The Sheriff's Runaway Bride. Arlene James

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      “I understand you’ve met my brother,” Brooke said wryly.

      Kylie’s head snapped around. “This one’s your brother?”

      Brooke inclined her head, eyes shining. “That’s our Lump-head. Better known as Zach.”

      “Watch it, Gigglebot,” he shot back.

      She smiled, and Kylie realized that Brooke had the same dimple. Funny, she’d never noticed that before, and she’d known Brooke since high school. She’d known, too, somewhere in the back of her mind, that Brooke had an older brother, but he’d been long gone by the time Kylie had come to Clayton.

      “Then I guess your brother’s told you …” She waved a hand, unwilling to say more about canceling the wedding here in the diner. Everyone knew, of course, but they were curbing their curiosity out of sheer civility.

      Brooke nodded. “To tell you the truth, I’m relieved.”

      “Why is that?” Kylie knew how deep the animosity ran on both sides of the family, but she couldn’t imagine why Brooke would be concerned for her one way or another. It had been years since they’d been even casual friends, and Kylie had put herself in the enemy camp, so to speak, by becoming engaged to Vincent.

      For answer, Brooke just glanced at her brother, who drawled, “Because no woman in her right mind would get involved with Vincent.”

      Kylie stiffened. “Oh, really?”

      Today’s events had left her emotions raw, and the criticism sounded particularly harsh coming from the man she’d been thinking of as her personal hero. Obviously, his intervention today had been all about sticking it to Vincent rather than rescuing her.

      At the tone of her voice, Zach Clayton frowned. “I didn’t mean—”

      Kylie interrupted him, stung and embarrassed. “What can I get you folks? I highly recommend the special, but it’s up to you.”

      Gabe flashed Zach a sympathetic look and said, “Meatloaf sounds great to me.”

      They all ordered the meatloaf. Gabe and Brooke chose iced tea with theirs. Zach preferred a cola.

      Kylie tried not to glare at him. She didn’t care what he had to drink or know why his comment bothered her so much. Yet, for some reason she especially resented hearing her rescuer describe her as “not in her right mind.” At least he had the decency to look uncomfortable about it. Well, that made two of them.

      “Suit yourself,” she barked, hurrying away.

      She regretted her tone immediately. Maybe coming to work had been a bad idea after all. Feeling weary, she suddenly wished that it had been anyone but Zach Clayton standing there in that uniform today. She’d have much preferred old Diggers to have witnessed her humiliation. Then again, Diggers might not have even intervened. Everyone knew that he and Pauley, Vincent’s father and the town’s part-time, unpaid mayor, were thick as thieves.

      Besides, she had much bigger problems than a little embarrassment. No matter what her father said, Kylie knew that he’d been counting on Vincent’s grandfather to buy out his share of the ranch in which they’d invested together. If only her dad hadn’t followed Samuel’s advice and put up Jones Feed & Supply as collateral for the loan. If only he hadn’t bought into the ranch with Samuel in the first place. If only Vincent could have been trustworthy. If only …

      Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful. The doves nesting in the bigtooth maple outside her open bedroom window cooed and gurgled in the cool morning air.

      Kylie rolled onto her back, shoving away the covers on her bed, but she did not immediately rise. Zach Clayton’s words from the night before had played through her head incessantly.

       No woman in her right mind would get involved with Vincent.

      Sadly, Zach Clayton had that right. Kylie could admit now that she hadn’t been in her right mind when she’d agreed to marry Vincent.

      Desperation had driven her to consider his proposal, but she had been wrong to accept. She didn’t love him. She barely even liked him, but somehow she had convinced herself that she should marry him. Idiot that she was, she had believed that he cared for her and that he would, at the very least, be a faithful husband. Thankfully she had realized the truth before saying her vows.

      Still, she had been a ninny to let it get that far. Oh, she’d told herself that she could change him, but in truth she’d gotten so carried away by her hopes for her family and her delight in planning the wedding that she’d almost forgotten that the price for those things would be a lifetime of marriage to Vincent.

      She considered pulling the covers over her head and pretending that yesterday hadn’t happened, but that would serve no purpose, and it might even make things worse. It would be best to show up at the church where she’d intended to be married with her head held high. Besides, her soul craved the healing balm of worship.

      At least she need not fear running into Vincent there. Her ex had made it clear that he had little use for “organized religion.” Actually, it would have been much more likely that he’d have appeared at the diner last night, but she hadn’t considered that at the time. Thank goodness he’d apparently had something else to keep him busy last night. Or someone.

      The door to the hallway opened, and her little sister bounced into the room. A cheerleader and distance runner, the energetic seventeen-year-old had a disposition as sunny as her long, yellow-gold hair. Kylie’s own plain brown was crinkly curly, but Mariette’s curls were as bouncy as Mariette herself. With eyes like jade instead of moss, Mariette outshone Kylie in every way, and Kylie couldn’t have been more proud of her. Having graduated as valedictorian of her class, Mariette had landed a scholarship to a small college in New Mexico where she expected to run track, but Kylie knew the scholarship wouldn’t cover everything. They’d all have to pull together to keep her sister in school.

      “Oh, you’re awake already,” Mariette said. She dropped down onto the bed with one long, slender leg folded beneath her. “You look tired. Didn’t you sleep well?”

      Kylie sighed and shook her head. “I feel so stupid. I had convinced myself that Vincent was God’s will for me, for all of us. I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

      Mariette patted her hand. “It’s okay, sis. Mom says maybe we can sell the dress. Technically, it was never used, you know. I mean, nobody got married in it.”

      Kylie laughed. “That’s true. I wore it for maybe an hour.” Finding the dress and planning the wedding had been the most enjoyable part of her engagement, and she knew any number of Internet sites where she could “remarket” the dress and decorations. Kylie had become something of an expert when it came to finding wedding bargains online.

      Mariette popped up off the bed. “Mom’s making a huuuge breakfast, so find an appetite. Okay?”

      Kylie nodded, smiling. Usually they all fended for themselves. Lynette Jones worked side-by-side with her husband at the Feed & Supply, so no one expected her to run a short order kitchen at home. However, whenever anything threatened the family, whenever anyone СКАЧАТЬ