The Reluctant Bride (10 page)

“I didn’t want the money. You practically forced me to take it.”

“You didn’t have to spend it.”

“What was I supposed to do, hold it until we decided if we wanted to many?”

That would have been the logical thing to do.”

Russ was aware he was being unfair. He was also aware he was being anything but a gentleman, but he was too mad to care. She hadn’t based her refusal on anything important, just this stupid argument with Stocker. What did she expect him to do, sit there and let that drunk brandish the gun about until he shot someone?

He’d made a fool of himself to protect her, and now she thought he was feuding with Stocker and would get himself and any future sons killed. How could a sensible woman turn a simple fight into something like that? Not only that, she’d hit him on the head instead of Stocker! She looked good on the outside, but she must be a little crazy. It was a good thing they’d decided to give themselves a week before making a commitment to this marriage.

“I don’t have any money,” Tanzy said.

“I’ll wait until you find a job before I expect you to pay me back.”

“What kind of job can I find in this town?”

“What are you qualified to do?”

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. He was certain she had almost said she was qualified to be a wife. He expected she would be efficient, would manage things well, but she’d also made it clear she wanted to make a lot of the decisions. She’d soon learn western men wouldn’t put up with that.

He certainly wouldn’t. His mother and sister had cured him of any belief that a woman could sufficiently separate her intelligence from her emotions. Their behavior had been the cause of all the trouble he’d had in Boulder Gap.

“You agreed to give me a full week to decide whether to marry you,” Tanzy said. “Will you give me the rest of the week to find a way to repay you?”

“How will you do that?”

“I don’t know. I’ll have to find out what jobs are available.”

“You might ask at Fort Lookout. I hear the woman who runs the store there prefers to hire women. You could always be a laundress.”

“How far away is the fort? Where would I live?”

Russ thought better of the idea as soon as it came out of his mouth. A pretty, single woman would have the soldiers beating down her door to ask her to marry them.

“I’m not sure the fort is such a good idea. Talk to Ethel Peters. She knows everything about Boulder Gap.” He stood. “Now I’m going to bed and hope my head stops feeling like I got kicked by a mule. If you have a message for me, give it to Archie. He’ll see that I get it.”

Russ didn’t go straight to the boardinghouse. He was angry and frustrated. Irritated, annoyed, and just plain mad at being rejected yet again for something he hadn’t done. Also, he hadn’t realized how much he’d come to like the idea of getting married.

He didn’t like the idea of never seeing Tanzy again. He didn’t know what it was about her that had gotten to him, but he liked being around her. It wasn’t just that she was pretty and spirited. There was something about her that made him feel different, that enabled him to put aside his worries about Stocker and the rustling, helped him forget that everyone in Boulder Gap seemed to hate him. It was almost as though hers was the only opinion that mattered.

That was stupid, of course. No woman’s attention could make up for all the inequities of his life. He guessed he was more susceptible to feminine wiles than he realized. It was good she didn’t want to marry him. He could have found himself stuck with a bossy, opinionated woman who’d make the rest of his life miserable. It was definitely better to end it now.

Then why did he feel as if he was losing something important, something he’d never find again?

Tanzy couldn’t decide whether she was more relieved or upset that she’d decided not to marry Russ. She liked him and admired many things about him. He was handsome and she enjoyed being with him, but none of that could compensate for the fact that he was involved in a feud. Neither did she want to tie herself to a man who clearly had no respect for women, their opinions, or their rights to share in decisions that affected them. She had no doubt that he would be fair
as he saw things,
but he would discount any opinions that diverged from his own. No, she was well out of that situation.

But that left her with more problems than when she’d started.

Where could she find a job that would enable her to earn enough money to pay Russ back? Should she stay in Boulder Gap or move to another town? Would she ever find a husband who would give her the respect she demanded?

She wandered over to the window, looked at her reflection in the windowpane. Her calm expression gave no hint of the conflicting emotions swirling within her, any more than the quiet streets reflected the rough and sometimes brutal nature of the town. How could she look so normal when absolutely nothing was normal? Every decision she had made since she’d left home had made her situation worse. It would have been easier to marry her disgusting cousin.

Easier, but not better.

She turned away from the window and began to undress. There was nothing she could do to solve her problems tonight. Her first priority tomorrow would be to find a respectable job. The respectable part was important. She would clean houses, cook, do laundry, almost anything before she worked in a gambling hall ever again.

She didn’t know what she would do or where she would go if she couldn’t find work in Boulder Gap. She had no way of knowing if things would be better in the next town. Or the town after that. She shrugged off a flash of anger at Russ. She didn’t think it was fair of him to require her to pay him back, but she had been the one to turn him down. And if it came to a choice of paying him back or marrying him, she’d find a way to pay him.

Which brought her to the question of what she was going to do with her life. She’d always assumed she would get married. Would she be willing to forego marriage if she couldn’t find a man who’d give her the respect she wanted? Odd that she’d never considered that option before. She’d always been certain that once she escaped the feud, everything would be all right, but things hadn’t worked out that way. St. Louis had been a disaster. Now she’d turned down an opportunity to get married. Where did that leave her?

