by Linda Broday
After the cheering stopped, Jack stepped forward. “I’m glad I can celebrate this here with you. It’s been a long time coming and there were days when I thought I was foolish for hoping. But my wife, the most positive person I’ve ever known, changed all that and she changed me. She never let me stop dreaming.” He put his arm around her, and she melted against his warmth. “Once I wished for a wife with rough edges that I could control, that I could shape as I wanted.”
A voice yelled, “Shame on you, Jack Bowdre!”
He chuckled. “I am truly ashamed. I like Nora’s rough edges just the way they are, and I wouldn’t change one thing about her. I’ll stand by her side through every storm, every happy day, and most importantly, through every dark night. Men, if you’re single, keep looking.”
A loud whistle sounded amid the clapping. Nora beamed at Sam Legend, watching it all in amazement.
He moved closer. “Now I know why Luke and Houston love this place. I want to help more men like Jack.”
Brother Paul moved beside her and spoke to the gathering. “From what I hear, this is one brave woman. She had guts to stand up against a killer. You’re all brave people and I’m privileged to be in your midst. Lumber to finish our church will soon arrive, and I look forward to putting my shoulder to the wheel beside you. Together, we can accomplish everything we want.”
Ridge rose and raised a hand. “We’ve barely begun with this town. We have a lot more work ahead in order to make it safe for all of you, and it’s going to take every hand. We have a lot to be proud of.”
“I’d like to say something.” The mysterious Abel Fargo removed his hat and held it to his chest. “I came here looking for freedom from persecution. My name used to be Gabe Vargas and I changed it to hide my nationality. You see, my wife and children were dragged from their beds and murdered in the street. I was afraid to let anyone get close, and I hate that it cast suspicion on me. I have nothing to fear here, and for that, I thank you.”
A chorus of “Welcome, Abel!” went up.
Nora stood with Jack, her heart near to bursting.
This was her town.
Her people.
Her life.
Jack’s lips were moving but no sound came out. She poked him. “I swear, Jack! Are you counting again?”
“Yep.” A sinful grin revealed white teeth in his tanned face. “Just tallying up all the ways I love you.”
He lowered his head and pressed his warm, sensual mouth to hers. The kiss sent sizzling sparks through her and she had to clutch his leather vest to hold herself steady. This husband of hers sure knew how to stake a claim.
A tortured bounty hunter must protect a gentle Englishwoman in an epic new love story from USA Today bestselling author Rosanne Bittner.
One
London, England, April, 1870
“You have disgraced the family name beyond recovery!”
William Baylor looked away from his brother’s dark, accusing stare, never sure how to deal with the man’s fits of judgmental rage. He licked at his cut, swollen lower lip as he struggled for the right words to explain himself.
“This is the end of your foolishness,” Lord Jonathan Baylor roared. He towered over William with a face as red as an overheated stove plate. William couldn’t think straight.
He’d lived his whole life under his brother’s stern rule and intimidating temper. Now the man leaned over him with fists clenched. “I…I cared about her,” William finally answered.
“Cared about her? I asked one of my friends to go to that theater and ask about her. The woman’s reputation with men is even worse than her profession! An actress! I’m not sure which is worse.”
“She’s just a woman, young and pretty and alone.”
“She’s a slut! No man who cares about his family and his reputation hangs out with actresses, let alone one who is talked about in smoking parlors. What am I going to tell my business acquaintances? It’s bad enough you failed in your education—”
“I told you! I can’t see letters in the right order!”
“Some people think you’re slow in the head. And please, get up and face me like a man.”
William slowly rose, glancing at the doorway to the parlor. His dear sister and best friend, Elizabeth, stood watching with tears in her eyes. “Jonathan, you know William has a soft heart for those less fortunate than we are,” she tried to argue.
“I don’t want to hear it,” Jonathan snapped in reply, his gaze still on William.
Jonathan’s wife, Caroline, also witnessed the argument, but her eyes showed the same cold disappointment as Jonathan’s. Her husband suddenly whipped around to glare at Elizabeth.
“I am tired of you constantly defending your brother,” he told her. “He needs to grow up and be a man.”
“He is a man,” Elizabeth answered boldly. “A kindhearted man who is brave enough to go into the poorer neighborhoods and—”
“And disgrace this family!” Jonathan interrupted. His eyes grew even darker. “Stay out of this, Elizabeth. With our parents dead, it’s been my job to look out for both of you for six years. I will decide what is best for you and this family.” He turned back to William. “I managed to get you a fake diploma to prove you have normal intelligence, William, and I’ve supported you since you finished school because your job at the family accounting business is a farce. We both know it. I’ve done all I can to save the family name and your reputation, even after that mess last year when you got drunk at your sister’s cotillion and fell into the food table. But this…” Jonathan threw his hands into the air. “This is about as bad as it gets!” He glanced at his wife. “I’m sorry about this, Caroline. I can’t begin to advise what you should tell your society friends. And here you have an embroidery tea tomorrow afternoon. By then, this story will be in all the newspapers.”
