The Widowed Bride
Indulge your fantasies of delicious Regency Rakes, fierce Viking warriors and rugged Highlanders. Be swept away into a world of intense passion, lavish settings and romance that burns brightly through the centuriesKnown to her friends as a free spirit, Elizabeth Lane has traveled the world in search of new adventures and good stories.She has lived in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama and Germany and traveled to such exotic spots as China and Nepal, but she is most at peace in the mountains of her native Utah. As of this writing, she lives in a suburb of Salt Lake City with an eighteen-year-old cat named PowderPuff.Single since 1984, Elizabeth has raised a son and two daughters. One daughter, who died in an accident in 1985, is still a loving presence in her mother's life. The other two children are grown and thriving, and Elizabeth revels in her new loves her grandchildren.Elizabeth is, perhaps, too easily lured by new challenges. She loves hiking, photography, belly dancing, animals, Native American culture, and any kind of music. She has pursued whales off Baja California, trekked the Himalayas, rafted the Grand Canyon, and even taken a flying lesson. Since 1983 she has worked full-time as an educational software designer. But her favorite pastime is writing lively, passionate stories that will reach out and touch her readers.Her novels have been published in ten languages and enjoyed in many parts of the world. Elizabeth's first novel, a historical saga about the Spanish conquest of Mexico, was published in 1980. Several more sagas followed, including two books set in China. When the market for big, serious historical novels faded, it took her four lean years to make the transition to romance. Wind River, her first Harlequin Historical, was published in 1989.She has also written several contemporary Silhouette books. "Everyone and everything has a story" Elizabeth is fond of saying when asked about her ideas. "From the penny in your hand to the stranger in the grocery line, each set of experiences is unique. Look around you and listen with your imagination. You'll have stories to write for a lifetime. "Elizabeth Loves hearing from her readers. You can contact her at her e-mail address, elizl@uswest. net, or write to her in care of Harlequin Reader Services.
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âYou were made to be loved, Ruby,â he murmured against her hair. âLet me show you how lovingâs meant to be. Let me give you the pleasure you deserve.â
Rubyâs throat tightened. She struggled to reply, but no words would come.
âWhat is it? Are you afraid of me?â
She shook her head, finding her voice. âItâs not you Iâm afraid of. Itâs me. All those years of steeling myself against the things he did, the nights of lying there, wondering how he was going to use me nextâ¦â
She exhaled raggedly. âWhat if Iâm broken, Ethan? What if I canâtâ?â
His kiss lasted just long enough to block her words. âHush,â he breathed.
The Widowed Bride
Harlequin>® Historical #1031âMarch 2011
Praise for Elizabeth Lane
The Horsemanâs Bride
âThe Gustavson family has won the hearts of Americana fans seeking a realistic love story. Lane wisely continues in this vein with the latest in her series, in which a fiery young woman meets her match in a mysterious drifter.â
âRT Book Reviews
The Borrowed Bride
âLaneâs pleasing love story brims over with tender touches.â
âRT Book Reviews
His Substitute Bride
âThis tender and loving story, spinning off from Laneâs previous Western, showcases her talent for drawing three-dimensional characters and placing them in an exciting time and place.â
âRT Book Reviews
Wyoming Woman
âThis credible, now-or-never romance moves with reckless speed through a highly engrossing and compact plot to the kind of happy ending we read romances to enjoy.â
âRT Book Reviews
Available from Harlequin>® Historical and ELIZABETH LANE
Wind River #28
Birds of Passage #92
Moonfire #150
MacKennaâs Promise #216
Lydia #302
Apache Fire #436
Shawnee Bride #492
Bride on the Run #546
My Lord Savage #569
Navajo Sunrise #608
Christmas Gold #627
âJubalâs Giftâ
Wyoming Widow #657
Wyoming Wildcat #676
Wyoming Woman #728
Her Dearest Enemy #754
Wyoming Wildfire #792
Stay for Christmas #819
âAngels in the Snowâ
The Stranger #856
On the Wings of Love #881
The Borrowed Bride #920
His Substitute Bride #939
Cowboy Christmas #963
âThe Homecomingâ
The Horsemanâs Bride #983
The Widowed Bride #1031
For my girls
Tanya, Teresa, Tiffany and Olivia
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
Chapter One
Dutchmanâs Creek, Colorado
May 1920
The sooty cobweb stretched from the chandelier to the high ceiling, a good four feet out of reach. Lurking near its center was a spiderâa monster with long, prickly legs and a body as big as a copper penny.
Ruby Denby Rumford glared up at her adversary. Sheâd always had a mortal dread of spiders, but she couldnât let this one get the best of her. If she wanted to attract good tenants for her boardinghouse, the place would have to be spotless from floor to ceiling. The spider had to go.
Circling warily, she plotted her attack. She might be able to reach the web with the broom. But if she knocked the spider loose, it could end up anywhereâin her hair, in her face, down her blouse⦠Ruby shuddered as she weighed her options. The only way to make sure the creature didnât land on her would be to capture it first.
A dusty Mason jar with a lid sat on the kitchen counter. That would do for a trap. But sheâd need something to climb on. Ruby sighed as she surveyed the rickety cane chairs that had come with the old boardinghouse. Maybe she should have paid four-fifty for that stepladder at the hardware store. But buying the property had taken almost all her money. Until the rents started coming in, she would need to hoard every cent she had left.
Moving a chair to the center of the room, she tried standing on the seat; but the spider was still out of reach. She needed something moreâthat wooden crate in the corner might do. Placed on the chair, it would raise her a good eighteen inches.
With the crate in place, Ruby retrieved the jar and prepared for battle. She could do this, she lectured herself. A woman whoâd fired three bullets into her raging, two-hundred-pound husband at point-blank range should have no trouble facing down a creature the size of her thumb.
Hollis Rumford had deserved to die. Even the jurors had agreed after theyâd heard how Hollis had abused her and threatened worse to their two young daughters. At the urging of the best lawyer in the state, theyâd acquitted Ruby on grounds of self-defense. But her wealthy friendsâmostly Hollisâs friendsâhad been less forgiving. The Springfield, Missouri, social set had cut her off cold.
Exhausted and needing a change of scene, sheâd fled to Europe with her little girls. A few months later sheâd returned to discover that her late husbandâs estate had been gobbled up by creditors, leaving her with little more than a pittance.
There was nothing to do but pull up stakes and make a new start.
Dutchmanâs Creek had been a natural choice. Rubyâs brother Jace, her only close kin, had settled on a nearby ranch. He and his spirited young bride, Clara, were expecting their first baby. Theyâd urged Ruby to come to Colorado so their children could grow up together.
