The Marshal Takes A Bride (18 page)

He had admitted all he thought about was sex. He was a man, she was a woman, and they had been trapped in that line shack, a storm raging around them. He had done nothing more than any other caged male would have done. It meant nothing to him, and she couldn’t let her overly romantic, female mind make more of that kiss than just a simple case of lust brought on by a rainstorm. Tucker Burnett didn’t want a future with her any more today than he had all those years ago. And if he did want her more today, it was only because he had been bored and she had been available.

No. This meant nothing. She refused to take a step back in time to where he had dumped her heart that night in Tombstone. She refused to let her mind conjure up the images she had tortured herself with while she was pregnant. Images of them together as a family, in a little house where they lived as man and wife, where he held the son they had made together. She refused to let this man make a fool of her once again.

Even though she longed to be in his arms, even though their kiss had felt like a homecoming, she must guard her heart against Tucker. He could not slip through her defenses again.

The kiss meant nothing.

A bird flew by, cackling in the cool, clean air. Sarah walked in the grass that grew between the now muddy wagon ruts, trying to keep her boots from caking with muck from the recent rains. They were miles from town, but she was determined not to wait another minute in that cabin.

Ahead the storm clouds raced on, radiating glimpses of lightning, with an occasional rumble of thunder in the distance. She had to get away from Tucker, back to Lucas and her grandfather. Where her world was more grounded in reality, not the dreamlike quality of Tucker’s kisses.

“Slow down, Sarah,” Tucker yelled.

She couldn’t slow down. The urge to run was still strong within her, and she didn’t know if she would stop before she reached Fort Worth.

At the sound of someone running behind her, she turned and glimpsed Tucker hurrying toward her. He ran up beside her and slowed to a walk. “What’s the all-fired hurry? What’s gotten into you?”

The urge to laugh was strong. He knew why she had left so abruptly; he was just trying to ignore the obvious problem. Just like he always avoided any kind of responsibility or commitment. Or anything that could possibly tie him down or make him deal with an uncomfortable issue.

“The storm was over. It was time to go.”

“You could have waited for me.”

She had to bite her tongue to keep from busting out at that statement. She felt like she had been waiting for him most of her life, and she was getting damned tired of his delays.

“It was time to leave,” she said, her hands clenched as she strode down the road.

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to a halt. “You’re mad that I kissed you, aren’t you?”

She stared into the brown of his eyes, the color reminding her of leaves in fall. “No, I’m not mad, but what’s the point? I’m not interested in just a quick tumble to ease the aching between your legs. You’re not interested in anything that might hint at forever. What we did back there was a total waste of time, and I have responsibilities waiting for me at home.”

He grinned at her and started to laugh. Anger cascaded through her, and she jerked her arm free and started walking again, leaving him standing in the road.

“Damn it, Sarah,” he called out, laughing. “You know how to ruin some great kissing. It was fun.”

“Good, I’m glad you enjoyed it. But I must get home.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “And I certainly know where all that kissing leads. Heartache!”

***

Several days later, Tucker sat trying to focus his attention on the paperwork that lay strewn on his desk.

He couldn’t help but remember how Sarah had looked, her head thrown back in passion as he had explored her body years ago. The image of her naked, the moonlight shimmering on her skin like silk, returned, hitting him below the belt. He clenched his fists on top of the desk.

A rapid knock caused him to jump as he jerked his gaze in the direction of the doorway. Federal Marshal McCoy stood staring at him.

“Tucker, you awake, man?”

Tucker shook his head. “Sorry, my mind was busy thinking about something else. When did you get back in town?”

“Just today. I had to go to Dallas, so I made a special trip to come by and see you.”

“Oh? Something I can do for you, Marshal?”

“Yes. Can I come in?”

“Sorry, come on in and sit down. How can I help you?”

The marshal took a seat in a chair across from Tucker, crossed his ankle over his knee and laid his hat on top of his calf.

