His Brother's Wife (36 page)

It took a week to sort the
mess with Ben and the land, a circuit judge having to come all the
way to Willow Creek to settle the dispute.

Rafe's claims that the
handwriting on the letter was not his father's was adamantly denied
by Ben who swore it was. The fact no one else had witnessed Harland
Samuels writing and handing Ben the letter, other than his own
hired man, had led the circuit judge to find the agreement null. He
dismissed the claims, ordered Ben to return the cattle he'd stolen
and gave Morgan Avery, the town marshal, full authority in the form
of an official warrant to head up the transfer himself.

The rest of the cattle had
been taken to the Avery ranch to join the others Holden and Colt
had put up for the winter. Now that spring was officially in the
air, the pasture was full, the herd back on their own
land.

Grace spotted Jesse
sitting tall on his horse, his shouts echoing across the valley as
he herded the cattle toward the grazing fields. The Avery men were
there, along with Rafe and the hired hands who'd agreed to stay on
for room and board until Rafe could sell his stock, all of them
helping to steer the cattle in the right direction.

The old bunkhouse out by
the barn had been refurbished, the roof fixed and the stove cleaned
until it shined. The other buildings on the property had been
tended to as well. A new garden had been started, the seeds taking
root to sprout small plants that would keep them fed and Grace
sighed happily as she took it all in. Their lives were finally
coming together.

The happy squeal of
children caught her attention and she turned, looking out into the
front yard as Sarah and Emmaline Avery's children played a game of
tag. She smiled at them, watching them play and couldn't wait for
her own children to fill their house with laughter.

With the long winter
months behind them, she'd expected to already have news of a future
family, but as of yet she had nothing to tell. It worried her a bit
but Rafe assured her that their time would come. She had faith that
he was right.

He rode into the yard
moments later, jumping to the ground and tying the horses reins to
the post in front of the house as Jesse and the Avery men came in
behind him doing the same. Rafe smiled at her as he took the steps
two at a time and leaned down, placing a kiss to the top of her
head. "That pitcher of lemonade ready?"

Grace smiled and nodded.
"Yes. I'll go get it." She went to stand but Rafe placed a hand on
her shoulder.

"Stay where you are. I'll
grab it."

When he returned with the
tray of glasses and the pitcher of lemonade she'd made earlier in
the day, the men helped themselves. Grace kept a watchful eye on
everyone, smiling to herself as their new friends laughed and
talked while sitting on her front porch. Even Jesse and Alexandra
Avery seemed to be getting along. Well, when they weren't pulling
each other's hair and slapping at one another. Jesse didn't talk
much about the tomboyish girl who preferred boys clothing to girls
but if she had to guess, Grace would say Jesse was just a little
bit sweet on the girl. She smiled while watching them, hoping her
one-time bridegroom found his own happiness when the time
came.

When Rafe moved to her
side and bent to one knee beside her, she looked over at him and
smiled. If Jesse's life turned out half as happy as hers did, she'd
count them both blessed for Grace was happy, blissfully so. Rafe
was still pig-headed and stubborn but she loved him until her chest
ached from the sensation and she knew he loved her in return. As
hard as life could get at times, with Rafe Samuels by her side, she
could take on the world.

The End

If you enjoyed this book, please consider
leaving a review. Thank you! 

To be notified of new releases by Lily Graison, sign up for
her newsletter:
click here
.

Or
LIKE
her On
Facebook

Dear Readers,

The Willow Creek Series
started with the four Avery men who are the backbone of this small
community. Take a look at their stories below and see where it all
began.

The Lawman

(Willow Creek Book #1)

On the run from her
ex-lover…

Jilted by a no-show
husband…

And now mistaken for a
whore in the Diamond Back Saloon…

Abigail Thornton doesn’t
think things can get any worse. That is until a single slap to a
man’s face starts a barroom brawl that lands her in the last place
she expected to be.

