Page 16 of Marrying a Cowboy

She was fiddling with her purse strap. “The part about us andkids.”

Austin gripped the steering wheel. “Yeah. That wasfunny.”

Emma grew quiet again. "Is that something you want? You know, in the future. Once you’ve found TheOne?”

Austin studied the road in front of him. The truth was, yes, he wanted kids. Growing up alone, he'd always wanted a family. But he just wasn't sure that he could put himself out there again. So, he decided to lie. "No, not really. I like the idea of being alone. Kids come with responsibility and I've got enough of that with myranch."

"Oh," she said. "Good to know. Then the woman on the plane was reallyoff."

Austin forced to laugh. "Yeah, that woman was wayoff."

As they continued down the road, the silence felt suffocating to him. Desperate for something to do, he leaned over and clicked on the radio. "Mind if we listen to some music?" heasked.

Emma nodded. "Sure. I don'tmind."

Forty-five minutes later, Austin pulled into the small town of Moose Falls—population 400. He let out a sigh of relief. He was home. The sun had disappeared but it's glow still shown above the horizon. The neon from the small shops that lined the street glowed against the darkeningsky.

As he passed Susan's Diner, his stomach growled. Stale airplane peanuts weren't cutting it anymore. He glanced over at Emma. "Are you hungry?" he asked as he slowed and pulled into the crowded parkinglot.

Emma peered out the window. "Famished."

Austin found a parking spot and turned off his truck. Even though the thought of her meeting pretty much everyone in town made him nervous, it was a Band-Aid he needed to rip off. Especially since his grandmother was coming. If he was going to convince her that he was legitimately married to Emma, he needed to get as many people aware of it aspossible.

He got out and by the time he has slammed his door, Emma was standing next to him. She had her arms wrapped around her chest as she scanned the buildings around them. "So, this is your town?" sheasked.

Austin nodded. "Yep. And it ends just down there,” he said as he waved toward the end of the street. His boots crunched against the gravel as he led her up to the frontdoors.

"Isn't that hard?" she asked from behindhim.

He pulled open the door and held it for her. She passed by him and into the diner. He knew what she was going to say but he asked her anyway. "Is whathard?"

"Living so far away from the world?" Her nose wrinkled as she glanced out the large picture windows toward the street. "I don't think I could ever live this far away from thecity."

Austin coughed as he waited at the hostess table for Susan to finish talking with the Bates and seat them. He dropped his gaze from her face and studied the tile underneath his feet. He knew that Emma was going to say something like that, but actually hearing the words shocked him in a way he couldn't describe. She didn't think she could ever live somewhere like Moose Falls? That seemed like a boldstatement.

"Never seems pretty definite,” he said as Susan approach them and grabbed two menus. "There's very few things in my life that I am pretty certain will neverhappen."

"Yeah, like kids," Emma said so quietly that he almost wondered if he had heard her correctly. But before he could ask her, Susan smiled athim.

"Well look who's back from his trip to the big city," Susan said as she hugged the menus to her chest. "Things weren't quite the same around here with you gone." Her gaze landed on Emma and then she turned her attention back to Austin. "Now who is this you have withyou?"

Thankful for the distraction that Susan gave him, Austin reached out and placed his hand on the small of Emma’s back. He felt her muscles twitch from his touch. He tried to ignore the warmth that spread across his skin. It was nothing. It had to be nothing. Emma could never live in a place likethis.

“This is Emma—mywife."

Susan’s eyes widened. "Wife? How long were you gonefor?"

"Emma and I have known each other for a while." He lied. He could feel Emma twitch but he continued. "We found each other again at the wedding and decided that it was time to tie theknot.”

Susan’s lips hung open as she moved her gaze from him over to Emma and then back again. "Well, where are my manners? Welcome to Moose Falls," Susan said shuffling the menus to one arm and extending her hand to Emma. "We were wondering which girl was going to settle down with Austin over here. He's been lonely at that big old ranch all byhimself."

Austin cleared his throat as embarrassment rushed through him making his skin feel hot. But Susan paid him no mind as she shook Emma’shand.

"Susan—” Austin started but she just waved his wordsaway.

"Let me get you a booth and get you settled. I've got to tell Ronnie all about this." She kept Emma's hand crushed in hers as she dragged her across the diner and over to the corner booth. She waved her hand at the table and Emma sat. Just as she released Emma’s hand, she paused and stared at Emma’s ring finger. "Now I know you didn't propose to this girl without a proper ring, now did you Austin Maverick?” Susan said dropping Emma's hand and placing her hands on herhips.

He really needed to get her a ring. But the only one he had was tucked in the back of his sock drawer. It was the ring his grandmother had given him to give to Georgia. A family heirloom. He just wasn't sure how his grandma would feel about giving his fake wife thering.

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