Free Rancher Wants a Wife by Kate Bridges

the Great Fire.”
    “Oh, they got them.” He blinked. He’d never told her everything that had happened, everything he’d done to get through that awful period, including hiring an investigator. The detective had told him that the letters had been received by Troy’s family. But hiring someone to snoop didn’t feel terribly honorable, looking at it now from a distance.
    Yet there was something else he did need to tell her. “Cassandra...about the wedding ceremony...”
    She seemed to know exactly what he was referring to. Her voice became strained. “Yes, Jack, I’ve been meaning to ask. Who is she?”
    He tried to control the flare of his temper when he thought of what Elise had done. The embarrassment to Cassandra, the wagging tongues in town the scene had undoubtedly caused, being forced to explain himself in front of the minister.
    And how on earth did it get to the point where Jack was talking in his marital bed, on his wedding night, about another woman? To blazes with Elise!
    “Her name is Elise Beacon. Daughter of Wilfred Beacon, who owns one of the largest vineyards around. Except that right now, he’s in South America somewhere with his latest fling. Elise has had a hard time of it. She’s very good with animals—very skilled, seems to have an instinct for it. Anyway, she and I...well, I courted her for two months.”
    “How long ago?”
    “It ended way back in January. Five months ago, for crying out loud.”
    Cassandra frowned. “And you proposed marriage to me in February?” Her expression grew incredulous. “Just one month later?”
    “Well, I...” He’d never thought of that.
    He ran a hand through his hair, determined to explain fully so there’d be no misunderstanding. “There was nothing serious—ever—between us. She was being courted by someone else at the same time, in fact, and as soon as I heard about that, I broke off with her. As for you and me, I’ve known you since you were fourteen. There’s no comparison between how I feel for you and what I felt for her.”
    Cassandra drew her lips together, as though weighing the situation. Pensive, she gazed over to the red glow of flames in the fireplace, her blond lashes silhouetted by the golden light. “She’s still hurt.”
    He rubbed a hand over the bristles on his jaw and shrugged a shoulder, so much wider and bigger than Cassandra’s on the pillow. “She’s overblown everything she thinks happened between us. That’s the only way I can rationalize her behavior. And I’m sorry for what happened today. I can’t apologize enough.”
    Cassandra, though, grew agitated. She tucked her tongue into her cheek and batted her lashes. “Would have been nice if I had received some warning.”
    He sputtered. “Well, surely you don’t think I could’ve guessed what she might do?”
    “She saw us yesterday when I arrived.” Cassandra lifted her arm for emphasis, her long sleeve swirling. “I’m sure you saw her, too, coming out of the hat shop. You could’ve told me then who she was.”
    “But she’s nothing to me,” he insisted.
    “She doesn’t seem to think so,” Cassandra said with a heated snap. “Neither do some of the other folks in town. I saw their faces in church. I think a few extra people showed up today just to see what would happen!”
    “How am I supposed to agree or disagree with that statement?” he asked indignantly. “I can’t read the minds of others.”
    “You should’ve warned me,” she said with accusation. She grew still, except for her fingers flicking at the stitching on the covers. “Are there any other women you need to tell me about?”
    “Oh, hell,” he said, exasperated by the scrutiny. “I’m not about to provide a list, in the event any other woman holds a grudge.”
    Aghast, Cassandra clutched the blanket to her chin. “Are there that many?” she whispered.
    “No!” Flabbergasted, he sat up, bare-chested and pulling at the sheets. What he’d done or not done before