Devlin's Montana Bride (Sweet, clean Western Historical Romance)(Montana Ranchers Brides series) (7 page)

Elise headed back to the kitchen cursing her misfortune to have such an ornery man for a husband.

Why, he'd just ignored her as if she was nothing! All she'd wanted to do was show him that she could be a good wife, starting with that most basic of things, cooking food for her man coming home from a hard day's work.

He'd thrown her offer back in her face. So she'd thrown the pie in his. That seemed fair.

Elise tried to contain a smile as she strode into the kitchen, but it proved to be too hard. Mrs. Mildmay turned as she entered. "Well? What did he say?"

Elise stopped, looked at the housekeeper and sighed. For a moment both women looked at each other. Mrs.Mildmay looked at Elise's empty hands.

"Did he like his pie?" she asked with a wry smile.

Elise's lips tightened and she nodded, saying nothing, her eyes widening.

Mrs. Mildmay looked at Elise. "You didn't!" she said incredulously. "Did you?"

Elise nodded. "I did. Right in his face!"

Mrs. Mildmay threw her head back and roared with laughter. Elise joined in, laughing so hard that she had to take a seat at the kitchen table to recover.

"What did Devlin say?" Mrs.Mildmay asked, barely able to contain herself.

"He couldn't say anything at first. Not with the pie all over his face."

"Well at least the pie didn't go completely to waste," the elderly housekeeper said with a grin. "Men! What are they like?"

Elise looked at the food on the table. She'd spent a long time preparing the loveliest possible meal for them. On the table were plates of beefsteak, potatoes, root vegetables. There was even a bottle of wine from Devlin's small collection which she'd found in a store room.

"Don't you worry, Elise," Mrs. Mildmay said. "He'll come crawling back once he realizes he did wrong. He ain't going to ignore you again in a hurry."

Elise frowned. "That wasn't the point, Mrs. Mildmay. It was the way he did it. It was like he just didn't want to be close to me at all."

Mrs. Mildmay grinned. "Once he's cleaned himself up and survived the ribbing of those men in the bunkhouse, he'll be over here soon enough. You mark my words," Mrs. Mildmay said.

"In the meantime what are we going to do with all that food?" Elise asked.

Elise heard the sound of horse's hooves out in the yard.

Mrs. Mildmay stood and glanced out the kitchen window. "I think a couple of men have just arrived who might help eat that food," she said.

Elise went to the window and looked out to the yard. Two men were getting off their horses and tying them up to the rail. They both looked the same age as Devlin and she thought she recognized them, but she couldn't place their names. She thought maybe she'd seen them around town.

"Trent and Nathan," Mrs. Mildmay said as if reading Elise's mind. "They're Devlin's best friends in these parts. Guess they wanted to come over and meet the new bride," she said.

Elise hurriedly fixed her hair and started to straighten her dress. "Oh my! How do I look?" she asked. She scanned he front of her dress for any remnants of pie that might have landed there. She was relieved to find none.

Mrs. Mildmay's eyes narrowed and then she smiled. "You look beautiful my dear. Even after spending hours in this kitchen. It isn't fair really," she said.

Elise waved a dismissive hand at the housekeeper. "You sure know how to flatter a girl," she said.

"I don't get much chance on this ranch with all these men."

Elise looked out the window and saw the two men walk toward the house. Before they reached the front porch Devlin appeared. She couldn't hear what they were saying but they sure looked pleased to see each other.

Elise stood at the window for a moment. She was reluctant to go and meet the men. There would be introductions and explanations and she wasn't sure she was ready to be sociable. The incident with Devlin had left her with mixed feelings despite the hilarity with Mrs. Mildmay.
 

Elise watched Devlin with his friends. He still had some pie on his face and she saw he was having a hard time explaining it to his smiling friends. Elise suddenly felt more than a bit guilty and foolish about what she'd done. Her sister had always warned Elise about her short temper and it seemed like she still had some growing up to do, in spite of her own high opinion of herself.

Devlin looked so at ease with his two friends as they stood in the yard. She was pleased that he had good friends, and she was sure they'd helped him through the tough times he'd obviously had this year.
 

