Page 486 of Conveniently Wed
Mike hadn’t said anything about having unfinished business with anyone. Of course, he might not have mentioned it even if he did.
“He won’t be back for a long time.” Lorinda rested her forefinger on the trigger. She hoped her fabrication would keep him from returning anytime soon, just in case.
His eyes followed the movement, and he squinted into a hard frown. Lorinda wouldn’t want to meet him on a dark night, and she didn’t want Mike to either.
“Mike taught me how to use this rifle.” She stared hard at the man, centering her attention on the middle of his chest.
The man thrust his hands into the air again. “All right. I’ll just mosey back down the mountain.”
He lowered one hand to pick up his reins, which rested across the saddle. He kept the other hand raised while he clamped his knees against the horse and turned the animal around. He didn’t drop his other hand before he was out of sight beyond the bend in the trail.
Even though she didn’t welcome the intrusion, Lorinda felt bereft when the stranger was gone. She’d never been alone this long in her entire life. The mountain felt lonely without Mike. She didn’t look forward to the next week of waiting for her husband to return. After taking a deep breath of the clear mountain air, she went into the cabin and finished fixing her solitary meal.
Clutching the fur coat Mike had made close around her, Lorinda stared out the front door for the hundredth time today.Where can he be?She’d asked herself that question a thousand other times in the last few weeks. Mike said he’d be back in about two weeks. Her one week of waiting after she ran the drifter off had stretched into three more.
She shut the wooden door against the cold, but a frigid wind pushed in through cracks she couldn’t even see around the windows and door. When the air was still, the cabin was easy to heat, but an early snowfall covered the ground in a light blanket, lowering the already cold temperatures. Then the north wind started howling down from the snowy mountain peaks. She almost wished for the first blizzard which would dump enough snow to bank against the walls and help keep the cold out of the cabin.
Lorinda went over and warmed her hands, thankful Mike had purchased the cast iron, pot-bellied stove last winter. He had a hard time getting the heavy thing up the steep trail to the cabin, but the added warmth was worth all the effort.Thank you, Mike.How she wished he were here to hear the words.
She had to admit that Mike was a good husband, even though he was opinionated. Before he planned the trip to Denver, he’d gone to Breckenridge and stocked up with enough supplies to last all winter. Not only were her cupboards full, so was the dugout behind the house. Plenty of smoked wild game hung from the rafters, too.
When she thought about Mike, their last time of lovemaking gave her heartbeat a strong rhythm, and heat suffused her face.If only he’d get home.
2
The faint sound of hoofbeats on the trail once again drew Lorinda to the door. Maybe Mike was finally home. But something pricked at her skin, raising the hairs on the back of her neck, and she scrunched her brows. Lorinda reached for the rifle. She held the weapon loosely in her arm as she opened the door. Two more strangers on horseback picked their way between the boulders that marked the trail. One of the men led a third horse with a large burden on its back. She only hoped the rifle would let the men know she meant business. She never wanted to have to use a gun on a human, and if she started shooting, she couldn’t get both of the men before one would shoot her. The thought almost made her heart stop beating.
After taking a deep breath, Lorinda stepped into the stinging wind.
Franklin Vine glanced up from the trail when he heard the door hinges on the cabin emit a loud squeal. A tiny woman with hair the color of sunshine stepped through the open doorway, thenshut the portal against the cold air. The flinty expression on her face and the rifle on her arm showed she didn’t welcome the intrusion.
He glanced toward the man on the other horse. “Did you know a woman lived up here?”
His foreman’s gaze traveled from the woman to his boss. “I never seen her before, and I don’t remember Mike ever saying anything about having a woman up here.”
Franklin didn’t look forward to sharing the news of Sullivan’s death with this woman, whoever she was. All they’d planned to do was give the man a decent burial on his own property. This woman was a complication he didn’t want...or need.
“Stop right where you are!” Harsh words rang across the frozen landscape. Surprisingly strong from such a small woman.
Now she held the rifle to her shoulder and had taken a bead on his chest. Evidently, she knew how to use the weapon. She held the rifle still, and her hands didn’t quiver. He wasn’t ready to find out how good her aim was.
He stopped his horse and raised his hands with the reins dangling from one of them. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
Still holding the lead to the pack animal, Thomas stopped his horse beside Franklin’s.
“State your business and be quick about it.” Her words pierced the icy air like bullets from a six-shooter, aiming straight at them.
“I’m Franklin Vine.”
At his words, a flicker of something lit her eyes, but quickly disappeared, replaced by the former hard stare. “The rancher?”
He gave a slow nod. He didn’t want to do anything to spook her. Not with her finger so close to the trigger.
“I’ve heard Mike mention you a time or two.” She relaxed her stance a little but didn’t lower the rifle. “I’ve already asked what you want.” The words held more than a hint of steel.
Franklin slowly rested his hands on his saddle horn. “Might I ask who you are?”
“Who am I? Mike’s wife.” She must have noticed the puzzled expression on his face. “Didn’t you know he was married?”
