The Cowboy's Surprise Bride

by Macie St James

  “A little.” Mina hoped Harley wouldn’t ask what she was doing. “What’s up?”

  “I need you to come by the ranch. Just for a few minutes. It’s…well, I just need to talk to you in person.”

  Then why didn’t Harley come to her house? Why have Mina come to the location where Colton was? As much as she’d grown to care about Harley, she just couldn’t.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t right now,” Mina said. “It’s just…there’s too much going on.”

  “For a few minutes is all. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t really important.”

  How did Mina handle this? She didn’t want Harley to know it was a huge deal she and Colton didn’t work out. If anyone found out how strong her unrequited feelings were for Colton, she’d be mortified.

  “Please?”

  Okay, now Harley was begging. And something about the emotion in her voice tugged at Mina’s heart. No way could she say no.

  Mina sighed. “I’ll be right there.”

  As she drove to the main house, Mina told herself this would be fine. Just fine. She was going to Clay’s house, not Colton’s, and the chances that Colton would even stop by were nonexistent. Harley wouldn’t have invited her if Colton could pop in at any moment.

  Or would she?

  With the way Mina’s heart pounded as she walked up the steps to Clay’s front door, she realized she’d been fooling herself by saying she was hoping not to run into Colton here. A large part of her hoped to see him again, despite the fact that it would only make it harder to put all this behind her. All he’d do was thank her or apologize to her or whatever. The last thing she needed was more of that.

  The door opened as Mina reached the top step and there stood Harley. Mina breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her. This was legitimate. Harley just wanted to talk to her. That Mina could handle.

  “Thank you so much for coming over,” Harley said. “I heard you were leaving.”

  Mina froze in place. “What? Where did you hear that?”

  Harley gave her a look. “It’s not true?”

  Another sigh. Mina crossed the porch to the door. “It’s true. I just wonder how you heard about it.”

  “Canyon Falls has grown, but it’s still a small town. People talk. You can’t call for a moving van without someone’s brother hearing about it and telling one person, who tells everyone else.”

  Good point. She’d been trying to get out of town quickly for that very reason. She’d even called a moving van company the next town over, but she’d still had to put in a request to have her mail forwarded. She was waiting until she was out of town to line up getting her utilities disconnected and her house put on the market, but apparently, that wasn’t enough to stop the rumor mill.

  “I’ll be staying with my parents for a while to consider my next move,” Mina said. “I don’t know where I’ll end up.”

  Harley gave her a loving smile. “I was hoping you’d end up here. I love hanging out with you.”

  “Me, too.” Mina felt a bit mushy. They were standing just outside the door now, and Mina was considering whether to enter the house at all. She could make this quick and head back home if she set her mind to it.

  “You’re in love with Colton,” Harley blurted.

  The words felt like a bomb being dropped. Mina winced. Harley had figured it out, and Mina didn’t know what to say. She could lie, but for some reason, she felt like she could open up to Harley about this.

  “Yes,” she admitted. “That’s why I’m leaving.”

  Harley stepped inside the house and gestured for Mina to follow. Mina hesitated, looking across the yard. No sign of anyone else sneaking in on them. For some reason, she suddenly wanted to open up to Harley about this. Maybe because she had been holding it in so long, it was a relief to talk to someone about it.

  “Want something to drink?” Harley asked. “I could make you a cup of coffee.”

  “A glass of water will be fine.” Mina stood awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen. Harley seemed to have made herself at home, despite the fact that she still had a separate place. Mina only wished she could feel as welcome here as Harley had become.

  “What you say in this kitchen stays in this kitchen.” Harley grabbed a tumbler from one of the cabinets and filled it with ice and water from the refrigerator. “I know I’m marrying Colton’s brother, but girl code rules. I won’t say a word.”

  Mina nodded absently. She trusted Harley. It wasn’t about that. It was about her pride. If she admitted out loud that she had feelings for Colton, someone would know. And she was pretty sure Harley was someone who already knew he didn’t feel the same way.

  “Thank you,” Mina said as Harley handed her a glass of water and gestured toward the table. As was the case the last time she was in this kitchen, there was a laptop set up at one end and paperwork strewn about.

  Wait. Wasn’t that Colton’s laptop?

  “Have you told Colton how you feel?” Harley headed back to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee.

  “No. I don’t have to.” Mina pulled out one of the chairs and sat down at the table, setting her water down in front of her. She should probably wrap this up in case that was, in fact, Colton’s laptop. Surely, they wouldn’t be having this conversation if he could come in at any moment.

  “When I met Clay, I was so sure it could never work out,” Harley said. “I had my life in Seattle, and he lived here. It just seemed impossible but look at us now.”

  “But Clay fell in love with you.”

  “And you fell in love with Colton.” Harley came and sat down at the end of the table, scooting her chair so it was angled toward Mina. No big deal. Just two women having a morning chat about their love lives.

  “You know what I think?” Harley straightened in her chair and leaned forward to face Mina straight on. “I think you’re both too afraid to share your feelings because you’re sure the other person is going to reject you.”

