The Cowboy's Stolen Bride

by Cora Seton

  “Of course he’s pissed.” Mary handed a pen to a short man in a denim vest who bent over and signed his name with a flourish under the heading marked, “Entertainment Committee.”

  “He’ll get over it. He likes you, you know,” Enid said.

  “I doubt that,” Mary said.

  Tory wasn’t so sure anymore.

  “What about the administrator?” Noah asked the next day when he found Liam making a series of phone calls to all the volunteer organizations in town. “Has he approved of all this?”

  “Nope. I figure we’ll present him with a done deal,” Liam said grimly, running a finger down the list to find his place again. He was soliciting donation pledges and gifts in kind to help with the larger costs of the fundraiser. Much as he hated to admit it, Tory’s idea for the cookout was a good one. In his desperation to do something after hearing about her treachery, he’d gone off half-cocked organizing the meeting at Linda’s Diner before he had a comprehensive plan in place.

  Hell, before he had any plan at all.

  Now he was paying for it. Everyone was acting like saving the dialysis unit was Tory’s idea. Like Tory was in charge. He needed to do all he could to wrest back control of the cookout.

  “Tell me one thing,” he demanded of his brother. “Did you tell Olivia about the meeting last night?”

  Noah looked sheepish. “She’s my wife. We don’t have secrets from each other.”

  “Well, now we’ve got a real fight on our hands. Olivia and Tory are trying to steal the fundraiser from me. If they win the Ridley property, Mom’s going to force us to sell this ranch.”

  “I honestly don’t think she can do that.”

  “She can try.” There were other ways Mary could make their lives miserable. If his mother didn’t get what she wanted, what was to stop her from sabotaging his plans to go organic—or simply harassing them until they gave in and gave her what she wanted?

  Mary had let him know in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t going to wait forever. “You convince me you’re going to win that thing, and I’ll hold off until October when the prize is announced, but if you can’t save the dialysis unit and keep our family in the running, then I want to move forward and put the ranch up for sale right now.”

  Liam knew Mary would have to return to Ohio soon. Justin and Liz’s grandparents couldn’t keep them forever. With Frank in jail, the kids were Mary’s responsibility.

  “Are you sure it’s wise not to get the hospital administrator on board first?” Noah asked.

  “Jill is helping me organize the nurses and doctors. As long as they stick together, we feel like the hospital won’t fight them. I’m going to get the newspaper involved—try to convince them to write an article about it.”

  “Maybe we should take a page from the Coopers’ book and get everyone to write letters to the editor, too,” Noah said.

  “One step ahead of you.” Liam picked up another list of names.

  “Look at you. Organizing write-in campaigns and fundraising events. And getting us certified to boot,” he added.

  “That hasn’t happened yet,” Liam cautioned. “We’ve got years of work ahead of us.”

  “I’m still proud of you. Dad would be, too.”

  “Should we be proud of him, though?” It was a question that had been bothering him a lot lately. “He wasn’t a very good husband. And he broke the law.”

  “I’m not sure we know enough about that to judge yet.”

  Liam considered telling him about his run-in with Steel but decided against it. He’d wait to see what Steel did next.

  “Ready to go, Liam?” his mother asked, entering the kitchen. She wore a black sundress with white polka dots, some sandals and a wide-brimmed white hat.

  “Ready to go where?”

  “To the volunteer session, of course. Leslie roped me into it. She needs someone to drive her around and pick up donations. Sounds like they’re already rolling in. I can only imagine what a mishmash of styles of paper plates, napkins, cups and so on we’ll get, but Leslie says that’s all part of the fun of it. I have to say, I underestimated you and your ability to get this done. I had no idea you’d get things started so quickly.”

  Liam’s fingers tightened around the paper in his hand, but he kept quiet. Why burst his mother’s bubble? The volunteer session had to be all Tory and Olivia, not him. He hadn’t organized one.

