Boot Hill Bride (5 page)

from his tight body. At least most of her flesh was covered.

His eyes caught the gown again. "You don't have any

clothes?"

"Of course I do." She lifted the other leg to roll up twelve

inches or so of extra material. "It's just that they're all at

Danny J's."

Slapping the trunk lid shut, he sat down on the top. A knot

twisted in his stomach. "You're one of Danny J's girls?"

"No." She shook her head. "I didn't plan on running away

last night, so I didn't take the time to get dressed."

He drew his brows together, tried to figure out what she

meant. Was she running away before she became one of

Danny's girls, or after?

She continued rolling the pant legs. "You see, Aunt

Corrine's been hiding me since I arrived. Actually, I got to

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town the same day you started to build here." She settled her

feet on the floor. They looked extremely tiny poking out

beneath the thick cuffs she'd created on the bottom of the

pant legs.

"No, I don't see. What do you mean, hiding you?"

Her chin dipped. "She didn't know what else to do with me.

I didn't either. It wasn't at all what I expected."

"What you expected?"

She gave a negative gesture and grimaced.

Was he truly this dense, or did she really not make any

sense? "I think we need to back up a little. Start over."

"Uh? Start over?"

"Yes, start over." Voices from outside mingled in, but he

wasn't ready to face the mob again. "Your father..." A foul

taste filled his mouth, and his eyes strained as they popped

open. "Wait a minute. Thurston Fulton is your father?"

She nodded.

"The Thurston Fulton who's running for governor of

Kansas?"

She nodded again.

"The Populist?" Howard cringed at his tone. The newly

created political party had been playing havoc on the plains.

They were worse than any vigilante gang and, unfortunately,

had more power behind them.

She grimaced—an odd little look he didn't know how to

interpret.

"Doesn't he live in Topeka?" he asked. That's where most

of them did their scheming. Populists felt the government

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should control all railroads and banks and were making a

mess of things for the cattlemen and city folks alike.

"Yes, and so did I, until a few weeks ago." A long sigh left

her chest.

He pushed his political views aside, focused on Randi.

"Why don't you start right there?" A twitch pulled at his brow.

"Tell me what happened a few weeks ago and end your story

with how you ended up in my bed last night."

"Well, all right. Let's see..."

He glanced up.
Let's see?
Oh, God, what had he done

now? Was he a complete idiot? Was she a politician too?

Could talk for hours without saying a darn thing?

She wrung her hands together. "Well, I think I need to

start with last summer."

"Huh?" The throbbing in his temples was back.

"You see last summer my mother passed away. She'd

been sick for some time, so it was really a blessing. But

terribly hard."

"I'm sure it was. I'm sorry."

"Thank you," she acknowledged with a slight head bow.

"You see, my father was already signed up for the Governor's

race. His party elected him just the day before she died.

People don't want to elect an unmarried man, so he had to

marry Belinda. She's been involved in politics for years, so

she was the best choice. But they had to wait a respectable

mourning period before getting married. People wouldn't like

if he disrespected Mama by getting married too soon, either."

Howard's mouth had fallen open. He slapped it shut, and

holding the back of his head, waited for her to continue. She

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honestly couldn't believe what she was saying, could she? No

one was that naive, were they?

"They decided six months. So in February, he married

Belinda. That's when she told me I'm too old to live with them

and needed to..." she paused for a few seconds, then said,

"move out."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty." She rolled her eyes in an exasperated way. "I

know—well on my way to becoming an old maid—Belinda tells

me so all the time. But Mama was sick for a long time, and I

took care of her. She needed me. I didn't have time for

anything else. And I told Belinda I didn't have to live with

them. I could live at the farm." Her head lowered until her

chin touched her chest. "But it was sold."

He rubbed a hand over his lips, afraid the assumptions

jumping into his mind would leap out his lips. Thurston Fulton

was not only a Populist, he was a complete ass.

She brushed several strands of hair from her cheeks. "Aunt

Corrine was the only one of Mama's family who ever wrote.

Mama loved getting her letters. They were full of tales about

buffalo hunters, cattle drives, street dances, and all the other

fascinating events in Dodge City. So...when Belinda said I had

to either get married or leave. I left." Those big doe eyes

settled on him. "I mean, I couldn't marry Edward Keyes, he's

older than my father." A sigh slipped out. "So, I bought a

ticket to Dodge."

He rested his elbows on his knees. His family was a little

rough around the edges, but they weren't despicable. Right

now his mind was deciphering her father and Belinda to be

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about as loathsome as they come. "What happened when you

got to Dodge?"

"I had written to Aunt Corrine, but she never got the post.

When she wasn't at the train station to meet me, I figured the

best way to find her was to ask someone. Sure enough, a

man at the depot knew where she lived. But I must admit, I

was a little shocked when I discovered she was, well, you

know." Her cheeks turned a blushing pink.

He nodded. Everyone knew Corrine Martin was one of

Danny J's girls. Danny's prized queen, to say the least.

"Aunt Corrine wanted me to leave as soon as I arrived. But

I didn't have anywhere to go." Her face scrunched into a

dreadful frown. "I suspect she was afraid Danny J would put

me to work if he found me at the house. So, she hid me in a

little room upstairs—just until we could figure out what I

should do."

"What happened last night?"

