He lathered up his face and grabbed his knife.
***
“Wow Marston! You look different!” Langley exclaimed as he came out of his room the next morning and Marston tossed a plate of eggs onto the table.
“Eat up, kid. Then you gotta go feed the critters.”
Langley nodded. “You eat yet?” he asked.
Marston shook his head. “Not yet. I was gonna go get your mama.”
Langley sat down his fork. “I’ll wait then. It’s been a while since we’ve said Grace and I think mama will want to say it with me… if it still makes your stomach hurt you can plug your ears.”
Marston raised his brow. “I’m pretty sure that was disrespectful, but I’ll let it go since you’re going to muck out the stalls today too.”
Langley hung his head and kicked the table leg. “Yessir.” Marston was chuckling as he sat two more plates of eggs on the table. Langley picked at his with his fork. “These eggs are runny.”
“The chicken coop could stand to be cleaned out too.”
Langley shook his head and smiled in earnest. “These eggs look plumb delicious!” he exclaimed far too brightly.
Marston wanted to be stern but the damn boy was too much and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “I’ll be right back,” Marston said with a shake of his head.
He walked into Rose’s bedroom and paused. She was sleeping peacefully and her red hair spilled across the pillows. Her full lips were parted slightly as she snored quietly. Marston wished he could take a picture of this moment so he could carry the image with him.
He stepped to the bed and knelt beside it. He hated to wake her, but she needed food to help rebuild her strength. “Rose? Rose, you gotta wake up,” he urged gently.
Her eyes fluttered open and then she let out a scream and jumped away from him. Marston nearly fell over backward with fear as he spun and searched for what could have scared her. “What the hell is your problem, woman?” he demanded, turning to face her once more.
“Marston….? It’s you,” she gasped.
Marston feared for her sanity. “Yeah, it’s me. Who the hell did you think was in your damn bedroom?”
Rose tilted her head as she studied him. “You shaved your face.”
Marston nodded as he ran his hand over his smooth jaw. “Yeah and my face is damn cold too.”
Rose smiled but could scarcely breathe. The man was more handsome than she could have imagined. He was all hard lines and sharp angles. His lips were full but firm and his cheekbones were high. She could certainly see why people thought he may have Indian blood in him.
Marston smiled and the line around his eyes deepened while lines she hadn’t realized he had in his cheeks, crinkled around his mouth. Rose would have swooned if she were that type of woman “You okay?” he asked.
“Just fine,” she replied, sitting up.
Marston nodded and stood straight. “I have some breakfast ready and the kid is waiting until you come out to eat because he said you all need to say Grace. Do you need help getting dressed?”
“No, I can manage.”
Rose found herself left alone and she stood slowly. She hated this weakness but comforted herself with the knowledge that it would pass soon. Rose pulled a blue gingham dress from her wardrobe that had long sleeves and a modest neckline. Once dressed, she placed her brown belt around her waist to emphasize her curves a bit. She had to show Marston that she wasn’t a complete loss now that he was so devilishly handsome.
She slid on her ankle boots and secured her hair away from her face while still allowing it to hang in long curls down her back. All of this took ten minutes and Rose was near collapse by the time she finished.
She opened her bedroom door and Marston was to her in an instant, clearly reading the fatigue on her face. He helped her to the table, pulled out her seat and then pushed it back in once he was seated. He took his own seat across the table from her and Rose blushed when she felt his eyes roam over her body.
“Are we ready for Grace now?” Langley demanded impatiently. “Because I’m so hungry that even these runny eggs are starting to look real good.”
“Langley!” Rose snapped, but Marston just smiled.
“Go ahead and say your Grace, kid,” he urged, giving Rose a look that clearly meant to let it go. She wondered just how closed her son and Marston had gotten while she’d been ill as Marston winked Langley’s way and the boy laughed.
***
“Marston, I can wash clothes,” Rose argued stubbornly later that day as Marston put away the breakfast dishes that he had insisted on washing.
