Anthology - BIG SKY GROOMS

by DAVIDSON, Carolyn. MALLERY, Susan. WILLIAMS, Bronwyn (in) Montana Mavericks

  Within minutes, a woman followed Harry across the street, carrying a teakettle and a small satchel. Close at her heels, Will crossed the street, apparently having worked late at the bank. Still dressed in his suit, he presented an incongruous picture, hastening with long strides, one hand tearing at his string tie, then shedding his coat as he neared the jailhouse.

  Kate watched, her hands clenching at her sides. Did she have the right to go there? Or would James not thank her for making a spectacle of herself on his behalf? From all appearances, he was being tended already, but the thought that he was wounded pierced Kate’s heart with a pain she could not describe.

  She set out slowly, then her footsteps quickened as she neared the sidewalk and stepped up, pacing its length to where the door of James’s office stood open. A lamp was lit within, and she halted in the doorway, barely able to swallow a gasp as she caught sight of the bloody wound he bore in his upper arm.

  Will squatted before James, his gaze fastened on the wound now being tended. Mrs. Talbert, for surely it was the barber’s wife, Kate decided, was washing blood from the gaping hole, and James sat with head bowed and teeth clenched as the woman muttered words of sympathy.

  “There now, we’re almost done, Sheriff Kincaid,” she said, “and it’s not nearly so bad as some I’ve seen. Why, in a few days you’ll be as good as new.” She turned him a bit and Kate saw a smaller, neater hole in the back of his arm. At least the shot had gone right through, and there wouldn’t be any digging into his flesh to find a bullet.

  Mrs. Talbert glanced up and smiled at her. “Here’s your friend, Miss Elliott, come to see you, Sheriff,” she said brightly. “I’ll just warrant she won’t be the only one wanting to offer thanks for you chasing down that bank robber.”

  As if Kate gave two cents for the whereabouts of a criminal. The urge to catch James’s head against her breast was almost overwhelming. And then she watched as Will opened the desk drawer and pulled forth a bottle of whiskey.

  “Here,” he offered gruffly, “have a swallow, James. You need it. It’ll take the bite out of the pain.”

  Kate felt her face grow pale; as surely as if someone had pulled the plug on a tub of bath water, she felt the blood leave her head. Of all the stupid things to do, offering a man whiskey, when he’d been so obviously steering clear of the stuff for weeks on end. And yet, she could not deny the look of hunger James focused on the dark bottle. Not any more than she could contain the joy when his words denied the offer.

  “I’ve been looking at that bottle for weeks, Will, and closing the drawer on it every time. I’m not about to use a little gunshot wound to excuse getting drunk.” He waved his free hand at his cousin. “Take it home with you if you like. I’ve seen all I want to see of it.”

  “James?” His name, softly uttered, sounded wistful and uncertain and Kate cleared her throat. His head swiveled toward her and his gaze swept over her, from the top of her head to the tips of her shoes, taking in the new dress she wore, admiring the waves she’d coaxed into place as she’d piled her hair in a sweeping arrangement before her mirror. And all for the benefit of the man who watched her with hope alive in his eyes.

  “I’m fine, Kate,” he said shortly. “Like Mrs. Talbert said, I’ll be good as new in a day or two.”

  “Well, I just wanted to know if there was anything I could do,” she said, backing toward the door. It would not do to get any closer to the man, with her hands itching to touch him, her mouth aching to kiss his forehead, her arms yearning to hold that solid frame against herself.

  “We’ll take him on home to Mrs. Harroun’s place,” Will said kindly. “The boy’s locked up tight in a cell, and tomorrow we’ll wire the marshal to come pick him up.”

  “This is Miss Elliott?” The tall, tanned rancher stepped forward. “I’m Caleb, James’s cousin,” he said. “My boy, Zeke, is one of your students.” His dark-blond hair hung almost to his collar, and sharp eyes that matched those of James and Will took her measure. “I’ve heard about you, ma’am.”

