The Outlaw Bride (TB7) by Shayne Maggie

Author:Shayne, Maggie [Shayne, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Series, Contemporary, Romance, Nonfiction, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: Harlequin Treasury-Silhouette Intimate Moments 90s
Published: 2011-07-15T07:00:00+00:00

The entire Brand clan gathered in the parlor, and it was so packed there was standing room only. Jessi and her husband Lash shared the easy chair nearest the fireplace, little Maria-Michele playing on the floor at their feet. Taylor had the rocking chair, and Wes stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders. Adam and Kirsten were on the sofa, beside Ben and Penny—and Penny's belly couldn't get much bigger without popping, Elliot thought. She was a week overdue with her firstborn, and Ben was a nervous wreck. Chelsea sat in the recliner, and Garrett had dragged a chair in from the dining room, turned it backwards and was straddling it. He was holding Chelsea's hand. Sara was pacing nervously back and forth. Hell, only cousin Marcus and his new wife Casey were absent, and Elliot figured they would have been there, too, if they'd been given any notice.

He stood beside Esmeralda in front of the fireplace, and since there were no more chairs to be had, he sat down on the stone platform the hearth rested upon. He had hold of Esmeralda's hand, so when he tugged, she sat down beside him, close beside him, her side pressed to his. On his other side was a rack full of fireplace tools, wrought-iron poker, shovel, tongs. Beside those was a round ironwood rack. At his feet, ol' Blue lay sleeping. But when Elliot cleared his throat, even the aging hound dog lifted his "brow" and perked up his ears.

"I guess … maybe Esmeralda should start," he said.

She swung her eyes to his, and they were wide and dark and uncertain. She was always so forthright, so sure of herself, so outspoken. But it was plain she didn't want to be any of those things right now.

"Okay, then I'll start." He drew a breath, sighed, and looked around the room. His family loved him. He didn't have to worry. "But I have to ask you all to keep quiet until I finish. This is gonna sound like … like something out of an episode of The X-Files, and you're gonna be tempted to interrupt and ask questions. Don't. I probably won't know the answers, anyway."

Glancing nervously at one another, the family nodded at him to go on.

"All right. See, Esmeralda lived with her father on a big ranch in Texas. She grew up there. Her mama died giving birth to her and was buried there. But there was considerable … bigotry in this particular town at this particular time. And once Esmeralda changed from a little girl into a young woman, the local boys were prone to … harassing her."

He glanced at her to see if she approved of what he'd said so far. She met his eyes and said quietly, "Harassing me is a very pretty term for what they did. But it will do for now." Then she looked away.

Elliot squeezed her hand. "I know."

She looked up, met his gaze, and he felt a warmth pass between them, a kind of unspoken pact.

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