The Cowboy's Sweet Elopement

by Jean Oram

  Brant slid his hands around her waist with a sureness that grounded her. After a moment, she allowed herself to relax against him, curious to see what it might feel like to have someone try to calm her storm instead of build off it.

  “I don’t care what everyone says,” he stated.

  She turned in his arms so she could see his face. “You heal and fix and rescue, and do all these wonderful, amazing, caring things. And I just blasted into your life and made you look like a home-wrecker.” She bit her lips to hold in the emotion.

  “And was I?” He stroked her cheek with a thumb, that amused twinkle dancing in his eyes even though she growled in frustration.

  “No. Maybe. I don’t know anymore.” She shifted out of his embrace and started wiping the counter again. She hadn’t expected a relationship with Brant when she’d been ending her marriage, but in a secret back corner of her mind she’d been hoping. Hoping for kisses. Hoping he might rescue her heart. Hoping she could win his. Hoping he would notice her as a woman worth pursuing, and that she could find something stable and amazing with him like she saw her friends having.

  And now she had the potential to do so, and she feared messing it up. How did you go from a spur-of-the-moment marriage to making things work in a forever-and-ever sense?

  Even when she’d been dating Cole all those years ago, she’d had fleeting thoughts about the smooth relationships Brant seemed to have. She’d wondered what it would be like to be kissed by a man who took the time to pause and really look at a woman. She’d catch herself and scoff, telling herself she was fantasizing about something that would certainly be boring.

  But it wasn’t. Not by a long shot.

  She knew this was what she wanted, but she wasn’t sure how to make it happen.

  Realizing she’d been lost in her own thoughts, she glanced at Brant. His head was tipped to the side, a dented ring in his hair showing where his hat had been sitting. He was watching her.

  Her jaw loosened as their eyes met, and the breath rushed from her lungs.

  How long had she been in love with Brant?

  Forever? A day?

  Was everyone right? Had she really left Heath because of him?

  She placed her palms against her cheeks and began laughing as an unfamiliar sensation flowed through her. It almost felt as though she was filling up with helium.

  She loved Brant. And she had married him.

  How had that even happened?

  Why was she stressed and worried? Her dream had come true!

  She laughed harder as she dropped the cloth and stepped forward, feeling light. Her hands glided over his shoulders to meet at the nape of his neck. There was something about Brant that had always settled her inner whirlwind, and even in this morning’s chaos, it was no different.

  Was that what love was?

  Their relationship had serious potential, and there was nothing to hold her back. Nothing at all. And while they might not be fully ready for marriage, she vowed she was going to do everything she could to reach for it, claim it, savor it and protect it. This was what she had been hoping and wishing for.

  “Why did it take me so long to see this?” she asked.

  “And what is ‘this’?” Brant asked, then gave her a kiss.

  “What we have.”

  “It’s something good, isn’t it?” His next, longer kiss made her toes curl.

  “You see it, too?”

  “I do.”

  “Brant?”

  “Hmm?”

  “No regrets?”

  “Absolutely none.”

  That was all she needed to hear.

  Brant smiled against April’s lips. No regrets.

  He tightened his arms around her, lifting her into the air and spinning her around in the middle of the kitchen. She giggled and he kissed her again.

  “Mom?” Kurt called from the living room.

  April frowned and braced Brant’s face with her hands. “Duty calls,” she whispered, kissing him again. She let out a purr of contentment when it lingered into something with heat.

  “Mom?”

  April sighed against Brant’s mouth. “Just a minute,” she called. She tapped Brant’s lips. “Hold that thought.” She slipped from his arms and headed to the living room.

  Brant looked around the kitchen, wondering what their next step was. Should he move in? Somehow that felt premature, but not moving in would make their marriage seem fake.

  His phone rang, and he lifted the device to his ear. It was Levi.

  “What’s up?” Brant asked.

