Circle Eight: Vaughn (13 page)

“Pretty speech. I don’t know what you’re after, whatever the hell your name is, but I ain’t buying it.” Tobias reached up to help Elizabeth down. After some hesitation, she leaned into his touch. As the other man’s hands wrapped around her waist, Vaughn experienced a rush of jealousy, tangy and sharp. When Tobias started unsaddling her horse, it grew worse.

Vaughn told himself to help her mount and dismount her horse from now on. A good husband always took care of his wife. The problem was, he wasn’t used to being responsible for anyone other than himself. This pretend marriage farce might not be as easy as he thought.

Vaughn got down with a thump and unsaddled his own mount. The gelding sidestepped, then attempted to take a bite of his master’s ass. “I know I left you for a few days. It’s not my fault, Rebel. I promise not to lose track of you again.” The horse eyed him with what appeared to be suspicion, but kept his teeth to himself.

The younger Gibsons moved like a hive of bees, taking care of the fire, water and horses in record time. Vaughn stood by and watched, useless and unneeded.

“I’m can’t really cook but I’ll do what I can.” Elizabeth sat down on the rock near the small blaze and poked through the saddlebags.

“It’s simple fare. Some cornpone and ham. It’s enough for one meal.” Tobias and Will set to stringing the horses on a rope near the trees. Jeb arranged the saddles to serve as pillows for their riders. Efficient and effective team. Vaughn had never felt more alone watching them work.

He sat beside Elizabeth, desperate to find his place in the odd group. It generally was no problem for him to fit in anywhere, except with this motley crew.

She looked at him, brows raised. “Can you cook?”

“Yes.” Eager to assist, he took the fixings for the cornpone and whipped them in the pan while she watched.

“Such skills for a fancy man.”

“I’m not fancy. I told you I grew up on a farm, worked my way, hell, scraped my way through life. If I couldn’t feed myself, I starved.” He set the pan on the lowest heat by the side of the fire, keeping his gaze on the cornpone and not on the woman beside him.

“We always had each other. Everyone was good at something, except sewing. None of us could master that until Matt married Hannah. She taught us all how to get by.” The orange firelight licked at her golden hued skin, kissed by the sun with a dusting of freckles across her nose. “I would rather do dishes and muck stalls than cook, though. Eva tried to teach me, truly she did. I think I just didn’t want to learn. I liked numbers instead.”

He could hardly imagine having such a large family, where they all helped each other. When he was on the work farm with Abraham, the boys and girls acted like a pack of rats. Biting, scratching and kicking at each other. Now he could see the evidence of what a real family was like. It was bewildering. He had to find something else to think about.

“When is your birthday?” He jiggled the pan, satisfied with the sizzle of the food.

“November fifteenth.” She frowned at him. “Why?”

“As husband and wife, we should know as much as we can about each other.”

“Oh. I thought it would be all made up.”

“Not all. There has to be some grain of truth in everything or people won’t believe you. Birthdays are easy, as are first names, nicknames. They sound natural. Convincing.” He jiggled the pan again. “Mine is January first.”

“A New Year’s baby. I wonder what went wrong then.” She pursed her lips and waited.

The smile came easy. He didn’t expect her teasing but he sure as hell welcomed it. “I was the practice one, I guess.”

At this, she almost smiled. Her lips twitched anyway. “Is your real name Vaughn Montgomery?”

“My first name is Vaughn, yes. I don’t know if my last name is Montgomery. It was the one I took because I liked it.” He didn’t want to go into why and he hoped she didn’t ask. Children on a work farm were nameless, faceless urchins, born in the shadows, usually to die in them. He and Abraham had each other, and that was all he knew.

She nodded. “I like it. It’s a strong name to choose.”

“So is Graham.”

“My father was a proud Scotsman. His father had come over when my papa was a little boy, to escape the oppression of the English. Texas was as rugged as land could be, and as different as Scotland could be. I think he wanted to forget his homeland.” She rubbed her nose. “I never met him but he made my father into the man he was. Strong is the right word.”

