The Cowboy's Surprise Bride

Eddie stopped removing items from the sack. “Are you informing me you will have no regard for how you conduct yourself? I warn you, so long as you are under my roof and living with the protection of my good name, I expect you to live in a way that will not bring dishonor to it.” Why couldn’t Margaret have chosen to follow through on their agreement? She had proven an agreeable companion. Was this all some colossal joke played by the universe? Until this moment, he would have said God had a hand in all the events of his life. Now he wasn’t sure. Seems Linette was a stubborn, headstrong woman. If people acted contrary to God’s directions, how could they still be under His control?

His jaw ached and he forced it to unlock. He would not let any of these people bring disgrace to the Gardiner name.

Linette regarded him, her face set in hard lines and flat disapproval. “I have always lived in an honorable fashion. I simply refuse to live by silly social expectations, especially if they require I go against the teaching of my Lord and Savior.”

He squeezed the back of his neck, feeling the muscles corded like thick rope. “I certainly wouldn’t ask that of you. Honoring God is first in life.” Right along with honoring his father and mother.

“Good. Then we are agreed.” She reached into the sack and pulled out a fry pan and pot. “I’ll soon have something for tea.”

Eddie didn’t feel nearly as satisfied that they understood each other. Somehow he expected she would agree to his terms only if they suited her. How was he going to make sure she didn’t turn this into a disaster for him and his family?

She smiled across the table. “Mr. Gardiner, you have nothing to fear from me. I promise I will do all in my power to make this a most pleasant winter. In fact, you might decide you want us to stay.”

“Only until it’s safe for you to travel.”

She ducked her head, but not before he glimpsed the self-assured satisfaction in her expression.

What did she have in mind? Whatever it was, he could tell her she could do nothing to make him change his decision.

Besides, Margaret would reconsider becoming his wife when she heard about the fine house.

He glanced at Cassie, who sat staring at the stove. She had the look of someone lost in her thoughts. The woman was supposed to be Linette’s chaperone. As such, shouldn’t she be the one preparing the meal? Seems Linette couldn’t see when she was being taken advantage of. Allowing a father to thrust a child into her care, allowing a widow woman to sit idle while she did the chores.

If Cassie had been one of the cowboys, he would have whistled and tipped his head toward the work.

How did one order a woman to do her share?

Linette stood at the table, turning the hunk of bacon over and over. He watched her, wondering what her problem was.

She set aside the meat and lifted the towel from the bowl of cooked potatoes Cookie had sent over. She poked them with one finger. Her brow furrowed. Was she unfamiliar with basic cooking? His stomach growled at the thought.

Thanks to Cookie’s generosity, there were baking powder biscuits and some cold roast beef. Linette set the latter two out on a plate and put out butter and syrup, along with the tea she had made. She set the table carefully, arranging each piece of silverware as exactly as if she used a ruler. “It’s ready,” she said, indicating they should sit at the table.

Eddie pulled himself from the wall where he’d been alternately observing the newly arrived occupants of his house and studying the darkening sky out the window. He should be with the men, bringing the cows down from the hills, but the unexpected guests had delayed him and now the sun dipped toward the horizon. It would soon disappear behind the distant mountains.

Heavy clouds hung from the sky. It would be good if the snow held off a few more days. A few more weeks would be even better, but he didn’t like to sound greedy.

At Linette’s call, Cassie sighed and pushed heavily to her feet. She wasn’t as old as Eddie first judged. Life had been hard on her. He suspected a strong woman lay beneath the sharp exterior. Only a fighter would have survived what she’d been through.

The first step Eddie took had Grady scuttling toward the wall. Eddie stopped.

“I’ll feed him later,” Linette said.

It grated on Eddie’s nerves that his presence was unwelcome in his own home. But not nearly as much as it bothered him to be the cause of Grady’s fear. “We might as well start out the way we intend to continue. I eat my meals in a civilized fashion. I expect the same from my guests.” He made no threatening moves as he squatted to Grady’s level. “Grady, this is my house. You’re welcome here, but when we eat, we sit together at the table. Think you can do that?”

Grady shook his head and whimpered. His gaze brushed past Eddie, not quite connecting but allowing Eddie to see something in the boy’s eyes. Hurt. Insecurity. Rejection. He didn’t understand how he knew and recognized it, but he did as surely as he knew his name. This boy was filled with consuming fear and loneliness. He had every reason to feel that way. His own father had turned his back on him.

Eddie’s insides trembled and a pain shot through his jaw as he struggled to keep his expression from revealing what he thought of such a man. The boy did not deserve the hurt heaped on him by his father. No one did.

He ached to promise the boy he was safe now. But hurting and fearful animals—and little boys—needed lots of reassurance. “Aren’t you hungry?”

Grady glanced toward the table then he studied Eddie hard and solemnly.

Eddie didn’t move. Didn’t smile. He just waited, letting the child see he meant him no harm. Finally Grady edged away, keeping as much distance between himself and Eddie as possible. He hurried to Linette’s side and buried his face in her skirts.

Eddie pushed to his feet. “Grady, you will sit on a chair to eat.” Linette’s glare seared, while Cassie watched with indifference.

Grady climbed to a chair and sat, giving Eddie a look of defiance. Eddie could almost read his thoughts. I’m sitting on the outside, but I’m doing what I want on the inside.

Eddie struggled to keep from laughing.

Linette sat down with a huff of exasperation.

Sobering instantly, he met her gaze. Did she find all rules and conventions to her dislike? “A man is ruler in his own house. Is that not from the scriptures?” At the flash in her eyes he wondered if she would defy the word of God.

The winter looked longer and colder with every passing hour.

Chapter Three

Why had God made woman to be subject to a man?

Linette knew the verse he referred to. It had mocked her on many occasions. She would never dispute God’s word, but some of it was hard to swallow. It made marriage most unappealing. She would avoid it altogether except it provided her only hope of escaping her father’s plans.

Eddie waited until she was settled. “I’ll say the blessing.”

She bowed her head. Although Eddie had insisted on Grady’s obedience, he’d at least been gentle with the boy. It wouldn’t be hard to be wife to a man who treated her with such kindness and respected her heart’s yearnings. But she feared she wanted more than she could hope for. More and more it looked as if she would not find freedom here any more than she had in England. Still, anything was better than marrying a lumpy, lecherous old man.

She waited until everyone had taken a biscuit or several. “I’m afraid I’m not much of a cook,” she murmured. “We had a cook at home who refused to let me in the kitchen.”

“This is fine.”

She’d done nothing but put stuff on the table. If she expected to prove her worth she would have to do much better. “I’m sure I’ll manage.” If only someone would explain what to do with the supplies. Surely Cassie knew. She sent the woman an imploring look. They had to learn to enjoy each other’s company. “This is your second winter on the ranch, isn’t it?”

Eddie looked relieved to have something to talk about. “It is.”

“Tell us what it’s like.”

“Unpredictable.”

She laughed at his tone—half regretful, half admiring. “How so?”

“It can snow four feet. The temperature can drop out of sight. Then we get a Chinook that melts the snow and makes us all foolishly think the worst is over.”

Cassie perked up. “A Chinook? What’s that?”

“A warm wind that blasts over the mountains. We can go from shivering under a heavy coat to working in our shirtsleeves all within an hour or less.”

“It’s a legend then?” Cassie said, sarcasm dripping from each word.