Her Honour-Bound Cowboy

Linda Ford

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Endpages

Copyright

Chapter One

Josh’s heart thundered in his ears as he stared at the rifle aimed at him. A rifle held by a woman with fierce, blue eyes that pierced him with a don’t-mess-with-me look. A growling dog the size of a wolf stood at her side.

Josh had followed his brother’s directions carefully. This had to be his brother’s home. His too, seeing as they were partners. “Where’s Cody?”

The rifle lowered.

“Who are you?” the woman asked.

Did he imagine the tremor in her voice? Could be she was as frightened as he’d been. “Joshua Baxter. And you?”

“Emily Baxter.”

The name jarred through him.

“Cody was my husband,” she added with a hint of challenge.

“Was?” He didn’t care for the sound of that word.

She nodded. “He died six months ago.”

Silence hung heavy between them as he tried to digest this news. “You might have let me know.”

She shrugged. “Didn’t think I’d ever see you.”

That hurt. “I always meant to come. Cody knew that.” Cody had taken their combined savings and gone to find the land that would become their ranch while Josh had remained behind to continue mining their gold claim until he had enough to buy them a herd of cows.

“A year seems like a long time.”

“We’ve been in touch. But he never mentioned you. Seems mighty strange.” He squinted at her. Was she trying to con him? Well, she’d picked the wrong man to trick. He’d seen most every kind of scam while at the gold camp.

“Lady, I don’t know who you are. Or where my brother is. But I ain’t about to believe he’s married to you. Now maybe you should pack your belongings and move on. Try your shenanigans on someone else.”

A thin wail broke the stunned silence.

She picked a baby from a cradle by the fireplace.

A baby! Was it Cody’s or had she married another man and allowed him to take over the ranch?

***

Emily cradled baby Cathy close. She’d hoped Cody’s brother would never come and demand his share of the ranch. Would he kick her off the place? She’d fight to keep her share. But if he wanted proof of her marriage, she could provide it.

“My baby needs feeding.” She wouldn’t look at the man until her heart stopped racing and she sorted out how she was to deal with him.

“Fine. I’ll wait. I don’t intend to go anywhere until I get to the bottom of this. Do you mind calling your dog off?”

“Brute. Sit.” Cody had never let the dog indoors but after his death, she’d kept him close. He made her feel safe.

Thirteen-year-old Nancy came in with the eggs. She saw a man in the house and ground to a halt.

“Nancy, this is Josh.” Nancy’s family were neighbors. Her ma had helped deliver the baby a week ago then left Nancy with Emily to help.

Emily left the two staring at each other, Brute watching them and took baby Cathy to the bedroom to nurse her.

“Oh, baby. What are we going to do?”

Chapter Two

Emily fed the baby. It was a job that couldn’t be rushed. Then she clutched her little daughter to her shoulder and left the bedroom with her marriage certificate firmly in hand.

Mr. Joshua Baxter perched on the edge of the horsehair couch. She stuck the paper in his face. “Here’s your proof.”

He studied it at length then stared at her.

His hat balanced on his knee. His hair was the same brown as Cody’s had been, only thick and wavy. The dark brown eyes regarding her could have been Cody’s. No doubting this was the long-absent brother whom she’d prayed would never come claiming his rightful share of the place.

“I don’t understand.” He shook his head.

Poor man. He had a lot to take in. The shock of losing his brother, the surprise of discovering he had a widowed sister-in-law and a week old niece.

She could feel sorry about the first. “My condolences on the loss of your brother.” She really should have let him know but every time she picked up a piece of paper to write to him she changed her mind. If he didn’t know, he’d have no incentive to come.

“What happened?”

She sank to the rocking chair across from him, still holding baby Cathy. The baby nuzzled Emily’s neck providing comfort and strength as she faced her memories. Never had she expected her marriage to end so abruptly, and within months of saying ‘I do.’

“They found him in a coulee. His neck was broke. The Mountie said his horse had stepped in a hole and thrown him.” Her voice seemed to come from far away. “They said he died instantly.” She shuddered and forced herself to look at Josh.

He stared at her, his eyes full of shock and horror. “Who found him?”

“One of the Eden Valley cowboys.”

He let out his breath. “At least you weren’t the one. That’s good.”

She opened her mouth to reply and closed it again, too surprised by his comment to find words. Why would he care? Shouldn’t he be more concerned with his own loss?

“Where’s he buried?”

“The Gardiners have a little grave yard on their ranch. They own the Eden Valley Ranch. They suggested his remains be placed there and I gladly accepted.”

“Did he have a proper burial?”

“There’s no preacher in the area but Eddie Gardiner spoke some nice words over him and prayed a nice prayer.”

He twisted the brim of his hat and studied the floor in front of his dusty boots.

“It’s a lot to take in,” she offered. She turned Cathy toward him. “This is your niece, Cathy. She’s a week old today. Cathy,” she smiled down at her infant daughter who opened her eyes as if knowing she was about to meet her uncle. “This is your Uncle Josh.”

The man dragged his attention toward the baby and a smile slowly lifted his mouth. “She’s mighty small.”

She laughed then looked hard at Josh. For her daughter’s sake she meant to hang on to her share of this ranch.

Chapter Three

Josh stared at the baby and tried to make sense of all he’d learned. His brother was dead and buried. This woman had been his wife. This baby was Cody’s daughter. A good shake of his head did nothing to clear his thoughts.

“How did Cody meet you?”

“I was in the store when he was purchasing supplies and we struck up a conversation.” Emily laid the baby in the cradle and covered her. “Shh,” she soothed when the baby fussed a little. She returned to the rocking chair but gave no sign of providing any more information.

