Texas Mail Order Bride (4 page)

Cooper was the kind of rancher who dove in right alongside his men. No standing idle.

Isaac Daffern had taught him that was the mark of a good cattleman and the way to gain his men's respect, so he wasn't afraid to get calluses on his hands. Or on his butt, either, from long hours in the saddle.

On the ride into town, he thought of the disease that had struck his herd. The only positive was that he hadn't found any more sick ones. But he wouldn't truly know until they rounded up all the cattle that had spread to the far corners of the ranch.

Hope lodged in his chest that the disease would vanish as quickly as it had appeared.

Battle Creek looked sleepy when he rode in, and for a second, he almost thought he'd gotten the day wrong. It seemed like a Sunday. But Abercrombie wouldn't be open on the Lord's day. No, this had to be Friday. Pulling the wagon to a stop in front of the mercantile, he set the brake and climbed down.

His leather chaps slapped against his legs and his spurs jangled in the quiet as he entered. He stared at the changes. Everything was neat and tidy, and for once, he could actually see what he was looking for. That's when he noticed the sparkling window and the clean lamp globes.

“May I help you with something, sir?” The voice definitely
wasn't
John Abercrombie's.

Cooper turned and found himself staring into Miss Delta Dandridge's pretty green eyes.

Damn it to hell.

What the heck had she done with Abercrombie? It occurred to him that since she came to town looking for marriage, maybe she'd taken advantage of John's loneliness. After all, he was recently widowed. Maybe one man was as good as another in her way of thinking. And maybe John's age of fifty-two years didn't matter to her.

“Where's John?” It was the first thing to pop out of his mouth. Immediately he wished he could take it back, especially when he saw how stiff and straight her spine got.

“Mr. Abercrombie is out of the store at the moment,” she said through pursed lips. “If you need assistance, Mr. Thorne, you can either accept my help or return later when he's in.”

Miss Delta made it amply clear that it was no skin off her nose if he left and never came back.

His raspy sigh ruffled the air. “I apologize, ma'am. I didn't mean that the way it came out. You caught me by surprise. Not sure what you're doing here.”

“If it's any of your concern, Mr. Abercrombie hired me.”

So that meant she hadn't roped the man into marriage.

“I thought…I was under the impression that you were going back to Georgia after our…” He let the sentence trail, not wanting to say the wrong thing again.

“Parting of ways,” Delta supplied, giving a sarcastic snort. “The only thing we discussed was me not accepting your money. I never said I was leaving town.”

“So you're staying?”

Her chin raised a trifle and her eyes narrowed to green slits as though she was readying for battle. “I most assuredly am. I like it here. It's a nice, quiet little town and
most
of the people are friendly.”

If that wasn't a how-de-do. He wondered if she'd decided to stay to irritate him or if she didn't have the money to leave. He wasn't about to mention money again to her, though. That got her riled up quicker than a horse with a whole mess of cockleburs under its saddle.

“So, Mr. Thorne, get used to it. I'm here to stay.”

“Well, I can see the difference you've made. The store didn't look this good when it was newly built.”

He didn't just say that to mollycoddle her. He meant it.

“Thank you, I'm pleased you noticed.” She dusted off the counter. “Now, if you don't want my help, I have work to do. Mr. Abercrombie doesn't pay me to stand around engaging in trivial conversation.”

Cooper finally remembered what he came for. “I have a list here somewhere.” He rifled through his vest pocket and produced a wrinkled piece of paper.

Delta took it. “This may take a while. If you have something else to do…”

“You just get it all ready. I'll be back in an hour.”

The clink of his spurs echoed in the silence as he strode for the door. He could feel Delta's sharp gaze boring into him. She probably couldn't wait to get him out of there. When he moved onto the sidewalk, he saw her hurry to the window to watch. She seemed awfully curious to see where he went.

Moments later he stood with a hand on the batwing doors of the saloon. She'd have to wonder no more. Like most women, she likely believed whiskey was a man's ruination. He had to agree that some men fell under the spell of liquor, but that wasn't him. He never touched the stuff, afraid of what would happen if he did. He vowed to never be like his father, who'd lived in a drunken rage.

