Shotgun Bride

“Best chicken-fried steak in town,” Chester said, seeming a little embarrassed, since it was clear that he’d never told his girlfriend about Kate. Nor, apparently, was he going to.

“I’ll do that sometime,” Kate said. She took a step backward, relieved for the chance to escape.

She walked briskly to her SUV and sat behind the wheel, trying to quit shaking. Seeing Chester had brought it all back.

Why had she let Grayson move them here? She’d been shocked when he’d told her about her present on their one-month anniversary.

“I bought you something,” he’d said, seeming shy and excited.

She’d laughed. “Whatever it is, I know I’m going to love it.”

“Well, you used to love it.”

Her heart had begun to pound even before he said the words: “I bought you Trails West.”

She’d realized her mistake at once. From the first day when she’d shown up at Grayson’s Texas ranch, he’d wanted to hear all about the years she’d lived in Montana. She’d told him what it was like growing up with Rebecca and how they’d been close as sisters until Rebecca went to college in Texas, where she met and married him.

Kate had also told Grayson about her father’s death and losing the ranch. What she hadn’t told him was the rest of it.

“Grayson, you shouldn’t have,” she’d said, unable to hold back the tears as he handed her the deed to the ranch.

He’d thought they were tears of joy, and he had been so happy to give her the ranch that she couldn’t tell him it was the last thing she wanted.

Her second shock had come a few months later, when he’d surprised her with the news that he’d bought up property around Trails West and was selling out in Texas. Grayson didn’t do anything halfway. It was why he’d been so successful.

“I love the country up there, so I’m not doing this just for you,” he’d told her.

Kate knew that his sons believed she’d talked him into moving to Montana and blamed her. She was at fault, no doubt about that. She should have spoken up right away and put an end to this before it got completely out of hand.

But she loved Grayson too much.

And she had to admit it was great being back on the ranch. All the wonderful memories of her father and her childhood were here.

Grayson loved hearing about her memories of life on the ranch with Rebecca. She knew it helped give Rebecca a new life for him. Surprisingly, it seemed to free him, as well. He suddenly felt ready to finally go through Rebecca’s things. That’s when they’d found the letters Rebecca had left for her sons.

As Kate started the SUV, wanting nothing more than to return to the ranch and Grayson, her heart swelled as she thought about his capacity for love. She didn’t deserve him. She didn’t deserve any of this, she thought as she drove out of Whitehorse.

Her life was a fairy tale, perfect in every way. Except for one—Chester Bailey and the lie between them. When Grayson learned the truth, she feared her fairy tale would turn into a nightmare.

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