He glanced up at Tucker. “Remember the last time I was here, I was telling you about one of my officers getting married?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, it’s official. His last day is a month from now. And I’ve got to find someone to replace him.” An impending sense of interest suddenly caused Tucker to pay closer attention.

“I was kind of wondering if you’d be interested in taking his place. You’ve been here now for a couple of years. I know you’re good with a gun, and you don’t have a wife and children to tie you down.”

Tucker smiled. “What’s the pay like?”

The man shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not much more than you’re earning now, but you would be working on cases that are in your territory, not just in one city.”

“So do you enjoy the job?”

“Yes, I do. I get to travel, work on interesting cases and bring in men who need to be brought to justice.”

“Sounds exciting,” Tucker said.

He watched as the marshal picked up his broadband hat and beat it against his leg, then glanced back at Tucker. “It’s not a job for just any lawman, and it’s a real opportunity if you want it. You have to work long hours, and you’re often far from the people you know. I haven’t been home to see my sisters in over three years.”

“There are always sacrifices.”

“That’s right.” He stood. “I’ve got to go, but I wanted to stop by and offer you the job before I went back to Austin. Think about it, and in a couple of weeks I’ll be back. We can talk some more at that time.”

Tucker stood up and walked around the desk. “Thanks! I appreciate you thinking of me. I already know my answer, but I’ll agree to think about it just like you said.”

The man nodded and put his hat on his head. “I’ll be going now.” He shook Tucker’s hand and then walked out the door. “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”

“Thanks again!” Tucker called as the man strode out of the Tarrant County jail. Calmly Tucker shut the door from the prying eyes of the deputies and then danced a jig across his office floor.

Finally, after over two years of being home in Texas, he would be leaving Fort Worth. Once again he would be a roving man with few responsibilities.

***

Across town, the bell tinkled above the door of Doc Wilson’s office, and Sarah looked up to see Eugenia Burnett stroll through the door. She wanted to groan, but resisted. Already she had felt the day was less than stellar with her continuous thoughts of Tucker, but now it was a total disaster.

“Good morning, Sarah.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Burnett,” she said politely.

“I just wanted to come and check on you, after I heard about you and Tucker being stranded during that terrible storm several days ago.”

Sarah did her best to control the irritation she felt for being reminded of that day as she gazed at the older woman. “Thank you for your concern, Mrs. Burnett, but as you can see, I’m just fine. We had to walk for quite a few miles, but that was no problem.”

“Any progress to report with my son?” Eugenia asked, taking a seat across from Sarah.

The question made the back of Sarah’s neck prickle like a thousand needles cascading down her spine. The woman had a lot of gall to sit there and ask her about Tucker, especially after their trip to the Melboumes’. Sarah was trying hard to put the memory of his kiss out of her mind. That simple kiss had stirred up more reflection, more feelings of heartache and regret, than Sarah cared to remember.

“Yes, there has been some progress,” Sarah replied, her voice carefully controlled. “Which part would you like for me to tell you about? The man he introduced me to that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, or the one who was more interested in climbing the social ladder than the care of my son?”

“Oh, my,” Eugenia said, frowning.

“Yes, we made so much advancement on our little trip to visit the Melboumes’ that I walked away from the line shack where we were waiting out the storm and left him.”

Sarah stood and began to pace.

“But don’t you see, Sarah, he’s introducing you to men that are completely unsuitable because he wants you for himself,” the older woman said quietly.

Ridiculous, Sarah thought. This whole conversation is simply ludicrous.

“Have you changed your mind yet about us marrying?” Sarah asked.

“No, Sarah, I haven’t. When Tucker falls, it will be hard and it’ll be everlasting. Don’t give up on him just yet.”

“Mrs. Burnett, your son and I will never marry. You need to accept that fact. As I told Tucker the other day, we are wasting each other’s time. He doesn’t want to settle down, and I have a son who I must consider. He’s planning on leaving Fort Worth soon, and I won’t be here when he gets back. So your matchmaking isn’t going to work this time.”

“But . . .”

