Anthology - BIG SKY GROOMS

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

  But first he’d kissed her, a longing kiss that told her without words that he hated to leave, and she relished the evidence of his ardor. Her breasts were reddened from his beard, for even though he’d been freshly shaven in the parsonage, by morning’s first light, his jaw wore a dark shadow. She yawned again and closed her eyes. Surely he would sleep for hours before he came to claim her with a buggy from the livery stable.

  “KATE!” The door rattled, and knuckles rapped sharply. “Kate, open the door.”

  She rolled to the floor, staggering as the quilt tripped her up, then lurched across the room to slide the latch open. “What?” She rubbed her eyes and blinked at the man who stood in full sunlight. “How come you’re so early?” she asked.

  “It’s almost ten o’clock,” he said, his gaze roaming her length, most of which was covered by the quilt she grasped. All but one rounded breast, and it was to that spot he was drawn. His long index finger rose and brushed against the puckered crest, and then he laughed boyishly as she shivered and frowned at him.

  “Get in here before someone sees you,” she scolded.

  “I thought you’d be up and rarin’ to go,” he teased. “And here you are inviting me back to bed instead.” At her snort of denial, he laughed aloud, then pulled a chair from the table and straddled it, leaning his arms on its back. “I’ll just watch while you get dressed, honey.”

  “Hmm, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she told him. “I’ve got to wash up first, James.” Turning her back, she drew clean clothing from a shelf against the wall, spreading it on the bed. A teakettle on the stove held water and she poured her basin half-full. “James?” She turned to face him and watched as understanding painted his features.

  “Tell you what,” he began, rising and approaching her. “I’ll leave you to it, if you’ll kiss me first, and let me nuzzle just a little bit.” His grin was warm and admiring and she bent to his whim, lifting her arms to encircle his neck, giggling as his moustache brushed against her mouth, bringing goose bumps to her flesh.

  It was several minutes before he closed the door behind him and Kate was left with a reminder that he would wait ten minutes, no longer, and then he’d be back.

  She was ready in eight, leaving her hair to be brushed in the buggy, James having made it clear that he would not abide the notion of pins and braids today. A familiar-looking basket was tucked beneath the seat, and with a crack of the reins, they headed in the direction of the mountains.

  It was as he had promised, that other day when he’d taken her as far as the lateness of the afternoon would allow. Today there was no such restriction on them, and he took her up a slope to where a ledge provided a resting place. There he spread the quilt and opened the basket of food. They looked out on the rolling hills, back toward the town of Whitehorn, eating and pausing to share some small tidbit of food, their voices rising in laughter, then falling into whispers of intimate confessions.

  “Do you truly love me, James?” she asked, and as if he knew what the query cost her, he was quick to respond.

  “More than life, my sweet Kate. I’m not eloquent. I haven’t spoken those words to another woman, and so I lack practice. But I know I owe you a debt I’ll never be able to repay. No matter that I doubted it for a while, I recognize now that you had faith in me, when there wasn’t much left of James Kincaid to recommend him either as a man or a husband.”

  “I didn’t think I’d ever find someone like you, James. I had decided I would settle, and find a man I could respect, whether love entered into it or not.”

  She curled close and his arm enclosed her. “I spent a lot of time wandering, Kate. I drank and gambled my way through a bunch of saloons, and found out in the process that I have a lucky streak a mile wide. After a while, it didn’t matter anymore, so I came back to Whitehorn. After Will opened his bank, I put my gold in it, and then settled into old Cam’s place. It was sort of my home away from home, I guess. There didn’t seem to be anything worth getting sober for, so I just gambled enough to buy liquor and left my gold in the bank to draw interest.”

  “Didn’t you ever want to have a ranch like Caleb? Or be a merchant or banker like Will?”

  He shook his head. “About the only thing I was really good at was shooting a gun, and I’d done enough of that to know that I was a force to be reckoned with. Maybe that’s why I never had to tangle with anybody. I think men that knew me well, knew that I could handle a weapon and they steered clear of me.”

