The Cowboy Imports a Bride(The Cowboys Of Chance Creek #3) (14 page)

"Well, when you put it that way, how can I resist?" Morgan said, laughing. "Sure, sign me up."

They worked it out that she would help Autumn daily from five in the morning to early afternoon. First they'd prep breakfast, serve it and clean up afterward. Then she and Autumn would do the rooms. They'd end the morning with lunch prep and cleanup.

It was late morning and she'd persuaded Autumn to go back to the bunk house and relax while she finished readying the bedrooms for guests. Several families were descending on the ranch this afternoon. She figured after all the excitement of the wedding, Autumn could use a break before the next round of chaos hit. Autumn and Ethan seemed to work almost every hour of the day and she had resolved to help as much as she could. Autumn wasn't paying her much, but since sleeping in the bunkhouse wouldn't cost her anything, at least she wouldn't be dipping into her savings to pay her daily expenses.

When she peered down the large staircase, she saw Lisa poking her head through the door.
Uh oh, this could get ugly
, she thought, but descended the stairs anyway. No matter what happened, she and Rob were getting married, and Lisa would be her mother-in-law.

"Oh, honey," Lisa said when she spotted her. "I'm so sorry my husband's being a royal pain in the ass."

Morgan blinked. That wasn't what she'd been expecting at all.

"These men," Lisa went on. "It's all pissing and marking their territory, I swear. With five of them around the place it sure gets ugly sometimes. Don't you fret about it. I'm working on Holt and we'll simmer all of this down and get your wedding off the ground. You hear? But if you don't mind, could we put off our trip to Ellie's Bridals until Wednesday? Turns out I need to go help out an old friend this morning."

"Um…okay," Morgan said. "I'm free after two. I'll be helping Autumn in the morning."

"That's sweet of you. Poor girl is working her fingers to the bone. In the meantime, I'll keep looking into flowers and catering and everything else. You leave it all up to me! I'll see you on Wednesday at the shop."

Morgan waved good-bye, wondering if there was any hope that Lisa could actually patch things up between Rob and his father. From what she'd seen, she doubted it, but Lisa had been married to Holt for over thirty years. She must know a thing or two about how to handle the man.

When Rob arrived back at the bunkhouse later that afternoon, she was eager to tell him about his mother's visit, but before she could, he swept her off her feet and into an embrace.

"It's settled. Ethan's selling us 150 acres of land and I'll work off the cost over time. I'll help out with the guest ranch business and teach rodeo riding to local kids and visitors. I'll also team up with Jamie on his horse-breeding business, and I'll get your vineyard up and running for you."

Morgan tried to keep up. "What land?"

"The parcel next to Jamie's! We'll live right here with the rest of our friends."

"Really?" Morgan lit up. "You think we can afford it? Where will we get the money to start the winery?"

"I'll earn it, I swear I will. I already told Ethan I need to take on extra work." He hugged her again, then slid his hands lower and gave her ass a squeeze. "It'll all work out, so don't worry about a thing."

"I got a job, too – helping Autumn – so we'll both be earning money."

Rob kissed her until she got weak in the knees. "The wedding is on," he said firmly when they split apart. "I asked Ethan and he said we'll hold it here if my Dad doesn't back down."

"Autumn said the same thing." She grinned. "But your mom stopped by and said she's working on Holt. She thinks he'll change his mind."

Rob shrugged. "Doesn't matter if he does, really. Our future is secure either way." He stopped and took her hands in his. "You know that, right, Morgan? I'm going to keep my promises to you, and make you my wife, whatever anyone throws at us. I'll make damn sure you have a winery to run, too."

Looking into his eyes, she could see he meant it. All the doubts she'd harbored slipped away and she stepped into his embrace again.

CHAPTER TWELVE

When Morgan made her way back to the bunkhouse the following afternoon, after spending most of the day helping Autumn with her guests, she was surprised to find Rob waiting for her.

"Come on – you and I have an errand to run."

"Now?"

"You have something better to do?"

"Let me grab my purse."

Twenty minutes later they arrived at the Chance Creek Pet Clinic, a small, neat building near the center of town. Morgan turned to Rob in surprise. "What are we doing here?"

