The Rancher and the Runaway Bride Part 3

Travis talked about his injury and the temporary job he’d had driving a cab. When he explained how he’d met his wife, Brady sat up straight.

“You delivered her babies?”

“Yup. During one of the worst storms to ever hit Colorado.” Travis beamed with obvious pride. “Twins. It was easy.”

“You go to hell for lying same as stealing, Travis. It might have been a lot of things, but I’ll bet it wasn’t easy.”

Travis’s humor faded. “That moment changed my life forever. I’ve got Peggy, and the babies. Me!” He pointed at his chest. “Who would have thought it?”

“Not anyone who knew you.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not the only one with surprises. What about you? What are you doing hiding Grand Springs’ famous runaway bride?”

Brady had raised the glass to his lips. Now he set it down, untasted. His stomach constricted tightly as a cold foreboding swept through his body. “You know Rita?”

Travis leaned forward and shook his head. “Not me. Peggy. And I know her name’s not Rita, Brady. You don’t have to pretend with me.” He lowered his voice. “Peggy used to work at City Hall in town. She saw Randi visiting from time to time. Her fiancé’s a member of the city council. His mother was the mayor, but now that she’s dead, he’s been acting in her place.”

Brady couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Rita wasn’t Rita? She was from Grand Springs and she was a runaway bride?

“Whose fiancé is acting as mayor? Rita’s, ah, Randi’s?”

Travis nodded. “Sure. Peggy says Hal is a jerk, so I don’t blame the girl for running out. She left him standing at the altar in front of God and everyone. Just disappeared. It was the day we had that big blackout, mudslides, nonstop torrential rain. I remember. Peggy had the twins right then. What a mess.”

He continued to talk about the thirty-six-hour blackout, but Brady wasn’t listening. He was barely breathing. Dear God, it couldn’t be true. Not his Rita. She couldn’t have betrayed him that way.

But she had. She’d run out on her wedding, leaving some poor bastard to be humiliated. Just like Alicia had done to him.

“What’s wrong?” Travis asked. “You don’t look right.” His mouth dropped open. “You didn’t know, did you.”

Brady slowly shook his head. “I knew she was in trouble, but I didn’t know what kind. She’s been working at the ranch for over a month.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Brady said grimly. It was Rita’s—make that Randi’s—fault.

He felt like a fool, or worse. When he thought about how he’d told her everything about Alicia. Jeez, she must have had a hell of a laugh at his expense, thinking she and his ex-fiancée had a lot in common. Did she get a kick out of destroying men’s lives? Was his next?

Fury rose in him, fueled by embarrassment and the loss of expectation. He’d had plans for them. Dreams. He’d thought when things settled down for her maybe they could—He rose to his feet and tossed a couple of bills on the table. “Sorry, Travis, but I’m not good company right now. Can we do this another time?”

Travis nodded grimly. “I didn’t mean to mess things up,” he said.

“You didn’t. You made things more clear for me. Thanks, buddy. I’ll be in touch.”

Brady left the bar and drove back to the hotel. Thoughts tumbled through his mind. He tried to figure out what he was going to say to her, but he couldn’t focus on anything but his rage. No wonder she hadn’t wanted to tell him her secrets. There was no way for her to come off as anything but a lying, cheating bitch.

He crossed the parking lot and walked quickly to the four-story building. Their rooms were on the first floor, in the back. Rooms, he thought with a grimace. He’d given her a room of her own. Ever the gentleman. Ever the sucker.

When he reached her door, he raised his hand, made a fist and pounded loud enough to wake the dead. There would be no excuses this time. No matter what, he was going to get the truth out of her.

* * *

The loud pounding brought Randi off the bed like a shot. She dropped the book she’d been trying to read. “Who is it?” she called.

“Brady.”

“Oh, you’re back earlier than I thought.”

She rushed to the door and unlocked it. Before she could turn the handle, Brady did it for her and pushed into the room.

“How was your drink?” she asked.

He slammed the door shut and stared at her. Instinctively, she backed up a step. The anger on his face made her nervous, but what really got her heart rate up was the pain and disappointment lurking in his eyes.

“Brady?”

“That’s me. Brady Jones. It’s been my name my whole life. But you can’t say that, can you? Randi.”

She pressed a hand to her throat. Dear God. “You know.” It wasn’t a question.

He nodded, then walked to the window. “Yup. Me and Travis had quite a little chat. Turns out you’re something of a celebrity back home. That would be Grand Springs, right? Seems the whole town is talking about the runaway bride. After all, it’s not every day a young woman runs off and leaves her intended standing at the altar. But it does happen. I’ve had some personal experience with that. But then, you’re already familiar with my story, aren’t you.”

She retreated to the bed and sank down onto the mattress. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, covering her face with her hands. “I was always afraid it would come to this. I never meant—” She paused, not sure what to say. It was so hard to think. Her entire body ached with pain and cold. She’d seen the look in his eyes. He loathed her. The worst of it was, she couldn’t blame him.

“You never meant to what? Lie? But you did. You lied from the moment you showed up at the ranch. Leaving out facts about your past is the same as lying. Did you have a good laugh when I told you about Alicia? Did you think I was a fool, just like your fiancé? What was his name?”

“Hal,” she said automatically. “And no, I never thought you were a fool. Alicia is the stupid one. She should never have left you.”

“How kind of you. I wonder if Hal has someone offering him comfort right now.”

“He doesn’t need comforting,” she said. “He never really cared about me.”

“That’s a convenient way to justify your actions. Unfortunately, there’s no way to prove it’s true. His actions suggest otherwise. After all, he was willing to marry you.”

His tone indicated Brady wasn’t sure why any man would want to have anything to do with her. She fought tears, knowing that giving into them would only leave her more vulnerable. She had to pull herself together, to find a way to convince Brady that she—She bit her lower lip. Convince him of what? Her crime was there for everyone to see. She’d done exactly what he accused her of—she’d run out on her wedding, exactly the way Alicia had run out on him. At least she hadn’t been running off to be with another man, but she doubted he would consider that much in her favor.

“It’s not what you think,” she said dully, and straightened. He still stood at the large window. The sliding glass door was open to let in the afternoon breeze. He placed one hand against the screen.

“Why don’t you tell me what it was like?” he asked.

The silky smoothness of his voice didn’t deceive her. She knew he was still furious, yet maybe he was willing to listen. Did that mean he would give her a chance, or was he going to try to trip her up? Either way, she had to risk it. She couldn’t let him walk away hating her.

“Everything I told you about my past is true,” she began. “My mother is very interested in the Grand Springs social scene. I’ve always been a disappointment to her.”

“Gee, I know what that feels like,” he said.

She winced, then continued. “I never had serious boyfriends. There were a couple of guys in high school, but nothing I wanted to pursue, and a relationship or two at college. When I came home after graduation, my mother started inviting Hal over. I knew what she was doing, and I even knew why. Hal has a political future. If her daughter was related to the mayor, or the wife of a future state legislator, my mother’s social position would be guaranteed.”

“None of which excuses what you did.”