The Widowed Bride

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Ethan’s memory clicked back to the briefing he’d been given for this assignment. The man would be Sam Farley, who’d been the marshal in Dutchman’s Creek for more than thirty years.

Farley had a trustworthy reputation. But experience had taught Ethan to be cautious. In Kansas, he’d brought down a bootlegging operation that had involved the mayor, the sheriff and the bank president. Until he had evidence to the contrary, everyone was a suspect.

He’d seen the story played out before—a public servant who’d received scant reward for a lifetime of honest work and felt he deserved better. Sam Farley would be nearing retirement. He could probably use some extra cash to see him through a comfortable old age. Who could blame the marshal for turning a blind eye to the sale of illegal booze for a share of the profits? Especially if the extra money was needed to catch the attention of a beautiful woman?

That possibility, and the fact that Ruby had greeted him like a long-lost uncle, didn’t exactly put a shine on Farley’s reputation. Or on Ruby’s.

Ethan pressed against the wall to better hear what was being said. Whatever he learned, it was bound to be interesting.

Ruby had met Sam Farley a year ago, when she’d come to Dutchman’s Creek to get her brother out of Sam’s jail.

During the awful months Jace had been on the run, charged with Hollis’s murder, she’d developed a contempt for lawmen that bordered on hatred. Most of them had been in the pay of Hollis’s wealthy friends, and they’d gone out of their way to make her life miserable. Only fear for the safety of her daughters had kept her from blurting out the truth—that she was the one who’d killed her husband, and Jace had taken the blame to protect them.

When Clara had telephoned her with the news of Jace’s arrest, Ruby had commandeered her lawyer and caught the next train west. Fearing the worst, she’d been astonished to find her brother in the custody of a gentle, silver-haired man who was the soul of fairness. By the time Jace had been cleared of all charges, Ruby and the aging marshal had become fast friends. They’d remained so to this day.

“Son of a gun, girl!” Sam’s gaze roamed the drab parlor, coming to rest on the mattress. “Don’t tell me you’re trying to fix up this place by yourself. Where’s your brother?”

“Jace offered to come. But with Clara’s time getting so close, I didn’t want to keep him in town.”

“Couldn’t you have borrowed a couple of the ranch hands?”

Ruby shook her head. “I couldn’t afford to pay them, and I won’t impose on Jace or on Clara’s family. They’ve done so much for me already. Besides, I did manage to find some help. A man who’ll be living here is doing some work in exchange for his first week’s room and board.”

“A man, you say?” The marshal’s face creased into a suspicious scowl. “You mean you hired some stranger who just happened by? And you’re going to be here alone with him? Lordy, girl, where’s your common sense?”

Ruby bristled slightly. Sam Farley might be old enough to be her father, but that didn’t give him the right to treat her like a fifteen-year-old. “He offered to help and his price was right. As for my being alone with him…” She paused. “You, of all people, should know that I can take care of myself.”

The marshal’s scowl deepened. “Well, you let him know that I’ll be checking on you—and on him.” His gaze swept from the kitchen to the stairs. “I don’t see much work getting done. Where is the lazy so-and-so, anyway?”

“Right here.” Ethan stepped out of the hallway. His expression was guarded, but he extended his hand. “Professor Ethan Beaudry. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Marshal. You’re just in time to help me haul this mattress outside for a beating. The lady and I managed to get this far before you knocked on the door.”

“Sam Farley. And it looks like I got here at the right time.”

As the two men shook hands, Ruby glanced away to hide the flash of color to her face. Moving the mattress wasn’t the only thing they’d managed before the marshal showed up.

Sam’s long arms and added strength eased the work of hauling the mattress out to the backyard. Ruby stepped aside to let the men pass. Lugging the mattress outside, they laid it against the raised entrance to the cellar.

Ruby closed the screen door behind them. She had plenty of work to do in the house. But on second thought, leaving the two men alone might not be a good idea. On her first visit to Dutchman’s Creek, she’d made it clear to Sam that the scandal of her husband’s death was to be kept private. Sam had promised to respect her wishes. But the marshal did like to gossip a bit. If his tongue slipped, she wanted to be there to stop him from saying too much.

As for Ethan… Ruby struggled against the memory of his kisses. What she needed was some time away from him to regroup her emotions. But that would leave him alone with Sam, and a conversation between those two could lead anywhere.

There was only one thing to do. With a sigh, Ruby opened the door again. She came out onto the stoop just in time to hear Ethan saying, “So, Marshal, how is it you know Mrs. Rumford? Something tells me there’s an interesting story here.”

Chapter Four

Ethan had hoped to get the marshal talking. But now Ruby had come outside. It was she who answered his question.

“My brother lives near Dutchman’s Creek. Sam and I became friends last year when I came for a visit.”