Cooper sauntered into the Lily of the West and up to the bar.

“Hey, Coop,” Rand greeted him. “I swear! You must've smelled Widow Sharp's fresh hand pies.”

“That black veil she wears gives me the creeps, but she sure can bake. What kind did she bring?” Cooper's mouth was already watering.

“Apple. Hey, aren't widows given a time limit to wear those contraptions?” Rand pulled a plate of the delicious treats from under the counter.

Everyone in town knew about Cooper's sweet tooth, especially for flaky, moon-shaped hand pies.

“I'm not the person to ask about such things. The only thing sure about women is that you never know what they're thinking.” Much less doing. He still reeled from the shock of finding out Delta had decided to stick around.

“And the pies aren't all. She's always patting my hand and asking me if I'm eating right. Does my laundry too. Won't take a cent for it, either.”

“Better watch it, Rand. It may be you instead of me standing there at the altar. You know how lonely widows are.”

“Take care of your own affairs, Coop, and leave mine alone. About the pies…just don't eat 'em all this time. My customers and I want some too. What are you gonna wash 'em down with?”

“Sarsaparilla will do,” Cooper said around a mouthful of pie. Rand opened the bottle and slid it before him. “Where's your barkeep? Don't tell me you fired him.”

“Nope. He took the day off on account of his wife being sick. What are you doing in town?”

“Came after supplies. Got quite a jolt to see Miss Dandridge working at Abercrombie's. You could've warned me.”

“Yep, I could've, but it wouldn't have been as much fun. She's the talk of the town, the way she cleaned up the store and got it shipshape. Awful pretty too. And smart. She'd make some man a good wife.”

“Long as it ain't me,” Cooper growled, taking a swig of his sarsaparilla while reaching for another hand pie. “You seem to have taken quite an interest in her, Rand. How is that?”

His tall younger brother shrugged. “Just remarking on her attributes is all. No more. No less. You could be more charitable toward her, you know. Give her the benefit of the doubt. She's not the enemy.”

“It wasn't you she came to town intending to set up house with and raise a mess of young'uns.”

“All the same, wouldn't hurt you to be friendlier to her.” Rand dried a beer mug and set it on the shelf underneath the mirror.

Tipping up the bottle of sarsaparilla, Cooper drained it in one long gulp. “Don't reckon you've heard anything about who might've lured her here.”

“Nope. Nary a word. Whoever did it is keeping quiet.”

“Had to be someone with money. It cost a pretty penny to pay her way from Georgia. He'll slip up one of these days and I'll catch him. You can bet on that,” Cooper promised.

“I'll keep an eye out. How are things at the Long Odds?”

“Haven't found any more sick cows. Won't know until we get them all accounted for, though. We begin roundup on Monday.”

A wistful look crossed Rand's angular face. He rubbed his dark stubble that he could never seem to keep off no matter how often he shaved. “One of these days I figure I'll sell the saloon and buy me a nice parcel of land. It'd be nice to own a ranch and a fair-to-middling herd.”

“The saloon business losing its sparkle? If you hadn't tried to take the easy way out, you could've had your own spread. It was your choice, brother.”

“Don't think I don't know that. Let's say I've grown up a lot in the last few years. Learned what was really important.”

“Glad to see you're thinking about more than easy money.”

“Just hope when I do get my ranch, I remember all the stuff Isaac Daffern taught us. Guess I can always ask you or Brett about things I don't know, though.”

“Of course. We're always here for you,” Cooper said quietly. He'd do anything for his brothers and they for him. Seeing Rand wanting something so badly and not having it created an ache in his chest.

“Speaking of Brett, it's been a while since he's been to town. When've you seen him last, Coop?”

“Just came by his place. Needed to warn him about the hoof-and-mouth disease. Helped him put up a tepee.”

“You don't say.” Rand threw back his head and roared with laughter.

“Says he's embracing his heritage. I have to admit that tepee is a damn sight better than living out of a wagon.”

“Before we know it, he'll be paintin' his face and doing a war dance around his campfire.”

