Brides of the West: Josie's Wedding Dress / Last Minute Bride / Her Ideal Husband

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He frowned at the meadow. “I won’t let you down, Josie.”

“I know you’ll do your best,” she said evenly. “But winning isn’t everything.”

“It is to me.”

“Not to me,” she replied. “I’m trusting you to ride hard and fair. That’s all anyone can ask. Winning and losing aren’t in your hands.”

“I’ll show up,” he assured her. “And I’ll win, because it’s the only way I can—” he stopped in midsentence.

“The only way you can what?”

“Never mind.” He didn’t dare mention courting her. Before he breathed a word of romance, he had to be able to support her. And to support her he had to win the Maze. “I better get to work,” Ty said, though he could think of something he’d like a lot more…a picnic in a pretty meadow, a ride to nowhere with nothing to do but enjoy each other. Someday he hoped to have those opportunities.

They turned at the same time. When she tipped up her chin and smiled, he had to fight the urge to do what he’d wanted to do for five years. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to marry her, and he wanted to pick up his dirty socks just like Reverend Hall had instructed. If he won the Maze, he’d do all of that and more. If he didn’t…the thought didn’t bear considering. He shifted his gaze from Josie’s lips to her eyes. As if she knew what he’d been thinking—and she did—she gave him a sassy look. He gave her a daring one back, and she laughed. “I think I like being friends.”

“Me, too.”

They walked back to the barn without touching hands, trading friendly barbs as if they were kids again. But it wasn’t enough…not nearly enough. For the future he wanted to give to Josie, Ty had to win that race. Until then, he’d be her friend, nothing more. No kissing. No hand holding. No sitting on the porch or walks in the moonlight. Friendship only and that was final.

* * *

Josie meant it when she told Ty they needed time to sort their feelings, but a week later she had her answers. She’d forgiven him and wanted to love him again. Not only did he work hard on the ranch, he’d been kind to her mother and gentle with her. Their evening suppers with Mama were the highlight of each day, with the three of them remembering Nate and Papa and the good times they’d had. Josie had expected some of her bitterness to linger, but it disappeared as completely as a caterpillar turned to a butterfly.

At night she looked at her wedding dress and imagined wearing it, but with her new hope came wariness. If Ty still had feelings for her, he was hiding them well. She also worried about his impulsive ways. He’d fired Obie without her permission, and she could see him always taking risks. The possibilities frightened her, but she could also imagine Ty kissing her, something that hadn’t happened. He hadn’t even come close and she didn’t know what to think. That’s why she was sitting in the kitchen at almost midnight with a cup of lukewarm tea. Ty had left the house two hours ago, and she hadn’t shaken her disappointment in yet another polite goodbye, or her concern that he’d somehow let her down.

“Josie?” Mama appeared in the doorway. “You’re up late.”

“I can’t sleep.”

Mama sat with a soft plop. “Because of Ty?”

“Always!” She chewed her lip in frustration. “The past week has been good. I really have forgiven him, but I’m just not sure I can trust him again.”

“I understand,” Mama agreed. “Forgiving someone who’s hurt you doesn’t mean you let it happen again. It means you don’t hold it against them. You start over and make new choices.”

“Even that’s confusing,” Josie admitted. “I thought maybe we would sit on the porch like we used to, but he leaves the minute you go to bed.”

“I’ve seen how polite he’s been.”

“Too polite.”

Mama thought for a minute. “He’s always had a lot of pride. Maybe he’s bothered to be working for you.”

“I don’t think of him as a hired hand. He’s more like family.”

“A brother?”

Josie’s cheeks flushed. “No, not at all.”

“Does Ty know that?”

“I think so, but it’s complicated. He’s always had an impulsive streak. It’s what got him into trouble, and it still worries me.” She sighed. “Sometimes I think he cares about me, but he treats me like…like Nate.”

Mama’s voice turned conspiratorial. “Would you like some advice from an old lady?”

“You’re not that old.”

“I’m old enough,” Mama replied. “Here’s what you do. Invite Ty to take a walk in the moonlight. If he doesn’t kiss you, then you kiss him.”

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