Her Bodyguard (30 page)

Two pairs of footsteps pounded on the staircase. “What’s going on?” the shorter, towheaded boy asked.

The McBride parents released Kat long enough for her to lift her face toward her brothers.

“Holy shit!” the taller boy exclaimed, dashing downstairs.

Despite the excitement of the moment, Jenny McBride retained enough maternal presence to scold. “Thomas Trace McBride. Your language!”

The younger boy held back. In a trembling voice, he asked, “Are you a ghost?”

“No, squirt. C’mere so I can pull your ear.”

“Kat!” he hollered, then joined his family in their celebration, the tears now turning to laughter.

“Where have you been, Kat?” the older boy asked, his question unleashing a torrent of others. Kat glanced to Mari for help. She stepped forward, linked her arm through her mother’s, and said, “It’s a long story. I think Kat might want to rest a little bit before she gets into the whole thing.”

Luke didn’t miss Mari’s quick, significant glance toward her father or the little squeeze she gave her mother’s arm. Her parents shared a glance, then for the first time, Trace met Luke’s eyes and acknowledged his presence with a nod. He guided the group toward the parlor off the entry hall saying, “Why don’t we—”

“Papa! Mama!” A long-legged whirlwind burst into the house yelling, “Emma says she’s got spectacular news. We’re supposed to…” Billy McBride came to an abrupt halt at the entry to the parlor, and his voice trailed off as he caught sight of Katrina. He blinked twice, then all the color left his skin. He wobbled a moment, then slowly sank to his knees. “You’re alive. Oh, God. Thank you, God. I thought…I thought I killed you, Kat.”

Kat knelt beside her brother, hugging him hard.

Emotion clogged her voice as she said, “I’m fine, Billy. Just fine. Don’t worry. I’m so sorry you’ve felt responsible all this time. Mari told me all about it, and you didn’t do anything wrong. All of this was my fault. I’m so, so sorry.”

The boy started crying, hard, deep, from-his-gut sobs, and his family rallied around him. His brothers patted his back. The women hugged and cuddled and coddled; his father clapped him on the shoulder and made a couple of jokes that brought a fleeting smile to the boy’s face. Moments later, Emma arrived at Willow Hill, squealed with delight upon seeing her family, and a new round of hugging and embracing commenced.

Luke took a step back, mentally and physically, and studied the scene before him. This was the McBride family, complete and whole. It wasn’t simply a collection of eight individuals, but a single entity, strong and invincible. This was the reality Mari had tried to explain to him. The reality he’d not truly understood. Until now.

In his defense, how could he have? If he’d enjoyed this kind of unity within his family once upon a time, back before his father died and his mother married Brian, he couldn’t recall it. He and Janna loved each other, and he adored her children, but time and divisive forces—primarily Janna’s husband—had weakened the bond between them.

No, Luke’s family life hadn’t prepared him for dealing with Mari’s, and from the outside looking in, Luke couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.

Mari was lucky. Damned lucky. No wonder she’d refused him. Witnessing this outpouring of emotion today, seeing firsthand the deep, unifying love and loyalty this family enjoyed, Luke could finally comprehend the sacrifice he’d asked her to make.

Mari loved him. Luke believed that. She wouldn’t have given herself to him otherwise. Yet, her love for her family was as much a part of her as the color of her hair or the blue of her eyes, and by asking her to marry him now, with family matters standing the way they currently did, he’d put her heart at odds with her soul.

However, this wasn’t a case of Montagues versus Capulets. He sure as hell wasn’t any Romeo. In this love story—and it was, by God, a love story—the heroine stood solidly with her family and a true hero would expect nothing less.

That didn’t mean the hero had to give up, however. The hero had to figure a way to make it work.

Winning Mari’s heart wasn’t enough. Luke would have to win her family, too.

Talk about a tough row to hoe. Trace McBride hadn’t liked him sniffing about his daughter months ago. Now he’d done a helluva lot more than sniff. Add that to the baggage he’d be forced to tote because of Rory’s and Murphy’s sins against Kat and Mari—hell, he’d be lucky if McBride didn’t take his head off.

It didn’t matter, though. Luke might be going away, but he wasn’t going anywhere, so to speak. He’d found the woman he wanted for his own, the woman he’d waited for all his life. He wouldn’t let a little thing like family stand in the way.

