Kayla & the Rancher
By
Paige Tyler
Kayla & the Rancher
By Paige Tyler
Published by ABCD Webmasters
Copyright 2005
by ABCD Webmasters & Paige Tyler
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form without written permission from the copyright owner(s)
For more books by Paige Tyler & the best spanking fiction on the Net, visit: http://www.HerWoodshed.com
Chapter One
Kayla Mathison would have done anything to escape her life back in New
York. Anything included traveling cross-country, in a cramped, uncomfortable stagecoach in the blistering heat to a city she didn’t know. At the moment, she and another girl, who looked to be about her age, were the stage’s only
occupants. Before that, they’d been joined by an elderly woman traveling with her granddaughter, a portly businessman, and a sour-faced old man who did
nothing but complain about what the rough ride was doing to his behind.
Kayla didn’t give the other travelers too much of her attention, however,
preferring to concentrate on the sketchpad she kept balanced on her lap. Not only did her drawings keep her from having to make polite conversation with the other travelers, but they also kept her from dwel ing on the reason she was running away in the first place. Every once in a while, one of the other passengers would look over at the sketches she was doing of dress designs
and make a comment, but she’d merely smile and disengage herself from the
conversation as quickly as possible.
At twenty years of age, Kayla’s father had decided it was high time that she got married. It seemed that he thought her willful, independent ways were
going to get her into trouble. And he didn’t want to marry her to just anyone, of course, but to William Delmont. Which probably wouldn’t have bothered her so much if the man wasn’t marrying her simply to get half of her father’s
company. Though that wasn’t William’s fault, she supposed, since it was her father who had bribed William and made it a package deal. Kayla had never
been so insulted - or outraged - in her entire life. She couldn’t decide what enraged her more. The thought that her father felt he had the right to decide whom she married, or that he felt it would take half his company to get
someone to marry her.
Kayla had pleaded with her father, but it hadn’t mattered. He was determined to see her married, and would hear none of it. So, with a small suitcase, her drawing materials, and what she thought would be enough money in hand,
Kayla left home to head west to San Francisco where she would become a
seamstress. She could sew, and she knew that her designs were pretty good.
She’d always dreamed of one day becoming a clothing designer in New York,
maybe even Paris. But her father had changed all of that, so she would have to be a designer in San Francisco instead. However, she’d gone through her money faster than she’d thought she would, and she still had a few weeks of travel left.
“Those drawings are beautiful.”
Kayla lifted her head to look at the girl sitting across from her. Slightly plump, she had a rounded, freckled face and curly carrot-red hair that she wore back in a bun at the nape of her neck. She gave Kayla a shy smile.
“I didn’t mean to be so nosy,” she hastily apologized before Kayla could
answer. “It’s just that you’re so talented. I can’t seem to draw a straight line myself.”
Kayla smiled. “Straight lines are highly overrated, anyway.”
The other girl laughed. “I’m Abigail, by the way.”
“I’m Kayla.” She turned her attention back to the sketchbook on her lap,
hoping to put an end to the conversation, but the other girl didn’t take the hint.
“Are you going to Copper Creek, too?”
Kayla had never heard of Copper Creek, but it didn’t sound like a place she’d want to visit. She shook her head. “No, I’m going to San Francisco.”
Abigail’s eyes lit up. “How exciting!” she exclaimed. “And how brave of you.
I’d be terrified at the thought of going so far.” She frowned as if considering something. “Actually, I’m terrified at the thought of going to Copper Creek.”
She gave Kayla a small smile. “I agreed to be a mail-order bride, you see, but I don’t think I can go through with it.”
Kayla’s brow furrowed. She’d seen the advertisements placed by men who
were looking for wives, but she’d never actually known a woman who had
responded to any of them. Perhaps she should have considered becoming a
mail-order bride herself, she thought wryly. It certainly couldn’t be any worse than marrying William Delmont.
Across from her, Abigail was telling her about the stranger that she’d left her home in Boston for. “His name’s Cord Holderness and he owns a cattle ranch outside of Copper Creek. It’s positively huge, at least as big as the city of Boston. And he has all these cattle and horses and lots of people working for him. But he’s not all about the money. He sounds so nice in his letters, just like the cowboys that you read about in the dime-store novels. A true
gentleman.” She laughed, blushing. “I never told anyone this before, but I’ve always been fascinated by cowboys. In the books, they’re always so big and strong and handsome and gentlemanly...” A dreamy expression came onto
her face, but it faded after a moment. “But the men that I’ve met since coming out here aren’t at all like they are in the books. They’re rough and unmannerly and not at all what I imagined. Most of them actually smell.”
Kayla couldn’t help but smile. She’d met a few of those men herself on this trip. “And you’re afraid that this Cord Holderness is going to be like that, too.”
Abigail nodded. “Yes...no...” She sighed, slumping back in the seat. “I
