Give My Love to Rose (22 page)

***

Marston was waiting on the mercantile
boardwalk when Langley emerged nearly twenty minutes later with a
burlap sack tossed over his shoulder.

“
Where’s Buck and the
cart?”

“
Bucks getting his hoof
seen to,” Marston replied. “He should be just about done. Did you
buy the whole store?”

Langley laughed. “No, you didn’t leave me
that much money.”

“
Well did you at least get
what you wanted for your mama?”

“
Sure did,” Langley nodded
enthusiastically. “This is gonna be the best Christmas we’ve had
yet.”

“
I’m sure your mama will
like the gift ya got her,” Marston assured him as he tossed his
cigarette into the mud.

“
That’s not the only
reason it’s gonna be better this year,” Langley argued. “What makes
it even better is that you’re here now and me and mama aren’t
alone.”

Marston’s throat tightened. “Thanks kid,” he
whispered, embarrassed by the hoarseness he could hear. “I’ve sure
as hell never been the reason someone had a good Christmas
before.”

Langley smiled up at him and at that moment
Marston realized that he would, without a moments hesitation, do
anything for that boy. He would gladly buy up everything the
mercantile had to offer, cook runny eggs or even take a bullet in
the heart just to see that boy cared for.

It was a shock to his system to realize that
two people meant more to him than his own life. Rose and Langley
had quickly becoming all that mattered in the world—they were his
world. Their touches, their smiles, their acceptance and their
warmth had quickly destroyed walls that Marston had been
constructing for three decades.

Marston put his hand on Langley’s shoulder
and gave it a firm squeeze. “What do you say we get that
flea-bitten nag and head back to the house? Your mama is probably
starting to worry.”

“
More than likely she’s
done got the floors swept and mopped and is hoping we take a bit
longer so she can scrub the walls,” Langley countered.

Marston chuckled. “Yeah, I’d say you’re
right.”

The two headed off for the blacksmith shop
but were stopped by Doctor Brinkley calling for them as he rushed
down the street. “What is it doc?” Marston questioned, meeting the
older man on the muddy street.

Doctor Brinkley handed him an envelope. “The
bank sent you a wire back. I saw that you were still here so I
wanted to make sure you got it before you left town.”

“
Thanks doc,” Marston
replied, wondering what the bank would have sent him back so
quickly. He tipped his head. “We’re gonna be on our way
now.”

Marston led Langley to the blacksmith and
then stood against the outside wall as he opened the envelope. He
immediately realized that the three hundred dollars he’d sent to
them was inside. With a frown, Marston pulled out the enclosed
letter.

Marston, (you failed to provide us a last
name so please excuse the informal address)

We were surprised to receive your letter and
the money for Rose Howell’s account. According to our records, her
account has been paid in full for nearly four years. The banker you
mentioned, Winston Meade, no longer works for our establishment and
we hold no responsibility for his actions if he has been taking
money from Mrs. Howell. We have refused the payment and advise you
to contact the authorities regarding Winston Meade’s behavior.

Sincerely,

Millerton Bank and Trust

Marston growled and shoved the letter back
into his pocket. Authorities his ass. Winston Meade had been
stealing money from Rose and Langley for over three years. He’d
been taking the food out of their mouths and the clothes off their
backs and threatening Rose while he did so. Marston would protect
his newfound family and Winston Meade would pay for his lies and
thievery—and Marston would be the one who dealt out the punishment.
The man was going to live to regret his actions. Then again, maybe
he wouldn’t.

***

“
Mama’s gonna love that
necklace you got her,” Langley said as the two rode through the
woods toward the cabin. “She doesn’t have anything that pretty. I
bet it’ll make her cry.”

Marston grumbled as he shook his head. “I
don’t want her to cry.”

“
They’ll be good tears,”
Langley promised. “The kind that means she’s really really
happy.”

“
What did you get her?”
Marston asked.

