Ride a Cowboy... or Two (Mail Order Bride MFM Roamce)

by Terry Towers

  Description

  Ryker

  Living on a secluded ranch in a small town doesn’t leave a guy with many options in the love department. My brother and I had gone through all the local girls without success.

  As a last resort, I went online and found us the perfect mail-order bride.

  My brother wasn’t into the idea at first, but she seems amazing, once he meets her he’ll come around.

  Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?

  Nina

  Being a mail-order bride wasn’t my dream – far from it.

  Growing up poor in Russia, I only had one ambition and that was to move to America. Everything I’d read and seen in the movies and on television made it appealing to me.

  But with no money there seemed to be only one option for me, signing up to be a mail-order bride - so I took a chance.

  Little did I know that by accepting the offer of one sexy cowboy, I’d end up with two.

  I fear I may have gotten myself in way over my head.

  Table of Contents

  Ride a Cowboy… or Two

  Excerpt from

  Tamed by the Cowboy

  Contact information

  Ride a Cowboy… or Two

  Copyright 2018 by Terry Towers

  All rights reserved. With the exception of brief quotes used for critical reviews and articles no part of this book may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the author Terry Towers. Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Terry Towers can be contacted via her website at www.elixaeverett.com

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via internet or other means, electronic or print without the authors permission. Criminal copyright infringement without monetary gain is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov.ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors imagination and used fictitiously.

  Ride a Cowboy… or Two

  (Cowboy ménage, Mail-order Bride romance)

  By

  Terry Towers

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  Chapter 1

  Ryker

  “Just come with me. You need a break from this place. You’ve never been out of the county before; it’ll be a great experience,” I said, following my older brother by two years from the stables.

  “And who will be running the ranch while we’re gone?” Calvin turned and sighed as he hit me with a hard stare. “Listen, I think this idea of yours is insane and even if I did agree with it, which I don’t, I can’t leave the ranch unattended.”

  I waved my hands at the workers milling about the grounds. “The ranch will be fine.”

  This place worked like a well-oiled machine; my brother saw to that. It would be fine without us both for a few days. “Our people know what they’re doing, and Kent can easily run the place.” Kent was the head ranch hand and had been with our family for literally decades, hired by our parents when he was just a teenager. He knew how the ranch ran, maybe even better than we did, and Calvin knew it as well as I did.

  Calvin removed his black Stetson hat, wiped his brow, then placed it back onto his head. “We’ve never left the ranch before without one of the family here to maintain it, and we won’t be starting now. And we sure as hell won’t be leaving it to run to some foreign country to get a woman!”

  Okay, so he wasn’t quite on board with my mail-order bride idea, but that was okay. He’d get on board when I got her home and he remembered how wonderful it was to have a woman in our lives. My brother was big and tough, but underneath he was hurting and lonely. He needed this as much as I did.

  “And what the hell is wrong with getting a girl from town?” He continued walking towards the house with me trotting along behind him. At an even six feet tall I was hardly a short guy, but compared to the strides my six-foot-four brother made, it was next to impossible to keep up with his brisk pace without jogging.

  “Because I know you won’t go to the effort of attempting to find a woman, and personally, I’ve already exhausted the local supply.” What I meant by exhausted was that I’d slept with all the ones I desired but none of them caught my interest long enough to warrant me marrying them. I’d even tried the online dating sites; I’d tried for years, but nothing. Maybe I was too fussy. Who knew? But at thirty, it was time to settle down and maybe have some babies.

  Calvin stopped again and I could see the anger beginning to simmer in his eyes. “Look, I don’t want or need a woman in my life. I’ve had a great woman and now she’s gone and I am done with that nonsense. As for you and exhausting your supply, perhaps if you weren’t so particular and they didn’t have to be perfect tens then you might be able to come up with more suitable women from our local supply.”

  My jaw clenched as I stared at my brother. Sure, he may be right; maybe I was a little too picky, but whatever. This was a damned good idea. We needed a woman who had traditional values, who would be happy in our secluded ranch taking care of the house and giving us a family. Some might call me a chauvinist for my attitude, but I’d been to the big city, that’s where I got my degree in business, and not only did I get a degree, but also, I discovered I wanted a woman like my mother. A woman who devoted herself to my brother and me.

  “Here’s another problem; there’s two of us and one of her. You plan on cutting her in half?” He continued walking. His tone told me he was done with the conversation. He felt he’d won. That wasn’t the case at all.

  I jogged to catch up with him. “Of course not, but there’s no rule saying we both can’t enjoy her.”

  Calvin laughed loudly, hesitating in his step so I could catch up with him. “Yeah, there is a rule; it’s called the law against polygamy.”

  Not to be deterred, I countered, “It only counts if both of us marry her.” I’d thought this through. “There’s no law that says we both can’t enjoy her company.”

