Mail Order Bride - Westward Changes: A Clean Cowboy Romance Novel (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 14)

by Linda Bridey

“Not much for small talk, are you?” he said. “Ok, so show me.”

  “Fine, but I want you to know that I hate you. I will not steal for you anymore after this. I have already brought great dishonor to my family by doing so,” she said.

  Bill laughed. “You are so cute when you’re fierce like that. And very pretty.”

  Minx avoided the hand he stretched out towards her. She smacked it away, her black eyes blazing fury. “Do not touch me unless you want to die.”

  He sobered and said, “Where is it?”

  She picked up the real bag and threw it at him, putting a considerable amount of force behind it. It hit his chest hard enough to make him grunt.

  “Hey! That’s a little uncalled for,” Bill said.

  “I would like to do much more to you for raping me!”

  “I did no such thing. You went along with it,” Bill protested.

  “So struggling, screaming, and crying is ‘going along with it’ in your culture? And the white people have the nerve to call us ‘savages’? You disgust me!” Minx said.

  Bill just laughed in response. He untied the sack and poured some of the contents into his palm. “Damn, you picked out some nice stuff, Minx.”

  “That is the last I will pick out,” she said. “We are done.”

  Bill said, “I don’t think so, sweetheart. Not unless you want me to tell my captain where your little family lives.”

  “You’ve probably already told this captain, so why should I keep doing your dirty work?” she asked.

  The whole time Minx kept him talking the three men crept closer. They were able to hear everything clearly. This was going to be very important later on.

  “No. I haven’t told him. So this stuff came from that Dwyer fella’s place, huh? The mayor?” Bill asked.

  Minx was glad he couldn’t see the flush in her face as she said, “Yes. Most of it. There were another couple of places, but it is mostly from there, just like you wanted.”

  “That’s right. I knew that if anyone was going to have the good stuff, it would be him. He’s a real pain in the ass, I don’t mind telling you. He’s real close to being arrested for not giving you guys up. Especially after they tried to get you with that fire. You’re a sneaky bunch, I’ll give you that. He’s very loyal to your tribe. I kind of admire him for that, but he can’t hold the army off for forever.”

  Minx wanted to smash in his face with the sack of stones, but resisted the urge. “You think you are so smart, but you are just a stupid white boy who has no idea what he is up against.”

  “And what would that be?” Bill asked, with a contemptuous laugh.

  A gun cocked behind him. “That would be me. Stand up and put your hands behind your back,” Rick said. “One false move and I’ll put a bullet in your brain. It would be a real pleasure, too, after everything we just heard.”

  Bill looked at Minx with hatred. “You little bi—“

  “No, no. Stop right there, Bill,” Rick said.

  Reckless could stay still no longer. He stepped forward and dragged Bill to his feet. He glared into Bill’s frightened face.

  Rick said, “This fellow that kindly helped you up is Minx’s brother. What do you suppose he’d like to do to you right now? It’s just a good thing for you that I’m honor bound to not let him do it. You deserve it, that’s for sure. Rape, blackmail, theft. You’re going away for a long time, son.”

  “I’ll still tell my superiors where they are,” Bill said as Rick handcuffed him.

  “You go right ahead,” Mitch said.

  Mitch and Rick started leading the man away. Reckless hugged his sister and held her while she cried.

  “You did well, sister. You are safe,” he said. “Let us go home.”

  “I do not want anyone to know what happened to me. Reckless, what if I am pregnant?” she asked, looking up at him.

  “Then we will deal with it should it come to pass,” Reckless said. “We will have to wait. Right now, you need to see our parents. They are expecting you.”

  Minx drew away. “Some of the pieces of jewelry may have been sold. I had to give a few to him as proof and I told him I would not give him any more until I had made sure that no one was coming after us.”

  “Hopefully he waited before trying to sell them,” Reckless said.

  “Either way, I will become family to Joe and work very hard for him,” Minx said. “It is only right.”

  “Yes, I know, but not until tomorrow. You need to rest and eat tonight. We are going home now, little sister,” Reckless said kindly.

  Minx nodded and began walking towards the camp. Reckless trailed her, covering their tracks as they went.

