by Reece Butler
She fluttered her eyes at him. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap. She squealed, just enough to show she was a lady, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Maybe I will ask Beth Elliott what happens at night!”
Walt laughed. One of these nights he was going to show her himself, up close and personal. He kissed her, which seemed to take her mind off everything else for a while. She sighed contentedly at his efforts.
“When will you tell Kate that you’ve signed your part of the ranch over to her?”
Walt tucked Emma’s head under his chin. Unlike the valley ranchers, he was average size, well under six foot. His woman fit perfectly.
“The boys also need to know Kate would rather have them than the ranch, no matter how much it’s worth. They were hurt bad by their mothers. They need to believe, deep in their heart, that Kate chose them even if she has to work years to help them pay off the debt.”
“You do realize they may never forgive you for this,” said Emma quietly. “Even if they do marry, you may have to sneak onto their land to see your grandchildren.”
“For their happiness, it’s a risk I’ll take. Now do something useful, woman, and kiss me again.”
Emma obliged, and he spent the next while behaving like a sixteen-year-old boy necking in the barn. Her eyes were bright when they finally came up for air.
“They’ll thank you someday,” she said, quietly resting in his arms. “You’re doing this out of love for your child and the men you see as your sons. It’s nothing like my husband did to my son, the daughter-in-law I never met, and my grandchildren. He did it out of revenge for besting him.”
“Why did you marry him?”
“Other than I had no choice?” She sighed. “He was more than twice my age and knew how to put stars in a naïve sixteen-year-old girl’s eyes. He courted me and I thought he was wonderful.”
“How long did that last?”
Her fingers twisted in his hair. He waited for her, knowing it was hard to speak of such things.
“Until the night of our wedding,” she whispered, her head down. “He came to my bed and brutally showed me what he expected of his wife, and that he was very much my master.”
“Aw, Emma.” He hugged her, wishing he could take away her pain.
“It only lasted ten years. Then he turned to mistresses.”
Walt held her until she began to relax.
“You’re a good man, Wilbur Walter Chamberlain.”
“Emma, please forget that name,” he said, cringing. “I never liked it.”
“You think they’ll make the right choices, Walter?” she emphasized his name, drawing it out with as deep a voice as she could.
“I’m betting my daughter’s happiness on it.” He lifted her from his lap and stood up. “I need a kiss after that.” She puckered up and pecked his cheek. “That’s not what I had in mind.”
“I’m not wild like Kate. That’s all you’ll get before a wedding.”
Walt knew Emma had no idea of the pleasure a man could bring a woman. He liked that he would be the one to bring her body to life. He brushed a knuckle over her breast. She gasped. Her face turned pink.
“You think you can hold out that long, Mrs. Johnston?”
“Yes, Mr. Chamberlain, I can!”
She tried to glare fiercely, but he felt her pulse race and saw her panting. He held her round bottom and pressed her against him, letting her feel how much he wanted her. He winked and her face flushed even more.
“I love a challenge, Emma. And I’m betting you’ll soon be discovering just how wild you can be.”
Chapter 33
Zach didn’t know why Walt insisted they get cleaned up and stop by the Widow Johnston’s huge house. They knew Kate was there, but she didn’t care what they wore. The less, the better. His cock throbbed at the thought of what he’d like to do after getting Kate naked. They hadn’t had near enough nakedness the last few nights.
But Walt was still their boss so wait they did, even though there were horses to ride and cattle to mind. Maybe Walt wanted them to look good enough to convince that interfering old woman of his to let Kate come back to the ranch with them. She hadn’t been gone long, but they already missed her something awful. He rocked back on his heels and looked around the overstuffed room.
“Even if we’d had a house this big, we’d never stuff it with so much,” said Gideon. He pointed to a particularly ugly black lamp with gold fringe around the bottom. It sat on a lace doily, on a piecrust table. There were paintings on every wall and gewgaws covered almost every surface.