“
Mama has always loved
hummingbirds so I got her a little ceramic hummingbird that she can
put on the mantle. We don’t have pretty things on our mantle. Mama
sold all our pretty stuff to buy food.”

Marston felt his chest ache for that woman
and vowed once again that she would have everything she could
possibly want for as long as he lived.

“
There was more than that
in that sack of yours,” Marston noted. “What else did you
get?”

“
Don’t worry about it!”
Langley exclaimed, clutching the sack close to him.

Marston raised a brow and snorted. “Well
alright then. Apparently them damn mood swings run in the
family.”

Langley just smiled.

Chapter Twenty

“
What took the two of you
so long?” Rose asked as they pulled up to the house. “I was getting
worried.”

“
We had business to take
care of,” Langley replied, clutching his sack and disappearing
quickly inside.

“
What kind of business?”
Rose asked Marston, but he just shrugged and removed his saddlebags
from the cart.

“
Man business,” he said,
pressing a tender kiss to her brow as he stepped onto the porch.
“You were supposed to be resting.”

“
I have been,” Rose
promised. Marston let his gaze roam across her body. She had
showered and her red hair showed evidence of that as it hung in
damn curls down her back. She was wearing the blue checked dress
with a lower neckline that gave him a good view of that mole on her
collarbone. It was his favorite dress.

“
You look beautiful,” he
whispered.

She flushed red. “Did I look that terrible
before?”

Marston laughed. “I’m not gonna dignify that
question with an answer.”

Rose wrapped her arms around his waist and
leaned her body into his chest to hide her blush from him. “Did you
send the money to the bank?”

“
Yep,” Marston replied
quickly.

Rose pulled away and studied him closely.
“Something’s wrong,” she firmly stated.

Marston’s brow rose. “What?”

“
I don’t know,” Rose
admitted. “But something happened while you were gone—something to
do with that money. What happened?”

“
What makes you think
something happened?”

“
Don’t lie to me,” Rose
snapped. “I can’t tell when I look at you that something is
wrong.”

“
How can you tell?”
Marston grumbled. He had always prided himself on his ability to
hide emotions and lie well.

Rose glared up at him and put her hands on
her soft hips. “I can see it in your eyes, Marston, so you might as
well tell me.”

“
You’re the first person
to ever be able to read something I want to keep hidden,” Marston
complained.

Rose smiled. “That’s good. You’re not
supposed to keep secrets from your woman. Now tell me.”

Marston stooped low and kissed her ear,
causing Rose’s legs to very nearly buckle. “My woman? I like the
sound of that.”

Rose squirmed out of his grasp. “Stop trying
to change the subject, Marston.”

He sighed and sat down in the rocking chair,
grabbing her by the hips and pulling her down onto his lap. She
shook her head. “You really are trusting this chair more than you
should,” she warned as it creaked and moaned beneath them.

“
If it breaks I’ll catch
you.”

Rose feigned breathlessness. “My hero… now,
what happened in town?”

Marston’s smile quickly became a frown. “I
sent your payment and a letter directly to the bank in Millerton
and they sent it back. Apparently your account has been paid in
full for nearly four years and Winston Meade has not worked for
them for a while.”

Rose couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Surely there must have been a mistake! “But I’ve been sending
payments directly to Winston Meade! Not to mention the times that
he’s come here demanding money and I’ve given him what little I
had…”

Marston nodded, anger clenching his jaw.
“He’s been lying to you and stealing your money.. .not to mention
the threats Langley told me about.”

Rose gasped and her eyes grew wider.
“Langley knows about those?”

“
He doesn’t understand
completely, but he knows enough to know that Winston means to hurt
you. He made me promise to keep you safe and that’s what I intend
to do.”

“
Winston is due back any
day,” Rose replied. “What are we going to do, Marston?”

Marston shrugged. “We let him come. How much
would you say you’ve given him over the years?”

