Beth appeared every inch the lady, and he envied the man who would be meeting her today. But Tanner could never be the man in her life. She deserved better.
“We’re all checked out. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she said, her words clipped and short.
The stage was due to arrive at noon, and it was already eleven. Time was running out for the two of them, and Tanner knew it. But there was nothing he could do. Beth was meant for someone else, not him.
“Do you want me to wait here with you until he arrives?”
“No, that’s not necessary. I’ll be fine,” she said, glancing down, twisting her gloved fingers.
A sense of relief swept through him. He didn’t think that he could willingly hand her over to another man. And he certainly didn’t want to know what that man looked like or even his name. Because then he would be tempted to find her, make sure she was all right, and that could never be.
“Look, I ... I know that the last few days have been—” He didn’t know what to say. His heart was in his throat, and he had to let her go.
“Tanner?”
The memory of a small boy calling his name, running after him, paralyzed him.
“Is that you?”
The voice sent chills down Tanner’s spine. It was a voice from his past. It was a voice he had certainly hoped to avoid. He whirled around at the sound of his name.
There, before him, stood his baby brother. He stared in disbelief at the boy he had left behind who had become a man, a man who wore a badge.
Tucker gasped. “Well, I’ll be damned, it is you. You’re alive.”
Tanner was suddenly grasped by his younger brother in a bear hug that almost squeezed the breath from his body. Reluctantly, he returned the man’s hug, his body tense, his mind whirling with the realization that he was trapped. A surprising sense of joy filled him at the sight of his brother, but he quickly pushed it away.
Tucker held him at arms’ length and stared at him in shocked surprise.
“My God, man, where have you been? We all thought you were dead. Wait! Everyone is here. They’ll be so glad to see you.”
Tucker leaned back and yelled at the top of his lungs. “Mother, Travis, get out here quick. You’ll never believe who’s here.”
Tanner didn’t have a chance to escape. He glanced up, and there in the doorway of the hotel restaurant stood his family, his mother, his older brother, and a lady he’d never seen before. Everyone was here except his father.
With a past like his, he’d planned on never seeing them again. Yet there was no way he could escape!
His heart almost stopped at the sight of his mother. It’d been so many years. Her hair was grayer, her body a little heavier, but her expression at the sight of him filled his throat with unshed tears.
“Tanner!” she cried.
The sound was a half-sob, half-scream, and then she rushed into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and cried against his shoulder. He was stunned at her reaction, and a sense of pain he’d long ago buried wrapped its painful tentacles around his heart.
“Mother,” he choked.
Her hands were touching his face, his cheeks, and she reached up and feathered kisses on his face, sobbing and crying.
He hadn’t meant to hurt her so badly. He didn’t know what he expected, but he’d never thought she would react this way to his coming home. He swallowed back the tears that suddenly clogged his throat and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.
“Oh, my God. I told them you were alive. I just knew I would feel it if you were dead. And now you’ve come home,” she sobbed. “I’ve waited for this day for so long.”
Tanner couldn’t say anything; his throat closed with unshed tears at the sight of his family, so happy to see him. He’d never thought they would want to see him ever again.
He’d sneaked away like a thief in the night and thought they would only be angry if he ever returned home. He’d done them so wrong, and they were welcoming him home, like the prodigal son. He didn’t merit this kind of reaction. He didn’t deserve to be with them.
Wait until they found out he was an outlaw. Then they wouldn’t welcome him home.
“We’ve waited so long for your return,” his mother said, wiping a tear from her face.
His mother kept her arm around him and slowly dried her tears.
Travis, his older brother, stepped forward and wrapped his arm around his neck and gave him a brief hug. “It’s good to see you again, Tanner. We’ve all missed you.”
Tanner nodded his head, cleared his throat, and rapidly blinked back tears.
Travis stepped back and took hold of a woman’s hand, then pulled her forward. “I’d like you to meet my wife, Rose. We’ve been married for several months now.”
“Nice to meet you, Rose,” Tanner said, grasping the woman’s hand. She was a short woman with a mass of brown curls and twinkling green eyes. There was a certain mystique about her that was intriguing.
She held on to his hand a little longer than necessary. “Hmm. I’d like to read your palm a little later.”
Travis laughed and rolled his eyes. “If you’re smart, Tanner, you won’t let her.”
She shrugged and continued to watch him.
Eugenia spoke up. “Leave her be, Travis. She knows what she’s doing.”
Rose smiled at her husband and gave him a wink. Tanner watched as his older brother almost melted before his eyes. This was definitely a new side to Travis.
“Where’s Papa?” Tanner asked, his curiosity suddenly overcoming him about where his father could be.
For a moment they all glanced at one another, and the air suddenly seemed tense. Then his mother squeezed him even tighter.
“Your father passed away several years ago, Tanner. He loved you and waited for your return right up until the day he died.”
A deep sense of sorrow overwhelmed Tanner. His insides clenched with the knowledge that his father was dead, and he quickly shut out the pain that threatened to consume him. His father was gone; there would never be the chance to redeem himself. His father went to the grave not knowing that he’d been right about the war, that his son had run during the last battle.