  Kate nodded distractedly. “I’ve enjoyed teaching your boy, Mr. Kincaid.” Her skin felt taut, and a trembling had begun in her limbs. Leaving here seemed her best option and she backed to the doorway, aware of Will’s scrutiny.

  “Do you want me to walk you home, Miss Elliott?” he asked quietly. “I’m sure Lizzy would feel better if you have an escort. She’s liable to skin me if she finds out I let you find your own way.”

  “I’m fine,” Kate told him. “You just take care of the sheriff.” The doorjamb at her back, she cast one last look at James, watched as he opened his mouth to speak, and winced as Mrs. Talbert tightened the bandage she’d applied with deft touches. James frowned and his face paled.

  “There now, that’s good and snug. It won’t bleed through, Sheriff. I’ll take another look at it in the morning.”

  “We need a doctor in town,” Will said, his own eyes fastened on James. “Since Doc Leland died we’ve been doing without.”

  “That’s a good job for the council to take on, I’d say,” Caleb stated firmly. “Maybe they’d do better to fill the empty doctor’s office rather than stir up trouble in other areas.”

  “That’s been all taken care of,” Harry said quickly. “We’ve got word from Kansas City, and things are well in hand.”

  “A new doctor?” Caleb asked, and then his lips thinned as Harry shook his head with a quick glance at Kate.

  And what all that was about was enough to set her walking at a fast clip as she headed for the schoolhouse. An eerie feeling had come over her at Harry’s words, and his warning glance. Whatever the word from Kansas City had been, she was dead certain that it involved her.

  “I’M GETTING a raise in pay,” James said, blurting the words as if they were the sole reason for his visit. He’d knocked on her door in broad daylight, right after school was let out for the day on Tuesday. Three days since he’d been wounded, and already he was riding his horse and wearing a jaunty grin. That his arm was held at a stiff angle, and his shirtsleeve was stretched tautly over the bandage beneath it was a minor thing, Kate decided.

  “You look wonderful,” she breathed, stepping aside to allow his entry. “I’ve been worried about you.” Her head tilted to one side as she fixed her gaze upon his face, then allowed her eyes to travel his considerable length. “I can’t see any lasting effects, other than the bandage.”

  “I’m fine,” he said with a touch of arrogance. “That’s not the first time I’ve been shot, and it probably won’t be the last. It goes with the territory, honey.”

  She winced inwardly at his words. He probably knew what he was talking about, but it wasn’t a subject she wanted to discuss right now. “You’re getting a raise in salary?” she prompted, closing the door as he took a seat at her table.

  “Yeah, the town council came to me this morning and told me they want to pay me enough so I can buy a place of my own.” He lifted a brow as he leaned across the table toward her. “Good ol’ Will didn’t let the cat out of the bag, and he’s the only one who knows I’ve got more money in the bank than any of the rest of them. Hell, if they want to pay me more money, I’ll take it. The job’s worth a bundle, and since they’ve had a time getting someone to play the part, they might as well pay through the nose to get a good sheriff.”

  “I’m pleased that they appreciate you,” she said. “I think Will was quite taken back when you turned down the whiskey Saturday night.” She hesitated and then reached to clasp his hand. “I was proud of you, James.”

  “Were you? I didn’t do it for your benefit, Kate. I didn’t know you were there when he dug out my old bottle and offered it. I heard Mrs. Talbert speak your name, but I was in a fog, and I wasn’t trying to impress you with my turning down a drink. God knows I could have used it. But I figured it would defeat the purpose of all those nights you spent helping me dry out if I snatched at the first good reason I had to take a swig.”

  “I know.” And she did know. She’d thoug
ht it over long and hard for three days, and if she knew anything in this world, it was that James Kincaid was done with his drinking days.

  “Kate, I came here to ask you something. I know we talked about this, round and round in fact. You’ve told me you don’t want to be married, and I’ve told you I’m not a marrying man, but I keep thinking, what we really need is each other.” He held up his good hand to forestall her protests.

  “I don’t know what went on in your life to make you so determined about this whole idea of marriage, but I’m willing to try to change your mind, if you’ll let me.”

