Cole's Montana Bride (Sweet,clean Western Historical Romance)(Montana Ranchers and Brides Series Book 7)

by Maya Stirling

  Cole opted to take a seat next to the empty fireplace. Once he'd taken his place he saw that Victoria appeared to have taken note of his decision not to take a seat next to her on the divan. But, the moment soon passed. Cole saw Victoria draw herself up, placing her hands on her lap and composing herself.

  For a few moments nothing was said. Victoria glanced around the parlor. "I remember this room. Didn't we used to read to each other here, when the weather was too bad to go out?"

  Cole smiled. "We did. And I recall what your favorite book was," he said.

  Victoria's brows raised in surprise. "Really. And what was it?"

  "Little Women," he stated.

  Victoria rolled her eyes. "Oh my. That is a book I've read too many times to count," she said.

  "I used to read passages to you while you sat on that very divan," he said looking intently at her.

  Cole could see the memories rising in her mind and making her features soften, so that they became even more beautiful, which right now seemed an impossibility to Cole. But nevertheless the recollection of such an intimate and cozy time had momentarily pierced the layer of formality which Victoria had erected on her arrival.

  As quickly as she'd submitted to the delights of past memories, Victoria stiffened and took a quick, deep breath.

  "I suppose you know what I've come for today."

  Cole cleared his throat. The moment had passed and it was back to business. "I certainly do," he answered.

  Victoria spoke with a measured tone. "I promised Lucy Carter that I'd do what I normally do when assessing the suitability of a candidate for matrimony. Pay a brief visit and afterwards make some recommendations."

  Cole noted the emphasis she'd placed on the shortness of the visit. He felt his heart sink slightly. He suddenly thought that the visit might only last as long as it would take to drink a cup of tea and chat idly about life on the ranch. Was she being serious about this whole thing? Cole felt a stab of indignation at the businesslike manner in which she'd stated her intentions.

  "So your visit is to see if I'm a suitable potential husband," he said trying hard to contain the ire in his voice.

  Victoria nodded, seemingly oblivious of his reaction to her words. "I did explain that to you yesterday."

  "You did indeed. And I'm happy to show you around. Give you a tour, if you like."

  Victoria's brows tightened. "A tour isn't exactly what I had in mind," she said defensively.

  "Doesn't a matchmaker usually have to satisfy herself that her client can expect the best that material possessions have to offer when entering into a marriage?"

  Victoria seemed finally to sense Cole's irritation. "With Lucius Carter I don't imagine that material possessions would exactly be in short supply," she said.

  Cole coughed. "Any wife that I have will never go without. Surely you remember when I said those very words to you. And in this very room, I do believe," he said. Cole seized control of himself, not wanting to submit to the distempered reaction which he felt mounting inside.

  "I was under the impression that you had no intention of acquiring a wife. In fact you told me yesterday that marriage to Lucy Carter was not something you wished to seriously consider,' she said.

  "As you so eloquently reminded me yesterday, Lucius is an influential man in these parts. It does a man no good to go provoking a man like that. If he wants me to consider his daughter as a wife then I can do that. But only consider. Nothing else."

  "So you're saying that my visit has no purpose?"

  Cole took a deep breath and gazed out the window, seeing the scattered clouds. The sudden silence in the room was so intense that Cole was sure he could hear his own heart thudding. Hard. Could Victoria hear that sound too? They'd gone from civility to ill humor almost in an instant and he didn't like it one bit. He took another deeper breath and clasped his fingers together. After a moment calmness started to settle upon him.

  "On the contrary, Victoria. I hoped your visit today would serve an entirely different purpose," he said quietly.

  Cole saw her clear blue eyes lock on his, a sudden curiosity in them. "After my conduct yesterday I wanted to take the opportunity to remind you of something important. To me at least." Cole glanced away. He searched his mind frantically for the right words, the most persuasive words he could find, words that would stand a chance of convincing her that she wasn't just visiting his ranch in the capacity of a matchmaker. He wanted to tell her straight, using plain words that would awaken her heart and bring her back to him.

