Page 76 of Short-Straw Bride

Meredith’s heart stopped altogether then. Her shotgun clunked to the ground as her breath hitched in her throat.

“Confound it, woman. I could have shot you!” Jim yanked his rifle out of her direction, but he scowled at her as if the mishap were somehow her fault. Then he noted the shotgun at her feet, and his irritated expression immediately turned wary. He placed himself in front of her and began scanning the yard again.

“Where are Travis and the others? Did Mitchell’s men attack?”

“Everything’s fine, Jim. Truly.” Meredith stepped from behind him. “They’re all out checking the herd. Why would you think Roy’s men had returned? Unless . . .” She grabbed his arm. “Did you see someone on the road?”

His brow furrowed. “No. But the gate was down. Travis never leaves that gate open. I figured something must’ve happened.”

Meredith’s breath released in a soft whoosh. “Something did happen,” she said, a grin stretching across her face. “Your brother decided to rejoin the world. Travis and I took the gate down this morning.”

Jim’s jaw hung slightly slack as he stared at her. “Travis took the gate down? Travis?”

She nodded, pride for her husband nearly unbalancing her as she rose up onto the balls of her feet. “He took the warning signs down, too. Did you notice? No more scaring away the neighbors at gunpoint, I’m afraid.” A laugh escaped her, but it died when Jim’s frown refused to abate.

“What about Mitchell? Didn’t Travis think that removing the gate would make us more vulnerable?”

Meredith tilted her head a bit as she considered Jim’s uneasy stance. She’d thought he would be more pleased about the change, seeing as how it would aid his courting plans with Cassie, not to mention being good for his furniture building business. Then again, the locked gate had been a symbol of security to this family for the majority of their lives. It was only natural that such a change would require some adjustment.

“Travis and Crockett discussed it at length this morning. They agreed that if Mitchell’s men are bent on causing mischief, a locked gate won’t stop them. The night of the fire proved that. All the gate does now is keep neighbors out and Archers in. With the four of you grown and fully capable of handling whatever comes down the path, Travis figured it was time to stop living in isolation.”

The grunt Jim gave in reply was hard to read, so Meredith changed the subject.

“How’s Cassie?”

Jim’s mouth thinned, and a fierceness emerged in his eyes. “She assured me everything was fine. Said her father had given his word not to force her to marry Mitchell. She promised to come to me if he changed his mind.” He worked his jaw back and forth. “You don’t think they’d lock her in, do you? I watched her house last night and again this morning, and nothing seemed off. Her ma stormed out of the house early in the morning, but I saw Cassie before I left, and she said that except for an ugly argument between her folks, things were normal. She insisted I come home in case Mitchell stirred up trouble for Travis. I told her I’d check on her in a few days.”

Meredith nibbled the inside of her cheek. Cassie had always been able to sway Uncle Everett to her way of thinking, but Aunt Noreen was another matter entirely. God had never made a more hardheaded woman. Hearing that she’d gone out early was a bit worrisome. The woman never took idle strolls. But what trouble could she possibly stir up without her husband’s support?

“I’ve never known Uncle Everett to break his word to Cassie,” Meredith said, trying to reassure herself as much as Jim. “If he’s promised her not to force the marriage, he won’t.”

Jim made a noncommittal sound.

“Why don’t you get cleaned up, and then come in and let me fix you something to eat?”

“Nah.” Jim strode away from her and clomped down the steps toward his horse. “I need to talk to Travis.”

She thought about stopping him, about mentioning that Travis had expected him to keep an eye on the house once he returned from town, but she held her tongue. Jim’s stoic features gave away little; nevertheless, Meredith sensed how the situation with Cassie ate at him. The Archers always handled their problems together. This time shouldn’t be any different.

Besides, it wasn’t as if she needed a guard, she reminded herself as Jim mounted his horse. She had Sadie. And if the old girl slept under the porch most of the day, what did it matter? Meredith had periodically stayed alone for days at a time at the old homestead. She could certainly manage a few hours at the Archer ranch.

And if Travis didn’t like the idea of her being unchaperoned for the duration of the afternoon, he could just come home and watch over her himself.

“You’ll be all right here?” Jim turned in his saddle to face her, the tightness around his mouth testifying to his sudden indecision.

“Of course.” Meredith’s lips curled into a secretive smile. An afternoon alone with her husband? She couldn’t get rid of Jim fast enough.

An hour later, Meredith had dusted the parlor, swept the kitchen, and chopped a pot’s worth of vegetables for the stew she planned for dinner—a pretty remarkable feat since she spent nearly as much time peering out the window for Travis as she did working.

Surely he would come soon. Unless Jim had trouble locating him. She’d never ridden the north pasture, had no idea how large it was or how wooded. Perhaps finding Travis was more difficult than she’d imagined. And even then, Travis wouldn’t leave without at least having a conversation with Jim.

As Meredith poured water over her potatoes, onions, and carrots, another thought struck her. What if Travis felt no urgency to return? What if he had full confidence in her abilities to handle things at the house? Meredith frowned as she set the water pitcher aside. She wanted Travis to trust her, to have confidence in her abilities. But what she wanted even more was for him to jump at the chance to be alone with her.

And wasn’t that a muddled mess. Meredith rolled her eyes in exasperation. The man had a ranch to run, for heaven’s sake. The last thing he needed was a love-struck wife making demands on his time during prime work hours. They’d have other opportunities—

The sound of a rider approaching banished all practical reasoning, leaving her head swirling and her stomach jumping as she rushed to the bathing room to check her appearance in the shaving mirror.

Travis had come after all.