The Cowboy's Stolen Bride

by Cora Seton

  No, Tory thought. It wasn’t important at all. Not compared to everyone’s lives. “Who set the fire?”

  Enid frowned. “I don’t know.”

  “Who tied…” Tory stumbled on the words. “Who tied up Steel and left him to die?”

  “I don’t know that, either,” Enid said softly. “The sheriff questioned him, but he’s not saying much.” Her displeasure was clear.

  The door opened again, and Liam poked his head in. The nurse, who’d been checking Tory’s vital statistics, shook her head. “No visitors.”

  “He’s family,” Tory said, her voice as raspy as an old saw. “Come in, Liam.”

  He did and crossed to stand by her mother. “How are you doing?”

  “I’ll be fine.” But a tear slipped down her cheek. They could have died. All three of them. She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “Steel…”

  “I’ll make sure nothing happens to Steel.”

  She’d nearly lost her brother. After so many years apart from her family, she didn’t think she could bear to lose any of them. Or Liam. She couldn’t bear to lose him, either. “I want to stay,” she said. “Mom, I want everyone to stay.”

  “We will,” Enid told her. “Honey, it’s going to be okay.”

  “Liam?” Tory’s voice rose. She needed him close, too.

  “I’m here.” He knelt beside her bed and took her hand. “You know I plan to stay right here—with you, if you’ll have me.”

  “Yes.”

  Liam blinked. “Yes, you understand, or—”

  “Yes. Yes, I’ll have you.” She never wanted him to let go again.

  “You’ll marry me?” His voice was husky from the smoke, and she laughed to hear the wonder in it, even as her tears fell faster.

  “I’ll marry you. Now. Today.”

  “Honey, there’s plenty of time. When you get better, we’ll plan a beautiful wedding,” Enid said.

  “I’ll marry you whenever and however you want.” Liam leaned forward. Kissed her cheek. “But first you need more sleep.”

  Before she could protest, the door banged open, and the nurse turned to scowl at the new intruder.

  “Lance,” Tory rasped.

  “Good to see you awake,” her brother said, but she could already tell something bad had happened. Had the fire rekindled somehow? Had someone else been hurt after all?

  “It’s Steel,” he said quickly. “He’s gone.”

  It was a quiet crowd that gathered in the dining room of the Flying W several nights later. Tory, Olivia and Enid worked together with Maya, Stella and Mary to prepare refreshments. Enid kept trying to get Tory to sit down and rest, but she hadn’t been able to keep still since she found out Steel had snuck away from the hospital.

  For once Jed didn’t have anything to say about the Coopers on his property. Even Virginia had come to join them. Tory spotted Jed making up a plate of treats for her. Virginia didn’t deign to speak to him when he placed it in front of her on a television tray in the living room, but she accepted the offering.

  “Well?” Virginia said when everyone else had helped themselves and found a seat in the large room. “What’s all this about? Are you Turners ready to concede defeat and turn the Ridley property over to us?”

  Her barbed comments lacked their usual heat, however.

  “Virginia, you know it’s up to the city council to decide who wins in the end,” Olivia said patiently, “although there’s not much to win anymore.”

  Tory had caught a glimpse of the Ridley property on her way home from the hospital. The house was gone. So were the outbuildings. In their place, a wide circle of burnt earth surrounded the area on both sides of the creek.

  “Land is land,” Virginia said waspishly.

  “That’s not what we’re here to talk about,” Liam said. He sat down next to Tory, his solid presence warming and relaxing her, as always. He’d barely left her side these past few days, except at nighttime. They hadn’t spoken of it, but they’d both felt the need to let things settle down a little before announcing their intentions. Enid knew, of course, but no one else did.

  “What are we here to talk about?” Enid said, right on cue. She smiled at Tory, and Tory realized she no longer felt any hint of the resentment she would have only days ago. Life was precious—far too precious to waste on holding grudges. She was glad her mother was here and a little ashamed at how petty she’d been before. Reviewing Enid’s choices, she’d come to realize that her mother had made a series of mistakes—like everyone did at some point in their lives. She deserved to be forgiven.

