Cowgirl Bride by Susan Mallery

Author:Susan Mallery [Mallery, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459295414
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: 1998-02-15T05:00:00+00:00

“I’m ten today,” Rory said importantly.

“Good for you,” the lone blond man in the group said. He was slender and handsome with brilliant blue eyes. “Ten’s a great age. Did you get presents?”

Rory beamed at the question. “Bunches.” He quickly recounted the list, paying extra attention to Sierra’s gift.

She shifted uneasily as their attention turned back to her. If only Dylan would drop his arm so she could make a graceful escape before she said or did something stupid. While she wasn’t a complete social misfit, she knew she was definitely out of her element with these men.

Dylan introduced them. She tried to put names with faces. The two unfamiliar men were from Washington. She swallowed hard. So the rumors were true—Dylan was thinking of going into politics. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised, and yet she was. Maybe because she’d gotten used to thinking of him as just Dylan, but he was so much more than the young man she’d once been in love with.

“What do you do, little lady?” Ben asked as Dylan finally released her and went to get his guests some cake.

“I work on a ranch,” she said. “I’m, ah, just here helping with Rory’s party. You know, like the hired help.” She hoped her smile looked more natural than it felt and that she wasn’t going to cause trouble for Dylan. These men wouldn’t want to know that she’d once had a relationship with him. She might not know much about politics, but it wasn’t hard to figure she wasn’t exactly material for a candidate’s significant other.

Ben raised his dark, bushy eyebrows. “That’s real neighborly of you.”

She nodded, not sure what else to say.

Dylan returned and handed the men each a piece of cake. “Did Sierra tell you?” he asked. “We go way back.”

“No.” Ben raised his eyebrows. “Sounds interesting.”

Dylan gave her that grin of his, the one that made her want to believe everything he talked about was possible. “It’s true,” he said. “We were high school sweethearts.” He reached out and, before she could pull back to prevent the action, he touched her cheek. “Sierra’s the one who got away.”

Her heart sank. While she appreciated his willingness to admit to a previous relationship with her, there was no need to risk his future. Didn’t he know what the men thought of her? She was completely wrong for what they had planned for him.

She took a deep breath for courage, then turned to look at Ben. With her spine stiff, she prepared herself to blandly accept the relief in his expression. Instead the wily older man’s face was unreadable.

“You’re going to have to be smarter than that if you want to get ahead in politics,” he said at last and took a bite of cake.

Sierra stared at him without blinking. Had she heard right? Before she could ask, there was a knock at the door. The first of the boys’ parents had arrived to take them home.

Fifteen minutes later, Sierra escaped to the kitchen where she began rinsing plates and loading the old dishwasher.

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