  Mina shook her head. “Colton sent very clear signals he wasn’t interested.”

  “He kissed you onstage,” Harley said. “I saw that kiss. You can’t fake that.”

  Mina opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. That kiss. She’d spent so much time trying not to think about it, she’d actually forgotten it had happened. Now it came rushing back to her. Unlike the first time they’d kissed at their fake wedding, that second kiss had felt spontaneous, although she’d told herself at the time it was just to fool the crowd.

  “But even if he doesn’t have feelings for you, can you really leave town without knowing?” Harley asked.

  “Without being officially rejected, you mean? Without making a complete fool of myself?”

  Harley shook her head. “I heard a piece of advice once. Can’t remember where. Maybe it was in a movie or something. But your feelings are your feelings. Who cares if they’re returned? If you love him—really love him—then that’s something he can’t take away from you. Besides, if he doesn’t love you back, he’s a complete fool. You’re awesome!”

  Mina smiled. “You’re right about that, but it isn’t quite that easy.”

  “Yeah, we can’t make someone love us, can we?” Harley asked. “We wouldn’t want to if we could. But I just saw things between you and Colton differently. I think I’m pretty good at reading these things…”

  “I think the final straw was election night.” Mina shuddered. She didn’t really want to talk about this, but she couldn’t seem to stop now that they’d started. “I sent Robby out to bring him onstage, and he just left.”

  “But he was there in the first place.” Harley tilted her head to the side. “Don’t you think that’s a sign maybe he cares more than he’s showing?”

  Mina shook her head. “The biggest thing I’m avoiding is his pity and guilt. I don’t really want to open up to him—”

  “Why?” Harley interrupted.

  “Why what?” Mina took a sip of her water.

  “Why are you so afraid
of rejection? If he says no, you just go on with your life. It’s not like you’ll ever even have to see his face again. What do you have to lose?”

  The words hit Mina hard. They were all too true, and she hadn’t even realized until now just how hard she was working to avoid hearing Colton didn’t feel the same about her.

  “Colton was one of the first people I saw when I moved here,” Mina said. “I thought he was so cute. But I soon figured out that everyone thought he was cute. I dismissed him because I didn’t stand a chance.”

  “Did he date those other girls?”

  “Eventually, he dated one of my friends, but we weren’t hanging out much by then. Mostly it was just that when I was around him, I always felt a little…”

  “Insecure,” Harley finished for her.

  “Yes!” Mina said.

  Harley laughed. “Didn’t we all at that age.”

  The more she talked about this, the sillier it seemed. From the second she stepped back into Colton’s life, she seemed to have reverted to that teenage version of herself who always felt self-conscious around him. Had she met him for the first time at this age, she would never have seen him that way. In fact, they could have gone on a date and she would have seen him as an equal—a drop-dead gorgeous equal, but an equal, nonetheless.

  “Don’t you think you owe Colton the truth?” Harley asked.

  Mina was already on the same page with that. Mostly because Harley was right. If Mina left town without telling Colton how she felt, she’d never have that closure she needed, especially now that they’d had this talk. Before this conversation, she would have been fine, probably, since she’d managed to convince herself that his rejection of her request to come on stage on election night was an across-the-board no to her.

  “It’s like I’ve been waiting for him to reject me,” Mina said. “I never gave him a chance to do it.”

  Harley gave her a knowing look as she sipped her coffee. “Totally can see it. But it’s not too late. I have an idea.”

  21

  Throwing himself into his work wasn’t getting Mina out of Colton’s head. It was like trying to distract himself from physical pain. The harder he tried to forget her, the more she took over his headspace.

  “Yo, Colt!”

  Reilly’s shout from across the rows and rows of chairs brought Colton out of his own head enough to see he was getting nowhere. He’d been straightening the same row of chairs for no telling how long without even noticing people were starting to drift in and sit down.

  Colton stepped away from the chairs and strode up the aisle to where Reilly was standing. Yeah, he had been a complete bust as a helper today. He’d probably been more of a hindrance than anything.

  “Harley just called. They need you at the ticket booth.”

  Ticket booth? There shouldn’t be anyone at the ticket booth. He hadn’t even known there was an event until Reilly had sprung it on him as they were escorting the final round of hayride riders off. He’d been looking forward to the big pot of chili his brother and Harley had planned on making that night. It was pretty much the only thing getting him through the day.

  Shrugging, Colton started up the aisle, waving at a few locals he knew as he went. For some reason, people seemed to be amused by the sight of him. He thought about it for a moment and decided it was probably due to all the press he’d gotten recently. How long would it take for the town to stop associating him with Mina and her fake marriage?

  “What’s going on?” he asked Clay, who he passed on his way out.

  Clay stopped. “With what?”

  “They said they need me at the ticket booth. I don’t know why that would be.”

  Clay looked in the direction of the ticket booth, which was just far enough away that it would be a pain to walk there. But if Colton hurried, he could help out with whatever and get back to the event.

