by Holly Rayner
With all the live shows I had been playing in Columbus, anticipation had been building for my next album since early in the summer, and I was pleased, though not entirely surprised, to see that our audience had doubled since that first concert back in June. Umar and Kalilah had come down, along with most of the rest of the family and seemingly the whole town—with the notable exception of Katie, who had been keeping a low profile ever since being shouted down that night.
“Can you believe this is really happening?” I asked Brian as we took to the stage that night. “We’re even starting to sound like a real band.”
“I guess that’s what happens if you practice enough,” said Brian. “And if at least one of your band members is insanely talented.”
“You know you don’t have to flatter me, Brian.”
“I was talking about me.”
Although it was only around five, the sun was already setting. Below the stage, a couple thousand people huddled together in coats and sweaters on a hillside carpeted with yellow and orange leaves. Kalilah waved at me from the front row with mittened hands, her breath streaming out in front of her.
“How y’all doing tonight?” I asked. The crowd cheered with conviction. “I’ve got to tell you, it warms my heart to see you braving these temperatures to support us and our music. You’re really what it’s all about, and it took me the longest time to figure that out—I wouldn’t have a career if it wasn’t for you guys.”
I strummed my guitar and was about to begin the first song when Brian interrupted from behind me.
“Ah, before we begin, I think someone had something he wanted to say first.”
I turned around and shot him a stony glare. I had never much liked surprises, especially when performing, and Brian hadn’t consulted me about this. But while I was still recovering from the first shock, Umar came walking onto the stage from behind the band. With that mysterious sense of self-assurance that had propelled him to his fortune, he strode up to the microphone and extended one hand to the crowd.
“How are you guys doing tonight?” he asked.
The crowd cheered again, though one guy in the back said, “We just told you!”
“I can feel Shannon giving me a death glare for interrupting her show like this, so I’ll keep it brief,” he said with a grin. “As some of you might be aware, we’ve been dating for six months now…” Umar waited for the applause to die down before adding, “and they’ve been beyond anything I could have hoped for.”
Frowning at him, I mouthed, “Where are you going with this?” Some of the people standing closest to the stage laughed. I could see Kalilah biting down on her knuckles with a look of mischief.
“In fact,” he said with a showman’s flair, “I would like to extend our relationship into the foreseeable future.”
My heart skipped a beat or two as Umar reached into his coat pocket and produced a small blue box. He didn’t even have to open it for me to know what was inside it. If it’s possible to be both furious and deeply in love with someone at the same time, that was how I felt in that moment.
“Shannon?” The crowd gave an audible gasp as he stepped away from the microphone and lowered himself to one knee. “Will you marry me?”
Fighting back a smile and waiting for the furor to subside, I said, “Umar.” I shot a glare at our drummer, who had begun playing a drum roll. “Umar, you are the stubbornest, most mischievous, most ornery person I’ve ever met, and I will absolutely marry you.” The rest of my speech was practically drowned out by the deafening shout that followed. “I’d marry you every day if I could! You’re my favorite!”
Looking relieved, Umar wrapped his arms around me. A moment later, I felt a tug on my shirt and we were joined by Kalilah, whose face beamed with a quiet happiness.
“I told him when you first came to the house that I wanted you to be my stepmom,” she said. “He didn’t think it would ever happen.”
“Well, I’m glad you persisted,” I grinned, as tears began to prick my eyes.
I rested a hand on her head, trying to absorb the implications of this moment. When I had stepped out onstage that night and seen the thousands of eyes staring back at me, I didn’t think I could be any happier, but this—somehow, this topped it.
“Way to upstage me,” I told Umar. “Do you think they’ll even let us play the songs after this?”
He linked his fingers with mine. “If not, you can always come back to my country and play them there.”
“I think I might just stay there.”
He wrapped his arms around me and we kissed as the sun sank over the pavilion. The audience erupted in applause, but I barely heard it; the only person that mattered to me in that moment was right there in my arms.
The End
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Bought by the Sheikh Next Door
Time for a tease!
Up next is the first chapter of another book in our Small Town Sheikhs series, Bought by the Sheikh Next Door
Happy reading!
Copyright 2018 by Holly Rayner and Ana Sparks
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the explicit written permission of the author.
All characters depicted in this fictional work are consenting adults, of at least eighteen years of age. Any resemblance to persons living or deceased, particular businesses, events, or exact locations are entirely coincidental.
Chapter 1
Kelsie
You could count on July being hot in Rancho Cordero, even first thing in the morning. Right next to the mountains there was a breeze—not that it really helped the temperature any.
Kelsie Mack rolled over in bed and stretched. It didn’t matter if it was going to be another hot day; there was work to be done and pretty much all that work was hers to do. Fortunately, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
A wet, black nose appeared at the edge of her bed, followed by one careful paw.
Kelsie laughed. “Morning, Cowboy. I promise I’m up.”
