Their Scandalous Bride, page 3
“Yes, our ranch butts up against your property, but our house is here on the edge of town,” Alastair said.
“Oh,” she replied for the first time feeling nervous. Would they help her? They must own a lot of land if their ranch butted up against hers.
When they walked inside, Alastair removed her coat and a gasp escaped from him. “What the hell happened?”
Keegan turned from the kitchen and glared at her. He walked over and lit a lantern and held it up to her arms and chest.
“Who did this to you?”
“The father of your child?” Alastair asked.
“No,” she said. “I’m not pregnant. Phillip did this to me last night. That’s why I’m here. I’m in trouble.”
Keegan gave a small chuckle.
“I knew it,” Alastair said. “I told you she was pregnant.”
She whirled around and faced Alastair. “Listen, I’m not pregnant. Don’t believe his lies.”
“Let the girl talk,” Keegan said.
For the next five minutes, she preceded to tell them what happened after they left. How Phillip attacked her when she walked out the door and she fought him off. How she broke his thumb and then pushed him away. Only instead of falling to the ground, he’d landed on a rock and now she feared she had killed him.
Alastair groaned and shook his head.
Keegan sighed. “You are definitely in trouble. Did you go to the sheriff?”
“No, I haven’t told anyone. Not even Charley. I’m hoping you will help me,” she said.
The two men glanced at one another.
“Honey, tomorrow morning we’re taking you to the sheriff,” Alastair said, running his hand through his hair. “If Phillip is dead, you could soon be hanging.”
Did the man want to see her hang? What had she done to him to make him dislike her?
“Why? He attacked me. He spread rumors about us and he insisted that I marry him. I’m never marrying that bastard.” With a sigh, she sank down onto the couch and put her head in her hands. “All I want is to find a man to love me and raise a family, and instead I have this crazy man chasing after me. All he wants is my land. Not me.”
They glanced at each other and then she began to cry.
“I didn’t mean to hurt him, honestly.”
They pulled her up from the couch and guided her between their bodies. Keegan held her while she cried. Alastair leaned against her back and she was sandwiched between them.
She’d never felt more protected than she did at this moment. Two men holding her, supporting her, and giving her comfort when she felt like her life was coming apart at the seams.
“You can spend the night here,” Alastair said. “But in the morning, we’ll all go to town and try to get this cleared up. In the meantime, do you know how to cook?”
She glanced at Keegan who grinned at her. “Sorry, we’re bachelors and our own cooking is not great. We usually eat with one of the married couples. But tonight, we’d like to have you all to ourselves.”
She licked her lips, her nerves suddenly overwhelming her. What did they mean have her all to themselves?
“Look, you two are really sweet, but we’re not married and I’m not going to have sex with you. If that’s what you want, I’m leaving right now.”
Keegan glanced over her shoulder at Alastair and she could see that though nothing was said, they were communicating with one another.
“No, we’re not going to have sex with you. What we mean by having you all to ourselves is that we want to talk and get to know you. You’re not what we thought when we first met you.”
“Oh, so you believed all the lies being spread about me,” she said.
“You do have quite the reputation,” Alastair said. “I know all about your deeds in the past.”
The man caused her anger to rise as he stared at her so certain of her faults.
“Well, good for you. Is your past a shining example of pureness? I’m no different than any other woman. I’m not a loose woman and I don’t like men who are dishonest. Have you ever been dishonest with someone?”
Alastair’s eyes narrowed as he stared at her. “That’s none of your business.”
“I won’t assume the worst about you if you don’t about me.”
She was sick and tired of being thought of as an unscrupulous woman and right now she’d fight any man who thought badly of her. Maybe it was time for men to have to lead a life of perfection. Would any of them pass the test?
Keegan chuckled. “Let’s just eat some supper and see how tonight goes.”
Why couldn’t she find a man who wanted to court her and love her? Why did that seem so impossible?
Even with these men, she wondered if they truly believed in her innocence.
6
Early the next morning before the sun had risen, Alastair and Keegan left the house to go to the barn. It was time to feed the animals and get started on their day. Catriona was in the house fixing them breakfast and it all felt so surreal.
Alastair felt like at any moment a scandal would ensue and they would be forced to leave town.
“Kind of nice having a woman feed us,” Keegan said.
“Yes,” Alastair admitted, though he had barely slept all night long. Any moment, he thought he would hear the stairs creak and she would crawl into bed with them. Part of him wanted her to be that brazen and part of him resisted.
“Too bad she’s not sharing our bed.”
“We’re taking her to town this morning and then we’ll return her to Charley. She has no business staying with us,” Alastair admonished.
Though his dick thought differently, he sounded like an old man. Why couldn’t he just take her and enjoy the pleasure he would find between her legs? Why couldn’t he be like other men and just use women for sex?
Keegan grinned as the frozen grass crunched beneath their boots. “Are you telling me you’re not attracted to her?”
