Adam, Devils on Horseback: Generations, Book 1 (17 page)

Mama sat on the other side of the bed, holding Pa’s hand. Tears rolled down his face as Elias probed the wound. Bella was in the corner, watching with wide eyes.

“I don’t have to ask if you can feel that.” Elias touched the stitches with only two fingers.

“I can feel it all right. Good thing your aunt is holding my hand or I might punch you.” Pa spoke through his teeth.

Elias glanced at Eve. “Can you help me?” She extricated herself from Rose and went over to help his cousin. “Hold his hand steady while I check the bones.” Elias and Eve examined Pa with patience and gentle touches.

Adam sat in the chair and pulled his youngest sister onto his lap. He heard feet on the stairs and spotted all four of his uncles in the doorway. They met Pa’s gaze and all five of them communicated silently. The Devils had always had a way to speak without moving their mouths.

Adam supposed he had a similar relationship with the six wonders of the world. The cousins were as close as they could be, the product of the five men who’d begun their lives anew in Texas. They’d built their families, their homes and their futures together.

Now their children were following in their parents’ footsteps and establishing their own households. Adam had always considered his family to be loud, noisy and annoying. Now he recognized the foolishness of his juvenile thoughts. His family was the true treasure in his life, along with Eve.

All of them were there for his father, giving him support, even if there was nothing they could do. He wanted to build his own life with Eve and his cousins beside him. There was nothing he couldn’t do with his family by his side.

When Pa moved his arm, everyone clapped and cheered.

“Hell, that hurt like a bitch,” Pa gasped.

Elias smiled. “Good. That means you’re healing.”

A cheer rose up in the hallway and Adam knew his cousins were out there. Everyone was there for Pa. This was what life was all about.

Eve met Adam’s gaze with tears shining in her deep-blue eyes. He smiled at her.

“This is a good time to tell you all that Eve consented to be my wife. Again.” More cheers from the hallway. His uncles all nodded, except Zeke. He inclined his head in Adam’s direction, his only outward sign of approval. “When everyone is healed and on their feet, maybe we can have a wedding with a real preacher.”

Congratulations echoed around the room. Adam reached deep and knew it was time to make another decision to alter the course of his life.

“And there’s something else I want to tell everyone.” He glanced at Eve. “I’m going to continue to work at the mill until Pa is in full health, but I want to open my own business making stone walls and anything people need from stones or rocks.” Having her made him realize life wasn’t about waiting for something to happen. He had to grab on and reach for what he wanted.

Pa’s brows went up. “I didn’t know you were serious about that.”

“I am, and I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before now.”

“You need to follow your heart, Adam. I can’t say I won’t miss you.” Pa smiled. “I’ll put you to work when it’s wheat harvest time, though.”

Adam shook his father’s hand on the uninjured side. “Agreed.”

Eve’s smile widened and he knew his life would be what he needed, wanted and had always wished for. Even if he’d never realized it.

E
pilogue

A
month after the fire, Eve’s second wedding day dawned cloudy. A light mist fell outside. She’d always heard rain was good luck when a bride married. Whether or not it was, she already felt lucky.

No, she felt blessed. The universe had decided to stop throwing her in the bottom of the sewer and gift her with a man to love and a family to become part of.

Mrs. Sheridan poked her head in the door with a smile. “Are you ready to get dressed?”

Eve nodded and returned the smile. “I brushed out the gingham dress last night.”

“Silly girl. I have something better for you to wear.” The older woman came in the room with a beautiful deep-green dress. Eve gasped and clapped her hands together. “The girls helped me make it when you were out of the house.”

“Mrs. Sheridan, I can’t thank you enough.” Eve had never seen such a beautiful garment. The scalloped neck was trimmed with ivory lace, and small fabric-covered buttons marched up and down the back.

“I think you should call me Gabby.” She pulled Eve into a hug. “Or Mama.”

Eve’s throat tightened to the point she couldn’t smile, breathe or speak. The closest thing she had to a mama was the cook, Beulah, who had taken pity on a throwaway child. Now Eve had one who had made her a gorgeous dress and offered her the one person she’d always wished to have.

A mother…

“Thank you,” Eve managed to squeeze past the lump.

“You’re welcome.” Gabby wiped her eyes. “Now let’s make you beautiful for your man. Girls, let’s get to work.”

All four of Adam’s sisters marched into the room. They had an iron to curl her hair, brushes and hairpins.

“We have to make our new sister as pretty as a picture.” Rose almost danced with excitement.

…sisters too…

Yes, Eve was blessed. So much so, her heart was full. She couldn’t imagine a better life than what she was about to begin.

An hour later, Eve barely recognized herself in the mirror. Her hair had been curled, fluffed, brushed and pinned on top of her head. Strategic curls hung on the sides of her face. Gabby had put a whisper of rouge on Eve’s lips.

The reflection in the mirror was a woman who didn’t even resemble the waif who had sung for her supper with a troupe of gypsies. She was a new person about to embark on her new life.

“You look stunning, honey.” Gabby kissed Eve’s cheek.

“I picked these for you.” Rose held out a bouquet of wildflowers, rich with bluebonnets. “The blue ones are like your eyes.”

Eve took the flowers from the girl. “Thank you, Rose. They’re lovely.”

Someone knocked on the door. “It’s time,” her new father-in-law sang the two words. “Adam is about to wear a hole in the grass outside.”

They’d decided to hold the wedding in the backyard with the river and mill as the backdrop. This was where their life would begin. The officiant was a retired minister who lived about twenty miles from Tanger. Spencer had offered to pick him up and return him home. The cousins had decorated the yard and put together benches for the guests.

