“Oh? Where did you see him?”
“He got to Green River last night. All he could talk about was the devil-woman you married.”
The shadow of a smile crossed Lucas’s face. “Somehow I don’t think that would bother her much.”
“He said she tried to kill him.”
“Wouldn’t blame her if she had. I was about to give him a good thrashing myself.”
“Why?”
“Bart Kelly needs to learn the proper way to treat women. She didn’t appreciate his hands all over her.” Lucas grinned suddenly. “I’m still not sure what she did, but Brianna took care of the problem without the least assistance from me or anyone else. She’s not a woman to trifle with.”
Billy sounded surprised. “You like her?”
“Like her?” The rhythmic movement of the currycomb slowed as Lucas considered this. He admired her spunk, and loved her biscuits, but Brianna herself was like a burr under the saddle. He was constantly aware of her, and it irritated the hell out of him. “I don’t know as I’d go that far.”
“She sure took over in a hurry,” Billy grumbled. “Can’t believe I have to sleep in the barn!”
“You’re the one who decided I needed a wife.”
“What’s that got to do with it?”
Lucas raised a brow. “It didn’t occur to you that my wife and I might want some privacy at night?”
Billy stared at him blankly for several seconds then his face reddened slightly. “Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“You hadn’t thou...What did you expect me to do with a wife, for God’s sake?”
“You don’t have to be so mad. I mean it’s not like she’s ugly or anything.”
“I don’t give a damn what she looks like, I don’t want a wife. It wasn’t very pleasant to suddenly find myself married to a complete stranger.”
“Seth was the one who wrote the letters and set it all up,” Billy said.
“He said it was your idea.”
Billy had the grace to look embarrassed. “I was just joking. He thought we needed to buy you a cookbook, and I said we’d be better off getting you a wife who could do the cooking for you. The next thing I knew, he’d sent off for a mail-order bride.”
“You paid half the money.”
“Sure, but Seth is the one who answered her letters. He convinced her to come, not me.”
The currycomb came to a complete stop. “Letters? She wrote to you?”
“Sort of. She thought she was writing to you. Anyway, Seth decided she sounded like just the sort of wife you should have.”
“Oh? I’m almost afraid to ask what you thought qualified her to be my wife.”
“Mostly ‘cause she said she could cook, but she sounded real sweet-tempered and amiable, too. We both figured you’d like that, bein’ as how you don’t want nobody bothering you when you’re working.” Billy looked pensive. “Her letters made her sound kind of shy. I thought she’d be, I don’t know, easy going, I guess.”
“Either you two did a poor job of interpreting what she said, or she lied outright,” Lucas said. “I’ve never met a less peaceful female in my life.”
“I know. The first thing she did was throw Seth and me out of the station!”
“Actually, I did that.”
“What for?”
“I wasn’t too pleased with the two of you. If I’d known you’d been writing to her in my name, I’d probably have dumped your gear in the river.” He glared at Billy and shook his head. “I always thought you were good at reading character. Easy going, ha! You couldn’t have been more wrong if you tried.”
“Read her letters and see what you think!”
For a moment, Lucas was tempted, but then his better sense intruded. He knew Brianna Daniels as well as he wanted to. Too much of his valuable time was already spent thinking about her, wondering where she was or what she was doing. The last thing he needed was to see into her soul. “There’s no point in it. She won’t be staying long.”
“I thought—”
“I know what you and Seth thought, but I’m not falling in with your plans. I won’t be manipulated by a couple of striplings barely old enough to shave.”
“But where will she go?”
“Back home probably. I really don’t give a damn.”
“Lucas, it took her almost two months to get here!”
“You should have thought of that before you sent for her.”
“But you can’t make her go back home! None of this was her fault.”
The expression on Billy’s face surprised Lucas almost as much as his words. Billy, the tough, hard-bitten cynic who didn’t need anybody or anything looked...stricken. What the hell was in those letters?
“I’m not sending her anywhere,” Lucas said gruffly. “But it’s obvious she doesn’t belong on the frontier. Everything here is a struggle for her. She’s like a fish in the desert, helpless. You should have seen her getting water the first day.” He shook his head as he went back to currying the horse. “It won’t be long before she packs up her trunk and leaves on her own.” Lucas wondered why the thought didn’t bring him any joy.
Brianna set the table for lunch and waited. No one came in. It was very unusual. The men were always there ready to eat before she even got the meal on the table. Where were they? After fifteen minutes she decided to go looking.
Billy was nowhere to be seen, but she found Lucas in his workshop at the back of the barn. Brianna entered cautiously. Seth had told her more than once Lucas didn’t like to be disturbed when he was in the middle of something. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw he was seated on a high stool bent over a workbench. Suddenly there was a small flare and a puff of smoke.
“Damn!” Lucas muttered.
Curious, Brianna stepped closer and peered at the workbench. The surface appeared to be cluttered with a variety of materials. She only caught a glimpse before Lucas turned and pinned her with an irritated glare.
“What?”
