The Reluctant Bride (6 page)

“Right now I’d say she’s not sure,” Russ said. He put the saddle on the corral pole and started to rub down his horse.

Then why not send her back where she came from?”

A good question, for which Russ didn’t yet have a good answer. “I don’t like jumping to conclusions.”

“I’d know right off.”

Welt probably would, but the only woman he’d ever loved was Russ’s sister, and she’d left him for Toley Pullet. Since her death, Welt had been bitter about women and depressed about his life.

“I thought I would, too, but I’m glad she said we ought to take a week to see if we’ll fit.”

“People used to meet in the morning, get married in the afternoon, and start making babies that night.”

Russ was glad his back was to Welt. He didn’t trust his face not to show he’d thought a lot about the making babies part. Well, not about babies, exactly, but about the rest of it. Tanzy wasn’t a flirty kind of woman, nor was she provocative, but she sure was sensual. She was just nineteen, but she had the body of a woman, round and filled out in all the right places. Russ wasn’t the kind of man to dwell on things like that, but all during dinner his gaze had been drawn to her mouth. Just watching her eat was an erotic experience. Welt would probably think he was crazy if he tried to explain. Hell, he’d have thought he was crazy before he met Tanzy.

He couldn’t figure out what it was about her that kept him thinking about what it would be like to be able to touch her anywhere he wanted. It would be a good thing if they ended up married, but it wasn’t so good if thinking about it kept him from having a clear head. He wasn’t considering marriage just to have a convenient way to satisfy his physical needs.

What did he want from marriage? He’d only thought of someone to take care of the house, have kids, cook, do all the things a wife was expected to do. But meeting Tanzy had confused him.

“I don’t think I’d like getting married to any woman that quick,” Russ said.

“Then why did you agree to a mail-order bride?”

“Because you wouldn’t get off my back.”

“You weren’t doing anything about getting yourself a wife.”

“I didn’t feel desperate to have one until you started telling me if I didn’t get one soon I’d be too old for anybody to want me.” Russ straightened up from cleaning his horse’s hooves. He pulled back a pole and let the animal into the corral. “It’s too late at night, and I’ve been up too long, been in the saddle too much, to think about it anymore. Besides, my arm is hurting.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“I surprised two bandits holding up the stage. They’re sitting in the sheriff’s jail, but one of them got a bullet into me before I could get to him.”

“I’ll see to it.”

“Doc Lindstrom already looked at it.”

“What did you do, hold a gun to his head?”

“No. When he refused, Tanzy broke a couple of pieces of his wife’s best china. Threatened to smash all the rest if he didn’t look after my arm. Stood over him to make sure he did it right.” Russ chuckled at the memory. “With Endora screaming and begging him save what was left of her china, he couldn’t wait to get us out of the house. You should have been there. It would have made even you smile.”

“I hate the old bastard,” Welt growled.

“I’m going to bed,” Russ said. Tell Tim if he wants to do something useful, he can check on the cows in the highest valley.”

It didn’t take Tanzy’s first full day in Boulder Gap long to get off to a bad start. She met Stocker Pullett in the lobby when she came down for breakfast.

“I heard you had dinner last night with Russ Tibbolt,” he said without preamble. It was clear the news hadn’t gone down well. “What were you doing with that man?”

Tanzy hesitated to announce that she was a mail-order bride, but she doubted she’d be able to keep the news confidential for long, certainly not after she was seen having dinner with Russ again tonight. “I’m considering marrying him.”

“You can’t marry Tibbolt!” Stocker exploded. “He’s nothing but a murdering ex-con.”

“Russ told me he accidentally killed your brother in a fight.” She couldn’t recall if he’d said it was accidental, but surely it hadn’t been intentional.

“There was nothing accidental about it,” Stocker shouted. “He hunted Toley down and killed him in cold blood.”