  *****

  Deena was grateful that the night air had turned cooler by the time that they left the bar that night. She was overheated from all of the dancing. As they rode, she and Eddie laughed and kissed off and on. Soon the nature of their kissing changed from brief and light to lingering and passionate. Suddenly Eddie pulled the team to a halt so he could pay more attention to Deena. He pulled her sweet body close and groaned when Deena pressed her lips to his again.

  The sound of a rifle being cocked sounded behind them and they froze.

  “Take your hands off her, son,” Deena’s father said.

  “Tom?” Eddie said. “What the heck?”

  “I mean it, Eddie. Let her go,” Tom said.

  “Pa! Put that gun down!” Deena said.

  “Get out of that buggy and get over here,” Tom said.

  “No! Put the gun down!” Deena said.

  “Tom, nothing happened,” Eddie said as Tom advanced on them a little.

  “It didn’t look like nothing was happening,” Tom said.

  Deena didn’t like the look in her father’s eyes at that moment. She hadn’t seen it since she’d dated Scotty. “Pa, why are you doin’ this?”

  “Is it true that you were seein’ Eddie the whole time you were with Scotty?” Tom asked.

  “Of course not! How dare you think such a thing about me?” Deena said.

  “It wouldn’t be your fault, honey. Men can be evil,” Tom said.

  “I wasn’t seein’ Eddie, Pa.”

  “Then why are you lettin’ him paw at you like that?” Tom asked.

  “Who told you that she was seeing me, Tom?” Eddie asked.

  “Scotty came by tonight for a chat. Said that he’d found out about the two of you and he thought I should know,” Tom said. “So why are you letting Eddie crawl all over you like that, Deena?”

  Even as she fumed over Scotty’s vindictive actions, Deena’s mind raced as she tried to come up with something plausible. “Because Eddie asked me to marry he and I said yes. I just got carried away! What woman wouldn’t? I’m sure Ma did when you asked her to marry you.”

  Eddie opened his mouth to object to Deena’s explanation, but nothing came out because he was beyond stunned by the outrageousness of it. He was also shocked at how easily she lied.

  Tom smiled a little. “Well, yeah, she kinda did. So show me the ring.”

  “I can’t, Pa. He didn’t give it to me yet. He was so nervous about asking me that he forgot it at home, but he’s going to give it to me tomorrow. Right, Eddie?” Deena asked.

  Eddie still couldn’t speak.

  Under her breath, Deena said, “If you don’t want to get shot, go along with it.” So her father could hear, she said, “Right, honey?”

  Eddie cleared his throat. “Uh, sure. I mean, that’s right, Tom. It was impulsive I know, but it just came on me real sudden.”

  “So you proposed to her on the same night you asked me permission to court her?” Tom asked.

  “Well, see the thing is, I already had the ring, but didn’t want to propose without courting her, but then after you and I talked tonight, I figured it’d be ok to just go ahead and propose and on the way home, I just couldn’t wait to ask her any longer,” Eddie said. He prayed that Tom bought his rambling statements.

  Tom thought about it for a fe
w moments. “I can see how that might happen. Proposing can be tricky and if you’re nervous, well it makes it even worse. It’s hard on a man. Well, Eddie, welcome to the family. Go on and take her home now, but no more funny business.”

  Eddie’s hands were shaking as he took up the reins again and got the horses going. Once they were a short distance away he whispered, “Would he have really shot me?”

  “Yes. He’s always been a little overprotective that way. I think it’s one of the reasons Scotty broke up with me,” Deena whispered back.

  “You couldn’t have mentioned this to me?” Eddie asked.

  “I thought he was over it. I just thought he was like that because he didn’t like Scotty,” Deena insisted.

  Eddie’s face took on a dark scowl. “Yeah, well, Scotty’s a dead man when I see him.”

  “That makes two of us. I wanted to get married, but not like this,” Deena said.

  “We’re not getting married, Deena.”

  “Oh, yes, we are. He’s not going to give up until we do,” Deena said.

  “That’s just crazy,” Eddie said. “I’ll talk to the sheriff about him.”

