The Marshal Takes A Bride

by Sylvia McDaniel

  He stared at her, his expression questioning, but his lips were silent. She felt as if he were attempting to read her mind.

  Finally he glanced away. “Lucas seems a wonderful little boy”

  “He is,” she said wistfully. “And I’m doing my best to be a good mother to him.”

  “But what about you, Sarah?” Her grandfather paused. “You’re still a young woman. You need a man who will take care of you and love you.”

  She lifted her chin and stared at her grandfather. “I don’t need another man, Grandfather. I’m happier now than I’ve ever been, just taking care of my son and working my practice. Tombstone has settled a bit, and my life is complete.”

  “But don’t you think that Lucas will need the influence of a man in his life? Don’t you think that he deserves to have a father? And you deserve a husband.”

  The image of Tucker Burnett sprang to mind, and her pulse accelerated. Even after all these years, it was obvious he wasn’t interested in settling down. “His father is dead. Someday, when he’s older, I may consider remarrying just so that he has a man’s influence, but until then, I’m not interested in getting remarried.”

  “Well, at least consider moving back to Fort Worth so that I can spend time with him,” her grandfather said.

  Could she move back to Fort Worth and live in such close proximity to Tucker and his family? Could she look at him every day and not, somehow, wind up telling him that Lucas was his son?

  “I’m happy in Tombstone. I have a good practice, my neighbors watch out for me, my patients care about me, and I don’t want to pick up and move back here. I’d have to start over with my practice.”

  “Just how long will I have the pleasure of you and my great-grandson?”

  “My plans are to stay at least a month before we return to Tombstone,” Sarah said, wondering for the second time that day if she had been wise to come home to Fort Worth. Wondering if she could avoid Tucker for a month.

  “I’m not going to lie to you and say I won’t try to convince you to stay while you’re here. But I am glad you’re here. That will give me some time to spend with my grandson and calculate my battle plan on how to convince you to move home permanently.”

  “Grandfather, you know you can always come out to Tombstone and be with us,” she said, thinking it would be much safer there than here with the presence of Tucker Burnett.

  “I know.” He gazed at Sarah. “But my life is here in Fort Worth.”

  “Just like my practice is in Tombstone.”

  Her grandfather shook his head at her. “Oh, Sarah, you’ve inherited the stubbornness of your father, I’m afraid.”

  She laughed. “No. I think I received it from my grandfather. I still remember our lengthy discussions on my attending college. You thought that a woman had no business receiving that kind of education.”

  “Well, I still think it’s unnatural. Most women want to get married, raise a family, and take care of a home. You want it all!”

  She smiled. “You’re right, I do. But I’m so glad I went to college, Grandfather. Being a doctor has made me happy. It’s given a purpose to my life.”

  “If you’re happy, that’s all that matters. But I still have hopes that you will find a good man who will be a father to Lucas and a husband to you.”

  Sarah stared off into the distance. The image of a tall, sandy-haired man with broad shoulders and well muscled thighs, who wore his guns slung low on his hips, came to mind. There was a man she had once wanted to marry, but he had not wanted to settle down. He hadn’t loved her enough to stay.

  ***

  Tucker let his horse set the pace on his way back to Fort Worth. The ride was nice and slow compared to the frantic pace he had set to reach his mother’s place. His horse ambled along, taking its time, while he contemplated the return of Dr. Sarah Kincaid James.

  The sun shone brightly, but the breeze that rustled the leaves of the oak trees was brisk enough to have a bite when it grazed his skin. Though the sun’s rays were warm, the wind had a winter’s chill to it.

  For Tucker it had been a hell of a day. First with Sarah returning and then his mad dash to get to the bottom of just what part his mother had played in the arrival of the good doctor.

  His mother acted the innocent, but he was no fool. She had hoped that Sarah would come home and that the two of them would somehow fall in love and marry. She knew how Tucker felt about marriage; but to his mother’s way of thinking, that was illogical, and she was determined to show him the error of his ways.

