The Outlaw's Bride

by Catherine Palmer

  “Susan’s red hair charms everyone,” Isobel replied. “She is lovely.”

  “She’s skinny,” Noah pronounced.

  “Dick was never a man to take after women,” Patrón added. “Is that not so, Noah?”

  “Yeah, he’s like me. Prefers the company of a few good cowboys around a campfire to the meaningless chatter of women.”

  Isobel bristled. “What do you know about women, anyway?”

  “Not enough,” Patrón interjected. “I am surprised my friend chose a wife. The rumor in Lincoln says these men—Noah, Dick, Chisum and more—were all wounded by love.”

  Noah grunted. “Chisum told me he proposed marriage years ago. The gal wanted to carry on being the belle of the ball a bit longer. Chisum got impatient. Told her it was now or never. She chose never.”

  “And he’s been a bachelor ever since,” Patrón concluded. “Too bad for him. But what about you, Noah? You always had a reputation as a man to leave alone. Women have given their hearts to you, but you never kept them long.”

  “Settling down with a wife is the farthest thing from my thoughts,” Noah said. “God didn’t make me the marrying kind.”

  “But now you’re married!” Patrón exclaimed. “And you found a beautiful wife. She’s smart, too. Smart enough to capture you.”

  Isobel held her breath in anticipation of Noah’s reply, but he changed the topic. “How’s your leg these days, Juan? Looks like you’re walking pretty good.”

  Patrón patted his leg. “It is not the leg, my friend. It is my back.”

  “Did the Horrell Gang peg you the night they killed your father?”

  “No, no. My father died in seventy-three. John Riley shot me two years later—but for the same reason. Hatred of Mexicans. Riley accused several Mexicans of stealing, and shot them dead. I demanded an investigation. When we went to arrest Riley, he shot me in the back.”

  “In the back?” Isobel stopped on the frozen road. “Did he face trial?”

  Patrón shook his head. “Riley is allied with Jimmie Dolan. He was never even arrested.”

  Isobel was beginning to piece together a picture of Jimmie Dolan. The man held great power and he used it for evil.

  “Did Dolan have anything to do with your father’s murder?” Noah asked Juan.

  “No, the Horrell Gang was just a group of worthless men.” Patrón’s voice held a note of bitterness. “Outlaws, renegades. In early December, the gang rode into Lincoln, shot up the town and got into a tangle with the Mexican constable. Several men were killed on both sides. A couple of weeks later, the Horrells returned for revancha—revenge. The Mexican community was having a Christmas dance at Squire Wilson’s hall. The Horrells stormed into the room and began shooting. That night, my father was shot and killed.”

  Isobel walked in silence, imagining the horror of a celebration transformed into a bloodbath.

  “Did you go after the Horrells?” she asked.

  “Killing and more killing?” Patrón shook his head. “That is futile, señora. My father was dead. Another man’s death could never bring him back. You understand?”

  She nodded, but she didn’t truly understand. Where was the venganza—a man’s proud avenging of his father’s spilled blood? By all that was right, Patrón should have gone after the killers.

  “The Horrells made a pact to kill every Mexican in Lincoln County,” he was saying. “For a month, they rode through the countryside slaughtering Mexicans. Finally they went to Texas, stealing mules and horses, murdering both Mexicans and gringos along the way. Eventually, the Seven Rivers Gang ambushed and killed some of them, but the rest made it safely to Texas. They were indicted, of course, but none was ever taken into custody.”

  He paused. “I’ve heard that some of the gang—not the Horrell brothers, but others who rode with them—returned to Lincoln. But we don’t talk of this. It’s better left alone.”

  Isobel studied the tower of stones as they passed it in the moonlight. If the Horrell Gang had ridden through the countryside in 1873 killing every Mexican in sight, might they have murdered her father? His golden hair would have distinguished him from the Mexicans of the territory, but his native tongue was Spanish. Perhaps he had encountered the Horrell Gang on their journey to Texas. Perhaps they had heard him speak and gunned him down.

  “These men,” she said softly. “Which of them returned to Lincoln? What are their names?”

  Before he could answer, Noah spoke up. “Juan, I need to tell you that my wife’s father was killed near Lincoln about the same time your father was shot down. We’re looking for his murderer.”

