“Mr. Shaw, I believe we were already introduced.”
Had they been? He tried to remember but couldn’t. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” But the look in her eyes bothered him. Something about that look said she expected to be forgotten. And Cord couldn’t imagine anyone forgetting this woman. Even a confirmed bachelor like himself wasn’t immune to a beautiful woman. He just knew to avoid them for all he was worth.
Gwen Archer had an arm around her sister’s waist, but her dark eyes were on him. It would have been a good time to walk away, but curiosity kept him standing in front of them.
“I’m afraid Jeff and I are going to have to leave tonight. We were planning to stay at the ranch until Monday or Tuesday, but Jeffrey got a call and they need him in Missoula. I have to ride back with him so I can be at work Wednesday. I’m a resident at the same hospital. Your parents would have given Katie a ride, but their truck is full. Your dad said to see if you could give her a ride.”
Yes, that was the moment he should have seen coming. With all this romance in the air, people were going to get crazy and start expecting everyone to want to join in the fun. His dad had already been on the matchmaking crusade with his sisters. Cord managed an easy smile and opened his mouth to object.
“I can go home with you, Gwen. I don’t think I need to be here. I’m just the bridesmaid.” Katie shot him an apologetic look and he realized they were definitely kindred spirits.
Gwen’s eyes narrowed. She looked at Dr. Jeff, then at Cord and finally back to her sister. “You have to stay. They’re going to start planning the wedding procession, picking flowers and even cakes. If I can’t get back here in time, I’ll need you here to stand in for me. You, more than anyone, will know what I want. You probably know better than me.”
Katie blushed and her green eyes glistened. Cord was taken by surprise. She had the appearance of a woman who could handle almost any situation. Maybe it was the determined look in her eyes or the way she carried herself. He used to watch John Wayne movies with his dad. Katie reminded him of the actress Maureen O’Hara, the redheaded heroine who was often in those movies. Maureen O’Hara had never backed down, or at least he didn’t remember her backing down.
“Gwen, this is your wedding.”
“And you’re my sister. I have my residency and I know this is bad timing...”
“But I can’t stay here without you and expect everyone to haul me around.”
“I need you here,” Gwen continued. Next to her, Dr. Jeff looked at his watch. Cord glanced from the doctor to Katie and saw a woman who was probably used to caving in when it came to her sister.
“I’d be honored to give you a lift over to the ranch, Miss Archer.” He nearly groaned as the words slipped out. Thinking she looked like the redheaded Irish actress Maureen O’Hara didn’t mean he had to start talking and acting like John Wayne.
He was thirty-four and the last thing he needed was to get caught in this family drama. He especially didn’t like the look on Julie’s face as she headed his way. Now that she’d fallen in love, she seemed to want everyone to have a happy ending. Cord’s happy ending included him sitting by his lake with a fishing pole, his best dog and a thermos of coffee. Like their dad, Julie would have to realize that everyone was fair game in the matchmaking business but him.
“Really, I don’t see...” Katie tried to reject his offer. Julie was steps away from making contact with them.
Gwen’s hand was on her arm. “I’ll be back by the end of next week. I know I’m leaving sooner than we expected, but please, can you stay for me?”
“You know I’ll do it, Gwen.”
“Maybe you can help out with some of the other plans.” Gwen looped an arm through her sister’s and smiled up at her. “You’ll be bored and that will give you something to do while I’m gone.”
He could have sworn Katie mumbled something about not having her own life, but she smiled and told her sister of course she would help.
And then Julie was at his side, smiling her bright smile. “With your fashion background maybe you can help with the dresses!”
“The brides aren’t supplying their own dresses?” Katie looked at him for the answer, not Julie.
“We have a few companies willing to loan vintage dresses for the women who don’t have a vintage dress of their own. Wedding apparel is a little out of my comfort zone.”
“I thought you had a wedding coordinator?” Katie was now interested.
