Read Moon Over Montana (McCutcheon Family Series Book 5) for Free Online Page B

wagon when the outlaw finally brought it to a halt, Brandon would have been able to do something to save his parents. Maybe, but not likely. A kid against a killer like that wouldn’t stand much of a chance. He’d never know now. That unanswerable question would go with him to the grave.
    From that time on, Timberlake’s name had been burned into Brandon’s mind. He’d lost track of Timberlake for a while until reading his name in the newspaper in connection with the dissolution of the James-Younger Gang a few years back. The bond that should have belonged to Brandon’s father, if he’d lived, now fell to the Missouri lawman.
    When he found out Timberlake was hiring two new deputies, Brandon had written to him asking for the job. It was on a whim, one of the occasions when Charity was having nothing to do with him, and he was tired of his feelings being trampled on. She could run so hot and cold, but darn, he loved her for it.
    When he’d learned she was off to some charm school in Denver, he knew something else must be up. And it was a good thing he’d followed her. Saved her from the Comancheros, and they’d finally committed their love to each other. A long time coming, but it was worth the wait.
    He fingered the envelope in his pocket. This letter, and the job if it happened, would be a true test for them. That was stone-cold fact. He didn’t like to think about what the outcome might be.

 
     
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    A soft knock sounded on Charity’s bedroom door. Finished with her nighttime toilette, she donned her favorite blue nightgown with the pretty lace trim, reached for her wrapper, and slipped it on. Her nerves, strung tight, were not going to let her get a moment’s rest tonight. Since Texas, she was used to having Brandon close by. Now he was all the way in Y Knot, where she couldn’t talk with him.
    She frowned, thinking of his disquiet at dinner. Something was wrong. He was wrestling with something, she could feel it, sure as the air she breathed.
    Knock, knock.
    “One moment, Mother,” Charity called, and moved to open the door.
    Her mom stood in the hall, also dressed for bed. In her hands was the carved wooden tray from Charity’s childhood. On it were two cups of tea and a small plate of cookies.
    A feeling of home enveloped Charity.
    Her mom smiled. “How did you know it was me?” She came into the room and set the tray on the bedside table.
    “Because the house is big and lonely. Everyone’s moved out. Who else would it be?” She hadn’t meant to sound churlish, but this fear in the pit of her stomach wouldn’t let her be. “How can you stand it?”
    “Charity, what’s bothering you? I felt it in the restaurant and your statement now has just confirmed my suspicions. This is not like you at all.” Her mother took her hands into her own. “Can you tell me?”
    “Something’s wrong with Brandon. He’s acting strange.”
    Her mother smiled and tilted her head. “This is a big step. You and Brandon have been dancing around it for years—and now that the day has almost arrived, you don’t know what to think or how to act. I believe you’re the one who’s nervous, not him.”
    Charity sank down on her bed and her mother sat beside her.
    “You make me sound like a two-year-old, upset over my dolly being snatched away. Of course I know how to act. I love Brandon. I never knew how much until I was locked away in that tiny cell with a rattlesnake—like I was in Rio Wells.”
    Charity took a long cleansing breath to settle her nerves.
    “All I could think about was him, Mom, and about all the time I wasted playing games. Well, I’m through with all that. I want nothing more than to become his wife. I thought he wanted that also, until he jumped at your suggestion to wait. On our way back from Texas, we promised each other that once we arrived we wouldn’t let anyone change our minds. The second you brought it up, he agreed. I think now that he’s home, he’s getting