Page 27 of Seven Brides for Beau McBride (The McBrides of Montana #3)

Eight

“It’s the brother, the big one!” Frances was leaning over the porch rail, staring down the muddy street. There was a commotion as the others joined her. “And there’s someone else with him.”

“His wife, probably,” Ellie said absently.

“They’re supposed to bring Beau’s things down today.

” She hadn’t moved from the rocking chair, where she was absorbed in her copy of Daisy Miller.

She was just up to the part where Daisy and Winterbourne meet unexpectedly in Rome and her chest was tight with anticipation.

She’d read the novel three times and every time it gave her a giddy feeling.

“No, the wife’s in the wagon with him. There’s another one, on a horse.”

“Ah, stop your fussing, it’s only Jonah.

” Junebug stuck her head out of the open parlor window.

She was holding one of Ellie’s books, which she’d half devoured already.

She’d chosen a scandalous gothic novel called Carmilla .

Ellie could tell when Junebug was reaching the juicy bits because she’d inhale sharply.

And then she’d demand Ellie tell her more about vampires and their “unnatural lusts”.

Ellie was glad Kate wasn’t around. She’d been very vocal when she’d spied Junebug with the book— As a schoolteacher, I hardly think it’s appropriate to her age— but Ellie didn’t really think Junebug qualified as your usual child. After all, she was sitting right here, in full view of a whorehouse.

“Ellie, go tell Beau the whole family have come to see him,” Junebug ordered, going back to her book.

“You do it.” Ellie had her own book to read.

“I would have thought you’d relish an opportunity to interrupt him and Kate.” Junebug slid backwards through the open window and reclined on her chaise. “But if you’re okay with him falling in love with someone other than Diana…”

“You really are a trial.” Ellie got to her feet, without looking up from the book.

“Can I have that one when you’re done? It looks good, judging by the fact you cain’t stop. Are there more vampires in it?”

“No,” Ellie said shortly. She shuffled down the porch, past the front door, heading for the dining room window.

“No, I cain’t borrow it? Or no, there ain’t vampires?”

“Both.” Ellie paused in front of the dining room window, her hand outstretched to knock on the glass, but she was so engrossed in Daisy and Winterbourne’s walk through the streets of Rome that she forgot to knock.

She stood there until Daisy had met her Italian friend, her heart squeezing in her chest at Daisy’s innocence and Winterbourne’s deep and secret knowledge of her.

The sound of the sash window being thrown up made her jump and she blinked, startled to be on a porch in Bitterroot, Montana, and not in wintery Rome.

“What in blazes are you doing?” Beau asked her. “You’ve been standing there like a portent of doom for a good ten minutes.”

Ellie took a moment to come back to herself. “Sorry. I was in Rome.”

He shook his head. “Well, go be in Rome somewhere else. You’re blocking my light.”

Ellie peered in and saw Kate sitting at the table by the window, razor focused on the battered wooden chess set.

Ellie’s shadow fell entirely over Beau’s side of the board.

“Who’s winning?” She didn’t know anything about chess, but there did seem to be an awful lot more white pieces than black pieces.

“He’s in check,” Kate said.

“Good for him.”

“Check ain’t a good thing,” Beau informed her sourly.

“Oh. Well, sympathies then.”

“He’s a decent opponent,” Kate said, “but more interested in talking than playing. If he played more and talked less, he’d put up more of a fight.”

“Yeah, well you didn’t tell me you were some kind of chess sharp,” Beau complained.

Kate gave him a sly smile. “You didn’t ask.”

Beau shook his head, but he was smiling. “What were you looming for, anyway?” he asked Ellie.

“Oh.” She remembered. “Your family’s in town.” She turned. “It looks like they’ve hitched up at the mercantile store.”

“All of them?” Beau asked. He leaned all the way out of the window.

“Shall we just call it check mate and let you go say hello?” Kate asked smoothly. “I’ll have you in another move or two anyway.”

“No way.” Beau jerked back to attention. “If you’re going to beat me, you have to earn it.”

Ellie gave him a suspicious look. Was he flirting ?

“Is that right?” Kate’s crystal blue eyes glittered. “Challenge accepted.”

“Who’s in check now?” he drawled, moving a piece.

He was! He was flirting with Kate. Who was not the woman he was going to marry. Ellie glared at him.

“You’re looming again,” he said, sighing at Ellie, not looking up from the board.

“Have you seen Diana?” she asked him pointedly.

“She went for a walk with Nancy,” Kate told her as she made her move. “Check mate.”