Tanzy had been upset when Russ told her what happened. Stocker’s version shocked her, but she’d spent her whole life living through a feud. She knew how people reacted when a member of their family was killed. It didn’t make any difference what he’d done or the circumstances of his death, it was the other man’s fault and he had to pay. Reason didn’t enter into it. “I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure you miss him terribly,” she said.

“It’s been more than ten years, yet it seems like yesterday. He was a young, fun-loving kid. He was from my father’s second marriage, a lot younger than I was, but I loved him like he was my full brother.”

Tanzy didn’t know what to say or how to express her sympathy, so she said nothing.

“You must have nothing to do with Tibbolt,” Stocker said. “He’s a villain, a wild man, a killer.”

That’s what the Viljoen clan had said about her family her whole life, and she knew it wasn’t true. People found it hard to stick to the truth when emotions ran so high. She’d been really impressed by Russ’s letters. The fact that he’d told her about killing Stocker’s brother made her tend to believe Stocker was exaggerating because of his own loss, but she was becoming uneasy. Had she been foolish enough to let a handsome man cause her to forget common sense and caution? Was she throwing herself into the path of greater danger than she’d left behind?

“Come with me,” Stocker said. “I’ll see that you’re protected.”

Instinct caused Tanzy to pull back when Stocker reached out and took her arm. “Thank you for your concern, but I have to stay here. I promised Mr. Tibbolt I would meet him for dinner.”

“Haven’t you heard anything I said?”

“I appreciate your warning, but I can’t change my plans.”

Stocker drew back. Gradually the look he gave her changed from one of concern to anger. “If you ignore my advice and take up with that man, no decent person will speak to you. Your only company will be crude men and the bunch of thieves and killers who work for Tibbolt. You will have no reputation. The doors to our homes will be closed to you.”

Tanzy was shocked by the force of Stocker’s anger. He was acting as if Russ was a crazed killer whose mere existence endangered the whole community.

“I’ve been told that Westerners judge people by their actions,” Tanzy said, drawing herself up, “not by gossip.”

“Nothing I’ve said is gossip. You wait and see if what I tell you isn’t the truth.” With that, he stormed off.

Tanzy was so upset by Stocker’s accusations, she wasn’t hungry. After returning to her room for a half an hour to calm herself, she decided to go for a walk. She felt better once she was outside in the sunshine. Stocker’s words didn’t seem so oppressive. He would naturally be angry at the man who’d caused his brother’s death, but Russ couldn’t be the villain Stocker depicted. Her memory of his strong, open face assured her that Stocker’s reading of Russ’s character was wrong. The true soul of a person was mirrored in his face and eyes. The man who’d had dinner with her last night couldn’t be evil.

Tanzy had been so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized no one had spoken to her. At first she took that to mean everybody was minding his own business or was too busy to be curious about a stranger. It didn’t take long for her to realize people were avoiding her. If she’d had any doubts, they vanished when a woman passing by brushed against the storefront to prevent her skirts from touching Tanzy. It was as though she’d suddenly contracted the plague.

The expressions she encountered were different from those the day before, too. The women looked at her in an openly speculative manner. She couldn’t categorize the men because their expressions were too varied. One thing she knew for certain: Stocker Pullet was a very powerful man. In under an hour he’d turned the town of Boulder Gap against her.

That infuriated her.
No one
had the right to judge her merely on the say-so of another person, particularly when nobody in the town knew anything about her. And if she ever got a chance to speak to Stocker Pullet again, she’d tell him that she had no respect for a man who spread gossip or impugned the reputation of others.

Especially
her
reputation.

It came as something of a surprise when Tanzy realized she’d been walking up and down the boardwalk for nearly an hour without paying any attention to the storefronts she passed. Russ’s money rested uncomfortably in her pocket. She stopped in front of Davis & Greaves Dry Goods to look at a made-up dress in the window. It was a solferino pink-and-white-striped lawn with looped overskirt. It must have taken over a dozen yards of material to make the overskirt and ruffles used for trim. It was probably much too expensive, but Tanzy thought it was the most elegant dress she’d ever seen.

