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

he could call love, and he wouldn't lie to her.
    She bit her lip and then let out a heavy sigh. "Well, I guess that pretty much lets me know how you feel."
    Rose looked up and met his gaze. "You know, I always thought I should hate you when you first brought me here, but even then I was drawn to you. I didn't want to be, but I was, and I fell in love with the good, honest man you are, knowing who you thought I was. I always hoped you would come to love me for who I am. I may not be the perfect lady, but I think I'm a lot better."
    She picked up her valise. "My papa always said I was a dreamer, and I guess I am. Obviously your offer of marriage was one last gesture to get the ring back. But I still don't have it."
    "No. I wanted to marry you so you wouldn't go."
    Rose smiled bleakly. "If you don't love me or trust me, we could never be married. I have to go."
    "I ... I want to do the right thing. I'm trying to protect you from the consequences of our passion."
    She turned back to the window and sniffed. Her hand reached up and wiped a tear away.
    "I don't want your chivalry. I want your love," she said angrily. "Tonight is the last performance. Tomorrow I'm catching the stage out of town."
    "But—"
    "I guess it's a good thing we never told Eugenia about the engagement. No one has to know of your act of chivalry."
    He ran his fingers through his hair, a tight knot of apprehension seemed to ball itself up in his gut, twisting until he wanted to cry out in pain.
    "I'm asking you to stay. To be my wife. You won't have to work. I'll keep you safe. You'll be respected."
    She whirled around, her face a tight grimace of hurt. "Respected by everyone but my husband." She grabbed her valise and yanked open the door, then stopped and turned to face him. "Damn you and your respectability! I want love. I want a husband who can tell me how much he loves me—not that he did the honorable thing in marrying me because he had sex with me."
    She slammed the door as she hurried out the door to the waiting wagon.
    ***
    Rose handed the stagecoach driver her ticket and glanced around the street one last time before she stepped up into the stage. She'd held out hope until now that Travis would come after her, but he didn't love her, and he wasn't going to try to stop her from leaving.
    Rose waved to Isaiah as he mounted his horse. He would follow behind the stagecoach all the way to Waco, where the next performance was scheduled to take place.
    But there was no sight of Travis on the street this Sunday morning. No sign of Tucker or Eugenia. There was no one but Isaiah, and Rose couldn't help but think they were back where they started. Back traveling, trying to make a living. But who would have thought that their lives would change so drastically in one cattle town?
    All night she'd dreamed Travis would come running down the street at the last moment, certain that he couldn't live without her, knowing they were destined to be together. But the street was strangely quiet this Sunday morning. Only the sound of an occasional carriage making its way to church or the clop of a horse and rider making their way to some unknown destination could be heard.
    How did you make your heart quit loving someone, when they didn't return your affection? How did you ride out of town and leave your heart behind?
    A tear trickled down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away, trying to keep the flood of tears at bay.
    Under the circumstances, leaving was for the best. She still had her acting career, her dreams of becoming an actress. But the dreams seemed to die on barren ground within her heart. What once had seemed exciting no longer appeared so intriguing.
    The stagecoach jerked as the horses pulled away. Rose glanced out the window and watched the city roll by and knew she could never return to Fort Worth. Too many things had happened here. This was where she had lost her heart to a muscular cowboy who couldn't say the word love. For all of his goodness, he couldn't get over the fact that she had been earning a living the best way she knew how, and somehow Rose knew he still believed she had taken the wedding ring.
    At the edge of town, she pulled down the curtain blocking the landscape, leaned her head back, and tried her best not to cry. Travis didn't love her, so it was best she forget him.

Chapter Nineteen

    Two days later, Travis felt saddle-sore and weary. He'd been riding aimlessly since he'd left the house late yesterday afternoon, trying to make