Her Cowboy Avenger (23 page)

And she had a feeling he would have a much better time of it. Matt had told her about Jack’s belief that the place had bad vibes. Elena wasn’t sure she believed in that, but she had to admit that in the days since the bodies had been removed from the property, the ranch felt different. Happier.

“And you’re really sure about letting this place go?”

She nodded. “I’m sure.” Even if the ranch wasn’t connected with so much unhappiness for her, Bobby had given his heart and soul to running it and he hadn’t been able to make it work. There was little chance she could succeed where he’d failed, especially when she wasn’t nearly as invested. Glen would have a much better chance of doing something worthwhile with the ranch than she ever could. “It’s the right thing to do. And the amount of money Glen’s offering should be enough to pay off the remaining debts here, with enough left over for me to start over somewhere else.”

“Where do you want to go?” he asked softly.

It was a very good question. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I haven’t really had a chance to think about it.”

She just knew she needed to get away from Western Bluff. The past few days had made that clear enough. No one had apologized for their suspicions or the way they’d acted toward her. If anything, things were just as tense and uncomfortable as they’d been immediately after Bobby’s murder. A lot of people were still avoiding her or looked away when they saw her in town, but now it was more out of embarrassment than distrust.

The only exception had been Lynda Clayton. After the news had gotten out about the true fate of Elena’s mother, Lynda had arrived on her doorstep, tears in her eyes.

“Does Henry know you’re here?” Elena had been unable to keep from asking.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” she’d said without hesitation.

Her tone was honest enough Elena hadn’t doubted she meant it. Still, she hadn’t known quite what to do as Lynda had stared at her, her eyes poring over Elena’s face with unnerving scrutiny, the tears coming harder.

“You look like her,” Lynda had finally whispered.

The wrenching pain in her voice had cracked something open in Elena and suddenly she’d been crying, too. She’d barely known how to begin grieving for her mother, a woman who’d been gone most of her life and whom she hardly remembered. But seeing Lynda’s profound anguish had somehow released Elena’s own sorrow. This woman she barely knew, who’d brought Matt back into her life, was the only person grieving her mother, too, who cared about her as a person. Even more, she was the only one who could tell her about Teresa. Her tears flowing freely, Elena had automatically opened her arms, and Lynda had fallen into them. They’d clung together for a while before going inside for a long talk. Lynda had shared just a fraction of her memories, and for the first time Elena had been able to learn about who Teresa had been. Not just the abstract idea of a mother who hadn’t been there, but the real flesh-and-blood woman she was. They’d talked for hours, and Elena knew that wherever she went, her newfound relationship with Lynda was one connection to the town she would keep.

It was likely to be the only one. Once the ranch was sold there would be nothing keeping her here. She could go practically anywhere. She had a college degree she’d never used. She could start a career like she’d always dreamed of, doing almost anything she wanted. The vast number of possibilities that lay before her were overwhelming.

This was what she’d wanted practically her entire life, to get away from this town. And now that the moment was finally here and the whole world was available to her, she didn’t know where she wanted to go.

There was only one thing she did know: wherever she went, she wanted it to be with Matt.

She opened her mouth to say just that when he reached over and turned her to face him.

She peered up into his eyes, her heart leaping into her throat at the sight of him and the intensity in his gaze.

“Come with me.”

Past and present merged in front of her. She’d lived this moment before. Yet here it was again, a second chance she’d never dreamed possible.

“Where?” she asked, suddenly breathless.

“Wherever I go.”

“Back to New Mexico?”

He hesitated, then lifted one shoulder in a helpless little shrug. “To start. I want you to meet everybody there. But maybe not forever. Like I told you, I don’t know if I want to work on the Triple C the rest of my life, not to mention I can’t imagine there being enough for you to do there. Maybe I want my own place. Maybe I should try something new. I don’t know where I’m going any more than you do. But I know I want you with me. If you’ll have me.”

It was exactly what he’d offered her before, exactly what she’d feared the most. A life of uncertainty. It wasn’t what she’d dreamed of, it wasn’t what she’d ever wanted for her life.