Everything was perfect.

The Sheridan women all kissed Eve’s cheeks and left her with Jake. The older version of Adam whistled when he saw Eve.

“My son is a lucky man. You are stunning, my dear.” He still wore a sling while his shoulder healed. “I’m proud to walk you down the aisle.”

She took his arm. “And I’m proud to walk beside you.”

“I have something for you.” Jake pointed to a paper in his coat pocket. “Jesse asked me to give it to you.”

Puzzled, she pulled on the folded paper and opened it. She read it twice before she looked up into Jake’s eyes. “This is a letter from a doctor.”

“The doctor who delivered you.” He smiled. “Adam had Jesse contact hospitals for births of baby girls matching your description, including a birthmark on your leg. That nephew of mine is like a dog with a bone. He kept at it, hounding people in Houston until he found what he was looking for.”

Eve stared at the paper, her eyes burning with unshed tears. She’d been a girl from nowhere, who was nothing to no one. Now she had this. A real name.

Agnes Goodson.

“You can be Agnes or you can be Eve. Adam said you could call yourself Sarsaparilla and he’d still marry you.” Jake smiled.

“I think I’d like to be Eve Agnes Sheridan.” She would begin with the best of who she was and look forward to being the best of who she could be.

“Then that’s who you will be. You know Adam is right. It doesn’t matter who we were. It matters who we are. You are very special.” Jake gave her an awkward one-armed hug. “Thank you for all you did for me.”

She shook her head. “Your family saved me.”

“Then we can all agree we’re better off with each other.” Jake kissed her forehead. “Welcome to the family, Eve. I hope you can find your way to call me Pa.”

…and now a father.

She managed not to cry, but it was a near thing. They walked down the stairs together and out to the front porch. Someone was singing a sweet ballad, a few dozen people gathered on the benches, but all she saw was her red giant.

He stood tall and proud beneath a trellis decorated with the same flowers in her bouquet. The Sheridan girls stood beside Tabitha, who waited as her maid of honor.

The rough-and-tumble woman had donned a blue dress and she looked like a different person. Even her hair was up in a braid curled on the back of her head.

Spencer, Clint and Elias stood beside Jesse, who was Adam’s best man. This was her family now. These people who made her feel as though she belonged.

She walked toward them while she trembled with anticipation. Jake held her steady over the uneven ground. When they reached Adam, her eyes blurred with unshed tears. Jake kissed her forehead again.

“Take good care of him.” He shook his son’s hand and sat down on the bench beside his wife.

“Dearly beloved,” began the preacher.

Eve stared into her husband’s eyes and knew she’d found the place where she belonged, the man who owned her heart and the family who adopted her. She took Adam’s hands. This was what life was all about.

Love and family. Forever.

About the Author

Beth Williamson, who also writes as Emma Lang, is an award-winning,
New York Times
and
USA TODAY
bestselling author of both historical and contemporary romances. Her books range from sensual to scorching hot. She is a Career Achievement Award Nominee in Erotic Romance by
Romantic Times
magazine, in both
2009
and
2010
, and a semifinalist in the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest.

Beth has always been a dreamer, never able to escape her imagination. It led her to the craft of writing romance novels, fueled by Reese’s and tenacious pursuit of the perfect story. She’s passionate about purple, books and her family. She has a weakness for shoes and purses, as well as bookstores.

Life might be chaotic, as life usually is, but Beth always keeps a smile on her face, a song in her heart and a cowboy on her mind. ;)

Website:
www.
bethwilliamson.com

Facebook:
www.
facebook.com/bethwilliamson

Twitter:
twitter.com/authorbethw

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Look for these titles by Beth Williamson

Now Available:

Marielle’s Marshal

Branded

Endless Heart
(as Emma Lang)

The Malloy Family

The Bounty

The Prize

The Reward

The Treasure

The Gift

The Tribute

The Legacy

Hell for Leather

The Present

The Fortune

The Prospect

The Jewel

The Gem

Private Lives

On His Knees

Devils on Horseback

Nate

Jake

Zeke

Lee

Gideon

Print Anthologies

Leather & Lace

Secret Thoughts

Coming Soon:

Devils on Horseback: Generations

Jesse

Clint

Elias

Spencer

Devils on Horseback: Millennium

Her Bucking Bronc

His Prairie Blossom

Her Dark Cowboy

His Dream Spirit

Don’t miss these other titles by Beth Williamson

Rereleased December 2015

Amidst the post-war chaos that rains down around them, a controlling man and a desperate woman must choose between life and love.

Devils on Horseback, Book 1

Nate Marchand grew up as the only son of the town drunk. As a Confederate soldier, he found that order in the chaos was the only thing that kept him sane. Numbers, information, keeping everything in its proper place became second nature. The chaos of the war and its aftermath sent him into a rigid state that he couldn’t seem to overcome.

He and his friends, nicknamed Devils on Horseback, leave behind the aftermath of war to start fresh in the west. Their new business venture flounders and desperation drives them to take whatever work they can.

The Devils are hired to remove the Taggert family from land claimed by Samuel O’Shea, the largest landowner in Grayton, Texas. When he meets Elisa Taggert, his entire world shifts beneath him. Attracted, bewildered, and off-kilter, Nate ignores his conscience in favor of his wallet.

The simple task of removing a woman, a boy, and an old man, along with a small herd of cattle, resembles a medieval siege. Nate wrestles with what he knows is right with what he must do. Will his love for Elisa overcome his need for survival?

Warning: Hold onto your hats and prepare for a wild ride with a stubborn, trouser-wearing, gun-toting female in the battle of her life with a handsome ex-soldier with hidden wounds and a need for order.