His Brother's Wife (4 page)

Jesse looked as if he was
thinking about it but shrugged his shoulders moments later. “Don’t
matter none to me. A wife is a wife. Age is just a number,
anyway.”

“I see.” She chewed her
bottom lip, trying to think of anything that would dissuade him.
She smiled when an idea hit her. “What does your mother think of
all this? Is she going to be all right with sharing her home with
your wife?”

“Ain't got no ma. She died
years ago.”

Grace felt deflated then.
So much for that tactic. This wasn’t going to be easy any way she
went. A glance at Rafe showed him still staring off down the road.
She was at a loss as to what to do or say to convince Jesse she
couldn’t marry him and the only person who could help her do that
was ignoring her.

The month she’d spent
traveling by train and stagecoach across the country had fatigued
her more than she thought. She was bone weary, hungry, and she’d
worn her traveling dress for so many days, she was sure she smelled
as rank as that horse stable beside of the station. This situation
only added to her stress.

She’d left everything, and
everyone, familiar to her behind, determined nothing would stop her
from marrying a man of her choice, even if she only picked him from
a catalogue, just to spite her friends. Now, she was stranded in a
dusty little town, in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but the
clothes stored in her trunks and a few coins rattling in the bottom
of her bag.

A crisp wind blew and even
through all the layers she was wearing, Grace shivered. Winter was
coming. Even if she had the funds to go back to Boston, she’d be
stranded somewhere between here and there. The snows would come and
then what would she do?

She glanced back over at
Jesse. If she didn’t marry him, or someone in Willow Creek, where
would she go? How would she survive? She had no money. Nowhere to
live.

Rafe glance her way, a
spark of amusement in his eyes. Grace gritted her teeth. The man
was enjoying this. He had no intention of helping her, that much
was obvious. Her reaction to the situation couldn't have been a
surprise, so why did he even come to town?

The laughter dancing in
his green irises said it all. He was waiting. He probably expected
her to pitch some sort of fit, to stomp and cry at the injustice of
it all. Well, she’d show him!

Besides, she had no other
choice.

Turning to face Jesse, she
smiled at him before straightening her spine and speaking loud
enough for Rafe to hear every word. “Well, we don’t have to discuss
this out on the street. The preacher isn’t in town yet so we’ll
have to wait regardless. Why don’t you show me your home and we can
discuss it there?”

Rafe made a choking sound
and Grace looked back over her shoulder at him. Amusement wasn’t
twinkling in those green eyes now. Shock and disbelief were. She
smiled at him before walking to the edge of the sidewalk to where
the wagon sat. “Would you help me up please, Jesse?”

The boy rushed to her
side, smiling for the first time since meeting him as he took her
hand and helped her up onto the wagon seat. He hesitated for a
moment before looking at Rafe. “You going to drive us back or just
stand there?”

Rafe stood motionless for
far longer than Grace liked. She half wondered if he was going to
refuse. He could have. Instead, he rounded the front of the wagon,
climbed into the seat beside of her and took the reins. He gave her
a look before shaking his head and turning the mule. They were
rattling down the rutted road out of town before Grace realized how
improper this all was. She was leaving with a man and a boy with no
proper chaperone, traveling to their home. Of course, she’d
traveled across the country without one but the people she met then
didn’t know her. These people, she’d see whenever she came to town.
What would they think of her knowing where she was
living?

They would think the
worst.

She bit back a groan. She
would be ruined. Even if she found other unmarried men in town,
would they want her once they realized she was living under the
same roof as this man and young boy? Her reputation would be in
shambles and there wasn't anything she could do about it. She had
no choice. Did she?

She glanced at Rafe out of
the corner of her eye, wondering if he had a wife at home. For some
odd reason, the thought made Grace’s heart kick inside her chest.
She almost asked him but decided against it. Of course, if he were
married, the situation wouldn't be so perilous. Another woman in
the house would halt some of the gossip she knew would be coming
her way, but she couldn’t find her voice enough to ask the man if
he had a woman waiting for him at home. She chose to believe he
didn't. They would have made mention of her, right?

He was staring straight
ahead, his hat pulled down low over his face so his eyes were
shielded from the glare of the sun. His profile showed a strong jaw
line with a dusting of stubble from a beard growing in. His nose
was straight and narrow, his eyes deep set. He turned to look at
her then and when she met his gaze, her heart slammed against her
ribcage so hard it stole her breath. He was so beautiful, his
soulful eyes mesmerizing.

The situation was going to
be difficult. Having a bridegroom who was no more than a child was
distressing enough, but his too-handsome brother, Rafe, would be a
problem she wasn't sure how to avoid.

Her attraction to him was
undeniable. She'd felt it the moment he stepped onto the sidewalk
and turned those oh-so-green eyes on her. How would she ever be
able to deal with the situation of being promised to one brother
while secretly wanting another? And how did she go about finding a
husband in this small town while living under the roof of a man she
couldn't help but want?

Chapter Four

Rafe fought the urge to
look at her again. Every time he did, his muscles tensed, his heart
rate soared and all the blood in his body started to head
south.

She was the prettiest
thing he’d seen in years. Her blonde hair glistened like spun gold
in the sunlight. Her ivory skin was flawless and her eyes were so
blue they looked violet. Her lips were rosy pink and full, lashes
longer than any he’d seen and the womanly curves he noticed taking
shape in her dress caused his mouth to go dry. Thoughts he
shouldn’t be having at all ran rampant through his mind and he had
to remind himself who she was and why she was here.

