Beauty and the Beasts [Bride Train 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (32 page)

The sun was finally going down. The purple, red, and yellow reminded him of bruises. His cock hardened in anticipation. There was a place halfway to Bannack where they kept a few women who liked it rough. And if they didn’t, well, who the hell cared?

* * * *

“Think he’ll go after Jennet?” Luke had waited to speak until the door to Emslow’s boardinghouse slammed shut behind Sheldrake.

“He didn’t even wipe his feet before going in,” said Oz, shaking his head. “If Lumley did that she’d take a broom to his arse. I was hoping to see her go after Sheldrake.”

“Why did he give in to us so easy?” asked Gabe. He tapped his hand against his thigh. “I heard he was meaner than Ross MacDougal, but without the brains.”

“Yeah, but he’s hurting now,” said Luke. “Did you see the limp? He tried to make a fist in the saloon when that kid spoke up, but his right hand won’t curl.”

“Didn’t Ben Elliott say something about him beating up some kid last winter?” Oz frowned. “The kid’s pa sent a posse to teach him a lesson. They stomped the hand that hit the kid. Must of done a bit of damage to his leg as well.”

“All I care about is seeing the back end of his horse as he leaves town,” said Luke.

The three of them backed into the dark as Sheldrake stomped out of the boardinghouse, again slamming the door, Since the boardwalk ended in front of Emslow’s, his footsteps were quiet in the dirt. A set of saddlebags lay over one shoulder. Since they didn’t flop, they must have something in them that was heavy. He crossed the street and went past the far side of the blacksmith shop.

Ten minutes later they heard a lone rider heading east. Without speaking they mounted up and headed for the Circle C. The only good thing about Sarah being gone was that Luke could sleep in the cabin.

Gabe rode home from town on Saturday evening after making sure things were right in town. Stumpy confirmed that Sheldrake lit out Friday night. He’d cussed about missing the whores, and said he wasn’t coming back. That meant Sarah was safe to stay in town, dammit. He and Oz wanted her home. They missed her more than they’d thought possible. She left everything in top shape and a huge pot of soup on the stove, but there was so much more to her than an efficient housekeeper. She was no servant, there to do chores. They wanted her as a living, breathing—loving—woman.

There was no smile of welcome when he got up that morning. No deep kiss and squeeze between chores with a promise for more later. No incredible hours discovering everything about her body, and then checking to make sure nothing had changed since the last time he touched that spot.

Once again, their cabin was just a place shared by three single men. They got up, worked all day, bitched about the weather, and crashed into bed with hard dicks and no hope of relief.

They’d already had years of the same damn thing. Yeah, the ranch had improved over time, but not their lives. They were still alone. Dammit, he didn’t want to go back to a daily existence with no hope for change in the future!

Sarah had brought hope for a future to the Circle C. Instead of three grumpy men putting in time until they died, she provided hope for children, and grandchildren. Though new father Ross MacDougal swore he hadn’t had more than two consecutive hours of sleep for the first month after his twin sons were born, he smiled broader than anyone knew possible. Gabe’s mother would say he had the light of love in him.

Gabe wanted that light with every fiber of his being. Somehow, they had to get Luke and Sarah to work things out.

Oz said he stayed in town after dropping Sarah off, until she was settled. Mary Barstow jumped at Sarah’s offer of a larger, though temporary, home. Oz said he made sure he cleared it with the sheriff, along with the reasons why, before offering it to the wife. He added that Mary was so excited she kissed him on the cheek, which caused Barstow to growl.

Was it only two weeks ago that Oz claimed Sarah for the Circle C with a kiss? Two weeks, and Gabe couldn’t see living without her.

Daisy’s excited bark erupted from the yard as he rode in. She loped over, tongue out and grinning as wide as Oz did when he got into trouble. The dog escorted him the rest of the way before flopping in the sun beside Oz. Already Daisy’s belly was swollen with puppies. Oliver would spend all his time in the trees once there were a pack of yelping puppies running around the yard.

If Oliver was still here. If Sarah was still here.

Oz looked up from the saddle leather he was tooling. “Everything all right?”

Gabe shrugged. “It will be when Sarah comes home.”

“Home?”

Gabe ignored Oz’s pointed question. He unsaddled his horse and took care of a few barn chores. Daisy opened an eye and flapped her tail against the ground in greeting whenever he passed by. Oz didn’t look up from his work. He held a wooden mallet in one hand and a metal stamp in the other. He gave the stamp a half-turn after each punch. Gabe wandered over to look. The pattern of quarter circles looked like a chain.

