The Outlaw Takes A Bride (The Burnett Brides) (18 page)

“I’m Elizabeth Anderson,” Beth said quietly, the color draining from her face.

Tanner turned in slow motion and glanced from Beth to his brother Tucker.

“You’re Tucker’s mail-order bride,” his mother said.

Tanner watched in disbelief as his mother left his side and greeted Beth with a hug. Tucker was Beth’s intended?

Oh, God, don’t let it be so!
he thought.

***

Beth sat wedged between Tanner and Tucker in the wagon, their horses tied to the back. She sat rigid on the seat, in between the two men, staring straight in front of her at the countryside.

How could this be possible? Tanner’s brother was the man she was supposed to marry, and worst of all, she had betrayed him by bedding with his brother.

She wanted to cry, to scream, she felt so guilty about what she had done. She had certainly ruined things this time. She’d come here to start her life over and in the process had not only messed her own life up, but now it appeared she was damaging everyone’s she came into contact with.

She’d betrayed Tucker by having sex with Tanner. It had been bad enough that she had done so while engaged to Tucker, but now, to find out the two men were brothers, was the worst.

With a sideways glance at the man she was supposed to marry, she took into account his handsome looks. Tucker was taller than his older brother, with brown hair tinted with hints of red, large brown eyes, and a nice smile. But he wasn’t Tanner. All three of the brothers were similar in size and appearance, but their mannerisms were distinctively different.

Though she was destined to marry Tucker, Tanner was the one who appealed to her. Still, she had no choice but to get over that attraction. She could never notice again how his pants fit his hips snuggly or the way his eyes darkened right before his lips kissed her.

She had to forget about Tanner and concentrate on falling in love with Tucker. For Tucker had paid her passage to Fort Worth. He was the one promising to take care of her until death did them part. He had expressed a desire to marry her, not Tanner.

Beth glanced at Tanner and knew that no matter what, she would always be grateful to him for taking care of her. But to find out it was his brother she was to marry had stunned her. In fact, it had left her feeling dizzy, and for a moment she thought she was going to faint.

Somehow she had recovered enough to acknowledge that she was indeed Tucker’s mail-order bride.

Then a newspaper reporter had gotten wind of what was happening at the El Paso Hotel, and the family reunion had been descended upon with questions. They had quickly bundled up Beth’s valise, her missing trunk had been found, loaded, and then she and Tanner had been hustled into a waiting wagon, where they had escaped the nosy reporter.

Tanner had been as nervous as a cat in a dog pen since the reporter had showed up, refusing to speak with the man or let him use that newfangled contraption that took a picture. Beth was still reeling from the knowledge that she had sex with her fiancé’s brother.

However unintentional it had been, the memory of spending the night in Tanner’s arms would forever haunt her. No matter what the man had done, he would never know that the night they were together had healed her. For she had not known that it could be that special, that magical, between a man and a woman.

Sex had just been something to be endured with the general, not the tender, emotional union that had left her spent and more contented than she’d ever felt before.

Was this what it felt like to be in love?

Beth shook her head. No, she couldn’t fall in love with Tanner; she was going to marry Tucker. She had no choice.

“So how is your wound?” Tucker asked her.

She glanced at him, feeling awkward with Tanner sitting right beside her. “It’s much better. The constant riding the last few days has made it sore, but it’s healing.” “How come you didn’t ride in on the stage?”

Tanner cleared his throat, and Beth glanced at him. “We decided not to wait on the stage but to come on by ourselves.”

Tucker shrugged. “It might have been better you weren’t in that bouncing coach, anyways. As you found out, sometimes they get robbed.”

“Tanner was with me when the stage was robbed. He saved my life,” Beth acknowledged.

Tucker stared at his older brother. “Were you the one that took Beth to the doctor? The elderly woman who was on the stage told us that a young banker fellow had rescued Beth and was taking her to the doctor. Was that you?”

“Yes, that was me.”

“I guess you were on your way back when this happened?” Tucker asked.

“Yeah,” Tanner replied not very convincingly Somehow Beth knew he was lying. He’d never said a word about his family when she’d mentioned going on to Fort Worth. In fact, he’d never said anything about where he was going or what he was doing on that stage except that he worked for a bank.

She glanced at Tanner. Why did she get the feeling that he hadn’t meant to find these people? That it had been years since he’d seen them and this morning had been an accident? She’d bet if they hadn’t seen him first, he would have left town without their ever knowing he had been here.

She had to get a hold of herself. She swallowed and tried to make conversation. Anything to fix this awkwardness that hung over the wagon.

“Your letters said that you were the marshal. How long have you worn a tin star?”

Tanner tilted his head and stared at his younger brother. Beth could feel his body tense beside her. She glanced at him and saw the worried expression on his face. His hands were clenched on his knees. He’d been acting strange ever since his family joined them, not at all jubilant and happy to see them.

The memory of the Wanted poster that resembled Tanner suddenly appeared before her eyes. She glanced between the two men and wondered what this could mean.

If he were a wanted man, wouldn’t his brother know? Wouldn’t he have seen the poster before Tanner came to town?

“I’ve been back in Fort Worth now about two years, and since that time I’ve been marshal.” He glanced at her.

Tanner started to laugh, his voice nervous and edgy. “It’s hard for me to imagine my baby brother being the marshal.”

Tucker glanced at Tanner. “You’ve been gone a long time, Tanner.”

They rode along, only the creaking wagon wheels and rattling of the wagon breaking the silence until Beth thought she would scream from the tension.

