Gold Rush Bride Read online

  He plucked his beaver-skin cap from the wet ground, then caught himself looking for where he’d tethered his horse. “Son of a…” He’d forgotten the mare had spent the night in drier quarters, one of Landerfelt’s rented stalls down at the livery.

  He slammed the cap on his head, tucked the buckskin under his arm and started in that direction. If he was lucky he could hitch a ride on the mule train to Sutter’s Fort. They could always use an extra teamster or two.

  It was time to get the hell out of town before he changed his mind about giving Landerfelt his due and taking Kate Dennington up on that offer.

  She wasn’t, by a long shot, in the same league with Sherrilyn, but she wasn’t as innocent as she played at, either. He’d known that the moment he’d first laid eyes on her in Dennington’s store. When Vickery told her her father was dead, she hadn’t shed a tear. Not one.

  What kind of woman would react like that to her father’s death? A father, not like his, but one who loved a child as fiercely as Liam Dennington had loved his daughter. That little scene at the grave last night hadn’t fooled him one bit. Again, no tears. Just rain. Her eyes had been as clear and cool as a predator’s.

  So why had he been so put off by the marriage scheme she’d cooked up? He kicked up a stone as he turned into the wagon ruts on Main Street. She’d disappointed him, that’s why. He’d thought her a world apart from the one he’d come from. A world he was never going back to.

  Clearly she wasn’t.

  Dennington hadn’t talked much about Ireland or his family, except for waxing poetic about his daughter. Will had no idea if the Irishman had been well-to-do or just a common working man. Kate Dennington’s plain clothes and worn-out shoes led him to believe the latter.

  But a man couldn’t be too sure about anyone these days. The gold rush had done one thing for California that Will did like. It made nearly everyone an equal. A rough-looking miner passed him on the street, and he knew the man was just as likely to have been a lawyer or a landowner in his old life as he was a laborer working the railroad.

  No, Kate Dennington wasn’t the grieving, noble daughter he’d imagined her to be on first blush, but perhaps he’d been too hasty in refusing her offer. She was bound to marry someone if she intended to go through with her plan to keep the store.

  Why not him?

  He screwed up his face, remembering the one thing that didn’t make sense. She’d said that it must be him. Him and no other. Why? What did it matter to her? Any man would do for the scheme she’d hatched.

  He reached the livery just as the sun was full up. The sky was a brilliant blue, the autumn air fresh as any he’d ever breathed. It reminded him of why he loved the frontier. On impulse he turned and let his gaze wander up the hillside to John Vickery’s three-room cottage.

  An image of Kate Dennington’s trim waist and curved hips flashed in his mind. Will allowed himself a rare smile.

  “Why the hell not?”

  Perhaps he’d get the money for his passage, after all, and give Eldridge Landerfelt what was coming to him.

  Shading her eyes against the sunlight, Kate squinted at the charred, muddy evidence of Crockett’s campfire and thanked God the trapper had refused her preposterous offer.

  She must have been completely out of her mind last night. A hundred rosaries wouldn’t be enough to purge the sin of even proposing it. She’d remind herself to start on them that evening.

  Pulling her still damp shawl tight about her, she picked her way carefully up the ravine separating Vickery’s cottage from the rest of town. She hadn’t meant to oversleep. For hours last night she’d tossed and turned, and when she finally fell asleep, she’d dreamed the most sinful things…. Will Crockett carrying her across the threshold of her father’s store…sharing a slice of wedding cake with him on the porch in back. Then later, his dark eyes searing her as she turned down the sheets of their marriage bed.

  “Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” She crossed herself and pushed the images from her mind.

  A gust of wind blasted a pile of wet autumn leaves across her path as she turned onto Main Street. The town was bustling with activity, and a dozen pairs of miner’s eyes fixed on her as she strode briskly toward Landerfelt’s Mercantile.

  She’d best get used to their stares. It had been no different in San Francisco, and that’s where she was likely to end up. For a time, at least. She’d just have to tough it out. There was no other option. Not now.

  She’d sell her father’s storefront and land for whatever Landerfelt would give her. Had her foolish pride not gotten in the way, she would have done so yesterday when he’d made her the offer. She could have bargained with him at least.