“So, I guess you were on your way out to the house,” Tucker said hitting him on the shoulder.
Tanner glanced back behind him, looking for Beth. She stood off to the side, her eyes wide, taking in the scene of his family greeting him.
“Huh, yeah,” he lied.
“Who’s this?” Tucker asked noticing Beth for the first time. He stared at Beth, a frown creasing his forehead.
“This is a friend of mine, Beth,” Tanner informed them. He took her by the hand and pulled her forward
Beth released Tanner’s hand and gazed at everyone, her hazel eyes wide.
Tucker glanced at her oddly. “You look familiar.”
Eugenia frowned staring at Beth, and then she suddenly gasped. “Oh, my!” She pointed at Beth. “I recognize you from the tintype picture you sent us.”
Tucker suddenly frowned. “You’re the woman we’re meeting at the stage today, aren’t you?”
“I’m Elizabeth Anderson,” Beth said quietly, the color draining from her face.
Tanner turned in slow motion and glanced from Beth to his brother Tucker.
“You’re Tucker’s mail-order bride,” his mother said.
Tanner watched in disbelief as his mother left his side and greeted Beth with a hug. Tucker was Beth’s intended?
Oh, God, don’t let it be so! he thought.
***
Beth sat wedged between Tanner and Tucker in the wagon, their horses tied to the back. She sat rigid on the seat, in between the two men, staring straight in front of her at the countryside.
How could this be possible? Tanner’s brother was the man she was supposed to marry, and worst of all, she had betrayed him by bedding with his brother.
She wanted to cry, to scream, she felt so guilty about what she had don
e. She had certainly ruined things this time. She’d come here to start her life over and in the process had not only messed her own life up, but now it appeared she was damaging everyone’s she came into contact with.
She’d betrayed Tucker by having sex with Tanner. It had been bad enough that she had done so while engaged to Tucker, but now, to find out the two men were brothers, was the worst.
With a sideways glance at the man she was supposed to marry, she took into account his handsome looks. Tucker was taller than his older brother, with brown hair tinted with hints of red, large brown eyes, and a nice smile. But he wasn’t Tanner. All three of the brothers were similar in size and appearance, but their mannerisms were distinctively different.
Though she was destined to marry Tucker, Tanner was the one who appealed to her. Still, she had no choice but to get over that attraction. She could never notice again how his pants fit his hips snuggly or the way his eyes darkened right before his lips kissed her.
She had to forget about Tanner and concentrate on falling in love with Tucker. For Tucker had paid her passage to Fort Worth. He was the one promising to take care of her until death did them part. He had expressed a desire to marry her, not Tanner.
Beth glanced at Tanner and knew that no matter what, she would always be grateful to him for taking care of her. But to find out it was his brother she was to marry had stunned her. In fact, it had left her feeling dizzy, and for a moment she thought she was going to faint.
Somehow she had recovered enough to acknowledge that she was indeed Tucker’s mail-order bride.
Then a newspaper reporter had gotten wind of what was happening at the El Paso Hotel, and the family reunion had been descended upon with questions. They had quickly bundled up Beth’s valise, her missing trunk had been found, loaded, and then she and Tanner had been hustled into a waiting wagon, where they had escaped the nosy reporter.
Tanner had been as nervous as a cat in a dog pen since the reporter had showed up, refusing to speak with the man or let him use that newfangled contraption that took a picture. Beth was still reeling from the knowledge that she had sex with her fiancé’s brother.
However unintentional it had been, the memory of spending the night in Tanner’s arms would forever haunt her. No matter what the man had done, he would never know that the night they were together had healed her. For she had not known that it could be that special, that magical, between a man and a woman.
Sex had just been something to be endured with the general, not the tender, emotional union that had left her spent and more contented than she’d ever felt before.
Was this what it felt like to be in love?
Beth shook her head. No, she couldn’t fall in love with Tanner; she was going to marry Tucker. She had no choice.
“So how is your wound?” Tucker asked her.
She glanced at him, feeling awkward with Tanner sitting right beside her. “It’s much better. The constant riding the last few days has made it sore, but it’s healing.” “How come you didn’t ride in on the stage?”
Tanner cleared his throat, and Beth glanced at him. “We decided not to wait on the stage but to come on by ourselves.”
Tucker shrugged. “It might have been better you weren’t in that bouncing coach, anyways. As you found out, sometimes they get robbed.”
“Tanner was with me when the stage was robbed. He saved my life,” Beth acknowledged.
Tucker stared at his older brother. “Were you the one that took Beth to the doctor? The elderly woman who was on the stage told us that a young banker fellow had rescued Beth and was taking her to the doctor. Was that you?”
“Yes, that was me.”
“I guess you were on your way back when this happened?” Tucker asked.
“Yeah,” Tanner replied not very convincingly Somehow Beth knew he was lying. He’d never said a word about his family when she’d mentioned going on to Fort Worth. In fact, he’d never said anything about where he was going or what he was doing on that stage except that he worked for a bank.
She glanced at Tanner. Why did she get the feeling that he hadn’t meant to find these people? That it had been years since he’d seen them and this morning had been an accident? She’d bet if they hadn’t seen him first, he would have left town without their ever knowing he had been here.
