by Merry Farmer
Bonneville’s face splotched red. “I won’t have common toughs talking to me like that.”
“Then you’d better pack up and move someplace else.” Luke stood his ground.
Bonneville’s cold gaze snapped to Eden. “You know your new husband was in jail less than a month ago?”
Icy prickles worked their way down Luke’s arms and legs. He’d hoped there would be time to explain that saloon fight and what caused it before Eden found out.
“Really?” Eden tugged at Luke’s arm, her hand still resting in the crook of his elbow. “Well, good for you.”
Luke’s brow shot up—it might as well just stay there, seeing how much it was heading there that day—at the sly grin Eden wore.
She squared her shoulders and nodded, chin first, at Bonneville. “Who are you?”
Judging by the dark anger in Bonneville’s eyes, he didn’t like the sharp question. “I’m Rex Bonneville, and if you don’t wipe that smug little grin off your shrewish face, I’ll—”
“Rex.” Bonnie stepped forward, placing a calming hand on Bonneville’s arm. She looked him in the eye, hard as iron. Rex clamped his mouth shut, and Bonnie turned to Luke and Eden. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Chance. I heard you were coming.”
“Did you?” Eden brightened.
Bonnie glanced to Luke. “Well, I heard Luke had sent away for a girl from Hurst Home, like Franklin Haskell did. I think it’s rather noble of Mr. Garrett to set girls up that way.” She lowered her voice and added, “So they don’t end up working for me.”
For a moment, Luke had that tricky feeling that Bonnie might be the most unhappy person in Haskell, in spite of her fancy clothes and boots and the income from her girls.
“Come along, Rex,” she sighed, tugging Bonneville’s arm and starting into the street with him. “Mr. Dashiell is waiting for us.”
Bonneville sniffed at Luke, then walked on with Bonnie as if Luke didn’t exist. Luke would have ignored him too, but for Bonnie’s last statement.
“That snake will get what’s coming to him one day,” he muttered.
“What’d he do?” Eden asked, pulling him along the street on their way to the livery.
“Dashiell,” Luke said. “He’s the other snake, the one that owns the nearest stockyard to here. Bonneville somehow got him in his pocket. The two of them signed an exclusive agreement for the use of the stockyard and rail services.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we have to drive our cattle an extra hundred or so miles to get to another stockyard where they can be loaded onto the train.”
Eden hummed. “Isn’t that a terrible deal on this Dashiell’s part? He’ll be losing business.”
“Bonneville fixed him up somehow, the slimy bastard.” He winced at his cursing.
“Schemers rarely end up getting what they think they’re gonna get, and usually end up with what they deserve,” Eden said, ignoring his loose language.
Luke’s mouth twitched into a smile. “I like the sound of that.”
She grinned at him, squeezing his arm. “Then we’re gonna get along just fine.”
Eden knew she shouldn’t be giggling as she rode on the wagon bench beside Luke. They were passing through beautiful, expansive fields dotted with late-summer wildflowers, a stream flowing to one side. She should appreciate nature. She always had liked riding through open land with her brothers, even if they were laying low or scouting out new targets. But the pure joy of knowing she’d gambled her life and won in spectacular fashion had her bubbling over. This was the kind of place she could stay hidden. This was where she could breathe at last. As long as she kept a smile on Luke’s face.
“Is something funny?” Luke shot her a sideways look, his mouth tight. “Something I said?”
He tugged on the lines to steer the horse pulling the wagon off of the main road and on toward a cluster of buildings in various stages of construction.
“No.” Eden laughed outright. “I’m just too pleased with how everything has turned out so far to hold it all inside, you know?” She faced him, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.
Luke warmed to a smile. “I sure am pleased you’re pleased.” He nodded, then tilted his head to the side, then winced. “I just wish Bonneville hadn’t soured my mood with his ugly face back at Bonnie’s.”
“Why should you let the likes of him bother you?”
