by Marie Piper
Ellie Graham’s eyes grew huge when Callie embraced Haven. She began animatedly talking to another woman. Jasper stood by her side, but when Ellie started chattering, he came toward the group.
Jasper looked sheepish. “Let me take care of your horses.”
Matthew handed the reins to him, and the other man led the horses away.
“He’s a good man,” Callie whispered to Haven, “with terrible taste in women. I include myself.”
Matthew offered his hand to Callie. “Miss Lee.”
“Deputy.” She accepted his hand and shook it before giving him a wink. “You’ll see. People talkin’ about you ain’t so bad after a while. Is he dead?”
“My father is dead, yes.”
“You know that ain’t who I mean.”
Haven shook her head. “Hank is alive, but I bet we'll never see him again.”
Callie carefully put an arm around Haven. “If I ever do see him again, I’ll slap him so hard his hat will bleed. Come on now. Let’s see if Doc can fix you up. You look like you’ve been through a swordfight with a mountain lion.”
***
Haven
Inside, Luke was already laying on the bed with his shirt off. Doc had unwound Haven's makeshift bandage. “Hell, Luke, this ain’t hardly a scratch.”
“Sure as hell don’t feel like a scratch.”
“A big scratch, I’ll grant you. But the good news is you’ll live to be cranky another day.”
Haven stepped next to Matthew and began to roll up her sleeves as Doc continued to treat Luke’s wound.
Doc handed her a clean wet rag. “Don’t you worry about him. Tend to you.”
Haven turned to the mirror and nearly wept at what she saw. Wild-haired, she had a bloody gash across the right side of her face that went from her nose to her cheek. There was a streak of blood along her jaw, but she knew it was Hank’s. Though she couldn’t see her back, she felt it with every move she made.
“Here,” Matthew said as he took the cloth from Haven’s hand. He set to work gently wiping her face clean as Haven watched in the mirror. With each touch, it seemed like he cleared away some of the violence Philip Frank had inflicted. Finally, all that was left was the red tear in her skin from the whip.
“I wish I could go back and kill him another time or two,” Matthew whispered, “for everything. For doing this to you.”
“It’s a cut. It’ll heal.”
When Luke had been bound with clean bandages and was resting on one of the two beds in the clinic, Doc went to work on Haven’s back. Three red lash marks cut across her pale skin, but only one had gone deep enough to bleed. The blood dried into the fabric of her dress, and Doc had to cut away the back part of the dress to get at the wound. Matthew and Callie went to stand guard by the door as Haven lay face down on the bed next to her father’s. Doc gingerly tended to her harsh wounds. The medicine he used stung, and Haven clutched the pillow to ward against the pain.
Doc applied a salve to the wound. The cool paste relieved the burning. He reached down and touched her hair for a moment. “I’m sorry to say you’ll likely always bear the scars of Philip Frank.”
She remembered him saying something similar to Hank on the day he’d taken out the stitches. “I’ll wear them as a badge of honor,” she replied, just as he had. “And I’ll even try not to scratch at them.”
“I have it on good authority that a drink of whiskey helps lessen the pain.”
“Don’t you go tellin’ my daughter to drink whiskey,” Luke grumbled.
“You could both use a drink,” Doc said. “In fact, I’m going to say it’s Doctor’s orders. I’ll be back.” He went out the front door.
Luke exhaled hard. “If I’d known Philip was alive, I’d have stopped all of this before it started.” He reached a hand across the space between their cots, and Haven felt the familiar roughness of her father’s hands.
“This ain’t your fault, Papa. You focus on getting better, and don’t worry about what was or what might have been.”
“I might have lost you.”
“Shoot, I thought I’d lost you. But we’re both still breathing.”
“Are you and Matthew…?”
“We’re fine,” she replied. The mattress of the cot beneath her felt so soft. She relaxed into it as the salve calmed her aches. “Better than we’ve been in a long time.”
“You know,” Luke said, “I am not so old as to be blind to my only daughter growing up. You’re so much like Lucy in so many ways.”
“Did she make terrible choices too?”
“Yes.” His honesty was refreshing. “There was a man who wanted to marry her, a very wealthy man from an upstanding family. She could have gone back East, and attended society balls, and traveled the world. She could have had maids and cooks. Instead, she pinned her hopes on a lovesick ranch hand with dreams of being a lawman, and wound up in this dusty little town cooking me dinner every night until she died.”
“I’m not sure what you’re telling me, Papa. She was happy.”
“So was I. I loved her. I will always love her. Same as Matthew loves you. You hold onto that for as long as you can.”
Haven blinked back tears. “Now, Papa, don’t count yourself out just yet. There’s probably a couple good years left in you. Who knows what’ll happen? Maybe the new schoolteacher will be real pretty.”
Luke chuckled, and then winced and grabbed his side. “Don’t make me laugh, girl. I have lived my great love story. Don’t reckon I’ll get to do it a second time before I meet my maker.”
“Well, you’re not meeting him today.”
“No, I’m not.” He squeezed her hand. “Jokes aside, I’m glad you figured out where you belong before there was no turning back.”
