Short-Straw Bride (35 page)

W
hen Meredith spied Cassie and Myra coming around the side of the house, she bolted from her spot by the horses, desperate for word of what was happening.

“Did you see Travis?” she demanded of her cousin without preamble. “I heard gunshots. Is he all right?”

“I think so, but I can't be sure. I was too busy climbing out your bedroom window when the second shot went off.” Cassie clasped Meredith's arm, her eyes sympathetic. “I'm sure he's fine, though.”

Meredith nodded, yet her heart wasn't as sure as her mind. She turned back to the cabin door. Things were quieter. Was that good?

Her stomach roiled. The waiting was killing her.

Finally, someone exited the cabin. Jim crossed the threshold, scanning the yard. “Cassandra?”

Cassie dropped Meredith's arm and hurried toward him. “I'm here!”

Jim pounded across the yard and embraced her with such ferocity her feet left the ground. It was joyous to watch, yet it left Meredith hungry for her own reunion and, at the same time, scared that even if Travis were well, he wouldn't be as happy to see her.

Myra came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Our men'll be next. Don't you worry.”

“I pray you're right.”

When Moses did emerge, the sight of the oh-so-proper Roy Mitchell draped insensible over his shoulder brought a startled smile to Meredith's face.

“Didn't I tell you?” Myra patted Meredith's shoulder and stepped toward her husband. “I better send Josiah to fetch the wagon. Looks like we'll be needing it to haul all the sorry hides we collected.”

Meredith actually giggled at that, and the release felt wonderful. Surely Moses would have given top priority to any of their men who had fallen during the melee. If he was carting Roy around, that must mean none of the injuries were too severe on the Archers' side.

She took a step toward the cabin, needing to see her husband, to gain that final reassurance that all was well.

A second step. Then a third. She walked as if in a dream.

Crockett marched through the door, dragging the logger behind him. Seth Winston followed with the man's ax. Her uncle hobbled out next, Aunt Noreen tucked under his arm. Meredith's pulse throbbed.
Where is Travis?

So intent was she on looking for her husband that she didn't notice that Uncle Everett had paused in front of her until he spoke.

“Forgive me, Meri.” His head hung low, his gaze meeting hers only for a moment before dipping back toward the ground. “I want you to know I'll be heading to the bank first thing in the morning to deed the property over to you and Travis, like I should've done right after your marriage.”

Meredith nodded, unsure what to say. However, when he shuffled past, a burst of compassion rose up within her. She called his name softly and waited for him to glance back.

“If you allow Cassie to select her own husband,” she said, thinking of Jim, “I'll give her the homestead as a wedding gift. Perhaps you and the man she chooses will be able to work together to revive your mill.”

Uncle Everett's eyes misted, and for a moment he didn't move. Then he gave his own silent nod before ducking his chin and urging Aunt Noreen forward.

Pivoting toward the cabin once again, Meredith picked up her pace. Another shadow loomed in the doorway. Her feet slowed. Three men moved into the light, none of them Travis. Meredith swallowed her disappointment. Josiah and Neill carried a bloodied Mr. Wheeler down the steps between them.

The last of the men filed out as she reached the edge of the porch. The ones she knew from the freedmen's school smiled at her as they passed. Meredith thanked them for their aid, knowing she should say more, but her mind seemed unable to manage more than a simple thank-you with her heart so focused on locating her husband.

Taking a deep breath, she climbed the steps and entered the dim interior of the cabin. Travis stood near the hearth, his gaze focused somewhere inside the stone opening. He looked so solitary standing there, one hand braced against the mantel. Her heart longed for him with such acute need her chest ached. Yet she held herself back, not sure if he would welcome her intrusion. Not sure if he would welcome
her
.

So she drank him in from afar. His long legs, wide shoulders, the sandy hair at his neck that needed a trim. As she continued her inventory, a frown drew her brows together. His right arm lay curved against his side as if protecting it.

“You're hurt,” she said, her reticence dissolving as concern for his health eclipsed all else.