"Visiting a friend of mine." He got out and came to open the door for her. She smiled at the gentlemanly gesture, and followed him to the entrance.

"It's closed," she said, pointing to the sign in the door.

"It's never closed," he said. "You'll see." He knocked and called out, "Bella? You in there?"

The door opened a moment later and a young woman appeared, her blonde hair piled atop her head in a mass of wild curls.

"Rob! I haven't seen you in ages," she said. "Come on in."

Morgan fought down a surge of jealousy at the pleased tone in her voice. She was pretty, curvy, and obviously happy to see Rob.

Rob gave Bella a quick hug and the ugly feeling grew. Had he brought her here to show her how attractive he was to other women? To give her a quick reminder that he had other options? The certainty she'd felt since his declarations last night began to slip away.

"How's your family?" Bella asked him.

Rob grimaced. "As ornery and controlling as ever. How's the business?"

Bella mirrored his expression. "Same as usual."

"In other words, you're still housing every stray animal for miles around?"

"Yeah." Her face fell, but then she brightened again. "You know, I think the number of strays is dropping. I haven't had as many brought in these past few weeks."

As she turned to adjust something on her counter, Rob rubbed a hand across his face. Morgan suspected he was trying to rub off the disbelieving smile that was lingering there. What was that all about?

"We've actually come to take one off your hands," was all he said.

Bella spun around. "Really?" Now her face was as bright as the sun with happiness. This woman really wore her feelings on her sleeve, Morgan thought. It made it hard to dislike her.

It got harder as Bella led them into the back of the clinic to an adjoining building that housed the animal shelter she also ran. It was the biggest facility Morgan had ever seen, with cages and cages of dogs and cats and a large exercise yard for them behind it all. Bella explained how local students volunteered and helped her exercise the animals and keep them acclimated to humans.

"How on earth do you feed them all?" Morgan asked.

Bella's face fell again. "It's hard," she admitted. "Somehow we manage."

"Well, you'll have to manage with one less animal," Rob said. "We're looking for a kitten."

"I've got kittens," Bella said. She led the way to one corner where indeed she had several mother cats with litters of kittens. "If you want to take one home today, these guys are your best bet." She took them past several cages in which the kittens were little more than piles of fluff huddled next to their mothers to one in which the kittens were noticeably older. They were alert, pouncing and playing. The mother cat was nowhere to be seen.

"These little guys are ten weeks. Ready for their own homes and families." Bella leaned over and opened the door. "What do you think?"

Five little gray faces turned toward them. Morgan melted at the sight of their big eyes and still-fluffy bodies. She'd never had a pet. Her grandparents wouldn't think of it, and her apartment building didn't allow them. "Can I hold one?"

"Of course." Bella beamed. "Put your hand in the door and see who comes looking. The best pets are the ones who pick you."

"Oh, it's not for me," Morgan said, but she did what she was told. A kitten with a white front paw scampered right over and nosed her fingers. She felt the rasp of its tiny tongue on her palm and shivered with delight. "It's so cute." When it climbed right into her hand, she pulled it out and cradled it to her chest, rubbing her chin over its soft fur. It licked her on the nose.

"That's it – she's chosen you," Bella said. "Now you have to take her."

"Who are you getting her for?" Morgan asked Rob.

"You, dummy. Who'd you think I was getting it for?"

Morgan lowered her hands. "But..."

"You're getting a pet," he insisted. "The minute I saw how you were living in Victoria, I promised myself I would get you one when I convinced you to move back here. People have to have pets. Anyway, we need a cat for the ranch. In fact, Ethan and Autumn don't have a cat yet, so we need two," he told Bella, then scanned the large room with all its cages. "Actually, make that five."

Bella beamed as she went off to find a cardboard box to carry them in.

"Five?" Morgan asked when she was gone.

"There's plenty of room for them," he said. "They'll keep the rat population down. I'll let Ethan and Autumn have a couple, keep one for Claire and Jamie, and we'll take the rest. "

"There are so many animals here," Morgan said, daunted by the noise of them in their pens.

