Their Bride (Marriage Lottery Series Standalone)

by Stasia Black

  God, how many times could she say great in the same breath? Kill me now, she thought.

  Sophia clapped her hands like a little girl just presented with a pony. “Oooo, I can’t wait for my lottery! It’s just two months away now. I already have my dress picked out. And Rebecca is going to play the flute at the reception. She used to play in the Austin Philharmonic, you know? And Shay, you’ve been making remarkable progress with Jonas. If you keep it up, he’ll probably even be sober for my wedding!”

  “Oh my God, do you even hear yourself?” Drea asked, thudding her forehead repeatedly into her palm.

  “You know,” Sophia cocked a hand on her hip, “if you made even the smallest effort to be pleasant, people wouldn’t run the other direction when they saw you coming. I literally saw Mrs. Morris do an about-face the other day when she saw you go into the General Store in front of her.”

  “Oh, because being pleasant is my whole job requirement as a female, right?”

  “Ladies!” Audrey said, hands up, stepping in between the two women. “Love you both, babes, so how about we take it down a notch? We have iced tea, sweet treats, and Sophia, you offered to trim our hair, right? We thought we’d all have a little spa afternoon. So let’s relax, kick back, and enjoy ourselves. Okay?”

  Sophia’s eyes were still flashing as she looked Drea’s way but she huffed out a breath and stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest. “Of course. That’s what I want, too. Just don’t expect me to touch that rat’s nest.” She gestured at Drea’s dreadlocks.

  “Like I’d let you anywhere near me with a sharp implement.”

  Audrey looked exasperated and Drea held her hands up and offered a quick, “Sorry,” to the room before sitting down on the chair furthest from Sophia. “Look, relaxed. I’m relaxed.”

  “Oh, don’t stop on my account,” Kylie said, spooning off a big bite of bread pudding. “This is the most entertainment I’ve had all week.”

  Everybody laughed at that and the mood lightened.

  “All right, so who’s up first?” Sophia asked, moving over to the dining room table where she had scissors and several other hair-cutting implements all set up.

  Tentatively, Vanessa raised her hand. “Do you think you could do anything with, well,” she gestured up at the uneven, furry mop on her head, “this?”

  “Step right up!” Sophia said. “Sophia’s beauty parlor is officially open for business.”

  Several hours later, Vanessa was hugging all the women goodbye in Audrey’s foyer.

  “Thank you again, Sophia.” Vanessa’s hand went to her hair. It was all she could do not to run back in and check the mirror again.

  Sophia had turned the goofy puff ball on her head into a sleek pixie cut. Then Sophia had gone on and on about how with Vanessa’s high cheekbones, she now looked model chic. That girl could make a snaggle-toothed hippo feel beautiful, Vanessa would swear.

  Both Sophia and Drea had such big, strong personalities, Vanessa suspected that if only they could get past their differences, they’d be fast friends. Then again, that was a big if.

  “It was great to meet you, Kylie.”

  “You too,” Kylie gave Vanessa a warm hug.

  Vanessa blinked, a little startled by the woman’s easy affection. After going so long without human contact, an afternoon like today was something of a revelation. Friends. What a crazy concept.

  The whole afternoon had put her in a much more cheerful frame of mind. Being around such strong, powerful women—it made her feel like she could do anything.

  So she’d run into a few snags the last few weeks. So what? It was still early days. She and her clan could still figure this out. There was time.

  With honesty, openness, and a little elbow grease, they could make a marriage out of this whole thing yet.

  She jogged up the steps of her own porch and grabbed the door, full of optimism. Only to find the door locked.

  Well that was strange. The twins should have been home already. Cam too. And Michael…

  Her stomach dropped, thinking of her run-in with Michael earlier.

  She’d accidentally come close to touching him a few times before. Nothing like what happened earlier, but still. He’d always just brushed it off and everything went back to normal. She never treated him differently. He knew how she felt about him, right? Right?