  Her mother would have been practical and sold. But oh, no, not Kate. She was clearly her father’s daughter. She shook her head at her stupidity, then stopped dead in her tracks as a litany of rapid-fire Chinese diffused by men’s shouts caught her off guard.

  She fixed her gaze on the chaotic scene unfolding in front of Landerfelt’s Mercantile and Mining Supply. An overloaded wagon sat in the middle of the muddy street. Mei Li stood precariously atop the pile of supplies and mining equipment, yelling and kicking at two men who tried, unsuccessfully, to unload it out from under her.

  Kate pushed her way to the front of the small crowd of miners and other townsfolk gathering to watch the skirmish.

  The Chinese girl saw her, and her round face lit up. “Miss Kate, hurry!”

  “Mei Li, what on earth—?”

  “Wagon here with goods! Landerfelt try steal.” She kicked at one of the men who’d hefted a sack of grain from off the pile. “No let him! Wagon ours.”

  Ours? Kate pushed closer. “What do you mean? I didn’t order any—”

  “Landerfelt offered me double what Dennington put down by way a deposit.”

  Kate frowned at the man who’d spoken: a rough-looking character sporting a long buckskin coat, well-worn gloves and chaps. She recognized him from Sutter’s Fort, where she’d overnighted three days ago. He was the wagon’s driver.

  “You mean my father paid money in advance for these goods?”

  Mei Li let out a screech.

  Kate’s conversation with the driver was forgotten as Mei Li let loose another tirade of what had to be Chinese curses. One of the unloaders, Landerfelt’s man, grabbed her ankle. Mei Li fought to keep her balance as the man pulled her toward him, a malicious grin plastered on his face. The onlookers did nothing to stop him. What kind of men were these?

  “You there!” Kate caught the ruffian’s eye, and his grin widened to reveal awful-looking teeth. “Leave her alone! She’s—” The wagon driver grabbed her and jerked her back, nearly off her feet. “Let me go! What do you think you’re—”

  A gunshot sounded, and Kate jumped nearly out of her skin. A second later the man who’d grabbed Mei Li’s ankle was flying through the air toward Landerfelt’s store window. “Sweet Jesus!” Kate braced herself for the shattering glass.

  The tawny-haired man she’d seen standing in the street with Will Crockett yesterday morn, scrambled atop the wagon and swept Mei Li off her feet. Kate was about to cry out for someone to stop him, but the enthralled look in Mei Li’s eyes as her arms snaked around his neck stilled her tongue.

  The wagon driver tightened his grip, and Kate renewed her struggle. “I said let me go, you bloody oaf!” She kicked backward at his shin, and he grunted.

  “Take your hands off her or you’re a dead man.”

  She knew that voice.

  A second later the driver released her. And a moment after that, Will Crockett’s fist connected with his face. A nice, clean blow. Kate winced as the driver went down.

  As if such things happened every day, two onlookers dragged his limp body out of the mud and propped him against the windowless storefront of Landerfelt’s Mercantile and Mining Supply.

  “Y-you killed him.” She took in Crockett’s steely expression and coal-black eyes.

  “Nah. He’s just out cold.
He’ll be all right.” Crockett’s gaze fixed on her, and his eyes warmed to brown.

  The scandalous dream she’d had about him mere hours ago flooded her mind, unbidden. Her face flushed with heat. “Y-you’re still here.”

  “Yeah.” His gaze washed over her, and that same queer feeling she’d had yesterday returned.

  “But I thought you were gone to Alaska.”

  “I was. I mean I am.” He took off his fur hat and played with it, then crushed it in his hands. “There’s something I need to do first.”

  She felt suddenly overwarm, as if she’d just come down with fever. “Like…what, supposin’?”

  “Well, I was thinking that—”

  Shouts and the sound of hoofbeats cut short their conversation. The crowd scattered like rats in a Dublin flat. What now? Kate glanced down the street to see Eldridge Landerfelt bearing down on them on horseback.

  Will stepped out in front of her, taking the brunt of the mud clods kicked up as the merchant jerked his mount to a halt in front of his store and took in the chaotic scene.

  “Hell’s bells, what’s goin’ on here?” A second later Landerfelt was off his horse, on his feet, and nose to nose with Crockett.