At least the windows were open to the faint breeze. It flowed from the street through the room, around a silk-covered screen, and out the open door behind them. Perhaps that was where Mrs. Johnston’s bedroom was. He’d heard she was too poorly to do stairs. Billy O’Keefe’s father said he rebuilt the dining room into what he called a “boo-drawer.” Zach figured that was a bad pronunciation of a fancy word for a lady’s bedroom.
Mrs. Johnston had a fine house, all right, but the spindly furniture was not for him. There was one decent-size chair, but he figured it belonged to Walt. The door opened and the boss came through. Walt nodded and went to the sideboard to pour a whiskey. He was trimmed and polished for once. Perhaps his rich lady friend insisted. He looked as comfy pouring booze here, as he did at Baldy’s in his elk-hide pants.
Zach accepted the glass of whiskey with a nod. He waited for Rusty and Gideon to be served, hoping this shindig wouldn’t take long. All dressed up with whiskers and beard trimmed, Walt was a sight to behold. When he stood straight instead of hunching over, he looked like he could take down Judge Thatcher, or at least make a good attempt at it. Zach had figured Walt for at least sixty, but seeing him now, he had to cut it down a bit. The man might be ten, even twelve years younger than he figured.
“To the Running W,” said Walt, and lifted his glass.
Zach took a gulp. It burned all the way down his gullet. This was no strychnine-laced rotgut, but it was potent. He inhaled and wished he hadn’t. He and Rusty managed to hold back a gasp but Gideon choked. Rusty, like a typical big brother, whacked him on the back, hard, just to be helpful. Gideon glared, likely more worried about spilling the high-quality whiskey than the blow.
“Is Kate going to join us?” asked Rusty. A trace of anger laced his quiet words. “You hauled her away from the ranch and we haven’t seen her since. We don’t care about what the townspeople think, and neither does Kate. We want her back.”
Zach agreed, but he took his time with the next mouthful, letting it flow over and around his tongue before sliding away. Walt held up his glass, now half empty. The late afternoon sun came in the west window and made it almost glow. Zach noticed Walt’s eyes were almost the same color.
“I wanted to talk to you boys first.”
“What about?” Rusty held up his empty glass. Walt filled all four.
Zach waited before taking a mouthful in case the old man said something to make him choke. He was a cagey old bastard and knew how to set up a situation in his favor. But Zach was no easy mark, and neither were Rusty nor Gideon. He finally gave up waiting for Walt and let the whiskey float down his throat.
“I’ve got a daughter.”
Zach choked. This time Rusty “helped” him out with a whack. But it was the wily old bastard who’d waited for just the right moment to speak that he glared at.
“One of the things Emma was doing in Helena was checking out my daughter to see if she wanted to meet me.” Walt beamed. “She’s so happy to know she’s got a rich papa who can keep her in the fancy clothes and gewgaws that she’s used to.” He dropped his eyes to his glass. “Seems her mama let it out that the dear girl was mine and not her husband’s, and then died. Gal’s got no one but me now.”
“You sure she’s yours?” blurted Gideon.
“Yep.” Walt smiled fondly. “She looks just like her mama did when I, ah, spent some time with her. Millie married a coup
le days after I lit out.” He shrugged. “I’m not proud of that, but it’s all water under the bridge now.”
“What’s this got to do with us?” Rusty asked the question before Zach could.
“I want to give the Running W to my daughter.”
“What the…?” Zach choked back a curse. Walt was still the owner on paper. They’d shook hands on the deal, but nothing was written down.
“If you marry my girl, I’ll give you the deed to the ranch, free and clear.”
“What about Kate?”
Gideon actually snarled the words, more upset than Zach had seen him since that whole business with Peyton and Ma. Zach set his half-finished glass on the sideboard. He needed to keep his wits clear. Plus, he wasn’t going to drink with a yellow-bellied, four-flusher who backed out of a deal halfway through because something better came up. He bet Walt’s daughter was just the same, eager to get her hands on her new father’s gold.
Walt swished whiskey around his mouth before loudly swallowing. “Why, do you want her?”
“Hell, yes!” blasted Rusty. Zach and Gideon weren’t far behind.
“Ah, well, that could be a problem,” said Walt.