  “I guessed there was more to this marriage than met the eye. So you wonder if the Horrells may be involved? What else? This woman knows more than she says.”

  “I witnessed Tunstall’s murder,” Isobel admitted. “Snake Jackson has vowed to kill me.”

  “Noah, you must take your wife to Santa Fe,” Patrón said. “To her relatives. In Lincoln County, no one is far from violence. Look at Billy Bonney. John Tunstall gave him a clean slate, taught him to read, paid him well. Now I fear the boy’s past will catch up with his present.”

  “Billy’s always hot for blood,” Noah said. “The kid would rather pull the trigger than talk things over.”

  Patrón gave a wry chuckle. “How many men is Billy claiming to have killed now? Seventeen? Or is it twenty-one? Señora Buchanan, the men of the West will tell you many things. Do not believe one tenth of what they say, and you will have no trouble here.”

  Glancing at Noah, Isobel lifted her damp skirts and stepped into the warm Patrón house. If Juan was right, she should not trust her own protector. Nor could she be sure that the Tunstall-McSween faction was nobler than the Dolan gang. After all, Jimmie Dolan had the law on his side, and he was allied with the powers in Santa Fe.

  Doubt slinking through her stomach, she drew her shawl tightly over her shoulders as Juan placated his agitated wife in Spanish. Isobel understood every word, of course, and had to work at maintaining a look of innocence. Once Juan had assured Beatriz she was not to blame for Isobel’s disappearance, she led them down the hall to a bedroom. After unlocking the door with one of the keys at her waist, she lit a pair of candles on an ornate bureau.

  Awash in a yellow glow, the guest room held a bed, a washstand, a chair. A small crucifix hung over the bed, and a cross of woven palm leaves topped the washstand. Beatriz pointed out logs and kindling, then nodded, smiled and left.

  Noah knelt and began building a fire. “What was Juan telling Beatriz?”

  “He said I followed you because I’m so devoted to you. And that you’re in love with me.”

  Noah’s hand halted. He glanced across at Isobel. She was looking out the window. “Juan is going to talk to you tomorrow,” she continued. “To tell you the correct way to treat your wife.”

  Striking a match, Noah held it to the tinder. Was Juan really fooled about the marriage? Did he see something that neither he nor Isobel could admit? Sitting back on his heels, Noah spread his hands over the crackling flames. He didn’t trust himself with the woman. Maybe she didn’t feel anything, but he sure did.

  “My parents had two bedrooms at our hacienda in Catalonia,” Isobel said as she joined him by the fire. “With a door to connect them. Where will you sleep?”

  Noah looked up, read the trepidation in her eyes and stood. “I said I wouldn’t touch you.”

  “And Juan told me not to trust any man in the West.”

  “Do you have a choice?” At her nervous expression, he pulled a chair to the fire. “Relax, Isobel. Sit here. I want to talk about your father.”

  She perched on the edge of the chair. “What about him?”

  Noah pushed a log with the poker, and a spray of sparks shot into the air. “Do you know which day your father was killed?”

  “No. Only that it was late December. He had spent Christmas with my uncle at Fort Belknap, then he followed the Goodnight Trail north.”

  “Is you
r father buried here? In Lincoln?”

  “At the cemetery. I promised my mother I would go there.” Her lips trembled, and she stopped speaking.

  Noah knelt again, reached out and covered her hand with his. “I’ll go with you.”

  Isobel was cold, shivering. She clutched the ragged shawl close around her in one white-knuckled fist. How vulnerable she was, Noah realized. She was scared, too, though she would never admit it. Without her land titles, Isobel had nothing. She insisted she could shoot well enough to protect herself, but a cold-blooded murderer had threatened to gun her down.

  “We’ll visit the courthouse tomorrow,” he told her. “They’ll have the record of your father’s burial. We can check the date and look for someone who remembers where the Horrell Gang was that day. But, Isobel, you’ll never be able to track down the killer. You should go to Santa Fe and try to stop the transfer of the titles.”

  “You’re asking me to forget my father’s murder? Do you really think I can stop a land transfer without any documents or proof?” She shook her head. “Impossible without the titles. And without the land, I cannot marry Don Guillermo.”

