Chuck’s offer of selling Milt’s tack had been met with Milt’s enthusiastic response. He’d be sending on his overflow of supplies within the week. Luke didn’t have any more reason to stay in Cactus, regardless of the setting sun. He’d lit out on the road, only to stop due to his own exhaustion.
Now, however, he couldn’t sleep. He’d get an early start in the morning. He needed to get home and make things right with Shirley. The way they’d left things made him worry his lip. She wanted all of him. Every last piece, even his heart. Could he give it to her?
Luke remembered Chuck’s words the night before and knew he could no longer live without that woman in his life. If Shirley died tomorrow, he would spiral out of control. He’d already lived through the hell of Caroline’s rejection. He couldn’t face losing another woman. But Shirley was giving him a choice. Stay and love her, or leave.
She wanted him to trust her. She’d promised, more than once, never to run from him again. God, he was such an ass! Luke himself was guilty of instilling the pain he’d once had to endure. Shirley had declared her love and he’d tossed it back in her face.
Just like Caroline had done to him.
Shirley had every right to be pissed, and he didn’t blame her for making him sleep on the sofa.
But he needed her. As sure as he needed air to breathe. His entire body quaked with need. Rubbing his eyes, Luke finally realized what he already knew.
He was in love with his wife. He somehow had to make her believe it.
~ * ~
Three loud bangs woke Shirley out of a sound sleep. Her room was dark and the moon was low in the sky, shining it’s soft light through her window. Another few bangs filled the room, along with the muffled, panicked voice of Marcus McCaide.
“Shirley! Wake up, please!”
She sprang from the bed with her heart in her throat. Without a thought of meeting her brother-in-law in her nightclothes, she threw open her door.
“Marcus, what’s wrong?”
“It’s Lissa,” he said, panting hard as if he’d run to get here. “She’s in labor and she’s terrified. She wants you with her. She needs you to be with her. Please? Her contractions are causing her so much pain…”
“Did you wake Doctor Newcomb?”
“Yes, got him first, he’s on his way. But Lissa’s been asking for you. I’ll wait for you to get dressed. Please hurry!”
Chuck shuffled into the hallway. “Marcus? Everything all right?”
Marcus turned and gave Shirley’s father a smile. “Your grandchild is about to make his entrance.”
Chuck smiled, but he seemed out of breath. “You…so sure it’s going to be a b-boy?”
Marcus nodded. “With the way that little guy’s been kickin’, there’s no doubt in my mind.”
“I won’t be but a minute,” Shirley said, letting the men talk while she flew to her bureau. She wasn’t going to bother with her corset, it took too long to lace. She didn’t fully fasten every button up her boots, either. Time was of the essence.
Marcus seemed shocked when she opened the door mere moments later. “I’m ready,” she told him.
He nodded and hugged her father. “We’ll let you know when your grandson arrives.”
Chuck smiled, his face pasty. “You two go on now,” he said. Shirley gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Go back to bed. You need your rest,” she whispered.
“It hurts to lay down,” he confessed.
“Then take Mama’s blanket and curl up on the chair in the sitting room. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Her father nodded and she turned to leave. Excitement coursed through her as she descended the steps to the shop. She was going to be an aunt! She ripped open the front door and raced down Main Street, barely keeping up with Marcus’s long, eager strides.
~ * ~
That’s odd, Luke thought to himself as he rode up to Chuck’s General Store. The shop still had its ‘closed’ sign in the window, but it was well past time for Chuck to be open for business. It was mid-morning. It hadn’t taken Luke much time at all to ride the rest of the way into Gideon’s Gulch, especially not when he’d run his horse into the ground.
His gelding chuffed and lowered its head to drink from the trough in front of the boardwalk. But even that hadn’t been filled.
Dismounting, Luke tied his horse to the hitching post and made his way to the door. Despite the ‘closed’ sign, the door was unlocked, and the bell rang when he opened it.
“Shirley? Chuck?”
No answer.
