Montana Mountain Valley Bride (Western Romance)

by Maya Stirling

  “No,” Nate said and gave Brodie a long, quizzical look. “She don’t share much with me. Bethany’s the private kind. Likes to keep things to herself.”

  Brodie decided it was time Nate knew the truth of that day on the mountainside. As he told Nate about Bethany being endangered by Tyrell and Rufus, the older man’s eyes widened and sun-darkened skin turned pale. When Brodie told of how bullets had been fired, Nate muttered harsh words under his breath. After Brodie had finished his account Nate was silent for a time.

  Finally he spoke. “Now why wouldn’t she tell me what happened?”

  “Maybe she didn’t want to worry you.”

  Nate groaned. “If anything happened to Bethany I don’t know what I’d do.”

  “You’d be alone with Noah.”

  Nate nodded sternly. “I know that.”

  “You’d need to take him off this mountain,” Brodie said. “Find Noah a family. A place in town. He couldn’t stay up here with you.”

  “I know that, too,” Nate said. He sounded grumpy, as if he didn’t want to hear a single word about this subject. “Don’t think I haven’t tried to figure that one out.”

  “Hasn’t Bethany spoken to you about it?”

  “She has,” Nate snapped. “But she doesn’t believe for a minute that it’ll ever come to that.”

  “She’s been lucky up here until now,” Brodie suggested.

  Nate lifted a quizzical brow. “How come?”

  “Bethany and Noah have had you to help them out. That must’ve made things easier for them.” Nate smiled as if he appreciated the compliment Brodie was offering him. “Especially after her husband passed away like he did.”

  “Richard was a good man,” Nate observed. “He never would have believed it would come to this. With his wife and only child scratching out a living up here in the valley.”

  “Bethany seems happy enough,” Brodie said.

  “So she says,” Nate answered. “But I’ve seen her when she’s been down and sad. There’re times when she gets real melancholy. I’ve tried to persuade her to go back east, but she won’t listen to me.”

  “As you say, Nate. Bethany has a mind of her own.”

  “That ain’t always a good thing, Brodie,” Nate said. “Makes it hard to see what’s in front of your nose.”

  Brodie gazed at Nate. He could see the genuine concern in the man’s eyes. He hid that concern well behind a mask of good humor and friendliness. Brodie reckoned Nate was as worried about Bethany as he was.

  When he spoke next, Nate’s voice shook with emotion. “I ain’t getting any younger. I’ve been in these mountains a long time. When I met Richard, I thought he didn’t belong here. He was green, and knew nothing about mountain life. A tenderfoot.” Nate grinned as if recalling something that warmed his heart. “He sure was enthusiastic, though. He tried trapping and didn’t catch anything; he tried tracking and lost what he was following.”

  “Didn’t you tell him he wasn’t suited to living up here?” Brodie asked.

  “I tried to tell him he was foolish chasing the dream of mountain living.” Nate sighed. “But he was stubborn. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. He was looking for something. A reason to get away from the life he’d had. Away from the memories of what he’d seen in the war. And when he found the valley, there wasn’t a word I could say to change his mind. Before I knew it, he’d brought Bethany and Noah here.”

  “That must have been a shock.”

  Nate scoffed. “It sure was. So I did the only thing I could do. I decided to fix up this cabin and settle down to help Richard and his family make the most of their life here. I thought they’d leave after a few weeks. But I was wrong. If anything, the more they saw of life here, the more they wanted to stay.”

  Brodie gazed out across the heartbreaking beauty of the valley. He could understand why someone would fall in love with a place like this.

  “And then the horses started coming. Regularly,” Nate continued. “That was when Richard really decided he was never going to leave. Me and him built this corral you see and we started capturing the horses. At first Bethany didn’t want to keep them. We released the first few we caught. Then supplies started running low. Richard came with me on some hunting trips along the mountain, but we never caught enough. So, Richard decided he’d start taking the horses to town to trade for supplies. After he made his first trip to Inspiration, he got sick and died.”

