His Brother's Wife (2 page)

Rafe grinned and slapped
Jesse on the shoulder. “You’re right, Jesse. If your wife is here
to cook and clean for you, and darn your socks, what difference
does it make how old she is or what she looks like. Tell you what.
When she gets here, I’ll let you have the big room at the top of
the stairs. We can’t have your bride sleeping in that tiny room of
yours, now can we?”

Jesse’s face went a funny
shade of white and he raised his hand, scratching the side of his
neck. “Why do I need Ma and Pa’s old room?”

“For you and your new
bride.”

When Jesse spoke again, it
was a tiny sound that squeaked. “You mean I have to sleep in the
same room with her?”

Rafe bit his lip to keep
from laughing again. “That’s what men do when they take a
wife.”

“But there ain't but one
bed in there.”

“Then you’ll have to
share.”

Jesse swallowed, his
throat moving with the small action before the boy turned and
looked back out over the field. “It’ll be okay if she takes that
room by herself. I’m comfortable where I am.”

The sun was overhead and
Rafe felt his stomach give a painful twist. It was past lunch. He
looked toward Jesse, seeing his red-tinted face, and the defiance
in his eyes, and knew regardless of what he said, the kid would
fight him every step of the way.

Bracing himself for the
outburst, Rafe nodded toward the house. “Best go on in there and
write that bride of yours a letter and tell her you’ve changed your
mind. You’re not old enough for a wife, Jesse. You don't even know
what a man wants one for.”

He turned to the barn, and
the gaping hole in the roof he had to fix, and motioned to the
mule. “When you get finished with that, come put the mule away and
help me with the roof.” He’d taken four steps when Jesse threw his
hat at him, hitting him in the back.

“Don’t tell me what to do,
Rafe! I’m through taking orders from you. Besides, I can’t send no
letter. She’ll be here today.”

Rafe turned to face his
brother. “What do you mean she’ll be here today?”

Jesse raised his chin a
notch. “I sent away for her months ago. She’s supposed to be on the
stagecoach today. That’s why I was hitching up the wagon. I’m going
in to town to pick her up and see if that preacher is still over at
the hotel.”

The mule was hitched to
the wagon and Rafe stared at it for long moments before looking
back at Jesse. The kid was serious. He could tell by the look in
his eyes. “Jesse, you can’t marry some strange woman regardless of
what you think. You’re too young. There isn’t a preacher this side
of the Mississippi that would do it.”

“We’ll see about that.”
Picking up his hat, Jesse brushed it off and put it back on his
head, shielding his eyes from the sun. The hats brim cast his face
in shadows, but Rafe didn’t need to see Jesse’s face to know the
look being thrown at him would singe the hide off a cows
ass.

Watching him march to the
wagon, Rafe took off his own hat, ran his fingers through his hair
and looked up at sky. “What the hell am I supposed to do
now?”

Sighing, he placed his hat
back on his head and started after Jesse. When he reached the
wagon, he propped his foot on the wheel. “So, what are you going to
do?”

Jesse snorted a laugh.
“What do you think I’m going to do?”

“I don’t know. That’s why
I asked.”

“I’m going to town to pick
up my wife. I done told you that.”

Rafe looked toward the sky
again hoping some divine answer would slap him across the face and
exhaled a long breath when none came. He looked back at Jesse, the
fire in his brother’s eyes still shining, and he felt his temper
rise again. “You can’t keep her, Jesse. I won’t allow
it.”

“
You don’t have no say so in it,
Big Brother
.”
Jesse grabbed the reins, throwing them over the front of the wagon
and turned, giving Rafe his full attention. “I’m going into town
and there isn’t anything you can do about it.”

“I can blister your
hide.”

“I’d like to see you
try.”

Rafe straightened,
towering over his brother. “Don’t test me, Jesse. I have enough
work to do to last me clean through the winter and I don’t have but
a month to get it all done. I don’t have time for this
foolishness.”

“Me getting married ain't
foolish. Every man does it at some point. Hell, even you did! I’m
just going to do it earlier than most.”

Memories of Katie flooded
Rafe’s mind so quickly they almost staggered him. He pushed her
away like he always did and the anger those memories brought
hardened his heart just a little bit more.

Bringing Katie up seemed
to accomplish what Jesse hoped it would. The boy had a smug look on
his face, and the urge to strangle him until his eyes popped out of
their sockets was tempting. The little fool never listened. Why did
he think today would be any different, especially with
this?

The kid had no idea what
he was getting himself into. The woman who came to be married would
take one look at Jesse and laugh. Then what? He’ll come back home
ornery as a bull, he thought. Just like any other day. It would
serve him right to be handed his ass by some high-strung woman.
Maybe she could put the kid in his place. He sure as hell
couldn’t.

Rafe repositioned his hat
and stared his brother in the eye. There was no talking him out of
this, he could see that now. He rarely could when Jesse set his
mind to something. Their fights were beginning to be legendary the
boys temper was so out of control, so why not let him have his way
for once and let him see, first hand, what it takes to be a
man?

“You know what, Jesse?
You're right. I think it is time you grew up. Have a little more
responsibility than I’ve allowed. I’ll head on in with you to pick
up your bride if you don't mind.”

