The Cowbear's Mail Order Bride (Curvy Bear Ranch 6) (8 page)

His heart kicked in his chest. After going to bed by himself for so many years, he’d enjoyed having Shar—no—
Cindy
by his side. God, he didn’t even know if that much was true. How could he think about having something real with someone who didn’t even exist? How much of their time together had been lies and how much had been genuine?

Behind him, the approach of another bear caught his attention. He turned to find Mack striding toward him. Apparently his secret spot wasn’t as secret as he’d thought.

Mack shifted. He sat on a log just inside the tree line.

“Everything okay?” Mack asked.

Drew chuffed. He didn’t feel like talking, so he didn’t shift.

“Did you stay in Sharon’s room last night?” Mack asked.

Great. He was here to lecture him on proper guest protocol. But since he wasn’t a liar, he shook his head, yes.

“I ran into Sharon. She seemed upset.”

Drew huffed and shifted.

“She should be upset,” Drew said as soon as his mouth returned to its human shape. “She’s a liar.”

“In what way?” Mack asked.

As he recounted Sharon’s story, he realized how much detail she’d put into it. If she was lying about it, then she’d done a damn good job.

“…after I left her, I came up here to think,” Drew finished.

“You don’t believe her,” Mack said.

“I don’t know.”

“We could have Sheriff Hunt check out her story. It shouldn’t take him long to verify it.”

“True, but I don’t know that it would change anything. She still lied to me. I don’t know if I can forgive her for that,” Drew said.

“Let’s see what the sheriff has to say and go from there. She seems like a nice woman, so it might be worth forgiving her, considering the circumstances. Think of it from her perspective. She came up here thinking she was going to meet the man she’d been talking to online and found out that it was really Madison on the other end of the keyboard. She could have screamed and yelled and made a scene, but she rolled with it.”

“Because she’s hiding,” Drew said.

“All I’m saying is that you should give it a chance,” Mack said. “What does your bear think about her?”

“He thinks she’s our mate,” Drew snorted.

“And you don’t agree?” Mack asked.

“No. Our mate wouldn’t lie to us.”

“Madison lied to me when I met her. A few times actually. But I understand why she did it. Sometimes there are valid reasons for lying.”

“I don’t know…but I’ll call the sheriff,” Drew said. “Let’s find out if she’s finally telling the truth.”

Chapter 8

Cindy stood on the porch at the main house with her hand poised, ready to knock. She needed to find Drew. If she could find a way to make him understand why she’d lied, then maybe he’d want to talk to her again.

The door swung open before she had a chance to knock. Madison jumped back.

“Oh, you startled me. I didn’t expect anyone to be standing on the porch. It’s freezing out here. Did you need something?” Madison asked.

“I’m looking for Drew.”

“I haven’t seen him.”

“Do you know where he might be?” Cindy couldn’t keep the stress out of her tone.

“I’m not sure. I was heading back to the B&B. We could wait for him there,” Madison said.

“Okay.”

As Madison stepped over the threshold onto the porch, she leaned forward and grimaced. Her hand flew to her belly.

“Are you okay?” Cindy asked.

“I keep getting these pains,” Madison said.

“Have you been to your OB/GYN?”

“Yes, but she said everything’s normal and that it’s probably just gas.”

“When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had terrible bloating,” Cindy said.

“You have a daughter?” Madison’s eyes went wide as she returned to her full height.

“Yes. Her name’s Brooke. She’s six years old.” A twinge of pain sliced through Cindy’s heart. She’d give anything to be able to hug her only child right now.

“You never mentioned her when we were corresponding,” Madison said.

“There’s a lot I never mentioned.” Cindy turned away and leaned her forearms on the porch railing. She took in the frozen wilderness. How had her life gotten this out of control?

Madison walked up beside her.

“If you want to talk, I’m a good listener. But I would like to get inside.”

“Of course,” Cindy said as she pushed up.

“Let’s head over to the B&B and I’ll make some tea,” Madison said.

As Cindy strolled beside Madison, she took note of her slight limp. Cindy frowned. If Madison had been to her OB/GYN, then they would have found any potential problems. Well, most of the time. There were always those rare cases in which a problem hadn’t been detected.

Once inside the B&B, Cindy followed Madison into the kitchen.

“Where’s the tea kettle?” Cindy asked.

