Luke’s Runaway Bride (14 page)

His fingers lingered on her soft skin. His gaze dropped to her lush lips. She yanked free and he dropped his hand cold.

“I’m not sure that Harley’s such a nasty person,” Jenny said. “In Denver, he was always quiet and polite.”

“Are you willing to take that risk?”

“What are we supposed to do? Where are we supposed to stay for the next week? This is what we came to talk to you about.”

“You can stay here.”

“Tongues would wag. It wouldn’t be proper.”

“
You
know it’s proper, and that’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

The tensing of her jaw revealed her deep frustration. Their eyes locked. She blushed, and he wondered if she was thinking about last night.

He saw the pulse hammering at the base of her throat. Maybe she was right. Maybe it wouldn’t be so proper, after all. Not with the things tumbling through
his
mind.

“Could I have a word with you privately, please?” she asked.

Luke looked from her to Olivia and Travis. The other couple shifted uncomfortably. Travis grabbed another keg and occupied himself. Olivia leaned back against the wagon and kicked at a stone.

“Sure,” said Luke, grabbing his shirt from the wagon seat and shoving his arms through the sleeves.

“I’ll be right back,” Jenny said to Olivia.

When Jenny began walking down the alley, he joined her. Her long, graceful stride matched his.

“What is it?” Luke stopped beyond the fenced chicken coop, near the old lean-to where Adam’s puppies were barking. Jenny’s slender shadow graced the board-and-batten wall of the guns and ammunition depot behind her.

As he buttoned his shirt, she hastily glanced away. “I don’t want to worry Olivia, but do you really think we’re in danger from Harley?”

When she turned back to face him, he stared at the hard line of her brow. “I hope not, but Daniel hired him as a guard because he reacts first, then thinks. I don’t want him forcing his way—”

“I think you’re overreacting.”

“How well do you know the man? Personally?”

“Not personally, but—”

“Harley can’t be trusted. I’m sure he helped set up the false robbery charge against me.”

“You don’t know that for sure, and I’m still not convinced…”

“Of what?” he asked, feeling himself tense.

“Of your version of events.”

He clamped his jaw. After all they’d been through together, after meeting his friends and seeing Adam, she still didn’t trust him.

Even though Daniel hadn’t had the decency to show up for her, her loyalty was still to that man?

Jenny’s expression softened. “What about…what about Adam? What’s going to happen to him?”

He could see the change in her, the worry, the concern about a small boy’s future. So the child had touched her heart. She wasn’t as indifferent as she tried to appear.

He couldn’t escape it. Jenny was a warmhearted woman, the same woman who’d taken him in when he’d been standing wounded and bleeding on Daniel’s doorstep. If the situation had been reversed, he knew he wouldn’t have jumped so quickly to help a stranger.

Would she help him get Daniel to sign the release papers for Adam?

Luke cleared his throat, about to ask. Just then, a familiar voice called out from the saloon doors.

“Yoo-hoo, anybody home?” Daisy popped out the door, followed by Nathaniel and Adam, in freshly pressed clothes.

Another complication he didn’t need, Luke thought. More questions he couldn’t answer. Jenny wheeled back in dismay.

“Just like we promised,” Daisy said, waving at Jenny, “we’re here to have dinner with you folks and Daniel.”

Jenny and Luke glanced at each other, then down at the subdued little boy. Luke ached to right the wrong for Adam.

With a shy smile, Adam peeked out from behind Nathaniel’s leg. “Hi, Luke,” he said, with total innocence.

T
hank goodness the man had put his shirt back on. Jenny tried to concentrate on Adam. At least now she could think.

It was difficult.

The saloon was empty except for their group. After Luke had tenderly taken Adam to see the new puppies, they’d pushed two dining tables together and were sharing an early supper. Jenny sat between Luke and Daisy, with Olivia and Travis and Nathaniel on the other side. Adam squeezed in on Luke’s other side.

Every time Luke’s shoulder brushed hers, an unwanted tingle surged through her. Good Lord, she was reacting to him as if she were fourteen, not a grown woman. She’d been around men before. He was no different.

