Covington, Cara - Love Under Two Lawmen [The Lost Collection] (Siren Menage Everlasting)

by Love Under Two Lawmen (lit)

  “A couple of hours? I thought Sarah lived in Waco.”

  Adam turned and gave her what he knew was a considering look. “A couple of hours is just right outside of town.”

  “Back home, a couple of hours’ journey is clear into the next county.”

  “Things are different in Texas.” Adam placed Amanda’s carpet bag on the back of the wagon, beside her valise. Warren stepped up into the driver’s seat, so Adam lifted Amanda onto the seat beside him, laughing when she squeaked.

  Adam’s horse, Houston, was tied beside the wagon. Warren had spent the night at the Benedict ranch the previous evening, as he’d needed to go over some ongoing legal matters with Sarah and Caleb and Joshua. Early this morning, he’d driven one of their two-horse buckboards into town in order to provide the easterner with a ride to the ranch.

  “Ready?” Warren asked.

  Amanda nodded, even though she still looked dazed. She took a moment to scan her surroundings. Then she turned in her seat to face Warren.

  Adam mounted his horse and came alongside.

  “I just told you I’m a private investigator, and neither of you batted an eye or made any kind of comment in response. Don’t you believe me?”

  “Of course we believe you,” Warren said.

  “And you’re not going to tell me that a woman’s place is in the home?”

  “Why would either of us say something we don’t necessarily believe?” Adam looked ahead, then back at Amanda.

  She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Adam clicked, and his horse began to walk. Warren snapped the reins of the horses hitched to the buckboard. The wheels creaked as the small wagon began to move.

  Casting a glance over his shoulder, he noted Amanda, sitting in the wagon, still looked confused. That was fine. They had two hours between here and the Benedict’s ranch, plenty of time to explain things, and plenty of time to satisfy some of his curiosity.

  The woman was a private investigator, and he’d bet she figured a few things out on her own before long.

  Like the fact that both he and Warren were very attracted to her.

  Chapter 2

  Amanda had been born and raised in the city of Richmond, Virginia. While she had traveled outside the city with her mother from time to time and had even taken the train to New York City once, she couldn’t say she’d ever encountered so much empty space as she had in this last week journeying west.

  She was also getting very tired of traveling.

  Autumn had arrived, and yet the heat of summer seemed to linger here. The grass, shorter and coarser looking than back home, was saved from being all brown by holding tenaciously to streaks of green.

  The buckboard’s movements were neither as smooth nor as gentle as the train, which hadn’t been smooth or gentle at all. She wondered if her bottom would ever recover from the abuse it had suffered so far on this journey.

  Mr. Jessop had made a little polite conversation while they were yet in Waco, but once they’d left the city behind, he’d fallen silent. Amanda had never minded silence overmuch. Today, however, she needed the sound of voices and the meat of conversation to help her get her mind off her sore body.

  “You said Sarah was unable to meet me herself.” Amanda was only just now remembering that, more than an hour into the journey to her cousin’s ranch. Some investigator she was.

  “We did,” Warren turned to her, his smile gentle.

  Amanda couldn’t help but notice his smile made his eyes twinkle. “Is she ill?”

  Captain Kendall answered her question. “No, she’s with child, and although she has a couple of months before she gives birth, her husbands didn’t want her traveling.” He rode beside her, his horse keeping pace with the wagon.

  Amanda met his gaze and read the challenge there. “Did you say husbands? As in more than one?”

  Kendall nodded. “I did. She has two husbands, Caleb and Joshua Benedict, and they are both very good friends of mine.”

  She tilted her head as she considered him. She’d only known him an hour, but damn if she wasn’t beginning to understand him already. If anyone else had said that, she might have thought they were trying to provoke her. Amanda didn’t think that was the captain’s purpose at all. He obviously felt the need to test her, and it didn’t take a lot of intelligence to figure out why.

  “Lucky woman.”

  She could see she’d totally shocked him with her response. Beside her, Mr. Jessop inhaled sharply but said nothing.

