Shed have to be careful, though, Emma thought, as she turned back to the kitchen and the apple pies she was helping the cook make for supper. If Hoyt or her stepsons got wind of what she was up to, there would be hell to pay.
But she was willing to take that chance. She smiled, thinking of her husband. The key was gentling a man, not breaking him. Love could accomplish the most amazing things, she told herself, hoping that was true.
She set her mind to which of her stepsons would be first to have his life changed forever with her helpand possibly a cattle prod.
COLTON CHISHOLM WIPED BLOOD from his split lip as he limped to his pickup. He told himself hed gotten the best of the fight, but as he slid behind the wheel, he felt the pain in his ribs and wasnt so sure about that.
As he started the engine and roared down the road away from the ranch, he thought about just striking out and leaving Whitehorse and the Chisholm Cattle Company behind. He had plenty of reason most days.
But when he glanced in his rearview mirror, he knew he could no more leave this land than he could quit fighting his brothers for it. He was as much a Chisholm as the rest of them and he wouldnt be pushed out.
Not that his father didnt have him thinking twice about it, though. Everyone in six counties was talking about how Hoyt Chisholm had gone to the cattlemans convention in Denver and brought home a wife. And not just any wife. Emma McDougal Chisholma fifty-something buxom redhead with green eyes and a temper.
The damn fool, Colton said to himself. What made it worse was that his father was plainly head over heels in love with the woman. And Emma well, she seemed set on changing things on the ranch. He shook his head. Emma McDougal Chisholm had no idea what shed signed on for. If she did, shed be hightailing it out of town before sundown.
As Colton neared the highway on the long dirt road out of the ranch, he saw the postman, Albert Raines, pull up to the huge mailbox marked Chisholm. Albert waved to him and Colton slowed, pulling alongside as the postman got out and walked toward his pickup.
Got a bunch of mail as usual, the tall, skinny postman said. I was told to see that you got this personally, though. He handed Colton an envelope from the Postal Service.
At first he thought the postman was joking with him. This about some new stamp designs?
Nope, Albert said with all seriousness. Its a letter addressed to you that got lost. I brought it special.
Thanks. He tossed it on the seat. Hed gotten other mail that had been caught in some machine and mangled and had ended up in an envelope just like the one Albert had handed him. No doubt it was a bill of some sort, since Colton rarely received anything else.
Arent
you going to open it? Albert sounded disappointed. I heard its been lost for fourteen years.
Colton chuckled. Im sure it will keep if its been lost that long. He waved goodbye as he left and headed down the road to his house. Hed taken over one of the houses when his father had purchased a neighboring ranch a few years back. The house needed work, but Colton had needed space.
While the Chisholm ranch house was huge and rambling, it wasnt big enough for him and his brothers. All of them had moved out when theyd heard about their fathers marriage, but they all still returned to the main ranch house for meals. Emma had seen to that.
After cleaning up, Colton headed into Whitehorse, anxious to get his errands done and get back for dinner. Emma had announced that she and the cook were baking apple pies. The way his brothers put away food, the pies wouldnt last long. Emma demanded that they all sit down to dinner each evening at the huge log dining room table at the ranch.
Crossing Emma had proved to be a bad thing, he thought, smiling at the memory of her turning the hose on him and Tanner. Emma wasnt very tall, but she was feisty as a badgerand just as dangerous when she was riled up. He figured that was one reason his father had fallen for herand the reason this marriage didnt stand a chance in hell.
It wasnt until later, after picking up supplies, stopping to see if his saddle was fixed yet and having a cup of coffee while he waited at the local café, that Colton climbed back in his pickup and saw the envelope.
He thought about just tossing it. What was the point in looking at a bill that had gotten lost in the mail years ago? Hell, fourteen years ago hed been eighteen, too young to have bills and who would have sent him a letter?
Curious now, he tore open the envelope and dumped out the contents.
A once-white small envelope tumbled out on his pickup seat. The moment he saw her handwriting, his heart stuttered in his chest and he found himself heaving for breath, the effort almost doubling over from the pain of his banged-up ribs. He stared at the handwriting, the return address and finally the postmark. The letter had been mailed fourteen years ago in Mayright before Jessica left Whitehorse without even saying goodbye and hed never seen her again.