His head came around. “I thought you'd left for the ranch.”

She dropped her gaze to the floor as she walked, ostensibly to avoid the hazards of wrinkled rugs and overturned furniture, but in truth she was afraid to meet his eyes—afraid of the disappointment she would read there.

“I stayed with Bexar, intending to ride out if the trouble moved outside, but then Cassie and Myra showed up and people started exiting the cabin. I . . . well . . . I figured the danger had passed.”

Travis's hands closed around her shoulders. “I'm glad you're here.” Something gruff rumbled in his voice. Something emotional and sincere.

Meredith raised her chin, but she had no time to judge what was in his eyes, for his lips descended upon hers and immediately demanded her full attention. His palms stroked upward to cup her face, and the tenderness in his touch banished her insecurities and planted new hope in the soil of her heart.

Her hands wandered over his ribs, pushing beneath his open coat, circling toward his back. But when her left hand rubbed against his side, Travis flinched. It was only for an instant, and his lips never broke from hers, but it was enough to bring Meredith back to the reality of the moment. She pulled away from his kiss.

She lifted the flap of his coat and grimaced at the sight of torn fabric bloodied from a wound. “I should get Crockett. You need to have that tended.” She pivoted and tried to move away, but Travis grasped her arm and refused to let her go.

“It's not serious,” he said, stepping close to nuzzle her neck. “You can tend it for me later.”

Shivers danced across her skin as his warm breath caressed the lobe of her ear. “I don't understand,” she murmured, trying to make sense of what was happening. “I thought you'd be angry with me.” His teeth nibbled on her ear, nearly scattering her thoughts. In desperation, she twisted away from him. “Stop that.”

Travis straightened and peered into her face, confusion etched across his brow.

Her voice grew scratchy. “How can you kiss me? You didn't even want a wife, Travis. You only married me because your bad luck stuck you with the short straw. And now because of my foolish actions, you've forfeited your land.” She closed her mouth against the sob that rose in her throat, but a tear escaped her lashes before she could blink it away.

“Is that what you think?” He loosened his hold on her arm, but only enough to allow his hand to slide down and capture hers. “You think I married you because I lost when we drew straws?” He chuckled softly. “Oh, Meri. Sweetheart. I
won
the straw draw. I didn't lose it.”

She stared at him, not comprehending the difference. “What are you saying?”

Travis grinned. “When we sat around the table that night, we didn't decide to draw straws because
none
of us wanted to marry you. We drew straws because
all
of us wanted to marry you.”

Meredith blinked up at her husband. Could it be true? Had she been a prize, not a chore?

“And I'll tell you something else.” He dipped his head and lowered his voice, his grin turning downright mischievous. “But you gotta swear not to tell the others.”

She nodded.

“I rigged the contest.”

“What?”

“I made sure that I was the one who ended up with the short straw.”

Meredith's pulse quickened. “Why?”

Travis shrugged a bit, and if she didn't know better, she could have sworn his skin pinkened a bit under his tan.

“At the time I told myself that you were my responsibility. That because of our previous encounter, I should be the one to marry you.”

A responsibility. Of course. Meredith forced her chin to stay raised and her back straight despite her yearning to curl up into a protective ball.

“But I was fooling myself.” Travis's gaze met hers, and she caught her breath. The way he looked at her, it was . . . was . . . “Even then I was falling in love with you.”

It was love.

“I couldn't stand the idea of one of my brothers marrying you. You belonged with me. I knew it. I couldn't explain it, but I knew it. And over the last several weeks, I've only grown more sure. I love you, Meredith. I thank God every day for bringing you back into my life.”

Her heart felt as if it would burst, so full was her joy. But there was one issue she couldn't ignore. “What about your land?”

Travis squeezed her hand and tugged her into his side, then laid a kiss on her forehead. “You're worth more to me than any pile of dirt. I'd give up the ranch again, in a heartbeat, if it meant keeping you safe.”

“Wait . . . again?”

He smiled at her and pointed to the blackened remains scattered across the floor of the hearth. “Mitchell was in no condition to protest when Jim reclaimed the deed paper work.”