  After a moment, Captain Kendall said, “Interesting reaction.”

  Amanda had never been good at the social games people played. She much preferred saying what needed to be said flat out, as opposed to couching her meaning amid disingenuous words and false flattery. “If you don’t want me to meet my cousin, then why did you volunteer to bring me to her?”

  “It isn’t that at all.” Kendall said.

  “Isn’t it?”

  “Why don’t we take a break here?” Mr. Jessop stopped the wagon, then turned to meet Amanda’s gaze. “We’re protective of Sarah—”

  “I get that. And I appreciate your concern. Just because I’ve never met this cousin doesn’t mean I don’t care about her. Do you mind if I get down and walk around for a moment? I feel as if I’ve been traveling for a year instead of a week.”

  Captain Kendall quickly dismounted and lifted Amanda from the wagon. Her limbs had stiffened, and she nearly fell. If not for the lawman’s quick reflexes, she would have and that wouldn’t have aided her self-image in the least. It was, she mused, hard to put her best foot forward when the foot in question didn’t want to move. On the heels of her exhaustion and stiff muscles, the attraction she felt for both these men had her completely off balance.

  “Please don’t be offended by our concern. Sarah has been through a lot.” Mr. Jessop seemed much softer spoken than Captain Kendall. “Her father arranged for her marriage to Tyrone Maddox without her knowledge or consent. Maddox, it turned out, planned the whole time to have her murdered for her inheritance. Now, just a few months later, here comes a cousin Sarah’s never heard of before. Of course, she’s excited and looking forward to meeting you. But the timing—”

  “I only learned of Sarah’s existence about a month ago, when my own father passed away.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss.” Captain Kendall said the words without inflection, and while she didn’t doubt his sincerity, she knew he held fast to his determination to protect his friends’ wife regardless.

  The man seemed entirely too self-assured and arrogant for her tastes. She’d seen his kind all her life. Young, handsome, sure of his place in the world, and determined to make his mark, no matter who he needed to step on to do so. Yes, she knew his kind well.

  Why she was attracted to the man, why he heated her blood and made her belly flutter was a mystery beyond her abilities at the moment. She needed to find her starch.

  It was time to shake the lawman up, just a little. She had already figured out who and what he was. It was time to turn the tables and offer a little candor of her own.

  “Don’t be. It really was no loss to me, since my father never acknowledged me publicly or privately, even though I was his only surviving child. In fact, the fact that he left me a small inheritance was quite a surprise, since I’m the bastard daughter of his mistress.”

  * * * *

  Warren had to work to hold on to his laughter. He’d told Adam what information he had of Amanda Dupree. Through the years, Terence Parker had mentioned one friend, one person who’d always treated him kindly and with respect despite knowing all his secrets. He’d called her Mandy, and it didn’t take great brains to figure out that “Mandy” was, in fact, Miss Amanda Dupree. Terence’s mother had worked with Amanda’s for a time until she’d died of consumption when Terence had been twelve. Old enough to work, he’d been making his way as best he could when a reverend and his wife had taken him in. The reverend had seen to Terence getting an education. Unable to bring himse
lf to be a preacher, Terence had decided on the law as a career.

  Warren had met the man when they’d both been young clerks in Philadelphia. Shortly after Warren had left that city for Texas, Terence had gone back to Virginia. They’d kept in touch by letter faithfully.

  Warren brought his attention back to the scene unfolding before him. Amanda stood toe-to-toe with Adam. With her hands on her hips and her cheeks flushed with indignation, she was quite possibly the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He wouldn’t mind sinking his teeth and his cock into her.

  He was pretty certain Adam felt the same way, for he’d seen his lover look at her with a lust-filled gaze. Warren felt his cock stir as he considered the possibility that they both might nibble on the luscious Miss Dupree at the same time. He would have to discuss the possibility with Adam tonight.

  “Are you trying to shock me, Miss Dupree?”

  “I thought that was your tactic, Captain Kendall.”

