The Rancher’s Bride Arrangement (Brides 0f Inspiration Book 1)

by Maya Stirling

  “I have something I want to tell you,” she said.

  “You do?”

  Johanna paused and Zane halted, facing her. Behind him she could see the river flowing by, the sun shining bright on the water’s surface.

  “I don’t know how much Sophie has told you about me,” she said.

  Zane shrugged. “She just mentioned a few basics. Like you’re from Philadelphia. That you’ve been living with your aunt. And that you’re used to some quite nice living.”

  Johanna frowned. “That’s only part of the truth. When I was young my parents worked a farm.”

  Zane’s mouth opened. For a moment, he seemed shocked. “But I thought you’d always been used to living in society back East.”

  Johanna shook her head. “Only these last few years. My aunt is quite wealthy.”

  “And you’re parents?”

  Johanna shook her head. “They were humble farmers. My father owned a farm out in Pennsylvania. He worked it for years with my mother. And then I came along.”

  Zane’s brows furrowed. “But you act like you’re used to a whole other kind of living.”

  “That’s because I’ve been living with my aunt,” Johanna explained. “She has a grand house just outside Philadelphia.”

  “So, what happened that you ended up living with her?” Zane asked.

  Johanna turned away from him for a moment and sighed. She gazed out across the waters, trying to find the right words. She needed for him to understand why she’d kept this information back from him. The truth was, everything had been moving so fast, she’d hardly had any time to explain who she was.

  Johanna looked at Zane. “My parents died. Within a year of each other.”

  Zane gasped. “When?”

  “A few years ago.”

  “That’s terrible, Johanna. I’m real sorry.”

  She smiled weakly. Emotion was coursing through her body, but she knew she to persevere. “Thank you, Zane. That’s kind of you.”

  “What did you do? You couldn’t work the farm yourself,” Zane said.

  Johanna shook her head. “I tried my best, but it just wasn’t possible. So my aunt allowed me to move in with her. After the bank took the farm back.”

  “What!” Zane exclaimed.

  “I lost it all,” Johanna moaned, feeling the sadness all over again. All she had to do was think about that awful day when she’d been thrown out of the farmhouse with nothing but a few bags and a trunk full of ragged clothes. The pain still burned inside her.

  Zane moved toward Johanna, but he didn’t come close enough that he could touch her. Maybe he sensed that she had to get through this as best she could.

  “I moved in to my aunt’s home. She was helpful. At that time,” Johanna said. “But pretty soon it became clear to me that I wasn’t welcome.”

  “She threw you out?” Zane snapped.

  Johanna shook her head. “No. She allowed me to stay. And I got to mingle with some of her fine friends.” Johanna smiled ruefully. “They tolerated me. As much as they wanted to,” she admitted.

  The memories of the disapproving look floated back into her mind. She’d never been able to fit in, Johanna reflected. Never been good enough to be a part of that world.

  “It was no use. I could never be a part of that world. My aunt began to be quite cruel to me.” Johanna sighed. “Very harsh. I won’t go into the details. And this past few months she made it clear I’d have to find somewhere else to go.”

  Zane frowned and then shook his head. He looked puzzled and very disturbed by Johanna’s revelations. In fact, he looked lost for words.

  Johanna walked along the riverside for a few moments and the paused. When she turned, she saw that Zane hadn’t followed her. He was gazing out across the river.

  He saw that she was watching him. Zane came slowly to her and halted. “So now you know why I came here,” she said. “And some of the reason why my manners weren’t those of a poor farm girl.”

  Zane’s brows furrowed. “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s the truth, isn’t it? And now you know,” she said.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

  “I’ve only just got here, Zane. Everything has been moving so fast.”

  “Sophie just made it sound as if you came from a good family in Philadelphia,” he said.

  Johanna drew in a sharp breath. “My parents were good people. My family was a God-fearing family.”

  Zane gestured apologetically with his hand. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “If anything, it was my aunt whose heart has been hardened. She’s the one who prefers the life of society instead of the true life of virtue my parents lived,” Johanna said. “Sometimes I wondered if my aunt was really my mother’s sister. They were so different.”

  “Families can be like that,” Zane suggested. “Everyone has their own cross to bear. And that just makes folks turn out different.”

  “Your family aren’t like that, Zane,” Johanna said. “From what I see, they’re almost perfect.”