Luke barked a low laugh. “If you’re gonna live in Haskell, then you’ll know all the reasons why soon enough.”
“How about knowing them now?” She planted her hands on the edge of the bench and leaned toward him.
“All right. Here’s the way things are in Haskell. Howard Haskell, my boss, founded the town about ten years ago. He’s a wealthy rancher, but rather than spending his money on fancy clothes and trips and things, he built a town. Then Bonneville came along, bought up the land next to Paradise Ranch and went into business for himself.”
“So?” Eden shrugged. “The open range is huge, or so I hear tell. There’s room and business enough for everyone.”
“Yeah, but the open range is closing as ranchers fence their patches in with that new barbed wire stuff. And Bonneville’s not the kind of man who likes competition. Howard may own the town, but Bonneville joined the Wyoming Stock Grower’s Association. He’s got power and Howard’s got power, and they’re always thinking of ways to cut each other down and take the whole prize.”
He pulled the wagon to a stop at the entrance to a circular drive with five half-built houses, complete with outbuildings and yards, around them. Half a dozen men climbed over one of the houses, accompanied by the sounds of nails being hammered and boards being sawed. The air smelled of sawdust and hard work.
Eden snorted. “Well, if that’s not men for you, I don’t know what is. Always trying to be king of the hill, even when there’s plenty of hill to go around.”
Luke shot her a doubtful look before hopping down and striding around to her side of the wagon. Before he got there to help her, Eden climbed down herself.
“There’s nothing wrong with a man wanting to take charge of what’s his, especially if he’s got plans of how he wants to run things,” Luke said.
Eden brushed her skirts straight then turned to face him. “Is that you?” she asked. “Do you want to take charge of what’s yours and run it?”
A strong “yes” look came over him—squared shoulders, set jaw, determination in his eyes. An excited shiver swirled through Eden’s gut. Two seconds later, that mighty look melted to uncertainty.
“I guess.” Luke shrugged, scratching his chin. “That is, if you don’t mind.”
Eden laughed, reaching up to pat his cheek. “Sweetie, as long as you keep me safe and warm at night with a steady supply of food on my table and a handful of babies to chase around, I’ll be happy as a hog in a bog.”
She pivoted to look at the houses under construction, considering the issue settled. Luke, on the other hand, kicked a toe in the dirt of the drive, watching her.
“That’s really what you want?” he asked. “A house, kids, normal, boring stuff?”
She planted a hand on her hip and stared at him. “I haven’t had a normal day in my life. Boring is a dream come true for me. Now, what are these houses?”
She faced the houses, studying the construction once more. Two stories, sizeable, room for a garden behind.
“Huh.” Luke took a step forward, gesturing for her to come with him. “I never thought boring would be someone’s dream.” He paused, the sound of their steps crunching across rocky ground filling the silence, then said, “Hurst Home is a place where women can go when they’re in danger, right?”
Ah. So there were brains in her sweet husband’s head after all. “Yep,” she answered aloud. “And you better believe that half or more of the girls there are beside themselves with eagerness to come out here to pokey, quiet, old Haskell to get away from it.”
A grin tweaked the corner of Luk
e’s mouth. “You escaping danger?”
She returned his grin with a sly smile. “I just want a normal life.”
Luke stepped closer to her, coming to a stop in front of one of the houses and sliding his arm around her waist. Eden’s heart twanged in her chest. She cleared her throat and brushed the unusual reaction aside. She liked the feel of Luke’s arm around her, that was all. Her heart had nothing to do with it.
“What we’ve got here is one of Howard’s brilliant ideas,” Luke explained. “It’s called The Village. Charlie Garrett, Mrs. Piedmont, and my ma may have come up with the idea of bringing ladies out here from Hurst Home, but Howard was the one who decided to throw in the incentive that any man who accepts a wife from the home will be given a house and property of his own.”
Eden nearly choked in surprise. “Mr. Haskell is giving away houses?”