That was the irony of the situation. Alastair wanted to fuck her so badly and yet she was the exact opposite of the type of woman he wanted. No matter what she said, he still did not believe she was innocent. He still believed she was pregnant and just trying to hoodwink them into marrying her.
With so much indignity attached to her name, they had something in common and he had tried for years to rid himself of the disgrace. Over half a continent away, he still had to keep his name clear of more rumormongering.
“I’d love nothing better than to raise her skirts, lay her over our table, and fuck her into next week. But I’m not going to give her what she wants. Last night, she admitted to us that she wants to get married and have children.”
Shaking his head, Keegan stared at him, hopeful.
“All women want to get married and have children,” Alastair said. “But most women don’t have a bad reputation attached to their name. And I don’t want a woman who I have doubts about her innocence. I wonder if she’s fooling us. Am I wrong to want to marry someone I can trust?”
“No,” Keegan said. “But if we were in Scotland and you were trying to find a bride, would there not be scandal associated with your name?”
Alastair tensed. The damn man was right. And yet it was the very reason he didn’t want to marry Catriona. Though he felt drawn to her and even wanted to help her, he wasn’t certain he could ever trust her.
“Yes, you’re right. After our family’s good name was mired in mud, I never want to experience that again. Catriona’s name is tarnished and we don’t know if what she’s telling us is the truth or not.”
He opened the door to the barn and the new foals stared at them as they each went about the tasks they performed each morning.
Keegan was silent for a moment. “Let’s think about this logically. Phillip warned us to stay away from her because she was pregnant with his child and they were engaged to be married. Cat was riding a horse at full speed when we met her. If a woman was pregnant, wouldn’t she be more careful riding?”
There was no denying what Keegan said was true.
“But there are other rumors about her,” he said. “The one I find especially disturbing is the one she was caught swimming without her clothes and two men joined her in the swimming hole.”
Keegan was silent. “That one I can’t reconcile. I don’t have enough information. But would you force a woman to marry you after she’s made it known that she despises you?”
Alastair turned on his friend. “Never. So why is Phillip so determined that Catriona will be his wife.”
“He either has a twisted mind or he wants her ranch.”
There was that and with Catriona’s parents both dead, she was an easy target. Oh how Alastair wanted to believe her, but then the past would remind him of everything he lost.
“I know her parents died in a blizzard. We need to ask her how they lost their lives,” Keegan said.
The memory of Alastair’s parents came to mind and he quickly shoved the unhappy thoughts away. They were the reason for his being so cautious about being married. He’d witnessed a disastrous union between two people who hated each other. And he wanted no part of such a marriage.
A marriage that tore his family apart.
“Why do you need to know how they died?” Alastair asked, thinking he didn’t want to share with anyone the death of his parents.
The sun was peeking over the horizon, the rays shining across the land through the open doors of the barn. The start of a new day and yet he was still stuck in the past. Even though he’d moved to America, he’d brought his pain with him all the way from Scotland.
“Because it’s obvious that Phillip wants to join their ranches together. Would he or could he have done something to harm her parents? Then she would be easy prey for him.”
Alastair stopped filling the bucket with water, his mind churning away at the possibility of Phillip being implicated in their deaths.
“All right, we’ll ask about how her parents died. But we’re in agreement that we’re taking her to Helena today. And that we’re going to the sheriff?”
For Alastair’s peace of mind, they had to take her in or find themselves embroiled in a murder if Phillip was dead.
Keegan was silent for a moment as he walked about inside the barn and went over to the new foals that gazed at him their big eyes filled with curiosity. He rubbed their heads and pulled out a carrot which he broke in two and gave each one.
“We’ve been friends, brothers, for so many years and we always agreed that we would find a woman and share her between us. I’d marry Catriona in a minute, but you’re the more cautious one, so I’ll defer to your opinion. But if we learn she’s in danger, I’m going to marry her. I’m going to protect her.”
Nothing had ever come between them before now. And while Alastair understood and even agreed that he wanted to spread Catriona’s thighs and have his way with her, he had doubts. Or maybe after his mother’s scandal he could not trust any woman.
The thought caused his chest to ache and he pushed the troublesome images away. No matter what, he would not let his past ruin his future and yet he feared marrying Catriona would be like being wed to his past. Nothing but gossip.
“This is not something I would agree to, but because you’re more my brother than my any of my blood relatives, I will consent to this. But only if she is in danger. And if we learn of more indignations before you wed her, I’ll reject the idea of this marriage.”
Keegan smiled at him. “Thank you. Guess we better get the animals fed and head to town.”
A blood curdling scream echoed through the barn and the men hurried outside. Mattie Craghead stood in the middle of the street looking everywhere. “My son is missing. He’s not in the house and I can’t find him anywhere. Alex and Jessie are gone and…”
The woman broke down and started sobbing.
Keegan rushed to her side as other men came out of their homes. “We’ll get a search team and start looking for him.”
