Читать книгу Oklahoma Wedding Bells - Carol Finch, Carol Finch - Страница 10

Sol ambled over to tie his prisoner to a tree, horse and all. When Kane cursed him soundly, he ignored him and strode back to Muriel. She motioned for Sol to follow her to a clump of cottonwood trees that stood several yards away from a row of tents.

“I wonder if I could ask a small favor,” she began, wringing her hands as she spoke.

Sol anticipated what she wanted, but he was ornery by nature and habit, and made her ask. “It depends on what the favor is. What is it you want from me?”

She expelled a gusty breath, then said, “Will you ask Captain Holbrook if we can be engaged? At least for—” She clamped her mouth shut and looked the other way.

“For how long?” Sol demanded. He figured his betrothal would terminate at the exact time Grant’s did—when these clever females had no more use for their fiancés. They would discard Sol and Grant without the slightest regard for their pride or feelings.

Muriel winced, then stared at the air over his right shoulder. “What I meant to say was—”

“I know exactly what you meant,” Sol interrupted sharply, resorting to the tactics he utilized when dealing with criminals. “Don’t tell me. Let me guess. Grant and I will serve your purpose until right after the run, so you can go your merry way. Is that it?”

She shifted uneasily and refused to meet his intense gaze.

He leaned on her harder. “No? Until when, then?”

She clamped her mouth shut, reminding him a lot of Josie.

“If you want me to deliver your request to Holbrook and get him to agree to it, then you’ll have to tell me the specific terms of these arrangements. Otherwise, I won’t help.”

She sighed heavily, then blurted, “Until the day of the run.” Muriel looked relieved to have the truth out in the open. “Josie figures the men that keep hounding us with proposals will be too busy establishing and protecting their new homesteads to bother us for a few weeks.”

“Oh, she does, does she?” Sol wasn’t sure why the news of Josie’s premeditated plot annoyed him so much, but it did. He’d be engaged for a week. And wouldn’t you know this conniving scheme was Josephine’s bright idea? No surprise there.

“Yes. After that, we won’t be as easily accessible as we are in the tent community and in town,” she explained.

“I can foresee all sorts of problems with this harebrained plan, which leaves you two separated and unprotected on your newfound claims,” Sol cautioned. “You will become easy prey for claim jumpers trying to steal your land, because you won’t have reinforcements to back you up.”

Muriel tilted her head in a manner that instantly reminded him of the witch-angel that went by the name of Josephine. “We will stake adjoining claims so we can watch each other’s backs.”

“Right,” Sol said, and snorted caustically. “Just like you were there to help Josephine fend off Kane tonight.”

Muriel bit her lip and wrung her hands some more. “Next time I won’t leave her alone.”

“You just did,” Sol reminded her with a stern glance. “I recommend you both become handy with pistols. Stabbing claim jumpers with sewing needles might not be discouragement enough.”

When he turned around to walk off, Muriel called after him. “You will ask the captain for me, won’t you?”

Sol halted, then frowned contemplatively. A wicked grin creased his lips when a thought occurred to him. He pivoted to face the attractive brunette. “I will square it with Holbrook if, and only if, you’ll accept my stipulation,” he stated.

Muriel eyed him warily. “What is your stipulation?”

“You can’t tell Josephine that I know when you two plan to terminate these engagements.”

“But she’s my friend and I—”

Sol made a slashing gesture with his hand to silence her. “That is the condition. Take it or leave it.”

Muriel blew out an exasperated breath, then tapped her foot in irritation.

“Well?” he prompted impatiently. “I propose for you, and you don’t tell Josie what I know. Otherwise, the deal is off. Decide.”

The brunette steamed and stewed for a full minute, then nodded her head in a way that conveyed her annoyance with him. “You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Tremain.”

“I’m a horse trader. It’s what I do,” he teased, straight-faced.

“Very well, then, since you leave me with little choice,” she said begrudgingly. “But I want it understood that it goes against my grain to keep secrets from my best friend.”

“Duly noted,” Sol replied with a slight inclination of his head.

After Muriel stamped off, he wheeled away. In this, at least, he planned to remain one step ahead of that clever minx who had drawn him into her scheme.

He and Grant would become the envy—and perhaps objects of vicious retaliation—of rejected suitors. Suddenly, Sol wondered if this might become the engagement from hell, after all, considering the feisty temperament of his supposed fiancée and the irritation of her legion of jilted beaus.

Luckily, he and Grant could roast over the same bonfire. He’d always heard that misery loved company.

Guess he was about to find out.

When Sol strode into the commander’s office at the garrison, Grant was bent over the daily report, studiously jotting down information. He glanced up, clearly surprised to see Sol.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were going to snoop around the camp where Bradley pitched his tent.”

“I decided to swing by Josie and Muriel’s camp to sell a few horses before I headed north,” Sol explained. “Good thing I did. A drunken cowboy that I recognized as one of the gunmen at the Saddle Burr Saloon this morning was attacking Josie.”

Had it just been this morning? Damn, another long day.

“What?” Grant croaked in dismay. “Is she all right? Was Muriel attacked, too?”

Hmmm … Funny that you should ask, thought Sol. “No, she didn’t make the same mistake, of tramping off alone to tend to her horse. Fortunately, I arrived to intervene before the bastard could do his worst and Josephine lost more than her temper.” Sol cast aside the unpleasant memory of seeing the scoundrel force himself on her. “I brought Harlan Kane here so you can toss him in the stockade. I figured if I took him to town, his boss might try to bail