Prince Charming (53 page)

“She killed a snake,” she whispered and then peeped up to look at Hunter.

“No, she killed a damned snake,” he corrected.

Victoria nodded. “I would have gotten hysterical. Taylor got mad. Why did you kiss me?”

It didn't take him anytime at all to come up with a suitable lie. “To get you to stop crying.”

“Oh,” she sighed.

He couldn't make himself stop staring at her. God, she was lovely. Her eyes were the prettiest shade of green he'd ever seen, and her hair looked like bronzed fire to him. She had a splattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. He resisted the urge to kiss them.

He was out of his mind to think about such things. For a moment, he'd forgotten who she was and what he was. A lady and a half-breed. It was an impossible combination. “You going to stand here all day?”

The anger in his voice stung her pride and pricked her temper. “Only until you let go of me.”

He immediately pulled away from her and went back to camp. She followed him at what she considered was a respectable distance.

They were finally ready to leave a half hour later. Allie was still upset. She barely touched her breakfast. She didn't want a wet baby doll. She wanted a dry one. Taylor couldn't reason with the child. She finally took the doll and pinned it to the top of the canvas covering the wagon and explained to the teary-eyed twin that the sun would dry the doll in no time at all. When that promise didn't soothe Allie, Taylor declared the baby doll was having a nap.

Georgie wasn't helping matters. She was tormenting her sister with her own doll. It wasn't even noon yet and Taylor felt as though she'd already put in a full day.

They would reach Redemption by late afternoon, and that was the root of her worries. She was anxious about meeting the people who lived there and even more concerned about finding suitable lodgings.

Hunter added another worry by casually mentioning that Lucas could very well be in the town by now, waiting for them. She didn't believe it would be possible until Hunter convinced her. If his business in Chicago hadn't taken long, he could have taken the train from Cincinnati to Sioux City, then jumped on one of the many riverboats constantly traveling up and down the Missouri.

“That would still put him days behind us,” she reasoned.

Hunter shook his head. “He won't be riding in a wagon,” he pointed out. “Or spending time buying supplies like you did in Sioux City. He'll be riding a horse, Taylor, and taking all the direct routes a wagon couldn't get through. He could be there all right.”

Taylor prayed Lucas hadn't gotten there ahead of her. She wanted to be settled in first. Then she'd deal with him. She knew he was going to be furious, and she couldn't help but become nervous over the prospect of facing his wrath.

Hunter was smiling while he hitched up the horses. Taylor concluded he wanted her to worry. She decided to get even with him. She waited until he'd taken up the reins of the second wagon and then carried Georgie over to him. He gave her a look that told her he knew why he was being saddled with the chatterbox. She shrugged back at him. Then she handed him Allie.

Georgie was squeezed up on his left side and Allie sat on his right. She was still wailing like a wounded animal.

Hunter looked down at the child. “You going to cry much longer?” he asked.

She nodded. Hunter laughed. The sound filled the woods around them. It proved contagious as well. Taylor found herself smiling, and when she looked at Victoria, she caught her smile as well.

Everyone waited on Daniel David now. He stood between the two wagons, trying to make up his mind which one he wanted to ride in. He didn't particularly want to be separated from his sisters, he explained when Taylor asked him why he was taking so long, but he didn't think the two women should ride all by themselves.

Hunter made up his mind for him. He told the boy to get into his wagon and be quick about it. Daniel David didn't hesitate. Taylor concluded he liked having the decision made for him.

Hunter took the lead down the last hill into the valley. Daniel David sat in the back of the wagon watching Taylor for almost an hour. He'd wave every five minutes or so and then smile when she waved back to him. The child finally grew bored with his vigilance and climbed up on the seat next to Allie.

They reached the last gentle slope a little after two in the afternoon. They could see the town clearly now. It was nestled between snow-capped mountains and rolling hills. Mother Nature's glory was all around them. Taylor imagined she'd used her paintbrush to splatter the hillside with every color in the rainbow.

