by Stacy Reid
Come with me to the Triple K. Their gazes collided, and a surge of heightened awareness went through her. Beth let the tips of her fingers skim across the powerful muscles, feeling the tension in them, as well as the tightly leashed control. He wanted her, quite badly, but he wasn’t taking her by force. It had not been an anomaly that night in the saloon that he had placed her wants before anyone else’s. This man, though so powerful and ruthless would never take by force, he would never break or hurt. He would never be the wind that uprooted her and pushed her aside with careless ease. She wanted to live her life in a way that ensured she had as few regrets as possible. “Joshua?”
“Bethany”
“I’ll come with you.”
Her answer seemed to shock them both.
“What did you say?”
“I’ll come with you to your ranch, and I’ll meet your family.”
The hard edges of his mouth softened, and that lazy smile sent desire pooling low in her womb.
“Can you be ready in two days’ time?”
Her lips parted in a silent gasp. “Two days!”
“I do not want Abraham to return here with his gang of outlaws. Right now, he’s planning, trying to figure out how best to put me down so he can take you. Or maybe he believed me when I said Grayson is mine, or maybe he will want revenge for his brother’s death. Either way, I do not want him here, giving Elijah and Sheridan any grief. When we leave on the stage, there will be talk in town that we left. Perhaps he will follow, perhaps he will return to Liberty.”
Anxiety darted through her. “What if he follows?”
“No one will know for sure where we’re heading. I’m known as the wandering kind.”
She arched a brow. “I doubt anyone will believe you are drifting with a woman and a babe.”
"Maybe not. The rumors would suggest I am heading to the Triple K. He would be a fool to try and hunt us there. If he’s a smart man, he’ll heed the message I sent him today.”
She nodded, heart tripping in an uncomfortable beat. “I will need to go into town. I teach two days per week at the school, and I will need to tell my students I am leaving. I have little possessions here.” She had always kept everything light for the day when she would flee if Benjamin found her.
“I’ll escort you when you’re ready. You may say your goodbyes, but give no indication when you’ll be leaving Blue Lagoon. We will be the most vulnerable on our journey between here and the Triple K, and I don’t want Abraham taking advantage of that with his posse.”
She nodded her agreement. “Joshua?”
Knowing eyes settled on her, and she hesitated. “I’m…I’m not saying yes to marriage. I am saying yes to Grayson meeting his family and seeing where everything takes us.”
“I know.”
The touch of his gaze sent a shock coursing through her. There was a knowing in his eyes which made her blush. He expected her to be underneath him soon, and Beth feared there was little she could do to resist his seduction. She wetted her lips, and his eyes followed the movement. “I…”
His eyes held a shuttered watchfulness. “Yes, Bethany?”
Her heart was a muted roar in her ears. Kiss me, she wanted to say, and indulge more in the mad passion that had gripped them both a few minutes past. Instead, she pushed from his lap, blushing at the evidence of his desire. “I’ll go and speak with Sheridan and collect Grayson.”
He nodded, his enigmatic eyes watching her go. Once through the bedroom door, she leaned against it, aware her hands were trembling. What am I doing? She should be fleeing from the situation and running to Boston as fast as possible. Instead, she was staying longer. The fact Abraham was bullheaded enough to want her to return to Liberty should be all the reason to leave for Boston. It was improbable he would ride into the city with his posse after her. The very image of those hardened gunmen riding in the street where Boston’s finest would be driving their carriages was so ludicrous she smiled.
Beth pushed from the door and hurried to Sheridan's chamber. The door was partially opened, so she knocked, then shoved it wide. Sheridan was sitting by the windows with the baby in her arms. She glanced around, her eyes filled with questions.
“Are you well, Beth?”
"I am, in truth I wasn't terrified." A startling acknowledgment, but truthful.
“What were you doing out there with a shotgun?”
“So, you were watching from up here?”
“I had them covered with my Winchester,” she said with a smile, curls from her black hair framing her face enchantingly. “What were you thinking, Beth?”
