“That’s for darned sure.” Jesse picked up his fork again, but he’d forgotten what he was doing so he set it down again. “I’ve got to tell you, O’Hara, I’ve seen a lot of things in my life, but I’ve never seen anything like her.”
She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And she was all his.
“Don’t enjoy the view too much,” Cole said. “That’s my wife.” And then he took a closer look. She was mad as a hornet. No wonder she wasn’t covered up too much. There was no way the cold was penetrating that kind of anger.
“Well, son,” Jesse said. “I can see why you don’t want to leave her to hunt down outlaws.”
Chapter Three
Elizabeth was so mad she could barely see straight. And then she realized she actually couldn’t see because the storm was getting so bad.
She knew there was no point in letting the likes of Adelaide Murchison get under her skin. The woman was a viper, plain and simple, striking out at anyone who dared to be happy, anyone who dared to live differently than the narrow confines she’d built around her own miserable existence. Elizabeth had dealt with Adelaide’s poison tongue for years—ever since her mother died and she’d started wearing trousers and working alongside the ranch hands. Adelaide had made it her personal mission to remind Elizabeth at every opportunity that she was a disgrace to proper womanhood.
But she let it happen every time. That was the humiliating part. No matter how many times she told herself not to listen, not to let Adelaide’s words sink in, they always did. They always found the soft, vulnerable places and burrowed in like ticks, feeding on her insecurities until they swelled with poison.
And boy, were the things she’d said festering now. Each word replayed in her mind like a sick refrain, gaining momentum with every repetition. No bump growing under those trousers. Cole O’Hara has much reason to stay in Laurel Valley at all. Looking for outside work to distance himself from you.
Her hands were shaking—whether from cold or fury, she couldn’t tell anymore. Her chest felt tight, like someone had laced a corset around her ribs and was pulling it tighter with every breath. Heat radiated from her skin despite the freezing wind, her body burning with humiliation and rage and a fear so profound it threatened to swallow her whole.
Maybe she didn’t know what Cole had been up to with his secret meetings. The thought made her stomach clench. How had she not known about the marshal? How had Adelaide—Adelaide, who Cole barely spoke to—known more about her own husband’s business than she did? Maybe he was planning to leave because their marriage had grown so distant, two people sharing a house and a bed but living separate lives, circling each other like cautious strangers. Maybe things in Laurel Valley weren’t exciting enough for him after his years of adventure during the war, after living with the Sioux, after tracking outlaws across territories. Maybe she wasn’t exciting enough for him—just a rancher’s daughter who’d never been farther than Boise, who didn’t know how to be a proper wife, who couldn’t even give him a child.
The cold barely penetrated as she made her way toward the main street and her husband. She almost went to the sheriff’s office, but she had a sense that he wasn’t there. The lights from the hotel were all she could see through the snow, so she headed straight for them. And then she got close enough to see him through the window, sitting with a man she’d never seen before. But she recognized the type. All lawmen had that look about them.
Adelaide had been right. How did a woman she detested know more about her husband than she did? Her imagination went wild. What was the real reason Cole wanted to spend two days away with her? Was that how he planned to break the news that he was becoming a US marshal? Or maybe he planned to give her two last days before he snuck off to hunt down criminals. The territories in Idaho, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming were becoming more and more dangerous. And Cole would be excellent at the job.
She kicked at the step that led up to the sidewalk in front of the hotel. Tears pricked at her eyes and her skin felt like it was on fire. She rarely lost her temper. She’d gotten really good at keeping her anger at bay over the years. Anger about her mother’s death. Anger when the ranch hands resented how much time her father spent showing her the ropes of how to run the ranch. Anger that her father had been taken from her much too soon. And if she was honest, anger that Cole had been promised her family’s ranch if he’d marry her.
She’d never felt more alone in her life.
“Good evening, Mrs. O’Hara,” Will Clark said from behind the counter. “Your husband…”
But Elizabeth just kept walking into the restaurant, ignoring Will completely, and headed directly to the table her husband was occupying. Cole was watching her with that look he got on his face when he didn’t want her to know what he was thinking.
Good grief, he was handsome. It was so easy to get distracted by him. He’d been the only man to ever fill her fantasies. What had started as a childhood crush had ended as a woman’s desire for something more.
Cole and the mystery man sat at a square table for four, but she only had eyes for her husband. He was lounging back, relaxed but always ready, a predatory gleam in his eyes. And he was only looking at her. He hadn’t shaved before leaving the house that morning, so his face was stubbled. His left arm was draped over the chair next to him, but his right arm was free in case he needed to reach for his weapon.
Maybe she should send Miss Adelaide a thank you card for bringing her back to life. If Cole was leaving, she had nothing left to lose. The only other time she felt this free and alive was when they were intimate. That was the real her. And Cole was about to get a glimpse of the real her outside of their marriage bed.
She shivered, but held her ground. She’d spent the last year tiptoeing around him, unsure of his reactions and not wanting to confront him about why he’d really married her. She was done tiptoeing.
He smiled at her and she saw the challenge there. She smiled back and wanted to laugh when his own smile disappeared. Cole O’Hara didn’t know her. Not really. He knew the brittle woman who’d thrown herself into hard labor for the past year to keep from falling apart over her father’s death. He knew the woman who never lost her temper.
Both men stood with the natural grace of men comfortable in their own skin as she approached the table, and she caught a glimpse of the shiny marshal’s badge that was on the table and felt her stomach clench.
“Elizabeth,” Cole said. “I want to introduce you to Marshal Jesse Calhoun. He’s come to visit Laurel Valley for a couple of days.”
Elizabeth gave Calhoun a cursory glance and said, “It’s a terrible time to visit. We’re having a blizzard. I hope you don’t have anywhere to be for a few days. Maybe even a couple of weeks.”
Jesse smiled at her and nodded his head. “I’m sure I’ll find Laurel Valley quite hospitable. No matter how long I need to stay to accomplish my task.”
Elizabeth nodded, understanding the unspoken words. Calhoun wasn’t planning to go anywhere unless her husband was with him.
“I was just at the bank,” she said, changing the subject. “Miss Adelaide said a marshal had come to town to swear you in as one of their own.”
“Ahh,” Cole, said, his lips quirking in a half smile. “Miss Adelaide is always up to date on current events. And she always has such pure intentions.”
“I feel like I’m missing something,” Jesse said.