  “Well, you managed to get hired as sheriff because of it,” she said smugly. “So that sort of talent can’t be all bad.”

  “Do you know?” He paused and drew up his knee, turning Kate to lie across his lap. “I don’t mind being sheriff. I feel like I’m doing something for the town I live in, and I feel good when I walk down the street and folks nod and smile at me. My cousin Will used to be the only one who really liked me.”

  “Caleb seemed to respect you the night you brought in the young man.”

  “I hope so, and that’s something I never thought I’d admit, that I want the respect of my family.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “I THOUGHT YOU were going to keep this a secret. And I certainly hoped you’d be circumspect in your behavior. I can’t respect a man who holds his woman up to ridicule.” Will’s voice was tight with restrained violence as he sounded his anger in the middle of the sheriff’s office.

  “And who asked for your respect?” James tossed the query at William with a glare, aware only of the pain the words dealt him. “I’d never hold Kate up to ridicule. I’d think you’d know that.”

  “Well, what do you call the fact that you kept her away from town till long after dark, and then spent the night with her?” Will stalked to the window, glaring at the street. “You got my wife in a tizzy, what with the women talking about Kate in the Mercantile this morning.”

  “We’re married,” James said stubbornly, even as he rued the thought of Kate being spoken of in disparaging terms.

  “You know that and I know that, but no one else is supposed to be privy to the information, James. It was your idea to marry her right away, so eager to crawl into her bed you couldn’t wait until you had the house built. And now she’s paying for your indiscretion.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” James said stubbornly, still flinching from the scorn Will had heaped upon his head.

  “Well, the council got word from Kansas City last week that a man teacher is available, and they’re about set to buy Kate a ticket back to Ohio. This is just the sort of thing they needed to break her contract.”

  “They can’t do that to her.” Setting his jaw, James headed for the door. “I’ll go talk to them.”

  “Talk away, cousin,” Will told him. “Not that it’s going to do you any good. They were looking for a man when they hired her, but one wasn’t available. They’ve already sent for the fella. He’ll be here Thursday.”

  “And in the meantime, they can just figure out a way to send him back,” James said. Snatching his hat from the chair, he settled it on his head. “I’m going over to the vacant lot and see how the men are coming with my house. They may have to hurry things along. I’m not going to wait for a month to move in.”

  He’d barely crossed the street when Amos approached, flagging him down, a belligerent frown pleating his brow. “Say there, Sheriff. I think we need to talk for a minute.” He swung in alongside James, half stepping to keep up with the angry man. “I hear your house is all laid out. The men got it staked and measured this morning. Now they’re haulin’ lumber from the mill yard. Right handy building it so close.”

  “Yeah.” James tugged at his hat brim and stepped up his pace, his long legs outpacing Amos.

  “Hold on, Sheriff,” Amos said loudly. “We need to talk about an important matter, and you’re not listening to me.”

  “I’m madder than hell, Amos. You don’t want to be raggin’ at me today.”

  Amos puffed up, and James thought he resembl
ed nothing less than a banty rooster, all ruffled and cocky. “Well, what I got to say is important. The council is ready to fire your lady friend, and we thought you might be interested. Maybe you could tell her for us and sorta soften the blow, so to speak.”

  “If there’s anybody getting fired it’ll probably be me, once I clean the floor up with the whole damn council.” James came to a stop in front of the Mercantile and glared at the hapless hotel owner.

  “You’re talking about putting my wife out of a job, and I’m not about to make it easy for you. She’s a fine woman and the fact that she took a buggy ride with me yesterday is no reason for the town to throw her to the wolves. We haven’t had a decent teacher in town for two years, and now that you’ve got one, you’re going to replace her with some dude from Kansas City.” He leaned closer to Amos, his teeth gritted, his face ruddy. “I don’t think that had better happen, Amos.”

