Max (7 Brides for 7 Brothers Book 5)

by Lynn Raye Harris

  So he got on a plane and rewound the trip. Sixteen hours back to DC, a quick overnight in his tiny apartment that didn’t feel like anything but a place to store some stuff, and then on the road to Kentucky. When he turned into the drive at the farm, his gut was churning. But as he drove up to the house, he realized her truck and trailer weren’t there.

  Miguel was at the barn, however, and he stopped in his tracks as if he’d seen a ghost. Max ran a hand over his face, realizing he hadn’t shaved in days. He hadn’t had time.

  “Where’s Ellie?”

  “She’s at the show in Tennessee. Took a load over yesterday. She and Champ show tonight.”

  Son of a bitch.

  “All right, guess I’m on my way to Tennessee then. You got a location?”

  “Hang on.” Miguel disappeared into the barn and then returned with a show flyer that had the date and time and location. There was a list of classes for each day and check marks beside the ones that presumably Ellie and her clients were riding in. “Show starts at six. Ellie’s is the fifth class in. You might make it if you hurry.”

  Max started to shake Miguel’s hand. Then he tugged the man forward and gave him a bro hug, slapping his back as he did so.

  “Thanks, Miguel. I’m hurrying.”

  He climbed in the truck and Miguel called out. “You don’t hurt Ellie again, you hear me? You don’t want to know what I will do to you. I no care if you are a big bad Navy SEAL. You have to sleep sometime.”

  Max laughed, feeling lighter than he had in days. “I hear you, brother.”

  He pointed the truck toward Tennessee and floored it.

  Ellie was nervous. She was always nervous, even though she was supposed to know what she was doing. But she felt like her entire future rode on this moment. Like every dream she’d ever had would come down to six minutes in the ring. If Champ performed well, if he won, they were on the way to glory in Louisville.

  And if he didn’t, well, they still had work to do if they stood a chance of maximizing Champ’s worth.

  His coat was glossy beneath the lights. He was standing in his stall, munching hay, his saddle on and loosely girthed. She only had to bridle him and get on when it was time.

  She’d already changed into her show clothes. All she had to do was put on the long coat, her derby, and tug on her gloves before mounting. She had to be careful not to get dirty, which was why she hadn’t put them on yet. Plus it was hot.

  Lacey was there to help, thank God. Lacey hadn’t been sure if she could make this show, but then she’d shifted her client schedule and made it happen. She rode later tonight in the Country Pleasure class, so for now she could help Ellie. There were two other clients who’d come with them to the show, but neither of them rode tonight.

  The voice over the loudspeaker announced which class was next and which was on deck. Ellie’s stomach turned over as she realized her class would be on deck very soon.

  “I’ll bridle him.” Lacey went into Champ’s stall and took care of the bridle while Ellie put on the long, shiny navy coat and buttoned it before slipping on her hat and gloves. She took a look at herself in the mirror they’d set up in the tack room and sucked in a deep breath for courage.

  When she walked out, Lacey had Champ in the aisle. He looked magnificent, but he also looked nervous. He was a young stallion, and there were mares here. He whinnied and Lacey shushed him.

  Ellie dragged the mounting block over to his side and checked the girth. She tightened it another notch while Champ stood there like a good boy. When she stepped on the block, he danced sideways and tossed his head.

  “He’s excited,” Lacey said.

  “Easy boy,” Ellie told him, moving the block again. This time she swung up with no problems, and Champ started to prance down the aisle. Lacey grabbed a towel and trotted alongside Ellie and Champ, wiping dust from Ellie’s patent leather boots and doing a quick once-over of Champ’s coat.

  She handed up a whip and Ellie took it, gathering her reins a little more firmly and pushing Champ up and into the bridle. He was magnificent and excited, his nostrils blowing and ears swiveling, but he behaved once Ellie was on his back.

  A few people stopped to look at them go by. This was a smaller show, but there were some big barns here. The kind of people who could buy Champ one day. She only hoped he made them take notice with his performance tonight. Ellie made it up to the practice arena, and Lacey unknotted Champ’s tail where they’d tied it up to prevent it from getting dirty.

  Ellie worked Champ at a trot to warm him up. After a few minutes, she set him up for a slow gait, that easy, smooth prequel to the fast rack. He performed it flawlessly, though he was a little strong tonight. She’d have to be careful in the arena or he could break over into a canter when he wasn’t supposed to. And that could cost them the class if it happened.

  She tried not to think about how important this was, but her nerves were certainly getting the best of her.

  “Lacey!”

  Lacey turned at the sound of the voice—and Ellie did too. Her heart skipped into overdrive, and she had to be careful not to jiggle the reins too much. Was that Max? Was it possible?

  Lacey waved. “Max!”

  Oh my God.