  Zane smiled. “I wouldn’t say that.” He lifted a brow. “My brother can drive me crazy sometimes.”

  “You’re so lucky to have parents that will do anything for you. That trust you to take all the responsibility of an older brother.”

  The instant she’d uttered those words she saw a darkness in his eyes. It was the same look she’d seen in the restaurant when they been talking about his brothers.

  Zane turned away from her. Johanna heard a voice and saw Eugenie riding slowly toward them. She maneuvered her way through the cattle with a careful expertise. As she did so some of the cattle shifted nervously, but Eugenie moved slowly and gingerly, making sure she didn’t disturb them.

  Zane went to his mother and spoke with her for a few moments. Then he came to Johanna. “Think we’re going to head back to the ranch,” he explained.

  “Okay,” Johanna said and followed him back toward their horses. She would have preferred more time to talk with him. Especially to dig deeper and find out why he’d reacted like that when she’d mentioned his seniority among his brothers. It was frustrating to have to go back to the ranch so soon, but she understood she was still a guest.

  She mounted up and looked at Zane. He still looked thoughtful. She wondered if it was his turn to confide something about his past. But he didn’t. Instead he led the way through the cattle and toward the hillside down which they’d ridden earlier.

  Just as Johanna’s horse was about to emerge from the main body of the herd, her horse stepped into a hole. The animal jerked to one side, losing its balance. Johanna let out a yell and gripped the reins. The horse tipped to one side. For an awful moment, Johanna thought she was going to crash down to one side. The thought of ending up beneath the horse struck sudden fear into Johanna.

  She tugged hard on the reins and glanced urgently toward Zane who had turned to see what was the matter.

  Just at that moment, the horse let out a loud whinny that echoed across the valley.

  And it was then that the cattle reacted, spooked by the sudden chaos in their midst.

  There was a great roar from the herd and a sudden shifting movement that seemed to spread like a wave across the herd. For one terrible moment, a word flashed into Johanna’s mind. A word that had been spoken quietly before. But that now struck terror into her heart.

  Stampede!

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Zane felt the blood drain from his face as he peered across at Johanna. Her horse had righted itself. Thankfully it hadn’t fallen, taking Johanna with it. But she still looked terrified.

  But there was something even worse taking place now. The distressed sound of the horse was sharp and clear. And it had triggered the herd into action. Panicked action.

  The roaring sound of the herd filled his ears as the whole mass of cattle seemed to shift. It was as if they were suddenly one great body, moving in unison.

  It was all happening so fast. Zane had seen it be
fore, so he knew what to expect. And what he needed to do. With cattle starting to race past him, picking up speed, Zane started toward Johanna. He had to get to her, take hold of the horse’s reins. He could see her struggling to get the animal to respond. But this was new to her. Even though she’d lived on a farm, he was sure she’d never experienced anything like a stampede of cattle.

  “Johanna!” he called out.

  Her head whirled around and she stared, wide-eyed at him.

  “I’m coming to get you,” he called out.

  The sound of thundering hooves filled the air. The cattle weren’t lowing quietly anymore. Now, they were roaring, feeding each others’ distress.

  Zane saw his mother start to advance toward him, obviously intending to help.

  Zane pointed firmly toward the side of the valley. “Ma. You get there. Now!” he ordered.

  Eugenie halted and hesitated. Zane gave her a look that made it clear that there would be no arguing. Some of the ranch hands had started moving, positioning themselves so that they could at least try and coax some of the slower moving cattle on the edge of the herd. But it wasn’t going to be easy, Zane told himself.

  It never was.

  Zane felt relieved when he saw his mother turn her horse and head away from the herd.

  Then he turned back to Johanna. Cattle raced passed, but thankfully none of them had trampled Johanna and her horse. At least not yet, he told himself. But there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t.

  He shifted his mount toward her. He was buffeted a few times by cattle tumbling past. He could see that Johanna’s horse still had one of its hooves stuck in a hole.

  Zane forced himself closer to her, holding onto his reins tight. He was still a few yards away from her. But it could as well have been miles. Cattle thundered past him, a moving barrier that kept him back.

  Zane forced himself to advance. The roaring of the cattle and the thundering sound of hooves was beginning to become deafening. The ranch hands were hollering and doing everything they could to get the cattle under control. But, right now, it didn’t look like their efforts were paying off.

