The Cowboy's E-Mail Order Bride (19 page)

Ethan spun away before she saw the fury in his eyes. Lacey was going to pay – he’d make sure of that. “You’re not the only one here who’s been hurt. Hell, everyone gets hurt, don’t they?” He turned back around. “All we can do is try. And if you love me half as much as I love you, I think we have a good shot at making it.”

Autumn hesitated, her eyes huge and her cheeks stained with tears. “I want us to make it.”

“I want that, too.” In an instant he had her in his arms, and tipping her head back he kissed her long and hard. At first she resisted and he knew she was thinking of Lacey’s picture in the office. Hell, he’d burn the whole house down if that’s what it took to put that in their past. Then she softened and he took the kiss deeper, until his body woke up enough to think they should get on to even more pleasurable activities.

“Ethan,” she said, when he reached for the buttons at her throat. “Wait.”

He stilled, afraid she would push him away again.

“Do you really love me?”

“I love you more than life itself.”

A tiny smile appeared on her face. He thought it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“Are you sure you want to spend your life with me?”

“So sure, honey. Nothing could make me happier.”

She waited another beat. “I’m pregnant.”

He went cold and then hot and then tears pricked his eyes – tears – when he hadn’t cried in nearly twenty years, not even when his parents died. “Are you sure?”

She nodded vehemently and he pulled her into a hug and spun her around the room. Collapsing with her onto the bed he kissed her thoroughly on the mouth, and then all over her body, stopping with reverence at her still-flat stomach. “Hey, baby,” he called, cupping his hands over her belly. “I love you. I can’t wait to see you.”

When he looked up, Autumn was in tears, too.

“I love you, Ethan,” she said.

“I love you. Six more days until the wedding, and then I’m never letting you go – ever again.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

By Wednesday, Lacey’s pictures were long gone, replaced by a bare, scrubbed space on the wall that Ethan dubbed the
Idiot Reminder
.

“From now on any time I put off a chore I’m going to see that mark and get right to it,” he said.

Autumn laughed and was overjoyed that she could laugh about it. Once she got over the shock of the incident and heard the whole story, she had to admit it was kind of funny. Not very funny, mind you, but mildly so.

“I’d rather you just forget all about it,” she said to Ethan.

“I’ve already forgotten everything but you.”

That afternoon they drove to the airport to pick up Becka. She was excited to see her best friend – it seemed so long since she’d left New York – and show her all around the ranch. Inside, the terminal was crowded and it felt like they waited forever before passengers from Becka’s plane finally came down the corridor. Autumn bounced when she spotted her friend’s fire-red hair, and pushed through the crowd to meet her.

“Becka, you made it! Thank goodness you’re here – I need you!”

“Before you get too excited, I’ve got a surprise for you,” Becka said and pulled away. She turned and gestured behind her, and only then did Autumn see her mother and sister waiting there.

“Mom!” Autumn rushed to her mother, then stopped, unsure.

“Come here,” Teresa said and pulled her into a stiff hug. “You honestly didn’t think I’d skip my daughter’s wedding, did you? Even if it did come out of the blue and is happening much too fast?”

“I wasn’t sure,” Autumn said into the fabric of her mother’s shirt. She felt the tension in her mother’s stance and knew it would take time to smooth this over. “I hoped you’d come.” She pulled back.

“Of course I came.” Teresa looked at Ethan. “And you are the cowboy I’ve heard about. Swept my daughter right off her feet with your fancy hat and shiny spurs?”

“Mom!” Autumn flushed to the roots of her hair but Ethan laughed.

“That’s me. Don’t worry, Mrs. Leeds – your daughter is in good hands.”

“Hmph. That’s Teresa to you. Don’t you dare call me Mom.”

“I can’t believe you’re getting married!” Lily said and gave her a big hug. “You’re not even thirty!” She whispered into Autumn’s ear, “Good for you.”