  “And he’ll make me quit working for you and he’ll make sure I never see you again, too,” Deena said. Her throat ached as tears clogged it. In a thick voice she said, “That’s the last thing on Earth I want, Eddie.”

  “I don’t want that, either, Deena. Are you safe with him?” Eddie asked.

  Deena let out a shaky laugh. “Yes. He won’t hurt me or anything. I’ll be fine.”

  “Ok. That’s good. Look, let’s not panic. Just let it alone for tonight and we’ll figure out what to do tomorrow,” Eddie said as he reached for her hand.

  “Ok,” Deena said, even as tears rolled down her face.

  Eddie’s grip on her hand tightened. “It’ll be all right, Deena,” he said, and tried to believe his words.

  *****

  After dropping off Deena, Eddie drove King and Rook home at a fast pace. He had avoided Tom as he’d said a quick goodnight to Deena. She had been very upset, which was understandable and he was furious with Scotty and Tom. He’d wanted to court Deena, but he wasn’t ready to propose marriage. There had to be some way around this, he just had to find it.

  Upon reaching home, Eddie took care of the team and put the buggy away. Then he jogged up to the main house. He needed to talk to Joe about this and hoped he was still up. Once he reached the sunroom, Eddie rang the bell. Joe himself answered the door.

  “Hey, Eddie. What’s goin’ on?” Joe asked, with a concerned expression.

  “Can I come in? I’ve got an emergency I need to talk to you about,” Eddie replied.

  “Yeah, sure.” Joe ushered him into the parlor and had him sit on the sofa. “What is it?”

  Eddie started cracking his knuckles, something he did when he was nervous. “I was taking Deena home tonight and her pa followed us. We didn’t know it. Well, we got kissin’ and the next thing we know, Tom’s behind us cocking a shotgun. He didn’t like me kissin’ Deena one bit and asked if she had been seeing me while she was seeing Scotty. He accused her of cheatin’, Joe.

  “Anyway, he meant business. Tom told us that Scotty had told him that I had been fooling around with Deena while he was courtin’ her. I’m gonna kill Scotty. Tom asked Deena why I was kissin’ her like that and neither of us knew what to say. Next thing I know, Deena’s telling her pa that I proposed to her and she said yes! She told him we’re getting married, Joe!”

  Joe’s astonishment was such that he couldn’t respond for several moments. “Are you gettin’ hitched?”

  “No! She lied to him to keep Tom from shootin’ me. He was gonna do it, too,” Eddie said. “I’ve gotta talk to Mitch in the morning. I can’t marry her, not yet. I just got permission from Tom tonight to court her. I’m not ready for marriage.”

  An evil little imp caught hold of Joe. “Why not? You were lookin’ for a bride.”

  Eddie rounded on Joe. “Not like this! I wanted to propose to someone in my own time, not be forced into it while having a gun held on me. Besides, I didn’t propose! She just made it all up and I went along with it. The man is crazy, Joe. I’m glad I never mentioned going into business with him.”

  “I can see where you’d be upset about havin’ it happen like that, but you could certainly do worse for a wife, Eddie. Y’all have feelings for each other and you get along well,” Joe said.

  “So far, Joe, but it’s way too soon for such a serious commitment,” Eddie said.

  “It was even shorter for me and Lacey,” Joe said.

  Eddie stared at Joe for a moment. “Why are you tryin’ to talk me into this? Deena and I are not you and Lacey. The circumstances are completely different. I wasn’t looking for a business arrangement, Joe. I wanted some romance, not have marriage forced on me.”

  Joe chuckled. “I know that our situations are different. I’m just saying that you two are farther ahead than Lacey and I were and it worked out for us. I don’t see why it can’t work for you and Deena.”

  “Nevermind,” Eddie said, rising from the sofa. “I can see that you just don’t understand. I won’t be in to work until later in the day tomorrow. I have to go buy an engagement ring.”

  “Eddie, wait a minute. Just listen to me a minute, please?”

  Eddie sighed and sat back down.

  Joe threw a leg over the arm of the wing back chair in which he sat. “Eddie, if you don’t want to marry Deena right now, just tell Tom.”

  “I can’t. Deena said he’ll make her quit and won’t let her see me anymore,” Eddie said. “Neither of us wants that.”