Tucker’s smile was nice, his mannerisms gentlemanly, and while the thought of marrying a marshal was daunting, she hadn’t seen any flaws that would have kept a man like him from marrying before now. So why did he need a mail-order bride?

“How far to your home?” Beth asked, clasping her hands nervously in her lap.

“Oh, it’s about an hour’s drive by wagon. We’re not far from town, but far enough.”

“Do you live out on the ranch?” Beth asked.

“No. I live in town. But I’m out here every few days checking on Mother, making sure that Travis hasn’t tied her up and thrown her down the cellar.”

Tanner smiled. “They still don’t get along?”

“Oh, when father died, they got along real well until Mother decided it was time for Travis to take a wife. Then it was like putting two polecats in the henhouse.” Tucker eyed his older brother. “Just wait until she starts to plan your wedding.”

Tanner grimaced, his mouth thinning into a tight line. His eyes met and held Beth’s. “I’m never getting married.”

Tucker laughed. “Don’t let Mother hear you say that or she will take it as a personal challenge. All of her sons should be married. No one is spared the eternal vows.”

“I will never marry,” Tanner repeated.

“We’ll see,” Tucker said, tugging on the reins.

They rode along, only the creaking of the wagon wheels and the rattling of the buckboard breaking the silence. Two miles passed before Tanner spoke.

“Since Papa died and you’re the new marshal, who’s taking care of the ranch? Travis?” Tanner asked.

“Yeah, he’s always loved this place, so he’s taken over the running of the ranch. I just help out occasionally.”

“You never were fond of cattle,” Tanner said.

“Nope, and I’m still not.”

They hit a rocky spot in the road, and Beth felt as if her insides were being rattled loose. Her shoulder had started to throb again, and she couldn’t wait to get to the ranch and out from between the two men.

Suddenly, she felt herself lifted in the air. She had no handhold, and she grabbed for Tanner’s arm just as her bottom slammed back down on the hard bench.

“Whoa, slow it down,” Tanner called to his brother. “Beth’s still hurt.”

“Sorry, I always forget about that damn washout.”

Beth let loose of Tanner, a blush creeping up her face. She should have reached for Tucker, not his brother. Yet she and Tanner had shared intimacies that left her feeling comfortable reaching for him. But they had to stop. No one could know of what had transpired between Tanner and herself.

That secret must go to her grave with her.

It was then that she noticed the white two-story house looming in the distance.

Tucker pulled the wagon to a halt and glanced over at his brother.

“It’s been a long time, Tanner. We’ve put a couple of coats of paint on the house, had to build a new bam because of Travis’s stupidity, but other than that, nothing much has changed. Except that Papa’s gone and Mother—Well, Mother has gotten a little grayer, but she’s more ornery now than since before you left.”

Beth glanced over at Tanner and saw him swallow hard, his throat moving rapidly. He blinked several times and then cleared his throat.

She didn’t know how long he’d been gone, but it was obvious that his unexpected homecoming had affected him deeply.

“Welcome home, brother. Giddy up,” Tucker called to the horses, and the wagon rolled on to the house Tanner had called home.

Beth would also call the ranch home until she married Tucker. The man she was here to marry, the man who had paid her passage to Fort Worth, the brother of Tanner. How was she going to live with herself knowing that she had sex with Tanner, on her way to meet Tucker?

Beth walked out of the big house, striding across the long, covered veranda to the swing that hung from the eaves. She needed to escape for just a few moments from the happy reunion taking place inside. The day had brought about unexpected complications in her life, and she needed just a chance to collect her wits.

The moon was rising over the edge of the Texas prairie, and the lonesome cry of a coyote could be heard in the distance. The noise was eerie and haunting and filled her with a forlorn feeling that seemed fitting for such a day.

A soft southerly breeze teased wisps of curls around her face as she sat in the porch swing and gently rocked in the evening air.

The front door opened, and she glanced up to see Tucker stroll out to the edge of the porch. He struck a match in the dim light and lit a cigarillo.

“Nothing like a Texas evening filled with stars,” he said, turning toward her in the darkness.

“I’m finding that out for myself,” she said, gazing at his silhouette in the moonlight.

He took a drag on his smoke, and Beth watched the tip glow a bright red. Slowly, he blew a curl of smoke out into the night air, clearly enjoying the process.

“Tanner tells me he was the one who took care of you after you were shot,” Tucker said, his body leaning against the rail as he gazed over the moonlit prairie.

She let her feet push against the porch, sending the swing to rocking. She was trying so desperately to remain angry at Tanner for the way he had treated her these last few days, still, it was hard when she remembered all that he’d done for her. And now they were here together, trying to deal with the situation life had dealt them.

“Yes, he took me to the doctor, but there was a cholera epidemic going on. So Tanner couldn’t leave me as he’d planned. He spent the next several weeks nursing me. Not many men would have cared for a sick woman.”

“Tanner is quite a man,” Tucker said, his voice filled with respect.

“Yes, he’s remarkable,” she said, trying to merge the image of Tanner the nurse with the man who had greeted his family that afternoon. The least he could have done was told her his real last name. He could have saved them some major complications if only he’d been honest. And why had he kept his last name a secret?

The Wanted poster had said Jackson. But mainly she’d observed the face, that haunting picture of a dangerous man with dark eyes and furrowed brow that looked so much like Tanner. But was it the same man?

Beth cleared her throat, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation, but she tried to keep from showing her emotions in the dark. Instead, she swung nonchalantly, hoping she appeared at ease.

Would they be compatible? she wondered. Would it really matter if they weren’t? After all, she was here, she had nowhere else to go, and she could only hope she would be accepted.