by Nerys Leigh
They stared at each other for a moment and then burst into laughter.
Will walked into the kitchen. He glanced between them. “What are you laughing at?” When they continued to giggle, he said, “It’s me, isn’t it? You’re laughing at me.”
Daisy rose from the table and patted his arm. “Yes, we’re laughing at you.”
Heaving a good-natured sigh, he walked through to the living room and returned with a blanket which he tucked into the top of the basket. “Tell Dan when he gets back I’ll help him unload the wagon later.”
“I’ll let him know,” Sara replied. She smiled. “And don’t hurry back.”
Will followed Daisy outside, the basket hooked over his arm.
“Where’s Daniel?” she asked, in as casual a way as possible so as to not arouse suspicion that she was making sure they would be picnicking alone.
“He went to pick up some lumber for the new bedroom we’re building onto the house. Mr. Calderon had some left over from his barn so he offered it to Dan for cheap.”
She nodded and looked along the track in the direction of the orchard. She loved the Raines’ orchard at this time of year, with the early fruit trees ripening while the rest were still in blossom. It smelled wonderful.
It was also nice and secluded.
“How about we have our picnic in the orchard?” she suggested.
She carefully kept her face straight while he stared at her.
“The orchard’s nice this time of year,” he said.
“Yes.”
“A few too many bees for my liking, but they mostly stick to the flowers.”
“Yes.”
“Private, too.”
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed. “Daisy Monroe, are you planning on taking advantage of me?”
Her lips twitched. “Yes.”
He offered her his elbow. “Better get going then.”
~ ~ ~
Will finished his last bite of chocolate-dipped sugar cookie with a sigh of disappointment. “Got any more?”
Amusement warmed Daisy’s eyes. “I’m sorry, I only thought to bring eight.”
“You had some too,” he pointed out.
“I had two, and you ate half of one of those when I said I’d had enough.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Next time, bring ten.”
“Where do you put all that food? I swear, you eat twice as much as I do and you never get any bigger.”
It was true. “I work hard.”
The way she gazed at him, her eyes sparkling with suppressed laughter, pushed all thoughts of cookies from his mind.
“So,” he said casually, “what shall we do now?”
The hint of a smile touched her pink, full, enticing lips. “What do you suggest?”
He picked up the empty cookie plate from the blanket between them and set it into the basket. “I seem to recall you promising to take advantage of me.”
“I seem to recall something to that effect too.”
He leaned forward, his eyes moving to her mouth. “Well then.”
“Well then,” she echoed, as their lips met.
Heart soaring, he pushed his fingers into her hair where it flowed loose and free at the back of her head. The previous evening, he’d been convinced no kiss could rival their first. It seemed he was wrong about that.
When she finally broke away, they were both gasping for breath. “You taste like chocolate.”
“Do you mind?”
She leaned into him again. “Not in the slightest.”
~ ~ ~
Will lay back on the blanket with a contented sigh. “This is the best picnic I’ve ever had.”
Her head resting on his chest, Daisy laughed. “It has been a very, very good picnic.”
Staring up at the tiny patches of blue showing through the blossom-laden branches above them, he drifted his fingers slowly across her back. He felt perfectly at ease. Maybe that feeling wouldn’t last, but right now, lying with Daisy in his arms, all his doubts faded away.
So he wasn’t ready to be a husband and father, but who really was, at first? Even Daniel, who’d been preparing for a family just about his entire life, faltered when his plans were thrown into disarray. If Dan had difficulty, what chance at smooth sailing did Will have?
He was beginning to think it didn’t matter. All that mattered was he wanted to be with Daisy, and she wanted to be with him. They could work the rest out as they came to it.
Flattening her hands on his chest, she rested her chin on the top and looked at him. “So does this mean we’re courting?”
“Maybe.”
She made a sound of frustration. “You just won’t admit it, will you?”
He stifled his smile. “Admit what?”
She shuffled up until her face was over his. “Admit we’re courting.”
When he didn’t reply, she pressed her lips to his in a lingering kiss.
“Admit we’re courting,” she repeated, when she finally broke away.
He didn’t, and she kissed him again, with a fervor that sent heat all the way down to his toes.
“Admit we’re courting.”
Because it was working out for him so far, he kept silent.
This time, he was pretty sure he came close to bursting into flames. “All right! We’re courting!”
She gave him a triumphant smile. “There, was that so difficult?”
“Actually, it was a lot of fun.”
Rolling her eyes, she rested her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her to keep her there.
It was a fairly good bet they were courting, seeing as he was pretty sure he was falling in love.
~ ~ ~
When they got back to the house, the wagon was outside the barn and Ginger and River were in the pasture with Indiana, Rosie, and Pea. The lumber Daniel had gone to fetch still sat in the back of the wagon.
Will saddled Indiana, kissed Daisy goodbye for longer than was strictly necessary but shorter than he wanted, then watched her ride away with a grin stretching his cheeks.
He was undoubtedly in love, and it felt very, very good.