  Kate had the same question, and waited to hear the frontiersman’s answer. She stepped out from behind him, but Crockett didn’t spare her a glance. His gaze was pinned on Landerfelt.

  “That shipment,” Crockett said. “It’s mine.”

  “Yours?” answered Kate and Landerfelt in unison.

  Crockett continued to ignore her. “That’s right. Liam Dennington paid half down on it two weeks ago. I know. I was there when the money changed hands.”

  Landerfelt cracked a half smile. “What if he did? Dennington’s dead and buried. He can’t pay the balance, and she sure can’t, neither.” He flashed his eyes at her. “I’m doing her a favor by taking it off her hands.”

  He was doing her a favor, Kate realized. She certainly couldn’t afford to pay for the goods, and even if she could she’d just have to turn around and sell them.

  “You’d pay me back my father’s deposit, of course.”

  “Of course.” Landerfelt’s smile broadened. He pulled a cigar out of his jacket and lit it up, much to Kate’s displeasure.

  “Fine,” she said, and waved the smoke away from her face. “I’d also speak with you about the store itself, and the land. I was thinking that—”

  “She was thinking she’d like to keep it awhile.” Crockett shot her a loaded look.

  “Keep it?” For the second time in as many minutes she and Landerfelt voiced the same thought.

  “She can’t keep it,” Landerfelt said. “It’s the law.”

  Crockett took a step toward him, and Kate thought for sure there would be another fight. “Yeah, so I’ve heard. Single women can’t own property.”

  “Or operate a business within two miles of town.” Landerfelt blew a puff of cigar smoke directly into Crockett’s face.

  Kate braced herself for the frontiersman’s reaction, but to her surprise he didn’t move a muscle. His cool expression hardened. She admired control in a man. Too many of them, her father and brothers included, went off half-cocked.

  “Unless the business is…well…” Landerfelt flashed his blue eyes at her again.

  “I know what the law says. And I’m telling you she’s keeping the store and the shipment. We’re keeping it.”

  “We?” Kate had a bad feeling when she met Will Crockett’s coal-black gaze.

  “That’s right. Mrs. Crockett here—” Will wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side “—and me.”

  “What?” This time she only mouthed Landerfelt’s reply. The cigar slipped from the merchant’s gaping mouth and sizzled in the muddy street.

  “We’re getting married. This morning.” Crockett tossed her a cold look. “Isn’t that right?”

  All at once, Kate felt the world slip out from under her feet. Crockett gripped her tighter, and she was suddenly aware of his body heat, the strength of his big hand and muscled arm.

  “What kinda bull is this?” Landerfelt narrowed his eyes at the both of them.

  “No bull, just fact. There’s nothing in town law says a married woman can’t operate a business. Especially if it’s her husband’s business. And nothing in the law says I can’t own property. I marry her and it’s mine.”

  “W-wait a minute.” Kate’s head began to throb. “I thought you said—”

  “I changed my mind.”

  “There’s no preacher for miles.” Landerfelt’s face went bloodred. He reminded her of that boxer again. The rage in his eyes told Kate he wasn’t giving up.

  Out of nowhere, Mei Li’s head popped in between them. “Mr. Vickery marry. He make legal.” She grinned at Kate. “I help. You come now. We make ready.”

  “But—”

  “I’ll get Vickery.” The tawny-haired man who’d thrown Landerfelt’s crony through the window and had spirited Mei Li from off the wagon slapped Will Crockett on the back. He tipped his hat at her and cracked a crooked grin. “I’m the best man, I reckon. Matt Robinson, ma’am.” He grabbed her hand and shook it until Kate thought it would break loose from her arm. “I mean, Mrs. Crockett. Back in a flash.” He took off at a full run.

  Kate felt as if she were outside her own body, looking down on the preposterous scene unfolding around her.

  “You won’t get away with this, Crockett.” Landerfelt grabbed his horse’s reins, then shot her a murderous look. “You, neither, you—”

  Crockett grabbed the neatly pressed lapels of Landerfelt’s jacket. Kate waited for him to speak, to defend her with some choice words, but he said nothing. After a few tense seconds, Landerfelt swore and pulled out of the frontiersman’s grasp. The crowd parted as he jerked his mount down the street toward the livery.

  “Married?” Kate stared at Crockett, openmouthed. The reality of the situation dawned on her.

