Hard Luck Ranch by Nan Comargue Page A

it or not.
    Wes had grown up with plenty of advice but also plenty of good hard common sense as well. When the oil prospectors wanted to buy up a quarter of his land in exchange for a small fortune in cash, he hadn’t thought twice about it. He knew his father wouldn’t have had any sentimental doubts about making Hard Luck a prosperous concern.
    Everett gaped at him. “You can’t be serious, man!”
    Wes strode to the front window, the one that overlooked the track up to the house. “Not that it’s any of your concern, Ev, but I intend to do right by this lady—my wife. From her letters, I know that she’s a good girl and I don’t intend to embarrass her by continuing to act as though I was a single man.”
    Everett whistled, a low mocking sound. “You’re a better man than me, Wes.”
    Wes glanced over his shoulder with a brief smile. “Was there ever any doubt of that?”
    Everett walked over to stand by him. The two men were nearly the same height, with Everett the taller by a scant inch. But aside from their heights, they couldn’t have been more different.
    Wes had a farmer’s sturdy, stocky frame while Everett was all lean muscle. Wes was dark-haired and brown-eyed while Everett’s hair had never darkened from its childhood tow color and his eyes were a clear gray that usually looked easy-going, even lazy. Most people who met Wes were not surprised to learn that he was a rancher and cattleman but everyone was shocked to learn that the laid back Everett was the town of Desert Rose’s top lawman.
    Yet the two men had been friends almost since birth, when Everett’s mother had served as housekeeper to the Millers. Everett’s father had been a ranch hand at Hard Luck until he’d been trampled and killed by a bull. As a result, both men’s connection to the ranch went deep, although Everett’s job made it convenient for him to live in town. Close to the amenities of the Rose Parlor.
    “What kind of woman advertises for a husband in a newspaper?” Everett asked suddenly, his eyes narrowed and suspicious.
    “A desperate woman,” was Wes’ reply.
    “Why is she so desperate?”
    “That,” said Wes, “is none of your business.”
    A short silence followed. It was the first time either of them had said anything like that to the other.
    Everett pushed away from the window frame. “I see,” he said, his voice bland and inexpressive.
    But Wes knew that he was hurt. His oldest friend. He was discomfited. Would this be how it was between them forever, just because he was marrying this woman? A wave of sick regret filled his chest.
     
    Everett retrieved his hat from the hook by the door then jammed it on top of his head. “I’d best be going now. I’m sure you’d prefer to welcome your new bride in private.”
    “I invited you over,” Wes protested. “I wanted you to be the first one to meet her.”
    “I think I’ll pass,” Everett said, his hand at the door.
    When he pulled it open, a woman stood framed on the other side.
    Everett swallowed. She was beautiful. More than that, she was unique. The hair framing her heart-shaped face was true blue-black, darker than sin. Yet her eyes were a heavenly blue.
    Good and evil. Sin and redemption. She seemed to sum it all up in one exquisite package.
    Everett’s cock swelled.
    Wes had to push him aside. “Emma!” he said, a wide smile lighting up his sunburnt face. “Come on in, sweetheart.”
    Emma accepted the hand he stretched out to her. “You must be Wesley.” She looked at the other man inquisitively.
    “This is Everett Montgomery,” Wes said quickly, placing a hand on Ev’s arm as if to detain him. “Ev is the sheriff in town.”
    Emma smiled at him. “Pleased to meet you, Mr Montgomery.” She paused for a moment. “Sheriff? Is everything all right?”
    Wes laughed. “Yes, of course. Ev and I have been friends all our lives. Ev used to live at Hard Luck when he was a boy.”
    “Hard Luck,” she repeated the name musingly as she