“It-it’s lunch time,” she said, backing away hastily. “I can bring you a plate if you’re busy.”
Lucas looked at his workbench and sighed. “No, I’m not getting anywhere here.” He stood up and stretched. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”
“Do you know where Billy is?”
“No. Last I saw of him he was headed to the tack room to read Seth’s letter.”
“Seth left him a letter?”
“That’s how they communicate.” Lucas flipped a couple of switches and started pulling wires out. “Seth started it right at the beginning when he decided he wanted to know Billy better. It’s the only way since they’re never here at the same time.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. They’re not much alike, are they?”
“Nope. In fact, they’re almost complete opposites.” Apparently satisfied his work area was secured, Lucas headed out the door.
“Billy’s from the South?”
“Virginia. I can’t tell you anything else about him other than his last name is Fry and he’s an orphan.”
“Is that why he’s so...difficult?”
“I don’t know for sure. He’s always suspicious of anything new. I take it the two of you didn’t exactly hit it off.”
“About as well as you and I did.”
Startled by her frank answer, he gave her a sidelong glance as she fell into step beside him. “I guess that proves you can’t judge by first impressions. Look how well we get along now.”
“Do we? I hadn’t noticed.”
Lucas grinned in spite of himself. “What happened to the woman who promised to make my life easier?”
“Still keeping her end of the bargain.”
“Somehow I don’t see how sarcastic remarks are supposed to make me comfortable.”
Brianna gave him an innocent look. “You don’t? But I thought you’d enjoy conversing in your own language.”
Lucas laughed and shook his head. “I suppose you think you can beat me at
it, too.”
“It’s a distinct possibility.” Brianna smiled as he laughed again. The deep rich sound gave her an unexpected warm feeling inside. This was a side of Lucas Daniels she’d never seen before, but one she found she liked very much.
“Well, well,” he murmured after his chuckles subsided. “It appears you made more of an impression than you realized.”
Brianna followed the line of his gaze and blinked in surprise. Billy was coming up the trail from the river with two brimming buckets in his hands. “Where did he get that extra bucket?”
“From the barn. We have a lot of equipment stored there.”
“I don’t suppose there’s an extra barrel by any chance?”
“Yes, three in fact.”
Brianna rolled her eyes. “It never occurred to any of you to use one for water?”
“We never needed it.”
“Don’t you find it kind of inconvenient to never have more than one bucket of water at a time?”
“No, but then none of us uses as much as you do, either.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Brianna said, a little stung. “But then I don’t think cleaning was ever much a priority around here either.”
“That’s true enough. I suppose you’ll want me to set up a water barrel for you.”
“Heaven’s no! I wouldn’t want you to put yourself out,” she said sarcastically.
“Good, I see you’re developing the right attitude, after all.”
Brianna glanced up at him in irritation and saw his lips twitch. He was teasing her! A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “That’s one point for you,” she conceded.
“Then we’re even.”
They grinned at each other. In that one unguarded moment their eyes met and something unexpected flared between them. It was warm, wonderful, and completely unwelcome. Brianna was the first to pull her gaze away. “I’ll go dish up lunch,” she muttered then hurried into the cabin.
Shaken, Brianna leaned against the wall just inside the door. What was the matter with her? Lucas Daniels was her great-great-grandfather for heaven’s sake. It was unthinkable to let him affect her this way. Yet, when she tried to dismiss the attraction, somehow all she could think of were those gorgeous gray eyes of his. She simply had to find some way to remind herself who he was.
By the time Billy and Lucas came in several minutes later, she had herself well in hand. She thanked Billy for the water and was surprised when he blushed. He didn’t seem the type to be embarrassed by female attention.
“I brought you a newspaper,” he said, pulling it out of his back pocket and handing it to Lucas. “It’s from last summer, but I thought you might like to see it anyway.” Though he was nonchalant, Brianna had the distinct impression it was a peace offering of some sort, just like the water had been.
Lucas set it in the middle of the table and sat down to eat.
“I’ll take a look at it later. What’s the news from Green River?”
It wasn’t long before Brianna had finished eating and was totally bored, so she picked up the newspaper. Anything was better than hearing about people she didn’t know, even news that was a hundred and fifty years old. She didn’t realize it would be like stepping into history. In a surprisingly short time, she was so engrossed she didn’t notice the odd looks she was receiving from her companions.
“I’d have thought you’d find that news a little stale,” Lucas said finally, breaking through her concentration. “That paper came out long before you left home.”
You’d flip if you knew how long before, Brianna thought to herself. “It’s got some pretty interesting articles in it.”
“For instance?”
“Well, there’s a story about a transcontinental railroad, for one thing.”
“They’ve been talking about that for years.”
“They have? I mean I know they have, but it’s an exciting thought.”
“Maybe, but it would be next to impossible to build.”
Brianna felt herself on shaky ground as she flipped through the paper. On the one hand, she knew too much. On the other, she didn’t know nearly enough. Suddenly an article toward the middle caught her attention. “Here’s one that will interest you, Lucas.”
“Oh?”
