Free The Reluctant Bride by Leigh Greenwood Page A

to stay in the restaurant. She followed Russ back into the hotel lobby.
    “In a minute,” Russ said, massaging the knot on his skull. “Why did you hit me? Stocker is the crazy one.”
    “I couldn’t reach him. It didn’t matter anyway. As long as I made one of you stop, the other would, too.”
    “You had no reason to stop me. Stocker was too drunk and too old to be a danger to me.”
    “He had a gun. He could have shot you. Or anybody in that restaurant.”
    “I wrenched it out of his hands just before you clobbered me.”
    Maybe she should have let them fight it out, but she’d been too angry.
    “Maybe you ought to see the doctor.”
    “As Culley said, I have a hard head. I don’t need the doctor.”
    “I hope you’re staying at the boardinghouse tonight,” Tanzy said. “You shouldn’t be riding until your head feels better.”
    He winced as he touched the knot on his head. “Seems to me you’d clobber Stocker before attacking your future husband.”
    “Let’s sit down.” She indicated a settee in the comer. “We need to talk.”
    “I’m not sure I want to talk about getting married. I don’t want a wife who’ll bang me on the head without a moment’s hesitation.”
    “I don’t want a husband who’s carrying on a feud with half the town.”
    “I’m not carrying on a feud with anybody.”
    “ I’ll never forget what your family did to my mother and sister. Do you remember saying those words?”
    “What of it?”
    “I’ve lived through a feud. I know what happens when men say things like that.”
    “I was trying to keep Stocker from killing me. I wasn’t thinking about every word that came out of my mouth.”
    “That’s exactly when people say what they really mean.”
    “It’s also when we say foolish things we don’t mean,” Russ shot back.
    Tanzy wished she could believe Russ. Even if he didn’t want to carry on a feud, Stocker did. And Russ wasn’t the kind of man to back down from a fight.
    She was also certain Russ wouldn’t respect her wishes if she became his wife. She would be part of his crew, expected to follow his orders. She’d be in the same position her mother had been in, tied to a man and forced to endure the life he chose to make for them.
    She wouldn’t do that. She’d already survived half a year on her own. She didn’t want to do it again, but she could.
    “I’ve decided we won’t suit,” Tanzy told Russ. “I’m sorry to have put you to the expense of bringing me out here, but I can’t marry you.”
    She had expected anger, even a refusal to allow her to change her mind, but Russ didn’t answer. From his expression, it was difficult to tell whether he didn’t know how to respond to her decision or his thoughts were entirely of the pain in his head.
    “Did you hear what I said?” she asked when she couldn’t wait any longer for a response.
    “My head hurts like the devil, but there’s nothing wrong with my hearing.”
    “Do you agree with me?”
    “No. You’re strong, intelligent, and able to make decisions on your own. That’s exactly the kind of woman a rancher needs for a wife.”
    She was disappointed he didn’t say a word about liking her or finding her attractive. If she’d come straight to Colorado from Kentucky, she’d never have thought about being attractive. In Kentucky a wife was valued by how much work she could do and how many sons she could produce. It wasn’t until she worked in the gambling hall that she discovered men were strongly affected by a woman’s physical appearance.
    “That may be,” she said, “but you ‘re not the kind of husband l want.”
    “What’s wrong? I own my own ranch. I’m not exactly ugly, and I’ll take good care of you.”
    “You can’t do any of that if you’re dead or in prison.”
    “I’m not going to get killed, and I’m certainly not going back to prison.”
    “You will if you keep up this feud with Stocker.”
    “I’m not feuding with Stocker.”
    “He’s feuding