“Excuse me, I’m looking for Rowan Carstairs.”
The man looked her up and down. “That’s him over there. The tall one wearing the black Stetson, and with his foot on the bottom rail.”
“Thank you.” Rowan had promised to marry her and didn’t follow through with it. She whipped up her anger to dampen down her nerves. She could lose the ranch because of his treachery.
She marched toward him. A few feet away she stopped. “Rowan Carstairs?”
He swung around and the breath caught in her throat. “Who’s asking?”
This ruggedly handsome man with the touch of arrogance, was him? His blue eyes were hard, his features set and grim. “I…um.” Her tongue became tied in knots.
“Listen, lady.” He surveyed her with one quick sweep of his eyes. “I’m a busy man, so state your business and leave me alone.”
“You, rude, disagreeable oaf.”
He turned his back on her. Rage almost consumed her. “I’m Miranda Kingston,” she yelled.
“Miranda!” He spun around.
“You asked me to marry you, remember?” A few interested spectators edged closer.
“Oh.” A slight red stained his tanned cheeks.
“Yes.” She purposely raised her voice. “I’ve come here for the wedding.”
“I can’t marry you?”
“Why you, you, unprincipled, polecat.”
“Get about your business.” Rowan glared at the people who were obviously enjoying the spectacle.
Anger bouncing off him almost knocked her over, yet she stood her ground.
“My position has changed. Anyway, we only exchanged a few letters.”
“Found someone else, did you? Didn’t have the courage to even let me know. You yellow-bellied polecat.”
“To be honest, with everything that’s happened here lately. I forgot about you.”
“Forgot about me? You led me to believe you wanted to get married. Now I stand to lose my ranch. I…I’ll sue you for breach of promise.”
“Sue away, you won’t get any money out of me.”
“I’ll get an attorney and take you for everything you’ve got.” She was so enraged she didn’t care what she said to him now.
“I don’t like being abused in front of people I know.” He took her by the arm and stepped away from the bystanders. “I’ve got enough to put up with as it is.”
“And I don’t like being misled.” She kicked him in the shin and with a shocked curse he let her go. “I’m going to lose my ranch because of your lies.”
“Well, I’ve already lost mine,” he snarled.
“What! How?”
“I was a trusting fool,” he shot the words out.
“But your cabin, the one you built.”
“Let’s get out of here. I’ve got no money to buy horses, anyway.”
“Oh, Rowan there you are.” A blonde-haired beauty, dressed in a blue silk dress, alighted from a nearby buggy. “I thought I might find you here.”
“Get away from me, Dorothea.”
“It’s not my fault Edward kicked you out of your little house. We can still be friends, or maybe.” She ran her tongue suggestively across her lower lip.
Miranda could not believe she was hearing right. Close up the woman had a hard, predatory gleam in her eye.
“We are not friends and never were.” Rowan’s voice was so cold Miranda shivered even though it was sunny. “It’s your sister and her husband who are going to take over my home.”
“They have to live somewhere.”
“And I don’t?”
The woman leaned over and made a grab for Rowan’s arm and he hastily stepped back.
“Leave my betrothed alone,” Miranda said. Whatever was going on here was not good. “Or I’ll scratch your eyes out.”
“The likes of you, betrothed to him?”
The woman gave a tinkling laugh, which felt like slivers of glass piercing Miranda’s skin. What a witch. She wore a gold wedding band on her finger. A married woman trying to sink her hooks into an obviously unwilling man was so reprehensible, she was tempted to call her out on it.
Chapter Eight
Rowan could not believe what was happening to him. He had lost his home and now he had to put up with this. His stomach curdled with revulsion as he stared at Dorothea. The woman’s behavior was disgraceful, immoral when she was a married woman.
“Where’s the diner you promised to take me to, sweetheart? I’m panting for a nice cup of coffee.” Miranda gave him a loving smile.
“We can go now, darlin’. Dorothea needs to find her husband.”
“You’ll be sorry you rejected me, Rowan Carstairs,” she hissed. “When I tell Edward how you accosted me.”
“And who is going to believe you?” Miranda scoffed. “Rowan has lived around here for years. The sheriff is a friend of his, and I’m prepared to swear you forced your unwanted attentions on him. The local newspaper might be interested in writing about it, too”
“Why you, you, piece of trash. How dare you.”
“Be careful what you say about my future wife,” Rowan snapped. He could never marry Miranda now because he had nothing to offer her. He liked what he saw though. Big emerald green eyes a man could just about drown in, and long brown hair. Dressed in men’s clothing he could clearly see her outline. Miranda Kingston was a pretty gal. It made his loss even harder to bear. Better if she had turned out to be a hag.
They turned their backs on Dorothea and walked away arm in arm. “Where’s your horse?” he asked.
She pointed her horse out to him. “Mine is the bay gelding next to her. Was it coincidental, or an omen that their horses stood side by side? He could not understand why he was having these crazy thoughts. Maybe he was starting to crack under the pressure of what had happened to him of late. He released her arm and stepped
