Shotgun Bride. B.J. Daniels

she couldn’t keep making excuses for avoiding town without someone getting suspicious. So she’d started venturing in a few times, making the trips short.

      She knew that she’d eventually come face-to-face with her past.

      Today she’d gone into the hardware store to pick up an extension cord, and as she came out she practically ran into a tall, slim, older cowboy waiting on the sidewalk.

      Even after all these years, Chester Bailey hadn’t changed much. He was still a good-looking man. His blond hair was graying at the temples and there were lines around his blue eyes, but she had no problem recognizing him.

      “Kate?” He sounded incredulous. “Kate Wade?”

      “It’s Corbett now,” she said. “Hello, Chester.”

      He stared at her, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. “I heard someone had bought your folks’ ranch…Corbett.” He smiled. “So that’s you.”

      She nodded. “How have you been?”

      “Good. I suppose you heard. Lila and I are divorced.”

      She hadn’t heard because until recently she’d made a point of putting Whitehorse behind her. “I’m sorry,” she said. “You were married a long time.”

      He nodded, head dipping. “Over thirty years.”

      Kate felt all those old emotions stir inside her and wished she’d never come to town. Never come back here. As she stood there, she was afraid of what she would say next and terrified of what Chester might reply.

      Fortunately, she didn’t have to worry. A middle-aged woman came out of the local clothing store, laughing with a friend. She and the friend parted company, and the woman headed toward Chester.

      Kate saw at once that this was who Chester had been waiting for. The blonde was younger than Chester, her hair short and curly, her smile coming easily.

      “Hi,” Kate said, as the woman took Chester’s arm. She noted that the woman wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. A girlfriend?

      “Susie, this is Kate…Corbett.”

      Susie’s face brightened. “Corbett? You bought the old Trails West Ranch. I’ve always admired that place. I’m so glad someone is living there again.”

      Kate waited for Chester to tell his girlfriend that the ranch used to belong to Kate’s family, that she’d grown up here, that the two of them had known each other.

      When Chester told his girlfriend none of that, Kate said, “Thank you.”

      “Well, welcome to Whitehorse,” Susie said. “You’re going to love it here. Everyone is so friendly. Stop by the Hi-Line Café. Chester and I own the place.”

      “Best chicken-fried steak in town,” Chester said, seeming a little embarrassed, since it was clear that he’d never told his girlfriend about Kate. Nor, apparently, was he going to.

      “I’ll do that sometime,” Kate said. She took a step backward, relieved for the chance to escape.

      She walked briskly to her SUV and sat behind the wheel, trying to quit shaking. Seeing Chester had brought it all back.

      Why had she let Grayson move them here? She’d been shocked when he’d told her about her present on their one-month anniversary.

      “I bought you something,” he’d said, seeming shy and excited.

      She’d laughed. “Whatever it is, I know I’m going to love it.”

      “Well, you used to love it.”

      Her heart had begun to pound even before he said the words: “I bought you Trails West.”

      She’d realized her mistake at once. From the first day when she’d shown up at Grayson’s Texas ranch, he’d wanted to hear all about the years she’d lived in Montana. She’d told him what it was like growing up with Rebecca and how they’d been close as sisters until Rebecca went to college in Texas, where she met and married him.

      Kate had also told Grayson about her father’s death and losing the ranch. What she hadn’t told him was the rest of it.

      “Grayson, you shouldn’t have,” she’d said, unable to hold back the tears as he handed her the deed to the ranch.

      He’d thought they were tears of joy, and he had been so happy to give her the ranch that she couldn’t tell him it was the last thing she wanted.

      Her second shock had come a few months later, when he’d surprised her with the news that he’d bought up property around Trails West and was selling out in Texas. Grayson didn’t do anything halfway. It was why he’d been so successful.

      “I love the country up there, so I’m not doing this just for you,” he’d told her.

      Kate knew that his sons believed she’d talked him into moving to Montana and blamed her. She was at fault, no doubt about that. She should have spoken up right away and put an end to this before it got completely out of hand.

      But she loved Grayson too much.

      And she had to admit it was great being back on the ranch. All the wonderful memories of her father and her childhood were here.

      Grayson loved hearing about her memories of life on the ranch with Rebecca. She knew it helped give Rebecca a new life for him. Surprisingly, it seemed to free him, as well. He suddenly felt ready to finally go through Rebecca’s things. That’s when they’d found the letters Rebecca had left for her sons.

      As Kate started the SUV, wanting nothing more than to return to the ranch and Grayson, her heart swelled as she thought about his capacity for love. She didn’t deserve him. She didn’t deserve any of this, she thought as she drove out of Whitehorse.

      Her life was a fairy tale, perfect in every way. Except for one—Chester Bailey and the lie between them. When Grayson learned the truth, she feared her fairy tale would turn into a nightmare.