Inheriting a Bride

“No. He just wanted to know where I was living now.” Sam shook his head and then glanced up. “You thought any more about signing over the deed to this piece of land?”

A gut reaction said there was more to One Ear Bob than that, and Clay made a mental note to poke around when he got back to town. “I told you, it’s not mine to give you,” he answered.

“Yes, it is. This chunk of land is in the will, and you have control of it.” Sam tossed another log into the flames. “It’s all I want. You can keep everything else.”

Clay squeezed his temples. “It doesn’t work like that, Sam. I can’t give it to you until you’re twenty-one.” The terms of the will had shocked him. As if he didn’t have enough to do, Oscar had saddled him with two underage wards. Thank goodness the other one, Kit, was back in Chicago, being looked after by Oscar’s lawyer, Theodore Watson. The lawyer had traveled to Colorado a year ago to tell Clay the terms of the will. Everything Oscar Becker owned was divided in half, between Sam and Kit, and until the two grandkids turned twenty-one, Clay was in charge of investing the earnings. Once the youngsters were old enough, he could either buy them out or take them on as partners.

The whole thing was a mess he hadn’t expected. Then again, Oscar’s untimely death—a carriage accident in a rainstorm—had been a shock, too. Life was like that, throwing in things a person didn’t expect. Like Katherine Ackerman.

“You could give it to me now,” Sam said. “If you really wanted to.”

Clay pulled his mind back around. “I can’t. The will’s ironclad. If either you or Kit attempt to claim your share early, it’s to be sold to P. J. Nelson for a dollar.”

“P.J.?”

Clay didn’t comment. He should have stopped talking before saying the man’s name. That part of the will had surprised him, too, for if it happened, it would jeopardize everything Clay owned. Oscar would have known that, and, Clay fumed, had used it to make sure he kept close tabs on Sam.

“P.J. ain’t nothing but a drunk.”

“Maybe, but he was Oscar’s first partner, and Oscar said if there ever came a time when he no longer wanted the claim, he’d give P.J. first chance to buy it back. Guess he figured if you or Kit tried to mess with the will, it meant you don’t want it.” Clay didn’t mention he’d written to Theodore Watson six weeks ago, asking if there were any alternative options. Four more years of arguing with Sam over a small chunk of land was useless. Made no difference in the long run, and if he had his way, he’d put Sam’s name on the deed.

Up until two years ago, Sam had lived in a shack in the mountains, never coming to town. His old man, little more than a hermit, had downright despised people of any kind ever since his wife, Amelia, who was Oscar’s daughter, had died. Leastwise that’s what Clay had heard. He hadn’t known anything about any of them until Sam had shown up at the Wanda Lou, claiming to be Oscar’s grandson. Clay had wired Oscar, who’d made the trip west immediately, and spent half of the next year trying to convince Sam to move to Chicago and live with him.

“Sam,” Clay started, trying not to sound repetitive.

“Why don’t you come to work at the mine, or the stamp mill, or even the railroad?”

“Because I don’t want to work at any of those places,” Sam said, puffing out his narrow chest. “I’m a trapper.”

Clay’s temples were now pounding. This was the same conversation he’d had with Sam for a year, and it was tiresome. Almost as wearing as Katherine had become the past two days.

Kit pushed the ticket back under the little half-moon shape in the wire cage of the train depot ticket booth. “I will say this one more time. I don’t want this ticket, I want one to Nevadaville.”

Smiling as if he couldn’t make another facial expression, the little bald-headed man, whose shiny black string tie rubbed on his Adam’s apple, pushed the ticket back toward her. “That’s the ticket that was purchased for you, ma’am. And the one I was instructed you’re to use.”

“I don’t care about that, Mr….” She paused, waiting for his response.

“Green. Reginald Green, at your service, ma’am.” His grin widened, exposing a plethora of oddly angled teeth.

Kit shivered at the experience, but pushed the ticket back under the wire. “Mr. Green … Reginald,” she started sweetly. “I understand Mr. Hoffman purchased that ticket for me, but you see, he didn’t inquire about my plans prior to his purchase.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I must see the opera house in Nevadaville before I head back East.” Stopping Mr. Green from sliding the ticket back in her direction with her fingertips, she pulled up a smile that hurt her cheeks. “I will accept this ticket after that. Until then, I need one to take me to Nevadaville.”