A chill crept down his spine. Luke wasted no time, bounding up the stairs in three easy bounds.
“Shirley!” he called, glancing in her room. She wasn’t there. The bed was rumpled, and that was unlike her. She made her bed every morning. “Chuck!” Luke looked in his empty room as well and scratched his head. But a moan from the sitting room caught his attention.
Dashing down the hall, Luke found Chuck, face-down on the floor.
“Chuck, dear God, what happened?”
Rolling the man over, he couldn’t help but notice his clammy, pasty skin, or the way his breaths came in sharp, shallow pants.
Chuck cracked his eyes and swallowed. “Luke…”
“Shh, old man,” Luke said, resting his hand on Chuck’s shoulder. “Where’s Shirley?”
“L-Lissa’s ba-baby…”
“Lissa’s baby’s comin’?”
Chuck nodded and closed his eyes.
“You need a doctor.”
“Wi…th…Li-Lis—”
“Don’t talk,” Luke ordered. He stood and found the blanket on the back of the sofa. He spread it out over Chuck and gave him a pillow for his head. “I know Doctor Newcomb is with Lissa. But there’s more than one doctor in this town.”
Chuck winced, and his right arm clutched at his chest. His breathing became even more labored and taxing.
“You wait here,” Luke said, trying hard not to show his panic to the older man. “I’ll go fetch Nathaniel. Maybe he’s got somethin’ that can help you. Will you be all right?”
He bit his lip and took a moment, but Chuck gave him one short nod. But before Luke sprang to his feet, Chuck grabbed his shirtsleeve.
“My da-daughter loves you, Austin. Do…right by her. Give her a…a good life, boy.”
“You got nothing to worry about, Sir. Just found out I love the hell outta that woman. She won’t want for a thing.”
Shirley’s father grinned and chuckled, but then began a series of hacking coughs.
Once he’d calmed, Luke squeezed his hand. “I’ll be right back. You hang on. I won’t be long!”
With that, he raced out of the shop and up the street. The thought of confronting the man who’d tried to get Shirley to leave him raised his hackles, but he needed him. Chuck needed him. Now was not the time to be settling scores.
He hoped that it wasn’t too late.
Just past McHale’s restaurant was Doctor Newcomb’s office. If Nathaniel wasn’t there, Luke had no idea what he’d do. He supposed he’d go to Marcus’s house and ask the elder Newcomb where his nephew was.
Thankfully, upon ripping open the door, Nathaniel screeched in shock while he cleaned his instruments. Luke’s abrupt entrance had startled him something fierce. Luke would have laughed out loud if he hadn’t been here on such dire business.
“Pack up, boy, Chuck Bloom needs a doctor.”
“Wh-what?” Nathaniel’s eyes widened. “But my uncle is the doctor. And he’s with Lissa right now!”
“That’s why I need you. Chuck’s in a bad way, and if he don’t get medical attention, he might die.”
“I’m just a student, Mr. Austin. I don’t have my license yet!”
“If you come with me, I’ll forget you ever made a proposition to my wife.” A long, uncomfortable silence stretched between them. “But if you don’t come, then I won’t ever forget.”
Luke stared at him, square in the eye. The younger man visibly tremble
d. He found an empty black bag on the floor and began to pack it.
“Now. Move!” Luke’s voice made Nathaniel jump once more. But he’d finally realized Luke’s haste.
In no time at all, they both charged up the boardwalk. For the first time in his life, Luke prayed. For Shirley’s sake, he hoped her father pulled through.
He held open the door of the shop and allowed Nathaniel to take the stairs first. “He’s in the sitting room,” he exclaimed, breathing deep.
Chuck lay exactly where he’d left him, but something was different. He wasn’t moving. Nathaniel stooped on his haunches and examined his eyes then scurried to put on his stethoscope. For long, agonizing moments, he listened to Chuck’s chest. Before he even lifted his gaze, Luke knew what he was going to tell him.
