The Reluctant Bride Read online

  “What kind of person do you think I am? No decent woman could hate her own child.”

  “I don’t yet know what kind of woman you are,” Russ said, “but I believe you’re honest and willing to keep your promises. But any woman who fulfills her wifely duties to her husband knows there’s the possibility of having children, no matter how careful they might be. Life never goes exactly as we plan. I wanted to know what you’d do if your plans got all messed up.”

  “The best I could,” Tanzy said. “That’s all I can promise.”

  That’s all anyone can expect.” Russ looked around, realized the staff was waiting to close up the restaurant. “Wed better go.”

  “Where are you staying?”

  “At the boardinghouse.”

  “Has Stocker forced the folks there to hate you, too?”

  “They don’t care who sleeps in their beds as long as they get paid ahead of time.” They had reached the lobby. “I have to go back to the ranch tomorrow, but I’ll be back. If something should happen to keep me there past dinner, don’t worry. It’s a long ride and all kinds of things can hold me up.”

  “Like what?”

  This is basically wild country. There wasn’t much of anybody out here until gold was discovered just before the war. The cattle we run are wild, the horses we ride were born mustangs, and the mountains are filled with bears, wolves, and cougars.”

  Tanzy shivered. “I didn’t realize.”

  “The land itself is mountainous, not suited for people. If a man falls off his horse, he faces a long walk home, sometimes more than one day.”

  “Are you trying to tell me I could easily become a widow?”

  “I’m trying to say we get where we’re supposed to be, but sometimes we’re a bit late.” He took some coins from his pocket. “You’ll need to buy some clothes. You’ll freeze to death in that thin dress come the first snow.”

  “We have snow in Kentucky.”

  “Do you get drifts over twenty feet high and temperatures twenty degrees below zero?”

  “Okay, I’ll look for something warm,” she said, taking the money. There was an awkward moment; neither was quite sure how to end the evening. Finally Russ thrust his hand forward. “It was nice to meet you. I’m looking forward to getting to know more about you.”

  Tanzy returned his handshake.

  “Now I’d better be going. I don’t want some miner to steal my bed.”

  But Russ didn’t leave because he was worried about his bed. He ran away because he was confused about his reaction to Tanzy.

  He wasn’t too worried about her not wanting children. It would take some careful persuading, but he could make her understand he wasn’t feuding with Stocker. What bothered him was the fact that he was considering using careful persuasion to talk his wife into anything. He believed a good woman should be guided in everything by her husband. As long as he wasn’t weak, cruel, or abusive, she should never question his judgment. So why was he even considering carefully persuading Tanzy?

  He’d just met her today. How could he be attracted to her so soon? He didn’t believe in love and didn’t want it. It had made his mother, his sister, even his stepfather weak, vulnerable, unable to withstand the temptations that ultimately destroyed them. He wanted a wife he liked, whom he could respect, with whom he could set up a smooth working relationship. She would know her duties and responsibilities and would fulfill them. He would do the same, and they would live together comfortably into old age.

  But there was something about Tanzy that didn’t fit in that picture. At first he thought it was her looks. She was a damned fine-looking woman, and he was enough of a man to be strongly attracted to her. He wasn’t a saint, but he didn’t believe in sleeping with any woman just because she was available. It had been so long since he’d been with a woman, he’d practically forgotten what it was like.

  Well, no, it was remembering what it was like that got him so interested in Tanzy.

  She wasn’t a biddable female. She’d dragged him off to the doctor like a naughty boy, then threatened to destroy the doctor’s house. It had been funny in a way, but there was no reason to think she wouldn’t turn that crazy, wild temper against him. That was something he definitely didn’t want in a wife.

  Then there was this business of making conditions that she had plunked down right in front of him without a word of apology. She expected him to agree to them or the deal was off. He’d seen his mother lead her husband around by the nose too many times to want that in a wife.

  So what was it about Tanzy that had grabbed hold of him and wouldn’t let go?

