Wild Horses. B.J. Daniels

really was perfect.

      “I am the luckiest man alive,” he said as he drew back to look at her. He’d never understand why she’d fallen in love with him. If only she wasn’t a Hamilton, he thought, and shoved the thought away. He wouldn’t let anything ruin this night.

      He’d never believed in luck. He’d gotten where he was through hard work. But he was afraid to jinx this, afraid he didn’t deserve this woman, deserve any of this—and he knew he could blame his father for that.

      Ralph Barnett had told him from the time he was a boy that he wasn’t worth two cents and would never amount to anything. He’s spent most of his twenty-eight years trying to prove the man wrong. But there was still that part of him that didn’t believe he deserved anything, especially happiness.

      “I’m the lucky one,” Livie said.

      Cooper pulled her closer, leaning down to whisper, “I love you,” against her hair. He relished the soft sweet moan she uttered in response. He ached with a need for her. The two of them had been so busy they had hardly seen each other for weeks. Once this shindig was over, he couldn’t wait to get her alone.

      As the song ended, she drew back to look at him, her gaze locking with his. He lost himself in her sky-blue eyes. Her dark hair floated around her bare shoulders, making his fingers long to bury themselves in it. No woman had ever made him feel like this and he knew, after Livie, no other woman ever could.

      “I love you, Coop. Remember that always.” She said it with such force that he felt a niggling of worry. She looked a little pale, he thought, and recalled that the few times he’d seen her over the past few weeks she hadn’t been herself.

      He’d been busy working on the ranch, getting it ready for when she moved in after they were married. Livie had also been busy, taking care of the wedding plans. He would have been happy to elope, but Buckmaster Hamilton wasn’t having that. His first daughter to marry was going to have a huge wedding, no expense spared.

      Cooper had gone along with it, knowing it was important to Livie. But he’d dug in his heels when it came to her father helping them financially, which had been a bone of contention between them, among other things.

      He would also have gladly gone for a longer engagement, giving him time to finish the house he was building for them on his ranch. But Livie wasn’t good at waiting for anything. It was her impulsiveness that he loved—but it also caused him concern. She often acted without thinking of the consequences.

      Like last winter when, after a fight, she’d taken off with a storm coming and ended up in a ditch. Even though she swore her injury was minor, she hadn’t been the same since, he thought now.

      “Is everything all right, Livie?” he asked, his heart suddenly in his throat.

      * * *

      LIVIE MET HIS dark gaze. She’d loved this man almost from the first time she’d seen him in the corral working with the horses. There’d been something special about him—a tenderness, a vulnerability and yet a strength like none she’d ever seen.

      At the thought of losing him... Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. Not now, she told herself. All you have to do is get through tonight. “I’m feeling a little emotional, that’s all.” She could see that he was worried and wasn’t going to leave it at that.

      But fortunately, his future best man, Rylan West, cut in and whisked her away. Rylan and Cooper had been best friends since Cooper arrived in town. It was good to see him and his wife, Destry, at the party. Not long ago, Destry had lost not only her brother but also the baby she was carrying.

      When the song ended, Livie quickly excused herself to go to the ladies’ room. As she left the party, she glanced back. She saw Cooper in deep conversation with her father. Both men were frowning. Like her and Cooper, they were probably having the same argument. Her father wanted her to live in a nice house after they were married.

      Because she’d insisted on a short engagement, she and Cooper would be living in his old cabin until he finished building their house. With her father’s resources and a hired crew, the house could have been finished before the wedding if Cooper would only agree to it. But he was determined to do it all himself without his future father-in-law’s help.

      The music started up again, seeming too loud. She caught scents in the crowd—perfume, aftershave, appetizers and alcohol. It all made her stomach turn. She swallowed back the nausea and made a beeline for the patio bathroom.

      Rushing in, she threw up. As she finished, she leaned against the cool wall of the bathroom feeling a little better. Once she’d gotten herself together again, she stepped back outside. The party was beautiful from here—all the lights, the sound of laughter, music and voices, the tinkling of champagne glasses.

      Her stepmother had done an amazing job, but then again, the woman had been throwing parties for years here on the ranch. Livie remembered the day her father and Angelina had walked into the house and announced that they’d gotten married. She’d taken an instant dislike to Angelina—just as her sisters had.

      Fortunately, Angelina hadn’t wanted anything more to do with them than they did with her.

      Livie often wondered what their lives would be like now if their mother hadn’t died. Had it really been twenty-two years? She’d been three when her mother had been killed after her car had crashed into the icy Yellowstone River. Sarah Hamilton hadn’t been wearing her seat belt and had been ejected into the river, her body apparently swept downstream. Like a lot of bodies that went into Montana rivers, hers was never found.

      Livie had little memory of her other than a few photographs she’d seen before even those had disappeared once Angelina had shown up.

      But even with her senator father gone a lot, she and her sisters had never felt deprived of anything. And no matter what anyone said, they weren’t spoiled. They just knew what they wanted, she thought, realizing Cooper would have argued the point.

      Still feeling a little weak, she walked toward a stand of pines at the edge of the party to catch a breath of fresh air. Why hadn’t she called off the party? She knew the answer. The party had been planned weeks ago. Also calling it off would have the whole county talking. She told herself that if she could just get through tonight...

      Another wave of nausea hit her. She sat down on one of the benches that circled the outdoor ballroom, this one in the shadow of the pines. Reaching into the small clutch, she dug for the pills the doctor had prescribed for her. Her fingers brushed the letter she’d received just that morning.

      She drew it out with trembling fingers. Like the first one, her name had been typed on the blue envelope in bold black. “Olivia Hamilton.” She had stared at it, heart pounding, trying to tell herself she was wrong, until she hadn’t been able to stand it any longer and torn it open.

      It was exactly like the first blackmail note, except that note had demanded only ten thousand dollars. This one demanded fifty thousand.

      Stuffing it back into her clutch, she felt even more light-headed than she had moments before. She looked out at the crowd who’d come to celebrate her engagement. Another wave of nausea hit her. She stumbled to her feet, but instantly felt woozy and had to grab the back of the bench for support.

      “You look as if you’re going to faint,” her sister Ainsley said, appearing from out of the darkness.

      “I’m fine,” she protested even though she was far from fine.

      Ainsley sat down next to her. “Talk to me, Livie.” Ainsley had been away at law school until this week. Livie had had the entire addition her father had built them away from the main house to herself but she’d missed her sister. She loved having Ainsley back home. Seven years older, Ainsley had been like a mother to her.

      Livie fought to keep her stomach down while at the same time trying not to cry. Ainsley had always looked out for her. She had been the person she’d gone to when she had her first period, when she needed her first bra, when she got her heart broken the first time.