“We do have a wedding coordinator—Helen Avery—but she’s had a difficult time showing up. When I do see her, I want to know what we need so that we don’t have to just rely on her for the arrangements.”
“I see.” Katie glanced at her sister, a fresh wave of pain settling in those green eyes of hers. She flashed another smile, though. “I think my sister plans on wearing our great-grandmother’s dress. I believe you want the dresses to be from the early twentieth century, between 1900 and 1920.”
“I think so,” Cord hedged, glanced at his watch and started to think of excuses for escaping.
As much as he wanted to escape, Katie seemed just as in need. Her sister was talking, discussing the dress with seed pearls, handmade lace from Bavaria and silk so soft it might possibly fall apart if washed.
“I never wanted the dress,” Gwen Archer smiled at him and then reached for her fiancé’s hand. “But then this wedding came up and we both want this. We want to be married here, in a ceremony that means something to this community.”
He shook his head and bit back the reply that almost slipped out. Special? A ceremony with forty-nine other couples. He wouldn’t exactly put that under the heading of special, sentimental or anything else with meaning. It was his dad’s idea. It was another way to put Jasper Gulch on the map. If Cord had his way, he’d call the whole thing off, tell these couples to go home and plan a sweet ceremony in their local church with people they care about in attendance rather than eight guests per couple and half the town of Jasper Gulch.
But none of that mattered because Katie lifted her hand to flick away a tear that rolled down her cheek. All while her sister continued to talk about that dress she hadn’t really wanted to wear.
Okay, he was a rescuer by nature. He’d hoped to keep that part of himself tamped down, locked up and out of sight. But the glisten of tears in Katie’s eyes, the way she managed to smile and agree with her sister about how perfect this would be, couldn’t be ignored.
“Let me give you a ride to the ranch, Miss Archer. I’m about done in with wedding planning and I’d imagine you’ve had a long day.”
“I have had a long day,” she agreed and her gaze met his, silently thanking him. For the first time in a long time he was happy to be a rescuer.
Gwen shot her a look and then stepped closer to Dr. Jeff. “Then I guess we’ll head back to Missoula. Are you sure you’ll be okay here, Katie?”
Katie smiled, nodded and told her sister she’d be just fine and she’d make notes about the ceremony. And Gwen needed to make sure she got the dress fitted. It would be long for her and probably too big around the waist.
Gwen hugged her sister. “I know you always wanted to wear it, Katie. But it will be perfect for this ceremony and I’ll make sure they take it up but don’t cut it. We can always let it out for you when you get married.”
Katie smiled. “Of course we can.”
Cord offered Katie his arm, knowing he’d regret it, knowing there were plenty of people watching who would talk later, make up stories and have him married off to the redhead from Missoula. He shook off regret and waited, looking down at her as she made the decision to take his arm. He gave her an encouraging smile. She nodded and her hand settled on his sleeve.
“Thank you, Mr. Shaw.”
“Cord.”
She nodded and looked away. “Then you s
hould call me Katie.”
He led her out of the festival hall into the dark night and a sky twinkling with millions of stars. The air was cold now that the sun had gone down. “You don’t have a coat in there, do you?”
“No, it seemed warm earlier and I left my coat and suitcase at your parents’ house.”
He held up a remote start. “My truck should be warm.”
Next to him she nodded but he saw her shiver. He slipped out of his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. She smiled up at him and he thought she had about the prettiest smile he’d ever seen. But he drew back from that thought like a man twice bitten by a poisonous snake.
Twice bitten, twice engaged and jilted, all the same thing to Cord Shaw and he wasn’t going there again. But he could be a gentleman, a cowboy, and give Katie a ride home. He’d even walk her to the front door, make sure she got inside safely, and then he’d head on back to his little cabin on the banks of Shaw Lake.
He opened the truck door and she climbed in, handing him back his jacket. “Don’t worry, Mr. Shaw, I’m not on the hunt. I’m here for my sister, not to follow in her footsteps but to be here to support her.”