“Goddamn, woman, you’re brutal.” Beau sat back in his chair and hooted. “I cain’t wait to see you play Junebug.”

Ellie scowled. Kate wasn’t supposed to be the one to make him happy. Look at him, all relaxed and enjoying himself. Yet every time he was near Diana he clenched up.

As soon as Kate had packed up the chess set and headed off, Ellie reached through the open window and pinched him on the arm.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“You’re flirting with her!”

“Who?”

“Kate!”

“No I ain’t.” He shook his head, giving Ellie a disgusted look. “I’m just being friendly.”

“Well, stop it.”

He gestured to the empty chair opposite him. “If it escaped your notice, it’s stopped already. You went and chased her off.”

“Why didn’t you go for a walk with Diana?” Ellie asked, disgruntled. She braced her hands against the window frame and leaned into the room.

“Because I was playing chess with Kate.” He rose from the table. “And because she didn’t invite me. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to say howdy to my family and check they brought my things.”

Ellie dashed along the porch and into the hotel. She knew he’d be heading out the back door, to avoid the cluster of women on the porch. Sure enough, she caught him as he slipped out the kitchen and into the yard.

Ellie broke into a trot to catch up to him. “Where on earth are you going?” she asked, frustrated as he climbed over the low paling fence between the hotel and Mrs. Champion’s cottage next door. She looked for a gate. There wasn’t one.

“I’m going out this way, down the side, so I don’t get caught by any more of you wives,” he called over his shoulder.

“But I haven’t finished talking to you.”

“Well, talk while I walk.” He was disappearing around the cottage.

Ellie felt like throwing her book at him again. But she lifted her skirts instead and climbed over the paling. She squealed as her underskirts caught. For the love of… She was snagged. She yanked at her skirts and was horrified to hear a tearing sound.

“Ellie?”

Oh no, he’d come back at the sound of her squeal. And here she was, with her underwear caught on the fence.

“Don’t tell me it’s a bear,” he said dryly as he came back into view.

Ellie dropped her skirts like they were hot coals.

Her old yellow-ish dress settled, hopefully hiding her predicament.

“No. Go away.” Oh God, this was mortifying.

She was caught on the palings, and now she was blushing again, so hard she felt like she had severe sunburn.

She surreptitiously yanked at the back of her dress, trying to free herself, and was rewarded with another tearing sound.

She froze, alarmed. Oh God. What if she ripped herself indecent?

She had no desire to be left unclothed in front of Beau McBride.

“You want me to go away?” Beau stood by the vegetable garden, giving her an odd look.

“Yes.” She cringed as he examined her. “Now, please.” She saw the exact moment that he registered her problem. His thick dark brows rose and his lips twitched.

“You know,” he drawled, “it occurs to me that I should probably be here when my family come.”

“No. You should definitely go meet them—they’re bound to be expecting you.”

The wretched man was sitting down. He grinned at her as he settled himself on the back porch of Mrs. Champion’s cottage, which didn’t have a railing.

He leaned back on his hands, giving her his full attention.

As he kicked his heels, he reminded Ellie unpleasantly of Junebug.

“You wanted to talk to me anyway, didn’t you? ” he prompted her.

Oh, he was an ass. Look at how much he was enjoying this.

Ellie’s hand clenched on the book she was still carrying.

She could feel the palings digging into the backs of her thighs.

She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of asking for his help.

She couldn’t ask him to rummage around her underskirts—imagine!

She lifted her chin and looked down her nose at him.

“Yes. I did. I wanted to talk about you and Diana.” She crossed her arms and tried to ignore the fact she was caught on the fence.

“Well, by all means, talk away,” he said lazily.

Aside from her burning ears and face, Ellie thought she kept her composure admirably.

“You aren’t spending any time with her,” she told him bluntly.

She lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

It was a shiny bright coin of a day, the golden fall light casting long shadows.

The sky was a bluebird blue and the yellows and golds of the aspens and maples hung like bunting through the woods.

“I sat next to her at dinner last night and breakfast this morning.” He wasn’t kicking his heels now, at least. And his lips had stopped that infuriating twitching.

“But you don’t talk to her.”

“Sure, I do. This morning I asked her to pass the butter.” He was disgruntled now. “And I told her she had clean hands.”

“You what?” Ellie was appalled. “Clean hands ?”

He shrugged. “It’s true, she does. I ain’t never seen hands that clean. Her nails are like those smooth little stones you find on the bottom of the creek.”

“You said that to her?”