Luke’s Runaway Bride (8 page)

Jenny hesitated. “Yes?”

“Us folks around here, we’re a little different from you city folks.” The kind old woman glanced at the billowing dress and the muddy cloth boots, concern pulling at her wrinkled cheeks. “We don’t usually get so dressed up to go visiting.”

Jenny colored fiercely, puckered her lips ever so slightly and turned in Luke’s direction. He withered on the spot.

With a firm hand on Jenny’s shoulder, Daisy led her across the porch. Jenny moved to the other side of Daisy, as far away from Luke as possible.

He shook his head.

He knew he’d pay for it later, but at least Jenny hadn’t left yet.

Wearing a clean, faded blouse and skirt, but feeling a jumbled mass of emotions, Jenny studied Luke across the pine table.

She was trying to understand him and the reason he’d brought her here. He was a man of opposites. How could a person who’d so forcefully snatched her from her home sit so comfortably among these pleasant folks?

What in tarnation was she supposed to do now? Luke had completely stumped her by releasing her from captivity and dumping her on her future family. And he’d assured her Olivia was safe, too.

Daisy was clearing the dishes with a loud clatter. They’d left the porch door propped open during the meal, and a fresh breeze curled through the room. Jenny sipped her coffee and nervously looked around. The interior of the house was lit with sunshine and furnished with colorful fabrics and quilts. A round iron stove sat in a corner of the kitchen.

Avoiding Jenny’s gaze for the umpteenth time, Luke strode to the pie safe and pulled out a pecan pie. Its fresh-baked fragrance wafted through the air as he set it on the table. Adam passed out plates and forks.

“Don’t use those everyday things,” hollered Daisy from the counter. “Nathaniel, reach up there on the top shelf of the sideboard and grab me them special plates, the pretty blue ones we won at the fair.”

Standing at the head of the table, Luke began to cut the pie. He had changed into fresh clothes and pulled a comb through his hair, but he hadn’t shaved his two days’ growth of black whiskers. The contradiction gave him a rugged, masculine appearance which Jenny was having difficulty ignoring. She bristled with irritation.

Why were Luke and Daniel fighting?

And why hadn’t
Daniel
told her he had living relatives? He’d given her the impression he had no one.

Wasn’t she worthy of being told?

Her lashes swept downward. She was still debating whether to tell the older folks about the real manner in which she’d been brought here, and her own hesitation confused her. What was holding her back?

The fact that the older couple might not believe her? Would they think she was a little touched? Try as she might, she couldn’t seem to find the right words to express how their beloved Luke, this man they fawned over, had taken her against her will. And if they did believe her, what would her admission cost?

It would throw a shadow on her upcoming wedding.

What would that do to Daniel and his relationship with these people? She’d have a better chance of knowing what to do if she knew what in blazes the two men were fighting about.

She studied the stubborn line of Luke’s jaw as he dished up the pie, looking for clues. His thoughtful silence gave her none. He winced with a sudden movement, and clutched his side. His ribs were sore. Why hadn’t he mentioned his injury to anyone here? Why hadn’t she?

Recovering, he passed her the first piece of pie. With a dark intensity in his mischievous eyes, he seemed to be studying her just as closely as she was him. She shot him an angry glare.

Their fingertips brushed beneath the plate and she shuddered. Quickly dropping the plate to the table, she was suffocated with the memory of their kiss. Engaged to one man, and being kissed by the other. Even now, her throat burned where his lips had brushed it.

She squirmed on the chair and sat up straighter. All right, she rationalized, it wasn’t a kiss on the mouth but a kiss on the neck. It wasn’t anything, really.

Oh, yes, it was.

It had been more erotic than a kiss on the mouth. That was the most sensual response she’d ever had to any suitor. Flushing, she toyed with the blue gingham napkin in her lap, refolding it for the third time.

With a gap-toothed smile, Adam stepped to her side. The boy had cleaned up for lunchtime, washed his hands and slicked back his hair. It made him look young and vulnerable. Her heart went out to him at losing his mother. Although her own vague memories of losing her mother to cholera were those of a two-year-old child, she knew what it felt like to yearn for a mother’s embrace. She begrudgingly admitted that Luke was very kind to look after Adam while he tried to reach the boy’s father.

“Here’s a fork for your pie, Miss Jenny.”

