Authors Notes: This is my first Fanfiction so don't be to hard on me but tell me what you think. Flames are welcome
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the Characters.
Summary: When single mother Kagome Higarushi discovered hat her abusive ex-husband was being released from prison, she knew she needed live-in protection at her ranch. And since hiring a bodyguard would only scare her young daughter, Kagome decided to hire a husband-a big, brawny husband-who had more muscles than questions...
All cowboy Inuyasha Takahashi had to do to own a piece of Texas was say "I do" and live with a pretty woman and her cute kid. He didn't have to love his instant family, and since Inuyasha was incapable of that, anyway, he thought he'd gotten one heck of a hassle-free deal. At least until the truth came out...
Chapter One
Kagome Higarushi had been secretly observing Inuyasha Takahashi throughout the Christmas pageant. So she saw the moment when his jaw tightened, when he closed his eyes and clenched his fists as though he were in pain. A bright sheen of tears glistened along his dark lashes. Moments later he rose from the back pew in which he sat and quietly, almost surreptitiously, left the church.
For a moment Kagome wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to leave because her daughter, Sakura, hadn't performed her part as an angel in the pageant. Sakura was an angel, Kagome thought with a swell of maternal pride. But it was because of her five-year-old daughter that she needed Inuyasha Takahashi's help. Kagome had to speak privately with her cowboy, and she wasn't sure if she would get another chance like this one.
According to his grandmother, Keade Takahashi, Inuyasha had come to Wyoming from Texas looking for someplace to settle down. What if Inuyasha moved before she had a chance to make the offer to him? What if he decided to leave town tonight? Without giving herself more chance for thought, Kagome rose and headed for the nearest exit. She made a detour to grab her coat and scarf to protect her form the frigid Wyoming weather.
Kagome was alarmed when she stepped outside to discover her quarry had disappeared into the night, hidden by the steady, gentle snow fall. She frantically searched the church parking lot, running through the fluffy snow in the direction his footprints led, afraid he would get away before she could make her proposition known to him.
She cried out in alarm when a tall, intimidating figure suddenly stepped from behind a pickup. She automatically put up a hand as though to ward off a blow. There was a moment of awful tension while she waited for the first lash of pain. In another instant she realized how foolish she had been.
She had found Inuyasha Takahashi. Or rather, he had found her.
"Are you all right?"
She heard the concern in his voice, yet when he reached out to touch her she took a reflexive step backward. It took all her courage to stand her ground. She had to get a hold of herself. Her safety and Sakura's depended on what she did now.
Disconcerted by the growing scowl on Inuyasha's face, she lowered her arm and threaded her fingers tightly together. "I'm fine," she murmured.
"Why did you follow me?" he demanded in a brusque voice.
"I…" Kagome couldn't get anything more past the sudden tightness in her thoart. The cowboy looked sinister wrapped in a shearling coat with his Stetson pulled down low to keep out the bitter cold. He towered over her, and she had second thoughts about speaking her mind.
But she had no choice. It was two weeks until Christmas. She had to have a husband by the new year, and this cowboy from Texas was the most likely candidate she had found. She examined Inuyasha closely in the stream of light glowing from the church steeple.
From the looks of his scuffed boots and ragged jeans, life hadn't been to kind to him. His face was as weathered as the rest of him. He had wide-set, distrustful golden eyes and a hawkish nose. His chin jutted-with arrogance or stubbornness, she wasn't sure which. From having seen is in church, she knew his hair was a rich, wavy silver. He had full lips, but right now they were flattened in irritation. Nonetheless, he was a handsome man. More good-looking than she deserved.
"Look lady, if you've got something to say, spit it out."
Kagome responded to the harsh voice with a shiver that she chose to blame on the cold. Plainly the cowboy wasn't going to stand there much longer. It was now or never.
Kagome spoke quickly, her breath creating a cloud of white around her. "My name is Kagome Higarushi. I know from having spoken to your grandmother before the pageant this evening that you're for a place to set down some roots."
His scowl became a frown, but she hurried on without stopping. "I have a proposition to make to you."
