CHARITY'S GOLD RUSH (A Strike It Rich in Montana novel) (25 page)

With as much cheer as a child sent to the woodshed, h
e set her away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have behaved that way.”

             
But when he realized how close she had come to danger, maybe even death, he had lost all
capacity for
reason.

             
In spite of the urge to pull her in for another kiss, Gabe turned Charity toward the hotel. “Go on. I’ll be
up
in a few minutes.”

             
Her eyes searched his face before she touched her lips, nodded, and whirled to run inside.
Her skirts blew, offering him a glimpse of a lace-trimmed petticoat.
Oh, but she had felt good in his arms. Her curves fit his planes as if God made them to fit together. Kissing Maggie had been pleasant
,
but
she’d been
nowhere near as passionate as Charity.

             
Gabe rubbed his hands down his face. How would he survive
the
night sleeping in the same room as his fiery wife? Sure, they’d be in separate beds, but he’d hear her move, hear her snores. He wanted
his
husbandly rights with Charity. He could no longer contemplate allowing her to leave come spring.
Lord, make her feel the same way about me
.
Let our winter Bible readings touch her heart so she loves You and me
.

             
Their kiss hadn’t left her unaffected. Only a man with no emotion or feeling in his body would think so.
He was definitely a man with feeling.
Gabe grinned
, remembering the feel of her melting in his arms
.
The ardor of her kiss.
Whistling, he pushed open the hotel door and made his way to their room.

             
The lamp’s wick had been turned down low. Charity’s red hair fanned across the pillow in the bed beside Meg. Sam snorted and rolled over in the bed Gabe would share with his son. He glanced at Charity’s back. Given the choice, he’d snuggle with her.
Not
that he had that option
.

             
H
e laid
his shirt and britches
across the back of the chair
, then
pulled back the thin blanket and climbed into bed
beside Sam
. He crossed his arms behind his head and stared through the dim light at the
rough planks across the
ceiling.
He needed to think of something other than Charity.

             
What was he going to do about Amos? Now that his fondness for Charity
had
leaped into love, he wanted to explore the feelings, not dwell
on
a loco man out to get land that
once
belonged to Maggie.
He grunted. So much for not thinking about his wife.
Her face overshadowed
his
every thought.
He exhaled hard enough to ruffle his bangs and pulled his attention to something
e
lse.

He needed to finish the house. Short of shooting Amos, that was the only way to get the man to leave them alone. Again, he wanted to kick himself for giving in to a moment of anger and making that stupid wager.

             
What
was he thinking
that night
? He knew gambling was wrong. Anger was wrong. But Amos knew just where his weak spots were. Now, the man threatened to take the children. What could he possibly want with them?

             
Gabe rolled to his side. If Charity left, and Amos took custody of Meg and Sam, Gabe would be alone. He’d have no one to provide for,
to
protect. He might as well quit living.

###

             
Charity
lay as still as possible, focusing on keeping her breathing steady, as
Gab
riel
read
ied
for bed. She
inched her hand toward her face and
brushed her fingers across her still tingling lips.
She never imagined a kiss could make a person lose all reason or go as limp as a rag doll. She wanted another one
and another
.

             
What would Gabriel do if she climbed out of bed,
moved
Sam to lie beside
his sister
, and Charity took the little boy’s place? Would Gabriel kick her out? Act outraged? Or would he gather her in his arms and make her feel like a proper wife?
Would he be upset if she ruined his plans of an annulment?

             
Tears stung her eyes. She blinked to clear them, not wanting Gabriel to know she wasn’t asleep.
She couldn’t be the reason for his plans not succeeding.

             
She had no idea how to make him want her. No idea what made a good wife. Her heart ached. She saw her future, and it looked as grim a
nd
drab as the dreariest winter day. God would again take away the person most important to her. She sniffed. Unless she figured out a way to keep him.

             
She’d thought gold
was the answer
, but time was running out.
“I love you, Gabriel Williams,” she whispered. “Someday, you’ll love me, too.”

The next morning, Charity avoided Gabriel’s eyes as if his glance would turn her into wood. Her cheeks flushed at each thought of their kiss. The drive home
loomed before them like
an eternity. She trembled as he helped her into the wagon after breakfast
, his strong hands burning her skin through the calico fabric of her dress
.

“Are you angry with me?” Gabriel tilted her face until she looked at him.

“No.” Heaven help her. “It was a heated moment. A kiss out of fear for my safety.” If only it could have been from more than that. She busied herself getting Meg situated in the back
with a quilt
.

Gabriel sighed and climbed beside her. After a stop at the mercantile, where he loaded their packages in back with the children, he set the horses for home, and Cha
rity sa
t ramrod straight against the bench back. If she fell against him, he might think she was being forward, and she already suffered enough embarrassment
from succumbing to his kisses the way she had
.

