Mail Order Bride - Westward Joy: Clean Historical Cowboy Romance Novel (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 16)

by Linda Bridey

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry. Money. What about it?”

  Hawk’s outward demeanor remained sober, but inside, he was howling with laughter.

  Will closed his eyes for a minute and forced himself to become calmer. Opening them, he said, “The five thousand dollars you want to invest. Do you have any stipulations on how it’s to be spent?”

  “What do I care? What do I know about the furniture making business? I don’t know. Buy nails and sand paper and doodads like that. I don’t care,” Switch said. “I’ll give it to you, you make lots of money, and give me my investment and more back. That’s all I care about. Don’t ask me how that works, because I don’t know. Maybe your fiancée knows. Hey, speaking of fiancées, where is she? Is she here?”

  “Nope. I gave her the day off because I didn’t open the store today. It’s giving Hawk and me a chance to catch up on some stuff,” Will said. “Ok. Well, I’ll find out how that works and let you know, ok?”

  “Ok.” Switch got up and went to his coat. He came over to where Will worked and laid down a stack of bills on a board. “There you go. I figured I’d better give it to you before I forgot to or something.”

  Will stared at Switch for several moments and then picked up the money. “You walked all the way here from your place with five thousand dollars in your coat pocket?”

  “Well, it wasn’t all going to fit in my wallet, Will.”

  Will slowly shook his head and then took the money into the showroom. He put it in the floor safe and locked it. When he went back into the workshop, Switch had gotten up on his table.

  “So, Honorable Chief Hawk, what would you like to hear today?” he asked.

  Hawk grinned. “I don’t care. Anything is fine.”

  “You sound like Sir Willie,” Switch said. He thought for a moment and then began reciting poetry.

  Chapter Twenty

  Rachel hummed as she dusted the furniture in Will’s parlor. He’d given her the day off, but she wanted to surprise him by cleaning and tidying up his house a little. It seemed as if he hadn’t done it for a while. That didn’t surprise her since he was so busy with all of the work at the store.

  She was so proud of Will and couldn’t believe how perfect he was for her. As she worked, she looked around and saw a few things she might change about the house once they were married, but Will’s house was very nice as it was. It was evident that the majority of the furniture in his house had been made by him and it was all constructed with the same care and attention to detail that he put into all of his pieces.

  Will would be an excellent father, she knew. He was patient, playful, and loving. She hoped they had a son to follow in his footsteps and work with them at the shop. It would be so nice to have their family keep the business going into the next generations. She laughed a little at her musings. They weren’t even married yet and here she was envisioning what their whole future would be like.

  Someone knocked on the front door and Rachel answered it.

  “Hello, Rachel,” Brendon said with a smile.

  Rachel was shocked to see him. “I thought you left town?”

  “I went to Wolfe Point for a few days and then decided I wanted to talk to you without anyone around. I was hoping to catch you at your apartment. When you weren’t there, I figured you might be here,” Brendon said.

  “You need to leave, Brendon. Why don’t you understand that I don’t love you, and I don’t want you? I’m in love with Will, and I’m going to marry him,” she said.

  Brendon pushed his way inside.

  “Get out of here,” she protested.

  Brendon ignored her, instead looking around at the parlor. He walked out to the kitchen, Rachel following.

  “So this is what you’re settling for? A small, depressing house and a man who’s about as exciting as watching the grass grow? You know I can give you so much more, Rachel. I can give you what you deserve,” Brendon said as he looked at her.

  Rachel bristled at his derogatory statements. “Will is the most exciting man I’ve ever met, and I love this house. He’s honest, faithful, fun, and loving. All things that you never were. Now get out of here and leave me alone!” Her cheeks were pink from the fury that filled her.

  Without warning, Brendon took her face in his hands and kissed her as he backed her up against the counter. Rachel struggled and pushed against his chest. Brendon didn’t release her however, and he pressed her harder between his body and the counter, trapping her. Since she was no match for his superior strength, Rachel simply went limp. She felt that once he saw that his kiss had no effect on her, he’d leave her alone for good.

