The Marshal's Rebellious Bride by Starla Kaye Read Free Book Online Page A

I just borrowed it.”
    “You sure ain’t flying it again,” Morgan stated as he
drew up beside Taos.
    Although his jaw seemed too tight for him to speak,
Taos bit out, “I’ll have a couple of the hands come get it tomorrow. But you aren’t going anywhere near it
again.”
    Morgan looked far less than pleased but didn’t
contradict her brother. She noticed that he was frowning at the skunk in her
arms, no doubt recalling how she’d named it after him. She stroked its back and
heard the soft purr-like sound of his contentment.
    “I’ve also got two animals on the train coming in that
we need to take back to the ranch.”
    “We didn’t bring a wagon in with us, but I suppose we
can rent one from the livery stable.” Taos seemed resigned to doing so. “You
probably have a satchel or two as well to take home.”
    Morgan moved closer and nerves fluttered in her
stomach. The man was so big, so darkly handsome, so…so aggravating. She
remembered feeling some of the same attraction to him the first time she’d run
into him, in Keno’s room before…
    She forced down any such feelings for the rough
Marshal. He was used to ordering people around, used to getting his way. They
would never get along well. She detested being told what to do, which often got
her into trouble and often got her turned over someone’s knee. Well, she was
twenty now. Mature. She knew what she wanted in life, and it certainly wasn’t
being tied to a gruff man like him! She still couldn’t believe that he’d
spanked her.
    “What kind of animals are you talking about?” Taos
interrupted her tumultuous thoughts. “Dog? Cat? Surely not another skunk?”
    “I want to know why you chose not to ride on the
train,” Morgan inserted.
    Funny, she could almost feel his big, hard hand
swatting her bottom again. That annoyed her. “I did ride on the train most of the way. In a boxcar.”
    She focused on her brother. “A camel and a mule.”
    The crowd appeared to be dispersing now, much to her
relief. She was used to causing a scene and drawing attention, even when doing
so was never her intention. But she really didn’t like laundering her family’s
business in front of the whole town. She wished Morgan would go away, too.
    His eyes had darkened and he was clenching and
unclenching his hands at his sides. “You rode in a boxcar !”
    She stiffened her spine. “I had my animals to keep
company. Taos and Keno would have been frightened traveling all that way
alone.” She petted the skunk. “But Morgan here doesn’t like to be shut in. He
gets a bit testy. They needed me.”
    Taos had blinked several times but remained silent. He
was used to— didn’t necessarily approve of—her
little shenanigans, or so he called such things as this. Morgan, however,
appeared to be grinding his teeth to pulp. That reaction enormously pleased
her.
    “I need a drink,” he finally growled. “A whole damn
bottle. I’ll see you back at the ranch tomorrow.”
    He walked toward a big bay at the hitching rail and
grabbed up the reins. “I’m staying in town tonight. Doing some thinking.”
    She smiled, until Taos moved in her direction. The
evening ahead wouldn’t be the warm homecoming she’d hoped for. Well, it might
be “warm”…for her. Darn it all!

Chapter
Three
     
     
    Whiskey pulled aside the lace curtain covering the
window of her upstairs bedroom. The sun had climbed half-way up and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Familiar with Kansas summers, she knew it would be hotter than blazes today. There wasn’t even a
trickle of a breeze coming in the open window. Soon it would be miserable up
here. Well, actually, she was miserable already. She was more than frustrated
with her stupid brothers and with that big, gruff lawman. She was beyond
irritated with the ranch situation. And she chose to ignore even thinking about
her misery surrounding the “marriage” notion for now.
    As she caught sight of Taos talking to a couple of the
ranch hands