Accidental Mail Order Bride by J. S. Cooper

Chapter Eight

“Well, who do we have here?”Austin spoke up as he walked right over to me. “Why I do believe that you’re Lucy, aren’t you?”

Beau looked at me and then looked at his brother. “Oh, you know Lucy?”

“Mom’s friend, huh?” Austin looked like he was fighting a smile.

“Yeah, this is Mom’s friend,” Beau looked at his brother. “Why are you looking like an idiot right now, Austin?”

“I don’t look like an idiot, and I don’t really know Lucy. I just had the pleasure of meeting her.”

“Oh, where did you guys meet? Didn’t you just come back?”

“Well, you know I went to the bar for lunch.”

“Yes, I know. And Mom was upset. You know she likes you having lunch at home.”

“I can’t have lunch at home every single day.” Austin rolled his eyes. “But I saw Lucy at the bar.”

“Oh, okay.”

Austin looked at me. “Is that how you know Mom then? You met her at the bar?”

“Does Mom ever go to bars?” Wyatt spoke up.

“You know she’ll go with Dad,” Beau answered.

My heart was pounding uncomfortably. Austin hadn’t taken his eyes off me. I prayed to God that he didn’t bring up anything that I’d said in the bar.

“Well, I have some information that I think you guys will want to know,” Austin said.

I glared at him. “Well, no, I don’t think so. I—”

“Did you know that Mom is Lucy’s mother-in-law?”

“What?” Wyatt’s eyebrows wrinkled. “What are you talking about?”

Beau coughed for a couple of seconds. “Huh? What do you mean Lucy is Mom’s mother-in-law?”

“I didn’t say Lucy is Mom’s mother-in-law. I said Mom is Lucy’s mother-in-law.” Austin’s smile got a little wider as he stared at me. “Isn’t that right?”

“I didn’t say she was my mother-in-law.” I shot him a dirty look. “I was just saying that—”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry. You were just saying that she was going to be your mother-in-law, right?”

“… Yes.” I swallowed hard. Oh God, please don’t continue.

“So wait, you’re dating one of my brothers?” Wyatt had a big smile on his face. “How comes I’ve never heard about this before?”

“That’s exactly the same thing I was thinking,” Austin said. “Have you heard anything about it, Beau?”

“How would I have heard anything about it?” Beau looked pissed off. “I seem to be the last one to know anything in this family. So, Lucy,” he glanced at me, “exactly who are you dating?” And then he frowned. “And how did you meet him? Didn’t you say you came from New York?”

“Yeah, I did just fly in from New York,” I said, not sure what to say.

“Is it Chet?” Wyatt asked.

“Uh, no.”

“Flint?” Beau asked.

“No.” I shook my head, swallowing hard.

“Don’t tell me it’s Huck,” Wyatt started laughing. “Did Huck go and get himself an internet girlfriend?”

“No, it’s not Huck.” I bit down on my lower lip.

“Then it’s Knox?” Beau’s jaw dropped. “I never would have guessed that Knox would have a girl coming and that he would have introduced her to Mom and Dad before anyone else. That’s crazy.”

“Ha,” I kind of laugh-cried and they all looked at me.

“So, Lucy,” Austin said loudly.

“Yes, Austin?” I replied through gritted teeth.

“You’re dating Knox? Is that what you’re saying?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.”

“But there are no other brothers,” Wyatt said, a perplexed look on his face. “There’s Beau. There’s Austin. There’s me. Then we got Chet, Flint, Huck, and Knox. If you’re not dating any of us, who are you dating?”

“Oh my God, don’t tell me Mom and Dad have an arrangement.” Beau looked horrified.

Austin started laughing. “Do you really think that Dad has another woman and that Mom would let that happen?”

“No,” Beau looked relieved. “But then who else could it be? Lucy, please let us in on it.”

“Well, um, I haven’t technically started dating him yet.”

“What?” Wyatt looked confused. “What do you mean you haven’t technically started dating him yet?” He started laughing. “I have no idea what is going on here. Are we on some sort of TV show?”

“That’s what I was wondering,” Austin laughed. “Did Mom sign us up for The Bachelor in Montana or something?”

Beau shook his head. “Come on, let’s go to the kitchen.”

The three brothers looked at me and I nodded in agreement. I would rather Amelia tell them what was going on than me having to explain.