  “We’ve got a stuck calf. I can’t get it to turn. Any chance you could pop by?”

  They had a winter birthing plan in place as one of Levi’s ideas for the ranch, but this cow was literally ahead of the herd, having slipped through the fence and met up with a bull earlier in the year.

  “Sure. Be there in a few minutes.”

  “Wait, shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon?” Levi teased.

  Brant opened his mouth, his gaze darting to the doorway where April had exited. Were they going to have a honeymoon? An official wedding night? A reception? It wouldn’t be long before the townsfolk started sending over gifts as part of the Couple of the Year tradition. And they’d plan a reception, too, if memory served.

  Brant smiled. He wouldn’t mind any of that.

  “Yeah, probably,” he said cheerily. He raised his voice. “But no honeymoon today. Right, April?”

  “Honeymoon?” she asked with a touch of incredulity.

  “Wouldn’t that be fun?”

  His words were met with silence, and he peeked around the corner into the living room. April was holding a wet facecloth in her hands, looking a bit stunned. “Um...”

  “Let’s aim for February,” he suggested.

  “Very romantic,” Levi stated with a dry tone.

  “I thought so,” he said agreeably, ignoring his brother’s tone.

  “So you’re finally going to get her a dog?”

  Brant turned back into the kitchen, and poured himself a cup of coffee even though the pot hadn’t finished brewing. “What’s this?”

  “April. Dog.”

  “Why? I have a dog.” Dodge spent a lot of time at the ranch or out on vet calls with him, but eventually he’d likely start living here if he didn’t mind being in town.

  There was a pause on the other end of the line. April had mentioned wanting a dog. Had she enlisted Levi’s help? The silence continued, and Brant said, “Tell me.”

  “It’s just a thing Laura noticed.”

  “What thing?”

  “Well, you found a rescue for Laura, Karen, Carly, Mom, and even Daisy-Mae and Jackie.”

  “So? They all wanted a dog. Just like you and Myles and Ryan. Even Carmichael.”

  “Yeah.”

  His brother was closing up. Brant could hear it in his voice. He was going to turn to business any second, and the opportunity to figure out what was going on would be missed.

  “So what does it have to do with a certain someone else?” He lowered his voice and peeked into the living room again. April was bent over Kurt, smoothing his hair back from his forehead and talking to him in a soothing tone.

  Levi sighed, no doubt wishing he hadn’t brought up the topic. Discussing this sort of stuff wasn’t anywhere near his comfort zone.

  “What?” Brant insisted.

  He could hear Laura in the background, demanding to join the conversation. Moments later Levi said sullenly, “Putting you on speaker. Here’s Laura.”

  “What Levi’s trying to say is this: Get April a dog. She’s going to have doubts about whether you approve of her.”

  “Uh, I married her,” Brant said, with a chuckle of amusement. That was basically the stamp of approval, wasn’t it? “And what does a dog have to do with how I feel about her?”

  Laura sighed, and Brant could imagine her rolling her eyes at Levi.

  “Just spit it out, Laura.” He’d known her only a few months, but
the woman had a kind heart and he knew he could take whatever she delivered, whether he wanted to hear it or not.

  When she still didn’t speak, he said, “April knows how I feel.”

  “What women know and what we feel are two different things,” she said patiently. “You may have married her, but you haven’t shown her she’s passed the test.”

  “There’s a test?” He caught himself. He was uncomfortable with this conversation, and instead of listening, he was being sarcastic. But why? He cared for April. He simply hadn’t found her the right dog yet, due to timing in her life. Right?

  “In case you haven’t noticed, when you approve of a woman as part of your inner circle you give her a dog.” Laura paused meaningfully.

  He nodded as he thought that through. “Yeah, okay.” Although that made him sound as though he was pawning off strays on people who might not want a pet, just because he liked them and felt they should have a pet.

  “You haven’t given her a dog. And she’s asked. Even Kurt has asked.”

