Seth's Secret: Cowboys of Cauldron Valley, #8

By Caroline Lee

Simple cowboy by day, masked country music sensation by night, Seth Maestro lives a double life. He doesn't want the trouble which will come from stardom, so he's very, very careful to keep his two lives separate.

But then he meets Aria Weston, and knows from the first moment he learns her name that they'll end up married. How could an aria and a maestro not be together?

But Aria has been hurt by lying men before, and is very clear how much she values honesty. Sure, the charming, gentlemanly cowboy she's falling for is wonderful, but she knows Seth is keeping a secret. And she can't be with a man who isn't honest with her, no matter how much she might love him.

Seth's entire world is at risk if he tells her the truth…but how could he not?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Caroline Lee
• Release date: Jul 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393238515

Book preview

Chapter 1

T hank you all for coming to celebrate with us tonight! The old man stood, his pig at his side, with his glass of lemonade raised high. Now, some of you might be wondering just why we keep having these barbecues like this, but I gotta be honest; we’re running out of space in the house.

The gathered crowd—half of whom were related to Old Man Cauldron—chuckled.

Yessirree, since my grandsons finally got around to getting themselves hitched, we’re going to start seeing yet another generation of Cauldrons around these parts, and that makes me happier than I can say.

At the reference to more Cauldrons, Seth Maestro saw more than one set of fingers twitch toward the air.

He hadn’t been raised in Cauldron Valley, but when he’d arrived here from Texas about ten years ago, he’d been right shocked to learn about some of the crazy superstitions the folks around these parts harbored.

Like the number fifteen being unlucky, when any fool knew it was the number thirteen.

Or throwing pepper over your shoulder to ward off bad luck, or searching out black cats to pet, or shoving a pickle up your nose on the fourth full moon of the year—bonus points if you convinced someone to eat it after.

But one of the strangest was the way the folks who’d been born and raised in Cauldron Valley felt about the Cauldrons themselves. They licked their fingers and shoved them into the air to ward off bad luck whenever one of Old Man Cauldron’s grandsons was mentioned. Those grandsons were two sets of triplets, and Seth had never quite figured out if they thought the men themselves were bad luck, or if it was because they were triplets.

Seth’s best friend Blake might’ve worked for the Cauldrons, but he’d been raised in the area, and still did the stupid finger-licking thing occasionally. When Seth glared at the man, Blake had the good sense to scowl and shove his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. Sorry, he mumbled.

Up by the buffet table, Old Man Cauldron was still going on about his coming great-grandkids, and how happy he was with life at that moment.

Anyhow, our Sunday evening dinners are getting mighty cramped. Oh, sometimes it’s nice to have just family, but thanks to Griselda here—the widower grinned at his elderly housekeeper, who blushed and patted her hair and somehow managed to avoid tripping and falling, which was miraculous—we’re going to do more of these bashes, so keep your eating trousers handy!

The gathered crowd—everyone who wasn’t related to the Cauldrons worked for them—burst into cheers and here, here! as they toasted the man with cans and glasses of Miss Tessa’s lemonade. She was married to Bob Cauldron, one of the triplets who worked most closely with Seth’s boss Jim, and made some mighty fine lemonade.

Around him, groups settled into laughing and chatting again.

Seth sipped at his lemonade and settled back on his heels, glancing around. It sure was nice to have a chance to just relax, even if he worked with most of these guys regularly.

Someone somewhere had plugged in a speaker, and the familiar opening sounds of a country song began.

Seth hid his wince behind his cup.

Hey, isn’t this one of your songs?

Blake’s question was too loud, and Seth hissed at him.

Shut up! You want everyone to hear you?

But his best friend just shook his head wryly. I still don’t see why you don’t want people to know, buddy. If I were you, I’d be shouting it from the rooftops. You’re a success.

I’m happy here, and don’t have any intention of leaving Cauldron Valley. Seth’s mom lived in town, now that Dad was gone, and he had a good life. If people knew where I lived, they might get…well, funny about things.

Blake nodded. He’d been there with Seth when the fan letters started rolling in. There was a reason his website didn’t show much of his face, and a reason the few times he performed, he wore a mask.

Most people just thought it was a gimmick—Masked Country Singer Steals Show, as the headlines had said—and it hadn’t hurt his online sales.

