Page 14 of Their Wanted Bride (Bridgewater Brides 1)

Straightening my spine, I nodded, resolving to forget all about Kentucky— at least for the time being. “Will you stand with me?”

Ann flashed me a brilliant smile. “Of course! How could I refuse my new frien

d?”

JUSTIN

* * *

“Tell us about your new bride,” Robert ordered, clearing his throat after choking on Maddy’s parting shot across his bow. Despite his years out of the military, he’d never quite lost the air of command. Andrew was no better in that regard, but I supposed we owed them an explanation. He was right to ask.

Good men simply didn’t debauch a woman without having put a ring on her finger first. Although I was sure he and Andrew had both enjoyed soiled doves in the past, as had Caleb and I, we’d never countenance it without their express consent. We’d been too eager with Maddy, but she was too tempting to resist.

I wanted to see her eyes cloud with passion again. I needed to taste her more than I needed to breathe, and my body demanded I make her mine. In an effort to hide my thickening cock, I sat down across the table from them. Caleb joined me a few seconds later, suffering the same condition.

“She’s…unusual, to be sure,” Andrew murmured. “You’ll have a time bringing that one to heel.”

“Hold your tongue,” Caleb snapped. “I’ll not listen to you disparage our wife.”

“She’s not your wife,” Robert replied, giving us a smirk I wanted to punch from his face. “Perhaps we should introduce her—”

When Caleb growled, I held up my hands in an attempt to stop the coming fight. As much as I wanted to beat Robert to a pulp, it wouldn’t be helpful, and I refused to stand in front of God with Maddy after fighting. It was disrespectful and I wouldn’t sully her special day with violence.

“Enough,” I said, my voice deepening with implied threat. “You two are the only reason we’re not at the church right now. Maddy is perfect just the way she is, and we won’t hear a word against her.”

Caleb settled, but shot a dark look at Robert and Andrew. “She came all the way from Kentucky dressed as a man in response to my advertisement for a wife.”

To my surprise, reluctant appreciation crossed Robert’s face. “Why was she in men’s clothes?”

I told him the rest of her adventure, my chest swelling with pride at his exclamation of admiration.

“Clever,” Andrew murmured. “That was incredibly foolhardy.”

“But brave of her,” Robert said, nodding. “Why is the horse so important that she’d go so far?”

“She says he’s valuable,” I replied. “She had enough funds from his stud fees to get here on the train, rent the hotel’s finest room, and pay for our supper.”

“He’s supposedly an Arabian,” Caleb added. “He’s about sixteen hands, and very distinctive.”

“Small ears and a concave face with large nostrils?” Andrew asked, leaning forward with interest.

“Yes. How did you—”

“Three dollars a mare for stud services,” he interrupted. “Present the deal to your Maddy. I’ll go as high as five. Ten if he’s native-bred.”

“She says he’s from Morocco,” I replied. “The beast follows her like a puppy.”

A dreamy smile crossed his features, softening the harsh lines of his face. “Robert, do you remember the mares we had in Egypt?”

Nodding, Robert said, “Yes, fine animals they were. I would have liked to bring them back with us.”

“Make it fifteen. I won’t insult Maddy with less.” Coughing, Andrew flushed, then added, “Your new wife has brought you two lucky bastards a fine dowry.”

“I don’t give a damn about her dowry,” I replied, my fists clenching at the look of avarice on Andrew’s face.

“The horse doesn’t matter to us, aside from being something Maddy loves,” Caleb added. “We don’t care about money. She’s what’s important.”

“Ten dollars is acceptable, sir. I don’t plan to overcharge my new neighbors,” Maddy said, surprising me into stillness by plopping herself into my lap. Wrapping an arm around my shoulders, she kissed my cheek. “I’m delighted to see a man who knows his horseflesh out here in the wild mountains.”

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