The Cowboy and the Bridesmaid

Chapter 1

Austin

Ilean back in the seat of the posh motel, tense.

I’m not comfortable trading in the open range for the stifling confines of this immaculate, if somewhat uppity, hotel.

I definitely don’t look the part as I take in my worn cowboy boots that are scuffing up the glistening floor.

It’s no wonder I keep getting stared at.

But I’m determined to stay.

For two days I’ve sat in the lobby of this hotel, waiting for a glimpse of Ruby Sutton. She was supposed to be here yesterday, and after a little eavesdropping, I’ve discovered that she had something come up at work and she’s arriving tonight. So here I sit, waiting, and not patiently.

It’s been seven years, so a day or two shouldn’t bother me, but it does.

Ever since I talked to my younger sister Becky this past week and she laid it all out for me, I’ve been antsy and on edge.

She’s pregnant with her first child, and it seems to have made her even more sensitive and nostalgic than ever.

Which, thank fuck, I guess - otherwise I might have gone another seven years without knowing that Ruby Sutton, Becky’s childhood best friend, left Whiskey Run because of me.

I lean my head back on the soft cushion and clench my eyes shut. There are so many what ifs that are going through my head, but I can’t focus on one of them. The only thing that I keep hearing is Becky’s voice and our conversation about Ruby.

There’s something bothering her lately, but she’s not talking to me about it.

That was what started it all. Becky is worried about Ruby, and just like every other time I’ve heard her name, I tensed up. “She hasn’t been home in a long time. Maybe she should visit her mom and dad.”

Frustrated and rubbing her large pregnant belly, Becky rolled her eyes at me. “She avoids coming anywhere near you or Whiskey Run since she left seven years ago.”

“Me?” I asked, surprised. “What do I have to do with her staying away?”

Becky looked at me, and the knowing look on her face told me exactly what she was thinking. She knew about the kiss I’d shared with Ruby. Even though I’d never mentioned a word about it, she knew. Which means Ruby told her.

“She loved you, Austin,” she huffed at me.

I started to say something, but she held her hand up to stop me. “And don’t tell me that she was eighteen and didn’t know what love was. She did, and when you told her you weren’t interested, you broke her heart.”

As I sit here in this posh resort, everything Becky told me comes back with a vengeance.

She loved you... really loved you.

She went to school in New York because distance would be the only thing that could help her move on.

She asks about you all the time.

She still hasn’t forgotten about you.

That was last week, and I almost went to New York right then until Becky told me about the wedding.

One of their friends was getting married in the Keys, and Ruby was going to be here all week.

It took some doing, but I worked my ass off on the ranch to get ready to take the week off.

I called in my cousins. They’re bull riders, but they arranged it where they would all take shifts helping me on the ranch.

For seven years, I’ve wondered what would have happened if I’d taken her up on what she was offering.

Ruby was a temptation like I’ve never known, and on her eighteenth birthday, I bought her a locket and delivered it to her at her father’s ranch.

I could have sent it through Becky, and that’s what I should have done, but I needed to see her.

I wanted to be there and witness her lighting up at the gift I’d thought long and hard about giving her.

I was nervous and probably even feeling a little guilty.

I was ten years older than her, and I had no business seeking her out.

She was my little sister’s best friend and way too young for me, but none of that mattered to me that day.

I found her in the barn, petting her horse.

She was surprised to see me, and when I handed her the blue box with the big bow on it, she smiled at me in a way that still makes my heart rate pick up.

She hurriedly opened it and pulled it out of the box.

Her mouth fell open when she looked at the gold heart locket necklace.

I hadn’t put anything in it, even though I had wanted to put a picture of me and her, but that would have been a dead giveaway to my feelings.

With the locket in her hand, she’d dove into my arms, and I held on to her as she thanked me over and over.

When she pulled back, I should have let her go, but I didn’t.

I couldn’t. And when she went on tiptoe, looking up at me wide-eyed as if I’d just hung the moon, I didn’t have a choice.

My hands tightened on her waist, and I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers.

From that point on, I haven’t looked at another woman.

I definitely haven’t kissed one. Her lips, her taste, the feel of her pressed against me has been the only thing I’ve wanted since. No one else will do.

The kiss was everything, and when we pulled away, breathless, I was ready to ask her for any and everything she was willing to give.

But when I looked into her wide, shocked, innocent eyes, I knew that I shouldn’t.

She had her whole life before her. She had dreams of living in the big city, she’d graduated top of her class, and her future was bright.

She didn’t need a cowboy that was tied to his land in a small town.

She needed to live her life and make all her dreams come true.

And so when I told her that she was my little sister’s best friend, sort of like my own little sister, a part of me died inside. I’ll never get over the look she gave me. I may have thought it was a school age crush, but looking back at it, I can’t help but wonder... and even hope... it was more.