A Daring Proposal by Sandra S. Kerns

one was interested in her without the ranch as collateral. Knowing it and hearing someone else say it were two very different things.
    Jed’s hand started to move again. “He’s wrong, Chaney. Any man would be lucky to have a woman like you, with or without this ranch.”
    Rolling over Chaney stroked her hand up his chest. “You always did have a way with words, Jed. Right now, though, I think we’ve talked enough.” She was glad when he complied.
    ***
    Morning light came early. Chaney greeted it on horseback as she rode out to check some of the herd.
    Some would say she was running away, or trying to avoid the morning after. Chaney just needed some time to think. Out on the range as it w ere, she did her best thinking.
    Watching the sun rise over the eastern horizon, reminded Chaney of the fact that Jed had spent the last twelve years of his life in the east. She couldn’t help wonder what his life had been like. What his wife had been like. Steve never said much about his cousin’s wife. Not that Chaney had asked. That didn’t stop her curious ears from perking up if someone else did. The only thing she’d ever heard Steve say was Jed’s wife was a looker. The tone he used said it wasn’t a compliment.
    Hearing another horse coming up, Chaney shook her head deciding she’d done enough worthless wool gathering. She had a ranch to run, without a foreman to help. She also had to go into town this afternoon and present her marriage license to Mr. Pike, if for no other reason than to get his insufferable assistant off her case.
    Turning her mount in the direction of the on-coming mare she smiled as her oldest hand rode up to meet her. Like her, Smitty had always been an early riser. Maybe she should ask him to take the foreman position. He definitely knew the business. She hesitated, knowing her father had never made the offer. Travis McBride had been difficult, no doubt. But, when it came to running the ranch, she never doubted his decisions. Not until after he’d gotten sick anyway.
    “This ain’t where I’d choose to spend my honeymoon.”
    “Come on, I took my entire wedding day off. You expect me to go on a honeymoon, too?”
    Smitty cackled his rusty laugh and dropped his rare venture into her personal life.
    “Got a pretty good looking herd this year. If we can keep ‘em fed and watered we should get a good price.”
    “Yep. I guess I just wanted to assure myself of that after Dave’s threats last night. Unfortunately, there’s a ton of the business part of this ranch waiting for me back at the house. I’ll leave the rest up to you for now.”
    “I saw that new husband of yours out at the old barn if you ’re lookin’ for him.”
    She had just turned her horse away when he spoke. His tone of voice was different. Almost accusatory. She glanced back as an eerie discomfort swept over her. When Smitty just tipped his hat, she tried to shake it off. She was being silly. Smitty couldn’t possibly think as Dave had, that Jed would take charge of the ranch. A second later, she realized it wasn’t the man behind her causing her disquiet, it was the unexpected desi re she felt toward her husband.
    On the rest of the ride back, Chaney tried to figure out how she was going to handle day-to-day life with Jed. She purposely hadn’t given herself the time to think about it before. If she had, she wouldn’t have gone through with the marriage. Now that they were past the initial hurdle, she had to consider it.
    The nights would obviously not be a problem. Granted, waking up next to Jed made it difficult to get out of bed. Her body ached in places she’d forgotten about after last night’s long session of reacquainting themselves. Chaney had still been tempted this morning to wake Jed up and work some of the kinks out before she left.
    Temptation hadn’t been an issue since Jed left. She’d buried herself in her work, proving herself to her father, and helping raise her sister. There wasn’t time left to