He smoothed his moustache, a sign Zach recently discovered meant he thought he’d won. He did it during poker just before taking the whole hand. Too bad. McInnes men didn’t go down without one hell of a fight.
“Why is Kate a problem?” demanded Zach. He kept his voice low and icy. “We shook on a deal.”
“You’d throw away our deal over a woman, just like that?” demanded Rusty.
“I’m not throwing anything away, dammit! I’m offering you the best part of me, my child, along with the ranch, free and clear!” Walt screwed up his face in a fierce scowl. “I like you boys, and I think you’d do good for my little girl.”
Rusty and Gideon set their glasses down with a double set of thumps.
“We don’t want your daughter,” said Gideon.
“We want Kate,” said Rusty right behind.
“Now that I know I have a daughter, I want her to have my ranch. That way it’ll go to my grandkids.” Walt sniffed back what Zach figured were crocodile tears. “Always wanted grandchildren. Since you boys know the ranch, I thought I’d offer it to you first.” His eyes, the same color as the whiskey, went hard. “But if you don’t want the Running W, I’ll find my girl a good husband. Someone who’ll appreciate a wife who’s used to pretty things and a life of leisure.” He looked over their clean but work-worn clothing. “Unlike yourselves.”
“And what happens to us if we refuse?” asked Zach.
“I’ll buy you out, and you go somewhere else.” Walt shrugged. “With Kate, if you like.”
“But we like it here, and so does Kate,” said Gideon quietly.
“That’s the choice,” said Walt in the coldest voice Zach had ever heard him use. “The ranch and my daughter, or gold and get out. Take it or leave it.”
“What if we want the ranch and Kate?” Zach caught a slight flash of something in the old man’s eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was guilt, or greed.
“In the unlikely event that you can find enough gold to buy me out, I would consider selling to you.” He lifted his drink halfway to his mouth, and then stopped. “If that happened, Emma and I would move to Helena to be with my daughter.”
“So what if it takes us ten years to pay you,” said Gideon. “We’ll keep working as long as it takes.”
“Does the girl have a name?” Rusty’s glare could cut a block of ice in half.
“Not one I’m willing to share with you.” Walt finished his whiskey. He exhaled loudly and smacked his lips.
“Your manners don’t match your fancy suit,” said Zach.
“If you have enough money, nobody cares if you’re rude.” Walt filled up his glass again, blatantly ignoring them.
“We want Kate, and the ranch.” Zach spat the words as if they were bullets. “We have a deal, and you’d better follow it.”
“Did you register your deed in Helena?” asked Walt mildly. He looked around at the three of them as if barely interested in their reaction.
“When the hell did I have time to ride all the way to Helena and back when I trusted the man whose hand I shook?”
“Then you’ve got no proof.” Walt smirked at their anger.
“I thought you were a man of honor,” said Rusty. His lip curled up in a sneer of disgust. “You’re no better than my father, or Uncle Peyton.”
“We’d be nothing without the ranch.” Gideon screwed up his face as if he’d eaten most of a crabapple before he found half a worm. “But I want Kate more.”
“Fine!” growled Zach. “You want us gone, we’ll take Kate and go. But you’ll pay us for every minute of work we put in, and then we’ll see you in hell!”
Walt let the silence ring. “Who says Kate will want to go with you?”
“Of course she’ll want to be with us,” said Gideon. “She loves us.”
Walt swirled his drink. “But do you love her?”
Zach choked. Rusty cleared his throat. Only Gideon nodded.
“Thought so,” said Walt triumphantly. “If you really wanted Kate, you’d already be hitched. You’ve had weeks to do the deed.”
“Kate’s not ready to marry yet,” muttered Zach.
“How do you know? Did any of you ask the girl to marry you?”
Rusty and Gideon turned to Zach.
“No, but I will,” said Zach. “Soon as I think she’ll say yes.” He shrugged it off. “Gotta do it before winter anyhow.”
“Huh!” said Walt. “You just want her because she’s pretty, a good cook, and there’s no one else available. And you don’t want Cole at the Sweetwater ranch to snap her up.”
Zach glared. “There’s more to it than that!”
