Free Cowboy, Take Me Away (Montana Cowboys/ Country Music) by Cara North Page A

other man in the place was now smiling at her. Every other man in the place, but Roy. He looked mad as a wet hornet. She gulped, took a few steps backwards and said, “I’ll just…uh…go now.”
                  She heard the crowd shift back to face the bride and groom. The preacher, with a sigh of relief, continued. She was shaking like a leaf when she stepped out into the warm sunshine on a lovely summer day. It was midafternoon and the breeze wrapped around her like a soft blanket before slipping away again. She took several deep breaths and then started to walk towards her car. She had packed everything she owned into it. She wasn’t exactly sure what to do next.
                  She heard the sound of a man’s voice call out, “So that’s it?”
                  She turned to find a brooding sheriff looking at her. He was every bit what she had remembered him to be. Tall, handsome, rugged through and through. He was thirty-three this month. When she had broken down her resolve to wait for him to text her back, she sent him a text asking what he was up to lately. He had responded, ‘wedding plans’. She never sent him a message back. She acted on gut level impulse to get her ass to Montana toot sweet and stop him from marrying someone else.
    She had driven straight to the police station and they explained he was at said wedding. She knew by now the only place to have a wedding was on that ranch. She had researched the area thoroughly this time, expecting it would be her home from now on. Things weren’t quite working out as she had planned. He wasn’t running over to sweep her off her feet and pick up where they physically left off years before.
    His blue eyes were piercing. He had let his soft brown hair grow out a little bit more , but it was still in a short cut that seemed reserved for law enforcement and military men. He was stunning in the suit and tie. She cleared her throat and said, “Hi.”
                  “Hi,” he said and tilted his head. She could feel the look he gave her like a touch.
                  She gulped, took a few steps towards him. “I uh, didn’t mean to make a scene. Well, I guess I did, but not that scene. I really just wanted to tell you…I mean…I.”
                  “You bring a dress?” he asked. She could not read the man’s mood. She nodded. “Well, put it on. It’ll help you blend in. It is a wedding after all.”
                  She closed the distance to stand in front of him. She looked up at the big hulking man and said, “Will you think I’m crazy if I said, I really missed you?”
                  “After you barged in and tried to stop what you thought was my wedding?” He half smiled. “I think I figured that much out.”
                  She took another bold step towards him and wrapped her arms around him. He didn’t hug her back. She inhaled deeply and said, “I missed you.”
                  “When are you going back?” he asked simply.
                  She gulped. Okay so here is where she revealed the really crazy part of this plan. “I’m not. I quit my job at the aquarium. I packed everything I own into that car and drove here hoping I could convince you to…”
                  He let his right hand touch the small of her back briefly and then stepped back as he looked down at her. “I’m flattered. Really, I am. I just…it’s a bit…crazy, you know?”
                  She straightened herself out and held her head high as she admitted, “Yeah. I know. I really do understand how nuts this was. I just…couldn’t go another day seeing a police officer, thinking about you, wondering…I just…”
                  “I have to stay for the reception,” he said. She frowned. Her heart was thumping so fast in her chest. She didn’t know what to do with this man. She had