Her Rodeo Man by Cathy McDavid

Author:Cathy McDavid
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Tatum didn’t know who was responsible for this...this...stunt—she’d put her money on Sunny—but when she found out, they were going to get a very large piece of her mind. Forced into a mock wedding ceremony with Ryder! Of all the nerve. Thank goodness her mother-in-law had been nearby and able to watch the kids.

Her mother-in-law! Oh, my God. What must she be thinking? She already didn’t like Ryder just because Adam called him Daddy. Which he wouldn’t do if he saw more of Monty.

Could her day get any worse?

Even though the young deputy holding her was bigger and stronger, she tried wrenching free. He held fast.

“Now, now. Your pa will have my hide if I let you get away.”

“My pa!” she sputtered and whirled on him, then gasped with shock. Her eyes narrowed. “I know you.”

He averted his head.

“You’re Kenny’s cousin.” Kenny was a teenager who worked part-time at the arena.

No doubt remained. Sunny had to be behind this. Damn her blasted matchmaking scheme.

“First order of business,” the judge continued in a booming voice, “is the marriage license fee. Customary amount is ten dollars but we’ll gladly accept more. And my clerk over there takes credit cards.” He motioned to a young woman with a scanner attached to her smart phone.

My, how times had changed.

Ryder, also closely guarded by a deputy, reached into his back pocket and withdrew his wallet.

“You don’t have to do that,” Tatum said.

Ryder spared her a sideways glance, then withdrew two twenties. Quadruple the fee. Well, that was nice of him, and the amount would buy a lot of books for the library.

Her earlier irritation toward him evaporated. He really was a generous guy. All he’d done was offer to help her with a craft store business that would likely never see the light of day, and all she’d done was chastise him, then practically ignore him.

“Let’s get this over with,” he grumbled.

She immediately retracted all her good and kind thoughts about him and snapped, “You aren’t the only one being put on the spot.”

“Shall we proceed with the vows?” The judge indicated the man guarding Ryder. “Do you have the rings, Deputy?”

The man fished two items from his shirt front pocket. “Right here, your honor.” He gave one to Ryder and the other to Tatum.

She reluctantly accepted the dime store plastic ring. Green? Really? Who had a green wedding ring? Ryder’s, she noticed, was blue.

“Do you, Tatum Mayweather, take Ryder Beckett as your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold until death do you part?”

She rolled her eyes.

“Hurry up, miss.” The judge glared at her. “Yours isn’t the only ceremony I have scheduled today.”

In that moment, she recognized him. Donnie Statler from the Lost Dutchman Rodeo Company and a friend of the Becketts. The robe and slicked-back hair had thrown her off. Sunny was certainly calling in the favors.

“Fine.” Tatum ground out.

“I believe the correct response is, I do.”

“Okay. I do.” She caught sight of Ryder, and her breath abruptly stilled. He didn’t look nearly as perturbed as she felt.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.