Taming the Cowboy (Family Ties Book 3) Read online

  The woman whirled around, staring at him, clearly as surprised and dismayed as he was. “You again?”

  Not exactly the reaction he had expected, but maybe understandable given the circumstances. She had no idea he was staying here.

  “I could ask you the same question.”

  She stared at him as if trying to figure out if he was kidding or serious, then looked away.

  He had followed her far enough to make sure she got to her car, but he didn't know where she was going. If he had known she was ending up here, he’d—

  You’d what? Been a little nicer to her?

  She started it. And she was the one who freaked out at his horse. As if Sancho would do anything to anyone.

  “So you’re saying Elliot is the one who made you fall into the creek,” Faith said to the woman, fighting down a grin.

  “I didn’t make her fall into the creek,” Elliot protested, defending himself. Bad enough that this girl blamed him for ruining her camera. He didn’t need to feel like he had been the instigator.

  “Well, you sure didn’t help,” the woman returned.

  Elliot could only stare at her. Who did she think she was?

  “I’m sorry, where are my manners?” Faith asked, fluttering her hands as if to diffuse the situation. “Kinsley, this is Elliot Tye. And Elliot, this is Kinsley Janas. She’s the wedding planner.”

  Ah, that’s who she thought she was. Or rather that’s who she actually was. The woman Kane wanted him to say hello to, be nice and helpful to.

  He was in deep trouble now.

  “You’ll be seeing a lot more of her the next couple of weeks,” Faith said, sounding as if this would be a good thing.

  “Guess I didn’t know what I was in for when I offered to help.” Too late he realized how that came out, and before he could correct or apologize, the wedding planner—aka Kinsley Janas—leveled him an arch look that, in any other circumstance might be considered flirtatious but in this case was more condescending. Like she wasn’t too crazy about him either.

  Didn’t matter. He didn’t care.

  “I might not need your help,” she returned.

  Seems she could give as good as she got.

  Clearly they had not hit it off right. Any other time Elliot would have tried to make nice, turned on the charm that usually eased any potential tension, but he had also heard a few things about Kinsley the wedding planner that had made him decide to keep his distance even before their disastrous first meeting. She was a workaholic and a career person. Very focused and intense.

  And thanks to their run-in at the creek, terrified of horses.

  Certainly not his type on any level. Besides, he had to stay on track. Right now he was the closest he had ever gotten to a Canadian Finals Rodeo championship in years and he wasn’t going to let any girl blow it for him.

  “Actually, that’s my designated position,” he corrected. “Helper.”

  He had promised his brother Kane that he would do what he could to help Kinsley and Faith with the wedding because Kane was too busy with the haying to help as much as he’d like.

  And because of the guilt that dogged Elliot, he’d agreed.

  “Will you two be okay?” Faith asked, sounding concerned.

  “Of course,” Elliot put in, not wanting to make Faith uncomfortable. “I’ll be on my best behavior,” he promised.

  Faith gave him a cautious smile and Elliot winked at her.

  “So are you home for supper or are you going out?” Faith asked.

  Elliot glanced over at Kinsley, who was still looking at him as if waiting for another apology.

  “I figured on you being here,” Faith added.

  She gave him a bright smile, but he could see from the angle of her eyebrows and the tilt of her head that she expected him to stay.

  “I promised Trent I would work with him at his arena tonight but I suppose I can cancel.”

  “Nice of you to do that,” Faith said, giving him a tight smile.

  Which immediately made him feel even guiltier. He had come back to the ranch to absolve some of that guilt. And apparently that meant helping Faith work with this uptight woman.

  He held her gaze a moment then his cell phone buzzed. “Oh. That’s Kane,” he said, holding up his phone as if to verify his ducking out. “I gotta go.”

  He glanced over at Kinsley and caught her knowing look. Like he had manufactured his own getaway. Which he kind of had. Kane’s text was just a reminder to say hi to Miss Kinsley Janas and make nice.