  She pulled her key out of her pocket and unlocked the door.

  When she walked into the house, it was quiet. As in, completely silent.

  She frowned. “Hello?” she called. “Anybody home?”

  No response. What on earth? She looked at the schedule by the door. Nope, she hadn’t misread it earlier. Everybody was supposed to be home. Hours ago.

  The sun was dropping low in the sky, maybe an hour and a half from sunset. It was early summer, so that meant it was probably around seven o’clock.

  “Hello? Ross? Riordan?” She walked into the kitchen, then to the back door. Maybe they were all out back cooking? Usually only one of them went out at a time because it got so hot. But when she looked out back, no one was standing around the cook circle. No kindling had been set, it was just as clean as it had been after clearing out the embers from this morning’s meal.

  Okay, seriously, what was going on?

  “Cam?” she called, walking down the hall. “Logan?” Were they washing up?

  But there was no one in any of the bedrooms.

  She walked back out to the living room, baffled. Had all their respective jobs needed them to work overtime, just by coincidence. Or were they together for some reason? If they were, why hadn’t they left a note?

  She looked again to the board but it looked the same as it had when she left.

  Just when she was going to throw her hands up and start considering alien abductions, the front door opened.

  “Cam,” she exclaimed hurrying over to him. He was in scrubs and he looked exhausted. “Thank God. Where have you been?” Okay, dumb question. He’d obviously been at work. “Do you know where everyone else is?”

  He stood up straighter and looked around. “The twins aren’t here?”

  “No. Why?”

  He blew out a breath and his head dropped back. “Ugh, those idiots.”

  “What?”

  “We all got home a couple hours ago and they got into it saying we needed more meat. So they thought it’d be a great idea to go hunting.”

  “What?” Vanessa’s mouth dropped open. “But— But—” She was at a loss for words for a full ten seconds. “That’s what the town has the professional hunting party for!” she finally got out.

  “Yeah well, they felt like we haven’t been getting enough protein.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “You aren’t gaining weight. It’s worrying all of us.”

  Oh no. No no no no. Ross and Riordan went off all half-cocked because of her? She thought of the box she’d buried at the back of the closet. Her secret box. The one she hadn’t been able to get rid of no matter how many times she’d tried to convince herself she didn’t need it. And now the twins were…

  “Still, it’s no excuse to go running off to the Neutral Zone like a couple of—”

  “The Neutral Zone?” she gasped. “Like between here and Travisville?”

  “I told them not to go,” Cam growled. “I would have tied them to the damn porch if I had to, but I got called away on an emergency C-section. Mrs. Gonzalez had the twins and I couldn’t stall. I came back as soon as I could.”

  Audrey put a hand to her stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick.” She knew exactly how dangerous the neutral zone could be—Colonel Travis’s men were vicious. Hadn’t they stopped to think that they weren’t the only one’s who’d come up with the bright idea of hunting in the neutral zone? It was probably crawling with smugglers and poachers skirting the edge of Central Texas South.

  “We have to go after them.” The second she said it, she started to feel calmer.

  Okay, first things first. She’d need a pack. So
me rations. A blanket because she’d probably end up spending the night out—

  “Are you crazy?” Cam grabbed her elbow as she tried to move past him toward the coat closet where they kept the camping equipment. “It’s almost sundown. You can’t just go after them.”

  She jerked her arm out of Cam’s grasp and glared him down. It was her fault they were out there. No way was she going to let them get hurt or…

  “I’m going,” she said, voice icy. “Either you come with me, or you get out of my way.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  ROSS

  Three Hours Earlier

  Riordan was in a bad mood the second he walked in the door after work. But that was nothing new. Riordan had been in a bad mood for a decade, it seemed to Ross. Longer, maybe.

  “What the hell are you doing with Dad’s crossbow?” Riordan asked, wiping his sweaty brow and going straight for the water jug they kept on the kitchen counter.