When it came to children, Alastair knew that Keegan had a heart as big as Montana. They were not going anywhere until this child was found.
7
Catriona heard the screaming. She had cooked eggs and bacon and even made homemade biscuits. Breakfast was all laid out. She ran out the door and saw Keegan comforting a crying woman.
She stood next to another woman and they stared at the scene.
“What happened?”
“Little two-year-old James is missing,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye before she turned and glanced at Catriona. “I’m Georgia Hamilton, married to Daniel and Martin.”
Though Catriona knew the reputation of Bridgewater, she had never met any of the women in person.
“Catriona O’Reilly,” she said. “I’m just visiting.”
The woman smiled at her.
For a moment, Catriona watched as Keegan comforted the missing child’s mother and then began to organize a search team.
“What’s it like being married to two men?”
The woman glanced at her. “Are you considering Keegan and Alastair?”
With a sigh, she didn’t know how to respond. “I’m very attracted to them, but I don’t think they want me.”
Georgia chuckled and rubbed her hand over her large pregnant belly. “I think you’re wrong about them wanting you. Even now, I can see them looking over to make certain you’re all right. All I can tell you is that my two husbands are my life. They look after me, they take care of me and do everything possible to make me happy. If you speak to any of the women here in Bridgewater, you’ll learn we love our life here and would be so happy to see you marry Keegan and Alastair. Both are really good men. And Keegan, bless him, he loves children so much.”
Catriona’s chest tightened. It seemed like Georgia had exactly what she wanted. A loving relationship, but instead of one man, it was with two. As long as they were happy, she would be thrilled to have both Keegan and Alastair. But unfortunately, Alastair believed the worst about her.
This town, this world, was completely opposite from what she’d experienced as a child growing up. And yet it appeared a city of love. Families were now gathering outside, the women comforted the child’s mother, the men prepared to go in search of the missing boy.
“They’re getting ready to ride. I should give them the breakfast I made for them,” Catriona said.
“If there is ever a time you want to talk, we live a few houses down. Come over and visit. I’d love to learn more about you and your men.”
“Thank you, but they’re taking me back to Helena today,” she said. “But thank you for talking to me.”
“Anytime,” the woman said as she walked across the street to join the other women.
Catriona went into the kitchen and hurried out with biscuits wrapped in a napkin. She went to Alastair first.
“Maybe you can eat breakfast while you search for the boy,” she said.
A stunned expression crossed his face. “Thank you.”
She wanted to say so much more but didn’t think this was the time to speak of things that troubled them.
“Find the child,” she said.
“We will,” he promised and turned his horse away.
Quickly she stepped over to Keegan and handed him his egg biscuit. “I brought you your breakfast.”
Keegan sighed and shook his head. “He’s so small. He must have tried to follow his father when he left this morning.”
His eyes were teary and she could see how concerned he was for the child. He genuinely cared and her chest tightened with pain for both Keegan and the missing child.
“You’ll find him. I’m confident in your ability and your determination.”
A weak smile crossed his face. “Thank you. I just hope we find him before he gets into real trouble.”
The men were beginning to ride out. “Go. I’ll say a prayer for the boy and for the men searching.”
He took the biscuits and put them in his pocket. “Stay in the house.”
“Of course,” she said, knowing that she had planned on wandering around the small village and even speaking to some of the women.
Groups of men rode in different directions and she stood watching them leave.
A woman walked over to her. “Hello, I’m Emma. I’m married to Whitmore and Ian. And who are you?”
“Hello, I’m Catriona O’Reilly. I’m visiting Keegan and Alastair.”
The woman smiled at her. “Keegan adores little James. He adores all the children. Of course, with his background I’m sure children have a special place in his heart.”
“His background?” Catriona asked.
The woman ignored her comment. “How long are you going to be here?”
“They were taking me back to Helena this morning.”
“Are you their girlfriend?”
If only, Catriona thought. She glanced about the streets of Bridgewater and noticed a small group of men had stayed behind.
“What is life like living here in Bridgewater?”
Emma took her hand. “Come to the house and we’ll talk.”
“Oh, I can’t. They asked me to stay in their house until they returned and while I would love to speak to you. I don’t want to offend them and not do as they ask.”
The woman grinned at her. “All right. I will come to your house, but I can’t stay long as my baby is sleeping and I don’t want him to wake up before I get home.”
Catriona didn’t know if they would be happy that she had invited one of the wives to come to their home, but she had so many questions she wanted answers to and yet, she doubted they would ever be interested in marrying her.
They walked into the house and Emma glanced around. “This is very nice. Both of your men are so good with helping out in town and Keegan is great with the children.”
“Please have a seat,” Catriona told her like this was her home and she was the grand lady. But she was nothing more than a single woman who had overstepped her bounds by coming to the men to help her.
“Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”
“Oh no, go right ahead.”
“What’s it like being married to two men? I asked Georgia when we were standing outside and she seemed so happy.”