“Yes he is.” Luke nodded, then shrugged. “Well, technically they’re on loan until you pay them off, but he’s giving us remarkable terms on the mortgage and a lot of guarantees for the future.”
Eden whistled her disbelief and appreciation. “So which one is ours?”
“This one, I expect.” Luke nodded to the nearest house, the one that was closest to completion. “Want to take a look?”
“Absolutely.”
She broke away from him and strode ahead. The house that would be theirs looked close to being completed, at least from the outside. Already, she could see herself rocking a baby on the shaded front porch, waving to neighbors across the circle, and planting flowers along the front drive. The door was open, so she walked right in, breathing in the scent of fresh wood and promise.
One quick walk through the downstairs showed her that there was no stove or sink in the kitchen yet, but there were places for them. The walls were bare wood without plaster or paint, but the fireplace in the front room was finished, and glass windows had been installed throughout. There was even a fancy, modern indoor water closet, although she’d spotted an outhouse in the back through one of the windows.
“You like it?” Luke asked when she finally stopped moving and simply stood in the spacious dining room.
Eden let out a sigh. “It’s perfect.”
Perfect and protected and as far away from the chaos and uncertainty of life with her brothers. They would never guess where she’d gone, never dream of her settling in a place like this, and as far as she was concerned, that was the best feature of all. If they didn’t imagine her becoming a simple rancher’s wife out West, then they wouldn’t get it in their heads to look for her.
“Right.” She twisted to face Luke, hands on her hips. “So clearly we’re not shacking up here tonight. Where do we hang our boots until the house is ready?”
A whimsical grin flickered across Luke’s features. “Howard thought of that too. Come on, I’ll show you.”
He reached for her hand, and Eden was more than happy to take it. It wasn’t just the house or the peaceful, frontier town. It was the handsome, motivated husband she’d landed herself that made this such a good deal. Lord, she couldn’t wait to get him wherever it was they were going and peel his clothes off to see what he was made of.
“This Village is halfway between town and Paradise Ranch,” Luke explained once they were on the road again. “But for now, most of Howard’s employees—Mrs. Piedmont’s employees too, since she owns half the ranch—live in bunk-houses. Howard decided that newlyweds need a little privacy until their houses are done. So he built the Hen House.”
Eden snorted with laughter. “Hen House?”
Luke shook his head, chuckling. “I wasn’t the one who named it, trust me.”
They drove on, through parched landscape and under a sweeping arch with the words “Paradise Ranch” worked in iron filigree. Before they had gone more than a hundred yards, Eden saw the herd and gasped.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many cows in one place in my life,” she said, pressing a hand to her chest.
“They’re usually more spread out, scattered all across the range. But the drive starts tomorrow, so we’ve corralled them into this area,” Luke explained.
“There must be hundreds of them.” The wild urge to count every head welled up in Eden, but she didn’t know where to start. “How long does it take to drive them?”
Luke shrugged. “This is the first time we have to take them all the way to the Culpepper stockyard, so we’re not exactly sure. A couple weeks?”
Eden hummed. She’s spent weeks on end living rough off the land more than a couple of times, but not with hundreds of cattle to watch out for.
Those thoughts were cut short as Luke nudged her and pointed on to a cluster of buildings—including a large, fine house—ahead of them.
“There you go.” He nodded. “Howard’s bit of the ranch and all his buildings, including that whitewashed one, the Hen House. We’re home.”
Chapter Four
Howard Haskell knew exactly what he was doing when he built the Hen House. Although Luke suspected that Mrs. Elizabeth Haskell was the one who spearheaded the design. Eden’s eyes lit up when Luke escorted her up the shallow steps to the small front porch, then on inside into the main room.
The Hen House had three main rooms—a central room with a sofa and chairs, dining room table, and cabinet, a bedroom with a single, large bed and a bureau, and a fully-stocked kitchen. It was snug and cozy, but it wasn’t designed to be lived in for a long period of time. There wasn’t much space, but that didn’t seem to bother Eden at all.