  Ross barely glanced up from the bag he was packing. Okay, he had his compass, map, the bow, provisions in case he was out longer than he intended to be, and of course, water. Then he had the wilderness survival kit he always had packed as part of his Eagle Scout training, along with the first aid kit. No matter what he faced out there, he’d be ready.

  Ready for everything except his brother’s interrogation.

  Ross tried to skirt around Riordan but Riordan just got in his way. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Hunting, okay? I’m going hunting.”

  Riordan narrowed his eyes and Ross sighed. “Vanessa’s not gaining enough weight. The tiny bit of meat rations and few eggs we get a week aren’t cutting it. I want to go get something more substantial for her.”

  The plan had come to him while he’d been up on the Ruiz’s roof hammering down new shingles.

  Vanessa had changed everything.

  Ross hadn’t known life could be like this. She was kind and funny and caring. She didn’t talk down to him even though she was almost five years older.

  Then there was the bedroom stuff. It wasn’t every night but often enough, she’d pull that silky nightgown off over her head and pull him, Riordan and Cam to her after the lights were off.

  And the way she touched him—God, he’d thought that first night was good. But it was nothing to the way it felt to sink into the warmth of her hot, wet—

  “That hard-on mean you’re thinking about Vanessa or how impressed Ghost will be if you manage to bring back a possum or rabbit like a good little Boy Scout?”

  Ross huffed out a frustrated breath and shoved the map into his pack before closing it. “Do you always have to be such a douche?”

  Riordan shrugged. “Just sayin’. It’s pathetic the way you drool for Ghost’s attention when he clearly couldn’t give less of a shit about any of us.”

  “That’s not true,” Ross couldn’t help firing back. “And stop calling him that. Logan’s not a ghost.” Ghosts were dead people. Like Dad. Ross shuddered even at the thought.

  Riordan just smiled smugly, knowing he’d hit a sore spot.

  Then Riordan downed a huge cup of water, slammed it empty on the counter, then clapped his hands loudly. “Okay, so where are we going on this little adventure?”

  “What little adventure?” Cam asked, coming in the front door.

  “We’re going hunting.”

  “No,” Ross said, “I’m going hunting.”

  Riordan scowled at him. “Look, I know you love being the center of attention, Mr. Perfect, but you’re going to have to share the glory this time. I’m coming with you.”

  What—? Riordan baffled him sometimes.

  Ross never went out of his way to be the center of attention. He didn’t like attention, actually. What he mainly felt was afraid. Afraid of losing people he loved. Afraid of things slipping away. Afraid of failing people when they needed him.

  Like Vanessa. He was supposed to provide for her. But she was still so skinny and gaunt. He wasn’t doing his job. What if she got sick? Small as she was, what if she didn’t have enough strength to fight off even the flu? The thought terrified him so much sometimes he couldn’t sleep at night.

  So today he’d decided to do something about it.

  “You know hunting’s regulated in the Territory,” Cam said. “And poaching’s illegal. Don’t be stupid.” He went to pour himself some water. “Fuck it’s hot out there.”

  “Oh poor you,” Riordan snapped. “Working inside at your cushy nursing job while we bust our asses all day outside doing manual labor.”

  Cam lowered his glass, clearly pissed, but Ross broke in before the two could start going at it. “Hunting isn’t regulated in the Neutral Zone.” He swore those two could barely stand to be in the same room as each other. And he thought he’d had a volatile relationship with his brother. Sheesh.

  Cam just looked from Ross to Riordan and then back again. “Jesus, you two really are Tweedledee and Tweedledum. You looking to go get yourselves killed? They caught three smugglers coming into the Territory on the edge of the Neutral Zone just this month. And they were all armed to the fucking teeth.”

  “Fine.” Riordan shrugged. “We’ll take Logan’s gun.”

  Whoa, hold up. Ross wasn’t trying to put anyone in danger. “Maybe we should go by the licensing office and apply for a hunting license,” he said uncertainly.

