Wedding at Cardwell Ranch. B.J. Daniels

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      Jackson didn’t want this move to cause problems among the five of them. So his mind was miles away as he started to step into the dim darkness inside the barn.

      The cool air inside was suddenly filled with a terrified scream. An instant later, a black cat streaked past him and out the barn door.

      * * *

      JACKSON RACED INTO the barn not sure what he was going to find. What he found was a blond-haired woman who shared a striking resemblance to the little girl who’d been singing outside by the corrals.

      While Nat had been angelic, this woman was as beautiful as any he’d ever seen. Her long, straight, blond hair was the color of sunshine. It rippled down her slim back. Her eyes, a tantalizing emerald-green, were huge with fear in a face that could stop traffic.

      She stood against the barn wall, a box of wedding decorations open at her feet. Her eyes widened in even more alarm when she saw him. She threw a hand over her mouth, cutting off the scream.

      “Are you all right?” he asked. She didn’t appear to be hurt, just scared. No, not scared, terrified. Had she seen a mouse? Or maybe something larger? In Texas it might have been an armadillo. He wasn’t sure what kind of critters they had this far north, but something had definitely set her off.

      “It was nothing,” she said, removing her hand from her mouth. Some of the color slowly returned to her face but he could see that she was still trembling.

      “It was something,” he assured her.

      She shook her head and ventured a look at the large box of decorations at her feet. The lid had been thrown to the side, some of the decorations spilling onto the floor.

      He laughed. “Let me guess. That black cat I just saw hightailing it out of here... I’m betting he came out of that box.”

      Her eyes widened further. “You saw it?”

      “Raced right past me.” He laughed. “You didn’t think you imagined it, did you?”

      “It happened so fast. I couldn’t be sure.”

      “Must have given you quite a fright.”

      She let out a nervous laugh and tried to smile, exposing deep dimples. He understood now why his son had gone mute. He felt the same way looking at Natalie’s mother. There was an innocence about her, a vulnerability that would make a man feel protective.

      Just the thought made him balk. He’d fallen once and wasn’t about to get lured into that trap again. Not that there was any chance of that happening. In a few days he would be on a plane back to Texas with his son.

      “You know cats,” he said, just being polite. “They’ll climb into just about anything. They’re attracted by pretty things.” Just like some cowboys. Not him, though.

      “Yes,” she said, but didn’t sound convinced as she stepped away from the box. She didn’t look all that steady on her feet. He started to reach out to her, but stopped himself as she found her footing.

      He couldn’t help noticing that her eyes were a darker shade of green than her daughter’s. “Just a cat. A black one at that,” he said, wondering why he felt the need to fill the silence. “You aren’t superstitious, are you?”

      She shook her head and those emerald eyes brightened. That with the color returning to her cheeks made her even more striking.

      This was how he’d fallen for Ford’s mother—a pretty face and what had seemed like a sweet disposition in a woman who’d needed him—and look how that had turned out. No, it took more than a pretty face to turn his head after the beating he’d taken from the last one.

      “You must be one of Tag’s brothers,” she said as she wiped her palms on her jeans before extending a hand. Along with jeans, she wore a checked navy shirt, the sleeves rolled up, and cowboy boots. “I’m Allie Taylor, the wedding planner.”

      Jackson quickly removed his hat, wondering where he’d left his manners. His mother had raised him better than this. But even as he started to shake her hand, he felt himself hesitate as if he were afraid to touch her.

      Ridiculous, he thought as he grasped her small, ice-cold hand in his larger, much warmer one. “Jackson Cardwell. I saw your van outside. But I thought the name on the side—”

      “Taylor is my married name.” When his gaze went to her empty ring finger, she quickly added, “I’m a widow.” She pulled back her hand to rub the spot where her wedding band had resided not that long ago. There was a thin, white line indicating that she hadn’t been widowed long. Or she hadn’t taken the band off until recently.

      “I believe I met your daughter as my son and I were coming in. Natalie?”

      “Yes, my baby girl.” Her dimpled smile told him everything he needed to know about her relationship with her daughter. He knew that smile and suspected he had one much like it when he talked about Ford.

      He felt himself relax a little. There was nothing dangerous about this woman. She was a single parent, just like him. Only she’d lost her husband and he wished he could get rid of his ex indefinitely.

      “Your daughter took my son to see the horses. I should probably check on him.”

      “Don’t worry. Nat has a healthy respect for the horses and knows the rules. Also Warren Fitzpatrick, their hired man, is never far away. He’s Dana’s semi-retired ranch manager. She says he’s a fixture around here and loves the kids. That seems to be his job now, to make sure the kids are safe. Not that there aren’t others on the ranch watching out for them, as well. Sorry, I talk too much when I’m...nervous.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I want this wedding to be perfect.”

      He could tell she was still shaken by the black cat episode. “My brother Tag mentioned that Dana and the kids had almost been killed by some crazy woman. It’s good she has someone she trusts keeping an eye on the children, even with everyone else on the ranch watching out for them. Don’t worry,” he said, looking around the barn. “I’m sure the wedding will be perfect.”

      The barn was huge and yet this felt almost too intimate standing here talking to her. “I was just about to get Ford and go down to the house. Dana told me she was baking a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies and to help ourselves. I believe she said there would also be homemade lemonade when we got here.”

      Allie smiled and he realized she’d thought it was an invitation. “I really need to get these decorations—”

      “Sorry. I’m keeping you from your work.” He took a step back. “Those decorations aren’t going to put themselves up.”

      She looked as if she wasn’t so sure of that. The cat had definitely put a scare into her, he thought. She didn’t seem sure of anything right now. Allie looked again at the box of decorations, no doubt imagining the cat flying out of it at her.

      Glancing at her watch, she said, “Oh, I didn’t realize it was so late. Nat and I are meeting a friend for lunch. We need to get going.”

      Jackson was suddenly aware that he’d been holding his hat since shaking Allie’s hand. He quickly put it back on as they СКАЧАТЬ