“No, you can stay here on the sofa next to the fire where it’s warm. If you have to do something you can sew.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “I need fresh air.”
Marston nodded. “Fine. I’ll open the shutters so you can have a breeze now that’s warmed up a bit outside.”
Rose sensed he was trying real hard to compromise, but it simply wasn’t enough. “Marston, I am a twenty-seven-year-old grown woman who is more than accustomed to taking care of herself. I don’t need to be ordered around!”
“Rose, I don’t know how old I am exactly but do know it’s at least a few years older than you and I say that you’re staying in here where it’s warm.”
Rose paused… “You don’t know how old you are?”
Marston shook his head. “My mother was a whore and birthdays just weren’t important.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Now stop trying to change the subject and tell me you’re going to behave.”
“But…”
“No buts!” Marston snapped. “The doctor said you needed to rest and I intend to see that you do. That means you’re not going out there and scrubbing them clothes until your fingers bleed.” Rose opened her mouth to speak again, but Marston silenced her with a sharp glare. “Stop arguing with me. I’m not good with arguing and I’m more likely to simply gag you and hog tie you to this couch to get my way.”
Rose stared hard at him. She wanted to say he was lying and wouldn’t truly do those things but judging by the look in his eye there was a good chance he was very serious. She sighed and flopped back against the sofa. “Fine.”
Marston smiled with victory. He fetched her sewing from her bedroom and brought it to her. He also brought her a plate of biscuits from the kitchen and the pitcher of water with a glass just in case she got hungry while he was busy.
Rose watched him with disbelief as he did all of this and then stoked up the fire in the fireplace and the cook stove. “There you’re all settled in,” Marston said, glancing around. “If you need anything else just yell for me. I’ll stay close enough to hear you.”
“I would say thank you,” Rose said. “But you don’t seem to like it when I do.”
He flashed a smile that had her heart stuttering. “Good to see you’re learning.”
Marston went about gathering the soap and dirty clothes and piled them into a basket. He propped the basket on his hip and then paused at the door. “You look mighty pretty today.”
Rose was left there at a loss for words as Marston left the cabin and she found herself alone.
***
Washing clothes was harder than Marston had suspected it would be. He had never bothered with doing it before. He’d always just stolen new clothes when his old ones wore out.
Marston pulled off his hat and blew his thick brown hair from his face as he scrubbed a particularly stubborn stain on Langley’s trousers.
Marston heard a twig snap behind him just before a familiar voice made his blood run cold. “What the hell are you doing, Marston?”
Marston dropped the washboard and pants into the water filled bucket and slowly stood straight as he turned. “What the hell are you doing here, Duke?”
Chapter Sixteen
“Jeremiah and I followed you,” Duke replied.
Marston found his eyes going to Jeremiah who was heading for the barn where Marston knew Langley was currently clean
ing stalls. “Stop right there, Jeremiah,” Marston warned, drawing his revolver and cocking it as he aimed it directly between Jeremiah’s shoulder blades.
Jeremiah stopped in his tracks, raised his hands high and turned to face Marston. “I was just gonna see if my damn horse was in there.”
“There ain’t nothing in that barn that concerns you,” Marston growled. He hoped Langley would be wise enough to stay in that damn barn. He didn’t want Rose or Langley exposed to these types of people. The fact that he was the same kind of person was not lost on him, but he knew that he would never do a single thing to hurt the woman or the boy—Marston couldn’t say the same for his brother and Duke.
“Okay then…” Jeremiah replied, throwing a concerned glance at Duke.
“Jeremiah, get over here and stand next to Duke,” Marston ordered, motioning with his revolver. Jeremiah was quick to obey.
Duke frowned. “You look like a regular old housewife, Marston. What are you doing washing clothes and shacking up with some woman and her brat?”
Marston holstered his gun and his fists tightened until his knuckles popped. “You’ve been watching me?” he ground out, cursing himself for not being more vigilant.
