The Wrong Cowboy by Lauri Robinson

Author:Lauri Robinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Marie might as well be facing down the evil-looking Mrs. Smith with the way her insides were trying to work their way outside. There was a tick in Stafford’s cheek she’d never seen before, and his usual sparkling eyes, something she’d come to take for granted, had all of a sudden turned stormy-gray again. As they’d been the first time they met.

She drew a deep breath in through her nose, hoping it would help the trembles working their way up her legs, down her arms, across her stomach.

Gertrude had held her silence on the way home, but once they’d arrived at the ranch and the children were sent outside to play, the woman had shared reservations about working at the Dakota Cattle Company. Said the ranch, and its owners, had a reputation. Folks claimed Mick Wagner and Stafford Burleson had hit it big in the gold mines of Colorado, and now, besides spending money on their ranch, they were inclined to spend their riches on gambling and loose women.

In the end, and much to Marie’s relief, Gertrude said she’d stay for the promised two weeks. Only because she couldn’t let Marie and the children live out here alone—with those men.

So many things had changed since this morning. Living out here with such men had her insides churning, but she had very few choices. The children were her first priority, and they, legally, belonged to Mick Wagner.

“I suggested you learn how to cook,” Stafford said. “I just laid out a good sum of money to replace the cabin you burned down, and now you spend more by hiring a cook?”

The lump in her throat was too large to swallow. It just sat there, throbbing as if her heart was a part of it. Some of the things Gertrude said about Stafford had seemed impossible. Now, she wondered why she’d thought that. He was acting so superior, righteous even, the way he had back in Huron. Having seen the other side of him, the one the children had taken to so readily, the one she—well, what she thought wasn’t important. The children were, though.

“I used my money,” she said pointedly.

“You have money?”

The doubt in his tone struck a chord inside her. “Yes,” she said. “I have money.”

“Enough to hire a cook?”

Skirting around the amount of money she had, Marie answered, “I wouldn’t have hired Mrs. Baker if I didn’t have enough money to do so.”

Stafford’s glare grew darker. “If you have that much money, what are you doing here? You and the kids could just stay at the hotel until Mick gets home.”

Flustered, Marie admitted, “I don’t have that much money.”

“How much do you have?”

Her insides were clenched together. Ten dollars wouldn’t provide for her and the children until next spring. Stafford was her only hope of making it through the upcoming winter that Gertrude had said could carry blizzards that left mountains of snow, trapping them all at the ranch for months.

Frustrated, Marie huffed. “I have ten dollars. Well, had ten dollars.

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