A glance flickered between Ruby and the old man. Whatever she’d said, Ethan sensed that her words had fallen short of the real story.

“Ruby’s brother, Jace, married into one of the finest families in the valley,” the marshal said. “His father-in-law, Judd Seavers, owns the biggest ranch in these parts.”

“My brother and his wife are expecting a baby,” Ruby added. “I moved here from Missouri to be near them. But I wanted to live in town, on my own. That’s why I bought the boardinghouse.” She paused. A clever smile lit her face. “But enough about me, Professor. Why don’t you tell us about the history book you’re writing. I’ve never met a real author before.”

Ethan picked up the baseball bat and gave the mattress several solid whacks. A too-innocent story followed by a deft evasion. The woman had outmaneuvered him and he wasn’t happy about it. First thing tomorrow, he’d begin the process of checking out everything she and the marshal had to tell him. If there were any holes in their combined stories, he would find them.

Ruby’s link to the prominent Seavers clan might put her in a more favorable light, but it didn’t wash her clean. The best of families could have its black sheep, and she could be using the Seavers connection to win people’s trust. Ethan had learned to suspect anyone who hadn’t proven themselves innocent. That included politicians, elderly lawmen and beautiful, seductive women.

“We’re waiting.” Ruby’s tone rang with challenge. Her folded arms pushed her ample breasts upward in a way that made Ethan’s mouth go dry.

“I haven’t started writing yet,” he hedged. “There are plenty of books on the general history of Colorado, but I wanted something more personal—history as it affected the people of a typical small town. After some research I chose Dutchman’s Creek.”

“So you’ll be going around talking to folks?” The marshal assessed Ethan with narrowed eyes. Plainly, the old man didn’t trust him.

“Yes, I plan to. If they’re willing to talk to me, of course.”

“Have you got some identification, some kind of credentials you can show me?”

Ethan had been given the proper documents by the agency. “I have. But my papers are in my hotel room. I can bring them by your office tomorrow.”

“Do that.” Sam Farley spat a stream of tobacco into the grass. “I have a responsibility to folks in this town, and I take it seriously. You’re not to bother any of these good people unless you can prove you’re who you claim to be.”

“Understood.” Ethan lifted the bat and stepped back for another swing at the mattress. The marshal’s next words paused him in midmotion.

“Then understand this, Professor. You lay so much as an ungentlemanly finger on this sweet lady here, and I’ll have you behind bars before you can say Jack Robinson!”

“I hear you.” Ethan smashed the bat against the ticking again and again, raising a cloud of cottony dust. What would Sam Farley say if he knew he was talking to a U.S. deputy marshal? Probably the same damn thing. The old man seemed very protective. If he knew what had happened on that mattress seconds before his knock, he’d likely be breaking out the handcuffs.

“The mayor and his son came by, Sam,” Ruby broke the awkward silence. “They invited me to dinner at the hotel. Maybe you can give me some idea what to expect.”

“The mayor?” Sam punctuated his words with a snort. “If I was a pretty woman, I’d be on my guard. Thaddeus has always had an eye for the ladies, and now that his wife’s gone to her reward, he’s like a hound off the leash. I’m guessing he sees you as a candidate for Mrs. Wilton number two. Probably licking his chops at the prospect.”

“Oh, dear. I certainly have no intention of—” Ruby shook her head. “He said he’d introduce me to some important people. And of course his son will be there. Nothing about that arrangement seems improper.”

The marshal frowned. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t go. Just warning you to be careful.”

Ruby’s head went up. Ethan caught a flicker of defiance in her blue eyes. “I’m not a child, Sam. If anything makes me feel uncomfortable, I’ll just get up and leave.”

“You do that.” The marshal nodded. “You leave and come straight to me.”

Ethan was a practiced observer of people. In Sam Farley’s eyes and voice he detected the sadness of an old man hopelessly in love with a younger woman—a man who knew he could never have her in this life. The poor devil.

But right now that wasn’t his problem, Ethan reminded himself. It had occurred to him that there might be hidden motives behind Mayor Wilton’s invitation. With Ruby at dinner the house would be left empty, giving the bootleggers a chance to move in and smuggle out their liquid treasure.

At the end of the day, he’d planned to stop by the hotel, get a meal and keep an eye on Ruby. But he couldn’t be in two places at once. The smarter choice would be to stay here and keep watch on that cellar door.

Stepping away, he let the bat slide into the grass. Suspect Everyone—that motto had always served him well. But in this case it was giving him one humdinger of a headache.

At the entrance to the hotel Ruby paused to brush a speck of dust off her dove-gray jacket. Anxious to make a proper impression, she’d dressed in a plain traveling suit and high-collared white blouse. Hollis would have called her ensemble schoolmarmish, but his opinion no longer mattered. When Ruby had packed for the move to Colorado, she’d sold her expensive pieces of jewelry and left behind most of the silken gowns her husband had favored, along with the opera-length gloves, the satin slippers and the dyed ostrich plumes that had decorated her hair. She was a different person now—businesswoman, mother and citizen of a conservative town. She was determined to look the part.