Jesse looked confused for
a moment before he nodded and climbed up into the wagon. He waited
for Rafe to join him before taking the reins and handing them over.
Rafe held back a smile. For someone who was old enough to take a
wife, you would think he could handle a wagon, and a older than
dirt mule, with confidence. Just goes to show, the kid had a lot to
learn yet and his brother’s wife was going to give him a lesson
he’d never forget.

Chapter Two

They were laughing at her.
Grace Kingston's face heated, embarrassment burning her throat and
landing on her face as every person in the room guffawed and
belly-laughed while staring at her.

Her nervousness about
making the journey across the country to marry a man sight-unseen
grew ten-fold as Ellie, the stagecoach station owner, and the dozen
or so men scattered around the room continued to stare after
telling them the name of her intended groom.

What was wrong with the
man she'd promised to marry that had an entire room full of people
laughing?

She'd had a bad feeling
the moment the stagecoach stopped and she was helped out to stand
on the wooden sidewalk, getting her first good look at the town of
Willow Creek. It resembled nothing of Boston and she knew Jesse
Samuels, the man she'd agreed to marry, had lied. His descriptive
letter had painted a picture in her mind that was filled with wild
flowers, fields green with grass and clean mountain air, and a town
teaming with life.

How disappointing to
realize Willow Creek looked like every other dusty town she'd
traveled through to get here.

She'd taken in the dirt
road, its deep tracks carved from wagons and horse hooves. Dust
seemed to cling to everything in sight and her clothing was covered
in a light layer of it in a matter of minutes.

The buildings on the one
and only street were lined in uneven rows, the wooden walkways
unlevel and tilting toward the rutted road in most places. New
construction at the end of town told her the small community was
growing but it wouldn't be fast enough for her. She was used to the
finer things in life. Why did she think a small pioneer town in the
middle of nowhere would be anything like the city she loved, and
left, to find an adventure?

Her journey so far hadn't
been at all as she'd imagined. The money she'd saved to make the
trip was all but gone due high priced meals and lodging along the
way. The lack of proper hygiene was beginning to make its presence
known as her traveling dress was stained and was starting to smell.
Of course, most of the stench in the air came from the town’s
livery stable that sat beside the stagecoach station. The scent of
manure and straw filled the air and pulling a perfumed handkerchief
from the sleeve of her dress and holding it to her nose, did little
to ward off the stench.

The entire situation was
deplorable but she had little choice but to see her rash decision
through. Which brought her back to Ellie and the men scattered
around the room who still snickered at her as if she were the punch
line of some joke no one bothered to tell her.

Ellie was heavy set, her
graying hair pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head. She
had a kind face, wrinkled from laughter and age, and Grace
remembered her manners and excused herself without spouting off a
biting remark at the woman's behavior. She turned on her heel and
made her way back to the wooden sidewalk outside.

Grace tried her best to
look calm but she was failing. Her stomach was in knots as every
horrible possibility her friends had told her about screamed
through her head in quick succession.

The thought of Jesse
Samuels misrepresenting himself was now a reality. The reaction
Ellie and the men inside the station had, had to mean something.
Was her bridegroom a scoundrel instead of a rancher as he’d said?
Was he lacking in some way that caused the prospect of marrying him
to be so amusing to the townspeople? Was he was a drunkard or
worse? A man so ugly the thoughts of giving her body to him would
turn her stomach despite his fortune?

Maybe this wasn’t a good
idea. She knew the possibility of marrying a man who wasn’t at all
pleasing to the eye was possible but at the time, she felt she had
little choice. It was either marry sight-unseen or marry the man
she suspected of stealing her father's fortune. A chill raced up
her spine at the thought. She’d marry the lowest man in all of
Montana before giving that foul beast the satisfaction of having
her and her father’s money.

She could have changed her
mind a number of times during her journey but she hadn’t. She’d
sold every possession she owned to pay off her father’s debts and
have enough to travel across the country. Now, she had no choice
but to stay. She didn’t have the money for a return trip home, and
besides, what waited for her there left her feeling
desperate.

But would her new
bridegroom be just as unwelcome a sight as her old life in
Boston?

She walked over to her
things, grabbing her skirts before sitting down on top of her
trunk, and propped her chin on her hand before sighing. She stared
out across the dusty road, watched the townsfolk go about their
business and prayed she hadn't made the biggest mistake of her
life.

Long minutes of waiting
turned into an hour. Grace tapped a heel on the wooden sidewalk and
huffed out another breath. A cool breeze sent wisps of dust
flurrying across the sidewalk as another wagon rolled over the
rutted road. She straightened her back and peered at the driver. He
lifted his hat in greeting but kept going just as every other man
who passed by did.

She was about to give up
hope when she spotted a smaller wagon ambling into town that seemed
to be heading in her direction. A man and young boy were both
looking at her as they neared the stagecoach station, and she
lifted a hand to shield her face from the sun to see them. Surely
this wasn’t her bridegroom. The wagon was no more than a broken
down wooden box with wheels.

When they stopped in front
of the station, the man sat staring at her for long minutes before
looking to the boy who was doing the same. Neither seemed inclined
to move. She stood, stretching the kinks out of her back, and said,
“Hello.”

The man mumbled something
to the boy before he shook his head and jumped to the ground. When
he approached her, Grace felt her pulse jump and her lungs seized
until she found it hard to breathe.