"The cook Danny J has isn't very good, and whatever was

in the soup she made yesterday didn't settle with me." Her

cheeks grew pink again. "I woke up in the middle of the night

needing to—well, while I was outside a fight started inside the

house. I don't know who it was, but there were all kinds of

screaming and crashing. I—I—uh, didn't dare go back inside.

I remembered this place, so ran down here to hide and—"

"Randilynn! Randilynn, I need to speak to you!" Her

father's voice bellowed near the door.

Her eyes grew wide with apprehension, and the color

drained from her cheeks. The way she crossed her arms to

rub at the shivers encompassing her from head to toe made

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Howard turn to the door and shout, "She'll be out in a

minute."

"I need to speak to her now!"

He rose and stomped across the tent. Tugging the flap

aside, he glared at the man. "I said she'll be out in a minute."

"Listen here, young man—"

Ire raced up his spine. "No, you listen here. Randilynn is

no longer your daughter. She is now my wife, and I said she'd

be out in a minute." He met the man, eye to beady little eye.

Thurston Fulton turned dynamite red, and Howard thought

the man might shoot skyward at any moment. He gestured

toward Snake and Bug standing a few yards away, silently

asking the boys for assistance. His brothers walked over, and

stopped, one on each side of Thurston Fulton.

The shorter man glanced at the two much younger, much

stronger, men towering over him. His Adam's apple jiggled as

he swallowed. "All right, then. I'll, uh, I'll be right out here

when she's ready."

Howard didn't respond, just let the flap fall shut and

turned back around. He kept his gaze averted, afraid she

might see his anger. The nightdress still lay across the foot of

the bed, and he used the sight to continue their conversation.

"How'd your gown get torn?"

"It snagged on something when I jumped the fence."

"The fence around Danny J's?"

She nodded.

He lifted a brow. "It's close to four feet tall."

Her gaze caught his. A bright twinkle shined in her eyes as

she solemnly admitted, "I know."

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A chuckled tickled his chest, but before it emitted, the

seriousness of the night's events hit him like a tornado. Had

he just called her his wife? Shit! She was his wife. All of a

sudden his legs had the strength of wet leather. What the hell

was he going to do with a wife?

Randi held her breath. The man filled the tent from top to

bottom. He had to be six and a half feet tall, if not seven, and

she'd never seen someone so broad. The shoulder seams of

the shirts she wore hung to her elbows and the bottoms went

below her knees.

Yet, she wasn't afraid of him. His face, besides being quite

handsome, was kind, and didn't raise any fear. But she was

very worried as to what he thought of her. Did he despise her

for hiding in his tent? Hate her for the wedding that just took

place?

She began to tremble. The silence was more than she

could take, and a strange desire washed over her, made her

want to know everything about him. Her voice quivered as

she asked, "Where were you last night?"

He looked at her. A deep frown pulled on his brows.

She tugged her gaze away, fluttered a trembling hand.

"The place looked abandoned," she offered in explanation.

"I'd gone to Wichita to order furniture and fixtures." He

stepped away from the door and walked over to sit back down

on the large trunk.

"What are you building?"

His face softened. "A restaurant and hotel."

"Really?" Her heart began to beat erratically.

"Yup. I plan on it being the finest establishment around."

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"Oh, how exciting! Mama's grandfather owned a hotel and

restaurant in New York. She talked of it often." Randi pinched

her lips together, tried to stifle the excitement tingling over

her skin. A sad thought sent the warmth away like a cold

wind. "When the land run started she and her parents came

west, and she never got the chance to go back."

He nodded but didn't comment.

She rubbed her feet together, unsure what to say next.

Elongated shadows moved about outside the tent, reminding

her they couldn't stay in here forever. "Um, Mr. Quinter?"

He lifted his face, looked at her expectantly.

Her heartbeat increased tenfold. "I'm, um, really sorry for

what happened. The marriage and all..." She took a deep

breath and forced the rest of her confession out, "But I really

don't know what to do about it."

"Well, Randi, I guess I don't really know what to do about

it either."

Deflated, she nodded, having hoped he had a plan.

"But we'd better come up with something." He glanced

toward the door. "Before we go out to face the mob."

Her hand flew to her lips. A giggle threatened to erupt. It

was stupid, she knew, the colorful group filling the tent earlier

was certainly nothing to laugh at.

A gentle smile covered his face, one that said he agreed

with her giggle. "Isn't that what they reminded you of? A

lynching mob?"

She nodded, let part of the laugh come out. It sounded like

a snort. Flames licked at her cheeks.

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He laughed aloud. "I guess I should be glad they found a

preacher. Beats the hell out of a stiff rope. Or Boot Hill."

She gasped. "Oh, surely they wouldn't have..."

"Guess we'll never know." He shrugged.

Her eyes grew wide.

He let out a low laugh, and one eye winked at her.

The action caused her cheeks to tingle, again, and allowed

a small sense of relief to filter over her system, but not for

long. "What are we going to do?" she murmured.

His face grew serious. "I have to be honest with you,

Randi. A wife really isn't in my plans right now." He shook his

head, pointed toward the doorway. "I have a lot to do

building this place, getting it started."

"I could help," she blurted.

"No, I don't think so," he said, shaking his head.

"I understand." She didn't, but felt she had to say she did.

"I'm sure I can make my father understand the situation. I'm

sure I can go back to Topeka with him and Belinda." She

hated the thought, but what else could she say?