Read Online Cowboy in My Pocket by Kate Douglas - Free Book Online Page B

in her soul that threatened to shake every bit of self-control she had. That was what she wanted when she married, that look in her husband’s eye that told the world she was the only woman he saw, the only one he wanted.
    Instead, she was fulfilling the obligation of an agreement she’d made with a friend she barely remembered. But what option did she have? Without knowing the details, Lee couldn’t bring herself to disappoint Gramma Lenore, nor break her agreement with Tag. She touched Gramma Lenore’s hand, consciously breaking the silent spell between the two elders. “I’m ready,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “We’re late. It’s after eleven.”
    Coop chuckled. “Oh, Tag’s not going anywhere,” he said. “You’re going to really surprise that boy when he sees you, Miss. You are definitely a sight to behold.”
    He held his arm out to Lee, his smile absolutely beaming. Lenore sniffled behind her, then blew her nose. “Here, put this on first,” she said, pulling a fragile lace veil attached to a headband covered in silk flowers out of the garment bag.
    Lee slipped it over her freshly brushed hair, clipped it securely, then curled her fingers around Coop’s bony forearm and flashed him a nervous smile. Well, Tag Martin, she thought. Ready or not, here I come.
     
    TAG STOOD beside the big stone fireplace and nervously slipped the worn gold band off and on his little finger. Thank goodness Coop had mentioned the ring, or he’d have missed that important prop completely.
    He raised his eyes in a silent prayer for forgiveness from his parents, more specifically his father. Jim Martin had loved this ranch with all his soul, and he’d loved his young bride just as much.
    Unfortunately, Tag knew it hadn’t taken her long to kill that love. Maggie’d never tried to hide her feelings about the Double Eagle or the man she’d married. Even as a youngster, Tag realized his mother had married his father merely to escape an unhappy home. She’d simply brought her own unhappiness with her.
    Tag rolled her wedding band between his thumb and forefinger, and thought about slipping it on Lee’s slender finger, wondered what it would be like to know the promises you made were real and lasting.
    He guessed that was something he’d never find out.
    Buck took another long swig out of his silver flask. Tag frowned at him. Buck returned his look with a sheepish grin of his own, tucked the flask in the breast pocket of his suit coat, and belched. Tag did his best to suppress a groan. This was not going to work.
    The hired hands, all dressed in their Sunday best, milled around the big front room. A few of the men had wives with them and there were a couple of small children, but for the most part they were single men who kept their lives fairly separate from the boss’s affairs. Tag wondered how much they knew, or if they even cared. They had no idea their futures rested on the success of this stupid charade.
    They were the only guests he’d invited, other than Will Twigg, who hadn’t shown up. There was no point in putting on a show for the entire community. It was going to be hard enough, carrying off this charade in front of his men and their families.
    Tag checked his watch and glanced toward the hallway. Almost ten minutes late . . . had Lee changed her mind?
    Tag was silently counting in German by the time she appeared.
    A sigh swept across the small gathering, a soft exhalation of awe. Tag knew he wasn’t the only one to react, but he was the only one she was smiling at.
    She was a vision in satin and lace, every man’s fantasy, every woman’s secret dream, crossing the room on the old cowboy’s arm. Coop couldn’t have played his part better.
    He held his head high, his old black Sunday-go-to-meeting Stetson neatly brushed and sitting at a cocky angle on his gray hair. His western-cut suit, shiny from years of wear, gave him the look of a nineteenth-century gambler, and he held his elbow cocked