  “She’s got a lot going on right now. The last thing she needs is something else pulling at her attention and draining her finances.” Brant glanced through the doorway yet again, noting the paleness of April’s face, the smudges under her eyes. It wasn’t the right time for a pet, even though the right beast might make a relaxing companion.

  It definitely wasn’t the right moment. She hadn’t even retrieved her beloved horse, Cookies, from Heath’s yet. Another animal would surely be too much to take on right now.

  “Afraid it’ll one-up you when it comes to attention?” Laura asked, a wicked note in her tone.

  Levi laughed and Brant scowled, saying, “Not funny.”

  “She’s kidding. April’s always had a wilder, adventure-seeking side,” his brother said, “but marriage? Maybe a few years ago we would have found her at Old Man Lovely’s, but these days…?”

  “What are you saying?” Brant asked sharply.

  “She didn’t marry you on a whim.”

  “I know that. And I’m sure the right dog will come along.”

  “You could find her one within a week if you wanted to,” Levi added. “So…” He paused as though looking at his girlfriend, before asking, “What are you afraid of?”

  “I’m not afraid,” Brant grumbled, ignoring the itchy feeling that was suddenly prickling him.

  If he truly had fears, he was sure it had nothing to do with getting April a dog.

  But if that was true, why hadn’t he found her a furry companion? Not because of finances, because he could cover that, if need be. So why?

  He ended the call, unable to shake a phantom sensation of an upcoming rejection. He grabbed his coat off the hook in the small entry, saying to April and Kurt, “We’ve got a stuck calf at the ranch. Seems insistent on coming out the wrong way.”

  April winced.

  “I’ll be back in an hour or two.”

  She nodded, stood and took a step toward him, then stopped as if uncertain.

  Brant strode to her, wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a long kiss. This was one thing he wasn’t afraid of. And this was how he planned to say goodbye to his wife every day.

  He released her, and she stumbled as though the kiss had weakened her knees. Her cheeks flushed.

  “I can bring lunch from the diner if you’re hungry and haven’t wasted away by then.”

  April laughed. “Are you kidding? Your mom won’t let you leave empty-handed.”

  Brant chuckled as he pulled on his boots. That was quite likely, especially since they had a sick kid at home.

  Home. Family. Kid. Wife.

  He inhaled, savoring the sensation of having it all, then gave April another quick kiss, murmuring, “Welcome to the family.”

  “I was already part of the family. And as for calling me April Wylder, I haven’t decided about that yet.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll always think of you as a bratty MacFarlane, anyway.” He chuckled and sidestepped her playful attack, then, realizing it was a good excuse to get physical, stepped into her arms. He let her wrestle with him, ignoring the twinge in his ribs from where Heath had landed a blow last night, and finally stole another kiss before zipping out the door.

  Grinning, he hustled down the walk to his truck, thinking this whole marriage thing was something he could definitely get used to. And that, truly, there wasn’t a single thing to be afraid of when it came to him and April.

  7

  Brant met up with April in the back of his clinic, sharing a coffee before their workday started. Kurt’s fever had broken later on New Year’s Day, and he’d had the weekend to recuperate, as well as April’s Monday off, before returning to day care today.

  Brant hadn’t moved in yet, and they needed to figure out what they were going to do. And not just because his clinic had been flooded with well-wishers yesterday, and people asking if he needed help moving into April’s.

  Sharing a house might be too much too soon, and he worried that if they didn’t build a base for their relationship they could easily end up slipping into a freak-out zone. Above all else, he wanted this marriage to last.

  “I was thinking,” he began.

  “Uh-oh,” April teased.

  “What did they call dating in the old days? Courting? We should do that.”

  “We should court each other?”

  “Well, we could call it dating.”

  “We’re married, Brant.”

  Her tone made his idea seem silly. “I know, but I don’t expect you to want me to move in right away, or jump in with Kurt like I’m his dad. You have your life and ways of doing things, and I need to respect that.”

