The Blushing Bride

by Judith Stacy

  Polly bristled. “Well!”

  “I never….” Gladys put her nose in the air.

  “Get out of my office,” Jason said, “all of you. Come back when you’ve got a serious problem.”

  Duncan moaned. “But Mr. Kruger…”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Kruger?” Amanda said. “If I may say so, what you have here is, indeed, a serious problem.”

  For a moment Jason Kruger looked as if he intended to toss her out of his office along with the others, but Amanda stood firm. He couldn’t give her his full attention until the stolen pie recipe was dealt with, and since Jason wasn’t taking it seriously, she would.

  “If I may?” Amanda asked Jason.

  He threw both hands up. “Have at it, lady.”

  Amanda turned to the women. “As I understand it, one of you thinks the other stole your recipe.”

  Polly jerked her head toward Gladys. “She stole my apple pie recipe.”

  “And she’s after my roast chicken ingredients,” Gladys said.

  “A woman works for years perfecting a recipe. She certainly doesn’t want another woman taking it, then passing it along for everyone to use.” Amanda turned to Jason. “Are you following this, Mr. Kruger?”

  He threw her a sour look. “Hanging on every word.”

  “Good,” Amanda said. “As I see it, there’s but one way to settle this issue. You ladies will exchange your pie and chicken recipes with each other. Only the two of you will have them. That way you can be assured neither recipe will be passed along to anyone else without fearing that your own recipe will then be passed on in retaliation. How does that sound?”

  Gladys and Polly looked at each other, then finally nodded their agreement.

  Duncan rushed forward and took Amanda’s hand. “Thank you, ma’am, thank you kindly. This here is surely a load off of my mind.”

  He escorted the two women out of the office, then stuck his head back in. “Mr. Kruger, that little lady’s going to make you a fine wife. A real fine wife.”

  The door closed, bringing a silence more uncomfortable than the shouting match that had gone on earlier. Jason stared at her, and Amanda found herself pulled into his gaze, held there against her will.

  He was tall, with black hair and green eyes that unsettled her. He spent his days in the sunshine; it had deepened the color of his face and etched fine lines at his eyes. He worked hard, too. Thick muscles moved against the sleeves of his pale blue shirt. His shoulders were straight, his chest wide, his waist tight, and his—

  Amanda pressed her lips together, containing the little gasp that threatened to fill the silent room. Her gaze collided with his and for a flash of a second he looked as naughty as she felt. Her cheeks warmed. What had he been thinking while staring at her?

  Jason frowned. “Do you want to tell me just what the hell is going on here, Miss Pierce?”

  “Ain’t you even going to invite the lady to sit down?” Shady snorted.

  Amanda had forgotten he was in the room. Jason Kruger seemed to take up all the space, breathe up all the air.

  Shady dragged a chair across the room and plunked it down in front of Jason’s desk. “Sit yourself down, ma’am.”

  Amanda smiled gratefully as she settled into the chair. In the hours she’d spent in the freight wagon with Shady she’d gotten to know him well and decided she liked him. Gruff and hard-edged on the outside, he was a softy inside.

  “Thank you, Shady.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Shady looked at Jason. “Miss Pierce here has had a long, rough trip up the mountain. And she’s only here ’cause you went and sent for her.”

  Jason lowered himself into the chair behind his desk and pushed his hand through his hair.

  “I haven’t been down off this mountain in months, Miss Pierce,” he said. “There’s no way in hell I could have asked you to marry me.”

  “She’s got a letter,” Shady said. “A letter writ by you.”

  “It’s a request, actually,” Amanda said, and pulled the letter from her handbag. “You see, Mr. Kruger, I’m here from the Becoming Brides Matrimonial Service.”

  Shady chuckled. “Well, I’ll be damned—a catalog bride.”

  Jason leaned back in his chair. “Are you saying I ordered you?”

  “It’s all right here in your letter.”

  He snatched it from her hand. His eyes darted back and forth across the page, then cut over to Shady.

  “Go find Ethan.”

  “Sure thing, boss.” Shady headed out the door.

