Accidental Mail Order Bride by J. S. Cooper

Chapter Three

I gotinto the car and was about to put the address into my GPS when my phone started ringing. I answered it immediately when I saw that it was Olivia.

“Hey, girl.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I’m worried for you,” she said. There was real concern in her voice and I could tell that she was feeling anxious.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it was funny when you first told me about the idea, and even when you landed at the airport. But I’ve been thinking about it, and I don’t know if this is the safest thing for you to be doing. I think you should come home.”

“What? No, I can’t come home. I just got the address.”

“Girl, but you don’t know who these people are. How are you going to marry some random dude? Look, I don’t have much money either, but we can figure something out. You’ll find another job. You’ll—”

“It’s not even about the job. You know Mikey—”

“What the fuck is Mikey going to do? Girl, he’s not going to do anything to you. I promise.”

“It’s not just Mikey. It’s just everything. I’ve lived in New York my whole life. My mom and I—” I paused. “I just needed a change. You know?”

“I know, Lucy, and I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry about? This isn’t on you.”

“I know that you’ve been hurting since your mom passed away.” Her voice was soft. “I know how hard it’s been on you, and—”

“It’s just, everything reminds me of her, you know? And I don’t know. I’m 28 now, and I have no family and no prospects, and I can’t really afford to be in New York. And yes, I’m a city girl, but maybe I’ll love the country. I mean, I’m here in Montana now, and it’s really quite beautiful.”

“It may be beautiful, but there’s absolutely nothing going on there. I bet they don’t have a Prada store or a Chanel store, or Gucci, or Louis Vuitton, or Kate Spade or—”

“Olivia, you’re funny.” I started laughing. “That was the problem. I was shopping in those stores when I didn’t even have money. Do you know how much I have in my bank account right now?”

“I think you said $100?”

“More like $75 now. I had $100, and I just had to put $25 worth of gas into the car. Like, I’m absolutely broke. I can’t live that life anymore. I was trying to keep up with everyone and be fashionable and couldn’t afford it. And well, I just need to change.”

“Okay. You need to change, but did you have to move to Montana to marry some man you don’t even know? You don’t even know what he looks like. What if he’s butt-fuck ugly? What if he’s 80 years old? What if—”

“He’s not going to be 80 years old. And if he’s horrible and I don’t like him, I’ll leave. I promise.”

“I’m just worried about you, Lucy.”

“I know. And I know this is absolutely crazy, but crazier things have happened to me, and I’ve survived. And you don’t know, maybe this is the start of an awesome new journey and I’ll absolutely love it.”

“I guess. I mean, it’s not like you’ve ever told me you ever wanted to visit Montana before in your life. You don’t like country music. You don’t like pickup trucks. You don’t like cowboys. You don’t like riding horses. You don’t—”

“Stop telling me all the things I don’t like. Maybe I’ll love them. I just never had the opportunity.”

“Lucy, you’re a city girl through and through.”

“I know, but I could be a city girl in Montana.”

“I guess so.” She laughed. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re doing this.”

“I know. I can’t believe it either. But at least the people aren’t crazy.”

“How do you know they’re not crazy?”

“Because I was just in a bar and I got a drink, and the bartender and this dude knew the family and they knew the ranch, and it seems like they’re pretty respectable, cool people.”

Well, the bartender hadn’t said that and neither had the guy, Austin, but I figured if the family wasn’t cool, they would’ve said something to me. I decided not to tell her about the kiss with the hottie because then she would definitely be questioning my life choices. I was kind of questioning them myself.

“Okay. Well, text me the address right now so I know where you’re going, and call me when you get there so I know you’re safe.”

“Okay. I promise.”

“I love you, Lucy. I miss you already.”

“I love you too, Olivia. And maybe if everything works out, you can come out and visit.”

“Well, I’ll have to be there for the wedding, won’t I? I’m going to be the bridesmaid, right?”

“Well, duh,” I laughed. “Okay. Well, I’m going to go now, okay? I’ll call you as soon as I get there.”

“Okay. Sounds good. And Lucy?”

“Yes, Olivia?”

“Good luck. You got this, okay?”

“Thank you.”

”And if he’s butt-fuck ugly …”

“Uh-huh?”

“You can always close your eyes and think of Brad Pitt when he’s fucking you.”

“Oh, ew! Really, Olivia?”

“What? You’ve never had to pretend you’re with someone else?”

“No, of course not!”

“Oops. I guess it’s only me, then. Bye, girl!”

I put the phone down and then entered the address into my GPS. Olivia was a good friend to me—more like family, really. And what she’d said was true, I really didn’t know what I was in for, but a part of me didn’t really care. I’d been heartbroken when my mom passed away. She’d only been 58. She was in the prime of her life. She died of heart failure and high blood pressure, and we hadn’t even known that she had a heart issue. It had absolutely devastated me and changed the way that I’d looked at life. If I got married and had kids, they wouldn’t have a grandma. At least, they wouldn’t have my mom as a grandma. My whole life I’d always expected that she’d be at my wedding, that she’d babysit my kids, that she’d be there through every new job and every new boyfriend and every new life experience.

And now she wouldn’t be.

Living in the city wasn’t the same anymore. Nothing was the same anymore. And I needed a change.

I knew I was being reckless. If I were in my right mind, I wouldn’t do anything like this, but my mom’s death had taught me one thing: that you couldn’t just be safe. You had to live life because you never knew when you were going to die. You never knew what could happen.

And this? Well, maybe this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Maybe, just maybe, this guy at Horseshoe Ranch would be the one. And if he wasn’t, maybe he’d have a friend or maybe some other dude in Montana would light a fire in me. I didn’t know, but it was worth the risk. You have to take risks in life. I knew that now.

My mom and I had planned for so many different things. And now we weren’t able to do any of them. If I stayed in New York, I knew I’d be stuck in the same old rut. I loved Olivia and we had so much fun, but I was living a life that I couldn’t afford, and ultimately, it wasn’t making me happy.

I looked up at the big blue sky and took a deep breath. I’d never imagined living in a place like this, but it was beautiful. I hadn’t lied about that. Nature was all around me. And while I was a city girl, there was something to be said about the quiet and stillness of a place that wasn’t jam-packed with buildings and people. Maybe I didn’t need to be crammed into tiny bars and restaurants, meeting the who’s who of New York City. Maybe I would be okay on a little ranch with some cowboys living the Walton Family life.

I’d give it a chance and I’d see. I had absolutely nothing to lose.