Bride School: Genevieve (The Brides of Diamond Springs Ranch 1)

by Bella Bowen

  The stillness of the house made Gen uneasy. For the sixth time that hour, she was tempted to go into the kitchen and start rattling pans and banging on things with Lottie’s big spoons. The woman wasn’t there, so it wasn’t as if someone would get after her.

  But she couldn’t do that. She had to wait. She had to be patient. She had to follow the plan.

  She stretched her legs under the desk, but that didn’t help, so she got to her feet and started looking around the study. She’d find a book and sit again. No harm done.

  Her head fell to one side and she read a few of the titles, though she moved too fast to read them all. Eventually, she stopped trying and simply walked along the bookshelves allowing her fingers to drag along the little bumps of leather spines.

  She stopped short when her fingers touched on a familiar, sharply edged volume. A little blue book was stuck between a collection of Dickens’ novels that had likely been purchased just for show and never read. What an odd place to find one. And how odd there was still one to be found.

  Her heart leapt at the thought of having another of Devlin’s journals to read. She tried to pull the spine down, but the shelf was packed too tightly and the edges caught on the books to either side. Oliver Twist was a bit easier to remove and she set it on the table before reaching back for the smaller book.

  She snatched her hand back, however, when she realized Dev would never have left one of his journals among those shelves for anyone to happen upon. It had to be one of David’s.

  It was a snake she didn’t want to touch.

  After what he’d done with the wills, being intentionally cruel when she had believed him to be as deliriously happy as she, was something she couldn’t forgive. He’d reached out from the grave and stolen away her sweet memories as if they’d never happened. They’d changed into recollections she could never trust. She would forever more be imagining what he might have been plotting while smiling into her eyes.

  Understanding dawned.

  She knew precisely why Devlin had burned David’s journals. He’d known the man better than she had. He’d known much sooner how duplicitous David could be. What had he said about the journals? That she wouldn’t like any answers she found in them? Well, he was correct. She wouldn’t want to look. And she was grateful he’d never given her the chance.

  A fire had been laid out in case of a chilly evening. She took the journal from the shelf, opened it, and laid it face down on the pile of wood, touching the thing as briefly as possible. Then she lit a sulfur match and touched it to the finely shaved kindling at the base of the pile.

  “All for nothing, David,” she murmured. “No one will be reading your words.”

  A fast horse approached the house. Her chest constricted around her lungs. She couldn’t breathe but she could move, so she hurried back to her seat behind the desk. Footsteps stomped up the stairs and into the house. The door banged open.

  “Mrs. Carnegie!” It sounded like the sheriff.

  She cleared her throat. “In here!”

  The footsteps grew louder as the large man made his way to her. He stepped into the room and when he located her, his face relaxed in relief.

  “Oh, good. You’re all right.”

  “Yes. I’m fine. A little shaky, but I’m managing.”

  Toller moved over to the window and peered around the sheer curtains.

  She forced a deep breath into her lungs. “Devlin told you what happened?”

  “Yes.” Toller bit his lip and looked a bit embarrassed. “I can’t say I’m happy about it. After all, the man wore his fingers to the bone ‘round here for ten years. The judge should have given the whole spread to him.”

  Gen nodded, not trusting her tongue until her heart slowed down.

  “I was a bit surprised Dev took the news so well,” he said.

  She laughed lightly. “Oh, he didn’t take it as well as you might think, but he’s got other things to worry over at the moment.”

  “Yeah. He told me Stoddard would be gunning for you. Sent me out here to watch for the man while he looks for him in town.” He glanced at the struggling fire, but said nothing about the book perched on top of the wood.

  “I sent the women away,” she said. “I won’t see any of them getting hurt if I can help it.”

  Toller nodded. “Dev told me. Makes it nice and easy for me, now, don’t it?”

  She raised a brow. “Easy for you? To do what, exactly?”

  “To protect you. Now I won’t have to worry about protecting them too.”

  An awkward silence ensued, interrupted by the cocking of a gun.