  At the mention of her intended husband, Noah stood and slapped the wood dust from his thighs. “Who cares about ol’ Don when you’ve got me? I mean, what more could a lady want?” He couldn’t hold back a grin as her eyes went wide. “Why, there’s a gal right here in Lincoln who’d be mad as a peeled rattler if she knew about this arrangement.”

  “What arrangement?” Isobel stood. “Your woman has no cause to feel jealous. We have a contrato, a contract.”

  Edging past Noah, she walked to the washstand, drew her shawl from her shoulders and draped it on the bed. After pouring water into the bowl, she splashed her face and rinsed her hands. Dabbing an embroidered linen towel on her cheek, she turned back toward Noah.

  “For that matter,” she said softly, “there are many men who would gladly trade places with you, vaquero.”

  Noah took a step toward her. “I don’t doubt that. For a woman who’s fretting over land titles and a Spanish dandy, you have a lot more assets than you know.”

  “What do I have? My father left me nothing but empty land in a bloodthirsty country where no man can be trusted. And Don Guillermo—”

  “Don Guillermo doesn’t know what he’s missing.” He caught her hand and pulled her close. “You’ve got everything you’ll ever need right now. You’re smart, Isobel. Gritty, too.”

  “Gritty? What is that?”

  “Brave. You’d take on Snake Jackson and the whole Dolan gang if you had to. You know how to ride and shoot. And you’re pretty. Real pretty.”

  She removed her hand from his and turned her shoulder. “I have gowns and jewels, but here I dress as a peasant.”

  “You don’t need fancy gowns to be beautiful, Isobel.” He lifted a hand and brushed a lock of hair from her shoulder. “You’ve got those eyes—green, brown, gray—what color are they?”

  “My brother used to say they matched the mud in a pig’s pond.”

  “What do brothers know?” He placed one finger under her chin and tilted her face toward the candlelight. “There’s a wild cat that hangs around Chisum’s bunkhouse. We call her La Diabla, and she’s a devil, all right. Always in trouble, always getting into things she shouldn’t. If you can catch her long enough to get a good look, you’ll see the fire in her eyes—a green fire that makes them glow like emeralds. Your eyes are like that, Isobel.”

  For a moment she didn’t speak, and Noah stood trans-fixed by the scent of her hair and skin. He could almost feel the velvet touch of her cheek against his fingertips. Trying to breathe, he knew if one of them didn’t talk soon, he would lose himself.

  “You should write a book, Buchanan,” Isobel suggested, her voice husky. “Any man who sees emeralds in my mud-pond eyes has lost his senses.”

  “I will write a book,” he told her. “And my senses never let me down.”

  Noah’s finger now traced the line of her jaw. He knew she was unaware of how her full, damp lips entranced him. His throat tightened, and his breath went ragged with just one stroke of her skin. She was soft, silky, dangerous. Like the barnyard cat, she was elusive. He knew he shouldn’t try to catch her. One look in those eyes, and all of his careful plans could go up in smoke.

  “I trust my senses, also,” she was saying. “And I sense you are not keeping our contract.”

  “I’ll keep the contract, Isobel. I’m a man of my word. But your lips are telling me one thing, while your eyes are telling me something else.”

  “No. You’re wrong.”

  She tried to step aside, but he caught her shoulders and drew her close. His hands slipped up and cupped her head. His fingers weaving through her silky hair, he pressed his lips against hers.

  Her breath was sweet, fragrant, coming in shallow gasps as she stood rigid in his arms. Puzzled, he studied her face. Surely this gun-toting, haughty, gutsy woman had been kissed many a time. But she trembled against him, her eyes deepening to pools as she gazed into his.

  “Isobel,” he whispered, uncertain what to do next.

  “Kiss me one more time,” she murmured, her eyelids drifting shut. “Just once, and never again.”

  Chapter Five

  Moonlight wafted through the iron fretwork on the window to drape a lacy shadow over the room. Unaware, she drifted toward him as his lips brushed hers. She slid her arms around his chest. Reveling in the rich scent of leather and soft flannel, in the rough graze of his chin against her skin, she ran her fingers down his back, which was solid, as hard as steel.

  The sense that he was someone she must keep at a distance evaporated in yet another crush of heated lips.

  “Isobel,” Noah murmured. His blue eyes had gone inky in the flicker of the candles. “I promised not to touch you. I made a vow.”