  Brodie shook his head. It was a sorry tale. The truth was, the frontier was a cruel place. Brodie had known many men who’d risked their lives and paid the ultimate price.

  “So Bethany has only been continuing what Richard started,” Brodie said slowly.

  Nate nodded. “That’s what she’s been doing.”

  Brodie recalled what Bethany had told him about honoring her husband’s wishes, of keeping her promise to him not to give up on the dream which had brought him to this beautiful refuge.

  She’d been put in a difficult position. Her options had been limited, but she’d done all she could to provide for Noah. Everything except the one thing which Brodie knew would solve all her problems.

  Leave the mountain valley and settle in town.

  Knowing her as he did now, he doubted she would leave the valley. She had invested too much of her life in this place.

  “Somebody has to talk to Bethany,” Brodie suggested. “Make her see sense. She has to understand that she and Noah can’t live up here forever.”

  A pained expression spread across Nate’s features. “As hard as it is for me to agree with you, I think you’re right. But she won’t listen to me.”

  “Maybe I can try,” Brodie stated firmly. Brodie started to walk toward his horse. “I’m going back to the cabin.”

  “I’ll stay here a while,” Nate said. “If you’re going to try changing Bethany’s mind, I think I’ll be safer here.”

  “You think it’s going to be that hard?”

  Nate’s brows lifted in a straight line. “Brodie, you don’t know what you’re walking into. It’s easier to tame a bear than change Bethany’s mind about staying here.”

  Brodie rose up onto his saddle. “I like a challenge, Nate,” he said. Tugging on his reins he started back up the valley trail.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Bethany was in the cabin when she heard the sound of hooves. It was a solitary horse. Crossing the room, she passed Noah who was sitting at the table practicing his reading. Noah lifted his head from the book. “Who’s that?”

  Bethany opened the door and looked out. Her spirits lifted instantly. “It’s Brodie.” Glancing back at Noah she added: “You stay here until I come back. I won’t be long.”

  “Ma? Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Are you and Brodie getting friendly?”

  Bethany felt her cheeks flush with heat. Noah’s question had been unexpected and blunt. He peered at her, an expectant look on his face.

  “What a question!” Bethany exclaimed.

  Noah grinned triumphantly. “You are friendly with him, ain’t you.”

  “Never you mind that, Noah Hoxton. Just you make sure I see you working when I get back.”

  Noah’s smile vanished. He frowned and obediently lowered his gaze back down to the book.

  It seemed like Noah had been paying extra attention to the way she and Brodie had been acting toward each other. The old wisdom was true. There truly was no way to hide some things from children, she reflected. They could see the truth, no matter how hard grownups tried to hide it.

  Brodie dismounted and came to Bethany. “We need to talk.”

  “We do?” she asked, startled by the way he’d spoken.

  “Can we walk a while?”

  Bethany told Noah not to leave the cabin and then closed the door behind her. She walked alongside Brodie as they headed down the path to the pool of water at the base of the waterfall. The ground surrounding the pool had been cut up by horse hooves. The morning sun was br
ight and the sky was azure blue. The air was crisp and cool. Water tumbled heavier, now that some of the snow was melting in the mountains higher up. The pool shimmered brightly in the sun. The creek had risen and ran faster than the day before.

  Brodie seemed thoughtful. She stood alongside him at the edge of the pool. “How did it go with Nate?” she asked.

  “The pass is still blocked,” he replied. “The snow has melted but there’s still some hard-packed blocks of ice. Once they melt, I reckon we might be able to start to clear the passageway tomorrow.”

  The thought that Brodie would be leaving soon made Bethany feel surprisingly and inexplicably sad. She schooled her features, eager that he shouldn’t see her disappointment.

  “Nate showed me his cabin.”

  “Really,” Bethany responded. She knew what else that meant. “So you saw the fencing and corral.”

  Brodie looked steadily at her. “I did. Nate explained the whole thing to me. It’s mighty impressive. And pretty clever.”

  “It was probably better coming from him,” Bethany suggested.