  Colton arrived at the booth to find it completely abandoned. He could tell from a distance it was empty, but he walked the rest of the way anyway. Meanwhile, the trickle of people coming from the parking lot continued, a few at a time.

  They were all people he knew in some capacity. Friends, business associates, his parents’ friends… This whole event had been arranged by Reilly and Clay, so he supposed that made sense. Colton usually reached out to the community at large to make sure they got big numbers. Maybe this was some sort of friends and family event?

  He was checking the booth for the two-way radio when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

  The tractor, crossing the field straight toward him. And Harley was driving it.

  Colton straightened, struggling to believe what his eyes were showing him. Harley on the tractor, but why? The tractor veered right slightly, and he glimpsed the trailer for the hayride behind it. Was that…?

  Mina was seated on the bench, toward the front. The closer the tractor got, the better he could see her. She was wearing a white dress with her hair up. She looked…stunning.

  Harley pulled up next to the booth and stopped. She said nothing, just stared straight ahead with a smile as Mina stood and headed toward the front of the hayride. Colton started walking toward her, not sure exactly what his role here was supposed to be. Was he supposed to step up onto the hayride or help her down?

  Before he could figure it out, she hopped down, heels, dress, and all. Somehow, she managed to do it without losing her balance, executing the move as though she were a gymnast or something. It only added to how surreal the whole moment felt.

  He walked forward to meet her, but she gestured to the left and started walking that way. As he followed, he immediately saw why. The tractor began moving. Harley was leaving them alone.

  “Hi.” He felt suddenly very awkward. He didn’t want to assume this was something good, but it had to be, right?

  “Hi.” She took a deep breath and smiled.

  She looked nervous, which was strange to him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her like this, and he’d been around when she was elected homecoming queen, when she’d stood in front of crowds as a politician, and when she’d conceded her election on live TV.

  “I have to tell you something, and I don’t want you to speak until I’m finished,” Mina said.

  “Okay…” Colton said cautiously.

  “I haven’t been honest with you.”

  Colton’s heart had shifted into double time. What was this all about? The hayride, the white dress that looked even more like a wedding dress than what she’d worn on their fake wedding day…?

  “On my first day of school here, I saw you and thought you were absolutely gorgeous.” She paused, seeming to have trouble breathing. “But all the other girls were talking about you. It was like the whole school had a crush on you. I didn’t think I stood a chance.”

  Colton opened his mouth, then closed it again when he realized he had no idea what to say to that. He had no recollection of anyone having a crush on him in school. Girls seemed to leave a wide path around him whenever he was around. When he finally did work up the nerve to ask one to a middle school dance, she’d run back to her friends like she was terrified of him.

  Hmm. He was starting to rethink everything he’d ever thought about his early experiences with girls.

  “When I came back here again, I was fully aware who you were,” she said. “I just reverted back to that teenage version of myself where I played it cool out of fear of rejection. I still fear rejection, but I’m working on it. I’m telling you right now that I’m in love with you. Maybe always have been. And that’s why I’m leaving.”

  At this point, he wasn’t sure he could breathe anymore. She’d just said she was in love with him. Was he dreaming?

  “You’re leaving?” he croaked.

  Yes, he’d suspected that was going to be her next move, but that had been well before she’d been honest with him about her feelings. How could she spill them and…just leave?

  She gave him a sad smile. “There’s no place for me here. I
lost the election, you don’t share my feelings—”

  “Who said that?”

  He stepped forward, pushing aside the fear that had held him back from ever making a move on her. The most surprising thing about all this was that she’d been just as afraid of rejection as he had. And that fear had held her back.

  How much time had they wasted because they were both afraid to be rejected? They’d really had nothing to lose, except pride, yet if they’d shoved that fear aside, they could have been together long, long ago.

  “Let’s stop this now,” he said. “Stop keeping quiet because we’re afraid. I felt that same attraction from the first time I saw you and assumed you would never be interested because everyone liked you so much. Plus, you never seemed to even notice I existed.”

  She smiled. “Yeah, I remember that. I’d go to the opposite side of whatever room you were in because I was so insecure around you. I worried what you’d think of me if I dropped something or slurped my soda too loudly.”

  He laughed. “Otherwise known as adolescence.”

  “But we’re adults now,” she said. “Why are we still acting like this?”

  “If I’d met you for the first time when you showed up here, it would have been completely different.”

  “I was thinking that very thing.” She reached out to take his hand. “It’s like we picked up where we left off, in a way.”

  “I’m in love with you. Probably have been for years. It just took me a while to realize it. I’m kind of slow that way.”

  She stepped closer. “So what do you say we do this for real?”

  He was suddenly very distracted by her nearness. “Do what?”

  “Dating. Being a couple. We don’t have to get married—”

  “We do have a marriage license. It’s only one little step to make it legal.”

  “File it with the city?” she asked.

  He nodded. “But you may want a real wedding.”

  Her eyebrows arched. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

  “This time, let’s do it right,” he said. “A real wedding.”