Page 54 of Reckoning with the Cowboy
“I don’t want to wait,” he said. “We’re going to Vegas. We can get a marriage license and get married the same day. There is no required waiting period and there are all these little chapels. They even provide witnesses. All we need is the two of us.”
“Shane—”
“I know you’d hoped your sister would come around and we’d get married here. But angel, she doesn’t think we’re serious, that I’m serious about you. So, let’s prove that she’s wrong. I can’t wait to marry you and make you my wife. It’s a two-hour flight to Vegas. I got us two tickets. We fly out of Billings tonight. We’re getting married, baby!”
He pulled her into his arms. “Come on, Amy Sue. Let’s do this.” His enthusiasm was contagious, and the way he was looking at her made it impossible to say no.
She met his eyes and thought about asking about the papers in his bag. She wanted him to tell her that they meant nothing. So why had he hidden them? asked a voice that sounded just like her sister’s. But she blocked out anything else Josie had to say, knowing not to spoil this moment or Shane’s excitement by bringing up the papers.
They were flying to Vegas to get married. It was romantic and exciting and spontaneous, something Josie could never do. Something Amy Sue would never have done—before Shane.
“Let’s do it,” she said to him. “Let’s go to Vegas and get married.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Seriously, did you bring the black swimsuit?” Cordell asked after they’d been on the road for miles. He reached for her hand. “I know you’re worried. I am, too. But the alternative is what? Kidnapping Amy Sue?”
Josie knew he was right. She’d done her best to convince her sister of the mistake she was making. Amy Sue was an adult. “What if I can’t stop this? Short of murdering Shane and going to prison, I don’t know what to do.”
“Like I said, I have some ideas since he has to get rid of you first,” Cordell said with a smile. “I’ll tell you all about it at dinner. But know I’m not going to let him hurt you. What I am going to do is try to show you such a good time that you’ll quit worrying for forty-eight hours and just enjoy yourself.”
She couldn’t help but return his smile. “I did bring that black swimsuit.”
“Now you’re talking,” he said as they came over a rise and the Magic City, as Billings was called, came into view. “What do you say about the two of us going for a swim before dinner?”
Josie tried to relax. “You’re just determined to get me in that swimsuit, aren’t you?”
He grinned. “I’m just as determined to get you out of it later.”
“What changed your mind?” she asked as he drove into the largest city in Montana.
“Changed my mind about what?”
“You and me.”
He shot her a look. “Nothing has ever changed my mind about you and me.”
“But the other night before dinner at the hotel when you showed me the owner’s suite…”
He nodded, his eyes back on the road. “Make no mistake, I want you, but it’s true I want you for more than one night or even a weekend.” He braked for a red light and looked over at her. “I’m not like my brother. I know what I want and yes, I’d like to nail it down with a commitment.”
She started to say something, but he stopped her.
“I can understand that you don’t trust me completely. I left to make something of myself. For six years, I worked construction jobs. I saved every penny I could. I had plans for when I came back to Dry Gulch.”
“The hotel,” she said in surprise.
He grinned over at her. “I’ve always wanted to bring it back to life.”
The light changed and he pulled away. “I know I have to prove myself to you. That’s fine. I can do that. But I’m not like Goldie. I don’t want to wait years, just hoping you love me as much as I love you.”
She wasn’t sure what to say to that. He’d said he loved her, but she’d already known that. “I think that sounds very reasonable.”
He grinned over at her. “I’m glad you agree.”
* * *
Cordell sawJosie’Sexpression when they checked into the hotel, and he’d reserved two separate rooms—though connected.
