The Brides of Chance Collection (2 page)

“All right, sweet pea, open your eyes again. Look at me and say your head doesn’t hurt too bad.”

She slowly lifted her lashes and stared up into a pair of bright blue, concerned eyes. Three lines furrowed his forehead. Clearly he was worried about her. A flicker of warmth stole across her soul. A lock of black wavy hair fell onto his forehead. He impatiently shook it back out of the way and gently combed his fingers through the loosened mess that had once been her modest, practical coiffure. His fingers hit a spot behind her ear, and she sucked in a sharp breath. The darkness started to swirl around her all over again.

He moaned. “Sorry. You’ve got a nasty goose egg there.” His rough hand curled around the nape of her neck and gently kneaded. “Just give yourself a minute here.”

A minute. Oh, it was going to take far more than a paltry minute for her to feel decent again. She shivered, partly from cold, partly from pain, and mostly because she’d never had a man hold her like this. Miriam closed her eyes and fought the urge to burrow closer to the stranger. She felt miserable, afraid, and lonely, and she never knew being held in the arms of a behemoth could be so comforting.

“Hey, now, Bryce. The little lady’s starting to shiver. Get my bedroll.” A second later, he lifted her and slipped her into the folds of something thick and a bit scratchy that carried the scent of wood smoke. Solicitude the likes of which he’d never known surfaced. He gallantly wrapped her, then tucked the edges of the blanket around her throat.

Was it the instant warmth of the blanket or the deft way he held and enveloped her that let her lie limp in his arms? She moved her head ever so slightly, and pain streaked from nape to temple. Pain. Definitely pain was the culprit in her unladylike place of repose.

“This’ll help, ma’am.” He didn’t act at all as if this were an unusual circumstance or one worthy of alarm. He kept his deep voice pitched low and calming. “Why don’t you tell me your name and where you’re bound? I’ll send for someone to come fetch you.”

She wet her lips and whispered, “I’m Miriam Hancock. I’m here to help my sister.”

“Your sister?” His voice sounded a bit strained. “Who is she?”

“Hannah Chance.”

The arms holding her tightened.

Chapter 2

S
he peeled her eyes open. “Do you know her?”

“Yes.”

Several of the bystanders murmured, but Miriam couldn’t distinguish what they said. Her head pounded like a marching band. She slipped her hand out of the blanket and cupped it over the part of her head that felt so awful. “Perhaps, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, you could ask her husband, Daniel, to come fetch me.”

“Miss Miriam, there’s no need.” He paused and said very quietly, “Daniel is my brother.”

“Which one are you?”

“Gideon.” Before she could ask about her sister, he said, “Don’t say another word, Miss Miriam. Rely on me. I’ll take you home.”

“The Lord works in mysterious ways,” she whispered.

“Shh. Best you go on and sleep through your headache.”

“Hannah—what did she have?”

“A girl. She’s a darlin’ little thing.”

She sighed, but her lips bowed upward. Just as she opened them to ask more, Gideon ordered, “No more questions, Miss Miriam. If you’re fretting about your things, let me put your mind at ease. We don’t have a wagon, so your trunks can stay at the livery tonight. The owner there is a friend of mine, so I can guarantee everything will be safe.”

He stood and handed her off to someone. Miriam barely muffled her whimper at the loss of his comforting strength.

“Hand her back. Careful.”

The man holding her lifted her high, and suddenly the world that already felt unsteady began to spin. Miriam let out a small cry.

“Here we go, sweet pea.” To her relief, she ended up in Gideon’s arms again. “I mean no disrespect, but I aim to hold you close.”

She didn’t know what the proper response to such a comment should be, and she couldn’t think well enough to concoct a reply. Her head hurt too much.

“Bryce, you see to it Miss Hancock’s trunks are taken care of. Then do what you need to, to make sure Logan stays on his horse and gets home. Bring Miss Hancock’s valise.”

