Page 22 of The Cowboy Takes A Bride

She shook her head. “I’m good with whatever you decide.”

Jace pressed his lips together. The last thing he needed in his life was a woman who would want him to make all her decisions. He made too many of them already, and there was little energy to make more.

“Meredith, if I told folks I was rescuing you in exchange for sex, you’d be good with that?”

Pink stained her cheeks, and she shook her head.

“Or that you’re homeless and illegal, and I did it to keep you in the country?”

Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes but said nothing. He was pleased to see a different response from her. It hinted to a personality other than the capitulating one he was witnessing right now. He wanted the one he’d seen earlier when they first met, the one planning on skipping out. That girl had courage.

“See, it does matter. So speak up. Now, let’s walk and talk. We linger any longer, there will be rumors of a baby coming in the winter.” Grabbing her suitcases, he moved to the door and held it open.

“I can get them.” She reached for the cases.

“I got them. You want to stay in for a moment or go on outside and get a look at that view?”

She opened the door, and he was right behind her as she stepped out of the church.

“It’s a stunning view. Do you have this from your house?”

Jace looked at the mountain range. “Pretty much, but from a slightly different angle.”

She stared at the peaks, colored in shades of lavender and orange from the wildflowers. The mountains as a backdrop to this beautiful woman was a sight he feared he could get used to quickly, an image he wouldn’t be able to forget. It suited her. The colors and the landscape. Like the land, Meredith appeared one way, easy and manageable, but underneath, and he hoped his sense of her wasn’t wrong, there was a resistance. A fight. She would need that in order to survive out here, and he hoped he’d get to see it before she left.

With more force than necessary, he tossed her bags in the truck. Not married an hour, and he was already thinking of her in terms of before and after she left.

“Let’s say that we met, weconnected, we had a common interest in being married and connecting as we did.” He waggedhis brows. “Decided to give it a go.” He shrugged. “Why not? People get married for lesser reasons.”

She nodded.

Jace faced her. “Listen. I know I said I’m a nice guy, and I am. But I’ll bulldoze you in a New York minute. Not because I want to, but because life moves at a rapid pace for me here. There’s always something pressin’ to get done. You need to speak up and hold your own. That’s how we do it out here.” He met her gaze, then nodded. “You good with that?”

Meredith’s eyes widened. “I can do my best,” she said softly.

“That’s all I can hope for.” He took her hand in his, glanced at her to see if she was good with it, and then led her to the diner. When they entered, a loud cheer went up through the crowd, and he couldn’t contain his smile. Glancing at his parents, the pleasure on their faces made this whole new adventure worth it.

The woman his mom played Bunko with pulled Meredith away. They stripped her of her coat before enveloping her into their fold. He was the recipient of several slaps on the back as he made his way to Pops.

He pulled out a chair and straddled it, the back against his front. “You okay with me getting hitched Pops?” He really wanted to know if the spontaneity of it was going over all right.

“She’s the nicest girl you’ve ever brought home. If first impressions are anything, hers is a damn good one. Little gun shy, but that eases with time.”

Jace nodded, watching as Meredith fielded questions. After a handful of minutes, something about her shifted. He saw it happen. The smile on her face transitioned from an uncertain but natural one to a demure, insincere one. It never wavered. Her posture was more rigid, and she looked disconnected. She was checking out. Her reaction to the landscape and his parents had sparked a tiny ember of hope that maybe she’d like it in the small town of Bison’s Prairie, but her expression was saying otherwise.

“Give her time,” Rina said. She looped her arm through his and tugged him from his chair.

“Of course.”

Rina steered him toward the makeshift drink table. He had to give credit to the folks that threw this “reception” together at the last minute. A large punch bowl with scoops of bobbing sherbet, the trademark of any proper Bison Prairie event, was the centerpiece.

Rina sighed. “No, Jace.Actuallygive her time. I know you’re watching her and already making contingency plans, but how about you go into this without holding the past actions of others against her?”

Jace pulled back. “What’s her story?”

“Ask her. When you’re alone tonight, maybe you should spend it getting to know each other.”

“I already know her mother's passed.” Though he wondered about her father. He preferred to think she was looking for a home instead of running from one. That thought gave him comfort, awful as it was. He could compete with “nowhere to go.” His place was pretty sweet if he did say so himself. It embodied home in ways that drew others in. When the woman of his past had left, they’d said they’d miss the house the most.

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