Page 2 of A Nice Day for a Cowboy Wedding

Eventually the little herd of cows was across the road, and the one who hadn’t spoken rode his horse next to the group, seeming to lead them in the right direction. The one who had spoken to her moved his arm toward the house in a kind offollow megesture.

Odd. She’d think whoever he was had better things to do than lead her to the house when it was clearly at the end of this long drive, but she inched along until she got to a large concrete pad in front of what she assumed was a garage that had to be bigger than her entire house back in Gracely.

Grabbing her bag, gripping the shoulder strap in an effort to center and focus herself, she got out of the car.

The man still sat on his horse, quite a few feet above her. Cora had to tip her head up and shade her eyes against the sun. She opened her mouth to speak, but the horse made an odd noise and Cora startled, which seemed to cause the horse to startle as well.

“Easy,” the man murmured in a low voice as his hand swept down the horse’s mane. It didn’t calmCoradown any, but it seemed to soothe the horse.

In a fluid movement Cora could only be mesmerized by, the man swung off the horse and onto his feet in front of her. Even with him on solid ground, she still had to tip her head back to look at him. He was very tall.

And broad.

And strong.

And—

Get ahold of yourself, Cora.

“I’ll take you to my mother,” he said gruffly, most of his face still shadowed by the hat.

“Your mother?” Cora echoed lamely.

“Deb Tyler. My mother.”

“Oh!” Oh.Oh. Deb had mentioned her sons were a little bent out of shape about their mother’s remarrying. She’d laughed it off, but Cora knew Deb wanted her sons’ approval. Micah might only be twelve, but Cora couldn’t imagine not wanting him to like whomever she married.

Not that she thought that was in the cards for her, but it was a nice little fantasy to have.

With certain, ground-slapping strides, the man started walking toward the house. There was some kind of post next to the garage, and he paused briefly to tie his horse’s reins to it, before walking again.

In the cute heels she was wearing, on the intricate stone walkway with lots of little dips and crannies, it was hard to keep up with him.

When she reached the porch where he was waiting for her, he slid the cowboy hat off revealing a thick, brown head of hair that looked to have been recently trimmed. He had dark brown eyes, a sharp nose and cheekbones, one of those square-cut jaws. Broad shoulders. Tall. So dang tall.

Someone could put him in a Western movie, and she’d believe he was an A-list star. She was downright ready to swoon.

Except she had a job to do. A really important one. Lilly had stepped into Mile High Adventures over a year ago and not swooned at the very swoon-worthy sight of Brandon Evans, so Cora could be just that calm and with-it.

The man raised his eyebrows, and Cora realized that while he’d opened the door and gestured her inside, she’d been standing there staring at him.

Calm and with-it were so not her wheelhouse. But, she stepped inside and let the amazing interior take her mind off Mr. Hot Cowboy.

Wood and forest green dominated everything in this entryway. A chandelier made up of lanterns and dark metal shaped like horses hung from the high, vaulted ceiling.

Holy. Moly.

“I’ll get my mother.”

Cora nodded, but as he started walking toward the hallway, she thought better of it. “Wait!”

He turned slowly, looking at her as if he couldn’t figure out what kind of species of bug she was.

She was the wedding coordinator, and Deb Tyler wanted the perfect wedding. Which included if not enthusiastic, at least cooperative sons. Which meant Cora had to do her best to win this man over.

“I didn’t get your name.”

His tight-lipped expression turned into a frown. “Shane,” he said simply.

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