It seemed as if they rode forever. Miriam’s head pounded, and Gideon acted as if he understood she couldn’t summon the strength to be sociable. He held her securely, and she abandoned any hope of sitting properly. He made no comment about how she draped limply across his lap like seaweed. In fact, every once in a while, he’d give her a soothing stroke as if she weren’t a bother at all. The beat of his heart was the only sound between them, and for some reason, the steady rhythm lulled her just as invitingly as the constant surf she’d heard from her bedroom window back home. The drowsiness she felt was a blessing—it kept the nausea at bay.

His order for her to remain silent could be considered a veritable godsend. Miriam knew she’d embarrass herself if she had to carry on much of a conversation. Even if the queasiness waned, her thoughts scattered too hopelessly for her to stay coherent. She finally tilted her face up to his and whispered, “I don’t mean to be impatient, but is it much farther?”

“We’re traveling at a walk. Too many gopher holes. I can’t risk having Splotch break a leg. It’s a solid hour more. Need me to stop for you to, um, take care of, ah, business?”

Though chagrined, she confessed, “I’d be most appreciative.”

He eased her forward, and then his solid torso crowded her for a moment as he leaned with the action of swinging out of the saddle. The whole while, his hands stayed clamped securely about her waist. Once he was on the ground, he slid her off the horse.

Her first impression couldn’t have been more accurate. This close, there could be no denying the fact that Gideon Chance was a brick wall. He towered over her, and her feet hadn’t even touched earth yet. When he set her down, she was anything but steady. Concern colored his voice as he braced her. “I’m going to turn us back to town after you’re done. This isn’t right.”

“Land. Not used to it. The ship…”

“Ahh.” A wealth of understanding and relief filled that single syllable as he drew it out.

When they got under way again, he smoothed the blanket around her, dipped his head, and said in a quiet rumble, “I want you to go ahead and sleep now. No use in sitting here hurting if you can drowse through the pain.”

“You’re most understanding.” She tried to hide her yawn, but from his smile, she knew he’d caught her at it. The way he nestled her a tad closer caused an extraordinary sense of security to wash over her. For weeks, she’d lived in dread of every man aboard the
Destiny
. Though she’d just met him, she had an innate sense she could trust Gideon Chance. Besides, Hannah said he was a fine man. Miriam let her heavy lids drift shut and left herself in capable, caring arms.

Gideon watched sleep overtake her and let out a sigh of relief. He’d managed to keep her from asking any questions yet. He tried to figure out what to do. Things were going to be a mite sticky for a while.

He’d taken the closest horse when he left the ranch in such a fit. The snappy little paint carried him well, but it was a good thing Hannah’s sister was a tiny woman. Gideon didn’t believe in pushing an animal too hard. If only he could train up his kid brothers as well as he’d tamed Splotch….

His brothers rode up. Bryce showed the good judgment of letting their horses travel at a mere walk, too—in part to keep Logan upright but also out of caution. Still, since Gideon had stopped along the way for Miriam, they’d made up for the time spent hauling her trunks to the livery.

“Whatcha going to do with her?” Bryce asked.

“We’ll see.”

“Didja tell her yet?”

He glanced down to be sure she still slept. “No.”

“Why not?”

Gideon glared at his brother. “Because her head hurts, you dolt.” Bryce could make animals do anything he wanted with a mere look and gesture, but when it came to people, he never quite seemed to comprehend the finer points. Most of the time, it didn’t much matter, but tonight, Gideon had spent his patience.

“I’m sorry, Gideon,” Logan mumbled. The brisk air helped sober him up a bit.

“You’d better be sorry. If I ever catch you going into the Nugget again before you’re a full-grown man, I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.” He then turned his attention toward his other brother. “And I hold you accountable, Bryce. What were you thinking, taking him in there?”

“Well, I was thinkin’ on how pretty Lulabell—”

“Hush!” Gideon hastily assured himself the woman in his arms hadn’t heard his brother’s confession. Bad enough, she knew they’d been far too liberal with libations. The last thing he needed was an unmarried missionary’s daughter to find out the second-to-the-youngest Chance male foolishly had just tried to visit a house of ill repute.