  “Tory and I have decided to get married,” Liam said. “We’ve set the date for Labor Day weekend.”

  “Congratulations,” Olivia cried. “I’m so happy for both of you!”

  “I’m happy, too,” Noah said. “I had a feeling things were going that way.”

  “I suppose I should have seen this coming,” Virginia said with far less enthusiasm. “You were obviously too busy mooning around this Turner reprobate to do anything to win the Founder’s Prize, like I asked you to.”

  “Liam’s not a reprobate,” Tory said. “And he deserves credit for saving the dialysis unit.”

  “Leslie came by today and said she heard from a nurse at the unit that the hospital board was very impressed with the cookout and wants to make it an annual event,” Mary said. “They’ve confirmed that the dialysis unit will stay open.”

  “Which is the first step to keeping the hospital open,” Enid added.

  “That still leaves the Turners ahead, two to one,” Virginia pointed out. “I don’t know why you seem so cheerful about it.”

  “I have an announcement, too,” Lance said. He pulled an envelope out of his pocket. “From Steel. Found it in the barn today when I went to do my chores.”

  Tory straightened as relief washed through her. Steel had left a note? That meant he must be all right.

  “What does it say?” Stella demanded, leaning forward as if to take it from Lance.

  Odd, Tory thought. She doubted Stella Turner had ever thought twice about Steel before. Although Steel had danced with her before, hadn’t he? Trying to piss off Stella’s brothers—

  Just like Liam had danced with her to annoy his mother.

  “Says he’s sorry for running off. Says if he stayed, we’d all be in the line of fire.” Liam winced. “So to speak. He won’t be back until it’s safe.”

  “Will it ever be safe?” Olivia asked. “What exactly is he involved in?”

  “Who set the fire?” Tory asked. “Rod Malcolm?”

  Lance shrugged. “Steel wants me to burn this when I’m done with it and not to mention it to the sheriff.”

  “But whoever tried to kill him—” Noah began.

  “Is still out there,” Lance said. “I’m as pissed at my brother as you are. He should be here, where we can back him up.”

  “He’s trying to finish something our fathers started,” Liam said.

  “We should be helping him,” Tory said.

  “That’s not how Steel operates,” Stella put in. When everyone turned to her, she lifted her hands wide. “Well, it’s not. He’s always slinking around on his own doing who knows what.”

  “She’s right,” Lance admitted. “I sure as hell hope it doesn’t get him killed.”

  No one said anything for a long time. “Maybe we should have kept our announcement to ourselves,” Tory said softly to Liam.

  “No,” Enid said from across the room where she was sharing a settee with Mary. “You had good news, and we need some of that. Stella is right—your brother has made his choice. I wish to God he’d make a different one, and I plan to tell the sheriff exactly what I know. I can’t see how it can hurt.”

  “I agree,” Noah said.

  Olivia exchanged a look with Tory. “I’m not sure I do. Steel must have a reason for what he’s doing.”

  “What he’s doing is being stubborn. And seeing as how he hasn’t told us a damn thing, I can’t
see what harm we can do,” Lance said.

  “Is he still here in town?” Tory asked him.

  “I don’t know.” He handed her the note, which had only a line or two of Steel’s scrawl on it. “But I doubt he’s gone far if he plans to catch the man who set the fire.”

  “So what do we do now?”

  “We keep our eyes and ears open,” Noah said firmly. “We look for anything out of the ordinary. Anyone skulking around who doesn’t belong. I’ll keep an eye on the investigation.”

  “Me, too,” Stella said. When Noah raised an eyebrow, she added, “I hear everything that happens at the station.”

  “Meanwhile, we’ll plan your wedding,” Enid said to Tory. “Your brother would hate it if you put anything off on his account.”

  Tory knew she was right, but she didn’t know how she could do anything knowing Steel was out there alone.