“Forget this foolish scheme and don’t come here talking to me anymore about marrying Tucker. The next time you come to visit me, I will expect that you are here for a medical reason, not one of the heart.”

 Eugenia stood and glanced across the room at Sarah. “I know it looks pretty hopeless to you right now; but I know my son, and you are the woman for him, whether the two of you are ready to accept that fact or not”

“Mrs. Burnett, I have been polite to you while you have been pushing this outlandish notion of marriage to your son since I returned. I’m asking you kindly to leave before I completely lose my patience. Tucker and I will never marry.”

***

Later that afternoon, Sarah decided she couldn’t stand her own company any longer. Patients had been few and far between today, and she found her mind drifting to Tucker way more than it should. The urge to spend time with Lucas and escape the images that had plagued her all day had her flipping the sign on the door to
CLOSED
.
After locking the door, she quickly walked down the wooden sidewalk to the hotel several blocks away. Spring seemed to have finally appeared as the sun beat upon her, and she rushed to the hotel, anxious to spend time with her son.

When she arrived at the hotel, she nodded to the desk clerk on her way up the stairs.

“Mrs. James, I have a message for you from your grandfather,” he called.

She halted from going up the stairs and came back to the desk. The man handed her a small envelope that had her grandfather’s handwriting on the outside. “Thank you.”

Ripping open the envelope, she quickly scanned the contents.

Sarah,

Tucker came by and took Lucas fishing. He said you’d know where. Hope you don't mind, but I had a meeting I needed to attend, so I agreed to let Lucas go. I’ll be gone until tomorrow.

Sarah did mind, her heart pounding with adrenaline. Her grandfather had let her baby go with his father. A more undisciplined man she had never met. What if he didn’t watch Lucas carefully? What if Lucas slipped and fell into the pond? What if he realized the child was his son?

Maybe it was illogical, but she didn’t want Tucker spending time with the boy, especially time alone.

“Please have a wagon brought around for me,” she informed the clerk.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said.

Within fifteen minutes they brought around a small team for her to drive.

She walked out to the waiting wagon and climbed up into the wagon seat.

Sarah slapped the reins against the back of the horses and yelled, “Giddyap.”

The wagon lurched, the wheels rolling down the street. How could her grandfather let Tucker take Lucas? But then again, her grandfather didn’t know that Tucker was the boy’s real father. He didn’t know that Tucker had left her before the sun rose the morning after they had made love. Just as she had not known that she was pregnant until two months later.

The horses kicked up dust, but Sarah paid little heed as the wagon carried her to the creek where they would meet when they were younger. It took her little more than half an hour to find Tucker and her son. Yet when she did, the sight gave her a jolt for which she was unprepared.

Lucas sat in his father’s lap holding a fishing pole, while Tucker’s head was bent next to the child. She watched as her son giggled when they caught a small perch. He clapped his hands excitedly as his father swung the fishing line up to the bank where they sat.

Her heart suddenly shattered. What had she done? Tucker was the boy’s father. Didn’t he deserve to know he had a son?

A lump formed in her throat, and for the first time she doubted the decisions she had made regarding
her son. He deserved to know the man whose facial features had fashioned his own. He deserved to know the man who had sired him. Lucas deserved to know his father, just as Tucker deserved to know the boy he had helped to create.

She swallowed and watched as Tucker removed the fish from the line, put it on a stringer, and then baited the hook for her son once again. He dropped the line in the water, the cork bouncing with the ripples of the pond.

Sarah sighed, set the brake and then climbed down from the wagon, carefully holding her skirt. As she started walking toward the two of them, Tucker had his arms around the boy, talking to him quietly.

How could she be angry with him for taking her son when the two of them were having such a good time? How could she continue to keep the knowledge of Lucas’s parentage from Tucker and live with herself? How could she break up this party when Lucas was obviously quite contented?

“Watch your cork, Lucas. You have to sit real still and let the fish play with your bait.”

Tucker put his fingers together and tried to make his hand look like a fish going after the bait and explain how it would work for Lucas.