Love Inspired Historical January 2015 Box Set: Wolf Creek Father\Cowboy Seeks a Bride\Falling for the Enemy\Accidental Fiancee (22 page)

“Well, let's see. He claims to love you, and I don't think he's the kind of man to lie about that. He's willing to try to be what you want, and I can't see him saying that if he didn't mean it. He's employed, very good-looking and you love him. What more can you ask?” Ellie said, pulling two loaves of fresh bread from the oven.

“I'm so scared of being hurt, Ellie.”

Ellie turned out the bread to cool on some clean tea towels and began to smear the crusts with butter. “Everyone who loves someone takes a chance on getting hurt, Allie,” she told her. “And you do get hurt from time to time. It comes with the territory. But if you don't take that chance, you'll never experience the good times.”

Leave it to Ellie to cut to the chase.

“Believe me, I wish I had a chance to find love.” Ellie sighed and pushed a wisp of hair away from her eyes. “I have a good life, but it would be nice to share the ups and downs with someone and have them hold you when things get tough.”

Allison's heart went out to her sister. She wondered if Ellie would ever be free of the husband who'd walked out on her the day their baby daughter was born, her features clearly announcing that she was mentally deficient. Twelve years and Ellie had no idea where he was, if he'd divorced her or was dead. All she knew was that she was not free to look for love. Not with anyone.

“Does that help?” Ellie asked with a tired smile.

“I don't know,” she said with a wan smile.

“Well,” her sister said, refusing to meet Allison's eyes. “I've heard something that might help you decide.”

“Oh? What?”

“It's all over town that Colt spent the night at your place the night they brought Elton and Joe in.”

“Sarah VanSickle!” Allison cried, her face flaming with embarrassment and anger. “I thought she'd turned over a new leaf, she—”

“Calm down,” Ellie said, laughing. “It wasn't Sarah.”

The gentle words left Allison with her mouth wide open.

“Who else would say something so hurtful?”

“It wasn't said to be hurtful. It was just said, and as usual, a few people couldn't wait to get the word out.”

“I'm not following you,” Allison said with a frown.

“Cilla and Brady were telling Gabe how glad they were to see their dad asleep on your sofa yesterday morning, and of course there were some shoppers there and the usual crew was playing checkers, and from there it spread like wildfire. Hattie heard it from Lew, and she told me, and who knows how many others? You know as well as I do that you can't keep anything a secret in Wolf Creek.”

Allison was mortified. What had Colt been thinking when he stretched out on her couch? She'd never been the brunt of so much gossip in her life as she had the past couple of weeks! Her panicked gaze found Ellie's. “Homer!”

Ellie's eyes widened as she realized what Allison was getting at.

“Homer will fire me—probably Colt, too—if he hears this,” Allison wailed. “Oh, Ellie, what am I going to do?”

“I'd say the first thing you should do is go and see Colt. Maybe he'll have some suggestion as to how to deal with this. He and Homer are pretty chummy.”

“Yes,” Allison said, already heading for the door. “Thanks, Ellie.” Before she reached the jail, she'd worked up a pretty good head of steam.

* * *

Colt was leaned back in his chair, his feet propped on the top of the scarred desk, his hands folded behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. He'd done everything he could to persuade Allison that he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He didn't know what else he could do to convince her that he was serious. The next move was hers.

He was savoring the memory of their kiss the night before when the door crashed against the wall. He lowered his gaze and saw the object of his daydreams storm through the open door like a miniature tornado—eyes flashing, temper obviously high. What now? he thought with a sigh of resignation that didn't quite extinguish the pleasure darting through him just seeing her and knowing they were about to embark on another round of their verbal sparring.

Uncertain what to expect, he uncrossed his arms from behind his head and drawled, “Miss Grainger. What can I do for you this fine morning?”

A feeling of déjà vu came over him as she swept across the room and placed her hands palms down on the desk.

“Marry me.”

Colt froze for a second or two, unsure he'd heard right. He lowered his booted feet to the floor very carefully and stood, placing his palms on the desk and leaning toward her as he'd done on another occasion.

“I beg your pardon,” he said. “Did you just propose?”

She narrowed her eyes and leaned farther forward. “It's all over town that you spent the night before last at my place,” she said in a deadly murmur. “My reputation will be ruined! Homer will run us both out of town so fast that—”

“I'm sorry,” Colt interrupted, trying to keep a straight face. “While I'm very sorry about your reputation, I'm afraid that, like you, I can't marry someone who doesn't love me.”

He almost laughed at the startled look on her face. It didn't seem that Miss Grainger liked having her words thrown back at her.

“But I do love you. You must know I do.”

“Funny that you only realized it when the gossip started,” he said with a slight shrug.

Looking a little bewildered, she said, “I knew it long before that, but I wouldn't admit it for fear of being hurt again. But when you were out there with Ace and Dan and there was a chance that you might not come back, I knew I was being foolish. You just walked out and didn't give me a chance to say it before.

