Colorado Bride (51 page)

* * *

An hour later, the stage had been sent on its way to Denver. Brian had staggered in with the body of the dead outlaw, and Lucas’s men had taken him and the whole Staples gang and headed toward Fort Malone. Everyone else was seated around the table in the station. Jake’s wound had proved not to be serious, and he was enjoying coffee and a second piece of pie. Katie was scolding him and fussing over Found while Carrie refilled everyone’s coffee cup.

“After today I should think you would be ready to move to Denver,” Sam said to Carrie. Things have been a mite busy around here, even for a regular little spitfire like you.”

Lucas struggled hard to throttle the jealousy and angry words that threatened to rise out of his throat. For the last thirty minutes he had been forced to sit by and watch Sam stare at Carrie in open-mouthed admiration, showering her with extravagant compliments all the while, and he didn’t know how much more he could stand. He had never thought of himself as a jealous man, but after the way he reacted to Duncan’s compliments and now Sam, he knew he had misjudged himself. Where Carrie was concerned, he was wildly jealous and unlikely to be able to do anything about it.

“Don’t say that,” Lucas said, attempting to achieve a light tone. “She’s liable to take it as a challenge, and I’ll never get her to agree to move to Denver. I’d have to sell my company and be her wrangler for the rest of my life.”

“Would you do that for me?” Carrie asked, men cursed herself for asking Lucas such an impossible question in front of all these people.

“Yes, I think I would,” he said reluctantly. “I would hate it, and I’d cuss your stubbornness every day of my life, but I’d rather do that than live without you.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m planning to go with you to Denver,” she said self-consciously, trying to cover her emotion at his answer. “I couldn’t have the children growing up listening to all that profanity. The girls would never be taken for ladies.”

“Ma’am, any daughter of yours couldn’t be anything but a lady,” Sam said reverently.

“Damnit, that’s enough,” Lucas swore, bringing his palm down on the table and turning wrathfully on Sam. “I can’t have you, or any other man, giving my wife compliments faster than I can think of them myself.”

“Mr. Barrow, I admire Mrs. Simpson more than I can say. She’s the first woman I ever met who made me think marrying might not be a worse punishment than hellfire.”

“I agree with every word you’ve said” Lucas said, keeping a tight rein on his temper, “but I’m the only one who can say it. You just get to
think
it.”

“That don’t hardly seem fair,” Sam said, beginning to scowl himself.

“If you was engaged to a woman as good-looking as Mrs. Simpson, would you want some scurvy rascal to come oiling up to her, mouthing pretty phrases and generally making a pest of himself?” Jake asked before Lucas could think of a diplomatic way to say the same thing.

“Hell no,” Sam said, bringing
his
hand down on the table. “I’d fill his hide so full of holes they could use it for a sieve.”

“There you have it,” Jake said, settling back with satisfaction.

“We’ve got to decide what to do about Found,” Carrie said, glad to have a reason to interrupt this conversation.

“His name’s Jonathan Blake, the second,” Lucas said. “He told me that McCoy was only his stepfather.”

“All the same, I think we should adopt him. Would you like to go with us to Denver, Found, I mean Jonathan?” Carrie corrected herself. She was a little disappointed when he didn’t immediately accept her offer with enthusiasm. “Don’t you want to live with me any longer?”

“It’s not that, ma’am,” Found muttered, staring at the floor and trying to find words. “It’s just, well, you see, “I’m …”

“I think he’s trying to say he’d be more comfortable staying here with us,” Katie said.

“Us?” Carrie echoed, turning her startled gaze on a blushing Katie.

“Jake and me. He’s asked me to marry him.”

“Couldn’t do much else after she sewed me up twice,” Jake said, turning almost as red as Katie. “This gal can be right handy.”

“You two wouldn’t be wanting to take over Carrie’s contract, would you?” Lucas asked, and the guilty looks in their faces caused Lucas and Carrie to go off into shouts of laughter.