  Damned if he knew, but he’d better find out before he did something stupid.

  Tanzy went to her room with an uneasy mind. Too many things about Russ Tibbolt made her uncomfortable.

  First, he was too good-looking. Lots of women probably thought they wanted a handsome husband, but that was only because they were too foolish to realize how much trouble good looks could cause. If he was all that handsome, he’d be able to talk her into doing just about anything he wanted, even things she really didn’t want to do.

  Tanzy didn’t want a husband or anybody else who could talk her out of what she knew was sensible and right. It was clear he didn’t agree with her worry about having children. He was probably already thinking of ways to get her to change her mind, and she was honest enough to admit that Russ Tibbolt just might be able to do it.

  If he was all that irresistible to his wife, he would be just as irresistible to other women. He would be faced with constant temptations to stray. The only man who wouldn’t stray was a man who didn’t get any offers. So there she’d be, foolishly in love with her husband and jealous of every female. Better a homely man who was thankful for what he had than a handsome one always sampling to see if he could find something better.

  Then there was this problem with people not liking Russ. She knew it wasn’t the same as a feud, but it was too close to suit her. She had left home to get away from killing, regardless of the reasons for it.

  But there was something else, a kind of stiff-necked stubbornness that reminded her of her father and brothers. They would never accept any opinion that wasn’t their own. She got the feeling Russ expected to be the only one to make decisions. She, on the other hand, expected each of them to have separate spheres of influence and responsibility, with clear rules to keep things from getting mixed up. As his wife, she would have certain rights and privileges and her husband would have to respect them.

  Her mother had never had any of those rights and privileges. What made her think Russ would be interested in giving her any?

  “Did you have a nice dinner?”

  Archie’s voice startled her. “Yes.”

  “I wondered if people would cause trouble.”

  “A man called Henry tried to throw Russ out of the restaurant, but Russ hardly paid him any attention. Good night.”

  But as she got ready for bed, Archie’s words came back to her. Obviously he had expected people to be rude to Russ. Was that why she felt this strange attraction to him, this need to do something about what she felt was unfair treatment? She certainly couldn’t be foolish enough to think Russ needed her to defend him, yet at the same time that was exactly what she wanted to do. It was what she had done when the doctor wouldn’t treat his wound.

  She had to do some hard thinking. She had come west to escape trouble, not run into more of it. It began to look as though there might be some very good reasons to reconsider her decision to marry this man. But what she really needed to know was why, in the face of these reasons, she felt that Russ Tibbolt was the man who could make her dreams come true.

  Russ gave his distinctive whistle, the one all his men used to signal that they were coming inside the ring of protection. He was pleased to hear it echo back to him from two directions, one plain and simple, one with a little flourish at the end. Oren and Tim. Tim never could do things the simple way. He always added something of his own.
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br />   “Have any trouble coming in?” Welt Allard asked Russ when he reach the corral behind the ranch house. It was still several hours before dawn, but a man riding in the open could be seen at a distance of several hundred yards.

  “Not tonight.” He dismounted and started to unsaddle his tired horse.

  “How did it go? What’s she like?”

  Russ was surprised to find he was reluctant to discuss Tanzy, even with his best friend. “It’s early days yet. I get the feeling both of us have more expectations of the other than we thought.”

  “Is she that ugly?”

  Russ laughed. “She’s very pretty. No, I think we’re finding we didn’t know our minds as well as we thought. It’s real easy to think about marrying somebody you’ve never seen, but it’s not so simple when you’re sitting across the table from each other.”

  “I don’t see what’s so hard. Either she wants to marry you or she doesn’t.” Welt had been the one to convince Russ to consider a mail-order bride. He had actually written the letters for Russ.

  “Right now I’d say she’s not sure,” Russ said. He put the saddle on the corral pole and started to rub down his horse.

  Then why not send her back where she came from?”

