Tall, Dark, and Texan (31 page)

Teagen shook his head. “And so now he thinks he can just move in and take Whispering Mountain.”

“That’s about it. When you were here alone, he must have thought it would be easy to ride in and kill you and claim you died after you sold him the land,” Travis guessed. “There are enough crooked lawyers in this state that he could make up a bill of sale.”

“But,” Tobin added, “you confused things by marrying.” He turned to his sister. “One man and his little sister must have looked like easy pickings. I’m surprised he didn’t try to take the ranch the day he got here.”

“He didn’t have the men.” Sage finally jumped into the conversation. “Roak said he’s been recruiting for over a month. Half the men he found were strays from the forts or trail drivers down on their luck. Word is he had to arm them and train them before they’d be any good in a fight.”

Travis ignored all but the first of her comments. “That kid, Drummond Roak, still around?” he asked.

Teagen stood, and Sage’s answer died on her lips. “First things first,” he said as if calling a board meeting to order. “When I turned eighteen, I put the ranch in my name, but we’ve all known it belonged equally to the four of us. Travis, draw up the papers. Four McMurrays will be harder to kill if this general is planning murder. Second, I’m tired of waiting for him. I say we take this discussion to the general.”

Jessie felt her entire body turn cold. All four of the McMurrays were talking at once. Defending their ranch was one thing, but going out looking for a fight was another. She couldn’t breathe. When she heard Bethie cry, she bolted from the room.

At the door she glanced back. None of them seemed to have noticed she’d left. They were all talking about what had to be done.

Jessie hurried to the kitchen and cuddled a fussy Bethie to her. She’d thought she belonged here, but now she wasn’t so sure. She could learn to fire a gun, but she knew there was no way she could raise it and kill someone. She wasn’t like them. Fighting wasn’t in her blood. Jessie had read a debate once where one man claimed all the strong Americans were heading west, while another man said only the foolish and lawless were dumb enough to leave the safety of their homes for the wilderness. Right now she felt like she was surrounded by strong, foolish, wild men.

“I’m not brave enough to be a McMurray,” she whispered.

Martha shook her heard and seemed to read Jessie’s thoughts. “Or crazy enough maybe. They’re a wild bunch, no matter how they try to act civilized. But you married Teagen. I reckon that took a wagonload of bravery. That man can frown and frighten bark off a cedar.”

Jessie didn’t see the Teagen they all seemed to know. She’d run to him because of fear, never thinking of him as some kind of bear of a man to be avoided. “I should leave,” she said thinking of the few dollars she had left in her bag. More than the fear of getting killed, she couldn’t bear to think about how he would look at her when he found out she was a total coward. If she’d been brave, she wouldn’t have put up with Eli; she wouldn’t have run when he died. Teagen deserved a wife who could stand by his side in hard times, not a mouse of a wife who wanted to set up housekeeping in the cellar until all this blew over.

“I wouldn’t give much thought to leaving,” Martha said as she vigorously smashed boiled potatoes. “He’d come after you. McMurrays don’t let go of nothing. That general coming in better have a hundred men riding with him if he plans to take one handful of dirt.”

“You’re not worried?”

“Outlaws don’t scare me. I came from worse. When a sheriff in Austin told me about a need for a housekeeper up North along the frontier line, I used every dime I had to get here. Every soul I ever cared about had died or disowned me. I just wanted someplace to be alone and keep my hands busy. The three untamed boys and a baby I saw here needed me, so I stayed. They were fighting to hold the ranch then, and I saw my job to keep them fed. I didn’t want much in this world, and I found my place when I came here. I’m never leaving this land.”

“You love all four of them, don’t you?”

Martha shook her head. “They didn’t need love; they needed to grow strong and survive. I did my part to see they had that chance. Now, as grown men, I guess they do need love in their lives, but it’s not a fighting woman they crave, it’s a caring one. All three of them boys need a woman’s tenderness ’cause they never had it growing up, but not one of them would admit it if you asked him.” She looked at Jessie. “A warrior needs something worth fighting for.”

