"A horse race on a crowded thoroughfare?" she asked, waving her hand to banish the dust. "Have they no care—?"
She halted mid-sentence when a boy darted past her into the road. Annora sucked in a breath. The adults blocked his view of the animals thundering toward him. Those sharp hooves would trample him. She had to stop him.
Could she reach the boy on time? Or would she also be trampled? Annora thrust buttons at Lissette. Blinded by dust, she threw herself at the child, a prayer in her head.
Annora imagined the feel of those hooves crushing her own body and thought of the damage they could do such a small body. Fear and heat from the furry forms rushing past her sent sweat dripping down forehead and neck. The animals' grunts and snorts, the shouts of the riders, sounded only inches away.
Blinded by dust, she reached out in search of the child. Her hands brushed something woolen.
The boy!
She'd found him. Her arms closed around him. Her knees struck earth. Together, they tumbled to the ground. Annora rolled to avoid the sea of sharp, death-dealing hooves thundering near.
It happened so fast. One moment she'd been standing with Lissette and her husband, the next, she lay on the ground wrapped around a small, squirming body.
Lissette knelt beside her. "Annora! Are you all right?"
Chance lifted both her and the little boy to safety.
Annora checked the boy for injuries.
"You saved me," he said, grinning at her.
A woman, her shawl flapping behind her like wings, broke through the throng of onlookers. "Jeremy!" She snatched the boy from Annora. "What were you thinking running away from me like that? You might have been killed." She gave him a good shaking, then cradled him to her breast.
"I wanted to see, Mama," Jeremy said.
"Next time, ask your father to boost you onto his shoulders. Do not run out like that."
"That lady saved me." He pointed to Annora.
"Oh, thank you." She grabbed both Annora's hands, squeezing them. "Thank you so much. My boy is everything to me." The father rushed to them, reuniting the family.
Dazed, bruised and filthy, Annora stared after the family. What had happened? Dirt streaked her new silk dress and matching slippers. Her skirt showed a ragged tear. Fear, flying horses, and thudding hooves flashed into her mind.
Chance guided her to the boardwalk where the air had cleared. Annora's head spun. She feared she might faint.
"You’re not hurt? I was so frightened." Lissette hugged her, then brushed at Annora's skirts. "Oh, look at your pretty dress."
"What happened?" Annora asked.
Lissette stared at her. "Don't you remember? You saved that little boy's life."
"You did a brave thing, Miss Bostwick,” Chance said. “You could have both been killed."
"I don't... I didn't think. I just...acted." Heat rose to her cheeks. She felt more foolish than brave. People stared and pointed at her, creating an urge to hide. She hated being the center of attention.
"I'm sure the parents are grateful," Lissette said.
Annora's mind cleared. "Did I see a man riding a bison?" She straightened the hat she'd almost lost when she dove for the boy. "Those animals are much larger than I expected."
Lissette handed her the kitten. "That was Birch, Chance's boss, riding it."
"Buffalo Birch is his nickname." Chance grinned.
Annora saw that he approved of the man's odd pastime, but she found it outrageous. Riding a buffalo, of all things. "Bison are wild animals. Were the rest of the riders trying to rescue the man?"
Chance chuckled. "Birch doesn't need rescuing. He raised and trained the beast himself. Hezekiah is as tame as your cat. He's the fastest critter in the county. Folks like to challenge Birch to race him against their horses."
"Hezekiah?" she inquired.
"The buffalo," Chance clarified.
"Whoever the man was riding him should know better than to race on a public street." The more Annora thought about it, the angrier she became. Did he not care at all for the people he might have injured? "The sheriff should arrest him. If not for the insane stunt he pulled today, for the cruel treatment of that poor bison."
"Cruel treatment?" Chance echoed.
"Yes. It's unnatural to ride a wild creature like a horse. I'm quite sure it would prefer to graze the grasslands where it belongs."
Lissette put a hand to her husband's broad chest. "Annora is here to open a branch of the new American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Chance."
He roared with laughter. "Good luck with that, Miss Bostwick. You have your work cut out for you. Excuse me, ladies, I need to go take care of Hezekiah." He tipped his wide-brimmed hat and ambled away, still chuckling.
