Big Sky Rancher (22 page)

Jennifer shook her head, sat upright and drank from the glass. “He's angry.” As if the words were a surprise to her, she muttered them beneath her breath.

“Yeah, but I don't think he's mad at you.” Ida opened the back door and watched as Lucas came in to the house. “You get everything settled?”

“You oughta know,” he said gruffly. “I saw you lookin' out the window, Ida.” He turned to Jennifer and his gaze softened. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head. “Not a chance. Just startled me a little.” She looked down at the table. “What about you? Is your leg all right? You're limping badly.”

“My leg is fine, except for a twinge when I walk. It'll go away…always does.”

Jennifer nodded as if placated by his words and then she sighed. “I didn't want to shoot him, Lucas, but I would have.”

“I kinda thought so.” He knelt beside her and took her hands in his. “I'd have killed him in a heartbeat if he'd made another move toward you. You know that, don't you?”

She nodded and lifted her eyes to his. “I love you.” It was a whisper, but the words resounded in the room, as if she'd spoken in a shout. Lucas bent his head and kissed her hands, then leaned upward to touch his lips to hers.

“And I love you, Jen. More than you can ever know. I'll love our child as much, and protect you both with my life.”

“Our child?” She opened her eyes wide, looking into his in surprise. “How did you know?”

His eyes glittered, a darker blue than was their normal color. His grin was wide. “I'm aware of everything that goes on with you, sweetheart. I knew when things didn't come about in a regular way.” He looked up at Ida then and his mouth twitched as if he might laugh out loud.

“Don't be smirking at me,” he told her. “I'm not just a dumb miner. I've got some notion of what will happen when a man takes his woman to bed on a regular basis. I know how babies are made, Ida.”

She looked at him, then at Jennifer, her smile broad. “Yeah, I suspect you do, Luc. And I'm not surprised that you figured out how to make one all on your own. With a little help from your wife.”

He rested back on his heels. “Is she really all right?” he asked Ida, frowning. “None of this hurt the baby, did it?”

“That baby is as well protected right now as it'll ever be,” Ida told him. “And your wife is strong. Tough as old boots.”

“She doesn't look tough to me.” Lucas cast a measuring glance at Jennifer and then lifted her from her chair and held her close. She leaned against him, aware of the blood that spattered his shirt, but uncaring. Lucas was here, his arms were strong, and he loved her.

 

B
EING THE MAYOR
gave a man some standing in the community. And when the judge came to town, reporting on Kyle's escapade at the hearing made Lucas a hero of sorts. “It's my aim to keep Thunder Canyon clean and well rid of scalawags like that man,” Lucas said.

“I'd say that between you and the sheriff, you're doin' a good job of it.” The judge sat behind his table, in lieu of a proper courtroom, and made his judgment. “The mayor is cleared of all blame in this matter. He was defending his wife and household and cannot be held responsible for any injuries suffered by the man who threatened Mrs. O'Reilly. Especially since that man is not even present to press charges.”

He looked up. “Where'd he go, Luc? You send him back to the city?”

“If he knows what's good for himself, that's where he is, sir. Although I doubt that Mrs. O'Reilly's parents will be happy to see him, should he come calling there.”

“Well, good riddance,” the judge announced. “We don't need that sort in Montana. Got enough trouble with the ordinary, everyday miners.” He shot a look of undiluted humor at Lucas as he spoke and was given a cocky smile in return. “Now, young man, I'd say you need to take your wife home and look after her. And that claim you've got up in the canyon.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” Lucas took Jennifer's arm and led her from the makeshift courtroom. Various men greeted them as they headed for the doorway.

“You're a popular lady in town, Jen,” he murmured against her ear. “Folks are right proud of your success in the boardinghouse business, and Sally Jo has been making money hand over fist for you. Raising the rent was a good stroke of business, and Ida's about as well set as any widow I've ever seen.”

Helen waited for them outside, Toby close by. “Why aren't you working your claim today?” Lucas asked him, then chuckled. “As if I didn't know.”