She'd run out of paint when she reached Redemption. Taylor's first impression of the town was one of disappointment. Victoria looked appalled by the sight. Lucas had been right when he told her the town wasn't more than twelve or fourteen buildings. She'd been prepared for that reality. She had to brace herself against the ugliness. Every single building was brown and dirty.

Hunter led them into the center of the town. There were wooden walkways on both sides of the dirt roadway. Everything had been constructed out of wood, and Taylor tried to imagine how pretty the town would be if the buildings were painted.

“Look, there's a general store,” Taylor pointed out to her friend.

“There's a saloon right across the street,” Victoria said. There was a bit of criticism in her voice.

“I wish it weren't so quiet.”

The women kept their gazes straight ahead. They were attracting attention and trying not to notice the men gawking at them.

They were everywhere. They stood in doorways, hung out windows, and leaned over hitching posts. No two men looked alike, of course, but their expressions seemed identical. They all looked stupefied.

Word of the women's arrival spread as fast as a flash flood. Before the two wagons reached the hitching posts in front of the general store, the entire town had turned out to look them over. All nineteen of them.

Victoria didn't guess at the number. She counted just to be certain.

Taylor didn't know what was expected of her. Should she smile and call out a greeting? Or would that be considered too forward? She wanted to start out right. She just wasn't certain how.

The crowd was edging closer. Several started making hooping sounds. Hunter looped the reins over the posts and then turned to help Taylor to the ground.

“Why isn't anyone talking?” she whispered.

“They're having trouble believing what they're seeing,” he answered.

Taylor let out a sigh. ordered herself not to be nervous, and then took off her bonnet.

Bedlam broke loose. Everyone pressed forward to meet the woman. Hunter waved them back. He lifted Taylor to the ground and then turned back to the crowd. “She's Ross's wife.”

A man in a checkered shirt and baggy pants stepped forward. He had an unruly gray-streaked beard, a giant-sized nose, and dark brown eyes. He squinted at Taylor and moved closer. “I haven't seen a pretty woman in so long I've forgotten what they look like.”

“I ain't never seen any as pretty as these two,” another man shouted. “We quit thinking of Ma and Alice Browley as women years ago.”

“Back away, Cleevis,” Hunter ordered. “Let the women breathe.”

“I just want to get close enough to catch her scent,” Cleevis admitted.

Taylor could feel herself blushing. She straightened her shoulders and edged her way around Hunter. She heard the man named Cleevis take a deep indrawn breath when she passed him, then cry out in what sounded very like ecstasy, “Roses. She smells like roses, men.”

“If that don't beat all.”

Taylor couldn't stop herself from smiling when she heard that odd comment. She made her way to the back of Hunter's wagon and pulled the flap back just enough for her to look inside.

Georgie was wide awake. She'd obviously just used the chamber pot and was now letting Daniel David fix her bloomers for her. Taylor took over the chore and then lifted the two-year-old into her arms.

The twin wanted to get down until she saw all the men staring at her. Then she wrapped her arms around Taylor's neck and buried her face in the crook of her neck.

Hunter was trying to assist Victoria to the ground. Every time he reached up for her, she'd shake her head at him.

“You can't sit there all day,” he snapped. “I'm not going to let anyone hurt you.”

“I didn't suppose you would,” she whispered back. “Besides, I can take care of myself. I'm not afraid.”

“Prove it.”

She decided to do just that. She took off her bonnet, tossed it into the wagon behind her, and then accepted his assistance in getting to the ground.

Everyone was plying Taylor with questions. They spoke in low voices and when it dawned on her they were whispering so Georgie wouldn't become any more frightened, she lost her own nervousness.

“Where are you headed, Mrs. Ross?” a man with thick eyeglasses asked her.

“We have arrived at our destination, sir,” she answered. “We're settling here.”

“Is the red-headed one married?”