  Amanda watched Jason read the letter again, then level his gaze at her across the desk.

  “Looks like you came a long way for nothing, Miss Pierce,” he said. “I didn’t write this letter.”

  Amanda’s stomach squeezed into a knot. He hadn’t written the letter? She’d come all this way for nothing? Endured the hardships of the trip, spent her carefully budgeted money—for nothing?

  Amanda shook her head. “Aren’t you Jason Kruger? Isn’t this the Kruger Brothers’ Lumber and Milling Company?”

  “Yes. But I’m telling you, Miss Pierce, I didn’t write this letter. I never even heard of the Becoming Brides Matrimonial Service until just now.”

  “But…” Amanda sank back in her chair.

  The door opened and a man walked inside. Tall, with dark hair and the same green eyes as Jason, they could only be brothers.

  Except that this brother was grinning from ear to ear.

  He pulled off his hat and nodded politely to Amanda.

  “Pleased to meet you, Miss Pierce. I’m Ethan Kruger,” he said. “Shady just told me he brought you up the mountain today.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Kruger.” Her manners were so deeply ingrained they sustained her even in this time of distress.

  Ethan turned to Jason. “So, you sent off for a bride, huh? I should let you do the ordering all the time.”

  Jason, unamused, pushed himself to his feet. “I didn’t order a bride.”

  Ethan frowned and gestured to Jason’s shirt. “Eating at the trough with the pigs again, Jas?”

  He looked down at the apple pie still stuck to his shirt and trousers, mumbled a curse, and headed for the washstand in the corner.

  Ethan eased onto the corner of the desk. “Tell me, Miss Pierce, have you two set a date for the blessed event?”

  “Just shut your mouth,” Jason said, pointing a dripping finger at his brother. “I’m not marrying her. This is all a mistake. Look at the letter.”

  Ethan grinned at Amanda, then picked up the letter and looked it over. “This isn’t your handwriting.”

  “I know that.” Jason wiped the last of the apple pie from his clothing and flung the rag into the basin.

  “Can’t say that I recognize whose it is.” Ethan shook his head. “Must be some sort of a joke.”

  “A joke?” Amanda came to her feet.

  Ethan chuckled. “It is sort of funny.”

  Funny? Amanda’s temper rose. She’d traveled miles and miles from the safety and security of home to come here—and she wasn’t exactly sure where here was—endured hardships, threats to her personal safety, bad manners and foul smells. And the Kruger brothers thought it was funny?

  “Somebody made the whole thing up and forged my name,” Jason said to Ethan.

  “Who’d do a thing like that?” Ethan asked.

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out.” Jason walked back to his desk.

  Ethan shrugged. “Why don’t you just go ahead and marry her?”

  Jason stopped short. “What the hell would I do with a wife?”

  “If you have to ask that question, you have been up on this mountain too long,” Ethan said with a grin.

  Jason’s gaze came up quickly and landed on Amanda. Her cheeks flushed, taking the edge off her anger and reminding her that she was here on business and she should stick to it, even if these two men wouldn’t.

  “Mr. Kruger,” she said. “I believe you’ve misunderstood my inten
tions here. I only—”

  “Look, Miss Pierce,” Jason said. “I’m not looking for a wife now or anytime in the future.”

  “If you’d just let me explain.”

  “The last thing anybody here needs is a wife,” Jason said.

  “But—”

  “This is a logging camp,” Jason said. “My men work twelve hours a day, six days a week. It’s dangerous work. Just a few seconds of lost concentration can cost a man his life—or the life of the men he’s working with. I’m not having a bunch of women up here distracting my crew from their job. Nobody here wants a wife.”

  “Nobody?”

  “Nobody.”

  Amanda drew in a deep breath. “I see….”

  Bitter disappointment coursed through her. She’d pinned so much on this trip. All the plans she’d made—plans that had kept her going in the past few days—were gone. Along with her high hopes for the future.

  Amanda swallowed hard, refusing to let her feelings overwhelm her. She’d come here to find out, to learn, to investigate. Now she had her answer.

