The Rancher Takes A Bride (12 page)

Last night Travis had treated her with tenderness and compassion. He'd been responsive and gentle while he'd bandaged her hands, but his invitation had distracted and confused her. Today, would the compassionate man of midnight or the law-abiding authoritarian have returned? Had he always been so serious, so logical, and so demanding?

Yet when he smiled, the corners of his tempting mouth turned up, his cheekbones were outlined by the muscles in his face, and the gleam in his eyes was almost enough to cause a girl to swoon. The Texas countryside oozed from his pores, and she knew without asking that the man had ridden his share of the range.

Adept at keeping his emotions carefully hidden behind his hardened cowboy exterior, Travis was a man of few words and even less expression. Rose was not afraid of his rough voice and clipped responses. There was a certain challenge in exploring the man— like finding the creamy center in a chocolate candy. Gooey and yummy, not bitter and hard.

She laughed at the image and knew she'd find the real Travis Burnett. Somehow she'd get past his tough exterior and discover which man was the true Travis.

Rose pushed open the door and strolled into the dining room. Eugenia glanced up. "Good morning, Desirée. I'm surprised to see you up and about so early this morning."

"Good morning," she answered, turning her attention to Travis, trying to gauge his reaction since their last meeting.

Travis gave her a measured look. "How are your hands?"

"They're better," she said, as she took her place at the table.

"My, my, I hope they're not painful," Eugenia exclaimed.

It was obvious Travis had informed his mother of her escapade the night before. "No, Travis took care of them last night."

Eugenia stood and pushed back her chair. "I'll tell Cook to bring you a cup of coffee and some breakfast."

"Do you have tea?" Rose questioned.

"I'll check," Eugenia said, going through the door.

Alone, they stared at each other until Travis finally cleared his throat. "Sleep well last night?"

"Yes, after you gave me fresh linens, I slept fine," she said, still carefully observing the subtle changes in him this morning. He was distant once more, and there were shadows beneath his eyes that hadn't been there the day before.

He smiled. "Good."

"What about you? How did you sleep?" she asked. The memory of his full lips caressing her mouth began a butterfly riot in her stomach. She recalled the words they'd exchanged and the way she'd been tempted to cast aside her doubts and fall into his bed.

His eyes widened in a look she was quickly coming to recognize—the look that normally preceded him kissing her. Suddenly the dining room felt small and airless.

"I was restless all night long," he drawled.

The door opened and Eugenia bustled back in, seemingly unaware of the suddenly charged atmosphere. "Shouldn't be long," she said, taking her place at the table once again.

Rose quickly averted her eyes from Travis. If she looked at him any longer, she was sure Mrs. Burnett would recognize the hungry gaze in her eyes for something other than food.

Eugenia sipped from her coffee and looked at her son. "Travis, why don't you show Desirée around the ranch today? You could hitch up the wagon and the two of you could spend the day riding."

Travis threw down his napkin. "Can't. I'm going into town."

Eugenia stared at her son, her eyes flashing with displeasure. "There's nothing you need there."

He stood and pushed his chair into the table, then raised his brown eyes in displeasure at Eugenia. "That's for me to decide, Mother."

The undercurrents were ripe with disagreement, but no one mentioned Eugenia and Travis's previous argument regarding returning her to jail.

"I would like to go into town," she said, hoping that if she explained why she wanted to go he'd be more considerate and understanding. "I'd like to check on my trunk and maybe even buy a new dress, since I ripped this one so badly last night."

"Nope." His jaw tightened and his lips thinned. "Have you forgotten the rules already? You're not to go to town for any reason."

Raising her bandaged hands, she pointed to her dress. "But that was before last night. Now I need clothes. You don't expect me to wear a dress that looks like someone took the shears to it, do you?"

He raised his brows and smiled. "I didn't tell you to climb down the rose trellis. In fact, most of our guests prefer to use the stairs."

Rose felt a surge of temper along with the urge to pick up the pitcher of cream on the table and fling it at him, but she resisted.

"I suggest you get a needle and thread and fix your dress."

"It'll look like a patchwork quilt. Besides, what makes you think I can sew?" she questioned. She took a sip of tea, trying to cool her rapidly rising temper.

"All women do needlework. If you can hold a needle, you can sew," he said matter-of-factly.

Rose almost spewed her tea. Of all the arrogant things to say! The man of midnight had evaporated in the morning sun like dewdrops under a noon sun.

He'd hit a sore spot. Rose wasn't like all women; she hadn't had a mother to teach her the proprieties of being a lady. She'd never touched a sewing needle, let alone stitched an actual garment.

"That's like saying all men are farmers. Planted any crops lately?" she retorted.

The look he gave her could have frosted the backside off the devil himself. He stared at her, his irritation obvious.

Eugenia rose from her seat at the table and walked around to her son. "Let's make a day of going to town. I'll go and keep an eye on Desirée while you take care of your business, Travis."

"No!" he barked. "I'm going alone."

If she hadn't been afraid of hitting Eugenia, Rose would have thrown the pitcher of cream at him. "Oh, I see Sergeant Travis has returned. Or are you a general today? Frankly, I think you're nothing more than a bugler making noise. In fact—"

"Do you think you could shut up for just a few minutes?"

Rose tilted her head at him and smiled. "You know, cowboy, we need to work on your manners. Just today I was thinking I should show you how to have fun. You're much too serious. I could teach you how to bring that smile out for more than just company."

His complexion turned a delightful shade of red, and his brown eyes darkened. Turning on his heel, he stomped out of the dining room, slamming the door as he went out.