  Which meant the Coopers were definitely trying to cut him out of it. He supposed he couldn’t blame them. He’d been trying to keep them in the dark himself, after all. “I’m staying here. I have to go after the bigger donations—from businesses and so on. Kind of surprised you want anything to do with the volunteer session.”

  “The sooner we win the Founder’s Prize, the sooner I get my money. And anyway, Leslie is relentless.”

  Noah opened his mouth, but Liam shook his head at him meaningfully. “Mom’s right; it’s time to go,” he said. Following Mary out of the kitchen, he added to Noah, “We’ll talk more later.”

  “Are you coming?” Enid asked Tory when they met up on the back deck. Tory took in her mother’s white capris, spring green blouse and ankle-tie sandals.

  “Where are you going dressed so nicely?”

  “I’m helping Leslie pick up the donations for the cookout. I’m meeting with her in town. This was such a good idea, Tory.”

  “It was Olivia’s idea to jump on it so quickly,” Tory said. “I didn’t realize you planned to get involved.” She still felt a little guilty at the way she and Olivia had wrested control of the fundraiser from Liam. There was plenty for him to do, she supposed, but they hadn’t asked him if they should start collecting individual donations. They’d just put the word out to the list of volunteers, and offers for donations had rolled in.

  When they’d gotten home from Linda’s Diner, all Tory had wanted to do was go to sleep and forget all about the Founder’s Prize. She was having trouble getting over the sting of knowing Liam had been working on winning while flirting with her and taking her out. Olivia had demanded that they sit down and make a plan of action. A phone call to Jill elicited the information that she planned to organize all the nurses and doctors, and work with Liam to choose a site at which to hold the cookout. Camila Whitfield and Fila Matheson had volunteered to take charge of organizing the food booths.

  “We have to take care of everything else we can,” Olivia had told Tory. “Starting with publicity. We’ll get you booked on local radio and television,” she’d said determinedly. “If you’re the spokeswoman for the fundraiser, any good results will be attributed to us.”

  “Why can’t you do it?” Tory had protested.

  “Because I’m Olivia Turner now.”

  There was no arguing with that.

  Her head was swimming with how fast it was all going. Since she didn’t have work today, she’d spent the morning making calls to every town and regional paper, radio station and television news program around, then tackled the internet, getting information posted on all the local blogs and social media accounts. Olivia was the one who’d started the donation drive.

  “I’m pretty busy,” she told her mother now. “Why don’t you go ahead?” She’d take her own truck after Enid was gone.

  “Come on. I’m only here for another few days,” Enid said. “Humor me.”

  What could she say? “Sure.” She supposed she could handle a few hours with her mother.

  As it happened, Enid was the least of her worries. When they went to pick up Leslie, Mary was already there. She’d ensconced Leslie in the front seat of her truck and locked the doors when Enid tried to get Leslie to switch vehicles.

  “You can ride with us,” Leslie said, rolling down her window. “Open up,” she ordered Mary.

  Tory thought Mary was considering abducting Leslie, but in the end, she unlocked the doors, and Enid and Tory got into the back seat of her extended cab.

  “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” Enid said to Lesl
ie.

  “You and Mary need to grow up,” Leslie said. “You had a good time at my dialysis the other day. Don’t pretend you didn’t.”

  Enid and Mary both snorted, and Tory had to laugh. “Were you two really friends in school?” she asked her mother. She couldn’t imagine it.

  “All three of us were,” Leslie said, “although I could barely keep up with these two. They drove the boys wild. Had the whole football team wound around their little fingers back then.”

  “Oh, we did not,” Enid said.

  “Maybe you didn’t,” Mary retorted as she pulled up and parked in front of a modest house.

  Enid rolled her eyes.

  “Paper plates, paper towels, drink cups and a tablecloth,” Leslie read from a list. They all climbed out and approached the front door, which was already open. A woman Tory didn’t know popped out, her arms laden with supplies. Five minutes later, all the donations stowed in the truck bed, they got back into their seats and drove on.

  “What was Dad like back then?” Tory asked her mother.