Mr. Green had been shaking his head the entire time she’d been speaking. “I can’t sell you a ticket to Nevadaville, ma’am.”

Keeping the smile plastered on her lips became increasingly difficult. “Why not?”

“Because Cl—Mr. Hoffman said so. He said you might want to go to Nevadaville and I wasn’t supposed to sell you a ticket to there. I was to give this one to you and see you got on the train.”

“Really?” The evening before last, when he’d dropped her off at the hotel, she’d almost grown to like Clay Hoffman. Actually, for a few hours she’d pondered all the wonderful things Gramps had said about him, and confirmed they were true. However, right now she loathed him more than before she’d met him—sky-blue eyes and all. She took a moment to get her anger under control and ignore the flutters that happened inside her at the memory of those eyes. The simple thought of that man did odd things to her. In some ways it reminded her of the giddiness she experienced when opening a new book.

“Tell me, Mr. Green, is Mr. Hoffman your boss? Does he own the railroad?” she asked, ready to declare the man had no right—

Mr. Green’s “Yes” stalled her thoughts.

“Yes to what?”

“Yes, he’s my boss, and yes, he owns the railroad.”

Startled to the point that her breathing stopped, she asked, “H-he does?”

Mr. Green was still smiling brightly, teeth and all. “Yes, he does.”

“He owns the Colorado Central Railroad?” she asked for clarification.

“Yes, ma’am.”

With a bout of fury, she picked up the ticket and ripped it in half. Twice. “Fine.” Laying the pieces back on the counter, she lifted her chin. “I’m sure there’s another way for me to get to Nevadaville.”

Mr. Green’s smile faded. “Not really, ma’am.”

She cast a severe gaze his way.

Gulping until his Adam’s apple sat on top of his tie, Mr. Green said, “Well, there’s the wagon road, but there are places they gotta tie ropes around trees and stumps to keep the wagons from tumbling over the edge, and of course, the horses gotta wear blinders, especially while crossing the bridges.”

It was Kit’s turn to gulp.

“I wouldn’t recommend traveling that way. Besides, the only wagons that traverse the road are Cl—Mr. Hoffman’s, and he most likely wouldn’t want you traveling on them.”

She spun, huffing as she took a few steps, but then stopped and stomped back to the ticket booth. “Tell me, Mr. Green, what else does Mr. Hoffman own?”

“Here or in Nevadaville?”

Hiding the surprise rippling her spine, she crossed her arms.

As if the thought just came to him, Mr. Green pointed a shaky finger. “He doesn’t own any of the saloons.”

“How honorable,” she spat, spinning on her heels.

“He doesn’t own Miss Clarice’s society house, either. She does. But he built it for her.”

Kit closed her eyes, regaining her composure. Black Hawk was more than a small town, and she could only imagine Nevadaville was similar in size. It wasn’t a city like Chicago or Denver, but it had several businesses, and the streets were made of cobblestones to keep the mud and dust down. She cast her gaze up and down, glancing at buildings of all sizes and shapes built on the hillside, while she waited for the traffic to clear so she could cross the road from the train station to the boardwalk that led to the two-story hotel she’d been staying at. How could one man own all this? Reginald Green must not know what he was talking about. Her grandfather had been a wealthy man, but not even he owned an entire town.

A slow-moving thought had her scanning the town again. Or did he? She’d read the will, several times, but all it said was all Gramps’s holdings were to be divided equally between her and Sam. That could include a town and a railroad. Clay Hoffman was Gramps’s partner. Had been for years.

Swallowing a sudden attack of sadness, wishing Grandpa was here so she could ask him, Kit squared her shoulders. Both he and Grandma had been tight-lipped about Colorado. She’d only recognized the name Black Hawk because Grandma Katie had let it slip one time. Was that because they didn’t want anyone to know how wealthy they were? How wealthy Kit now was? Grandma always said it was best for women not to know their worth, for it often drew uncouth and undesirable men. Actually, in Grandma’s eyes everything drew men, therefore Kit had never been allowed to do anything.

