by Sable Sylvan
“I said best for last, and that wasn’t the last,” said Will. “We didn’t just find your shoes’ sole mates. We’re also your soulmates.”
Jeff pulled out one final bag.
The bag was robin’s egg blue with spots of gold foil. The inside of the bag had layers of fluffy white wrapping paper. Nestled in the paper was a box. It was large, black, and velvet.
Will helped lift the big box out of the bag, and all three men got out of their seats and got on their knees, supporting the box.
“Kelly Dean,” started Tom. “The last three months with you have been magical. I say the last three months because during that first month we met, well, none of us boys were as magical to you as you deserved. We were anything but.”
“But with a little help from a woman as sassy as she is curvy, as much of a firebrand as she is a kindhearted, community-minded soul, we’ve changed our ways,” said Will.
“We love you, Kelly,” said Jeff. “And we know you love us, so now…will you take the next step on this journey with us? Will you do us the honor…”
“…Of becoming our wife?” asked Tom.
With that, the three men opened the box. Inside was a pair of shoes as well as a tiny box that was already open. Inside the tiny box was a ring, with a single solitaire diamond surrounded by three smaller diamonds.
“These shoes represent all three of us,” said Jeff. “They’re cowboy boots because we’re rough and tumble cowboys looking for our cowgirl.”
“They’re luxurious because you’re a lady who deserves the best,” said Tom. “Real bison leather, meant to last decades.”
“And finally, they’re comfortable,” said Will. “So you’ll want to wear them on all the adventures you share with us.
“So what do you say, Kelly? You ready to take this next step with us? Are you ready to get your fairytale happy ending?” asked Jeff.
“Yes, yes, yes, a million times, yes!” said Kelly. She put her hands to her mouth instinctively as she felt tears cascading past her cheeks, but Tom had to take her hand down gently to put the ring on it…while Jeff and Will slipped the new cowboy boots on their lover’s feet.
Fallowedirt’s own Cinderella had finally found her three princes, and soon, she’d have a castle of a house to call her own. It had been a long journey, a hard journey, but with a little elbow grease, sass, and a whole lot of curves, Kelly had managed to earn herself her happy ending after all.
Grandma Quiggly felt a hand on her shoulder.
“Oh, Morty, you gave me quite a fright,” said Grandma Quiggly. “You see what’s going on?”
“Do I see what’s going on?” asked Grandpa Scoville. “Who do you think took their reservation?! I can do the math: it’s three months after the date of their first real date together.”
“But could you do the math the night they met?” asked Grandma Quiggly. “Who thought that three shifters, one curvy girl, and a whole lot of shoes could bring these stubborn cowboys and this young lady together?”
“I don’t do the math,” said Grandpa Scoville. “It’s ‘Fated Mate Speed Date.’”
“So?” asked Grandma Quiggly.
“So sometimes, you’ve got to let Fate do the calculating, the stirring up of drama, the testing of spirits and of hearts,” said Grandpa Scoville.
“Speaking of Fate…have you heard about those three stallions and the BBW?” asked Grandma Quiggly.
“That’s not a joke I’ve heard before,” said Grandpa Scoville.
“I’m serious! It’s another ménage in the making. I don’t know what you Scoville boys put in that hot sauce, but it must be causing all these ménages,” said Grandma Quiggly.
“Another ménage?” asked Grandpa Scoville.”
“Well, I shouldn’t be a-gossipin’, but given you are my husband, I guess I could make an exception…” said Grandma Quiggly before she got into the story of the three werehorses, the curvy seamstress, and the fairytale drama that had overtaken the Fallowedirt Rodeo that July.
Sneak Peek: “The Rapunzel Rodeo”
My dear readers,
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Curvy seamstress Olivia Larson likes three things: costumes, horses, family. She isn't looking to add anything to that list, especially not three more things in the form of cowboy shifters. The last thing she needs is some werehorses getting in the way of her charity rodeo, but apparently, the trio of Matt, Richard, and Jason is up to that challenge. Fallowedirt isn't a one-horse town anymore. The only question is, will this Rapunzel let down her emotional walls and learn to let down her hair, or will she look her gift horses in the mouth?
