The Cowboy’s Targeted Bride

by Carla Cassidy

  “You don’t have any of this in a computer program?” he asked in surprise.

  She set the big financial books in front of him on the table and then set a cup of coffee before him. “No. I’ve never had the time to transfer the books from paper to computer. I wouldn’t even know what kinds of programs I would need to have, and none of the ranch hands I had before Rod knew how to do it. I’ve just always tried to keep track of things on paper.”

  “Would you mind if I’d work on getting everything on the computer?”

  “Heavens, no.” She then poured herself a cup of coffee and joined him at the table. “I should have done it a long time ago, but I just didn’t know how to do it all.”

  “Then I’ll start with working on transferring this year’s transactions into programs where we can track everything more easily.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” she replied. Nerves shot through her as he opened the records for the past year and began to inspect them.

  A frown creased his forehead, a frown that instantly twisted her stomach. “What?” she asked.

  He looked up at her. “Relax, Lily.”

  “You’re frowning,” she replied.

  “It’s a frown of concentration.” He smiled at her. “What are you worried about?”

  “I’m afraid you’re going to yell at me for doing everything wrong,” she replied.

  “Even if I found out a hundred things you’ve done wrong, I would never yell at you. Lily, I really am a good guy.”

  She held his gaze for a long moment. “I’ve put all my trust into believing that’s true,” she finally replied.

  “And I’ll prove to you that you haven’t made a mistake with me,” he replied.

  Before either of them could say anything more, a knock sounded on the back door. “That should be Rod.” She got up from the table and greeted the tall, lanky blond who had been working for her for the past three years.

  She knew the man was thirty years old, lived in a small apartment in town and had always been very reliable. He’d been invited to the wedding but hadn’t shown up. She made the introductions between the two men.

  “So, you’re the new man in Lily’s life,” Rod said and held out his hand to Jerod, who had stood when Rod had come in. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Steen.”

  “Make it Jerod. We’re going to be working together, and I don’t stand on formalities.”

  “Then Jerod it is,” Rod replied. The two men shook hands, and then everyone sat down.

  For the next hour, Jerod asked questions to both her and Rod about ranch practices, feed and other supplies. Lily explained that Rod did the ordering of the supplies based on what was needed. He’d had a credit card to take care of things, but it had eventually been maxed out, and now she gave him cash for what they needed.

  “I’ve tried to do everything right for Lily,” Rod said and smiled at her. “I admire her a lot and have only wanted her to succeed.”

  “Thanks, Rod,” she said, oddly uncomfortable by the warmth of his smile. Had he always looked at her that way, or was she just super-sensitive because of what Caleb had told her about the man?

  “So, what do you think?” Lily asked when Rod was gone.

  “Did you get receipts from Rod each time he bought something?” Jerod asked.

  She frowned. “I tried to, but to be honest, in the past six months or so we got pretty sloppy about it. Why?”

  “Either Rod is just ignorant and doesn’t know the price of things and the folks at the feed store are taking advantage of him, or he’s fleecing you,” he said.

  She stared at him as her heart plummeted in her chest. “Even if either scenario is true, ultimately it’s my fault. I’m the one who has been ignorant about current prices, and if Rod has been cheating me, it’s because I’ve been allowing it. It’s also possible I didn’t always write down everything he bought on any given day.” She released a deep, weary sigh. “Should I let him go?”

  “No, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for right now, at least until I get a better opportunity to go through your records. And to be honest, I’m going to need him to help me with inventory and everything else I need to learn about the ranch.”

  She released another sigh. “I’m feeling just a bit overwhelmed right now.”

  Jerod reached across the table and covered her hand with his. His hands were big and strong and callused from hard work. “You are no longer in this by yourself, Lily. We’re in this together. We’re a team, and I can’t wait for us to turn things around so you are finally living your real dream.”

  She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe him so badly. But since last night, since the discovery of that horrible, evil-looking doll, she’d had a bad feeling about this whole thing. It was as if the doll was a horrible curse and she was just waiting to see what terrible thing might happen next.

  Chapter 5

  It had been a little over a week since Lily had been in her classroom. She’d taken the week off after her wedding, and this morning as she walked through the school’s front doors, she felt a sense of her life getting back to some sort of normalcy.

  It had been an incredibly busy week. Monday morning, true to his word, Jerod had gone with her to the bank and had paid off the overdue mortgage payments. For the next couple of days, Jerod had moved his items into the house. The closet now held both her and his clothing, indicating a married couple shared the space. His horse was now in the barn, and they’d fallen into a comfortable routine.

  Despite the fact that they now lived together as a married couple for the past week, there had been no intimacy between them. Not even a single kiss. And over the past week she’d begun to wonder what a real, passionate kiss from her husband would be like.

  She’d also begun to ask herself what difference would it make if they actually made love? After all, they were married, and they both wanted a child. She found him not only kind, but also sexy. And part of what she found sexy about him was how patient and gentle he was being with Caleb, despite her son often being sullen and rude.