  “That’s what you wanted, right? Get married, keep the store, make enough for your ticket home.”

  She nodded, dumbstruck. That’s exactly what she had proposed to him last night. “Aye, but—”

  “Fine. It’s a deal.” He grabbed her hand and shook it. Not as hard as Matt Robinson had, but firmly and with a cold intent in his eyes that made her forget all thoughts of changing her mind.

  “I want the mule, the horse, and whatever we make off this wagon load. We’ll sell it all today. Now, in fact.”

  “But the driver…” She gestured to the buckskin-clad driver who’d manhandled her and had received Will Crockett’s fist in payment. His nose was bleeding. It definitely looked broken. “My father didn’t pay for it all, just a deposit.”

  Crockett walked over to the driver, who was just coming around. The man touched a gloved hand to his broken nose and groaned.

  “Don’t worry. Dan, here, will wait for his money, won’t you, Dan?” Crockett placed his booted foot on the driver’s knee and pressed down.

  “Ow! S-sure. Whatever you say, Will.”

  “And he’ll deliver the next load to you on credit.”

  “What?”

  Crockett put his weight into it, and the driver yelped like a dog. “Right. C-credit. No problem, Mrs. Crockett.”

  Wonderful. More credit. Just what she needed. Kate stood there, feeling rather weightless, as if she were in the middle of some eerie nightmare. Mei Li took her hand and pulled her in the direction of the Chinese camp.

  “We make ready, quick quick. Mei Li help.”

  Will Crockett jammed his hat on his head and shot Kate a stony glance. “I’ll leave you enough cash to get by on. Be back here in an hour, and we’ll get it over with. I’ve got a ship to make.”

  Mei Li yanked the buckskin drape closed across the glassless window in the tiny shanty where she’d told Kate she lived with her father and her brothers.

  “No mother, four brothers,” Kate repeated. “Just like me.”

  She took in the assortment of
unusual objects, cooking gear and other domestic possessions jammed into the tin-and-timber shack. The air was thick with an exotic potpourri of pungent scents. She’d never known any Chinese. Had never seen any until she stepped onto the wharf in San Francisco less than a week ago. How her world had changed since then.

  “You sit.” Mei Li nodded at the carpet-covered ground. “I fix wild hair.”

  “Wild?” She smoothed her auburn tresses and ignored the girl’s well-intentioned command. “My hair’s fine. Besides, it’s not as if it’s a real wedding.”

  “It real enough. Will Crockett real man. You real woman.”

  Kate fought a smile. Aye, Will Crockett was a real man. His behavior that morning had been nothing short of chivalrous. She recalled, with a bit of shameless glee, how he’d decked the wagon driver. Crockett had watched out for her. Protected her. First against the driver’s manhandling, then against Landerfelt’s threats.

  Her stomach tightened every time she thought of it. No man had ever gone out of his way to protect her. None, save her brothers back home. And they didn’t count, really. They were family; it was expected.

  Aye, Will Crockett had been gallant, but in a cool, almost unfriendly manner. As if the whole affair was just an unsavory business arrangement he’d gotten caught up in. “Kate, you dolt.” She shook off her girlish stupor and plopped cross-legged onto the carpet.

  Mei Li frowned down at her. “What mean dolt?”

  “Fool.” For that’s what she was. Of course Crockett viewed it as a business arrangement; that’s exactly what it was. She needed his name to keep the store, and he needed—

  What did he need? What was Will Crockett getting out of the bargain that was important enough to overrule his stalwart refusal of the night before? Her father’s horse and a bit of coin? Surely it wasn’t worth the trouble to a man in such a hurry to leave town.

  “Mei Li, why do you suppose Crockett’s marrying me?”

  The girl ignored Kate’s earlier protest and worked to tame her hair into some kind of fantastical upswept arrangement. “He like. I see it.”

  “No, you’re wrong. Mr. Crockett doesn’t like me.” He’d made that clear last night. He’d chastised her, in fact, for her outrageous proposal. His censure had made her feel dirty, cheap. She recalled those dark, judgmental eyes of his and how his lips had tightened into a thin line. “No, he must have a good reason to be doing this.” But what was it? He was leaving in a matter of hours. What possible inducement—