  “Look, I just—”

  “Yeah, yeah, you just don’t want Sarah to get hurt. It occurs to me that any woman capable of satisfying and keeping peace between two husbands likely doesn’t need protection from the likes of you.”

  “You said that as if the idea of one woman with two men didn’t bother you.”

  “Bother me? It’s a refreshing change, seeing as a lot of men seem to harbor the deep, dark desire of having two women all to themselves.”

  Adam’s brow went up, and Warren had to hand it to Amanda. She’d managed to make Adam sputter.

  “We’re not your enemies, Mandy,” Warren said.

  She jerked her head in his direction, her gaze meeting his. “Terence calls me Mandy.”

  “I know.”

  “Why are you here?” Adam asked.

  “I…” Amanda turned away from Adam. When that man’s curious gaze turned to him, Warren could only shrug.

  They both kept silent while Amanda took a few paces away from them. The day had turned hot. Dressed in dark clothing, what Warren guessed was Mandy’s version of widow’s weeds, she had to be sweltering.

  “When my father died, he left me something. It was then I learned about Sarah. I’ve never had a sister, and I couldn’t help but wonder about her.”

  “Why do I think there’s more to it than that?” Adam asked.

  “Because there is. I was going to ask her for help, but not for money. There’s something I have to do, and I thought she could point me in the right direction.” Amanda laughed then, and Warren thought the sound rather sad. “I didn’t know about her second marriage or that she was with child. I actually thought she might like to come along with me as I look for…” Her voice trailed off then. As if she’d just realized all she’d said, she turned and looked at the both of them. Her gaze went to Adam, then back to him. She tilted her head to the side, and Warren felt his face begin to color.

  She’s figured us out.

  “Look, if Sarah’s husbands are even a half as protective as the two of you, then I imagine I’ll be explaining everything to them, too. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get there and freshen up first.”

  Amanda focused her attention on his lover, instead of him, waiting for his answer. Adam looked over and cocked his right eyebrow, silently asking for Warren’s opinion.

  “Sarah’s going to be angry if we don’t bring Miss Dupree to her,” Warren said.

  Adam nodded. “I know.” He turned his gaze back to Amanda. “Your cousin insists on getting her way lately.”

  “I like her already,” Amanda said.

  That got a smile from Adam. Warren knew his lover was attracted to the woman and imagined he was fighting it, putting his concern for Sarah first.

  “All right, Miss Dupree. Let’s resume our journey.”

  “All things considered, I think you both ought to call me Amanda.”

  “Mandy,” Warren corrected.

  She smiled at him, then looked at Adam again. “I’m used to that,” she said. “That little exchange of meaningful looks you two just shared.”

  Adam raised that eyebrow again, a sure sign to Warren he was confused. “Are you, now?”

  “Yes.”

  Adam lifted her back up onto the seat beside Warren.

  “It’s a darn shame,” she said then. She looked from Adam, to him, then sighed. “All the best men are always already taken.”

  “Not such a shame,” Adam shot back. “As Warren and I also enjoy women. And, we’re both very attracted to you—Mandy.”

  * * * *

  It would have been better if he’d killed the whore.

  Colin Baker stared out the window of his room at the Lyon House Hotel in Springfield, Missouri, and knew the truth of that sentiment. He thought back to five days before, to his furtive visit to that small cottage on the outskirts of Richmond, Virginia.

  He’d panicked. The harlot had screamed, and then came a heavy pounding on the door, and the shouts of an enraged man. Fearful of being caught, he’d heaved the woman against the wall, felt the bone-deep satisfaction of watching her eyes roll back in her head as she slid to the floor. Even as he’d levered himself out a back window, the front door of the small house had burst open. He’d looked back once and watched as the whore had slowly shaken her head and moaned.

  He’d not had his hands around her throat long enough to kill her and that, he feared, might be a mistake that would come back to haunt him.