Hannah would have pitched a hissy fit over Bryce and Logan’s trip to the Nugget. As it was, she’d made her disapproval clear on the rare occasions when the older brothers bent an elbow. They’d all tried to shield her from their forays to the saloon by chewing a few sprigs of mint on the way home to disguise the smell of the single mug of beer they’d indulged in. Inevitably, when their ploy failed, Daniel managed to cajole her into masking her scorn for their sinful indulgence when “thirst got the better of their judgment.”

Only now, Daniel wouldn’t hold any sway with Miriam. No doubt, she’d be every bit as priggish as her sister. Under his breath, Gideon muttered a desperate man’s prayer: “Heaven help me. I’m not up to dealing with all of this.”

He studied her a bit more. Her eyes had been murky green, but he wasn’t certain whether pain caused that. Then again, from the shadows beneath her eyes, it could well be from weariness, too. She’d traveled a long way. Her skin looked fair as could be, and that made no sense since she’d been living in the tropics. When Daniel brought Hannah home, her skin held a bit of sun bronzing. Her hair had been moonlight pale, but this woman’s carried a warm golden cast.

He’d need to get her a new bonnet. The one she’d been wearing got knocked off in the mishap, and the gelding managed to relieve himself on the ugly creation before it could be rescued. To Gideon’s way of thinking, Knothead probably judged the milliner’s nightmare and did that as a declaration of his opinion. Secretly, he counted the ruination of such a homely concoction of straw and flowers no great loss.
In fact, Knothead did Miriam a favor by destroying it
.

Miriam Hancock looked much like her sister. At best, she could be considered a small dab of a gal—and Hannah’s frailty proved to be problematic. Ranch life had been too harsh for her. Gideon often considered her to be an exotic orchid, but only weeds and wildflowers survived this rugged land. Hannah barely made it past the second birthing in three years and finally succumbed to what an itinerant, self-professed sawbones diagnosed as “the punies.”

When Miriam woke, he was going to have to tell her she’d traveled all of this way in vain. He didn’t relish the notion of breaking the news. As the eldest, the unpleasant responsibility fell on his shoulders.

They rode along in near silence. Gideon got to thinking it was a crying shame Miriam didn’t feel a far sight better. She’d undoubtedly agree with him that nothing on earth could match the sheer beauty of this slice of land. The sky looked close enough to touch, and the light breeze carried a refreshing, brisk pine scent. As she slept, little Miriam missed the crickets’ song, too. He might not be one of those Bible-thumping men, but moments like these let him know God was God, and man owed Him his thanks.

When they reached the ranch, Bryce reined in his gelding and shifted in his saddle. “You gonna wake up Daniel so she can go stay with him?”

Three years ago, when Daniel got back, the brothers were glad to see him, but the surprise of his having a bride—let alone a preacher’s daughter he’d snagged in the islands—set things awry. They’d been without Mama almost a year before Dan originally left, and most of the civilized niceties had fallen by the wayside in the intervening months. Hannah made Daniel a happy man, so his brothers all tried their best to change things to suit her. They even pitched in together and built the newlyweds their own little place so they’d have a bit of privacy.

Gideon cast a glance at the tiny cottage off to the side of the main house. He couldn’t see a flicker of a lamp, so he shook his head. “Daniel’s got the girls to sleep already. Go on in and hang a blanket between my bed and the rest. She can use my bunk tonight.”

Bryce tromped in. Titus came out and raised his brows at the load Gideon nestled on his lap. He shook his head in disbelief, then paced off to the stable. A moment later, he passed by with a fistful of nails and a hammer. Within a few minutes, the sound of their work ceased. Gideon waited outside until they were done. The last thing Miriam needed was to hear a bunch of hammering. Judging from the lump on her head, she’d suffer a beaut of a headache for a few days. Titus came out. “It’s ready. I pulled back your blanket.”

Gideon nodded acknowledgment. He walked across the plank floor and asked, “Where is her valise?”