Teagan: Cowboy Strong: The Kabvanagh Brothers Book One

by Ball, Kathleen

  She sat on the porch and cried.

  Chapter Two

  As Teagan paced the small room he used as an office, his thoughts strayed—as they typically did in the last couple of days—to Gemma Maguire. Parker? No, she’d said her marriage wasn’t legal and she was still Maguire. Maybe she was right about her not marrying. He could understand why she wouldn’t want to tie herself to anyone again. But she couldn’t keep one of his brothers from working the ranch. He could sleep in the barn… No that would have tongues wagging. His brother could simply come home every night and sleep.

  He would do whatever it took to make sure she was safe and had a roof over her head. Why was she always so stubborn? She’d been just as cantankerous when he’d proposed to her; refusing to even explain why she’d said no. The man she mentioned loving… he hadn’t so much as suspected she cared about someone, but the unnamed man must have been why she turned down his proposal. Teagan shook his head. He had to stop thinking of that. But the heartache and wondering had never gone away.

  Teagan opened the office window, letting in a wisp of breeze. Quinn should be here soon. He’d do a good job and there would be no worries about them getting together; Quinn didn’t trust women. He’d keep an eye on all the hands he took with him. It was the perfect solution.

  “Quinn, I was just thinking about you.” Seating himself behind the desk, Teagan smiled at his brother. Quinn was taller than Teagan and thinner; he was faster too. But they’d both been cut from the same basic pattern. They both had brown hair with sky-blue eyes. They had constantly been called by each other’s names when they were young. Now, though, Quinn hardly smiled.

  “Think fast. I have a lot to do today.” He plopped down on the leather couch.

  A frown pinched Teagan’s brow as he took in the distance between couch and desk. It really wasn’t close enough to the couch for a conversation. Quinn had probably chosen that seat on purpose. Teagan moved to one chair near the couch.

  “We have a bit of a problem. Gemma is living by herself, and her house is falling down around her. Apparently, she married a con man who bilked her out of all her money plus took out a loan on the land. He was already married to someone else at the time he married her and neglected to let her know that little fact.” He suppressed a wince, just thinking about Gemma married to someone, especially someone who had abused her trust, pained him. He shook his head to dispel the mood. “I paid off the loan and now hold the note. I don’t want to be paid back, but she doesn’t know that. I want her ranch turned successful again.” He rubbed his jaw with one hand as his mind started putting a plan together. “She has more than enough cattle on our land to make a go of it. We all know she doesn’t want me over there, so I’m sending you. If you need more help take or hire some, but they sleep here at night. She’s not feeding anyone either. I’m not positive she’s feeding herself.”

  Quinn stared at him without blinking. “You want me to what? I’m supposed to babysit the woman you still love and make her life livable?”

  Teagan gave a curt nod. “That sounds about right. I thought you could go first thing in the morning and help her plan how she’d like her place set up. She’d be better off if we just tore the whole place down and started over, but she has her pride.” He snapped his fingers as another thought occurred to him. “Also, we need to loan her a horse. She seemed surprised when I told her that her cattle were on our land. I don’t believe she thought she had cattle anymore.”

  Quinn sighed and shook his head, obviously coming around to the idea. “Poor kid, she’s had it hard. He didn’t hit her, did he?”

  Teagan’s frown returned. “I didn’t think to ask. I know he spent his nights with those soiled doves of Bobbie’s.”

  “Her cattle have been on our land for a long while. I never had the fence fixed, hoping they’d go home.” He angled his head and studied Teagan. “Parents dead?”

  “Yes, and I don’t think she has anyone else.”

  Quinn ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll do it… only because she’s always been kind to me. Plus, I know she’s your woman so there won’t be any complications.”

  Teagan didn’t bother to correct Quinn of the notion that Gemma was his woman. As long as he took the job, it didn’t matter. “I’m grateful.” And jealous. But what they’d had or what he’d thought they had was a long time ago.

  * * *

  All she had left was a horse blanket that was more rag than blanket and a shotgun she’d hidden up in the rafters. They’d even taken her ancient cow Bennie. Who would do such a thing? She didn’t want to blame Teagan, but who else?

  She ached. She hardly slept. There was no door to keep her safe, and the floor was hard. Her clothes were gone. It made no sense. If it had been an eviction, they would have thrown her stuff out the door. She was hungry and after drinking water from the well, she started in the direction of the garden and root cellar. She didn’t get more than a few feet when the sounds of horse’s hooves made her cringe, and she ducked behind a tree and waited.

  When she recognized the rider, suspicion crowded into her mind. What was Quinn doing here? He appeared surprised when he stared at her house. That made sense, though, for Quinn was too nice to steal a thing. She walked out from behind the tree, but he’d gone inside.

  Slowly she walked to the house. “Quinn?”

