‘‘Did you know Mr. Adams well when you wed him?’’
‘‘No,’’ Kora admitted. She wasn’t about to go into detail about how she didn’t know Andrew Adams at all. This stranger, or anyone else for that matter, would never understand.
‘‘I’ll tell you about me.’’ Winter straightened slightly. ‘‘My mother was Cheyenne, my father Irish. But no man’s ever given me trouble about being mixed blood, at least not more than once.’’ Winter knew he had to be honest now for he’d not have her saying she was tricked. ‘‘If you ask my men, they’ll tell you I’m a tough boss but fair. I don’t ask a man to do something I wouldn’t do myself, and I work as hard as any. If you ask women’’-he thought of Mary Anna’s words-‘‘they’ll tell you I don’t have a heart, so don’t go expecting any affection from me. I’ve no time for things as foolish as love. I’m offering a fair bargain of marriage, for a lifetime if you like, or six months. By the time you’ve finished mourning Mr. Adams, you’ll have enough money to go wherever you like.’’
‘‘Are you saying you’re asking for a marriage in name only?’’ Kora felt her face redden from the neck up. She couldn’t believe she was asking such a thing of a stranger.
Winter hesitated, knowing what he was about to say might very well end his chances. ‘‘No, Mrs. Adams. If I’m going to have to marry, I want a wife.’’ He knew he was embarrassing her, but there could be no misunderstanding. ‘‘I expect us to live together as man and wife. I’ll not sleep with another while we’re married, and I’d expect the same of you.’’
He could tell his words frightened her, but she seemed to be fighting gallantly not to allow her fear to show. Logan had told him there would be bargaining in marriage, so he’d better start before she bolted.
‘‘I know you’re newly widowed, so there’d be no rushing you on my part.’’ He backed down guessing she’d be in California long before she climbed into his bed. ‘‘You can take your time to grieve one husband before you bed another. But as far as the world will know we’re to be truly married.’’
The woman’s face paled so much beneath the black shawl Winter feared she might faint, but she didn’t say a word.
‘‘Marry me, Mrs. Adams, and I’ll do my best to see that you’re never hungry or cold.’’ He could tell by looking around the place that she’d be both soon. ‘‘If all you want in the bargain is to be in California, I’ll see you set up there by summer if you don’t want to stay married.’’
She stared at him and smiled as though he’d just sketched her hopes in the air between them. He wanted to yell at her for wanting so little. Hell, he’d give her a fat bank account if she asked, or trips to Dallas to buy clothes, or horses and a proper buggy.
‘‘Name your terms,’’ he said again. ‘‘But marry me tonight.’’
To his surprise she lifted her chin and stood taller. ‘‘I can’t be bought,’’ she said simply. ‘‘I’m sorry. You’ll have to look elsewhere.’’
‘‘I’m not buying you, I’m offering a bargain we both need. A marriage, right and proper as any. And I’m not saying being my wife will be easy. I won’t promise to make you happy, but I will keep you safe. You’ll own the house and the land around it outright. You can kick me out if I get difficult to live with. I’ll stay in one of the line shacks if I must. I swear the house will be yours and you can come and go as you like, but the ranch is mine.’’
A thousand refusals ran through her mind. Even if she’d wanted another husband, which she swore she never would, the man before her wasn’t what she’d look for. He seemed hard and cold and not even overly friendly when he was proposing. He was too covered in dust to sit at a table in a dugout, and the weapon he wore looked like it never came off.
But he just might be the solution she’d been hoping for. He was offering her a place to live, a refuge for a while. Then, by summer, she’d be in the warm sunshine of California. She’d taken a husband once to find a home. It hadn’t worked, but this time it might, if only long enough for Dan to grow strong enough to travel. Nothing lasted forever, not jobs, or homes, or husbands.
She could survive alone, Kora told herself, but she had to think of Jamie and Dan. They were the reason she’d signed the paper to marry Andrew Adams, and they were her motivation now. ‘‘I’d ask one thing,’’ she whispered, realizing she was demanding a great deal of this stranger.
Winter watched her closely, knowing that she was considering marriage for the first time since he’d suggested it. ‘‘Agreed.’’ He felt his body relax. ‘‘Pack what you need tonight. I’ll send one of the hands for the rest tomorrow. I’ll hitch your horse to the wagon.’’
Kora looked up at him. ‘‘But you haven’t heard what I want.’’
‘‘It doesn’t matter. I said name your price.’’ Winter saw no point in trying to bluff when she’d won. Whatever she asked, he’d give.
‘‘One thing I think you should know. I’m left-handed.’’ Kora felt she had to be honest, he’d find out soon enough. ‘‘My mother did everything she could to change me, but nothing worked.’’
The corner of Win’s mustache lifted. ‘‘I can live with that.’’ Among his mother’s people being right- or lefthanded hadn’t mattered. He’d always thought it strange that others seemed to care.
‘‘Some say being left-handed is bad luck,’’ she whispered.
‘‘I believe a man makes his own luck.’’
Kora bit into her bottom lip for a long moment, then offered her right hand. ‘‘Then I’ll marry you tonight, Mr. McQuillen. And I’ll hold you to your word.’’
‘‘Thank you, Mrs. Adams.’’ Winter closed his fingers around her small hand. She seemed so fragile, he wondered how she’d survived in this harsh country. After tonight she’d have it easier, he’d see to that. He might be offering her safety, but she was giving him his dream-all of the ranch.
Before he could release Kora’s hand, a knife flew past his face at bullet speed.
Winter swung with pure instinct, pulling Kora behind him as he raised his Colt and turned in the direction of the door.
‘‘Touch my sister and I won’t just brush your nose next time, cowboy.’’ A high voice sounded from the shadows.
Lowering his weapon only slightly, he answered as he loosened his grip on Kora’s hand, ‘‘I wasn’t hurting your sister.’’
The shadow in the doorway came closer.
‘‘Jamie!’’ Kora moved in front of Winter. ‘‘Stop trying to slice up my future husband. I’ve just told Mr. McQuillen I’ll marry him, and that is exactly what I plan to do if you don’t kill him first.’’
Winter couldn’t stop the grin that widened his mustache. All Kora’s shyness was gone as she scolded her brother, making him hopeful that she might prove stronger than he’d thought.
‘‘You weren’t married to the first husband long enough for me to see him before he died.’’ Jamie moved into the light. ‘‘And judging from the way this place was run down when we got here, he wasn’t much of a man. Now you’re thinking of going and making another mistake? Well, you’re not rushing out in the wrong direction again, Kora. I’m old enough to stop you from marrying another bastard.’’
‘‘We’ll not speak ill of the dead!’’ Kora ordered, as though speaking ill of husband number one was worse than offering to cut up husband number two. ‘‘And put away those knives.’’
‘‘Knives?’’ Winter mumbled, wondering what this sibling of Mrs. Adams might also carry. Jamie was Kora’s height, but younger by several years. The youth’s face was dirty, but the buckskins he wore appeared fairly clean.
Kora turned to Winter and pointed toward Jamie. ‘‘Maybe before we marry, you’d best know my condition. I want you to find Jamie a mate. I promised my mother.’’
‘‘What!’’ both Winter and Jamie yelled.