“No point in looking at that,” a voice said. “You won’t have any use for it.”

Tanzy turned to find herself facing a woman she’d never seen before. The woman was shorter than Tanzy, broader, and definitely older. She had blond hair that she wore atop her head under a clever little hat. She was dressed stylishly but in what Tanzy privately considered bad taste. It was clear she’d chosen her wardrobe to draw attention to her physical attributes.

“I was looking at it because it’s pretty,” Tanzy said.

“You can’t afford it, either.”

Tanzy was aware that her appearance would lead people to believe she was some poor farmer’s wife, but the money in her purse bolstered her spirits. “I’m trying to decide whether to purchase the dress or buy some material and have a dressmaker run it up for me. Do you have a really good dressmaker in town?”

The woman looked her up and down with scorn. “Plenty good enough for you.”

Tanzy ignored the remark and the curled lip. “I’m about to be married. Do you think my husband would like me in that dress?”

“Honey, if you don’t know the dress a man likes best is the one he just got you out of, you’ll never be enough woman for Russ. That fool Welt has talked him into thinking he wants a proper little mealy-mouthed bride from back East, but he’ll soon realize you’re nothing more than plain bread, white and pasty-looking. Russ belongs to me! You can’t have him.”

“I don’t know who you are or what claim you think you have on Mr. Tibbolt, but I’ve yet to meet a man who feels he
belongs
to any woman.”

“I’m warning you: Russ is my man. Leave him alone.”

“What have you been saying to this young woman, Betty?”

A plain-featured woman past the first blush of youth had approached them. “Good morning. My name is Ethel Peters.”

“I’m Tanzy Gallant,” Tanzy said, accepting the hand that was extended. “I’m—”

“You’re the young woman who’s come to town to marry Russ Tibbolt. I must urge you most earnestly to reconsider.”

Chapter Four

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell her,” Betty said.

“I expect you’ve been trying to convince her Russ will never marry her because he loves you,” Ethel said. “Russ didn’t marry you years ago when you still had the shreds of your reputation, and he won’t now. Leave this young woman alone. I need to talk to her.”

“Make her leave,” Betty said. “Nobody wants her here.”

Ethel looked Tanzy over carefully. “I expect you’re wrong there.”

Tanzy felt herself blush. It was one thing to be looked over critically by a jealous woman; it was quite another to be carefully evaluated by a person she was certain was a good woman. It made her feel that her
true
value had been seen and was being weighed. Tanzy was afraid this woman would find her lacking.

“That’s a pretty dress,” Ethel said, indicating the pink dress. “I think it would look lovely on you with your dark coloring, but you’d be better advised to purchase something more suitable for traveling than what you’re wearing.”

Tanzy was wearing a yellow calico with a loose waist that allowed freedom of movement, not the kind of dress she wanted to be seen in by the man who might become her husband. She was vain enough to admit she wanted to appear attractive, somewhere between Ethel’s black crow look and Betty’s red cardinal.

“I know about Russ’s fight with Toley Pullet.”

“Do you know he was sent to prison for that killing? Do you know he’s accused of being behind the rustling going on? Do you know he hired a bunch of hardened criminals as ranch hands? Do you know there’s not a respectable woman in Boulder Gap who will speak to him, much less be seen in his company?”

Tanzy wouldn’t have believed any of this if it had come from Stocker Pullet, but she knew of no reason why this woman would lie. “I’m aware that Russ is not well liked in Boulder Gap.”

Then you don’t need any more reason to know he wouldn’t make you a good husband.”

“I don’t know enough about Russ to be able to answer that for myself, but I have a week before I have to make a decision.”

“Leave now. Russ is a very handsome man with a reputation for danger that makes him attractive to women, foolish creatures that we are. Betty isn’t the only woman to lose her head over him.”