Olivia's not looking for love. She's just looking to help raise money for the local library by helping out at the Fallowedirt Rodeo. When the three dominant werestallions she let herself fall for cause a huge mess for her to clean up, she's not about to let herself be fooled twice by her own heart. A leopard can't change its spots, but can these stallion shifters become horses of a different color? She's going to need to see proof that they're not just stuffing horse crap in a Trojan horse…and that's straight from the horse's mouth. Otherwise, how will Olivia know if she's betting on the wrong horses?
You can lead a horse to his fated mate, but you can't make him menage. Matt, Richard, and Jason can't get along during the day at the McCarthy Dude Ranch, where they all work putting their shifts to good use. The last thing they need is another thing to fight over, but Olivia's not just any 'thing': she's a full-bodied, sassy woman with curves that they each think they deserve. The only question is, will these three men stop horsing around, get off their high horses, and finally get down to the business of winning back their mate? Or are they trying to close the stable door after the horses have already bolted?
"Run this by me again," said Olivia Larson, leaning back against the door to the stable as Cayenne 'Kai' Quincy-Scoville brushed her horse. Olivia'd gotten distracted by the hypnotic motions of Cayenne brushing the horse. Flakes of mud, caked on from her practice ride at the Fallowedirt Rodeo's obstacle course, came off as Cayenne firmly but gently ran a mud brush over the horse's coat. A metal curry comb would be too harsh for the coat of the horse during the summer months, so a brush with hard bristles was used instead. Each motion revealed more of the mare's beautiful dun coat.
"Okay, you remember how my mom's mom, Grandma Quiggly, met my husband's grandpa, Grandpa Morten Scoville?" asked Cayenne.
"Yeah, at your wedding," said Olivia. "That thing was crazy."
"Uhm, that 'thing' was the biggest event this town has ever seen," said Cayenne, putting away the mud brush to get out a rubber comb, a curry comb that was suited for the summer months. "Anywho, those two met and fell in love at the wedding. Didn't take'm long to find out they were meant to be together."
"Your grandma is Grandpa Scoville's 'fated mate' or whatever, right?" asked Olivia.
"Right," said Cayenne. She switched the rubber brush for a hard-bristled dandy brush. The brush pulled out the detritus that had been lifted up by the curry comb. Flakes of horse dander and dust filled the air and Olivia sneezed. "His mark had changed, and believe it or not, it had become the same mark that Basil had, before we learned we were fated mates. After that, Grandma Quiggly moved down here to Fallowedirt and of course, Grand
pa Scoville came over from Norway. He left the company in the hands of the next generation, Basil's father and his aunts and uncles. Then, they basically took over my restaurant."
"Took it over?" asked Olivia. "Oh, with this thing."
"This 'thing' is important to my grandma," said Cayenne, using a special set of brushes on the horse's face. The horse only needed a quick touch up as Cayenne groomed the horse regularly. "Will you go and fill a seat for me? It'd mean the world to me."
"You know I wouldn't usually be caught dead at a speed dating event," said Olivia. "Who needs that when online dating is already focused on hook-ups?"
"It's not that kind of speed dating," said Cayenne, switching to a set of tools used to give the horse's coat a slight shine. "Only people that are looking for their life partner are allowed to go. That's why it's called 'Fated Mate Speed Date.' Plus, there's free food...and drinks."
"Okay, look, once we're done cleaning up here, I'll check it out," said Olivia. "But…no promises, okay?"
"What if I told you that the famous bacon wrapped scallops were going to be put out as an hors-d'oeuvre at the pre-event mixer?" asked Cayenne.
"Ooh, you're playing dirty, Kai," said Olivia. "You know better than to tempt me with bacon. Fine. I'm in."