  “He was much too charming for his own good,” Mary said before Enid could answer. “He stole your mother’s heart and married way above his paygrade.”

  “Mary!” Leslie exclaimed.

  “Relax, Leslie. I’m not offended. It’s true,” Enid said. “Dale could be a charmer, but he wasn’t really husband material. Not unless you like life a lot more exciting than I do. Don’t marry a troublemaker, no matter how charming he is,” she advised Tory.

  “Good thing Stella has a good head on her shoulders,” Mary said complacently. “She’d never go for the troublesome type. Maya on the other hand…”

  “Watch it,” Enid said. “My son isn’t a troublemaker.”

  “Lance has turned out quite different than I expected,” Mary admitted. “Sometimes men fool you.”

  “That they do.” Enid sighed.

  “Which is why it’s important for women to stick together,” Leslie said. “Has it ever occurred to you two that I lost my best friends when you went to war?”

  Tory saw her mother and Mary exchange a look.

  “You didn’t even think about that, did you?” Leslie went on. “Both of you dropped me like a hotcake when you got mad at each other!”

  “I thought…” Enid began. “I knew you’d want to stay friends with Mary, so I backed off.”

  Mary shook her head. “She was on your side. Right, Leslie?”

  “I was on both your sides!” Leslie made an impatient sound. “But that didn’t matter, did it, because when the chips were down, neither of you cared.”

  “I cared,” Enid protested. “It hurt me a lot to lose you and Mary at the same time.”

  “I knew the two of you were judging me,” Mary said. “You thought I stole William.”

  “You did steal William,” Enid said.

  “See? You never consider my side at all,” Mary said. “You sure didn’t miss me, either.”

  “I did miss you,” Enid said. “Horribly. We’d talked every day up until then. Mary, you were a huge part of my life. It was bad enough I lost you and William. When I moved on and fell for Dale—I knew you wouldn’t approve. I felt like I lost you all over again—for good.”

  “I wouldn’t have said anything about Dale.” Mary made a face. “Okay, I would have, but only because I didn’t want to see you hurt—again. It felt so bad knowing I’d already hurt you once. You know, none of what I did was premeditated, no matter what you think. I just—wanted William. It didn’t go past that.”

  All of them were silent for a moment. Tory thought it was sad that such a strong friendship had been destroyed over men.

  “We were really just kids playing at being grown-ups back then, weren’t we?” Enid said finally.

  Mary nodded slowly. “It makes me afraid for my own kids. Not that I have anything against Lance or Olivia, really. I just wish there was some way to guarantee they’d always be happy.” She smiled suddenly, surprising Tory. “Remember how we used to joke about our kids marrying each other, before we had husbands and children?”

  Enid nodded. “You were going to have ten of them, if I remember correctly. You always got mad because I said I wanted three.”

  “Now look what’s happened. Noah and Maya married Olivia and Lance. We’re… related, kind of.”

  “You’re definitely related,” Leslie said. “You should be friends, too. Your children deserve a happy, united family.”

  Neither woman answered that.

  “Don’t even think about resisting,” Leslie went on. “I’ve decided I’m sick of waiting for you to come to your senses. I’m going to keep inviting you both to join me whenever I have something to do. You’ll have to be friends whether you want to or not.”

  Mary laughed quietly. “I guess there’s no arguing with that.”

  “I guess not,” Enid agreed.

  “Here we go,” Mary said, pulling into a driveway.

  “Three tablecloths, two coolers, a pack of paper napkins and some fairy lights,” Leslie read from the list. “Ooh, that’s a nice idea. Maybe we should put out a call for some more of those.”

  “I’m on it,” Tory said and pulled out her phone.

  Liam put down the phone, coming to the end of his list at last. He was sick of asking for money. All he really wanted to do was call Tory, patch things up between them and slip away with her again. It was driving Liam crazy keeping away. He wanted to spend every night with her. Hell, every day, too.

  He was still ashamed that he’d tried to pull one over on her. He should have simply trusted she’d understand why he needed to win the Founder’s Prize.

