Page 27 of Short-Straw Bride

“No, dear. They prove the villainy of one of his competitors.” Uncle Everett pulled off his hat and set it on the corner of Travis’s bureau with a nonchalance that made Meredith want to scream. “Roy explained how one of his men interrupted your time together, and how you must have overheard bits and pieces of his conversation and jumped to an inaccurate conclusion. He doesn’t fault you, of course. He’s too much of a gentleman. There was quite a bit of traffic on the road that day, I understand, and the noise surely interfered with your ability to decipher what was being said.”

“I know what I heard.” How could her uncle dismiss her intelligence and judgment so easily? Did he think she would risk her reputation and personal well-being if she wasn’t sure?

“I fear you only know what you thought you heard.” Though he smiled, condescension laced his tone. “Roy’s man had come with news of a rumor regarding a large outfit from Houston. They planned to force him out of the bidding for local lumber by burning out those property owners who stood between him and the railroad. When the devastated owners were forced to sell, the Houston outfit would offer higher prices, thereby securing the necessary land. Roy would be out of the running. Needless to say, he was sickened by such underhanded tactics and intended to inform the sheriff as soon as the man returned.

“He even assured me he’d still marry you after your misadventure, but now that I see the extent of your ruin, I can’t expect him to hold to that promise. A man in his position cannot afford to have such a scandal attached to his good name.”

“You’re wrong.” Moisture gathered in her eyes at her uncle’s betrayal. He was her father’s brother. Why did he believe Roy Mitchell’s sly explanations over those of his own niece? She would expect such a turn from Aunt Noreen, but Uncle Everett had always been kind to her in his own negligent way. It didn’t help that every time she looked at him, she saw features that reminded her of her father. “You want to believe Roy because he’s promised to triple your business at the mill, but he’s behind this attack. I’m certain of it.”

She glanced from her uncle’s shaking head to Travis’s unreadable expression. Did he believe her? Somehow the thought that he might doubt her cut deeper than Uncle Everett’s lack of faith.

“You wound me, Meri,” her uncle said, putting his hand to his chest. “I would never put my own profit ahead of your well-being. In fact, I aim to do all that is within my power to rectify this mess you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“There’s nothing to rectify. I’ll be well in a day or two and can return to town then.” Not that she relished the idea of being back under Aunt Noreen’s roof, but at least she could commiserate with her cousin.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. When your aunt realized that this is where you must have spent the last two nights, she implored me not to bring you back into our home. Noreen is convinced that doing so would throw a shadow of scandal over Cassandra, hurting her prospects for a suitable marriage. I had hoped to calm her concerns with the truth of your circumstances, but if I tell her in what condition I found you . . . well . . . you know your aunt. I’d never hear the end of it.” He gave her that haggard look, the one he wore whenever Aunt Noreen got a bee in her bonnet.

Meredith bit the inside of her cheek in a bid for control as her uncle’s meaning sank into her brain. She was to be the sacrifice laid upon the altar to appease Aunt Noreen’s wrath. Instead of standing up for his niece, Uncle Everett would do what he always did—take the path of least resistance.

“Word of your little . . . escapade . . . is bound to get out,” he said, as if that excused his behavior. “These things always do. Noreen threatened to take Cassie away from me and move in with her sister if I don’t bend to her wishes. I can’t allow that to happen.”

Meredith jutted out her chin. She had imagined such a scenario, although deep down she’d never truly believed it would come to pass. “I’ll live at the homestead, then. The house is in fine condition—”

“No,” Uncle Everett cut in. “I’d never be able to rest knowing you were out here alone. Your father entrusted me with your care, and I must see this through.” He clasped his hands behind his back and rocked from heel to toe. “The way I see it, there’s only one way to salvage this situation.”

He looked pointedly at her, then scanned the rest of the room’s occupants with a steely determination she’d never witnessed in him before. “You’re going to have to marry one of the Archers.”

12

What?” Crockett, Jim, and Neill chorused the word as if it were one of the hymns they sang in the parlor on Sundays. But Travis said nothing. He wouldn’t give Everett Hayes the satisfaction of knowing the pronouncement had rattled him.

Meredith, apparently, had no such compunction. “For heaven’s sake, Uncle. You can’t just foist me on them like an abandoned puppy. The Archers have been nothing but kind to me. They don’t deserve such ill treatment from you.”

Travis ground his teeth. Nothing but kind? They’d welcomed her at gunpoint and refused to let her leave after she warned them of the coming danger. Meredith was the kind one, not them. Shoot, his mule kicked her in the head.

And hearing her talk of herself in such unflattering terms, as if marriage to her would be a punishment to whomever found himself tied to the other end of the knot, riled him even more. He itched to hit something, preferably good ol’ Uncle Everett, since the man made no effort to correct her assumptions.

“It can’t be helped, Meri. It’s the only honorable option. And if the Archers are honorable men—” the man stared meaningfully at Travis—“they’ll take responsibility for you.”

Travis felt more than saw his brothers step deeper into the room.

“Now you’re really making me sound like an unwanted puppy,” Meredith grumbled. Then she drew her legs up under her, and taking hold of the headboard for support, she turned her back on her uncle.

“Pay him no heed, Travis,” she pled in a soft voice. His gaze moved to meet her bright blue eyes. “I have a perfectly good house on the land my father left me, and an allowance that will see to my needs. You don’t have to give in to his bullying.”

The thought of her living alone had his gut clenching. Wild animals, wilder men . . . He didn’t want to think about what could happen. And what of Mitchell? He’d heard Meredith’s comment about the man only being interested in her land. If she didn’t marry him, to what lengths would he go to ensure she sold it to him? Would he burn her out, too? No, Meredith living alone was out of the question. It was the one thing he and Hayes agreed on.

Meredith’s lower lip trembled slightly as he contemplated what course to take. She was a brave, fierce little thing, but vulnerable, too.

He gently chucked her under the chin. “Don’t fret, pup. We’ll figure something out.”

Her nose wrinkled at the puppy reference, and he nearly laughed aloud at the resemblance. As he shared a smile with her, a strange urge burgeoned inside him—the urge to stroke her hair and tuck her into his chest as he would one of Sadie’s pups. But he was certain the instant he touched her, puppies would be the furthest thing from his mind.

“Well, Archer?”

Travis hardened his expression as he returned his focus to Everett Hayes. The man was all bluster. He had no power in these negotiations, and he knew it—not when surrounded by four armed men. His only choice was to appeal to their sense of honor. Hayes wanted protection for his niece, Travis would give him credit for that, but he was too lily-livered to take care of it himself, letting his shrew of a wife kick Meredith out of his house. Meredith deserved better.

“I’ll have a decision for you tomorrow. Come back then.” Travis signaled to Crockett. His brother handed his rifle off to Jim and strode forward.