  Well, it would be a cold day in July before Sarah would take an interest in him again. In fact, the friendship was suffering a severe case of the chills and he guessed he couldn’t blame her. After all, the way he had run out on her had pretty much ruined any chance of their being lovers again, let alone companions. He hadn’t meant to take advantage of her, but somehow he had gotten in way over his head. When he had awakened in Sarah’s bed, he had treated her in the same manner he had all the women before her. He had grabbed his stuff and fled in the middle of the night to avoid any hard feelings or discussions of vows, and rings, and wedding things.

  Sarah had the ability to make him forget about his dreams. When he was with her, all he thought about was the way she made him feel, and that had frightened him enough that he had run.

  But Sarah apparently had not let his leaving affect her. From the way things appeared, she had barely let the bed sheets cool before she had married someone else. And that man had given her a son.

  His Appaloosa gave a snort and shook its head, rattling the halter. Tucker reached down and patted the animal’s neck. A wandering man needed a good horse to take him on his travels, but then, he had been in the same place now for over two years, the longest time period he had stayed in any one place since he was a child. Maybe it was time to move on. Maybe it was time he resumed his drifting ways.

  But was he feeling this way because Sarah had come home? Surely, after all this time, he could glance at her without remembering the smooth texture of her skin. Surely, he could talk to her without remembering the pleasure of her kiss, the taste of her sweet mouth. The way she left him wanting.

  He groaned, the sound loud in the gathering dusk. They were friends. She wouldn’t be here forever. She would be going home to her practice. She would return to the grave site of the man who had married her and fathered her child.

  Just who was this man she had married?

  Tucker couldn’t help but be curious about the man who had made the trip down the aisle with Sarah, shortly after he himself, had left. Hadn’t she missed Tucker at all after he had gone? Or had she been so angry that she had resolved never to get involved with a rambling man again, and had run straight into the arms of some do-good, sweet-talking cowboy who would have promised her the moon just to get in her bed?

  His horse snorted in the early evening air, sending up white clouds of vapor into the cold. He shivered, remembering the month he had spent in Tombstone with Sarah. Even though he had been hurt, the memory of being ministered to by the good doctor, of getting to know her better and the laughter they had shared together, was a special one. They had always been friends. Even when they were kids living and attending school in Fort Worth, he had enjoyed being with Sarah.

  Only today, when she had stepped off that stage, the friction had rolled off her in waves. The tension had reminded him of waking up beside a woman, the morning-after awkwardness he tried to avoid, but this time that morning had occurred three years ago. Yet somehow it felt as if it had been just yesterday.

  But sometime after he had left Tombstone, while he was out searching for trouble in the name of fun, she had found someone new, and this time, she had promised this man forever. While he had been sampling the West and all the decadence it offered, she had been taking care of her own chance at happiness. And though her marriage had not lasted long, she had a son. Sarah Kincaid James was now a mother.

  He couldn’t help but wonder if she would ev
er remarry. After all, she had a child—a boy who was going to need a father figure, someone to teach him the things that a man needed to know in order to survive. He was a cute kid, who looked a lot like his mother, though what must be traces of the father could be detected in his features.

  Dr. Sarah Kincaid James was still beautiful, still very much someone Tucker would like to spend time with. But she wanted forever, and Tucker was not a man who could give that to any woman. He couldn’t even promise he would be here tomorrow.

  That night they had shared so long ago was still a pleasant memory. And before that night they had been friends for many years. She was a beautiful woman, he was a man, and they had made a mistake that one night in Tombstone. Maybe, just maybe, he could salvage the friendship.

  Maybe she would show him the door and tell him to get lost, but whatever happened, he had to talk to her, had to attempt to salvage the friendship he'd lost.

  Chapter Three

  Several days later, Tucker sat eating lunch with his two brothers and their wives, wondering what had happened to the men he had grown up with. His strong, manly brothers had become lovesick fools since they married.