  Max strode into the glow of the lights from the practice arena, and Ellie had to force herself to breathe. Lacey walked over to him and they hugged.

  Was she dreaming? Hallucinating?

  Then Lacey pointed at her, and Max climbed onto the lowest rung of the fence.

  “You look beautiful, Ellie,” he called out. “You and Champ both.”

  Champ danced, sensing her chaotic emotions. She directed him toward the fence. She had to keep him moving, but she had to see Max. His appearance shocked her. He was unshaven and looked like he’d been traveling for two days, but he looked so rugged and beautiful that she wanted to slip from Champ and throw her arms around him.

  The announcer called for her class to get ready since the class currently in the arena was on the reverse. Champ was warm, but they probably needed another practice run around the warm-up area.

  Still, she kept him moving toward Max.

  “Why are you here?” she asked when she was close enough.

  “I promised I’d be here, didn’t I?”

  “You did. But then you left.”

  “Yeah, well, I changed my mind.”

  She shook her head and rode Champ in a circle. “I can’t talk right now. I have to get ready.”

  “I know,” he said, smiling warmly. So warmly that her insides lit up, glowing just for him. “Knock ’em dead, Ellie. That’s what you’re here to do.”

  Champ was getting antsy, so she rode away from Max even while she didn’t want to. She put him through his paces again, not too hard because she couldn’t tire him out, and then she circled him at a walk. Max was gone when she looked, and disappointment sat like a stone in her belly. Lacey came over and handed up a bottle of water for a quick drink.

  “He went inside to watch.”

  “Did you know he was coming?”

  Lacey shook her head, her blond hair shining in the lights. “I had no idea—but it’s great, isn’t it? It must mean something if he came back.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  But she couldn’t worry about it anymore because the announcer called her class.

  “Showtime, buddy,” she said to the horse rippling with energy beneath her. She cued him for a trot, and they sailed into the arena with all the future hopes and dreams of Applegate Farm riding on his hooves.

  19

  Max had never seen anything like what he saw in the arena that night. Ellie and Champ came trotting in like they were the best thing in the show—and they proved it too. There were eight horses in her class, and all of them were beautiful. But Champ was the prettiest one of all. And when they went into that rack thing they did?

  Shit, there was nothing that could hold a candle to them. Champ flew faster than any of the others, his hooves striking the
ground and flashing up high with every stride. He messed up at one point, but the judge wasn’t looking. Another horse got too close and Champ swerved, breaking stride. Max didn’t know much, but he knew it wasn’t what they were supposed to be doing. But Ellie got him back quickly, and he kept flying around the arena to whoops, hollers, and yells of “Yeah, boy!”

  When it was over and the horses were in the lineup, Max thought his heart was going to come out of his chest. He wanted Ellie to win. Wanted it so badly he could taste it—and when her number was called for first place, he was the first to yell for her.

  Lacey went running into the ring with a towel. She wiped Champ off as someone pinned on a blue ribbon. They took a picture standing by the sign that named the show, and then there was a victory pass with the lights shining on the beautiful horse and the woman who looked so happy and confident sitting up there. People took notice of the pair—how could they not?

  They passed out of the ring, and Max began the trek to the stables. Lacey had told him where they were, and he found them a few minutes later. Ellie was still in her gear, the long coat with the vest and tie, the derby hat, and shiny boots. She was peeling off her gloves and laughing at something Lacey said.

  Max almost faltered at that point. He’d thought about Ellie a lot—on the way to Acamar, in Acamar, on the way back to DC, the long drive to Kentucky, and then the drive to Tennessee. And he knew something he hadn’t known before.

  She had his heart. Completely and utterly. He didn’t know how it had happened, but it had. And it was too late to change it. He felt like an asshole for not realizing it sooner—and he was, for the first time in his adult life, afraid of something he couldn’t control or tame.

  He’d always thought love had ruined his father when his mother died. But that wasn’t true. Love had saved him from who he was as a young man, transformed him into a good man with a wife and kids, and then left him sad and alone—but it hadn’t ruined him. Hadn’t abandoned him. It had shaped him and made him. Max knew in a way he never had before what his father was trying to do with this legacy.

  He was trying to say, “I love you. I want you to find peace and happiness and figure out who you are. And only then will you be ready for a love of your own.”

  Jesus, that was sappy as shit—but it’s what Max believed. Because there was no denying he was a changed man. No denying he’d do anything and everything to see this woman smile. He knew it in his bones.

  She looked up then and saw him—and her smile faded. That gave him pause. But it didn’t stop him from walking over to where she stood. She tilted her head back to gaze up at him questioningly. He wanted to touch her, but he refrained.

  “You didn’t buy the farm,” he said.

  “No, I didn’t. Have you come to try to talk me into buying it? Or to tell me you plan to sell it anyway?”