“Thank you.”

Jenny watched Adam pass cutlery to Luke. The boy was so eager for Luke’s attention and praise. Luke seemed to be trying his best, but didn’t always notice the lad. During the meal, he’d helped Adam cut his steak into smaller pieces, but hadn’t mentioned the untouched peas and greens Adam left behind. Jenny stifled her own urge to remind Luke to take more notice. It wasn’t her place. It wasn’t her concern.

Where was Adam’s father at a time like this? How had the child’s mother died? She had a list of questions for Luke.

But the longer she waited to ask, the more complicated it was becoming. Daisy had already asked a dozen prickly questions concerning Jenny’s upcoming wedding day and preparations, about her family in Boston, about how she’d first met Daniel.

Through it all, Luke hadn’t said a word. Hadn’t offered a smidgen of support. He’d carefully listened to her every answer, as if she were here to entertain him!

Well, she was here against her will.

So was Olivia. The thought of Olivia penned up somewhere with a complete stranger while Jenny was enjoying a slice of pie made her stomach churn. Where was her friend?

Jenny pulled her shoulders back and wriggled on the hard seat. Why not ask him? She dug into her pie and swallowed. “Where’s Olivia spending the afternoon?” she asked brightly.

Luke snapped to attention. That was more like it.

Daisy poured out more coffee. “Olivia? Who’s Olivia?”

Jenny smiled at Luke as she tilted the cup to her lips and sipped. How would he get out of this one?

“A friend of Jenny’s,” he answered calmly, studying her with that smug look of his, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “They’re going to do some sight-seeing together.”

Sight-seeing? Huh! “Your friend Tom
took
her,” said Jenny, raising her brows, “but I didn’t get a chance to ask where exactly they were galloping off to.”

“He took her to town. Travis is going to look after her.”

“Travis? He’s such a nice fella,” said Nathaniel, gulping his coffee. “Always busier than a hornet, but he’s nice.”

“Where in town and who is Travis?”

Luke leveled his twinkling gray eyes at her, then in an annoying display of confidence, he winked. “Travis is my right-hand man, and he’s making her comfortable at the saloon.”

Saloon?
She slumped back in her seat. A saloon was no place for a lady. Jenny had heard all about saloons. They were full of drinkers and fighters and gamblers and painted women.

“What saloon?” she demanded.

“
My
saloon.”

Stunned for a second, she stared at his dark features. When a grin tugged at his mouth, her anger rose to a new level. “You own a saloon?”

He nodded.

It figured. He probably spent every evening away from home, drinking and gambling and God only knew what else.

“I live there, too.”

He lived there?
Good grief. Didn’t he have a regular home? A house with rooms, with chickens in the yard, a dog in the back, a front door his visitors could knock on? Olivia must be frightened out of her skin. This man’s gall was maddening. Even more maddening was the fact that Jenny just sat there, staring at him, tongue-tied.

“How could you take my friend to a saloon?” she croaked. “What kind of place is that for a lady?”

The clatter of forks stopped. The others finally noticed something was amiss between the two of them.

All eyes turned to Luke. His lips thinned. “Have you ever been to a saloon?”

Jenny’s fingers fluttered to her throat. “Of course not.”

“You might be surprised what’s inside.”

“I think not,” she said, clucking with disapproval.

Eyes locked with hers, he shook his head slightly. “You’re so quick to judge. I’ve met a lot of uppity folks in my time—”

She gasped. He was calling
her
uppity? He had the nerve to attack
her
character?

“I know how you feel,” Daisy interjected, glancing from one stubborn face to the other. “About saloons, I mean. I’ve never set foot in one, other than that one time at Luke’s. It’s a pretty intimidating place for a woman, you gotta admit, Luke.”

Nathaniel broke in. “You know, Cheyenne’s a big town. It’s got over two dozen saloons and they’re not all alike.”

“Two dozen!” Jenny gasped.

Daisy sat down beside Jenny. “That’s right, the town’s got over ten thousand people, and there’s three levels of saloons, something for everyone—”

“Oh, we’ve never been to the seedier ones,” Nathaniel interrupted his wife. The two of them were tripping over each other to sing the praises of Cheyenne’s saloons. “No one in town goes to those. They’re for the drifters who come through. You know—the rail laborers and scruffy drovers. Those are the dangerous saloons you gotta avoid. There was a knifing just last week.”