They both sobered, and Cooper knew Rand was remembering the raggedy little boy they'd taken under their wing and defended with everything they had. Both knew that without a doubt they'd paint their faces and do a war dance right alongside Brett if he asked them to.

The brothers discussed various and sundry other things, then Cooper reached for another fried pie and pushed back from the long oak bar. “Gotta collect my supplies from the mercantile and get back to the ranch.”

“Don't let the lovely Miss Dandridge get the drop on you and drag you to the preacher,” Rand warned.

“You seem to be worrying about that enough for both of us, little brother.”

“Stranger things have happened. Say, I might ride out and watch the branding next week. Might learn a few things for when I have my own spread.”

“You're welcome anytime. Heck, I'll even let you join in and help us.” Cooper adjusted his hat, bringing it lower on his forehead. “I'm thinking we need to have another meeting of the bachelors' club as soon as I've finished with the roundup.”

“Thinkin' of dissolving it? I mean, with you being tempted to get hitched and all.”

“Drop it, Rand. Enough is enough.”

***

Abercrombie was back in the store when Cooper returned. He didn't see Delta Dandridge anywhere, which was probably for the best.

“Hey, John, missed you earlier. I like what you've done with the place.”

“Cain't take any credit for it. Miss Dandridge's idea.”

“All the same, it's a welcome sight to behold.”

Just then Delta emerged humming from the back room with an armful of boxes, looking happy and content. Their eyes met and held. A look of guarded caution quickly replaced her carefree demeanor. It bruised something deep in his heart to know he caused it.

Her lips tightened in a straight line. “Your order is ready, Mr. Thorne.”

“Thank you, Miss Delta.”

John Abercrombie looked surprised. “You two know each other?”

Cooper squirmed inside. “We met shortly after she got to town.”

“Well, I'm right glad she needed a job. She's been a real keeper. Almost makes me feel like Nell is here.” John's voice broke and he looked away.

Laying a hand on the man's shoulder, Cooper spoke low. “It's okay, John. I'm sure Nell's watching over you.”

The dour man must've reached inside for the gruffness that hid all his feelings, for his next words were unkind. “Well, don't just stand there all day, Miss Dandridge,” he snapped. “Take the man's money. He's got more things to do than wait for you.”

“Certainly, Mr. Abercrombie.” Delta reached for the tally of the purchases. “That comes to four dollars and thirty-two cents.”

Cooper paid it and threw the sack of flour onto his shoulder. He put the bag in the wagon and turned to go back for the rest. He wasn't expecting Delta Dandridge to be behind him with a boxful of other supplies, and he nearly toppled her. Quickly, he grabbed her arm to steady her, but the box wasn't so lucky. It crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

“I'm sorry, ma'am. Didn't mean to plow over you. I wasn't expecting anyone to sneak up behind me. Bet you thought you could put one of those letters of yours in my pocket and I'd have to reconsider.”

Twin spots stained her cheeks red. She was quite a sight, standing there all soft and pretty and full of an extra helping of spirit. For a moment, he had a devil of a time keeping his train of thought from jumping the tracks.

She drew herself up. “I wasn't sneaking. I was helping, you…you big…”

“Careful there, Miss Delta, before you say something you can't take back.” Cooper's gaze swept to her moist rosy lips, and for a long moment, he wanted to kiss her. He didn't know what the hell came over him.

But the glare she shot him warned that she'd likely kill him if he tried. He could almost see the steam coming from her ears as she struggled to find a suitable reply. For a moment, he thought she might haul off and wallop him.

Instead, she smiled sweetly. “My dear Mr. Thorne, you're absolutely determined to think the worst of me. I assure you, I try to never say anything I must retract later.”

“Look, Miss Dandridge, why don't we start over? We'll be running into each other on occasion. No reason why our hackles should rise every time we cross paths.”

“Hackles! I do declare. Your neck may have hackles, but I guarantee that mine does not.”

“No, ma'am. I can certainly see that.” He was hard-pressed to keep from grinning. “I simply meant we should try to get along.”