“Yep,” Jeremiah chuckled. “And I haven’t seen your face that smooth since you were suckling on mama’s tit.”
“That’s real cute,” Marston grumbled. “Who the hell did you bring with you?”
Jeremiah grinned. “Damn Marston, what kind of monsters do you think we are? It’s just me and Duke here. We wouldn’t have tracked you down with the whole gang.”
“Why don’t you answer my question, Marston,” Duke insisted. “What the hell are you doing here? You ain’t trying to settle down are you? I taught you better than that.”
Marston shook his head. “Don’t you worry about what I’m doing.”
“She must be a pretty one to have you out here playing cleaning lady. We haven’t seen her out though. Does she have the same red hair as that boy?”
Marston reached out and grabbed his skinny brother by the throat. “Don’t go worrying yourself about that woman or that boy, understand? They belong to me and if you so much as breath in their direction I’ll make sure you don’t breathe no more. This isn’t one of your little games and you can’t just go in there and take what you want.”
Jeremiah’s eyes widened while Duke shook his head. “We weren’t the only ones that played that game, Marston. You might not have enjoyed it as much as we did, but you always came right along.”
Marston removed his hand from his brother’s throat and took a step back as he shoved his hand through his hair. “I’m playing different games now,” he snarled.
Jeremiah rubbed at his bruising throat. “I can see that.”
Duke glared at Marston. “You think you’re better than us now?” he demanded and Marston heard Langley’s footsteps come out of the barn. “As far as I’m concerned it still seems like you’re playing the game. Just how long did it take before you had that little boy’s mama flat on her back and screaming your name?”
Langley gasped, but Marston had a more violent reaction. His fist rammed hard into the side of Duke’s face and Duke instantly hit the ground. Jeremiah took a step back and raised his hands, clearly in no hurry to be sprawled on the dirt the way Duke was.
“You’ll watch what you say,” Marston snarled as he glared down at Duke’s shocked expression.
Duke nodded and Marston reached down a hand and helped the older man to his feet. “I guess I was wrong,” Duke admitted as he rubbed at his red jaw. “You aren’t playing a game, are you?”
“No, I ain’t playing a game,” Marston agreed. He turned to Langley. “Are you done with those stalls?”
Langley shook his head and Marston could tell he was trembling. Marston crouched down to the boy’s level. “Why are you scared?” he demanded, doing his best to sound uninterested even as he hoped his eyes would show the boy he cared.
“Are these men gonna hurt me and mama?” Langley whispered.
“Of course not!” Duke assured him. “We’re just here to visit Marston.”
“He’s my brother you know,” Jeremiah added.
Langley’s eyes widened. “He’s the one that shot you?” he asked Marston.
Marston nodded. “Everything is gonna be fine, Langley. Get back to the barn now and finish your chores.”
Langley nodded and quickly raced back into the barn. “Why look at you, Marston,” Jeremiah mused. “You’ve turned into a regular old, soft family man.”
Marston tensed at being called soft. Soft men weren’t taken seriously. Soft men were weak. Soft men ended up dead. Without giving either man time to react, Marston pulled his revolver with one hand and his knife with the other. In less than a heartbeat, he had his knife at Jeremiah’s throat and his gun stuck deep in Duke’s gut.
“I ain’t soft, dammit,” he growled. “Keep thinking that way and I’ll show you what your insides look like. Lay a hand on either of these people and I’ll show you a little slower. Are we understood?”
Jeremiah was quick to nod and after a few moments of studying Marston closely Duke nodded as well. “Yeah Marston. We’re understood.” Duke sighed. “Marston, we didn’t come for trouble. Your brother and I were worried about you. You were beat up when you left and neither one of us liked how we left things.”
Marston frowned as he put away his weapons. “Worrying about others is against your rules, Duke.”
“Sometimes rules are meant to be broken,” Duke shrugged. “I nearly shot them damn men for attacking you the way they did even though you asked for it. Damn you for making me watch that, Marston. I couldn’t interfere without looking soft and looking soft in front of those bastards would have been deadly.”