“It’s lovely,” she sighed, turning a circle in the main room. “A bride could feel right at home here.”
“I think that’s the point.” Luke tried to keep the grunt out of his voice as he carried her trunk inside. “Where do you want this?”
Eden finished her circle by facing him, her pretty face sporting a blush that made Luke want to drop the trunk where they were and kiss her. She scanned the room, skipped over to the open bedroom door, and peeked inside.
“In here.”
Luke followed her, turning sideways to squeeze through the bedroom door with the trunk. A rush of heat struck him at the sight of the big bed. Now there was something he was looking forward to. But not with a trunk in his arms.
“Put it on the bed for now,” Eden instructed him, her lips twitching with amusement when she saw where his gaze had landed.
Luke’s heated thoughts cooled. “The bed? You sure?”
“Yes.” She rested one hand on her hip, gesturing to the bed with the other.
“You, uh, sure you don’t want me to put it somewhere else so we can test out the bed first?” He winked at her for good measure.
The way Eden’s grin grew to something akin to a furnace had Luke itching to put the trunk down and get on with things. “In a hurry there, sweetie?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he teased her right back. And why not? She was his wife, she’d been giving him the eye since she got off the train, and it was about damn time she made a man of him.
She took a few steps toward him that caused her hips to sway. Luke barely knew which curves to ogle.
“Sweetie, I’ve been on a train for the last four days. I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Sure, I could use a little roll in the hay to limber up my stiff muscles, but I kinda want to unpack and eat supper first. But later…” She twisted away, still looking at him over her shoulder, and nodded to the bed. “Put the trunk on the bed.”
Luke’s jaw went slack. Well, didn’t that just beat all? He was in serious trouble. Then again, he never did mind a little trouble now and then.
Stifling a chuckle and warning himself to keep his hands to himself for now to reap the benefits later, he set the heavy trunk on the bed. His muscles ached with relief as he let go, and the bed sagged.
“What’ve you got in there that weighs so much, darling?” He tested out the endearment, trying to decide if it suited her.
“Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about.”
; His temptation to ask what that meant was blown away as she grabbed two handfuls of his shirt, lifted to her toes, and kissed him. All thought ceased as their lips met and mingled. Need deeper than anything he’d ever felt gripped him, igniting him body and soul. The pressure of his pants getting tighter only fueled the fire.
A second later, she let go of him with a happy sigh and turned back to her trunk. “Why don’t you see what we have in the kitchen while I unpack. I’m the best cook you’ve ever met, and I’d like to know what I have to work with.”
It took her words a bit to translate in his head with the way his body was bursting to life. “Uh, sure. Whatever you want.”
He turned to go, a supremely satisfied grin spreading across his kiss-heated lips.
“Shut the door on your way out,” Eden called after him.
He thought nothing of it, still in a daze as he strode into the main room, the bedroom door clicking behind him. He took a few more steps, then stopped to take a deep breath. His stomach growled, as if it had been listening to Eden’s talk of supper, but parts lower than that were close to driving him to distraction. He ached, pulsed, and itched to turn around, barge through the bedroom door, get rid of his clothes and hers, and do what married people did, trunk on the bed or no trunk on the bed. How long had he waited for this?
Luke was halfway through making up his mind to throw caution to the wind and make love to his wife when there was a knock on the front door. It made him jump a mile. Embarrassment struck him, as if whoever was on the other side of the door could see every lustful thought he was having. He glanced down at the front of his pants, and the awkward feeling intensified.
“Go down, go down,” he whispered, then burst into laughter at himself. He shook his head and marched toward the door, working out how he could stand so he wasn’t stupidly obvious to whomever was there to bother him.
Whoever it was knocked a second time as Luke reached the door and tugged it open. Travis Montrose stood on the other side, fist raised for another knock. He took one look at Luke and snorted into laughter.