“That I wanted to protect Joshua,” she said softly. The instinct had been undeniable, and she had acted on it without much thought. “I’ll be leaving in two days’ time.”
Sheridan sighed. “Elijah will arrange—”
“I’ll be going to the Triple K with Joshua…just for a while at least.”
Sheridan grinned, clearly delighted. "Oh Beth, I think that is wonderful. Elijah and I plan to visit as soon as I am fit for traveling. The doctor says my shoulder will take some time to heal fully, and the baby has been making my stomach a mite upset.”
Beth moved and sat on the windowsill, looking out on the range. “Abraham Hardin may return.”
“And we’ll be ready for him. I am not afraid. Our ranch hands on the cattle drive will also be home soon. I doubt Abraham Hardin will return. Only a fool would challenge the Kincaids. I think everyone in Blue Lagoon understands a threat to anyone under Kincaid’s protection is a perilous thing.”
Beth succinctly told her their plans of drawing away his attention by leaving.
“Is that the only reason you’re going with Joshua?”
"No," she said with a smile. "I…he makes me feel something fierce. I don't know what it means yet; I don't know if it means I'll be able to marry again."
“But it’s a start,” Sheridan said with a smile.
“It’s a start,” Beth agreed, feeling lighter than she had in a long time.
Bravo, Colorado Territory
It was the dreams that brought her awake, sweating, and shaking. How she hated those memories when she had been beaten, and when she had begged for mercy that hadn’t come. Her eyes flew open to the watchful gaze of Joshua. She glanced away, fearing he would see the shame and pain that had been stamped upon her heart. Beth inhaled slowly, the memories slowly easing inside her.
She was aware of him taking several slow, measured steps closer. He took Grayson from her and assisted her from the private stage they had taken for their final leg. Beth hopped down and glanced around. “We’ve arrived?”
“Welcome to Bravo,” Joshua said as they embarked at the last stage stop to a bustling and well-developed town. He tipped the driver of the stage and another man who had been riding shotgun on top of the carriage. "I'll be back for the luggage and my horse soon."
The men nodded, eagerly pocketing the monies he gave them.
They had been traveling for several days, taking several stages from Blue Lagoon to Fort Laramie, to Fort Collins, then Georgetown, and to Lake City. Some days they’d overnight at inns, where Beth had shared a room with Joshua and Grayson. Those nights had passed with Joshua reading to her, while she lay with their son atop her chest, listening to Joshua’s comforting rumble as he transported her to a different world with those books.
“I’d sent a telegram ahead to the Triple K. There will be a wagon waiting for us.”
They made their way to the stage depot, and down the boardwalk onto a street that seemed central to the town. The town seemed more developed than Beth had expected. Instead of the dusty roads, they were neatly graveled, and the building looked more modern than most she was used to in the West.
“I don’t believe I have seen a parasol in two years,” Beth said with a light laugh, as a fine-looking lady strolled hand in hand with a young gentleman and entered what looked like a hotel.
“We’ve had a lot of mail order brides from the east to th
ese parts.”
“And they brought gentility?” she asked teasingly.
He flashed her a smile. “I reckon they did. We have a few cattle barons around here, and the town has flourished over the last decade. There are two hotels, three saloons, four restaurants, two boarding-houses, and a livery stable on the next street over. On this street here, we have a general store, three clothing stores, and our town even has two doctors and a couple of lawyers. There’s a sheriff, his deputies, and there’s the mayor.”
Several people tipped their hats to him and shot her curious looks, but none delayed their movements. Joshua directed them left down a dirt alley, then right onto another bustling street. This one was also graveled, with several small shops lining both sides of the roads.
“Would you like to stop and eat?”
Her stomach did an embarrassing rumble, and she shot him a sheepish smile. “I want to rest in a comfortable bed more than I want food. How far are we from the Triple K?”
He lifted his chin to a boy waving in the distance.
