Montana Mountain Valley Bride (Western Romance)

by Maya Stirling

  “You’re talking about the woman who came to our house that day when it snowed?”

  “The same one,” Brodie confirmed. “Bethany Hoxton lives in that valley with her son, Noah and an old mountain man named Nate.”

  Aiden and Paton exchanged disbelieving looks. “How can they survive in a place like that?” Aiden asked.

  “Wild horses,” Brodie said. “That’s how.”

  “Are you saying the horses we saw Mrs Hoxton bring into town come from that valley?” Aiden asked.

  “Yup.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Paton asked.

  “I saw them with my own eyes. One of the most beautiful herd of wild horses I’ve ever seen.”

  “How do they capture them?” Paton asked leaning forward on the sofa.

  Brodie explained the stampede and the way the horses were maneuvered into the corral behind Nate’s cabin. Aiden and Paton listened, their mouths wide open.

  “That sounds dangerous.” Aiden looked with obvious concerns at Brodie.

  “You know me. I know how to handle horses.’

  “Even when they’re stampeding?”

  Brodie shrugged, trying to make it seem like it hadn’t been a big deal.

  “That means Bethany does the herding herself, doesn’t it?” Paton commented. “But she lives there alone with her son and that mountain man, Nate. Doesn’t she have a husband?”

  Brodie explained about Richard Hoxton and how he had found the valley and established it as a home for himself and his family.

  Paton stood. “You said there’re only two ways into that valley.”

  “There’s a crevasse at one end and a canyon entrance at the far end of the valley.” Brodie described how the crevasse had been blocked, trapping him in the valley. “The wild horses come up through the canyon.”

  “And Bethany said there’re lots of them coming into the valley on a regular basis?” Paton said. “Enough so she could trade them for enough supplies that she could live there?”

  Brodie frowned, asking himself why Paton was so interested in what he’d heard. He wanted to tell Paton and Aiden about what had happened this morning at the base of the mountain. But he held back for the moment. “Bethany has been bringing wild horses into Inspiration for a while. It was her plan to use the horses as a trading resource.”

  Paton glanced at Aiden. “You were right, Aiden,” Paton said.

  Brodie squinted at Aiden. “Right about what?”

  “I was in town, this morning and I was talking with Curtis at the livery. He told me that, Shadley, the horse trader who’s been hanging around town for a while has taken a group of men to the mountains. Seems like those two renegades you had a fight with told Shadley where he might start looking.”

  Anxiety seized Brodie. There was only one reason Shadley would have taken men to where he’d had his showdown with Tyrell and Rufus. “If Shadley thinks he can find the entrance to the valley, he’s wasting his time,” Brodie declared.

  “Why?” Aiden asked.

  “It’s real hard to find. If Shadley doesn’t know what he’s looking for, he could be on that mountain all winter and not get what he’s after. The crevasse entrance is almost impossible to find. It’s well-hidden.”

  “What happened this morning?” Aiden asked sharply.

  Brodie frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “You came back to the ranch. What prompted you to leave the valley? And, if she was taking a horse into town, why didn’t Bethany come with you?”

  Brodie peered into the flames in the fireplace. He wasn’t going to tell them everything about today. Especially not about the kiss. “She was going into town today. But she changed her mind.”

  “Why?”

  Brodie met the penetrating stares of his brother and brother-in-law and realized he wasn’t going to be able to avoid telling them at least some of the truth.

  Brodie cleared his throat. “Bethany and I got kinda friendly during my time in the valley.”

  “How friendly?” Aiden drawled. His older brother gave Brodie one of those looks of his which meant Brodie would have to talk straight.

  “As close as could be,” Brodie declared in a quiet voice. He didn’t anyone in the kitchen knowing about this.

  Aiden and Paton were silent for a few moments. Then Aiden said: “Sounds serious.”

  “It is.”

  “So where is Bethany now?”

  “She changed her mind about coming into town and went back up the mountain. She’s probably already back in the valley.”

  “And you let her go on her own?” Aiden asked sharply.

