The Cowboy Earns a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek Book 8) (2 page)

Mia bit her lip, swallowing the pain that never quite went away. Inez hadn’t spoken up. None of the other girls had. It had been Mia’s word against Warner’s and Warner won out.

No one believed her when she told them he’d tried to kiss her—tried to touch her. Mia swallowed. The truth—the truth she’d told no one, not even her mother—was that he
had
touched her. She’d figured out pretty quickly that no one wanted to hear that. Just speaking up about Warner and saying he’d lured her into a closet was enough to start a firestorm that turned all the other contestants against her. At first, her mother though she’d lied, too. Mia had realized that if she told the whole truth—that his hands had gone all kinds of places on her body before she fought him off—everyone would hate her even more.

So she hadn’t said a word.

Mia took a deep cleansing breath and sipped her coffee. All that was years ago. She wasn’t a vulnerable little girl anymore. She was a woman—almost a mother. And now she had enough money to get her own place and begin a new life. She’d be strong for her son or daughter, and she’d always believe them when they told her things. She’d always protect them.

“Mia?”

Mia jerked and her coffee spilled over the side of her cup.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Mia looked up into Inez’s serious face. “That’s okay.” Was Inez really talking to her? After six years of silence?

Inez took a shaky breath. “Look, there’s something I should have said to you a long time ago. I want to say it now. Can I sit down?”

Mia nodded, bracing herself for more recriminations. She didn’t know what she’d do if Inez dragged up the past and called her a liar again.

“Fred Warner raped me.”

Mia clapped a hand to her mouth and her eyes brimmed with tears. That was the last thing she’d expected Inez to say. “Oh my God, Inez. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Inez blinked rapidly. “Well, actually, no—I’m not really fine, but I’m seeing a counselor and she urged me to talk to you when I told her what happened. I’m so sorry, Mia. I should’ve spoken up back then, but I was too scared. I didn’t want anyone to know what happened.”

Mia took her hand. “It’s okay. I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me like that.”

“But he tried, didn’t he?’ Inez scrubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand. “And you spoke up—you told people. I wanted to thank you for that. He would’ve come after me again if you hadn’t, I know it.”

“I’m so sorry he hurt you. If I’d known—”

“You couldn’t have known. And I wouldn’t have brought it up now, but I can’t stand the fact that you hate me—”

“I never hated you,” Mia cried. “I just… missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

Mia stood up, moved around the table and hugged Inez. “You don’t have to miss me anymore. Thank you for being brave enough to tell me. I swear I won’t breathe a word to anyone else.”

Inez lifted her eyes to hers. “That’s just the thing. I want you to speak up. Fred Warner—he’s still judging beauty pageants.”

“Did you get
a nice gift for that lady friend of yours, Luke?”

“I sure did, Mrs. Stone.” Luke Matheson smiled at the old woman who leaned on her cane on the front porch of her small house. Bundled up in her white winter coat, hat and gloves, she looked like a grandmotherly snowman. “Got her a real pretty bracelet to go with the flowers and candy I bought her.”

“That’s one lucky girl. ’Course any woman would be lucky to have a man like you.”

“I don’t know about that.” The compliment warmed him, though, as he shoveled the last bit of snow off her walkway. She’d been one of his favorite people ever since he was just a boy and she and her husband, Thomas Stone, a hired hand, lived at the Double-Bar-K. Back in those days when life on the ranch got too much for Luke, between his brothers’ scrapping and bickering and his father’s legendary bouts of temper, he’d escape to the little log house on the edge of the property the Stones had rented—a house that had long since been torn down. His own mother was no slouch, but Amanda Stone kept the tidiest house Luke had ever seen. Stepping into it, sitting down at her spotless table, and being served a snack on her clean, white china was a welcome change from the chaos at home.

Amanda had always understood his need for order. Luke liked things in their place. He liked knowing what was going to happen next. He liked being prepared. His father and brothers, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy flying by the seats of their pants. Ned might keep his workshop tidy and Luke’s mother might have been spot on with the ranch’s accounts back when she did them, but the rest of them thrived on disorder and controversy. Sometimes Luke couldn’t stand it anymore. The Stones had moved off the ranch over a decade ago and bought a modest house on the west side of town. Now that Thomas had passed away, Amanda lived there alone.