"There's our transportation. An ardent team pulls the wagon, and my sister is a more than capable driver.”
As they drew closer, Beth assessed the boy once again, seeing that it was indeed a girl.
“Is that Jenny?” She was dressed in breeches and had a gun strapped to her hip.
“Yes, and with her handling the horses we should be at the ranch in about three hours.”
“Will you ride ahead?”
“No, I’ll keep pace.”
Jenny hurried over and faltered when she spied Beth and Grayson.
“You didn’t tell them I was coming when you sent your telegram?”
“I told them I was bringing a friend. Everything is too complicated to explain using a few words.”
His sister seemed to gather her composure and hurried over. “Ma is—”
She jerked at the image her brother presented with the baby held in his arms. But it was more than that. Only a fool would miss that Grayson was a miniature replica of her brother. Her glance bounced between Beth and her brother, then Jenny grinned.
“About time big brother,” she drawled. “Ma will not be pleased you kept this from her.”
Joshua enveloped her in a hug which she returned gripping him fiercely.
“I missed you,” she said, her words muffled in his chest.
“And you too,” he said gruffly, easing her from him to look her over. Satisfied, he nodded, and they faced her.
“Jenny…this is Bethany Galloway, and my son Grayson. Beth, my sister, Jenny.”
His sister had a pert little nose, rose-colored cheeks, and a pair of dark green eyes that were too beautiful now stared in evident shock. She rallied nicely and stuck out her arm. ‘I'm pleased to meet you, Miss Galloway.” The emphasis on her surname alerted Beth to why she was so startled. She honestly hadn’t paused to consider how their unmarried state would appear to his family.
She smiled warmly. “Please call me, Beth, it is wonderful to meet you.”
Jenny nodded and threw her brother a questioning glance, but she held her tongue. Beth was grateful. She was too tired to field any question or to explain her situation that was indeed no one’s business. Joshua helped her into the wagon, and they waited as he went back to collect his horse, and the couple of bags they had traveled with. He returned a few minutes later, loaded the bags onto the wagon and mounted his stallion. As the well-padded wagon rumbled off, Grayson came awake, crying.
“Come now,” she murmured, trying to soothe him, which he was having none of. Joshua reached for him, and she handed him over, smiling when he settled immediately against his chest and rubbed his eyes.
“You’re his ma?” Jenny asked softly, without turning to look at Beth.
“I am.”
His sister nodded, and nothing more was said as they rocked and rumbled over the dirt road leading to the Triple K. In the distance, she could only see miles upon miles of well-watered grass, and majestic mountains on the horizon. She inhaled, the fresh scent of the air filling her with pleasure.
The almost three-hour-long journey passed in a silence that was surprisingly comforting. Jenny was almost as reserved as her brother and did not seem eager to chat. Beth hadn't minded and had merely taken in the wild beauty of the land and the mountains in the distance.
A broad, wrap around porch graced a mansion that was very elegant in design loomed. Beth might expect such a house in Boston or New York, but not in the Colorado Territory. There was a large stable some yards away, and another two-story log house which seemed like it was the bunkhouse. Beth had never seen a ranch so palatial. Behind the large bunkhouse sprawled corrals and several outbuildings.
“It is a very impressive spread, and the main house is beautiful.”
“My mother is from New York. The story is that my father had to build her a slice of home for her to marry him. He obliged with the most lavish thing he could think of. The house boasts about thirty rooms.”
Beth’s heart jerked. “I see.”
The wagon stopped, and he aided her descent. Grayson came awake and started to chatter when he saw Joshua. He took his son and held him, so his back was pressed against his chest, and his muscled forearm anchoring the baby to him. How did her son find the position so comfortable she would never understand, but his little legs kicked wildly, and he chortled happily. His face scrunched as he bit into the piece of apple she held out.
