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

their way, wouldn’t be his for much longer.
    Any day now, his pa would likely approach him about building his own homestead somewhere on the property. Close enough to the main house but far enough away to provide the privacy he’d need with a new wife.
    Problem was, the only place on the eight-hundred-acre property he could think of, was the clearing by the creek. Where he’d taken Rebecca. The place where Ray had showed up dressed as fine as he’d ever seen her and stole the very breath from his body.
    He pulled his bedroom door shut and leaned against it, focused on the one moment by the creek where his whole life had changed.
    He remembered how his heart stopped at seeing her again after two long days. All rational thought had stopped.
    Ray was wearing a light blue dress, though a little big on her, it hugged her frame just right. Her glorious hair was pulled back from her face the rest left hanging down her back. So very pretty.
    He drank her in, not trusting himself to speak. Regrettably, the words that tumbled from him mouth made the next few minutes the hardest in his life.
    “ What’re you wearing ?” As if he couldn’t see it with his own eyes. She was beautiful. He didn’t care if she was wearing a potato sack. Ray was more than he’d ever imagined.
    It hadn’t gone well after.
    Had he said something wrong?
    Blood rushed into his face as he remembered.
    “…this is Ray MacAdams, the shepherd’s daughter…”  – not his best friend, not the woman he’d ached to see the last two days, not the woman who tore him up inside, just the shepherd’s daughter.
    Yeah, he’d hurt her all right.
    The fiery-haired little girl he’d met all those years ago had grown up finally. He trusted and cared for her more than any other woman.
    “ Aw-dingit ! I’m such an idiot.” He groaned at his own ignorance and fought down the urge to punch the wall.
    Billy didn’t even know how to begin delving into his emotions. Even the physical reaction he had to Ray confused him.
    What a fool he’d been for ever considering, even for a moment, marrying Rebecca. Just courting her was unfair. Just because he’d promised his ma—but that had to end.
    Ray wasn’t an idiot. She’d known who Rebecca was and why she was there.
    He had to find a way to make it right. To make everything right.
    He punched the door, welcoming the sharp pain in his knuckles. A reminder of how stupid he’d been.
    The one woman who mattered most to him thought he didn’t want her.
    Thought he preferred another woman.
    The ache in his heart wouldn’t go away.
    “Oh, Ray. What am I going to do about you?”
    *
    “Again, thank you for your kind invitation, Miss Mosier.” Rebecca smiled prettily at Tilly, who sat across from a grumpy but grudgingly charmed Ray.
    She really wanted to dislike Rebecca, the woman who’d been picked over her to marry Billy. The woman he was obviously falling in love with. She’d been forced to spend the last few hours with Rebecca because Tilly’s parents had invited Dry Bayou’s newest resident to town for the day.
    From France, Rebecca had moved to New York years ago, had worked as an interpreter in one of those fancy office buildings, and, after some sort of unfortunate event, had decided to try a life out west. By a bit of luck, she’d found Mr. Ducharme’s advert in the New York Times. Ray considered it a heaping helping of luck that she’d met all of the man’s requirements as a wife for his son.
    Honestly, Ray couldn’t be mad at her for doing what she thought was best for her own future.
    But not Ray. Because the prize for Rebecca’s courage was the one person Ray couldn’t give up.
    “We’re happy to have you,” Tilly welcomed her graciously. “It’s just too bad Ma, Pa, Gaston, and Dora couldn’t stay longer. The store requires looking after.” Tilly spoke the last words with a pinch of annoyance in her voice.
    Tilly’s parents were always after her about making her mark in the family