  He assured her after Caleb went to bed each night that it was just going to take time for all three of them to really bond as a family, and he seemed optimistic that eventually that would happen.

  Dillon had stopped by on Tuesday morning to tell them he had no information about the bride doll. The local toy store carried them, but Jay Loggins, the owner of the store, couldn’t remember the last time he’d sold one. There had also been no fingerprints or any other evidence to further any kind of an investigation. At least nothing more had happened that had frightened her over the past seven days. She was now thinking that the bride doll was just an isolated incident...either a sick joke or an expression of displeasure that wouldn’t go any further.

  She and Jerod had spent the week getting to know each other better. In the evenings once Caleb went to sleep, their habit had become to sit in the living room and talk about anything and everything.

  She now sank down at her desk, wondering how the kids had done with the substitute teacher who had worked the week before.

  “Hey.” Carol Jenkins whirled into her classroom. “How goes the newlyweds?” She propped her hip on the top of Lily’s desk. “I’ve always imagined making love to Jerod Steen would be totally mind-blowing. Is it? Come on, confess all.”

  Lily laughed. “I can’t believe you’re actually confessing to me that you’ve imagined making love to my husband.”

  “Hi, ladies.” Krista came into the room. “What’s going on?”

  “I was just grilling Lily about her new sex life with Jerod,” Carol said.

  “Oh goody, I got here just in time,” Krista said. “So, Lily...do tell.”

  Lily laughed once again. “You both know a real lady doesn’t kiss and tell.”

  “Oooh, that means the sex must be amazing,” Krista rep
lied.

  “You both should know marriage is about more than the sex,” Lily said.

  “Not in the first week,” Carol said with a laugh.

  “You two are too much,” Lily replied.

  At that moment the school bell rang, indicating the arrival of the students. “We’ll continue this conversation at lunch,” Krista said.

  Carol stood from the edge of Lily’s desk. “And we’re going to want details.”

  Lily was still laughing when her two friends disappeared out of her room. Still, the conversation had stirred a yearning inside her. In sleep, she and Jerod always found each other. She awakened each morning in his arms, even though they never spoke about their sleeping intimacy.

  Now she found herself wanting much more intimacy with him. She knew he was just waiting for a signal from her, and maybe tonight she would give him that signal. Suddenly she couldn’t wait for nighttime to come.

  At lunch Carol and Krista continued to tease her about Jerod until Brad walked into the teachers’ lounge. “Well, well...how’s the newlywed?” he asked. He sat across from her at the round table and pulled a sandwich out of a brown bag.

  “I’m doing fine,” she replied.

  “You know, Lily, I really wish you would have told me you were open to dating. I could have swept you right off your feet if you’d given me half a chance.”

  Lily wasn’t sure quite how to respond. “What can I say, Brad? Jerod just stole my heart away,” she finally said.

  “Get off her back, Brad,” Krista exclaimed. “Don’t be such a jerk.”

  “I wasn’t trying to be a jerk,” Brad protested. He gazed at Lily for a long moment. “Seriously, Lily, I’m really glad if you’re happy.”

  Lily smiled at him. “I am happy, Brad...and I hope you and I can continue to be friends and coworkers.” For the first time she saw what she believed was a real, genuine smile from the man.

  “Okay, let’s stop with all the sappy stuff, otherwise I won’t be able to keep down my lunch,” Krista said, making them all laugh.

  The rest of the day went smoothly, and after school Lily waited for Krista to join her as they walked to their cars. Krista’s son, Henry, was with her, but once again Caleb had gone home with his friend for more work on their science fair project.

  “One more week and the greatest science fair in the entire world will finally happen,” Krista said with a bit of sarcasm as she fell into step next to Lily. Henry lagged a bit behind them, already with his cell phone in his hand. Lily’s and Krista’s vehicles were parked side by side in the teachers’ lot.

  Lily laughed. “I do think it’s going to be a great event for the school. I’ve heard they’re bringing in judges from one of the schools in Oklahoma City.”

  “Well, that’s good. Maybe little Mikey Brady won’t win first place for a change,” Krista replied. Terra Brady, mother of fourth-grader Mike Brady, was head of the PTA, and no matter what contest was run at the school, somehow little Mikey always won a prize. “Terra is already probably trying to find out who the judges are so she can bribe them with some of her award-winning pies or cold cash...whatever it takes to keep little Mikey in blue ribbons.”

  “Be careful, your inner witch is showing,” Lily replied with a grin at her friend.

  Krista returned her grin. “Takes one to know one.”

  By that time the two had reached Krista’s car and Lily’s truck. “Hey, Carol and I are going out Saturday night for a few drinks. Want to come along?”

  “Not this time,” Lily replied. “I’m not sure Jerod would want me to go out without him.”

  “Oh, I’m feeling very jealous right now,” Krista said. “I wish I had somebody at home who didn’t want me to go out without him.”

  “You’ll find that special someone, Krista.”

  “Mom, can we go?” Henry asked impatiently.

