Accidental Mail Order Bride by J. S. Cooper
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Hey,Olivia and Lucy, you guys want to go to the crick later?” Beau asked me as Olivia and I walked back from the stables.
“The crick?” Olivia raised an eyebrow. “What the hell is that?”
“He means the creek,” I laughed. “That’s country talk.”
“You guys don’t call it the crick?” Beau made a face.
“No, we don’t. Do you want to go?” She turned to me, a hopeful smile on her face.
“Sure. Is it just going to be us three?” I looked away. I didn’t want to bring up Austin’s name. “Are Wyatt and Sadie going to be joining us?” I said quickly.
“I’m not sure about Wyatt and Sadie, but Austin is going to come. I hope that’s okay.”
“Oh, yeah. I mean, it will be good fun for all of us to go together.” I was really messing up, but I didn’t want to come out as liking Austin in front of everyone until I’d had a conversation with Beau. Not that I thought Beau was into me, but, technically, I had come to the ranch to be his mail order bride and nothing even close to an engagement was going to happen between the two of us.
“Hey, Austin!” Beau shouted behind him, “Olivia and Lucy are down. We’re going to go to the crick and then we’ll go kayaking down the river. Do you girls kayak?”
“I love kayaking!” Olivia beamed at him. “That sounds amazing.”
“I’ve been once and it was okay.” I made a face. I was a little bit nervous. I wasn’t the best swimmer and well, if I fell in, I didn’t want to look like an absolute idiot.
“We have tandem kayaks, and we have single kayaks. What do you guys want? We’ll put them in the back of the truck now.”
“Um, I don’t mind. What are you guys doing?”
“Single, of course,” Austin walked up behind his brother-in-law. “But if you want to go tandem, I could go in a kayak with you, show you the ropes.”
“It’s okay. I can go in a single kayak.” I looked away blushing. All I could think about was him bringing me to an orgasm with his tongue the night before. I shivered at the memory. He’d left before we could make love. And that had been the gentlemanly thing for him to do because I was seconds away from ripping his boxer shorts off and screaming out his name so that the entire house could hear how much pleasure he was bringing me.
“And you, Olivia?” Beau asked. “If you want a tandem, I can go in a kayak with you.”
“Oh, I’d love to be in a single kayak unless you prefer to do tandem.”
“We can do singles. It’ll be fun. We can bring some fishing poles as well.”
Austin looked excited. “You ever been fishing, Lucy?”
“No, I can’t say that I have.”
“You’re really a city girl, aren’t you? There’s no country in you at all.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that. I mean,” I paused and I laughed. “Okay. Who am I kidding? There’s no country in me at all. At least there hasn’t been. I feel like I’m becoming a little bit country now.”
“Well, we got to get you a cowboy hat and some cowboy boots first,” Austin said, “Would you like that?”
“Yeah, that would be really cool.” And then I looked at Beau. “I mean, what do you think, Beau?”
“Yeah, yeah. If you want to get some, sounds good to me.”
“I’d like to get a cowboy hat,” Olivia said. “I’m totally not a cowgirl, but I think I would look amazing in a cowgirl hat.”
“I think you would as well,” Beau said. And then he looked at me. “You too, Lucy.”
“Well, that’s settled. We’ll go into town maybe tomorrow,” Austin said. “If you girls are up for it.”
“Yeah. I’m definitely up for it.”
“How long will you be in town, Olivia?” Austin asked my friend.
“I’m not sure yet. I got an open-ended ticket so I can decide later.” She looked down at the ground.
“Hey, everything okay?”
“I think I’m going to lose my job, though. Nancy was not too happy when I told her I was taking a vacation out of the city.”
“What?”
“Yeah, even though I had vacation time due to me, she said that she wanted me to work this weekend because it was going to be really busy, and I said, ‘I don’t think that’s going to be possible, because I’m going to be in Montana,’ and she got all pissy and said, ‘Well, if you’re not going to work this weekend, then don’t bother coming back,’ and well, you know.” She shrugged. “I have a feeling I lost my job.”
“Oh, no, Olivia!” I tried to read her expression. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Well, I have a little bit of savings in my account, and when I say a little bit, I mean $2,000. That will last me one month, so I’m going to have to figure out a way to make money soon. So I might have to go back sooner than I would want.”
“You can make money here,” Beau said quickly. “We can hire you on the ranch.”
“Um, there’s not really much I can do on the ranch, but thank you,” Olivia said. “That’s really kind of you.”
“Well, we might be expanding and starting a resort, so perhaps some of your skills would be helpful there?”
“You’re going to start a resort here?” She looked around. “I’m surprised. It’s so peaceful, and—”
“Let’s not talk about it now,” Austin made a face. “It’s kind of a touchy subject around here right now.” He looked at me. “So, Lucy.”
“Yes, Austin?”
“I was thinking—”
“Wow. For once in your life.”
“Very funny. Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?”
“Of course I’d like to hear what you have to say, Austin. What do you have to say?”
“I really, really like your green dress.”
“Well, thank you.”
“But I’m not sure that it’s appropriate for kayaking.”
“And why not?”
“I mean, if you fall in or you get wet …” He shrugged. “But you can wear it if you want to.”
“I will wear it. Thank you. I love it.” And even though I did want to go and change because I didn’t think a dress was the most appropriate thing to wear kayaking, I didn’t want him to feel like he could just tell me what I could and couldn’t wear. I was obstinate that way.
“Okay. We’re going to go and get the kayaks and the paddles and the fishing rods and the bait and tackle, and you girls meet us at the front in about 10 minutes?” Beau said, interrupting my conversation with Austin.
“Sounds good to me.” Olivia nodded. “Right, Lucy?”
