Once A Wolf by Susan Krinard Read Free Book Online Page A

explain herself
    to Cole's brother. "I was not alone, Mr. MacLean. Mr. Randolph was escorting me. He was
    perfectly honorable—until he disappeared."
    Weylin grunted. "I'd never doubt a lady's word." He bent to pick up her lighter trunk, tucked it
    under his arm, and then grabbed the second. "You're here, and you're to be my brother's wife.
    I'll see you safe until you go back to New York."
    "I should hate to put you to any trouble."
    He didn't answer but started away from the station across La Junta's main street. Evidently he
    was no conversationalist, and that suited Rowena just fine.
    Nevertheless, her mind was crowded with questions by the time Weylin had checked her trunks
    with a clerk at the hotel and found her a secluded table in the dining room. The place was
    hardly elegant, but she knew from the train's short meal stops that it was far from the most
    primitive. The clientele was mixed, ranging from well-dressed men who might have been at
    home in New York to the most disreputable of ruffians and females of dubious virtue. All
    seemed to accept each other as social equals.
    Weylin secured a waiter, who was able to provide Rowena with tea. She sipped it with genuine
    appreciation as he sat down in the opposite chair.
    "How did you meet Randolph?" he asked abruptly.
    His request was less a command than an exhibition of his utter lack of gentility. She met his
    gaze coolly.
    "He came to see me in New York," she said. "My brother Quentin has been traveling in the
    West. Mr. Randolph told me that he knew Quentin in New Mexico, and that he was in trouble.
    He was certain that only I could influence Quentin to leave his hazardous pursuits."
    "And you believed him."
    His comment stung. She was beginning to realize that she might have made a serious
    misjudgment, for which she could do nothing but blame herself. "I had every reason to do so,"
    she said. "He spoke of my brother as only a friend could." She chafed at his silence. "Why
    should a stranger wish to lure me west, Mr. MacLean? Do you know something about this
    Randolph that I do not?"
    Weylin studied her as if she were an annoying inconvenience that he might dispose of with
    minimal attention. "I know he's no gentleman."
    "Then perhaps you might tell me what he is."
    "It's enough to say that you were duped, ma'am, by a scoundrel."
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    If he hadn't been Cole's brother, she would have issued a chilling set-down. Once upon a time,
    that is—under Cole's tutelage, she had lost the knack. And Weylin might report on her
    behavior. She smiled with her best feigned courtesy.
    "I see. What of my brother?"
    "I've never heard of your brother."
    Rowena gazed at her gloved hands and saw how tightly they were clasped. She eased them
    apart and sipped at her cooling tea. "Since I have come all this way, Mr. MacLean, perhaps I
    might impose upon you to help me locate him—or at least be sure he is not in the vicinity."
    "I'm afraid that I have other business, Miss Forster, and you can't stay in La Junta." He
    summoned the nearest waiter and asked for the check. "There's a decent family with a ranch
    halfway to Trinidad. I'll take you there, and send a telegram to Cole. If he's not on his way here
    by now."
    Rowena felt less than cheered by the prospect of facing an angry Cole alongside his overly
    plainspoken brother. "Then it makes more sense for me to remain in town," she said. "You did
    offer your protection."
    "I can't have a woman involved in my business," he said. "If Cole were here, he'd say the same.
    You'll have womenfolk with you at the Bailey ranch."
    She supposed he thought she should be grateful for his 'concern.' "I was under the impression,"
    she said, "that one of your ranches is in the north of New Mexico Territory. Is that not directly
    south of here?"
    "South and several days' ride. Did you come equipped for that, Miss Forster, when you lit off
    from New York?"
    "I have been riding since I was a