Caroline heaved a deep sigh, glaring at William. “You have left me in a disgraceful position, William, having to defend you getting arrested for beating a man nearly to death, and over an actress and a harlot—”
“He was hurting her,” William argued. “And she’s not what you say. She’s a sweet young woman who was left on her own at ten years old and—”
“Stop!” Jonathan demanded. “The fact remains that you were caught in the dressing room of a disreputable actress and in a fistfight with a drunken, low-class chimney cleaner who’d probably been sleeping with her. Have you slept with her, too? For God’s sake, you probably already have a venereal disease.”
Elizabeth again interjected. “Jonathan, he was just defending her.”
Jonathan glared at her, the scolding look in his dark eyes as fierce as a slap. “Need I remind you that you are only nineteen years old and know nothing of that seedy side of life? Your brother has shamed and embarrassed the Baylor name since he was old enough to go out in public. It’s time he stood on his own and learned true responsibility. I am kicking him out of this house.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You wouldn’t!”
“Wouldn’t I?” Jonathan stepped closer to Elizabeth, flaunting not just his size but the power and influence that came with it. “I’ve had all I can take, Elizabeth. You should be upset, too, after what happened last year. I cannot go on like this. The man, if he can call himself that, has to leave this estate and this family and learn to survive on his own.”
Elizabeth’s eyes teared. “He’s your brother,” she reminded him. “His only problem is that he has a big heart, and that you have no heart.”
“And you have no right talking to me this way after all I’ve done for both of you,” Jonathan answered. “Your brother’s big heart, as you put it, doesn’t excuse the fact that he disgraced the family name yet again by hanging around disreputable people. I have babied him long enough. He’s done too much damage this time.” He stepped closer and grasped Elizabeth’s arms. “And I might remin
d you that you are beautiful and have your own reputation to think about. You are a woman of honor and intelligence and talent, and as long as William is part of this estate and continues to bring shame to our name, the harder it will be for you to find a decent man to marry. Until you do marry, I will always care for you, but the best way to ensure a proposal comes sooner than later is to send William away.”
Elizabeth jerked her arms from her brother’s grip and faced the man squarely. “If William goes, I go!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Jonathan shook his head and sneered. “You’d never survive away from the shelter of this estate.”
“I am old enough to do anything I want. And I can claim my share of the money that is rightfully mine, and so can William. And mother left her jewels to me. All of that should be enough to survive just fine, out from under your rule and away from this depressing, boring life.”
William spoke up. “Elizabeth, it’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
“It’s a matter of what is right and what is wrong,” Elizabeth answered, still holding Jonathan’s gaze, determination in her eyes.
“Don’t be a fool,” Jonathan told her. “I’ll never allow you to leave this estate.”
“I am free to leave any time I want.”
“And your air of independence has always been as much of a burden to me as your brother’s stupidity. You are Lady Elizabeth Baylor. A woman of your station should leave home only because she has a husband, and I might remind you that Lord Henry Mason is very interested in marrying you.”
“And I’m not interested in that old lecher!”
“You are close to becoming an old maid, Elizabeth. Women whisper, and men wonder. I have had requests from others besides Lord Henry, men younger than he. I held that cotillion last year so you could meet other men. Why on earth are you not interested in such things? It’s natural for a woman to want—”
“I’ll choose whom I marry, and I will have to love him. I’m sure that is something a man like you would never understand, Jonathan. I’ll not marry just for a man’s title and money. Thanks to Father’s connection to the monarchy and the approval of the Queen, you don’t own me. And you are obligated to give me my share of this estate whenever I ask for it. I will not have what is mine used as a dowry for some old man who is already wealthy. I’ll choose my own path.”
Jonathan pressed his lips together in disgust. “You have no idea what it would be like out there on your own. I’ll not allow it! You are my sister!”
“And William is your brother! You should be just as concerned about him. And don’t talk about not giving him his fair share. If you insist he leaves, you are obligated to give him money to survive.”
Jonathan stiffened. “How and when did you become so independently minded? That, too, is a disgrace! Women are not meant to make demands of those who keep them.”
“Keep them? I’m not a zoo animal, Jonathan.”
“Nor are you getting any younger. Think about what you are saying. Men swoon over you. And if you married Lord Henry, you would live like a queen, what with his money and your own. I have suffered enough disgrace because of William. How would I explain allowing my beautiful young sister to go off on her own when she knows nothing of the world outside this estate?”
“I’d have my brother for an escort. There is no shame in that.”
Jonathan closed his eyes. “You’re a fool. William can’t care for you like I can, and you know it. To leave this estate would be to throw your life away.”
“Staying here and marrying a man I don’t love would be throwing my life away.”
A new coldness moved into Jonathan’s eyes. “You’ll never have the courage.”
Elizabeth put her hands on her hips and raised her chin. “Watch me.”
William couldn’t help a small grin. Elizabeth had a brave way of handling Jonathan that he himself had never possessed. More than once she had actually backed the man down.
Jonathan drew a deep breath, as though someone had socked him. He took hold of Caroline’s arm and pulled her with him as he suddenly swept past Elizabeth with an arrogant air. “William, you have two weeks to decide what you will do and where you will go,” Jonathan called as he walked out of the room. “And if you take your sister with you, what happens will be on your head, not mine. You think about that!”
