Cherished by Jill Gregory

yet—and Gil ...”
She felt anger welling up within her. “You were fired merely
because we struck up a friendship that night!”
    He took a few turns about the clearing, his
head bent in thought. “Maybe—maybe not. There’s a few other reasons
he might want to get rid of me, Juliana. I know some things about
his way of operating, things that stick in my craw. You could say
Mr. Breen and me have differin’ philosophies.”
    Juliana paid no attention to the squirrel
that darted through the brush beside her, startling the horses. She
was watching Gil’s troubled face. “What do you mean?”
    “Oh, I reckon we don’t agree on the right way
to go about acquiring other people’s land—and businesses. Mr. Breen
has his own method of getting people to sell out to him. He plays
rough, Juliana. And he always manages to get a real low price for
what he wants. By the time he’s through, folks are ready and eager
to sell to him and glad to still be alive.”
    Stunned, she stared at him in growing horror.
“He coerces them. Isn’t that what you mean? Then you’re saying he’s
dishonest,” she cried, her eyes widening as she stared up at the
red-haired cowhand.
    “I ain’t got proof of anything—but I will
tell you that Breen’s a dangerous man—ruthless as any I’ve seen. If
he’s built his whole empire using the kinds of tactics he’s
employed right here in Colorado, then he’s not a man to tangle with
lightly.” He grimaced, and the toe of his boot scuffed at the dust.
“I’ve been askin’ a few questions about him ... and I reckon he
heard about it and didn’t take too kindly to my curiosity. It all
boils down to the fact that he’s ordered me off the ranch.” He
regarded her searchingly. “That doesn’t matter much, but I’m
worried about you.” He reached out suddenly and gripped her hands.
“Is it true that you’re going to marry him? Mueller let something
slip to Shorty McMillen and the story’s spread through the
bunkhouse like wildfire.”
    “I am not going to marry him,” Juliana
flashed, her jaw tightening. “Though my uncle might think
otherwise.”
    Quickly she told Gil about her own suspicions
of the arranged marriage, ending with “I will have to make it clear
to my uncle that I absolutely won’t go along with his plans. He may
try to force me, though. He is my legal guardian.”
    “He’d do somethin’ like that?” Gil asked as
she turned away and walked to the edge of the creek. Shaking his
head, he followed her.
    “Oh, yes.” There was a bitter look in her
eyes. “He’ll no doubt tell me that I owe it to him to do as he
wishes, since he has supported me all of my life. He may even
threaten to cast me out if I don’t marry John Breen. And in a way
he’s right.” Her voice dipped lower. “I do owe Aunt Katharine and
Uncle Edward a great deal—they have cared for me since I was a
child. But,” Juliana said, turning and gazing back at Gil with a
forlorn expression, “I can’t repay them by marrying a man I don’t
even like —much less trust. If necessary”—she swallowed, realizing
the impact her rebellion could have upon her life from this moment
on—“I’ll leave my uncle’s house and his protection and set out on
my own. But I can’t agree to be tied to a man I find
repugnant.”
    Gil’s heart nearly burst with pity for this
lovely, delicate girl who looked so unhappy. Juliana Montgomery
deserved to be loved, protected, not thrown out to that snake,
Breen, by her greedy, bootlicking uncle. He cast about for
something to say that would ease the pain reflected in her face,
then remembered what he’d been aiming to tell her all along.
Grinning, tilting her face up to his, he cocked an eyebrow at her.
“Maybe it’d cheer you to know that I got a handle on those brothers
of yours.”
    Her emerald eyes lit with dazzling hope. “Oh,
tell me Wade and Tommy are in Colorado,” she begged fervently,
clutching his hand.
    Gil was almost too distracted by her