by Reece Butler
Bride Train 7
The Badger City Gang
Craving the respect given to ranch owners, the three McInnes men will do anything to gain the Running W. Five years of long hours will pay off the debt to Walt and prove they’re nothing like their uncle, the Badger City Gang leader.
Desperate for a wife, Zach uses his uncle’s skills to kidnap a willing woman from the Bride Train. Kate Mason’s almost more than they can handle, full of adventure and a wild spirit. But, after their mother’s deceit, can they trust Kate’s words?
Kate wants Zach, Rusty, and Gideon, in bed and out, but insists on a husband accepting her as she is while loving her deeply. If not, she’ll keep her freedom.
Then Walt offers them a devil’s bargain—his wealthy daughter and the ranch free and clear, or take Kate and leave Tanner’s Ford forever.
Will they choose the woman they love, or the ranch and respectability?
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.
Genre: Historical, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys
Length: 85,168 words
THE BADGER CITY GANG
Bride Train 7
Reece Butler
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
THE BADGER CITY GANG
Copyright © 2012 by Reece Butler
E-book ISBN: 978-1-61926-960-6
First E-book Publication: August 2012
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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DEDICATION
To my fans, first of all. It’s wonderful to meet you by email, and in person. Thank you for believing in Tanner’s Ford.
A special thank you to the Montana men who were the inspiration for some of my characters. John Stapler, a volunteer with the Nevada City Living History Program, is the image of Walt Chamberlain. The inspiration for the Badger City Gang came from Ira, Zeke, and Zach, who asked to be in one of my books as bad guys (sorry, heroes can only be so bad). To John for the Sweat Ceremony. And to Wanda, Ty and Troy, their families and friends, for providing wonderful experiences of Montana ranch life. Of course, all my characters are fictional, created from every person I’ve met, seen, or imagined. And I have a very good imagination!
As always to the three men in my life: Paul, Andy, and David.
THE BADGER CITY GANG
Bride Train 7
REECE BUTLER
Copyright © 2012
Chapter 1
Bride Train, somewhere east of Virginia City
Late August, 1872
“Here they come, boys. Pucker up!”
Zach McInnes poked the brim of his hat with one callused finger, just enough to see. An eager man leaped up to open the sliding door at the front of the carriage. Zach had taken the last seat when he climbed on board at a whistle-stop that morning. That way he could watch the women as they walked through.
He’d listened when Uncle Peyton boasted about his Badger City Gang robbing mule trains full of gold. First thing was to make sure the strongbox really held gold. Take it early in the morning, just before sunrise. And trust your partners to bring your horse alongside so you could escape.
But Zach wasn’t after gold. He wanted a wife, so he was robbing the Bride Train.
He’d talked it over with his partners, his brother Gideon and cousin Rusty. They’d just arrived from Texas with their cattle, the down payment to buy the Running W from Walt Chamberlain. They shook hands on taking up to five years to work off the rest.
He, Gideon, and Rusty had nothing but each other and a fierce determination to bring respect back to the McInnes name. Peyton had damn near destroyed it with his thieving and Ma had finished it off. Their only good memories were of Pa’s steady hand and encouraging nod. Once they had the security of owning a ranch, they could hold their heads up once more.
They’d planned to wait for a family, but when Zach saw the smiling Tanner’s Ford wives, he decided he couldn’t get through a Montana winter without one. At first Rusty and Gideon hemmed and hawed about Zach having a wife in their one-room cabin while they slept in the loft, but they finally agreed it would be good to have a hot supper waiting when they got home.
Zach had to fight to keep a straight face when he told them what he wanted in a wife. She had to be a decent cook and housekeeper, content to live on the Running W far from town. She had to be big enough to birth McInnes babies and live. And she had to eagerly take on the three of them. Day and night.
Gideon, the only virgin, dang near swallowed his tongue at that. Rusty, a ladies’ man since he realized his cock was good for more than pissing on ants, perked up like a hungry dog finding a juicy bone.
They’d been all ears when Zach explained that each Tanner’s Ford ranch had three men sharing one willing wife. Walt Chamberlain said the wives tended to be opinionated, ornery and, since they were from the East, well educated. That meant they we
re also strong-willed, but a woman living on a lonely ranch had to be.
