Unlawfully Wedded Bride. Noelle Marchand

wished the smell of those lemon drops behind the counter wasn’t so strong and tempting. Her stomach let out a small rumble, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since early that morning. Suddenly a tanned arm came to rest next to hers on the wooden counter. She tensed as a too-familiar voice called, “Johansen, grab me a few packs of that tobacco while you’re back there.”

      Mr. Johansen glanced over and paused. His gaze bounced warily between Kate and the man beside her before he nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

      Kate straightened and slid farther away from the man, hoping he’d take the hint. He didn’t. “Kate O’Brien, why do you have to go around looking so pretty?”

      She kept her gaze trained on her egg basket. “Andrew Stolvins, why don’t you find some nice girl to settle down with and leave me alone?”

      “How can I think about another girl when you’re around?” He leaned sideways onto the counter to get a better look at her.

      She dodged the hand that reached toward her, then turned to pin him with a cold gaze. “Don’t.”

      He stared at her with predatory green eyes. “You’re going to have to start being nice to me again.”

      He looked entirely too satisfied with himself. She narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

      “It’s amazing what you can find out in a small town if you ask the right questions,” he said nonchalantly. “For instance, I heard your financial problems are so bad that you’re going to lose the farm if this harvest isn’t enough to stop the foreclosure.”

      “That’s none of your business.”

      “I made it my business.” He smiled smugly. “You see, I just bought the wheat combine and thresher from Mr. Fulsome. If you want your wheat harvested, you’ll have to go through me now. I’m raising the rate three percent on each farm. I know you can’t afford that so I’m willing to negotiate. What are you willing to bargain?”

      Her fingers clenched the handle of the basket tightly. “I’m not bargaining with you. I’ll pay the same rate as everyone else.”

      “How do you plan to pay me? You don’t expect me to accept these, do you?” He chuckled, then snatched one of her precious eggs from the basket. He held one in the air to inspect it. “They look like they’re worth a pretty penny but appearances are deceiving, aren’t they?”

      “Put it back.”

      He tossed it back and forth between his hands but his gaze never left Kate’s eyes. “What’s it going to be, Kate?”

      The egg slipped from his clumsy grasp. Kate gasped and reached out for it but Nathan appeared from behind her to beat her to it. The egg landed safely in his cupped palm. He stepped between them to carefully deposit the egg in the basket, then turned to face Andrew Stolvins. “Is there a problem here?”

      Andrew glared up at Nathan. “This doesn’t involve you.”

      “If it involves Kate, it involves me.”

      Andrew shifted to stare over Nathan’s shoulder at Kate. “Is that how it is now?”

      Nathan answered for her. “That’s how it is. From now on, you’ll leave her alone. Is that clear?”

      A tense moment passed in silence before Mr. Johansen emerged from the back room. The store owner apologized for taking so long. Andrew grabbed his tobacco and left. Kate let out a sigh of relief. Mr. Johansen looked perplexed but shrugged. “I guess I will add that to his account.”

      Kate waited while Mr. Johansen totaled her order, then applied the credit for the eggs. She paid him for the rest and was finally ready to go. Once Nathan had her purchases settled into the back of the wagon he turned to meet her gaze seriously. “Do you want to tell me what just happened in there?”

      “I’d rather hear what happened at the courthouse.”

      He nodded. “That’s fair enough. You can tell me about that fellow and I’ll tell you about the judge while we eat lunch at the café.”

      “I’m not paying for lunch at the café when I have food at home.” She covered her stomach as it growled in protest. It would take at least another half hour to get home and it was already long past one.

      Nathan grinned. “It’s my treat. I may not be a cattle baron but I can afford to pay for one meal in the café while I’m here.”

      She didn’t like the idea of him paying for her but perhaps this was his farewell lunch. He’d order the food, tell her what he’d learned, they’d sign the paper he must have folded away somewhere and finish the meal. He’d make a quick exit. It would be amiable and painless. They’d go their separate ways, which was exactly what she needed.

      At first Nathan did exactly as she’d planned. He ordered. After that he didn’t seem inclined to talk about his meeting right away. Instead, he asked about the man in the store. Kate sent him a quelling look. “First tell me what happened at the courthouse.”

      He shook his head. “I’d rather wait until we get our food so we won’t be overheard.”

      “Oh,” she breathed, then took a sip of her water. She didn’t need privacy for her explanation. The whole town knew the story he wanted to hear. “That was Andrew Stolvins. He courted me for a while two years ago, after my parents died.”

      Nathan’s brows rose with interest. “He doesn’t seem like the kind of man you’d want as a suitor.”

      “He was new in town. I was young and vulnerable. Andrew seemed like a nice, stable young man, so when he asked to court me I said yes.” She shrugged. “Like you, I was convinced I was following God’s will. For the first time in the six months since my parents’ deaths, I was hopeful. I thought my life was finally turning around.”

      Nathan’s gaze filled with concern. “That isn’t what happened, is it?”

      She shook her head. “I found out that Andrew wasn’t the man I thought he was. Or, rather, Sean and Ellie spied on him enough to find out the truth. Andrew didn’t want me. He wanted my inheritance.”

      She paused as their food arrived and waited until the waiter left, to continue. “When I found out, I broke off our relationship. It’s lucky for him that I did, since my inheritance was hardly anything more than an expensive mortgage on the farm.”

      Nathan pulled the napkin away from his cutlery. “Why is he bothering you if you didn’t have what he was really after?”

      “My siblings weren’t shy in telling the town what type of man Andrew really was. It hurt his reputation but it hurt his pride more. He’s gone out of his way to make my life difficult since then.”