The Shepherd's Daughter (Dry Bayou Brides Book 1) by Lynn Winchester

him from under the brim of her bonnet.
    Ray hadn’t worn a bonnet. But he was glad of it. He pictured Ray again, her bright hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back. He’d never seen her hair like that, either.
    He removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to unscramble his brain enough to be good company for Rebecca. “Er, yes, Ray is…something else, that’s for sure.”
    Rebecca’s expression became contemplative and her gaze roved over his face. “You’ve been friends a long time. That must mean she’s special to you.”
    That was an understatement. She was everything to him. Had been since he first met her; he’d just been too much of a fool to realize it sooner.
    “Yes, she is special to me,” so special it hurts to think of her “—but let’s not talk about Ray any more, let’s talk about you. Why did you decide to throw caution to the wind and come all the way out here to get married? Aren’t there eligible men in New York? You’re a pretty woman. I imagine there’s any number of men who’d have you for a wife.”
    Rebecca tipped her head thoughtfully. “Sure, there were men enough in New York, but there weren’t many opportunities for the future I’d envisioned when I moved to America. Out here, I can create my own future. With or without being Mrs. Willem Ducharme.” Her smile was one of longing and sorrow, and the sight of it made Billy wonder at what she really meant when she’d mentioned the future she’d envisioned.
    “Well, I can’t say much about that, but whether we marry or not, there are still men here to marry—if you know what you’re looking for.” If he could talk his parents out of forcing the match, he wanted Rebecca to have a way out of her contract.
    “Oh, I know exactly what I’m looking for,” she remarked. “What I’d like to know, though, is what you’re looking for in a wife.”
    Was she trying to get him to confess that he wanted her ?
    “Well, I’ve never actually thought about it. I hadn’t planned to get married yet so I didn’t sit down and make a list—like my pa did when he sent back east for you.” He laughed, trying to ease the tension between them.
    “Just tell me the first things that come to mind.”
    Billy took a deep breath and put his hat back on. He stared where Ray had been standing minutes before.
    Ray MacAdams…
    “I guess what I’m looking for in a wife…” his thoughts remained on Ray. “I think I’d want my wife to be someone who fires my blood. Someone I could talk to about anything. I’d think about her all day while I was away and couldn’t wait to get home to. She’d be strong, smart, kind, and hardworking. We’d be able to laugh and enjoy our children. And I’d love her.”
    Rebecca’s gaze never left his face and now that his babbling had come to an end, the awkwardness of the situation hit him.
    He was standing in front of his mail order bride, picturing another woman as his wife.
    *
    Ray practically tore the dress from her body even before she’d made it into the privacy of her bedroom.
    Thankfully, her ma was in town, gathering supplies for the Sunday dresses she’d been meaning to make for the last three months. Pa’s sudden death put most everything on hold. Now that there’d been time enough to mourn, her ma was realizing that life couldn’t be put off any longer.
    “Oh, Pa, I wish you were here. I need you to tell me that I’m being a fool, that Billy and I will be just fine as friends, that my heart won’t be shattered to pieces if he marries another woman.” She sank onto her bed.
    All the way home from the creek, Ray had fought hard to keep the tears at bay.
    But she couldn’t help it. Her insides were in knots.
    For the first time since her pa had died, Ray wept.

Chapter Eight

    “G oodnight, darling,” Billy’s ma kissed his cheek and headed to the master wing of the ranch house.
    He heaved a sigh and made his way to his own room. A room, if his parents had