A young, freckle-faced man in the crowd called out the question. Taylor turned to look at Victoria. She thought she might want to answer the inquiry. Victoria wasn't paying any attention to her. She had latched onto Hunter's arm and wasn't going to let go. He was trying to peel her fingers away from him.

“She was married,” Taylor explained. “Her husband died just a few months ago.”

No one seemed to be particularly sorry to hear the news. Victoria received three marriage proposals before she'd circled the wagon to stand next to Taylor.

“I'm in mourning,” she announced. “And I happen to be an expectant mother.”

Neither statement made any difference to the men. They didn't even know her name and they were still pleading for her hand in marriage. One gentleman told her he'd be more than willing to let her keep the baby.

Victoria considered kicking the offensive man. Taylor laughed. Georgie was finally ready to explore her new surroundings. Taylor walked over to the steps and put her down on the wooden walkway. Georgie immediately ran inside the store.

Taylor straightened up and then took a hasty step back. Another man, wearing a thick, long-sleeved gray undershirt and blue overalls, had worked his way around the crowd and now stood towering over her. He was a giant of a man, at least six and a half feet tall, with huge shoulders and brawny arms. He had long brown hair and a thick beard. He was quite frightful looking, and he was waving a newspaper like a madman in front of her nose.

She swatted the paper away. “Whatever are you doing, sir?”

“You a reader?”

“Excuse me?”

He bellowed his question the second time. Taylor's ears started ringing.

“If you're asking me if I can read, the answer is yes.”

Her admission pleased him. He let out a shout of satisfaction that very nearly knocked Taylor off the steps.

Victoria walked carefully around the giant and went into the general store. Several men chased after her.

Daniel David climbed out of the wagon and hurried to stand next to his mother. Taylor introduced him to her audience.

Hunter watched her. She told the men that Daniel David was her son. Someone tried to challenge the notion, but Taylor's stare stopped the protest cold.

“Daniel David is my son,” she repeated. “I am his mother and Lucas Ross is his father.”

She scanned her audience, daring them to disagree with her. No one said a word. Several nodded their acceptance. Taylor was satisfied. She happened to glance over at Hunter and saw him smile. Then she turned back to her son. She patted him and suggested he go inside the store and find out if there were any peppermint candies for sale.

“But Allie . . .”

“I'll get her,” Taylor promised.

The little boy ran inside. Taylor walked back to the wagon. Allie was still sleeping soundly. She closed the flap and turned to Hunter. He nodded before she could ask him if he'd watch the wagon. She smiled at him and then turned to go inside.

The giant followed her. He had the newspaper tucked under his arm. Victoria was visiting with the owner. She introduced him to Taylor. The man's name was Frank Michaels, and he couldn't have been more pleased to meet her. He pumped her hand up and down for a good minute. His enthusiasm was heartwarming. Frank was approximately fifty years old. He wore spectacles with a crack in one of the lenses and had narrow shoulders and gnarled hands. His eyes held her attention. They were hazel in color and radiated warmth. So did his smile. He kept telling her over and over that he was as pleased as punch to meet her.

Georgie took off for the back of the store. A few seconds later, Allie appeared in the entrance. She was leaning against Hunter's leg, staring at the crowd.

“She's a quick one, she is,” Frank Michaels announced. “She must have run like lightning to get around to the front so quickly.”

Allie spotted her mother and ran to her. She had her baby doll in her hands. The owner squatted down close to the child. Allie immediately hid behind Taylor's skirts. Then Georgie came tearing around the corner. Mr. Michaels did a double take.

“Twins,” he whispered.

“When you have a minute to spare, I'd surely appreciate your attention, Mrs. Ross.”

The giant made the request from behind her. Taylor turned around and immediately dodged the newspaper he was waving in front of her face.

“Could you read this?”

“Yes, of course I could,” she answered. She tried to hide her exasperation from the strange man. “I've been reading for years, sir.”