Friends were so important. Elise hadn't had many close friends in recent years. Her burning sense of independence and fiery spirit had meant that not many people had felt comfortable being too close to Elise.

She sighed as she watched her husband enjoying the company of his companions. Then the conversation seemed to change. The faces of all three men became serious. One of the men took Devlin's arm and spoke with real intensity to Devlin, who simply nodded at everything the other man told him.

Devlin suddenly frowned and looked at the other man in disbelief. Devlin shook his head violently, but was soon calmed by the other man.

Something was wrong, Elise thought. She would have to get out there and find out what it was.

Devlin sighed. What Trent had told him couldn't possibly be true. Could it? He shook his head and looked at his friend. Trent McIntyre was slightly taller than Devlin. In fact he was the taller of all three friends. All three men were ranchers and all three were considered by women around these parts to be equally eligible and handsome. The other man, Nathan Grantly, had just married a mail order bride from Boston. He stood casually to one side letting Trent do all the explaining.

Devlin trusted these two men implicitly. If what Trent had just told him was true, then things were bad.

"Are you sure that's what you heard?" he asked Trent.

The rancher's green eyes narrowed and he nodded slowly. "Yup. Apparently he's already got someone looking into it. Some lawyer creep in town."

"Which one would that be," Devlin said sarcastically. "There're so many of those around."

"Whoever it is, your marriage could be in trouble even before it's gotten started," Trent said quietly.

Nathan shook his head. "That idiot just doesn't know when to quit."

"Caulfield didn't get where he is by being an idiot, Nathan. If what Trent says is true then I've got to think something up real fast to stop him," said Devlin.

Devlin paused and tried to rack his brains. He'd have to think of something fast. And it would have to be so convincing that there would be no argument against it.

The door to the ranch house swung open quickly and Elise appeared. Devlin stiffened. "Don't say a word to Elise, boys. Not right now. In any case she's in a bit of a mood." He wiped some apple from his forehead. "As you can see, the lady has spirit."

Trent and Nathan smiled and tried to adopt a more casual demeanor than the seriousness of the moment called for.

Elise walked slowly toward the men. Devlin stepped forward. "Trent. Nathan. May I present my beautiful wife, Elise."

Trent and Nathan both bowed and took off their hats.

"It's an honor and a pleasure Mrs. Cooper," Trent said taking Elise's hand and kissing the back of it.

Elise was slightly taken aback by the forwardness of the gesture. "Never mind him," Devlin said with a forced smile. "He thinks he's a ladies man," he explained.

Trent turned and frowned with smiling eyes. "Really? That's what you think of me?"

Nathan stepped forward. "Pleasure to meet you. Devlin's a very lucky man," he said, his voice warm and sincere.

"Nathan here just got married himself," Devlin stated. "Had to go all the way to Boston to find himself a bride."

"Yes. But it was worth it. My wife is a treasure and she just loves life out here in Montana," Nathan stated.

"I'm glad," Elise said politely. She looked at Devlin. "Your conversation seemed to be about something of substance," she said to her husband.
 

Devlin averted his eyes.

"Looked like you all were talking about something real serious," Elise said, her gaze shifting questioningly to each of the three men.
 

"We're just real proud of Devlin here, getting married and all," Trent tried to explain. It didn't sound convincing to Devlin's ears.

Elise frowned. "You sure about that?"

Devlin went to Elise and took her by the arm. Time to do some serious reassuring. "You know what guys can be like."

Elise fixed him with a look. "Actually Devlin. I don't know what men are like. In case you hadn't noticed I'm a woman. And I only just got married."

Trent and Nathan both turned their heads away and tried to suppress a laugh. Devlin heard them both clear their throats.

Devlin looked toward his friends and seeing there was no support forthcoming stammered out a reply. "I...uh...well, of course," He sighed. "That was a stupid thing for me to say."

Elise peered into Devlin's eyes. "Is there anything I should be concerned about?"

Devlin's mouth opened as if to speak, but then he was cut short by the welcome appearance of Mrs. Mildmay at the ranch house door. "Are you all going to stand there all day or are you coming in here. There's some fine grub here that Mrs. Cooper spent a whole load of time cooking."