Daisy patted Jenny’s arm. “And then on the top end, you’ve got the highfalutin saloons, for all those rich cattle barons from Texas. Lord almighty! Some of those people take their summers in England, they’ve got so much money. They bring in opera companies for entertainment, and singers from New York City and Buffalo Bill Cody—”

“Unbelievable,” said Nathaniel. “But we avoid those, too. Regular folks don’t like to dress up just to have a beer.” The old man sat back with pride. “Luke’s saloon is in the middle. It caters to local residents mainly, just regular, hardworking folks. He doesn’t have operas yet,” Nathaniel snickered, “but on the other hand, he doesn’t allow painted ladies, either.”

As the older couple continued their discussion, Jenny found her composure. Daisy and Nathaniel, God bless them, were only trying to calm her.

And she’d get out of this situation sooner if she didn’t anger Luke. She glanced at the tiny boy peering over the table, sitting faithfully beside Luke, and her curiosity stirred.

All she wanted to do was find Olivia and return to Denver. She’d ask Daniel what this was all about, and he’d explain it to her until it made sense. “Maybe I should see the saloon myself.” She met Luke’s gaze. “Would you take me to see my friend? Daisy and Nathaniel, you—you’ll join us, won’t you?”

Daisy rose to stack the coffee cups, and Jenny jumped to help her. “It’s a lovely idea, really,” said the older woman. “But I’ve got to tend to Adam, and I promised to bring a dozen eggs to Mrs. Mathews next door.”

“And I’ve got a ranch to run,” added Nathaniel, wiping his mouth. He reached for a toothpick. “But once Daniel arrives, I promise we’ll make the time and join you all for dinner. Maybe even in the saloon.”

Jenny sagged with disappointment.

Luke stood up and walked to the door. His face had lost its harshness. “If you’d like to go to the saloon,” he said, removing his hat from its peg, “I’ll take you.”

He was being charming again, and that was when she distrusted him most. At least when he was mad, she knew how to read him. Her eyes narrowed. “You’d take me now?”

“If you like,” he answered, in that easygoing manner that made him so appealing, that made her insides so jumbled. “You could stay overnight with Olivia there, if that’d make you feel more comfortable. We’ve got hotel rooms on the upper floor.”

Oh, heavens yes, she couldn’t think of anything better. Spending the night in a crass saloon… Stalling, she slid the coffee cups into the soapy water in the basin.

“I expect the saloon’s where Daniel will show up first,” Luke added. “His train arrives in the morning, around eleven.”

Did Luke actually think she’d keep her mouth shut and wait patiently for Daniel to arrive? Luke thought so damn highly of himself. Never mind Daniel’s arrival. If she met up with Olivia, they’d escape out that saloon door so fast…. “If I go with you, you wouldn’t force…take me anywhere else, would you?”

Daisy laughed. “Where on earth would he take you?”

Where? The back of a boxcar. Down an alley with a gun pointed between her shoulder blades. Thrown onto a horse. “Let me help Daisy with the dishes, and I’ll—I’ll think about it.”

“Don’t be silly, I’ll finish the dishes,” Daisy said with a nod to the door. “Let Luke show you the rest of the ranch. Go on. No guest of ours is gonna do any dishes.”

Jenny was not going anywhere alone with him. She crouched down beside Adam. “Will you come with us for a walk?”

“Okay,” he said, skipping out to the porch, making Jenny feel safer. “I could show you the new foal.”

“Yeah,” added Luke, stepping into the sunshine and tugging on the brim of his hat. “Come protect Jenny,” he said softly beside her shoulder, causing her pulse to ripple. “Tell me, it is me you don’t trust, or yourself?”

Stepping back, she gaped at him. “I’ve never met a man with such arrogance.”

“You’re changing the subject.” He smiled a devilish grin and her stomach fluttered. He hollered into the yard, “Wait up, Adam, we’re coming.” Luke focused his smoky gaze back on her. “After you.” He swept the air in a mocking gesture of chivalry. He was anything but chivalrous. He was a scoundrel.

She crossed her arms and trailed behind the boy, down the grassy path to the stables. “I don’t know why you’re bothering to show me around. I don’t plan on staying.”

“Did Daniel ever tell you about this ranch?”

“No. Why should he?”