Chapter One
Flames disturbed the black starless night with brilliant blinding color. Steven Harding immediately raced his horse in that direction, the red-orange blaze his beacon, guiding him to a small house outside of town. Past midnight, Steven knew most miners slept the sleep of the dead, too exhausted by a workday filled with breathless heat to allow the scent of smoke off in the distance, to wake them.
As he came to a clearing, he saw the burning house. His mare spooked, the smoke and violent flames making her jittery. "Whoa, there, Fancy." He dismounted and quickly walked her back behind a tree, shielding her from the view and tied the reins to a tree branch.
With a kerchief to his mouth, he ran to the house, squinting his eyes against the billowing cloud of smoke. Ashes flew up and swirled in the air, the scent of wood-burning destruction all around.
Dread filled his heart when he saw her.
Gloria Mae Shaw, his nemesis, the woman out to destroy his mother's livelihood, lay on the ground, just steps away from the burning building, holding a bloody knife in her hand. And just in front of her, a man who was most likely her husband, lay dead in a red pool, cut up bad from a knife wound to the chest.
The woman moaned.
Steven went down on his knees, gently lifting her up in his arms. Her beautiful face was bruised, battered brutally, and Steven instantly knew her pain had not been caused by the flames, but by the hands of a man.
Steven cursed under his breath. What kind of man could be so cruel? What fool thought to ease his hardships and frustration on a lovely young woman? Steven pushed blond strands of her hair away, mindful to keep his fingers light on her face. "Glory. Glory, can you hear me?"
She moaned again, a slight whimper of agony that slashed straight through his gut. Wood splintered, a big blast caused by the wild flames. Steven had no choice but to move her, to get her to safety. Soon the cabin would collapse, and they'd be engulfed and surrounded by fire.
He eased her up into his arms. Good God. She'd been a nuisance, a thorn in his mother's side, but Steven had always secretly admired her. He'd dreamed of one day holding the golden-haired beauty, having the right to touch her intimately, with reverence, the way she deserved. It had been a fool notion for sure, since they lived in different worlds, he being brought up in a brothel and she, the daughter of the late Reverend Caldwell. But he'd never imagined holding her like this - with pain trembling from her lips and fire ready to end her life. No, his dreams of Glory hadn't been tainted with bitter reality, they'd been mere fantasy. But now, as he gazed down at her near-breathless body, he knew he had to help her.
Dark bruises testified to the treatment she'd endured. If she'd done this, if she'd killed her husband in order to defend herself, Steven couldn't blame her. But others would, murder being a vindictive crime that warranted proper punishment.
And Steven would protect her. He'd take her away and hide her for the time being, allowing her injured body to heal until they could get at the truth.
He owed her that and probably much more.
With the utmost care, he carried her limp body to his horse and mounted quietly, his movements cautious as he adjusted her in his arms. Like a raggedy doll, she clung to him, barely.
"Just a while longer, Glory. Hold on," he whispered then eased his horse forward, back to Virginia City.
To the last place anyone would ever think to look for Gloria Mae Shaw.
Virginia City, Nevada 1869
Steven stared at Glory's sleeping form resting on his bed, her breaths shallow but steady. Her head moved slightly, pressing against the goose-down pillows and matting down her thick blond hair. It seemed more an involuntary movement, a struggle to find comfort under the thin cotton quilt than a sign of her awakening. He'd listened to her anguished moans in the night, a sound he hoped he'd never hear again.
The door creaked open. "Steven," Ruby whispered, popping her head inside, "you sure you don't want to call the doctor?"
Steven strode quietly to the door, giving a last quick glance at Glory before stepping out of the room. He faced Ruby. "We can't chance it." He filled his lungs, drawing air deeply. When he let down his guard, the fatigue he'd battled during the night hit him with unflinching accuracy. "No doubt they'll be looking for her in the morning."
"She killed her husband," Ruby said, shaking her head. "Can't say as I blame her none."
Steven scrubbed his jaw, wondering. "I don't know that for sure." Although he'd seen the evidence, the bloody knife in her hand, her husband's gutted body beside her, Steven just wasn't certain.
"The gal's trouble, Steven. You shouldn't have brought her here. Your mama would be the first to say so."
Steven winced and searched Ruby's light-brown eyes. She was a favorite at Rainbow House, intelligent enough to engage in conversation and pretty enough to keep the men lining up. She was one of the oldest, too, nearing thirty, and one his mother held in high regard. "My mother wouldn't want her strung up, Ruby. Don't forget Glory's father saved my mother's life."
"He took a bullet for her. I know. Everyone knows that. Reverend Caldwell saved Lorene. And we're all glad he did. It's a shame he had to die because of it, but that's what got his daughter hell-bent on closing down Rainbow House. She's out for revenge, posting those signs, writing articles on the sins of the flesh and stirring up trouble."
"Nothing's gonna close down Rainbow House, Ruby. My mother's got the finest house on C Street."
Ruby chuckled, a grin spreading wide across her face. "I know that, too. But what were you thinking, bringing a young gal like that in here? I bet that gal's never even stepped over to this side of town before, much less entered a whorehouse. Soon as she gets wind of where you brought her -"
"There'll be hell to pay. I know. But I can't take her to my place."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Courting of Widow Shaw by Charlene Sands Copyright © 2004 by Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd.. Excerpted by permission.
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