  Brodie’s brows furrowed and his lips formed a thin line. There was something on his mind, she told herself. “It’s quite a setup you and Nate have got down there,” he said.

  “Richard and Nate worked really hard to build it.”

  “They did a good job. I’m sure it does what it’s supposed to do.”

  The disapproving tone in his voice instantly put her on the defensive. “You sound like something’s bothering you.”

  Brodie thrust his hands into the pockets of his coat. “If that’s how you’re capturing horses, it seems to me a whole lot could go wrong.”

  “We’ve never injured a horse. If that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “The horses aren’t what concerns me, Bethany.”

  His use of her name caught her by surprise. The way he’d said it, there had been an unmistakable crack of emotion in his voice.

  “Then what’s wrong?” she asked.

  Brodie sighed heavily. “What I have to say to you might not be to your liking. But I have to speak the truth.” He paused for a long moment and then gazed into her eyes. “I’m worried for your personal safety, Bethany.”

  She met his gaze, seeing the concern in his eyes. Bethany hadn’t seen him this worried since that first meeting in the mercantile.

  He continued: “I can see what you’re trying to do here and, in my opinion, it isn’t going to work.”

  She stiffened, unable to drag her gaze from the darkness in his eyes. For a moment, she was lost for words. The air eased out of her lungs. She clasped her hands at her middle desperately trying to compose herself. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her voice was tight with tension.

  “I think you do.” His arm swept wide toward the valley. “But there’s something else I’ve come to believe.” He frowned. “You ain’t going to like what I’m about to say, but I was brought up in a Christian home where telling the truth was sacred.” He sighed heavily. “This place isn’t where you belong. I think you know you have to leave the valley.”

  “What!”

  “This is no place for a woman and child. It’s too dangerous.”

  “What are you talking about? The only animals who come anywhere near this valley are the horses. And you can see they’re no danger to me and Noah.”

  He peered disbelievingly at her. “What about that mountain lion that attacked Nate. It could have killed Noah. The day I got here I heard talk of bears and wolves. I may not live in the mountains, but I know what lives up here. And it isn’t only you.”

  Frustrated that he was speaking the truth, she distracted herself by staring at the ripples in the pool. The fact that every word he’d just said was true made her both indignant and regretful. Hadn’t she been harboring those exact same thoughts herself in recent weeks?

  “You saw how Noah dealt with the mountain lion,” she pleaded. “He handled it well.”

  “And got injured doing it,” Brodie countered. “He’s still a young boy. He doesn’t fully understand the dangers he could face every day.”

  “You’re suggesting I’m not a good mother to Noah?” Bethany asked, her voice quivering.

  Brodie shook his head. He took a step closer to her and reached out. He froze when she frowned and looked down sharply at his outstretched hands. “You’re a wonderful mother. You’re loving and kind and generous. Noah’s amazing, too. And you both deserve more than you’ll ever have if you stay in this valley.” He sighed sharply as his eyes flashed with frustration. He ran a hand through his hair. “Darn it, Bethany! Don’t you understand what I’m trying to say to you?”

  Bethany stared at Brodie and felt the full impact of his words. Her mouth opened and, once again the air sighed out of her lungs as she found herself completely unable to speak.

  Didn’t Brodie understand this was her home? Hadn’t she already proven to him that she could cope with whatever this mountain refuge could throw at her?

  “What happened with the mountain lion could have gone badly wrong,” Brodie countered. “You or Noah or Nate could have been seriously injured. And then what would you have done? You’re a long way from any medical treatment.”

  “I can handle all of that myself,” she retorted. Indignation was turning slowly and gradually to a softly simmering anger. She did her best to contain it. The last thing she wanted was to argue with Brodie. But she had to defend herself. What he was saying wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. Not after all the sacrifices she’d made to come here. Not after all the losses she’d suffered.

  “You’re not a doctor,” Brodie said in a low voice.

  “Are you saying I can’t look after my own son?” she asked sharply.