He walked into the kitchen to find Sara sitting at the table with a mixing bowl while Dan stood at the stove, stirring something in a pot.
They both stared at him as he walked in.
“What?” he said.
Sara and Dan glanced at each other and smiled.
“I guess this means you’re courting,” Sara said.
“Why do you say that?”
Her smile grew. “You have grass in your hair.”
Chapter 11
Will rode into town after he’d finished his chores on the farm the following day.
He would be joining Daisy and Nicky for supper as he often did, and probably would be a lot more from now on, but he’d come a little early to buy a gift for Daisy. He wasn’t yet sure what to get, but since their courting was now officially going both ways, he had some catching up to do. He’d picked a bunch of wildflowers to give her as well. He’d never courted a woman before, but flowers were always a safe bet. Even he knew that.
He left Ginger tied outside the bank and drifted along the main street, looking in windows and wandering into stores. He’d probably just get something at Lamb’s General Store, but it didn’t hurt to look elsewhere. Daniel had paid him today, so he would put whatever was left over into his account at the bank.
When he was drinking and gambling, it was rare that any of his pay didn’t go into the saloon, but now he didn’t have much to spend his money on, he was building up his savings. And since it looked like he was going to have a family to support, that money was even more important. Although he wasn’t winning anything in card games nowadays either, so really he was getting less money. But he didn’t mind that.
Nothing would make him go back to that life. No more drinking, gambling, or women for Will Raine. Well, except for one woman, with beautiful dark hair and a fiery disposition and a smile that
made his heart thud.
A hand seized Will’s arm.
Before he could do anything to stop it, he was dragged into an alley.
Years of defending himself in bar fights kicked in and Will swung his fist before he even saw who had him. A man staggered back with a grunt, hand clutching his jaw and a glare twisting his face.
Will’s eyes darted to the man’s belt where a gun was holstered. “What are you doing?”
The man wore a bowler hat, the same one that caught Will’s eye the previous day in the market. Wearing a bowler wasn’t in itself unusual, although men in the west tended to prefer wider brims to keep off the sun, but something about this particular hat nudged at Will’s memory. Where had he seen it before?
“You’re a hard man to find, Raine.”
Will eyed the exit to the street beyond him. He could push past, but if the man went for his gun, he wasn’t sure he could get away in time. “Do I know you?”
The man snorted a laugh devoid of humor. “Do you know me? You don’t even remember, do you?”
Will wracked his memory. That hat. There was something about the hat.
“A year ago,” the man snarled, “you destroyed my life.”
And then Will remembered. It was that night, his final night in the saloon. The night after which he never went back.
As usual, he’d got into a poker game. He liked poker, mostly because he was good at it. Most men were easy to read, especially when they’d had a drink or two.
This man had had more than one or two.
His name was something beginning with B. Brown? Boggs?
Briggs. That was it.
Will had seen him once or twice in town, but that night was the first time he’d got into a game of poker with him.
Briggs was a terrible poker player. First of all, he was drunk. You never gambled drunk. Will frequently ended up that way, but he always started the night sober, and that was when he played cards. Didn’t take a single drop of alcohol until he’d collected his winnings and left the table. He may not have been smart about a lot of things, but he was always smart about that.
Not Briggs, though. He was the worst kind of gambler – drunk, reckless, never knew when to fold. Always thought his big win was just around the corner, like it was luck and not skill that made a card player good. Will could have beat him without even trying. Did beat him without even trying. And then he took his winnings to the bar and that was that.
Except when Will left the saloon later that night, Briggs jumped him and demanded his money back. Accused Will of cheating.
Will never, ever cheated, and everyone knew that. It was probably why Briggs waited until they were alone to throw accusations around.
The money was long gone anyway, spent on drinks and a meal and a woman, and Will told him that. Briggs didn’t like that answer, and apparently losing his money had rendered him a lot more sober than Will was at that moment.
Will had been lucky to escape with just a few bruises, a busted lip, and a black eye, before Solomon Filbert came from the saloon to investigate the noise and Briggs ran off.
Will went straight to Daisy for help, because he didn’t want to add to Dan and Sara’s problems. He never saw Briggs again.
Until now.
“What do you mean, I ruined your life? I only ever met you once.”
Briggs jabbed a finger at him. “You cheated. I know you cheated. You took my money sure as if you’d robbed me.”
“I didn’t cheat. I never cheated. I also didn’t take all your money. There were other men in that game, and you lost a lot of hands.”
Briggs clenched his fists. “You got most of it, and you’re lying. No one wins that much if they aren’t cheating. I want my money back. Two thousand dollars.”
Will’s jaw dropped. “Two thousand dollars? Are you out of your mind?”
He couldn’t remember how much he’d won from Briggs, but it certainly wasn’t two thousand dollars. He only ever won enough to cover the price of the rest of the night’s activities. He’d never even seen two thousand dollars all at once.
“I didn’t lose that much,” Briggs snapped. “You took just enough to ruin my life, and I figure two thousand dollars is enough to get it back again.”
Guilt stabbed at Will’s gut. “What do you mean, ruin your life?”