Her heart went out to Adam. She shoved a piece of apple cobbler into her mouth. Luke had quietly explained to her that it was Adam’s first time visiting the saloon since his mother’s death. The boy was overly quiet, but this time as they ate, Jenny noticed Luke let the child press right up against him without shooing him away. He paid attention to the boy’s questions, made him eat the boiled carrots on his plate, even let Adam play with his hat.

She tried not to stare at the fragile little boy, but couldn’t help herself. Was there any resemblance between Daniel and Adam?

They both had black hair, but that didn’t prove much. Daniel had a cowlick above his forehead, but the boy didn’t appear to. Adam’s skin tone was darker. They both had brown eyes, but brown was a common color. Nothing unusual about Adam’s fingers or hands, his body shape or his walk. Nothing that reminded her of Daniel.

She wasn’t certain if that pleased her or frustrated her. It’d be easier to hope that the two weren’t related than to admit the kind of man Daniel would have to be to ignore his own son.

“I’m sorry Daniel couldn’t make it, dear,” Daisy whispered to Jenny.

Jenny nodded and stared into Daisy’s kind eyes. Something sentimental flickered in them, something warm and understanding, and Jenny had the distinct impression Daisy knew more than she was letting on.

Luke rose and opened one of the front windows. When he propped it open with a stick, a fresh breeze rolled in, and voices carried from the boardwalk.

“The saloon looks different in daylight,” said Jenny, glancing around the empty tables.

“There’s not much business during the day,” Luke replied. “It doesn’t start filling till six.”

It was more than the missing crowd. The saloon looked respectable in daylight, with its hand-carved pine furniture and gleaming oak bar. The room was spotless and smelled of cleaning vinegar and soap. Even the floor planks, though dented from heels and spurs, and stained with occasional spots of spitting tobacco, shone with polish.

Reflected in the bar mirror, Saturday shoppers were passing by in the streets with colorful bonnets and hats.

While the adults talked about the price of beef and buffalo hide, Adam wiggled higher in his seat and reached into the sugar bowl, which was filled with slivers of sugar chipped from the sugarloaf. Jenny saw him sneak a sliver into his mouth when he thought no one was looking. She stifled a smile.

“Would anyone like a refill on their drinking water?” Travis asked, holding out the jug.

Everyone said yes except Olivia.

“Are you sure? You guzzled the last one so quickly,” Travis said politely, bending closer. Jenny was touched by his concern for Olivia. He’d been trying to start a conversation with her the whole meal, but Olivia was ignoring him.

“I’m sure,” said Olivia. A look of determination flattened her brows.

“Well,” he said, somewhat perturbed by her refusal, “I’ll just fill it up and you can leave it behind if you like, or you can take some if you want.”

“No, please.” Olivia cupped her palm over her water glass at the same time Travis poured. The water poured onto her hand.

Without skipping a beat, she pulled her hand back and shook the water off. “Fine, I’ll have some—”

“I’m sorry, I’ll take it back—”

“Please, it’s all right—”

“No, it’s not—”

“I can manage,” she insisted.

Luke turned and caught Jenny’s eye. When his eyes twinkled with amusement and a grin softened his rugged features, Jenny couldn’t help but return his smile. Did Olivia and Travis know they were sweet on each other?

Mona came by and stacked the empty platters. “Coffee for everyone?”

“I think Miss Jenny likes tea,” Luke said with a grin.

Mona smiled. “Honey on the side?”

“Coffee,” said Jenny, trying to diffuse their laughter, although a smile found its way to her lips.

As Mona left, Adam grew restless. He leaned over the table and propped his head in his hands, staring quietly through the swinging doors to the long hallway that led to the kitchen in the other building, as if he were expecting to see someone.

Was he wondering about his mother? The kitchen was where his mama had worked for years, where Adam had spent hours on a daily basis. Was he hoping that, by some miracle…she might be in the kitchen?

Daisy and Nathaniel and the others continued talking, but all Jenny could do was watch the boy. Luke was awfully quiet beside her, too.

