The Shepherd's Daughter (Dry Bayou Brides Book 1) by Lynn Winchester

Author:Lynn Winchester [Winchester, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Western, Historical, Romance, Fiction
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2016-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

“She seems like an…intriguing woman,” Rebecca said after Ray left. “She certainly has a fire I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s refreshing.” She laughed and Billy didn’t know how to respond.

Ray had departed as quickly as she appeared and he couldn’t make hide nor hair of everything that had occurred in the short time she’d been standing there. In that dress.

Where had she even gotten it? In all the years he’d known Ray, he never once seen her in a skirt any other color than brown or any shirt other than the cream or red ones she must have bought by the crate.

Rebecca softly cleared her throat and smiled at him from under the brim of her bonnet.

Ray hadn’t worn a bonnet. But he was glad of it. He pictured Ray again, her bright hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back. He’d never seen her hair like that, either.

He removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to unscramble his brain enough to be good company for Rebecca. “Er, yes, Ray is…something else, that’s for sure.”

Rebecca’s expression became contemplative and her gaze roved over his face. “You’ve been friends a long time. That must mean she’s special to you.”

That was an understatement. She was everything to him. Had been since he first met her; he’d just been too much of a fool to realize it sooner.

“Yes, she is special to me,” so special it hurts to think of her “—but let’s not talk about Ray any more, let’s talk about you. Why did you decide to throw caution to the wind and come all the way out here to get married? Aren’t there eligible men in New York? You’re a pretty woman. I imagine there’s any number of men who’d have you for a wife.”

Rebecca tipped her head thoughtfully. “Sure, there were men enough in New York, but there weren’t many opportunities for the future I’d envisioned when I moved to America. Out here, I can create my own future. With or without being Mrs. Willem Ducharme.” Her smile was one of longing and sorrow, and the sight of it made Billy wonder at what she really meant when she’d mentioned the future she’d envisioned.

“Well, I can’t say much about that, but whether we marry or not, there are still men here to marry—if you know what you’re looking for.” If he could talk his parents out of forcing the match, he wanted Rebecca to have a way out of her contract.

“Oh, I know exactly what I’m looking for,” she remarked. “What I’d like to know, though, is what you’re looking for in a wife.”

Was she trying to get him to confess that he wanted her?

“Well, I’ve never actually thought about it. I hadn’t planned to get married yet so I didn’t sit down and make a list—like my pa did when he sent back east for you.” He laughed, trying to ease the tension between them.

“Just tell me the first things that come to mind.

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