Bride Included

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The hot tears welling in her eyes finally spilled over her lashes. Tears because she would miss her father. Tears because she was so afraid of what her future would hold.

“Oh, Dad,” she whispered around the ache in her heart. She was upset, yes. But she could never, ever spurn him despite the fact that he’d sold her soul to the devil himself. Together, they could have figured a way out of this mess. Alone, she had no way of defending herself from someone as formidable as Seth. He wanted the Golden M, and he wanted it badly enough to marry her for it.

Oh, what a doozy fate had delivered! If she wasn’t so devastated, she would have been laughing hysterically at the twist.

She heard the screen door to the house slam shut and glanced up to see Kellie heading across the yard. She stopped and picked up Seth’s hat, paused briefly to consider the hole in the crown, then continued toward the barn, carrying Josie’s trophy with her.

Quickly, Josie wiped away the wetness on her cheeks and reached deep inside for some much needed fortitude to explain what changes lay ahead. She had to be strong for Kellie’s sake because she was all her daughter had.

The little girl stopped in front of Josie, a frown creasing her delicately shaped brows. “He made you cry,” she accused.

Her daughter looked so fiercely protective, Josie couldn’t help but smile. “No, Mr. O’Connor didn’t make me cry.” She’d come close a few times, out of frustration and fury, but these tears had been for the man who’d raised her so lovingly. A man she feared they would never see again.

Kellie didn’t look convinced. “What did that O’Connor man want?”

Our land. Our house. Everything I’ve worked so hard to nurture over the years.

She patted the space beside her on the bench. “Sit down, sweetie. We need to talk.”

“I don’t want to sit.” The stubborn thrust of her chin didn’t do much to mask the more uncertain emotions Josie saw hovering in her daughter’s eyes.

Not wanting to upset Kellie any more than she had to, she stood and forced a bright smile that felt as phony as it probably looked. “Okay,” she said easily. “Then how about we go for a walk?”

Taking Seth’s ruined hat from her, Josie set it on the empty bench. Without waiting for another refusal, she draped a comforting arm around Kellie’s shoulders and started walking along the white fence bordering the west pasture.

There was no easy way to broach the subject, so she just jumped right into the middle of it. “How do you feel about having a dad?”

“What do you mean?” Kellie asked skeptically.

Josie threaded her fingers through her daughter’s sun-warmed hair. She loved this child so much, wanted so much more for her than she was about to give her—like a dad who would love her unconditionally. She didn’t know if Seth was capable of accepting her daughter without past resentments and rumors getting in the way.

“Well, you’ve asked me before why I don’t get married so you can have a dad,” Josie said, trying to sound optimistic and cheerful. “And I was just wondering if you still felt the same way.”

Kellie’s slim shoulders lifted in a reserved shrug. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

She closed her eyes for a few extra seconds, ignored the dread churning within her and just let it out. “Well, Mr. O’Connor and I are going to get married.”

Kellie jerked away from her, her expression horrified. “But I don’t want him as a dad! He’s mean!”

Josie realized she had the choice of agreeing wholeheartedly with Kellie and tainting her daughter’s perception of Seth right from the get-go, or she could make this transition for Kellie as smooth as possible. She might not like Seth, but there was no reason for Kellie to fear or hate him so vehemently.

The dirt drive had given way to a grassy knoll with patches of wildflowers. Josie stopped before they strolled too far away from the house and reached for her daughter’s small hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Mr. O’Connor really isn’t so bad.” In fact, at one time he’d been charming and sweet, but that had all been a ploy. “When he came over today, he was upset, and so was I. The Golden M is his now, and in order for us to stay here, I have to marry him.”

“Oh.” Josie’s explanation seemed to pacify her daughter and chase away the worry in her gaze. Kellie tilted her head, regarding Josie speculatively. “Do you love him?” she asked quietly.

The unexpected question knocked Josie for a loop, considering she’d once given Seth her heart and a piece of her soul. Thank goodness the fence was right behind her because she found she needed it for support. Once she’d regained her composure and calmed the erratic beating of her heart, she said very firmly, “No, I don’t love him.”

“But maybe someday you will?” Kellie asked expectantly.

Not likely, but she found she couldn’t crush her daughter’s simple hope for a bright future. “Maybe.” It was a stretch, but “maybe” was as close to a promise as she was willing to offer.

“Okay.” Kellie seemed satisfied with that. And relieved. “If you have to many him, and he’s going to be my new dad, I’ll try my best to like him.” She chewed on her bottom lip, and Josie could see the wheels in her mind clicking. And then the tentative query came. “Do you think he’ll like me? Maybe just a little?”

Josie’s chest tightened, and she found it hurt to breathe. How quick her daughter was to accept Seth! “What’s not to like? You’re beautiful, smart and sweeter than sugar.” She lovingly ran her finger down the pert slope of Kellie’s nose and made a silent vow that if Seth ever hurt her daughter by rejecting her, she’d make every day of his life a living hell.

Kellie laughed and spun around happily, arms spread wide. Her cascade of auburn spiral curls shimmered in the sunshine, and then she turned her lovely smile Josie’s way. “So, when are you guys getting married?”

Josie wished she could drum up even half the enthusiasm her daughter possessed. “Probably Friday.”

“Wow!” Bending down, she plucked a wildflower from a patch, then another, gathering a pretty yellow bouquet. “Can I be one of those girls who stands beside you and holds flowers?”

Josie managed a smile. “I’d love for you to be my maid of honor.”

Kellie’s eyes glowed with anticipation. “And will there be a big cake and a fancy dinner and dance afterward?”

Josie knew Kellie was remembering the wedding they’d attended last year for a friend of the family. It had been a lavish, traditional affair, with all the pomp and circumstance every young girl dreamed of. A beautiful white dress, a handsome groom who adored his bride, and vows that included loving and cherishing till death them did part.

Loving and cherishing wasn’t part of the agreement. Just a quickie marriage that would ensure she kept the ranch in the family. “It’s going to be a small, quiet ceremony,” she said in answer to her daughter’s question. “And there won’t be a reception afterward.”

Disappointment put a damper on Kellie’s excitement. And then an idea revitalized the sparkle in her eyes. “Maybe I could bake you and Mr. O’Connor a wedding cake!”

Josie suppressed a groan at the thought of explaining a young girl’s whimsy to Seth. “We’ll see.”

Crossing her arms over her chest and propping her backside on one of the fence’s rungs, Josie watched her daughter frolic in the meadow, picking flowers and pretending to be a bride. It was obvious that Kellie didn’t understand that she was marrying Seth because she had to and not because she wanted to. But Josie was okay with that because it eased her daughter’s fears to believe her mother was willingly marrying Mr. O’Connor.

Seth, her husband. The idea was difficult to get used to, considering she’d long ago given up trying to find a man worthy of that title. She’d dated a few times over the years, but the men she’d gone out with had heard about her “reputation” and expected more from her than a dinner companion and friendly conversation. Fending off groping hands had become a frustrating and depressing process—so much so that she’d decided it was easier to forgo the rituals of dating.