With a gasping cry, Luke fell back onto the floor and covered his mouth. His eyes burned and he could hardly catch his breath. This news was going to devastate both Shirley and Lissa. How could he possibly tell the woman he loved that her father had passed away?
The look in Nathaniel’s eyes gripped his heart as he spoke the words he knew he would say. “I’m sorry, Mr. Austin, but…he’s gone.”
Twenty Two
Finally, after hours of pushing, Lissa’s baby was born. It was a boy, and his lusty cries filled the room as the sun poured in through the window. It was well past noon and Shirley’s eyes drooped. Her sister was exhausted as well, having labored most of the night. But that didn’t stop Shirley from smiling at the scene before her.
Lissa’s head bent toward Marcus, who wiped his tears away as he kissed his new son. He’d been terrified while his wife had been in so much pain, pacing back and forth countless times despite Doctor Newcomb’s assurances that Lissa would be all right. Pain was the process of birth. But Marcus had been a jittery mess.
Thankfully, Shirley had been able to keep her wits about her and worked to bring the doctor anything he needed. She’d even supported Lissa’s head when she began to push.
Now, however, Shirley’s body began to feel the fatigue. Lack of sleep made her eyes fill with sand and she rubbed them a few times. With a mighty stretch, she arched the small of her back. For quiet moments, she sat in the chair near the bed while Lissa and her husband cooed over the baby. The child was already suckling from Lissa’s breast, and Shirley sniffled at the sight.
Would she ever have a child with Luke? Would he be a kind, loving father? Would he adore their baby as much as Marcus seemed to love his son even now?
Drawing a deep breath, she leaned back into the chair and closed her eyes. She didn’t know how Luke would feel and her thoughts plagued her. The last time she’d spoken to her husband, she’d yelled at him. She wanted all or nothing. If he returned from Cactus and decided he didn’t love her, what would she do? Would she let him go? Could she let him go?
It terrified her that she might never feel his touch again.
Shirley had no idea how long she sat there, but she must have dozed off. A loud, insistent knock on the front door made her sit up straight with a gasp. Disoriented, she glanced around the room just as Marcus stood from the bed where Lissa and the baby were cuddled.
“I’ll go see who that is,” he said softly. Lissa nodded.
Doctor Newcomb was still cleaning his instruments and placing them back into his bag. She must not have been dozing for very long.
A commotion came from the other room, and Shirley clearly heard Luke’s deep voice. Her heart suddenly pounded and she scrambled from the chair to Lissa’s vanity. She looked a fright, but nothing much could be done without completely redoing her hair. And her dress was wrinkled and dirty, clinging to her in places.
Setting her jaw, she told herself she didn’t care. She wasn’t about to fly into Luke’s arms, regardless of how badly she wanted to do so. Glancing out the bedroom door, she spied the two men speaking in hushed tones a moment before Doctor Newcomb once again congratulated Lissa and took his leave. But before he could make his way out of the house, he was stopped by Marcus, who now seemed tense and worried.
Timothy nodded gravely and patted Marcus on the back before leaving in a rush. Luke’s eyes lifted and he gazed right at her. The look on his face broke her heart. He’d been crying. His eyes were red and his hair was a mess. Dread trickled down her spine when he crooked his finger at her. Had he decided to leave her?
She didn’t want to go to him. She took a step back with her hand on her chest.
“Is that Luke I hear?” Lissa said, glancing up from her son. “Tell him he’s an uncle!”
“Shirley, come here.” Luke’s voice was tender, but firm. She bit her lip in indecision.
Marcus sniffled and heaved a sigh before turning on his heel back to the bedroom. “Go on, Shirley,” he said. “Luke needs to…tell you something.”
With a gentle shove, he pushed her into the sitting room and closed the bedroom door behind him.
Lissa’s confused voice came to her through the wood, along with Marcus’s deep strains, but Shirley couldn’t quite hear what was being said.
“Come here, filly,” Luke said again, this time walking toward her. She obeyed, trembling from head to toe. “Come with me.”
