Chapter One
Joshâs heart thundered in his ears as he stared at the rifle aimed at him. A rifle held by a woman with fierce, blue eyes that pierced him with a donât-mess-with-me look. A growling dog the size of a wolf stood at her side.
Josh had followed his brotherâs directions carefully. This had to be his brotherâs home. His too, seeing as they were partners. âWhereâs Cody?â
The rifle lowered.
âWho are you?â the woman asked.
Did he imagine the tremor in her voice? Could be she was as frightened as heâd been. âJoshua Baxter. And you?â
âEmily Baxter.â
The name jarred through him.
âCody was my husband,â she added with a hint of challenge.
âWas?â He didnât care for the sound of that word.
She nodded. âHe died six months ago.â
Silence hung heavy between them as he tried to digest this news. âYou might have let me know.â
She shrugged. âDidnât think Iâd ever see you.â
That hurt. âI always meant to come. Cody knew that.â Cody had taken their combined savings and gone to find the land that would become their ranch while Josh had remained behind to continue mining their gold claim until he had enough to buy them a herd of cows.
âA year seems like a long time.â
âWeâve been in touch. But he never mentioned you. Seems mighty strange.â He squinted at her. Was she trying to con him? Well, sheâd picked the wrong man to trick. Heâd seen most every kind of scam while at the gold camp.
âLady, I donât know who you are. Or where my brother is. But I ainât about to believe heâs married to you. Now maybe you should pack your belongings and move on. Try your shenanigans on someone else.â
A thin wail broke the stunned silence.
She picked a baby from a cradle by the fireplace.
A baby! Was it Codyâs or had she married another man and allowed him to take over the ranch?
***
Emily cradled baby Cathy close. Sheâd hoped Codyâs brother would never come and demand his share of the ranch. Would he kick her off the place? Sheâd fight to keep her share. But if he wanted proof of her marriage, she could provide it.
âMy baby needs feeding.â She wouldnât look at the man until her heart stopped racing and she sorted out how she was to deal with him.
âFine. Iâll wait. I donât intend to go anywhere until I get to the bottom of this. Do you mind calling your dog off?â
âBrute. Sit.â Cody had never let the dog indoors but after his death, sheâd kept him close. He made her feel safe.
Thirteen-year-old Nancy came in with the eggs. She saw a man in the house and ground to a halt.
âNancy, this is Josh.â Nancyâs family were neighbors. Her ma had helped deliver the baby a week ago then left Nancy with Emily to help.
Emily left the two staring at each other, Brute watching them and took baby Cathy to the bedroom to nurse her.
âOh, baby. What are we going to do?â
Chapter Two
Emily fed the baby. It was a job that couldnât be rushed. Then she clutched her little daughter to her shoulder and left the bedroom with her marriage certificate firmly in hand.
Mr. Joshua Baxter perched on the edge of the horsehair couch. She stuck the paper in his face. âHereâs your proof.â
He studied it at length then stared at her.
His hat balanced on his knee. His hair was the same brown as Codyâs had been, only thick and wavy. The dark brown eyes regarding her could have been Codyâs. No doubting this was the long-absent brother whom sheâd prayed would never come claiming his rightful share of the place.
âI donât understand.â He shook his head.
Poor man. He had a lot to take in. The shock of losing his brother, the surprise of discovering he had a widowed sister-in-law and a week old niece.
She could feel sorry about the first. âMy condolences on the loss of your brother.â She really should have let him know but every time she picked up a piece of paper to write to him she changed her mind. If he didnât know, heâd have no incentive to come.
âWhat happened?â
She sank to the rocking chair across from him, still holding baby Cathy. The baby nuzzled Emilyâs neck providing comfort and strength as she faced her memories. Never had she expected her marriage to end so abruptly, and within months of saying âI do.â
âThey found him in a coulee. His neck was broke. The Mountie said his horse had stepped in a hole and thrown him.â Her voice seemed to come from far away. âThey said he died instantly.â She shuddered and forced herself to look at Josh.
He stared at her, his eyes full of shock and horror. âWho found him?â