Vaughn was surprised by the insight but glad of it. Sharing information was how they overcame the awkwardness of two strangers pretending to be married. Although truth be told, many couples were strangers when they married.

“When we get to Houston, I want to let my family know I’m all right. Can we do that?” Her voice was barely audible over the night sounds.

“I’ll do my best to make it happen.” He would do no such thing but she didn’t need to know that. If her family was anything like her, they would tear after her and take her back before they could finish the job with Boyd. He had to finish what was started.

“Thank you.” She folded her hands and waited while the cornpone cooked.

“We met in Galveston, on the dock. You were waiting for your father to return on one of his ships. I was there to pick up cargo from the same ship.” He imagined the scene in his mind. “The wind blew your blue hat off and scattered some pins from your hair. As you scrambled after the hat, I stopped its escape and handed it to you. When I looked into your eyes, the color of the water behind you, I fell in love in an instant.”

He didn’t look at her, but her gaze pinned him nonetheless. “Tobias was nearby but not next to you. When he noted we were talking, as your bodyguard he tried to get rid of me but you wouldn’t allow it.”

“Tobias is very protective. He was doing what Papa told him to.” Elizabeth picked up the thread of the story. “I introduced you to Papa when he arrived. You knew his name and reputation as a merchant. I invited you to supper that night.”

Vaughn smiled at her, caught up in the fairy tale that never happened. “We were inseparable after that. I proposed to you within a month. Your father didn’t want to give me his permission but you stood your ground. We were married in the spring when the trees flowered and the warm spring air blew. It’s been a short time, but I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like without you by my side.”

She met his gaze, her eyes wide in the deepening twilight. He could almost smell the flowers in the air, feel her hand in hers, the preacher’s words dancing on his ears. The ground beneath him shifted and he tumbled forward. He leaned toward her, wanting, needing, aching to kiss her. She closed her eyes as he drew near. The first touch was soft as a butterfly wing, then he kissed her again, sipping at her essence. His body tightened to the point of pain. God how he ached for Ellie.

“Ahem. I didn’t know kissin’ was on the supper menu.” Tobias’s sharp comment cut through the haze of sensuality that surrounded them.

Elizabeth drew back with a squeak. Her cheeks flushed even as her lips glistened in the firelight from the kisses. Vaughn wanted to pound his chest and howl. He’d marked her. She was his.

“If we’re to be married, we need to be able to kiss each other.” Vaughn spoke with a casualness he didn’t even remotely feel.

“So you were practicin’.” Tobias snorted. “I’d rather get a supper that ain’t burned.”

Vaughn snatched the pan off the fire, burning his hand, but relieved to see it was done but not overly so. “The cornpone is ready. Hand me a plate, please, so we can fry up the ham too.”

With a grunt of disbelief, Tobias pulled a tin plate from the saddlebags in front of him. Vaughn ignored the other man and his brothers who watched with their normal wide-eyed expressions. He slid the hot cornpone onto the plate, then replaced it with slabs of ham. The scents of the food seemed to ease the tension somewhat.

Everyone sat and the food was distributed. Tobias chose to sit on the other side of Elizabeth, as though he challenged Vaughn for her attention. She ate without speaking, then stood and gathered the dishes.

“Jeb, show me where the creek is please.” She waited while the young Gibson scrambled to his feet and led the way into the darkness.

“She ain’t really your wife.”

“She isn’t anything to you.”

“Fair enough. I ain’t a hero or nothin’ but I won’t let you hurt her.” Tobias’s eyes glittered with the threat.

“I don’t plan on hurting her. I believe you’ve already reserved that chore for yourself.” Vaughn was satisfied to see his verbal punch hit its mark.

Tobias bristled. “I did what I did because you took what didn’t belong to you. You tricked me and stole from my family.”