  He walked back through the door, his face full of thunder. “What happened? I heard it was run down but there’s nothing here.”

  Her eyes smarted. “I know. I came home yesterday after talking with Teagan and everything was gone. I don’t even have a change of clothes.” She sighed and closed her eyes, trying not to cry.

  “You stayed here all alone?”

  “I had nowhere to go, Quinn. I’m not well received in town anymore. Plus, after walking to your place and back my feet were hurting.”

  “Here, come sit on the porch with me.”

  She sat right next to him. It was always easy to be around Quinn.

  He took hold of her foot and yanked her shoe off.

  “Wait! Oh, that hurts!”

  “Because your shoe was stuck to your foot with dried blood.” He yanked the other one off and threw it.

  “That’s all I have! Quinn, why?”

  He stood and scooped her up then carried her over and set her on his horse. Then he pulled himself up behind her. “Because you’re not living like this. You’ve been like a sister to us, and it’s shameful we never checked on you. That’s why.” He spurred his horse and they rode back to the Kavanagh place.

  To her mortification, they’d no sooner pulled up in front of the house when Teagan walked out the door. His gaze fell to her feet, and his jaw hardened. “Dolly!” he called. Then he turned back to Gemma. “What happened to your feet?”

  Quinn hopped off his horse, turned and lifted her, and then placed her into Teagan’s arms.

  Her breath stalled in her throat and she ceased all struggles. She was upset and in pain, but she was in his arms again. Their gazes met for a moment, and then they both glanced away. She swallowed hard and tried to be as stiff as possible.

  “Relax,” he whispered.

  “I don’t know how to act around you anymore.”

  “You don’t like me. Just act that way but relax.” He carried her inside to a little sitting room, where Dolly had gotten a basin of water ready. With gentleness she never would have expected, he sat her on a worn leather couch.

  “How did your feet get to be so bad?” Teagan asked.

  “I need new shoes.” A sharp gasp slid out as Dolly did something that sent spikes of pain across her right foot. “Ouch!”

  “I know it hurts, but I have to clean all the broken blisters,” Dolly gently told her.

  “We have other news, Teagan. Someone took all her things. Completely emptied the house, I don’t think the curtains were still there.” Quinn shook his head.

  “When did this happen?”

  Gemma turned her head. “When I got home yest
erday, the door was completely off the hinges and on the porch. My hidden rifle was still there, but they took everything else. My clothes, the quilts my mama made, furniture Pa carved, and even the family Bible. I went into the barn and it was empty. My cow… the chickens, all I found was a horse blanket.”

  “Why didn’t you come get one of us?” Teagan sounded frustrated with her.

  Gemma sighed and glanced away. “My feet hurt. I slept on the floor with the blanket and the rifle. I wasn’t sure what to think.”

  He leveled a knowing stare on her. “You thought I was involved.”

  He sure knew how to make her mad. “It crossed my mind for a moment, but I dismissed it. There have been times we’ve wished ill will toward each other, but you wouldn’t leave me with nowhere to go. If I could just borrow a few things, I’ll be on my way.”

  “Honey, you aren’t going to go anywhere,” Dolly said. “At least not without a pair of shoes. Something is going on, and you can’t stay there alone. You’ll stay with us, right Teagan?”

  Teagan tried to smile and produced a grimace, and Gemma wanted to laugh. He wasn’t an actor, that was for sure. He hated the idea of her being here, and she didn’t blame him.

  “Of course,” he said, his voice strained. “And Dolly will make sure you have everything you need. I’m trying to puzzle this all out. You never signed anything over to your husband, did you?”

  “Of course not, but once a woman marries, her property becomes her husband’s…” She fought back a sob but lost, and it came out sounding like a hiccup. “Oh no, how could he?”

  “You think he did this?” Quinn asked, staring at her with his jaw dropped.

  “Yes… no. I don’t rightly know,” she said, hating that she had to keep explaining things. “He already had a wife I didn’t know about, but he stole all my money and now it looks like he’s sold my land somehow.” The heat of anger rushed to her face. “I bet that sneaky banker Victor Lyons is involved.” She blinked, abruptly realizing Quinn didn’t seem surprised. “You already knew, didn’t you? About my husband?”

  “That he had a wife and married you anyway?” Quinn asked. He drew a deep breath then nodded. “Teagan told me.”

  Her face felt as though it was on fire. She nodded and kept her gaze on her fisted hands.

  “I explained a few things,” Teagan said in a quiet voice.

  “It’s — I’m grateful. Please tell the rest of your brothers. I don’t want to talk about it unless I have to.”

  “So, it’s settled. You’ll stay here,” Teagan said, obviously taking over. “I can have someone watch your house in case they come back. Mr. Lyons can’t resell property that I hold the note on. He’d have to give me the money owed on the loan. I’ll ride there tomorrow morning and confront him.”