  Cole opened his mouth to speak but suddenly Mrs. Stone entered the room, carrying a tray laden with teapot, cups and a mound of biscuits. "Sorry this took so long," she explained. "But the biscuits were still cooling. Don't want you two dears to burn your sweet little mouths," she said.

  Cole sighed and wondered if fate was conspiring to prevent him from saying what he felt he must say to the woman who'd briefly reappeared in his life.

  "Those look lovely," Victoria said to Mrs. Stone. Cole saw Victoria glance in his direction as if prompting him.

  Cole followed her lead. "They smell real tasty, Mrs. Stone," he said.

  Mrs. Stone laid the tray down on the table with a clatter of china.

  Victoria started to help Mrs. Stone with the tea. Cole watched the two women engaged in such a simple task. But just looking at Victoria pouring out the tea took him back to a better time, a time when happiness had seemed ensured and love a certainty.

  But now, watching the woman he'd loved so long ago, here in his parlor busy with such a familiar and ordinary task, Cole MacAllan knew that he'd have to work a whole lot harder if he was going to have any chance of stopping Victoria from disappearing one more time. And if Victoria was so intent on keeping things between them businesslike, then how on earth was he going get them the way he really wanted.

  Personal.

  CHAPTER SIX

  After the tea, Cole showed Victoria around the ranch house. The changes he'd made since she'd last been in the place had provided more space, extra rooms. As she followed him around the house, as she saw the extra rooms, the empty spaces, she couldn't help asking herself just what good would such a lot of space do for a man who was so resolute in remaining unmarried. The thought passed through her mind that this was the kind of house that called out for a family, a home filled with children to fill up the empty space. But every remark that Cole had made about marriage since she'd come back into his life, albeit in a professional capacity, had made Victoria believe that the rooms would remain vacant for a long time to come.

  "Why do you need such a big house?" she asked him bluntly as they stepped out onto the yard on their way to the stables. The sun had disappeared momentarily behind a dark cloud.

  Cole paused and looked at Victoria. He scuffed his boot idly across the surface of the dry, dusty ground. "What do you mean?" His eyes lifted and bored into her, seeking a quick answer.

  She glanced back at the house. "I mean it's a pretty big place for an unmarried man," she explained.

  Cole looked at the ranch house and nodded. "I guess you're right." He folded his arms across his wide chest and peered straight at Victoria. He sighed. "But, who says I'm not planning on ever getting married?" His face had suddenly adopted an expression of good natured challenge.

  Victoria frowned. "You've made it pretty clear that you're not interested in marriage," she said.

  "To Lucy Carter? Not interested at all," he replied.

  Victoria peered into his clear blue eyes. There was a playful look in them that she hadn't seen earlier. She paused, considering whether he had deliberately led her to the point where there was only one question she could possibly ask. She sighed and forced herself to ask the question. "Is there someone else who you might consider an appropriate match?"

  Cole leaned forward. His face was so close that Victoria could feel his breath on her forehead. Cole's eyes narrowed and she was sure he had taken the chance to inhale the scent of her perfume. The corners of
his eyes creased and he nodded. "I suppose you could say there is someone I might consider as a potential wife," he said. His voice was slow and deep, filled with certainty.

  Victoria leaned back and peered at Cole's face. "Really? Like to tell me who she is?"

  Cole shook his head and smiled. "I don't think that would be a good idea," he said in an amused drawl. He took a step back and turned to look out across the open fields. "I don't know that there's a whole lot left for you to see here. Not much that anyone like Lucy Carter would need to know about. How would you feel about a little ride down to the river?" he asked, turning and raising a brow.

  Victoria glanced over at the stable, the barn and the buildings used to house the ranch hands. It was true. There wasn't much for her to see. She'd felt duty bound to be able to say she'd toured Cole's main residence and had found it fit and proper for a young lady such as Lucy Carter. Not that it seemed to matter, what with Cole's repeated assertions that marriage to Lucy Carter wasn't anything he'd consider.