“I made my own choice, Duke, and if they’d have killed me it would have been my fault.”
Jeremiah snorted. “I wouldn’t have let them kill you, you overgrown bastard.”
Marston wasn’t sure what to say. This wasn’t a typical conversation between the three outlaws. Duke clicked his tongue. “We’ve been through a lot together, Marston.”
“Things I’m trying to forget,” Marston replied. “I don’t want to be that man anymore. This woman and boy see me as something different and I want to be that man for them.”
Jeremiah shook his head. “You can’t just stop being what you are, Marston. You’re a bastard, literally, just the same as me. We were raised to hate, raised not to care. You’ve done things that would keep most folks up at night, but you don’t feel sorry for any of it and neither do I. That’s the beauty of our life. Why would you want to give that up?”
“You’re right,’ Marston admitted. “I’m not sorry for my past. Being sorry wouldn’t change a thing. Everything I did then, I did because I wanted to. None of that changes the fact that I don’t want to be that man anymore.”
“That woman must be something special,” Duke noted.
Marston let his carefully constructed defenses down and nodded as his gaze softened. Duke worried about the man. He had learned that love rarely ended well for men like them and Marston was clearly in love.
“She is special,” Marston replied. “She’s got something about her that I can’t explain but ever since first laid eyes on her, I’ve felt different.”
Jeremiah slapped him on the back. “Well, if this is what you want and the crazy makes you happy then I guess I’ll be happy for you.”
“Can we meet the woman who changed the unchangeable man?” Duke asked.
Marston quickly shook his head. “No.”
“Why the hell not?” Jeremiah demanded. “You don’t want her to meet her future brother-in-law and realize she picked the less handsome one?”
“I don’t want Rose to know you exist,” Marston admitted. “I don’t want to have to explain the man I was in the past to her.”
“You mean three weeks ago?” Duke inquired dryly.
Marston glared. “I’m serious. Leave. Forget
you followed me. Forget I exist. I’m leaving that life behind and I’m starting over. End of story.”
Marston pretended he didn’t see the hurt on their faces and Duke and Jeremiah took a step back. “That’s fine,” Duke said after several quiet moments. “But if you need us you can send word.”
“Alright then brother… I guess I have no choice but to accept what you’re saying but make sure you don’t stay a stranger for too long.”
Duke nodded. “Yeah and I know it’s still nearly a week away but Merry Christmas.”
Marston watched the men walk to the edge of the woods, mount their waiting horses and ride away.
“Wow, Marston! You sure showed them. You gotta teach me how to punch like that!” Langley exclaimed as he came out of the barn.
Marston looked at the boy. “Langley I have to go for a walk. You stay in the barn until I get back unless your mama needs help and hollers.”
“Why do you have to go?” Langley asked.
“I need to. And Langley, don’t tell your mama those men were here.”
Langley shifted his feet. “I don’t know….”
“Knowing those men were here will only cause your mama to worry and she’s too sick to be worrying,” Marston insisted.
‘Plus it’ll bring up some questions that you’d rather not answer’ that voice chimed in.
Langley finally nodded. “Okay. I won’t say anything.”
Marston ruffled his hair. “Good boy. Now go to the barn and finish up your chores.”
Marston waited until Langley was back inside the barn before heading off into the woods. He had to make sure that Duke and Jeremiah truly had left. He liked them well enough and that conversation he had had just had with them had caused him to doubt whether they would truly do Rose and Langley harm but Marston still had to do everything he could to keep the woman and boy safe.
***
“Go wash up for bed, Langley,” Rose said as she sat wrapped in a blanket beside the fire.
Marston frowned as he sat in the armchair and sharpened his knife. Rose knew he had noticed how tense she’d been all afternoon and she wished she were better at hiding her emotions. Rose was angry and she was uneasy.
Give My Love to Rose Page 13