The Rancher's Secret Wife

by Brenda Minton

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means I shouldn’t have come here. By coming to Dawson I pushed myself into his life in a way that we hadn’t intended. It should have been easy. If I’d stayed in Vegas or gone anywhere but Dawson, it would have been easy. I wouldn’t have...” She bit down on her bottom lip and tears burned her eyes. “I wouldn’t have fallen in love with him, and it would have been easy to sign the papers annulling the marriage. Now it isn’t easy, but I have to do it because he didn’t sign on for this. He did a good deed, and he shouldn’t be stuck with a wife and kid because of it.”

  Heather got up when the baby cried. “I’ll get him.”

  “He’s probably ready to eat.” Cheyenne slipped past Heather to get a bottle out of the fridge. “He eats a lot.”

  “Cheyenne, you need to talk to Reese. The two of you are running from each other and you really need to be honest.”

  “I can’t do it, Heather. I can’t stay here after the annulment. I thought I could, but I can’t. I don’t want to be the person he regrets.”

  “You aren’t.” Heather leaned and kissed her cheek. She still held baby Reese in her arms, and he’d quieted when she’d picked him up. “You’re a part of our family. None of us want you to leave.”

  “I’m the accidental part of the family. I’m the good deed.”

  “You might have started out that way, but things change.” Heather handed her the baby. “But that’s not for me to say. Talk to Reese.”

  A shadow drifted across the wall. She turned and saw her parents getting out of their car. “I can’t. I’ve spent the past twenty years feeling like the mistake everyone made. I won’t be Reese’s mistake.”

  Heather shook her head and touched the baby’s cheek again. “You’re stubborn, and I hope you come to your senses before it’s too late.”

  Cheyenne nodded and watched Heather walk away. Yes, she was stubborn. But being stubborn would keep her in one piece—eventually.

  * * *

  Reese unbuckled the chaps he’d worn riding with Adam MacKenzie and tossed them in the back of Jackson’s truck. He turned, unfolded his cane and headed across the grassy area, back to the stable at Camp Hope. After two weeks, he’d gotten pretty good at finding his way around the camp. It was a good thing, because Adam had left him to go do something in the stable.

  He’d not only gotten good at finding his way around but he’d also gotten good at not having Cheyenne in his life. He’d never taken the paperwork for her to sign, and then she’d left with her parents. She’d left a note telling him to mail it and she’d sign it and mail it back.

  He hadn’t. He was stubborn that way. He’d decided on one thing. He wouldn’t let her go without a fight. He wouldn’t let her go without showing her that they could work. They were good as a couple. Even if that hadn’t been the plan when they’d started out at that wedding chapel in Vegas, that’s the way he saw it. They worked.

  “Where is everyone?” He tapped the side of the barn with the cane, found the door and walked down the aisle between the stalls. “Hey, don’t leave me hanging out here.”

  He moved close to the wall. From the distance he heard voices. He couldn’t quite place the office or tack room but knew they were on the right side. He kept going, swinging the cane back and forth as he went.

  “Where are you guys?”

  “In here.” Jackson called out.

  Nice answer. In here could mean anything. “Thanks for the great directions.”

  “Right here.” Adam touched his arm. “We’re in the arena. Did you want to ride that mechanical bull? We got it fixed this afternoon.”

  He had to think about it. For weeks he’d been pretty okay, no real pain. He shrugged. “I have a few minutes.”

  “Hot date?” Jackson walked up to them.

  “Yeah, the women are knocking the door down.” He touched the elevated platform where the mechanical bull was set up. “Besides that, I’m a married man. Remember?”

  His wife was missing in action, but he did have the marriage license to prove they were a couple.

  “Have you talked to her?” Adam asked as he guided Reese across the arena, his hand loose on Reese’s elbow.

  “Not since she left town.”

  “I meant since she...” Adam stopped a little too quickly.

