Their Conquered Bride (Bridgewater Ménage 9) (Grace Goodwin)

So, our lovely lady wanted children. I’d be happy to give her a dozen.

With this large of a group and knowing how the men must tend to their brides, surely the ranch would be overrun with young ones soon.

Perhaps even one or two of our own.

Logan took Lizzie by the arm and escorted her around the room, introducing her to everyone. She smiled and nodded, shaking hands when manners dictated she should, but I saw the lines of strain form beside her eyes, noticed when her smile changed from natural to brittle. She was being completely overwhelmed.

I didn’t blame her. From what she shared, her childhood was less than warm and this brood would be quite an adjustment. When her sisters arrived, perhaps that would help, but their arrival would also bring ten more men.

Dinner was a loud affair; there was enough catching up and telling of old war stories to go late into the night. While Lizzie ate her share of roast and potatoes, she remained quiet. That was expected, as she knew no one but me and Logan, but she continued to eye Xander, along with Tyler and their wife Emily, with a mix of nervousness and obvious interest.

Leaning down, I whispered in her ear, “You seem scared by Xander. Has he done something to upset you?”

A piece of bread was halfway to her lips and she paused, then put it in her mouth. I saw it for what it was, stalling. The way her cheeks turned red, I knew that she’d had some kind of interaction with him. Whether I needed to punch the man in the face was yet to be determined.

She shook her head.

Ford glanced at me over Lizzie’s head. “Xander’s done something.”

“No, he hasn’t.” She took a sip of water, then turned to me. “Truly.”

“Xander,” Logan said. The man turned his head and raised his eyebrows to indicate he was listening. “You don’t live here at Bridgewater?”

“No,” he replied. “We have a ranch past Helena. Kane bought some of our cattle a few years ago, then Tyler’s sister, Olivia, married those three besotted fools.” He pointed to Rhys and Simon, who I knew from my days in Mohamir, and a third man who had been introduced as Cross. Three husbands? Interesting. I didn’t have much time to ponder because Xander continued, “Now Tyler and I come back to Bridgewater a couple of times a year to make sure they’re treating his baby sister right.”

At the other end of the table, Rhys and Simon shouted insults at Xander for insulting them. Cross bent Olivia over backward and kissed her senseless, right there in front of everyone. It was all in good fun and I watched Lizzie’s eyes widen in alarm, then surprise as Olivia kissed him back, passionately, and the rest of the women seated around the table merely smiled with that look women get when the men they love are acting like idiots.

“You’re just visiting then?” Logan pressed for more information as Lizzie stiffened in her chair, taking three times longer than it should have for her to chew that piece of bread.

Tyler put his hand across the back of Emily’s chair. “We bought a bull past Lewistown and wanted to make a trip of it. We arrived yesterday.”

“We just missed you then,” I added. “We were in Hayes just yesterday morning.”

Xander offered a smile, but it was partially hidden by his dark beard. “We followed the stage line. Safer that way. Didn’t linger in Hayes though. Spent the night at the town before. Nothing little town. Never bother to remember what it’s called.”

“Drummond,” Tyler offered.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lizzie’s cheeks turn pink and she stared at her hands, which were tightly fisted in her lap.

Nothing about Xander made me think he’d done anything untoward to Lizzie. So, what was wrong with our bride? Did she lust after Xander? Did she wish she’d married him instead? The thought made me angry, and I vowed to get her naked and remind her exactly who she belonged to at the earliest opportunity.

Logan seemed to be oblivious. Either that, or he was having fun pushing our bride as far as he could, looking for clues. “Lizzie was on the stage from the east that day. I’m surprised you didn’t see her or her two sisters.”

Emily tilted her head and looked at Lizzie. “I would have remembered seeing you, you are so pretty.”

Lizzie lifted her head swiftly, as if Emily’s comments shocked her. “Thank you.”

The other women at the table added to the conversation then, voicing their jealousy for Lizzie’s darker complexion. “No freckles!” Anne commented with a smile. “That is completely unfair.”

“I love your freckles, wife. They provide the perfect map for kissing you all over.” One of Anne’s husbands, Robert, leaned across his plate to kiss her. Olivia’s men had started it, but an air of sensuality had quickly settled over the room and the looks between

the married groups in the room grew longer and more direct.

Lizzie blushed and murmured her thanks as the ladies around the table ignored their husbands’ groping hands and attention as they continued to discuss her rare and exotic beauty. I agreed wholeheartedly, but her confused expression confirmed what I had already begun to suspect. No one had told Lizzie she was beautiful before. She wasn’t used to hearing the words, and didn’t believe them.

I decided then and there it would be my personal mission in life to change that. Our wife was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, and I would dedicate my life to making sure she believed me when I told her so.

The conversation veered toward the fall harvest, yet I had not had my questions answered. Later, I would ask Lizzie and she would tell us the truth, even if we had to spank it out of her.