Bride 'em Cowboy: Bride, Texas

By Twist Roberts

Twist Roberts is excited to present the 4th book in the Bride, Texas series, Bride 'em Cowboy

Bride, Texas is the perfect place for Emma's Two Cups Bakery. Along with being the best (and only) coffee shop in town, Emma's bakery caters to the women who come to Bride, Texas to get married. Business was booming, so she moved to a larger location and suddenly became overwhelmed by the need to pay the rent. Her last relationship failed because the bakery came first. She wouldn't make that mistake again. Now her only priority was Two Cups, and currently the bridezilla she was working with.

Bren Sterling runs the very successful Sterling Ranch, a cattle ranch turned wedding venue. He's in over his head with the renovations and the addition of the new hotel and bar. But as things settle down, and his sister is set to get married at the ranch, Bren starts considering giving up his bachelor status. But can he juggle a busy ranch, the wedding business, and a woman?

When two headstrong people cross paths, it will be a wild ride.

#1 Bride and Prejudice by Bonnie R. Paulson
#2 Unlucky Bride by Sylvia McDaniel
#3 Ticket to Bride by Liz Isaacson
#4 Bride 'em Cowboy by Twist Roberts
#5 Over My Wed Body by Veronica Blade
#6 Sleigh Bride by Neve Cottrell
#7 Bride for Hire by Debra Clopton

• Language: English
• Publisher: Novels & Coffee
• Release date: Oct 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386226970

Book preview

Prologue

The statue of Ellora Shepherd always reminded Emma of Little House on the Prairie . The bronze statue was the likeness of Ellora in a pioneer-like dress. The statue looked to be gazing into the distance, her expression serious. It made Emma think she was watching the horizon for her true love to arrive .

Next to the statue was a water fountain/wishing well. And even though Emma had no intention of marrying any time soon, she always tossed a coin in for good luck. Her theory was that you never know when the founder would bless you with the right man, and good karma couldn’t hurt.

Nancy Redd, the town matchmaker, was good at her job, and had brought a lot of business Emma’s way. Nancy was forever teasing Emma about setting her up with someone. Emma had no interest. The love of her life was taking all of her time. Even if that love happened to be a bakery.

From the window of the new location of Two Cups, Emma could see Ellora, and it often made her smile. She owned a cupcake bakery on Main Street in a town called Bride. She wasn’t sure life could get any better than this. At least not for now. Once she got her business back on solid ground, she might hit Nancy up for her services. Maybe.

1

Jody Peebles had been with Emma Smith long before she took the key from her landlord’s hand and opened the door to her bakery on the corner of Main Street in Bride, Texas. And Emma knew if Jody had to spend another hour in the same room with Brooke Sterling, she’d give her two-week notice. The tension in the room at the previous meeting nearly ended with scissors at Brooke’s throat .

Emma was used to Brooke, even if she hadn’t seen her in years. They’d been classmates in private schools since first grade. Two different Catholic schools in Austin: elementary and middle school at Holy Family, and high school at St. Gabriel’s. Brooke and Emma had been the outcasts. Emma was shy and awkward; Brooke tall and gawky, even in first grade. She was the girl who got made fun of, and Emma was the girl no one noticed. They were the perfect pair to become friends.

Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you? Jody asked as she packed the last of the samples in the travel container.

Normally, Two Cups Bakery brides-to-be stopped in at the bakery for cupcake tasting. Two Cups was only four miles from the wedding venue, yet actress Brooke Sterling couldn’t be bothered to make the trip after their original meeting. She insisted Emma and her staff meet her at the ranch.

Sterling Ranch was the premiere wedding venue in Bride, Texas. And being a wedding venue in a town named Bride was a big deal. Sterling Ranch hosted some of the biggest weddings in Texas. It wasn’t unheard of for players from the Dallas Mavericks, Cowboys, and Texas Rangers to marry their brides there.

In most cases, Emma insisted the bride reschedule, as Two Cups was a busy bakery and coffee house and she didn’t have time to make house calls, but since she’d moved the bakery into the new location, she needed the money.

It was a high rent location, and she also had to pay her apartment rent. It was nice to live right over the bakery, and yet she felt as if she never got away from work. Her neighbors loved to complain about the aromas. And they constantly commented on how she should be providing free cupcakes, because she was teasing and tempting them. Oh, well. She did stop by their apartments once in a while with leftovers, but she tried not to make it a habit. Couldn’t have the neighborhood expecting free cupcakes and coffee, or she’d never make a profit.

And she had to make a profit. She’d bet the farm on expanding her store. Literally. Her parents had taken out a second mortgage on their ranch to help Emma pay for bigger and better equipment, and a new commercial espresso machine that could handle the bigger volume. She’d never do anything to jeopardize paying them back.

Emma had no idea relocating her coffee shop and bakery to Main Street would be such a taxing endeavor. Her lease said, build to suit and that included a hefty monthly lease payment.

She hadn’t yet had the nerve to ask Sterling Ranch to offer her wedding cupcake services to people booking the venue. Not that there weren’t other places that performed weddings in the town. The town was called Bride, after all.

Brooke’s wedding would be the social event of the season, even though it wasn’t being held during wedding season. She wanted to get married right after the Austin Film Festival. She wanted all of her Hollywood friends to be in town and not to have to fly in from wherever just for the wedding. Not that they couldn’t afford it; she just didn’t want to inconvenience them. Apparently, she’d gone to great lengths to schedule the perfect date that worked for her besties, and come hell or high water, it would work out.

