she wasn’t the only one affected this way. Jo Reed had stretched out her arms and was slowly twirling. Lisa Matheson looked like she was praying. Paul Hornsley, one of the oldest men still ranching in the county, kept swallowing, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.
Someone started to clap. Zane Hall cheered. Soon everyone joined in, giving the rain a standing ovation, as if the curtain had just fallen on some Shakespearian play.
As the breeze picked up and the rain began to fall more swiftly, however, a murmur ran around the remaining guests. Stella woke from her joyful reverie and realized there was food to pack, tablecloths to fold, beer and liquor to carry away—
In a minute this beautiful outdoor venue was going to be a mess.
All around her people gathered up whatever they could and raced for the main house, some distance away. Stella grabbed a platter of desserts and hurried across the parched lawn. Men were st
acking chairs. Women flocked around her, laden with whatever food and drinks they could carry.
Stella burst through the back door into the kitchen, set the platter on the large table and began taking the plates and trays from the other women’s hands. She shoved drinks into the refrigerator or coolers that a few cowboys had lugged up to the house, stacked table linens and cutlery on the counters to deal with in the morning. A half hour later, everything was indoors and most of the guests were gone, and Stella, exhausted but happy, went outdoors again, stepped into the yard and let the rain pour over her skin.
She’d been as parched as the ground.
Was Steel watching the rain fall, too?
Silly question. If he was, what did that have to do with her? Just because she couldn’t quite get an image out of her mind of him joining her out here, pulling her as close as Eric had earlier in the evening, the heat of his body keeping her warm despite the cool rain, didn’t mean—
“That’s a good way to catch your death of cold,” Jed said from behind her.
Stella yelped, caught herself and spun to find him sitting on one of the wicker chairs on the back porch. How long had he been there?
She hoped like hell he couldn’t read her mind.
“I’ll go dry off in a minute now that I can finally relax,” she assured him, quickly crossing the grass and running lightly up the stairs to the porch.
“Don’t relax too hard.” Jed stood slowly, using his cane to steady himself. “You’ve still got work to do—and I’m not talking about cleaning all this up.”
“I don’t need any extra jobs right now, thank you very much,” Stella said pertly. She had a sinking feeling she knew exactly where this was going.
She was right.
“I infiltrated the Coopers tonight. Heard their plans.”
“What plans?” she made herself ask, although the last thing she wanted was to have this conversation. Her guests had helped with storing away food and washing some of the dishes, but there was plenty more to do.
“Their plans to expand the detox and stabilization unit in town to serve teens and win the Founder’s Prize once and for all.”
The damn Founder’s Prize. It was all she’d heard about all summer. Stella opened the kitchen door and faced the mess inside. If Jed was going to talk, she might as well stay up and tackle some of this now. She grabbed a hand towel and wiped off her hands and face. It had been so hot all day, the dampness of her dress felt good, and she figured it would dry soon enough. “It’s not even possible for them to win. All they can do is tie with us,” she pointed out as she pulled on an apron, crossed to the sink and began to fill it with water.
“Aren’t you going to change out of those wet things?” Jed demanded. “Everyone’s concerned about the drug issue,” he added. “Especially with those overdoses in Silver Falls. If the Coopers pull this off, they could still win.”
Stella couldn’t wait until the contest was over. All it did was bury them in extra work.
“What do you want me to do about it?” She added dish soap to the water and put the first stack of plates in to soak.
“Come up with a plan. Do something to get this family back on track.” He kept going toward the interior of the house.
“I am doing something. I’m going to become a deputy.”
Jed waved that off. “That’s not going to help matters any. We’ve been in law enforcement for generations, and it never got us a free ranch. Come up with something else.” He paused in the entryway to the hall. “I’m off to bed. Don’t stay up too late. Plenty of time for dishes in the morning.”
“I won’t.” She waited until she was alone and dipped her hands into the water, washing the first dish. Her brothers must have retired with their wives, too, everyone assuming they could finish cleaning up tomorrow.
She wasn’t ready for sleep yet, though. She liked hearing the rain.
Liked being by herself.
She let her imagination run free again. Dreamed of a life in which it would be okay for a woman like her to fall for a man like Steel.
If Jed wanted to win the Ridley property, he could do it himself.
Click to read more of The Cowboy’s Forbidden Bride
The Cowboys of Chance Creek Series:
The Cowboy Inherits a Bride (Volume 0)
The Cowboy’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 1)
The Cowboy Wins a Bride (Volume 2)
The Cowboy Imports a Bride (Volume 3)
The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire (Volume 4)
The Sheriff Catches a Bride (Volume 5)
The Cowboy Lassos a Bride (Volume 6)
The Cowboy Rescues a Bride (Volume 7)
The Cowboy Earns a Bride (Volume 8)
The Cowboy’s Christmas Bride (Volume 9)
The Heroes of Chance Creek Series:
The Navy SEAL’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 1)
The Soldier’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 2)
The Marine’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 3)
The Navy SEAL’s Christmas Bride (Volume 4)
The Airman’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 5)
The SEALs of Chance Creek Series:
A SEAL’s Oath
A SEAL’s Vow
A SEAL’s Pledge
A SEAL’s Consent
A SEAL’s Purpose
A SEAL’s Resolve
A SEAL’s Devotion
A SEAL’s Desire
A SEAL’s Struggle
A SEAL’s Triumph
The Brides of Chance Creek Series:
Issued to the Bride One Navy SEAL
Issued to the Bride One Airman
Issued to the Bride One Sniper
Issued to the Bride One Marine
Issued to the Bride One Soldier
The Turners v. Coopers Series:
The Cowboy’s Secret Bride (Volume 1)
The Cowboy’s Outlaw Bride (Volume 2)
The Cowboy’s Hidden Bride (Volume 3)
The Cowboy’s Stolen Bride (Volume 4)
The Cowboy’s Forbidden Bride (Volume 5)
About the Author
With over one million books sold, NYT and USA Today bestselling author Cora Seton has created a world readers love in Chance Creek, Montana. She has twenty-eight novels and novellas currently set in her fictional town, with many more in the works. Like her characters, Cora loves cowboys, military heroes, country life, gardening, bike-riding, binge-watching Jane Austen movies, keeping up with the latest technology and indulging in old-fashioned pursuits. Visit www.coraseton.com to read about new releases, contests and other cool events!
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