He’d win them over. One way or another, he’d rally them to his cause. Luke knew how to turn on the charm when he wanted.

Besides, he had a secret weapon, one that even an overprotective father could not defeat. Luke loved Mari, truly, deeply and completely, and she returned that love. And because the McBrides loved her, too, eventually, once they could see past their anger into his heart, they would give Mari and Luke their blessing. It was only a matter of time…and proper planning.

Luke gave the family one last look, then edged nearer the door. He wouldn’t say goodbye, after all. He’d be back, sooner rather than later. It shouldn’t take too long to get Rory’s situation settled. If luck and train schedules were on his side, he’d return to Fort Worth within a week.

THE MCBRIDE menaces had been sent to their rooms.

They chose to congregate in Emma’s bedroom. Kat lay upon her sister’s bed, exhausted. Emma sat beside her youngest sister, gently stroking her hair. Mari stood at the window overlooking the backyard and watched her father swing his ax, splitting enough firewood to last them through two winters. “He’ll be so sore tomorrow he won’t be able to lift his coffee cup,” she mused.

Emma looked at Mari. “I’ve never seen him in such a temper.”

“He hates me,” Kat declared, her voice thin and weak.

“No.” Mari shook her head. “He hates what happened. You can’t fault him for that.”

“Did either of you notice how he kept clenching his fist, over and over, while you were telling your stories?” Emma asked. “It was the only part of him that moved.”

“I wanted to die when he left the room without speaking, but Mama said he’s furious at the situation and at Rory, not at me.” Kat reached for her handkerchief and blew her nose. “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.”

Emma and Mari shared a look. As uncomfortable as the tale-telling had been, it had been a walk in the park compared to other family events in recent months—the gathering on the front porch the night of the fire and Kat’s memorial service, to name two.

Once the initial excitement of Kat’s return waned, their mother had correctly read Mari’s hesitation to provide any explanations in front of her younger siblings. Jenny sent the boys on a series of errands, and together, Mari and Kat had relayed the story to their parents.

Part of the story, anyway. Mari did her best to brush over the time line of her part of the tale. Nor did she mention her brush with evil à la Finn Murphy. She certainly didn’t let on that she’d given both her heart and her virginity to Luke Garrett while on the trail. That was nobody’s business but hers. And Luke’s.

Luke. Thinking about him, Mari’s heart caught. He’d slipped away when she wasn’t looking. He’d not given her a chance to say goodbye. Mari shifted her focus from her father to the horizon. Was he gone? She’d heard the evening train whistle blow a short time ago. Had Luke been aboard when the iron horse pulled from the station?

She expected so. Better for them all that he got Rory Callahan out of town before Trace decided to go hunting for him. The last thing this family needed was for her father to commit murder.

Below her, he swung his ax hard, and an oak stump split in two.

Mari’s heart felt something like that stump. One half held her love for Luke; the other, her love for her family. Was she being strong or weak to put her family’s needs before her own? Just what did she owe the McBrides? What did she owe Luke? What did she owe herself?

She was so confused.

Maybe eventually she’d see her way clear of the muddle. Right now, she’d continue to take one step, one crisis at a time.

“I’m tired of crying,” Kat said, sighing heavily as she sat up. “It’s all I’ve been doing for the past two days. I need to stop.”

Mari offered her a reassuring smile, sat beside her, and gave her a hug. “You will. Mama and Papa know the story now. The hardest part is over.”

Kat placed a protective hand on her stomach. Her sisters observed the movement. No one spoke the obvious thought, that the most difficult time for Kat lay ahead.

“How can everything change so fast?” Kat mused. “I was worried about the Dickersons, but still, I was happy. He was so sweet to me. Kind and gentle and loving. How could he fool me so completely?”

Emma took a seat on her other side. Solemnly, she said, “I think, Kat, that men like Rory Callahan— charming liars—are not all that uncommon.”

A note in her voice gave Mari pause. “Why do you say that, Emma?”

She shrugged.

“Evil, wicked men aren’t that uncommon, either,” Kat observed. “Mari, why didn’t you tell Mama and Papa about getting kidnapped?”

“Kidnapped!” Emma exclaimed.

Kat nodded. “By Rory’s brother-in-law. She got away by whacking him with a cactus. In the privates.”

