The Rancher Takes A Bride (The Burnett Brides Book 1)

yet another drunk.
    "You're a long way from home, cowboy. What are you doing here?" she asked anxiously.
    He held his hat in his hand, his clothes dusty and dirty. His face was haggard, as if he hadn't slept. He looked like hell, but he was a gorgeous sight to behold just the same.
    "We have some unfinished business we need to talk about, if you don't mind."
    "If it's about your mother's ring, we've said everything there is to say," she quickly informed him.
    He smiled. "No. The ring has been found. Walk with me for a little ways and I'll tell you everything," he said.
    "Just a minute." She ran back inside, grabbed her bag of personal items, and hurried out of the tent. Travis stood waiting for her, looking tired and saddle- weary.
    They walked beside one another away from the tent theater, strolling along, not touching, just walking.
    "When did you get in?" she asked.
    "About an hour ago," he said. "I would have been here sooner, but my horse threw a shoe. I'm sorry I didn't take the time to clean up. I came straight here."
    Oh, my, he had come directly to her, and he now knew where the wedding band was. Rose felt her pulse quicken.
    The moon was full as they walked along a darkened street until they reached a park bench. The stars twinkled above, and a cool night breeze blew softly.
    "Would you like to sit?" he asked.
    "All right."
    They sat at opposite ends of the bench, not touching. She was afraid to touch him for fear the resolve she had built would crumble and she would be lost.
    He leaned his elbows on his knees and twirled his hat nervously. Rose didn't say anything. He was the one who had ridden all this way to talk to her, and she was going to wait him out.
    Finally, he cleared his throat, sat up, and faced her. "I owe you an apology."
    Rose almost jerked, she was so surprised at his words. This was the last thing she'd expected from him.
    "I'm very protective of my family, and from the beginning I saw you as a threat to my mother. And when her ring turned up missing, I was told you had taken it. I treated you horribly, and for that I'm sorry."
    He took a deep breath. "I had you thrown in jail, I kidnapped you, I forced you onto the back of a horse, I treated you like a prisoner at the house, I've accused you over and over of stealing the ring, of being a thief and a whore. Yet you were innocent all along."
    Travis gazed straight into her eyes. "You didn't deserve to be treated the way I behaved toward you. I'm sorry, and I hope you will forgive me."
    She gazed at him in bewilderment and awe. "I must say that I'm surprised you followed me here just to apologize." She paused. "We had some trying times, but I never felt abused. Just tied down. I accept your apology."
    She'd never seen him this way. He seemed to be struggling, wanting to express himself, but having a hard time of it. Her heart went out to him.
    Yet something held her back. Some instinct for survival kept her from throwing her arms around him.
    "Before you accept my apology, you should know there's more. Seems my matchmaking mother knew that you were the perfect woman for me, and she knew I would protect her at all costs. The ring was never missing, Rose. She schemed to bring us together by falsely accusing you of taking her ring."
    "What?" Rose said, outraged. "The ring was never missing? I've been forced to stay at your ranch all this time, and all along your mother still had the ring? How could Eugenia do this? She knew how upset I was at your accusations."
    "Looking back, I should have realized something was wrong. The way she kept defending you, protecting you, should have made me realize something about her story wasn't true. I know it doesn't make you feel any better, but I thoroughly chastised her for the wrong she did to you."
    "I knew she was trying to bring us together, but I never realized just how far she would go to keep me there," Rose admitted. "But I'm still angry with her."
    "And you should be," he agreed.
    He jumped up and started to pace nervously. "There's something else I need to tell you. Ever since you left last Saturday, there's a part of me that's been incomplete, that seems missing. I'm not a man who can easily express his emotions, but you were right to leave me that day. Until you left me, I didn't know how much you had changed and improved my life. I didn't realize that you had become my reason for living."
    He stopped and got down on one knee. Rose almost cried at the sight of this strong, prideful man on bended