Emma was thrilled to be chosen to make the wedding cake for the event, even if no one would eat more than a bite. Maybe that’s why Brooke decided she wanted cupcakes. That way everyone could grab a cupcake, take a bite, and toss the rest in the garbage. It would look like everyone had eaten. Hollywood types and their diets. The problem was that instead of coming to Two Cups, she expected Two Cups to come to her.

Brooke was different than when Emma knew her in high school, but weren’t they all? They’d grown up and moved on to become adults in their own unique ways. Some struggled and had to prove themselves, others got discovered, but all of the tragedies of childhood melted into the background.

Other than the first meeting when Brooke came to the bakery, she had Emma traipsing all over Austin and Bride, as if her wedding was their only job. It had been four meetings so far, and Brooke hadn’t even gotten to the cake tasting. Emma had brought photo albums of patterns and designs, samples of colors, and even different tier designs. It had taken forever for Brooke to decide between a cake or cupcakes, and another eternity for her to decide how she wanted the cupcakes displayed.

Can you finish up for the York’s birthday party? Their nanny will be coming by at seven to pick up the boxes. Carol said she’d be here by six to help you pack them up. Emma tucked everything neatly in place to haul out to her car.

Pedro is in the back mixing the icing now. We’ve got it under control. Carol can go with you. And I promise I’ll stay away from the scissors. Jody gave Emma a sideways grin.

Help me get these in the car. Then I need you to keep things running smoothly here. I think tonight will be worse, because it’s at the ranch, and everyone will be vying for Brooke’s attention.

I thought she had a half-hour carved out for just you? Jody’s perfectly brushed brows furrowed as she pulled at her bright red pixie cut.

See? Emma pointed to her bad habit of pulling at her hair. That is why I’m going it alone. You are wonderful in the kitchen. I’m the genius with the clients.

Emma pushed open the back door, and the chill of the October afternoon took her breath away. She wanted to hug her coat closer, but her hands were full of sample boxes.

Right, Miss Congeniality herself. The one who told the customer to exit the building quickly before she called the attitude police. Jody had to remind her of her indiscretion. Besides, I’m the best coffee counter person in the entire town.

Emma ignored her. Just because she refused to put up with rude customers in her store didn’t mean she couldn’t put aside feelings for a huge client that would bring big publicity, and hopefully lots of business.

Emma scooted into the car, and Jody put the last box in the back seat. Before she shut the door, Emma said, Wash your hands before you go back to work.

She watched Jody shake her head as she pulled the door to Two Cups open and disappeared.

Sterling Ranch, here I come, Emma said to herself. Ugh.

That was exactly how she felt at the moment. The evening had dread written all over it, in white icing.

When she arrived at the ranch, she stopped at the gate so the security guard could check her I.D. before allowing her to pass.

Sterling Ranch was a boutique venue that had once been a full-fledged cattle ranch. They had longhorns in the back forty and gorgeous horses in the front pastures. Emma kept telling herself, she’d get her business to the point where she wasn’t worried about money, then take time to worry about herself, go horseback riding, and maybe start a relationship again. Her last relationship had failed due to the demands of the bakery.

She’d tried to make Derek feel like he was her number one priority, but he wasn’t. Plain and simple, he was Mr. Right Now, not Mr. Right. She wasn’t going to let her business suffer because he wanted more time and attention. She was flabbergasted that a man could be so jealous of a business. She may as well have been cheating on him, the way he talked about the bakery.

Kicked that one to the curb, though she let him think it was his idea. He dumped her. What a freaking relief that was. Now she didn’t have to listen to his voicemails or look at text messages. He was done with her. Hallelujah.

There had to be a good guy who understood her need to be successful. A guy who understood that not every job is nine to five, Monday through Friday.

Was she really longing for a guy? Maybe Brooke’s wedding had her more stressed than she realized. And maybe planning the cake for one of her high school friends made her realize time was passing by in a hurry.

As she drove up to the security gate at Sterling Ranch, she rolled down her window. I have a meeting with Brooke Sterling.

A slight smile crossed his face. To the other man at the gate, he said, Ray, I’ll be right back.

Wordlessly, the man dressed in the black suit with the silver name tag, which she couldn’t read, pointed to a golf cart on the side of the guard shack and said, Follow me.

The Sterling Ranch had been completely renovated and had reopened a few years before Emma had moved to Bride. This was the first time she’d had the chance to see the ranch, since she didn’t normally meet outside of the bakery, and she had a crew who delivered and set up the cakes the day of a wedding. Sterling Ranch had recently added new barns and wedding ceremony venues, too. The rumors had been that the cattle business wasn’t what it used to be, and Ralph Sterling had turned the ranch into a wedding ranch to avoid bankruptcy. After a serious illness, Ralph moved to town, and Brooke’s brother, Bren, took over the ranch.

Bren was Brooke’s older brother, so it was special that she’d be married at the ranch. Especially since she’d been estranged from her father for so many years. Emma remembered how furious Ralph had been when Brooke said she was moving to California. No college, just an acting career. Something told her that Sterling Ranch wasn’t going under any time soon. Brooke’s family had been in the cattle business for generations, and they’d been smart enough to adapt. A struggling cattle ranch didn’t send their kids to private schools with boarding and nannies.

And adapt they did. Bren had been smart to add a bar and small hotel on the east side of the ranch. She’d heard the hotel was single story and had twenty suites.

She followed the security cart past the hotel, then they went another three hundred feet or so before they stopped in front of a huge barn. At the entrance, there was a long pergola with strings of lights overhead and immaculately trimmed topiary bushes at all of the corners.

The security guard parked his cart and pointed to the other side of the pergola where