Page 41 of Marrying a Cowboy

The soundof tires moving down the gravel road pulled Austin’s attention toward it. If it wasn’t the post that was giving him a hard time, it was the memory of Emma pressed so close to him that seemed to have him all out ofsorts.

It’d been over a half hour since Emma left him alone with the feeling of her skin still burning on his own and he still couldn’t gather his wits enough to finished pounding the post into the ground. He’d already hammered his finger more times than he cared toadmit.

So, when Gran stepped out of the SUV, he welcomed the distraction. She straightened her shirt and shouldered her purse. There was a contemplative look on her face that told him, something waswrong.

“Hey, Gran,” he said, leaving his hammer next to the post and heading over in her direction. When he got to her, he extended his arms and gave her a hug. When he pulled back, she had a disgruntled expression on herface.

“Really, Austin? You’re so sweaty.” She wiped at her arms and shirt as if that was the magic cure to eliminate whatever she thought he got onher.

“Sorry,” he said, shoving his hands into his front pockets. They’d gotten off on the wrong foot earlier. Having her appear in his kitchen in the wee hours of the morning was not how he wanted her to meet Emma. Or to convince her that they were married for real. He was desperately trying to hang onto to this lie even though every time he was around Emma, this whole fake marriage thing was getting harder and harder tomaintain.

She nodded toward the house. “Is yourfriendin there?” sheasked.

Austin followed her gesture with his gaze. Emma had hightailed it in there after their strange and intimate encounter in front of the fence. He’d been trying to distract himself from that exactquestion.

“You mean, Emma? My wife?” he asked, shooting Gran a look. As much as he wanted to fight it, Emma was rapidly becoming someone more than a friend. And perhaps it was bugging him that he wasn’t quite sure what she was becoming. Or if he had the capability to make any distinctions yet. All he knew was, he didn’t like the way the wordfriendrolled off Gran’stongue.

She shot him a look. “We’ll see aboutthat.”

Austin’s heart sank as he followed after her retreating frame. What was she going to do? Did she find something out in town? His heart picked up speed as he kept hot on her heels. He tried to take calming breaths as he told himself that he was acting crazy. She didn’t find anything because there was nothing to find. They were married.Legally.

And love? Well, that was something much harder to prove. If he didn’t know, how was someone random person in town going toknow?

“What’s going on, Gran?” he asked as she went up the porch steps and made her way to the frontdoor.

She pulled the door open and headed into the kitchen. “Oh, just a little tidbit I picked up intown.”

Austin groaned. This was not good. “Really, Gran? You’re going to believe the word of the town now? Since when did you care what they thought? According to you, they were just a whole lot of hill-billies that would never amount to anything.” He wasn’t quoting her exactly, but very similar words had come from her the day sheleft.

Gran whipped around and narrowed her eyes. “Austin, I have never called the people of this town a bunch a hill-billies. Uneducated, yes. But not hill-billies.” She slipped off her shoes and set her purse next tothem.

“What’s the difference? For how much you dislike them, you’re going to take their wordnow?”

Gran raised her hands in surrender. “If they have information about how my grandson is trying to pull the wool over my eyes, I’lllisten.”

“Wool over your eyes? What are you talking about? Emma and I are married. You saw the certificate. What more do you want?” Frustration raced through his body as he stepped up to her. This was ridiculous. None of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for her ridiculous stipulation about him getting married. If it hadn’t been for her, he’d lived just fine at his ranch.Alone.

Now, she’d made him drag some innocent girl into this mess. And perhaps, he’d allowed himself to have feelings for her. Something more than a fake husband should have for his fake wife. And the worst part was, she didn’t feel the same. She was never going to feel thesame.

Emma was standing at the counter when Gran burst into the room. She jumped, whipping around to look at them. She rested her hand on her heart. “You scared me,” she said. When her gaze fell to Gran, her expression turned worried. “What’s goingon?”

Gran shot a look in Austin’s direction as she removed her phone from her pocket. “I would like to know what is going on here. I give my grandson the stipulation that if he wanted to inherit this ranch, he needed to find a wife. Because living a life alone is living a life half lived.” She raised her eyebrows at him and then she moved her gaze over toEmma.

“If you have something to tell me, now would be the time.” She tapped her finger on thephone.

Austin stared at her. Was she seriously trying to intimidate them into telling the truth? What could she possibly have on her phone that was incriminating atall?

“Gran, why are you acting this way? And what could you possibly have against us?” He stepped forward. This needed tostop.

Gran turned to Emma, raising her eyebrows at her. “Do you have something you need toconfess?”

Emma’s lips opened and closed as she swept her gaze over to Austin. His heart pounded from the panicked look on her face. This wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t want to hurt her. Or stress her out. What a fool he’d been to think he could keep her safe. To keep anyonesafe.

He took a step forward. It was time to confesseverything.

But then Emma opened her lips, stopping him in his tracks. “Truth is, Mrs. Maverick. I’m in love with your grandson. He’s. . .” Emma’s gaze fell to him. There was a look in her eye that made his breath catch in his throat. One that said perhaps her words were true. “He’s one of the best guys I’ve found in a long time. He came to me when I was at my lowest and he proved to me that there are still gentlemen in theworld.”

Austin felt light headed. Was she speaking the truth? It felt strange that the moment she’d confess her feelings to him it would take place in front of his grandmother. But if it was how she felt, he’d rather know it thannot.

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