Runaway (10 page)

“Seth, I understand you’ve got yourself a bride,” Caroline said as she approached them.

“Yes, I do.” He quickly introduced the two women.

Caroline sized the newcomer up quickly. Rebecca obviously wasn’t a timid or frightened young woman. She had to be brave to venture the journey west, and Caroline made up her mind to help Rebecca settle in and adjust to ranch life. “Welcome to the Circle D. You’ve got yourself a good man here in Seth.”

“I know,” Destiny replied without hesitation.

“I’m real glad you’re here. It gets lonely sometimes, being the only female on the place.”

“I’m glad you’re here, too,” Destiny said. She was going to need a friend to help her learn how to set up housekeeping in this rugged place.

“It’s great to meet you, and I’ll see you at dinner,” Caroline said as she returned to her work.

Lane took Rebecca to the corral near the stable.

“Take a look at the horses and pick one out,” he said.

Destiny studied the four horses in the corral. There was a roan, a pinto, a black horse and a palomino. She knew immediately which one she wanted. “I want the palomino. She’s beautiful. What’s her name?”

“Her name’s Sunny.”

Destiny smiled. “That name certainly suits her.”

“Sunny’s a very good choice for you. She’s gentle. You won’t have any trouble learning how to ride astride with her.”

“Good. I don’t think I’m quite ready to start trying to break in any horses just yet.” She laughed at the thought.

“You will,” he told her. “Just give yourself a few weeks.”

“If you say so.”

They were both smiling as they went into the stable to speak with the hands.

Gertrude had freshened up and then rested for a bit in the bedroom, awaiting Rebecca’s return. The minute she heard her charge come back into the house and start up the steps, she went out to meet her in the upstairs hallway.

“Well? How did things go?” she asked, eager to learn how the couple was getting along. In the past, she’d heard stories of how some of the mail-order brides and would-be grooms had taken one look at each other and cancelled everything. Until the wedding vows had actually been exchanged between Seth and Rebecca, Gertrude was going to be a little apprehensive.

“It went very well,” Destiny assured her. “Seth seems like a good man.”

“I thought so, too. So, you’re going to be happy with the arrangement?”

“Yes,” Destiny answered without hesitation.

“Good. I’ll go find him now and see about making the arrangements for the wedding.”

“I believe he went into the study,” Destiny offered. “I’m going to stay up here and get cleaned up. I want to wear a nicer gown for dinner tonight.”

The long journey had taken its toll on her. She couldn’t wait to get out of her traveling clothes and wash up. She was even hoping that that evening before bed she would be able to take her first bath in days. The crude accommodations along the stage route had provided little in the way of bathing facilities, so she was looking forward to soaking in a real bathtub.

“You do that. After all, this will be your first dinner in your new home with your fiancé.”

Destiny remained there in the hallway for a moment, considering what the chaperone had just said—

Home…

She was home…

Tears burned in her eyes as she thought of her real home. The house where she’d grown up surrounded by the love of her doting parents—

She angrily pushed the thoughts away and reminded herself yet again that the woman she used to be—Destiny Sterling—didn’t exist any more—only Rebecca Lawrence did.

And Rebecca would soon be Mrs. Seth Rawlins.

Destiny went into the bedroom where the men had left their bags and started to go through the few dresses Sylvia had provided for her to take along when she’d fled the city. Although she didn’t have much in the way of a wardrobe, she wanted to look her best.

A short time later, Gertrude was waiting for Seth in the study while he went to send a message.

“Everything is set,” Lane informed her as he returned. “I just sent one of the boys into town to ask the minister if he could perform the wedding tomorrow morning. Unless there’s a problem and we hear otherwise tonight, Rebecca and I should be happily married by noon.”

“Will the minister be coming here to the ranch, or will we be going into town for the ceremony?”

“That’ll be up to him, but I imagine he’ll want us to be married in the church.”

“All right, in that case, I’ll have my things packed and take them along with us when we go. That way, I can take a room at the hotel and stay there until it’s time for me to leave for St. Louis again.”

“You’re more than welcome to stay here at the ranch,” he offered.

“I don’t want to risk missing the next stagecoach back, and besides, once you two are lawfully man and wife, Rebecca will no longer need a chaperone.” Gertrude wanted to give the newlyweds the privacy they would need on their wedding night, but she hesitated to bring up such a delicate subject.

“I’ll make the arrangements for you in the morning.”

“Thank you, Seth. I’m glad everything is working out so well for the two of you.”