  She was listening now, her blue eyes fixed on him.

  “We can ease into things.”

  “Ease into things,” she said, her expression becoming wary. It was as though she was running through a list of doubts. “And you don’t want to live with me?”

  “That’s not it at all. I want this to work out, April.” He scooted his chair closer to hers, nudging her cowboy boot with his own. “And I was thinking we’d start by dating. Not that friend stuff we used to do, but proper dates. Get to know each other on a different level.”

  He could focus on her, show her she was the center of his attention. No distractions. Just the two of them.

  “You already asked me out for this Friday. I said yes,” April stated.

  “I know. But I’m talking about an actual plan. Like date night every Friday for a month, and me moving in on the weekend. We can assess things as we go, and take it from there.”

  “So romantic.”

  He sighed. “So we just jump in and fight over stupid stuff like socks left on the couch and who’s supposed to put Kurt to bed and how much sugar he’s allowed to have?”

  “Fine. We’ll go out Friday and Saturday, and you move in this weekend.”

  “Friday and Saturday? Don’t you want to spend that time with Kurt?”

  “Heath has him every other week.”

  “Right.” Brant didn’t mention that the man had yet to do more than take Kurt for the odd day here and there.

  “You have better plans for your Saturdays?” April leaned forward, her wheeled chair gliding sideways. The challenge in her voice was clear.

  “No.” Brant straightened.

  “Good, because you’ll be all mine.”

  He liked the sound of that.

  There were still potential flaws in their plan, though.

  “What if we can’t find a babysitter—on your weeks—or I get called in for an emergency?”

  “Looking for excuses, Wylder?” She locked her feet around his and wheeled her chair closer until their legs touched.

  “No.”

  “Glad to hear it.” There was determination in her tone as well as a hint of triumph, as though she’d just scored something.

  He wasn’t sure what, but was certain it meant something good.

  A few hours later April let out a sig
h of relief, as Jackie pivoted to leave the veterinary clinic. Her matchmaking friend had a lot of advice on what she and Brant should do now that they were married. Jackie also kept saying how perfect she thought they were together.

  Expectations for this marriage were upping the ante faster than the gossip had spread around town. Brant’s slow and steady plan was looking like something to cling to in what was quickly becoming a bit of a whirlwind.

  They’d mostly hidden out with Kurt over the weekend, not acting married so much as settling into the idea. But it had been nice. Really nice. One of her favorite weekends in recent memory, for sure. The sweet, stolen kisses hadn’t been too bad, either.

  “Hey, Jackie, April, ” Daisy-Mae called, entering the reception area. She sashayed over to the counter, wearing a sweater so tight April could practically identify her bra’s brand. The woman looked good. How was she still single? “Just dropping this off.” She set a small wrapped box on the counter.

  “What’s this?” April asked, lifting it.

  “A wedding present.”

  “Oh.” She stared at it for a second. “Thank you.”

  “Mine’s coming on Wednesday,” Jackie said quickly. “I had to order it in.”

  “That’s fine. Really. You guys didn’t need to.”

  Jackie looked offended. “Of course we did. You two finally tied the knot.”

  “To give Heath a message he can’t ignore,” Daisy-Mae added with a satisfied smile. “Brant’s a good man.”

  “I didn’t get married to spite Heath.”

  Daisy-Mae propped an elbow on the counter. “Brant’s such a great guy. There’s no hardship pretending to be married to him!” She let out a light laugh and April felt a surge of possessiveness that had her clenching her jaw and pushing her shoulders back.

  “What?” Jackie frowned. “They’re actually married.”

  “He offered to act like he was engaged to me once, when that guy from Riverbend wouldn’t take a hint.” Daisy-Mae’s tone lost its dreamy quality for a beat, but then her smile returned. “Brant’s the last decent man.” She pivoted, gliding out the door in a way that hinted at her beauty pageant past.