Haven looked toward the window and saw Matthew talking to Callie outside. He glanced into the clinic and caught her eye. She couldn’t have lasted a day without him, she knew that now. Adventures and passion aside, everything she needed was in Cricket Bend. Haven had, indeed, figured out where she belonged.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
Matthew
“You’re a damn fool, Luke!”
“Doc said for you to stay in bed!”
“Jeepers, Papa, lay down!”
“Now listen,” Luke said as he walked slowly out of the clinic and toward the jail. “I didn’t die yesterday, and I don’t plan on dying today. The town needs to see that everything is fine. I’m not going to ride a bronco. I’m just going to sit in my damn chair, and you all need to shut up about it.”
Doc, Haven, and Matthew exchanged looks.
“At least take breaks,” Doc conceded. “Rest. Nap frequently.”
“I’ll make sure he does.” Haven sat down on the step. “I ain’t leaving your side, Papa. Last thing we need is for you to faint.”
Matthew shoved a crate toward Luke, who put his feet up and nodded his thanks.
“Well now,” Doc muttered under his breath as Callie and Braxton approached the jail. No one missed their arms linked together. Though a good match, as Doc had said, the two hadn’t flaunted their relationship before. Matthew was surprised.
“Mr. Braxton, Miss Lee,” Luke greeted as if it was any other normal day. “Fine morning.”
“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Braxton tilted his head.
Doc threw up his hands. “Everyone but you gets it, Luke.”
“Pipe down, Cornelius.”
Braxton removed his hat, and with obvious nerves, spoke again. “Sheriff. We were wondering if, once I come back from Nebraska, if you’d be—if you’d all be—so kind as to serve witness.”
“Witness to what?” Luke asked.
Callie beamed and bit her lip with excitement as Braxton answered. “Callie and I will be wed. We’ll use our part of the bounty to buy Porter’s Saloon. A man can’t hunt his whole life through. I mean to stay, if that’s all right.”
“It’s all right by me,” Luke answered. “You’ve more than earned a pl
ace here. We’ll keep an eye on Miss Lee while you’re gone too.”
“I appreciate it.”
“We might not even throw her in the jail,” Matthew teased.
Callie swatted at him. “For your information, Deputy Frank, I’ll be keeping my clothes on from this day forward.”
“Does that mean this is the end of your upstairs days?” Doc asked.
“Jeepers, yes!” Relief beamed from her pretty face. “I’m real good with my numbers, so I’ll manage the books. I’ve been doing it since I got here. Hank wasn’t much for numbers. Maybe I’ll show up and sing once in a while. Though you should know I’ll be hiring a new girl, maybe two. It’s a darn good investment. Besides, without them, how would I drive Laura Harper batty?”
Haven giggled, and Matthew was grateful for the sound.
“Can’t argue with that,” Luke replied. “When you planning to leave, Braxton?”
“Sunrise tomorrow. I don’t anticipate any trouble along the way.”
“Will you be back for the wedding?” Haven asked.
“It’s a long haul.” Braxton shook his head. “But I’ll be sorry to miss it.”
“You don’t think Porter will come back?” Doc asked.
“I looked all over. Never found a bone or a hair of him. His horse either. He beat a hasty retreat. Can’t say I blame him.” Braxton glanced at Matthew. “Found a couple hundred dollars in Frank’s saddlebag. Figure it’s yours.” He pulled a roll of bills out of his pocket and handed it over.
The very idea of taking anything from his father disgusted Matthew. “I don’t want his blood money.”
“Don’t be stubborn.”
“Take it to that widow in Nebraska.”
Luke attempted to interject, but Matthew stood up and walked away. He went through the alley behind the clinic, walking out for a ways until he could look out at the horizon.
He wasn’t his father, and he would make his own way in this world. No matter how hard things got, he would never accept money his father had come by.
“Matthew.” Haven’s voice sounded sweet as angels.
“I should have known you’d follow me.”
“You mad that I did?”
“Nope.”
Her hand joined his as she slipped in next to him. “You all right?”
Matthew looked down at her, running a finger over the mark his father had left on the side of her face. The mark would likely linger for years to come, if not the rest of her life. She’d been through a million things these past few weeks, and though she was as guilty as any of them, she deserved better.
“It don’t feel right to keep money he stole.”
“I think you did right, having Braxton take it back to the widow.” Haven put her other hand on his, holding his own between both of hers. “Though you know he’s not going to back down on splitting that bounty with you.”
“I don’t want that either.”
“I don’t think you have a choice in the matter.” She kissed his fingers and held them against her lips. “You’re not at all like your father, you know.”
Of course she knew what he was thinking. “I’ll be a good husband and a good father.”
“I wouldn’t be marrying you otherwise.”
How he loved her. He took delicate hold of her, letting the sweet smell of her hair fill his senses.
“Would you have gone with Hank?” He rested his chin on the top of her head.
Haven nodded into his chest. “I promised, so I would have. But he’d have tired of me after a while, and I’d have been able to come home. And you and Papa would have been safe.”
“I would have waited for you. I would never have given up looking for you.”
“I know.”
“Will you think about him?”
“Yes, and then I’ll remember how lucky I am to be next to you.”