“That was my mortgage payment, the first I’d had in three months. When I couldn’t pay it, the bank sent men to take what was mine. I defended my land, like any reasonable man would. Judge said it was assault, even though the man didn’t even die. Threw me in jail, took my farm, left my wife and sons without a roof over their heads. And then she left me while I was locked up.”
“You gambled with your mortgage money?” No one with half a brain gambled more than they were prepared to lose.
“Would have gone home with a lot more than that, if you hadn’t cheated.”
“I didn’t cheat! You just lost. I’m sorry about what happened to you, but you took your own decisions. That isn’t on me.” A small voice in the back of Will’s mind said that it was. He tried to ignore it.
But no amount of logic was going to change Briggs’ mind. Will could see it in the hatred twisting his face and the burning in his eyes.
“You’re a liar, Raine, now just like then. I should shoot you right now and be done with it, but my Bertha isn’t going to come back to me when I’ve got nothing to give her. I want that money, and you’re going to get it for me.”
Will glanced at the gun at Briggs’ waist. He hadn’t gone for it, but there was nothing to stop him from doing so. Will didn’t carry a gun, not anymore.
He’d been praying for a year for the faith to trust God with everything. It seemed that faith was now being put to the test. “I don’t have that kind of money, and I don’t owe it to you. Get on with your life, Briggs, and leave me alone.”
Will walked past him, bracing himself for the crack of a revolver and the bite of a bullet between his shoulders.
“I reckon that pretty widow you keep company with might make you think differently.”
Will’s gut contracted. Coming to a halt, he slowly turned back.
Briggs smirked. “That got your attention, didn’t it? Yeah, I know about her.”
Will could gamble with his own life, but he wouldn’t risk a hair on Daisy’s head.
He lowered his voice, a tone he hadn’t heard from himself in over a year emerging from his lips. “Are you threatening her?”
Briggs’ smirk vanished and the muscles around his mouth spasmed. “I’m saying I know about her, and her son. And that sister-in-law of yours, about to have a young ‘un. I want that money.”
Will’s hands fisted at his sides. He hadn’t been this angry in a long time, or this scared.
He could go for Briggs’ gun, but then what? Have him arrested? For what? Mentioning Daisy, Nicky and Sara?
“If you go anywhere near them…”
“I want that money,” Briggs’ repeated, spitting out the words through clenched teeth.
Will needed to think. He couldn’t think. All he could do was feel, fury and fear and guilt.
He needed to think.
Spinning on his heel, he strode from the alley.
“You’ve got a week,” Briggs called after him, “and then I want my money. Or else.”
Will went straight to Marshal Cade’s office, although he wasn’t sure what the marshal could do.
His suspicions were confirmed when he told him what happened.
“I’ll find him and talk to him,” Marshal Cade said. “Tell him to leave town. But that’s all I can do without him having actually committed a crime. I can’t arrest him just for an unspoken threat. I’m sorry, I know that’s not what you want to hear.”
Will sagged back into the chair in front of the marshal’s desk. “It’s not your fault. It’s just…” He stopped, not knowing what to say.
Marshal Cade gave him a sympathetic look. “I’ll tell Fred and Eric to keep an eye on Mrs.
Monroe’s home when they’re doing their rounds. And I’ll make sure Briggs knows that I know about him, and that the best thing for him to do would be to leave and never come back. Seeing as he’s just out of prison and presumably doesn’t want to go back, there’s a good chance that will be enough to make him stay away.”
Will suspected it wasn’t, but he nodded anyway. “Thanks, Marshal. I know you’ll do everything you can.”
He just didn’t think it would be enough.
After he left the marshal, Will went for a walk to clear his head. At least, he’d hoped it would clear his head. Instead, with each step he took he became angrier and more afraid.
Briggs wouldn’t go away, and Marshal Cade couldn’t arrest him until he’d done something. But that something could mean the people Will loved could be hurt, or worse.
He should have known better than to think he’d ever be free of his past. He couldn’t ever be like Daniel and he wouldn’t ever have a family. The past few days with Daisy had made him think he could, but as usual, he was wrong.
Nothing would ever change. He shouldn’t have allowed himself to think otherwise.
And now, to keep her safe, he’d have to hurt the only woman he’d ever loved.
Chapter 12
Checking her reflection in the mirror in her bedroom, Daisy smoothed a few errant strands. At least her hair was neater than when she got home after her picnic with Will the day before.
When she went to fetch Nicky, Edith had taken one look at her and burst into giggles, and she didn’t stop smirking the entire time Daisy was there. When she finally saw herself in a mirror, she didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh. Her hair was a mess. There were leaves and blades of grass.
She didn’t regret a single moment of the picnic, but she was going to ask Will in future to let her know when he’d messed up her hair that badly.
A smile crept onto her face as she looked in the mirror. She hadn’t looked this way since Gareth was alive. She was practically glowing.
A knock at the door made her heart jump.
“Will’s here!” Nicky yelled.
She heard footsteps running down the stairs and smiled even more. Both she and her son adored Will.