"She doesn't put them down – the strays, I mean. Most shelters have a time limit before they get rid of unwanted animals. Bella doesn't. She's going to bankrupt herself if she keeps on like this."

"She said the population of strays has gone down, though."

Rob laughed. "Seriously? You believed that? Most likely people are taking pity on her and bringing the strays to her brother, instead. He's a livestock vet – he doesn't do pets, but he's a realist. He takes care of the problem."

"That's awful!"

His faced softened. "It is awful, honey, but it's life. Unneutered cats breed like bunnies. There's no way to keep up with them all. Bella would have to be a millionaire to take in every last one."

"I guess." Morgan hugged the kitten in her hands tighter. This one was safe, at least.

"What're you going to name her?"

"Button." She nuzzled the kitten again. "My little Button."

Rob rolled his eyes. "Gunsmoke would be better."

"Button's a darling name," Bella said, returning with the box. "Let's load them up and get you guys out of here. It's past dinner time, and I'm starving, and I've still got a lot to do."

"Are you looking for any more volunteers?" Morgan asked her.

"Are you kidding? How often can you come?"

"I’m not sure, but I'll try for once a week to start. I've never had pets," she confided to Bella.

"Then you need to make up for lost time, and this is certainly the place to do it," Bella said.

"Come on," Rob nudged her toward the door.

"I'm hungry, too," Morgan said as they returned to the car with their box of squirming, fluffy kittens. She looked back at the clinic, though, as Rob backed out of the parking lot and swung the truck toward home. It would be fun to go back and spend time with all of those animals.

"Let's pick up some cat food, grab some takeout, and get these critters home."

* * * * *

An hour later, Rob joined Ethan on the back porch of the bunkhouse to plan the following day's work, dropping one of the kittens into Ethan's lap.

"Here, I got you a present."

"Huh." Ethan lifted the kitten and rubbed its fur against his face. "Nice. I didn't even know I needed one of these."

"But you kinda do now, don't you?" Rob said.

"Matter of fact, I think I do." He nuzzled it again. "Gunsmoke. That's your name," he told the kitten.

Rob turned to him. "That's exactly what I said to Morgan. She didn't like it."

"Yeah? What did she name yours?"

"Button," Rob mumbled.

"Man, that's rough." Ethan chucked and settled the kitten in his lap, petting it while they talked over their plans.

Rob found it hard to concentrate, though. The question of how to earn the money he'd promised Morgan was preying on his mind.

"Rob?" Ethan asked him. Rob realized he'd missed something.

"Huh?"

"You're a million miles away. Something wrong?"

"I've really got to find some extra work. Not that I don't appreciate what you've done," he hastened to say when he caught Ethan's eye. "It's a far sight better to buy the land from you than to have my father looking over my shoulder and bossing me around the rest of my days. It's just, I don't want to start my life together with Morgan by breaking a promise."

"Yeah, I get it." Ethan stared out over the landscape. "You know where most business deals get done, don't you?"

Rob raised an eyebrow at him.

"The feed store, horse auctions, and the bar. Try Rafters. Someone might know something."

"You think?"

Ethan shrugged. "Worth a shot. Twenty thousand dollars is a hell of a lot of money, though. Might need to go to North Dakota and work on one of those oil wells."

Rob looked thoughtful. "I could look into that."

"Start closer to home," Ethan advised him, standing up, still cradling the kitten. "You'll want to get going now – before all the old geezers with money get too drunk to spend it."

* * * * *

"What are you doing?"

Morgan glanced up as Ethan entered the living room. She was sitting on the couch, notepad in hand, writing down every expense she could think of for starting the vineyard and winery. They were adding up fast. Four kittens were exploring the room, climbing the furniture and playing with the curtains.

She put the notepad down. "Talking myself out of starting a winery."

"Why? I think it's a fantastic idea. A few years from now it will be a great partner to the guest ranch business. You can take our guests on tours – get them out of our hair for a few hours – and we can serve your wines at dinner."

"That's more than a few years away. We have to purchase rootstock, grow the grapes, erect a distillery and tasting room, buy the machinery…and even once we bottle some wine, it still needs to age."