Promise Me Texas (A Whispering Mountain Novel) (29 page)

CHAPTER 38

A
NDREW FOUGHT TO KEEP FROM RACING BACK TO THE
cabin. He needed to be alone. All the talk. All the people. He felt smothered. When he’d said yes to marrying Beth on the mountain, he’d thought he was marrying her, not a tribe.

Then, the impossible happened. His mood darkened even more when he looked up and saw Benjamin standing in the doorway of the cabin.

“What do you want?” Andrew snapped as he climbed from the wagon.

“Now don’t get mad at me,” the little man answered. “I’m not the one who got you in this mess. I only married you two to keep that father-in-law you admire from killing you.”

“No, you didn’t marry us. You’re not a real priest, remember.” Andrew pushed past him and stepped into the cold cabin.

“I know that and you know that, but everyone else thinks I’m the real thing, even your wife. I’ve played my part well.”

“Yes you have, Benjamin.” Andrew shoved logs into the old stove. “And if my father-in-law ever finds out, he’ll shoot us both.”

“What difference does it make if you jump the broom or just tell folks you’re married? To my way of thinking, if you say you’re married, you are. Do you really think every circuit preacher has the right to marry folks by law?” The priest made himself at home by putting on a pot of coffee to boil and pulling a day-old muffin from the tin by the stove. “I climbed that damn mountain to save your life, Andrew. You’re lucky I was there.”

“Priests shouldn’t swear,” he mumbled to himself, then raised his voice. “Why are you here, Benjamin? Haven’t you made a big enough mess of things for one day? Go back and play priest at the main house.”

“I’m here about the map, but first answer me one question. Are you married in your heart?”

“I don’t deserve her,” Andrew answered. “But I don’t want to live without her.” He raised his eyebrow. “However, I think I could get along without all the family and friends butting into our lives.” He stormed halfway to the door and then turned. “In answer to your question, yes. I love her. She is my heart.”

“Then nothing else matters. You’re married. You were, I think, even before this morning. She’s in your blood, Andrew, so you might as well get used to it and stop thinking of yourself as alone.”

“You’re lecturing me about marriage? Fleas have more staying power than you obviously have.”

Benjamin waved his hands. “I know. I know. Consider me the bad example. If you care about her, don’t wander in and out of her life. Be her life just as I think she wants to be yours.”

Andrew closed his eyes. The actor was right. He had to give it a try. He’d shut people out long enough.

When he opened his eyes, he stared at the little man. “You still here?”

Benjamin pouted. “I told you I came to talk about the map.”

“Right.” Andrew patted the pouch still in his pocket. “What about the map? You’re planning to steal it, right? Lift it, or kill me and take it, then run off on a treasure hunt?”

“No,” Benjamin said as he chewed on half the muffin. “I drew it or at least one just like it.” When Andrew laughed, he added, “A few years ago in Galveston a group of us came up with a scheme to make some quick money. We soaked paper in tea, aging it. We even burned the edges a little and rubbed it in dirt to make the folds seem worn. Then we drew maps. No one knows much about the Palo Duro Canyon, so we could pretty well do what we wanted. I remember burying my make-believe stash of gold in a cave halfway between the bottom of the canyon and the rim.”

Andrew was hooked. He sat down across from the little man. “Go on.”

Benjamin smiled. “It was a game, really. Six of us. The one who could get the most money for the map won. The Gold of the Palo Duro has been a legend for a hundred years. It wasn’t that hard to convince people that the map was real. I sold mine to a gambler who, I heard, lost it in a card game.”

“So,” Andrew said, “Peterson may be looking for me, maybe even willing to kill me, for a map to nowhere?”

“That’s about the size of it. What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to keep it close when I leave the ranch. If Peterson does show up, I plan to hand it over.”

“If he’s out of jail, he’ll show up. I’ve spent my life following wild hunches and dreams. I figure the kind of man who’d rob trains would also kill for this map.”

Andrew stood and poured them each a cup of coffee. “Why tell me this?”

“Because you’ve been honest with me. You kept your word about not telling anyone who I am. You offered to bring my boys to me. I guess I didn’t like the thought of you risking your life over a map that’s fake. Hand it over without hesitation. Outlaws usually don’t ask twice.”

“If Chesty ever shows up, I’ll do that.”

They talked for a while, and then Andrew let Benjamin take the wagon back to the house, knowing that Beth would be out to get him for dinner. He needed time to think about all that had happened and to write.

Just as he knew she would, Beth came to get him an hour before sunset. He’d been standing by the stream thinking of her when she drove up. He went to the side of the wagon but climbed up instead of helping her down.

“I missed you today.” He wondered if it was proper to kiss one’s wife every time he saw her.

“Did you get lots of writing done?”

“No, I mostly just thought.” He fought down a smirk. “It takes a ton of goofing off to be a writer.”

“Apparently.” She laughed.

They talked of nothing: the day, the weather, the trip into Austin. Neither mentioned the wedding they’d had that morning or the future. She didn’t ask him about the dream he’d had.