  Even as he spoke, she read his plea to be released from that oath. How should she respond to the unbearable tumult he had provoked inside her? She must think of who he was—a mere acquaintance, an American, a common cattleman.

  But why did his words sound like poetry in her ears and his kisses feel like music? Perhaps it was the moonlight or the crackling fire. Maybe it was the turmoil that spun through her heart. Or simply the magic of a man’s touch.

  “I don’t know what you’ve done to me,” she whispered.

  “The same thing you’ve done to me. But it’s not right. For either of us.”

  She wanted to argue, but the words didn’t come. For endless minutes, they gazed at each other. Then with a deep sigh, Noah shook his head, grabbed his saddlebag and bedroll and left the room.

  “Isobel.” A cool hand rested on her arm. “Isobel, wake up. The morning is half gone!”

  Her eyes flicked open. But instead of the man with blue eyes who had walked through her dreams, she looked into the face of her sweet friend. “Susan? Where is…what time is it?”

  “After eight. Noah sent me to look in on you.”

  Isobel struggled to one elbow. “Where is he?”

  “At Alexander McSween’s house. He and Dick have been talking since dawn.”

  “About what?”

  “I don’t know. I was in the kitchen helping Mrs. McSween. Here’s your breakfast.” Susan set a basket of warm tortillas on a small table and glanced to the end of the bed. “Isobel, what happened last night? You look…rumpled.”

  Isobel touched her tender lips, remembering. “I’m all right, Susan.”

  “Did you and Noah…? Did he try to…?”

  “No, it’s nothing.” She waved a hand in dismissal. “He wants me to go to Santa Fe. To Don Guillermo. Noah is…a problem. A problem for me. I’m sorry I agreed to the arrangement.”

  She tried to make the words ring true, but they sounded hollow and empty.

  “Isobel,” Susan spoke up, “if that cowboy is bothering you, we’ll find a way to get you to Santa Fe. I know your don will protect you.”

  She herself knew nothing of the sort, Is
obel admitted as she rolled a tortilla and took a bite. The more she thought about the man who had never written to her, never even sent a token of commitment to her mother, the less she trusted Guillermo Pascal.

  And Noah Buchanan wanted neither a wife nor children to clutter his life. Besides, the vaquero was too common. Any connection between them was impossible.

  Isobel forced a laugh as she stepped to the washstand. “Noah thinks he’s a king,” she told Susan. “He makes me wash dishes. He sends telegrams without my permission. He gives orders left and right.”

  Susan giggled. “He gives you orders?”

  “Noah fancies himself my equal. But he has nothing.”

  “Nothing except a good job and a quick draw. Out West that can make a man a king. Look at Dick Brewer. He works for the Tunstall operation, but he bought land and a house, and he manages his own cattle.”

  “You were interested in Dick Brewer last night.”

  Susan’s pale cheeks flushed. “I went outside for fresh air, and Dick came out, too. We talked.”

  “Talked?”

  “Oh, Isobel, he’s wonderful!” Susan hugged herself. “He’s handsome and kind and strong. I’ve never met anyone so perfect. I love him, Isobel.”

  “Love, Susan? So soon? In Spain we say, Lo que el agua trae, el agua lleva. It means what comes easily can also go easily. Your parents should secure a well-to-do husband—one who can give you a fine home. I stayed in Dick Brewer’s cabin. It’s too small for a family. His land is nothing but rocks. Keep your thoughts from love and you’ll be happier.”

  Susan shrugged. “My Mexican friends in Texas used to say, Más vale atole con risas que chocolate con lagrimas.”

  “Better to have gruel with laughter than chocolate with tears,” Isobel translated the familiar adage. Susan was teasing her now, and she didn’t like it. It was bad enough that she’d hardly had any sleep, and that all night her mind had been possessed with thoughts of Noah Buchanan, but now she could hardly focus on her plans.

  “I’d rather marry a cowboy like Dick Brewer,” Susan said as she helped her friend dress. “I’d rather live in Dick’s old cabin and bear him seven little roly-poly Brewers than go up to Santa Fe and marry someone like your rich Don Guillermo. You don’t even know him. He would protect you as his wife, but he might not care a fig about you. He can give you a big house and jewels, but can he give you his heart?”