After Kaya and Glen had left, Bridget stood and stretched. “How long do we have before we need to leave for supper?” she asked.
“About an hour.”
Bridget smiled. “I think I’ll take my favorite sister’s book into the hot tub and catch up on my reading. Back in a while.” She loved to read Kaya’s romances, but she never felt like there was enough time to do everything she wanted to do. Usually it was her pleasure reading that was thrown out the window.
After a long leisurely soak, Bridget showered and dried her hair, dressing carefully in jeans and a button up shirt. She felt like it was the right thing to wear when staying at a ranch. She usually wore her scrubs everywhere, so she didn’t have a whole lot of clothes to choose from. She grabbed her coat and hurried out of her room.
When she got to the living room, her parents were waiting on her. “Ready?” her mom asked, and Bridget nodded. How she wished she was in this beautiful place alone instead of with her parents.
When they arrived at Kaya’s house, Bridget immediately fell in love. It was an older ranch house, and it needed some TLC, but it just felt like it had a lot of character. “Love the place.”
Kaya smiled. “We’ll work on the house once Glen’s business is up and running.” She explained that he was starting a horse therapy ranch for autistic children, and Bridget nodded. Glen really did seem like a good guy, and she was happy for her sister. She’d never want a man that tall for herself though. He was well over a foot taller than she was! Kaya was almost a foot taller, and he was quite a bit taller than her sister.
She helped Kaya in the kitchen. “So is he coming?” Bridget asked.
“Kevin?”
Bridget nodded. “Yeah.”
“Glen said he’d be here.”
There was a loud knock on the door, and a minute later Glen came in with a man. “This is Kevin. He’s the new pastor on the ranch.”
Bridget felt her heart sink. “Pastor?” Kaya hiccupped as she tried to keep from laughing, and Bridget elbowed her in the stomach. “It’s nice to meet you, Pastor.” She wanted to kick her sister but managed to refrain. When she’d been in youth group as a teenager, they’d had to station someone at the exit, because she was considered a flight risk. One little “unplanned outing” to a convenience store during her youth time, and she never thought she’d live it down. Kaya knew she would never cut it as a pastor’s wife. The brat!
Kevin stepped forward, taking Bridget’s hand in his. “It’s so nice to meet you. Kaya tells me you live in Texas.”
Bridget felt a jolt of electricity at his touch. Really? Am I so desperate I’m falling for a pastor? I know I’d make the worst pastor’s wife on the entire planet. “I do. I’m a nurse there.”
“What kind of nursing do you do?”
“I work for a doctor who does family practice. I started out working in geriatrics, but I just wasn’t cut out for that.”
“And you like what you do now?”
Bridget shrugged. “For the most part. I like the regular hours a lot better than I liked being up all night. That wasn’t good for me.” She’d always needed a very strict sleep schedule to do well, and the constantly changing hours of a nursing home had been very rough on her system.
“I hope you enjoy your time in Idaho.” His eyes met hers, and she was struck by them. They were so green!
“I’m sure I will.” She pulled her hand away from his grasp, flushing slightly. She wanted to get to know him better, but dear God, he was a pastor. Nothing good could come of that. She wanted to wipe her had off on her thigh, so his touch would not still be there, but how rude would that look?
“I’d be happy to show you around the ranch. There aren’t any events except your sister’s this week, so I’m pretty much on my own. I’ll hold services in the little chapel in the old West town on Sunday. Have you seen the old West town yet?”
Bridget shook her head. “I had no idea there were services on the ranch.” She went to church regularly, but she tried to sneak out quickly afterward. She tended to offend everyone with her mouth.
“Not every week, but it’s offered. There’s a group who wanted me to preach this Sunday, so I will. It’s just one of the services the ranch offers. Usually I go to church in town.”
“That sounds really nice.” She couldn’t quit staring at his eyes. She wanted to drown in them. She wanted to throw herself in his arms and kiss him. He’s a pastor, for heaven’s sake. You can’t fall for him!
“Do you like to go four-wheeling?” he asked. “I’d love to take you up into the mountains. We could do some hiking. Or if we get snow like they’re predicting, maybe we could go snowmobiling.”
“Would you help me search for Bigfoot?” she asked.
He nodded. “I’d love to help you search for Bigfoot. Anything you want.”
She sighed. He was so nice. Too nice. He was too good for her. She caused problems; she didn’t solve them. “It sounds like fun. I wouldn’t mind spending some time with you before I head back to Texas.” She needed him to know up front that there would be no relationship. There couldn’t be. She wasn’t good enough for a pastor in any way.
“I’d like nothing more. Where are you staying?”
“We’re in the Bear Foot cabin.”
“I’ll walk over and pick you up in the morning. Say around nine?”
Bridget nodded slowly. She was going to get in over her head very quickly. God help her, she was falling for a pastor. She was going to kick her sister later, because she deserved it!
Read on to find out more about books by Cindy Caldwell.
ALSO BY CINDY CALDWELL
Wild West Frontier Brides Series
The Chef’s Mail Order Bride (1)
The Wrangler’s Mail Order Bride (2)
The Bartender’s Mail Order Bride (3)
The Teacher’s Mail Order Bride (4)
The Blacksmith’s Mail Order Bride (5)
Saffron: Bride of Archer Ranch (6)
Carol: Bride of Archer Ranch (7)
Christmas at Archer Ranch (8)
The following Cindy Caldwell books are part of the unprecedented, 50-author American Mail Order Brides series.
50 days, 50 books, 50 states.
Michelle, Bride of Mississippi
Josephine, Bride of Louisiana
Download a free copy of Michelle, Bride of Mississippi here:
Michelle, Bride of Mississippi
I love to hear from readers. Feel free to contact me at:
[email protected]
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Please feel free to contact the author with any questions at:
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Gallant Golfer is a work of fiction. Characters and events in this novel are the product of the author’s imagination. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Sneak Peek of Bridget’s Beau
Also by Cindy Caldwell
Gallant Golfer (River's End Ranch Book 10) Page 11