Her beloved border collie was an expert sheep and human herder. He made sure Kelsie was up every morning before he padded down the stairs ahead of her to slip out the dog door and do his morning rounds of the farmhouse yard.
Shoving the covers back, Kelsie put her feet flat on the floor, enjoying the feel of the cool wood beneath her toes. She stood and did a few stretches to get her body moving, a morning routine she’d had since she was a teenager. The movement helped wake her up and warmed her muscles. And, since there was no telling what might be waiting for her downstairs, she needed the minute to herself before the day kicked in.
Sure enough, by the time her teeth were brushed and she’d thrown on some loose cotton pants and a dark blue T-shirt, she’d heard Cowboy bark once, and then there was a knock on the door downstairs. She promised herself she’d get coffee and breakfast the first chance she had and ran down to answer the door.
Kelsie opened the door to find Mrs. Anderson holding her squirming four-month-old puppy in her arms. The older woman, dressed in jeans and a button-up shirt, simply held the dog out and sighed.
Kelsie tried not to laugh. “What did Toby get into this time?”
Mrs. Anderson shook her head. “I’m not even sure. It wasn’t chocolate or shoes again. The trash can was pushed over. Apparently, it’s child-proof, but not puppy-proof.”
Kelsie carried the brown and white ball of fluff into the smaller exam room. Five years before, she’d moved back in with her dad and opened her veterinary clinic on the first floor of her family’s old farmhouse. At first, she’d only taken up about a third of the space in what had been a guest room. T
he rest of it had been her dad’s office, a large kitchen, and a small living room.
Two years after that, after her dad passed away, Kelsie had moved the kitchen and living room up a floor and converted the whole ground level into her clinic. She’d kept her dad’s office as it was and made it her own. It was the place where she felt closest to him, at least when she wasn’t out on the land itself.
As the only vet in town, Kelsie divided her time between the clinic and making house calls. Most everyone knew that they could find her there first thing in the morning, so it wasn’t unusual for her to start the day off with an animal in need of some kind of help.
Fortunately, today was a good day. She looked Toby over and determined that whatever had been in the trash, it wouldn’t cause him any major distress. Mrs. Anderson went on her way, still carrying the puppy, who Kelsie could tell was enjoying the extra attention.
She laughed again as she whistled for Cowboy, who trotted around the corner quickly.
“Okay, boy, time for our breakfast.”
The large kitchen had been turned into a small galley area, but Cowboy had a food and water bowl there, and most importantly for Kelsie, there was a coffee pot and a tiny refrigerator she kept stocked with fruit and yogurt. She made coffee while Cowboy tucked into his bowl of food, then took her breakfast into the office so she could work on the books for a bit before someone else came by the clinic.
Just another day in Rancho Cordero, she thought to herself as Cowboy padded into the office and sat down on his favorite spot beneath the window to watch what was happening outside.
Frowning slightly, Kelsie realized that maybe it wasn’t such a typical day after all. From the window, she could see a giant moving truck driving up to the house down the road, followed by a smaller van. After parking, the doors to the truck and van opened, spitting forth a small army of people.
Movers, Kelsie assumed, given the truck. She wasn’t close enough to see exactly what they were moving, but it looked like big pieces of furniture.
Huh. Well, it was about time someone bought the old Atchison place. It used to be a stunning house, built back in the 1940s by a solider returning from World War II to marry his sweetheart, who had waited for him. They’d lived in the house until they’d both passed away, about ten years back. Having had no children, a distant nephew had rented the house out, but no one ever seemed to stay long.
Kelsie wondered if the person moving in had bought the house or was just planning to rent. And then she wondered exactly who was moving into their little town.
She leaned back into her dad’s old leather office chair and thought. Helen would know, most likely. And Kelsie did need a few supplies for the clinic. Her regular order wouldn’t be in for another week; she’d planned on picking up a few things from the store in town, anyway.
Making up her mind, she patted her leg at her dog.
“Want to go for a ride, Cowboy? Maybe engage in a little light neighborly interest?”
Cowboy gave a soft woof and Kelsie laughed at his commentary on her euphemism for gossip.
“I know, boy. But it’s for a good cause. We need to find out who our new neighbor is.”
The dog cocked his head at her and then got up to pad over. Kelsie patted him firmly on the side.
“Okay, then. Let’s go.”
Kelsie locked up the clinic while Cowboy waited patiently for her at her truck. She opened the door for him and he leapt in, then settled in the passenger seat. Kelsie climbed in after him and rolled down the windows for both their comfort.
The drive into downtown didn’t take long since Rancho Cordero wasn’t that big—it was maybe fifteen minutes from one end of town to the other, and that’s if you hit the stoplight.
Kelsie lived on the edge of town; her place was one of the last houses before the city limits. In fact, while the house itself was firmly in Rancho Cordero, the farm ran out past the city limits. The only thing out there was grazing land for sheep, and Kelsie loved having all that wide open space of her own.
