Bet You'll Marry Me Read Free

still there.”
    â€œIf there was a gold mine hidden at Windy Meadows, I would know about it. I’ve covered every inch of that land and I—”
    Right before the barn fire took her father’s life, he’d dug five holes on the far side of the property, toward the eastern border. He’d said he wanted to plant trees. Trees he never bought. Did her father know what was in her great-great-grandfather’s journals? If he believed a gold mine was on the property, wouldn’t he tell her?
    â€œIs that why everyone wants to marry me?” Jenny demanded. “To get the gold?”
    What had she been expecting, that one of the men actually held feelings for her? Secretly loved her? Of course they didn’t love her. They barely knew her.
    She’d kept her distance from most boys since Ted Andrews stuffed a lizard down her jacket back in grade school. From that day on, she’d realized the male gender couldn’t be trusted. And the one man she’d thought had been different had only reinforced her opinion when he slept with Irene Johnson on their wedding day. Nope, the only men she could count on were her daddy, God rest his soul, and her uncle Harry and cousin Patrick. Family.
    She knew better than to let her emotions take hold of her, but she couldn’t help it. If there was one thing she couldn’t stand, it was deception.
    â€œYou’re despicable. All of you. Anyone with any decency at all would loan me the money I need to save my land. But no. Here you are placing bets. And why? Because you believe there’s a stupid gold mine on my property.” Her whole body shook with rage. Fire burned through every pore of her skin. “If you want something to believe, believe this—there isn’t any man here who can get me to marry!”
    A tall, dark-haired man she had never seen before emerged from the crowd and slammed a green check down on the table beside her.
    â€œTen thousand dollars says you’ll change your mind.”
    Jenny stared up at him. He topped her by at least six inches. Then she glanced down at the numbers scrawled on the check. A wave of openmouthed gasps rounded the room, followed by a single resounding, drawn-out whistle.
    â€œWhat?” she demanded. Was this a joke?
    â€œTen thousand dollars says that within five weeks you’ll marry me .” Pushing back the brim of his black Stetson, he looked into her eyes with an expression of pure confidence.
    â€œYou—you must be out of your mind.”
    â€œI’ve never been more serious.”
    â€œSo if I don’t marry you, and I win,” she said, flustered by the way his silver-gray eyes studied her, “I get your ten thousand.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œAnd if you win . . . ?”
    â€œI get you.”
    Her body lurched with an involuntary start, and she struggled to regain her composure. “What’s your name?”
    â€œChandler,” he said, never taking his eyes off her. “Nick Chandler.”
    â€œYou’re on.”
    She accepted his challenge with outward calm, but her stomach twisted into a lasso of knots as Pete laid out the rules.
    â€œThe bet ends Saturday, July thirteenth, at one o’clock in the afternoon. Winner takes home the check. Agreed?”
    Jenny hesitated. “Thirteen is an unlucky number.”
    â€œNot for me,” said the man by her side.
    Jenny locked eyes with the dark-haired stranger. “Even if you were the most charming man on the face of the earth, there’s no way I’d ever agree to marry anyone in just five weeks.”
    â€œSometimes,” Chandler said, arching his brow, “five weeks can seem like a lifetime.”
    Jenny knew she wouldn’t be able to keep up her bravado much longer. She needed to run away. Fast.
    She turned to leave, but a hand on her shoulder spun her around, and she found herself pressed up against her newly acquired opponent instead.
    Her first