Page 50 of The Cowboy Takes A Bride

A giant smile broke across her face, her eyes alight with pleasure. “Give me that thing.” She snatched the gun from him and moved to stand in the position he taught her. She lined up her sights on the next can, pumped the lever action, took in a steady breath, and on the exhale, pressed the trigger. The can shot off the fence. Meredith worked the lever again, moving to the next can. Of the eight they’d put on the fence, she’d taken six down. Jace was impressed.

“I think you were meant to be out in the country.” He took the rifle from her and slung it over his shoulder.

She was beautiful, flushed with pride at her accomplishments. She stood taller, more relaxed. She was transforming before his eyes, and damn if his lifestyle didn’t look good on her.

“Can we do some more?” Her hand was in her shirt massaging her shoulder.

“Let’s give it a break until tomorrow.” He pointed to Tuck’s truck headed toward them. “Looks like I gotta get back to business.”

Meredith’s eyes widened. “I'm okay out here by myself.”

He checked the gun's chamber. “You will be, but not yet. Now remember, you can’t use this on a bear or mountain lion. You can try to scare them away with it, but it’ll not deter an angry animal.”

Meredith paled. “Mountain lion? Am I going to have problems with the wildlife?”

Jace shook his head. “Nope, it’s been a while since a bear came into the yard, and I have only seen one cat out near the foothills. A drought can push them in, but we’re looking at a good, wet summer.”

Meredith laughed. “That’s good. First bears and now mountain lions.” She shook her head. “That’s kinda scary. I saw this show on National Geographic about grizzlies, and I’ll admit I’m scared of them.”

“Rightfully so, but mostly they want nothing to do with us and vice versa.”

Tuck pulled up and flung open the passenger door. “Afternoon newlyweds. I hate to be the one to break this up, but there’s some head counting that needs to be done. Among other things. Oh, and your folks and sister went into town.”

Jace smiled wanly at Meredith and handed her the rifle. “I keep this in my truck so will you please take it back thereand put it behind the seat. You’ll see some shells back there as well. In the house inside the hall closet is another rifle if you need it. Shells on the shelf.”

She nodded.

“If I’m not in by sundown—”

“I’ll grill some cheese or something.”

“You know it goes between the bread when you grill it, right?” He brushed a strand of hair from her face.

Meredith laughed. “Is that a wise thing to say to a woman holding a gun?”

“Point taken.” He stepped back, conflicted because he wanted to kiss her, but uncomfortable with Tuck watching. “You okay with these horses?” He was leaving her to get them both back to the barn. “You can leave the camping stuff in the barn. I'll get to it later.”

She smiled, nodded, and swayed toward him. “Got it. See ya later.”

He glanced at Tuck who was watching them like a hawk. He hesitated, couldn't bring himself to do it, so winked at her instead before jumping into the passenger seat. Tuck was driving away before he could slam the door, yammering about all they had to do and how the GPS tagging system, an expensive device they’d implemented to help with location control and herd count, was acting up.

Though he managed to stay on task, Jace frequently found his thoughts drifting back to the woman waiting at his house. Legally she was his. The last few nights under his hands, she’d given herself to him, yet he wondered what it would feel like if she committed to him mind and body. Committed to the life he had here. It was all easy and fun now because it was novel, and granted she was really taking to it, but there were hurdles and obstacles ahead of them that might make or break them. It was hard going into this backward, although if they’d dated for a fewyears before getting hitched, they’d be no better off. The good part of the latter scenario was that he might be able to predict obstacles. Not knowing Meredith and learning her triggers made him uncomfortable as he moved forward blind.

The day passed quickly and weary from the sun’s exposure and mental fatigue, he’d finally made it home long after the sun had set. He found Meredith in the kitchen washing dishes, her movements stiff on the side of her gun arm.

“Sorry about missing dinner,” he said and leaned against the island. A bowl of salad was before him, and he picked an olive off the top. “This looks good.” He ate another one.

From the fridge she took a plate wrapped with plastic wrap. “There was nothing thawed so here’s a ham sandwich. I thought about turning it into a Panini, but then I figured why waste the ham.”

Jace chuckled and peeled away the wrap. “You eat already?” He took a large bite.

“The sandwich, yeah. I was starving. But I waited on the salad so we could eat together.”

Man, that did something to him. Filled him with a flush of heat that went straight to his groin.

She reached for the plastic wrap he’d balled up and tossed on the counter but stopped and shifted arms.

“Your arm stiff?”

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