Page 5 of Cameron

Because when she married, it would be forever. She dreamed of having a marriage like her parents. One that lasted over thirty years and would have lasted longer if not for her father’s sudden heart attack.

Only Edward had been with him at the time of his death and sometimes she resented that her brother was the last one to see him alive.

“Mother, we’re running a business here for weddings, not a matchmaking service. And I need to concentrate on making it successful so we can return the ranch to the old status.”

Her mother’s gray-haired head bobbed and she gave Samantha a reassuring smile.

“Honey, I hope you can do it. I’m losing faith in that brother of yours,” her mother said.

Samantha didn’t want to admit it to her mother, but she was as well. Nothing seemed to add up and how could they go frombeing successful to worrying about money? Even before her father died, the last two years had been fraught with anxiety.

Edward and her father had fought often. And her father had been frustrated at his lack of responsibility. The way nothing seemed to be important to him. It was like Edward hadn’t a care in the world, including his family.

But regardless, he was her brother. She only prayed he didn’t take them down some dark path they couldn’t recover from.

“Mama, we’ve got to stand behind Edward and give him a chance,” she said, hating the words, but trying to keep them together.

“Yes, well, I hope he doesn’t lose the ranch because then what do we do?” she said.

That was a real concern. One she feared would put her mother in the grave. This was her home where her memories of raising her children were and Samantha would do everything she could to keep her mother here and not have to move ever.

“Have faith, Mama. It’s Christmas. We need to be thankful for what we have and celebrate our Lord’s birth,” she said, thinking it was weird that she was reminding her mother of how they wanted to live their lives. Her mother was the one who had made certain they appreciated the life they were given when they were children.

“You’re right,” she said as she turned toward the window. “But I’m sending up prayers every night that somehow we recover from this.”

Just then a shiny black limousine pulled up outside the reception area.

“Oh no, they’re here. Two big limousines are pulling up in the driveway. Everyone get ready. Our guests have arrived. It’s show time.”

Fear spiraled through Samantha as she put a smile on her face. This was it. This week would determine their fate. This week, they had to make this wedding a successful event.

CHAPTER 3

Cameron stared out the window of his room and gazed at the cattle eating hay strewn about the field. They looked healthy. The appraisal on the property had come in high and so he wondered what the problem could be that Edward needed to sell.

The wedding business looked like it had a great set-up for guests. The barn was huge and the perfect place for a wedding with the modifications they’d done. The bunkhouse where the guest slept was nice and had been updated so that the rooms were cozy.

They had the perfect setup for a wedding venue business or even an adult playground in the summer. Just the kind of property he was searching for.

So far, he’d yet to see Edward, but he really wanted a chance to be nosey at some point. Often he could learn more about what was going on from the employees than you could the person wanting to sell.

Plus, he’d hired his cousin, Tucker, to do research to see if he could find out anything about why Edward was selling. Tucker operated Burnett Security and if anyone could learn the truth about what was going on here, he could.

When they spoke, Tucker said to give him some time and he’d have a report to him in less than a week.

Unpacking his suitcase, he hung up his shirts and jeans and even the suit he’d brought for the wedding. Not that he planned on attending if he could get out of here earlier. He’d been to six family weddings in the last two years thanks to his great-great-great-great-grandmother.

And now there were more baby Burnetts than he’d ever dreamed possible. Someday he wanted children, just like his cousins were having, but right now, his focus had to remain on his business.

After he finished unpacking, he glanced out the window again. The land was beautiful, the house was gorgeous, and the barn was the biggest and the best he’d ever seen. Except for the cupola that was missing a bell.

Glancing outside, he wondered about Samantha. Edward said she knew the ranch was in trouble, but she hoped the wedding would save them. The blonde was cute and perky and those dark brown eyes of hers had been filled with mischief.

A sparkling kind of mischief that he feared would make her a handful. But then again, he liked his women to be strong and independent fighters.

For the first time in a long time, he was attracted to a woman, and yet he didn’t have the time to follow up on her flirtatious manner. And with her brother trying to sell him the ranch, he didn’t want to get between her and Edward.

And yet he was tempted to see if this attraction he’d felt between them was real, or did she greet all the guests this way?

---