Town Marshal Morgan Avery
wants nothing more than to wash away the trail-dust and sleep for a
week, preferably with a soft, willing woman by his side. Instead,
he gets Abigail Thornton – all one hundred pounds of her thrust at
him seconds before a fist connects with his face. Breaking up the
fight takes more effort than he wants to admit and when the last
man falls he finds Abigail still standing and not looking the least
bit contrite.

Throwing her into the town
jail for the night would salve his wounded pride and then he will
let her go. Or that was the plan. When morning comes he finds
himself oddly reluctant to do so. Miss Thornton is hiding something
and he aims to find out what, even if he has to bed her to do so.
But will one night in her bed be enough?

The Outlaw

(Willow Creek Book #2)

Sarah Hartford always
dreamed of a grand adventure. She just never expected to find it in
the arms of an outlaw.

When her father's bank is
robbed, Sarah doesn't make the gunslingers' escape easy. Putting
her own safety behind those she hopes to protect backfires when
she's kidnapped by one of the escaping men. Now her only hope for
survival lies with the same arrogant man who laughed at her while
staring down the barrel of her gun.

Colton Avery spent months
planning the perfect heist, every detail fine tuned and executed
with precise timing. Nothing could go wrong. That is until he comes
face to face with a determined woman holding a shotgun. She aimed
at his head and never flinched when she took a shot at him. He
wanted her the moment the smoke cleared and he saw her
face.

Robbing the bank, and
handing over the gang of notorious outlaws to US Marshals, would be
routine and boring. Sarah Hartford made it anything but. Taming the
woman who stole his heart the instant he saw her was a challenge he
was more than willing to take on. All he has to do now is escape
the gang of outlaws he just double-crossed, hideout from an Indian
raiding party and elude the town marshal who just happens to be his
little hellion's new fiancé.

The Gambler

(Willow Creek Book #3)

Emmaline Hunt only had one
thing she could call her own. A piece of land that held a secret
not even her drunken stepfather knew about. When he gambles it away
in a high stakes poker game, Emmaline does the only thing she can.
She tries to steal the land deed back.

Tristan Avery has seen his
share of bloodshed while sitting at a gaming table and knows its
time to lay low when he wins a wad of cash and a piece of land.
Especially after his opponent ends up dead at his feet. High
tailing it out of town is his only option but things take a drastic
turn when he finds a woman in his hotel room trying to rob him
blind.

The botched robbery
attempt is only the start of his troubles when Tristan finds his
new land occupied by the same girl who tried to rob him. When he
realizes he's left her homeless, and killed her stepfather, his
conscience forces him to do the right thing. Taking her to his
hometown and setting her up with a new life will make up for all
he's taken from her.

But Emmaline has other
plans. She wants her land, and Tristan's money, and she'll do
whatever it takes to get them. All she has to do is convince him
she's there to stay, outwit him, find a way back home and not let a
single soul know she has a gold mine bursting at the seems with
untapped wealth.

The Rancher

(Willow Creek Book #4)

Laurel Montgomery wanted a
new life, one that didn't include a man. She'd had enough of their
pretty lies and broken promises but one night of reckless abandon
weeks before taking a job as the new schoolteacher in Willow Creek
would come back to haunt her. The man she thought to never see
again turns out to be the father of one of her new students. A man
so handsome and rugged he takes her breath away. Too bad she's
sworn off men forever. If only the stubborn man would take no for
an answer.

Holden Avery was
love-struck the moment he saw Laurel Montgomery and cursed himself
for a fool every waking minute since letting her walk out of his
life. When she turns up in Willow Creek he's handed the second
chance he didn't think he'd ever get but thoughts of pursuing
Laurel are cut short when a stranger shows up in town. A man who
claims to be Laurel's husband.

The happily ever after
Holden thought to finally have is plagued with obstacles but he
sets off to prove he's the man Laurel wants. Convincing her to give
him a chance is nearly impossible but he's waited too long to find
her to give up now. One way or the other, Laurel Montgomery would
be his wife.