Emma gawked at Mari, who rose from the bed and began to pace the room as she answered. “Thanks, Kat. Did it ever occur to you that if I’d wanted anyone to know about that particular adventure, I’d have mentioned it? How did you find out anyway?”

“Remember that first day when Luke put Rory in jail, and I took to my bed? I woke up thinking—hoping—that maybe it was all a mistake. You were asleep in your room, so I went looking for Rory. Luke was in the jailhouse shouting at him, telling him all the awful things he was responsible for, and that’s when I heard about Finn Murphy. I can’t believe there’s still another black-sheep brother in that family. Was it awful, Mari? Were you frightened to death?”

“Wait just one minute.” Emma rose from the bed, folded her arms, and gave Mari her severe schoolteacher frown. “You will tell me the entire story. Begin at the beginning.”

Mari truly didn’t want to revisit the incident, but since Kat had opened her big mouth, she didn’t see a way to avoid it. Besides, a little sharing on her part might goad Emma into explaining her remark about charming, lying men. “All right. Promise you won’t say anything to Papa?”

“Fairy’s promise,” Emma agreed, using the vow of their childhood.

Mari gave her sisters a full account of the incident with Finn Murphy, up to the point where Luke rendezvoused with the Texas Rangers. Though she’d trust her sisters with her own life, Luke’s true vocation was his secret to tell.

“Thank goodness this man’s been arrested,” Emma said. “I’d worry about you, otherwise. I fear he’d come looking for revenge.”

“I think there’s cause to worry,” Kat said, “except the one to keep an eye on is Luke. He watches you, Mari.”

She tried to act surprised. “What?”

“He’s attracted to you. Every time I turned around he was staring at you. Surely you noticed.”

“Well…”

“A couple of times you looked back,” Kat accused. To Emma, she said, “I was a little worried. It’s Mari’s turn, I’m afraid.”

“My turn for what?”

Kat lifted her hand to the emerald pendant she wore around her neck. “I realized it yesterday. First Emma lost dear Casey, then I tangled with the likes of Rory Callahan. Mari is probably next. Heaven knows if she fell for an outlaw like Luke Garrett, it couldn’t help but be a disaster. It’s our destiny.”

“What are you talking about?” Mari demanded, annoyed and maybe just a little afraid.

Kat held up her hand, palm out. “It’s our Bad Luck Love Lines. Judging on what’s happened up until now, that Roslin woman was right. We’re destined to be unlucky in love.”

The three sisters sighed together, then shared a moment of silence until Emma pinned Mari with a pointed look and said, “What? No disparaging comment? No protest that the Curse of Clan McBride is all hogwash? No declaration that Roslin of Strathardle was nothing more than a charlatan?”

“No. No protest.” Mari’s stomach did a flip as the shadowy idea that had been flitting through her mind in recent days finally took form. “But sisters, I’ve been thinking. What if I
was
wrong? What if the curse is real?”

Kat rolled her eyes. “Isn’t that what I’ve been saying all along? And just how stupid does that make me? I went and fell in love when I should have known the relationship was doomed from the start. But no, I thought the love Rory and I shared was like Papa and Mama’s, like Uncle Tye and Aunt Claire’s. I thought that our elopement and the Dickerson problem would be the bad luck struggles we’d have to overcome to be happy.” Tearing up, she laughed with a sob in her voice. “How silly was that?”

“Not silly,” Emma told her. “I believe in the curse, but I also believe in the examples Papa and Uncle Tye have set for us. Just because Casey’s death means the three of us can’t end the curse forever, I don’t see a reason to think that true love is beyond reach for us.”

“What if,” Mari said in a tentative voice. “What if ending the curse is still possible?”

Emma frowned. “My husband will not rise from the dead like Kat, Maribeth. He died in my arms.”

“I know, Em. But what if…well…remember what the Scotswoman said? ‘When, in any one generation of McBrides, three sisters, three daughters marked with the sign of Ariel, find love to prove the claim of Ariel and accomplish their assigned task, the curse will be broken for all time.’ Now, the claim of Ariel was that the love she and her McBride shared was powerful, vigilant and true, and that no trial or challenge would change it. Well, it doesn’t say anything about it being a first love or an only love.”

Mari waited a moment to let her point sink in. Emma shook her head. “I’ll never love another man.”

“Never say never, Em,” Kat said. “I never thought I’d end up in my current predicament.” Addressing Mari, she asked, “So you think we get second chances?”