Trent's Montana Bride (Sweet, clean Western Historical Romance)(Montana Ranchers and Brides series) (12 page)

By the time they came back into the house Evan had fallen asleep. Chloe took him upstairs and put him in his crib. Once she was sure he was settled she came back downstairs expecting to find Trent waiting for her, but he was nowhere to be seen. Chloe went to the kitchen and found Mrs. Ross busy cleaning the things they'd brought back in.

"Where's Trent?" she asked the housekeeper.

"He's gone into town," Mrs. Ross replied.

"Into town? Did he say why? Or how long he's going to be?"

Mrs. Ross shook her head. "He didn't say. Asked me to say to you that he was sorry he couldn't wait to explain. But he'd be back before nightfall," Mrs. Ross said.

Chloe frowned. Why would Trent just up and run off like that? Especially without telling her.

"How was your little surprise?" Mrs. Ross asked.
 

Chloe smiled. "It was lovely. Thank you for the food Mrs. Ross. I really enjoyed it. You'll have to give me your recipes," Chloe said trying to smile.

Mrs. Ross quirked a brow at Chloe. "Oh. I don't know about that. Some of my recipes are real secret. But I suppose if you twist my arm I might be persuaded," she said.

Chloe nodded. "I'll look forward to that." She sighed. "I'm going upstairs to rest a bit," she said to Mrs. Ross.

"That'll do you good," Mrs. Ross said getting on with her cleaning.

Chloe made her way back upstairs, careful not to wake Evan. Before she went into her own room an idea came to her. She went down the hall and into Trent's room. She closed the door behind her and surveyed the place where her new husband slept without her. The bed was unmade and some of the things he'd used to get dressed for their meal together were still strewn about.

Chloe went to the wardrobe and carefully opened the door. She looked at the clothes that hung inside, reaching out and touching the soft material of the jackets and pants. She ran her hands across the array of outfits. There were smart dress jackets, a variety of shirts and tightly pressed pants. His other pairs of boots had been placed on a bottom shelf. Belts and a selection of bandanas were stacked neatly on a small shelf.

Chloe could just imagine Trent wearing all of the stuff. No doubt he'd been dressed up to the nines on his many nights out in Billings. She felt a stab of emotion at the thought of other women seeing him dressed up so fine, how they must have admired him, wanted to know him. She tugged her mind away from such thoughts.

There was a curious combination of scents from the clothes. It was a mixture of the ranch and the town. There was the aroma of grassland, leather and the scent of her husband, which she'd noticed whenever she had been close to him. She breathed it all in and closed her eyes. It felt good to be close to the things of a man again. She'd similarly enjoyed the presence of Lucas, savoring the daily things of his everyday life. It reminded Chloe how much she valued being married, sharing her life with a good man. Because that was what Trent was. A good man. She was beginning to be sure of that. She smiled as she reached in to the shelf where he kept some spare hats. Her hand touched something hard. She pushed the hats aside and saw a small, wooden box. Pulling it down she wondered why Trent would have such a thing hidden behind his hats.

Chloe sat on the bed and looked at the box. It was a plain, simple box and there was no lock on it. She hesitated. Should she open it? This was a private box that Trent owned. Did she have the right to open it? She decided against it. There needed to be trust in their marriage. Chloe didn't want to start prying without Trent's knowledge. She stood up and started toward the wardrobe intent upon placing the box back where she'd found it.
 

From down the hall she heard Evan cough. The box slipped out of her fingers and crashed to the floor, flipping open. Chloe bent down, one ear listening for any more coughing from Evan. Chloe's mouth opened in shock when she saw what had fallen out of the box.

Some sepia colored photos and letters had spilled out onto the floor. She gathered them up in her hands and made her way hastily down the hall to check Evan. Seeing that Evan had settled she went over to the window and sat down at the small table. The curtains were drawn, keeping out most of the late afternoon sunlight but there was still enough light for her to look at what had come out of the box.

Chloe gazed down at the small photo and instantly recognized it. Her heart started to hammer in her chest and her throat tightened.
 