Twilight was settling over the valley. Along Main Street, shopkeepers were closing up for the day. Buggies, wagons and Model T Fords rolled their way homeward, deepening the ruts on the narrow dirt roads. The dimly lit saloon was open for billiards and card games, but business had trailed off since the recent prohibition of liquor. Clandestine spots set up in barns and backwoods cabins, where illegal whiskey flowed freely, were stealing the serious clientele.

Squaring her chin, Ruby opened the door and strode into the brightly lit hotel lobby. She’d insisted on joining the two men here. This was a business meeting, not a date, and she had no wish to create the wrong impression.

The dining room was to the left of the lobby. Ruby stood in the entry, scanning the half-filled tables. The mayor had told her that he and his son would be here by six-fifteen, but there was no sign of them. Maybe people were less concerned about punctuality in small towns. But she did feel awkward, waiting here alone.

She glanced around hoping to see Ethan. After Sam’s departure, he’d put in a hard afternoon cleaning out the upstairs rooms, making some needed repairs on the plumbing and reaming out the chimneys for the stove and fireplace. After that he’d excused himself to go back to the hotel. One would think the man would be hungry. But for whatever reason, he wasn’t here. In his absence, Ruby felt strangely vulnerable.

Her knees weakened as the memory swept over her—Ethan’s lips brushing hers, the clean, masculine aroma of his skin, the hardness of his arousal pressing her hip. The sweet terror of it…

“Mrs. Rumford?” The low voice startled her. She turned to see a pimply-faced waiter in a white shirt and black vest.

“Yes, I’m Mrs. Rumford,” she said. “I was looking for Mayor Wilton.”

“He’s expecting you. Right this way.”

The young man ushered her down a paneled hallway, past two closed doors. The third door stood ajar. After a discreet knock, the waiter spoke. “Here’s the lady, Your Honor. We’ll be bringing dinner now.”

Ruby’s senses prickled as she stepped across the threshold. The candlelit room was small and windowless. In a garish attempt at elegance, the walls had been covered in red satin brocade. A gold velvet chaise occupied one side of the room. A circular dining table with a white cloth took up the rest of the space. There were two place settings and two chairs. In one of the chairs sat His Honor Mayor Thaddeus Wilton.

“My dear Mrs. Rumford. How delightful to have your company this evening.” He rose from his place, his manner so unctuous that Ruby feared he was going to bow and kiss her hand.

She glanced uneasily around the room. “I thought your son would be joining us,” she said.

“Oh, Harper had some urgent business come up. He asked me to extend his apologies. Please have a seat. As the owner of this hotel, I took the liberty of ordering for you. The roast beef is excellent here.”

He stood while the waiter pulled out Ruby’s chair. Ruby remained on her feet. “I’d prefer to eat in the dining room,” she said.

“I quite understand, my dear.” His thumb stroked a link of his gold watch chain, its motion slow and sensuous. “But most of the tables have already been reserved. Besides, with so much chatter in there, you can barely hear yourself think, let alone carry on a proper conversation. Please sit down. As a respectable widower and trusted public official, I can promise your reputation will be quite safe.”

Ruby hesitated, then lowered herself to the edge of the chair. What alternative did she have—walk out on an influential man who could help her make friends, insulting him in the process? That would hardly be wise. Besides, she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. She was ravenously hungry, and while the aromas wafting down the hall from the kitchen didn’t quite seem to live up to the mayor’s extravagant praise, they still triggered a growl in her stomach.

What harm could come to her here? If the mayor made an improper move, all she had to do was get up and leave. Ruby forced a smile as she settled back into her chair. She could handle this, she told herself. Still, she couldn’t shake the idea that this meeting was some kind of high-stakes game. And Thaddeus Wilton was holding the trump cards.

Ethan returned to the boardinghouse at dusk, taking the backstreets and cutting through a weeded lot. Moving aside two loose boards, he slipped through the fence and into the backyard.

Tonight he was armed with his .38 Smith & Wesson revolver, and his U.S. marshals badge was pinned to his vest. He didn’t plan to arrest anyone if he could help it. It was too soon for that. But in case all hell broke loose, he wanted the authority of his office made plain.

Pausing next to the six-foot fence, he scanned the yard for a hiding place. He’d considered watching from the safety and relative comfort of an upstairs room. But Ruby could easily discover him there; and a view from above wouldn’t allow him to see faces, hear what was being said or, if necessary, trail after suspects when they left. For that he would need to be as close as possible.

The moon was a thin silver edge above the peaks. Fully risen, it would flood the yard with light. Only the deepest shadow would be enough to hide him.

