Cowboy's Pride (Welcome to Covendale Book 1) (12 page)

Cameron,

You may not believe it, but I hope this finds you well. I know you don’t understand why I had to leave. I’m not sorry for leaving, but I am sorry for doing it the way I did. I should have made sure you’d be all right first.

I’m enclosing a check to help you with expenses. If you think it’s too little, too late, you can go ahead and tear it up. I know how stubborn you are.

But whatever you decide, please understand that I’m closing the books with this. I’ve remarried, and I’d prefer that you don’t try to contact me. I do hope that place is better to you than it was to me.

All the best,

Amanda (Thatcher) Kingsford

His breath caught in his throat. Fighting an instinct to crumple the whole thing up and throw it as far as he could, he tucked the letter back in the envelope with a trembling hand and drew out the other slip of paper it contained.

The check was for two hundred thousand dollars.

“My God,” he said hoarsely. “Who the hell did she marry, Bill Gates?”

“Cam, what is it? What’s wrong?”

He’d almost forgotten Sydney was there. “It’s from my mother,” he said. “She…sent me a check.” He held it out.

She looked—and a hand flew to her mouth. “Is that real?” she whispered.

“Looks real,” he said. “She says she’s married someone. And apparently her conscience got to her, so she’s paying me to stay out of her life.”

“Oh, Cam, I’m so sorry. That’s awful.”

“Maybe.” He shrugged, still too stunned to think much of anything. “But it’s not like I planned to look her up someday or anything,” he said. “She’s right about one thing. I’m too stubborn for that.”

Sydney flashed a quick smile. “You’re too stubborn, period.”

“True. But not about taking the money. I’m stubborn, not stupid.”

He stared at the check for a minute longer—and finally it hit him so hard, he almost went to his knees. He could hand the cash right back to Eddie with no penalties. Buy his bike back. Pay the back taxes…hell, pay the taxes ahead for five years, and still have more money left than he’d ever seen.

And Sydney wasn’t marrying Tommy.

He tried to fight the grin spreading on his face, but he lost. And then he started laughing.

“I’m going to assume you’re not laughing at me,” Sydney said.

“Yes. I mean, no. I’m not.” He fumbled the check back into the envelope, folded it and stuffed it in his pocket. “Yesterday I had nothing,” he said. “But today I have everything.”

She smiled. “Your ranch.”

“Yes, the ranch. The bike, whenever I want to get it. A future without broken bones.” He stepped closer to her and touched her face. “But all that doesn’t mean a damned thing. It never did, without you.”

Her breath quickened. “Cam…”

“Let me finish. I need to say this.” He took her hand gently. “I’ve fought to keep this place, but there’s always been something missing. That something was you. I’ve loved you since the day you came here and got lost with me when we were kids.” A deep shudder twisted through him and wrenched his heart for all the time they’d missed. “You’re my everything, Sydney.”

She slipped an arm around his waist. “I have a confession, too.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve never stopped loving you.”

“Marry me.” The words shocked him even as they left his mouth—but he knew they were right. “I don’t have a ring, but I can get one,” he said in a rush. “And I know everyone hates me around here, but I can fix that. I will, if it’ll make you happy. I need you.”

For a long moment she didn’t reply, and he thought he’d blown it completely. Finally, she said, “Well, I’ve already got the dress, and this gorgeous horse-drawn carriage somebody fixed up for me. So why not?”

“Why not?” He frowned. “I was hoping for a little more enthusiasm.”

She kissed him so hard, it took his breath away. “Yes,” she murmured. “Yes, yes, yes. Is that enthusiastic enough for you?”

“That’ll do.”

This time he kissed her…gently, thoroughly. It was all he could do not to take her back upstairs and love her again, and again. But he could be patient. There was plenty of time now. They had the rest of their lives, together.

And he could hardly wait to prove his appreciation.

* * * *

Sydney almost decided to stay at the Leaning T forever, starting now. For once in her life, she knew she’d made the right choice. Everything about Cam was so right.

But first, she had to clean up the aftermath of Mr. Wrong.