Annora bristled with indignation. She brushed at her skirts while glaring in the direction the riders, and Chance, had taken. "Well," she muttered, "I'm with the ASPCA. There won't be any animals mistreated while I'm around."
CHAPTER TWO
"Whoo-hoo. Hot dang. You lost, Birch, old boy." Jenks Clondry hooted, tossing his hat in the air, only to catch it before it hit the ground. "For once, I'm the winner of the day."
Birch ignored his neighbor's ranch foreman while he slid from Hezekiah’s back. Almost before his boots hit dirt, Chance arrived. He put a restraining hand on Birch's shoulder. "Ignore that flea-bitten loudmouth. Someday, I'm going to ram a fist down his throat."
Birch knew his foreman meant to prevent a fight between Birch and Jenks Clondry. "Stand in line, friend. I get first punch."
They led the buffalo to the stock wagon, away from the other riders and the spectators who congratulated Jenks for defeating Birch and Hezekiah for the first time in three years. Finding a brush, Birch began cleaning Hezekiah's fur. The buffalo turned his head and nudged Birch's shoulder. "You'll get fed in a moment. Chance, bring the feed over."
Setting the bucket of feed on the end of the wagon bed where Hezekiah could reach it, Chance said, "What happened? How'd you lose the race?"
"Damned if I know." Birch gave the buffalo a final stroke with the brush and leaned against the wagon. Dirt raised by the animals during the race ground between his teeth as he talked. He spit to rid himself of it. "Hezekiah slowed down for no reason."
His foreman shook his head. "That's not like him. What do you think caused it?"
Birch glanced toward town. "If I didn't know better, I'd say a woman distracted him."
That won him a laugh. "You're joshing, right?"
Was he? Birch didn’t know. It had all happened so fast. He remembered his gaze snagging on a woman in the crowd. A pretty woman wearing a sky-blue dress. Her gaze had been on Hezzie, not on him. A second later, the bison slowed down, forcing Birch to jab him with his spurs. He hated using spurs, even those he'd ground down, but without them, the race would have ended right then.
Could the woman have put a spell on Hezzie?
Don't be ridiculous. Witches don't exist. Or ghosts. Or the tooth fairy.
But damn if he didn't think that woman caused his buffalo to slow down.
"Ho, Birch!"
He turned to see Jeb Thomas running toward them. "What's up, Jeb?"
"You hear about the kid almost got trampled during the race?"
That caught Birch's full attention. He had objected to today’s impromptu race because he worried people might be hurt. The others had outvoted him. "No. What kid?"
"The Waverly boy, Jeremy. He ran away from his folks to see the race and darted right into the street. If some woman hadn't near killed herself to save him, he'd-a been trampled, sure."
"I was going to tell you about it," Chance said.
Birch brushed that aside, more concerned at the moment about the boy. "Is Jeremy all right?"
"Yeah, thanks to that lady."
"What lady?"
Jeb shrugged. "Never seen 'er before. She's a looker, though. Had on a dress as blue as the heavens in summer."
Hands on his hips, Birch shifted his weigh
t to his right leg and looked toward town. "I need to see the Waverlys. Take care of Hezzie, Chance?"
"Uh, Boss?" his foreman responded.
Birch's eyes narrowed. "You said you were going to tell me about Jeremy. Were you there?"
"Yep."
"Well, out with it, man. Who’s the woman?"
Chance cast his gaze at Jeb, at the ground, the sky, a splinter on his left hand, before saying, "She's Lissette's cousin from New York City."
"Thunderation." Birch spat at the ground before shifting his weight again. "I swear she's the one who cost me the race."
Birch hurried to town, keeping an eye out for Lissette and her cousin from back East. Despite his gratitude for her saving the boy's life, he had serious words to say to the woman. He turned onto Main, noticing a crowd up ahead. What the devil?
The loudest voice in the mob belonged to none other than Jenks Clondry.
"That's not right," he yelled above the noise of the crowd.
Birch reached the milling throng, shouldering his way through. "What's going on here?"
