Chapter 1 #2
“I would ask if everything’s okay, but it clearly isn’t. Is your truck broken down?”
“Not precisely,” I said after a moment.
Her eyes widened, and that’s when I realized that she had one of those keychain canisters in her hand that was probably pepper spray or mace.
That was pretty damn smart, considering she was a woman traveling alone, and getting pepper spray to the face would just be a cherry on top of my what the fuck Sunday.
“My name is Sharp. My ranch is down the way. I just need to get back to my house. And my truck.” I paused, wondering what the hell I was supposed to say.
“And to my wedding. I’m getting married today,” I added quickly, though the light tone I was going for wasn’t anywhere in existence. Instead, I just sounded grumpy.
I would blame the rain.
“Oh. Sharp McBride? Are you Ewan’s brother?”
“You know Ewan?” I asked, slightly confused.
“I am Livvy’s cousin, Jamie. One of the Montgomerys.”
My shoulders nearly relaxed as a smile spread on my face. Considering how my day was already going, I hadn’t realized I could smile. “One of the many Montgomery cousins?”
Her eyes filled with laughter. “That’s it. And I can’t believe I’m still leaving you out in the rain. Let me unlock the door for you so you can hop in. Do you need anything from your truck?”
Relieved, I shook my head as I opened the door and then looked down at her expensive leather seat. “I don’t have anything on me, and I’m going to ruin your seats.”
“Well, I don’t have a towel with me, so get in. It’s fine. It will clean. Or my dad will help me figure out something. He’s very handy that way.”
I didn’t know which branch of the family tree Jamie was part of, but I did know that most of the older generation Montgomery men were all built and could probably break me over their knee. It didn’t matter that I was a sturdy rancher, the Montgomerys were something fierce.
“I really should’ve recognized you. After all, I know Ewan, and while I wasn’t going to your wedding today, I’m heading up to help Livvy with a few things on the ranch and was planning on getting there right when she was leaving. That way I could set up. But wow. Okay. I have so many questions.”
“I have a few myself,” I said, my voice low. “Do you mind driving to the church? Because now that I look at the time, I’m not going to have enough of it in order to get to the house first.”
“Oh. Okay. I can totally do that. As long as you tell me how to get there.” She gave me a sheepish look, as she looked through the side mirrors, and turned on her blinker to get back on the road. “Will you be okay leaving your truck back there?”
“It’s one of the work trucks, and yes. I’ll have somebody come by and get it. If we figure out where the hell the keys are.”
Her eyes widened. “The keys aren’t there? Then how did you get out here?”
One of many questions that started to add a worry to my gut that felt like stomach acid. “I have no idea.”
“I’m confused.”
“Take the next right. And I am too. I found myself on this side of the world, and I have no idea how I got there.” For some reason, I told her the exact truth.
Everything that I remembered anyway. I didn’t even know this Jamie Montgomery, but apparently, she was going to be the one who I told everything to.
Which didn’t make any sense, but then again, nothing did today.
“Sharp, you need to call the police.”
I shook my head, not liking my reaction to my name coming off those lips. “No. I’ll figure that out later. It’s Clover Lake, there’s not too many of us. It was probably a practical joke by one of Jo’s brothers.”
She gave me a weird look before going back to paying attention to the road. As it was still raining out, and her knuckles were turning white with how hard she was gripping the steering wheel, she must be freaking out.
I was freaking out too. I liked Jo well enough. I hated her brothers. Hated her family. However, they were one of the neighboring ranches, and being on good terms with them kept us safe and in business. And it would be good for my family, for my relationship with Jo to go to the next level.
Falling in line and making sure that the ranch ran smoothly was what I did. It was just easier to do so. I didn’t love Jo, not yet. But I liked her well enough. And even if I didn’t love her, that was no excuse to miss a wedding. Especially since her father would probably have his shotgun handy.
“I wonder if they’re out looking for you. They have to be worried. Here. What am I thinking? My phone is in the cubby. I have Ewan’s number in there, if you want to text him.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “That’s smart. Thanks.”
I pulled out the phone and cursed. This wedding was going to be the end of me. “If you had signal.”
“I don’t have signal?” she asked, her voice high-pitched.
I understood her worry as she was a woman driving in the middle of nowhere alone, but since this was home, I was used to it. On a normal day. “It happens out here with some of the storms. We are in the middle of nowhere.”
“It’s Wyoming, I just assumed the whole state was the middle of nowhere,” she teased, still sounding a little alarmed.
“You say that as someone who lives in Colorado.”
“In Denver. A metropolis. Yes, the mountains are there to remind you that nature exists, but it’s not this.” She gestured towards the stormy horizon where you couldn’t see much, and I sighed.
“No, this is no Denver. Thank you though. We’ll get there, and everything will be fine.”
She risked a glance at me, and I realized I was staring at her. I should probably stop that. “Congratulations on the wedding though.”
“If it still happens,” I mumbled.
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything.
“It’ll all work out. This wedding. Jo. Figuring out what the fuck happened. Pardon my language.”
“I’ve probably cursed more than you, you’re fucking fine,” she teased.
My lips twitched. “Good to know.”
“Yeah.”
We sat in silence for the rest of the trip, an awkwardness settling in. Because I had no idea what the hell was going on. How I had gotten out here, what the hell this feeling was in my chest. Who was Livvy’s cousin, and why the hell did I have to meet her now?
