The Bride's Cowboy Read online

  The Bride’s Cowboy

  Sophia Summers

  Contents

  Read all books from Sophia Summers

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Read all books from Sophia Summers

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  Her Billionaire Cowboys Series:

  Her Billionaire Cowboy

  Her Billionaire Protector

  Her Billionaire in Hiding

  Her Billionaire Christmas Secret

  Her Billionaire to Remember

  The Swoony Sports Romances

  Hitching the Pitcher

  Falling for Centerfield

  Charming the Shortstop

  Snatching the Catcher

  Flirting with First

  Kissing on Third

  Her Billionaire Royals Series:

  The Heir

  The Crown

  The Duke

  The Duke’s Brother

  The Prince

  The American

  The Spy

  The Princess

  Her Love and Marriage Brides Series

  The Bride’s Secret

  The Bride’s Cowboy

  Her Single Holiday Romances

  Taming Scrooge

  Chapter 1

  As Jed McCallister stepped into the overly decorated reception hall, he was hit by a wave of nostalgia. Everything from the horseshoe decorations to the mechanical bull in the corner to the huge balloon arch reminded him of his childhood. He didn’t want to live here again, but they were happy memories. In truth, he’d come for one reason only.

  A short woman with sparkly eyes and curlier hair than he’d ever seen looked his direction and immediately clicked her heels towards him. When she got closer, he saw the ear bud in her ear and then waited while she stood in front of him and finished her conversation.

  “We need the punch refilled, less vodka this time. Yes. And make sure the mics work for the speeches.” She must have ended the call then, because she tipped her chin up to look into his face. “You are Jed McAllister.”

  He dipped his head. “That’s right, ma’am. At your service.”

  “Glad you could make it for the last wedding party responsibility.” Her eyebrow rose but her tone was nothing but congenial.

  “Are you Marguerite?”

  “Yes. In just about five minutes, we’ll be announcing the wedding party dance. You’ll be dancing with Trista Hastings—”

  “Well now, ma’am, I was wondering if I might make a special request?” He smiled his most charming smile.

  She started to shake her head, almost dismissed him immediately.

  “Now ma’am. I’ve heard only wonderful things about your ability to roll with the punches.”

  She crossed her arms.

  “I have. I heard that there is nothing I could throw at you short of running away with the Bride…”

  She held up a hand. “Don’t. Just don’t.”

  “Short of that, you could solve any problem, grant any request.” He grinned. “This would be small fry compared to what you’re used to, I’m sure.” He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

  “And what’s your request?”

  “AnnaMae.”

  Her eyebrows lowered. “Done.” Then she turned on her heels, clicking back in the direction she’d come. He shook his head, planning to never have a reason to cross that woman.

  Now to find AnnaMae Caruthers, sister of the bride. He scanned the crowd, searching for her signature curls, her petite form.

  The music changed, and the bride and groom took to the floor for their dance. They looked happy. He was sure they’d get on well. Watching the groom’s smile as he did a line dance with his wife made Jed’s dissatisfaction with his own life flicker alive. He was usually happy just running his ranch and working the land beside his dad. Occasional dates with the women in town kept the loneliness away. But watching Bobby’s face light up whenever he caught his new wife’s eye clenched at something in Jed’s heart, and he finally put words to what he’d been forcing aside for a couple years now. He wanted someone in his life. He wanted what Bobby and Maribelle had.

  Then a familiar profile made him smile, and he started moving in her direction. She shifted in her seat and looked down at her phone. He whistled softly to himself. This woman was no bean-pole seventh grader anymore. AnnaMae had changed.

  No, he corrected himself, AnnaMae would always look like AnnaMae, but she was a long way from the scrawny girl he had last seen. Her hair sat piled on top of her head, curls hanging in ringlets around her face, the curls he used to want to tug, just once, and watch them bounce back up into shape. Her nose still turned up at the tip; her cheekbones were as pronounced and her face as thin as the AnnaMae he remembered. But her dress, her curves...

  His old crush from seventh grade had become a stunning woman.

  Chapter 2

  Anna wanted to be happy for her sister, the newest bride in the Caruthers family. The words to “Boot Skoot Boogie” blared louder than necessary as Maribelle and Bobby danced their first moments as man and wife to their own made-up line dance. Anna winced when a portion of the dance involved Maribelle shimmying while Bobby danced around her, clapping.

  She looked away when Maribelle moved her hands in a circular come-hither arm gesture while her husband pretended to be dragged by an invisible rope. Many around her laughed and cheered, calling out to the happy couple, but Anna shifted in her chair and pulled out her phone.

  At last the music changed and a pair of boots came to stand in front of her. Nice boots. Country but expensive: real boots. Her eyes travelled up the tux pants to the broad shoulders, perfectly fit jacket, bowtie, strong jaw, intelligent eyes of someone who was talking to her, his hand outstretched. Surely not to ask her to dance.

