Read Online Black Hills Bride by Deb Kastner - Free Book Online Page A

God.
    God doing the real work here. God leading the way through every path, both rough and smooth. God infusing her with the strength and courage to continue, when any sane person would quit and go home.
    But to Erik, her words were nothing more than a mouthful of gibberish, completely useless in the real world. Dixie used God as a crutch because she didn’t have enough confidence in her own ability. She didn’t see the many things she accomplished all on her own.
    Did she think just any woman could wander off in the wilderness on her own with dreams as big as castles, and actually have any hope of making those dreams a reality?
    Most people wouldn’t even dare to dream.
    And where reality was concerned, Dixie herself was doing most of the work. God wasn’t giving her any breaks, either, as far as Erik was concerned.
    If anything, He was pitching her one challenge after another. Nothing Dixie attempted came as easily as it could. Or should.
    Not if God, this personal God full of love and mercy, this God who supposedly communed one-on-one with His subjects— really wanted to help. It sure wasn’t for lack of trying on Dixie’s part.
    He didn’t understand Christians’ faith, though he respected them, since his mother had been one of the faithful. But she had died young. His father withdrew, leaving Erik and his brothers virtual orphans.
    His father. The poster child of hypocrites. He’d never believed, but then, when he died, he left his ranch, the only thing he hadn’t neglected, to Erik’s mother’s church.
    It was Erik’s birthright. He’d worked right along with his father. Everyone expected the ranch to be his one day.
    Instead, he’d been left with nothing.
    He pounded his fist into the corner post on the stable wall. God wasn’t there to help then. Why should He be here now?
    God might not be here to help Dixie out with her problems, but Erik was, and he was of a mind to help her himself. He could— would —do something about those stupid, ignorant fools. They had a lot to learn about how to treat a lady.
    Especially a lady boss.
    He adjusted his hat low over his eyes and stepped out of the shadows, marching decisively toward the stable boys with a frown on his face. He had a few choice words for each of them, and each word was going to hurt like the dickens.
    But they were going to hear him out until he was sure they got the message. Loud and clear.
    The only reason he hadn’t intervened when they challenged Dixie was that he didn’t want to undermine her authority, not to mention her confidence in herself, by taking over. He recognized her volatility, and how threatened she was when he tried to help her, however well-intentioned his efforts.
    But the men needed to understand who held the reins in this particular operation.
    Dixie Sullivan.
    And now that Dixie wasn’t around, he was going to make good and sure the stable hands weren’t laboring under any misconceptions.
    “Ellis,” he barked at the belligerent cowboy. “You and the rest of the men, front and center. Now.”
    He leaned both elbows against the rough-hewn wood of the newly fashioned corral fence and waited, knowing the men would comply.
    As he expected, as unjust as it was, the stable hands immediately left the tasks they’d been attending after their confrontation with Dixie and gathered around him, their expressions intent and respectful.
    Erik’s fists begged to speak louder than his voice, but he clenched and unclenched his hands until the itch to do physical harm passed. He wasn’t going to roughhouse them unless necessary, but he wouldn’t hesitate if they balked against what he had to say. He’d dealt with stubborn calves before.
    If the boys thought they could treat Dixie like some kind of department store mannequin, and then turn around and muster up to Erik like nothing was wrong, just because he was a man, they had another thing coming.
    Loud and clear.
    “I understand you men gave Miss Sullivan a hard time.”
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