A woman was sitting in a rocker, crocheting, looking fetching in a dark green dress. Her blonde hair was piled atop her head, and her eyes lit with delight when she spied Joshua. Somehow Beth knew this woman was his mother, and it amazed her that Laura Kincaid was so petite, and hardly looked a day above thirty years. She recalled in one of their lengthy conversations as they made the trip to the Triple K, Joshua had mentioned his mother had wed August Kincaid when she was sixteen years old, and he had been nineteen. She stood, and clambered down the porch step, hurrying to her son.
His mother too faltered at the sight of Grayson and simply stared her hands covering her mouth.
Beth hated the sudden nervousness that attacked her.
“Joshua! You made it in time for your ma's barbecue,” a baritone voice boomed. Then a man stepped from out of the bunkhouse, his gaze coolly taking in the scene, and Beth’s stomach flipped. This would be Joshua in thirty years or so. August Kincaid was a fine man, she concluded after studying him some. Tall, with muscles testifying that he still did challenging work on the ranch. There was not an ounce of fat on the man. His hair was peppered with gray, and his face only had a few lines on his brow and at the corners of his lip. This man laughed a lot, somehow the knowledge eased her, but only slightly.
Beth finally acknowledged she was desperately afraid they would find her wanting. She clutched the edges of her skirt and did her best not to pat her hair. She knew she looked fine, for she had taken extra care with her appearance this morning at the inn, before boarding the last leg of the stage. Her hair had been caught in a loose chignon, with several tendrils framing her face. She wore a dark, full skirt and green lace-edged blouse. “Joshua?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m nervous.”
He glanced down at her. “Of meeting my family?”
“Very much so.”
“Don’t be. They’ll love you, and if they don’t, I’ll shoot them.”
She gasped horrified, then saw that his eyes were laughing at her. Beth scowled, then grinned. “Did you just tell a joke?”
“We’ll see,” he said enigmatically, then walked toward his waiting parents. Beth kept pace, doing her best to appear serene.
Mr. Kincaid took his wife’s hand in his and met them.
“Oh Joshua,” his mother gasped, staring at Grayson. “Another grandson.” There were tears and joy in Mrs. Kincaid eyes, and Beth understood. Sheridan had told her of the terrible loss the family had endured a few years ago when Elijah’s first wife and son had died.
He is the ver
y image of you! I'm delighted, but I won’t forgive you for at least a week for getting married without us." Deep brown eyes settled on her, warm with welcome. "How are you, my dear? I’m Laura Kincaid.”
She held out her hand, Beth took it, and blurted, “We’re not married.”
Heat ran along her entire body at the shocked inhalation from his mother. Mortification swamped Beth’s senses, and it took everything inside of her to keep holding his mother’s gaze.
“Father, mother, please meet Miss Bethany Galloway, my friend. And this is my son Grayson.”
His mother laughed lightly. “Forgive me, Bethany; I assumed Grayson was your son and—"
“He’s mine…Grayson is ours,” she said, hating that her voice trembled, hating that she felt the wash of shame, hating the prick of tears behind her eyes.
“I never thought I would have to shoot my own mother,” Joshua said softly.
“He…he’s joking,” Beth stammered. “I…I…I’d said I’m nervous and he joked he would shoot you, and, Oh God!”
Both August and Laura stared at her as if she were some unusual creature.
“Ma knows I’m joking,” Joshua said gruffly, peering down at Beth. “I wanted you to relax.”
“That is not the way,” she wailed.
His mother’s gaze was darting between them, and then she smiled. “Bethany, please welcome to the Triple K. I am very pleased to meet you and my grandson.”
Beth gasped when Laura stepped close and hugged her.
“Thank you,” Beth whispered. She could not understand why she felt so shattered.
August Kincaid gathered her in a hug as well. “Welcome to the family.”
“I…” Don’t say it, she warned herself sternly. “Thank you.”
“I would like to hold my boy,” August said, pride and love in his voice.
Beth blinked when Joshua handed over their son to his father.
“I think he meant you,” she whispered.
“I no longer exist,” he said with a grin.