“Oh, Travis! I'm so pleased.”

He returned her smile, but then his face grew serious, his voice unsure. “Meri? Did you mean what you wrote in your note? Have you truly come to care for me?”

Meredith bit her lip, her emotions swirling. “More than anything,” she vowed. She reached a hand to his cheek and stroked his strong jaw. “I've been in love with you since that day you rescued me from that steel trap. Only now, I love you with the fullness of a woman's love—deep, abiding, forever.”

Travis clasped her to him, his lips once again covering hers. But before Meredith could lose herself in the passion he inspired, a throat cleared. The sound echoed loudly in the nearly empty room. She jumped away from Travis with a start, a blush heating her cheeks.

“Sorry to . . . ah . . . interrupt,” Crockett intoned from the doorway. “Wanted to see if we could borrow Meredith's horse. Noreen refuses to ride in the same wagon as Mitchell and his
criminal army
, even if the men are all tied up in the back. And she's declared their mounts equally repulsive. Jim fetched Ginger in hopes of appeasing her, but when she saw there was no saddle, she nearly had a fit of apoplexy. He's giving her his own saddle now, and she stopped screeching, so we thought we'd better head out while the gettin' was good.”

Meredith shook her head in sympathy. “I don't envy you the long ride to town with her. But if having Ginger makes it easier, I am more than happy to lend her out.”

“Do you have lanterns for after night falls?” Travis strode forward, keeping hold of Meredith's hand as he went. “You'll only have a half moon to light your way.”

“Yep. Moses thought to bring a few along. He'll be riding with us to deliver Mitchell and the others to the sheriff while Jim sees Cassie and her folks home. Neill and Josiah wanted to ride along, too, if that's all right with you.”

“I don't see why not,” Travis said. “After all, it was the boy's job to fetch the sheriff in the first place. Might as well let him finish the job.”

Meredith stilled as she did the math. That meant . . . she and Travis would be alone at the house. All night.

Travis turned to look at her and heat flared in his eyes as if he had read her thoughts. “I'll . . .” He cleared his throat and turned back to his brother. “I'll see you off.”

Meredith trailed behind, a warm, sunny feeling blooming as she watched her reclusive husband reach out in gratitude to all the men and women who had offered their help. Relationships had been formed today, bonds that would last well into the future. No longer would the Archers be isolated from their community. They now stood among them as neighbors, as friends.

“Moses,” Travis said, holding his hand out to the big man. “I can't thank you enough. This day would have ended very differently without you.”

Moses clasped his hand. “I's just doing unto others like the Good Book says. Helpin' out is what neighbors do. Bearing each other's burdens, and all that.”

“When it comes to burdens, Travis is good at the bearing part,” Crockett said, slapping his brother on the back. “It's the letting-others-help-with-the-ones-
he's
-carrying part that needs some work.”

Meredith opened her mouth to defend her husband, but Travis responded before she could do more than inhale a preparatory breath.

“You're right,” he admitted, his humility so dignified it instantly unruffled her feathers and filled her with quiet pride. “But I think that's going to change after today.”

“I believe it will, brother,” Crockett said, all teasing gone from his tone. “I believe it will.”

As the parties prepared to set off, Meredith hugged Cassie and Myra, then returned to her husband's side to wave her farewells. Once everyone had departed, she found herself wrapped in Travis's arms as the two of them rode double atop Bexar back to the ranch.

The short distance didn't allow for much conversation, but words weren't needed. Meredith simply leaned into her husband and let the sway of the horse's gait soothe away the strain of the last few hours.

Travis loved her. Nothing else mattered.

When Bexar halted, Meredith lifted her head. Travis cupped the side of her face and placed a soft kiss on her lips. It was tender and brief and, oh, so sweet, yet when he pulled away, the tilt of his smile and the heat in his gaze promised more to come.

“I need to see to the horse,” he said as he circled her waist with his arm and lowered her to the ground. “But I'll be in soon.”