“You see too much,” Helen said. “Toby and I have things to do, Lucas. We thought we'd ask if you and Jennifer want to come along with us.”

“Gonna take a walk to the parsonage?”

Jennifer heard Lucas's query with surprise. She'd known that Toby'd had eyes for Helen, but hadn't realized that his intentions were bearing fruit so soon.

Helen nodded, blushing, and Toby took her hand, tucking it into the bend of his elbow. “We decided to save money by getting married. Toby will live at the house and do some of the heavy work on the side and we'll share a room. It should work out just fine.”

Lucas reached across to shake Toby's hand. “And is saving money all you had in mind?” His grin encompassed Helen and the man she'd chosen to wed. “Seems to me like there's gonna be a few fringe benefits, too.”

Helen blushed. “You're a wicked man, Lucas. We need help at the house and couldn't afford to hire a man to help out. This seemed like the perfect solution to all our problems.”

Jennifer spoke soothingly. “Well, I for one think it's a fine idea. Helen needs someone to look after her, and Toby certainly needs a wife to keep him in line.” She glared at Lucas. “As does my own husband. It seems to me that he's getting pretty sassy these days.”

“Well, I just feel like the luckiest man in the world, getting Helen for a bride,” Toby said. “I've been thinking this would be a good idea for a long time now, and finally got the courage to ask her just the other day.”

“And I jumped at the chance.” Helen laughed at Toby, clutching his arm and cuddling close as he wrapped the other arm around her waist. “We wanted you and Lucas to go with us for the big event, maybe stand up with us as witnesses.”

“I'd be honored, and so would Lucas,” Jennifer said. “And I'll bet if word has gotten around, you'll have a guest list a mile long.”

A crowd of at least a dozen miners, plus several of the businessmen and towns folk of Thunder Canyon, were gathered at the gate of the parsonage when they arrived. Their small group blended with the others, calls of congratulation filling the air as the miners took this infrequent opportunity to celebrate.

The marriage of one of their own was a triumph for all, for if one man could find and win a wife in this place, surely there was hope for the rest of the women-hungry population. Toby was the center of a circle of his cronies, most of them residents of the boardinghouse, and no one was surprised when Ida made her appearance.

“You surely didn't think there'd be a party without me joining in, did you?” She wrapped her arm around Helen's waist and winked at her. “See? What did I tell you? You can't be around a bunch of men for hours on end without finding one of them that'll suit you.”

“Well, he does just that.” Helen looked at Toby with affection and he returned her look with hungry eyes.

“Who's minding the store?” Lucas asked, scanning the crowd as several business owners made their presence known. “And who's out at the claim, Sandy? We'll have someone running off with our earnings if we're not careful.”

“Everyone's taken the day off,” Sandy said. “Once the word got around that there was gonna be a wedding, we all
got slicked up and ready. Gave Sally Jo quite a shock to see almost two dozen miners lined up outside her shop, waiting their turns for a bath and shave. She did a few haircuts, too.”

“That's 'cause we couldn't see past the mop of hair you had hangin' down your back,” one man called, and Sandy made a mock fist, waving it in the air.

“You're just jealous, with no woman willing to give you a tumble, Rafferty.”

The men laughed as one, their spirits high as they watched Toby and Helen open the gate and walk toward the parsonage. The young preacher came to the porch and greeted them, and then turned his attention to those gathered in his front yard.

“Come on a little closer, folks. You can all join in this celebration.”

The crowd surged through the gate. Jennifer and Lucas found a place next to the bride and groom on the porch. Within minutes, the short ceremony was over, the bride had been well kissed by her new husband, and the miners were lining up for a shot at the blushing Helen.

“Just one little peck each,” Toby told them. “Don't forget, this is
my
bride, and I can tell you right now, I'm a downright possessive man. Haven't had a wife before and I don't plan on lettin' this one get away.”

The party spilled over into the parsonage, where the young wife served cookies and a hastily thrown-together punch. A few of the miners grumbled at the lack of hard liquor but were silenced by some who held a certain amount of respect for the church and the man who tried to keep this town in line.