  “Think of it this way,” Olivia said. “Steel’s doing the same thing he’s been doing for years. In his mind, nothing’s changed.”

  “Olivia’s right,” Lance said. “He’s been at this ever since we got home, hasn’t he?”

  “Maybe longer,” Tory said softly. “I wish he was here so we could ask him.”

  “He’ll come back,” Stella said. “Steel always comes back,” she explained when everyone turned to her again. “What?” she demanded.

  “You seem to have given Steel a lot of thought,” Lance said.

  “He’s a Cooper, isn’t he? And you Coopers keep marrying my siblings!”

  “You afraid Steel’s going to marry you?” Olivia teased her.

  “No.” Stella stood up. “I’m getting seconds.”

  “Now that’s a very good idea,” Enid said.

  As conversations sprang up around the room, Tory leaned closer to Liam. “Do you think Steel will be back?”

  “Wild horses couldn’t keep him away from Thorn Hill. You know that,” Liam said.

  Tory supposed she did.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was time to steal Tory away again, but before he could, there were a few things Liam needed to do. He decided to kill two birds with one stone and ask his mother to drive to town with him.

  “I could use your help,” he told her, but really he hoped the drive would be a chance to finally mend the rift between them—the rift that had opened during a similar drive thirteen years earlier.

  “When Tory and I get married,” he announced boldly, “I want us to settle down on the Flying W.” He cast a glance at Mary, wondering if she would pick up on his unspoken question.

  “Oh, relax. I’m not going to try and sell the ranch out from under you, if that’s what you’re asking.” She was as indignant as if she hadn’t been trying to do that ever since she came back to town.

  “Even if we don’t win the Ridley property? Not that that spread will be worth as much now.”

  Mary nodded. “That fire really put things in perspective.”

  “In what way?”

  “I’ve been trying much too hard to get everything settled at once. When Frank was arrested, it took all the stuffing out of me. I’d prided myself on being a better judge of character than that. Turns out I messed up not once but twice. I think I’ve been using financial worries as a distraction from facing what’s really getting to me. This is my second failed marriage. I can barely stand to admit that.”

  “You’re doing your best, like everyone else.”

  “My best doesn’t seem to be good enough. It’s a lot easier focusing on how to support my stepkids than thinking about why Frank would do something so foolhardy. He embezzled money, can you believe that? Stole from his employer. Just thinking about it makes me sick. Maybe if I’d spent more time thinking about what happened with William way back when, I wouldn’t have picked someone else who needed to play with fire.”

  “You’re doing a good thing taking charge of those kids.”

  “Like I said before—they’re my children as much as his. More,” she asserted. “I’m not going to let them down.”

  “I believe it.” Liam chuckled.

  “When I saw that fire raging and knew it could spread to the Flying W, my heart was in my mouth. The whole time I’ve been away, I’ve been able to convince myself I didn’t miss it—or Chance Creek, either, but since I’ve been home, that’s all changed. Reconnecting with you and the others, spending time with old friends—Enid and Leslie—has made me see the truth. I want to come home, Liam. I want to stay for good.”

  Liam swallowed. “I think the fire woke up all of us. I don’t know what we would have done if it wasn’t stopped. So many generations of Turners have put their heart and soul and sweat into this land.” He felt a little dizzy just thinking about losing the ranch. His mother’s admission left him off-balance, too. His life was changing.

  He was getting married.

  He felt his mother’s hand on his shoulder. “You kids would have figured it out,” Mary said with conviction. “You’re all fighters.”

  “I think you’re overestimating me.”

  “No, I’m not. I’ve followed the news, and I know how rough it’s been for ranching families lately. You, Noah, Stella and Maya powered through it all. I’m really proud of you.”

  “Well—thank you.” They drove in silence until Liam parked outside Thayer’s Jewelers.

  “Are you really going to stay?” he asked once they were inside looking at rings.

