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

just to appease his ma and pa, but he also didn’t like the idea of making Rebecca leave, especially since she truly seemed to like their little town.
    One day soon, he’d figure out a way to get Rebecca settled in Dry Bayou without having to be married to him. However, he’d worry about that another day, because tonight his focus was on someone else.
    Tonight, he’d confess to Ray that he didn’t want to be just her best friend; he wanted to marry her.
    He tugged on a wayward strand of brown hair and wondered what she’d say when he told her how he truly felt.
    He knew how he felt about her —it burned through him like a blazing fire—but he had no clue how she felt about him . Yes, she’d kissed him back that night by the creek, but that was almost a week ago. He hadn’t seen her much since then, and never alone, so he hadn’t had the chance to ask her if she’d been as moved by their kiss as he’d been. Of course, she’d left the creek thinking he’d kissed her because he felt sorry for hurting her. He wanted to laugh at how ridiculous that was. And he probably should’ve told her the truth before she walked away. Just the memory of her soft, sweet-flavored lips was enough to make his blood chug through his veins.
    “Yes, tonight is the night I tell her—”
    “Tell who, what?” His mother appeared behind him in the mirror and he spun around. He blinked and tried to think of something that wouldn’t ruin his plan. A plan his ma would spoil just to keep Ray from becoming her daughter-in-law.
    “Well, I—” he stammered, suddenly at a loss for words.
    “No need to tell me anything, son. I think I know.” She giggled— giggled —then continued. “Rebecca will be down shortly. Then you two can make the ride into town together.”
    Before he could inform his mother that he only volunteered to do that out of obligation to her rather than out of any romantic feelings for Rebecca, she patted him on the shoulder. Told him he looked quite fine in his new suit and tie, then left the room.
    Billy groaned. As sure as the sun set in the sky, his ma was conjuring up images of little Rebeccas and Billys scampering through the garden, squealing for their grandma.
    “She seems happy,” Rebecca’s voice made him turn.
    She was dressed in a pink dress with cream trim along the hem, her hair twisted up into a becoming knot on the top of her head. She was lovely and the smile she gave him told him that she thought the same of him.
    “You look handsome,” she said, not a touch of flirtation in her tone. Rebecca may have come to Dry Bayou to marry him, but since he’d made it clear that he didn’t want to marry a stranger, she’d been very good about remaining friendly without putting any added pressure on him. He appreciated that she’d given him space, especially over the last few days. All he could think about was being with the woman who wasn’t supposed to marry him.
    He smiled. “Thank you. You look lovely. Are you ready?” He offered his arm to escort her to the waiting surrey.
    *
    “I think I’m gonna be sick,” Ray mumbled as she watched Tilly through the reflection, pulling and tugging on her frizzy, malicious hair. “There’s no air in here and I know there’s no miracle you can work on my hair that’ll make it behave tonight.”
    Tilly smacked Ray on the shoulder, then pulled the hair pin from between her teeth where she’d put it to keep from losing it again. “You’re just nervous. I already told you that you put that corset on too tight. Leave a little room to breathe.”
    “If I can’t breathe, I can’t get up enough strength to run like a chicken when the time comes to tell Billy I love him.”
    Tilly tsked. “If you can’t breathe you can’t dance with him, either. And your hair will look lovely…once I get enough pins into it—there! Get up. Look at it now.”
    With a little help, Ray stood and moved to stand in front of the dressing mirror in the corner of Tilly’s