Her Montana Man

Anger distorted her vision for seconds and she clenched her teeth, unable to speak.

“You have no legal rights to Tyler unless you marry me.”

“You aren’t human,” she finally replied, venom lacing her tone.

“And you will marry me. Because I have knowledge that will hurt both of you. And you don’t want me to tell.”

“I could kill you in your sleep,” she said. And God help her, she’d already thought of it. But she was too much of a coward. What if she went to jail and left Tyler here alone?

Royce actually smiled, something he did rarely, and she suspected it was because one of his front teeth overlapped the other. “I shall remember to sleep lightly.”

Why should he sleep any better than she?

Once Jenny Lee was gone, Eliza would be forced to put her plan into action, take Tyler and escape. This house her father had built, the town she called home, all the precious memories, none of it mattered as much as protecting Tyler.

The bell on the front door screeched as a visitor twisted the handle. Relieved at the interruption, Eliza tossed down the towel and hurried to answer the call.

A young man in a flannel jacket and mended dungarees stood on the porch holding a fistful of white daisies. “Miss Sutherland?”

“Yes.”

“These is for you.” He thrust the bouquet into her hands and turned away.

“Wait!” she called, but he was already out the gate and running down the street, where dusk was turning Silver Bend to shades of gold and deep lavender. She glanced at the rocky buttes in the distance, then down at the flowers she held.

“Who was it?”

Royce stood behind her. She turned to meet his thunderous expression. He spotted the bouquet. “Who sent those?”

“I don’t know.”

She spotted the small note tucked between the blooms at the same time he did. He snatched the card, catching several delicate white petals that fell to the polished wood at their feet.

Royce read the note, then his ominous gaze rose to level on her. He set his mouth in a disapproving line and grabbed the bunch of flowers from her hand. “Don’t be getting any ideas. You’ll be sorry if you cross me.”

He threw the daisies to the floor and crushed them beneath the heel of his boot, grinding until stems and petals and leaves were a mass of ruin.

With deliberate intimidation, he tore the note into pieces and tossed it onto the debris.

“I want coffee in the study after I’ve eaten.” He turned and walked back toward the kitchen.

Confused, Eliza looked down at the trampled flowers. She would have to get a broom and dustpan. Kneeling, she picked up the strewn scraps of paper and fitted them together on the floor like a jigsaw puzzle.

The handwriting was square and neat, unfamiliar.

“Hopefully these will make a better impression,” she read. No signature. Nothing that should have angered Royce to the degree it had. But then he didn’t need much prompting.

She tucked the bits of paper into the pocket of her skirt. No signature had been required for her to know the daisies had come from Jonas Black. He’d already thanked her for telling the marshal what she’d seen. This gesture had been unnecessary…but she found it touchingly kind.

There was no way Royce could have known who sent the bouquet. He’d have been even angrier if he’d suspected they’d come from the “slave trader,” the man she’d seen fighting in the street that day.

Jonas had sent flowers. She didn’t know what to make of that, but she didn’t have the time or energy to figure it out. She had too much to handle right here. A faint regret for what she could never have, tried to edge its way into her thinking.

The rapid echo of bare feet in the upstairs hall drew her attention, and she lifted her gaze to see Tyler slide to a halt and grip the banister. “Aunt Eliza!” he called down, his young voice squeaking with urgency. “Come quick! It’s Mama!”

Chapter Four

Just because Eliza had known the time was coming didn’t make her sister’s death any easier to accept. She hadn’t had any close friends since grade school; Jenny had been her friend. They had shared everything—or nearly everything. There at the end, Eliza had kept Royce’s true nature a secret. She suspected Jenny had been disappointed, but she’d been as brave about her disenchantment with her marriage as she had about her illness.

The past two days had been a blur. Now that the funeral service was over and she’d ridden home with Tyler and Royce, Eliza remembered that she hadn’t eaten that day. She tried to recall if she’d eaten the day before and assumed she must have. Upon hanging up her shawl, she hurried past the rooms where furniture had been moved and chairs arranged, to the back of the house. A few of the ladies from church were already setting out food.