She stared in almost total disbelief at the photo. It was a likeness of herself.

"What!" she exclaimed in a noisy gasp. She glanced over at Evan and was relieved to see that he hadn't stirred.

Chloe had seen the photograph before. It was one which had been taken the day she had married Lucas. She remembered it being taken. She'd stood against the plain backdrop, in the photographer's studio in Billings. Her hand had rested on the table by her side and she had watched in fascination as the photographer had set up his equipment, all to the complete amusement of Lucas who had stood behind the camera, smiling at the antics of the photographer.

The photograph had been taken as a part of the session of likenesses they'd posed for after their wedding.

But why was the likeness in a box in Trent's wardrobe? Chloe couldn't understand it. There was one more photograph. It showed Trent and Lucas standing together, in the same studio, but obviously on a different day. Both men were dressed in their rancher outfits and smiling stiffly for the camera. Chloe smiled when she saw the expression on Lucas' face in the photo. He looked so happy; so proud of his friendship with Trent. And Trent looked cocky and bold.

She unfolded the letter and let out another soft gasp. The letter was written in the familiar hand of Lucas. It was addressed to Trent. Chloe frowned. She wasn't sure she wanted to read the letter; didn't even know whether she had the right to know what was in a letter from one friend to another. But then she saw her own name written half way down the page, and she knew instantly that she was going to read it.

Dear Trent,

Just a quick note to let you know how things are going over here in Helena. To put it plainly old buddy, not too well. You were right. I never should have left the ranching business. Seems like that is the only one I am truly cut out for. You told me straight and you were right.
 

The only thing that is good in my life is Chloe. And I have news. She's expecting. That's right. I'm going to be a dad. What do you think of that? Amazing. Right? I can hardly wait.

Thing is, this changes everything. With a little one and a beautiful wife to care for I may need to get back into ranching. I know you said you'd have me back, but you know me. I'm a proud man. If I can get some funds behind me, I reckon I can get a spread of my own out near Helena.

Chloe sends her warm regards. I know, after what you told me about how you felt about her before I married her, that you send her your warmest regards too. I know you're over our disagreement over Chloe. But looks like the best man won, in the end.

That's all for now buddy. I'll see you soon

Your friend

Lucas

Chloe's hands were shaking as she laid the letter down on the table. Her eyes were warm with tears, her mind filled with confusing thoughts.

What had Lucas meant? He talked about Trent having feelings for Chloe while Lucas had been courting her; that there had been a disagreement between Lucas and Trent over Chloe. She'd never known about any of that. She hadn't even caught the slightest hint that anything like that had been going on.
 

Chloe reread the end of the letter and tried to understand what it really meant. It was there, written in Lucas' own hand. The implication was clear. Trent and Lucas had both had feelings for Chloe. Lucas had won in the end. But what did this mean for her and Trent?

Chloe looked at the photograph of herself. Was this why Trent had kept a photo of her all this time? As a reminder to himself. Of what? Losing her to Lucas.

Chloe felt her heart race even faster. She sat back in the chair and tried to steady herself. Surely Trent hadn't been holding on to a secret passion for Chloe all this time. He had hardly showed it to her since they had married. In fact he seemed to be doing everything in his power to keep their relationship on the most proper of terms. Was there a deep attraction for Chloe hiding inside Trent? Was that why he'd kept a photo of her?

Chloe felt the color drain from her face. The evidence seemed to be as clear cut as it could be.

Chloe's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a horse down in the yard. She teased back the curtain, trying to peer down but she couldn't see anything. It must be Trent, come home early for some reason. Chloe stood and clutched her dress. She was going to have to clear this up with him. Trent was going to give her some answers. She tiptoed out of Evan's room and scurried downstairs.

As she passed the open kitchen door she saw Mrs. Ross try to catch her attention, but she politely ignored the housekeeper's attempts. Chloe pulled open the front door and strode out across the porch.

As she expected there was a horse tied up in the yard. But the man who had stepped down off the horse and whose firm stare was now fixed on Chloe wasn't Trent.
 

