Shotgun Groom by Sandra Chastain

Author:Sandra Chastain [Chastain, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-81729-7
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2014-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

10

Jim waited for Matt outside the bedroom. “Is she all right, Matt?”

“She doesn’t think so now, but she’ll live.”

Jim looked at Matt reproachfully. “What happened, big brother?”

Matt looked at Jim’s frown, saw his wan face, and decided not to tell him about the dead cow. For now, he’d keep the information about the Scotsman quiet, too. “Nothing much. Lily just did a little too much celebrating.”

“And that’s why she came to the house with a hangover and hay in her hair? I don’t believe you, Matt.”

“Believe me. She got the hangover from too much of Rides Fast’s elixir, and the hay in her hair from sleeping in the barn. I thought it would be better if she didn’t come inside … in her condition. The children wouldn’t have understood.” Matt looked around. “Speaking of the children, where are they?”

“I sent them to feed the chickens. Don’t try to get out of this, Matt. Lily leaves here wearing her best afternoon gown and comes back half-intoxicated, wearing a buckskin wedding dress with hay in her hair.”

“There was no wedding, Jim. Kianceta just loaned Lily her dress. I swear it.”

Jim leaned against the table. “What I want to know is whether I should arrange a wedding before Lily pulls out her shotgun?”

“Hell no! I already told you I’m not getting married. When you get better, you can take a wife.” But his statement was just an automatic response. Even he didn’t sound convinced.

Jim sighed. “Why are you being so stubborn? No matter what you say, marrying Lily is a reasonable solution to the problems we’re facing.”

“I have too much to deal with to take a wife. Certainly not a wife like Lily.”

“Matt,” Jim said carefully, “Lily is nothing like Maria.”

Matt scowled. “But she is. And she’ll want to leave, sooner or later. And I don’t want the children to see her turn into a bitter, unhappy woman.”

Jim took a long, measured look at Matt. “I knew Maria didn’t want to be a rancher’s wife, but I thought loving her would be enough; that, once we were married, she’d give up her idea of going back east. I always thought the people in Blue Station would have accepted her if she’d given them a chance, but she couldn’t stand them knowing. Back east, she felt like she was as good as anyone else.”

“I never understood why she thought the people in Blue Station judged her.”

“Neither did I. I thought I was being strong by staying here and building our future. I know now I should have taken her back east. Matt, we all have our regrets and we all share the guilt.”

Matt felt suddenly sick. He hadn’t looked at it from Jim’s point of view. “You should have gone. I should have made you.”

“Texas was my idea, Matt. I couldn’t leave you because life was hard. At least I had Maria and the children. Now you have someone. Lily.”

“Lily?” He groaned. “Lily with her fancy dresses and silk parasols?”

“Yes, Lily, who doesn’t let a wild bull intimidate her.

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