Elly: Cowgirl Bride (8 page)

Including her training.

She closed her eyes and willed the doubt demon to go back to whatever black hole it had crawled out of.

Elly had lost count of how many times she’d relived kissing Will, how many times she’d compared the man he was now to the boy he’d once been and counted herself lucky he’d returned to Wyoming. What had she missed with him because she’d been too busy or blind to really get to know him in high school? She remembered what Janie had said about his youthful crush on her and tried to picture how he’d acted around her when they were younger. She grasped for the details of him asking her to prom.

The scene came to her. She was upset over getting dumped mere days before her senior prom.

“I’ll take you,” Will had said, his voice a much younger version of its current self.

She heard her own laugh and wished she could reach back through time and take it back. But no matter how hard she tried, the words she’d said wouldn’t materialize.

She’d glanced at Will and saw something in his eyes as he looked away. Only now did she realize what it had been. Hurt. Bone-deep hurt. It made her want to cry.

Elly jerked at a loud noise and realized she must have drifted off. As she blinked herself awake, it registered that the noise was the sound of raised voices. She sprang to her feet and hurried from her room, through the living room and out onto the front porch.

“This is not your business. How dare you go behind my back!” Her father’s voice thundered into the night as he faced off with Jesse at the bottom of the steps, two imposing men currently sporting the attitudes of bucking bulls in the chute.

“The hell it’s not my business. This affects all of us.”

Elly noticed the rest of her brothers in the dim light of the house’s interior fixtures.

“You will put a stop to this investigation this instant.”

“No, I won’t.” Jesse wasn’t backing down—the first time he’d ever openly defied their father.

“Then I’ll do it for you.”

Elly couldn’t tell in the half light, but she imagined her father’s face was an angry red beneath his weathered tan.

“Will doesn’t work for you,” Jesse said. “He works for me.”

“Is your sister part of the payment?”

Elly’s heart froze at her father’s accusation.

“She knows I think her involvement with him is a bad idea.”

“
She
is right here,” Elly said, barely hanging on to the explosion of anger building inside her. “And I’m perfectly capable of speaking for myself.”

J.W. turned his harsh gaze toward her, and for a moment she was a child on the verge of punishment for some misdeed again.

“Did you know about this, too?”

Elly dug her fingernails into her palms as she stared back at him, remembering she was a grown woman and not subject to his punishment anymore. That he was the cause of this entire situation. “Yes.”

Her father cursed. “Betrayed by my own children.”

The steam finally blew out Elly’s ears. “You betrayed us first. Worse, you betrayed Mom.”

J.W. stopped his bullish pacing and stared at her—not with anger but with a pain she’d swear mirrored her own. In that moment, she missed her dad as if he’d been gone for a year. But she wasn’t ready to forgive—not yet, if ever.

No one spoke. They didn’t even move as their father turned slowly and headed away from the homestead. The night had gobbled him up before anyone dared to take a breath.

“Elly—” Jesse began.

She held her palm out toward him. “Don’t. I’ve heard all I can handle tonight. Just leave me alone.” She denied the desire to walk off into the inky night herself and went back inside, to her room. She curled up in the bed without even changing into her pajamas, wrapped herself in her comforter, and tried to refocus on Will’s kisses.

But all the reasons she shouldn’t be starting a relation ship right now, especially with him, kept intruding.

W
ILL COULDN’T STOP SMILING.
He’d finally kissed Elly Cody, and it had been every bit as hot as he’d believed it would be. It had taken him forever to come down from his high the night before and go to sleep.

He stepped out of his house into what he was sure was the most beautiful day ever to dawn. Not even the frosty air could dim his mood. Though as he walked the three blocks to his office, he fantasized about spring and taking Elly climbing in the surrounding mountains, imagined her face lit up with excitement as they kayaked the Snake River. Maybe they could even go backcountry hiking and camping in Yellowstone, far away from the eagle eyes of her brothers.

Could he wait that long?