But frankly, he was just happy to be making music.

Aaron McGovern! Has anyone seen Aaron McGovern?

Both men turned to see Griselda, looking irritated, searching through the crowd. She stopped and pierced them with a glare.

"You work with him, Seth Maestro…have you seen him?"

Aaron? Seth shook his head. No ma’am. I mean, I saw him earlier, but not sure where he ran off to. Try asking Rhodey—I saw them chatting earlier.

The housekeeper blew out an exasperated breath. Well, when you see him, send him over to the dessert table. There’s a red cupcake there with his name on it.

Blake stepped forward eagerly. I’ll eat it for him, ma’am! Your cupcakes are legendary.

She waggled a finger at him. No, sirree. Your time will come, mister, and that’s a fact. You can come on over and have as many of the blue-frosted cupcakes as you want, though.

Blake grinned unrepentantly. "As many as I want? I have a mighty big sweet tooth, ma’am."

No more than six.

Seth watched his friend wink. "That’s not as many as I want."

The old woman flicked her fingers dismissively as she turned away, still looking for her quarry. "Then you come help me make them next time, young man!"

Blake was chuckling as she hurried off, hollering Aaron’s name. And maybe Seth would’ve joined in, but at that moment, he saw something which shut him right up.

"Who is that?" he breathed.

On the other side of the yard, a group of women were hugging one another, obviously sharing greetings and catching up. The blonde with the short hair was on the arm of Wyatt Cauldron, and he recognized her as Wyatt’s new wife. The other two looked like they could be her sisters.

Who is what? Blake asked. The blonde? That’s Artie Cauldron, Wyatt’s wife. She’s cool.

Blake was Wyatt’s right-hand man at the racetrack, so it made sense he’d know Artie.

But Seth wasn’t looking at Artie.

No, it was the woman next to her, the one wearing two long blonde braids and a cute little green sundress, that Seth couldn’t take his gaze from.

She was stunning.

And then she turned, a smile on her face, and caught him staring at her.

She had pale blue eyes, and Seth fell a little bit in love.

Seth? Buddy?

Not Artie, Seth whispered. The one— The one who looked like a melody come to life. Like an aria, sung by the sweetest soprano. The one he wanted to compose songs for.

There was already a tune running through his head.

Light, and airy, and cheerful. Just like he knew she would be, in that sweet little sundress and smile.

The one who just blushed and turned around, because you’re staring at her like some kind of creep?

Yeah, Seth managed, his voice coming out all strangled. That one.

I dunno. Blake was smiling—Seth could hear it in his voice, even if he couldn’t tear his eyes from the vision in front of him—as he called over his boss. Hey, Wyatt!

Seth shook his head and lifted his cup to hide his flush. Blake’s boss was headed this way, and bringing his cousin Jim.

Hey, Wyatt, you gonna bring Artie over here? Blake asked in that drawl of his.

His boss looked confused. Why? You need her for some reason?

Nah, I just want her to introduce us to her family. Those are her sisters, huh?

Jim peered at Blake. Why? You interested in any of them?

Well, maybe. Blake grinned. Now that you two went and married the prettiest girls in the county, the rest of us have to scramble to find someone to date.

That was a load of bull if Seth had ever heard one. Not the fact that Artie and Joy, Jim’s wife, weren’t pretty—although not nearly as pretty as the one with the braids, if Seth told the truth—but the fact that Blake had to scramble. If ever there were a man less likely to marry, because he was having too much fun dating around, it was Blake.

But he was a charmer, alright, and the other men bought it. "Well, I wouldn’t say the prettiest," Wyatt hedged.

I would! Jim blurted. I still can’t believe Joy agreed to be my bride, and I’ll step outside with any man who says she’s not the most beautiful woman in creation.

When Blake’s grin grew, Seth nearly groaned out loud. He knew what was coming.

"We are outside, Jim."

Seth’s boss glared. "Well, we can step further outside."

While Wyatt chuckled, Blake held up his hands, palms out. "I don’t aim to fight you, Jim. But Seth might."

When Jim turned an incredulous expression his way, Seth swallowed, his gaze darting to the group of women who were still chatting. He understood his boss’s confusion; Seth had to be the most mild-mannered man on the whole ranch.

But the way that blonde had him feeling—his