Autumn hugged her tight. “Come on – I can’t wait for you to see the ranch.”

If she thought she was busy before, now that her family had arrived she felt like she’d been swept up in a whirlpool of activity. She spent Thursday picking out bridesmaid gowns with Becka and her sister, elegant pale mint sheaths that contrasted well both with Becka’s red hair and her sister’s darker locks. Her mother surprised her by offering to pay for the dresses and even to reimburse Autumn for the cost of her gown. Although Autumn declined at first, she was secretly relieved since her dress, although cheap by New York City standards, had taken up a large chunk of the available balance on her credit card. Rose had ended up being a huge help with other aspects of the ceremony. She arranged for several women in town to pitch in to provide floral arrangements from their gardens, and organized a pot luck reception, aside from the barbecued steaks that would come from the ranch’s own beef. Ethan hired a local band for the reception and while Ethan told her Rob swore he’d hired a chapel ahead of time for the wedding, that turned out to be another joke. Both wedding and reception would occur at the ranch, on the wide front lawn with a backdrop of the mountains.

“Photographer?” Becka blurted suddenly when they were making a light dinner. It was the first time Autumn had cooked in the Big House and she couldn’t tear her eyes from the view out the huge windows. Becka and her family had taken over several of the bedrooms upstairs, so it made sense for them all to eat here rather than crowd around the small table in the bunkhouse.

“Rose’s friend Alice is doing it in exchange for being able to use some of the photos in her portfolio.”

“Rings?”

“Yep.”

“Bouquet – wait, Rose has that covered.”

“That’s right.”

Becka tapped her finger on the granite countertop. “Party favors?”

Autumn frowned. “Do we really need those?”

“Yes, you do, and don’t worry – I’ll take care of it tomorrow. They can be really simple and I want to contribute something.”

A wave of nervousness swept over Autumn and she dropped the knife she was holding and gripped the edge of the countertop. “I can’t do this.”

Becka laughed. “Yes, you can.”

“What if it’s all wrong? What if he hates me the next day or the guest ranch flops or he hates the baby?”

“Ethan’s not going to hate the baby,” Becka laughed. “For heaven’s sake, Autumn – you’re fine. It’s all going to be fine! Ethan worships the ground you walk on and that baby is going to wrap him around its little finger, whether it’s a girl or a boy. Now shush or your mom will hear us. Seriously, honey – you’re just having wedding jitters.”

She smiled, but Autumn knew this went beyond wedding jitters. She still hadn’t told Ethan why she’d really come to Chance Creek. She’d already called her editor and told her she wasn’t coming back to CityPretty. Margaret had been furious, of course, but had calmed down when she said she didn’t expect to be paid for any of her time since she’d left New York. She’d given notice on her apartment, as well. She had to fly back for a couple of days and pack up her things, but otherwise her life in New York was over. Should she tell Ethan the truth or just let it slip away, too? Why rock the boat now when everything was going so well?

Because Ethan deserves the truth.

She pushed away that thought. The truth would only hurt him. “Okay, you’re right. I’m sure it will be fine.”

But she wasn’t sure. The last time she’d been so happy was just before her father walked out on her mother. How could she be sure fate wouldn’t yank the carpet out from under her again?

* * * * *

Finally, he was alone with Autumn. Ethan buttoned his shirt and tucked it in hurriedly, then crossed the room to his bride and pulled her into his arms. She came willingly, and wrapped her arms around his neck, meeting his kiss with a fervor that matched his.

“When are you going to send those people away?” he growled into her neck.

“If by ‘those people’ you mean my best friend, my mother and my sister, I was thinking of inviting them along for the honeymoon,” she said and then shrieked when he swatted her bottom. “They’ll go home Sunday morning, but we’ll be long gone by then.”

Ethan’s friends had pitched in and offered to take on Ethan’s chores for a few days so they could have a small honeymoon in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It wasn’t much to offer his new bride, but they’d be alone – away from the workaday cares of running a large spread and planning a new business. When they returned they’d get right to work on opening the Big House for guests.