  “Yeah, son. We’re going now. Lily, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Krista said.

  As Krista and her son got into their car, Lily got into her truck and headed home. Home to Jerod. Strange that her heart already warmed with thoughts of him.

  Part of their routine they had set up for when she returned to work was that when she got home, he would probably be out in the pasture or in the barn. He’d been working on inventorying all the supplies she had on hand.

  Around five o’clock, he would come inside, and by that time she would have dinner ready and the three of them would sit down to eat. After dinner, Caleb went back to his room, she would work on anything she might have brought home from school and Jerod worked on his computer transferring information from the books to the programs he’d decided to use for ranch business. And then by around ten o’clock, they went to bed and usually went right to sleep.

  Tonight she was ready for something different. Her fingers tightened around her steering wheel. So far she had seen no red flags with Jerod. With their evenings together and by sleeping together each night, they had already deepened their intimacy. However, tonight she wanted to take that intimacy even deeper.

  She was ready to make love with her husband.

  A sweet shiver ran up her spine at the thought of Jerod kissing her deeply, of feeling his big hands on her body. A week ago she hadn’t been able to imagine making love with him so soon.

  But they had a real marriage, and he was now her real husband, and maybe it was time for them to have a sexual relationship as well as the trust and friendship they had slowly been building since their wedding. Despite the shortness of time, she was ready.

  When she reached the turn for the ranch, she stopped at the mailbox. She was surprised that along with the usual bills and junk mail, there was a brown mailing envelope that held something soft. It had no address, indicating that somebody had just put it in the mailbox without actually mailing it.

  Maybe it was a late wedding present. Even though she and Jerod had specifically indicated no gifts when they invited everyone to the wedding, they had still received a few.

  Krista had bought them a beautiful silver serving platter, and the teachers from the school had gotten them a set of dishes. The cowboys at the Holiday Ranch had gone together and bought them a fancy coffee maker that not only made coffee, but also made iced tea and other drinks.

  She now drove on to the house and parked her truck and then headed into the house. She carried the mail to the kitchen, which smelled of chicken and vegetables. Thank goodness she’d put everything into a slow cooker that morning so dinner was basically ready. All she intended to do was bake some biscuits to go with the meal.

  She sat at the table with the package in front of her. It felt soft, and she couldn’t imagine what might be inside. She tore at the brown mailing bag, and when she got it open she pulled out a pair of men’s navy boxers. What the heck? She stared at the boxers for a long moment, trying to make sense of why somebody would put them in her mailbox.

  She checked the bag and realized there was a note inside. She pulled it out, and as she read it her heart began to thunder.

  Thank you, my sweet prince, for this afternoon. I thought you might need these back. There’s nothing better than a little afternoon delight.

  She read the words over and over again, as if somehow, if she read them enough times, they might change. Today was the first day since they’d married that she’d gone to work, leaving Jerod on his own for the day. And this was what he’d done with his afternoon?

  As she folded the note, grief crashed through her. She’d spent the day anticipating making love to him, but apparently he had already had sex with somebody else. Along with the grief was a deep sense of betrayal.

  She shoved the items back into the bag and then carried it into her bedroom and put it in the very back of her underwear drawer. She wasn’t ready to give it to Jerod and confront him. She sank down on the edge of her bed and tears pressed hot at her eyes.

 
How dare he? She had trusted him. How could he do this to her? Why had he married her if he had a relationship...was having sex with another woman? Who else knew that he had another woman, that he was now having an affair? God, she was probably the laughingstock of the whole town. She swallowed hard against all the emotions that threatened to erupt.

  She intended to confront him about this, just not now. Caleb would be home soon, and she needed to get her emotions completely under control before she told Jerod to pack his stuff and get out of her house.

  * * *

  Jerod knew something was wrong after being in the house for a few minutes. Lily was unusually quiet, and the sparkle he’d come to anticipate in her eyes was gone.

  “How was work today?” he asked her when they all sat down to eat.

  “It was fine,” she replied rather sharply. She didn’t even look at him.

  “What about you, Caleb? Did you have a good day?” Jerod turned his attention to Caleb. Hopefully, eventually Lily would talk to him about whatever seemed to be bothering her. But he wasn’t going to press her, especially in front of Caleb.

  “I had a good day,” Caleb replied. “You should see what my science project is, Jerod. It’s going to be so cool.”

  “You want to tell me what it is or do you want me to just see it at the science fair?” Jerod asked.

  “Are you going to come to the science fair?” Caleb asked him in obvious surprise.

  “Of course I am. Caleb, I know you don’t want me to be your dad, but I consider you my son and I want to go to all your school functions,” Jerod said.

  Caleb looked at him for a long moment and then he slowly nodded. “Cool,” he replied.

  Jerod looked at Lily and was surprised to see a flash of anger in her eyes. She glared at him then quickly looked down at her plate. What was going on with her? Something must have happened at school today. He couldn’t imagine what she’d be angry with him about, but he wouldn’t know what it was unless she shared with him.