  “Hello, Sheriff.” Stoddard, in all his unpleasantness stood in the open doorway. “Heard you come in.”

  “Stoddard.” Toller’s thumbs tucked into his belt. “I was just looking for you. Heard you might have a bone to pick with Mrs. Carnegie and I’m here to tell you that Dev don’t want her hurt.”

  “‘Zat so?”

  Toller nodded. “Sent me out to make sure you didn’t do anything foolish.”

  Stoddard rolled his eyes, then laughed. “Well, he got that one wrong, didn’t he?”

  Toller laughed too.

  Gen was simply glad they weren’t taking much notice of her, but that was short-lived. Both men turned to look at her then.

  Stoddard shrugged. “How could anyone so purty cause so much trouble?”

  “Women.” Toller shrugged. “They get bees in their bonnets, I suppose.” His brow came down and his face finally revealed how he truly felt about her. “You should have left when I burned the arch, woman. But maybe rich women just don’t scare easy.”

  Stoddard laughed. “I don’t think it’s because she’s rich. I think it’s because she thinks this is her home. All sentimental about that box of bones on the south hill, aren’t ya darlin’.

  Gen smiled bitterly. “Not now, I’m not.”

  Stoddard laughed. “Maybe it was her that killed Zollinger.”

  The sheriff shook his head. “Naw. That was me.”

  Gen’s breath caught and she couldn’t mask her surprise. “You? Why in heaven’s name? I don’t even remember you.”

  “Dev brought me back to Sage River about a month before. Said he’d help me find a life here. I’d never been out to the ranch, so your husband hadn’t laid eyes on me yet. We ran into each other out on the Snowy Range. He recognized me from a wanted poster he’d seen in Denver.

  “I got the drop on him, took his guns, and left him. I was just going to ride out and never look back, but then I got to thinking about everything Dev had done for me. I realized I could do a little something for him and buy myself a little time, all with one bullet.”

  Gen released a shaky breath. “I used to think Dev would have been the only one who could have made that shot. They said it had to have come from the ridge.”

  “Naw. I’m pretty handy with any gun, but I can’t have folks know. If you’re looking for a gunslinger, you’re not likely to look to close at a clumsy sheriff who don’t know much about the law.”

  Stoddard shifted his weight. “So, how do you want to play this, Toller?”

  The sheriff looked down on her. “I reckon we wait until Dev gets here. Shoot him. Shoot her. Then tell everyone that Dev shot her—wasn’t willing to take just half the ranch. No one can blame him.”

  “So I’ll still have to move on, then.” Stoddard didn’t look too happy about that.

  “Not if she writes a will handing it all over to me.” Toller grinned to one side.

  Stoddard grunted. “You? Why not me?”

  Toller rolled his eyes and sat on the edge of the desk, his thumbs still in his belt. “Nobody likes you, Stoddard. No one would believe she left it all to you. But the whole town has seen me escortin’ her around. More believable. Then you can run the ranch for me.”

  He nodded toward a new sheet of paper, then gave her a pointed look.

  She pulled it in front of her on the desk and took the pen from the stand. “So which o
ne of you killed Al Tucker?”

  Toller’s grin dropped. “He shouldn’t have been there. Not my fault. He was so excited about presenting you with that damned plaque he wasn’t going to budge until he’d given it to you. When I saw him, it was too late. I’d already started the fire.”

  Stoddard slowly drew his second gun and pointed it at the sheriff too. “I think we’ve heard enough.”

  “I think so too.” Devlin walked in behind his man with yet another gun trained on the soon-to-be-former sheriff.

  Gen released a steady breath. “I suggest you not move, Mr. Toller.”

  The large man laughed as if he’d expected Devlin all along. “You can have it all back, Dev. Just leave the way you came—through the springs, wasn’t it? And Stoddard can die for killing her. Nothing will need to change at all.”

  “Sorry, Pete. I’m surprised you’d even suggest it.”

  “Yeah, well, I knew you were soft on her all along. I guess now we know just how soft.” He glanced at the fire that was just catching onto one of the large pieces of wood. “Is that one of those books you were wanting to get back from her?”

