High Country Bride by Linda Lael Miller Read Free Book Online Page B

throat like thistles.
    He refused to hurry, for all his concern. He was a deliberate man, usually, the sort who took his time, thought things through before he acted. It was just plain bad luck that he’d run into Fink in the saloon that afternoon and they’d gotten on the subject of barbed-wire fences.
    He sat up tall in the saddle, raised his coat collar against the wind, and rode on at a steady, even clip. While he traveled, he thought of many things, the first and foremost of which was his brand-new bride. If he had his way, they’d consummate the marriage that very night; that way, they could get on with the business of being married.
    He chewed awhile on the possibility that the towns-people were laying bets on which of Angus McKettrick’s sons would prevail in this contest—cowboys gossipped, and word of the proclamation would have traveled fast. It galled him to think of anybody betting on Kade or Jeb. As far as he knew, neither one of them had even tried to find himself a decent woman, save a few flurries of effort right after Pa’s birthday. In fact, they’d gone right on carousing, his brothers had, right through the winter, acting as if they hadn’t a worry in the world.
    Now, in retrospect, Rafe realized that he might just have underestimated both Jeb and Kade, just as they’d probably hoped he would do. Hell, they could have brides of their own due to arrive any day now. Why, they might even have answered the same advertisement in the back of the Cattleman’s Journal .
    Just the possibility made him feel downright grim.
    He sighed, settled deeper into the warm folds of his coat. He tried to reassure himself; after all, he and what’sher-name were already married, and that was an undeniable advantage. Why, she’d probably be in the family way before morning.
    He smiled. Sure she would. Hadn’t he bought her a wedding band, and a real pretty nightdress?
     
    Emmeline’s spirits rose a little when she saw the long log and timber house, facing the sparkling creek and framed by towering red rock bluffs. Oak trees, still bare of leaves but sprouting green buds, towered along either side of the stream, starkly beautiful. Junipers thrived on the distant hills, melding with tall pines that seemed to climb to the sky.
    She drew in her breath as Jeb brought the team to a halt on the far side of the creek. He smiled down at her.
    “You like the place?”
    She nodded, strangely moved.“It’s beautiful,” she said.
    Jeb released the brake with one foot, slapped down the reins, and drove the team straight into the creek. The whole rig shifted and swayed violently, as if it would surely capsize, spilling Emmeline and all her earthly possessions into the water. She grabbed the edge of the seat with both hands and held on for all she was worth.
    Then, to her enormous relief, they were jostling up the opposite bank, and a tall, white-haired man had appeared in the tall grass in front of the house, leaning on the hitching rail and watching as they approached. She could have measured the width of his shoulders with an ax handle and still fallen short by an inch or two, and he held his head at a proud angle, despite his age.
    Jeb’s expression turned thoughtful as he brought the team to a stop, set the brake again, jumped down, and rounded the dripping rig to lift Emmeline down by her waist.
    “Pa,” he said, “this is Emmeline. Emmeline, my father, Angus McKettrick.”
    Solemnly, his eyes shining, Angus put out a brawny hand. There was a careful tenderness in Mr. McKettrick’s grasp, and Emmeline liked him.“How do you do,”he said, in a great, Zeus-like voice.“Welcome to the Triple M.”
    She inclined her head, at a loss for words. She’d done rather a lot of talking on the way out from town, chattering about inconsequential things and revealing little or nothing about her life in Kansas City, using herself up. Now, she felt empty.
    Angus regarded his son impatiently, eyes narrowed in that craggy face.