  Tucker watched as Travis leaned toward his very expectant wife. “Would you like some dessert, Rose? I’ll order it if you want some.”

  At this late stage of her pregnancy, Rose was being treated by her husband as though she were a fine piece of china, fragile and delicate.

  She smiled up at Travis and patted him on the arm. “Thanks, but the way this baby is kicking me right now, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “So when is the baby due, Rose?” Tucker asked, thinking the woman couldn’t get much bigger.

  “In about three to four weeks according to Doc Wilson.”

  Tanner whispered something to Beth, and she smiled up at him and said, “I thought you were going to wait”

  “I can’t.” He grinned sheepishly at everyone around the table. “Beth and I weren’t going to tell you just yet; but Mother’s not here, so I’ll let you in on a little family secret.” He paused. “Beth and I are expecting a baby in November.”

  “Wonderful!” Rose cried. “I’m so happy for the two of you, and the two babies will be close in age. They’ll be able to play with one another. This is so exciting.” Beth laughed. “It is wonderful, isn’t it?"

  "Congratulations," Travis said, grinning at his younger brother. “And you haven’t told Mother yet?”

  “No. We’re waiting until after your baby is born so she can’t drive us crazy for nearly as long,” Tanner replied, then turned to Rose. “You and Travis have amazing stamina where Mother is concerned.”

  “She’s not bad,” Rose replied. “You just have to understand that you boys come first in her life.”

  Beth glanced at Travis. “Was Eugenia always so focused on the three of you when your father was alive?”

  She didn’t ask Tanner, since he had been missing from his family for well over ten years and had not been here when their father passed away. He really couldn’t answer many of his very soft spoken, levelheaded wife’s questions.

  Tucker glanced around the table at the women his brothers had married. Rose was a vivacious woman who had drawn out his brother Travis and made him a more approachable man. While Beth, Tanner’s wife, was quiet and determined, more reserved. But he knew from past experience that she had a will of iron that had helped his middle brother put his past behind him.

  Both men had married strong women who would be good partners through life.

  Travis frowned, deep in thought, reflecting on Beth’s question. “You know Mother’s always been involved in our lives, but now that I think on it, she wasn’t quite as caught up in our business before Father’s death. I think Father probably buffered us from her interfering and most likely told her when to leave well enough alone.”

  Rose glanced at Beth, a startled expression on her face. “Beth, dear, I think you’ve just found the solution to our dilemma. Eugenia needs a man in her life. Someone to focus on besides her children.”

  There was a chorus of groans from the men. “Please, don’t you think it would appear a little hypocritical to do to our mother exactly what we complained she’s done to all of us?” Travis asked.

  “She hasn’t matched up Tucker!" Beth pointed out.

  Tucker frowned. “You know very well she’s tried, not once, but twice.”

  Travis laughed. “Beth, you weren’t there the other day when Tucker came in with a burr up his backside. Seems Mother sent a telegram to a certain young friend of his in an effort to get her to come home.”

  “We’re friends, nothing more,” Tucker informed the group.

  Though if the truth were known, he would like to be more with Sarah, just nothing that said forever. But she wasn’t the kind of woman who could dally without the promise of 'I do,' and he was definitely the kind of man who didn’t believe in forever. That one night had been a mistake.

  Tanner frowned. “Anyone we know, Tucker?”

  “You knew her as Sarah Kincaid. Since she left Fort Worth, she’s married and had a little boy. Her name is Dr. James now.”

  “She’s a doctor?” Beth asked.

  “Yes,” Tucker said, feeling very uncomfortable as he could see this information had become very intriguing to his sisters-in-law.

  “She came home after your mother sent her a telegram?” Rose asked.

  “She’s here,” Tucker said, not wanting to reveal too much to his brothers and sisters-in-law. He didn’t need them all joining forces with his mother. “Her grandfather is George Kincaid, owner of the El Paso Hotel.”

