The Billionaire Rancher's Unwanted Wife: A Modern Day Small Town Romance (Evergreen's Mail-Order Brides Book 3) Read online

  One week later

  The city bus only came twice a day to Evergreen, Texas, with the first in the early hours of the day, and the other arriving before sundown. It was not that Evergreen had a particularly small population, but rather, Evergreen's residents had no need of public transportation, with locals primarily consisting of families that owned multimillion-dollar ranches for several generations.

  As such, Nicholas Sutherland was unsurprised to find himself alone at the bus stop and when the city bus finally came at 5:59 PM, only one passenger alighted: a tiny, brown-haired woman in a faded, pastel-colored dress. She appeared frail and alarmingly thin, her skinny body seemingly a product of having to go without three full meals a day instead of overdieting. Even so, her slender figure only served to accentuate the fullness of her breasts and the generous curves of her hips. She was temptation in silken flesh, and even Nicholas' powerful and well-disciplined body was no proof against her inordinately sensual presence.

  Bee could hardly believe her eyes when she saw the man standing by the bus stop. Danny had warned her that his dad possessed movie-star looks, but she had honestly thought he was only joking.

  Obviously, Bee thought dazedly, he was not.

  If Danny hadn't taken great pains to explain exactly why his dad had a need for a mail-order bride, she would be calling 911 right this moment to report a scam and have Nicholas arrested as a con artist.

  Even the words 'tall, dark, and handsome' didn't do him justice. With his honey-blond hair streaked with gold and his long, lean build clad in a plaid shirt and tight-fitting jeans, He looked more like a ruggedly sexy cowboy angel, Bee decided, and instead of halo and wings, he had a roughed-up Stetson and leather boots to complete his look.

  It was altogether too much, really, and Bee's throat went dry as she watched him stride towards her, his every movement graceful and strong.

  A burst of wind as the city bus sped off diverted Bee from her gawking, and she hurriedly pushed her skirt down before it could reveal the color of her underwear. When she looked up, he was already in front of her, and up close he appeared even larger than life, and so breathtakingly handsome it had her gulping.

  "Tabitha Sandler?"

  His voice was deep and velvety - the sexiest sound in the world to her ears - but it was the way he said her name that had Bee choking back a giggle. Traveling from her home in Georgia all the way to Evergreen had involved a two-hour flight and a two-hour bus ride, and she had spent most of the journey trying to picture how their first meeting would play.

  Never, however, had she imagined that it would come down to this, with her brand-new husband checking her identity like a police detective.

  Others might've found this insulting or disconcerting, but humor came to her rescue like it always did, and Bee was unable to keep her lips from twitching as she lifted her gaze to his. "Hello, and, umm, that was my name, yes."

  Was? Nicholas couldn't even fathom what that was supposed to mean. This girl was a kooky little thing, and maybe that was why Daniel had acted out of character. His son had never been the type to ask a favor. That he would do so now, and it had to be the kind of favor any one of the ranch hands could've easily done in Nicholas' stead...

  Daniel had probably thought there was a chance his friend's eccentric way of talking would have her end up in the nearest hospital with a psych ward. And he was right to be worried, Nicholas thought. His son had mentioned that she would be staying with them for the month, and yet the girl only had a single duffel bag with her.

  Bee noticed Nicholas' gaze falling on her bag, and she said hesitantly, "I didn't have much else to bring."

  "I see." But he didn't, not really. "We should get going," he said finally.

  Seeing him reach for her bag, Bee shook her head, stammering, "It's fine---"

  Nicholas only gave her a look, and Bee found herself meekly letting go of the bag's worn handles.

  Nicholas' truck was a dusty silver beast with cream leather interior. It was easily the most luxurious vehicle Bee had ever experienced riding, and it showed in the way her wide-eyed gaze took in the massive touchscreen display on the dashboard and the way she reverently ran her fingers over the wood finish of the door's handles.

  Her reaction had Nicholas wondering how Tabitha and his son had even met in the first place, and as he started the engine, he deliberately adopted a casual tone as he asked her about this.