  “You’re fucking crazy.” Grabbing the door handle, Calvin pulled open the front door and stepped inside. “If you think my dick is going into any girl you’ve been in, you’ve got another thing coming, Rye.”

  Fuck, I hated when he called me Rye. Everyone called me Rye; my damned name was Ryker. Alas, it was a nickname given to me when I was a toddler and I seemed to be stuck with it.

  “If that’s the case then how do you explain Buffy Reynolds?” I wasn’t sure if my brother was ignoring me or if he hadn’t heard as he stuck his head in the fridge and pulled out two beers, passing me one. Accepting the brew from him, I twisted off the cap and tossed it onto the gray granite countertop.

  “Buffy was ten years ago. We were drunk at some fraternity party you convinced me to go to.” He flopped himself down into one of the kitchen table chairs and took his hat off, placing it next to him on the table. Bringing the beer to his lips, he guzzled down half the bottle before coming up for air.

  Taking a seat opposite of him, I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter when it was. The fact was, it happened. It didn’t just happen once, but twice, and I didn’t see you complaining then.”

  “I was a teenager. She was a good time. E
xperimenting with something different. We weren’t planning on moving her into the house and having babies with her.” He laughed, giving his head a shake. “You’re a hoot and a half. But fine, if you want to waste your money and go there, be my guest. But I don’t want a damned thing to do with your lunacy.”

  “I’m not going to visit; I’m going there to meet her and fly her back here. How are you with that situation?” Granted this ranch and the several hundred acres that came with it wasn’t just Calvin’s; it was given to us, divided fifty-fifty, when our parents passed away, but it was still his home. I needed, for my own peace of mind, to have his blessing on the matter. I’d damned well care if he moved some stranger into the house without my consent.

  “Just don’t marry her. She can live here all she wants. And when you get bored of her, like you do all your toys, then send her back where she came from.” He leaned forward on the table, staring deep into my eyes. “Just don’t expect me to want to have anything to do with her. We understand each other?”

  With a sigh, I threw my hands up in defeat. “Yup. I hear ya. But I guarantee once you get to know her you’ll fall in love with her.”

  Calvin’s expression turned dark. “Nope. I had the love of my life already. That only comes once in a lifetime and I had it. The ranch is all I have and need. It’s all I’ll ever need from here on in.”

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Nina

  “Nina, sweetheart. I do not like this idea.”

  My mother looked across the table at me, with sorrow in her emerald green eyes. Eyes that were identical to mine. In fact, we looked more like sisters than mother and daughter, despite my mother being thirty-eight to my twenty years of age.

  “It will be fine, Momma.” I turned my laptop computer around so my mother could see the screen and the object of my affection, a man by the name of Ryker Stone. I’d been speaking with him through email and Skype for over a month. “His name is Ryker Stone; he looks likes a movie star and he even has a movie star name! He has a big ranch with horses and cows. It looks like a dream.”

  My mother started to speak rapidly in Russian and so I held my hand up, stopping her. “You’ll never master English if you don’t speak it often. Who will you have to practice on when I’m gone? We need to work hard now so when you come to America too, you will be able to speak the language.” Learning English and moving to the United States had been something I’d wanted from as early as I could remember. My entire life, I spent immersing myself in movies, music and books from America. I dedicated myself and learned, and for the past couple of years I’d been teaching my mother.

  Tears began to fill her eyes and my heart broke all over again for what seemed like the millionth time. “I know America is your dream. I’m scared for you. What if this man is not a good man? Many women go and disappear. It makes no sense. Many bad, bad men live in America.”

  “There’s just as many bad men here, Momma. More even. I want to be married and have babies and a nice house. I won’t get that here.”

  My mother stood and took my hand, leading me to the mirror on closet door beside the front door. She motioned for me to look at our reflection in the mirror. My gaze locked with hers and I waited for what she had to say. “You’re beautiful woman. Very beautiful. And young. You will find a good man.” She pointed her index finger at the floor. “Here. You will find him, here. In Russia. Then visit America.”

  I shook my head, my auburn hair, the exact color of my mother’s, swaying against my back. We even wore the same simple hairstyle, our locks stopping midway down our backs. The only difference was the wispy stray strands of gray mixed through hers that she refused to cover with hair dye — so far. “I will not.”

  We both knew where this conversation was going. We’d been through this exact scenario before. I knew the next words that would come out of her mouth and waited for them as I prepared my rebuttal.

  But they never came.

  Instead, the strength in my mother’s shoulders seemed to fade and she lowered her head. She was defeated. “Very well. I will meet this man.” She looked up again. “But if I do not like him, you will not go with him. Agreed?”