Everyone seemed tired at dinner. The conversation moved, but slowly like a quiet stream, no longer a rushing river.

After supper, Andrew sat on a blanket by the fire in the great room and read one of his stories to the boys. Madie, as always, drifted in with her sewing to listen, and tonight Benjamin joined them.

When Andrew finished his tale, he looked up and saw the rest of the family standing in the shadows of the room.

Teagan spoke first. “I’m glad I didn’t kill you, Andrew.”

Jessie patted his chest and translated, “He loved your story. We all did. Will you read another soon? Just think, we’re hearing your stories before anyone else in the world does.”

Andrew nodded, too touched to say a word.

Beth saved him by offering her hand. “Come along, dear, we need to be going so everyone can get to bed.”

He didn’t argue, only followed her out. On the ride home, he couldn’t think of anything to say. He wanted to tell her his dream, but he wasn’t sure it might not frighten her more than not knowing.

They walked into the cabin. He watched as she moved about, turning down the bed, brushing out her hair, slipping out of her nightgown. His wife, he thought; legal or not, they were married.

“You coming to bed, dear?” she asked, slipping beneath the covers as though she’d done so in front of him a hundred times.

“In a minute,” he said, moving out onto the porch. The fact that he knew they weren’t really married ate away at his gut. One lie. He shouldn’t start a marriage, a real marriage, with one lie.

He couldn’t tell her about Benjamin, he decided, but he could tell her one truth.

Walking back inside, he made up his mind.

He stood at the side of the bed and removed his clothes. When he moved in beside her, her bare body touched his.

“You’re cold,” she whispered, sounding half asleep.

He lifted her into his arms, pulling her from the covers. “Are you awake?”

“Yes, but we need to get back—”

“No. I need to make sure you’re awake. Bethie McMurray, will you marry me? I’m crazy in love with you and I want to ask you. Beth, marry me.”

She punched him on the shoulder. “You fool, we
are
married, now put me back under the covers.”

“I’ll hear a yes first.”

“Yes. I’ll marry you.”

He moved them beneath the quilts and held her close. “Good. Don’t say I didn’t ask you.”

“All right, but I’m not telling our grandchildren about how and when you asked me.”

He kissed her gently. “Just tell them one thing, wife. Tell them I loved you.”

There were no more words between them, only a sweet passion that they both craved so dearly.

CHAPTER 39

B
ETH WASN’T SURPRISED WHEN
A
NDREW WORE HIS
dress clothes to the trial. They’d talked a tailor into opening his shop the night their train got in so he could buy a suitcase full of clothes. While the sleepy tailor fitted him, Andrew explained that marriage seemed to be hard on a man’s wardrobe.

Then he looked over and said to her, “When we’re on the ranch, I’ll wear western clothes, but in town, I wear the suits I’ve always worn.”

She didn’t argue. He looked a very proper gentleman, nothing like the outlaw who’d saved her in the train wreck, but still very much the man she loved. After three nights of lovemaking she’d decided she liked him best wearing nothing at all.

They testified separately while the other waited in the hallway outside the trial. Beth paced, wishing she could see what was happening when alone in the hallway, but she knew Andrew wrote. He always wrote. When he was upset. When he was happy. When he was worried.

Once he left his journal with her, she discovered the beginnings of a poem to her on the back page.

At the end of the day, they sat side by side and listened to the judge’s verdict. Lamont LaCroix had refused to look at her or Andrew during the trial, and he didn’t break his habit now. He stared straight at the judge as the sentence was announced.

“Three years in a Texas prison,” the judge said simply, “or a lifetime of never stepping foot in Texas again.”

“I’ll be on the next train.” Lamont let out a long breath. “I swear I’ll never return.”

“If you do, you’ll serve all three years.” The judge adjourned.

For a moment, everyone just stood still, and then Lamont turned and looked at Andrew. “I can’t believe she settled for you,” LaCroix shouted, in hopes of embarrassing Andrew.

“Me either.” Andrew shrugged. “But she did.”

The senator walked out of the courtroom.

Teagan gathered up his hat and coat. “Can’t believe the judge was so hard on him. Out of Texas for life.”

Beth looked up at Andrew and saw his confusion. She couldn’t help but laugh. Only a Texan would think that a horrible sentence to have to live with.

They walked back to the hotel, talking of things they wanted to pick up before heading back to Whispering Mountain. The boys needed new clothes. Madie could use a few things made for this time in her life.

Once at the hotel, Andrew had talked her into ordering a meal delivered from the restaurant below so they could enjoy the evening in peace. Her father and uncle had made plans to have dinner with a group of rangers, and she was looking forward to being alone with her husband.

She wasn’t surprised after they ate that he pulled on his coat and said he thought he’d walk awhile. She took the time to take a bath and put on a new nightgown she’d bought. Things were settling down and it was time for them to talk about their future.

As she curled up in the chair by the window, someone tapped on the door.

“Come in,” she said, not looking up from her reading. “I’m finished with the tub.”

