Twice a Texas Bride by Linda Broday Page A

anyone who got in his way. He’d bragged that everyone in his family since 1764 had followed the lawless path. It all started with a pirate grandfather who plundered and murdered up and down the eastern seaboard. Even his mother and his sisters had embraced the outlaw lifestyle. His mother, Big Foot Lucy, had established quite a reputation before the law ruined her promising career.
    None of them tended to live past the ripe old age of thirty-eight, either succumbing to bullet wounds or a hanging, whichever came first.
    Nate had another think coming if he thought she’d let him drag Toby down with him. Her nephew would get a chance to amount to something. Callie would see to it. She would have, even if she hadn’t pledged that to her sister.
    Some things were just right, and this was one of them.
    â€œToby, don’t get too close to Biscuit until we get these ticks and burrs off her,” Callie said firmly.
    â€œI’ll give her a bath after we eat and get her cleaned up real good,” Rand promised. “Until then, mind your mama.”
    â€œAwww, yes, sir.” Toby sat down at the table. Biscuit’s nails clicked on the floor as she padded over and rested her muzzle on Toby’s leg, looking just as dejected as the boy.
    Callie turned back to getting breakfast on the table for her hungry men. But when she realized she’d counted Rand as part of her family, a stillness came over her. She raised her gaze and fell smack into Rand’s blue eyes. The seriousness with which he studied her created a warmth that didn’t come from the cookstove.
    What was this thing between them?
    Or was she simply seeing something that wasn’t there?
    Lord help her if she knew.
    Putting away the confusion, she turned to something she understood—cooking up hot, nourishing food for Toby’s and Rand’s bellies.
    Rand rose, pulled on his coat, and announced he was going out in the raw, overcast day to milk the cow.
    By the time he came back in, she had plates of ham, eggs, and biscuits on the table. In short order, she had them fed and agreed that Biscuit could have her bath in the warm kitchen as soon as she finished the dishes.
    A damp chill hung in the air despite the fire in the stove.
    A chill that went all the way down to her bones.
    A strong premonition swept over Callie, terrifying her to the marrow. Evil stalked them like some wild beast, intent on feasting upon their carcasses.
    She couldn’t stop it, not even if she ran as far and as fast as she could.
    Death and disaster would hunt her down.
    Nate was coming.
    Icy edges of fear gnawing into her veins told her so.

Six
    The next few days, Callie looked for her mother’s treasure box every chance she got, but still the hiding place eluded her. If only her mother had told them where she was putting it.
    On this day, Callie started a systematic search the minute Rand went outside to tear off rotted boards from the barn in preparation for repairs. With the two horses, a cow, and now a dog, he needed a place for them that wasn’t about ready to fall down. He’d already put in an order for some lumber. The new sawmill in Battle Creek would have it cut and ready for pickup in a week.
    She thought it smart of him to order only what he needed a little at a time. But then, Rand was not missing anything in the brains department.
    Her search for the treasure chest resumed in the downstairs rooms. She checked for loose floorboards and fireplace bricks. Then she began running her fingers along the walls for hidden compartments. Having no furniture yet made it easy, especially with Toby outside with Rand and Biscuit.
    When nothing came to light, she stood back and tried to put herself in her mother’s shoes. She doubted the woman would’ve buried it outside, because of the heavy rains that summer. Due to the soggy ground, they’d had to wait three days to bury Nora Quinn Powers. She remembered how impatient her