Free The Cowboy Takes a Bride by Lori Wilde Page B

down the letter, took off his glasses, and rubbed them against his shirt to clear them of smudges. His eyes were misty. “Your father was a good man. I hope you see your way to making his dreams come true.”
    Mariah cast a glance over at Joe. His jaw was clenched as if he was trying to hold back his feelings.
    So Dutch’s last wish was for her to go into business with Joe and make an equine facility for underprivileged kids?
    Sure it sounded good to Art and Joe. They were cowboys, horsemen. But to Mariah it showed Dutch’s bone-deep selfishness. Everyone in town seemed to love and laud her father, but they didn’t know what it was like to be abandoned by the man who was supposed to love and protect you no matter what.
    Dutch had loved horses more than he’d loved her. He all but admitted it in his letter. And yet, in the end, he wanted her to follow his dream. He hadn’t known her. Hadn’t known her at all. He’d had no real interest in her. In what she wanted. What she needed. There was that hurt again. She couldn’t escape it no matter which way she turned.
    Mariah pushed back the chair, got to her feet. “Thank you, Mr. Bunting.”
    “I suppose you need some time to think this all over, decide what you’re going to do.”
    “No,” she said. “I don’t need any time at all. I already know what I want to do. I’m going to put the ranch up for sale. Rock-bottom price. I want out of Jubilee as fast as I can get out of here.”
    S teamed, Joe left the office ahead of Mariah. She had papers to sign, and he was so angry, he needed to walk it off before sharing the cab of his truck with her on the ride back to the ranch. Selfish, spoiled brat. Not even giving her dead father’s request a second thought.
    Well fine, that was her prerogative. He didn’t care. He didn’t want her hanging around here anyway, reminding him far too much of Becca, reminding him of how much she’d hurt Dutch. All he wanted was his land back and if she was inclined to sell it to him cheap, then so much the better.
    He paced the sidewalk off the town square, trying to figure out how to get his hands on the money to buy her off and send her packing back to Chicago.
    Fifteen minutes later, she came out of the office looking . . . well . . . to be honest, she looked like she’d been stirrup-dragged through a cactus patch. Immediately, his anger ebbed.
    “Do you mind if I go grocery shopping?” she asked.
    “Huh?”
    “If I’m going to be stuck here for a while, I need supplies, and on the drive over, I spotted a small grocery on the block behind this one.”
    He wanted to say, Hell no. He didn’t want to do any favors for her. She pissed him off royally. But the woman needed groceries, so what else was he supposed to do?
    She started walking in the direction of the grocery store, leaving him not much of an option but to follow her, although he sure didn’t care for looking like a lapdog. To keep from trailing behind, he took several long-legged steps and caught up with her.
    “You got a grocery list?” he growled.
    “I don’t.”
    “You need a list. Being a wedding planner, I figured you keep lists.”
    She tapped her temple with a forefinger. “I keep it up here.”
    Why was he giving her crap about a grocery list? Was he just trying to punish her? Petty. Yeah, he’d admit it. He wasn’t proud of it, but a guy couldn’t help the way he felt—disappointed, irritated, snubbed.
    At the door, a friendly young man with Down’s syndrome greeted them and high-fived Joe. “Hello, Mr. Joe. We’come to Searcy’s Gro’ery.”
    “Thank you, Rodney.”
    It was the exact same exchange Rodney had with every customer who entered the grocery store. Rodney had been in the same high school class as Joe’s younger sister, Meg.
    “Can I come riding at the ranch again?” Rodney asked.
    “You’re welcome anytime.” Joe peeled off a cart from the row of carts before Mariah had a chance to commandeer one. He was running this show