Bounty Hunter Proposal by Alix West Page B

he’s not a mean drunk.”
    “Hope he left someone capable to watch over Hughes,” he said.
    “The whole town will give a sigh of relief tomorrow when they hang that man. Not everyone believes in executing criminals. I had a long debate with Savannah today. She thinks it’s cruel. I say hanging’s too good for Darrell Hughes.”
    A movement caught Matt’s eye. Isabelle stood near the back of the hall, speaking to two men. A surge of possessiveness came over him.
    “Who are those men?” he asked.
    Violet sighed. “The McKenzie brothers. They might be the only two men in the county who don’t know that Isabelle is…” Her words drifted off.
    “Married,” he offered.
    “Ah, yes. Married.”
    She’d scarcely finished her words when Matt left her, striding to Isabelle’s side. “Evening,” he said.
    One glance at Isabelle, and he knew the men had been up to no good. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were wide.
    One of the men curled his lip with disdain. “My brother and I are having a conversation with this nice lady, if you don’t mind.”
    “I do mind,” Matt growled. “This nice lady is my wife.”
    The man scoffed. “How come I never seen you around before?”
    “I don’t need to answer to you, son. Leave my wife alone.”
    The other man turned to face him, and both crossed their arms over their chests. The posture was a clear gesture of belligerence.
    “Lots of men would like to get their hands on that property and the pretty owner.”
    “Too late, boys,” Matt said. “Both the property and the pretty owner are mine now.”
    “You’re some kind of big talker aren’t you? Who are you?”
    “My name is Matthias Hudson.”
    The first man gave a bark of laughter. “Bullshit.”
    Matt grabbed the man by the wrist, spun him around and twisted his arm behind his back. He spoke quietly. “The Suttons are nice people, and I don’t want to spoil their party.”
    The man gasped with pain and tried to get away, but when Matt jerked his arm up, he grew still.
    “What do I need to do exactly to show you who I am?” Matt snarled.
    The other man backed away, his hands raised in surrender. "Come on Billy, don't mess around. We don't need any trouble with the Suttons, and we sure don't need any trouble with Mr. Hudson."
    "I don't see any reason for either of you boys to ever speak to my wife again. Do you?"
    Both men shook their heads. "No, sir."
    Matt released the man's arm, and he staggered away, rubbed his shoulder and grimaced.
    “We thought it was just a rumor, that's all. Some people around here were saying Isabelle made up that story just to get men to leave her alone. We didn't mean to cause any trouble.”
    Matt scowled at the two men. “You know anything about her barn being burned down?”
    “No, sir. We don't know anything about that.”
    “Is everything all right here?”
    Matt turned to find the preacher standing beside Isabelle, a look of concern on his face.
    “Everything's fine, sir,” Matt said. He kept his eyes on the two McKenzie brothers as they slunk away into the crowd. “The problem is that Isabelle and I only have a marriage on paper.” He ignored Isabelle’s murmur of dismay. “We haven't said our vows in front of a preacher.” He turned to Isabelle. “Don't you think it's time we did that?”
    The preacher smiled. “We could do that right now.”
    Isabelle gripped his arm. “Can I have a word with you please?”
    “How about we have that word while we're dancing?”
    Isabelle nodded. Matt took her hand and led her through the crowd to the dance floor. He tugged her into his arms, and they started to move to the music. Holding her close felt natural, as natural as asking the preacher to marry them had felt a moment before.
    “What are we doing, Matthias?”
    “The two-step, Isabelle.”
    They passed the group of boys playing jacks, and both Seth and Luke looked up and waved.
    “We’re going to go in front of the preacher. He'll probably want us to have a