  Brodie met his brother’s concerned stare. “Bethany has a mind of her own. She didn’t want me going with her.” Brodie shrugged. “In any case, she didn’t have a reason to come into town. She released the horse she was bringing.”

  “What!” Paton exclaimed.

  “Bethany let the animal go free. Then she decided she’d go back home.”

  “Why did she do that?” Aiden demanded.

  “I guess she had a change of heart. I think she always felt bad about trading the horses.”

  Paton said: “She just didn’t realize that until you showed up.”

  Brodie shook his head. “There’s more to it than that, Paton. I don’t think she’s happy up there.”

  “I can’t blame her. Why’d she decide to stay?” Aiden asked.

  “She’s trying to keep a promise she made to her husband. He took Bethany and Noah there so he could get away from the world. Seems he had a bad experience during the war. He was a doctor. Couldn’t forget all the suffering he saw. He was so shook up, he tried to find somewhere he could be happy. The valley was that place.”

  “But that’s all in the past since he died,” Paton said.

  “She’s free now,” Aiden said.

  “I guess you’re right,” Brodie replied.

  He knew Aiden was speaking the truth. His brother was wise in so many ways. Brodie thought about how Bethany had left for the mountains. She hadn’t been running away from him. She was going back there so she could prepare to leave. That had to be the explanation. The thought he might never see her again jolted Brodie.

  Aiden came to Brodie. “There’s something you need to know, Brodie. It’s about Bethany.”

  “What about her?”

  Brodie saw the worry in Aiden’s eyes. It wasn’t often he saw Aiden looking like that. “Curtis told me something else about who Shadley has taken to search for the valley.” Aiden lifted a brow. “You know that’s what Shadley wants, don’t you? He wants that valley.”

  Brodie nodded. “I figured he might try something. He’s greedy.”

  “And he’s dangerous,” Aiden added. “Curtis told me Shadley has taken a half-breed Indian tracker with him. You can be sure that, if Bethany has left any tracks, that man will find them. And he will lead Shadley and his men straight to the entrance to the valley.”

  Brodie felt as if he’d been thrown from a horse onto rocks. His mind drifted back to his confrontation with Shadley in the saloon. He’d seen the danger in the man’s eyes. Shadley wouldn’t hesitate to kill if anyone stood between him and what he wanted. There was evil in the world, and Shadley was a perfect example of it. “We have to stop them,” Brodie exclaimed. “If Shadley finds the valley, he’ll take it over. It’s too valuable to him. It could give him a steady supply of prime horses until he’s taken them all.” Panic seized Brodie. “Bethany, Noah and Nate are in real danger, and they don’t even know it.” Brodie grasped Aiden’s arm. “What can we do? We have to get up that mountain and stop Shadley and his men from finding it.”

  Aiden frowned. “We’ll need men. And guns.”

  “Some of the ranch hands will come,” Paton said. “And we could send one of the men into town to fetch the sheriff.”

  Brodie shook his head. “I’ll do that myself. I’ve something I need to tell the sheriff about what Shadley’s men did to Bethany. He’ll have plenty of reasons to arrest S
hadley’s men after I’m done telling him what I saw with my own eyes.”

  “Maybe the sheriff can get a posse together,” Aiden said. “If he does, we’ll have the law and superior numbers on our side. It won’t be the first time we’ve had to deal with men like Shadley. And it won’t be the last.” Aiden turned to Paton. “Round up some men.”

  “Make sure they’re ready for when I get here with the sheriff,” Brodie told Paton.

  “I’ll do that.”

  After Paton had left the parlor, Aiden turned to Brodie. “Before you go into town, tell me straight, Brodie. Do you love Bethany?”

  Brodie met Aiden’s powerful gaze. There was sense in hiding the truth from his brother. “I do love her, Aiden.” He grinned, scarcely able to believe what he was saying. “She’s an incredible woman.”

  “Does she love you?”

  “I think so.”

  Aiden frowned. “You think so? Either you know or you don’t. Which is it?”