Zach didn’t want a meek woman who’d lie on her back and cringe when he came near her bed. He wanted one with piss and vinegar, who’d stand up and state her mind when she needed to. It would help if she had looks and a decent figure coming and going, but he’d take a strong, plain wife over a useless, pretty one. But available women were as scarce as a sober bartender.
When Walt said the last Bride Train of the year would soon be chugging into Virginia City, they decided not to wait for slim pickings at the end of the line. And now, here he was, ready to choose his bride.
The carriage door slid open and Zach sat up to check out the possibilities. A dozen females, give or take a few, streamed into the carriage. After a quick look his stomach, and his hopes, dropped.
The first one blinked her eyes like she had an ash caught in her lashes. Her pinched lips curled up in a false smile. She was pretty and she knew it. From the top of her perky bonnet to her shiny buttoned boots she was perfect. Not a hair out of place, a smudge on her white shirt, or a speck of dust on her feet.
How the hell could a woman like that live on a ranch with three big men, hungry for a hell of a lot more than food? He snorted his answer. Easy. She couldn’t.
The next two were almost the same. Fancy-dressed, as if they were taking tea in a parlor instead of riding a rattling train into Montana Territory to find a husband.
Zach dismissed numbers four to eight as well. He saw how their eager eyes searched for men in rich suits flashing gold and diamonds. He, Rusty, and Gideon didn’t need a lazy gold digger for a wife. That type might be good in bed but one hour of sex out of every twenty-four wasn’t going to make up for missing eighteen hours of hard work. Their eyes swept past, dismissing him like a horse trader seeing a spavined old gelding when he wanted a rich-coated young stallion.
That’s why he hadn’t put on his going-to-town suit. He wanted a woman who’d take them as they were—rough, loud, and demanding. Pa had treated Ma like she was something special. No one swore or yelled around her without getting taken out behind the woodshed. None of them ever heard Ma raise her voice or argue with Pa. They accepted it as natural since they knew nothing else.
But then Ma betrayed them all, and his opinion of women changed. Zach now knew a woman’s nod of acceptance didn’t mean one damn thing. She’d smile and seem to agree with her husband, and then she’d do whatever she wanted behind his back. Though a wife vowed to obey her husband, she lied.
At least the women at the front of the line were honest in their greed. The last few kept their heads low as if too scared to see what was in front of them. They grabbed the edges of the wooden benches as if worried they’d fall over. The train rattled side to side, but they’d been on the damn thing for a week now, and should have learned to walk with the sway. They wouldn’t last until Christmas, when the real winter began.
Zach grunted in disgust, all his plans gone up in smoke. He tried to resign himself to facing a long, cold, Montana winter without a woman to warm him. He’d gotten Rusty and Gideon’s hopes up, all for nothing.
He looked up at the rattle of an opening door. Caught swallowing, he choked at the sight of a laughing woman stepping through. The wind had pulled at her bonnet and strings of dark brown drifted around her small face.
Her color was high, but Zach was damn sure it wasn’t from shame. She must’ve been standing between the swaying carriages, waiting for the line to clear. She had more life in her than all the rest combined. She was tiny but, from what he could see, all woman. His cock perked up at the possibility of taking her home.
Her dress was dark, the fabric thick and serviceable. A practical woman, or one without funds? Did she take the Bride Train willingly, eager for a husband? Or did her family, tired of feeding an unmarriageable spinster, send her away? Either was fine with him. They’d start their own family.
He waited until her eyes caught his, then he winked. Her full lips opened, showing sharp white teeth. A burn hit his belly and shot south. What would it feel like to have that mouth close around his cock? That was easy. It’d be better than anything he’d ever known. He smiled like Rusty did to catch the eye of a pretty woman. Her nostrils flared like an eager filly. His cock surged in response.
She didn’t know it yet, but she was his. Theirs.
Because she arrived late there was a gap between herself and the last bride in the line. It gave him a chance to give her a good look from her scuffed boots, hourglass figure, and up to her furious face.
Furious, or eager?
