In the Rancher's Arms. Kathie DeNosky

down at the woman in his arms, Eli could read every emotion in the crystalline depths of her violet eyes. Victoria was as surprised this time as she had been when the minister told him he could kiss her after pronouncing them husband and wife. She hadn’t expected him to observe the ritual then, and truth to tell, he hadn’t intended to. But something about the way she had looked at him throughout the brief ceremony had compelled him to stick to tradition. The way she was gazing up at him now was having the same effect.

      Without giving it a second thought, Eli lowered his head to cover her mouth with his. He told himself he was kissing Victoria because refusing would have created an awkward situation. Deep down, he knew better. He wanted to kiss her again, needed to see if his first impression had been correct.

      The moment their lips met, he knew for certain that his assessment of the brief kiss they’d shared following their vows had been right on the money. Victoria had the softest, sweetest lips he’d ever had the privilege to kiss. The thought of what they’d do if things worked out between them sent his temperature soaring.

      When his body began to tighten, Eli quickly broke the contact and took a step back. To his satisfaction, his bride looked as dazed by this kiss as she had the first one. Unless he missed his guess, she was feeling the same chemistry between them that he was.

      “Perfect,” Blake said, grinning like the damned Cheshire cat. “One more of you two cutting the cake and I’ll be done for now.”

      “What do you mean, ‘for now’?” Eli asked, scowling. Blake had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, but the man was pushing the limits of his patience.

      Blake’s grin widened as he rocked back on his heels. “I’ll have to get at least one picture of Grandma throwing rice at the two of you and then another of you and your beautiful bride driving away to start your new life together on the Rusty Spur.”

      Eli ground his back teeth. Blake was having way too much fun at his expense.

      After they cut the white cake with little pink flowers on it, fed each other a bite and toasted with a glass of Grandma Jean’s homemade wine, Eli checked his watch. “Thanks for everything, but I think it’s time we get on the road. We have a two-hour drive to get to the ranch, and Buck will pitch a fit if he has to reheat supper.”

      “You tell that old goat the next time he comes into town I have a bone to pick with him about refusing to be here for this,” Grandma Jean said as she put on her coat and walked out the door. Her disapproval was evident in her stern expression. “He should have been here to see you tie the knot, and I’m going to tell him so.” She turned suddenly and held up her hand. “Wait until Blake gets ready with the camera before you start down the porch steps. And be careful. He shoveled most of the snow off the walk, but there’s still a couple of slick spots.”

      “Thanks for the warning.” When Grandma Jean walked out of the house, Eli helped Victoria into her coat, then shrugged into his. “I had Blake go out a little earlier to start my truck and turn on the heater. It should be warm inside the cab now.”

      “That was thoughtful of you.” Her smile sent a wave of heat spreading through his chest that he did his best to ignore. “And thank you for introducing me to your friends. I’ve really enjoyed meeting them. They’re very nice.”

      “Well, Grandma Jean is, anyway,” Eli said, jamming his wide-brimmed Resistol onto his head.

      “How often do you get to see them?” she asked.

      “I make it down here several times in the spring and summer, but after it starts snowing in late fall, I usually don’t see them until the next spring,” he said as they walked out onto the front porch. “My dad and Blake’s dad were best friends and when I was young. I used to stay with them during the winter months so I could go to school.” When he caught sight of his truck, he stopped short. “Son of a…”

      Blake had apparently decided to do a little decorating when he went out to start the engine. Just Married had been scrawled across the back glass with white shoe polish, and a big white paper bell had been attached to the tailgate.

      “I see you’ve been busy,” Eli said. He cupped Victoria’s elbow with his hand and they descended the steps.

      “I take the job of being best man very seriously,” Blake said, laughing. He clicked off several pictures as his grandmother threw handfuls of rice at them. “Part of that job is to decorate the groom’s wheels.”

      “I’ll get you for doing all of this,” Eli said under his breath as Grandma Jean stopped throwing rice to hug Victoria.

      Blake laughed like a damned hyena. “I never doubted for a minute that you wouldn’t, dude.”

      When they reached the truck, Eli opened the passenger door for his new wife, but instead of helping her step up onto the running board to climb into the cab, he swung her up into his arms. She brought her arms up automatically to encircle his neck and he found himself surrounded by the light scent of her enticing perfume.

      “Wh-why did you do that?” she asked, wide-eyed and sounding a little breathless.

      “There’s a patch of ice where you were about to step and I didn’t want you to fall,” he said as he set her down on the front seat.

      She frowned. “I don’t remember it being there when we arrived.”

      He shook his head. “It wasn’t.” Shutting the door, he turned and narrowed his eyes on Blake. “You thought of putting some water on the running board when you decorated my truck?”

      Blake’s unrepentant grin had Eli questioning his choice of best friends. “Yup. I had to figure out some way to get a picture of you picking up your bride, since I won’t be there to get a shot of you carrying her across the threshold.”

      “What if I hadn’t seen the ice and Victoria fell?” Eli asked through clenched teeth.

      “Hey, dude, I know you better than you know yourself.” Blake shrugged. “Living out there in no-man’s-land, you have to be overly cautious. I knew you’d see the ice before you helped her into the truck.”

      “You had better hope I forget about all this before you find some little gal naive enough to marry your worthless hide,” Eli warned. “Just remember, payback can be a real kick in the ass when you’re on the receiving end.”

      “Since I have no intention of getting married, you’re preaching to the choir, dude,” Blake said, laughing. “You’re going to have a long time to wait for your revenge.”

      “I’m a patient man,” Eli said, waving as he walked around the truck. “See you in the spring.”

      When they stopped by the feed store at the edge of Eagle Fork for Eli to buy some supplies to feed a couple of “bucket babies,” whatever they were, Victoria waited in the truck. So much had happened in the span of a few hours. From the time she stepped off the plane she’d been caught up in a whirlwind of activity. Now that things seemed to have quieted down and she had time to reflect, she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

      Staring down at her left hand, the simple gold band Eli had slid onto her finger during their wedding ceremony solidified her transition from life in the lap of luxury to her new role of being the wife of a hardworking rancher. But that didn’t bother her. As far as she was concerned, money or the lack thereof was a minor wrinkle in the grand scheme of things. In fact, if she never rubbed elbows with the wealthy again, it would be all too soon. She had learned the hard way that when her bank account dwindled down to nothing, so did her friends.

      But none of that mattered. What bothered her more than anything else was knowing she’d traded one loveless existence for another. Of course, legally they had a month to decide whether or not to stay married. But there was no guarantee, even if they chose to stay together, that they would fall in love.

      She had hoped that one day she might meet someone who would truly love her unconditionally, but it didn’t look as though that would happen now. In her desperation