But this time she wasn’t afraid. How could she be? After everything they’d been through, everything they’d overcome, she couldn’t imagine anything that they couldn’t deal with together. And second chances were so rare in this life. She wasn’t about to let this one get away.

“Yes,” she said, happiness soaring through her. The feeling only grew, surging higher and fiercer as she watched the smile dawn on his face, the sheer joy in his eyes.

He lunged forward and caught her in his arms, lifting her straight off her feet and pulling her tight against him.

Laughing, Elena held on to him just as tightly, never wanting to let go, knowing she never would. The future lay before them, vast and unknown, not scary, but thrilling.

Because they didn’t need certainty. They didn’t need a plan.

They needed only love. And each other.

They had that.

And she couldn’t wait to discover the beautiful future they’d find together.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt of
Wrangled
by B.J. Daniels!

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Chapter One

The knock at the door surprised Zane Chisholm. He’d just spent the warm summer day in the saddle rounding up cattle. All he wanted to do was kick off his boots and hit the hay early. The last thing he wanted was company.

But whoever was knocking didn’t sound as if they were planning to go away anytime soon. Living at the end of a dirt road, he didn’t get uninvited company—other than one of his five brothers.
So that narrows it down,
he thought as he went to the window and peered out through the curtains.

The car parked outside was a compact, lime-green with Montana State University plates. Definitely not one of his brothers, he thought with a grin. Chisholm men wouldn’t be caught dead driving such a “girlie” car. Especially a lime-green one.

Even more odd was the young, willowy blonde pounding on his door. She must be lost and needing directions. Or she was selling something.

His curiosity piqued, he went to answer her persistent knock. As the door swung open, he saw that her eyes were blue and set wide in a classically gorgeous face. She wore a slinky red dress that fell over her body like water. The woman was a stunner.

She smiled warmly. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He waited, wondering what she wanted, and enjoying the view in the meantime.

Her smile slipped a little as she took in his worn jeans, his even more worn cowboy boots and the dirty Western shirt with a torn sleeve and a missing button.

“I wasn’t expecting company,” he said when he saw her apparent disappointment in his attire.

“Oh?” She looked confused now. “Did I get the night wrong? You’re Zane Chisholm and this is Friday, right?”

“Right.” He frowned. “Did we have a date or something?” He knew he’d never seen this woman before. No red-blooded American male would forget a woman like this.

She reached into her sparkly shoulder bag and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. “Your last email,” she said, handing it to him.

He took the paper, unfolded it and saw his email address. It appeared he had been corresponding with this woman for the past two days.

“If you forgot—”

“No,” he said quickly. “Please, come in and let’s see if we can sort this out.”

She stepped in but looked tentative, as if not so sure about him.

“Why don’t you start with how we met,” he said as he offered her a seat.

She sat on the edge of the couch. “The Evans rural internet dating service.”

“Arlene’s matchmaking business?” he asked in surprise. Arlene Evans, who was now Arlene Monroe, had started the business a few years ago to bring rural couples together.

“We’ve been visiting by email until you...”

“Asked you out,” he finished for her.

“Are you saying someone else has been using your email?”

“It sure looks that way, since I never signed up with Arlene’s matchmaking service. But,” he added quickly when he saw how upset she was, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Arlene is behind this. It wouldn’t be the first time she took it upon herself to play matchmaker.” Either that or his brothers were behind it as a joke, though that seemed unlikely. This beautiful woman was no joke.

She looked down at her hands in her lap. “I’m so embarrassed.” She quickly rose to her feet. “I should go.”

“No, wait,” he said, unable to shake the feeling that maybe this had been fate and that he would be making the biggest mistake of his life if he let this woman walk out now.

“You know, it wouldn’t take me long to jump in the shower and change if you’re still up for a date,” he said with a grin.

She hesitated. “Really? I mean, you don’t have to—”

“I
want
to. But you have the advantage over me. I don’t know your name.”

She smiled shyly. “Courtney Baxter.” She held out her hand. As he shook it, Zane thought,
This night could change my life.