Mail Order Bride for Two [Badlands 1] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (12 page)

Logan stuck the pin in his shirt pocket and nodded. “All right. Don’t go easy on them but make sure they understand it would be a mistake to rile us up and make enemies of us.”

Derek narrowed his eyes in a matter-of-fact way as if Logan had just wasted his breath on the last sentence he’d uttered.

“I’ve done this before.” He rolled his eyes. “Just leave my horse tied up at the back of the store and I’ll catch up with the two of you after I’ve had a heartfelt conversation with the Jenkins’ duo on the subject of blackmail.”

“Right. See you on the trail.”

Before he turned away, Derek stopped him with a hand to his arm. “When you give it back to her, make sure she understands that she won’t have to worry about Dora or Clyde any more.”

Logan took the opportunity to roll
his
eyes. “I think I understand the gist of the problem. Of course, I’ll tell her that.”

Joe piped up. “Not that I’m trying to make a sale, but perhaps your wife would enjoy a dime novel to read to cheer her up on the trip to your ranch.”

Logan and Derek exchanged a smile, before Logan answered, “Perhaps she would. Why don’t you select a few popular ones and wrap them up?”

* * * *

Derek had led a very colorful life in his younger days before partnering with Logan and settling in on their ranch near Campbell’s Valley. Although he had a way with animals, especially taming wild horses into fine riding stock like Logan did, he considered his skill with a Colt six-shooter much more useful for situations like Dora and Clyde Jenkins.

He doubted Clyde was smart enough or ambitious enough to come up with a plan to blackmail Clarissa all on his own, but Dora was another story. She probably had bigger balls than Clyde when it came to making a buck.

Clyde, a farmer turned gold seeker turned farmer again after he’d burned through his meager claim months earlier, had a small house just outside of town in the opposite direction of the ranch he shared with Logan.

Hand dangling beside his holstered weapon, Derek climbed onto the porch of their place and pounded his fist on the weathered wooden door.

Clyde opened the door after only a few minutes. “What do you want?” His genuine surprise to see Derek on his doorstep lent credibility to the fact that he didn’t know about his wife’s unlawful activities.

“We need to have a discussion about your wife.”

Clyde’s eyes widened slightly. It was no secret that Dora and Derek hadn’t ever been on the best of terms. She’d chased after him openly and once cornered she explained her intentions of wanting him to woo her when he and Logan came to town. Derek hadn’t been interested in fucking any whores and especially not a devious one with the disposition of an angry rattlesnake.

Dora held this very high opinion of herself which Derek did not share and he’d be damned if he let her continue trouble Clarissa for one second longer.

Clyde sent a cautious glance over his shoulder before turning a wary gaze back on Derek. “What business do you got with her?”

Jealousy streaked his tone and Derek hoped Clyde didn’t suddenly grow balls enough to instigate a physical fight.

“Logan sent me to end the blackmail your wife, Dora, is demanding from his wife, Clarissa.”

The sudden puzzled furrow of his brows told Derek that Clyde wasn’t a part of the scheme.

Derek heard the swish of skirts across the wooden floor and suddenly Dora appeared behind Clyde. A shrill denial fell from her lips before Derek could see all of her.
 

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” She’d rushed to the front door with a bright-eyed look of interest in her eyes squarely focused on Derek.

Given her prior interest, Derek had no doubt she’d throw her skirts up and offer herself to him if he merely asked, even if Clyde stood by to watch.

“How do you know about Clarissa’s past?”

“Clarissa’s past?” Clyde turned toward his wife with suspicion. “She don’t know nothin’ about that.”

“Sure she does. Did you tell her or do I need to go talk to Jasper Coggon?”

At the mention of the town’s only lawyer, Dora’s face stilled into a blank and unreadable visage. Her eyes lowered and she sent a sideways glance to Clyde as if she didn’t want him to know about her acquaintance with Jasper. “Like I said before, I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” she responded in a low terse voice.

Derek crossed his arms and leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. “You do know who Jasper is, right, Dora?” Everyone in town knew that Dora, with her penchant for chasing down and trying to wed wealthy powerful men, had spend many a night trying to convince the local lawyer to make their arrangement more permanent.

The only question in Derek’s mind was did she find the information about Clarissa on her own or did Jasper help her out of spite? He suspected that Dora was the mastermind behind any and all deviousness in this matter. He knew Jasper was basically a good sort of man. If a bit ambitious when it came to mail order bride contracts, his law business was more sacred. He wouldn’t give over any information on purpose.

Without looking at her husband, Dora said, “Clyde, go out back and chop some wood. We need some more for tonight.”

Clyde stepped back and turned to his wife. “There’s a whole cord of wood stacked up on the back porch, woman. Why do I got to chop more?”

“I want to talk to Mr. Brand for just a second. Run along now.”

Clyde shot a suspicious look at Derek, but bobbed his head and lumbered away. Derek mentally shook his head at the unwarranted trust he put in his evil wife, but it was just as well that Clyde left.