The aromas of savory beef, apples and cinnamon, and freshly brewed coffee would normally have teased her appetite, but today they made her feel queasy. She surveyed the abundance of food on the table. “Oh my goodness!”

“I think everyone in town brought something.” Penny Wright stepped close. Eliza and Penny had handled many a meal such as this in their duties as members of the Ladies’ Aid Society, but Eliza couldn’t remember seeing this much food since her father’s funeral. The Sutherlands were well thought of. She pressed a hand to her midriff as if the touch could hold back the pain of loss and the poignant appreciation for her neighbors’ thoughtfulness.

Penny wrapped an arm around Eliza’s shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze. Realizing she’d never hug her sister again, Eliza’s chest throbbed with a hollow ache. Pulling a lace-edged hankie from her pocket, she dabbed her nose and focused on the dining room table with all the leaves in place. The ivory lace cloth that had been her mother’s was now nearly hidden by steaming casseroles and delectable-looking cakes and pies. This was the day she had dreaded and welcomed at the same time.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and Eliza turned as Nora entered the room, carrying yet another covered dish. Penny scurried to make a spot for it.

Nora took Eliza’s hand and squeezed her fingers. Her pale face and puffy eyes showed evidence of the strain she shared. Eliza used the same strength Penny had offered to give her friend a hug. They’d already heard a plethora of trite things people said at a time like this. Jenny Lee’s suffering was over. She was in a better place. But mere words couldn’t fix the pain or emptiness left by this unfair loss, so they shared a silent moment of grief.

A rap sounded on the front door. Eliza straightened and tucked her hankie into her sleeve in preparation.

Two and three at a time, the men and women of Silver Bend arrived in their Sunday best and milled about waiting for the reverend to pray over the meal. Reverend Miller finally parted the crowd in the parlor and gave a brief blessing. Penny directed mourners to the sideboard, which was stacked with plates and flatware.

Nora cupped Eliza’s elbow. “Let’s get you a plate.”

“Tyler—” Eliza began.

“Marian is taking care of Tyler.”

She allowed Nora to walk her through the line and fill a plate for her. The woman ushered her to a chair in the parlor. “Now sit and take some nourishment.”

Eliza accepted the plate without noting what it held. As always, Nora’s presence was a blessing. It would be impossible to thank her for all she’d done for their family, but Eliza would have to find some small way to show her appreciation. A special and meaningful gesture was a must. She scanned the gathering and found Tyler sitting on the wide brick hearth with Timmy Hatcher and Michael Kopeke. Miss Fletcher sat nearby, wearing a smile and engaging them in conversation.

His life would go on. Eliza’s life would go on. They had to learn to make that happen without Jenny Lee. And some way—without Royce.

From the other room his voice broke through her reverie. The mere sound made her skin crawl. He was talking about the Horace Vernet painting in the hallway, the one her father had purchased during a trip he and her mother had taken abroad many years ago. Royce spoke of the French painter and the history of the piece as though he had something to do with it. As though it was his.

Nora had always admired that painting. Eliza took a bite of Delores Cress’s signature stroganoff, knowing it tasted better than sawdust, but she had no appetite.

“Miss Sutherland.”

She drew her gaze upward from a pair of polished black boots to pressed black trousers, past a matching tailored coat and smart bow tie before recognizing Jonas Black. She set down her fork. “Mr. Black.”

Eliza Jane attempted to rise, but Jonas stopped her with an outstretched hand and seated himself on the chair beside hers. Her usually luminous skin was pale and her eyes showed she hadn’t slept. She probably hadn’t eaten, and here he was interrupting her meal.

“I’ll get a plate and join you.” He hurried through the wide opening to the hall and found the dining room, returning a few minutes later. “You won’t have to cook for a week.”