The Cowboy Takes A Wife

She’d learned long ago not to expect things that would never come to fruition. Doing so only led to sadness and burning frustration.

“What about you?” he asked. “Are you anti-marriage or just anti-marrying someone your mother picks?”

“The latter. Honestly, I sometimes feel like she’s set up a dating profile for me somewhere and carefully screens all the candidates before attempting to parade me in front of them like a prize cow.”

Cole snort-laughed.

“You laugh, but I’m not exaggerating. At least your mom is sweet about her attempts.”

“Sounds like we could each use someone watching our backs.”

“I like how you think.”

“So you encourage my mom to chill on trying to find me wife number three, and I’ll play fake date when you need to get your mom off your case.”

Devon resisted gulping at the idea of a pretend date with Cole. Would she be able to hide the fact that she really found him attractive? That she wouldn’t mind if the date were real?

“You are so getting the worst end of this deal,” she said.

Chapter Three (#ulink_926e42a5-4cf6-5042-8ee2-20fb891f8a64)

After Devon left, Cole stayed in the barn to continue working on the horse sculpture. He’d been so busy on the ranch the past few days that he hadn’t found time to come out here. With Devon’s enthusiastic reaction, he found himself energized and picked up an old metal sign and began bending it to cover a part of the horse’s flank.

His thoughts drifted back to Devon. Though she attempted to joke about it, his gut told him that her mother’s treatment of her was no laughing matter. Angela Newberry was the type of woman who was used to getting what she wanted and didn’t react well when she didn’t. He’d had experience with that type and couldn’t say he liked it a whole hell of a lot.

He tried to pull up memories of Devon from high school. She’d been smart, shy, maybe heavier, but he couldn’t remember all the details. It struck him that despite their school’s small size, she’d still managed to be one of the kids you tended to overlook. Despite who her parents were, she hadn’t ruled the school as you’d expect someone in her position to do. He wondered if even then her mother was always harping on her.

She was thinner now, very pretty in a natural way. He found he liked that a lot better than the endless parade of overly made-up fakes who’d put themselves in his path. Not that Devon was doing that. In fact, he and his mother were the ones who’d dragged her out here. He was surprised by how nice it felt to be able to talk with a woman without feeling as though she expected something from him, like a ring on her finger. That Devon seemed to understand how he missed rodeo and appreciated his work made him extra glad he’d gone on instinct helping her with her mom earlier.

“You sound happy.”

He looked up at his mom striding down the middle of the barn. “Huh?”

“You were whistling.”

He was?

He placed his palm against the side of the metal horse. “Because I’m close to finishing this guy.”

“You sure it has nothing to do with our visitor?”

“Devon?”

She lifted a brow. “You see any other visitors out here tonight?”

“Saw a couple of deer up the hill a few minutes ago.”

She huffed out a sigh.

“Don’t sound so put out. We were helping your friend out of a bad situation, nothing more.”

“But she’s a lovely, sweet girl.”

“I’m sure she is, but I’ve told you I’m done.”

“You’re only thirty-three. That’s awfully young to be giving up, isn’t it?”

“Not from my perspective. You keep getting burned, you stop touching the stove.”

“Cole—”

He held up a hand to stop her. “Mom, just because you found happiness in marriage doesn’t mean everyone will. And I’m happy,” he said, because he knew that was her chief worry despite her comments about wanting grandchildren. “I’m back home ranching. I’ve found something else I like to do. I get to eat my mom’s home cooking every day. What’s not to like?”

He’d swear he saw his mom deflate a bit, like a balloon slowly losing air. He felt bad about it, but he had to stand firm or she wouldn’t quit her futile quest to find his one true love.

“Just keep an open mind, okay?”

He didn’t respond, knowing it would be a lie if he agreed.

“How about you answer a question for me?” he said. “What’s really up with you and Angela Newberry?”

“I don’t like snobs.”

“I know. But there’s more to it.”

“You’re Sherlock Holmes all of a sudden?”

“Maybe.”

His mom chuckled at that.

He let it go because he knew continuing to question his mom would be about as productive as digging a well with a measuring cup.

When his mom finally went back to the house after watching him work for a few minutes, her efforts to fix him up marched around inside his head again. Yes, Devon was nice. And she was pretty. But he’d proved he and marriage just weren’t cut out for each other. And dating someone in Blue Falls if you didn’t hope it led to a lifetime commitment just didn’t seem wise. If it ended badly—and his track record indicated it would—he couldn’t avoid seeing another Blue Falls resident the rest of his life.

So pursuing Devon? A big no-no. No matter how nice she was. Or how pretty.

* * *

DESPITE HOW TIRED she’d been when she arrived home the night before, Devon didn’t sleep particularly well. She kept thinking about her mother’s complete lack of respect for her as a person one minute and the warm, masculine feel of Cole’s arm around her shoulders the next. No matter how many times she told herself that they could only be friends, and that she should count herself lucky with that much, she couldn’t help the zing that just thinking about him caused.

Thankfully, Mandy was opening the store this morning, which gave Devon time to finish packaging a fresh supply of soap and stop by the Mehlerhaus Bakery for a cheese Danish and the biggest cup of coffee they had.

“Someone appears to need a lot of caffeine this morning,” Josephina Mehler said as she handed over the coffee.

“It’s one of those mornings where I feel like I need to swim through an ocean of coffee to get going.”

Josephina laughed. “I know that feeling.”