  She shook her head. “I’m sitting this one out.”

  “It’s the wedding party dance.”

  “What?” All the bridesmaids were being led out to the floor by the groomsmen. The wedding planner, a fiery woman named Marguerite, was giving her the eye. She stood up just to send that woman’s attention elsewhere. “But you’re not a groomsman?” She’d never seen him before.

  He dipped his head. “I am. I got stuck up on a ridge with half a herd of cows and barely made it just now.”

  She rolled her eyes. Oh boy, another small-town cowboy.

  He held out his hand again. “Shall we?”

  Her fingers slid into his palm, and its smoothness surprised her. No rough cowboy scratches, no callouses, just tight, strong, and smooth. “You from around here?”

  “I am, born and raised.”

  “How come I’ve never seen you before?”

  “Moved away when we were in middle school. I’m Jed McCallister.”

  Her mouth fell open. “Jed?” Scrawny, mousy Jed, full-of-trouble Jed, smartest kid in their school. The guy she’d secretly had a crush on…

  He pulled her into his arms with the ease and confidence of a man who knew his way around women. “And you’re AnnaMae Caruthers.”

  “Anna is fine. Just Anna.”

  “I’ve always liked AnnaMae.”

  When she gave him her newly acquired New-York glare, he chuckled. “But Anna is fine too.”

  She couldn’t be
lieve Jed McAllister was back in town. “So, how have you been? It’s been forever.”

  “Great. Well, at first the move wasn’t all that great. The girls wouldn’t come near me, seventh graders being rough on the eyes to most. The guys thought I was weird. Science fair projects weren’t as big a deal up there, but things got better.” He winked, and she imagined they would have improved, at least in the girls’ reactions if he filled out quickly to what was holding her now. “We were always going to end up on the ranch. It’s my family’s land. When Grandpa passed away, it passed to my dad. So we went.”

  She found herself enjoying their dance. Instead of swaying back and forth, he moved, adding a little country swing and flair.

  “Do you swing dance?” His eyebrows raised. “A little two-step?”

  The music felt even slower, every couple around them rocking back and forth together. “Yes, but now is hardly…”

  He broke away with one hand and stepped back, doing the two-step, which she matched, his eyes sparkling with challenge. “Just how much do you swing?”

  Never one to back down from a challenge, she grinned. “As much as you.”

  His laugh followed, natural and unforced. Then he tipped his head and they danced. The song changed, a little more peppy, with a faster beat, so they moved, doing dips and sways and spins. He pulled her in for a super low dip; instead of lifting her back up, he asked, “Do you do lifts?”

  “If you can lift me.”

  “Oh, I can lift you.” His face lit, and he raised her back up with a laugh.

  His confidence made her smile. She didn’t doubt him one bit. These cowboys were strong, and his muscles were nothing short of huge. He started with an easy lift, grabbing her about the waist. She bounced on one of his hips, then the other, down between his legs, and then he whipped her up high into the air.

  She laughed and had to admit, even to her small-town-avoiding self, that she missed this one thing about home. No one in New York knew how to swing, not really.

  They moved, they danced, they stomped and spun until her throat was dry and hair a mess. “I need a drink.”

  He led her over to the bar.

  “Water. Two.”

  “Same.”

  They downed the cold water, and then Jed leaned close, his cologne filling the air around them. “Let’s go outside.”

  She nodded. As soon as they exited, the cool air relieved her flushed skin and the quiet settled over them in a welcome respite.

  “I must be getting old.” He winked. “The music was too much.”

  “So loud. I almost left during “Boot Skoot Boogie”. Great while we were dancing though, right? You’re incredible.”

  His eyes travelled over her face, and she blushed at the obvious appreciation in his expression. “I haven’t clicked with a partner like that in a long time,” he said.

  “I guess you need to come back home more often.”

  He shook his head. “Nope. It’s not Thayer Falls. It’s you. We have something.” He leaned against the back of a bench. “So tell me, Anna, where are you nowadays?”

  “Anywhere but here.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Okay. So not a Thayer Falls fan?”

  She shrugged. “What about you? You said something about cattle.”

  “I’m in Montana. We’ve got a spread up there.”

  “We?”

  “My dad and I. Mom passed away, and now it’s just us.”

  “I’m sorry about your mom. Isn’t she the one who always sent in—”

  “Chocolate chip cookies.” He nodded. “Hers were the best.”

  “I still remember them.”

  He was staring at the night sky. “Stars. One thing Montana has is stars.”

  “What? Thayer Falls doesn’t?” After New York, she thought the sky looked like one big star, there were so many.

  “Oh, not like Montana. Up there, wow. It’s like nothing even Thayer Falls has ever seen.”

  She was filled with a strange desire to defend her small town, but she stamped the feeling away. “It’s never even dark in Manhattan.”