“Would you like some breakfast?”

“Not today. I’ll be eating with the family. It’s Ned’s wedding day, you know.”

“Tell him congratulations from me and get on home. You shouldn’t be over here messing with my walk today of all days.”

“Glad to help, Mrs. Stone—and don’t you hesitate about turning your thermostat up if you’re chilly. There’s enough cash in your account to see you through the winter.” A few years back he’d come over to find her shivering and discovered she didn’t have the funds to pay her heating bill. Since then he’d arranged to pay a deposit to each of the utility companies in advance so if she was a little short she wouldn’t lose her services. He figured it was the least he could do. When she had car trouble six months ago, he’d taken the vehicle to the shop only to find the repair bill topped a thousand dollars. He told her it was a hundred and made up the difference because he knew how much independence meant to Amanda.

These days, however, that independence was getting pricey. He’d replaced a window in her kitchen that wouldn’t open anymore, dealt with a foundation issue that let moisture into her basement and soon he was afraid he’d need to replace her roof.

“Say hi to Mia for me, Luke. She’s such a sunny thing.”

“I will. See you next week!”

He checked his watch and picked up speed as he stowed away his shovel in the shed he’d built a year ago, and got into his old truck to make the trip back to the Double-Bar-K. His engine refused to turn over the first time he turned the key. He held his breath as he turned it a second time. There, that did it. Pretty soon he’d need a new truck, too. That was going to stretch his finances.

As he drove home, however, his thoughts turned to a happier topic.

Mia.

Today was the day.

Today was the day he and Mia would stop being just friends and get on to the good stuff. It was Valentine’s Day—and his brother’s wedding day. Surely that double-dose of romance, plus the gifts he intended to shower her with, would finally convince the pretty young woman that the man she was looking for was right under her nose.

He could never tell with Mia, though. Every time he thought he’d got the measure of her, she surprised him. Hell, she’d managed to keep him at arm’s length for two long months now, and they were living in the same house.

He frowned as he turned into the long lane that led to his family’s home. He pulled up in front of his parents’ house and parked. If he couldn’t move his relationship with Mia to a more romantic level soon, he wasn’t sure what he would do. Living in close proximity to her was driving him wild. It was hard to concentrate when she was around—and it was doubly hard, pun intended, to sleep knowing she was right next door.

He exited his truck and made his way into the house where the smell of bacon led him straight to the dining room, where most of his family was already seated. Everyone who lived on the ranch had gathered to eat and then help set up for the wedding. He wasn’t entirely surprised to see Mia’s customary chair empty, however. He knew she wanted to look extra good for the wedding. He ducked into the kitchen to wash up and slid into his own seat just in time to snag the platter of pancakes from Ned’s hands. If Mia didn’t make it, he’d put together a plate of food and bring it to her after he ate.

“Paris.”

Luke jumped when his mother, Lisa, slapped a glossy brochure down on the dining room table in front of his father, Holt. Everyone stopped eating and stared at her. Luke didn’t blame them. This early in the morning the extent of the conversation at the Matheson table was generally limited to a few grunts and an order or two, although usually there wasn’t such a crowd.

Luke slathered his pancakes in butter, then drenched them in syrup, but took a moment to study his family before his first bite. Lots had changed recently. Only last September all his brothers had been single. After today he’d be the only one who could claim that status.

To his right sat Jake, his oldest brother, and Jake’s wife, Hannah. Married just before Christmas, Luke hardly saw them these days because they were both so busy with classes they’d just started at Montana State and their regular work—Hannah with Bella Mortimer, the local pet veterinarian, and Jake with Bella’s husband, Evan Mortimer, a wealthy man with an interest in sustainable ranching.

Holt pushed the brochure out of his way. “Nnnh?” he growled.

“Paris, France,” Lisa said, pushing it closer to Holt again. “That’s what I want for our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary this fall. A trip to the City of Love.” She sat down beside her husband and helped herself to some bacon and eggs.

“Paris sounds lovely,” Morgan said from her seat next to Hannah.

Morgan had married Luke’s youngest brother, Rob, back in September. Rob had partnered with Ethan Cruz from the ranch next door, and was also helping Morgan start a vineyard. Luke bet Morgan and Rob would love to travel to France to check out the wineries.

