Rancher Wants a Wife by Kate Bridges Page A

removed their hats and offered various pleasantries, as if this moment was nothing out of the ordinary.
    “Ma’am.”
    “Pleased to meet you.”
    “Welcome to Napa.”
    Two of them went to help the fallen man to his feet, and the rest dispersed, returning to their tasks.
    Cassandra, still reeling from the stupid display of brutality, shook her head at her husband.
    “Derik Thornley,” he said to her, nodding at the fellow as a means of introduction. “Excuse me for a moment.” Jack turned and inhaled a few breaths to recover.
    Two of Jack’s men escorted Thornley off the premises.
    “You’ll pay, McColton!” he shouted as he was dragged out. “For everything you did to her!”
    “Don’t bring your sorry ass around here again!” Jack responded.
    Obviously, thought Cassandra, Derik Thornley had come onto Jack’s property and attacked him. Jack had every right to defend himself. But wasn’t there a way to do it without the use of fists? And it seemed everyone in town had an opinion about Jack and Elise.
    She swung around and noticed Julia still standing there, gaping openmouthed. Cassandra reached over and hugged the girl to her side. “Let’s go find your grandmother.”
    They headed off, with Cassandra trying to come to grips with all the facets of her husband’s character.
    * * *
    Hours later, when things had calmed down and Jack had collected his composure, he found Cassandra again and hauled her out of the house for a walk.
    His jaw was mighty sore from his fight with Thornley, but he tried to ignore the throbbing. They stopped in the stables, next to a broodmare who’d be delivering in three months. He gave the horse a pat over the stall boards.
    “This one’s real gentle.”
    Cassandra fed her some oats.
    “How is it that you know how to handle a gun?”
    Her mouth puckered in sudden strain, as if she wasn’t quite sure how to answer. But hell, he had a right to know why it was that his wife could handle a firearm.
    “Mrs. Pepik at the boardinghouse taught anyone who wanted to learn. Her late husband had been a policeman and had taught her how to defend herself.”
    It wasn’t something that the private detective Jack had hired had uncovered. But then again, Jack hadn’t hired him for long, and had been very specific about what he wished to know about Cassandra, focusing on her broken engagement with Troy and what sort of circumstances she’d been living in at the boardinghouse.
    “I—I’ve got a derringer pistol that I’m pretty good with.”
    He grinned. “Do you now? Do you keep it under your side of the mattress?”
    “You might say that.”
    “Well, thanks for the fair warning.”
    “You don’t mind?” Her lashes fluttered with some hesitation.
    “I think Mr. Pepik had the right idea, teaching his wife self-defense.”
    Cassandra seemed buoyed by his answer. Her smile widened and her eyes sparkled. Was there something more to this conversation that he was missing? Her silence about the derringer was a bit odd. But before he could think more on that, her demeanor shifted. She frowned and blurted out another question. “Why didn’t you have your men escort Derik Thornley off the ranch as soon as you saw him coming?”
    “I didn’t know his intentions. Then he took a swing at me, and I couldn’t just stand there and take it.”
    She patted the broodmare. “I wish you would’ve remembered that you have a wife living with you now, and children within earshot.”
    “I didn’t know Julia was there.”
    “She told me she’s never seen a fight between two men before.”
    “Well, it’s not like she’s a kid. She is fifteen.” He didn’t mean to sound harsh. “Is she all right?”
    Cassandra relented. “She’s fine. Please explain to me what this man Thornley wants.”
    Jack led her through a side door to the outer buildings, so he could show her those, too. They left the stalls and the men pitching straw, stepping out into the corral, close to where he and Thornley had