Stronger Than the Rest (21 page)

Everyone but Grant left before Niall remembered Mrs. Bierdan’s request. He walked back into the office.

“Almost forgot. Eloise Bierdan asked if the two of you could meet. She’s working through a decision to sell her place. Not sure she’ll go through with it, but she’d like to at least speak with you.”

“Not a problem, Niall. I’ll ride by there on the way back from the Miller place tomorrow. That should give us plenty of time to talk.”

******

Tess couldn’t sleep. She’d tossed and turned for hours and was no closer to sleep than when she first lay down. Thoughts of Drew, their time in his room, and their possible future assailed her. She didn’t know what the men’s plans were for tomorrow, but knew that they’d decided to be aggressive and search out the outlaws—not wait for them to strike again.

She threw off the covers and covered her sheer night gown with a wrapper. Jericho had his own room next to Drew’s. He would no doubt hear her when she knocked on Drew’s door, but that couldn’t be helped. Tess was also certain Jericho had an idea of what had transpired when he’d left them alone in Drew’s room. She’d passed him in the hall when she’d left. He wasn’t stupid. Her hair had been mussed and her dress still somewhat askew.

Tess’s light tap on Drew’s door echoed down the short hall. Who would have thought such a light tap could sound so loud? There was no answer. She tried again, but still no response. A door opened and she looked to see Jericho walk out of his room and stop.

He looked at her, deciding whether or not to comment. Making a decision, he took a slow breath. “He’s in the barn.” Jericho shut the door behind him.

Tess didn’t hesitate but left the house and made her way to the barn. There was no lantern glow to suggest Drew was inside. The only hint was that the door stood ajar. He was either inside or someone had left it open. She stopped just inside to look around. She heard nothing. Tess took a few more steps, attempting to let her eyes adjust to the dark.

“Hello, Tess.”

She jumped but knew the soft, deep voice belonged to the man she sought. Tess turned to see him in a stall. But her body stilled when the reality of the image hit her. He was standing, holding a rope in one hand while making loops in it with the other.

“You’re practicing roping?” she asked, still stunned at the sight.

“Better than practicing my shooting at this time of night, don’t you think?”

A smile lit her face, igniting a flame within Drew that halted him where he stood—without support or the security of his chair.

Tess ran up to him, looped her arms around his neck, and lay her head against his chest. “I guess you’re right,” she whispered.

Drew dropped the rope and let his arms wrap around her, holding her close, savoring the feel. He loosened his grip just enough to tilt her chin up and capture her mouth. He’d wanted to do this each minute of every hour since she’d left his room.

Tess eased her hold around his neck, letting her hands wander across his broad shoulders, down his arms, feeling his muscles tighten. The kiss became more ardent, hungry, fueling the heat between them.

His hands stroked up and down her back, following the curves of her body, and pulling her tight. He drew back from the kiss just enough to trace her lips with his tongue before plundering her mouth again.

Then he was lifting her, moving backwards inside the stall, and lowering them to the ground. They stretched out beside each other, not once breaking the kiss that bound them.

Drew rolled Tess to her back, keeping one strong hand behind her head as the knuckles of the other caressed her face, then moved down the soft column of her neck to her chest. He continued to place feather-like kisses across her face, until his mouth settled once more on hers.

He pulled the ribbon that held her wrapper in place and moved his hand down to cup a soft, lush breast. She gasped at the touch, but pushed into his hand, encouraging him. He continued to the other breast before easing down the top of her night dress to expose her to his view.

“Tess,” he whispered. “You have no idea what you do to me, how beautiful you are.” Then he took one round globe in his mouth and drew her in.

She squirmed against him, trying to get closer. The ache between her legs confused and excited her, but all she understood was that she didn’t want him to stop. Ever.

He pulled the hem of her night gown up. She felt strong warmth as his hand moved upward along her calf, to her thigh, then higher, until he stopped and pulled away. He shifted his hand to her cheek and stroked the soft skin. “I want you, Tess.”

“Yes.”

“Do you understand what it will mean if I take you?” Drew wanted no confusion between them.

Tess’s round, trusting, caramel-brown eyes gazed up at him, but she didn’t speak.

“It will mean we belong to each other, forever. Is that what you want?”

“Yes, Drew. You’re exactly who I want,” and she pulled him down for another long, passion-filled kiss.

Chapter Eighteen

Ah, hell,
Will thought as he walked into the barn early. It wasn’t even light out, but he couldn’t sleep, worried about Drew, and how he’d do if they encountered the outlaws. But then he saw the chair next to an open stall. Will moved closer. The edge of a woman’s wrapper and bare feet peeked out at him. He drew back.
Shit.
He didn’t want to be the one to find them, wake them up, but he sure as hell didn’t want anyone else doing it.

Will turned his back to the stall and whispered, “Drew.” No one stirred. He tried again, this time louder. His brother’s legs moved. Moved! Was it just reflexes or had that been intentional, he wondered. This wasn’t working. He backed into the stall, keeping his head turned away from Tess, and crouched beside Drew so that he could shake him.

Drew’s eyes opened in slits, closed, then opened fully. He stared at Will.

“What the hell are you doing?” Drew hissed out.

“Me? What the hell are you doing?” Will replied and tried to incline his head toward the woman in Drew’s arms.

Will’s words hit their mark and Drew spun his head away to find Tess snuggled up next to him. She looked wonderful, soft, the most beautiful image he’d ever seen. Then reality hit.

“Shit.”

“Exactly,” Will almost laughed. “Look, I’ll keep watch until you can get you and Tess together. But hurry. I have no idea when someone else might be joining us. You need help getting in your chair?”

When Drew shook his head, Will stood up and walked out, chuckling at the scene he’d stumbled upon.