The kitchen door swung open again. Ever watchful, Adam reared up in his seat.

Mona walked through and the boy slumped in disappointment. Jenny felt her throat close up. Luke sighed, and his eyes sought hers. For the first time since she’d known him, his eyes glistened with uncertainty. He looked like he wanted to do something to help Adam, but didn’t know what. She understood how he felt.

Jenny reached out and caressed Adam’s slim shoulder. She wondered if he’d pull away, but he let her hand rest. When he grew more withdrawn, Luke yanked him onto his lap.

“Hey, Adam,” he said softly, “it’s been awhile since you’ve been in the kitchen. Want to go look?”

Adam shrugged.

“Come on,” said Luke, rising from his chair, holding out his hand. Jenny was rooting for him with everything she had.

Go on, Adam,
she thought,
take his hand.

“I’ll go with you,” Luke said. “We’ll look at those copper pots your ma used to like. Remember? You liked to look at your face in them.”

With a flash of interest, the boy got up and took the large, callused palm. Jenny gave a silent shout of hurrah.

“One time,” said Luke, “I remember coming down for breakfast. You were a lot younger then. You couldn’t even walk. You had those copper pots pulled out all over the floor and you were pouring the cat’s bowl of milk into one.”

“I was?” Adam laughed, and Jenny felt a tide of relief.

“Yup.” Luke glanced down at the boy and hauled him up onto his shoulders. “The cat was drinking right out of it, and I got so mad. Sorry, Adam, about getting so mad….”

They left, and after a few tense moments, Jenny heard Adam’s laughter coming from the hallway.

With a sigh, Daisy turned to Jenny. “Every burden, every blow, Luke takes upon himself to try to fix. He denies it, you know, but even as a boy, he was always trying to fix other people’s problems. It was a difficult time for him when his own ma passed. He could never fix things for
her,
no matter how hard he tried. She became a shell of a woman when Luke’s father died.”

There was more to Luke than Jenny realized. She tried to imagine him as a little boy. “What was his mother like?”

Daisy stirred milk into her coffee. “When they took her husband, she lost her mind a little. She could always remember the day of the week, but never the year. After a while, she forgot she had three sons.”

“Where are the other two sons?”

“No one knows for sure. Travelin’ the country somewhere.”

Jenny thought about it. It must have been a horrible time for Luke, and how sad not to know his brothers. How lonely. Was that why Luke lived alone now? Because that was what he was used to? Was that why he never bothered with a regular home of his own, with a wife, with children?

Sipping her coffee, Jenny let the fresh breeze from the open window roll over her. Two older woman strolled by, glanced inside and whispered to each other. Obviously, they didn’t realize the windows were open and they could be heard.

“I heard he took the woman up to his room last night.”

“What’s her name?”

“Jenny something. Her father’s a bigwig for the railroad.”

Jenny stiffened. She wished the floor would open up and swallow her.

The voices continued. “And she’s engaged to another man?”

“From what I understand.”

The other stranger gasped and then the voices faded.

In the ensuing silence, Daisy reached over and placed a warm palm over Jenny’s. “I know those two women back from when I was in my courtin’ days. They couldn’t get a story straight back then, and I don’t imagine they’ve got it straight now.”

Jenny felt suddenly overwhelmed by everything in her life.

“I don’t know what’s amiss between you and Daniel, but I can see you’re upset he didn’t show. If you need a shoulder to cry on, I’ve cried many a tear for Daniel myself.”

“Oh, Daisy, it’s such a mess. I wouldn’t know where to begin. My problems are nothing compared to those of that sweet little boy in the kitchen.”

“I know. I know how Daniel’s involved there, too.”

Jenny looked at her in surprise. “Oh.”

“Luke doesn’t know it, but I had my suspicions when he left for Denver, saying he was going for Daniel.” Daisy smoothed her faded dress. “You know, that makes me related to Adam.” Her hand trembled. “I’m ashamed to say I never met Maria. I let my dang-fool fears of this saloon keep me from steppin’ inside. I wish I’d been stronger. I wish I hadn’t let people like those two women who just walked by interfere with what I should’ve done. Be guided by your strength, dear, not your weakness like I was.”

