Running Wild (6 page)

She smiled. “You don’t sound at all certain of it,” she
teased. “Don’t you believe that women deserve the right to vote?”

He turned to run his eyes blindly over the crowd as he
calculated how best to answer. And spied Morgan Montgomery and Ward
approaching, arms linked. As usual, Ward’s face was implacable, but Morgan was
frowning. “Star,” she said, reaching them, “Lee told me that Del delivered the
news. I’m sorry, dear.” She had the same deep-throated voice as her daughter,
only hers came with an English accent.

Nick had liked Morgan from the moment he met her. Of medium
height with reddish hair, she was every bit a lady in truth as well as
appearance; her brother was a duke or earl or some such thing. Far from
starched-up, though, she had an easy sense of humor and Star’s warm, welcoming
manner. Morgan, though, had all the modesty that her daughter lacked.
Leastways, she lacked it around him.

“I’m fine, Mother, just a shock.”

“It is as I told you, Morgan,” Ward said. “Nick has the
situation well in hand, and you know that Star is not precisely the delicate
type.”

Star laughed. “No, Father, I am not.”

Nick glanced at her. For all the gaiety in her voice, an
entirely different emotion settled in her eyes. Regret.

“I never thought so, Ward,” Morgan said. “If you’ve
recovered, Star, there are some matters I wish to discuss with you. I believe
there’s a mix-up in the kitchen.”

Nick fixed on Morgan again. Although she felt badly for her
daughter, that wasn’t the cause of the worry lines around her mouth. Morgan
hadn’t crossed the room to ease Miz Montgomery’s pain or ask for her help.
She’d come to take her away from Nick. No cattleman could be good enough her
noble-blooded daughter.

“Why, Mother,” Miz Montgomery said carefully, “I expect you
can handle it.”

“I should prefer to do so with your assistance, Star,” she
answered, firmly. “After all, you made most of the arrangements.”

Star scowled at her mother. Then with a little sigh, she
rose. Nick, suddenly mindful of his manners, did as well. Sonuvabitch, but he
should’ve risen as soon as Morgan reached them. He had all gentility of a
pregnant cow.

“If you insist, then,” Miz Montgomery said. “Nicholas, thank
you so much for your assistance. I am much better, now.” She handed him back
the brandy. “Perhaps we shall continue our conversation at another time. I
should very much like to hear your views on women’s rights.”

He chuckled, which eased the growing tension in his
shoulders. “Ma’am, that’d be an awful short conversation. I don’t have much in
the way of views.”

Her eyes sparkled. “Why then, I shall most certainly help
you to develop some. And my name is Star.”

His gaze flashed briefly over Morgan, who was hooking her
arm in Star’s. “Yes ma’am. Reckon I know that.”

She tilted her head, speculation entering her eyes. “So you
do. Perhaps someday you’ll employ it?”

“Not likely. I know my manners.”

“Do you? I suppose that is something I must discover for
myself,” she said, and walked away with a swish of her hips—and guilty
anticipation galloping in his chest.

Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

Ibid

Scanning the board, Nick calculated checkmate in three
moves. Against him, fourth time that night. Miz Montgomery had proven to be a
mighty fine chess player.

“So how shall we entertain the Montgomerys, Jim, now that
Lee, Jess and the Winchesters are gone?” Melinda asked, walking into the parlor
after putting the kids to bed. She seated herself on the sofa next to Jim,
pulling his arm around her shoulders. Along with Ward and Morgan, the six of
them had settled in Melinda’s richly decorated parlor, with its gold-scrolled
wallpaper and crimson upholstered furniture. A coal stove heated the room.

“Entertainment,” Ward asked, from his armchair. He looked
over a pair of reading glasses, used to peruse the paper in his lap. “Why, that
is quite obliging of you, Melinda, but you need not trouble yourself. To be
sure, we’ve been more entertained these last weeks than we have been in years.”

Detecting the quiet irony in Ward’s voice, Nick’s lips
twitched. After four weeks of wedding and honeymoon plans, Christmas
preparations, and people arriving and departing more often than passengers at a
train station, it was a marvel that any of them was still awake at nine p.m. In
the week since they’d returned to the Bar M, the children had hardly made a
peep at bedtime.