  Johanna stared at him. For a moment, he was shocked. Not because of what was happening. It was because of the expression he saw on her face. Gone was the prim, refined and proper expression he’d seen so often this weekend. Now, there was sheer determination on her face. Her jaw was set tight and her eyes were filled with a resolute expression. One he hadn’t seen before.

  Zane saw Johanna turn and gaze down at the horse’s leg. The one that was jammed into the grass-covered hole. He was sure he heard her cry out in frustration.

  Zane continued to make his way toward her, but the cattle were powering past him, gaining speed now. Zane glanced quickly to his left. Away at the far end of the valley, where it narrowed, he could see some of the cattle beginning to crowd together. There wasn’t going to be enough room for the whole herd to go racing through that narrow gap in the valley, he told himself.

  But it would be a few minutes before that would have any effect on the cattle that were hurtling past him. Still he was being buffeted by the heavy sea of bodies. But, somehow he was still able to stay upright.

  He looked over toward Johanna and felt himself freeze with horror. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He called out, but his voice was lost in the cacophony around him.

  Johanna was dismounting from her saddle.

  Zane was still yards away from her. He watched in amazement as he saw her plant her feet on the ground and bend down by the horse’s leg. She took hold of the horse’s leg and tried to lift it out of the hole. But she couldn’t move it.

  Zane saw one of the cattle graze past Johanna, barely touching her. She almost fell onto her back.

  Zane cried out. “Johanna!”

  But she righted herself and kneeled down on the grass, digging with her hands at the hole in the ground.

  Zane powered forward, barely a few feet away from her now.

  Then, he heard her cry out, almost as if she’d won a great victory. Zane saw that the horse’s foot was free of the hole. He felt so good, he wanted to cheer.

  Johanna lifted herself back up onto her saddle. As she did so her trailing leg caught one of the cattle racing past. She gripped onto her saddle, her knuckles white with effort, and just about managed to hold on. He saw her features tighten with pain, but she forced herself to continue to get onto her horse.

  Then she was back on the saddle and turning the horse toward Zane. Seconds later she was by his side. Her horse was limping slightly, and it still looked petrified. Johanna was doing a fine job of controlling the animal, as far as Zane was concerned.

  They faced each other, still being buffeted by the passing cattle. Only now there were fewer of them. Away to the left, the herd was beginning to slow as they were being forced into a huddle by the narrow valley and by the sterling work being done by the ranch hands.

  “You okay?” Zane gasped, barely able to contain his concern.

  Johanna nodded but said nothing. Her face looked pale.

  Zane went to reach out and take the reins of her horse in his hand, but Johanna shook her head. “Let’s get out of here,” she said firmly.

  Zane nodded and turned, heading to where he could see his mother waiting. Eugenie’s eyes were wide with worry.

  Zane glanced back quickly, just to check Johanna was okay. He needn’t have worried. She was right behind him.

  Moments later they emerged from the group of stragglers. Zane slowed and saw Johanna’s horse was finding it hard to keep up. It was going to be a long ride back to the ranch.

  Zane’s mother rode quickly up to the two of them. “You two okay?” Eugenie asked breathlessly.

  “We’re fine, ma,” Zane declared. He turned to Johanna. “Aren’t we?”

  Johanna smiled weakly. She was out of breath. Her hair was all mussed up and her clothes weren’t as clean as they’d been. He wondered if she’d sustained any injury to her leg.

  “That was quite a thing you just did, Johanna,” Eugenie exclaimed.

  “I had no choice,” Johanna replied. “It was that or get run over. And I wasn’t going to let that happen.”

  “As long as you’re not injured,” Eugenie said.

  Johanna shook her head. “I’m still in one piece,” she stated.

  “Looks like the boys have it under control,” Eugenie said peering down toward the herd. Zane could see that his mother was right. The ranch hands were using every bit of skill and experience they had. The herd wasn’t racing now. They’d all slowed to a crawl and the noises coming of the herd were calmer.

  Zane leaped down off his horse and went to Johanna. “Get down,” he said.

  Her brows furrowed. “I’m fine,” she said.

  Zane shook his head. “I’ll be the judge of that,” he said firmly. He reached up his hands and lifted his brows expectantly at her. She shook her head and smiled. Then she took his hands and let him ease her down off the horse.

  As her foot touched the ground he saw her wince. He lifted a brow. “That hurt?”

  She nodded. “A little. Not much.”