  On the other hand, he couldn’t expect her to simply sit back and let his family take the Ridley property. He was sure Tory would sympathize with his need to save his home, but that didn’t mean her family didn’t have their own reasons to want the prize, which was why she’d jumped in so eagerly with the cookout idea. He hadn’t thought she was all that caught up in the contest, but she hadn’t been at Linda’s Diner alone. Olivia had also been there, and when he put himself in Olivia’s shoes, he realized what an awkward position it was.

  Who was she supposed to support—her husband or her family? What about Noah, for that matter—or Maya?

  Was Olivia trying to make sure the Turners and Coopers tied up the competition? Did she think that would settle the matter?

  Liam wondered if it might make things worse.

  His phone in his hand, he debated what to do. Maybe the trick was to tackle the problems separately. He could try like mad to win the Founder’s Prize and at the same time keep on wooing Tory and trying to convince her to stay in Chance Creek for good.

  All Liam knew was that he needed time alone with her. Should he call and ask her out on a real date? She must have been furious when she walked into Linda’s Diner and learned he was trying to steal the Founder’s Prize out from under her family.

  Could she forgive him?

  His phone blipped, and he looked down to see a photo his mother had sent. It was a selfie she’d taken in her truck, sitting in the driver’s seat. Leslie Falk was leaning in from the passenger seat. Behind them Enid and Tory were clowning around in the back seat.

  What on earth was going on?

  Fraternizing with the enemy? he texted back.

  More like fooling the enemy into helping our cause.

  Liam didn’t buy it. He couldn’t remember when he’d last seen his mother smile like that. Even more confusing was Tory’s mischievous grin, which tugged at a part of him that wasn’t governed by logic.

  What was his mother doing goofing around with her long-term rival?

  Stella walked in. “What’s going on?”

  Liam pocketed his phone and shrugged. “Nothing.”

  “Did Mom send you the same photo she sent me?”

  “Yeah. Crazy, huh?”

  “Mom and Enid Cooper, together again.”

  Liam couldn’t read her mood. “You really hate the Co
opers, don’t you?” he hazarded.

  Stella leaned her elbows on the porch railing and stared into the distance, her dark hair trailing over her shoulder. “I used to. Now with Maya and Lance around all the time… I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore.”

  “Tory’s been helping with the fundraiser a lot.” He wasn’t sure why he’d said that. He supposed because he wanted to gauge Stella’s reaction to the news.

  “Never thought Tory would come back, let alone stick around,” Stella said. “She’s turned out… okay.”

  “She’s going to be a lawyer.”

  Stella nodded. “She’s smart, going for the career she really wants.”

  Liam considered his sister in a way he never had before. “Is there a career you want you don’t think you can have?”

  Was that blush tracing over her cheeks? He waited out her silence.

  “Kind of always wanted to be a deputy, since you’re asking. Maybe sheriff someday,” she said softly. “I know—ridiculous, isn’t it?”

  “No. Not ridiculous. Unexpected, maybe,” he admitted.

  “I could do it,” she said defiantly.

  “I know you could.” He leaned on the railing, too. Studied their land. A lot was changing around them, but the ranch stayed constant. It was one of the things he loved about it.

  “Uncle Jed would have a cow.”

  Liam laughed for the first time in days. It felt good. “Uncle Jed could use some shaking up.”

  “I probably couldn’t get it done even if I got up the guts to try. There’s a written test—and a physical one.”

  “You could pass those. Easy.”

  “You think so?” She perked up a little. This was more than a passing fancy, Liam realized. It had been a long time since he’d had a serious talk with Stella. Probably should make more time for things like that.

  “I know so,” he told her. “And I think if that’s what you really want, you should go for it.” He thought of Leslie and all her trips to the dialysis unit. Thought of their father and how early he’d died. “Life’s too damn short to worry about what anyone else thinks. You have to do what makes you happy.” He thought of Tory. “You have to be with the person who makes you happy, too.”