“I’ll do that,” Madison said.

“No. You should sit down for a bit. I can boil water.” Cindy grinned.

“I couldn’t,” Madison said as she slid into a seat at the breakfast nook. “When I first arrived here, I almost burned the kitchen down.”

“I thought you were hired to be the manager,” Cindy said.

“I was. I may have slightly overstated my abilities.”

“Were you able to hide it from Mack?” Cindy asked.

“Nope. He figured it out the first time I tried to cook breakfast,” Madison said.

“But he forgave you for lying to him?”

“Eventually, but he was pissed when he found out that I’d never run a B&B in my life.”

Cindy found the tea kettle near the stove. She filled it with water and set it on a burner. After turning the fire to high, she pulled two mugs out of the cupboards. She carried them to the table and sat across from Madison.

“How did you get him to forgive you?” Cindy asked.

“I just gave it time. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other, so that helped.” Madison chuckled.

“I know what you mean. Drew’s…God, I don’t even know how to describe him,” Cindy said.

“Hot.”

“Scorching.”

“All of the brothers are sexy. But Mack’s the hottest, of course.” Madison winked.

“I beg to differ.” Cindy arched a brow.

“Good, because I’d take a rolling pin to you if you got near my hubby.”

“I didn’t think you were married yet.”

“Not yet,” Madison said. “I’m waiting until after the baby. My sister-in-law, Rachel, is also pregnant. She doesn’t want to wait, so she’s been driving us nuts with her wedding plans. I love her to death, but I seriously can’t wait until it’s over.”

“When’s the wedding?” Cindy asked.

“It was supposed to be the beginning of February, but she keeps changing the date. I’m guessing sometime this month, but I’m not sure. At this point, I wish they’d have an impromptu wedding the way Kate and Logan, and Carol and Hank did.”

“That sounds romantic. Getting married on the spot because you know in your soul that you want to be with someone for the rest of your life—” Cindy’s voice broke as she fought back tears. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be so upset. I’ve only known Drew a few days.”

“That’s all it takes,” Madison said. “So, you said you’d lied to him about some things…”

“Well, for starters, my name’s not Sharon. It’s Cindy.”

“Okay,” Madison said slowly.

Cindy launched into the full story. She didn’t leave anything out. There was no point in hiding anymore. The more she revealed, the lighter her heart felt. By the time she finished talking, she didn’t hurt as much as she had when Drew had stormed out of her room.

Madison opened her mouth to speak just as the tea kettle began to shriek.

“Let me get that,” Cindy said.

She jumped up and grabbed the pot. After pouring steaming water into both mugs, she took a box of tea bags off of a shelf in the pantry. When she returned, she chose a bag of chamomile tea, while Madison chose peppermint.

“You’ve been through a lot,” Madison said.

“I just wish Drew would understand,” Cindy said.

“He’ll come around.”

“I don’t know. You should have seen the look on his face. He was furious.”

“I’ve known the Grant brothers for months now,” Madison said. “They are the sweetest, most caring, protective men I’ve ever met. I had an ex-fiancé, not quite as insane as your ex, but close. He couldn’t hold a candle to Mack. They weren’t even in the same stratosphere as far as men are concerned. I still don’t know what the hell I was thinking when I agreed to marry Ben.”

“We all make mistakes,” Cindy said.

“That’s an understatement. I wish I’d known how to spot a controlling piece of crap when I’d met my ex… although if I hadn’t gone through everything I went through with him, then I wouldn’t have met Mack,” Madison said.

“True.”

“Give Drew time to calm down. The boys can be hot-headed at first, but eventually they do the right thing.”

“Thank you.” Cindy reached across the table to squeeze Madison’s hand. “It’s nice to be able to talk to someone who understands what I went through.”

“Anytime you need to talk, I’m here,” Madison said.

“Thanks.”

A smile lit up Madison’s face. For the first time since they’d sat down, the dark circles under her eyes were gone. A sparkle of mischief entered her sky-blue eyes. She leaned forward and in a conspiratorial tone asked, “How was he in bed?”

Cindy choked on her tea, spewing it out of her nose. She grabbed a napkin and mopped up the liquid, while laughing. When she could finally catch her breath again, she leaned forward and whispered, “Phenomenal.”

***

Drew walked into Sheriff Hunt’s office.

