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

town and asked that I bring you this note," he said, handing her a white envelope sealed with wax.
    Eugenia took the envelope, ripped it open, and scanned the missive. Glancing up from the message, she frowned at Travis. "My friend, Katie, is ill. The dear has no one to care for her. She asked me to spend a few days with her."
    She sighed, folded the note, and put it in her handbag. "Tucker, you wouldn't mind taking me back to the ranch in a couple of days, would you?"
    Tucker smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "No, I'll take you home, Mother, whenever you're ready to go."
    "Is that okay with you, Travis?"
    Travis smiled. "We'll take care of everything at the ranch. Stay in town as long as you need and care for your friend."
    A glance at his younger brother confirmed Travis's worst fears. The boy's head was filling with all sorts of ideas that had already crossed Travis's mind. But worse, Tucker looked as if he was going to burst out laughing at any moment. If looks could maim, he should have been hurting at the very least, as Travis shot him a look that clearly warned the young man not to say a word.
    God, they would be alone. All alone. He would have Rose all to himself for days. He glanced at her and felt his body stiffen with response. Somehow his wishes had come true.
    Eugenia took Rose by the hand. "Dear, do you mind that I'm going to stay in town?"
    Rose glanced at Travis, and he sent her a reassuring smile and watched as she swallowed nervously. She turned back to Eugenia.
    "No. That will be fine."
    "Thank you. I'll be home in several days." Eugenia gathered up her reticule and several small bags.
    "What are you going to do about clothes?" Travis asked.
    "I'll manage just fine," Eugenia responded.
    Travis glanced at Rose, trying not to appear eager, but suddenly anxious to get started. "We've got to get going. It will be after dark before we get home."
    They gathered their packages and walked to the waiting wagon. Travis tried to appear solemn, but his brother kept smiling at him as if they shared some secret.
    Travis took Rose by the arm and helped her up into the wagon, then turned to his mother and brother. He gave his mother a quick hug. "Hurry home, Mother."
    "I will."
    Travis looked at his brother who stood beside Eugenia smiling. "Be careful, little brother. I'll see you in a couple of days."
    Tucker smiled. "I'll be just fine. It's you I'm worried about."
    Shaking his brother's hand, Travis leaned forward and whispered, "I'm going to be just fine, little brother. Don't worry about me."
    ***
    Dusk cloaked the land, like an intimate lover, as the last rays of the sun shimmered over the horizon. Rose and Travis bounced silently along in the wagon, except for the creak of the wooden wheels and the jingle of the horse's harness.
    The day had left Rose giddy with excitement and anxious at the same time. The combination made sitting still for the long ride back to the Bar None difficult. Two new dresses and the audition had left her with a glow that seemed to warm her throughout. And part of her felt ecstatic enough to shout out what she'd done, but she refrained, knowing instinctively how Travis would react to the news.
    Yet the anxious side of her was fearful of what the darkness would bring. The night loomed in front of them, long and lonely with only a wall of wood and mortar separating them. But there were other, larger, insurmountable obstacles keeping them apart. Small issues of trust and honesty coupled with values and beliefs, little things that were like boulders in their path.
    Rose sighed and shifted on the hard wooden bench. It hurt that Travis thought she was a thief. People's opinions mattered more than she was willing to admit, especially the people she cared about. And somehow, the longer she stayed at the Bar None, the more Travis's opinion mattered. And that frightened her. She didn't have time to give her heart to a man. Any man, but especially one who thought so badly of her.
    The wagon rocked and she glanced at him and met his heated gaze.
    "It'll take us an hour to get home. You must be tired," he said.
    Surprised, she gazed at him. He was inquiring as to how she was feeling? "It's been a long day, but I'm not that tired."
    "I'm glad to hear that," he said, his voice velvety smooth.
    She wondered at his response.
    A cool breeze whispered against her skin, teasing wisps of hair away from her face. The urge to trail her hand down her cheek, following the sensuous path of the breeze, gave