  Wow. I hadn’t expected that response and was at a loss as to what to say. “I ummm.” Sure, it wasn’t a full yes but she was finally giving some ground for me. The least I could do was meet her halfway on this. She was a single mom and had given a lot to raise me. Me leaving for America would leave her all alone. She dated men here and there, but nothing ever came of it.

  She didn’t need a verbal confirmation of agreement from me. The smile that emerged on my lips told her all I needed to know.

  “When does he come?” she asked me.

  “Tomorrow.” My pulse raced a moment in excitement at the thought of finally being able to meet the man I’d been spending so much time chatting with, the man who would become my husband. My new life would start tomorrow.

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Green or black?

  I held both dresses up to me and considered both. The green one was a little more conservative with spaghetti straps, a sweetheart neckline and knee-length flowing skirt; it matched my eyes beautifully. The black one was strapless and fell to mid-thigh.

  “The green one.”

  I spun around to see my mother in the doorway. “Why the green?” I’d been leaning towards the black. I wanted to look sexy and desirable.

  “He wants a wife?”

  “I think so.” We’d talked about that briefly. He wanted to try things out first. He said that he lived with his brother so needed to make sure we all got along before we were married. I was okay with that. Maybe I wouldn’t like it there and would want to come home anyhow.

  My mother frowned. “You think so? If you will leave Russia, then he will marry you.” It was a statement, not a question.

  “Yes, Momma.” There was no point in arguing with her, not when Ryker was due to arrive in a couple of hours. We’d do what felt right. I know I hadn’t met him yet in person, but it felt like I really knew him, the important stuff anyhow. I was confident that he’d do the right thing by me when the time came.

  Chapter 2

  Ryker

  Over twenty hours to get to Russia, I’d been awake for nearly thirty. I was exhausted. Some people could sleep like a dream on a plane — I wasn’t one of those people. I was flying on the high of excitement at seeing Nina and I’d consumed more than my fair share of those horrid-tasting energy drinks to get through.

  But now that I was here at the hotel and the bed was sitting there in the middle of the room, calling to me, I could feel my eyelids beginning to droop and sleep beginning to overtake my consciousness.

  I was seconds away from flopping onto the bed, fully clothed, smelling like sweat and no doubt looking like death. I didn’t even want to look in the mirror, scared of what would be looking back at me. Sleep was about to take over me when my phone buzzed in my back pocket.

  Pulling my phone from my pocket, I looked down at the display and a smile crept onto my lips despite my exhaustion. It was a text message from Nina.

  Nina: Have you arrived yet?

  I groaned inwardly. I’d promised I would text her the very moment we landed. I’d been so exhausted and anxious to get my luggage and get the fuck out of the airport that I’d forgotten to let her know I’d arrived.

  Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to see her. Dying to see her honestly. But I was so tired at this moment that I could barely get the energy to send her a reply text, let alone shower, shave and spend another few hours awake.

  Ryker: I’m at the hotel now. I know I promised that I would meet you as soon as I got to the hotel, but I’m exhausted. It’s been a long thirty hours. Would you be horribly disappointed if I met you tonight instead?

  I hesitated before pressing send, not wanting to disappoint her. But if I were to be honest with myself, I had nothing left in me right now. I’d make it up to her.

  Tossing the phone onto the double-sized bed, I stripped o
ff my t-shirt. I meant to toss it on the chair next to the bed; I missed and it landed on the floor. Fuck it. I’d deal with that later. Undoing my belt and pants, I pulled them down and chucked the jeans onto the floor on top of my shirt, followed by my socks and underwear.

  The phone buzzed again.

  Picking it up, I looked down at the display, knowing who it was. I was wrong, the text was from Calvin.

  Calvin: Did you arrive?

  Ryker: Yea. Going to bed now.

  Calvin: Lemmie know how it goes. Be safe.

  I laughed, flopping down on the bed.

  Ryker: Always.

  Holding the phone, I laid down and closed my eyes. Nina hadn’t gotten back to me. Maybe she was upset? I couldn’t be worried about it. I could feel myself drifting off to sleep when the goddamned phone buzzed again.

  You have got to be fucking kidding me! Opening my eyes, I picked it up and looked at the display.

  Nina: Okay. ☹

  Okay, now I feel like an asshole. Why did she have to use that damned sad face?

  Ryker: I’ll make it worth your while, promise.

  Nina: Worth my while? I don’t understand what that means.

  Laughing, I gave my head a shake.

  Ryker: I’ll make it up to you. We’ll have lots of fun when I wake up.

  I waited for her reply before putting the phone away, knowing there would be one.

  Nina: Nice dreams.

  I laughed again.

  Ryker: You mean sweet dreams, honey.

  Nina: Sweet dreams.

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Nina

  I was scared and excited and so many other emotions all at once as I waited in the lobby of the hotel Ryker was staying at. When making arrangements to meet for the first time, it made more sense for me to go to him since Moscow was my city.