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happen to keep me there past dinner, don’t worry. It’s a long ride and all kinds of things can hold me up.”
    “Like what?”
    This is basically wild country. There wasn’t much of anybody out here until gold was discovered just before the war. The cattle we run are wild, the horses we ride were born mustangs, and the mountains are filled with bears, wolves, and cougars.”
    Tanzy shivered. “I didn’t realize.”
    “The land itself is mountainous, not suited for people. If a man falls off his horse, he faces a long walk home, sometimes more than one day.”
    “Are you trying to tell me I could easily become a widow?”
    “I’m trying to say we get where we’re supposed to be, but sometimes we’re a bit late.” He took some coins from his pocket. “You’ll need to buy some clothes. You’ll freeze to death in that thin dress come the first snow.”
    “We have snow in Kentucky.”
    “Do you get drifts over twenty feet high and temperatures twenty degrees below zero?”
    “Okay, I’ll look for something warm,” she said, taking the money. There was an awkward moment; neither was quite sure how to end the evening. Finally Russ thrust his hand forward. “It was nice to meet you. I’m looking forward to getting to know more about you.”
    Tanzy returned his handshake.
    “Now I’d better be going. I don’t want some miner to steal my bed.”
    But Russ didn’t leave because he was worried about his bed. He ran away because he was confused about his reaction to Tanzy.
    He wasn’t too worried about her not wanting children. It would take some careful persuading, but he could make her understand he wasn’t feuding with Stocker. What bothered him was the fact that he was considering using careful persuasion to talk his wife into anything. He believed a good woman should be guided in everything by her husband. As long as he wasn’t weak, cruel, or abusive, she should never question his judgment. So why was he even considering carefully persuading Tanzy?
    He’d just met her today. How could he be attracted to her so soon? He didn’t believe in love and didn’t want it. It had made his mother, his sister, even his stepfather weak, vulnerable, unable to withstand the temptations that ultimately destroyed them. He wanted a wife he liked, whom he could respect, with whom he could set up a smooth working relationship. She would know her duties and responsibilities and would fulfill them. He would do the same, and they would live together comfortably into old age.
    But there was something about Tanzy that didn’t fit in that picture. At first he thought it was her looks. She was a damned fine-looking woman, and he was enough of a man to be strongly attracted to her. He wasn’t a saint, but he didn’t believe in sleeping with any woman just because she was available. It had been so long since he’d been with a woman, he’d practically forgotten what it was like.
    Well, no, it was remembering what it was like that got him so interested in Tanzy.
    She wasn’t a biddable female. She’d dragged him off to the doctor like a naughty boy, then threatened to destroy the doctor’s house. It had been funny in a way, but there was no reason to think she wouldn’t turn that crazy, wild temper against him. That was something he definitely didn’t want in a wife.
    Then there was this business of making conditions that she had plunked down right in front of him without a word of apology. She expected him to agree to them or the deal was off. He’d seen his mother lead her husband around by the nose too many times to want that in a wife.
    So what was it about Tanzy that had grabbed hold of him and wouldn’t let go?
    Damned if he knew, but he’d better find out before he did something stupid.
    Tanzy went to her room with an uneasy mind. Too many things about Russ Tibbolt made her uncomfortable.
    First, he was too good-looking. Lots of women probably thought they wanted a handsome husband, but that was only because