“I hadn’t thought—”
She smiled, cutting off his explanations. “No, you hadn’t. But everyone else will think it. A relationship and marriage are the last thing I want.”
Interesting. He would have questioned her more, but he thought asking questions might push them a little too far into each other’s lives. She’d given him enough of an explanation and he was willing to let her leave it at that.
True to his best intentions, he drove her to the Shaw ranch, walked her to the front door of the house he’d been raised in, saw her safely inside and told her he was sure they’d see each other the next day.
It was that easy.
Or at least he had thought it would be easy. But driving away from the ranch after dropping her off, he realized her scent lingered in his truck. He lifted his jacket to his nose and sniffed. Yeah, that was her. The scent was oriental, not sweet and flowery.
He grinned and draped the jacket over the seat as he headed down the bumpy trail toward his place. All the while her scent teased him and he thought that it might be nice to spend time with a woman who spoke her mind. It would be easy. And in a month she’d be gone. That made her just about perfect.
Chapter Two
Katie walked downstairs Sunday morning, her second day in the Shaw home and her second day feeling out of place. She didn’t belong here, not in this town or in this house. This was Gwen’s moment, not Katie’s. And yet, here she was.
She took a deep breath and put on a smile and hopefully a look of confidence. She could do this. Following the sound of laughter and voices raised in numerous conversations, she walked through the pine-paneled living room and headed toward the big country kitchen with its long, butcher-block table, gleaming granite countertops and light oak cabinets. Julie Shaw, auburn hair and blue eyes, turned to smile at her.
“Good morning, Katie. Do you want coffee? And we have muffins, bacon and sausage this morning. Breakfast is simple on Sundays.” Julie’s long, auburn hair curled down past her shoulders. She wore her typical homespun sweater but today with a skirt.
“Coffee and a muffin sounds great,” Katie admitted.
Julie pointed to a plate and clean cups. Katie had been told that Julie Shaw raised sheep for their wool. She had an internet business selling that wool and hand-knit items she made. Katie loved fashion and could appreciate the beauty of Julie’s creations. Before she left town, she planned on buying several items.
“There’s fresh coffee in the pot,” Julie continued. “But you have to hurry. It’s the second pot we’ve made and with this many people in the house it won’t last long.”
Julie lived in her own house on the Shaw property. Katie had seen the little place from a distance and the field dotted with the sheep Julie raised for their wool.
“Thank you.” Katie looked around the kitchen, smiling at Nadine Shaw and her daughter Faith Shaw, who had just walked through the door. Both were dressed for church.
Faith wasn’t the youngest Shaw, but she was the tiniest. She and Julie shared the auburn hair they had probably inherited from their mother, and the blue eyes of their father. But Faith was tiny and less inclined to gab at the drop of a hat. Julie had told Katie that Faith played the violin for the Bozeman Symphony, but she’d gone to Seattle for a short time. It hadn’t worked out was the only answer given when asked why Faith hadn’t stayed.
“Do you attend church, Katie?” Faith asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She was dressed in a cute denim-and-lace dress, turquoise-and-brown cowboy boots and a scarf around her neck.
Katie looked over the top of her cup. Did she attend church? She hadn’t been raised in church, but last year a friend, seeing that Katie was a train wreck about to happen, had shared faith with her and invited her to spend a few weekends in the small town where she lived so that Katie could attend church. She’d gone and she’d found something that filled a huge void in her life that she’d been trying to fill with relationships. Going-nowhere relationships.
“I’d love to go to church,” she finally answered. “If that’s okay.”
“Of course it is,” Julie gave her a careful look. “Do you go to church in Missoula?”
Katie shook her head. “Not usually. I just haven’t known where to go.”
Or how to walk in alone. She definitely wouldn’t have the alone problem today, not with this group of people.