  "You'd get to see more of the spread. Some of the parts I've acquired in the last couple of years," Cole continued.

  Victoria thought about riding out with Cole. Would she feel safe? Could she trust him? She looked at Cole's expectant face. "I guess I can trust you," she said, noting the surprised widening of his eyes at her reply.

  "Of course you can trust me. We're old friends. Aren't we?"

  Victoria tipped her head to one side. "I suppose we are," she responded.

  "Let's get on those horses. I've got a whole lot of land to show you," he said starting toward where their mounts were tied at the front of the house. "Before we go I'll let Mrs. Stone know we'll be back in time for lunch."

  Checking her bonnet was tight in place, Victoria turned and began to follow Cole. It was going to be an interesting next few hours.

  They made their way across the spread, and piece by piece, his voice filled with obvious pride, Cole pointed out where he'd made improvements to the ranch. He showed her the herd, letting out a heavy sigh of satisfaction as they paused on a ridge and looked down into the valley where the hundreds of head of cattle milled and roamed, supervised by mounted ranch hands. Victoria could feel the pride oozing out of Cole.

  He told her about the long days of hard work, the dangers of the winter, the lazy, hot summer days that seemed to go on forever. Victoria had forgotten just what it felt like to be in this land, feel yourself a part of the earth, sense a connection to a world that was so different from town life. She'd forgotten just how natural it felt to be a part of a place like this. For a brief moment she shared Cole's pleasure at being under the sky, seated on the back of a horse and gazing down upon a scene that could fill up a person's soul.

  Cole took her to some places that she remembered. Rocky outcrops, high ridges with stunning views of the distant mountains and finally they started down toward the river. They'd spent many a warm, summer afternoon down at the river. Cole had taught Victoria how to fish, but she'd never had much luck catching anything. The only thing she'd ever caught was Cole's full attention, which he'd always been more than happy to give her. That had been when they'd been so sweet on each other that it had seemed inevitable they would end up married.

  Victoria pushed thoughts of the past to the back of her mind as they started down a meadow which led to a forest, beyond which lay the bend in the river. Cole pulled his horse to a halt and glanced up at the sky. A heavy bank of dark cloud had been building steadily up for the past while. The air had gotten suddenly cooler and Victoria had pulled her collar tight around her neck.

  "Looks like it might rain," Cole observed. Just as he said those words Victoria heard the distant hiss of a bank of rain further back in the direction of the house. They were a long way from the ranch house. It would probably take nearly a half hour to make it back to the house.

  "What are we going to do?" Victoria asked.

  Cole frowned and glanced toward the forest. "There might be a chance to take shelter over there," he said gesturing to the trees.

  "There?" Victoria asked. She glanced back and saw the thick sheet of rain heading in their direction.

  Cole moved his horse on. "Follow me," he said. Victoria guided her mount behind Cole.

  After a few moments she started to feel the first heavy drops of rain falling onto her bonnet. They moved on quicker and finally made it under the temporary protection of the overhanging trees.

  The rain was getting heavier by the minute and the horses were starting get restless, their ears twisting back and forth.

  Victoria knew she and Cole would have to make it to shelter soon or they were both going to end up drenched. Victoria could see that Cole was getting concerned. He looked like he was trying to figure out how they could get out of the rain. Victoria held onto her bonnet as a gust of wind shifted it momentarily out of place. Drops of rain soaked the back of her gloves.

  "Can't we get out of this rain?" she asked Cole above the sound of the slowly shifting branches.

  Cole peered through the trees and a flash of recognition lit his eyes. He drew his horse closer to Victoria's and reached over, grasping the reins, holding the animal tight. "I think there's a cabin through these trees," he called out to her.

  Victoria frowned. "Cabin?" Her voice felt suddenly strained, uncertain.

  Cole nodded. "It'll give us shelter until this stops," he said looking up at the dark clouds, squinting at the tumbling raindrops. Victoria followed his gaze. It looked like the rain was going to get worse before it got better.