Cam drove her home, with plans in place for her to go back to the ranch tonight for dinner. He was even going to cook for her again. He wasn’t quite ready to try being social with the rest of the town yet—but she was more than happy with just the two of them. They had a lot of catching up to do.

At the house, she found her mom in the kitchen, surrounded by baked goods in various stages of completion. Marnie didn’t notice her right away, and she almost wimped out and slipped upstairs to her room. But the sooner she broke the news, the faster everyone could get rid of the idea of her and Tommy.

She cleared her throat, and her mother turned with a smile. “Hey, sweetheart,” she said, grabbing a dishtowel to wipe her hands off. “We got your note. Did you have a good time last night?”

“Um. Well…”

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to give me details,” she said with a wink. “By the way, I’m guessing you rode home with Luka? Tommy called a few minutes ago.”

“Did he.” She spoke through clenched teeth. “Why would he do that?”

Marnie’s smile fell away. “Oh, honey, what’s wrong?”

She sighed. “You’d better sit down, Mom. I need to tell you something.”

They sat at the kitchen table, and Sydney spilled her guts. She left out the part about sleeping with Cam—twice—but she told her mother about walking in on Tommy and Stephanie, and how Cam rescued her from the bar, and why she figured Tommy had only proposed to her out of spite.

By the time she finished, Marnie was madder than a hornet.

“What a horrible…person he is,” she said with obvious restraint. “I should go and have a talk with Boyd about his son. He can’t go around—”

“Mom, it’s all right.” Sydney smiled and squeezed her hand. “Tommy and I are through. And to be honest, I’m relieved.”

Well. To be honest, so am I.” Her mom squeezed back. “I wanted you to be happy. But I’d prefer if you were happy somewhere closer to home. If you’d moved to New York, I would’ve missed you so much, I might’ve made your father move us there, too.”

She leaned in and hugged her. “I’d miss you too. But now I don’t have to.”

The tears that wouldn’t come before decided to make an appearance. Marnie got misty right along with her, and it was a few minutes before they could keep talking. “I suppose we still have a lot to do,” her mother said, wiping her eyes with her apron. “We’ll need to cancel the park reservation and the reception plans, and the cake and flowers. Oh, and the order at the printer’s. It wasn’t finalized yet, was it?”

Sydney twisted her hands in her lap. “Er. About the wedding…it’s kind of still on.”

Her mother’s brow furrowed. “But you’re not marrying Tommy.”

“No.” She took a deep breath. “I’m marrying Cam Thatcher.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Afraid not,” she said. “He asked me this morning, and I said yes.”

Marnie said nothing for so long, Sydney wondered if she would disown her or something. Finally, she broke into a grin. “Well, you do have all this wedding stuff already,” she said. “It’d be a shame to waste it.”

She grinned back, and hugged her mother fiercely. “You’re the best.”

“I know.”

They both laughed, and Sydney had to wipe away a few fresh tears. “I just have one question,” Marnie said. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

She remembered the incredible, warm feeling that flooded her when Cam said
marry me
—it felt like coming home. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” she said.

“Then I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

She leaned back and sent a bemused grin at the baking-strewn kitchen. “So, whose army are you trying to feed?”

“Oh, we’re having a bake sale for the library tomorrow,” Marnie said. “I just figured I’d whip up a few things.”

“A few things.” She shook her head. “Want some help?”

“Would you? Oh, you’re a lifesaver.”

“No problem. I just want to change and call Luka real quick, before she hears it from somebody else and kills me in my sleep.”

“Good idea,” her mother said with a laugh.

She headed upstairs, dialing Luka’s number as she went. The call went straight to voicemail. “Huh,” she murmured as Luka’s message played. When the tone went off, she said, “I hope this means you’re still with Reese. Call me back when you can, okay? I have… some news.”

She knew that not saying whether it was good news or bad news would get Luka to call the second she got the message. Tucking the phone back in her pocket, she dashed into her room and changed into sweats. She felt so light, she might’ve floated away like a balloon.

Tommy had been a weight she didn’t even know she was carrying. And her newfound happiness was just beginning—she could hardly wait for tonight.

* * * *

After he dropped Sydney off, Cam got in touch with Eddie Verona. The man wasn’t pleased about losing his investment. But he got a lot warmer when Cam mentioned he was still willing to take Boyd Lowell down.