  Brendon felt Rachel relax, but it wasn’t that she was giving in to passion. It was just the opposite. There was no spark, no excitement, and Brendon was confused. He tried harder, but with the same result.

  “Rachel! Rachel!” Will called as he entered the kitchen door. He saw Rachel in Brendon’s arms and froze.

  Brendon had the good sense to step back from Rachel. Will’s eyes traveled back and forth from him to Rachel, who stood stock still. Then next instant, Will leaped forward, grabbed Brendon, and slammed a fist into his jaw. Brendon recovered and hit Will in the abdomen. The two men fought while snow blew in the open kitchen door. Will’s fist connected with Brendon’s nose and blood began flowing from it.

  Brendon cried out at the intense pain, certain that his nose was broken. Will hauled him out the door by his coat and threw him out into the snow.

  “You come around here again and I’ll kill you. You were warned twice now to get out of Dawson. There won’t be any more warnings. Get going!” Will shouted.

  Brendon stumbled to his feet and began to walk unsteadily away. Will turned around and stared at Rachel, who hadn’t been able to move. She and Will stared at each other for long moments.

  Finally Will said, “I think you need to go home now, Rachel.”

  “Will, it wasn’t what—”

  “Later, Rachel. I’m much too pissed off right now to listen to you,” Will said in a firm voice.

  Rachel swallowed and nodded as she put on her coat and hurried out the door.

  *****

  When Rachel opened the door for Will that night, his anger showed plainly in his eyes, which were even greener than usual and in the stiff, straight way he held his shoulders as he walked into the apartment. Rachel cursed Brendon for the hundredth time for causing all this trouble. Why couldn’t he have left well enough alone? She hadn’t mattered to him until she’d left him. That was the problem. Brendon wasn’t able to let things go. He wanted to control everything and everyone. Her lips curved slightly as she remembered how Will had shown Brendon that he was the one in control, not him.

  Boo wound her way around Will’s legs and he smiled down at her. “Hi, Boo. What trouble did you cause today?” he asked as he picked her up and scratched her under the chin. She purred loudly and he chuckled.

  Rachel decided to get right to the matter at hand. “Will, I need to explain about this afternoon.”

  Will sat in a wingback chair and said, “I’m listening.” Boo jumped up on his lap and resumed her purring.

  “I was dusting in your parlor when Brendon came. I thought he had left Dawson. I had no idea he was still in the area. I told him to leave me alone, that I wanted nothing more to do with him. He forced his way into the house and walked out to the kitchen. I wanted to kill him for coming back here, and I wanted him out of your house.

  “Then the next thing I knew, he grabbed me and started kissing me. I tried to get away from him, but I couldn’t. The harder I tried, the more he trapped me.”

  “It didn’t look like you were struggling, Rachel,” Will said in a calm voice, even though he felt anything but. “It seemed like you were enjoying yourself.”

  Rachel’s cheeks burned with anger. “I know. I stopped struggling because I thought he’d let me go sooner if he saw that his … kisses did nothing for me. I didn’t react to him at all. That was when you came in. That’s the
whole story.”

  Will regarded Rachel silently, holding her unwavering gaze with his own. He didn’t know what to think. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she’d lied about their relationship just recently, and she had a history of lying to get what she wanted. Was she lying now, too? How was he supposed to believe her?

  “You’re sure that’s what happened?” he asked.

  “What do you mean? Yes, I’m sure,” she said.

  “I mean, you were in love with the guy not all that long ago, and maybe you still have some feelings for him.”

  Rachel shook her head vehemently. “No, Will. I don’t feel anything but anger and revulsion for him. I swear.”

  Jealousy and anger were starting to get the better of Will despite his best efforts. “Maybe you told Brendon to wait around until you had a chance to see if there was still something between you.”

  “How dare you accuse me of something like that!” she said. She couldn’t believe Will had said that to her.

  “How dare you lie and tell him that we slept together? Maybe you were just trying to make him jealous so that he would try harder to get you back. Was that your game, Rachel? It seems like you’re very good at playing games. I guess Reckless and I found that out the hard way, huh?” Will couldn’t stop the hateful words from coming out of his mouth.