  Too late, brother, he thought, pocketing his phone.

  “I just want the wedding to go well,” Faith said. “Especially because Kinsley has to do so much in such a short time.”

  “It will all work out perfectly.” Kinsley lifted her chin and tossing another glance Elliot’s way as if daring him to challenge her.

  “Picture perfect,” he said. He would have asked her about her camera but the atmosphere was a little dicey right now, so he tugged at the brim of his hat, turned, and left.

  Well, that didn’t go well. But whatever. He shouldn’t care.

  It was just he wasn’t used to being so totally shut down.

  “So do you and Kinsley have the wedding all planned?” Kane asked as he layered a piece of cheese on the hamburger he had just placed on his bun.

  “In one afternoon?” Faith laughed, flashing Kinsley a wide smile.

  “I’m good,” Kinsley returned, smiling at the groom-to-be. “But I’m not that good.”

  “We were just catching up,” Faith said. “That’s why I wanted her to stay here at the ranch. So we wouldn’t be constantly talking about the wedding and would have time to talk about other things.”

  “I thought you only had three weeks to plan the wedding,” Elliot said, frowning at his future sister-in-law. “I’m thinking you should do more than just catch up.”

  “Things will come together.” As she spoke Kinsley realized how she sounded. Uptight and little bit snotty.

  She couldn’t help it. She knew she should be more adult about the situation. It was just that Elliot made her feel uncomfortable. Part of it was her own disability combined with her unwilling attraction to him.

  It also didn’t help that she knew him as the man who had come between Faith and Kane the first time they broke up. Nor did it help he had terrified her and potentially ruined her camera.

  All in all not the best first impression.

  “Do you think you’ll get it all done on time?” Zach, Kane and Elliot’s father, asked.

  “I’m sure we can,” Kinsley said with a little more confidence than she felt. So much was riding on this wedding. If it wasn’t that this could be her opening into a new partnership, she could be more relaxed about it all.

  She gave Zach a quick smile then turned her attention to the massive burger Kane had made for her, trying to figure out how to eat it and still maintain some semblance of dignity.

  Faith had decreed they should have a barbecue on the patio in honor of Kinsley’s arrival. But it made for difficult eating, balancing the plate on her lap and juggling utensils, not to mention keeping her hair tamed. Because she’d had to put it up wet, she hadn’t anchored it properly. Now strands of it blew around her face.

  “I know what I’d really like,” Faith said, shooting Kane a quick smile. “I was hoping to hold the wedding service and the reception here, on the ranch.”

  “Are you stuck on having your wedding outdoors?” Kinsley asked, wiping her mouth with her napkin.

  “You’ve never done one before?”

  “I have done several, but they’ve all come with a measure of stress about the weather and backup plans.” Kinsley vividly remembered one of the last outdoor weddings she had worked on. The forecast had been good, but without warning the rain had come bucketing down.

  And they’d had to make on-the-fly changes, which had created even more tension between her and her future mother-in-law and boss. Sally Hansen had never cared for Kinsley, and
it seemed she took any opportunity to put her down.

  Well, she won in the end, Kinsley thought bitterly, taking another bite of her burger.

  “It won't be a large wedding,” Faith said.

  “We could put up a tent,” Elliot suggested. “That could be a good backup plan.”

  “Only if the wind doesn’t blow,” Kinsley said after she swallowed.

  “We could be all pessimistic about it, or you could assume that the weather will be bright and sunny.” Elliot flashed her a tight smile, and she guessed he was picking up on her feelings about him. She wished she could just act normally around this guy. It didn’t help that he exuded charm or that his long, wavy hair, in need of a cut, gave him a rakish appeal. Nor did it help that her hip was throbbing, probably a result of her fall this afternoon in the river. Her very embarrassing fall.

  Right in front of Elliot.

  “I never like assuming with weddings.” She took one more bite then wiped her mouth and set the rest of her hamburger aside.

