The private smirked. “The United States Army isn’t in the habit of joking about such matters, Mr. Thornton. Mrs. Evelyn Chaucer Montgomery, along with her brothers, Theodore, Brett and Reid Chaucer, are disputing your claim.”
His gut knotted up below his sternum. Chaucer. A name embedded in his consciousness, going as far back as his toddler years to the time of the war between the states, a name associated with trouble and turmoil, hatred and discord. The Chaucers—Southern sympathizers to the core—despised his family for their loyalty to the North and its cause. That they had turned up here, in this start-up community of Brave Rock, struck him as downright suspicious.
Beyond Wellington’s left shoulder, three men stood shoulder to shoulder, their olive skin and European features marking them as Chaucers. Because they were familiar to him and uninteresting, he skipped right over them to focus on the slender female dressed in head-to-toe black. Her head was bent so that her bonnet’s brim hid the top half of her face.
Gauging from her gold-kissed skin and the black-brown hair whispering against her nape, Chaucer blood ran through her veins. The vague recollection of a twin sister drifted through his memory. Before he could pin it down, however, he noticed another member of their party. A small child. A boy with disheveled black hair and huge brown eyes in a face that hadn’t yet lost the fullness of toddlerhood. A boy around the same age as his Maggie....
Shying away from the life-sucking grief, Gideon slammed the gateway to the past shut. Wrested his gaze away from the small figure clinging to his ma’s skirts and planted it firmly onto the soldier.
“I’ve been here eight days, Private. Why are they just now disputing the claim?”
“Because we had a funeral to arrange, you—” Theo leaned forward. Brett put up an arm to block him.
“You’ve wasted your time. These people have misled you.”
Wellington didn’t so much as blink. “They contend that Mrs. Montgomery’s late husband, Drake, staked this plot and that it rightfully belongs to her and her son, Walter.”
Montgomery. The inexperienced rider who’d foolishly followed him the day of the land rush? His gaze flew to the widow’s face, now fully visible beneath the curved brim, delving into eyes the color of thick, sticky molasses. The exotic beauty countered his scrutiny with open challenge, her dainty chin uplifted and her high forehead lined with determination. Slashing black brows arched above flashing, thick-lashed eyes, and rounded cheekbones were balanced by a lush pink mouth. Disdain radiated from her bristling stance.
“I’m sorry for your loss, ma’am,” he said directly to her, with effort not allowing his gaze to lower to the boy at her side, “but you’re mistaken. Before the land rush, I studied the maps carefully and chose this plot because of its distance from town and proximity to this offshoot stream. I discovered a shortcut, a path hazardous for anyone who isn’t a strong rider.”
He recalled the exact moment he’d realized someone was trailing him. The surprise. The urgency, the drive to reach the land first. He had waited too long for this opportunity, hadn’t been about to let it slip through his fingers. “I planted my stake. When I looked back, I saw Montgomery’s horse stumble and pitch sideways. He was crushed.”
A quiet gasp drew his attention once more to the female. A small hand pressed against her son’s back tucked him closer to her, as if her touch alone were enough to spare him life’s harsh realities.
Eager to be done with this unpleasant scene, Gideon pushed out the rest of the story. “I checked on him. Saw that he was alive and in desperate need of medical help, so I sought out my brother’s fiancée, Alice Hawthorne. She’s a skilled nurse. I thought—” He scraped a hand along his unshaven jaw, the bloody images coming into focus. “We were too late to save him. By the time we returned, Mr. Montgomery had already passed.”
“You’re lying.” Her voice was huskier, deeper than he’d expected.
His spine stiffened. “Be very careful, madam. That’s a serious accusation to levy at a complete stranger.”
Rather than cower at the current of steely warning in his voice, she took a step forward. “I want to see the stake.”
“As do I.” Theodore glared at Gideon, the heat of old rivalries stirring to life in his dark eyes, punctuated by the once-straight nose that was now slightly offset.
Ignoring him, Gideon looked at Wellington, who nodded in agreement. “In order to sort this out, we need to see it. Shall we walk or ride?”
He weighed his options. Refusal didn’t appear to be one of them. Besides, the sooner he proved his case, the sooner he’d be rid of the Chaucers. “It’s about fifteen acres south of here. We’ll ride.”
Spinning on his heel, he strode over to the corral and, ducking between the rails, signaled Star. The two-year-old palomino lifted his head and met him at the gate. After a brief touch on his muzzle, Gideon swung up onto his broad, bare back.
A light breeze carrying the scents of sunbaked earth, hardy grass and sweet hyacinths gave him a brief respite from the overhead sun’s scorching heat. The near-constant breeze was one of the first things he’d noticed about his new home in central Oklahoma. Whether it was due to his proximity to the Cimarron River slicing through the grasslands or the absence of substantial hills in this area, he didn’t know and didn’t care. In his opinion, he and his brothers couldn’t have picked a better place to start fresh. Ruggedly beautiful countryside, fertile land and, best of all, remote. With 160 acres to call his own, he didn’t have to see another living soul until he wanted to.
Unless folks chose to drop in on him unannounced. A scowl created deep lines around his mouth as he waited for the group to pile into their wagon.
He led them south, away from the Cimarron, through verdant pastures thick with yellow and orange flowers, along the stream bank dotted with sweeping cottonwood trees to the place where he’d staked his claim. Very near to where Mrs. Evelyn Chaucer Montgomery’s husband had perished.
For a brief moment he allowed himself to feel compassion for the young widow. He knew all too well how it felt to lose a spouse with absolutely no warning. No preparation. She must be in shock still.
Then he shoved it aside. She’d labeled him a liar. He should expect no less from a Chaucer.
Sliding smoothly to the ground, he waited for the rest to catch up, anticipating their reaction to the proof. The officer perused his surroundings with keen interest. He wondered what misdeeds the man might’ve committed to have robbed him of his rightful rank; a man of his age and experience was not a mere army private for no reason.
The Chaucer brothers’ hungry gazes gobbled up his land, Theodore in particular wearing a too-confident expression. Taller and leaner than the other two, he had sandy hair that set him apart from his siblings. The second eldest, Brett, was shorter, broader and less aggressive, but still a pain. Reid was Gideon’s least favorite. Cocky. Short fused. Unpredictable.
Once out of the wagon, Mrs. Montgomery handed the boy off to Reid and strode for the wooden stake sticking out of the ground beneath a hackberry tree. The sweep of her full black skirts through the tall grass frightened a pair of cottontails that scurried in the opposite direction. She was oblivious, however, to all else save that stake.
Too bad she was in for a disappointment.
But when she yanked it out of the ground and read the name, the satisfaction and relief flashing across her expressive face did not indicate disappointment at all. Confused, Gideon walked toward her as if in a dream, his feet reluctant to carry him where he wanted to go.
“It’s Drake’s,” she said in a triumphant whoosh, holding it up above her head like a torch.
“I knew