  Both horses started to shift nervously from side to side. Cole kept a firm hold on Victoria's horse.

  Cole seemed to sense Victoria's alarm and reached out a hand, placing it gently on her arm. "Let's go. I think we can get to the cabin in a few minutes. It'll be warm and dry. We can wait out the storm," he said peering at her through the rain. She felt so unsure. Could she trust Cole enough to take shelter in a cabin in the woods? Victoria felt herself stiffen and hesitate.

  "You want to go?" he asked finally.

  With one last look up at the heavens and a visible and very impatient roll of her eyes, Victoria nodded.

  Cole quickly removed his jacket and threw it around Victoria's shoulders, lifting it so that her head was covered. She tried to voice some resistance to his gesture but he would have none of it. Underneath the heavy jacket Victoria felt momentarily safe from the thudding raindrops. She could smell Cole's scent from the inside of the jacket as it wrapped around her already rain soaked head.

  Feeling a brief sensation of reassurance she glanced at Cole in a gesture of appreciation. He nodded and she saw the flicker of a smile of satisfaction crease the corners of his mouth.

  Cole let go of her mount and moved his own horse on, keeping a close eye on Victoria by his side.

  They made their way through the trees. Cole made sure that the branches were moved aside, allowing Victoria a clear way through. Under the trees the rain wasn't so heavy, but the foliage offered scant protection.

  After a short while they came to a clearing. There in the middle was a squat cabin constructed of thick logs. It had a flat roof and was clearly made for temporary use for anyone working on this part of the ranch. There were no horses tied up out front.

  "It's empty," Cole said sounding relieved.

  They drew up the horses, dismounted and tied them to the hitching post. Victoria's feet sank softly into a damp pool of water. She lifted her booted foot with a groan of impatience. Cole glanced at her and shook his head.

  The rain was heavier as Victoria paused waiting for Cole to test the door and see if it would open. Cole grabbed his saddle bag, heaved it over his shoulder and clutched Victoria's elbow firmly.

  Victoria followed Cole to the door of the cabin. Cole twisted the round metal handle, but it didn't budge.

  "Darned thing," Cole cursed.

  He wrenched the handle a couple more times and then took a step back. Victoria was shocked when Cole lifted a booted foot and slammed it
hard against the resisting wood of the door. It didn't budge. Cole kicked at it again and finally the door swung quickly back inside the cabin and slammed against the inside wall with a thud.

  Cole tugged on Victoria with a force that took her by surprise. He drew her inside wrapping an arm around her waist. All thoughts of propriety had been left behind in the rain, but Victoria was glad that they'd made it to somewhere safe and dry.

  Cole released Victoria and slammed the door shut behind him, twisting the rusted latch down to secure it against the gusting wind from outside.

  Victoria removed Cole's jacket from around her head and gazed around their place of temporary sanctuary. The cabin was very basic, which was being kind, Victoria thought. It was a narrow rectangular space with a small, basic cast iron stove in the center of the room, one long table by the boarded up window, two rickety looking chairs that had definitely seen better days and one low single bed jammed into the far corner. There was a musty, damp smell which caught at the back of Victoria's throat. When she coughed she saw Cole look at her with concern.

  "You okay, Victoria?" he asked quickly.

  She swallowed. "I'm fine. Just glad to be out of the rain."

  "We'll be fine here until it passes," Cole said laying his saddle bag on the table by the window. He looked at Victoria and his brows narrowed. "You got soaked," he stated.

  Victoria glanced down at her dress and ran a hand through her damp hair. "It's nothing. It'll dry off quickly," she declared.

  Cole shook his head. "I need to get a fire going. Otherwise you're going to get a chill," he said.

  "Really, Cole. I'm fine. You needn't go to any trouble," she said.

  Cole didn't respond, but immediately set about getting a fire going in the stove. After a short while there was a flame going inside the stove and Cole turned to Victoria. "I think it might be a good idea if you dry your hair right now."