Rose tried to push back her fear and think
hard. “Close to… close to three hundred dollars….” Rose’s fists
clenched as she thought about the money she’d saved for Langley’s
clothes, his food, his shoes and his books all going to that
banker.

She felt anger well up inside her. “I’ll go
to town and send word to the marshal in Millerton. He’s the closest
law and he’ll come handle things.”

“
I’ll take care of
things,” Marston argued firmly. Marston was accustomed to dealing
with his own problems and didn’t want the help of a
lawman.

“
What exactly are you
going to do?” Rose whispered.

“
Deal with it,” came
Marston’s short reply.

Rose’s stomach flopped. “Marston….”

He kissed her head. “I’m just going to deal
with it, Rose, so don’t worry.”

Marston gently sat Rose on her feet before
getting to his own feet as well. With a trembling hand, he reached
in his pocket, pulled out the three hundred dollars the bank had
refused and held it out to Rose.

“
What are you doing?” Rose
asked. “That’s your money, Marston.”

Marston shook his head and was more
terrified than he could ever remember feeling before in his entire
life. He’d made an impulse decision just now and he knew that he
might end up regretting it until his dying day.

“
No it’s not, Rose. It
never was,” he replied quietly.

“
Then who’s is it?” she
asked, her brow furrowing as she stared up at him.

Maston swallowed hard. “It’s yours.”

“
I don’t have three
hundred dollars,” she assured him.

Marston turned his gaze out toward the barn.
He knew his next words could earn him Rose’s distrust and rejection
and they were the hardest words he’d ever had to utter in his life.
“I stole it from you and Langley. There was six hundred dollars in
that bag from Langston and I kept half.”

When silence followed his emotions, he
slowly snuck a peek at Rose and found her smiling from ear to ear.
“What the hell is the matter with you, woman? Why are you smiling?
I just admitted that I stole money from you. Money that you needed!
You should be furious with me.”

The smile never left her face. “Marston I
need to show you something.” Rose disappeared into the house and
Marston, unsure if he was meant to follow or not, stood awkwardly
upon the porch.

Rose returned a few moments later with a
piece of paper which she placed in Marston’s calloused hand.
Marston frowned as he realized it was a letter. A letter from
Langston. It was made out to Rose and it said right there in
writing that he had been released from prison and was returning
home with six hundred dollars.

“
When did you get this?”
Marston whispered.

“
Shorty after you left in
September,” Rose replied. She folded the letter gently and slipped
it into her skirt pocket.

“
Rose.. I’m
sorry…”

Rose cut off his apology by pressing her
fingers to his lips. Marston’s eyes darkened at the contact and
Rose trembled. “Don’t you see?” she asked. “This just proves how
good a man you truly are. You could have kept all the money and not
brought any of it to us, but you didn’t. You could have spent this
three hundred and never told me about it, but you didn’t.”

“
Don’t make me out to be
something I’m not, Rose,” he warned. “I’m no hero.”

Rose just smiled and threw her arms around
his neck. “I’ll see you however I choose to see you.” She pulled
away slowly. “Now go get Buck put up and bring in some wood. I have
some chicken cut up for soup but need to get the fire going.”

Marston was grinning as he quickly went off
to do her bidding. ‘If only the men could see you now. Proud as
hell because that woman thinks you’re a good man and following her
orders like a little puppy.’

Marston rolled his broad shoulders.
“Little?” he mumbled aloud.

‘
Okay then. A really big
puppy.’

***

Marston was awake an hour before dawn the
next morning. It was cold when he stepped out onto the porch and
his breath froze in a thick fog around his head when he exhaled. A
light frost coated the land and buildings and Marston knew that
when the sun began to rise it would be a beautiful sight to
see.

Marston rolled out his shoulders and was
stretching his aching back when a twig snapped and instantly his
every sense was on high alert. His guns were inside, but Marston
quickly pulled his knife from its sheath.