Elly: Cowgirl Bride by Trish Milburn Page A

in a city that size. But living here has its benefits, too.”
    The way he looked at her made Elly think maybe she was one of the benefits in his mind. That thought caused happiness to spread through her like a warm current.
    When the ride came to its conclusion and riders made for their trailers, Elly panicked. She didn’t want the day to end. Well, it wasn’t ending because the barn dance that always came after the ride still lay ahead, but she didn’t know if Will would be there. She’d opened her mouth to ask him when Maryanne and Paula rode by.
    “Elly, your friend knows about the dance, right?” Maryanne asked, a mischievous look on her face.
    “Wouldn’t miss it,” Will said to Maryanne. When he looked back at Elly, the bright look in his eyes warmed her chilled skin.
    “Guess I’ll see you later, then,” she said. Before she made a blithering fool of herself, she kicked Jasmine into a trot and headed for home.
    It wasn’t until she came within view of the homestead that she realized she’d been with Will for several hours and not once thought of Mark Hansen or Will’s involvement in the situation.
    Maybe she didn’t have to hold herself away from what she wanted more every day after all.
     

    T HE BARN DANCE WAS BY no stretch of the imagination a formal affair. Still, Elly locked herself in her room and changed into clean jeans and a bright aqua shirt, things that didn’t smell horsey. She washed her face and applied a smattering of makeup, just enough to give her pale complexion a little color.
    After brushing out her hair, she considered leaving it down. But that seemed like too obvious a gesture. Sure, she wanted to figure out if Will was really interested, but she didn’t want the entire barn full of people wondering what was up. After all, she hardly ever wore her hair down. So a fresh ponytail it was, even if she did use the curling iron to add a little extra femininity to the end.
    She slipped a pair of silver hoop earrings in, then stood straight to examine her appearance in the mirror, wondering if Will would like what he saw.
    Only one way to find out.
    She heard the band begin to play as soon as she stepped outside. People were still making their way from their vehicles, and she joined the stream heading inside.
    “Going to save me a dance, Elly?” Chester Goodlaw asked her as she walked in next to him.
    Chester, who was eighty if he was a day, was nonetheless as cute as he could be.
    “I always save room on my dance card just for you.” Elly leaned over and kissed him on his cheek, weathered from many decades of riding the range in all kinds of Wyoming weather. Chester’s family, like her own, had been in Wyoming since the territory had more Shoshone residents than white settlers.
    Elly adopted a casual demeanor as she made her way through the crowd, chatting with neighbors and accepting good wishes for her upcoming ride in Denver. When she arrived at the refreshment table, her mom poured her a cup of punch.
    “You look pretty, dear.”
    Elly shrugged. “Just cleaned up a little.”
    “Wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain young man, would it?”
    Elly took a drink while she tried to come up with a response.
    Anne laughed, and the sound lifted Elly’s heart. It amazed her that her mom could still find joy in teasing her about a man when her own husband’s actions should have destroyed any belief she’d ever had in romance.
    “Have to say that boy grew up very nicely,” Anne said.
    Elly decided not to deny it and said, “Yeah.”
    “Go ask him to dance.” Anne pointed toward the far corner of the barn. “He’s back there talking to your brother.”
    Elly spotted Will with Jesse and her heart dropped.
    Surely they weren’t discussing the case here, among all these people.
    “Go on,” her mom urged.
    Elly gulped down the rest of her punch and placed the empty cup on the table. “I owe Chester a dance first.” Without waiting for her mom to say anything else,