“I was in town when you called the house,” Drew said. “Mack told me to stop by.”

The sheriff stood and shook his hand.

“Glad you could come in. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I try to stay out of trouble.” Drew grinned for a second before taking on a more somber attitude. He slid into a chair in front of the desk. “So, you found out about Sharon… or Cindy, I guess.”

“Her real name is Cindy Templeton. She’s a doctor from Los Angeles with about fifty acronyms behind her name. She specializes in pregnant women.”

Drew sat back as he took in the information. If she had that many credentials, she had to be smart.

“Was she married?” Drew asked.

“Yes, for about six years. The divorce went through a few months ago.”

“So that was true,” Drew said.

“Yep,” Sherriff Hunt said. “And she was also telling the truth about being attacked by him—twice. First time happened after she asked for a divorce. Anyone who’s been in law enforcement has seen how that works out when the man’s a controlling prick. Not all of them get violent, but enough do that it’s a major problem for us.”

“I hate to ask this, and I don’t mean to be offensive in any way, but did the cops screw up and let him out of jail?” Drew asked.

“Unfortunately, yes. The detective I spoke with admitted they had chain of custody issues with a new officer. It should have been an open and shut case, but they screwed it up.”

Drew leaned forward and dropped his head into his hands.

“I don’t know what to do,” he said.

“About what?” Hunt asked.

“About Sha—Cindy.”

“You like this girl a lot, right?”

“Yeah,” Drew said.

“Then let me give you a piece of advice my dad gave me. Don’t let her get away. There aren’t very many women in this world who can set your heart on fire. I let one get away once and I’ve regretted it my entire life.”

“I didn’t know you could be so sentimental,” Drew said with a slight smile.

“Yeah. I’m all fuzzy and warm on the inside,” Hunt joked. “Seriously though, I’ve seen the crime scene photos. I have to tell you, she’s lucky to be alive. She’s been through hell. If you think she might be worth fighting for, do it.”

“Thanks,” Drew said as he stood to shake the sheriff’s hand.

“Anytime. My counseling fee is one hundred dollars.”

“I’ll send one of my brothers back with a jar full of pennies for you.” Drew chuckled.

“You do, and you’ll be coming back to bail him out of jail,” Hunt said.

“On what grounds?”

“Disturbing the peace,” Hunt said with a straight face.

Drew roared with laughter. Hunt joined in as he walked around to where Drew stood. The sheriff slapped him on the back.

“Get out of here before I call Deputy Jenkins in here.”

“Yes, sir,” Drew said.

He strolled out of the office with a lightheartedness that lasted all the way to the parking lot. But when he slid into the cab of his truck, his gut churned. She was telling the truth now, but she’d still lied to him.

The drive back to the ranch helped his simmering frustration reach a boiling point. By the time he pulled into his spot near the main house, his jaw was locked tighter than a bear trap. He couldn’t let her deceitfulness go. The last time he’d let a liar into his bed, he’d ended up on the wrong end of a shotgun.

Kassie Edwin. What a psycho. God, how many years had it been since he’d thought about her? Five?

The gold-digging con artist had paid a pregnant woman to pee on a stick in an effort to extort money from him. He’d almost fallen for it too. If Mack hadn’t insisted that she go to the doctor for an official test, Drew would have been knee-deep in her bullshit. He was so lucky to have a brother like Mack.

When Drew had confronted her with the request, she’d thrown a fit, hollering about how she couldn’t believe he thought she was lying. As if that hadn’t been proof enough of her deception, she’d told her father he’d knocked her up and was refusing to take responsibility for the baby.

Later, during a drunken conversation held at the end of a shotgun, Drew managed to convince her father that she had to take the test. When his daughter had refused, yet again, he’d dragged her off to the doctor’s office.

She wasn’t even pregnant.

Jesus, he could still feel the avalanche of relief he’d felt the day her father had driven out to the ranch to apologize. Drew had gone into the woods and cried so his brothers wouldn’t see how hurt he’d been by her betrayal. That was the day he swore off women and decided to spend the rest of his life alone.

He cracked his neck and stared out of the windshield. A crimson sunset blanketed the snow with fire. He knew what he had to do, but he wasn’t sure he could do it. Was he really ready to confront another liar? Should he stick to his self-imposed exile and forget he’d ever met her? Or could he take another chance on love?