  A good question, for which Russ didn’t yet have a good answer. “I don’t like jumping to conclusions.”

  “I’d know right off.”

  Welt probably would, but the only woman he’d ever loved was Russ’s sister, and she’d left him for Toley Pullet. Since her death, Welt had been bitter about women and depressed about his life.

  “I thought I would, too, but I’m glad she said we ought to take a week to see if we’ll fit.”

  “People used to meet in the morning, get married in the afternoon, and start making babies that night.”

  Russ was glad his back was to Welt. He didn’t trust his face not to show he’d thought a lot about the making babies part. Well, not about babies, exactly, but about the rest of it. Tanzy wasn’t a flirty kind of woman, nor was she provocative, but she sure was sensual. She was just nineteen, but she had the body of a woman, round and filled out in all the right places. Russ wasn’t the kind of man to dwell on things like that, but all during dinner his gaze had been drawn to her mouth. Just watching her eat was an erotic experience. Welt would probably think he was crazy if he tried to explain. Hell, he’d have thought he was crazy before he met Tanzy.

  He couldn’t figure out what it was about her that kept him thinking about what it would be like to be able to touch her anywhere he wanted. It would be a good thing if they ended up married, but it wasn’t so good if thinking about it kept him from having a clear head. He wasn’t considering marriage just to have a convenient way to satisfy his physical needs.

  What did he want from marriage? He’d only thought of someone to take care of the house, have kids, cook, do all the things a wife was expected to do. But meeting Tanzy had confused him.

  “I don’t think I’d like getting married to any woman that quick,” Russ said.

  “Then why did you agree to a mail-order bride?”

  “Because you wouldn’t get off my back.”

  “You weren’t doing anything about getting yourself a wife.”

  “I didn’t feel desperate to have one until you started telling me if I didn’t get one soon I’d be too old for anybody to want me.” Russ straightened up from cleaning his horse’s hooves. He pulled back a pole and let the animal into the corral. “It’s too late at night, and I’ve been up too long, been in the saddle too much, to think about it anymore. Besides, my arm is hurting.”

  “What’s wrong with it?”

  “I surprised two bandits holding up the stage. They’re sitting in the sheriff’s jail, but one of them got a bullet into me before I could get to him.”

  “I’ll see to it.”

  “Doc Lindstrom already looked at it.”

  “What did you do, hold a gun to his head?”

  “No. When he refused, Tanzy broke a couple of pieces of his wife’s best china. Threatened to smash all the rest if he didn’t look after my arm. Stood over him to make sure he did it right.” Russ chuckled at the memory. “With Endora screaming and begging him save what was left of her china, he couldn’t wait to get us out of the house. You should have been there. It would have made even you smile.”

  “I hate the old bastard,” Welt growled.

  “I’m going to bed,” Russ said. Tell Tim if he wants to do something useful, he can check on the cows in the highest valley.”

  It didn’t take Tanzy’s first full day in Boulder Gap long to get off to a bad start. She met Stocker Pullett in the lobby when she came down for breakfast.

  “I heard you had dinner last night with Russ Tibbolt,” he said without preamble. It was clear the news hadn’t gone down well. “What were you doing with that man?”

  Tanzy hesitated to announce that she was a mail-order bride, but she doubted she’d be able to keep the news confidential for long, certainly not after she was seen having dinner with Russ again tonight. “I’m considering marrying him.”

  “You can’t marry Tibbolt!” Stocker exploded. “He’s nothing but a murdering ex-con.”

  “Russ told me he accidentally killed your brother in a fight.” She couldn’t recall if he’d said it was accidental, but surely it hadn’t been intentional.

  “There was nothing accidental about it,” Stocker shouted. “He hunted Toley down and killed him in cold blood.”

  Tanzy had been upset when Russ told her what happened. Stocker’s version shocked her, but she’d spent her whole life living through a feud. She knew how people reacted when a member of their family was killed. It didn’t make any difference what he’d done or the circumstances of his death, it was the other man’s fault and he had to pay. Reason didn’t enter into it. “I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure you miss him terribly,” she said.