Faith walked up behind her, giving her a tight hug and taking her by surprise. “You’ll love our little mountain church. Well, it isn’t little. I guess it must have been at one time, but it’s been built on to.”
“Is everyone about ready to head for church? Those who are going?” Jackson Shaw walked into the kitchen, taking up more space than a man should. His very presence commanded respect, Katie thought. And he made her shake in her shoes, just a little.
“Katie’s going,” Julie offered. “And I think Michael and Helen. Oh, and Thomas and Mandy plus her sister, Beth.”
She pointed to one of the couples that would be getting married at the end of the month. Another couple entered the room, along with the sister of the bride. Beth. Katie had met Beth the previous evening. She was a pretty brunette, petite with big brown eyes. Katie felt like a giant in comparison.
“No need taking half a dozen cars.” Jackson looked around the room, his lips moving as he counted. “We’ll take the Suburban and if Cord shows up, someone can ride with him.”
“Cord doesn’t usually go to church,” Julie shared in a whisper for Katie only.
Cord didn’t attend church? That piece of the puzzle didn’t fit. It was like putting a corner piece in the middle and trying to make it work. He was a Shaw from Jasper Gulch. It seemed to her that church and faith would be part of his DNA.
Before she could comment, there were footsteps and Cord’s voice coming from the direction of the living room. His voice was low and husky as he spoke to someone. The dog, his mother’s poodle, barked. He told the dog to be quiet. When he entered the room, carrying the poodle and talking to his mom, Katie had a moment. She told herself it wasn’t one of those moments, the kind when you see a guy and something amazing happens. It was a moment that was sweet and undefined but precious. Cord Shaw seemed like a good, decent man.
He was also a man in his mid-thirties who had never married. There had to be a reason for that.
Twice bitten kept coming back to her. Who had said that about Cord Shaw? Did that mean he’d been married twice, or rejected twice?
It didn’t matter. Her attention drifted to take in his appearance, even though she said she didn’t care. If his father filled up space, Cord Shaw took the oxygen. He was dressed in jeans, boots and a button-down shirt. But no hat.
His dark wavy hair caught her attention because it looked as if he’d brushed it with his fingers. As if he’d read her mind, he brushed a hand across the top of his head, pushing the wayward strands into some type of order.
“Why’s everyone looking at me?” Cord glanced around. On second look she realized he wasn’t dressed for church. His jeans were faded, his shirt was flannel and his boots were worn.
He glanced at his dad and neither of them smiled.
Family dynamics and more of the tension she’d felt the previous evening.
“We’re filling up the Suburban to go to church and I think we have too many people.” As Jackson spoke, Cord started backing up. Jackson glanced around the crowd and without saying anything, his sharp gaze landed on the very pretty Beth. Then his gaze shifted to Katie.
Cord followed his dad’s look and he shook his head. “I wasn’t going to church.”
“Well, it sure would make things easier if you would.” Jackson didn’t bother hinting.
Cord didn’t look like a man who cared what anyone thought or expected from him. As the family scattered, grabbing jackets and purses, Katie turned to follow.
“Fine, I’ll go. Katie, looks like you’re riding with me.”
She turned, her mouth open. And what was she supposed to say to something that hadn’t been a question and didn’t even sound as if it was what the man wanted? She got it, she was the easiest choice. Beth had that look, the kind that said she was searching for romance, for her own walk down the aisle. Katie was used to the role of friend.
“Excuse me?” she blurted out, shifting her purse over her shoulder.
“Beth would probably prefer to ride with her sister,” Cord said with a shrug that said he’d made a logical choice.
“Yes, of course.” Katie looked around the room seeking an ally. Everyone seemed to be content with the plan. Everyone but Beth, who cast a jealous look at her as she left with her sister. Julie, whom Katie thought might be a friend, just smiled and hurried out of the room.
“I’m really sorry,” Katie offered as she walked out the front door with Cord.
His Montana Bride Page 2