“John Wise, world famous balloonist, flew his balloon from St. Louis to Lake Ontario in nineteen hours and 50 minutes,” she read. “Though a gale forced Mr. Wise to land before reaching his original destination, his twelve-hundred-mile trip proves once and for all that long distance balloon flight is possible.”
“Damn fool!” Lucas muttered.
Brianna looked up in surprise. “What?”
“I said the man’s a damn fool. Only an idiot would go up in one of those death-traps.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Of course I am. They’re too unpredictable to be practical.”
“Haven’t you ever considered how exciting it would be to pilot one?”
“I wouldn’t go up in a balloon if you paid me a thousand dollars,” Lucas said adamantly as he scooted his chair back and stood up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
Staring after him in open-mouthed shock, Brianna watched him stomp angrily out the door. “What’s the matter with him?”
Billy grinned. “Reckon you hit his sore spot.”
“I did?”
“Yep, he doesn’t like to be reminded of his weakness.”
“What weakness?”
“He’s scared to death of heights. There ain’t a man anywhere less likely to fly a balloon than Lucas Daniels.”
CHAPTER 11
“Thank you, Billy.” Brianna watched him set a full bucket of water down next to the new water barrel.
“Uh huh.”
Brianna sighed as he walked away. Thank goodness Seth would be back tomorrow. Three days with Billy were plenty. She couldn’t figure him out. He was surly and uncommunicative, but she hadn’t had to carry one bucket of water since he’d been here.
She pushed her hair back from her face and gazed toward the corral where Lucas was working with the horses. What was going to happen to him during the next few years? She’d been mulling it over almost constantly for the last two days and was no closer to the answer than before. Was it possible Lucas would overcome his phobia of heights and pilot a balloon over enemy lines during a civil war he thought senseless? Not likely. But then, nothing else fit either.
All the evidence pointed to the probability that Lucas Daniels, at least this Lucas Daniels, was not her great-great grandfather. Brianna wondered for the dozenth time how there could be another one and where that left her. If only she knew more about Anna and her married life. None of it made any sense.
As she watched Lucas lead four horses through the gate, she felt the familiar tightening in her stomach. Why did he have to be so damned attractive? Not for the first time, she wondered if the idea that there was no blood relationship between them might be based more on wishful thinking than cold hard facts. It was quite possible something might happen in the next year or two that would change his political views. It was even conceivable that he’d lied about his hair color in his journal for some reason.
Her thoughts suddenly focused on the present as Lucas brought the horses up to the station and tied them to the hitching rack. “What are you doing?” she asked in surprise.
“What does it look like?”
“Like you’re leaving the horses right next to the house.”
“Smart lady,” he said sarcastically as he finished tying them up.
“They’re just outside the window, Lucas.”
He glanced at the open shutters. “So?”
“Think of all the flies that’ll come inside.”
“Lord, woman, you do worry about the damnedest things,” he muttered walking away.
“But it’s so unsanitary.”
Lucas just shook his head and continued back to the barn, leaving Brianna to stare at the horses in b
ewilderment. She had never seen a wagon on the premises, yet all four horses had collars around their necks and heavy straps down their backs. What was he doing?
In a few minutes, Lucas was back with the rest of the harness straps slung over his shoulders and arms.
The last thing Brianna wanted to do was ask a stupid question about something she should know, but her curiosity was overwhelming. “I didn’t know you had a wagon,” she said cautiously.
“I don’t. These are for the stagecoach.”
“What stagecoach?”
“The one that’s coming down the road.”
Startled, Brianna looked over her shoulder and saw a cloud of dust approaching from the southeast. “The stage stops here?”
“Just long enough to change horses.”
“Can I watch?”
He shrugged the load of straps off his shoulder. “Suit yourself. Just make sure you—”
“—stay out of the way,” she said, mimicking his deep voice “Don’t worry, Lucas. I wouldn’t think of doing anything stupid. If the driver is like the rest of the men around here he’d probably just as soon run over me as not.”
The corner of Lucas’s mouth twitched, but he said nothing as he turned his full attention to the horses. By the time the stage rumbled into the yard, he had everything hooked up and ready to go.
“Ten-minute stop,” the driver called out as he brought the horses to a standstill. “Howdy, Lucas.”
“Morning, Jack. Any deliveries for me today?”
“As a matter of fact, there is.” He tied the reins to the brake lever then turned around and pulled a wooden crate from the roof of the stage. “Pittsburgh glassworks,” he read. “Reckon this is what you’ve been waiting for.”
Lucas’s eyes lit up, and his face broke into a smile as he reached up to take the box. “Finally!”
Brianna blinked in surprise. It was the first time she’d seen him truly happy, and the difference was astonishing. He looked almost boyish in his enthusiasm. What in heaven’s name could he be getting from a glassworks that would affect him so?
“Only ten minutes?” The feminine voice brought Brianna’s head around with a jerk.
An army officer was just stepping down from the stage. “That’s what the driver said, ma’am,” he said, turning back to help the woman alight.
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