  "After the emails, you mean?" Bee was too busy admiring the way Nicholas drove to dwell over the oddness of his question. "It was just once, during the ceremony." A thought occurred to her then, and she quicky turned to look at him, saying in a rush, "I'm not saying that to make you feel guilty. Danny explained how busy you were, so I totally understand why you couldn't make it."

  Emails? Ceremony? Guilty? What the hell was she talking about? He had half a mind to demand that she make even just a tiny bit of sense but managed to clamp his mouth shut at the last minute. It didn't matter either way, Nicholas reminded himself broodingly. She was Daniel's friend, not his. It was only right to let his son handle her.

  Turning back to her, he noticed Tabitha rummaging through her purse and felt obliged to ask, "Is anything wrong?"

  "I have something for you..."

  Nicholas' eyebrow arched. For him?

  "Aha!" She flashed him an adorable smile of victory, like a five-year-old who had gotten her first star from school. "Here you go."

  Nicholas cast a wary look at the document envelope she was holding out to him. "What's that?"

  "Danny says it's his wedding gift," Bee answered rather self-consciously.

  Wedding gift?

  "And you can see it's still sealed. I promised him I wouldn't take..." Her voice trailed off as she found herself distracted by the sight outside her window. They were entering what seemed to be a privately owned ranch, with a pair of hands quickly swinging metal gates open to let Nicholas' truck through. And beyond those gates was...

  Paradise.

  Myrtle and lilac chastetrees were alternately planted on each side of the road, and their canopying branches showered the ground below with a rainbow storm of petals. Up ahead, the ranch's main house rose into view, a sprawling, two-story structure with dark red gabled roofs, expansive windows, and sliding glass doors.

  Bee turned to Nicholas, asking rather breathlessly, "Is this where you work?"

  "That's one way of putting it, I suppose." Nicholas' tone was dry.

  "I've tried my best to research about ranch management," Bee shared tentatively, "but if you're willing to show me the ropes, I promise I'll do my best to help out."

  "I see." Nicholas was becoming increasingly convinced that Tabitha was either certifiably insane - or presently high on drugs, and when he saw her suddenly blush, he made a mental note to have the family doctor drop by first thing tomorrow.

  Blissfully unaware of the direction of Nicholas' toughts, Bee was busy trying to calm her racing heartbeat as she watched Nicholas step out and go around the truck to open the door for her. The chivalrous gesture reminded her of the dashing heroes from her favorite mail-order romances, and it was all she could do not to squeal.

  Just a week ago, she had hit rock bottom, and now...

  And now...

  Nicholas offered her his hand to help her out, and Bee gingerly placed her hand in his. The feel of his touch was thrilling, and shamelessly wicked thoughts came out of nowhere to assail her mind.

  Nicholas, running his large, strong hands over her body...

  The sound of the door slamming shut behind her had Bee crashing back to reality. She belatedly realized that Nicholas had long let go of her hand and was now frowning as he took in her flushed cheeks.

  "Are you alright?"

  "I...uh...yes." Bee had never been a good liar, but she just couldn't make herself admit that he had turned her on so much she had ended up sexually fantasizing about him. He might be her husband, but...it was just too embarrassing.

  Nicholas mentally threw
his hands up in surrender. There was just no making sense of her, and whatever the real reason was that had Tabitha turning red as a tomato, he was damn certain it would be just as irrational as the rest of her replies.

  In any case, he had done his job, and he could now wash his hands off her.

  Gesturing towards the silver-haired man standing by the doorway, he murmured, "Thomas will be taking you to your room---"

  Bee was confused. "My room?" Did he mean they wouldn't be sharing a room?

  "Yes. I've had the lilac room on the second floor prepared for you---"

  Another startling realization struck her, and she blurted out, "You mean...we're staying at the main house?"

  "Where else are we going to stay?" he asked rather exasperatedly.

  Wherever ranch managers were supposed to stay, Bee wanted to say but managed not to. Maybe, she had it all wrong, or she hadn't researched enough. Maybe, ranch managers living under the same roof as his boss were more common than she thought.