We made our way to the kitchen where Amelia and Ranger looked like they were having an intense conversation. Ranger looked up as we walked in and groaned at the sight of his sons. Amelia smiled beatifically.

“Oh, there you are, children. Have a seat. Wyatt, you go and set the table.”

“Why do I always have to be the one to set the table?” He sounded like a little kid.

“Wyatt, please go and set the table.”

“Yes, Mom.” He rolled his eyes.

“So, Mom, I just met Lucy.” Austin walked over to his mom and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, glad to hear that, Austin.”

“And the funny thing is …”

“Yes, son?”

“I met her earlier at the bar.”

“Oh, you did?” She just nodded pleasantly. I wondered if her heart was racing as fast as mine. If it was, she was hiding it well.

“And you know what? She said the funniest thing to me at the bar, didn’t you, Lucy?”

“Um, I didn’t really think I was that funny.” I shook my head, trying to make eye contact with Amelia, but she was too busy looking at her son.

“Oh, that’s interesting, dear. I’m making barbecue ribs tonight, your favorite.”

“Nice. Thanks,” he nodded. “Well, do you want to know what Lucy was telling me, guys?”

“What’s that?”

“She told me that she was in town because she was meeting her in-laws.”

“Oh, boy.” Ranger stood up and shook his head. “I told you this was not a good idea, Amelia.”

“Nonsense, Ranger, you don’t know that—”

“Mom, what’s going on?” Beau spoke up. “I’m really confused. She said she is here to meet her in-laws, who we’re assuming means you and Dad, but she doesn’t actually seem to be dating any of us. Is there another brother that we don’t know about or something? What’s going on?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m curious about. Although …” Austin paused and walked over to me, “didn’t you tell me, Lucy, that you were engaged to the oldest son? So that would seem to indicate that you’re engaged to Beau.”

Beau looked at me, confused. Oh shit, I had no idea what to say. “Well, no. I mean, I didn’t mean it like that. I—”

“And didn’t you say that he loved you very much?” Austin continued, a wide grin on his face. “So, Beau, have you been keeping this a secret? Why didn’t you tell me? I thought I was your favorite brother.”

“Austin, I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. I’ve never seen this woman before in my life.” He looked at me. “Is this true, Lucy? Did you tell Austin that we were dating?”

“No, I didn’t. I didn’t give Austin any names.” I shot Austin a dirty look. “How could you?”

“How could I what?” he laughed.

“You know.”

“I know what?”

“Amelia!” I looked pleadingly at their mother, and she sighed.

“Okay, fine, children. Fine. Lucy is here as a mail order bride.”

Austin started laughing, and Beau just groaned.

Ranger stood up. “I’m going to go and check on the—”

“You’re not going anywhere, Ranger. Sit back down,” Amelia said.

“Fine,” he huffed. “I told your mother it wasn’t a good idea, but she insisted because she wants to have grandkids before she’s 80. And I too would like to have grandkids before I’m 80, but I said that you’d figure it out. But your mom—”

“Mom, what is going on here?” Beau walked over to his mother. “Please do not tell me that you signed me up for some sort of mail order bride.” He looked back at me. “And honestly, I can’t believe that you responded. Are you crazy?”

“I think she might be,” Austin said with a laugh. “I really think she might be.”

“I’m not crazy,” I interrupted. “And you just shut up!” I poked Austin in the arm. “Why did you have to go and spill everything? Couldn’t you keep your mouth shut?”

“Couldn’t I keep my mouth shut?” He looked at me like I was crazy. “You’re the one that showed up at a local bar asking for the address to my home because you said your boyfriend lived there who was soon to be your fiancé and you were meeting your in-laws, and I’d never heard about you before in my life. And this is a small town, so now everyone knows that someone at Horseshoe Ranch is about to get married. And you’re asking why I let everybody know?” He turned to his mother. “And Mom, this was a ridiculous idea. How could you do that to Beau?”

“I just wanted the best for him,” she said softly. “You know I’m getting older.” Her voice was feeble now and I wondered if she was putting it on. “Forgive your mother. Sometimes I don’t think through everything,”

“Mom, quit acting.” Beau frowned at her then looked at me. “This is absolutely ridiculous. I’m guessing that’s why you didn’t want to tell me how you knew my mom?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

“So you just decided to fly to Montana from New York City to marry me even though you don’t know me?” He looked me up and down. “Are you a psychopath? Are you on the run from the law or what?”

“Or what,” I muttered, not even sure how to explain why I’d accepted such a ridiculous idea.