Matthew appreciated her honesty and took it to heart. For whatever reason, at the last second, Hank Porter had backed out of getting what he’d wanted and given Matthew the gift of a lifetime. He would never forget the gesture. Never would a day pass that he wouldn’t thank the heavens for Hank Porter.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
Haven
The sun had set hours earlier, but Haven still sat on the floor of her bedroom and worked on the alterations she’d decided to make to her mother’s wedding dress. She’d taken off the high-necked collar in favor of a lower neckline. Never again would she button too tight for comfort. Never again would she try and pretend to be someone she wasn’t.
In the aftermath of ‘the craziness,’ as it had become known in their inner circle, Haven and Matthew had decided against a big wedding in the church with half the town present. Instead, Reverend Evans would marry them outside on the Anderson land they’d grown up on and roamed. The ceremony would be small instead of lavish. Haven loved the idea of only being surrounded by the people she cared about most on the special day.
Two more days. The wedding was in two more short days.
Haven’s head swam with the wedding plans. Her days, apart from tending to the duties at the clinic and at home, had been mostly spent in getting the new house ready to move into, and planning the details of the ceremony. She tried to throw herself into everything, but was forced to go at a slower pace than she’d have liked due to her healing injuries. Still, everything was working out.
The smooth silk of the white dress fell across Haven’s bare legs as she sewed by the light of a lantern. On Callie’s insistence, she’d ordered special new underthings to wear underneath. The short bloomers had a ruffle above the knee, and the top consisted of a beautiful white corset that laced up the back. The garments were delicate, and feminine, and Haven adored them.
When she tried the new things on, she’d felt like a woman through and through. The corset pushed up her breasts and pulled in her waist. She had spun around in a circle in front of her mirror, seeing the effect it had on her body. For the first time in weeks, she had started thinking about being alone with Matthew again, and how in just a few more days he’d be her husband.
“Haven.”
Startled by the whisper from outside her open window, she jumped to her feet.
“It’s me.”
She went to the window and peered out. Matthew’s smiling face looked back at her.
“You’re crazy,” she whispered. “You know I keep a shotgun by my bed. I could have shot you.”
“But you didn’t.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Proving to you once and for all that being my wife won’t be boring.” He pushed her window all the way open and reached a hand toward her. “Come with me.”
“Where?”
“Can’t a man surprise his bride-to-be?”
Haven shook her head in awe. “I’m not dressed.”
“You don’t need to be. Just get your coat.”
She gave in, threw on her jacket, and extinguished the lantern, smiling all the while. Sweet Matthew had come to whisk her away in the moonlight, like something out of a novel.
Unlike the only other time in her life she’d gone out her window, he was there to help her. Once she swung her legs out, Matthew swept her up in his arms and carried her to Copper so her bare feet never touched the ground. In moments, she had her arms around him and they were racing away from the house.
Matthew didn’t stop the horse until they reached the pond. Haven remembered the man on the hill, and kissing Hank in the bluebonnets. Every inch of Cricket Bend held memories for her, both good and bad. She looked ahead and saw a basket, a bedroll, and the setup for a fire. He’d planned this, whatever it was. “What are we doing here?”
“We’re going to sleep under the stars.” Matthew reached up to take her off the horse. “It was my favorite part of being out on drives, and I want to share it with you. But first…”
He carried her over to the edge of the pond.
“Take off that nightgown,” he ordered with a huge g
rin as he set her on her bare feet.
“Matthew Frank!” Haven’s heartbeat quickened. Only in recent days had she thought of his touch. At first she’d hurt too much, then they’d both been so busy, and the two of them hadn’t been alone for a minute since everything had happened. Haven feigned propriety. “This is highly improper.”
“Oh I know it is,” he said, and reached to take hold of her hips.
Playfully, Haven stepped back from him. “A woman would be considered downright brazen if she was caught swimming naked with a man who is not yet her husband. Imagine what the Women’s Society would say. Why, the very mention of such a thing could lead to scandal and ruin.”
“We’re already scandalous,” Matthew replied as he stepped toward her. “We might as well earn our reputation.”
Bending his head down, he pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was soft, and he let it linger until she felt the urge to respond. Matthew kissed her until she could barely breathe. When she gasped for air, he slid his lips off hers and moved them to her earlobe. His warm breath made her whole body feel like jelly.
His hands started to reach around her, but he stopped. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You couldn’t if you tried.” A few nights earlier, Haven had been able to sleep on her back without pain. It had been a relief to know the agony wouldn’t last forever, and she could get back to her life.
Matthew unbuttoned his shirt and threw it aside as his mouth grazed her neck. It only took him a few seconds to rid himself of his boots and pants. Naked, Matthew pulled away from her and ran toward the water. He jumped off a big rock. A huge splash shot into the air and Haven laughed out loud. So many times in their younger days they’d swam at the pond, and he’d always been one to try and make the biggest splashes possible.
He came up from beneath the water with a big smile on his face.
“Is it cold?” she asked.
“Yep,” he replied as he wiped water off his face. “Come on in, or I’ll come up there and throw you in.”
She held up her hands. “Hold your horses, cowboy.”