  “What are you talkin’ about, James?” John Dillard stood in the doorway of his store, broom in hand, leaning forward a bit, his eyes narrowed and focused on the men before him. “Did you marry Miss Elliott? Nobody knows anything about it.” He stepped onto the sidewalk and then down onto the road, taking his place beside Amos. “Or are you just feeding us a line, tryin’ to save her neck?”

  “Her neck doesn’t need saving,” James said, his voice low and controlled. “She’s my wife, and if you’re planning on making something of it, you just go ahead and try. We’ll be moving into my house as soon as it’s finished, and until then, if I want to haul her around in a buggy, or go visit her at the schoolhouse, I can’t see that it’s anyone’s business but ours.”

  “Married?” John rocked back on his heels. “Well, you don’t say.” He chuckled, tilting his head to one side. “Married, huh?” He looked over his shoulder toward the open door of his establishment. “Tess!” His voice was beyond loud, James thought, attracting attention from half the town, as he waited for Tess Dillard to exit the store.

  She stood in the doorway, exasperation written on her features. “I don’t have time for foolishness, John Dillard,” she said sharply. “You may not have work to do, but I have three customers waiting for me to help them.”

  “Step out here,” her husband ordered, “and listen to this.” He waved her impatiently toward himself, and as she crossed the sidewalk, he grinned. “Wait till you hear this, Tess. It’ll give you something to talk about all afternoon. James, here, and the new teacher are married. Their buggy ride was all aboveboard.”

  “Well, land sakes alive,” Tess said, a smile lighting her face. “I surely hated to think badly about Kate. She’s a fine woman. To tell the truth, Sheriff,” she said, with a trace of anger in her tone, “I was ready to hang you out to dry, taking advantage of a lady.”

  “I didn’t,” James said, his wrath cooling somewhat. “And she still is. A lady, I mean.”

  “Well, I swan,” Tess said wonderingly. “Where you folks going to live till your house is done? There sure isn’t room in that little bitty space behind the school. And Kate staying at Mrs. Harroun’s place is out of the question. It’s full of men.”

  “Harry.” John shouted a greeting to the barber, who’d come from his shop, apparently curious about the fussing and fuming going on in the middle of the road. “Come on out here, Harry,” John said, waving the man forward. “We got things to discuss.”

  James stood to one side while the three men put their heads together, feeling more and more like an outcast in his own town. If they thought for one minute he was about to hang up his mad and turn sweet as pie, now that they’d decided not to tar and feather Kate, they were mighty mistaken. The first thing he needed to do was get to the schoolhouse. Kate was probably knee-deep in young’uns, with the whole bunch of them doing sums or studying the books she’d brought with her. Maybe reading to them herself.

  And this town had better think again if they wanted to bring in an upstart from Kansas City to fill her shoes. His fuse began to burn short again as he considered Kate’s embarrassment should the men have castigated her for bad behavior.

  “Now look here,” he began, one hand on Amos’s shoulder, the other pushing John to one side. “I won’t have any of you saying anything to Kate about losing her job. If you want some dude to teach school here, you’d better build him another place to do it in. That schoolhouse is Kate’s.”

  Tess laughed aloud at his words. “She won’t care about that, once you move her into a new house. She’ll have her hands full takin’ care of it and you and thinkin’ about a family of her own.”

  “You don’t know Kate,” James said gloomily. “She’s a teacher, and a good one at that. She’s not about to pull up stakes and walk away.”

  Harry Talbert turned to James. “Let’s deal with first things first here, Sheriff. We’ve decided something, and I think it’ll work. We’re gonna call a town holiday starting tomorrow morning, and every able-bodied man is going to pitch in and get your house up just as soon as we can.”

  “You’re gonna what?” James turned to John. “What about your store?” And then to Amos. “Who’s gonna run the hotel?”

  “We’ve both got wives,” Amos said. “Hell, maybe we’ll just close things up for a couple of days and everybody can pitch in. We’ll even haul Will out of the bank and hand him a hammer. We’ll pass the word around to the men close to town and get some of them to help.”

  Voices rose and fell as the townsfolk gathered and the word was passed. James found himself the recipient of congratulations and pats on the back, and his arm began to ache within ten minutes from all the hand shaking going on.

