Stacey Kayne - Bride Of Shadow Canyon

Rachell suddenly felt dizzy. “This can’t be legal!”

“Damn it, Widell! You have no cause to—”

“I’m old, not blind, Jed! I watched you ride into this town. I saw the way you was lookin’ at her before you dumped her in the dirt. You ought to be thankful I’m thinkin’ of yer soul.”

His words reduced Jed’s protest to muffled curses. Rachell gaped up at him. Surely not! The man couldn’t stand her.

Buster strode toward them and placed a document on the table.

“If you want to ride out of this town with the lady, you’ll sign the paper,” said Judge Widell.

Jed held the judge’s gaze for a long, silent moment before he took the pen from Buster. He scribbled his name onto the bottom of the marriage document then held the writing quill out to her. “Sign the damn paper.”

Dear Lord, she did not want to be married to this man. But she supposed a temporary bind didn’t really matter. After all, she’d already spent a year of her life in a paper-bound marriage.

“My gun and my blade,” she heard Jed say to the sheriff as she signed her name.

“Here’s how it’s gonna work,” called Widell. “If you can get that pretty redhead to California without consummatin’ the marriage, you’ll have no trouble gettin’ an annulment. Although, if I’s a bettin’ man, I’d wager yer married for life, Jed Doulan.”

Laughter erupted throughout the now crowded saloon. Rachell was hauled up and slung over Jed’s wide shoulder. “Put me down,” she shouted, trying to ignore the lewd comments following them from the farce of a courtroom.

“Button your lip, wife. ”

He swung into his saddle, still holding her like a sack of potatoes.

“I am not your wife! Put me down!”

His hands clamped around her waist as he brought her down onto his lap. “I swear, woman, if you don’t shut that—”

She slammed her fists against his chest. “I will not be tossed about like a sack of oats!”

“You better get control of those hands before I hog-tie you and throw you over the back of this saddle.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Rachell froze as her gaze settled on his fierce expression. He looked mad enough to do that and worse. She hoped he didn’t see the fear that spiked through her at the sight of his cold eyes. “Why aren’t we going to California?” she asked, annoyed that her voice was soft as a whisper.

“I know trouble when it’s biting me in the ass,” he said as he urged his horse into motion. “I’ll be damned if I’m taking it back to my ranch.”

“ Your ranch?”

“The Double D. The Darby and Doulan Ranch. Ben is my partner. He has two young boys and his wife recently had a baby. They don’t need your trouble. You won’t step foot onto our place ‘til I’m sure you’re not being followed.”

“You can’t—”

Jed reined his horse to a hard stop. Unrelenting eyes glared down at her. “Lady, let’s get somethin’ straight. I’m in charge of this rescue operation. I can do anything I damn well please.”

“What about the horse and clothes? Food! You said—”

“I changed my mind. I’m getting out of this damn town before anything else goes wrong.”

Try to do someone a favor and get saddled with a wife!

The scenario was all too familiar. How many times can a man be wed against his will in one lifetime?

For Jed, that total had just hit twice in his thirty-nine years. The marriage he’d blindly walked into a lifetime ago suddenly seemed as though it had happened only yesterday. He’d been nineteen when he’d tracked down the two Indians who’d jumped his friends in their sleep, robbing them of all but their boots and drawers. He’d been amused to discover Buck and Tom had been hog-tied and shystered by a ten-year-old Ute Indian boy and his eighteen-year-old sister.

Raised by a Cherokee and able to speak a few Indian dialects, Jed learned that Running Bear and Malika were trying to get home after escaping from a rival tribe. Had he even suspected that their father would give him the hand of the very daughter he’d brought home in appreciation for their safe return, he wouldn’t have escorted them into their camp.

Before he had a firm handle on their language and what was happening, he’d been shoved into a teepee with his pretty young bride. And there’d been damn little either of them could do about it, without bringing shame upon Malika and insulting her father.

In the three years they spent traveling between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas they’d had their enjoyable moments, but in all that time, she’d never been truly happy with him. Jed was certain he had loved Malika. He respected her courage and strength. He’d spent three years trying to prove his worthiness of her love, as she proved that all the passion in the world couldn’t penetrate a heart betrayed by fate.

Despite the passion they’d discovered in one another, he wasn’t the brave she’d pledged her love to, the brave who’d died trying to protect her the night she’d been abducted. She’d reminded Jed of that fact until her very last breath.

He wasn’t a man who had to learn a lesson twice. He’d offer his soul to the devil before opening his heart to another woman.

As frustrated and angry as he was about his current situation, Jed couldn’t ignore Rachell’s hunger. She wasn’t any happier about the unexpected turn of events. Unlike his marital tie to Malika, his marriage to Rachell could be easily severed.

He reached back into one of his saddlebags and pulled out an apple. “Here,” he said, holding it out.

Rachell stared at the green fruit for a long moment before glancing up at him. “You’ve had this all along,” she accused before snatching it.

“You’re not starving to death. But don’t worry. You’ll be having meat for supper.” Her green eyes lit up, bringing the start of a smile to Jed’s mouth. “Didn’t those bad men feed you, Imp?”

“My name is Rachell Carlson.”

“Actually, sugar, your name is Rachell Doulan.”

Her eyes widened, and Jed laughed out loud.

“You don’t seriously think—”

“Calm down. We’ll get an annulment as soon as we reach California.”

She shifted, taking a loud bite from the apple as she turned her back to him.

Unable to fight his smile, Jed knew his lack of sleep was affecting his mind. He should still be steamed over Widell’s underhanded courtroom shenanigans, but Rachell’s flashing green eyes and stricken expression at his announcement of her new last name had somehow taken the edge off his anger.

This woman didn’t care for him one bit, which suited Jed just fine. The wide stretch of land between them and Nevada required an aggressive spirit. Judging by the glint in Rachell’s eyes and the rigid set of her spine, she planned to fight him like a cornered mountain lion the whole way.

The afternoon sun glared overhead as Jed reined in his horse. Rachell felt him pluck his black hat from her head, where he’d placed it hours earlier, saying her fair skin didn’t need any more sun. The man’s dark mood and harsh tongue certainly contrasted to his unexpected consideration and gentle touch, which continued to catch Rachell off guard.

“Sage is done for the day,” Jed said, lifting Rachell from his lap. “We’ll make camp here.”

She managed to suppress a groan as he eased her to the ground. Her body ached from head to toe. She was tired, hungry and, after not having had a bath for days on end, she was filthy. Hearing the distant sound of rushing water, her mood began to brighten. A bath would improve her spirits considerably.

“Mr. Doulan—”

“Damn it, woman,” he said as he slung out of his saddle. “My name is Jed. ”