Married In Montana (At The Altar Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

She hadn't slept well the night before, because she was so nervous about marrying a stranger.  It was amazing that she wasn't more nervous now than she had been.  He calmed her, though. 
    "Well, now that I know what your best friend does for a living, want to tell me what you do?" she asked with a grin.
    He laughed.  "I guess that's something you might want to know."  He saw the look on the taxi driver's face in the review mirror, letting him know the other man was listening to their conversation.  "I'm a rancher."
    "Oh, that's cool.  I've never known a cattle rancher."
    He shook his head.  "Actually it's bison."
    "Bison?  You mean like buffalo?"
    He nodded.  "Did you know bison are the only cattle indigenous to the United States?  They're meant to be grown here, so they don't need the kind of vaccinations beef cattle need, and they tend to do better in the extreme weather that's part of the Montana winter.  It really makes a lot of sense."  There was so much information that just wanted to pour out of his mouth when he started talking about bison, but he wouldn't overwhelm her just yet.
    "I don't think I've ever eaten bison," Savannah told him.  "Does it taste like chicken?"
    He laughed.  "No, that's rabbit, but I eat that too.  Bison is like a sweet beef.  It's leaner than beef, so it's better for you."  He shrugged.  "I could eat it three meals a day."
    She looked at him, smiling.  He was obviously very happy to talk about his work.  "What made you decide to ranch bison instead of cattle?"
    "When I was a boy, my dad was always researching the possibility.  He started the process of switching over when I was thirteen.  We started with twelve bison.  That was twenty years ago.  As the bison herd grew, we sold off more and more of the cattle.  I have two milk cows left, and they require more veterinary visits than the entire herd of buffalo."
    "Where are you parents now?"
    He frowned.  "They were killed by a drunk driver six years ago when I was twenty-seven."
    "I'm sorry."
    "We were close."  He squeezed the hand that had immediately gone to his.  "What about your father?"
    "Heart disease.  It's just been Mom and me for a long time."
    "Is she going to be okay without you around?"
    Savannah nodded emphatically.  "It's going to be good for her.  There's this sweet man who goes to our church who has been in love with her for as long as I can remember.  I think she'll look at him with me gone."  Part of the reason she'd wanted to leave was so her mother would start living her own life.
    "She was too worried about you to think about herself?"
    "Yes.  She's a good mom.  I thought she would start living again when I started college.  And then when I finished college and started teaching.  Nope.  It was always about me."  She shook her head.  "Sometimes I feel like I ruined her life, but I know it wasn't my fault."
    Scott turned to face her on the seat.  "I think it's great that you two were that close.  It shows me family is very important to you."  He reached out his hand and stroked her cheek with his finger.  "I wasn't expecting someone as pretty as you."  His voice got deeper with the compliment.
    Savannah blushed.  "You weren't?"
    He shook his head.  "I guess I thought that anyone who had to go to a matchmaker in a big city would be a little less attractive."  He hated admitting what his thoughts had been to the beautiful girl sitting beside him.
    She shrugged.  "Well, I've done some dating, but none of the men I knew were interested in settling down.  They just—"  She blushed.  "They just wanted sex.  I didn't.  So it didn't go well."
    Scott couldn't be disappointed that she hadn't wanted to sleep around.  "That makes sense."
    "You won't mind if I work, will you?  I'll have to research the laws for teachers in Montana, but I do want to work at least for a while."
    Scott frowned.  "I hadn't really thought about you working.  I guess I don't mind.  What do you