“I, for one,” Morgan answered, turning a page in her book,
“am thankful for the quiet. I love my son and new daughter-in-law, but I must
confess I was not altogether displeased to see them leave. You young people are
a fatiguing lot.”

“Aye, you are!” Ward agreed.

“We’re fine, Melinda,” Jim said affectionately. “You’ve done
a remarkable job.”

“Oh, yes,” Miz Montgomery answered warmly. “You certainly
have entertained us quite well. Nicholas, are you ever going to make a move?”

He glanced up at her. Miz Montgomery was dressed in a
high-necked white shirtwaist and brown skirt tonight, not the kind of thing
that’d catch a man’s eye. Didn’t matter. In his mind he saw her as clear as day
in the tight gold gown she’d worn at Lee’s wedding. Worse, every time she
leaned over to study the board, her scent filled his nose, sending his mind off
into wicked fantasies of what the rest of her smelled like. “I’m analyzin’ my
options,” he grumbled. “Be a comfort to this old heart to win at least
one
game against you.”

Ward chuckled. “You won’t,” he said, rustling his newspaper.
“No one wins against Star, which is the very reason we all refuse to play with
her.”

“I thought it was ’cause she’s a poor loser.”

“It is entirely possible,” Ward said, “but as we have yet to
see her lose, we’ve yet to test that theory.”

“Father,” Star said with a small chuckle, which tickled
Nick’s ears. “You know that’s not true. I lost many a game when you first
taught me how to play.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Nick caught Ward’s rare smile.
“Why, I suppose that’s true when I turn my mind back over the years. You shall
permit me to point out, however, that a loss or two is expected of a
five-year-old child.”

“Well,” Melinda interjected, “I know most of us are a bit
weary after these weeks, but from what I understand, Star is used to more
exercise.”

Sonuvabitch! Nick glanced in Mel’s direction. A light flush
colored her face, while her warm brown eyes had brightened. Those eyes had
lulled many a man into a false sense of security. Add her tendency to appear
jingle-brained and her overly romantic sensibilities, and even with a ring on
her finger, Melinda had men falling all over themselves to help out “the poor
young thang.” He and Jim knew better, though. The rare times Melinda called
upon it, her brain worked fine enough, and under that soft exterior rode
rock-hard determination. Right now her tone cautioned him that she was about to
use both against him; Melinda’s attempts at matchmaking were legendary.

“Well, that’s it, ma’am,” Nick said to Miz Montgomery and
sat back. Time to clear out before Melinda started in on her latest fandango.
He yawned and tried for a casual stretch. “You win.”

“Pray do not trouble yourself on my behalf, Melinda,” Miz
Montgomery said. “I’m accustomed to less exercise in the winter.” She turned
back to him, cocking one silky black eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘that’s it’
Nicholas?” she asked. “You’re not quitting, are you?”

“Nope,” he said, pushing back his chair. “Just concedin’
defeat, or will in three moves. No reason to play on, is all.”

“But there is every reason to play on!” she sputtered. “We
haven’t finished the game.”

“She can’t crow about her win until she cries checkmate,”
Morgan said, amusement riding high in her voice.

“Sure she can. Go ahead, ma’am, crow all you want. I won’t
take offense.”

“But I can’t until we’ve moved all the pieces. It’s wrong.”

“Move ’em, then. I don’t mind.”

“Why, I have an idea,” Mel said in her sweetest voice. “The Montgomerys
have yet to enjoy the view from the mountains. Maybe they’d like to take a ride
up there.”

“Hey, that’s a good idea, Melinda,” Jim said, flashing a
mischievous grin at Nick. “The views from up there, are they ever pretty. When
you get high enough you can see almost all the way back to Boston!”

“Upon my honor, Nicholas, you are the most vexing man,” Star
said, frowning at him even as a gleam entered her eye, the kind that did not
bode well for his comfort. “
And
a surprisingly poor loser. Do you know,
Melinda,” she said turning to her hostess, “that strikes me as a capital idea.
I’ve only passed through the Rockies when traveling to San Francisco, and you
must know that a train moves along too fast for one to truly appreciate the
scenery. I should love to ride through the mountains.”

“I’m not a poor loser,” Nick interjected hastily, hoping to
drag the conversation back to the game. “You bested me four times and I’ve got
no problem admitting to it. Just don’t see any reason to pile on the agony, is
all.”