“So am I. Rebecca is a lovely woman.”

“Yes, she is,” Gertrude agreed.

“Are you used to traveling alone?” He was concerned about her making the trip back East by herself.

“Oh, yes. I’ve done it before. Most folks don’t bother old ladies,” she said with a grin. “They know better.”

He had relaxed a little in her presence, and at her comment, he chuckled.

Gertrude had always considered herself a good judge of character. In that moment, she believed she’d caught a glimpse of the real Seth and knew Rebecca was getting herself a good man.

“Rebecca is going to make you a fine bride, and I believe you’re going to be a good husband to her,” she said. “She’s proven herself to be very capable on the trip out here. Not all Eastern ladies are so ready and willing to adapt to such a drastic change in lifestyle.”

“Learning how to live on a ranch is going to be a challenge for her, but we talked about that when I showed her around the place. What about you?” Lane asked, teasing the chaperone a bit. “You could become a mail-order bride too and get yourself a husband. Then you could stay out here with us.”

Gertrude knew he was joking with her, but she hastened to reply, leaving no doubt about her true feelings. “Oh, no—I prefer city living. It’s more…civilized.”

Lane thought privately that it was a good thing she was heading back East right away. If she thought life on the Circle D was uncivilized now, he could only imagine what she’d think if she happened to be around when Dan Cooper showed up.

“I’ve got some work I have to catch up on,” he told her. “I’ll be back here at the house in time for dinner.”

“How soon will dinner be served?”

“Usually late in the afternoon. The foreman’s wife, Caroline, will be bringing the food up here to the house, so until then, just make yourself at home.”

“I’ll do that, and we’ll see you at dinner,” Gertrude said.

Lane left the house and made his way to the stable. Knowing he had at least an hour before he had to worry about getting back to the house for dinner, he decided to take his horse out for a ride.

“Where you headed?” Steve asked.

“I’ve got a few things I want to check on. I’ll be back shortly,” he answered evasively. In truth, he just needed some time alone to come to grips with all that had happened that day.

Lane mounted up and rode out by himself. During his time on the Circle D, he’d found a quiet, mostly deserted place a few miles from the house. It was a shaded spot near a small pond. On occasion, he’d gone there to relax and let his guard down for a while, knowing for that short period of time he could be the man he really was.

Lane reached his favorite place and dismounted. He tied up his horse and then went to sit in the shade near the water’s edge. In the peace of the moment, he took the time to look around at the quiet countryside. The years he’d spent with the Rangers had taught him how precious and fleeting these moments of peace and solitude could be, for at any moment, he knew, chaos could break loose—just like his mail-order bride showing up unannounced.

Lane found himself wondering, now, what he was going to do about Rebecca.

The following morning, they were to be married…

There was no way around it or out of it if he was going to keep up his pretense of being the real Seth Rawlins.

As a Ranger, Lane had always prided himself on being able to handle whatever came his way. He was always prepared for trouble, whether it was a shootout or tracking down criminals, but he had never even considered that he had to be prepared to accept and marry a mail-order bride.

He gave a weary shake of his head and almost wished he had a bottle of whiskey with him. But as tempting as the thought of a good stiff drink was, it would not clear his thoughts or help him figure out exactly what he should do.

Come tomorrow morning, Seth Rawlins would be marrying Miss Rebecca Lawrence.

The trouble was, he wasn’t Seth Rawlins, and she was just an innocent young woman who was now caught up in a very dangerous situation.

Lane tried to find the bright side of the problem. He told himself he should be glad that he was the one running the Circle D and not the real Seth Rawlins. Rebecca would definitely have ended up in even more danger if the outlaw had been there to marry her instead of him, and she would have gotten trapped on the wrong side of the law.

Lane finally faced and accepted the truth about his dilemma—there was only one way he could handle it.

He had to go through with the wedding.

As he reluctantly accepted the hand fate had dealt him, memories of Katie that he’d long held at bay returned. A deep well of pain and sadness filled him as he remembered the joy of their wedding day all those years ago and the wonderful life they’d had together back at the Bar M. Their time together had been filled with love, and he regretted now that he hadn’t lived each day fully appreciating the gift that their marriage had been.

Losing Katie had changed him.

It had hardened him.

He had sworn he would never love again.

The only emotion he allowed himself to feel any longer was anger. It was that emotion that had driven him to join the Texas Rangers. It was that emotion that drove him to track down murderers. And that was why he was there at the ranch right now. He was going to bring the Cooper Gang to justice.