  Rachel was so stunned that all she could do was sit mutely while tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Never had she thought Will could be so cruel.

  Will wanted her to deny it. He wanted her to reassure him that what he’d just said wasn’t true. He wanted her to get angry and defend herself, but she didn’t. She just sat staring at him while silent tears slid down her cheeks.

  “I defended you, Rachel. I lied for you to Brendon to protect you. Then I had to deal with Mitch when he overheard the conversation between your boyfriend and me.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend,” Rachel said through clenched teeth.

  “Sure looks like he is. I have to be the biggest fool who ever lived. Were you planning on leaving with him? Or were you going to marry me and just meet up with him whenever he happened to come into town? Which is it? I’d really like to know, Rachel,” Will said.

  “I did not want him here. I did not cheat on you, nor would I ever cheat on you, Will,” Rachel said as she fought against sobbing.

  Will leaned forward. “Why don’t I believe you? Oh, I remember, because I’m not sure you know what the truth is.”

  Rachel’s mouth dropped open as rage consumed her. She stood up and pointed at the door. “Get out! Get out! I won’t allow you to sit here and degrade me like that when I don’t deserve it!” She pulled off her engagement ring and threw it at Will. It bounced off his chest and landed on the rug. “I can’t marry a man who doesn’t trust me!”

  “And I can’t marry a lying harlot,” Will said as he picked up the ring and thrust it into his pants pocket.

  “Leave! Get out of my apartment!” she screamed.

  “Fine by me,” Will said and went out, slamming the door behind him.

  Rachel sat down because her legs shook too much to support her. She tried to hold back the sobs that made her chest ache, but she couldn’t. They came out in harsh sounds that echoed off the parlor walls. They wracked her body and made her throat sore, but her heart was what hurt the most.

  She’d thought he understood about the lie she’d told Brendon. He’d believed her and had even been somewhat amused about it. Couldn’t he see that she was telling him the truth now? Why did it seem like no matter what she did, her past kept coming back to haunt her? Hadn’t she proven herself the past few months?

  Her mind turned to thoughts of leaving, but then she remembered her promise to Mason and she knew she couldn’t do that again. No, she would stay and fight. She loved Will and even though she’d given him back the engagement ring, she would do whatever it took to get it back and to prove that she was being completely truthful.

  She began drying her eyes as a new resolve took hold of her. The old Rachel might cower and run, but not the new Rachel. She was going to stand up and fight for what she knew was right.

  *****

  Squirrel and Striking Snake sat transfixed by the strange man that Hawk had brought home with him that day. If he was allowed, he talked almost nonstop about a dizzying array of subjects, most of which they had no knowledge. Lakota custom dictated that they not offend a guest, but Striking Snake felt his normally boundless patience stretching thin.

  Hawk could see the tension in his father’s shoulders and had to work hard to hide his amusement. His mother’s confusion was also funny. When Switch had asked what it was like to sleep in a tipi, Hawk said he should come home with him and sleep in one that was empty. Switch had taken him up on the offer.

  Now, Switch sat eating rabbit stew. That he had to eat it without utensils hadn’t daunted him at all. He was on his third bowl and showed no signs of slowing down.

  “I saved my buddies, Will and Tucker, from a bear once when I was little. Speaking of little, I only have a little stew left. Is there more? It’s very good,” he said, and belched loudly. “Pardon me. I guess rabbit meat makes me burp. Speaking of burping, I once won a burping contest at boarding school and made fifty bucks from it. Hey Hawk, what did Will do with that money I gave him?” Switch said, as Squirrel refilled his bowl yet again. Switch sat forward and looked down into the soup container. “Oh, good, I didn’t eat all of your stew. This is the last I’ll eat, I swear. If you didn’t make it so good, I wouldn’t want to eat it. Not only are you a beautiful woman, you’re an excellent cook. Striking Snake, you’re a very fortunate man.”

  “Will put the money in his safe,” Hawk said, once Switch started drinking broth from his bowl.