Jenny felt her burden lift. Daisy understood.

Luke and Adam stepped out of the kitchen. Adam had a length of rope in his hand. Returning to his seat, he scanned the top of the table. Was he looking for the sugar bowl?

Jenny cupped her hand over his, then opened her palm, revealing half a dozen slivers she’d secretly saved for him. “Want one?” She popped one into her mouth. “They’re real good.”

He smiled and took one. She was reminded of her own childhood craving for sweets. There was something about the sheer simplicity of having sugar slivers melt in her mouth that made everything seem brighter.

“I brought the rope for Jenny,” Luke said to Adam. Luke slid his powerful body into the chair next to hers and captured her attention with that commanding presence of his. She suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

“I thought Jenny could show you a rope trick,” Luke continued. “She knows how to tie a good knot.”

Jenny stifled the laugh bubbling up her throat.

Adam pressed his warm body against her knees. “You do? Who taught you?”

“My granddad, a long time ago. He used to be a sailor.”

“On a ship? In the ocean?”

She laughed and ruffled his hair. “Of course.”

Luke watched her handle the rope. “Pay close attention,” he said with a wicked look in his eye, “Jenny knows one called the constrictor knot.”

Warmth rushed into her cheeks. “I’m very good at that one.”

His voice filled with affectionate humor. “I knew you were laughing at me that night.”

“I couldn’t help it. You looked so helpless, such a big strapping man all tied up on account of me. My granddad would’ve been proud.”

The boy’s eyes lit up. “Show me.”

She looped the ends together. “This is the constrictor knot. It’s very tight. If there’s strain put on the rope, it may have to be cut off rather than untied.”

“You don’t say,” Luke interjected.

Her face softened with pleasure at his reaction. “And this was my granddad’s favorite. A figure-eight, used to prevent a rope from slipping through a hole. See if you can tie it.”

Adam played with the rope, totally enthralled.

“Here, I’ll show you one,” Luke said to the boy. “This is the hitch you use to tie your saddlebag to your horse.”

Daisy and Nathaniel rose to leave. Luke got up with the others to say goodbye. “I’d like Adam to stay here with me,” he said, to everyone’s surprise. “Just for a little while. I could keep my eye on—” He cut himself short. “I think he’d like it here. Wouldn’t you Adam?”

Adam nodded.

Luke explained, “I thought I could clear out the supply room, off the kitchen in the other building. Move him in there. That’s the room his ma used for his naps. And then I’d move into the small room next to him.”

Jenny liked the idea. Being here again, near the kitchen where his mother used to work, would bring Adam comfort. But was that all there was to it? What else was Luke thinking? That he could keep an eye out for Adam in case…in case Harley came around looking for the boy?

“Couldn’t you stay a little longer?” Jenny said, stepping forward and slipping her arm under Daisy’s.

“That’s mighty kind of you. But we have to go home to milk the cows. They’ll be gettin’ antsy.”

Luke walked them to the door. “I’ll send a man to your ranch this evening for the rest of Adam’s clothes.”

Nathaniel shook Luke’s hand. “If we don’t see you before Tuesday, happy birthday.”

Jenny glanced up at Luke’s rugged face. His birthday was on Tuesday? Three days away?

Nathaniel continued. “Mona tells me the saloon girls have something special planned.”

Luke bristled and ran a hand through his wavy hair. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll make sure I’m not around.”

“Oh, come on, now,” said Daisy, looking to Jenny for assistance. “If you don’t show up for the party, they’ll blame us for telling you.”

Despite herself, Jenny found herself intrigued with the notion. What did the saloon girls have planned?

She flicked imaginary lint off her skirt. Why should she care? Luke meant nothing to her. She hardly knew the man. But when the others left and she stood beside his tall, lean figure, gazing up into his mesmerizing, smoky eyes, she felt her pulse leap again.

More than a little annoyed, she left him standing there. There was no logical reason for her to feel envious of the saloon girls.