Once Clyde was out of earshot, Derek leaned his head down closer to Dora. “Do not ever repeat what you know about Clarissa’s past or I’ll make you sorry.”

Dora stepped closer and put herself within kissing distance of Derek. “You can’t do anything to make me sorry.” She lifted her face to his and her breath blew across his jaw. “Even if Clyde found out about the arrangement between me and Jasper, he’s too stupid to do anything about it.”

Derek chuckled. “Leave her alone or I’ll tell Clyde that you two aren’t legally married. As a matter of fact, I’ll make sure the whole town knows all about
your
colorful history in Texas before arriving in Campbell’s Valley.”

Dora’s body went rigid. She sputtered, “I don’t…I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” It was the third time she’d uttered those words, but Derek still didn’t believe her.

“If you feel the need to send a telegraph to one Bernard Pearson in New York, I’m going to be compelled to send one to Austin, Texas on your behalf. There is a certain town sheriff probably still pining away for his missing wife.”

Her lips puckered into an unflattering shape as if she’d just bitten into something sour. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Derek laughed. “I’d not only send a message, I’d personally throw you over the back of my horse and take you down there myself.”

She shrugged as if she didn’t care, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that her mind was racing with possibilities.

Derek continued, “And wasn’t there another gent in Oklahoma that you—?”

“Fine.” Dora sniffed and crossed her arms. “You’ve made your point. Besides, I don’t have the money to send a telegraph anyway.”

“Well, keep in mind that I’ve got plenty of money to send four or five telegraphs to as many states as needed.”

“Get out.” She grabbed the door and made to shut it in his face.

Derek stopped it with the flat of his hand. “Don’t make the mistake of forgetting this conversation, Dora.”

Dora made an ugly face, but didn’t respond. The door closed with a slam and Derek turned his attention to catching up with Logan and Clarissa.

Once they got to the cabin and camped for the night, he’d make sure Clarissa knew she didn’t have to worry about her past any more. And then he’d do his best to demonstrate what pleasures she had to look forward to in her future.
 

* * * *

“Will it still take only day to get to your ranch with the supplies, too?” Clarissa asked as Logan climbed into the wagon.

“No. We’ll have to go slower, but it’ll only add about a half a day to the journey. We have a small cabin on the edge of our property. We’ll stay there tonight and head to the ranch tomorrow morning.

She nodded and smiled, but sadness still rimmed her eyes and tightened her lovely face. Logan grabbed the reins, called out a mellow giddy up to the horses and got the wagon moving.

He wanted to give Clarissa the pin back now so she’d cheer up, but sought a more private venue to do so. He’d wait until they were a few miles out of town and pull over so she wouldn’t be miserable for the entire day.

The town slowly disappeared behind them in a cloud of dust made by the wagon wheels. The day was clear and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Logan planned to stop just around the bend in the well-worn road leading toward their property.

Seated next to him and thus far completely silent as they traveled, Clarissa suddenly put her face in her hands, bent over and started weeping.

Logan halted the horses, set the brake and took his sobbing wife into his arms. He squeezed her tight, hating Dora and Clyde and everyone associated with making her upset. “Don’t cry, honey, everything will be just fine. Trust me.”

Shoulders trembling, she turned her face into his collar. “Something bad is going to happen and I don’t want anything to hurt you or Derek.”

“Nothing is going to happen to either of us, honey. I promise.”

“But…” She trailed off and whatever she had been about to say dissolved into a torrent of tears that soaked his collar.

Logan pulled away and fished the brooch out of his pocket. “I found something that I think you might want.”

Clarissa straightened. The second she looked down at the pearls and gold centered in his palm, a squeal of surprise escaped her lips. It was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.

She reached out a tentative hand as if the brooch were an apparition set to disappear before her eyes once she tried to touch it. “How did you get it? I thought it was gone forever.”

“Dora sold it to Joe as soon as you left the store. The truth is he accidentally overheard the conversation the two of you had and thought you might want it back.”

Logan cupped her hand and put the treasured pin in her palm. Her fingers closed over it she brought it protectively to the center of her chest. Her watery gaze lifted to his eyes. She said, “Thank you.” And then her gaze drifted to his mouth.

She leaned forward and kissed him. On her soft lips he tasted the salt of her tears. Logan encircled her with his arms again and intensified the kiss by sliding his tongue gently into her mouth. She reciprocated by touching her sweet tongue against his seductively.

 
He didn’t know how long they had kissed, but Logan heard the fast staccato of galloping hoof beats approaching the wagon. He broke the kiss in time to see Derek ride alongside of the wagon.

“You didn’t get very far along on the road home.”

“And you didn’t take as long as I expected in town.”

Derek shrugged and smiled.

“Besides, I had a good reason. I stopped to give her back her pin.” Derek’s relaxed demeanor and satisfied expression told Logan that the problem had been subdued, but he asked anyway. “Did you convince Dora to cease her scheming?”

“Yep. Blackmailers like her should consider their own dark past before trying to pry into others lives for profit. With all the dirt I know about her past, she won’t dare try anything.”