  “Somebody needs to tell Miss Elliott,” Tess said, “and it’s not gonna be me. I’ve left my customers long enough. I’ll pass the word around to my customers for the rest of the day.” Her cheeks were rosy as she picked up her skirts and hurried back inside.

  “I’ll tell Kate,” James said firmly. “And in the meantime, y’all better figure out what you’re gonna do with that Fancy Dan you got coming from Kansas City. If my wife doesn’t teach in the new schoolhouse, then I’ll be giving you back your badge.”

  KATE STEPPED from the school doorway, her gaze taking stock of the students who ran across the school yard. Several sat beneath a tree, eating the food they’d brought from home, four boys played keep-away with a fifth youngster’s hat, and Beth waited patiently on the stoop. “Have you eaten?” Kate asked the child.

  “Yes, ma’am. I just thought I’d keep you company while you have your dinner.”

  “Maybe you’d let me talk to Miss Kate for a few minutes instead,” James said, riding his big horse around the side of the building.

  “Yes, sir,” Beth answered, eyes wide as she watched the approach of the big animal.

  “One of these days I’ll give you a ride on my horse,” James said with a grin. “Would you like that?”

  “Oh, yes, sir, Mister Sheriff,” the girl answered quickly. And then ran to where her sister sat with several friends.

  “Today, I’m taking Miss Kate for a ride,” James said softly. “Step up here, ma’am.”

  She shook her head. “We’re supposed to be prudent, James, and you’re breaking all the rules. I can’t go off and leave my pupils.”

  “Want to bet?” he asked with a raffish grin. He lifted fingers to his mouth and a shrill whistle rang out, drawing the attention of every child in the yard. “Now just listen to me,” he shouted. “Miss Kate and I have a couple of things to talk about and I don’t want a one of you to misbehave while we’re gone. Any questions?”

  One of the oldest boys trotted closer. “No, sir, Sheriff. We’ll make sure everything is just the way it oughta be. Me and Jake Darcy will take charge.”

  “Fine,” James said. “We’ll be back in ten minutes.” He bent low to scoop Kate up by the waist, lifting her with seemingly little effort to sit across his lap. She clung for dear life, certain she would fall beneath the hooves of the giant beast he rode, and gulped for air once he settled her a
gainst himself.

  “Hang on, sweetheart,” he murmured in her ear. “We aren’t going far.” His horse set off at an easy lope and James circled the main street, riding quickly behind the houses and the sawmill that made up the southern edge of the town. In moments, he’d pulled his horse to a stop and Kate sat up straight, her head swiveling from one busy group of citizens to another.

  Several men were hauling lumber from a big wagon, three others were laying out tools on a buckboard, and most of the men in town were making it their business to pace off the boundaries set for the house James had ordered to be built.

  “What’s going on?” Kate asked. “James, you’re going to let the cat out of the bag. You’ll be advertising that we have some sort of an arrangement, what with you hauling me here on your horse in front of God and everybody.”

  “Everybody knows by now, sweetheart. The fat’s in the fire, sure enough, and those men are gonna do their best to see to it we have a bedroom ready by the end of the week.”

  “You don’t mean it,” she sputtered. “What happened?”

  “I’ll tell you all the particulars later, honey. For now, I want to introduce you to the gentlemen who are going to build our house.” He raised his voice and all activity ceased as he shouted several names. Those men looked up at him, grinning, then the rest turned their way and Kate felt a flood of color wash over her face.

  “This is my wife, folks. We got married the other day, and we’d sure be grateful for a place to hang my hat. I never expected to have the house finished so quickly, but I’m thinking Mrs. Kincaid will appreciate all your hard work.”

  “We’ll see to the hat rack in jig time,” Amos shouted. “Startin’ tomorrow morning the walls will be going up.”

  “Why wait till tomorrow?” Will called, striding down the street toward them, rolling up his white shirtsleeves as he came. “Let’s have at it, gentlemen.”