  “So you don’t think we should have a wedding outside?” Faith asked. The stricken look on her face made Kinsley realize how harsh she’d sounded.

  “I think we should do whatever you want to do,” Kinsley said firmly. She wiped her hands and gave Faith a broad smile. “If you want to have your wedding outside then I'll make it happen. But I still want to make sure you’re okay with a backup plan. I want this to be as perfect as you do.”

  “Okay. I think we can do that,” Faith said. “All my life all I’ve ever wanted was an outside wedding. But I might have another favor to ask.”

  “What would that be?”

  Faith wobbled her hand back and forth. “I’ve been having some hassle with the photographer I booked. I haven’t heard from him for a while. So I was wondering if you could find someone for me. Just as a backup. You have connections to lots of photographers, I’m sure.”

  “I do, but I know for a fact they’re all booked up.”

  Faith wrinkled her nose then sighed. “That’s what I figured.”

  “You’ve got a camera,” Elliot said to her. “You could take pictures.”

  Faith’s dejection immediately flew away. “Yes. Genius, Elliot.” She turned to Kinsley again. “You can be my backup plan.”

  Kinsley held up her hand. “Honey. Sorry. I will have my hands full getting everything going. There’s no way.”

  “What if I don’t hear back from the photographer in the next few days?”

  “You will. I doubt he’s that busy in a town like Rockyview.”

  “Actually, he kind of is. Though I was talking to a lady who came into Grandfather’s office yesterday and she said she had him booked for an engagement shoot and he hasn’t gotten back to her either.” Faith gave her a pitiful look. “Please? Just as another option so I won’t be freaking out about it.”

  “I’m not a professional photographer,” Kinsley protested. “I just do it as a hobby.”

  “I’ve seen your hobby pictures,” Faith said with an indulgent smile, ignoring her reluctance. “They are just as good if not better than many professional photographers. You have a real good eye. And I told you, I want to keep this wedding simple.”

  Kinsley felt everyone looking at her and wasn’t sure what to say. In her experience simple and outdoors didn’t belong together. There were always details that needed tending to and last minute glitches that needed supervision and the weather always hung over the day like a looming question mark.

  And now she might be snapping photographs as well? What would Jill think if that would happen? This was her first “solo” wedding, and if she wanted to prove to her potential partner she was capable, it had to work.

  “I know it will make you busy,” Faith said, leaning forward as if getting close to her would make Kinsley change her mind. “But we’ll pay you whatever we would pay a professional photographer. And you could use it in your portfolio.”

  Despite her resistance, Faith’s words hearkened to the old yearnings Kinsley had about her photography. The desire to do more than just snap pictures and spend hours editing them in Lightroom for her own pleasure. The desire to bring them out into the world. To use her dream in other ways.

  “Don’t worry about the photographer,” she said, reminding herself to be practical, forcing the dreams aside. “I can talk to him too.”

  She could see Faith marshaling her arguments, just as she always did when they were in school. And Kinsley knew if she let her, her friend would talk her into it.

  But Kane laid his hand on his fiancée’s shoulder, pulling her back. “We can leave that for now,” he said. “We’ve got a few other things to plan first. Like Kinsley said, I’m sure he’ll get back to you.”

  He gave Kinsley a smile, and she was thankful for his intervention.

  “For now, we need to discuss the venue”, she said. “I know you want the wedding outside, but did you book a hall? As a backup plan?”

  “No. I didn’t.”

  “Okay. We’ll have to take care of that right away,” Kinsley said, making a mental note. “Give me a list, and I’ll make some calls.”

  “Kind of late to book those now anyway,” Elliot put in. “This late in the year they’re all taken, even in a hick town like Rockyview.”

  Kinsley frowned at him. “I never said that.”

  He flashed a charming grin. “Nope, you sure didn’t, but I did.”

  Which made her wonder if he assumed that was how she viewed the town.

  “Just have it outside,” Elliot continued. “With a tent.”

  If the halls were all booked up, would the tent company be as well?