“Was it Nevin who brought the dog back?”

“Nope,” said Oz without stopping. “Daniel’s been working at the Double Diamond for a bit, and he had Daisy with him. When Daniel went home, Ace brought Daisy here.” Oz put down his tools and stretched. “He said last year he could never imagine the life they have now. New home, wife, and baby on the way. They’re all glad they’re younger sons, so they could leave England and have this life.”

Gabe closed his eyes at the shaft of envy that shot through him. He set his hands on his hips and toed the dirt. Would Sarah ever blossom with his seed? Not that he’d ever know. Gabe knew Luke had an aunt on his mother’s side with red hair, so no one would ever know who fathered which of their children. He didn’t care, and neither did Oz. But would Luke?

“Luke told Ace we’d help with anything they needed, since all their relatives are having their own children.”

Gabe nodded. Of course they’d help their neighbors, especially if they had to concentrate on a wife and baby instead of cattle. The three English “lordlings,” as Jessie called them, were getting better at ranching but didn’t have the same easy knack as most of the rest of the valley men.

“I overheard Luke ask Ace if he cared who the baby’s father was.” Oz spoke far too casually.

“And?”

“Ace said no.” Oz looked up. “Luke said he felt the same way, that Sarah’s babies would belong to all of us on the Circle C.”

Gabe raised his eyebrows. “Luke Frost, the man most determined to make sure his prestigious name continues forever, said it didn’t matter to him who fathered Sarah’s children?”

“Yep, as long as Sarah’s babies had Frost as a last name. But you’re missing the other point.” Oz waited for Gabe’s full attention. “Luke talked as if he planned for Sarah to be here, and have our babies.”

“He’s been saying he wants to marry Sarah since he first saw her. How was this any different?”

“For once, he said it without that cocky, arrogant, anything-I-say-will-happen attitude.” Oz sifted through his set of punches. He found one with a star and held it up, using it to emphasize his point. “Something has changed the mighty Luke Frost. Maybe it was you punching out his lights. Or maybe having Sarah gone for a couple of days made him realize what we’d be missing.”

“I have a damn good idea what we’re missing, and I don’t like it at all,” groused Gabe. “I want her back here, at home, with us.”

“She wants her business, and independence.”

Gabe stared uphill, toward the tall pine trees to the north and west. They protected the cabin from the cold winds which could pull the heat from a man’s skin so fast he froze solid.

“No,” he said quietly. “Sarah wants to feel she has value, respect, and is safe from the things other men did to her in the past. She believes she’ll get all that from owning her own business. Look at her father, her uncle, and that bastard that sold her. All of them treated her like she was something to be enjoyed as long as she was of use, then thrown away.”

“We don’t do that, and she knows it.”

“Yeah, but it’s not us she’d be legally married to. It’s Luke. She has to trust him, to believe he truly loves and respects her, and will consider her needs equally as his own. If she can do that, she won’t need to work long hours in the bakery to feel whole. We can show her what it’s like to be cherished for who she is, and help make her dreams happen. No business can do that.”

“You’ve known Luke all your life. You think there’s hope?”

“Only if he can get over his fear.” Gabe hunched down to rub an ecstatic Daisy. “Luke thinks it’s just heights, but it’s really that he’s afraid if he marries Sarah, and loves her, something will happen to her. She’ll be raped and murdered and it will be his fault. Just like his sisters. He needs to understand that protecting his heart may keep him from pain, but there’s no joy, either.”

“When did you get so damn smart?”

Gabe laughed. “I always was smart. It’s just that you’re finally listening to me.”

Oz snorted his disgust with Gabe’s comment. He pushed aside his work and stood up. Daisy immediately leaped to her feet and wagged her tail. Oz found one of her sticks and threw it as far as he could. Daisy dashed off. She turned her head when Oliver streaked past, but kept after the stick.

“We haven’t heard a word about those Gatlin sons-a-bitches,” said Oz.

They waited while Daisy raced back with her prize. She held it out tantalizingly at Oz, hoping he’d take one end. He gave in and they had a tug-of-war until Oz finally got it from the dog.

“When I was in town the other day,” said Oz before heaving the stick in another direction, “I heard Sophie say something about Miss Lily hiring the Pinkertons. What if we used some gold to see if they could find those Gatlin bastards?”

“You think the law would hang them just on our word?”