  “I’ve talked to Justin and Liz about moving to Chance Creek,” she said. “They’ve agreed to give it a try. I don’t have a lot of savings, but we should be able to find a little house in town. Yes, in town,” she repeated when he opened his mouth to suggest a different arrangement. “I’d appreciate it if we can stay with you until I find something appropriate. After we move, we’ll visit the Flying W all the time, but we need our own space. And you need yours. None of you need me trying to play mom at this late date. Doesn’t mean I won’t try, though, even if I don’t live with you.”

  “Fair enough. You think you can find work?” Liam asked. He pointed to a ring under the display case. “What do you think of that one?”

  “Come, now, I raised you better than that.” Mary shooed away the store’s proprietor, Rose Johnson, before she could pull out the ring. “With a little ingenuity, I’ll come up with something,” she added. “Seems to be a few tourist accommodations here already. There’s the winery coming on line now, several B and Bs, and so on. Maybe there’s room for some kind of spa here.”

  “Maybe there is,” Liam said, although he wasn’t sure at all if that was true.

  “I won’t have to go it alone, I don’t think,” Mary added. “Leslie wants to help. So does Enid.”

  Rose came forward again to retrieve a ring Mary pointed out, and Liam studied it for a moment. “I think it’s perfect,” he said, a little surprised. He’d asked his mother’s help as a pretense, but it seemed he’d underestimated her. “The real question is,” he said, handing the ring back to Rose, “what do you think?”

  Liam watched as she cradled it between her fingers, her expression intent. Local folklore said Rose could somehow judge a couple by the engagement ring they picked out, and while Liam wasn’t sure he bought into such things, he could at least go along with the ritual.

  The sweat on his palms was from the hellish heat of the day, nothing more.

  Despite himself, he let out a relieved breath when her expression softened.

  “I think it’s perfect,” she said.

  “Got time for dinner?” Liam asked when Tory opened the front door to find him standing on her porch. “Thought we could run to Fila’s.”

  “Sounds perfect.” Tory’s heart lifted. She’d spent the afternoon with Olivia giving the house an overdue once-over. Everyone had been so busy lately, and the dry fields surrounding them were so dusty that the place needed a thorough clean. Now she was ready for a break. “Give me a minute to change?”

  “Take all the time you need.”

  Twenty
minutes later, she leaned back in the passenger seat of Liam’s truck and let the wind from the open window cool her.

  “We could turn on the air conditioning,” Liam suggested.

  “That just makes the heat worse when you get out again. Besides, I think it’s cooling down a little. Hey, where are we going?” Liam had just turned off the road that would have taken them to town.

  Liam shrugged, but she saw a corner of his mouth quirk up.

  “You’re not taking me to dinner, are you?” Tory slumped back. “You’re stealing me. Again.” She pretended the idea didn’t excite her, but her mind was already racing with the possibilities.

  “Don’t worry. We’re not going far. And there will be food.”

  “Good—I’m starving!”

  “I thought we could both use a night off.”

  “I sure could.”

  “Here we are,” Liam said as they rolled up to another ranch.

  It took Tory a moment to figure out where they were. “This is the Cruz ranch, right? It looks a lot better than I remember it.”

  “Ethan and his wife turned the place into a guest ranch.”

  Tory frowned. “Can you afford a room here?” As beautiful as it looked, they had to be practical.

  “I arranged a trade.” Liam grinned as he led her into the massive house at the center of the spread. “They didn’t have any guests booked anyway, so I let them look over my sustainable ranching notes in exchange for a free night.”

  “Ethan was interested in that?” Tory looked around the spacious foyer. They could have sublet the entry alone for a small fortune back in Seattle.

  “I think it was more Autumn,” Liam said. “His wife. You’ll love her. Come on.”

  The foyer led into a grandly-appointed two-story living room illuminated by huge windows on the far side. From where she stood, Tory could look out over the pastures, gardens and ranch buildings all set against the majestic Beartooth Mountains in the distance.

  Tory found herself shaking her head. Whenever she’d told her friends in Seattle where she’d come from, they had swooned over their own fairy-tale imaginings of what country living was like. Exasperated, she’d done her best to set them straight.