“Prove it!” Walt dared Zach. “Tell her you love her and want to marry her.” He stepped closer and narrowed his eyes. “And mean every word of it!”
Love? A roaring filled Zach’s ears. His brother and cousin might have shouted because their mouths were open, but he couldn’t hear anything else.
Did he really love Kate? How the hell would he know? His father said he loved his ma, and she loved him. But she couldn’t wait to jump into bed with Uncle Peyton. Had Pa taken them to Texas to escape the vigilantes hunting Peyton, or was it to keep his wife from his brother?
He, Gideon, and Rusty weren’t like that. They shared the work as well as Kate. But trust the woman enough to marry her? He shook off old memories.
Rusty was the first to move. He strolled over to his drink, picked it up, and threw it down. He bared his teeth at the burn. Zach’s ears cleared, allowing him to hear more than what was in his head.
“Kate’s got more guts than half the men in the Territory,” said Rusty. “She can do all the womanly things a wife does around the home as well as whatever’s necessary. And she doesn’t complain when there’s a tough job to do and nothing can be done about it. But that’s only a small part of her.” He nodded at Walt. “Yeah, I’ll marry her. I can’t see loving anyone else but Kate.”
“She’s mine.” Zach heard the growled words, both threat and statement, before he realized they’d come out of his mouth. “Kate’s mine,” he repeated. “Unless she wants someone else, and makes a damn good case why, she’s gonna be Mrs. Zachary McInnes.”
“But can you trust her?” Walt waited in the silence. “You don’t know, do you? She might want someone else one day, someone she can laugh with.”
All three McInnes men stared at Walt. Zach heard faint noises coming from the room behind the screen. Either they were carried in on the wind or Mrs. Johnston had mice. His fingers curled into fists but Rusty got the words out first.
“Watch what you say old man. That’s our woman you’re insulting.”
“I saw her, what, a couple days after she arrived? She jumped on Gideon like they were newlyweds while I tied up the wagon.” Walt smoothed down his moustache. He looked at Zach from u
nder his bushy eyebrows. “She jumped into your bed awful fast. What’s to stop her doing it with other men?”
Gideon held Rusty back from punching Walt at the insult. Zach used the control that had kept him from killing his uncle after they buried Pa. “If you weren’t an old man, we’d thrash you within an inch of your life for saying that.” Zach spoke with deadly intent, but Walt shrugged it off.
“I’m just saying what other men are thinking.”
“They’d better not think out loud or they’ll be getting the business end of my gun.” Rusty rested his hand on his pistol, easy like. He meant it as a warning, but anywhere else it would mean the same as if he’d pulled it out, cocked it, and aimed it at Walt’s heart.
Everything in the room took on an added brightness. Words stretched out and movements slowed, making it easy for Zach to follow, and anticipate. He was ready to attack, even kill, in this state. He felt something shift deep inside and everything went calm.
There was no choice. He wanted Kate, no matter what. Like Rusty, he couldn’t see going through life without her. She was an original, nothing like his two-timing mother. He snorted a laugh, startling the other three men. Kate could lust after his brother, and cousin, all she liked. If she wanted wild fun, Rusty would happily give it to her. Gideon as well. And there was nothing stopping her jumping any of them whenever she wanted. His whole body tingled with awareness. He was ready to take Kate to bed for a week and prove that she couldn’t possibly want anyone else but them.
He trusted her, all right. While she was polite to those Southern boys, she’d barely nodded howdy when they met on the street. She didn’t even notice him silently telling them to back off from his woman. She spoke her mind, too loud sometimes. But it was better than Ma’s quiet nod that suggested agreement but meant nothing.
Kate was his woman. His, and Rusty’s, and Gideon’s. But she wanted more than that.
“One of the first things Kate told me on that train was that she won’t marry unless she loves her husband,” said Zach calmly. He strolled over and helped himself with another few fingers of Walt’s excellent whiskey. “If Kate agrees to marry me, it means she loves me, along with Rusty and Gideon.” He held up his glass and winked. “She’s a lady.” He sipped, knowing he was fully in control of the situation.