  Striking Snake would have fed the man all night if it meant he’d be quiet. He cut an angry glance at Hawk, who kept his eyes trained on Switch so his father didn’t see the amusement in his eyes.

  Switch said, “Oh, good. Five thousand dollars is a lot to lose. I’m glad it’s safe in the safe. Speaking of safe, my train is in a safe, too. Squirrel, did you ever ride on a train?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “That’s a shame. It’s a lot of fun,” Switch said.

  Hawk thought he was going to lose control at the image of his mother boarding a train. He ground his teeth together to keep laughter at bay.

  Striking Snake said, “We have no need to ride trains. They are noisy, stink, and have ruined our way of life.”

  Switch shook his head. “No, the trains haven’t ruined anything, it’s the people who built the trains that ruined it. The trains didn’t ask to be created.”

  Striking Snake blinked in surprise, first because Switch had dared to argue with him and second because he made a sort of twisted logic.

  “It’s like me. I didn’t ask to be born the way I am, but yet I exist. My mother is not happy with me the way I am. Do you know I have to find a place to live in two weeks? I could stay at the hotel for a while, I guess, but it won’t be good if I go into hibernation while I’m there,” Switch said.

  “Hibernation?” Striking Snake asked.

  “Yep. Like a bear, only it doesn’t last all winter. It comes and goes.”

  Squirrel was as confused as her husband. “Why do you hibernate?”

  “I don’t know. If I knew, I would fix it so I wouldn’t.” He tapped his head. “Something up here doesn’t work quite right.”

  Striking Snake looked at Hawk for confirmation and his son nodded. Striking Snake let out a long grunt.

  “Was that your bear impersonation?” Switch asked. “It was pretty good. Are we doing impersonations now? I’m good at those. I got one for you.” So saying, Switch let out a trill worthy of any brave.

  The next thing they knew, the tipi flap was ripped open and Black Fox rushed inside. Switch was so scared that he dropped his bowl of soup and choked on a piece of meat that got stuck in his throat. He started coughing and Hawk couldn’t k
eep from laughing anymore. Even as he did, he pounded Switch on the back until the piece of meat was dislodged. It flew out of Switch’s mouth, landing on Black Fox’s moccasin boot.

  This made Hawk laugh all the harder, while Switch scrambled to his feet and backed away from Black Fox when he saw the knife in the chief’s hand. “I didn’t mean to make so much noise,” he said. “Were you sleeping? I’m sorry if I woke you, sir. I hate it when people wake me up when I’m not ready to be. I’m sorry that I spit meat on your boot. I’ll clean it off.”

  Switch moved toward Black Fox, but when he grunted, Switch backed off again. “Ok, I’ll just leave it there.”

  “Who are you and why did you do that?” Black Fox demanded.

  “Switch. I mean, don’t switch anything. My name is Switch. Striking Snake did a bear impersonation and so I thought I would do an impersonation of a brave attacking or whatever they do when they make those noises. I wouldn’t know because I’ve never been involved in a raid or anything. However, I do think it would be fun to steal ponies. I don’t need to steal them because I’m rich, but it would still be fun.”

  “Silence!” Black Fox thundered. “Where did this man come from?”

  Striking Snake sighed. “Our son brought him home. He works with Hawk.”

  Black Fox looked at his nephew, who was doing his best not to laugh again. “Is this true?”

  “Yes, uncle. He has great power. I have seen it myself,” Hawk said in a slightly thick voice.

  Black Fox looked at Switch with a doubtful look. Switch’s dark eyes were filled with fear. “This man has power? Are you Lakota?”

  “N-no, sir. I don’t think so. Of course, I don’t really know much about my family tree,” Switch said and shut his mouth again when Black Fox frowned.

  “What makes you think he has power?” Striking Snake asked Hawk.

  “When he comes to work and performs for Will and me, our work goes much better and Rachel sells more. When he is hibernating, it doesn’t,” Hawk said.

  Black Fox, seeing that Switch was no threat, put away his knife and held out a hand to him. “I am sorry for scaring you, Switch. You must understand that the sound you made was a distress signal and I thought someone was attacking my sister’s family. Please accept my apology.”