Her gaze landed on the old Indian sitting on the front porch of the mercantile. The man waved, and she fluttered a hand his way and then stepped back so a wagon hid her from other onlookers. Running Bear had confirmed that Clay lived in Nevadaville, and Sam as well. Naturally, it had cost her another package of chewing gum.

The traffic continued to flow by without the slightest break for her to cross the street. Another thought made her frown. Who was Miss Clarice and what was a society house? Kit’s heart skipped a few beats. Could it be a house of ill repute? Certainly Grandpa hadn’t owned one of those. He could have visited one, though, and that could be how Sam came to be. It was a disquieting thought, but over the past several months she’d thought of that possibility more than once—for ultimately, there were few other answers. Sam had to be Grandpa’s son. Her uncle. And she wasn’t leaving here until she met him, scandal be damned.

The curse had her sending up a silent plea for forgiveness—but if she had family, she had a right to know. More than that, she needed to know. She hated the feeling of being totally alone in the world.

The train whistle sounded, indicating that the locomotive pulling a passenger car, two freight cars and a small green caboose would soon leave the station and head for Nevadaville without her.

Kit turned, eyed the cars closely, thoughtfully, and then scanned the area for Mr. Green. The little booth was empty. Convinced her sudden idea was a good one, she hitched up her skirt and hurried past the passenger car, as well as the wooden freight cars. Steam shot out from under the wheels, forming a cloud around her as the whistle sounded again. It made her jump, but she kept her nerve.

The freight conductor, the one who sat in the little square pilothouse on top of the last car, was already there, looking over the tops of the cars and paying no attention to the ground below. Kit hurried forward, grabbing the metal sidebar and pulling herself onto the small platform at the very back of the train as the wheels creaked and shuddered. She tucked her skirt between her legs to climb over the rail, and then dashed through the doorway. Heart pounding, she glanced out the window as she closed the door, to assure no one had witnessed her unfashionable boarding.

Success made her smile, but moments later, when the little caboose shook as the wheels started to rumble, memories of her last train ride flashed in her mind. Her grin faded and a bubble formed in her throat. Pressing both hands over her eyes, she moaned, “Oh, no.”

Clay caught the rail of the caboose at a run and pulled himself onto the little platform. He paused, peering through the window, as his fingers grasped the door. She was sitting on the bench, but had her head hanging between her knees. He’d been watching, had seen her arguing with Reggie Green, and wasn’t surprised when she’d sneaked on board, nor was he surprised that she stayed down, not wanting anyone to notice.

Katherine Ackerman was one determined woman.

His hand went to his front pocket, where the medicine bag he’d bought from Running Bear was tucked. This morning, after leaving Sam’s cave, Clay had taken the early train to Black Hawk, claiming he needed to oversee the delivery of the new boiler, whereas in reality, though he barely admitted it to himself, he wanted to see if she had left. And again, not something he was overly willing to divulge, he was glad she hadn’t. Though he still wouldn’t let her get near Sam.

The train picked up speed, chugging and clanging, and the clatter disguised the sound of the door opening. Once inside, Clay closed the door, half wondering what to do next. Anger at how she’d scampered aboard was nonexistent. A hint of admiration was playing about inside him instead.

Small as it was, the caboose hosted only a tiny wood stove near the back wall and two long benches along the sides. The entire car swung left and right, rattling and shaking as the train picked up momentum.

Katherine let out a little yelp and one hand moved to the bench beside her knee, grasping tightly. He sat on the seat opposite her, their knees almost touching across the tiny aisle. Clay found himself wishing he could see more than the top of the little blue-and-white hat covering those glorious golden waves that had fluttered around her face and shoulders back on the mountainside. It was only four miles to Central City, and then another three to Nevadaville, but the train had to wind around the mountain to get there, making the ride a bit longer. The way she quivered said her nerves were already getting the best of her. Perplexing, considering the trail she’d traversed on horseback.

Maybe it was for show. Maybe she knew he was sitting across from her, and this was just another part of her act.

A clatter and clang had her jolting, and then the great clunking and banging of the wheels making a sharp turn had her snapping her head up. Clay held in a flinch at her paleness. No one was that good an actress, and his heart thudded in response. She was a beauty, no man could deny that—even with a tint of seasick-green covering her cheeks.