In the center of the crowd stood Jenks, Lissette Brownell, and a woman in blue holding a mult-colored kitten.
"Now, now, let's calm down. We’ll sort this out," Mayor Sythes said, waving his arms. "You folks not involved in this issue go on about your business."
Marshal Wilkes gave a few men a nudge. "You heard him, fellas. Get going." He motioned Birch closer. "Join us, Struthers. You're the one who thought up this Ride for a Bride idea."
"Not quite, Mayor. Chance Brownell proposed the race. I just agreed to be the groom if I won."
"Which you didn't," Jenks pointed out.
Birch paid him no mind, his attention riveted on the well-rounded woman in blue. The instant she turned her gaze his way, everything inside him went quiet. Not a dead, frightened sort of quiet—more of a hush, soothing and calm. Ridiculous. He frowned. Must have imagined the effect she had on him. He wasn't a fanciful sort of man. Realizing Lissette had introduced her cousin, he gave Miss Bostwick a nod.
Her hair was a light red. Not strawberry blond, nor the usual carrot red. He never would've thought of a color like red being mellow or calm, but that's how he saw it.
She had freckles to go with the hair, and intense, green eyes with a hint of stubbornness as if she wouldn't give an inch even if you set her skirts on fire. That glimpse of obstinacy matched the tilt of her chin and the stiff way she held herself. An uppity New York spinster no doubt hoping to snag what she'd failed to catch back home—a husband.
A spinster living on his ranch for the next few days. Or more. How did he get so blasted lucky?
"She's my cousin," Lissette told the mayor, an arm around Miss Bostwick's waist. Only one thing could account for such a waistline—a corset pulled too tight. He wondered how she managed to breathe. The kitten climbed up a well-padded bosom to her shoulder.
"And my bride-to-be," Jenks asserted.
"That is impossible," Miss Bostwick stated with emphasis.
Great thunder! Even her voice sounded pretty, like a meadowlark at dusk.
"I'm afraid this is my fault," Lissette said. "You see, Annora's mother wrote, asking me to help Annora find a husband. She gave me to understand that is why Annora decided to relocate here. When I saw the notice about the race, it seemed the perfect answer."
"Why didn't you ask me if I considered it perfect?" Miss Bostwick pulled the cat from her shoulder. "I've no need for a husband. I like being a spinster."
Birch swallowed a laugh at that.
"Oh, but, Annora, I... I only want to see you happy." Looking stricken, Lissette glanced around at their audience. "Please, can we discuss this later?"
"Good idea," Mayor Sythes said. "I think we've strayed from the topic, folks."
"Yes. Remove my name as the Ride for a Bride bride," Miss Bostwick told him.
Lissette's face paled. "Annora, you can't."
"I'd like to know why not."
"Ladies. Ladies." Sythes tried to get the situation under control.
Birch felt he ought to be rooting for one of the women, but didn't know which. Miss Bostwick had a right to be angry at her cousin for putting her in such an awkward situation.
He didn’t want to be the groom for the race either but wouldn’t mind seeing this New York beauty snared as the bride. He had but three months left to marry or lose the ranch, thanks to his father’s manipulative will. He could do worse than Annora Lee Bostwick.
"But, Mayor," Jenks whined, "I have a right to take my bride over to the church and get hitched. I won the race."
Lissette's skirts rustled as she whirled to face him. "No one expected that to happen. Birch and Hezzie always win."
"That doesn't change the fact that I won this time," he retorted.
"Which means nothing to me," Miss Bostwick said.
Birch raised his hands. "Hold on. Can I get a word in here?"
"Go ahead," Mayor Sythes gestured him forward. "Speak up, Birch."
"First, I had no knowledge about Miss Westbrook coming here—"
"Bostwick," the redhead corrected, preventing the calico from climbing to her shoulder again.
"—or being the designated bride for the race. In fact, I didn't think any bride had volunteered yet."
"But you need a wife, Birch," Lissette said. "Your father—"
She cut herself off, much to his pleasure. He willed her to toss the can of worms she'd almost opened into the trash bin. To change the subject, he turned to the redhead. "I would have won if you hadn't used some kind of witchcraft to slow Hezekiah down."