She had to get a hold of herself. She swallowed and tried to make conversation. Anything to fix this awkwardness that hung over the wagon.
“Your letters said that you were the marshal. How long have you worn a tin star?”
Tanner tilted his head and stared at his younger brother. Beth could feel his body tense beside her. She glanced at him and saw the worried expression on his face. His hands were clenched on his knees. He’d been acting strange ever since his family joined them, not at all jubilant and happy to see them.
The memory of the Wanted poster that resembled Tanner suddenly appeared before her eyes. She glanced between the two men and wondered what this could mean.
If he were a wanted man, wouldn’t his brother know? Wouldn’t he have seen the poster before Tanner came to town?
“I’ve been back in Fort Worth now about two years, and since that time I’ve been marshal.” He glanced at her.
Tanner started to laugh, his voice nervous and edgy. “It’s hard for me to imagine my baby brother being the marshal.”
Tucker glanced at Tanner. “You’ve been gone a long time, Tanner.”
They rode along, only the creaking wagon wheels and rattling of the wagon breaking the silence until Beth thought she would scream from the tension.
Tucker’s smile was nice, his mannerisms gentlemanly, and while the thought of marrying a marshal was daunting, she hadn’t seen any flaws that would have kept a man like him from marrying before now. So why did he need a mail-order bride?
“How far to your home?” Beth asked, clasping her hands nervously in her lap.
“Oh, it’s about an hour’s drive by wagon. We’re not far from town, but far enough.”
“Do you live out on the ranch?” Beth asked.
“No. I live in town. But I’m out here every few days checking on Mother, making sure that Travis hasn’t tied her up and thrown her down the cellar.”
Tanner smiled. “They still don’t get along?”
“Oh, when father died, they got along real well until Mother decided it was time for Travis to take a wife. Then it was like putting two polecats in the henhouse.” Tucker eyed his older brother. “Just wait until she starts to plan your wedding.”
Tanner grimaced, his mouth thinning into a tight line. His eyes met and held Beth’s. “I’m never getting married.”
Tucker laughed. “Don’t let Mother hear you say that or she will take it as a personal challenge. All of her sons should be married. No one is spared the eternal vows.”
“I will never marry,” Tanner repeated.
“We’ll see,” Tucker said, tugging on the reins.
They rode along, only the creaking of the wagon wheels and the rattling of the buckboard breaking the silence. Two miles passed before Tanner spoke.
“Since Papa died and you’re the new marshal, who’s taking care of the ranch? Travis?” Tanner asked.
“Yeah, he’s always loved this place, so he’s taken over the running of the ranch. I just help out occasionally.”
“You never were fond of cattle,” Tanner said.
“Nope, and I’m still not.”
They hit a rocky spot in the road, and Beth felt as if her insides were being rattled loose. Her shoulder had started to throb again, and she couldn’t wait to get to the ranch and out from between the two men.
Suddenly, she felt herself lifted in the air. She had no handhold, and she grabbed for Tanner’s arm just as her bottom slammed back down on the hard bench.
“Whoa, slow it down,” Tanner called to his brother. “Beth’s still hurt.”
“Sorry, I always forget about that damn washout.”
Beth let loose o
f Tanner, a blush creeping up her face. She should have reached for Tucker, not his brother. Yet she and Tanner had shared intimacies that left her feeling comfortable reaching for him. But they had to stop. No one could know of what had transpired between Tanner and herself.
That secret must go to her grave with her.
It was then that she noticed the white two-story house looming in the distance.
Tucker pulled the wagon to a halt and glanced over at his brother.
“It’s been a long time, Tanner. We’ve put a couple of coats of paint on the house, had to build a new bam because of Travis’s stupidity, but other than that, nothing much has changed. Except that Papa’s gone and Mother—Well, Mother has gotten a little grayer, but she’s more ornery now than since before you left.”
Beth glanced over at Tanner and saw him swallow hard, his throat moving rapidly. He blinked several times and then cleared his throat.
She didn’t know how long he’d been gone, but it was obvious that his unexpected homecoming had affected him deeply.
“Welcome home, brother. Giddy up,” Tucker called to the horses, and the wagon rolled on to the house Tanner had called home.
Beth would also call the ranch home until she married Tucker. The man she was here to marry, the man who had paid her passage to Fort Worth, the brother of Tanner. How was she going to live with herself knowing that she had sex with Tanner, on her way to meet Tucker?
Chapter Ten
Beth walked out of the big house, striding across the long, covered veranda to the swing that hung from the eaves. She needed to escape for just a few moments from the happy reunion taking place inside. The day had brought about unexpected complications in her life, and she needed just a chance to collect her wits.
The moon was rising over the edge of the Texas prairie, and the lonesome cry of a coyote could be heard in the distance. The noise was eerie and haunting and filled her with a forlorn feeling that seemed fitting for such a day.
A soft southerly breeze teased wisps of curls around her face as she sat in the porch swing and gently rocked in the evening air.
The Outlaw Takes A Bride (The Burnett Brides) Page 13