  Fortunately, it would be unlikely the incident would have been reported to the authorities. The woman was just a whore, after all. He’d not finished rifling through her bureau when she’d discovered him, but he’d managed, despite the debacle the evening had turned into, to find what he’d been looking for.

  He’d discovered where the whore’s daughter had gone.

  There’d been a copy of a newspaper advertisement for the B & O Railroad listing excursions departing Philadelphia for all points west. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out that paper, now slightly rumpled looking. On it, in flowery script, a notation at the side read, “Amanda Philadelphia to St. Louis to Springfield to Waco.”

  He had only one more city to reach.

  Colin could think of no reason for a whore—for surely the daughter took after the mother—to travel to Texas unless it was to retrieve the treasure his stepfather had hidden.

  The treasure that, by all rights, belonged to him.

  Colin’s mother had married William Gladstone when he’d been but five years old. The old man’s only son, nearly a decade older than Colin, had gotten himself killed in the war. At least his mother hadn’t produced any whelps in her new marriage to the man. Thus, Colin remained as Gladstone’s only legitimate heir.

  He’d never particularly liked the old man. He thought the bastard tedious in the extreme, always insisting that Colin attend school, then actually learn a trade and earn his way.

  Why should Colin work for a living like a common laborer? He’d had an inheritance from his own father, and Gladstone had been wealthy enough to provide whatever Colin needed.

  When the old man tightened the purse strings last year, Colin looked for another way to get what he was entitled to. One night, when he was into his cups, he recalled Gladstone’s journals.

  As a young lad, he used to spend time on winter afternoons reading through his stepfather’s accounts of his life before and during the war. William Gladstone was one of those sons of wealth and privilege who’d attended the military college at West Point. Then, when the War of Northern Aggression had broken out, he’d come home to Richmond, exchanging a blue uniform for a gray one. It seemed to Colin that when the man wasn’t soldiering, he was writing.

  Colin recalled one journal in particular, the final one written during those tumultuous years. As a boy of ten, he’d not understood all the finer details he’d read. But as he’d grown older, as he’d become an adult, he’d understood one adventure in particular Gladstone had chronicled.

  While he’d not read that account for several years—Gladsto
ne had hidden the damn books once he realized Colin had been reading them—he remembered the story and knew what it meant.

  When money became tight, Colin decided that he would make his fortune the old-fashioned way. He would steal it. So he’d devised a plan, a rather ingenious plan, he’d thought. Gladstone had grown old and shown signs of ill health. It proved a simple matter to sneak into the man’s room one night and place a pillow over his face until he’d stopped struggling.

  Colin had worn mourner’s black very well. He’d stood next to the bastard’s casket, received the condolences. He’d sat in stoic silence during the reading of the will. No other family remained, save a maiden aunt nearing seventy. He’d received the bulk of Gladstone’s estate, of course, except for a small bequest and a personal memento left to a young woman named Amanda Dupree. Miss Dupree hadn’t been invited to the reading of the will, so Colin had thought nothing more of the matter until he’d discovered the final journal missing.

  The lawyer had been unwilling, at first, to divulge any information to Colin about the mysterious young woman. Finally, though, the man had admitted that Miss Dupree was Gladstone’s illegitimate daughter and had been left the sum of two thousand dollars and a worn-looking tome.

  The lawyer swore he had no idea what the book contained, for he had promised his client to deliver the items to the woman immediately upon learning of his death without ever opening or reading the book. The lawyer had assumed he’d delivered nothing more than a family chronicle.

  Colin had no choice but to search for Miss Dupree. He hadn’t found her, of course, but he had located her mother—also a Miss Dupree.

  Colin would never understand why his stepfather had left the journal to that chit, but since she’d lit out of Richmond and headed southwest, he had no doubt the old bastard had done just that and that the whore was going after the treasure.

  The sun had set, and his belly grumbled, demanding food. The man at the hotel desk had assured him that fine fare could be had down the street at a restaurant called Murchison’s. He’d go and eat, maybe stop off for a beer or two at the saloon on his way back.