A low voice answered, “I didn’t come for the tub, pretty lady.”

Beth looked up, recognizing the voice of the outlaw she’d heard one night a lifetime ago when she’d bought a pinto.

“Mr. Peterson.” She forced down her fear, realizing her gun was still packed in her case.

“Mrs. McLaughlin. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.” He stepped into the room and closed the door. “It took me a while, but I figured out you married Andrew. I have some settling to do with him. Doesn’t it seem strange to you that he was the only one of my men to survive the train wreck?”

“He was never one of your men. You’re too smart to have thought that. An unarmed man doesn’t join an outlaw gang.” A possibility formed in her mind. “You knew he was a writer and my guess is you were filling him full of stories.”

Chesty Peterson laughed so hard that dust shook off him in a cloud. “You’re not only pretty, but smart. Wouldn’t want to leave that man of yours and come along with me? As soon as I get the map, I’ll be a rich man. I could buy you the moon.”

She shook her head. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t know what I’d do with the moon; besides, I’m crazy about Andrew. Always have been. Maybe he didn’t die that night because he wasn’t thinking of the robbery, he was busy saving my life.”

“So you married him as a thank-you, pretty lady?”

“No, I had to really work at getting him to fall in love with me. I, as it happened, fell for him at first sight.”

“Love at first sight, was it? That happened to me with my first wife,” Chesty admitted, obviously enjoying the fact that he didn’t frighten Beth. “I’ve always wished I’d had a little of the second sight that day. I finally got up enough nerve to run, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s not still looking for me.”

Beth laughed just as Andrew pushed the door open.

Peterson stepped closer to her and pulled his gun. He looked tough enough to kill them both without blinking.

Beth had to do something fast, before Andrew was shot.

“Welcome back, dear. We have company.”

Andrew moved a few steps inside and closed the door. “I can see that,” he said. “Step away from my wife, Chesty. I’ll give you what you came for, but don’t hurt her.”

Peterson looked offended. “I didn’t come to hurt her. I came to kill you. I was just trying to talk her into marrying me while I waited for you to come back.”

“He doesn’t have the map,” Beth said. “I do, and I’m not giving it to you.”

Peterson kept his gun pointed straight at Andrew. “You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not. I pulled it from his pocket and hid it. You’ll never find it. You’ll never find the treasure unless you bargain with me.”

Both men looked confused.

Peterson backed against the wall. “So I’m bargaining with you again, pretty lady. Name your price.”

“I want my husband alive. I’ll give you the map if you’ll leave without firing a shot.”

“All right.” Peterson didn’t look like he trusted her, but he seemed to be playing along.

“Don’t, Beth, he’ll kill us both.” Andrew stared at her as if he were thinking they would both be dead in a minute and he wanted her to be the last thing he saw.

“I’ve bargained with him before, Andrew, and found him a man of his word. Do I have your word, Mr. Peterson? You’ll leave Andrew alive if I hand over the map?”

“You do.” Peterson straightened.

Beth pulled the pouch from under the rug and handed it to him. “It was nice doing business with you.”

Chesty smiled. “And with you, pretty lady. If you ever decide you want a new husband, you’ll find me up in the panhandle digging out gold.”

“I’ll remember that.” Beth walked past Andrew and opened the door for Peterson. “Good night, Mr. Peterson, and good luck.”

When he was gone, Andrew grabbed her by the shoulders. “Don’t ever do that again, dear. I thought for a moment I’d lost you.”

“You don’t mind that I gave up the map to the Gold of the Palo Duro?”

He pulled her to him. “I’ve got all I want and need in this life. The map is nothing to me. Only, dear, you need to get dressed.”

“But it’s late. I’m already ready for bed.”

“I’ve got a surprise waiting for you downstairs.”

Beth pouted, but she changed into her clothes as Andrew watched, and then he took her hand and almost ran down the stairs.

There, in a little drawing room off the main lobby, the judge waited for them.

Before she could greet him, Andrew said, “Here she is, Judge. I want you to marry us right now.”

“But . . .” She seriously considered the possibility that her dear husband might have snapped and begun living in fiction. “We’re already married.”

“Will you say the words again?” Andrew asked. “You haven’t changed your mind?”

“No, dear.” She played along. “Of course I’ll marry you again.”

As the judge read through the brief ceremony, he turned to her. “Do you promise to love and cherish him all the days of your life?”

“I do,” she answered, loving the warm forever look in Andrew’s eyes.

He took both her hands. “And I promise you’ll be forever in my heart and we’ll make our home forever in Texas.”

Beth jumped into his arms. He’d given her all she ever wanted, a man who loved her and a home. At that moment she realized that she would have moved anywhere with him. He was her life and she was his heart.

As they walked back up the stairs, she whispered, “Andrew, you didn’t have to promise that in front of the judge.”

“Yes, I did. It was the only way I could make the dream I had when we slept on the summit come true.”

“What did you dream?”

He held her close. “I dreamed that all our children were born in Texas.”