  She drew in a big breath, pumping up her courage. “Well…I suppose there’s nothing left to do but…leave.”

  Ethan poked Jason in the arm. “You could at least tell her you’re sorry she came all the way up here for nothing—on account of you.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Jason shifted uncomfortably and turned to Amanda. “Look, Miss Pierce, I really am…sorry…you got dragged up here on some wild-goose chase.”

  “No you’re not,” Amanda said, her disappointment turning to anger. She’d had enough of the Kruger Brothers’ Lumber and Milling Company, and enough of the Kruger brothers themselves. Jason had made it abundantly clear that he had no use for her whatsoever, and she was in no mood to be patronized.

  “Well, look, Miss Pierce—”

  “You’re not the least bit sorry I wasted my time, so don’t pretend otherwise,” Amanda told him. “You, Mr. Kruger, are thoughtless, inconsiderate, and rude. Don’t add lying to your list of faults.”

  Amanda put her nose in the air and sailed across the office, then looked back at him. “And you have horrible table manners!”

  She gave the door a very unladylike slam on her way out.

  Jason and Ethan just stood there staring at the closed door.

  “Damn….” Jason mumbled.

  Ethan grinned. “Yeah, bedding down with her would—”

  “That’s not what I was thinking,” Jason said quickly.

  “Like hell you weren’t.”

  Jason turned away, pacing the width of the office, refusing to look at his brother.

  “What are we going to do with her?” Ethan asked, as he pulled matches from the desk drawer and lit the lanterns on the walls.

  Jason spun around. “Do with her? I’m not going to do anything with her.”

  “It’s too late to get her down the mountain tonight,” Ethan said. “Shady can’t make that trip in the dark. The trail is dangerous enough in broad daylight.”

  “She can’t stay here.”

  “What do you want to do, Jas? Give her a candle and a map and tell her to start walking?”

  Jason grumbled under his breath. “This is why I don’t want women up here. They’re nothing but trouble.”

  “Maybe,” Ethan said. “But she’s here now. We’ve got to do something with her.”

  “You’re right. I guess she’ll have to stay.” Jason paced a little more, thinking. “Take her over to Mrs. McGee’s place and see if she’ll put her up for the night.”

  “Meg…?”

  “There’s no other place for a decent woman to stay.”

  “Yeah, I know…but…”

  “But what?”

  “Nothing.” Ethan shifted from one foot to the other. “I can take her over there…I reckon.”

  Outside, Amanda stood on the porch holding on to the rough support column and gazing around at the logging camp. What little she could see of it, at least. When she’d arrived earlier, she had only gotten a vague impression of the camp, and that wasn’t much to go on now that it was dark.

  Off in the distance a few windows glowed yellow with lantern light. She made out shadowy silhouettes of buildings and a couple of dark figures passing in front of them. A cool breeze blew. A dog barked somewhere.

  If she had good sense she might be frightened, Amanda decided. But right now she was simply too tired, too angry, and too disappointed to feel anything else.

  She needed to find Shady Harper and ask him to take her down the mountain tonight. But where was he? The freight wagon she’d arrived in was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Shady. She had no idea where to look for him.

  The little cluster of buildings that Shady had called a town was only a short walk east. Maybe he was there. If not, surely she’d find a hotel where she could spend the night. All she had to do was get there without falling over something and killing herself stumbling along in the dark.

  Amanda glanced back at the door of Jason Kruger’s office that she had slammed so indignantly moments ago, and decided that she wasn’t desperate enough to ask that man for help—not now or in the foreseeable future.

  The door opened just then and he walked out, his tall, wide frame outlined by the lantern light behind him. Amanda’s temper rose again.

  His face was in shadows and when he stepped closer Amanda realized it wasn’t Jason, but his brother. Her anger turned to something that for a flicker of a second seemed like disappointment. Amanda pushed it aside quickly. Certainly it couldn’t be that.

  “Miss Pierce?” Ethan said. “I’m going to take you some place to stay for the night.”

  “That won’t be necessary, Mr. Kruger.”