  "If we're done now---" The tinge of impatience in Nicholas' voice made Bee bite her lip. "I still have work to finish..."

  Bee managed to summon a smile. "Of course. I totally understand."

  The words seemed truthful enough, and yet in her eyes he seemed to catch a flicker of hurt.

  Which would even make less sense, Nicholas thought irritably, than everything she had said so far. What the hell did she have to be upset about? She was Daniel's friend, dammit, not his, and all he owed her he had already done.

  Nicholas purposely turned away as the family butler escorted Tabitha inside his house, and as he made his way to the stable, he remembered the envelope she had given him.

  Danny says it's his wedding gift, the girl had said.

  He pulled the envelope out of his pocket, and tearing it open, a piece of paper fell out. A single QR code was printed on it, and Nicholas frowned. What the hell? He scanned the code with his phone, and it took him to a password-protected page.

  Since this was his son, Nicholas typed the name Petula, and the page started to load. A couple of photos showed up first, and Nicholas' gaze narrowed when he saw his son and Tabitha standing in what suspiciously seemed like a judge's private chambers.

  He clicked on the Next Page link, and what seemed like a scanned document started loading.

  A document that appeared to be...

  Nicholas swore under his breath when his worst fears were confirmed.

  His lawyer answered at the second ring, and Nicholas didn't waste time with small talk. "I need you to check something for me," he said tightly.

  Sensing the urgency in his client's tone, Joe silently waved for his secretary to leave and waited for the doors to close before reaching for his pen, saying, "Give me the basics, and I'll get to it right away."

  "I think I'm married."

  "Congratula---"

  "Without my knowledge," Nicholas interrupted.

  "Shit."

  "My son might be involved."

  And it just kept getting shittier, Joe thought as he started scribbling. "I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

  An email arrived at Nicholas' inbox exactly seventeen minutes later, with several documents attached. The first one was a marriage contract...between him and one Tabitha Sandler, and with his own eighteen-year-old son standing for him in proxy.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  It became instantly clear to him that Daniel had forged his signature on the documents as well as committing dozens of other crimes along the way. Joe's email showed that Daniel had put up a dating firm called Hearts' Match, and it didn't appear to be a coincidence at all that his son's company could be easily mistaken for Heart's Match, the matchmaking agency that Nicholas' childhood friend Charlotte owned.

  Joe's third set of documents was a contract brokered by Daniel's company, and specified in it was a list of conditions that both Nicholas and Tabitha had to meet. One party failing to do so would be sufficient grounds for divorce, with Nicholas apparently agreeing to transfer half of his fortune...to Tabitha's name.

  When Nicholas called his lawyer for the second time, Joe appeared to be expecting it, having picked up the call before the first ring had even ended.

  The older man also beat him to speaking, saying heavily, "If you don't want to risk Ms. Sandler suing your son for fraud and God knows what else, your best bet is to play it safe and keep your new wife happy while I try finding you a loophole."

  "Goddammit, Joe."

  "You're not paying me a fortune to lie to you."

  Nicholas' fist clenched against the urge to punch a hole into the nearest wall. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Why the hell would Daniel do something asinine as this?

  "How long do you think it will take you to get me out of this mess?"

  "It will help if you can track your son for me---"

  "He's vacationing in Tahoe---"

  "I know that's where he's supposed to be," Joe said almost apologetically, "but I've already checked, and your housekeeper told me she hasn't heard a peep from him."

  Fuck.

  "I'll personally work on this, Nick, but I'm no miracle worker, so in the meantime..." Joe cleared his throat. "You saw that first condition, didn't you? It shouldn't be hard---" Nicholas started cursing up a storm, and the lawyer's words came into a halt.

  What in the world was wrong with Nick? Joe had seen photos of the girl, and while she was no headturner, she wasn't all that bad either. She had a nice smile, and an even nicer figure. How bad could it be?

  Chapter 3

  Faint footsteps had Bee turning away from the corral, and she unconsciously straightened when she saw Nicholas striding towards her. She tested a smile at him, and while he didn't smile back, he at least didn't snap her head off and look at her like she was insane.