“Yeah, sure.” We watched as the two men walked back into the house and then Olivia grabbed my hand.
“What is going on, Lucy?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you and Austin. Be honest.” She folded her arms and stared at me. “I can see the way that he looks at you.”
“What do you mean?” Heat crept into my cheeks.
“He really likes you. Like he really, really likes you.”
“No, he doesn’t. He just flirts and is being a nice guy.”
“Are you crazy? The way that he looks at you …” She touched the side of my face and grinned. “I think he’s in love with you, girl.”
“No, he’s not!” I bit my lip. “Do you really think so?”
“Yeah, I really do. I haven’t seen a man look at a woman like that in real life. Wow. Never. He loves you.”
“Well, I don’t know if he loves me, but this is so complicated.”
“You really like him too, I can tell. You really, really like him.”
“I do,” I admitted with a sigh. “I really, really do. He makes me want to sing when there’s no sound in the room, he makes me want to run along the side of the road and do cartwheels and backflips.”
“But you can’t do backflips.”
“I know I can’t do backflips, Olivia, but if I could do backflips, I would want to do them.”
“I know. I’m just joking.”
“He makes me want to play with the butterflies and fly through the air. He makes me want to swing from trees and jump from cliffs and just scream about how happy I am. It’s crazy because I don’t even know him, but I just feel it, you know?”
“I know,” she nodded. “When did you realize?”
“I know this is going to sound really crazy, but you know how some people say when they meet someone, they just know that that person is going to be someone important in their life?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I think I knew it from the very first time I saw him sitting in the bar, even though I didn’t even know that he lived at Horseshoe Ranch, even though I didn’t even know that he was a Hamilton, a part of me just knew that he was someone important and that he would play an important role in my life.”
“You didn’t even know you’d see him again.”
“I didn’t. And when I did, oh, Olivia, I tell you my heart stopped.” I sighed. “He’s amazing.”
“So what’s the problem? You like him, and he likes you.”
“Yeah, but Amelia.”
“What about Amelia?”
“She really wants me to be with Beau. She even told Ranger that she thinks we’re made for each other, and I don’t want to break her heart. She’s the one that brought me here. She’s the—”
“She’s not going to be mad at you! Are you silly?”
“I’m not silly, and I know that you might not understand, but I feel like I’m letting her down. I feel like—”
“Oh, Lucy, you just need to tell her how you feel.”
“I mean, I guess that’s true. Maybe I’ll tell her later.”
“I think you should. You and Austin need to have a serious talk, and—”
I put my hand up and stopped her. “Can I ask you something, Olivia?”
“Sure.”
“Do you like Beau?”
Her face immediately went red. “What?”
“Do you like Beau?”
“I mean, he’s attractive, of course. I agree that he’s a nice guy—”
“I mean, do you like him like him? Because I’ve noticed ever since we picked you up at the airport, you have spent more time with him than I have, and he’s flirting with you and asks you questions and showing interest, and he never did that with me.”
“What? What are you talking about? Of course he does. He asks you questions.”
“He asks me random questions, but he doesn’t even really listen. Not like he listens to you. And then I know this sounds crazy, but do you want to try and see if you could date him?”
“Who, Beau?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, he wouldn’t be interested in me. He’s probably only trying to win me over because I’m your best friend, and how better to get to know someone than being really good friends with the best friend?”
“I don’t think so. He’s not even trying to get to know me that well.”
“You really think he might think I’m cute?” There was a note of hopefulness in her voice.
“He probably thinks you’re gorgeous because you are.”
“It’s crazy, us, huh? Both being here in Montana, falling for two brothers.”
“I know. Who would have thought us, two hot city girls, would even get to Montana, let alone think about staying. I never would’ve pictured us as country Western girls.”
“Me either,” she shook her head. “But maybe that’s why it’s so wonderful, because it’s something we never would have planned.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” I said. “You excited to go kayaking and fishing?”
“I really am.” Olivia nodded, her eyes big and beautiful. She had a happy smile on her face, and I recognized the calm in her because it was the same calmness I felt in myself.
“This is a beautiful place, isn’t it, Olivia?”
“Yeah, it is. And you know what, Lucy?”
“What?”
“No matter what happens with you and Austin or me and Beau or with us in Montana, let’s just enjoy our time here. And if we have to go back to New York, then so be it. But at least we know there’s something better out there waiting for us.”
“You’re absolutely correct, Olivia.” I gave her a quick hug. “Thank you so much for coming.”
“Oh, Lucy, any time.” She pulled back and stared into my eyes. “I know you miss your mom. I miss her too. She was a beautiful, kind soul. I was just as shocked as you when she passed, and I know that perhaps you weren’t happy in the city anymore with all those memories, and I understand that. I understand that you’ve been hurting, girl, and I know I can’t take the pain away, and I know that I don’t fully understand what it is to lose someone that close in my life, but I’m always here for you through everything. You are my sister, Lucy, okay? You are my best friend and my sister, and I will always be here for you.”
“I love you, Olivia. And I want to let you know that no matter what you’re going through, even if you think it’s not a big deal compared to my mom dying, remember that whatever you’re going through is important as well. And I’m here for you as well, okay?”
“Okay,” she said softly. “Now we better head to the front, so we don’t keep those guys waiting.”
“Let’s do it.” I grabbed her hand and we walked around to the front of the house.
As we walked past the porch, I saw Amelia staring out the window. She grinned as she saw us and gave us a little wave, and my heart filled with love for her, for this woman who had invited a stranger into her home and welcomed her with open arms. She was a beautiful, wonderful human being, and I hated the fact that I was going to have to break her heart when I told her that Beau and I were not meant to be together, but I knew she would understand because she was just that sort of person. I knew that no matter what happened, she would forgive me. And that was all that mattered.