  Before Gen could explain, Devlin glanced at the fire, then looked closely, recognizing the blue cover. Toller took advantage of the distraction and reached for his gun. Gen had no choice but to pull the trigger of the shotgun on her lap. It cut through the wood of the desktop and hit Toller in the ribs. The cracking of the bones sounded just heartbeat after the wood exploded, and the man grunted.

  Toller turned his weapon on her, but Dev had recovered and shot his gun arm. With his left hand, Toller pulled his other gun and shot, but it missed Dev and hit Stoddard. Dev shot Toller in the chest and the big man tumbled to the floor.

  After a quick glance to see that she was unharmed, Dev turned to help Stoddard. Gen stood and leaned over the front of the desk to make sure Toller was no longer a threat and found the man holding a gun between two bloody hands.

  “Don’t move, woman, or I’ll shoot him.”

  Blood was spreading quickly on the floor. The man’s reflexes would be slow.

  She pointed the shotgun at his head. “Sheriff?”

  He glanced up at her then, taking his attention off Devlin. His gun dipped to the side. His eyes rolled and closed. But she didn’t lower her gun barrel until the large man’s last breath rattled out of him.

  She set the gun on the desk and hurried to Devlin’s side. One glance at his face told her Stoddard was bad. Blood rushed over Dev’s hand where he pressed it against the man’s chest. Stoddard gave her a weak smile.

  “Was it true? What he said? That no one likes me?”

  She gave him a winning smile. “Of course not. He was just trying to make you feel bad. He must have suspected you were on our side, that’s all. Wait until everyone hears what a hero you were, getting Toller to confess like you did. He would have never confessed to Devlin like that. And if you smile like that all the time, we’ll have to keep you clean away from all those young ladies when they start arriving. Maybe we’ll all be safer if you went back to frowning, Mr. Stoddard.”

  “Gen,” Devlin interrupted.

  “What?”

  “He’s gone.”

  “Yes,” she said. “I know.” She leaned forward and laid a kiss on the man’s brow, then patted his face once before she got to her feet.

  Devlin lowered the man’s head and shoulders to the floor.

  “I’ll just go change my dress,” she said, then stepped around Stoddard’s feet.

  Devlin caught her just outside the room and pulled her into his arms. She struggled, determined to get out of sight before her emotions got the best of her, but Devlin wouldn’t let her go. So she punished him by sobbing against his chest until he was well and goodly wet.

  “Stoddard knew he might get hurt, Gen. He knew it and he came anyway.”

  “A brave man. I will have to find some way to honor him.” She composed herself quickly and tried to step back, but still Devlin held her.

  “Is there anything you’d like to say to me now?” He stooped a little to look her in the face.

  “Yes, Devlin. You were very brave too. I’m so glad you arrived when you did. And—”

  He shook his head, then his gaze fell to her lips. She inhaled deeply, willing him to stop torturing her and kiss her already. Then she sunk into a tingling pool of bliss when he finally did.

  He hummed.

  She hummed in answer.

  When the smell of blood brought her attention back to the scene in the study, she ended the kiss.

  “You know that wasn’t what I was talking about, Gen. I want you to tell me that you’ve reconsidered. That you want to share the ranch. Marry me and society be damned.”

  “I can’t. Perhaps in a few years…”

  He took her face in his hands. “This is just like the first time we met, you know. You’re all mine, but only for a moment. Then you give yourself to someone else—or something else.”

  He released her and stepped back, then watched as she made her way reluctantly up the stairs. She stopped at the top, knowing that it would be the last time he looked upon her with such tenderness.

  “I won’t do this again, Gen. I won’t wait for you. And I won’t ask again.”

  She sighed and felt something delicate cracking inside her. But this time, it wasn’t a piece of glass.

  Or was it?

  She gave him a sad little smile. “I know you won’t.” She took a step back. “Goodbye, Devlin.” Then she turned and walked away.

