Her Honor-Bound Cowboy. Linda Ford

no preacher in the area but Eddie Gardiner spoke some nice words over him and prayed a nice prayer.”

      He twisted the brim of his hat and studied the floor in front of his dusty boots.

      “It’s a lot to take in,” she offered. She turned Cathy toward him. “This is your niece, Cathy. She’s a week old today. Cathy,” she smiled down at her infant daughter who opened her eyes as if knowing she was about to meet her uncle. “This is your Uncle Josh.”

      The man dragged his attention toward the baby and a smile slowly lifted his mouth. “She’s mighty small.”

      She laughed then looked hard at Josh. For her daughter’s sake she meant to hang on to her share of this ranch.

       Chapter Three

      Josh stared at the baby and tried to make sense of all he’d learned. His brother was dead and buried. This woman had been his wife. This baby was Cody’s daughter. A good shake of his head did nothing to clear his thoughts.

      “How did Cody meet you?”

      “I was in the store when he was purchasing supplies and we struck up a conversation.” Emily laid the baby in the cradle and covered her. “Shh,” she soothed when the baby fussed a little. She returned to the rocking chair but gave no sign of providing any more information.

      He, however, had many questions. “I didn’t think Cody would ever marry.”

      “Oh, why is that?”

      Was she really unfamiliar with Cody’s past or just playing innocent? “Didn’t he tell you how some gal left him standing at the altar? He was awfully bitter about it and said he’d never give his heart to another.”

      “I was well aware of what happened.”

      He stared boldly at the woman. “Must have been a fast courtship.” By his calculations they’d married less than two months after he and Cody had said a temporary goodbye that had ended up longer than planned.

      “We both knew what we wanted.”

      “Cody wanted land in the new west. What did you want?”

      She didn’t answer. Just gave him another of those don’t-mess-with-me looks.

      Why did she feel she needed to challenge him?

      Young Nancy poked her head in from the kitchen. “Do you want me to do something for supper?”

      “Is Nancy your sister?”

      “No. Her mother left her here to help me for a few days.” Her words rang with determination and more challenge.

      But now he understood why she looked at him with such determination. She was a widow woman alone with a baby. A target for men who might think she was easy prey, and a lightning rod for gossip and speculation.

      He cleared his throat. “Is there some place in town you can live? Even better, can you return to your folks?”

      “My home is here.” If her gaze grew any fiercer he feared his skin would start to sizzle.

      “But you can’t stay here.”

      “I can and I will.”

      “That’s not possible. I’m here to take over now. I’m expecting a herd of cows to arrive in a few weeks.”

      She tipped her chin up. “Perhaps you should see if there’s a place in town where you can live.”

      “Can’t run a ranch from town.”

      “Half of this place is mine and I’m not leaving.”

      Protests filled his brain but she stared at him in a way that said she wasn’t prepared to listen to anything he had to say.

      If she wouldn’t leave, then he saw only one solution.

      “Guess that means we’ll have to get married.”

       Chapter Four

      Emily couldn’t have heard him correctly.

      He rushed on. “Ma’am, I’ve spent two years in a gold camp. I know how people gossip if there is any hint of impropriety. An unmarried woman doesn’t have a chance.”

      “I don’t need marriage.”

      “Consider your baby.” He tipped his head toward Cathy. “Will people be fair to her?”

      She turned to look at the sleeping baby. Would people gossip about her?

      Only if she gave them cause. She’d be sure she didn’t.

      She turned back to Josh. “I won’t marry you.”

      His eyes narrowed. “Why not? Seems we’re to be partners. Marriage isn’t such a far cry from that.”

      “Because.” She spoke through gritted teeth but couldn’t help it. “I will not give my daughter a stepfather.”

      If she wasn’t mistaken, his eyes filled with understanding, followed quickly by sympathy. “You had a cruel stepfather.”

      A shiver snaked up her spine into the base of her neck. “He was worse than cruel.”

      Another flash of understanding.

      Her stepfather had tried at every opportunity to get her into corners where he could press against her. She feared what would happen if he ever found her alone.

      “Ahh. I see. You married Cody to escape your stepfather. That explains why he married you. Cody would think it right to help you.”

      “He was a good man.”

      “No argument there. I can’t believe he’s gone.” He bent over with a moan.

      What could she say or do to express her sorrow at his loss? One she shared but perhaps not to the same degree.

      Josh straightened. “It must have been hard. Losing him and waiting alone for the baby.”

      “It had its moments.”

      “How did you manage?”

      She looked past him as the memory of those days swelled afresh. She’d never felt free to mention them to anyone. “I was in shock the first few days. The Gardiners kept me there awhile but then people started telling me I should go back home to my family. That’s when I knew what I had to do. I came back here, and I intend to stay.”

      He sighed. “This arrangement is unacceptable. Marriage is the only solution.” He held up his hands to signal her to hold her words. “It makes perfect sense. I would give you the protection of my name and provide you with a home. It’d simply be a suitable business partnership.”

      She narrowed her eyes to study him. Was he trying to get her share of the ranch? “I don’t need to marry to have a partnership. I legally own Cody’s half.”

      “I’ve no objection to that.”

      “Then I see no reason to marry you.” She’d entered into one marriage of convenience to escape her stepfather. It had given her freedom, home, land and a baby. She needed nothing more except to keep her claim on this land.

      “People will talk and they can be very nasty.”

      “They’ll have no reason to speculate if you aren’t staying here.”

      Would he understand he must be the one to leave?

       Chapter Five

      Josh had said it before but this stubborn woman wasn’t getting the message. “Ma’am, I am not moving to town.”

      “You don’t need to. There’s a cabin out