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they were too foolish to realize how much trouble good looks could cause. If he was all that handsome, he’d be able to talk her into doing just about anything he wanted, even things she really didn’t want to do.
    Tanzy didn’t want a husband or anybody else who could talk her out of what she knew was sensible and right. It was clear he didn’t agree with her worry about having children. He was probably already thinking of ways to get her to change her mind, and she was honest enough to admit that Russ Tibbolt just might be able to do it.
    If he was all that irresistible to his wife, he would be just as irresistible to other women. He would be faced with constant temptations to stray. The only man who wouldn’t stray was a man who didn’t get any offers. So there she’d be, foolishly in love with her husband and jealous of every female. Better a homely man who was thankful for what he had than a handsome one always sampling to see if he could find something better.
    Then there was this problem with people not liking Russ. She knew it wasn’t the same as a feud, but it was too close to suit her. She had left home to get away from killing, regardless of the reasons for it.
    But there was something else, a kind of stiff-necked stubbornness that reminded her of her father and brothers. They would never accept any opinion that wasn’t their own. She got the feeling Russ expected to be the only one to make decisions. She, on the other hand, expected each of them to have separate spheres of influence and responsibility, with clear rules to keep things from getting mixed up. As his wife, she would have certain rights and privileges and her husband would have to respect them.
    Her mother had never had any of those rights and privileges. What made her think Russ would be interested in giving her any?
    “Did you have a nice dinner?”
    Archie’s voice startled her. “Yes.”
    “I wondered if people would cause trouble.”
    “A man called Henry tried to throw Russ out of the restaurant, but Russ hardly paid him any attention. Good night.”
    But as she got ready for bed, Archie’s words came back to her. Obviously he had expected people to be rude to Russ. Was that why she felt this strange attraction to him, this need to do something about what she felt was unfair treatment? She certainly couldn’t be foolish enough to think Russ needed her to defend him, yet at the same time that was exactly what she wanted to do. It was what she had done when the doctor wouldn’t treat his wound.
    She had to do some hard thinking. She had come west to escape trouble, not run into more of it. It began to look as though there might be some very good reasons to reconsider her decision to marry this man. But what she really needed to know was why, in the face of these reasons, she felt that Russ Tibbolt was the man who could make her dreams come true.
    Russ gave his distinctive whistle, the one all his men used to signal that they were coming inside the ring of protection. He was pleased to hear it echo back to him from two directions, one plain and simple, one with a little flourish at the end. Oren and Tim. Tim never could do things the simple way. He always added something of his own.
    “Have any trouble coming in?” Welt Allard asked Russ when he reach the corral behind the ranch house. It was still several hours before dawn, but a man riding in the open could be seen at a distance of several hundred yards.
    “Not tonight.” He dismounted and started to unsaddle his tired horse.
    “How did it go? What’s she like?”
    Russ was surprised to find he was reluctant to discuss Tanzy, even with his best friend. “It’s early days yet. I get the feeling both of us have more expectations of the other than we thought.”
    “Is she that ugly?”
    Russ laughed. “She’s very pretty. No, I think we’re finding we didn’t know our minds as well as we thought. It’s real easy to think about marrying somebody you’ve never seen, but