Austin leaned against the corral railing and watched Gage take a green broke horse through its rounds. The bay mare still flipped her head up and sidestepped when Gage tried to turn her around to go the other direction, but she had vastly improved from when she’d first taken the saddle. “She’s looking good.”
Gage reined the mare back toward Austin. “She still thinks she’s boss like a brand-new bride, but I’ll have her straightened out soon.”
Austin grinned, thinking how his brothers bent over backward to please their wives. “From what I’ve seen, the women are the boss.”
Gage chuckled. “Don’t let Gypsy hear you say that.”
“Gypsy?”
Gage pointed at the mare then looked up and focused on something in the distance. “Looks like GW is ridin’ in.”
Austin climbed onto the lowest railing, searching in the direction Gage had looked. “Yep. That’s Pa.” No more putting off telling him about his bride. Pa would be pleased. Austin just wished Jenny seemed less hesitant about marrying him. Was she simply shy, or did she find him less desirable than she’d expected? He rolled his neck as tension from his train of thought knotted his muscles. He pushed away from the corral and strode toward his pa, rubbing the leg that pained him when he was tense or had overdone things. If he’d had his way, he and Jenny would have married in town before he brought her home. Maybe her unenthusiastic attitude was due to being a mail-order bride and the fact that she needed to marry. He clung to that idea because the thought that she found him lacking mutilated his manhood, and would make their marriage all that much harder from the start. He sure hoped his pa wouldn’t think less of Jenny because theirs wasn’t a love match like his brothers’ had been. But then again, some of them had a hard time wrangling their brides at first, too. He could only hope and pray that his marriage turned out as well as theirs had.
GW Hart reined his big horse to a halt and grinned. “Glad to see you back, son. Where you been?”
“I had some business in town to tend to.”
His pa’s mustache danced. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with getting a bride, would it?”
Austin’s mouth fell open, and he watched the big man dismount. “How did you know?”
GW shook his head, grinning. “Haven’t you learned that you can’t outsmart me yet?”
It had to have been Annie, unless Coralee or Emma had been to the big house since they were in town.
GW slapped him on the shoulder. “I’ve known for a while that you were writing to a woman.”
“How? I never told anyone.”
His pa chuckled. “I have my ways.”
He sure did. Austin thought he’d done well to keep Jenny a secret.
“When do I get to meet my next daughter-in-law?” GW squinted his eyes and twisted the end of his mustache. “You’re not already hitched, are you?”
Austin shook his head. “No, sir. Jenny just got into town yesterday, and she wanted some time to get to know me and to prepare for the wedding.”
He led his horse toward the barn, and Austin followed. “Have you set a date? We’ll need to let folks know.”
There went his hopes for a quiet wedding “Not yet, but I don’t expect it will be too long. Her sister is here, too, so she can stand up with Jenny.”
“Good. I look forward to meeting her, also. That will just leave Bowie without a bride.”
Austin found it hard to see his troubled brother falling in love. Too bad Rebekah was already engaged. Maybe she and Bowie could have gotten hitched. It would be nice for Jenny to have her close. He didn’t like the idea of Rebekah leaving on the stage and never seeing her again. It was sure to make Jenny even more withdrawn.
“So, are they here or in town?” He walked his horse toward the barn, and Austin joined him.
“They’re here.” Feminine laughter from inside the barn made Austin’s gut tighten. As he stepped inside, he saw Jenny standing a few feet away from Cody.
Pa frowned and glanced at him. “How come he has his woman here?”
Austin swallowed the knot clogging his throat. “She’s not his woman, she’s mine.”
Jenny and Cody glanced up at the same time. Cody had the good sense to look ashamed, but Jenny—she just looked caught. She smiled brightly and moved toward him. “There you are. I couldn’t rest so I decided to go for a walk. I thought I might find you here, but when I first came into the barn—” she held her hand to her throat and glanced behind her into the shadows, visibly swallowed, then turned back. “A mangy dog nearly attacked me and frightened me out of my wits. Cody chased it off and was nice enough to show me around.”