Page 16 of A Dangerous Heart
“Maybe she was a child bride.” There was a harrumph, and all three continued down the boardwalk and out of earshot.
He’d best not go back to the family quilt. The train was coming in later this afternoon. Drew should put Clare and her children on it. Isaac thought about the activity on Quade’s ranch and near the river. Maybe someone should be talking about that.
Guilt ate at him. Quade was spreading this gossip faster than quilts were multiplying in the patch of green across the street. Clare’s reputation, along with the McGraw family name, was being sullied.
His gaze traveled across the street to Clare again. A full smile lit up her pretty face as Rebekah stood at her side and introduced her to several of the other ranchers’ wives. Clare chatted easily with Mrs. Anderson, a local farmer’s wife who’d emigrated from Sweden. Tilting her head to catch what Isaac knew would bebroken English, she laughed with the older woman. Another genuine smile spread across her face and hit him like a slug to the gut.
He wasn’t the only one affected. Her laugh drew the attention of a couple of young bucks loitering under a tree near the picnickers. A protective instinct welled up in him.
He pushed that down too as he marched down the boardwalk toward the general store. It wasn’t his business who looked at her.
The bell jingled as he entered the store, the smell of fresh-ground coffee, leather, and spices filling the air. The chairs around the black stove at the center back of the long room were empty. A checkerboard with red and black checkers battle ready was laid out on a barrel between two chairs.
Mrs. Hyer stood behind the long counter, her pristine white shirt contrasting with the dark wooden shelves filled with neat rows of canned fruits, vegetables, and meats.
“Good afternoon.” Her eyes flicked to him and then returned to the tall, rail-thin woman in a loose gray dress, purchasing a couple of spools of thread.
Isaac nodded and moved around a trio of barrels toward the back of the store. Near the corner, he stopped to look at a display of coffeepots on the upper shelves. On the other side of the narrow store, Jakob Anderson and Mr. Hyer eyed the empty back wall, hands on their hips. Isaac kept his back to them, but his ears stayed attuned to their conversation.
“Quade’s foreman came in less than a week ago and bought up all my shovels and pickaxes.” There was a touch of bewilderment in the proprietor’s voice. “Made a special order for dynamite too. Enough to blow the train it arrived on to smithereens.”
Dynamite? Isaac’s stomach twisted. His mind ran over the activity he’d seen by the river. What would Quade want with dynamite?
Isaac didn’t wait to hear Jakob’s response. He dropped the socks he’d been gripping back into the basket and strode to the door. Weaving through the crowd on the boardwalk, he rushed toward the town square, intent on finding Drew. As he crossed to the lawn teeming with picnickers—the last place he wanted to be—Isaac scanned the area. His eyes snagged on Quade, standing on the far side of the green square. The sidewinder’s gaze was on Clare.
Isaac was still looking for Drew when he caught a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye and the faint scent of roses.
“If it isn’t Calvin’s own Swift Draw.” Another Quade. Isabella, the oldest daughter, appeared before him, donning her charming smile. “I heard you were back.” She tipped her chin. Her dark eyes sparked with—unease? Why? The petite, feminine woman had a rod of steel running through her spine and was as headstrong as the stallion she was famous for riding.
“Hello, Isabella.”
“I also heard you killed a bear up near the ridge.”
Isaac frowned. How had that news spread so quickly?
“You might want to be on the lookout for a rabid wolf too,” Isabella said, the smile turning grim.
He studied Isabella’s face. Saw the lines around her eyes now, the tightness around her mouth. Ranchers in the area kept each other informed about the wolf population. They were always a greater threat to the cattle come winter. Had the Diamond Q been losing cattle to wolves?
“Appreciate the warning,” he said.
Heath Quade stepped in close and slid his arm around his daughter’s shoulder. “This guy bothering you?” He shot Isaac a narrow-eyed glare.
“Of course not, Papa. I’ve known Isaac since our school days.”
“Did you know he was in town just a week ago picking up his mail-order bride?” A cunning gleam lit Quade’s eyes. “You marry the little lady yet?”
Isaac’s skin prickled with awareness before he felt Clare’s soft hand slide around his arm. He jerked slightly. She ignored his reaction and gazed up into his face. Her lips spread into a radiant smile. One that made his breath hitch.
“We’ve agreed to take some time to get to know each other before the wedding,” Clare said easily, as if she hadn’t just clubbed him in the head.
Quade’s eyes glittered. “A sensible plan indeed. He’s not with the U.S. Marshals anymore, so he’ll have plenty of time.”
“I told you before, Quade, it’s not your business,” Isaac ground out.
Clare’s fingers tightened on his bicep.
“It might be wise for you to take some time, miss, before you decide to hitch your wagon to the McGraws. They’ve had a bit of trouble lately. Couple of brothers in jail, bouts of illness.”