Oz threw the stick again. “Lily’s Judge Thatcher would know the answer to that. At least we’d find out where they were.”

Gabe relaxed in the new sense of power that came when he conquered his fear of losing control in a fight. “We could go after them. No one would know who we were.”

“If they’re nearby, we could put a word out to the Vigilantes.”

This time Daisy brought the stick to Gabe. He threw it far and then wiped dog slime on his pants.

“I guess we have to wait and see what happens when Sarah gets back tomorrow.”

Oz looked at the shadows now covering his work area. He gathered up his tools.

“Maybe Sarah misses us as much as we miss her,” said Gabe. “Luke will be getting her from town. They’ll have time to talk.”

“I guess all we can do is wait and see.”

“No, I think we’ll have what Gillis would call ‘a wee chat’ with our partner. If my fists didn’t do enough, maybe some of our words will get through that thick skull of his.”

“Why do you want Sarah in your life, and not some other woman?”

Luke continued to stir his Sunday morning oatmeal. Gabe and Oz had been after him since they got up and he was sick and tired of their jabbering at him.

“Think of her as a person, not a potential wife and mother,” continued Gabe. “What makes her special to you?”

“Special?”

Luke dumped a spoonful of brown sugar on the thick, lumpy mess. It would be hell to eat with his sore mouth, but he’d made the oatmeal, so he couldn’t complain. At least he didn’t burn it this time. If Sarah was here, it would be smooth and tasty. Maybe she’d put chunks of soft apple or peaches in it. Soon there’d be wild strawberries. He grimaced. If, that is, she wasn’t in town, baking for crowds of ugly, loud, dirty miners. What was special about the woman? Everything.

“Sarah’s the most irritating, frustrating woman I’ve ever met,” he said. “She makes it even harder to pay attention to what I’m doing because she’s always in my mind.”

“She wakes you up,” said Oz.

Gabe nodded. “He’s right. You’ve been in a funk since we headed West. You’ve been driving forward with only one thing on your mind.”

“Having a bunch of Frosties,” said Oz with disgust.

“Frosties?” Luke turned his sudden anger at Oz. “Are you referring to my children?”

“Or mine.” Oz pulled a knife from his boot and concentrated on trimming his fingernails. “Sarah could be carrying my baby right now, or Gabe’s.” He raised his eyes to Gabe. “You gonna marry her if her belly swells? ’Cause I sure ain’t.”

Gabe laughed. “You care enough about Sarah to marry her if she asked.”

Oz concentrated on his nails again. A flush tipped his ears.

“Whether she’s carrying your child or not, I will be the one to marry Sarah!”

Two sets of eyes turned to Luke.

“Why?” asked Gabe.

Luke scratched at his scratchy beard. He hadn’t shaved as he didn’t want to open the scrapes and cuts that his best friend had inflicted. A best friend who’d finally told him what a bastard he’d been all those years. That had taken him back a few pegs.

They all wanted Sarah, but why did he want the woman so much? Yes, he wanted her in the kitchen, sharing his bed, and children from her, but there was more. How could he say what he found so hard to understand?

“She’s got a way about her. I can’t say what it is, but she makes me feel…” He thought a minute. “She makes me think I can do anything.”

“Even climb a tree after her Oliver?”

Luke choked out a laugh. “No, but damn near anything else.” His partners looked at each other, and then stared at him, waiting. “That’s it, isn’t it?”

“You tell us,” said Gabe.

“Sarah said she won’t marry me unless I can prove I won’t betray her.” Luke’s chest automatically tightened. “She thinks if I prove I’ve conquered my fear of heights, it means I’ll do anything to protect her. Only then will she be able to give over control of her life.”

“So, next time Oliver climbs a tree, you get him down,” said Oz.

“That’s easy for you to say. You weren’t thrown off a cliff!”

Oz set his jaw. He slipped his knife away. “No,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t scared out of my mind with fear one time.” His green eyes bored into Luke. “I had to live in terror, day and night, from before I even knew I was alive. At any moment my dear father, or my brothers, or their friends, would beat on me until I was damn near dead. I was afraid to go home, even though I was so hungry my belly and backbone rubbed against each other. Because I had the same hair as my mother and sisters, every day they told me I was just a pretty boy, not worth a tinker’s damn. So I learned to defend myself, and to fight. I still watch people for the slightest sign, to see when they’re going to attack.” He paused. “
When
, Luke. Not if.”