             
She ran her pointer finger over her lips and cast a sideways glance at Gabriel who was grinning. “What is so funny?” She dropped her hand in her lap
and twisted a handful of the blue flowered fabric
.

             
“Nothing.” He flicked the reins to urge the horses faster.

             
“Are you laughing at me?” Had kissing her been so horrible that he thought it a laughing matter?

             
“No.” He glanced over his shoulder. “You young’uns grab a peppermint stick out of that bag.” He turned his attention back to Charity. “I’m glad to know that you weren’t unaffected by the kiss.”

             
“Unaffected?” She wrapped her shawl tighter around her, more as protection than against the morning chill. “I have never kissed another man besides you.”

             
“Ever?” He raised his brows.

             
“Lots of marriage proposals, no kisses.” She still thought he poked fun at her. What seemed so strange about her not having kissed a lot of men?
She doubted most women had. It wasn’t comely or proper.

Her shoulders slumped. He
did
think her a woman of loose morals.
She wanted to disappear.

             
“I consider it a privilege that I was your first.”

             
A privilege?
T
he man toyed with her affections. She put her hands on her cheeks in an effort to cool them. What should be her response? “Thank you?”
The wagon wheel hit a rut in the road, and her thanks came out as more of a hiccup.

             
He tossed his head back and guffawed, the sound ringing through the trees. Despite her
discomfort
at the topic
, Charity joined in with his laughter. There was hope for them yet.

             
Gabriel took one hand off the reins and laid it over hers. “You’re good for me, Charity. I haven’t laughed as much my whole life as I have the last couple of months
with you
.”

             
No one had ever told her she was good for them, before. She liked it. She grinned and squeezed his hand.
The sun sh
one
brighter, the birds sang lovelier, and Charity’s heart sailed with the wispy clouds
i
n the cerulean sky.

###

             
Amos’s horse reared when Gabe laughed. He fought with the reins in order to stay in the saddle. He didn’t know why he followed them.
Why he tortured himself so.
His own farm was showing signs of neglect
because of the
time he spent spying.

             
But watching Gabe and Charity interact with each other and the children let Amos almost believe he was part of a family.
He shouldn’t do this. He turned his horse toward his own land. Shadowing the Williams’ family was wrong and only made his heart ache more for what he didn’t have.

             
Soon enough, they would all be snowed in. Amos had
one more surprise up his sleeve before that happened. Then he would have
plenty of time
during winter
to cook up another surprise for Gabe. Maybe one that would, this time, warrant Amos a pretty wife.

             
If those plans failed, maybe opportunity would toss something else in his lap. Something that would wound Gabe to the center of his being.

20

             
A wagon sat in front of their soddy
with the horse already grazing in the corral beside the barn
. Gabriel set the
wagon and
help
ed
Charity down.
S
he shaded her eyes with
one
hand. “
It’s Mabel and Hiram. What are they doing here?”

             
“Not sure.” Gabriel
lift
ed Meg down. “But Hiram is grinning like a hound, so it can’t be bad news.”

             
Charity rushed and enveloped Mabel in a hug. “It’s so good to see you. We weren’t expecting company.” Lady and Prince bounded from the barn.

             
“Some watch dog you have there. Thought at first she was going to take my head off, but she settled down once she figured out I was up to no harm.” Hiram shook Gabriel’s hand. “It is a dog, isn’t it?”

             
“So Charity says. Red Feather gave them to us.
The young’uns are
quite
taken with the pup.
”

             
“They are dogs.
Irish Wolfhounds.
” Charity released Mabel and
crouched
to throw her arms around Lady’ neck.
Prince bounded toward the creek with Sam and Meg chasing after.
“Did you miss us
, girl
?
Did you keep the bad guys away?
”

             
Hiram pulled Gabriel to the side and lowered his voice. Charity continued to scratch behind Lady’s ears as she strained to hear
while pretend
ing
not to
.

“The dogs were locked up when I got here,
and the cattle are loose again,
”
Hiram said.

             
Charity peeked from beneath her bonnet. Gabriel frowned. “I’m at my wit’s end, Hiram.
How did he get here so fast? I just saw him.
I went to the—” He caught Charity watching. “Meet me over by the barn.”

             
Hiram glanced her way. “Sure thing.”

             
“Guess it’s up to us to unload the wagon.” Charity planted her hands on her thighs and pushed to her feet. “The men will get the heavy stuff when they finish with their secrets.”

             
Mabel grabbed a bag of flour. “Don’t take it personal. They think they’re protecting us.
With all the years Hiram have I have been hitched, he still forgets sometimes that we’re supposed to be a team.
God created woman to be a help mate. Sometimes men seem to forget that.
”