Elizabeth watched him leave, then turned to William, arms folded. “There,” she announced. “I’ve done it. William, we are leaving the Baylor estate. It’s time to live our lives the way we choose.”
William wiped at unexpected tears in his blue eyes. His thick, light-brown hair hung over one eye, and he quickly swept it off his forehead, revealing another bruise. “I’m sorry about all this, Liz. I’ll be fine. You don’t need to leave with me. Really. Jonathan’s right about it being dangerous for you.”
Elizabeth walked closer. “It’s been six years since our parents died, but I remember Mother always seemed to understand your good heart. She had one, too, and she also was an independent woman. I remember her having a gentle way of bossing Father around.” She smiled, and William broke down, covering his eyes as he wept.
“I miss them so much, Liz. I still feel them with us. If they hadn’t decided to take that trip to France—”
“No one thought such a violent storm would hit the Channel in the middle of a lovely, calm summer.” Elizabeth put her arms around him. “The fact remains we were left in Jonathan’s charge, and I hate it as much as you do. I think he always resented the responsibility. He probably hopes both of us do leave. He was always the mean-spirited, spoiled firstborn, and since he inherited the estate, we have both felt like prisoners.”
William sniffed and pulled away as he wiped at his eyes. “I don’t mind leaving, Liz, but you shouldn’t go with me.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “You always say I’m the strong one, William. And I hate the fact that my future is mapped out for me as long as I stay here. I am strong, and I’ve already been thinking about leaving, alone, if I have to. Now we both have an excuse for going, and you can be my escort, so I won’t shame Jonathan.” She took a deep breath, summoning her determination and warding off any doubts. “And you and I aren’t just brother and sister. We’re good friends. We understand and trust each other. We’ve grown so close since Mother and Father died, and we both want to get out from under Jonathan. This is our chance.”
William shook his head. “Where on earth would we go? By tomorrow, everyone in London will know about me. I’ll be a disgrace, and you’ll be looked down upon for leaving with me. I don’t want that for you.” He watched Elizabeth’s brilliant blue eyes light up with excitement. A beautiful young woman with an alabaster complexion and thick, golden hair, she would catch any man’s eye. “It makes me nervous to think of being responsible for you, Elizabeth. And people in London—”
“We won’t stay in London. We’ll go to America!”
William’s eyes widened in surprise. “America! Are you crazy? I thought all your talk about gold and cattle and mountains and outlaws was just from those penny dreadfuls you read. Those are just silly, made-up stories, Elizabeth. I’m sure they make America sound more romantic and adventurous than it really is.”
“They’re called dime novels in America, and they’re wonderful,” Elizabeth answered, grasping her brother’s hands. “Just think of it, William. With an ocean between us and Jonathan, we’d be completely out from under his control, and we’d have a lot of money. We could make investments in gold mines and maybe buy lots of land and—”
“Elizabeth, that’s foolish.”
“Is it? We’d be free to go where we please and make our own decisions. We will have enough money to go anyplace we want and live well. We can pay the best guides to take us to the gold mines in Denver once we reach America. I’ve been studying about all of it longer than you know. And I’ve been wanting to get away from here sinc
e our parents died and Jonathan took over.” She squeezed William’s hands. “If I stay in London, even living separately from Jonathan, I fear that somehow he will be able to force me into marrying some boorish man I don’t love, and into a life of nothing but teas and cotillions and embroidery clubs and constant gossip. I have a need for adventure and independence, William, and everything I read about America tells me that a woman can have independence there that she could never have here. I’m nineteen and you’re twenty-two. We have our whole lives ahead of us. Why not go to America and see what’s there for us? If we don’t like it, we’ll come back to Europe, maybe France.” She let go of his hands and smiled excitedly. “Once we’re away from here, our futures are in our own hands. Think of it, William.”
William smiled. “It does sound exciting.”
“You can be your own man there. And you are a man, William. Don’t listen to Jonathan when he insults you the way he does. This is our chance to be free from him.”
William sighed deeply. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I am! We just need to buy passage on a ship to America, but first we’ll need to set an appointment with the family solicitor to claim our inheritance.”
William breathed deeply with a mixture of excitement and doubt. “You’re so brave, Liz.”
“I just want out from under Jonathan’s thumb.” Elizabeth leaned in and kissed her brother’s cheek. “I’m going to my room to make plans and think about what I should pack. Tomorrow morning, I want you to take care of the solicitor and get some schedules for passage to America.” She took his hands again. “Promise me, William. Don’t change your mind.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
Elizabeth squeezed his hands again before hurrying off to run up the grand staircase to her room. William watched her go, his heart heavy with the knowledge that his name would be notorious by morning. He wanted to be strong for Elizabeth. He couldn’t let her know he was scared to death to leave and go to America, but then he’d face just about anything to get out from under his brother’s constant badgering and insults. Jonathan was right in saying he needed to stand up for himself, and he had to admit that going to a place like America sounded exciting. He’d read about the place, too, and he supposed there couldn’t be a better chance at making a good investment than in a place that was growing like wildfire, where a man could do anything he wanted.
