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his tanned face. “Pa, what have you done?” he whispered.
    Mr. Stanton hunched his shoulders and raised his voice. “If I waited for you to find a wife, I’d be too old to enjoy my grandchildren. Lucy here, she’s a good Christian girl. She’ll make you a fine wife.”
    Lucy saw the shudder that passed through Nate’s frame. A lump grew in her throat. Did he find her so unattractive? She had no claim to great beauty, but he had barely glanced her way to even know what she looked like.
    Nate waved a hand in her direction. “Look at her, Pa! What were you thinking? The work here is hard. The vision we’ve talked about will take a woman who can carry her own weight.”
    Lucy’s tears dried up with the bolt of rage that shot through her. She drew herself up to her full height of just under five feet and glared at her new husband. “I’m stronger than I look, Mr. Stanton. I’ve worked long hours at the dressmaker’s shop, and I’m not afraid of hard work. I can tackle any chores you care to throw my way.”
    She was wasting her breath. He was determined not to give her a chance. She could see it in the hard line of his jaw and the fierce glare in his eyes. But something inside her screamed to be allowed to prove her worth. To take control of this situation. She would prove to him her value. He would see just how capable she was.
    “I can learn to do anything. And I’m a good homemaker and organizer. You’ll see.”
    The muscles in his jaw hardened. “You aren’t staying long enough to find out, Miss Marsh. I aim to put you on the first stage back north.”
    “We are married,” she reminded him. “I don’t believe in divorce.” He would not send her away. She had a brother and sister to care for. Her appearance might disgust him, but marriage was more than physical appearance.
    He took a deep breath. “Neither do I. But this is no real marriage. I never agreed to any such arrangement.” He turned and frowned at his father. “You should have known better, Pa.”
    Henry was pale but resolute. “For once in your life, listen to me, Nate. This ranch needs a woman’s touch. You need a woman to soften you before you turn to granite.”
    “If you want a woman around the house so bad, you marry her,” Nate shot back.
    “That advice is a little late,” Lucy said. “I’m married to you .”
    Mr. Stanton opened his mouth to speak, then gasped and clutched his left shoulder. His face turned red and darkened to nearly purple before the color drained from his face, and a gargle escaped his open mouth.
    “Pa?” Nate’s voice rose, and he jumped to his feet and rushed toward his father. Henry Stanton reeled away, crashing to the floor like a great tree felled by a logger’s ax.
    Lucy bit back a shriek and ran toward her new father-in-law. Nate rolled Henry over onto his back and peered into his face. The older man was still breathing, but his pallor was pronounced and he was unconscious.
    “Let me.” Lucy pushed her way closer to Henry. “I know something of nursing. Is there a doctor in the area?”
    Nate nodded. “Doc Cooper in Larson.”
    “Send Percy to fetch him, and you help me get him into bed.” She checked Henry’s breathing and was relieved to see a bit of color coming back to his face. She snatched a quilted throw from the chair and tucked it around him.
    Bellowing for Percy, Nate ran to do what she said. Lucy pressed her fingertips against her father-in-law’s chest and frowned at Henry’s irregular heartbeat. He’d had some kind of a heart spasm.
    “Please, God, please keep him alive,” she whispered.
    If this man died, she would be at the mercy of her new husband.
    Nate returned and lifted his father’s shoulders. “Grab his feet.”
    Lucy complied and Jed jumped in to assist as well. They carried him up the stairs. Lucy’s muscles protested, but she held on to his inert body and managed to do her part.
    “His room is the first on the left,” Nate said.
    Lucy pushed open the