"That's what I frikkin' thought," said Cayenne. "You'll have a blast, trust me."
"Yeah, I'm going to have a great time meeting strange men who want to find a wife. No pressure there," said Olivia sarcastically.
"Turn away for a second, I need to spray down Strand," said Cayenne. Olivia turned, and Cayenne applied the fly spray, careful not to get it into Strand's eyes, before making sure that there was nothing left she had to do for the horse, gathering her things, and heading out of the stables with Olivia.
"Sorry that took so long," said Cayenne. "I'm still not great at this."
"You seem like you're taking to this like a duck to water," said Olivia.
"More like a horse to water," said Cayenne. "And trust me, this horse needs a drink. I'm so nervous about the rodeo. It's going to be my first time riding in public!"
"Don't worry about it," said Olivia. "With the dress I'm making you, you'll look stunning."
"I'm not worried about that," said Cayenne. "I'm worried about not nailing my routine. I've practiced with Strand all summer, but the people I'm competing with at dressage have been practicing for years. I love Strand like she's my own horse, but I only got to start riding him this summer. She's well behaved, but not a dressage horse."
"You're worried about not being the best in something for once?" asked Olivia, a hand on her hip, as she looked at her friend. "I've known you since what, middle school? You've always been like this. You worry and worry, and then, outshine everyone else. You're a Type A overachiever, and I wouldn't have you any other way, but…maybe, you need to relax a little."
"This is supposed to be my way of relaxing," said Cayenne as they got into her SUV.
"Then if you're going to get better at anything, get better at chilling out," said Olivia.
"Only if you'll working on getting out there and meeting more guys," said Cayenne.
"Oh, come on," said Olivia. "You have to admit that you're not exactly the picture of 'normal,' Kai. How many girls our age do you know that have a billionaire polar bear shifter husband, a successful restaurant, and run the town with a diamond encrusted fist?"
"Eww, okay, first, never call my hands 'encrusted' again, even if the crust is diamonds. Yuck. Secondly, I don't expect you to do what I did. I just want you to start writing your own story, Olivia. You're a successful seamstress…but maybe, what you should be working on is weaving your fairytale happy ending," said Cayenne.
"Ugh, how long have you been sitting on that one?" asked Olivia. "Fine. I'll go to the speed dating event, but I'm only going once."
"Once is all you're going to need," said Cayenne slyly.
Cayenne pulled her SUV into the back of her restaurant and made Olivia get out of the car as soon as they got there, but Olivia followed Cayenne into the kitchen. She smelled something scrumptious, and she had an inkling it was those bacon wrapped scallops.
As Olivia piled up some scallops on a plate, she heard a familiar voice tut-tutting.
"Now, Miss Larson, what would your grandmother say if she saw you stealing food from a family owned restaurant?" asked a senior woman with a clipboard. "I don't see your name on my list."
"Hi Missus Quiggly," said Olivia sheepishly, putting down the plate of scallops.
"First off, you know I strongly prefer 'Grandma Quiggly,' and by 'strongly prefer,' I mean that if you call me 'Missus' again, I'm going to set my youngest granddaughter on you," said Grandma Quiggly. "Even though Savina's pregnant, she can take you down. Secondly, you are planning on paying for those scallops, now, aren't you?"
"Of course," said Olivia, getting out her wallet. "How much is a plate of scallops?"
"Thirty dollars, the same as the price for a ticket to Fated Mate Speed Date," said Grandma Quiggly.
"Thirty fuckin' dollars for a plate of scallops?" asked Cayenne, who was busy plating the scallops onto a platter. "Grandma Quiggly!"
"Now, Cayenne, I know I taught you better than to use your mouth to say such filthy words, and if it didn't violate the health code, I'd be tanning your hide and scrubbing your mouth out with soap," said Grandma Quiggly sharply. "Miss Larson, you wouldn't try and rob a poor old woman of her money, now would you?"