  “What has you living all the way in that big loud place?”

  “Like I said, I was ready for something different.” She hesitated and then smiled. “But, work has me travelling to Montana next week. I guess I’ll have to check out the stars myself and see.”

  His eyes lit up, and his mouth spread in such a large smile she almost laughed in response. “Now, this is good news. Can I get your number? I’d like to show you around when you come.”

  “Montana’s a big place. What if I’m on the opposite side of the state?”

  “I can manage a little distance to prove to a beautiful woman why Montana might be worth a second visit.” His eyes sparkled.

  She could almost smell his confidence. It warmed her and made her toes curl. “Well, okay then.” She reached for his phone and typed in her number. “I’ll be there Wednesday.”

  He nodded and pocketed his phone. “Looks like dancing is being taken over by the twelve-year-old crowd. You free to skip out? Go to some of our old haunts?”

  She laughed. “The haunts from seventh grade?”

  He shrugged. “It’s the first time I’ve been back to Thayer Falls since I left. Don’t knock my desire to reconnect with roots.”

  Her mother was busy holding the ear of a guilty-looking cousin, her sister more than distracted with her new husband, the other sisters in the family still present and pitching in. Anna turned to Jed, a spark of adventure flaring inside. Intrigued by her old crush, fueled by all the ways he had obviously filled out and turned into an attractive man, she grinned. “You’re on.”

  Marguerite walked by the double doors leading back inside to the banquet and dance hall.

  Anna ducked behind Jed. When he peeked over his shoulder at her, she said, “I do not want to cross that woman.”

  “Really, that pint-sized thing?”

  “Oh yeah. Don’t let her size influence your opinion of her. Underestimating that woman might be your downfall.”

  His eyebrow rose, but he stood still until the wedding planner passed and then reached for Anna’s hand.

  When his fingers laced through hers, she thrilled at his touch. He tugged gently, and she might have followed him anywhere. They made their way through the back gardens. “My car’s on its way.”

  “We can just take mine. What do you mean? Did someone drop you off?”

  They rounded to the front of the building, and a limo pulled in.

  “Oh.” Anna eyed him. So the scraggly seventh grader had not just filled out in all the right ways, he’d made a successful life for himself.

  “Maybe this is awkward? Easier just to drive where we want to go without explaining to the driver?” His hesitance and the insecurity in his face warmed her toward him.

  “No, this is fine, great.” She laughed. “I’m not one to complain about a limo.”

  He held the door open for her, and when they were both comfortable, he texted the driver. “I’ll tell him the first stop is South River Park.”

  She felt her face heat and looked away to hide it. What was he doing? “You’ll probably not be too shocked that it’s exactly the same.”

  “I’m counting on it.”

  She shook her head. “What’s so fascinating about our old park?” He’d probably forgotten all about the first time they were in that park together.

  “Is the bridge still there?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Yes, but don’t get any ideas. I haven’t been to the Kissing Bridge in years.”

  “But I do remember something I heard about you once…”

  She cringed, half-hoping he’d remember and half-praying he’d forgotten. “Yes, well, that might have been the last time the Kissing Bridge and I were within twenty feet of one another.”

  He clucked his tongue. “Now that’s a shame. A woman with action as nice as your seventh-grade reputation would be someone I’d like to take on the Kissing Br
idge.”

  “Oh my word. Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

  He leaned forward. “You do remember!”

  “Of course. You were my first kiss.”

  “No!” His face was too delighted.

  The conversation felt so juvenile that she laughed. “Yes. Too true.” She’d compared many kisses over the years to the one she received from Jed on that bridge. She had started right then in seventh grade, looking for the same wonder, the zing, that spark in every other boy she dated. Every single one had been lacking. She had been more than disappointed and had come to assume that all good first kisses have a spark and perhaps it never comes back. A one-time, special moment kind of thing.

  But now that Jed was once again in front of her, she wondered if at least some of the zing of the kiss stayed with her simply because Jed had his own form of magnetism. A new idea made her smile. Maybe Jed was the spark. She laughed out loud at the silliness of her brain.

  “What? Fond memories?” His wink made her laugh again.

  “You. Are too much. That was seventh grade.”

  “Well, when you’re as gifted as we were, the kiss is gonna be nothing short of life altering.”

  “Oh stop.” He didn’t know how right he was. “Let’s go show you this bridge.”

  “And the swings.”

  “Right. Seventh grade reenactment here we come.”

  He stopped. “Not all of seventh grade must be relived…” His face, mock horror, told her he’d gotten over any feelings of embarrassment about his awkwardness. “I see no reason anyone should ever have to redo middle school.”

  Their hands connected, and fingers interlocked again before she even knew what was happening. They made their way across a large and open grassy area. The few street lights that still functioned gave enough light for the place to feel charming.