As if not sure what they saw, the big brown eyes staring at him closed for a moment and then opened again.

“Miss Ackerman,” he said in greeting.

Her groan was accompanied with a slow and distraught headshake as she pressed a hand to her forehead. “I’d forgotten,” she whispered.

Plenty of people grew sick riding the train up the mountain. The motion and altitude took some getting used to. Her head once again lowered to hang over her knees. Clay leaned across the small space, drawing back a hand moments before it could touch her knee. “Forgotten what?”

“How treacherous these train rides are.”

Coupling the fear of heights he’d sensed back on the trail with the train ride, he felt compassion opening up inside him. With little thought, he moved across the aisle and sat down next to her. Resting a hand in the middle of her back, he assured her, “You’re safe.”

She shook her head. “If one of these cars came loose we’d plunge to the bottom of the mountain and never be found.”

Clay glanced over his shoulder, out the window to where the houses, commercial buildings, even people moving about in Black Hawk looked like a miniature world. Others had made the same statement she just had, and he’d laughed it off, but the shakiness of her voice indicated real fear. Protectiveness sprang up inside him. “That won’t happen,” he answered. “You have my word on it.”

“How could you stop it?”

She had yet to lift her head, and beneath his fingers her body trembled. There was something about this woman that got to him, and not just her unease right now. From the moment they’d met he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her, almost as if she’d had the key and opened that deeply guarded compartment inside him he’d long ago secured away.

Exposing the things long hidden there was not something he was prepared to do, so he blocked the thought from his mind and dug in one pocket. “I have something for you,” he said.

“I know. A ticket to Boston.”

Her groan made him chuckle. “No, Mr. Green still has that.”

Opening one eye, she cast a wary gaze toward Clay, head still down, face still white.

He dangled the medicine bag by the leather strap.

A faint, wobbly smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Inching upward, she trapped his hand on her back between her and the wall. “My amulet,” she whispered. “How’d you—”

“It’s not the same one you lost. But it’s similar.” He leaned closer and whispered, “This one doesn’t stink.”

As she let out an adorable half gasp, half giggle, he eased the leather strap over her head, careful of the little hat and the pins holding her thick curls in place. “There, now you’re safe. I apologize for making you lose the other one.”

A hint of color appeared on her cheeks as she fingered the bag gently. “Thank you.”

The train rounded the hill, and the sound of the whistle announcing the upcoming depot prevented him from responding. Which was all right, since he had no idea what to say. The sincerity in her voice had sucker punched his heart.

Biting her bottom lip, she closed her eyes again as the train slowed to a crawl near the big drum of water towering over the tracks, marking Central City.

He didn’t have a moment to speak then, either, because the door in the center of the roof opened and brown boots caught the first rung of the ladder.

Beneath Clay’s fingers, Katherine’s trembling increased, and he rubbed her back in a wide circle.

“What—” Looking dumbfounded, Ty Reins, dressed in his gray-and-white-striped bib overalls and matching hat, glanced around the small area. “Clay, I didn’t know you were riding in here.”

“It’s not as crowded as the passenger car,” he answered.

The way Katherine’s eyes snapped open, and the shock on her face, said she knew he’d just covered up the fact she’d sneaked on board, and the bashful fall of her lashes had his blood moving a bit faster.

Clay, about to introduce the two, bit his tongue as she asked the man, “What do you do up there?”

“Keep a lookout for falling rocks and other things that could derail the train,” Ty responded.

Clay groaned inwardly. It was what the man did, but the way Ty had said it was sure to increase her fears. “Which rarely happens,” Clay said, rubbing her back again. The touch of velvet beneath his fingers, not to mention the heat of her body, was rather addictive.

Ty chuckled. “That’s right. It rarely happens. Nothing to worry about, miss.”

She nodded, but Clay sensed it was out of obligation, not belief.

“We’ll only be here a few minutes,” he assured her.

The conductor pointed toward the little overhead door. “You want to ride in the pilothouse? You can see forever up there.”

Clay wanted to shake the man.

“No. No, thank you,” Katherine said nervously. “The caboose is just fine.” She tugged at the high, ruffled neckline of her white silk blouse. “D-down here. Down here is just fine.”

