Logan Mason was a wealthy Texas ranch owner, who needed a wife, in order to accept a very prestigious job in Japan, teaching a rich Japanese man, how to turn his Japanese farm into a Texas style ranch. All Logan, needed was the right woman to be his short time wife. Without a wife Logan could not take the job. Ryder, his ranch manager, thought he had found the perfect wife for Logan the day Kate, showed up at the ranch, hot, tired and worn out. Kate was a young beautiful woman who had been raised in foster homes since she was four years old. She had decided she needed to makea big change in her life, so she decided to leave Atlanta, Georgia and go to Texas; even-though she didn't know anyone there.

Short Time Wife

By Las Chance

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Las Chance
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4634-3255-3

Chapter One

It was one of the hottest days of the summer and Kate had all of Atlanta she could stand. There was no reason for her to stick around anymore. She had been released out of the State Child Welfare Foster Care System for over two years.

Now, she saw no real future in waiting tables at the Red Lobster Restaurant. She had everything she owned in this world packed into her old Jeep Cherokee. It was fifteen years old, but it was cheap enough for her to buy at the time and it had been a good car, so far.

Kate wanted to go to Texas. She didn't know anyone there, but she just felt it had to be better than what she had now.

She had never been out of the city limits of Atlanta, Georgia before. This was her first trip and she was making it by herself.

Logan was reading the letter for the fifth time. "Boy, you just as well give up going on that trip, if you aren't married." "Ryder, I don't want to give up on going." "Boy, I've known you most of your life. I've only worked for two men in my life you and your father...." "Yes, but he had a wife." Logan said before Ryder could finish what he wanted to say. "Yes and so could you. There are a lot of pretty girls around here. All you need to do is go out there and find yourself one." "I really wish it was that easy Ryder, but I don't want a permanent wife. I just want one for my trip to Japan and when we get back here to Texas, I will just get myself a divorce. It's just that easy."

"What does the woman get out of the deal, other than the pleasure of being your short time wife?" Ryder thought the Boy sure didn't know much about women. "Well if that's not enough." Logan laughed. "I will pay her, one hundred thousand dollars for her time." "Now that should sweeten the deal." Ryder said as he just sat there. "You would think so, but I don't know one woman around here I would even consider as my short time wife. Ryder, I don't want some woman that I can't stand to be around now and then being forced to be nice to her for three whole months."

"Boy, just reading and rereading that letter will not change the terms of it." Logan was still sitting at his desk, trying to come up with some way around that one awful term. "You will need to be married, and your wife must accompany you to Japan." That meant, that he would have to be already married to any woman he took to Japan with him for the three months.

Logan would be there training Mr. Kumamoto in the art of running a Texas style ranch in Japan. For his trouble he would be making three million dollars, but was his freedom worth just three million dollars. That was something Logan was still trying to decide.

"Well, while you just sit there and sit there, I'm going out and check on the South end fence. If you decide to start ranching again, that is where you will find me." Ryder went out and got on his horse and rode away.

Logan decided, to read that letter just one more time. He needed to see if just by some marvelous happening the words would be changed and the word married, would be gone out of the letter altogether.

Logan had inherited his ranch from his father; his father had inherited it from his father and him from his. Logan had no one to inherit the ranch from him. He was an only child and both of his parents had perished in an airplane crash when Logan was only twelve years old.

Ryder and his wife Marie were not married then. Ryder had been working on the ranch for Logan's parents for quite some time, but Marie had only worked there for a few months as the cook before Logan's parent died in the plane crash. They both stayed working at the ranch and together they finished raising Logan. They did not get married until two years later.

After he had finished college, Logan came back to the place he loved most. He wanted to run the ranch he and his father loved so much, but he still had another dream he wanted to fulfill before settling down at his ranch forever.

He soon gave up on the idea of getting around the terms of the contract and then he went outside and got on his horse. He rode out in search of Ryder.

Logan's ranch stretched over thirty thousand acres. He had a nice home, the same house his grandfather and grandmother had lived in many years ago. Logan had updated every inch of it. It was a stunning two story seven thousand square foot home with a veranda running around the complete ground floor and the back and front of the second floor.

Ryder and his wife, Marie, lived on the ranch in a spacious seven room house, but they had no children of their own. Ryder was the ranch manager and Marie did all of the cooking for them and sometimes for a few of the others who would just drop by at meal time.

Logan did not do much socializing. He did not care for all of the phony people you have to put up with in most of the social circles. He did not really care what anyone thought about him. However most people did respect him because he was a very honest man, but he was no ones fool.

Logan just had three months before he was to be in Japan, and only one week to decide if he was going or not. That meant he needed a wife now, but who and how?

Logan was a tall six foot five and a half inch man with brown hair and hazel eyes and there was not one ounce of fat on his entire body. He was every woman's dream man.

Anyone of the single women and even a few of the married ones from around the state of Texas would like to have Logan Mason as a husband full time, part time or even short time, whichever way they could get him.

All day Logan and Ryder rode along the fence line checking the long fence to see if any repairs were needed to be done. "I've had it for today; we can start again tomorrow morning. I'm sure Buck and the others are back at the barn by now." Logan's mind was not on repairing fences. "Okay, you're the boss." Ryder said as he turned his horse back toward the ranch house. "Oh, now I'm the boss. That's not what you said when I wanted to turn my house into a party house." Logan had one of his young silly grins on his face. "No, I was the boss back then, you were only fifteen and your hormones were running wild." Both men laughed and rode back in the direction of the house.

Marie had dinner ready and waiting. "Mr. Logan, do you want tea or water? Logan and Ryder were washing their hands up at the kitchen sink. "Marie I will have some ice tea thank you." Logan answered. "Woman how about asking your husband what he wants." Ryder said as he dried his hands and walked over to the other side of the big kitchen. "Oh, I already know what my big handsome husband wants." "Oh, I see my glass of tea is already on the table." "Yes, I know my husband." Marie answered as she gave Ryder a big smile.

Logan had gotten to the table now and had taken his seat. "Marie, if you were not married already I would rent you and take you to Japan with me for a few months. So do you want to tell this old man of yours, you have something else to do other than to pour ice tea for him for the next few months?" "Now Boy, don't you go and try to steal my woman from me. She is all trained just for me." Marie turned her face up at her husband. "Oh, so I'm trained am I?" "Yes, and I have spent twenty years doing it, and no boy still wet behind the ears is going to steal my wife even if he calls it renting you."

After dinner Logan went back into his office in the barn and reread that letter one more time. If he only knew one woman he thought he could stand for...