The Outlaw Bride by Maggie Shayne
Author:Maggie Shayne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: texas, family, time travel, cowboy, ranch, outlaw, contemporary romance, old west, western romance, female outlaw
Publisher: Maggie Shayne
Chapter 9
She felt like a lamb in a den of lions for a moment as they all stared at her. But then she reminded herself of who she was. She was Esmeralda Montoya. She was the lion. They were the lambs. She had not been afraid to take on their bloodthirsty, ruthless ancestors. What had she to fear from them? They were soft. The men could not bear the thought of raising their voice to a woman, much less killing one. They strove to be honest, honorable, all of them. She could conquer this entire family if she used her mind. She had no qualms about doing whatever was necessary—and that, combined with the fact that she had nothing to lose, made her the certain victor in this battle.
Elliot had defended her. Against his own family, he had stood on her side. A quiver of guilt threatened her resolve. But then she met Jessi Brand’s eyes and chased that guilt away. The girl hated her, suspected her of the very worst, automatically. Without cause or reason.
She might as well live up to the chiquita’s expectations.
“What’s out there, Esmeralda?” Adam Brand asked. He looked so much like the banker who had swindled her father that Esmeralda nearly snapped at him. She had to remind herself that this was not Allen Brand. He was not a banker. And might even be a decent human being in spite of the sinners’ blood running in his veins.
“The graves of my parents,” she said softly. “So overgrown with neglect that at first I thought they’d been destroyed. But we found them, among the brush and saplings, covered in vines and weeds. Elliot…he brought tools. And we spent the day clearing out the spot.” She shook the sadness from her mind, met Adam’s eyes, then Jessi’s. “You can go out there right now with a lamp and see for yourself. The names and dates on the tombstones are right there. You can still make them out.”
“Oh, I’ll do that. Don’t you worry,” Jessi said.
Her husband put a hand on Jessi’s arm. “You’re gonna feel really rotten if it turns out she’s telling the truth, hon.”
“Yeah, but I’ll be too busy watching the pigs flying over my head to notice,” she replied, her words dripping ice.
Wes shook his head slowly, glanced at his wife. Taylor held his gaze and slowly nodded. Esmeralda blinked. So Taylor and Wes were believers. And Ben, the large, quiet one, he seemed to believe, as well. Garrett the lawman, and Penny, the pregnant wife of Ben, seemed skeptical. Not disbelieving, but needing proof. Adam seemed wary, Jessi downright hostile, Lash, uncertain but leaning toward doubt. Adam’s wife, Kirsten, was almost as quiet as Ben, but she also seemed doubtful. Chelsea was just accepting. Maybe not even caring if it was the truth or not. She would be kind to a rabid dog, should one show up slavering at the door, Esmeralda suspected.
The one person she could not read was the young woman—Sara. Sara was timid, thoughtful, and showed nothing but amazement on her face.
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