He would do whatever it took to accomplish his mission, but he hadn’t expected to find himself burdened with an innocent ‘wife’ who would only be in the way and cause trouble while he was trying to do his job.

Rebecca might be sweet and beautiful, but he wished he’d never laid eyes on her. The only thing that could save them both from becoming entangled in the lie of this false marriage would be the appearance of Dan Cooper and his gunmen that very night. But Lane knew that wasn’t going to happen.

Drawing upon his inner fortitude, Lane vowed to himself that he would find a way to keep Rebecca out of harm’s way while he brought down the gang. Once she found out the truth—

Well, they would deal with that when the time came.

Lane returned to his horse and mounted up to ride back to the ranch house, knowing he must remain constantly on the lookout for signs of the gang showing up.

He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by his new bride.

He could not let the gang take him by surprise.

He had to be ready.

Destiny had taken her time getting ready for dinner. She’d washed up as best she could and then had brushed out her hair and tied it back with a simple ribbon that matched the blue of the demure dress she was wearing. She knew her outfit was a far cry from the fashionable gowns she’d worn back in St. Louis, but those days were over. She felt she was lucky to possess the few garments she had. Fresh from a sponge bath, with her hair in a tumble of curls loose about her shoulders, she felt more like her old self as she went downstairs to help Caroline serve up the meal.

When Lane rode back in, he went straight up to the house. It was dinnertime. He was looking forward to Caroline’s cooking, and he wasn’t disappointed. The food the foreman’s wife had prepared filled the house with a delicious aroma, and he eagerly started back to the kitchen. He’d just reached the doorway when he caught sight of Rebecca working alongside Caroline to dish out the food. He stopped, caught off guard by the change in her appearance. He’d known she was a pretty woman, but tonight, with her hair down around her shoulders and a simple blue dress that set off her blonde coloring to perfection, he found he couldn’t look away.

“So you finally got back, did you?” Caroline remarked when she spotted him standing there watching them.

“I just rode in, and I’m glad I did. Dinner smells delicious.”

“Well, you’d better get washed up if you plan on sitting at the table. We’re just about ready to eat.”

Lane hurried out to the pump and returned to join Steve, Gertrude and the two younger women for the meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and apple pie.

Destiny had known the food would be good just from the way it smelled, but she looked up at the foreman’s wife and complimented her. “You are a wonderful cook.”

“Why, thank you. I do enjoy fixing the meals. Have you done much cooking?”

Destiny reluctantly admitted, “No, I haven’t, but I have a feeling I’m going to need to learn how to cook right away.”

“That you will, with the husband you’re going to have,” Caroline teased, looking at Seth, who was helping himself to another serving of chicken. “He does have a good appetite.”

“Would you have time to teach me?” Destiny asked.

“Of course, I’ll be glad to.”

“Good. Between learning how to cook and learning about the ranch, I think I’m going to be extremely busy for a while.”

“Are you a fast learner?” Steve asked with a grin.

“I hope so.”

They all laughed.

As they were finishing the apple pie, they heard a rider coming in, and Lane went out to see who it was. He was gone from the table for just a few minutes, and when he returned, he had the news they’d been waiting for.

“Everything has been arranged. Reverend Moore is expecting us at ten tomorrow morning,” he announced, looking at Rebecca. “This time tomorrow night we’ll be an old married couple.”

Satisfied with the news, they finished off the meal with easy conversation and laughter.

“I’ll spend the night out in the bunkhouse, so you ladies will have your privacy,” Lane offered.

“That’s very kind of you,” Gertrude thanked him. “What time do we need to be ready to leave for town in the morning?”

“We should start out no later than nine o’clock to make sure we’re there on time,” he told her.

“We’ll be ready,” she assured him. “Won’t we, Rebecca?”

Destiny looked up at the man who would soon be her husband. “Yes. We’ll be ready.”

It was after dark when Lane got ready to leave Rebecca and Gertrude alone at the main house. He walked out onto the front porch with his bride-to-be so they could enjoy a few minutes of privacy after the chaperone had disappeared upstairs. The night sky was starry, and the moon was just a sliver hanging low on the horizon.

“It’s a beautiful night,” Destiny remarked, gazing up at the sky.

“Yes, it is,” he agreed. Then he said her name quietly, “Rebecca—”

She turned to look up at him questioningly.

“You’re not having any regrets, are you?” Lane knew this was the last chance he had to find a way to call off the marriage. He still hoped to get her away from the ranch and out of danger.

Destiny smiled. “No. None. What about you?”