  “No. I’m trying to get you to see this place for what it really is,” Brodie replied. His voice shook with emotion. He leaned his head closer and murmured: “This valley is a beautiful prison, Bethany. It isn’t only the horses that get trapped here. And I think you know that.”

  Bethany stood like a statue, peering blankly at Brodie. Her heartbeat was pounding. The sound of the waterfall was distant, far away, as in a dream.

  Then, suddenly she heard a rumbling sound. She recognized it instantly.

  The horses.

  Looking across the valley she saw the herd had emerged from its shelter beneath the overhanging cliff. “Look,” Bethany exclaimed. “They’re getting ready to leave.”

  Brodie turned to see for himself. He watched silently as the herd wove snake-like through the groves of trees. The herd was coming toward the waterfall.

  “We should go,” Bethany stated and began to walk in the direction of the cabin. She turned to see Brodie standing rooted to the spot by the pool. “Aren’t you coming?”

  “To do what?”

  “This is our chance to capture a horse before the herd leaves the valley.”

  Brodie frowned. “Haven’t you been listening to anything I’ve been saying?”

  “We don’t time for that, Brodie,” Bethany snapped. “Do you want to see how this works, or not?”

  Brodie glanced at the oncoming herd and then, after one frustrated shake of his head, started to follow Bethany up the path to the cabin.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  They readied Bethany’s mount quickly and then Brodie rode with her out across the valley, keeping a distance between themselves and the herd of horses which had settled for the moment, drinking water from the pool.

  As he rode beside Bethany, Brodie tried to contain his frustration. He’d tried to make his case, but he’d failed. Bethany would not listen to him, and that hurt most of all. She seemed set in her ways, refusing to pay the slightest heed to his concerns. He was worried for her. He’d spoken plainly and she had rebuffed him forcefully.

  Brodie and Bethany rode to a nearby grove of trees and halted. Brodie concluded he had no choice but to go along with her and see for himself if his fears were unfounded.

  “What’s the plan?”
he asked Bethany.

  She sat tall in her saddle and peered at the distant horses. “Once they’ve finished their turn at the watering hole, they’ll probably move out into the middle of the valley. When they’ve gathered there we can get in amongst them. That’s when we can get them on the move down to the canyon.”

  Brodie leaned on the pommel of his saddle and lifted a brow. “You’re forgetting I work on a ranch. Have done for years. One thing I know how to do is get cattle to go where I want them to go.”

  She smirked at Brodie. “These aren’t cattle.”

  “I know that.” He lifted the front brim of his hat and grinned at Bethany. “They’re a lot smarter. I’ve handled my fair share of horses.”

  She squinted at him. “According to what you were saying to me back there, you don’t think I’m up to doing this.”

  She sounded annoyed. Maybe he’d gone too far, Brodie told himself. “I wasn’t doubting your abilities. Not one bit. I was just trying to tell you to be careful.”

  She cut him off with a lifted hand. “I know what you were trying to say to me, Brodie Cameron. Now isn’t the time to be talking about that.”

  Brodie sighed heavily. He’d just have to admit to himself that Bethany wasn’t in the mood to compromise. Not yet, anyway.

  “Anyone ever tell you that you’re just plain stubborn?” Brodie asked.

  He expected a reaction but he didn’t get one. Instead, Bethany stared at him for a moment that seemed to last an eternity, and then shifted her attention to the horses.

  “What about Nate?” Brodie asked.

  “He’ll know what’s happening when he hears the herd coming his way. You told me he’s at his cabin.”

  “He was the last time I spoke with him.”

  “Nate will be ready,” Bethany declared confidently.

  Brodie thought about what was about to happen. The herd would be driven down the length of the valley, guided toward the creek and down the gulley which narrowed near Nate’s cabin at the entrance to the canyon. A thought occurred to Brodie. Images of Bethany riding alongside a thundering herd flashed alarmingly. He could see the cloud of dust rising from the horses’ hooves; almost feel the shaking earth; almost sense the threat of Bethany being trampled beneath those pounding hooves. The fear he felt wasn’t for himself. It was for Bethany.