“And you kidnapped an innocent woman, burned her home and barn, and potentially killed her grandmother. Which crime do you think is the one she feels the most?” Vaughn felt unaccountably jealous of Tobias’s interest in Elizabeth. She belonged to neither of them but a little voice inside him cried out she belonged to him. He’d touched her, kissed her, tasted her, joined with her.

She was his.

Elizabeth woke to Tobias and Vaughn bickering again. They were like two bantam roosters, each of them trying to be the cock of the walk. It was ridiculous male posturing and she was rightly tired of it.

“If we take time for all that shit, we’re gonna to miss findin’ this man in Houston. You said yourself he might not even be there.” Tobias’s voice was raised in annoyance.

“I will make sure he’s there, and then arrange for a meeting. He won’t leave if I tell him I’ve got a big fish on the line. We need a day to bathe, relax and get everything just right. We only have one chance at this.” Vaughn was calmer, but his tone was tightly controlled anger. His face was a rainbow of bruises and healing cuts. How he would explain that to Boyd was a mystery.

“I’m goin’ with you to meet him then.” Tobias folded his arms as though his words were the final say in the matter.

“No, no one is going with me the first time. He’ll be suspicious and we can’t have that. You’re going to have to trust me.” Vaughn looked at Elizabeth and she shook her head. He seemed to understand that trust was earned, not given, but at the same time wanted it from both of them.

“I cain’t and I won’t.” Tobias poked one boot at Jeb. “Get up and fetch the water.”

“I’ll do it.” Elizabeth got to her feet. The ground wasn’t soft to sleep on but she’d managed to get some amount. The walk would do her good.

“I don’t think—” Tobias started to speak, to order her around again. That was not about to happen.

“Too bad. I’m done taking orders from any of you. This is a partnership of sorts. I am here of my own free will. You either let me do what I want or I get on that horse and ride home. You can choose to shoot me in the back or let me go.” She stuck out her chin, daring him to contradict her. He didn’t.

She snatched up the coffee pot and accepted canteens from the boys. Jeb pointed the way and she strode out of their little camp. The tension was thick enough to cut and she needed a moment to escape from the ridiculousness of the male posturing.

Footsteps sounded behind her. Elizabeth’s ire rose.

“I told you I was going to get the water.”

“I wanted to talk to you.” It was Vaughn. Her stomach tightened and her traitorous body picked that moment to remember how his callused hands felt on her skin.

Hell.

“I don’t want to talk to you.” She walked faster, but of course, he kept up with her pace. Maddening man.

Elizabeth followed the sound of the gurgling water and stepped through some bushes. She took a deep breath at the beauty of the little glen. She couldn’t see it last night in the dark. Rich green grassy banks surrounded a six-foot wide stream. Fish darted in the clear water while birds sang overhead. Regardless of the man behind her, this was a welcome diversion.

She knelt on the soft grass and filled the pot. Vaughn did the same with the canteens. For a moment, one brief moment, there was peace.

Then he opened his mouth.

“I know you don’t believe me, but I didn’t intend any of this to happen. I hope you can forgive me.” His words were sincere, as was his tone.

She didn’t know how to respond. “I know this entire adventure was not intended but it’s happened. Stop apologizing and start figuring out a way to get everything back the way it was for all of us. Although if Martha died, there’s no way to fix it.” Losing the older woman was inevitable. She should have died the winter before but sheer stubbornness kept her going. Until now.

“I can’t fix everything but I will try.” He set the canteens down and sat, his knees up, arms resting on them. “Boyd is slippery. He will try to figure out if you are who you say you are.”

She was not good at dissembling. “I will be myself and that will have to do.” The coffee pot joined the canteens on the ground, waiting to return to camp.

He reached over, his hand hovering near her cheek. She resisted the urge to lean into his touch. The air between them grew heavy and awareness prickled down her skin. She wanted to kiss him again, and then some. Their interrupted kiss hovered in her memory, insistent, eager.

Finally his thumb grazed her jaw. “May I kiss you?”