  Brodie recalled the many times he and Bethany had been together. He thought about the way she’d laughed at his jokes; blushed at his compliments; thanked him for his help; accepted him into her life. Most importantly of all, he could still feel the way she’d reacted to his kiss.

  “Bethany loves me,” Brodie told Aiden.

  “Then get going. We got some people to protect,” Aiden declared.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Bethany arrived back at the valley by mid-afternoon. As she halted outside the cabin, the door opened and Noah emerged with Nate behind him.

  “Ma! You’re back so soon?”

  Nate’s eyes narrowed. “That was fast.”

  Bethany stepped down from her horse. Noah took the mule and led it away to the rear of the cabin while Bethany tied her mount to the hitch rail.

  “What happened?” Nate asked.

  “There was a change of plans,” she replied.

  Nate looked quizzically at her. “Can’t help noticing you’re on your own.”

  “Brodie’s gone back home to his ranch.” She was tight-lipped as she made her way into the cabin. Nate followed her inside. Bethany took her coat and hat off and started to boil water for coffee.

  Nate sat down at the table. “You didn’t run into any trouble, did you?”

  “No. Everything was fine, Nate.” Bethany squinted at him. “You sure are full of questions.”

  “Just curious,” he said and grinned. “I’ll take some of that coffee you’re brewing.”

  What Nate really meant was that he wanted to talk, Bethany reflected. “Fine.”

  “What happened to the white horse?” Nate asked.

  Bethany decided it was better to tell Nate the facts. “I let it go free.”

  “You what! Why did you go and do that?” Nate looked stunned by her revelation.

  “Let me make the coffee,” she said. “I’ll tell you later why I did it.”

  She was quiet for while as she made the coffee for her and Nate. The ride up the mountain had passed without incident. But her mind had been unsettled. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that kiss; hadn’t been able to ignore the way Brodie’s embrace had made her feel. The joy and delight had filled her heart.

  When he’d held her and kissed her with all possible tenderness Brodie had awakened a happiness inside her which she’d believed long gone. Just for a moment, a delightful instant, she’d felt truly alive. As she’d rested in his embrace, she’d wanted that feeling of joy to last forever. But, even as she’d allowed herself to savor the reassuring pleasure of being with Brodie, she had secretly known it could not last. And that had been the reason why she’d ran. The fear that she might be opening herself up to disappointment had made her turn her back on Brodie and head back up the mountain.

  But from what was she running? Was it fear which had prompted that reaction? Fear of accepting the truth of the feelings she had nurtured about Brodie? Even as she’d grown closer to Brodie, somewhere at the back of her mind had hovered a thought that she was entering dangerous territory.

  How strong were Brodie’s feelings for her? Judging by that kiss, his feelings were powerful and true.

  Now, what was she going to do? With regard to the horses, she’d made a decision down there at the foot of the mountain. She would no longer capture and trade horses. That meant she would not be able to continue to live here in the valley. She knew she’d made a momentous choice, one that would affect her, Noah and Nate.

  Setting the cup of coffee before Nate, Bethany took a seat opposite him. “I’ve got something I need to tell you, Nate. Something important.”

  He sipped his coffee and peered at her over the rim of the tin cup. He placed the cup down and smiled warmly at her. “Let me make this real easy for you. You’ve decided to leave the valley.”

  Bethany’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”

  “I’ve been waiting for you to do this for a long time.”

  “Has it been so obvious?”

  Nate nodded. “It was only a matter of time. What made up your mind?”

  Bethany sighed, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. “Lots of things. I never really liked what I had to do with the wild horses. Taking them away from their natural life just seemed wrong. But I had no choice. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.”

  “You were only doing what Richard might have wanted you to do.”

  She nodded. “Now I know that isn’t really true, Nate. Richard would have wanted me and Noah to be happy. And if we can’t be happy here, then I’ll have to take Noah somewhere else.”