Maybe both. She stared back just as hard. This one had spirit, all right. His cock went as hard as the ass-worn bench under him. Once she went by he’d have to arrange his pants so they didn’t cut his swollen balls in two.
“Ma’am,” he said as she passed, lifting his hat. He gave her another quick wink.
“Sir.”
Her voice was nice and low. He fought the need to turn. She was going to the dining car to eat and would be passing back. He could wait to check out her ass.
“She’s prickly, that one,” said the old man by the window when the door closed behind her.
Zach turned. He thought the gaffer was asleep, but dark beady eyes met his.
“I like a woman with spirit,” said Zach. “Makes life more interesting.” He adjusted his pants and groaned in relief.
The reply was a cackle through missing teeth. “She’s got spirit, all right. Enough to keep your bed warm all winter. If I was you I’d grab her right quick.”
“I was just thinking on that.”
The old man leaned closer. “She takes a walk aside the tracks when we stop fer water and wood. Expect she’ll do it agin after dinner.”
“I could use a leg stretch after sittin’ all this time.”
She was the best of the lot. While he already knew she’d be leaving the train with him, a walk would let her get to know him a bit first. Uncle Peyton always changed his voice to make it harder to identify him. Zach would imitate Old Walt at his worst. Her reaction to his speech would show whether she was too stuck up to live with a rancher. He’d let her think on him all night.
Come morning, he’d be robbing the Bride Train.
* * * *
Katherine Mason refused to turn around on her return from dinner, but she knew the rude man stared at her back. While it was refreshing to be looked at with something closer to admiration than censure, she found the change a bit…disconcerting. Yes, that was the word. How else to explain the way her heart raced when she caught him watching her, or the way his eyes seemed to look through her clothing?
She took her seat on the hard wooden bench and fanned herself. If she was alone she’d open the windows and let in a breeze, but the others were too worried they’d get smoke and ash on their clothing. Silly fools, to wear a white blouse on a train journey. Not that she didn’t admire some of their dresses. She had one set of clothing to wear on the journey and when she finally removed it from her body she wanted to burn it. Unfortunately there was precious little in her carpetbag and she couldn’t waste anything.
The other women continued their unending chatter about fashion and other nonsense. They’d travelled for days, stopping at hundreds of small towns, yet they didn’t know, or care, about the land they were approaching. Not that she was any more knowledgeable. The only man she could properly ask was the conductor and steward in the dining car, and they didn’t live in the West.
That irritating man would know. The memory of his icy-blue eyes made her shiver in the heat. She’d never had a man look at her with such intensity. Her belly still quivered. The feeling was almost the same as when she leaned her hips against the railings between the carriages as the train chugged along. The tingle woke something dark and sinful between her legs.
Not just her legs. Her breasts swelled under his gaze, her nipples hardening against the confinement of her shift and blouse. She coughed, covering her mouth with her hand and scraping h
er arm against her breast. But instead of easing the almost itchy feeling, it made it stronger.
After an hour or so the train began to slow. Once they disembarked and the others rushed into whatever village or small town they’d stopped at, she could walk in peace. It was her one time to be alone with her thoughts, and she cherished it mightily.
It had taken a few days to convince the conductor that she was perfectly safe walking beside the tracks ahead of the locomotive. No one understood why she refused to go into town and meet the eager men wanting wives. But she was through with living in a small town full of vicious, biting gossip. She didn’t fit in and, now that she was free of a controlling father, she could do as she wished.
She would find a husband who would appreciate her for who and what she was. Unlike her mother, she would not be pushed into marriage. Unless a man accepted her as she was, an intelligent woman with many skills, she would remain single. Most of all, he had to agree not to force her into the small box required of “decent” women. She hadn’t met many men so wasn’t sure how to tell if one was lying, but she would trust her instincts.
Mother said there was only two times a man revealed his true character. One occurred when a woman pushed him into anger by challenging him. If he didn’t strike her even when furious, then she might be safe with him. The other involved a more personal challenge. As Katherine was a virgin, her mother didn’t explain details, but said that a man who accepted a woman’s intimate demands in bed would make marriage far more agreeable. A kind, poor man wishing to please his wife was a far better choice than a wealthy, cold man.