No matter what happened with the situation involving her father, he wasn’t going to let it stand in the way of his and Elly’s budding relationship. He’d waited for this too long to have another person’s mistake torpedo his dream come true. He hadn’t admitted it to himself, but deep down this was one of the reasons he’d come home—to see if the man he’d become stood a chance with Elly or if he had to put away that fantasy for good.

Delia gave him a knowing smile when he walked in the front door.

“I’m still deciding how much to dock you,” he said as he walked by her toward his office.

“A happy man doesn’t dock his hardworking secretary’s check.”

She had a point.

When he sank into his chair, he noticed Delia leaning against the doorframe.

“So? Dish. What happened after you and Elly snuck out the back?”

“We didn’t sneak.”

Delia waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Semantics. Romance under the stars?”

Will rolled his eyes. “You do realize I’m not a girl, right?”

“I noticed. And so did Elly.” She waggled her eyebrows.

Will motioned toward the outer office. “Don’t you have something to do?”

Delia pouted. “Party pooper. You’re no fun.” She spun and retreated toward her desk.

“I’m your boss. I’m not supposed to be fun.”

He laughed when he heard her grumble some unintelligible response.

A few minutes later, Delia came in and dropped the day’s mail on his desk. “Your mail, sir.”

“Sir? Really? Just because I don’t kiss and tell?”

Delia’s eyes widened. “I knew it!”

Will sighed.

Though she was still smiling, Delia’s tone dropped the teasing when she said, “I’m glad.”

Will stared at her for a moment, waiting for a punchline, but one never came. “Thanks. Me, too.”

“So, you two going out?”

“This for the local gossip mill?”

“I wouldn’t call it a mill exactly. A few close friends perhaps.”

“Which means all of Park County. Honestly, I don’t know how you haven’t put the
Enterprise
out of business.”

Delia scrunched her nose at him, but he could tell she wanted to stick out her tongue. “It’s a good thing I like you and think the two of you make a good pair.”

“You do?”

“Well, duh. I wouldn’t be curious otherwise. I know you’ve liked her forever. And, no, you weren’t good at hiding it in high school. I think everyone knew but her.”

“Nice to know I’m so obvious. That’ll do wonders for my law career.”

“Ah, you’re not so moony-eyed anymore. I mean, anyone with eyes would have known how you felt last night, but you weren’t so woe-is-me about it.”

Will crossed his arms. “I was never ‘woe is me.’”

“Whatever you’ve got to tell yourself.”

Now it was his turn to feel like sticking his tongue out.

“Doesn’t matter anymore,” Delia said. “You grew up well, and now Elly’s not so blind. You weren’t the only one looking like you two were the last two people on the dance floor.”

Delia’s observation made excitement surge through him.

As Delia retreated toward her desk again, she said, “Take flowers when you go to pick her up for your date. I hear girls like that.”

Will smiled and shook his head. Life wouldn’t be anywhere near as entertaining with anyone else manning his front office. Delia told it like it was, and he enjoyed that about her. He didn’t even mind her gossip. Let the entire state of Wyoming know how he felt about Elly. Now that he’d decided to give it a second chance, he liked the idea of yelling it from the top of Grand Teton himself.

He worked on finishing the last of the paperwork on one of his other cases. Determined not to let anything dampen his good mood, he did his best not to think about how wrapping up the case would drop him back down to two.

His cell phone rang, and the display revealed a familiar number. Kate. Nothing she’d done or said made him feel like he could keep avoiding her, so he answered the call on its third ring.

“Hey, Kate.”

“Will, I was beginning to think a bear had eaten you or something.”

“Nah. They’re too busy sleeping this time of year.”

She laughed that musical laugh of hers that turned male heads for blocks in all directions. It had turned his once upon a time, had even made him think he could get past his crazy longing for a girl he’d loved when he was not much more than a boy.

“So, tired of your small-town life yet? Ready to come back and help me take the Denver courts by storm?”

He admired her persistence. She even managed not to sound needy or clingy when asking him to come back.

“Afraid not. I guess I’m just a country boy at heart.”

“Pity that.”

He could imagine her little pout and it had probably gotten her everything she’d ever wanted in her life.