It was a complete stranger. And Chloe felt her legs go weak and the blood drain from her face when the roughly dressed man asked her in a slow drawl if she was the wife of Lucas Wilder.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Trent was riding as fast as he could. He had to get home. Chloe was depending on him. When Trent thought that Evan also might be in danger, he drove his horse on even harder.

The horse's hooves pounded across the hard ground. The ride home from Billings had never seemed so far. The flat plain seemed to go on forever. He was still a long way from the ranch but he knew he had to get there as fast as possible. What he'd found out back in town had made it imperative that he get home.

Trent gripped the reins tighter and leaned forward, urging his mount to greater speed. He thought about what the sheriff had told him, and he gritted his teeth. His heart was pounding at the thought that a stranger was at the ranch, and that Chloe was alone.
 

After the meal in the garden Trent had decided he needed to get some answers. Chloe had told him about the stranger asking for her back at the mercantile; Nathan had said someone had been asking about Chloe in Billings. Putting the two things together didn't take a genius. Trent knew he wasn't one of those, but he knew what was important to him.
 

Chloe and Evan.

Trent had gone into town intent on getting some more facts. He figured the best place to start would be with the sheriff. He'd been good friends with Ethan for longer than he cared to remember. Sheriff Ethan had saved Trent from more than one close call during his bachelor years. There was a good natured understanding between the rancher and the sheriff, and Ethan had helped out many a time whenever rustlers had caused problems.

Trent had made it into town fast, not wanting to leave Chloe alone too long, nor have her worry about his absence, as he knew she would be prone to do.

Luckily the sheriff was in when Trent paid him a call. The information he'd been given by Ethan hadn't calmed Trent's already frayed nerves one bit. It seemed that there was a stranger in town. He'd been around a few days. Trent figured he must have followed them to Billings from Helena, even on the day of their wedding. That thought chilled him.

Ethan said that the guy had been upsetting people, being real insistent in his requests for information about a woman who'd recently come from Helena. The complaints had prompted Ethan to go have a word with the man, a certain Josiah Bentley, in his hotel room. When Ethan had pressed Bentley about his business in Billings, the man had been defensive and reluctant to answer any questions. In the end Ethan had had nothing he could detain Bentley on. The worst the man was causing was a nuisance, and that wasn't an arresting offense.

But the last thing Ethan told Trent was what had prompted Trent to come racing back home. Ethan had said that Bentley had finally gone to the church and asked the minister. Not being one given to lying, the minister had told Bentley just who Chloe Wilder was now. Mrs. Chloe McIntyre of a certain ranch outside of Billings. The minister had come over to Ethan after speaking to Bentley, just to check if everything was okay.
 

But the fact that Bentley knew where Chloe was made Trent's blood freeze and prompted the race back to the ranch. He had to get back there. Whoever Bentley was, he obviously knew Chloe from her time in Helena. That meant he had probably known Lucas.
 
Could Bentley have been involved in Lucas' death?
 

Driving hard across the valley, coming close to the house, barely able to contain the impatience burning inside himself, Trent's jaw tightened at the thought that a man who'd been anywhere near Lucas when he'd died, might be at his ranch right now, bothering Chloe.

The horse came over the last rise before the ranch house and Trent's body flooded with relief at the sight of the white building. But immediately he let out a furious grunt when he saw the horse that was tied up at the front door.

The man was here!

Trent spurred his mount on and raced into the yard, leaping down off the horse even before it had come to a halt. He called out to Chloe as he threw the reins over the hitching post, his voice echoing in the emptiness of the yard.

Trent bolted onto the porch and hammered his fist against the door, throwing it open and striding into the hallway. He called out again. "Chloe! Where are you?"

A soft voice came from the parlor. It was Chloe's. "We're in here, Trent," he heard her say in a surprisingly calm manner.

Trent dashed into the parlor and slid to a halt on the wooden floor. His mouth opened and his brows furrowed, confused at what he was seeing.

Chloe was seated on the sofa with a cup and saucer in her hand. In contrast to what he'd expected to find, Chloe seemed calm and composed. There was no sign of anxiety on her face at all.