title: The Rancher and Carrie Ann
author: MacFarlane, Stevie
description: I made a mistake, Carrie spat out.  I didn't mean to invite you all on the same night, and in fact, I'm not certain I did.  I'm sure one of you just showed up uninvited and it might have been you, she continued, glaring openly at Micah. Carrie Ann Meadows is a dreamer, a bit of a schemer, and the prettiest girl in Centerville. If she'd get her nose out of those damn dime novels now and then, she might realize that standing right in front of her is a flesh and blood man willing to do his best to turn her highly unlikely romantic notions into reality. It's not until Micah MacPherson stealthy purchases one of those books that he realizes he's a far cry from the kind of man his Carrie Ann is dreaming about. He's a rancher who has little time for courting a woman as it is. He doesn't own fancy cravats, he can't quote poetry, and he sure as hell isn't on some social registry for highfalutin fops and dandies. Micah loves Carrie Ann and he's waited for her to grown up, but his patience is nearly at its end.  She's either going to marry him, or he'll be pleased to give her what she so richly deserves and set his sights elsewhere.  Surely somewhere there's a woman who would appreciate a hard-working and devoted rancher with his eye on marriage.