The Wrangler Takes a Wife (Silver Creek Ranch #7)

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

A mara

Amara wasn’t happy. Fuck Chase Harrison. It was her day off, the one day she didn’t go into the diner at all. She was lying in bed at her cottage on Welch land. The sun was barely up, and she was awake! Completely and fully conscious. Total bullshit. She had been trying to get back to sleep for the last hour. The mornings of her day off were supposed to begin with her sleeping in. Then a little lounging. Followed by trying out a new recipe. That was her normal routine, one she had enjoyed for years.

Not today though. She was up at the crack of dawn. Last night was the third time in a row Chase had visited the diner. She decided to move forward with the agreement and told him so. Later today, they were going to meet at Jo’s office to sign the document renting the land to her. She had asked for the land to be signed over to the family, but he declined. “As far as anyone will know, I gave my wife a gift. It’s simpler that way.” The Welches would be given use of the land on their wedding day, and its ownership would officially be transferred over to Amara two years later.

To be clear, it would be signed over to Amara Harrison. Not Welch. They had an argument about that. “I don’t want to take your last name.”

“Do I look like the kind of man that would marry a woman who wouldn’t take his name?”

“I don’t know and don’t care. It’s fake! Who cares if I take your name?”

“I do. While our marriage might not be conventional. It better not look or feel fake,” he’d shot back. Until that point, Chase had been very easygoing and jovial about the entire matter. However, now his green eyes blazed.

“Then you can pick someone else.”

“I don’t want anyone else. It has to be you.” His admission had shocked both of them. Chase’s eyes widened before he pivoted quickly. “There was one other option. This one woman left a chilli dish, with chunks of meat, white beans, and corn. I was tempted to eat it. She left her name on the tag. Crap, what was it?” He snapped his fingers. “Elaine, that was it!”

“ You should have eaten it,” Amara told him.

He raised an eyebrow in question.

“Was it served with triangle shaped corn bread?” Chase nodded at her inquiry. “Elaine got it from the diner. I was wondering why she ordered so much damn chilli. The nerve of that heifer. Passing my food off as her own. I have a good mind to go over to her parents’ ranch, and demand she make some chilli on the spot.”

“Easy, Baby Girl ? —”

Amara shook her head viciously. “Absolutely not.”

“You’ve shot down every name.”

“Because they all suck. Why can’t you just call me Amara?”

“Cause if I am courting you, and am enamoured enough to marry you, I’d call you something special. Am I going to have to start looking up foreign dictionaries?”

Amara made a sound of frustration. She didn’t know what she wanted as far as the name was concerned. Some of them were far too silly, while others were a little too intimate. She’d almost dropped their plates when he’d asked, “what does my good girl have for us to eat tonight?” Her brain had gone idle and her knees damn near buckled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll think of something,” he assured her, tapping his temple. “Now, back to the topic. You are my only choice. I know we can make this work. In two weeks, we can convince everyone we’re head over-heels in love and ready to get married.”

“Well, not everyone. I mean, we would tell my brothers, my parents, and my cousin Jo.”

“Anyone else?” Chase drawled. “If we are going to pull this off, we can’t tell anyone.” He reached across the table and cupped her hands. “It would just be between us.”

Ugh, he had a point. The word would spread like wildfire. Rodney would tell his wife Louisa, who would probably tell her mother, and if his mother-in-law told her sister, it was game over. She lived two towns over, but that woman would spread the word, probably to five towns. So, this would have to be a secret just between them. Once they settled on keeping everything under wraps, they moved on to discussing the terms of their dating.

Amara baulked at the idea of them going on dates every day for fourteen days. “Listen, you have been getting your way an awful lot.” She found that annoying. “You are going to have to give me leeway here. I’m not that good of an actress.”

When he shrugged, then agreed to ten out of fourteen days, she was surprised. “What matters most is that we are believable when we are together.”

Her victory was short-lived. Chase stood, then stretched his hand out to her. “Let’s do an experiment.” Amara had eyed his large, calloused hand, but thought better of touching him. His touch threw her off kilter. Why was she doing this again? She got to her feet without his assistance. The closeness freaked her out a little. So, she created a space between them by taking a few steps back. He promptly closed the space with one gigantic step. He smirked down at her. She wasn’t used to men being so much taller than her five-foot ten stature. Five inches made a difference. Amara tried not to squirm.

“If this is going to work, you are going to have to be more comfortable around me.”

Her intention was to say something clever, but her body didn’t cooperate. Not only couldn’t she think of anything, even if she had, her vocal cords seemed to strike. She couldn’t even open her mouth.

“You look nervous. Is being this close to me making you uncomfortable?”