“You’ll have to talk it over with Duncan, but if my recommendation will help, you’ve got it.”

“And mine, too,” added Carrie. “I can’t think of anybody I’d rather turn it over to.”

“And Found?”

“You can stay here if you like,” Carrie said, turning back to the boy. “But we’d be proud to have you come live with us.”

“If it won’t hurt your feelings, ma’am, I think I’d like to stay here. You’ve been nicer to me than my own ma,” Found hurried on, upset by the injured look in Carrie’s eyes, “but I’m not like you. Mr. Lucas made me see that after I ran away.” Carrie threw a startled and inquiring look at Lucas. “I know I’m saying it all wrong, ma’am, but I like it here in the mountains, and I like it around horses.”

“You don’t have to apologize anymore,” Carrie said, giving him a big hug. “I understand, and my feelings aren’t hurt. But you will come visit us sometime, won’t you? I’d like to see you once in a while before you grow to be as tall as Lucas.” Found fidgeted and shifted his weight from foot to foot at the thought of anything as wonderful as growing up to be like Lucas.

“Seems to me you have an opening for a wrangler around here,” Sam said. “Mind if I try my hand at it for a while?”

“You!” Katie exclaimed.

“Yes, me. Even
scurvy rascals
get the urge to settle down once in a while. I thought I might try something like wrangling. I can still take off after horses, but it’d give me enough sitting time to find out if I like it.”

“I’ll leave you four to work things out among you,” Lucas said, rising to his feet. “Carrie and I have a lot to talk about, and I don’t want any of you rushing out to ask me foolish questions,” he said unashamedly pulling Carrie along with him. “I plan to be busy for quite some time.”

“Lucas Barrow, how dare you say a thing like that,” Carrie demanded as they walked arm and arm toward his cabin. “You practically told them you were taking me to your cabin and didn’t want to be disturbed.”

“Well, do you want to be disturbed?”

“Of course not, but—”

“No buts. I’ve had enough of kindhearted outlaws, adorable orphan boys, and dewy-eyed lovers. I want to go someplace where there’s nobody but you and me, and I want to hold you in my arms and kiss you until you forget there’s anyone else in the whole world.”

“What a terribly selfish attitude.”

“Isn’t it though, and I’m not the least bit ashamed. Now tell me, do you want to spend the rest of the evening listening to Katie and Jake decide what they’re going to do with
your
station, or would you rather spend it with me?”

“Do I have to answer that question?”

“Yes, and you have to answer it with a yes,” Lucas said, dropping a kiss on the end of her nose. Carrie sighed contentedly and leaned against his strong body as they climbed through the trees to the cabin.

“Would you really have sold your company for me?” she asked, wondering if his answer would change now that they were alone.

“I would have if it were the absolute only way I could get you, but I would have hated it. After having a taste of running the whole company, it would be difficult to work for the manager of a single station.”

“How fortunate these last days of posses and outlaws and stage robberies have convinced me I wasn’t meant for frontier living.”

“Is that the only reason?” Lucas asked.

“No. I decided a while back I would be willing to give up everything here for you. It wasn’t worth what I would lose in you. Besides, there must be something I can do in Denver.”

Lucas gave a shout of laughter. “Poor Denver, you’ll never know what might have been. From now on you’ll simply be told what will be.”

They stopped along the path where they could see Lucas’s cabin and look back at the station below. “No regrets?” Lucas asked.

“Oh no,” Carrie answered quickly. “No matter what, I’ll never regret choosing you.”

Lucas dropped his head toward her upturned face until their lips just touched and they exchanged several feather-light kisses. Then locking their arms about each other’s waist, they turned and walked toward the cabin.

About the Author

Leigh Greenwood is the award-winning author of over fifty books, many of which have appeared on the USA Today bestseller list. Leigh lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Please visit his website at
http://www.leigh-greenwood.com/
.