Their Reluctant Bride (Bridgewater Ménage 6)

Emily flinched. I took her arm and helped her to stand. I pulled her into my arms, held her tightly, one hand at the nape of her neck, the other about her waist. I didn’t care if she wanted me to hold her; I wanted to feel her in my arms.

“I’m sorry, baby,” I murmured, kissing the top of her head. “You’ve been through so much. Sounds like your husband was quite the asshole.”

She laughed, although it was full of sorrow.

Over her head, I glanced at Xander, who was running his hands through his hair, tugging on it. His gaze was on Emily, looking at her as if he had no idea what to do with her. She was a puzzle, a mystery to him. Living on a sprawling ranch, he’d kept himself at a distance from people easily enough. As his friend, I understood him, his “think the worst of people” mentality. He also knew I wouldn’t stand for any shit. But he was now responsible for Emily, which meant he would have to think and act differently from now on. The question was, would his past drive a wedge between the three of us? Could he be the man she needed?

XANDER

Shit. Shit. What the fuck had I done? When that man had said he wanted money out of Emily, I hadn’t thought about how he might be using her, but how she had been using us. I’d been stupid, fucking stupid. She’d even leaned over the desk and lifted her dress up, expecting us to get payment from her pussy. I was no better than Ralph.

“Did Frank hit you?” I asked. I tried to calm my racing heart, to take deep breaths and try not to scare her any more than I already had. People would walk a wide path around me on good days; between the two of us, Tyler had the sunny disposition. Emily needed her men to cherish her, not scare the hell out her.

Tyler held her tightly as if he could absorb all her pain—pain that I’d caused. I had to know the shadows of her heart, to know how she’d been hurt in the past so I didn’t repeat it.

“A few times.” Her voice was muffled by Tyler’s shirt. He loosened his grip—slightly. “He was always drunk and I’d hidden the house money.”

The idea of anyone laying a hand to her, especially her husband, the person who should have been taking care of her, had me wanting to hit something. Someone. But that wasn’t what she needed right now.

She’d given the truth and she deserved it from me in return. I had to fix this, and the only way I could think of was to let her know about the man she married. She just caught a decent glimpse of him. I wasn’t soft. I wasn’t kind. Good thing she was legally married to Tyler. If need be, I could just ride off and leave them. She’d be safe and well cared for with him. My breakfast settled heavily in my stomach at the idea of never seeing her smile or see the way she came all over my cock again, knowing I’d given her the pleasure she deserved.

“I was convicted of a crime I didn’t commit.”

Emily twisted out of Tyler’s hold and he dropped his hands, only long enough to pull her back into him, his arm banded about her waist. He was keeping her close and I didn’t blame him.

“I was in Laramie and I spent the evening at the saloon. I’d had too much whiskey and I woke up the next day in a jail cell. The sheriff told me I’d almost beaten a woman to death. There were two witnesses.”

As I spoke, my gut churned, remembering how I’d felt at the time. Hungover, definitely. Confused. I’d been railroaded and I hadn’t even known how.

“I couldn’t remember a thing. It was possible I’d actually done it.”

“Bullshit,” Tyler said.

I glanced up at my friend and knew he’d been as helpless as I in the situation.

“Weren’t you there with him?” Emily asked, looking over her shoulder at Tyler.

I shook my head, answering for him. “I went for business alone. A cattle deal. Instead, I ended up before the circuit judge and then six months in jail.”

“Surely you didn’t hit a woman. You wouldn’t do that!” Her vehemence melted a hardened spot on my heart. Even after the accusations I’d made, she stood up for me.

“After what I’ve just done to you, you’re so sure?”

“Yes,” she replied simply.

I just shook my head in disgust. “I’m not a nice person, Emily. I think the worst of people.”

She came to me, took my hands. I looked at how much smaller hers were in mine. How pale her skin was, how dainty and fragile her fingers were.

“What really happened?”

“Another man wanted the cattle. He went to the saloon and went upstairs with a whore. He… took her roughly, choked her, beat her, then left her. A saloon girl, who we discovered had been paid handsomely, helped me upstairs and into the woman’s room.”

“So they found you with the poor woman and they all pointed their fingers at you,” she replied.

“He paid the whore to lie before the judge, to help convict me.” I remembered how helpless I’d felt at being locked behind bars for a crime I couldn’t even remember.

“Took Tyler six months to get the truth. The real perpetrator was brought to justice and I was released.”