  Which was how he had been looking at her, she thought ruefully, ever since meeting her at the bus stop.

  Nicholas didn't know what to make of himself as he came to stand next to the girl---

  Tabitha, he reminded himself.

  He might still have a hard time thinking of her as his wife, but he could at least stop thinking of her as just his son's friend.

  His son, Nicholas thought, whose age was likely to be closer to Tabitha's than his.

  "I hope you don't mind me coming here." Tabitha's words drew him out of his thoughts, and he saw her gesture to the heifer peacefully sleeping in the corner, a padded bed cushioning her hefty frame. "I thought it would be nice to finally see Petula in person."

  Nicholas didn't bother hiding his surprise. "You know her?"

  "Danny told me she's the best birthday gift you've ever given him."

  "As it should be," he said evenly. "A sportscar would've cost me less money than his sudden decision to turn one of my finest stocks into a damn house pet."

  Nicholas' disgruntled tone made him seem a lot more human, and it had her relaxing enough to speak more freely in his presence. "I think it's cute that you spoil him so," she confessed. "I'd do, too, if I had a son like him."

  "But you can't. Can you?"

  "Oh no." A concerned look crossed Tabitha's heart-shaped face. "Danny told me this was inevitable."

  Nicholas' lips tightened. He was beginning to hate the way she kept mentioning his son's name, and damn if he knew why that was.

  Bee's concern grew at the way Nicholas' features had hardened in the past ten seconds. "I truly don't mind about the age gap," she told him earnestly. "Danny said you'd eventually bring it up because you were that kind of man. But honestly, it's not an issue, and I don't care if others think I'm too young for you---"

  "Aren't you?" he asked flatly. At twenty-three, Tabitha was one whole decade younger than him...but just five years older than Daniel. "You seem more suitable to be my son's girlfriend---" The expression of genuine revolt that crossed her face immediately put a stop to his words.

  "Don't ever make a joke of that kind again, please?" Bee pleaded with a shudder. "I've never thought of him as anything else but my ste
pson," she said feelingly, "and vice versa."

  "I see." He saw Tabitha bite her lip and wondered if there was something else she wanted to say but couldn't. "Tabitha?"

  "Everyone calls me 'Bee'---" She saw his lip curl and had to quickly swallow back a giggle.

  "Tabitha is a lovely name," Nicholas said firmly. "So I'd rather use that if you don't mind."

  "I definitely don't," she assured him.

  Thinking it was a good time as any to bite the bullet, he said slowly, "I can be rather...high-handed at times, but it doesn't mean you would ever need to watch your words with me. I'll always endeavor to listen to what you have to say. I'm...your husband, after all." He saw her eyes widen in surprise, and color stained Nicholas' bronzed cheeks. "You don't think of me that way?" he challenged.

  Of course I do, Bee wanted to say. But the thing was, hearing Nicholas actually say those words out loud had shocked her so much it completely robbed her of the ability to speak.

  Tabitha's continued silence was making Nicholas feel strange, and the prospect of her possibly having second thoughts about their so-called marriage was irritating the hell out of him.

  Nicholas appeared to be brooding over her words, and Bee couldn't stop herself from staring. It was like seeing a golden-haired Heathcliff brood before her every eyes, and she could barely contain her giddiness, could barely resist the urge to swoon just so he'd be made to sweep her up in his arms.

  If this is a dream, God, please don't wake me up?

  The thought had Bee reaching for her cheeks again, but just as she was about to pinch herself for a reality check, he suddenly turned to face her, and her fingers froze mid-squeeze.

  Nicholas' brows shot up at catching Tabitha with her hands on her face. "What are you doing?"

  Bee quickly dropped her arms to her sides. "Nothing."

  Green eyes narrowed at her. "You're incredibly...odd."

  The words made her feel anxious, and she joked nervously, "That's not grounds for an annulment, is it?"

  Nicholas only stared at her.

  "That was a joke," she said weakly.

  "I see."

  Bee's unease disappeared as her cheeks heated up and her lips formed a helpless smile.