For, more than the sheriff or the mayor, the young minister kept a tight rein on those who attended his church and made it his business to visit those unfortunates who were
jailed for one reason or another. Everyone in town knew that the parsonage family was willing to help in a crisis, even though they were poorly paid.

So it was that they were held in high regard, and when two of the newest miners made an attempt to spike the punch, they were dealt with quickly and firmly.

After an hour, Ida called the group to attention and told them there would be food served at the boardinghouse right next door, that the wedding reception would continue there within the hour. As one, the men left the parsonage, carrying the bride and groom with them, teasing and taunting poor Toby to within an inch of his life, telling him of the shivaree they would hold after darkness fell.

“They won't, will they?” Jennifer asked, and was shocked when Lucas only nodded. “You aren't going to be a part of it,” she announced, and Lucas gave her a kiss that caused her arms to curl around his neck.

“I've got better things to do after dark,” he told her. “I've got a wife who needs pampering and I intend to take care of her…in the best possible way.”

“Lucas!” she chastised him for his bold demeanor, but he would not be halted, for he picked her up and carried her the rest of the way to the boardinghouse. Around them, the crowd ebbed and flowed and they were the center of attention for a few minutes.

The big table was set, platters of meat and crocks of pickled beets sitting side by side with bowls of potato salad and a huge pan of baked beans, hot from the oven. “There's more where this came from, folks,” Ida called as she led the way to the feast.

It seemed she'd had some prior notice of the festivities, for
she was well prepared. Ladies from the church brought in cakes and pies and one delivered four loaves of bread, already cut in sandwich-size pieces. A beef roast, thinly sliced, fit well on the bread, and crocks of butter appeared from the pantry. Fried chicken was contained in a huge basket, wrapped in a towel still steaming and smelling like ambrosia, as one miner said.

He received a ribbing from several who mocked his use of the word, asking him where he'd learned to speak in such a high-falutin' manner. “I sure enough know what it means,” he said. “And I could name lots of other things that smell just as good.”

Before he could begin to list the objects of his affections, he was shushed by Lucas, who seemed to be the self-appointed doorkeeper of the day, holding the rowdy men down to a low roar when they would have begun a series of lusty remarks.

“We're going to the hotel,” Helen confided to Jennifer. “All the men think we'll be here, but Toby said we can sneak out the back door of the house and go in the back way at the hotel without the fellows being any the wiser.”

“Lots of luck.” Jennifer wished her the best, but she'd found in her days in this house that the men had various ways of procuring knowledge when it was to their benefit. If they wanted to locate the newly married couple, she'd warrant they'd find a way.

On their way home, snugly settled on the buggy seat, she brought up the subject to Lucas. He laughed, assuring her that the subterfuge would not work. The miners were already planning on raiding the hotel at midnight, and Helen and Toby had a long ride ahead of them. They were to be loaded into a wagon and taken outside of town, where they would be left in their nightclothes, with only a single blanket for shelter.

“That's mean and hateful,” Jennifer said. “And how did you find out?”

“Who do you think took a tent and a stack of bedding a mile high out there earlier this evening?” Lucas asked.

“When?” Jennifer was still incensed.

“When you and Ida were feedin' that gang. I got a new tent from the general store and a couple of horses from the livery stable, hauled it all out there and tied the horses to a tree at the edge of the woods, about where the fellas are gonna dump Toby and Helen.”

“Will they know the horses are there?”

“Toby knows. I told him I couldn't do much about the shivaree, but I could see to it they were warm and isolated for their wedding night. And they'll have transportation for tomorrow morning when they want to go back to the boardinghouse.”

“And what did he say?”

“Let me tell you, Mrs. O'Reilly, that man doesn't care where or how he manages to bed his bride, so long as he can pull it off. And trust me, he'll figure out how to put up the tent in no time flat and spread those blankets down on the ground in jig time. They'll be like two bugs in a rug before you know it.” He grinned. “Toby owes me, big time. And he knows it.”