Tanzy laid her dress out carefully. She doubted she’d be able to afford another for a long time. She climbed into bed but was too keyed up to sleep just yet. She had too many questions that still needed answers.

She wasn’t willing to compromise about the feud or about respect, so she had to accept that her requirements greatly reduced the number of men who were available as potential husbands. In order to attract the kind of husband she wanted, she had to protect her reputation. That meant not taking a job that automatically compromised her. No saloons or gambling establishments. That didn’t leave much besides housework. From what she’d seen, she doubted there were more than half a dozen women in Boulder Gap who could afford to pay someone to clean their houses and cook their meals. So where did that leave her?

She’d have to talk to Ethel Peters. Maybe she would help her now that she wasn’t going to marry Russ.

Tanzy felt a tinge of regret at turning her back on Russ. Aside from the fact that she liked him and found him very attractive, she sympathized with his dilemma. Maybe she should be more critical of a man who’d killed another man in a gunfight, but she was convinced he was basically a good person. There was no nonsense about him. He didn’t shower her with flowery compliments or try to seduce her with extravagant praise. Nor did he pretend to any emotions he didn’t feel. He was a man of courage and integrity, exactly the kind of man a sensible woman would want for a husband.

But he couldn’t be her husband. It was pointless to remind herself of all the points in his favor. He had two flaws she couldn’t accept. No point in feeling a pang of disappointment. So it was time for her to put all thoughts of Russ out of her mind and go to sleep. Tomorrow held plenty of challenges of its own.

Tanzy slid down into the bed and settled under the covers. She just hoped she didn’t dream of him.

“I don’t want you to kill him,” Stocker said to Chick Hoffman. “I want to be able to pin the rustling on him. I intend to watch him hang.”

“It’s not easy to get inside that valley,” Chick said. “He’s got the pass guarded day and night.”

The two men met regularly after midnight in Stocker’s office in the back of his saloon. The noise of music and laughter, as well as the smell of whiskey and cigars, had penetrated the very walls of the building.

“That’s what you’re supposed to do, but he’s been in town twice this week.”

“He can go in and out because he knows the mountains better than we do.”

“You’ve got nothing to do all day but sit around,” Stocker said. “Learn them better.”

Chick would have liked to tell Stocker to go to hell, but it would be foolish to turn on a man who was paying him to rustle cows and protecting him at the same time. This sweet deal couldn’t last long, but he intended to milk it as long as he could.

“Where are you keeping the rustled cows?”

“You don’t have to worry about anybody finding them,” Chick said. “They’re perfectly safe.”

“You putting Russ’s brand on them?”

“Just like you said.”

“How long will it take you to put together a herd of about two hundred cows?”

“Maybe another month if we keep going slow.”

“Then that’s how long I’ll wait.”

When the time was right, Stocker intended to lead all the angry ranchers to the rustled cows.

“When I’m able to return all those stolen cows to their rightful owners, everybody will be so thankful, they’ll do anything I want. Hold back all the cows you steal from Russ. We can sell them later and split the profit.”

“I don’t need nobody to help in the store,” Mrs. Overby said. “I certainly don’t need no single woman pretty as you drawing in all kinds of drunks and gamblers more interested in your virtue than in my merchandise.”

Overby’s Mercantile was the biggest store in town. It carried virtually everything a person could want, from harnesses to female undergarments.

“I assure you, I have every intention of preserving my virtue,” Tanzy said.

“I should hope so,” Mrs. Overby declared, “but I don’t aim to have the struggle take place in my store. You’ll have to wage your war against sin and temptation someplace else. Besides, I got my own daughters’ virtue to think about.”

Tanzy knew it was uncharitable of her to think such thoughts, but Mother Nature had seen to it that Mrs. Overby’s daughters were well protected.

“Do you know of any other suitable positions available?” Tanzy asked.

“Respectable ladies are married, with husbands to protect them,” Mrs. Overby said. “Until then they live under the protection of their fathers.”

“My parents and all my brothers are dead,” Tanzy said. “I don’t have any family to take me in.”

Mrs. Overby’s stiff-necked disapproval eased. “There’s not much work in Boulder Gap for respectable women. You might go out to the fort. I hear tell there’s plenty of soldiers begging to marry the first woman they see.”

“I’d rather marry after consideration than in desperation,” Tanzy said.

“Wouldn’t we all, but in the end we take what we can.”

“If you hear of anything, please let me know. I’ll be staying at the Pullet Hotel for the next three days.”

“What will you do after that?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

How could she expect to find a job in another town when she couldn’t get one in Boulder Gap? She stepped outside onto the boardwalk. So far she didn’t have even one option. It looked like she’d be forced to go back on her promise to herself not to work in a saloon. Fighting to defend her virtue was better than starvation.

“You don’t look very happy,” Ethel Peters said.

Tanzy was so lost in thought, she hadn’t heard her approach.

“Sorry if I seemed rude, but I was thinking,” Tanzy said.

“You look about ready to cry. Does that mean you’ve discovered Russ Tibbolt’s true character?”

“I’m not going to marry him, if that’s what you mean,” Tanzy said.

“I’m so relieved,” Ethel said to Tanzy. “May I ask what caused you to change your mind?”