Jesse had done something
most men died trying to do and he’d done it without much effort. He
found a beautiful woman to be his wife and he’d be the envy of
every man in town, himself included. His brother’s wife was a
looker. An angel sent through a mail-order bride agency. He almost
laughed at the thought of it. What were the odds?

Every man in town would be
sending off for a bride now. Chances are, none of them would look
like Grace Kingston. He still couldn’t believe she’d answered
Jesse’s ad. He’d seen plenty of the women who answered those
listings and never had he seen one that looked anything like this
one. They were all plain, too tall, and shapeless.

Grace wasn’t.

Her skirts filled the seat
and the material rustled as the wagon jolted down the road. The
fabric was unlike any he’d seen around here. It was too shiny. Too
pink. Too fancy by half. Her hat alone told him she didn’t belong
in Willow Creek. The thing sat at an odd angle on her head and the
top was filled with flowers and feathers. On anyone else, he
thought it would have looked ridiculous. On her, it reaffirmed his
belief that she didn’t belong here. She had money. Lots of it from
the looks of her and her trunks. Which begged the question, what
was she doing in Montana, promised to a fourteen year old
boy?

He wanted to laugh just
thinking about it. His brother, hot-headed little shit that he was,
had snagged himself a real jewel, one Rafe knew he wouldn’t be able
to keep. Why she’d agreed to come along with them puzzled him. He
glanced at her, wondering if she planned to go through with the
marriage and the thought made his stomach ache for reason’s he
didn’t want to think about.

The trip back to the farm
was made in silence and Rafe was glad for it. He wasn’t sure he’d
be able to say much if he was forced to do so. When they entered
the main gate and he steered the wagon toward the house, the look
on Grace’s face caused his heart to leap into his throat. She
looked horrified, as she should be.

When he stopped, pushing
the brake lever with his foot and looping the reins around it, he
jumped to the ground and looked up at her. She was still sitting
there, staring at the house with wide eyes. Rafe looked as well and
sighed. The house was all to hell. Had been since he rolled into
the yard six months earlier. The entire ranch was a wreck. The only
thing he could be grateful for was the fact the animals were
healthy and he still had a decent size herd of steer. They wouldn’t
get rich from them but just as Jesse had said, they’d keep them
from starving. He hoped.

* * * *

Grace stared at the house
in stunned silence. It was two stories, just as Jesse’s letters had
said, but that was about all you could say for it. The windows were
so dirty she couldn’t see a thing beyond them. The railing on the
porch was broken, most of it having fallen into the yard. Two
chairs sat by the front door, one leaning precariously to the
left.

Chickens ran loose,
pecking at the dirt around the house and Grace searched for a
single blade of grass. She found it in the pasture where cattle
stood grazing.

A barn off to her left
looked as pitiful as the house. A hole large enough to fit the
wagon inside glared at her from the roof and the lean-to off to one
side was at an odd angle. A few buildings further from the house
were in ill repair and all in all, the entire place was in
ruins.

And this was to be her
home?

She turned to look at Rafe
where he stood by the wagon. He had the nerve to smile at her,
spread his arms wide and say, “Welcome home.” He glanced at Jesse
before nodding to him. “Take her things in, unhitch this wagon and
come help me with the roof.” He turned and walked away without a
backward glance at her. She watched him disappear inside the barn
before she looked back to the house. The thought of what lay inside
caused her stomach to ache. She could only imagine.

Turning to look behind her
at Jesse, she offered him a tentative smile. “Could you help me
down?” He jumped from the wagon and rounded the side, offering her
his hand. When her feet were on the ground, she took a deep breath
and glanced in the direction Rafe had gone before making her way to
the house.

Her spirits were about as
low as they could get, or so she thought, when she stepped over the
threshold of the house. She was stunned, too overwhelmed by the
shape of the interior to even move. She only did when Jesse prodded
her to do so as he started carrying her trunks inside. She watched
him take them upstairs, the boards creaking with every step he took
before she looked back at the sitting room.

The furniture was in decent shape but the fabric coverings
were old and faded. A thick layer of dust lay on every surface and
the ashes sitting in the bottom of the fireplace looked as if
they’d been there for years. The curtains hanging over the windows
were so dark brown, she couldn’t tell if that was the color of them
or if they were just that dirty. She was betting on dirty.
Everything else was. Even the floor. She could see a trail through
the dust that led from the stairs into the next room. She followed
it, finding an unused dining room then the kitchen just beyond.
This room, unlike the others, wasn’t in as bad a shape. Well, dirt
didn’t cover
every
surface. There were dishes sitting
on the shelf above the sink. The table looked clean but the stove
gave her pause. Dried food splatters were cooked onto its surface.
The floor looked as if someone had tried to sweep it but it did
little good.

Turning and exploring the
rest of the house, Grace was met with the same sight in every room.
The bedrooms weren’t littered with dust but she could tell it had
been ages since anyone bothered to give them a thorough cleaning.
When she’d seen all she cared to, she searched for Jesse. She found
him in the bedroom at the end of the upstairs hall. The room was
larger than the others she'd seen and from the smell of it, it
hadn’t been aired out in a while.