Except him.

But, really, she probably didn’t want him as much as she thought she did. If he had to bet, he’d say that it wouldn’t take long for her to attract another man who’d make her forget him, a guy who’d be more than happy to live his life alongside her in Denver.

One whose heart didn’t still belong to someone else.

“How are things going at work?” he asked.

“Great. We just landed a big mineral rights case.”

He was sure it was a lucrative case, but it held no appeal for him whatsoever.

“Sounds like you’ll be busy.”

“Probably. But if you wanted to come visit, I’d make the time for you.”

He had to smile a little. She was going to earn a reputation as one of the most dogged attorneys in Denver. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Will noticed Delia glance in his open office door as she walked toward the fax machine. “I hate to run, but duty calls.”

“Okay, if you must.” She paused for a moment. “I really hope it’s going well. You deserve it.”

“Thanks, Kate. Good luck with your case.”

He hung up and ran his hand over his face. Just what he didn’t need today—reminders of yet something else Elly didn’t know about and the fact that he still might not be worthy of her. He’d be a much wealthier man if he practiced in the city, but then he wouldn’t be with her. Elly might want to travel, but he couldn’t imagine her ever being a city dweller. This land was too much a part of her, and she of it.

By the time lunch came around, he could barely sit still. He had to get outside, walk off some of his excess energy. As he grabbed his coat, a destination came to mind—Blooms and Petals for Elly’s flowers.

And he knew exactly what he wanted to get.

E
LLY STOMPED IN THE BACK
door after her worst practice in months. From the look on Jesse’s face when she’d passed him outside, his hadn’t gone much better. They both had to pull themselves together, or they were going to lose their chance to win national titles this year.

She chugged a huge cup of coffee and went to the office to work. But as the day wore on, she kept thinking about how many barrels she’d knocked over, how the single-mindedness she shared with Pepper had taken an ill-timed hiatus. Elly’s mind was just too cluttered with other things.

The hours continued to tick away, and still no call from Will. Had her father made good on his threat and contacted him? Had he scared Will away somehow?

Didn’t matter. She should cancel their date anyway. As much as it chapped her to admit it, maybe Jesse was right. Maybe she didn’t have the capacity to focus on romance and racing at the same time.

The ringing of the phone invaded her thoughts, and she knew who it would be before answering. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what had to be done.

“Cottonwood Ranch.”

“Hey.” Oh, how good his voice sounded, as decadent as a chocolate fountain.

“Hey.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, surprising her.

“How do you know something is wrong?”

“Your tone of voice. You sound like a different person this morning.”

She closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair, making it squeak. “I bet you’re good in the courtroom.”

“I hope to hold my own. Now, what’s bothering you?”

Instead of breaking off their date, she launched into the details of her altercation with Jesse and then the argument involving her father. It relieved some of the pressure in her chest to let it all flow out. She wasn’t used to keeping her emotions bottled up inside. She’d never realized how much she depended on Janie being in her life until she wasn’t there.

“And to top it all off, I had my worst practice in ages today. If I ride like that in Denver, I can kiss the Finals goodbye.”

“One bad practice doesn’t spell doom.”

“No, but it tells me I need to focus more.” She paused, hating the next words before they formed. “I don’t think now is the best time for me to be splitting my attention.”

“Before you finish by canceling our date, let me ask you this—if we don’t go out, will all the other things bothering you disappear?”

“No.”

“So you’ll be left with negative things to distract you instead of something fun.”

She hadn’t thought of it that way. Still, he was a distraction, albeit a very fine-looking one.

“I can’t do anything about what’s going on with Dad and Jesse.”

“But you can avoid me.”

“Will, don’t make this harder than it is.”

“If it’s hard, sounds like you don’t want to do it.”

Of course, she didn’t. She leaned forward, propped her elbow on the desk, and dropped her forehead into her palm.

“I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “One dinner. And if you still want me to back off afterward, I will. No pressure, no arguments.”

It was a kind offer so typical of him, but the idea of him walking away made her heart ache.