She nearly shouted in relief. “Everything’s in order. I’m in complete agreement. There’s just one thing—”
“I’m sure as hell not in agreement,” Riley exclaimed.
“What?” Susannah squeaked.
For just a moment, his eyes hardened and he paled as though she’d stuck a gun to his head. Then he grinned and stepped around her to move outside. “Where is he? Adam!” he called. “Come on out! The joke is over.”
“This is most certainly not a joke,” Susannah huffed, turning in a swirl of skirts. Panic flared. What was going on? The only reason she had come to this godforsaken dust pit was because Adam had said Riley wanted to marry her, and she needed security for her baby.
“Phelps, you snake!” Laughing, Riley started for the house, his strong legs eating up the distance over the hard ground.
Susannah followed, her senses spinning. Honestly! “He isn’t here. I’m alone.” And destined to remain that way, it seemed.
Riley pivoted, causing her to stop abruptly or run into his massive chest. He braced his hands on his hips. “What’s all this talk about marriage then?”
Temper flaring, she mimicked his pose. “Didn’t you say you wanted to get married?”
“Me? No.” He chuckled.
“You didn’t tell my brother you wanted to marry me?” she demanded with a jerky wave of her hand.
“No. Absolutely not.”
It took a second for the full import of his words to sink in. “No?” she said weakly, her hand falling to her side.
He must’ve seen the color drain out of her face because his smile faded. His voice softened. “No.”
She thought she might be sick all over his dusty boots.
Chapter Two
He’d never even met the woman and she thought he wanted to marry her. Amazing.
Riley watched Susannah’s face grow pale. The disbelief in her eyes shifted to shock. She swayed and he stepped toward her.
“Are you okay? You look like you might be sick.”
“I’m fine.” She marched around him toward the house. “I won’t bother you any longer.”
For a moment, Riley stood there. Adam had sent her to him, and for some ridiculous reason, Susannah believed Riley might actually want to marry her. Not so ridiculous, he reminded himself as he followed her. People agreed to arranged marriages all the time. Mail-order, too. But not him.
He caught up to her. “I’m sorry I reacted badly. You took me by surprise.”
She looked away. “I noticed.”
“I have no idea why Adam would say I wanted to marry.”
“Marry me?”
“No, anyone. I don’t know what he was thinking. He knows I have no intention of doing that again.”
She glanced over, skirts swishing against the ground, stirring up little puffs of dust. “Would it be so awful?” How was he supposed to answer that? “Well.”
“Don’t worry. The misunderstanding is cleared up.” His gaze traced her slender curves. Silver-blond curls gleamed in the sun, revealing a long elegant neck. Her light vanilla scent drifted to him and his heart gave a hard kick. He squared his shoulders against the reaction.
After his wife’s death four years ago, he’d focused all his attention on building the Rocking H with his father. A short three years after their marriage, Maddie had been suddenly wrenched from him, her life snuffed out when she’d lost her way in a dust storm and broken her neck. Riley hadn’t been interested in another woman since, nor had the inclination to find one who did interest him.
He slowed as he neared the porch, while Susannah steamed ahead, sweeping past him and up the steps, her skirts brushing his boots.
She bent to pick up two small valises, stuffing one under her arm and gripping the other in her hand. “Just what did my brother’s telegram say?”
“That you were coming to Whirlwind.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes.” He wondered what Adam had told Susannah. Before the sun set, he intended to find out. Whatever it was had convinced her to travel hundreds of miles to marry a man she didn’t know.
Marriage?! Riley had thought he might swallow his teeth when she’d made that little announcement. He wasn’t marrying her. Not because she was the sister of one of his good friends, but because she didn’t belong here. Look at her! She was too soft, too delicate for life in the Texas plains. His past made him an expert on beautiful outsiders, especially those who believed they were strong enough to survive in this sometimes-merciless land. Hooking up with Susannah Phelps would be like carrying china on a cattle drive. Not smart. Not practical. He hadn’t built the reputation of the Rocking H by being stupid or impractical.
“Humph.” She yanked at the strap on the largest trunk and stumbled backward.
Riley cleared the steps in two strides and reached out to steady her. She regained her footing, straightened away from him.
He eyed her mound of luggage incredulously. “Are all these yours?”
She shot him a glacial look and shifted the valise under her arm, then grabbed the strap of the smallest trunk. The valise crashed to the ground.
“What are you doing?”
“Leaving, of course.” As she bent toward her bag, he scooped it up.
He glanced around. There was no horse or buggy. “Just exactly how did you get out here?”
“Matthew Baldwin.”
Matthew? Riley lifted a brow. Matt Baldwin hadn’t been called by his full name since they were fifteen.
Puffing out a breath that lifted a stray curl over her forehead, Susannah reached for the valise he held, then wrapped the strap of the smallest trunk around her other hand. “There.”
Dragging the piece behind her, she clomped down the steps, then stopped. She stared down the long, dusty road, past the crude log archway where he’d carved his rocking H. Did she think she was going to carry all that luggage? The three pieces she held now looked heavy enough to break her. She was so fragile and small-boned, Riley didn’t think she could carry even one of those valises all the way to town. He wanted to ask if she’d brought everything she owned, but he kept his mouth shut.
Hefting the bag under her arm, she looked over her shoulder. “How far is Whirlwind?”
“Three miles.”
“Three.” After a long moment, she turned,