  “Did Brodie have something to do with this decision?” Bethany’s cheeks flushed with heat. Before she could disagree, Nate grinned. “You can’t fool me, Bethany. And neither can Brodie. He told me how important you are to him.”

  “He did?” Bethany exclaimed. “When?”

  “After he caught that white horse, Brodie and me did some talking. He said you were just about the most beautiful, and the finest, woman he’s ever known.”

  If her cheeks had been warm before, now they were blazing hot. Brodie and Nate had been talking about her like that? She lifted the coffee cup to her lips and took a long sip.

  Nate chuckled. “I reckon that boy is smitten with you, Bethany.”

  “He’s not a boy,” Bethany admonished Nate.

  “When you get to my age, everyone else looks like a boy or girl,” Nate declared with obvious good humor.

  Bethany laughed quietly. Nate had always been able to cheer her up. “What’ll you do after we leave, Nate?”

  Nate shrugged. “I’ll stay here. I’ve got used to living in that cabin down there. And I’ll always have the horses for company.” He sipped some coffee. “It’ll be good not to have to capture them again.”

  “You’ve been so good to us, Nate,” Bethany said to the mountain man. Reaching across she took his hand and squeezed it gently. “Noah and me are so grateful to you for everything you’ve done for us.”

  Nate’s eyes moistened. “It’s been like having a real family, Bethany. Something I never thought I would ever have.”

  Bethany had heard Nate talk about the regrets he had about not settling down when he was younger. Maybe she had brought some happiness into Nate’s life, after all.

  “Have you thought about where you and Noah are going to go?” Nate asked.

  Bethany narrowed her eyes. “Most natural place to start would be Inspiration.”

  “Do you have enough to make a start?”

  “I was a schoolteacher before I met Richard,” Bethany said. “Maybe I could get some work doing that.”

  “Where’re you and Noah going to live?”

  Bethany shrugged. “I haven’t the faintest idea. But I’ll find somewhere.”

  Footsteps thudded on the yard outside the open door and Noah appeared. He was breathless. “Ma! Come quick.”

  Bethany stood and went rapidly to Noah. “What’s wrong?”

  Noah stepped out onto the yard and pointe
d down the valley. “Horses!”

  Bethany’s gaze followed Noah’s pointing hand. Sure enough, in the distance, beneath a bright blue sky, there was a herd of wild horses gathering down near Nate’s cabin, a few hundred yards in front of the canyon entrance.

  “That’s a bigger herd than the last one,” Noah exclaimed.

  He was right. Bethany estimated there were around a hundred horses, of all colors and sizes, in the herd.

  “Are we going to catch one, ma?”

  Bethany’s heart sank. The time had come to tell her son about the momentous decision she’d taken. There was a small bench in front of the cabin. She took Noah to the bench and sat him down alongside her.

  “Noah. I’ve been thinking. And I’ve got something really important to tell you.”

  Bethany’s breath caught in her throat when she looked into Noah’s eyes. She saw an amazing mixture of expectation and innocence in her son’s eyes. Noah trusted her, and now she was about to tell him that everything he’d known for such a long time was about to change. She was about to turn his little world upside down.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Bethany began. She wrapped an arm around Noah’s shoulders and pulled him against her side. “You know how sometimes we’ve talked about what it used to be like when you, me, and your father lived in town?”

  Noah’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Uh-huh.”

  “Well, how would you like to go and live in that little town where I go and sell the horses.”

  Bethany heard Noah gasp softly. “You mean leave the valley?”

  “Perhaps.”

  Noah’s face turned pale. “But this is our home, ma.”

  “It wasn’t always our home. We lived in a town before your father brought us up here.”

  “But isn’t this our real home?”

  “It has been up to now,” Bethany said and smiled at Noah. “Think of all the new exciting things you could have if we lived in town. You could have friends, and go to school.”

  “School?” Noah’s eyes widened even more. “But, you’re my teacher, aren’t you?”

  “Of course I am.” Bethany hugged Noah closer to her. “I’m your mother, too. And I just want you to have everything you need to make you the happiest little boy in this territory.”