“I can’t wait. I’ve got a lot of ideas of how we can spend the time away, and very few of them have to do with sightseeing.”

“That’s okay by me.” Autumn snuggled into his embrace. “I’m so happy, I just can’t believe it. I keep thinking something’s going to happen to spoil it.”

Was that genuine worry in her voice? “Nothing will spoil this. I promise. We’re going to be this happy for the rest of our lives.” He bent down and kissed her again, until the only thing he could think of was getting her back out of these clothes and into bed, but Autumn finally pushed him away.

“We’ve got to go – everyone will be waiting for us.”

Tonight was the rehearsal dinner. One more hurdle to clear before he could be alone with his bride on their honeymoon. In twenty-four hours they would be husband and wife. By the look in Autumn’s eyes, she was thinking along the same lines.

“I can’t wait to be married to you,” she said.

“Neither can I.”

* * * * *

Sage was the fanciest restaurant in town, but Autumn would much rather be at DelMonaco’s. In fact, Becka, her mother and sister were the only ones who looked at home in the fine dining establishment. Teresa was the one who insisted they eat there. The rest of the party were picking at their food – especially Cab, who looked at the bite sized filet mignon on his plate with something akin to desperation.

Conversation was a little stilted as well. Becka did her best to fill in the gaps, asking the men many questions about their jobs, and Autumn learned that Rob – still sullen that he wasn’t the best man, but in slightly better spirits since Ethan brought him a bottle of whiskey to smooth things over – loved ranching but loved the rodeo more, Cab won all kinds of pistol competitions but had never shot a man in the line of duty, and Jamie was considered something of a horse-whisperer in this part of the world. Cab questioned her mother and sister about their lines of work, but doctoring – especially gynecology – doesn’t make good mealtime conversation, and the talk soon died down again.

The waitress, a young blonde with her hair pulled back in a severe bun wearing an all black uniform, had just begun to clear the plates when a commotion toward the entrance of the restaurant caught everyone’s attention.

Lacey swept into the room and Autumn’s heart plummeted. This was what she’d been dreading – another scene with the woman who seemed determined to ruin her happiness.

What was that under her arm?

Oh my god – it couldn’t be.

It was.

“Lacey, get out of here,” Cab said, standing up and trying to intercept her. Lacey ducked around him and high-tailed it to Ethan. Her high heels clicked on the hardwood floor and she was dressed elegantly enough to fit right in here at the restaurant – far better than half the guests at the table, Autumn thought a trifle hysterically.

She dropped Autumn’s laptop with a clatter on top of Ethan’s dinner plate, opened it and pressed the power button.

“So sorry to spoil your meal,” she said. “But I had to come and show you just exactly how your lying bitch of a fiancée is playing you for a fool!”

“Lacey – get out of here. This is low even for you.” Ethan stood up and grabbed her forearm, trying to muscle her away from the table. She pushed past him again and jabbed at the keyboard.

“Recognize this? It’s your fiancee’s.” She straightened to stare him down. “When you popped up with her at DelMonaco’s that night I thought you were pulling my leg – that you’d just picked up some passing tourist at a bar and brought her to dinner to get my goat. When I heard you two got really drunk and nearly got it on in Rob’s truck, I thought maybe you hired a hooker to play the part. Then I heard you were living together and I didn’t know what to think anymore. I finally weaseled the truth out of Rob about the YouTube video.”

Autumn turned to look at Rob, along with everyone else at the table. Becka and her family were pale with shock. Cab was fighting to get around the crowded table to Lacey. Rob crossed his arms defensively, meeting the combined gazes of the group, but Autumn thought he looked guilty. “Hell, I was drunk. I didn’t mean to spill the beans.”

So that’s how Lacey knew about the video
, Autumn thought.