  Joe closed his eyes as he pondered the situation. They snapped open as something occurred to him. “Eddie, just because you get engaged, doesn’t mean the wedding has to be soon. You two can have as long of an engagement as you want. Why do you have to get the ring tomorrow?”

  Eddie hung his head as he said, “Tom wanted to see the ring, but of course I didn’t have one. Deena told him that I was nervous and forgot the ring and that I’m going to give it to her tomorrow. Joe, it scares me a little how she can come up with lies so quick and tell them like they’re the truth.”

  Joe bit the inside of his cheek in an attempt to stave off the laughter he felt rising in his chest.

  Eddie pointed at Joe when he saw the amusement in Joe’s eyes. “Don’t you dare laugh at me! This is not funny!”

  Joe shook his head and in a strangled voice he said, “Nope. Not funny.”

  “It’s not! I wish you had been held at gunpoint and been made to propose to Lacey!” Eddie said. “He’s a crazy man and I don’t think I want him for a father-in-law, Joe.”

  Joe tasted blood in his mouth as he bit down harder on his cheek. A snort escaped him despite his best efforts to restrain it.

  “Damn you, Joe!”

  The angrier Eddie became, the funnier the situation struck Joe. He gave up trying to hold it in and his laughter rang in the room. Joe doubled over in the chair and reached for a decorative cushion on the end of the sofa nearest him. Burying his face in it, Joe let his mirth loose.

  Eddie’s anger reached a new high as Joe continued to laugh. He got up and left the main house, stomping back down to the barn and up the stairs into his apartment.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Deena woke with a headache the next morning, but dragged herself out of bed so she could go to work. She had fought bitterly with her father last night and ended up crying herself to sleep. She had no idea what she and Eddie were going to do about the situation, but she felt horrible about what had happened.

  Eddie had to think that she’d tried to trap him, but that wasn’t the case. If Eddie ever did seriously ask her to marry him that was one thing, but to marry Eddie under false pretenses was something she couldn’t let happen. No, she would tell Eddie that she would quit and they would have to stop seeing each other. Better that than to have Eddie thinking the worst of her, if he already didn’t.

 
Deena dressed in her jeans and blouse. She would work today but that was it. Tears blurred her vision as she braided her hair and pulled on her boots. Before going downstairs, she wiped them away and straightened her spine. She was not going to show weakness in front of her father.

  He sat at the kitchen table reading an almanac.

  “Good morning, sweetheart.”

  Deena didn’t respond as she put her jacket on.

  “What about breakfast?”

  “I’ll eat at Joe’s with the rest of the employees.”

  Tom frowned. “What about me?”

  “Fix your own damn breakfast, Pa. I gotta go,” Deena said and left the house without looking at him.

  She ran to the barn and saddled her horse as fast as possible. Just as she was mounting, Tom came into the barn.

  “Now, look, Deena,” he said, “Maybe I coulda handled things a little differently last night−”

  Deena didn’t wait around for the rest of what he was going to say. She put her heels to her horse and tore out of the barn while he was still talking. As she rode, teas fell from her eyes and were whisked away by the wind the horse created as it cantered along. The closer she got to the Dwyer estate, the more she dreaded seeing Eddie.

  Though she would have liked to run away somewhere, she had nowhere to go. She couldn’t go back home and she didn’t want to go to work, but she had to. It was better to get it done and over with, she reasoned. Calling forth what determination she had left, Deena continued on her way.

  Eddie had slept very little and he was up very early. He drank a bunch of coffee and headed for Wolfe Point, intent on going to the jewelry store there to get a ring. He’d left before Joe would be up and around. Joe’s insensitivity to his dilemma had stung and he didn’t want to see him right now.

  Eddie hated the situation he and Deena were in. Joe’s suggestion of a long engagement was a good one, he had to admit, but he still wanted to have been able to propose on his own terms. That he was serious about Deena was true or he wouldn’t have asked to court her. She was a terrific woman and any guy would be lucky to have her. What if Tom really did keep her from seeing him? What if some other guy came along and snatched her up? He would miss out on a chance at happiness.