Rose turned to look at Eugenia, feeling a little anxious. But when she noticed the woman trying her darndest not to laugh, she smiled.

"I think I made him mad."

***

Travis walked into Tucker's office, the sound of his boots loud as they rapped against the hardwood floors.

The smell of crime hung heavy, like the odor of too many unwashed bodies crammed into a crowded space.

Desirée had been forced to spend one night in this pit of humanity because of him, and now he was threatening to return her here.

God, she deserved it, didn't she?

Two deputies looked up from their desks as he passed them on his way to his brother's office. Used to his coming and going, the deputies let him pass unhindered.

Travis strolled into the small office and watched Tucker repeatedly dip his quill into the inkwell and let it scratch against the rough parchment.

"Morning," Travis called as he took the nearest chair, stretching his legs out in the cramped area.

Tucker glanced up and grinned. "Heard you were back. Did you get the ring?"

Travis sighed. "Yeah, well that's what I came to talk to you about. I brought the girl back."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, and Mother is treating this woman like she's a visiting princess," Travis said in disgust. "They wanted to come to town and let me bring them shopping. Mother was going to show her off to her friends in town."

"That's our mother." Tucker laughed, then glanced at his brother quizzically. "So why did you bring her back?"

"Because of the ring. I just thought that sooner or later she'd hand it over."

"You could have brought her back to the jail."

"I wanted to. But Mother told me that if I brought Desirée back to jail, she would just come and bail her out again," Travis said in disbelief.

"So where does Madame Desirée say the ring is?"

"She claims she's never seen it. I searched her belongings and still couldn't find the damn thing. It's almost as if that gold band vanished into thin air."

"And Mother graciously accepted this girl?" Tucker asked.

"Practically rolled out the red carpet in welcome. You'd have thought she was royalty visiting her subjects."

"I must say I'm a little surprised." Tucker's forehead drew together in concentration and he frowned. "Watch it, Travis. Mother's up to something. I don't know what just yet, but she's cooking up some kind of scheme."

"This woman stole her wedding band, and she wants to go shopping!"

"Maybe the two of them are planning on spending the cash?" Tucker joked.

Travis shot him a glare, knowing he was only kidding, but unwilling to laugh at this sore subject. "You know how Mother feels about her wedding ring. I expected her to bust the woman in the lip, rather than entice her with shopping."

"Come on, big brother, you know how Mother works. She's luring her into an unsuspecting trap, and then she'll pounce on her. I tell you, she's planning something."

Travis rubbed his chin. "So you think this is all a big guise to trap Desirée, then?"

"Certainly. Mother's almost as extreme as you are about obeying the laws. If she believes Desirée took her ring, the woman won't get away with it."

Travis sat there a few moments and studied his younger brother. Could he be right about their mother? Was she just pretending to be a good hostess, before she trapped Desirée?

Something didn't feel right. No matter how he twisted the image around in his mind, his gray-haired mother didn't seem the type. But then again, he'd been wrong about her on more than one occasion.

"So you don't think I should bring her to jail?"

"Please, no. She had my jail so stirred up, I thought I was going to have to isolate her." Tucker shook his head. "No, let her hang herself. Keep a close eye on her, and sooner or later, she'll slip up."

"That's easy for you to say," Travis said, uneasy at the thought of having Desirée so close underfoot

"Besides, from what I remember of Miss Severin, she wasn't exactly hard on the eyes. In fact, she was a pretty little piece that I would have been willing to try on for a ride."

Travis bristled at his brother's words. Tucker wasn't saying anything Travis hadn't heard repeated about other women, but somehow he didn't like the words his brother had chosen. Even more, Travis didn't like his own reaction.

The marshal gazed at him. He blinked his eyes and shook his head, a surprised expression on his face. "So that's the way it is."

"What do you mean?" Travis asked, hearing the defensiveness in his own voice.

Tucker laughed. "You've taken a fancy to this woman, haven't you?"

"Of course not, she's a thief."

"I'd wager she wasn't the most honest of women. But she's a hell of a looker."

Travis jumped up and began to pace, his boots rapping against the wooden floor. "I have to admit she's a handful. And I can hardly keep my hands off her." He threw up his arms, exasperated. "Mother put her across the hall from me. She's sleeping within ten feet."

"I've never seen you this rattled over a woman before," Tucker commented. "What's really bothering you, Travis?"

"I don't know. I guess I always thought that when a woman I was attracted to came along, she'd be— you know—an honest woman. Not some con artist who runs a séance scam."

"What do you really know about Miss Severin? Has she told you about her past or what her life was like before she got to Fort Worth?" Tucker questioned.

"No, all we've done is argue over every little thing. She's certainly a challenge. She's a saucy little thing that has me either fuming or laughing. I never know which one to expect."

As if realizing he'd said more than he intended, Travis sat back down in the chair. Silence filled the office. Finally, he sighed. "What am I going to do with her?"

"Why don't you hire a Pinkerton agent to get the real information on her. That way you'll know the truth and you keep her at the ranch, which makes Mother happy." The marshal smiled. "What happens between the two of you—well, that's up to you."

Travis frowned. "A Pinkerton agent?" He thought for a moment. "I could find out everything in her background. How many times she's stolen and where she comes from."

"It would buy you some time. You could use that same gentleman Mother used when she searched for Tanner. He was quick and affordable."

Travis thought for a moment. "You know, that's not a bad idea."

"His office is right up the street. Come on, let's drop in and pay him a visit on the way to grab a bite for lunch."