The Rancher's Mail Order Bride (Dalton Brides Book 1)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  All three of the Blue Brothers' eyes went to Gwen's belly. “You’re lying," Benedict accused.

  “No, I’m not,” Gwen responded. She was so happy to be able to honestly tell him she was carrying. Even old man Belafonte wouldn't want her if she had some other man's baby growing in her body.

  “So what if we only bring back two,” asked Percy. “Two out of three isn’t bad.”

  “Oh no you won’t!” Libby folded her arms over her chest, standing her ground.

  “And why not?” demanded Hank.

  “Because …” she looked up at Nate. “I’m going to have a baby too.”

  Nate blanched. “What? You are? Good God, Libby, are ya sure?”

  “Yeah, are ya sure?” asked Benedict, who at this point looked even paler than Nate did.

  “I’m sure,” Libby said, putting her arms around Nate.

  “Libby, my little Libby …”

  Walt looked at Gwen. If she'd known her sister was expecting, she'd certainly kept the secret from him. Gwen looked just as startled as he felt though, so he didn't think that was the case.

  Percy's mouth opened in shock. “Looks like it’s just you, Bonnie.”

  “I don’t know what Deacon Smith paid you to bring us back, but I’m not going.” Bonnie still held the gun, so it was clear she wasn't backing down.

  “Put the gun down, Bonnie,” Hank said, his voice low. “Let’s talk about this. We... we can’t go back empty handed.” Hank held his hand out as if he expected her to hand him the gun.

  “Why not?” Bonnie pointed the shotgun right at him.

  “Because …” Hank seemed to be nervous about something.

  “Quiet!” snapped Percy. “Let’s just take her and go.”

  “You’re not taking my wife anywhere,” Bart announced. "Bonnie, give me that gun.” He held his hand out to his wife, waiting for her to give him her gun.

  “No.”

  It was all Gwen could do not to giggle hysterically at the look of utter showk on Bart's face.

  “What?” asked Bart.

  “I said, no. These are our brothers, Bart, and they wouldn’t be acting so desperate without a good reason.” Bonnie held the gun steady.

  “I’ll not let them take you…” Bart sighed.

  “You don’t have to. I can’t go either.”

  Bart took a step toward her. “Bonnie…”

  “…because I’m expecting too.”

  “What?” Gwen and Libby cried in unison. “Bonnie!”

  Gwen couldn't believe her sisters had kept their pregnancies a secret from her. Why when they were next alone, she'd be giving them both a piece of her mind. She'd told everyone when she found out, and they had kept it all inside.

  Suddenly a thought occurred to her. They'd better not have told each other without telling her. They'd kept their true purpose in Texas a secret from her. This had better not be another case of keeping things from Gwen!

  “Bonnie?” Bart echoed, his face pale.

  “So you see, my dear brothers, you’ve failed, as far as taking us back. Now the only question I have for you, is, what are you really doing here?” Bonnie didn't drop the gun as she waited on her brothers' reply.

  *****

  Gwen stood over Walton, searching his hair for the bump he kept complaining about. For such a big, strong man, he sure was complaining a lot about a little bump on top of his head. "You're going to be fine."

  Walt wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. "Are you sure you're all right? I didn't mean to knock you down. I just wanted you to be safely behind me."

  Gwen nodded. "I'm all right, and I'm not cramping. I'm pretty sure the baby is fine too. Good thing I landed on my backside isn't it?"

  Walt laughed. "I happen to like your backside." He pulled her into his lap and held her close. "I'm glad we were able to get rid of your brothers so easily. Do you think they'll head straight back to Massachusetts?"

  Gwen shrugged. "I'm so mad at them right now, I really don't care what they do." She knew she wouldn't stay angry forever, but she certainly needed a break from Blue men for a while. A long while, she hoped.

  "I'm so glad you're all right." He'd never been so frightened in his life as he'd been when her brothers had all stood there pointing guns at them. He wasn't afraid for himself, though. Only for Gwen and the baby. If he'd ever had an occasion to doubt his love for her, he didn't now. "I love you, sweetheart."

  Gwen sighed happily. "And I love you, which is a good thing. Our empire needs strong leadership."

  "Do you think they'll come back?" he asked.

  She shook her head. "No, I don't. I think you scared them away with your threats to make certain they'd never father children if they came back with intentions of taking us."

  She only hoped that someday, her brothers would be welcome in their little empire. They had heads as hard as rocks, but they would always be her brothers.