THE COWGIRL OUTSHOT EVERY MAN AT THE FALL CONTEST — THE COWBOY WATCHING FELL FOR HER ON THE SPOT
Chapter 10
Their wedding was held in October.
The same month Emma had first entered the Fall Shooting Contest.
The ranch was decorated with hay bales, wildflowers, lanterns, and wooden tables.
There were no extravagant decorations.
No luxury venue.
No celebrity guests.
Just family, friends, ranch workers, neighbors, and nearly everyone who had watched Emma fight for the land.
Emma wore a simple ivory dress.
Her father’s old silver belt buckle was attached around her waist.
Cole wore a dark suit with his grandfather’s cowboy boots.
Before the ceremony, Emma stood alone in the barn.
Her mother approached.
“You ready?”
Emma smiled.
“I think so.”
Her mother touched the silver buckle.
“Your father would have loved this.”
Emma swallowed.
“I wish he were here.”
“He is.”
Emma looked at her.
“In the land.”
Her mother smiled.
“In you.”
Outside, music began.
Emma walked toward Cole.
He looked nervous.
She laughed.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m about to marry the woman who beat me in front of three hundred people.”
She smiled.
“Still embarrassed?”
“Never.”
The ceremony was short.
Simple.
Beautiful.
When they exchanged vows, Cole said:
“I don’t promise to make your life easy.”
Emma smiled.
“I know.”
“I promise to stand beside you when it isn’t.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
Then Emma said:
“I don’t promise I’ll let you help me.”
Everyone laughed.
Cole laughed too.
“But I promise I’ll remember that I don’t have to do everything alone.”
He squeezed her hand.
“And I promise to love you for as long as this land holds us.”
They kissed.
The crowd cheered.
That evening, after everyone had left, Emma and Cole sat beneath the stars.
The ranch was quiet.
“Mrs. Tanner.”
She looked at him.
“That sounds strange.”
“Good strange?”
“Very.”
He smiled.
She rested her head against his shoulder.
“You know what I remember most about that contest?”
“What?”
“The first shot.”
“Why?”
“Because I heard the crowd laughing.”
Cole frowned.
“They laughed at you?”
“Some did.”
“Why?”
“Because they thought I couldn’t compete.”
He looked at her.
“And now?”
She smiled.
“Now I don’t care.”
“Why?”
“Because I learned something.”
“What?”
“You don’t have to prove yourself to people who have already decided you’re not enough.”
Cole kissed her forehead.
“That’s a good lesson.”
She looked toward the fields.
“My father taught me that.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“I think I taught myself.”
Cole nodded.
“Even better.”
A distant coyote called.
The wind moved across the grass.
Emma closed her eyes.
She had survived grief.
Debt.
Fear.
Threats.
Betrayal.
And she had found love without asking for it.
But the story of the Carter ranch wasn’t finished.
Because the following spring, something unexpected happened.
A drought hit the county.
Water became scarce.
Farmers began losing crops.
The cooperative Emma had created suddenly became the most important resource in Mercy Creek.
And once again, everyone would be watching her.