He, however, had many questions. “I didn’t think Cody would ever marry.”

“Oh, why is that?”

Was she really unfamiliar with Cody’s past or just playing innocent? “Didn’t he tell you how some gal left him standing at the altar? He was awfully bitter about it and said he’d never give his heart to another.”

“I was well aware of what happened.”

He stared boldly at the woman. “Must have been a fast courtship.” By his calculations they’d married less than two months after he and Cody had said a temporary goodbye that had ended up longer than planned.

“We both knew what we wanted.”

“Cody wanted land in the new west. What did you want?”

She didn’t answer. Just gave him another of those don’t-mess-with-me looks.

Why did she feel she needed to challenge him?

Young Nancy poked her head in from the kitchen. “Do you want me to do something for supper?”

“Is Nancy your sister?”

“No. Her mother left her here to help me for a few days.” Her words rang with determination and more challenge.

But now he understood why she looked at him with such determination. She was a widow woman alone with a baby. A target for men who might think she was easy prey, and a lightning rod for gossip and speculation.

He cleared his throat. “Is there some place in town you can live? Even better, can you return to your folks?”

“My home is here.” If her gaze grew any fiercer he feared his skin would start to sizzle.

“But you can’t stay here.”

“I can and I will.”

“That’s not possible. I’m here to take over now. I’m expecting a herd of cows to arrive in a few weeks.”

She tipped her chin up. “Perhaps you should see if there’s a place in town where you can live.”

“Can’t run a ranch from town.”

“Half of this place is mine and I’m not leaving.”

Protests filled his brain but she stared at him in a way that said she wasn’t prepared to listen to anything he had to say.

If she wouldn’t leave, then he saw only one solution.

“Guess that means we’ll have to get married.”

Chapter Four

Emily couldn’t have heard him correctly.

He rushed on. “Ma’am, I’ve spent two years in a gold camp. I know how people gossip if there is any hint of impropriety. An unmarried woman doesn’t have a chance.”

“I don’t need marriage.”

“Consider your baby.” He tipped his head toward Cathy. “Will people be fair to her?”

She turned to look at the sleeping baby. Would people gossip about her?

Only if she gave them cause. She’d be sure she didn’t.

She turned back to Josh. “I won’t marry you.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why not? Seems we’re to be partners. Marriage isn’t such a far cry from that.”

“Because.” She spoke through gritted teeth but couldn’t help it. “I will not give my daughter a stepfather.”

If she wasn’t mistaken, his eyes filled with understanding, followed quickly by sympathy. “You had a cruel stepfather.”

A shiver snaked up her spine into the base of her neck. “He was worse than cruel.”

Another flash of understanding.

Her stepfather had tried at every opportunity to get her into corners where he could press against her. She feared what would happen if he ever found her alone.

“Ahh. I see. You married Cody to escape your stepfather. That explains why he married you. Cody would think it right to help you.”

“He was a good man.”

“No argument there. I can’t believe he’s gone.” He bent over with a moan.

What could she say or do to express her sorrow at his loss? One she shared but perhaps not to the same degree.

Josh straightened. “It must have been hard. Losing him and waiting alone for the baby.”

“It had its moments.”

“How did you manage?”

She looked past him as the memory of those days swelled afresh. She’d never felt free to mention them to anyone. “I was in shock the first few days. The Gardiners kept me there awhile but then people started telling me I should go back home to my family. That’s when I knew what I had to do. I came back here, and I intend to stay.”

He sighed. “This arrangement is unacceptable. Marriage is the only solution.” He held up his hands to signal her to hold her words. “It makes perfect sense. I would give you the protection of my name and provide you with a home. It’d simply be a suitable business partnership.”

She narrowed her eyes to study him. Was he trying to get her share of the ranch? “I don’t need to marry to have a partnership. I legally own Cody’s half.”

“I’ve no objection to that.”

“Then I see no reason to marry you.” She’d entered into one marriage of convenience to escape her stepfather. It had given her freedom, home, land and a baby. She needed nothing more except to keep her claim on this land.

“People will talk and they can be very nasty.”

“They’ll have no reason to speculate if you aren’t staying here.”

Would he understand he must be the one to leave?

Chapter Five

Josh had said it before but this stubborn woman wasn’t getting the message. “Ma’am, I am not moving to town.”

“You don’t need to. There’s a cabin out behind the barn. You can live there.”

He looked around the house which glowed with hominess. There was a cozy fireplace in one corner of the room, there were bright windows with crisp white curtains, and pleasant smells from the kitchen filled the air. He brought his gaze closer to Emily and the baby.

He’d never thought of himself as a homebody but after two years in a mining camp, living much of the time in mud and muck, this place drew him like a moth to a light.

He gave his head a shake. Living in a cabin wouldn’t be bad either. There would be no carousing men. No fights. Why it might be even better than this house.

“You’re welcome to take your meals with us, of course,” she offered.

“Very well,” he said. Seems he had little option. He planted his hat on his head and opened the door.

“Supper will be in an hour,” Emily said.

“I’ll be back.” He had few supplies left and no desire to cook his own meal.

He led his horse past the barn and ground to a halt so fast his horse snorted. The cabin looked like a derelict chicken coop. He put his shoulder to the door to push it open and coughed. Inside there was a frame that was meant to be a bed, a table covered with a thick layer of dust and bird droppings, one wooden chair—missing the back—and a stove. The stove pipes hung from the roof. His hopes of better quarters than the mining camp lay shattered on the ground.

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