“You look pretty normal,” Austin chuckled. “I guess it’s the normal-looking, beautiful ones you have to worry about.”

For a moment, my heart soared at the fact that he’d called me beautiful, then I remembered that wasn’t enough to make up for ratting me out to his brothers. And kissing me. He’d kissed me thinking I was betrothed to his brother! Okay, so I wasn’t exactly betrothed because his brother didn’t even know who I was. But if I was to have any chance with Beau, how would he feel if he knew that I’d already kissed his brother?

“Look, I know it’s really hard for you guys to understand why I would fly here, but your mom seemed really cool and really nice. And I was kind of at my wits end in New York, and I figured that—”

“Stop, Lucy. You don’t have to answer them,” Amelia interrupted.

“No, it’s fine.” I looked at Beau and then I looked at Austin. I took a deep breath. They deserved an explanation, plus I didn’t want them to think I was crazy. “I can tell you guys why I’m here,” I said quietly.

Beau held his hand up. “Actually, can you maybe wait till dinner? That’s when the brothers get back and we all have dinner together. It’d most probably be easier if you explain it to everyone at the same time because I know everyone else is going to want to hear.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go to my room now.”

“Of course.” Amelia walked over to me and gave me a big hug. “I’m sorry about this, Lucy. I didn’t expect my sons to be so rude and unwelcoming to a guest in our house.”

“But she’s not a guest,” Austin interrupted with a grin. “She’s family.”

Amelia fixed a stern look on him. “Austin, I am not going to tell you again to have some manners. Now, show Amelia to her room just in case she can’t find it and then come back here. I have some chores for you.”

“Mom!”

She frowned at him. “Don’t Mom me.”

“Fine,” he said. “Come on, Lucy.” He jerked his head toward the doorway and I took a step toward him.

“Hey, Lucy?” Beau said.

“Yeah?” I turned and looked back at him.

“For what it’s worth …”

“Yeah?” I said.

“I still think you’re pretty hot.” He grinned at me.

“Thank you,” I said with a small laugh and then turned back to leave.

Austin was scowling as we made our way down the corridor back towards my room. “What’s your game plan here, Lucy?” he asked as we stopped outside my bedroom door.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what’s your plan?”

“I don’t quite understand your question.”

“You came here as a mail order bride, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you didn’t know the name of the man you were supposed to marry?”

“No.”

“You didn’t know what he looked like?”

“No.”

“And you’re serious about wanting to get married to him, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So you’re serious about wanting to get married to Beau?”

“Well, I figured if we have a connection and we find each other attractive …” I shrugged.

“So you want to marry him?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Do you find him attractive?”

“Yes, I do.”

He glared at my answer. “Yet, you were kissing me at the bar not even a couple of hours ago?”

“I wasn’t kissing you. You kissed me—”

“You didn’t stop me. I’m pretty confident that you kissed me back.”

“Well, you didn’t really give me a chance to stop anything. I—”

“Don’t you think I’m attractive?”

“I mean … you’re okay.”

“Do you think I’m more attractive than Beau?”

“I don’t know.” I did not want to be having this conversation. The last thing I needed was for everyone to find out that I had also kissed Austin.

“So you’re determined to see if it’s going to work with Beau?”

“I mean, I don’t know. We’ve hardly spoken.”

“So if I were to kiss you again, you’d say no?”

“Of course.”

“Really?” He leaned in towards me and my legs suddenly felt weak. Austin had a sexual magnetism that most men didn’t, or at least not that I felt. He took a step closer to me, and I swallowed hard.

“So, Lucy,” he said, his eyes staring into mine. They were twinkling and daring me to resist him. “Lucy, I said your name,” he said again.

“I’m waiting to hear what you have to say.”

“I’m going to kiss you again.” His lips moved closer to mine. “Unless you say no.”

I opened my mouth to say no but no words would come out.

“I’m nearly there, Lucy,” he said, his lips a mere inch away from mine. “This is your last chance.”

I tried to say no again, but I couldn’t. And then his lips were on mine, pressing gently at first and then more forcefully. His tongue slipped into my mouth and I groaned against him as he wrapped his arms around my waist. We kissed for a long, languorous moment, my body melting into his.

And then he broke the spell by pulling back. “So I’m going to ask you once again, Lucy Kensington.”

“Yes?” I squeaked out.

“Do you really plan on marrying my brother?”