The Rancher Takes A Bride (The Burnett Brides Book 1)

assaulted her. She liked this little house. She had felt comfortable here, and now, because of Travis, she had to leave.
    "Mrs. Burnett, you're a nice woman, but how are you going to protect me from your sons? Why would you want to?"
    "I'm going to tell Travis that he can close you down, he can have you thrown in jail, and every time he does, I'm going to run right down there and get you out. And that will embarrass his brother Tucker enough that he'll quit arresting you." She gazed at Rose, her chin lifted stubbornly. "Travis may be grown, but I'm still his mother, and sometimes he needs to be taken down a notch or two. This is one of those times."
    "But why are you doing this?" Rose asked, wondering at the woman's purpose.
    "I want to know what happened to my son, Tanner. He ran off and joined the war and he's never returned. I want you to try to help me contact him again." The little gray-haired woman picked at the strings of her purse.
    Rose cringed. This woman was sincerely interested in trying to reach her son on the other side. Yet Rose was just playing a game of speaking to spirits. It was just a way to make a living. "I can't help you."
    "Why not?"
    Rose glanced at the woman and then at the clock. The clock was ticking, the stage would be leaving, and regardless of how much she'd have liked to stay and help Eugenia, it was all an act. She had to be on that stage.
    "I'm sorry. I'm not taking any chances on returning to that jail."
    She went to the closet, pulled out her trunk, and dragged it across the floor to her bedroom. Everything she owned could be compartmentalized into this trunk. The magic, the tarot cards, the tablecloth, and the dinner bell all bundled together.
    "Desirée, I'm asking you to contact my son Tanner and help my son Travis overcome some of his pride." Mrs. Burnett scurried behind her into the bedroom.
    "Your son Travis and I get along about as good as a hornet in a bee hive. Right now I'd like to blacken his eyes and knock out his teeth. For a man, he's got a heart of stone."
    "You're right. For too many years, Travis has been responsible for the running of the ranch. He takes himself and his responsibilities much too seriously. He needs to learn that life is not all work and should be fun occasionally."
    "Well, don't look at me. I'd sooner round up rattlesnakes than try to teach that man to play."
    The matron laughed. "Snakes bite."
    "Not unless you get too close, and I don't plan on getting anywhere near your son. I'm taking the next stage to San Antonio and from there I hope to take a train to New York in the next few months." She threw her clothes into her trunk.
    "Travis was forced to become tough at an early age and young women do not see past his gruff mannerisms. He's really a good man. I know that he, too, would like to find out about his brother."
    "I'm sure he would," Rose said absentmindedly, as she picked up personal items and put them in her traveling case. "But not with my help."
    Eugenia stepped around the suitcase and watched as Desirée threw things into the strongbox. No matter what she said, the girl was determined to leave. And if she left town, Eugenia felt certain her chances of finding the right woman for Travis would be next to nothing. Only Desirée Severin seemed to have caught her son's attention.
    The sparks she'd seen in her son's eyes when he mentioned Desirée's name were more than just passing embers. Here was a woman who attracted him, who was strong enough to hold her own against him. Someone who could drag him in off the range and make him realize that land could consume a man. After all, it had exhausted his father, but Eugenia was not going to let that happen to her sons. She'd already lost a husband and possibly a son; she was not about to lose another one.
    Travis needed someone who could teach him about the things in life that really mattered, not just what a man thought was important.
    She knew that Desirée Severin was the only woman she'd met who wasn't afraid of her son's scowl and loud bark. The continued threat of jail was the only reason Desirée was leaving.
    "There's no way I can persuade you to stay?" she asked quietly, wringing her hands.
    "Ha! And get to know the girls down in the county jail? I don't think so. Jails are not where I want to spend my time," Desirée said as she leaned into the wooden box to straighten some clothes.
    "Now where did I put my brooch?" she said, digging through a chest.
    Eugenia laid her hand on the top of