  “It’s been more than ten years, yet it seems like yesterday. He was a young, fun-loving kid. He was from my father’s second marriage, a lot younger than I was, but I loved him like he was my full brother.”

  Tanzy didn’t know what to say or how to express her sympathy, so she said nothing.

  “You must have nothing to do with Tibbolt,” Stocker said. “He’s a villain, a wild man, a killer.”

  That’s what the Viljoen clan had said about her family her whole life, and she knew it wasn’t true. People found it hard to stick to the truth when emotions ran so high. She’d been really impressed by Russ’s letters. The fact that he’d told her about killing Stocker’s brother made her tend to believe Stocker was exaggerating because of his own loss, but she was becoming uneasy. Had she been foolish enough to let a handsome man cause her to forget common sense and caution? Was she throwing herself into the path of greater danger than she’d left behind?

  “Come with me,” Stocker said. “I’ll see that you’re protected.”

  Instinct caused Tanzy to pull back when Stocker reached out and took her arm. “Thank you for your concern, but I have to stay here. I promised Mr. Tibbolt I would meet him for dinner.”

  “Haven’t you heard anything I said?”

  “I appreciate your warning, but I can’t change my plans.”

  Stocker drew back. Gradually the look he gave her changed from one of concern to anger. “If you ignore my advice and take up with that man, no decent person will speak to you. Your only company will be crude men and the bunch of thieves and killers who work for Tibbolt. You will have no reputation. The doors to our homes will be closed to you.”

  Tanzy was shocked by the force of Stocker’s anger. He was acting as if Russ was a crazed killer whose mere existence endangered the whole community.

  “I’ve been told that Westerners judge people by their actions,” Tanzy said, drawing herself up, “not by gossip.”

  “Nothing I’ve said is gossip. You wait and see if what I tell you isn’t the truth.” With that, he stormed off.

  Tanzy was so upset b
y Stocker’s accusations, she wasn’t hungry. After returning to her room for a half an hour to calm herself, she decided to go for a walk. She felt better once she was outside in the sunshine. Stocker’s words didn’t seem so oppressive. He would naturally be angry at the man who’d caused his brother’s death, but Russ couldn’t be the villain Stocker depicted. Her memory of his strong, open face assured her that Stocker’s reading of Russ’s character was wrong. The true soul of a person was mirrored in his face and eyes. The man who’d had dinner with her last night couldn’t be evil.

  Tanzy had been so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized no one had spoken to her. At first she took that to mean everybody was minding his own business or was too busy to be curious about a stranger. It didn’t take long for her to realize people were avoiding her. If she’d had any doubts, they vanished when a woman passing by brushed against the storefront to prevent her skirts from touching Tanzy. It was as though she’d suddenly contracted the plague.

  The expressions she encountered were different from those the day before, too. The women looked at her in an openly speculative manner. She couldn’t categorize the men because their expressions were too varied. One thing she knew for certain: Stocker Pullet was a very powerful man. In under an hour he’d turned the town of Boulder Gap against her.

  That infuriated her. No one had the right to judge her merely on the say-so of another person, particularly when nobody in the town knew anything about her. And if she ever got a chance to speak to Stocker Pullet again, she’d tell him that she had no respect for a man who spread gossip or impugned the reputation of others.

  Especially her reputation.

  It came as something of a surprise when Tanzy realized she’d been walking up and down the boardwalk for nearly an hour without paying any attention to the storefronts she passed. Russ’s money rested uncomfortably in her pocket. She stopped in front of Davis & Greaves Dry Goods to look at a made-up dress in the window. It was a solferino pink-and-white-striped lawn with looped overskirt. It must have taken over a dozen yards of material to make the overskirt and ruffles used for trim. It was probably much too expensive, but Tanzy thought it was the most elegant dress she’d ever seen.