“You know the mountains best, Nick,” Mel continued without
missing a beat. “I’m sure you’ll volunteer to be the guide.”

Volunteer? Shanghaied, more like. Nick glowered at Jim,
whose amusement at Melinda’s matchmaking glowed on his face, even though he,
like all of them, knew that Miz Montgomery was dead-set on being an old maid.
She sure didn’t mind teasin’ a man with thoughts of the bedroom, though. Damn,
damn, damn. “It’s powerful cold up there this time o’ year,” Nick said.

“We’re from Boston,” Star pointed out reasonably. “We’re
accustomed to the cold.”

“What’s more is,” Nick added, “the trails are kinda rough
for ladies, ’specially in the winter.”

“Well that cuts me out,” Morgan said with a sigh, and shook
her head as Ward dropped a hand over hers. “Try as I might, I have never been
an adept horse woman.”

“That’s quite all right, my dear,” Ward said. “We might
return in the summer when you can ride without fear.”

Morgan lifted her head and gave him a loving smile, which
sent shots of soft memory through Nick’s heart—of his mother looking just that
way at Pa. For the shortest of seconds, it hurt. Then the pain evaporated,
leaving behind the sweetness of recollection.

“Might we?” she asked. “You know that may suit the purpose.
It would be nice to escape the city heat in the mountains. But we should miss
sailing, shouldn’t we?”

He shrugged. “Some of it, perhaps.”

Nick nodded at him. “You’re welcome either way.”

“Yes, but the views are also very beautiful in the winter,”
Melinda interrupted, glancing at Miz Montgomery in a damnably meaningful way.
“It truly isn’t all that dangerous if you are a good rider. How are you on a
horse, Star?”

Another tug at Ward’s mouth. “My daughter is as accomplished
a horse woman as she is a chess player. She’s a member of the Manchester Hunt
Club.”

Miz Montgomery smiled affectionately Ward. “You ought not to
brag about me, Father. You’ll bring me to the blush.”

“It’s not just the trail,” Nick pointed out, scowling at
Melinda, who blinked innocently in return. “There’s the danger of avalanches,
too.”

Jim shook his head. “We haven’t had fresh snow in a week,
and it’s been two since anything close to a thaw. Not much risk under those
conditions, ’specially if you steer clear of the steeper slopes, which you
would, anyhow. ”

Miz Montgomery raised an eyebrow. “Why then I suppose we
should be perfectly safe, shouldn’t we? And you must admit, Nicholas,” she
said, her eyes sparkling merrily, “that you owe me some compensation after
being such an abominable loser.”

“No girl could be safer,” Melinda said.

Girl? Star Montgomery was
not
a girl. A body might
still refer to Eva and May from the Golden Nugget as girls, whores though they
were. They still giggled and pranced around like girls. But Miz Montgomery? No,
sir, she was a woman, not a girl. With her deep, throaty laugh, her full
figure, the places she’d been and the things she’d done, she was all woman.

And he could not for the life of him figure what she wanted
from him. He’d never been anywhere, never done much of anything. Pretty much
all his knowledge came out of a book. Which, he thought as his eyes caught
hers, could hardly impress
her
. He had impressed her, though. It glowed
in her eyes and settled on her face in an amused, admiring smile. His stomach
flipped and an unfamiliar warmth swept through his chest. He’d never in his
entire life sought admiration, but Lord almighty, when
she
looked at him
like that, it was like the sun rising after a bitter cold night on the trail.
“O.K.,” he agreed, “I’ll take you into the mountains.”

Her eyes gleamed dark gold, and a Cheshire-cat smile spread
across her face. “Why thank you, Nicholas. You are ever so accommodating.”

***

“I cannot like this situation with Nicholas,” Morgan said in
a low voice, frowning at Star’s retreating back. “We must do something.” Nick
had retired hours earlier; Melinda and Jim had gone to bed a few minutes before
Star, leaving Ward and Morgan alone.

Shrugging, Ward prepared himself for the worried lecture
that his wife had kept to herself for weeks, and flipped a page in his book.
“You’re referring to the mountain ride, correct? I see no cause for objection.
In the past when Star’s been locked up for too long, she’s been want to create
all manner of outlandish indoor games, ending most often, as I recall, in a
ballyhoo of blazes.”