  Kate’s hand tightened on his fingers and she closed her eyes. “I have memories of whiskey bottles lining our cupboard shelves when I was a child, James. My father was a man who believed in offering a social drink to company, who took care of his family and provided well for us. Until a business reversal almost put us in the poorhouse.”

  She released her grip on him, and rose, unable to sit still while the memories rolled through her mind. “He began to empty those whiskey bottles, and then when my mother protested, he went to the saloon in town and drank there. We struggled to survive, and I was the lucky one. I’d already paid my tuition at school and was in my second year of normal college when everything fell apart.

  “He came home, night after night, smelling like cheap perfume and stale booze, and my mother wept for all the things she’d lost. When the sheriff came to tell us we were being evicted from our home, my father put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.”

  “Ah, damn!” James rose and came to her, his arms encircling her, his movements careful. “I can’t even hug you properly, Kate. And if ever a woman needed a good hug, you do, sweetheart.”

  She leaned against him and the hot, bitter tears stained his shirtfront as she poured out her anguish on his broad chest. He held her, silent now, as if he recognized that no words he could speak would heal the wounds she’d carried with her. And then she lifted her head, her fingers digging into her pocket for the handkerchief she kept there. She wiped her eyes, blew her nose and yet he held her, loosening his embrace, giving her freedom to tend to her ministrations, yet obviously unwilling to release her from his hold.

  “I’m sorry, James. I don’t usually carry on so.” She looked at him through teary eyes, and managed a small smile. “As you can see, I’ve decided to stop mourning the man. I took all my black and brown dresses, except for one, and burned them in the yard. I decided I’d been foolish to pretend mourning for a man I couldn’t respect.”

  “Where’s your mother now?” he asked.

  “She moved in with her sister, and she’s happy there. My brother is out of school and working at the newspaper in town, and Mother takes in sewing to help pay her way.”

  “Does she need money?” he asked quietly, and Kate looked up quickly, shaking her head.

  “No, she’s fine. And you needn’t feel in any way responsible, James.”

  “Ah, but I do, sweet Kate. She’s going to be my mother-in-law, and I’ll never let her want for anything.” He made a face, an embarrassed look bringing high color to his cheeks. “I’ve really got rather a lot of cash, honey. You won’t have to teach school anymore if you don’t want to, once we’re married.”

  Married. The word rang in her head, and she spoke it aloud. “Married? You’re planning marriage, just like that?”

  “I told you we needed each other, Kate, and I meant it. Marriage seems the thing to do, seeing as how I can’t keep my hands off you, and the next time I have you alone in the dark, I’m planning on ending up in a bed.”

  “Do I have a choice?” Not that she really wanted one, but it would be nice, she thought, to have a more formal proposal offered.

  Apparently James agreed, for he led her to the table, pulling her chair around to seat her properly. And then he knelt before her, his wounded arm held gingerly across her lap. He picked up her hand, turned it to kiss the palm, and then spoke words that fed her hungry heart as no others ever had.

  “I love you, Kate Elliott. I want to turn your name to Kate Kincaid, and I want to do it just as soon as I can talk to the preacher. I want to take care of you, and all you have to do is say yes. Can you do that sweetheart?” He lifted pleading eyes to her and she melted, her arms sliding around his neck, her face pressed to his, her tears of joy puddling against his damp shirt.

  “I love you, too,” she whispered. “I think I’ve loved you ever since you came in the schoolroom and sat on that ridiculous little chair and made me walk back and forth in front of you and told me I was a good-looking woman.”

  “I was wrong,” he said softly. “You’re a beautiful woman. Every bit of you is as soft and feminine and warm as a female could be. I’m gonna take a good long time taking off your clothes and rolling your stockings down, ma’am. You have got the best lookin’ legs I’ve ever seen on a woman, with the prettiest rosy knees, and—”

  “Stop it!” Her command cut into his softly drawled words and he looked pained.

  “I was only letting you know how it’s going to be, honey.”

  She felt the heat rise from her breasts to cover her face, and she closed her eyes. “I think there are some things I’d rather find out later on, if you don’t mind. You’re marrying a virtuous woman, James. I hope you won’t be disappointed.”