He took her hand and led her through the room to the front door. Just as they walked through it, her sister cried out in what sounded like despair.
“What was that? Is Lissa all right?”
Luke kept tugging her along behind him. Once they were on the porch, he closed the door. “I reckon she will be, in time.”
“What’s going on? Luke, have you been crying? Are you hurt?”
He cupped her cheek and swiped his thumb across her skin. “Shirley, I have something to tell you. Something horrible. You might need to sit down.”
She swallowed hard and gazed at him with her eyes wide. “Are you leaving me?” she said before she could stop her words.
Luke reeled back as if she struck him.
“Oh my God, it’s true. You’re leaving me.” Stumbling away from him, she clutched onto the porch railing for support, gasping for breath. Terror claimed her heart and her eyes burned from unshed tears.
“No, darlin’, hell no.” With one stride, Luke stood next to her again and forced her eye contact with his fingers on her chin. “It’s your father. He…he passed away this morning.”
“What?” she whispered, shocked.
“I found him on the floor when I came home from Cactus. I ran to get Nathaniel, but I was too late. When I came back, he’d… I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.”
She was in his arms before she could draw another breath. Clutching handfuls of his shirt, she moaned into his shoulder until a cry of misery welled up within her. Tears flowed and her legs gave way, but Luke held her firm against him, refusing to let her fall to the ground.
With a shriek, she hid her face in his neck and wailed in disbelief.
“No!” she cried. “Daddy!”
“Shh,” Luke whispered into her hair. He kissed the top of her head. “I’ve got ya. Everything will be all right.”
She didn’t hear much beyond that, and had no idea how long he held her. But soon, her cries hushed until she quietly wept.
“He’s with the undertaker now, honey,” Luke told her. “I took care of everything. Even got us a hotel room to stay in for as long as you want.”
Easing away from him, she looked into his eyes. He didn’t let her get far. His fingers delved into her sloppy bun as he leaned his forehead on hers. He’d somehow known she wouldn’t want to go back to the shop, not while her father’s death was still fresh on her mind. That knowledge had her heart swelling with love for him.
“Thank…y-you,” she managed to get out. Luke gave her a few small pecks on the lips before embracing her once more.
“I’m gonna take care of you, Shirley Austin, for the rest of my life. You got my word on that.”
Relief flowed through her. If Luke was anything, he was a man of his word. He wasn’t going to leave. He wanted to take care
of her. It didn’t matter what he felt for her.
What mattered was that he stayed.
Twenty Three
Shirley couldn’t remember how they’d gotten to the hotel room. She’d followed behind Luke, her hand firmly in his as he led her down the boardwalk, but she hadn’t noticed a single thing. Her world had been shaken by the knowledge of her father’s death. Her only stability was Luke, and right about now, she’d follow him through the gates of Hell if that’s where he led her.
He sat her on the bed and unlaced her boots before kicking off his own, then pulled her down into the blankets fully clothed. Both of his arms surrounded her, giving her strength when she had none.
She couldn’t talk. She couldn’t do much more than shudder as her grief wracked her, but Luke didn’t seem to mind. Shirley had no idea how much time had passed before her crying abated. Luke wasn’t asleep. Neither was she. But she was so tired. So very tired.
“What are we going to do now?” she asked in the quiet. Her voice wavered and she bit her lip.
“We’re gonna lay right here,” Luke replied, “until you feel like getting up, and not a moment before.”
She closed her eyes and twin tears escaped them. The tenderness in his voice hitched her heart. “I meant with the shop.”
“I know what you meant, darlin’,” he cooed, stroking her face. “Let’s just take things as they come. Ain’t no sense in making lofty plans when the rug’s been pulled out from underneath you.”
Shirley brought her hand to his cheek and moved it upwards into his hair. Swallowing hard, she whispered, “I’m sorry, Luke.”
He shook his head. “Nothing to be sorry for. You couldn’t have known your father was going to pass. Right now you need to grieve, and I aim to make sure that happens.”
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