“Tess. Tess, honey, we have to get up,” Drew whispered.

“Hmmm,” Tess responded and reached for him. Her hand settled on his neck to pull him forward for her kiss.

This time it was Drew who chuckled. “No, honey, we have to get up, get dressed. It’s morning.” He gently pulled her arm from around his neck, then caressed her cheek once more. He heard Will talking with someone and knew they’d run out of time.

“What do you mean I can’t go in the barn?” Grant’s stern voice penetrated Tess’s brain and she came fully awake with a start. It took Drew a moment of maneuvering, but he finally pushed himself up, stood, and held out his hand to Tess.

She grabbed it and scrambled to her feet. Her panic was obvious as she tried to right her gown, tie her wrapper, and brush the hay from her hair and clothing.

“What the hell!”

Tess heard Grant’s hard voice and turned to see her father staring at her and Drew. His face red, contorted, as if he were choking on a bad piece of meat. He started toward them, but Drew stepped in front of her, shielding her, protecting her. From what he didn’t know, since he was the one that Grant wanted to kill at that moment.

“It’s not what you think, sir,” Drew said and put a hand up to stop Grant from getting closer.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure it’s exactly what I think, MacLaren,” Grant raged and tried to look around the man shielding his daughter, but Drew continued to block him.

It was at that moment that it registered to Grant that Drew was standing. But that realization was over–shadowed by the rage he felt at finding them this way.

Tess had only heard her father bellow one other time, and that had been when her sister, Amanda, had put herself in danger. He was known for his calm control, the way he could stay composed when everyone else panicked. Well, he sure wasn’t in control now.

“I love her, Mr. Taylor.”

Grant put his hands on his hips, looked up to the ceiling, then down to the ground. He turned and paced a few steps away, getting himself under control. This was the last thing he’d expected to wake up to.

Eleanor raced into the barn, a worried expression marring her normally serene appearance. “Grant. We can hear you clear into the house. What in the world…” But her words trailed off when she looked into the stall. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” Grant repeated. He’d calmed but his voice was still hard as he glared at the young man before him. “You’ll marry her.”

“Yes, sir.” Drew peeked over his shoulder at Tess and smiled. “If she’ll have me.”

At that Tess stepped forward and threw herself into his arms. “Yes, yes, yes!”

By now, everyone in the house had made their way to the barn, and stood in a semi-circle looking at Drew, standing, in his pants, no shirt, and Tess in her night clothes. All had heard Drew’s question and Tess’s response, and everyone noticed that Drew wasn’t in his chair.

Amanda raced up and wrapped her arms around her sister. “Oh, Tess, I’m so happy for you.”

Eleanor, Alicia, and Kate all followed Amanda’s lead, hugging Tess, then turning to hug Drew.

Will, Jamie, and Niall all kept their distance, still stunned at seeing their brother out of his chair, standing. Then they looked at each other and started to move.

By the time Drew noticed their approach the three were upon him. Niall stepped behind him, Jamie to the left, and Will to the right. In one coordinated move, they lifted Drew, walked outside, and threw him into the horse trough.

Drenched, he sputtered, but pulled himself up to a sitting position and started to laugh. A full, stomach churning laugh that brought smiles and cheers from everyone.

******

Denver, Colorado

“How’s he doing?” Connor asked the doctor who’d walked out of Chester Mayfield’s room.

“We’ve got him on laudanum. He’s in a great deal of pain, but he’ll make it.” The doctor took a moment to jot down some notes, then focused again on the visitor. “He’s in no condition to talk to you. Maybe tomorrow. I’m sorry.” The doctor turned and walked into another exam room, leaving Connor to ponder his choices. There were none. It was pointless to stay. He’d return tomorrow and hope Mayfield would be able to talk.

He made his way toward the saloon. Connor hoped to speak with Ira this morning to learn more about his import business. The suspicion that he wouldn’t like what he learned nagged at Connor. He’d helped Ira get the backing for the saloon, which was a legitimate business and turned a nice profit. He had made sure of both. He’d also provided contacts to Ira when he needed to expand the silver mining operations. The money had come through as Connor knew it would, but Connor hadn’t managed the Walsh side of the mine. Connor and his contacts had set someone else up to do that work—Ira just thought the work flowed from him.

He walked into the saloon and toward the stairs, but stopped when the bartender motioned him over. The man had been one of Connor’s first hires, and one of his best. The barkeep knew his job, handled customers well, and kept the drinks flowing.

“Something’s going on with Walsh,” he told Connor.

“Why do you say that?”

“He stormed in about an hour ago, which is early for him, and went straight upstairs. Not a word to anyone. He just glared at Lola and pushed past her when she walked up to him. Never seen him treat her that way. Haven’t seen him since.”

Connor considered the barkeep’s words. Ira’s mood could mean anything. Problems with his legitimate cattle or mining operations? Connor doubted that either of those were the cause. His money was on Walsh’s obsession with Cold Creek or his expanding import business—or both.

“Thanks for the warning,” Connor threw over his shoulder as he started for Ira’s office.

Ira looked up at the knock on this door. “What?”

Connor pushed the door open. “You have a few minutes?”

“Not now.” Ira’s harsh words weren’t lost on Connor. Ira had always made time to speak with him. Whatever it was, it must be significant.

Connor wouldn’t be pushed out. “Anything I can help with, Ira?”

Walsh raised his head and frowned at his saloon manager, a partner in the business. Connor had carried out his duties well, and linked Ira with the money needed to buy the saloon and expand the mines. He was sharp and controlled. At this point Ira couldn’t afford to trust anyone, except perhaps Drago. However, he might be able to garner some information from Connor.

“You see anyone snooping around upstairs while I was out of town?” Ira asked straight out.