Devlin felt a rush of relief surge through him. Trust Mrs. Mildmay to come to the rescue.

"Sure Mrs. Mildmay. I'm sure that Trent and Nathan would just love to sample my wife's fine cooking."
 

Elise shot Devlin a harsh glance but he ignored it and started to lead her back to the house. Trent and Nathan followed.

Devlin looked at Elise as they stepped up onto the porch. She was staring defiantly ahead, studiously avoiding his gaze.
 

What a woman! He'd seen more spirit from her today than he'd seen in all the women he'd known before combined. She wasn't someone to cross swords with. In a way though he'd liked what he'd seen. She was obviously someone who didn't take no for an answer. In this wild country that was only going to be a useful attribute in a wife. But it would certainly make for an interesting life.
 

How was he going to tell her what Trent had revealed? He didn't know that he could. How would she react? Would she storm out and abandon their marriage before it had even started? Or would she do something even worse

One thing was for sure. He was being drawn closer and closer to his new wife. It didn't seem to matter how hard he worked to keep a distance from her. Trying to keep her at arms length was proving impossible. This whole marriage of convenience thing was turning out to be a whole lot more complicated than he'd first imagined.
 

After she'd stormed out of the bunkhouse he'd thought to himself that maybe this woman was going to prove too much of a handful for him after all. He wasn't sure he was going to be able to deal with her.
 

But they both had to make a go at the marriage, whether they liked it or not. And now, Trent had let him in on something that made it even more urgent that their marriage be seen to be a real one, and not just a fake.

The nerves tumbled inside him as he thought about just what that meant.
 

He was going to have to get a whole lot closer to Elise than he'd originally bargained for. The thought of that created a whirl of emotions and thoughts inside him.
 

The only decision he had to make right now was how close to her was he willing, or able, to get.

He gestured for his friends to enter the house ahead of him and closed the door behind him.
 

He was suddenly certain that getting as close as he could to Elise in every possible way would be the only chance either of them would have for a future.

CHAPTER TWELVE

How come Devlin is being so nice to me all of a sudden, Elise thought as she helped Mrs. Mildmay clean up the dishes.
 

The men had retired to the parlor and she could hear their laughter. They sounded like they were having a fine old time.

Mrs. Mildmay's kindly eyes seemed to scrutinize Elise's every movement.

"Are you okay dear?" Mrs. Mildmay asked in a gentle voice.

Elise sighed. "I guess so. Why do you ask?"

"It's just that you seem preoccupied dear."

There was another burst of male laughter from the parlor. Elise rolled her eyes.

"The men certainly seem to have enjoyed the meal," Mrs Mildmay said with a satisfied grin.

Indeed the meal had been lovely, Elise reflected. Mrs. Mildmay had gone to great lengths to put everyone at ease. The incident with the pie was making Elise feel very uneasy, the more she thought about it.

Trent and Nathan were obviously good men. Elise could tell that the three ranchers were real close. She supposed that the trials of ranch life had brought them all closer together.
 

At the kitchen table, tucking into the meal, Trent and Nathan had described the difficulties of ranch life in such a way that Elise began to wonder just what she'd gotten herself into. It was clear that life on a Montana ranch was nothing like life in a Montana town with all it's pleasures and conveniences. It wasn't the harshness of life on the ranch which worried her so much as the difference between it and her former life.

Was she a spoiled brat? Had Mrs. Mildmay's initial opinion of her been accurate? She certainly had behaved like one, she thought to herself. Her parents had done their best to bring Elise up to be a young lady with decent standards. But what good were those standards here on a ranch? She'd allowed herself to slip when she'd behaved so petulantly and she was amazed that Devlin seemed to have shrugged it off so quickly.

The looks that he had given her across the table had made something shift deep inside Elise in spite of her best efforts at ignoring the sensations roiling inside her. There had been such a mixture of emotions inside her that she'd struggled to maintain her composure at the table. But she had succeeded. There had been a visible pride on Devlin's face as she had chatted personably with his two friends. Elise was surprised at how pleased she felt when Devlin looked at her with such obvious approval. There was a glint in his eyes that she hadn't seen earlier. It caused a flutter of nerves in her stomach that had nothing to do with the food she had prepared for everyone.