  She cut that thought off. First make the call. Then worry if it doesn’t work out.

  “Okay then. If you want the wedding outside, I think we should look into booking a tent like Elliot suggested.” Kinsley wasn’t going to look at him, but out of the corner of her eye she caught his smug smile. “It will make it a little more complicated for the caterer, so we need to talk about that next.”

  “Did you ask Kinsley about the horses?” Kane asked, leaning back and slipping his arm over Faith’s shoulder.

  “Horses? What about horses?” Kinsley couldn’t help the shiver snaking down her spine.

  “That’s right. How could I have forgotten?” Faith snapped her fingers. “I want to come to the ceremony in a horse-drawn buggy,” Faith said, her eyes turning dreamy. “That’s another dream I’ve always had.”

  Kinsley’s heart began a heavy pounding as her thoughts slipped back to this afternoon and how close Elliot had brought his horse to her.

  She clenched her hands to stop their trembling, reminding herself that she didn’t have to ride in the carriage.

  “And like you said, you’ll have your hands full with all the details, so I was hoping that you and Elliot would be able to work together on this,” Faith said glancing from Elliot to Kinsley. “He could help you with all of the, well, technical planning and arranging.”

  “I don’t know—”

  “Horses and I—”

  Elliot and Kinsley protested at the same time.

  He went first. "I said I would help. I didn't think that would mean planning and arranging. I’ll be gone most of the weekends till then.”

  “You'll find the time,” Kane said. “It’s not like you’re busy on the ranch.”

  “Not out of any choice of mine.”

  Kinsley frowned at the sharp tone in Elliot’s and Kane’s voices. She hoped what had happened between Elliot and Faith in the past wouldn’t cause more problems in the family. Weddings were tense enough as it is. She didn’t need drama in the middle of the preparations.

  “Kinsley doesn’t know the ranch or community like you do,” Kane put in. “I think you could help her out with the horses as well.”

  Kinsley swallowed her trepidation and shot a quick glance at Elliot. He looked about as pleased with the idea as she felt.

  “I guess I could.” Elliot folded his arms over hi
s broad chest, chewing on his lower lip. He looked over at her and she could see from the concern on his face that he was remembering her reaction to his horse. “I’m sure we can figure something out.”

  “Okay. That’s good.” Faith looked relieved, smiling at them. “I’m so excited about coming in with the horses and the buggy.”

  Later. Deal with the horses later. Maybe she could steer Faith in another direction.

  Unbidden came old memories, old pain, and terror. The dark and harrowing memory of being pinned beneath that huge horse, the sound of his panicked whinnying and thrashing legs grinding her even deeper into the rocks.

  She swallowed and swallowed, sending up a prayer for strength. God had pulled her through that time. She needed to trust that He would help her now.

  Chapter 3

  “Where’s Faith?”

  Kinsley walked into the dining room, a clipboard tucked under her arm, glancing around, looking puzzled.

  Elliot looked up from the rodeo stats he was reading on his iPad and stifled a sigh when he saw what she wore.

  Another day, another fancy suit. Clipboard in one hand and oversize purse in the other.

  “She had to go to the school to talk to the principal about the class she’ll be teaching this fall," he said. "She said she’d be back in about an hour, so she asked if you and I could scout out locations for the tent and the service.” Elliot couldn’t help a quick glance at Kinsley's feet. Thankfully she was wearing sensible shoes this time. “Ballet flats” Denise had called them when she was educating him about the various shoe-types available to women. The lesson had made him glad his choices narrowed down to his black cowboy boots or his brown cowboy boots.

  “She wants you and I to do it alone? Shouldn’t we wait for Faith?” Wasn’t hard to tell that Kinsley was as excited about the idea of their working together as he was.

  "No. You never know with her these days. She isn't as time conscious as she used to be." Elliot got up from the table. "I don’t know what you want for breakfast. There’s sausages and pancakes in the warming pans, fruit and yogurt in the fridge, and bread and a toaster on the sideboard.”