  Riordan scoffed. “Don’t let this asshole get in your head. It takes weeks for a license to go through. Vanessa needs the meat now.”

  He turned to Ross. “We’ll be fine. He’s just trying to scare you. Before all this I was planning to take off West. I was going to face way worse than the edge of the Neutral Zone. I’m ready for anything we face out there. Which will probably just be cacti and if things really get exciting, a snake or two.”

  “For fuck’s sake,” Cam said, “Don’t be fucking—”

  But a knock at the door cut him off. “I’ll be right back.” He pointed his finger in Riordan’s face. “Don’t go anywhere.”

  Riordan rolled his eyes and made a jacking off motion as Cam left to get the door.

  Ross dropped his head into his hands.

  “Be right back,” Riordan said, then jogged out of the room.

  Cam came back first, obviously in a rush. “They need me at the clinic, I have to go. You’re a smart kid, Ross. Stay home. Promise me you will. For Vanessa’s sake.”

  Ross didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what the right thing to do was.

  After a long moment of silence, Cam just shook his head. “What the fuck ever. I tried. You two are grown ass men.”

  Then he turned and headed out the door, muttering under his breath and shaking his head the whole way.

  Right as the door slammed, Riordan walked into the kitchen holding Logan’s Glock with a huge smile on his face. “Locked, loaded, and ready to go.”

  “Jesus, put that thing away.”

  “Keep your panties on. I know what I’m doing with it.” He tucked the gun into the back of his pants. “You might like playing with bows and arrows, but Dad taught me to shoot. Plus I got more practice last year when I did that semester of practical training with the Security Squadron.”

  Ross nodded uncertainly and swung his pack over his shoulders. Well, if they were just borrowing it… Still, as he followed Riordan out the door, he had a feeling he was going to regret this.

  Ross glanced at the horizon and the setting sun and then back down at his map. They left home in the late afternoon and had spent the last two hours hiking. “Maybe we should head back and try again tomorrow.”

  “Jesus Christ, this was your idea in the first place. And now that there’s the slightest hint of adventure, you wanna turn tail and run? You think Logan would turn back just because it was getting a little bit dark?”

  Ross’s jaw set. He usually considered himself a calm, peaceful guy. But no one could get under his skin like his brother.

  It hadn’t taken Ross long to realize that planning an expedit
ion on paper, and doing it for real, were completely different things.

  Their arms were scraped and burning from nettles, and their backs were sore from walking in stooped positions through the rough underbrush.

  Even Ross’s feet hurt.

  The depressing truth was that for all their talk, neither he or Riordan had been more than ten miles from their home in Jacob’s Well since they arrived seven years earlier. They’d lived comfortably. They stood in line for rations and bought their clothes at the General Store.

  Ross stopped, yet again pulling out his compass. Ross squinted at the dial in the fading light. It was an heirloom from their late father, and it was still one of his most cherished possessions. Their father hadn’t given Riordan anything but his temper.

  Ross had the crossbow with a quiver of broadhead arrows strapped to his back. He’d felt like a legitimate hunter when they’d headed out, confident in his skill. But with each bird that they flushed out of the brush, he realized he’d never actually shot at a moving target before.

  Riordan’s attitude wasn’t helping, either. Or the fact that when Ross said go left, Riordan went right. He’d started saying the opposite just to keep them on the right track. They’d been hugging the border to Central Texas South. Cam’s talk about smugglers had rattled Ross more than he’d like to admit, so he figured sticking close to their home Territory was the best bet.

  “Why do you have to do that?” Ross asked. “Pick on me like that? And be so damn ornery all the time? We’re out here for the same thing. To help Vanessa.”

  “Of course I want to help Vanessa. You think you’re the only one that cares about her?”

  “That’s not what I s—”

  “Just because I don’t want to follow your bullshit rules every step of the way doesn’t mean I care any less. Besides, the deer aren’t following your stupid compass. They’re just wandering around. It’s fine if we wander too.”