  He shook his head. Sell it? He was never selling it. “No. That offer is off the table.”

  She nodded. “All right. So what’s the offer now?”

  “That you let me give it to you for a wedding present.”

  She frowned, and then her lower lip trembled. “I… What? I’m not getting married.”

  “Not yet, no. But I hope you will. Someday. When you’re ready.”

  She shook her head. “Max, you aren’t making any sense.”

  Lacey gave an exaggerated sigh in the background. “El, you aren’t listening to him. For heaven’s sake, pay attention.”

  Max wanted to laugh. Lacey had his number. She’d had it for a while.

  Ellie gazed up at him again. “Are you saying… Are you asking…?”

  He couldn’t help it. He tugged her into his arms, tilted her back, and kissed her. She melted in his embrace, her mouth softening beneath his, and he knew he was home.

  “Yes,” he said a short time later. “That’s exactly what I’m asking.”

  “But I thought you didn’t want this life. I thought we weren’t what you needed.”

  “I’m an idiot, Ellie. I love you—and I missed the farm and these damned horses of yours. I missed Lacey and Miguel and the cats too. I missed Kentucky. I want to go home with you.”

  Her eyes were brimming with tears. “What about your dreams? That’s why I couldn’t buy the farm for a dollar, Max. You shouldn’t have to wait five years to open your business.”

  “Dreams change. I want to renovate the house and help you turn Applegate Farm into the showplace you want it to be. And yeah, I’m going to start a business. But it’ll be local, not global. I think there’s plenty of business in Lexington to keep me busy for a while. Oh, and I want a dog too. Maybe a couple of them.”

  “Okay. I like dogs. And we’ll sell Champ if it helps.”

  “We will not,” he said. “Unless you want to for some reason, though I’d like to see you win that world’s grand championship you were talking about someday. But no, I can start small with what I have. In a few years, it won’t matter. I’m still a Brannigan, and I’ve still got a pretty big inheritance coming someday. You can show Champ to the pinnacle of success—and we’ll build our own castle when I get money, if you want to.”

  She laughed. “I do not want a castle. There’s only room for one of those in Versailles.”

  “Then there’s only one thing left to say.”

  She smiled that soft, lovely smile of hers. “Yes, I’ll marry you. I love you, Max Brannigan.”

  And that, he thought, was exactly how life was supposed to be. He would spend the rest of his life showing Ellie how he felt about her. And every day, when he walked through the bluegrass, he’d thank his dad for giving him a horse farm with fancy prancers instead of racehorses.

  A place where he’d found himself when he didn’t even know he was lost.

  THANK YOU!

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  Keep reading for a sample of the next book in the 7 Brides for 7 Brothers Series!

  Excerpt from JAMES by Roxanne St. Claire

  Don’t miss the next Brannigan brother!

  JAMES – Book 6 of the 7 Brides for 7 Brothers by New York Times bestselling author, Roxanne St.Claire

  Running a billion-dollar hedge fund doesn't leave a lot of time for fun in the sun, but that doesn't bother James Brannigan. After spending his youth helping his widowed father raise six younger brothers, James channeled all his need to have control into business. So when he learns that his father left him a tiny winery on the Amalfi Coast, he's not
thrilled. A trip to Italy is the last thing his busy schedule needs, but the winery has to go. Which means...he has to go to the winery.

  American tourist liaison Kyra Summers is the definition of a free-spirit. Her job at a small, Italian winery is her first attempt to make a real home and the people who run the place start to become like family to her. Until the winery's new owner, a devastatingly handsome, cold-hearted billionaire, arrives with plans to shut it all down. Kyra's willing to do whatever it takes to save this winery and family she loves—but changing James’s mind is going to take more than fiery passion under the Italian sun…it’s going to take love.

  Here’s a sneak peek…

  James stepped into a quiet, elegant, and understated hotel lobby, grateful his assistant knew to find him exactly the kind of upscale boutique hotel he preferred for this short trip in Italy.

  Before he even got to the desk, a man came up on his left and greeted him by name. A woman behind the desk delivered her buongiornos with a huge smile. Another young man joined in the welcome, all of them spewing a mix of Italian and broken English at him as they informed him that he had Suite 6, the best in the building.

  A bellman guided him in the direction of an elevator just as a woman nearly knocked him over, jumping right into his path.

  “James?” She was petite, barely five-four, with a wild mass of long blond hair and the brightest blue eyes he’d ever seen, sparking like gas flames at him. “Um, I mean, Mr. Brannigan. Sorry.” She grinned and rolled her eyes as if her faux pas was just part of her charm. “Mr. Brannigan.”

  An American, he knew instantly, drawing back at the sheer presence of all that…blond brightness. “Yes. James Brannigan. Can I help you?”