Small-Town Brides by Janet Tronstad Page A

insides and not let go.
    A few minutes in the cold air was what he needed, Clay told himself as he walked across the shallow ditch and lifted up the middle strand of the barbed-wire fence. He bent down and stepped through the fence. It wasn’t his feelings that he was worried most about. It was the rest of it that was troublesome. He’d seen enough of life to know there were no fairy-tale endings. Not in his life.
    His feelings would eventually burn themselves out. But the disappointment could haunt him for life.

Chapter Five
    R ene tried not to look at the bright light off to the side of the truck. Clay was slowly moving the flashlight in an arc, searching the area where Mandy said her boyfriend had gone. While Clay was doing that, Rene was trying to distract Mandy. They’d already exhausted the topic of what they’d eat when they got to Dry Creek.
    They were quiet for a few seconds and then Mandy shifted around on the seat.
    â€œNever let your man go off by himself in a snowstorm,” she finally said. The inside of the cab was dark except for a small light on the ceiling. The heater was on and it was warming up nicely. “I should have stopped my Davy.”
    â€œI doubt you could have,” Rene said as she opened her left arm to hug the young woman. “Not if he thought you needed help. Here. Put your head on me. You may as well stretch out as much as you can until Clay gets back.”
    Mandy put her head on Rene’s shoulder. “He’s going to marry you someday, you know.”
    â€œWho?” Rene adjusted the blankets as Mandy stretched out her legs.
    â€œA rodeo man would make a good husband,” Mandy muttered as she turned slightly and arched her back.
    â€œClay? He doesn’t even believe in love.”
    Well, that got Mandy’s attention, Rene thought as the younger woman looked up at her and frowned. “Really?”
    Rene nodded.
    â€œWell, you have to have love,” Mandy said firmly. “Even my Davy says he loves me. It’s important.”
    â€œI know.” Rene wondered how her life had ever gotten so turned around. A few days ago she thought Trace was her destiny, and now she was kissing a man who would rather order up a wife from some catalog than actually fall in love. She’d felt the kiss he’d given her more deeply than she should, too. Which meant she needed to get back on track.
    â€œI’m going to make a list,” Rene said, “of all the things I need in a husband. That’s how I’ll know when I find the right one.”
    Mandy drew in her breath. “I can help. For you, not for me. I want my Davy.”
    Rene looked out the side window and saw that the light was coming back to the truck. She motioned for Mandy to sit up again. She doubted Clay had found Mandy’s boyfriend. She’d have to keep the young woman distracted for a little bit more.
    Clay took his hat off before he opened the door to his truck. Then he brushed his coat before climbing inside. He didn’t want to scatter snow all over the women.
    â€œDid you see him?” Mandy asked quietly from the middle of the seat.
    Clay shook his head. “I’ll need to come back.”
    â€œBut—” Mandy protested until another pain caught her and she drew in her breath.
    â€œIt won’t take long to get you to Dry Creek,” Clay said as he started his truck. “Then I can come back and look some more.”
    Clay didn’t like leaving the man out there any more than Mandy did, but it could take hours to find him, and the sooner they got Mandy comfortable and relaxed the sooner those pains of hers would go away.
    â€œI feel a lot better,” Mandy said. “If you’d just go back and look some more, I’ll be fine.”
    Clay looked at the young woman as she bit her bottom lip. Mandy was in obvious pain regardless of what she said. “You’re not fine, and there’s no use