  Reese turned, knowing Jackson had to be nearby and knowing that there had to be a silent conversation going on. “You know, this talking with your hands so I can’t tell what you’re saying is really unfair.”

  “No one said anything.” Jackson cleared his throat. “Get on the bull and show us what you can do.”

  “Sure, I’ll show you what I can do.” Reese took a step toward his brother. Adam pulled him back.

  “Take it out on the punching bag.”

  “Right.” Reese turned, reached and found the mechanical bull. He climbed on and grabbed the rope. “I’ll take it out on the bull.”

  Adam checked his hand. “You know, you could ask her out.”

  “Yeah, there’s this problem, Adam. I can’t drive over there and take her out.” He sucked in a breath and pushed his hat down tight. “And my family forgot to tell me that she’s back. She forgot to call.”

  “Maybe you’re just not that cute.” Jackson laughed. “Hang on. Your bull is coming out of the chute.”

  Reese tucked his chin and raised his free arm. The bull started out with a whirling spin, then a rapid, mechanical buck. He gritted his teeth and held on through the pain in his back. He worked to keep himself centered. A quick turn and buck sent him off the back, flat on his back.

  He lay there a minute, getting his senses back. He should have known Jackson wouldn’t take it easy on him.

  “Need a hand?” Adam walked across the padded platform.

  Reese held up a hand. “Sure.”

  Adam pulled him to his feet. “You’ve still got it, Reese.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think I’m going to be climbing on the real thing any time soon, but it did feel pretty good to be back on a bull—even one made out of a barrel.”

  “Ready to head to town?” Jackson asked, stepping close.

  “Yeah. And you can drop me off at the barbershop.”

  “Maybe you ought to have more of a plan than that.” Jackson led him off the platform.

  “What would you suggest?” Reese unfolded his cane and took a few steps. “Man, that really hurts.”

  “What hurts?”

  He stretched. “Nothing, I’m fine, just out of shape. I’d forgotten how hard you came off one of those things.”

  “At least you didn’t hit the dirt floor of an arena.” Jackson walked next to him. “So maybe you ought to try a little romance. That’s something the two of you haven’t had a lot of.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  “Or you could just storm in, pick her up and carry her back to Cooper Creek.” Adam laughed as he gave his advice.

  “You guys are a lot of help.”

  He walked away because any advice they could give would probably land him in serious trouble. He’d probably get better advice from Gage. He laughed at that. No, probably not from Gage. Or Blake. Or Jesse.

  He was going to have to handle this one on his own.

  “So do you want me to drive you home?” Jackson walked up behind him, taking him by the arm. “This way to the door.”

  “Thanks. And yeah, I guess it would be good if you drove.”

  “What are you going to do about Cheyenne?”

  He kept walking. “Not sure.”

  He guessed he’d pray and hope that God had a plan, because he didn’t have one of his own. He hadn’t had a plan when he’d married her. He sure didn’t have a plan on how to keep her in his life.

  They drove through Dawson pretty slowly. “Is she at the shop?”

  Jackson turned, and Reese knew they were going down the side road where the barbershop was located. “Yeah, she’s in there. You want out?”

  “Yeah, drop me off. It’s
time my wife and I had a talk.”

  The truck stopped. Jackson stopped him from getting out. “I don’t think I’d go in there with that attitude.”

  “Really? What would you do?”

  “I think I’d come up with something a little more romantic. Just saying.”

  Romance. He let out a sigh. Yeah, sure. “Okay, take me out to the ranch.”

  “Will do.”

  Something romantic. Yeah, he could do romance. He didn’t know if it would convince her to give them a chance, but he could definitely give romance a try.

  * * *

  When Jackson’s truck came back an hour after the first time it had stopped out front, Cheyenne was surprised. She had drawn her own conclusions when she’d watched Jackson and Reese have a conversation earlier and then drive away. In her mind Jackson had talked Reese into leaving. Or maybe Jackson had taken Reese home to get the paperwork that they needed to sign.