In the far corner of the yard stood a dilapidated garden shed. Its door had rotted away, leaving the front open beneath the sagging roof. But the narrow space between the fence and the rear of the structure would be buried in shadow. Overgrown with brambles, it wouldn’t be a comfortable hiding place, but it would have to do.

The twilight was deepening into darkness. Knowing he might be there for hours, Ethan eased himself between the shed and the fence, kicked aside the prickly stems and settled in to wait.

“So, how was your dinner, my dear?”

“Fine, thank you,” Ruby answered. In truth, the roast beef had been overdone, the mashed potatoes lumpy and the piecrust like sodden leather. But since she’d been so tense she could barely swallow, the quality of the food had made little difference.

For most of the meal the conversation had been light and trivial—happenings in the town, people, businesses and her own plans for the boardinghouse. But she’d sensed that Thaddeus Wilton was biding his time, waiting to spring some unknown trap when she least expected it. That subtle awareness had kept her on edge throughout the meal.

The mayor had told her a little about the history of the house and implied that if she wished to sell it, he might be willing to make her an offer. “It’s a big responsibility for a woman alone, especially a gently reared lady like yourself,” he’d said, patting the back of her hand.

“You misjudge me,” she’d replied, stiffening at his touch. “I’m quite capable of doing whatever I put my mind to.”

“So I gather,” he’d murmured, withdrawing his hand and reaching for another dinner roll. “You’re a very remarkable woman, Ruby—I may call you Ruby, mayn’t I?”

“Yes, of course.” Ruby had forced herself to take another bite of roast beef. All she’d wanted was for this interminable evening to be over.

Now the meal was at an end. The waiter cleared away their plates and brought coffee. Ruby sipped delicately, aware that too much of it would keep her awake. The mayor leaned back in his chair, studying her over the rim of his cup. His bushy black eyebrows looked as if they’d been dyed to match his toupee.

“Yes,” he murmured. “As I said earlier, you’re a quite a remarkable woman, Ruby. I didn’t know how remarkable until I telephoned some contacts of mine this afternoon.” His eyes narrowed, sending a chill of apprehension through her body. “When you say you can do whatever you put your mind to, I believe you. A woman who can murder her rich husband and get away with it is capable of anything.”

Ruby’s shaking hand sloshed her coffee, scalding her fingers and staining the white tablecloth. Sooner or later, she knew, her secret was bound to come out. But to have it revealed now, and in such lurid fashion, would be disastrous. She needed time to build a good reputation. Her girls needed time to make friends. She couldn’t allow this conniving weasel of a man to ruin their chances. Willing herself to be calm, she set the cup onto its saucer and met Wilton’s leering eyes. “I shot my late husband in self-defense,” she said in a cold voice. “The jury acquitted me of all charges.”

“Of course they did. What jury could convict a woman who looks like you? But don’t worry, my dear. Your little secret is safe with me.”

Ruby battled the urge to fling the hot coffee in his face. “What is it you want?” she demanded, keeping her voice low.

“What do I want?” He feigned a hurt expression. “Why, nothing, except your trust and friendship, Ruby. I understand that you wouldn’t want the story getting out—you know how gossip can spread in a small town. And people here can be so judgmental, especially the women. Why, they’d turn their backs on you, every last one of them! As for your children…”

“Stop it!” She rose, her body quivering. “I did what I had to. In the eyes of the law, I’ve been judged innocent.”

“As you doubtless are.” The mayor remained seated, blotting his mouth with his napkin. His eyes gleamed with victory. “As I told you, Ruby, as long as we understand each other, you’ve nothing to worry about. Now, why don’t you sit down and finish your coffee. Then I’ll walk you through the dining room and introduce you to some influential friends of mine.”

Ruby clasped the back of her chair, her stomach roiling. “Please forgive me, I’m not feeling well,” she murmured. “I think the best thing would be for me to just leave.”

“Of course.” The mayor rose. “Please allow me to walk you home, my dear.”

She shook her head. “I’m not much for company when I’m feeling unwell. I’d prefer to walk home by myself.”

“Alone? But will you be all right?”

“I’ll be fine. It’s only a few blocks.” Ruby edged toward the door.

“And you’ll allow me to call on you tomorrow?”

“Of course. Whenever you like.” Anything to end this wretched evening and get away, she thought.

“Very well, if you insist. At least let me escort you outside.” He came around the table and took her elbow. Ruby willed herself not to recoil as he guided her through the hallway and across the lobby. This vain, obsequious little man had the power to cast a shadow over her future and the future of her daughters. She had no doubt he planned to put that power to use.

On the porch outside the hotel, he clasped her hand. She cringed inwardly as he raised her fingers to his lips. “Until tomorrow, then, my dear Ruby,” he murmured. “Something tells me this evening will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”