She loved downtown Rancho Cordero, too. It was quaint and tiny, with a gas station, a couple of churches, the grocery store, a bank, and the post office. The closest school was in the next town over. Kelsie had never minded the early bus ride to school when she was a kid, since she’d be up to do chores anyway, but sometimes she wished that the few kids that lived in the town now had a closer school to attend.
The grocery store parking lot was about half full, which was good—surely someone there would know more about the person moving into the house next to her. Kelsie parked and then let Cowboy out of the cab and into the bed of the truck where he would wait for her while she went inside.
Polly Crandall was working one of the front registers when Kelsie walked into the store. She raised a hand in greeting.
“Morning, Kelsie. Heard there was a moving truck at the old Atchison place. You see anything?”
And that was exactly why she had come to town.
“Hey, Polly. There is indeed a rather large moving truck sitting out in front of the Atchison house right now.”
“Huh. Well, I guess they found somebody to rent it again.”
Shannon Porter set a basket of groceries down in front of Polly and brushed her long red hair out of her eyes. She nodded at Kelsie. “Or buy it, I hope. That old house needs some TLC.”
“Has anyone heard anything about who plans to live there?”
“They weren’t with the movers?” Shannon asked as Polly started to ring up her groceries.
“It just looked like movers to me, but it was hard to tell.”
Polly shook her head. “I hope it’s a nice family. Would be good to have some more kids in town.”
“It would be nice to have enough kids in town to open our own school back up,” Shannon said with a shake of her head.
Kelsie gave them an agreeable nod and left them talking about the state of education in general. Shannon was a retired teacher; she was also the town’s mayor.
It would be nice to have more kids in town, Kelsie thought as she got what she needed at the store. It would be nice if they had a few more people in town. She loved the small, tight-knit community—after having lived in Reno for college and veterinary school, she was done with cities and crowds of people—but the town did need some new blood. A little growth wouldn’t hurt them.
Kelsie turned a corner and almost ran straight into Oscar Ramirez. She laughed and apologized to the owner of the hardware store down the street.
He smiled at her and shook his head. “No worries. Good to see you, Kelsie. Heard you have a new neighbor.”
“I do, but I don’t know who it is. Have you heard anything?”
Oscar shook his head. “No. Seems we have a mysterious stranger in our midst.”
“Well, that ought to liven up the town meeting next week,” Kelsie grinned.
“I’ll bring the popcorn. Hey, would you tell Francesca that her order is in?”
“Yes, thanks, she’ll be thrilled to hear that. She’s been wanting to get that fence fixed so we can turn the sheep out into the new pasture.”
“Well, she can come pick it up anytime. Tell her to call me if she needs to run by after the store closes. Either Rosa or I can be there.”
“Thank you, Oscar. I’ll let her know.”
Oscar walked toward the front of the store and Kelsie turned back to the shelves. Oscar and his wife were two of her favorite people. She, Rosa and Francesca had all gone to high school together, Rosa had gone to California for college, and she’d brought Oscar back with her. Kelsie had never met two people more perfect for each other, and it gave her hope that one day she’d find the right man, too.
By the time she left the grocery store, Kelsie hadn’t learned anything else, so she stopped at one of the three restaurants in town to pick up a chef’s salad for lunch later. Marge Clark made the best sandwiches and salads; plus, her son was the local realtor.
“Kelsie Mack, as I live and breathe. What brings
you into town today?”
Marge was in her sixties, with white hair that was cropped short and always covered in a bright bandana. Today, the fabric was a tropical blue covered in pink flamingos.
“Hey, Mrs. Clark. Feeling like a beach vacation today?”
“Always, sweet girl, always.”
“I had to run to the store, so I thought I’d pick up lunch while I was here.”
“Well, then. Your usual?”
“Yes, please.” Kelsie watched Marge as she busied herself making the salad. “Hey, Mrs. Clark, by any chance did Josh sell the Atchison place?’
Marge said, “He did, but I don’t know anything about the buyer. He said it was all done through lawyers.”
Kelsie sighed, frustrated. “Nobody’s heard anything else, either.”
Marge laughed heartily. “Tell me about it. This is the best business day I’ve had in months—everybody’s been in here to ask what Josh knows.”
Kelsie grinned back at her. “I’m glad that whoever it is, they’re already bringing some good to town.”
“I guess we’ll all find out soon enough.”
“If the moving truck was any sign, it’s either a large family or someone with a lot of stuff.”
“You want to get some cookies to take over as a welcome? You can tell them they’re homemade, if you like.”
Kelsie’s utter lack of cooking skill was well known in her tiny hometown. For the volunteer fire department’s annual bake sale, she was always tasked with organizing and setting up, never bringing anything. Some of her friends from college didn’t understand how she was comfortable with the whole town knowing everything about everybody, but that’s just how Rancho Cordero was.