“Why the hell would you want to go to Paris?” Holt said.

Luke saw Ned and Fila exchange a look. They sat on his side of the table, Luke closest to Holt and Fila beside him. Ned was only a year older than Luke and he and Luke had argued a lot as kids—well, as adults too, until this year. Now they found themselves agreeing about more things. He was glad Ned had found a woman like Fila to love. She’d made him a better man. She was a beauty, too, with her coffee and cream skin and waist-length hair. She was funny, too, with a dry sense of humor she expressed more and more as she gained confidence. In Luke’s opinion, the couple deserved a memorable wedding day. Fila had been to hell and back when she’d spent ten years as a prisoner of the Taliban, and Ned had barely survived a recent disastrous trip to the family’s hunting cabin last month that left him still healing from a broken leg.

“Come on, Holt, you old goat. You’ll love Paris,” Camila Torres said, helping herself to orange slices. Luke marveled that his old man put up with her sass. Somehow she’d gotten into his good graces. Maybe it was her amazing Mexican cooking—so fantastic, even Holt liked it. Or perhaps it was because she was co-owner of Fila’s new restaurant and now that Fila had saved one of Holt’s son’s lives, any friend of hers was a friend of his.

“Who wants more bacon?” Lisa asked, passing the platter around. Luke was amazed his mother had pulled off this kind of breakfast today. He’d seen the kitchen. Every spare inch was filled with items for the wedding feast.

“All there is in Paris is foreigners.” Holt took the rest of the bacon and used his elbow to push the brochure farther away.

Luke ignored the back and forth. At twenty-nine he knew better than to interfere when his parents bickered. You’d think they could call a truce for Valentine’s Day—for Ned’s wedding—but his parents’ marriage seemed to run on friction, and today evidently would be business as usual.

There were no roses at his mother’s seat. No box of candy, either, but if he wasn’t mistaken, those were new diamond earrings in her ears.

“There’s delicious food and beautiful architecture—and the Louvre, too,” Lisa said.

“A bunch of stuck-up pansies.”

“And shopping and art galleries and monuments.”

“I’d go to Paris in a minute if it meant I could stop dealing with that damn architect. He’s sent over so many alternate plans it’s making my head spin,” Jake said. Luke knew what he meant. Holt had given Jake two hundred acres to do with as he pleased, and he and Hannah meant to build a house this summer.

Lisa smiled sympathetically at her oldest son. “Building is always such a bother, but you’ll be happy this fall when you move into your new home.”

“I told Evan if I was rich I’d buy his place—let him go build.”

Hannah laughed. “Yeah, but he shot that idea down pretty quickly. Apparently he and Bella are having just as much trouble getting her clinic and pet shelter built as we’re having with our house.”

“It’ll all be done by the time Holt and I fly off to Paris,” Lisa assured her.

“I ain’t going, and neither are you.” Holt made eye contact across the length of the table with his wife for emphasis, then caught Luke’s expression and fixed him with a scowl. “What’re you snickering about over there?”

Luke straightened. “Nothing, Pops.”

“I have a bone to pick with you.”

Uh-oh. Classic Holt technique. When an argument with his wife got too hot, he’d pick a new one with a son. Luke braced himself.

“See all this folderol?” He waved at the wedding preparations. “Time for your share. I’ve gotten the rest of your brothers hitched, now it’s your turn.”

“
You’ve
gotten them hitched?” Lisa got up again and disappeared into the kitchen for a moment. She came back with a plate stacked high with toast. “More like they got hitched in spite of your interference.”

“He can interfere away, Mom. I’m all for marriage.”

Lisa sat back down in her seat. “Then what’s the deal with you and Mia?”

“Yeah,” Ned said. “What
is
the deal with you and Mia?”

Luke glanced at the empty chair beside him. “She’s getting ready for the wedding. She should be here any minute.” He hoped his family would leave things at that, but of course they didn’t.

“You’re living with her. Your intentions better be pure,” Lisa said.

“My intentions are far from pure, but our living arrangements sure are. That’s the problem.” Shit. He shouldn’t have said that out loud. Jake guffawed and Hannah elbowed him.