"No, ma'am," said Olivia. She gave Grandma Quiggly two twenties and got a ten back in change…and a ticket to Fated Mate Speed Date. Grandma Quiggly shimmied away with her bright and shiny dollars to brag to Grandpa Scoville about beating him in ticket sales for the night.
"Now do you see where I get it from?" asked Cayenne.
"I feel like Persephone with the pomegranate," said Olivia.
"You calling my restaurant the Underworld?" asked Cayenne. "If this is Hell, I'd love to see what Heaven looks like."
"If it is Hell, I'm glad it has meat and not just fruit," said Olivia.
A loud bell rang, and Cayenne made Olivia get out of the kitchen and stand with the other singles who were ready to get a rundown of the rules.
"Hello all. Welcome to Fated Mate Speed Date," said Grandpa Scoville. "This is our second week in operation and last week was a success, with many, many matches made. We're always tweaking it and every week will be slightly different."
"The way our speed dating program works is simple," said Grandma Quiggly. "You'll spend thirty minutes with your partner and then, move on to the next table. You'll get three speed dates. By attending, you are committing to give every partner an equal chance at getting to know you. If you find your true love here, you can't just up and leave until you've given every last person a chance to plead their case about why they deserve to be with your fine self. Every week we swap who has to switch seats. This week, ladies, you're the ones doing some cardio and switching seats when I ring my bell." Grandma Quiggly rang her loud bell.
"When you hear the bell, move to the next seat," said Grandpa Scoville. "You'll be moving in a clockwise direction. Leave your plates. We take care of swapping plates out between partners. At the end of the program, you'll get a card to mark down which partners you were interested in. Any matches will have their phone numbers exchanged through our service. If you wish to have some extra help wooing your potential mate, you can use Grandma Quiggly's matchmaking service, which will deliver a gift to your partner in person for sixty dollars."
"As usual, our waiters and waitresses will come around with meat for you to eat during your speed dates," said Grandma Quiggly. "This week's special is New York strip steak, served as rare as the great state of Texas will legally let us serve it. Of course, this wouldn't be Fated Mate Speed Date without an open bar, so just put in a drink order with your waiter, and you'll get your drinks delivered to your table."
"Remember, this is Fated Mate Speed Date," said Grandpa Scoville. "If you are here, you have to be serious ab
out finding a life partner, whether you're a human or a shifter."
"Without further ado, let's get this shindig started," said Grandma Quiggly. "On the back of your ticket, you'll find a number. That's the table you'll be starting at."
Olivia looked at the back of her ticket. There was a gold embossed number seven on the card. Apparently, Grandma Quiggly's shakedown money was going towards fancy print jobs. As Olivia looked around for the table seven, she realized that seven might just be her lucky number.
Tall with strapping arms underneath a flannel shirt, the man's long black hair was in a wavy ponytail that wasn't frizzy but had volume and body. He looked like a walking, talking commercial for shampoo and conditioner, and just looking at his hair from behind made her feel self-conscious about her hair, which was pinned up in her usual braid bun, sensible and out of the way. At least he was dressed casually like she was.
The man was standing, waiting, and a woman approached him…a woman that wasn't Olivia.
Olivia looked at her ticket and frowned. Her ticket did say 7. His table said 7. Was this some sort of threesome meet up? No way. Olivia wasn't about that lifestyle.
Olivia walked up to the table anyways.
"Hey," said Olivia.
"Uhm, excuse me, we're busy here," said the other woman, a curvy gal with blonde hair cut into a severe bob that made her look like the kind of person that would want to talk to a manager over a latte order gone wrong. The handsome man looked over at Olivia, and for a split second, Olivia thought she saw his deep brown eyes glow amber from within.
The man looked over Olivia from head to toe. His shift rumbled within, letting out a cry that the man matched with a primal sound of his own. He was telling his beast that he knew what it was saying and that he agreed…but that he'd have to manage the situation carefully to make sure he ended up with her and not the annoying woman.