  EPILOGUE

  At the first town meeting inside Carnegie Hall, Devlin stood against the rear wall and glowered at Gen the entire time. She took comfort in the fact that he’d come and stayed for the length of the meeting even though he obviously wasn’t happy about it.

  She passed out some copies of the application the potential grooms would be filling out, along with samples of the applications her Crawlers had been giving out to potential brides. The waiting list for ladies who wished to come to Diamond Springs was growing by the day. The news about her little venture had already been leaked to the press and the gentlemen’s applications were equally as long. It looked like they were going to have a successful first year.

  After half an hour of details, the rest of the meeting was taken over by a group of ladies who wished to plan the first dance to be held in the hall. They wanted to hold this dance before any strangers arrived. Gen gave them the floor and left them to it.

  She exited through the east door and saw a shadow exiting out the back. He never came any closer, but she knew her shadow was Devlin. Being the only ones outside at the moment almost felt like being alone together, so she wandered over to a wall and leaned against it, appreciating a breath of air she didn’t have to share with two hundred other people, relishing the feeling of being alone with her protector. He’d moved on. She couldn’t see him, but she knew he was there, still, and would be until she left for the ranch.

  The feeling of danger had passed, but unease lingered. And until the unease was gone, she suspected he’d be around to watch out for her, to help her recover from the fright she’d suffered at Pete Toller’s hands.

  The hall doors opened again and the building emptied, interrupting their silent companionship. The folks of Sage River, in their excitement, drove her shadow farther away from her. A few minutes later, she couldn’t feel his presence anymore, and she resisted the urge to go looking for him.

  She’d read the journals a dozen times through and now the words only made her angry. She wanted to hear them from his own lips. She wanted to hear his voice. She wanted to see him standing in front of her, shouting at her if that was what it took. She just needed a moment to look into his eyes…

  She sighed, knowing that even if he granted her all that, their conversation would end in the same argument—she wouldn’t relent, and he wouldn’t wait.

  Over the tops of the corrals, she watched a young woman run into town. Past the well, she turned the corn
er and ran into the square. She took one look at the emptying hall and wailed like her heart was broken and fell to the ground.

  The girl was grown, it was clear, but she was gasping so desperately, Gen worried she might be dying while they all watched. She hurried forward, catching the girl’s notice.

  “Mary!” Mrs. Miller knelt down and took the girl’s hands and started patting them together. “What is it? Are you hurt? Or is it yer ma?”

  At the sound of approaching horses, Mary struggled to her feet again just long enough to lunge at Gen, wrapping her arms around her knees and holding on for life as she sunk back into the dirt.

  “Please, Mrs. Carnegie!” she cried. “Take me. Please! You just gotta take me. I’ll make a fine bride, you’ll see!”

  Gen was about to command the girl to calm down, and had taken a deep breath to use for that purpose, but she looked up at the horseman bearing down on them all and changed her tactic. She lowered her brow and gave the man a good stern frown, leaning slightly forward to try and discourage his beast from coming any closer. She felt quite like a bull, ready to charge if necessary, but she wasn’t about to allow the lunatic to run his horse over the girl, which was exactly what she believed he intended.

  The animal’s head wheeled to right and its body continued to close until there was not a foot left between its belly and the girl’s head. The rider looked down his curled nose as if Gen herself had been rolling in the foulest stalls of the stable.

  She waited for him to dig his own grave. He seemed to be waiting for her to do the same. But she would not rise to his bait. She would not start screaming at a man who probably thought the girl clinging to her skirts was his own property to abuse at will. It was the tiniest flicker of a glance that gave him away. A flash of concern Gen was never meant to see that proved he worried for the girl even as he threatened her.

  She straightened and presented the man with a generous smile. “Good day to you, sir.”

  Off to her left, she sensed Devlin hurrying to her aid, but she hoped he realized that she neither needed, nor welcomed his interference. But to be sure, she pointed her umbrella in his direction and opened the thing like a shield, then gave both men a heartbeat or two to consider their next move while she slowly transferred the long handle to her shoulder.