“You're right. Love just happens, and life is short, and we don't have any guarantees about anything. All I know is that I'm ready to take a chance again with you.” She watched him closely, uncertainty in her eyes.

Colt closed the distance between them and pressed a brief hard kiss to her lips. “Okay,” he said when he drew back.

“Okay what?” she asked, staring at him in confusion.

He was grinning from ear to ear. “You proposed and I accepted. I would love to marry you, but not to save your reputation, because you love me and I certainly love you. Actually, though it's a tad unmanly to admit it, I'll take you any way I can get you, Miss Grainger.”

“You...you will?”

He nodded. “I can't imagine a life without you in it.”

He saw her need to believe him in her eyes. “B-but I'm not beautiful like Leticia or Ellie.”

“I think you are exquisite.”

“In case you haven't noticed, I'm, uh...a bit plump.”

“It was recently brought to my attention that you are very...curvy.”

“My hair is red, not a pretty auburn like Ellie's.”

“I have noticed that,” he said, straightening and rounding the desk. “And you definitely have a temper to match.”

“I...have lots and lots of freckles.”

He unhooked the wire frames of her spectacles from behind her ears, folded them closed and put them in his shirt pocket, even as his gaze moved over her sweet face with loving thoroughness.

“My grandmother called them ‘angel kisses.'” He touched his lips to a place on her temple, then her jawline and her chin.

He lifted his head and looked down at her, his eyes smiling into hers. “I plan to count and kiss each and every one. Several times, probably. Even if it takes a lifetime. In fact,” he said, “I plan for it to.”

He kissed her again, and Allison's arms slid around his middle.

From the other side of the open doorway where they'd been listening to every word, Cilla and Brady turned to each other and grinned. Brady gave his sister a thumbs-up. He'd been skeptical about the idea proposed by Ben Gentry, who was well acquainted with how gossip could force two people into marriage, since the same thing had brought his mother and Caleb together.

Cilla had loved the notion from the start, but it had taken a lot of persuasion from her and Ben, especially since Brady maintained that they had promised their dad no more dirty tricks. Cilla had insisted that all they would be doing was telling the truth and that they would be doing it for a good reason. What could be wrong with that? Finally Brady had agreed to try the cockamamy idea. Now, watching his pa kiss Miss Grainger and hearing that they planned to get married after all, it looked as if their plotting and planning and machinations had worked exactly the way they'd hoped.

He blew out a sigh of relief and made himself a promise. This was the very last time he would let his sister talk him into anything like this. Absolutely the last time.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from COWBOY SEEKS A BRIDE by Louise Gouge.

Dear Reader,

Welcome back to Wolf Creek! I hope you are enjoying meeting the people who live here and look forward to each new story as much as I do. You met Allison Grainger briefly in the first book when she came to help Abby decorate for her wedding with Caleb, and you got a peek at Sheriff Colt Garrett in the second book. Well, who knew that Allison and Ellie (at the café) are sisters? It was a surprise to me, but it seemed so right.

I wanted to write about a heroine who had a little self-esteem problem, something that affects many of us in one way or another. In fact, I wanted this whole book to be about how we perceive ourselves and how we so often wrongly judge people by their outward appearances or their abilities—or lack thereof. Brady can't read, so he feels inferior and acts out. Cilla responds and takes up for him. Too often our perceived “faults” dictate how we react. We need to remember that God loves us no matter what.

The older I get, the more I realize that a lot of people are hurting for one reason or another. As Christians, we should look beyond the obvious. Look for the real person. Be thankful for who you are and what you have. Be kind. Smile. Say hello. Say a prayer. Be a blessing to someone every day.

By the way, there were conflicting dates on when dyslexia was first recognized as a learning disability, 1886 and 1887, so I chose the one that worked for me!

Be on the lookout next time for Meg Thomerson and Ace Allen's story. And then...well, we'll see.

Blessings always!

Questions for Discussion

1. Have you ever known children like Cilla and Brady Garrett you hated to see coming because of their behavior? How did you handle it/them?
   
2. Do you know someone whose “imperfections” make them feel different and cause them to withdraw or, contrarily, “act out” for attention? Do you think this could be part of the reason for the mass killings that have become so prevalent? Shopaholics? Hoarders? Substance abuse?
   
3. How can we teach our children not only tolerance for the different and unattractive but also that everyone has worth?
   
4. What do you do when your children or grandchildren see someone who is different and make a comment, often within earshot? Do you use that as a “teachable moment” to explain how God loves us all, or do your comments reflect
   your
   biases?
   
5. Do you think the world puts too much emphasis on outer beauty and physical competency in sports, etc.? How can this obsession with perfection impact young people today?
   
6. What kind of problems can this preoccupation with our outer appearance/performance lead to? Should there be more emphasis on our inner person? Why? What can we do to change this?
   
7. Were you ever guilty of choosing the “unpopular” kid on the playground last when choosing teams? Would you do things differently today?
   
8. Do you make a habit of looking beyond the obvious and trying to find out what may be at the root of someone's problem and try to see from their viewpoint?
   

We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired Historical title.

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