  She put baby Reese in the bassinet and stepped quietly away, hoping he would sleep a little while. She hadn’t slept much in the past few weeks. It was not because of the baby but because she’d been missing Dawson—and Reese. Her mom had talked her into coming back here. She’d told Cheyenne that her heart seemed to be in Dawson and so maybe she should give the town and her life here a chance.

  Cheyenne had agreed to staying for a month. That would give her time to see how people were going to react to the dissolution of her marriage. She knew that being married to Reese had given her an easy acceptance into this small town that she might not have otherwise had.

  And ending that marriage? She didn’t know what would happen to the relationships she’d built. She had decided to overlook the man who said she was just another stray that Reese Cooper brought home to take care of.

  She was more than a stray. She had made a life for herself. Yes, it was with Reese’s help. But surviving the past ten years she’d done on her own.

  The front door opened. She stood at the back of the shop, watching as Reese walked in. Her heart leaped ahead of her, getting lost in the cowboy standing in her shop. She smiled when he took off his glasses and dropped them in his pocket. Next he took off his hat and hung it on a hook on the wall.

  “Cheyenne?”

  She didn’t know what to say. She could tell him to leave. Maybe she should ask him to leave the paperwork for the annulment and go.

  “Marco.” He stepped a little farther into the room, a smile on his handsome face.

  “Polo.” She let out a ragged breath as he turned that smile on her and walked toward her.

  “Very good. You’re learning the rules of the game.” He walked straight up to her. She inhaled his scent, got caught in his nearness. She shouldn’t have come back, not when it was this hard being around him.

  “That game is easy.”

  He remained in front of her. “I’ve missed you.”

  She bit down on her bottom lip and nodded. And then she answered, the reply sneaking out before she could stop it. “I missed you, too.”

  “Are you back in business? You know, I’m going to need a shave and a haircut soon.”

  “I haven’t decided,” she admitted, taking his hand and leading him back to the chairs at the rear of the shop. She sat in the rocking chair. He took the wingback, pulling it close before sitting.

  “What’s to decide?”

  “I don’t want to stay if people...”

  “...think you’ve walked out on me?” He handed her a manila envelope.

  “What’s this?”

  “The papers.” He smiled. “Cheyenne, people in Dawson love you. They’re going to support you no matter what.”

  She pulled the paper out of the envelope, her hands shaking. This was it, time to let go of someone she had, for some crazy reason, started seeing in her life forever.

  The memories of that day in Vegas came back, bittersweet, taunting. They’d stood before a minister, their hands clasped in agreement, her heart pounding as the vows were recited. He’d kissed her, holding her easy in his arms. And then he’d told her that this would help her get her life back on track. He would feel better about going to Afghanistan because if something happened to him then he’d know that one really good thing had come of it.

  Something had happened. He’d come home to heal. She’d fallen in love with a man who had wanted to do one good thing with his life. And from what she could see, he’d always done good. He’d always done right. He’d even stay married to her because it was what his family called the “right thing to do.”

  “Cheyenne?”

  She looked up from the envelope and brushed at her eyes. “I’m here. I’m sorry. Let me get a pen.”

  “Have you looked at the paper?”

  “No,” she admitted, the word not easy to say.

  “Look at it.”

  She read it, unsure. She read it again and looked at him. He smiled, staring straight ahead.

  “Reese, this is the wrong paper. This is our marriage license.”

  “I know.” He moved from his chair, kneeling on one knee in front of her as he reached into his pocket. “Cheyenne, I’m not willing to let you go. I know that we had a deal. I’ll honor that agreement if that’s what you really want. But it isn’t what I want.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I want you in my life forever. I want you to pack up yourself, that little guy in there and come with me to the ranch. I want to be the man you need me to be.”

  “Reese, I can’t do that to you. You’re the most honorable man I know. I don’t want to wake up someday and know that you resent me or regret us.”