Not that it mattered.
We pulled into the church’s parking lot, and the rain came down even harder.
“Rain is supposed to be good luck for weddings, right?” she asked, her voice slightly shaky.
I met her gaze and raised a brow. “Sure. That’s what I was thinking earlier, but this seems like a bit much.”
She let out a long breath, her eyes still on mine. “You should probably get in there. Just in case.”
My throat tightened. Was I making a mistake? Probably. But it was my mistake to make. Jo was counting on me. And I didn’t back away from commitments—even ones I didn’t want to make. “Yeah. My wedding that I’m well over an hour late for.”
Jamie winced. “Well, that’s not good.”
“No. It really isn’t.”
“Good luck.”
“I think I’m going to need it.” I turned, and for some reason reached out to squeeze her hand. “Thank you, Jamie Montgomery.”
She looked down where we touched before she smiled up at me. “You’re welcome, Sharp McBride. Now go get married.”
“On it.”
And with that, I jumped out of her SUV, ran through the pouring rain, and made my way inside the church.
Both doors were slightly stuck, so I pushed them open together, bending at the waist and realized I probably resembled Aragon trying to make his way into the hall, but from the daggers that Jo’s mother glared at me from the side, I wasn’t going to get the same reception.
“Where the hell were you?” Jo’s father snapped, as my father moved alongside him.
Angus McBride visibly sighed. “Oh thank God. Your brothers were out looking for you, and we found your phone in your house, but we couldn’t…” He shook his head. “And your truck was there too. We’ve been so worried.”
My mother practically pushed my dad to the side to hug me tightly, ignoring how wet I was. “I’m so glad that you’re okay.”
“Okay? He’s not going to be okay for long. He ran out on my baby girl,” Jo’s father roared.
Everybody began talking at once, screaming at each other, and I put my two fingers to my mouth and whistled sharply. “I’ll explain later, I’m sorry I’m late, I couldn’t help it.”
“That’s rich,” one of Jo’s brothers snarled.
And then I looked up, ignoring everyone else, as Jo came down the aisle, her long and fluffy dress billowing as she stepped.
“Jo. It’s not what you think.”
“You bastard.” I didn’t block the first punch as she slammed her fist into my cheek. She’d been trained by her brothers and could hit like a prize fighter. I did, however, block the punch that came from her brother.
“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Ewan said as he shifted toward us and pulled one of Jo’s brothers away.
Jo moved forward again, her eyes bright with fury…and something else I couldn’t name. “You left me!”
This was going from bad to worse. “I didn’t. I promise. Just give me a minute to explain and we can get through this.” Not that I knew exactly how I’d ended up in this position. There was something fishy going on and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“You left me for her.” Jo pointed a shaky hand behind me, and I nearly closed my eyes and prayed.
Well hell.
I turned, knowing exactly who I would see. A wet and bedraggled Jamie stood there, hands wringing in front of her, and her eyes wide.
“You cheated on me!” Jo screeched.
“I did not. It’s not what you think,” I repeated.
This time Jo’s father punched me on my other cheek, and then my dad was there pinning Jo’s father to the ground.
I hadn’t even seen him move. Everybody shouted at once, pulling off boutonnières and kicking, and even my mother had Jo’s mother in a headlock.
Jamie came closer, as if to help stop this, as Jo’s uncle threw his fist out to punch. I caught it with one hand so it wouldn’t hit her and pulled the man’s arm down. Then Jamie put her fingers to her mouth and whistled even louder than I had.
Everybody stopped and stared at her.
She blinked at us, as if surprised to be the center of attention after that whistle. “I found him on the side of the road. We just met. I have no idea what happened, but all Sharp wanted to do was get here to his wedding. I promise.”
“And who the hell are you?” Jo sobbed.
“My cousin,” Livvy said pointedly as she wrapped her arm around her drenched cousin. “And I would love it if you stopped using that tone when it comes to my family.”
There was a reason I liked to Livvy.
“The wedding is off. I can’t believe you did this to me. You humiliated me.”
I just stared at Jo and realized that the only embarrassment came from the fact that my family had ended up in a fistfight with Jo’s.
I stood there, confused as hell, and then met my father’s gaze.
He gave me a slight nod, and I realized that maybe he’d known all along that I didn’t love Jo.
Or perhaps I was reading too much into that look.
I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but instead Jo just pushed past me, sobbing, and ran right into the arms of William, confusing all of us.
William, the former deputy who’d lost his job thanks to a few too many fistfights, who now owned a local tractor supply and repair company, held Jo to his chest and glared at me, and I realized I’d been set up.
Jo hadn’t wanted to be a runaway bride, so instead she’d made me the runaway groom.
The cheater.
The backstabber.
And no matter what I said, nothing would make it better.
I turned on my heel, nodded at my family, and walked away, leaving this mess, and one of the worst decisions I had ever made in my life, behind.
And when the small tap of heels behind me echoed throughout the church, I realized that Jamie was there, tossing me her keys. “You kind of need a getaway car,” she whispered.
My lips quirked into a smile, and I tilted my imaginary hat in thanks, before leaving the church.
Running away from the wedding that never should have taken place in the first place.
In a town as small as Clover Lake, this was only going to get bad before it got better.