“You love them,” Jessie said again, and this time Martha didn’t deny it as she turned back to her cooking.

Teagen stepped into the kitchen a moment later. “We’re riding out to make sure everything is quiet for the night. Martha, we’ll have to eat supper in shifts.”

“All right.”

“If you hear gunfire . . .”

“I know what to do.”

He looked at Jessie. “Keep the girls close to the house till bedtime. It might not be a bad idea to have them sleep in the cellar for the next few nights. If trouble comes riding in, we won’t have long to wait.”

He didn’t need to say more; she understood.

Without a word, she followed him out to where the others were already mounting.

“Teagen?” she whispered not knowing what to say.

He leaned down and kissed her hard and fast. “It’s all right. I’ll be back in a few hours. We’re planning to all get some sleep tonight, then Travis and I will leave at first light to see if the general and his men are still camped out in the rocks.”

She wanted to hold on to him and not let him go. Even if she tried to tell him, he’d never believe how much he meant to her.

Darkness crept across the land as she watched them ride away. For a while, she stood on the porch listening, but all was quiet. The air smelled newborn after the rain, but lightning still flickered to the north. It seemed the threat of a raid had been a cloud over the ranch almost since she’d arrived.

Part of her wished for the quiet days of the bookstore, when all adventure came from books. But that life had been without Teagen’s touch, and deep down she knew that was the one thing she couldn’t live without. Somehow, she’d stay, no matter what the danger.

Almost three hours passed before he returned. He looked tired and dusty from riding hard, but he barely touched his food as he sat alone at the table. When Jessie asked him how things were, he simply said, “Fine,” but the deep creases along his forehead told her he lied.

Sage stood guard on the porch. Teagen took his coffee and spelled her so she could check the last of the mares still in the corral. Danger might be riding toward them, but they still had a ranch to run.

Sage poked her head inside and asked if Jessie minded if Emily went to the barn with her. “She’s big enough to be a great help with the animals.”

Emily was out the door before Jessie had a chance to say yes. Bethie and Rose were already asleep on beds in the cellar. Martha had agreed to sleep with them, but Emily wanted to stay upstairs with her mother. The child might not say much, but she sensed things. Whenever Jessie was unhappy or worried, Emily always seemed to lean close against her, silently comforting her.

Jessie filled her fifth cup of hot coffee and joined her husband on the porch. She knew as long as the others were out, she’d stay awake. At the first sound of gunfire, she’d send Emily to the cellar, but if possible, she planned to remain with Teagen.

She tried not to think about what might happen. What might go wrong. If Teagen was hurt, she would help. If he died, it would be in her arms. He’d been a part of her soul for years, and she had to be strong enough to help him if he turned to her. If she lived to be a hundred and loved her children’s children, none would ever be a part of her like Teagen was. No one would, no one could.

He didn’t seem to notice she was by his side for a while. He studied the night. Finally, he took a drink and said, “You should be in bed.”

“An order,” she whispered, knowing requests came hard for the man.

He turned to her. “A request.” His tired eyes seemed to drink her in.

“I belong here, beside you.” The truth of her words hit her fully.

“Because I’m your husband?”

She nodded. “And because I care.”

She knew he wasn’t comfortable with words, but she needed to say it. “I want to be at your side, dear.”

“When?”

“All the time.”

“Now, in the fight?”

“Always.”

The silence between them seemed thick as a muddy river. Finally, he added, “In my bed.”

She didn’t move. “Yes.”

He slowly set his cup down, then took hers from her and placed it beside his. Without a word he moved behind her and gently slid one arm around her waist. When he tugged her against him, she went willingly.

She could feel him breathing, feel his heart pounding, feel his warm breath as he leaned over her to kiss her hair. “I want you to be my woman, Jess, forever.”

“I’m already yours.” She leaned her head back and let him kiss his way down her throat.

In the distance they heard Sage and Emily coming back from the barn.

His words came in a low whisper against her ear. “In a few hours, I’ll turn in for some sleep. I want you next to me.”

