His Montana Bride. Brenda Minton

to feel like he has to give me a ride.”

      Julie nodded in agreement. “He usually does something with Marci on Sundays. It’s their day together.”

      “I see.” But she didn’t see. “Is her mother here?”

      Julie’s smile dissolved and she shook her head. “No, Marci’s mom died when she was a baby. Her grandmother, Lulu Jenson, has raised her.”

      The story settled in Katie’s heart and she felt a wave of pain she hadn’t expected. She shouldn’t have asked, but now that she knew Marci’s story it mattered. It made sense of a man she barely knew, made him more real, more like someone a woman would want to spend time with.

      “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

      “It isn’t as if it’s a secret. Cord would have told you, if he’d had a moment to spare.”

      Katie didn’t agree, but she didn’t say that to Julie. To Cord Shaw, Katie was practically a stranger. He didn’t owe her stories about his life or about a child that seemed a very big part of his life.

      “She’s cute and she obviously loves your brother.”

      At that Julie laughed. “She does love him and he does spoil her rotten. Sometimes I think he uses her as an excuse, though.”

      Katie pretended not to hear the last comment made by a sister about her older brother. What Cord did in his personal life was really none of her business. For that reason she changed the subject. “Are you sure you have room for me?”

      Julie slipped an arm through Katie’s. “Of course we do. There are plenty of us Shaws here at church, so we’ll have more room heading over to the diner. I’m riding with Ryan and you can go with us.”

      “That sounds great. I’ll just let Cord know so he doesn’t wonder where I’ve gone to.”

      Julie pointed and Katie turned to find Cord standing behind her. Somehow she got lost for a minute in the blue of his eyes and in the smile that shifted the rugged planes of his face, emphasizing the scar near his eye and the dimple in his left cheek. A shaft of sunlight filtered through the windows, catching the slightest bit of gray at his temples. And then the sunlight was gone and the room seemed darker.

      Words evaded her and she really needed to say something. Anything to put this moment to rest. And suddenly Marci was at her side, giving her the break she needed.

      “Do you like to ride?” Marci asked, in maybe not the friendliest tone.

      “I’m sorry?”

      Katie heard Julie excuse herself and before she could stop the other woman, she was gone. Katie started to call out to her because she was an ally of sorts. Marci’s hand reached for hers, drawing her attention back to the man and girl standing in front of her.

      “I’m sorry, ride?” Katie looked from Marci to Cord.

      “Horses,” Marci said with a preteen roll of the eyes.

      “Oh, horses.”

      “Yes, horses.” Cord was smiling now.

      She didn’t know if she liked to ride horses, but she knew she wanted to. She would be in Jasper Gulch for most of the month and she wanted to enjoy herself. And she could enjoy herself with Cord Shaw and Marci. No entanglements. No temptations.

      He was a man who wanted only friendship. And maybe help planning this monstrosity of a wedding.

      * * *

      The last thing Cord had planned to do was bring Katie Archer into this part of his life. He protected Marci and Lulu. That had been his job for almost as long as Marci had been alive. But Marci had other ideas this time. For some reason she was clinging to Katie’s hand, pleading with her to go riding.

      He wanted to smile at the trapped look on her face. Her jewel-colored eyes were flitting from his goddaughter to him and back to Marci. It would have made his life easier if she’d met Marci and quickly slipped away, uninterested in this part of his life. Instead, she seemed to be silently asking his permission.

      Great.

      He’d gone several years without getting tangled up or inviting a woman into this part of his life. He’d learned his lesson with his ex-fiancée, Susan. She’d told him from the beginning that she didn’t want Marci in their lives. He hadn’t realized until it was too late that she’d been serious. It had all become crystal clear when she’d thrown him over for his best man—his supposed best friend.

      Lesson learned.

      “Marci told me she wouldn’t mind if you joined us,” he admitted now to Katie because she was still standing there looking unsure. She seemed to be waiting for permission to accept. Great.

      “We really don’t mind,” he continued.

      And he’d love to see her on a horse, the city girl in her made-for-dresses riding boots, the scarf around her neck and hair falling in loose curls.

      “I see.” She bit down on her bottom lip and then looked around.

      “They all assumed you’d go and they’ve left you behind,” he explained the obvious. The church had emptied out.

      “We have a picnic,” Marci offered with a hesitant smile. “And Cord has a real gentle horse.”

      “Does he?” Katie looked down, smiling at his goddaughter.

      He felt a real fondness for this woman, practically a stranger, at that moment. Her hesitation wasn’t about Marci. Maybe it was more that she just wasn’t interested in him. Or was she afraid of horses?

      “Do you ride?” he asked.

      “I’ve been once, on a trail horse.”

      “The nose-to-tail kind of trail horse?” he asked, unable to hold back his amusement.

      “Yes, that’s the kind.”

      “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

      Pastor Ethan Johnson approached, ending the conversation. Cord smiled at the other man because he and Ethan had something in common. They were both on the list of eligible bachelors in Jasper Gulch. Men who needed to find wives. He, for one, didn’t need help. Ethan probably felt the same way.

      There were plenty of single ladies in town. There were even a few new ones. There were the Shoemaker ladies, the new historian from somewhere in New Mexico, Cord’s sister Faith. The list was long. Cord knew his dad would like to see all of his kids married off. More than once lately Jackson and Nadine Shaw had mentioned that it was high time someone put some grandkids in those empty bedrooms at the ranch.

      “Are you all heading out?” Pastor Ethan asked as he walked up to them, smiling at Marci and then at Katie.

      Katie gave Ethan a friendly smile but not the flirty one so many single woman used on the pastor. She was definitely one of a kind. He liked that about her.

      “Yes, we are and we’re sorry for keeping you late, Ethan. I didn’t realize everyone had left.” Cord glanced around the empty church. The church he’d been raised in.

      It hadn’t changed much over the years. The wooden pews, the amber glass in the windows, all exactly as it had been the last time he’d come to church. It felt the same, smelled the same. The only thing that had changed was him.

      “Haven’t seen you here before, have I, Cord?”

      Cord smiled at that. Ethan had never seen him here. “No, I guess I haven’t been here since you took over.”

      “No, I guess not.” Ethan shot a quick look at Katie and then back to Cord. “Things change.”

      Not that way, they didn’t. He wouldn’t hurt Katie’s feelings by opposing the statement too heavily and what it implied.

      “I reckon they do.” Cord touched Marci’s back