Her mouth dropped open. "I did no such thing." The kitten meowed loudly, and Annora loosened her grip on her.
"Oh, Birch," Lissette chided, "I can't believe how childish you’re being about this. Of all things, to blame losing the race on something as silly as witchcraft in this modern day and age, not to mention accusing my cousin of the act."
"Yeah, Birch." Jenks got his own jab in. "Be a man. Own up. You lost the race. I won."
"I never claimed otherwise, Jenks. The problem is the Ride for a Bride Race won’t take place until after the ranch competition is over."
"You mean the rodeo."
Birch glanced at him. "If you want to call it that."
"It's what this kind of competition is called down in Texas and New Mexico."
"This isn't Texas. All we've ever called it in Sheridan is the ranch competition."
"I can verify when the race is to take place." Mayor Sythes pulled a paper out of his vest pocket. "I have the competition rules and schedule with me." Putting on his spectacles, he read, "The Ride for a Bride Race shall commence on the day following the conclusion of the ranch competition. That means the race is to be held July 30."
"Let me see that." Jenks snatched the paper away.
Lissette clapped her hands in delight. "This means you still have a chance to win Annora's hand, Birch. Isn't that marvelous?"
He wanted to puke. Or cheer. He didn't know which. "Yeah, marvelous." He turned to the mayor. "May I assume this issue has been resolved?"
"I believe so. We'll see you tomorrow at the competition. I'm one of the judges, you know."
Birch nodded. "Excuse me, I have an errand to run." He needed to visit little Jeremy and his parents.
The Ride for a Bride Race had become a disaster. Somehow Birch needed to convince the competition committee to let him off the hook and out of the race. Either that or lose the race, an idea that butted heads with everything he believed in. He'd been studying his father's will to find a loophole that would give him grounds to contest it, but so far, it seemed ironclad.
As he turned away, he heard Jenks make a last bid for Annora Bostwick's hand. "The fair thing then would be to allow me to court Miss Bostwick," he whined.
"Over my dead body," she replied.
Birch chuckled.
~~^~~
"How could you do that to me?" Annora demanded, glaring at her cousin.
"I-I..
.I'm so sorry. I thought I did something good. Your mother wants you to be happy," Lissette pleaded. "So do I, and I think you and Birch would make a lovely couple."
Annora rolled her eyes. "In a painting, perhaps." Not in real life. She could never be happy with a crude, belligerent, uneducated rancher. She marched to the Brownell wagon and set Buttons inside.
Following her, Lissette said, "The two of you had a bad start. He's quite nice."
Lissette looked so earnest, Annora began to feel guilty for coming down on her so hard. Lissette meant well. "I am exhausted," she said. "I believe I'll stay at a hotel tonight." She glanced along the street searching for one.
"No! Why? I thought you would stay with us? I want to spend time with you. Please don't do this."
"You deceived me, Cousin, placing me in an untenable position."
Lissette wrung her hands, appearing ready to cry. "I know. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble. I believed you wanted to marry and would be grateful for my help."
"Well, I'm not."
"Please, Annora. Come home with us so we can work this out. I'll make it up to you somehow."
To stay with her cousin would save her money she needed to get her office running. Besides, she hated seeing Lissette so upset. They had known each other all their lives and were more like sisters than cousins. But it had been a year and a half since they'd seen each other. Annora didn't want to ruin their relationship because of a man. "Very well. I don't want to fight with you. I chose Sheridan to be close to you." Buttons climbed up on the side of the wagon, then jumped onto her shoulder.
"Oh, I want that so much, Annora."
"All right. I'll stay with you. I will find a way to get my name removed as the Ride for a Bride bride." She returned Buttons to the wagon and studied its construction to best determine how to reach the seat. "Will Chance be coming soon to drive us?" Using the wheel spokes, she climbed aboard.
Lissette glanced up the street. Twilight waited in the shadows. It would soon be growing dark. "Yes, he should be here any moment. He went to help Birch load Hezzie into his livestock wagon."
Ride for a Bride in Wyoming (Rocky Mountain Romances Book 4) Page 2