  Rose looked at him curiously. “So what was in this telegram to bring her home?”

  Tucker shifted uneasily in the chair. “Mother told Sarah her grandfather was sick and she needed to come home. She thought he was dying.”

  “Oh, no, look out, Tucker. Momma is on a mission to end your bachelor days,” Tanner said, laughing.

  “You’re not telling me anything I haven’t considered. Though Mother denies that's the real reason she sent for Sarah.”

  “It would be nice to have a woman doctor in town. Doc Wilson is good, but he’s just so old,” Beth said, not paying any attention to the men.

  “She’s not staying,” Tucker quickly informed his sister-in-law.

  “That’s a shame,” Travis said, his eyes twinkling with merriment “You better keep a close eye on Mother, because you’ll be saying 'I do' if you’re not careful.”

  “I’ll tell you just like I told Mother I have no intention of settling down,” Tucker said to his brother.

  Rose leaned toward Ticker. “Then, you better help us figure out just who would be a good husband for Momma Burnett Or else she won’t rest until you’re married.”

  Tucker groaned. “I’m so afraid you’re right, Rose.”

  ***

  After Tucker returned to the jail, he couldn’t help but reflect on his brothers. Funny how in the last six months life had suddenly changed for all of them. Eugenia was going to be absolutely thrilled when she found out about Beth and Tanner expecting. Now there would be two babies in the house, and Tucker could only hope that her interest would turn away from interfering with his life.

  The life he had chosen wasn’t meant to be shared with a wife and family. A roaming man had no room for permanent ties. Sarah’s image came to mind, and he quickly pushed it aside. Not even blonde doctors, whose looks were tempting enough to cast his future to the wind, could change his course.

  He turned his attention to the paperwork that lay strewn across his desk. This was the part of the job he detested. Being marshal was often exciting, but filling out paperwork was tedious and boring. Tucker liked action. He liked the thrill of the chase, finding the criminal and making the arrest.

  A knock at the door had him glancing up from the forms he was working on. Federal Marshal McCoy, the man who had worked with Tanner to bring in the Bass gang, stood in the doorway.

  Tucker
jumped up and came around the desk. “Hello, McCoy, good to see you. Come on in.” He reached out and shook the older man’s hand. “What brings you back to Fort Worth?”

  “I’m here on an errand and thought I’d drop by to give your brother his pardon. How are Tanner and his wife?”

  “They’re doing fine. Tanner’s busy building them their own place down the road a ways from the main house, and I just found out today they’re expecting a baby.”

  “Sounds like Tanner really has settled into married life,” McCoy replied.

  “Yes, I think he and Beth are very happy.”

  “I wanted to stop by and see how things were going with you.”

  “Things have been almost too quiet. Not nearly like when I first took on this job. I was hoping Tanner would want to come work with me here as a deputy, but he’s been helping Travis around the ranch.”

  “I guess he got his fill of law enforcement when he was running from the law. I’m going to be in town for several days. Why don’t we get together and have a beer? I may need a new man. One of my men is considering getting married and settling down.”

  Tucker nodded.

  “This isn’t the kind of job a family man needs,” McCoy said. “You’re never at home.”

  “Besides being dangerous,” Tucker replied.

  “Do you like being the marshal here, Tucker?” Tucker was taken aback by the question. “Yes, I enjoy being in law enforcement.”

  The marshal twirled his hat in his hands. “I could use a good man like you, Tucker.”

  Tucker sat up, suddenly feeling a spark of interest. “Tell me more about the job.”

  “Most of the time I’m off on special assignment, following some particular criminal. The way I was assigned to your brother. I never stay in one place long, so this is not a job for a man who has commitments or family, unless you like being gone from them.”

  Tucker shrugged. "I’m not tied to anyone or anyplace."

  I like being able to pick up and go at a moment’s notice.”