Free Brides of Texas by Cathy Marie Hake

beasts.”
    Rob stood chest-to-chest with his brother and glared at him. “You’re not going.”
    “And why not?”
    “You’ll bellow at the lass. She canna take it. I’ll send off the telegram to order the house, and you can start the foundation.”
    “I can’t yet. Connant insists we have a cellar to hide in when there’s a storm. He hounded me until I relented and said I’d dig it.” Chris looked exasperated. “I’m too busy to worry about cowering from a gust of wind.”
    “Last day of last month, Bell and Falls counties lost ten men to tornadoes. Connant has yet to steer us wrong about America.”
    “Exaggeration. It has to be. These Texans pride themselves in telling tall tales. Connant’s always had a talent for stretching the thinnest thread of truth into a yarn. He’s warmed up to the Texan tradition. Every time he mentions a tornado, it gets more powerful. He started with telling me about the hail that’s the size of a fist. Then he had flying cows. At last telling, brick houses were torn to bits.”
    “You gave your word; you’ll dig the shelter.”
    Rolling up his sleeves, Chris muttered, “Hot as it’s getting, I’ll probably be striking Lucifer with the shovel—and most likely within the first few inches.”
    “Now look who’s spouting Texas-sized tales!” Rob folded a paper up and tucked it into the pocket of his vest. Miserably hot as the summer had proven to be, he felt a spurt of thanks that the men didn’t feel it necessary to wear a coat and hat.
    “It’s a crying shame Connant wasn’t stretching the truth when he told us it gets hotter than the hinges to Hades in the summer.”
    “Speaking of the devil’s domain…” Rob stared at his eldest brother. “I’ve waited for you to tell the truth about those trips to Thurber.”
    Chris shrugged. “I haven’t lied.”
    “You’ve not been forthcoming with the real reason you went, either.” Rob knew Chris had spent time in the mines. “Did you think I wouldn’t recognize the cough?”
    Chris didn’t look in the least bit unsettled or repentant. “Don’t fault me for doing my trade.”
    “We’re relying on your talents with construction. It’s time to build the house. You’re getting irritated about me getting called out in the wee small hours, and Duncan’s snoring is driving me to distraction.”
    “Duncan’s busy with all manner of leatherwork, and your practice is booming.”
    Rob knew he had to tread lightly. Chris was a proud man. “Aye. I canna deny either of those statements. But we’d have to pay dearly for anyone else to do the construction. We’re relying on your skill.”
    “I haven’t done a scrap of work on it yet.”
    Rob nodded. “And glad I am that you haven’t. You were where you were most needed. The Steins would be in sorry shape had you not worked their land.”
    The tension in Chris’s jaw eased only slightly.
    “It’s not just the farming you do that’s vital. You’ve seen how skittish Mercy is.” He saw Chris’s eyes flare. “Having a strong man there lends her a sense of safety.”
    Chris grunted.
    Rob knew he’d succeeded in making his point. With Chris, it was better to back off so he felt he’d made the decision. “You’re so big and ugly, there isna man nor dog that’d tangle with you.”
    “I’d tell you to look in the mirror, but you’d break it.” Chris stared out the window. “I’m not done in Thurber. I’m going back for two more days.”
    Rob glowered.
    “It’s lignite. They’re opening shafts four and five, and some idiot set up shoring in them that’s got exposed nails. You use your knowledge to save lives. This time, I’m using mine. One spark and the whole thing would burn for months.”
    “Which is why I don’t want you down there at all.” The railroad desperately needed the soft coal, but Rob didn’t want his brother to continue mining. Mining ruined a man’s lungs, if it didn’t claim life or limb first. “You’re done with that