  “Regret you?” He reached for her hand. “The only thing I regret is that we’ve wasted so much time pretending we don’t love each other. Because I do love you, Mrs. Cooper, and unless I’m mistaken, you love me back.”

  She leaned, cupping his cheeks in her hands and kissing him once, and then again. “I do love you.”

  He reached into his pocket and held out a ring—the ruby ring that Myrna Cooper had insisted she should wear. “Cheyenne Cooper, will you marry me? Because the only regret I have is that we didn’t have a real church wedding with family and a honeymoon someplace sandy with waves crashing against the shore.”

  “You really want to marry me?”

  He stood and he pulled her up with him. “I want to marry you. I want you in my life forever, Cheyenne. I want that little boy in there to grow up at Cooper Creek. I want you to trust me when I tell you I will never regret marrying you. Not the first time, or second.”

  He touched her hand and then lifted it and slid the ring in place. “I love you. And marrying you that day in Vegas was the smartest thing I ever did.”

  He touched her cheek, touched her lips and then his mouth was on hers. He held her close and whispered that he would always love her, and then he asked her if she would agree to a second wedding at the Dawson Community Church—soon.

  Reese loved her. She wanted to hold on to that moment. She wanted to stay in his arms. She thought back to that moment when she’d bumped into a cowboy coming out of the diner and how that moment had changed her life. She closed her eyes and whispered a silent thank-you because God had known she needed this cowboy, that they needed each other.

  She leaned into his shoulder. “Yes, Reese. I’ll marry you.”

  Epilogue

  Cheyenne stood at the back of the church, comparing this wedding to the wedding in Vegas. This time her dad stood next to her. Her sister and Heather were already walking down the aisle as her bridesmaids. At the front of the church Reese waited. He faced the back of the church, and she knew a groom had never loved a bride as much as he loved her. The thought rushed through her and she smiled, wishing he could see her smile, see the love in her eyes. But she knew he felt it.

  He sensed it.

  As beautiful as their autumn wedding would be, she would always cherish the Vegas wedding. Here she had flowers, people who loved them and wanted to witness their vows. In Vegas they’d
taken a chance and God had done something wonderful.

  “Are you ready?” Her dad placed her hand on his arm.

  “More than ready.”

  Reese Cooper had been her husband for almost a year when she walked down the aisle on the arm of her father. At that first ceremony she had married a stranger she thought she’d never see again. Today she took the same vows, but today he was the man she loved with all of her heart. And she knew that he loved her as deeply.

  They were no longer strangers bound by a commitment. They were husband and wife—and son. To unite them as one, Heather handed her baby Reese. Cheyenne took her son in one arm and Reese held her other hand.

  Wyatt Johnson prayed at the end of the ceremony, and she closed her eyes and said a silent thank-You to God, because He had known they would need each other.

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Wyatt smiled and proclaimed, “You may kiss your bride. Again.”

  Heather took the baby and stepped back.

  Reese turned and drew her into his arms. As he kissed her wildly in front of the cheering congregation, she laughed and cried and kissed him wildly back.

  “Save it for the honeymoon,” Jackson whispered as he walked away from his position as best man.

  Cheyenne smiled as her husband kissed her again.

  “I love you, Mrs. Cooper.”

  * * * * *

  Look for Brenda Minton’s next

  COOPER CREEK novel, available in

  February 2013 from

  Love Inspired Books.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt of The Promise of Home by Kathryn Springer!

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome back to Dawson, Oklahoma. This is the third book in the Cooper Creek series, and I hope you’re enjoying getting to know the Cooper family. The hero of The Rancher’s Secret Wife is cowboy Reese Cooper. From the beginning, Reese has been the good guy. In past stories, he showed up to help his neighbors, his family, his friends. It only made sense that a guy like Reese would want to defend his country. It also made sense to me that Reese would want to rescue a woman like Cheyenne Jones. He would want to give her a chance because he’s always had so much.