“All right,” Ty said, shrugging his massive shoulders and giving Clay a nod that said he’d tried. “We’ll be heading out in another minute or two. Just had to drop off the mail here in Central.”

“Thanks, Ty,” Clay said, nodding toward the pilothouse door.

Right on cue the screeching whistle blew, and the man swung around to grasp the ladder again.

“How long will it take us to get to Nevadaville?” Katherine asked in a shaky whisper.

“It’s only a couple of miles,” Clay answered, as an overwhelming urge to grasp her waist and pull her closer to his side had his fingers moving over the blue velvet of her dress again.

“Course, we gotta go all the way around before we stop,” Ty added, with one foot on the bottom rung of the ladder.

“Around?” she asked.

“Yeah. Nevadaville is the end of the line. The track makes a loop at the top of the mountain so we’re headed back in the right direction.”

“Thanks, Ty,” Clay repeated, slipping his hand down to the small of her back as her shivers returned. He nodded toward the trapdoor again, half wondering how the conductor couldn’t sense how deeply afraid she was.

Smiling brightly, the man said, “Some folks get scared on account of all the bridges. They’re loud but they’re safe. Built real solid. Ask Clay, there. He’ll tell you.”

“Bridges?” Her voice was a mere squeak.

“Yeah,” Ty answered. “We gotta cross Clear Creek a few times and—”

“It’s time you got back in the pilothouse, Ty,” Clay said sternly.

With a dip of his hat, the man climbed the ladder and closed the door.

Clay scooted a bit closer, inching his arm all the way around her until his palm cupped the swell of her hip. “There isn’t anything to worry ab out.”

The whistle sounded once more, and with a bout of hissing steam floating past the windows, the train, clanging and banging, pulled away from the station. Clay waited until the chugging grew smooth again before asking, “You haven’t ridden on many trains, have you?”

She shook her head. “This is my first trip anywhere.”

There was more than a hint of loneliness in her tone, and that made the desire to hold her close grow stronger. Clay was a caring man; he understood that. Had to be, with Oscar’s demands and Clarice’s overflowing heart. Yet the immediate attraction and level of desire he felt for this woman was uncanny. His past had left him with very little trust for any woman.

A frown formed as she continued to gaze up at him. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “I thought you were in Nevadaville.”

“I’m having a new boiler delivered. I came down on the morning train to look it over.” The tale flowed out easy enough, after all the times he’d repeated it to himself.

A thunderous, echoing rumble signaled the start of one of the bridge crossings, and with a nervous screech Katherine burrowed into his side. “Shh,” he whispered, liking the feel of her next to him probably more than he should. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she answered timidly. “The nothingness below us.”

He grinned and, holding her close, set a knuckle under her chin, intending to pull her face up and assure her the train wasn’t going to derail. Yet when those big brown eyes peered up at him, a completely different thought overtook him.

Kit’s heart landed in the back of her throat and the air in her lungs sat right there, unable to move, just like the rest of her body. She knew they were still on the train—the rumble beneath her said that. But Clay’s hands softly holding her, and his eyes looking at her in a mesmerizing way, seemed to transport her into some kind of dreamland where thinking coherently grew impossible.

He moved then, slightly forward, and his lips brushed over her forehead, as soft as a feather. Yet they sent a hum through her body. A clump of air left her lungs and rattled in the back of her throat as his lips dropped lower, touched her eyelid, which had somehow closed.

His lips brushed her nose next, then her cheeks, and by then her entire body was humming. Instinct told her to move, and she did. She tilted her head up and pressed her lips to his. The connection was unique, and tantalizing.

It happened several times, their lips meeting. Each touch was gentle, unhurried and so tender it drew her full attention. There was excitement in those kisses, too, and they set off a spark inside her, yet even that was soothing in a fascinating way she couldn’t describe. She nestled closer, not wanting the kisses to end, and gladly immersed herself in an absorbing journey that took her to a fantasyland not even books had told her about.

When he lifted his head and tucked hers beneath his chin, she was still floating in that once-upon-a-time place, and unwilling to leave, she snuggled against his broad chest, swaying with the gentle rocking beneath them. Never before could she remember feeling so content and safe, almost as if this was the one place she’d always been searching for.