  He rose, drawing her with him to stand in the circle of his embrace. “I’m not planning on being the least bit dissatisfied with you. I’ve had a little taste of you, don’t forget, and I’ll warrant there’s more passion in that slim little body than you have any notion of.”

  “I don’t want anyone to know right off,” she said. “If the town council knows we’re married they can break my teaching contract. It states very plainly that I’m supposed to be a virtuous, single woman. Maybe if they don’t find out right off, I can bargain with them at the next town meeting.”

  “You really want to keep teaching, don’t you?”

  She nodded. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do with my life. Later on, when we have a family, I’ll probably be content to stay at home, but for now, I think the children need me.”

  “All right,” he said agreeably. “We’ll wait for a couple of weeks before we spill the beans. And in the meantime I’ll ask around and find us a place to live, and if there isn’t a house on the market nearby, I’ll have one built. It’ll only take a month maybe, once I get a crew of men to work on it.” He looked down at her and his mouth was unsmiling, his brow furrowed. “But I’m not waiting for you for a month, Kate. We’re getting married right away. We can keep it a secret for a while if you really want to, but I’m not waiting past the end of the week for you to be mine.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “LIZZY? Will you stand as my witness?” Kate breathed the query softly and was rewarded by a squeal of delight from her friend. Eyes turned their way as they hugged each other tightly, and the other customers in the Mercantile smiled at the sight.

  Lizzy popped her hand over her mouth, backing away. Then, eyes sparkling, she grasped Kate’s hand in hers and dragged her to the open door, stepping out onto the sidewalk. “You’re getting married?” she said, the words spoken on a gasp of air as if she could barely catch her breath.

  Kate nodded, looking around lest the passersby hear her words. “Tomorrow afternoon, at the parsonage. James is making the arrangements, but we don’t want folks to know yet.”

  “Why?” Lizzy was openmouthed. “I’d think he’d want to shout it from the housetops. Imagine that! James Kincaid getting married, and to a perfectly respectable woman. Will wonders never cease.”

  “He’s respectable, too,” Kate interjected quickly.

  “But only lately,” Lizzy reminded her. “And it’s all your doing, Kate. You’ve been the best thing in the world that ever happened to James. Will says so.”

  Her eyes closed and then opened wide. “Can I tell Will? I don’t know how I’ll keep it to myself unless I can let him in on the secret.”

  “J
ames is going to ask him to stand up with him,” Kate told her. “I’m afraid the town council won’t let me keep teaching after I’m married. If they break my contract, it’ll leave those children in the lurch until a new teacher can be found. Besides, we don’t have anywhere to live for now, and James wants to have a house built, so we’ll just keep it quiet until the house is finished and we can move in together.”

  Lizzy’s brow furrowed. “Why not wait till then to get married?”

  Kate felt the flush rise to cover her cheeks. “James won’t wait,” she whispered.

  Lizzy shot her an arch glance. “I guess I understand that all right. Men have a hard time—” Her hand rose to cover her mouth and she gulped. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” she said, her blush matching Kate’s.

  Kate grinned, although she wasn’t too sure what had set Lizzy off. “I don’t want to wait, either,” she said. “So after school tomorrow we’ll go to the parsonage, and if you and Will meet us there about five o’clock—”

  “And then you can come to our house for supper,” Lizzy said, her mind in forward motion now.

  “Well, we’ll see,” Kate said. “James wants to take a long drive in a buggy on Saturday. We’ll probably leave early in the morning.”

  “Where will you stay? Overnight, I mean?”

  “In my place behind the schoolhouse, I think.”

  “That’s an awfully narrow bed, if I remember right,” Lizzy said dubiously.

  Kate smiled. “We’ll manage.”

  THE WEDDING was small, quiet and perfect. Lizzy and Will were dignified, yet obviously happy, and Will’s exuberant hug brought a wide smile to James’s face after the ceremony. Lizzy wiped tears of joy and whispered final instructions in Kate’s ear.