They made arrangements, and Cam headed for the Stop ’n Shop on Main Street. One of two grocery stores in Covendale, the S&S was the bigger, cheaper and slightly grimier one. The smaller one, Lorraine’s, was run by the Robertsons. They considered it a “boutique” grocery store and priced things accordingly.

Once he deposited that check, he could afford to shop at Lorraine’s if he wanted to. But he didn’t. Far as he was concerned, regular food tasted the same as boutique food. Right now all he wanted was to pick up a few things for dinner, and then go home and get ready for Sydney.

When he walked in, the first thing he saw was Tommy Lowell flirting with one of the cashiers.

He almost walked back out. He was so furious with the bastard, he wasn’t sure he could be in the same zip code without punching him, much less the same store. But Tommy noticed him—and started for him with an angry sneer fixed on his face.

“Tommy.” Cam refused to back down. “If you’re going to tell me I should leave because you’re here, you might as well save your breath. Like I said, it’s a free country.”

“Yeah. You’re free to steal my girl.” Tommy got right in his face and spoke in low tones. “And I’m free to make you pay for it, farm-boy.”

Cam folded his arms. “Are you threatening me?”

“Not at all.” Tommy glared another minute, and then grinned. “I bet you fucked her last night,” he said, low enough for only Cam to hear. “She came running to you after I rejected her, and you took it while you could get it. How did it feel having my sloppy seconds?”

“You’re a sorry bastard.” He had to work hard not to talk with his fists. “You threw away the best thing you ever had for a pair of big tits. How’s
that
feel?”

“Pretty goddamned amazing, actually. Steph’s a way better fuck than Sydney.”

“I swear to God,” he growled, loud enough to turn heads. “If one more word about her comes out of your mouth, you’re gonna find it filled with your busted teeth.”

A sly grin crossed Tommy’s face. Matching Cam in volume this time, he said, “Are you threatening me?”

From the corner of his eye, Cam saw someone striding toward them. It was Boyd Lowell. “You just back away from my son, Thatcher,” he said. “You’ve already done enough damage, destroying his wedding.”

He actually heard a few gasps from the people who were gathering near the front of the store to watch the fight. “I don’t believe this,” he said. “You think
I
broke it up? Why don’t you ask Sydney what she thinks? Or ask your son—”

“I don’t have to,” Boyd snapped. “I’m sure you think you’re going to get away with this too, but I’d like to see you keep your prize come Monday when you’re homeless.”

Hot fury surged through him. He stepped forward, and Boyd flinched back. “Let’s get something straight here, Lowell,” he said. “Sydney is not a goddamned prize. And as for being homeless, I’ve got the money for the taxes and I’m paying it on Monday. So I guess you’d better use that big mouth of yours to kiss your fat commission goodbye.”

He walked past the both of them and ignored the stares from the crowd as he headed for the produce aisle. Maybe it wasn’t the best start on getting back into the town’s good graces—but nobody talked about Sydney like that. Not while he was still breathing.

Chapter 15

Sydney pushed the doorbell at the Leaning T promptly at eight. She couldn’t believe how nervous she was. This felt like a first date—with a man who’d already proposed to her.

Well, sort of. It had been more like a demand, but it was still a hell of a lot more romantic than Tommy’s glib take-a-knee approach at the “surprise” dinner party his parents threw. Especially now that she knew he hadn’t meant a word of it.

She was about to ring the bell again when the door opened and Cam hauled her inside. For a second she thought there was something out there, some country danger. A rabid raccoon, a stampede of horses, maybe a giant rattlesnake.

But then he was kissing her like she’d been gone for a month.

She moaned and melted into the kiss. The way he made her feel was beyond words—she never knew a body could contain this much sensation and still draw breath. When he drew back, she smiled and murmured, “I missed you, too.”

“Maybe we should move this wedding thing up.” He grinned and kissed her again. “After all that time we didn’t have, I never want you out of my sight. How about we get married tomorrow?”

“I don’t think the cake’s going to be ready that fast.” She smiled and stepped back reluctantly, and took a deep breath. “That smells amazing,” she said. “What’s for dinner?”