“But you’ll need sleep.”

“I’ll have it, but I’ll have you against me first.”

She trembled, and his grip tightened slightly.

“Will you be there?”

She nodded and slipped a few inches away as Sage and Emily grew close.

Sage thanked Em for her help, then turned to her brother. “I’ll get a few hours’ sleep, then spell you so you can do the same. Travis and Tobin will also take turns.”

Jessie picked up the cups and followed Sage inside, leaving Teagen on guard. She knew this was not the time for Teagen to court her, but whatever happened, they both needed to be alone together if only for an hour.

TEAGEN RODE TO LOOKOUT POINT. EVERYTHING WAS quiet. The cool midnight air made him almost believe his land was blanketed in peaceful sleep. He knew Tobin covered the west side at the riverbank, and Travis watched the east. They had two men on the bridge tonight, and Tobin would be there long before dawn. One man, alone and well-trained, might be able to move onto Whispering Mountain land, but not the army it would take to run the McMurrays off. He’d never lost a battle, and he had no intent of losing this one. Travis was right; it was time to ride over the bridge and see what was rumor and what was fact. He was tired of worrying about when trouble might come.

The land to the road from the bridge was clear and safe. A few miles north, the terrain turned rocky and spotted with brush and trees, not fit for farming or raising anything but goats. Teagen had tried to buy the section of ground more than once because he didn’t like the idea that someone could move in on the other side of the river, but whoever owned it had refused to sell. In fact, he couldn’t even find out the name of the heir who’d inherited it from the old man who originally settled there.

He’d seen the outlaw hideout there. It would be impossible to get close without the men knowing they were coming. No one else was around to notice they were camped there, much less run them off. He knew he’d be stepping over the line if he demanded they leave. They might think they had as much right to be on that worthless strip of land as he did.

Teagen didn’t care. He wanted to live in peace for a change. He wanted to sleep in his house with his wife and not see worry in her eyes.

Thoughts of Jessie moved him toward home. He made one last circle of the house and barns, then turned in for a few hours’ sleep. After washing in the mud room and putting on clean clothes, he walked through the silent house. Travis and Tobin, if they slept, would do it under the Texas sky. Travis liked the trees down by the river. He’d wake if one horse splashed ashore. Tobin would bed down close to the bridge.

Pushing his bedroom door open, he smiled at the sight of Jessie curled on top of the covers. She wore her white nightgown, buttoned all the way to her throat, and she’d tucked her feet beneath the hem. A book lay beside her as though it had tumbled from her hand when she’d fallen asleep.

He walked silently to the far side of the bed and lay down beside her. When his weight shifted the mattress, she rolled into his arms. He’d planned to just rest beside her. That would be enough, he’d thought, but when her soft body pressed against him, he wanted more than sleep.

Moving his hand lightly over her gown, he touched her middle, missing the baby that had grown there. “Someday,” he whispered against her hair, liking the idea of another child growing within her. If she ever carried another baby, it would be his from the beginning.

He liked the way she’d given him permission to touch her whenever he liked. She had no idea how little he knew of touching a woman or how much the gift of having her near meant to him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to tell her, but he promised he’d always be gentle with her.

She made a sound in her sleep when his hand moved over her breast. Stretching, she leaned into his warmth. The fullness of her breast filled his hand.

“Jess,” he whispered. “Open your eyes and look at me.”

Sleepy brown eyes met his. She smiled as his grip tightened slightly.

“I want you to know it’s me,” he whispered. His lips brushed her cheek. “Now, open your mouth.”

She grinned as his kiss gently claimed her. It took a few seconds before she awoke enough to return his advance; then she opened to him, and he tasted the sweet depths of her mouth. He liked the shy touch of her tongue on his almost as much as he loved the way she silently pleaded for more when he hinted of pulling away.

His hands moved over her in tender caresses as the kiss deepened. His need to know every curve of her grew with each touch. They’d settled it in the cellar this morning. She was his . . . she wanted to be his wife.