Amara’s body still refused to follow her command. She had wanted to shake her head, but it remained still.

“This won’t work. If you look like that when I kiss you.”

Kiss!? That loosened up her vocal cords. “Kiss?! Ewe. Yuck.”

The smirk Chase was beaming down on her evaporated. His expression was stern as he tilted his head, and his heated gaze peered through her. Under his scrutiny, the harshness and immaturity of her reaction heated her cheeks with embarrassment. He got under her skin, but she didn’t mean to offend him. Amara decided to put on her big girl panties and apologise. As she lost herself in her thoughts, she had failed to notice the movement of his hand, or the direction it was heading, until his long fingers grasped her nape.

“That reaction just won’t do.” What did he mean by that? She barely strung the thought together when he inclined his head and stopped his mouth less than an inch away from hers. “Let’s work on it.” His breath tickled her lips as he spoke.

Work on… Chase slowly pressed his lips to hers. At first, she hesitated, surprised by the unexpected gesture. After the initial shock, she melted into the kiss, feeling his warmth envelop her as he pulled her closer, pressing her against his body. His tongue danced with hers, igniting a spark that spread through her entire being. She let out a soft sigh. Her senses heightened as she registered his hand firmly resting on her ass. Her heart raced, pounding against her chest as if trying to synchronize with his. A shiver ran down her spine, causing goosebumps to rise on her skin. Every nerve in her body seemed to come alive, intensifying the electric connection between them.

Then it was over. Chase pulled away abruptly, ending their kiss. “I don’t think we have to worry about kissing. We have that part down to a smoldering science.” He winked at her. Grabbed his hat and placed it over his ash brown hair. “Now, you follow me to the door and lock it behind me.”

Amara stood there frozen…a bit shocked. What the hell was the matter with her? With him? He swiped his rough thumb across her bottom lip, then sucked it into his mouth. Her mouth went dry as her eyes followed his action. It was the only thing to go dry. Her lady bits could water a field. Jesus Christ on a wild stallion.

“Come lock up,” his command was less playful.

Doing as she was told. She followed him to the door. Chase bid her good night in the deepest southern drawl she had ever heard. “Good night, Sweet Darling.” The shit was downright hilarious.

Chase hadn’t moved until she locked the door and walked away. It was a good thing he didn’t know she wasn’t spending the night in the apartment upstairs. He probably would’ve waited and followed her home.

Sleeping in was not something she was going to achieve this morning. So, Amara got out of bed and brushed her teeth. Rather than jump in the shower. She drove a short distance to the Welch stable. There was only one cure when she was feeling out of sorts. A nice long ride.

“Morning, Ms. Amara,” Myron, the stable hand greeted. “Wasn’t expecting you until later this afternoon. Should have known you were coming out. Your boy has been looking for you.”

“Morning, Myron. We have a bond.”

“I just made up some treats. He’s already eaten.” Amara grabbed her saddle. The stall life wasn’t really for her baby. The minute the sun was up, they set him free in the paddock. She walked through the horse-shed and saw him waiting by the gate. “Hey, Ranger.” Her stallion neighed and swayed his head. She’d had him since he was a colt. A hand stood nearby but knew better than to attempt to assist Amara with saddling Ranger. When she was around, he didn’t like anyone else touching him.

Soon they were off on their adventure. The sensation of sitting atop the powerful stallion was exhilarating, as if she was one with the wind itself. With every gallop, she could feel the rhythm of his hooves echoing through her body, a harmonious dance between her and Ranger. The world blurred past them, leaving only the freedom that came from their shared speed and strength.

The vast, open landscape of Welch’s Ridge Ranch stretched out before her, dotted with lush green pastures and the occasional grazing cattle. It was a liberation unlike any other, a moment where the constraints of everyday life seemed to dissolve away. In those fleeting moments, she felt unanchored to the earth, soaring with an unbridled feeling. Riding through the open fields, she embraced the boundless possibilities that lay ahead.

The ride was just what she needed. It all came to a crashing halt. On the way back, she caught sight of Chase on his horse, looking over the bison. She grew up on a ranch for goodness’ sakes. She’d seen men on horses since before she could walk… but damn… he was captivating.

Once she got back to the stables, Amara spent time with Ranger, giving him a good brush down, and a drink, before she headed home. She took a nice, long, hot shower. Chase had almost erased the effects of her time with Ranger. So, she turned to her first love. Amara pulled ingredients from her pantry and her fridge and on autopilot, she mixed items together.

Her thoughts were filled with Chase Harrison. Her soon to be husband. After the kiss last night, she really should run for the hills. Rolynda, like Amara, was an avid romance reader whose favourite smutty books featured fake relationships who failed when one person was too attracted to the other.