  “Just call me Ethan. It can get kind of confusing around here, otherwise.” He grinned and nodded toward the office. “Besides, I don’t like being mistaken for my brother, if you get my meaning.”

  “I do indeed get your meaning.” Amanda glared at the office door, then looked at Ethan. “But your help isn’t necessary. I’m going to have Shady take me back to Beaumont.”

  “Not tonight, he can’t.” Ethan shook his head. “Shady can’t make that trip after dark.”

  “Then I’ll get a hotel room for the night.”

  “There is no hotel.”

  “No hotel?” Amanda asked. “But surely—”

  “Just do like you’re told.” Jason walked up, his footsteps heavy on the wooden porch. Amanda sensed he’d been standing there, listening…watching.

  Anger threaded through her again. “You may be in charge of the logging camp, Mr. Kruger, but you have no say over what I do. Now, I am going to find Shady Harper and arrange for transportation down the mountain tonight.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  His big hand closed over her elbow. Long fingers exerted just enough pressure to keep her in place. She sensed incredible power in his grip, power barely under control.

  Heat rushed up her arm, twined down her throat into the pit of her stomach causing her anger to bloom again.

  And it was anger. What else could it be?

  Amanda jerked her chin. “I am not your concern, Mr. Kruger.”

  He leaned closer. A raw physical energy radiated from him, engulfing Amanda with its potency.

  “That’s where you’re wrong, Miss Pierce.” His voice was deep, heavy with authority and determination. “Everything and everybody on this mountain is my concern.”

  “Including me?”

  He tightened his grip and leaned closer. “Especially you.”

  Chapter Three

  “Let me give you a hand, Miss Pierce.”

  Ethan’s fingers closed around Amanda’s elbow, steadying her over the uneven terrain. His grip was as strong as his brother’s but not threatening in the least. In fact, Amanda barely noticed it.

  But she had certainly noticed Jason when he’d stalked back into his office, leaving his brother to deliver her to a safe place for the night. And that suited Amanda just f
ine. Jason’s mere presence rankled her.

  “You’ll like Mrs. McGee,” Ethan said, holding the lantern higher to light their way. The road was rough and rutted, dangerous in the dark.

  Amanda held up her skirt, picking her way along. “You’re certain she won’t mind if I stay the night with her? It’s hardly proper to show up uninvited and ask such a favor. I can pay her, of course.”

  “Mrs. McGee could surely use the money, but I doubt she’ll take it,” Ethan said. “She’ll probably just be glad for the company. Meg works hard. Too hard. Sometimes I worry that she’s—”

  Amanda dared to take her eyes from the road. Ethan’s expression was unreadable in the dark.

  “I gather there aren’t many women up here,” she said.

  “Half-dozen or so,” Ethan said.

  “Your brother seems most adept at running them off,” Amanda said.

  Ethan chuckled. “This is Mrs. McGee’s place.”

  They both stood there for a moment gazing at the little wood frame cabin with lantern light shining in one window.

  “Aren’t we going to knock?” Amanda asked, when Ethan made no move toward the porch.

  “Well, sure, I just…”

  Ethan gave himself a little shake and placed the lantern on the steps. He climbed onto the porch, pulled off his hat, slicked back his hair, brushed at his sleeves, and tugged down on his vest. Drawing in a deep breath, Ethan studied the door for a moment, then finally knocked.

  It opened and Mrs. McGee stepped into view. Amanda had expected her to resemble the two women she’d met in Jason Kruger’s office, big women capable of weathering life in the rugged logging camp.

  But Mrs. McGee was delicate and shapely, about the same age as Amanda. Her blond hair was twisted neatly atop her head, and her dress, while serviceable, was flattering.

  “Good evening, Mr. Kruger,” she said.

  “Mrs. McGee.” Ethan twisted his hat, then plastered it against his chest. “I, uh, I’m sorry to bother you so late, but I’d like to ask a favor, if I can.”

  “What sort of favor?” she asked.

  “Well…” Ethan seemed lost for a moment. He looked down at his feet, then back at her. “Well…”