Tender Is the Storm by Johanna Lindsey Read Free Book Online

didn’t drift through often, but he sure gave people something to talk about when he did come. He always came into town after visiting his brother at his ranch. Folks just weren’t the same when he made an appearance. Everything quieted down. All fights were postponed until Slade went on his way again.
    Hell, no one even had anything to say about the half-breed Lucas had working for him. Who would dare? Everyone had seen Billy Wolf ride into town with Slade. It wasn’t hard to tell they were friends.Slade had brought Billy Wolf to Lucas because the Indian was supposed to be an excellent horse catcher, and that’s what Lucas had started, a horse ranch. With all the trouble those renegade Apaches from the reservation were causing, the half-breed would have been thrown out of town if not for the Holt brothers. Because of them, no one even looked crossways at Billy Wolf.
    Lucas moved over to the door once again, and this time when he came back, Ben couldn’t resist asking, “You waitin’ for someone, Mr. Holt? I couldn’t help noticing you keep lookin’ up the street.”
    Lucas fixed his green eyes on Whiskers. “I’m meeting someone on the Benson stage.”
    “You ain’t expectin’ your brother, are you?”
    Lucas grinned at the anxious note in the saloonkeeper’s voice. “No, Whiskers, I’m not expecting my brother any time soon. I’ve got a bride coming today.”
    “A…bride? If that don’t beat all! Well, if that don’t beat all!” Ben was too excited to be cautious. “Sam Newcomb will sure be glad to hear that.”
    “Oh?”
    “Don’t get me wrong,” Ben amended quickly. “But I reckon you know Sam ain’t been married too long, and I reckon you also knew his wife can’t seem to keep her eyes off you. Not that Sam’s a jealous man, mind you, but I reckon he likes to know what’s his is his. He’ll be mighty glad to know you’re gettin’ yourself settled down with a wife of your own.”
    Lucas said nothing, but he was fuming. Ben had hit the mark. The very reason Lucas was here waiting to pick up his bride was Fiona Newcomb. He wouldn’t be in this fix if not for her. Oh, they had had some good times together when he first settled in Newcomb and she was still Fiona Taylor, operating the only boardinghouse in town. He had never led her to believe he was looking for anything besides a little fun. She, on the other hand, had wanted to get married! When he refused even to discuss it, she had turned her wiles on Samuel Newcomb.
    Sam knew he had got Fiona on the rebound, and it ate away at him. Before Fiona, Lucas had had Samuel Newcomb right where he wanted him, on friendly terms. That was because of Slade. Ironic, but the rich man felt indebted to Slade for getting rid of Feral Sloan. The man had been a thorn in his side.
    Things had all gone according to plan until Fiona. Because Lucas was from the East and had more money than could possibly have been obtained by horse ranching, Sam figured Lucas knew what he was talking about when he mentioned those few small investments. Did Sam want to get in on them? He did. And after those paid off, it was easy to talk Sam into the big investment.
    They weren’t nearly finished with Newcomb, and now it wouldn’t be so easy to clean the man out. Sam’s friendly interest in Lucas had cooled because of Fiona. As Billy Wolf pointed out, Sam would never relax and be gullible again as long as Fiona had the hots for Lucas.
    Still, Lucas never should have let Billy talk him into getting married. It had sounded sensible at the time, but he’d had a few drinks in him, and just about everything Billy said that night sounded reasonable.
    “Newcomb will keep his eye on you as long as he knows she still wants you and there’s the chance you might take off with her. But if you get hitched, he’ll think you’ve settled down. He’ll quit worrying. As it is now, the way he has you watched, he’s going to start wondering soon how come you get so much mail from back