  “Th-thank you, Teagan.” She couldn’t look at him or anyone. She must be cursed. How much bad luck could one person have?

  “We’ll get new clothes and things for you. I can’t imagine having everything just disappear like that.”

  “Could I borrow your Bible?” She raised her head and met his gaze. He looked so different as though he cared, and she quickly wiped every tear that fell.

  * * *

  Supper was quieter than usual. Teagan’s brothers didn’t seem to know what to say for once. Usually they all had an opinion. He looked at them; Quinn, Brogan, Sullivan, Donnell, Murphy, Fitzpatrick, Angus, Rafferty, and Shea. His father had always been extra proud of all the sons he’d fathered, while his mother had kept hoping for a daughter.

  “I’m glad you’re here with us, Gemma,” Sullivan said. “I feel embarrassed that I never thought to check on you when I got back from the war. It’s a sad thing when neighbors don’t check on one another. It took a lot to get this place back up and running. It looked like a cannon ball went through the house. They must have fought on our land. We find bullets, buttons from uniforms… bones all the time. Oh, I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have brought up the bones while we’re eating.”

  Gemma nodded. “You’re right about the fighting. I hid in the new root cellar I dug, and the ground shook.”

  “Could you hear people in your house?” Sullivan leaned forward.

  “Soldiers took all my food. I dug a new cellar in the woods about a half hour’s walk from my house. Shorter if bullets were flying. I stayed there for a few days. No one came near me, which was a relief since I’d also planted a second garden there.”

  “The last few years haven’t been easy,” Quinn commented.

  “That’s for sure,” Sullivan agreed.

  Teagan felt awful. He should have sent someone to check on Gemma and her family. He’d thought enough about what she’d done to him.

  “She’s here now, and we’ll take good care of her. We must keep watch on her at least until we know who we’re dealing with,” Teagan told them.

  She gave him a small smile. He remembered when her smile would light up a whole room… and his heart. It seems so long ago yet the hurt still felt fresh.

  “I’ll have the boys haul warm water to your room for a bath,” Dolly said. “I put soap and a towel on a stool near the tub. I lent you one of my night gowns and a robe. They’ll be long on you, so be careful. And no comments about how I wear old fashioned grandmother bed clothes.”

  “Now I want to see,” Quinn said with a laugh.

  Everyone stopped and stared. Quinn never laughed anymore.

  “The whole purpose is that the wearer is so covered there is nothing to see. I’ve seen different versions with buttons and ankle lengths. Some have ribbon on them. I just wear what my mother used to make for me.” She huffed. “Why I’m discussing such things with you men, I have no idea. I’ll start on the dishes while you boys haul the water.”

  Teagan smiled and was silent until they were alone. “For a moment I thought she was going to say that there was a lock on the sleeping garment.”

  “I guess I wear grandma clothes to bed too.” Her smile faded. “I suppose the bath was the reason my feet weren’t wrapped. A bath will be a real treat compared to the stream.”

  “Everyone is right, you know,” he said sounding contrite. “I should have checked on you. I just didn’t know… I figured you wouldn’t want to see me. You made it clear you hated me.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “That was my intent. You had a shotgun trained on your head that day. I needed to be sure you never came back. I never got over the things I said to you, just like I never—” She broke off and took a deep breath. “I knew if I told you why, you’d confront my father, and it wouldn’t end well. I couldn’t lose either of you. I am sorry, though. I could see the pain in your eyes, and I wanted to die.”

  He reached over and covered her hand with his. She suddenly stood. “It looks like the water is all in the tub.” She practically ran from the room, leaving Teagan stunned.

  Her father would have killed him? Her father had always been very kind. They’d had many chats over the years. Something else must have happened, or she was just plain wrong. She hadn’t seemed to fake the hate she felt for him when she told him to go away and never come back. Was she lying about what happened, so he’d stop hating her now? He didn’t hate her he just didn’t want to give his heart to a woman again. It would soothe his soul to believe her, but he couldn’t. It made no sense. Something strange was going on, and he’d best keep up his guard.

  She could stay until things were cleared up with her land, but she’d have to leave as soon as possible. She’d haunted him for a long time, and he wondered what he had done to make her hate him so. It had gnawed at him until he just couldn’t take it anymore. But it had done something to him. He wasn’t comfortable around women anymore. He’d lost his confidence with them. Some found it romantic that he brooded. If they only knew the real Teagan. He’d been told he didn’t even know how to treat a woman… or what love was.

  Chapter Three

  He walked his horse the rest of the way through the back part of the Maguire property
to avoid being seen. Their cattle were still mixed in with his. He’d have to get one of the boys to cut them from the herd but for now, the broken fence served his purpose.

  He stopped every few minutes and listened. The closer he got, the more convinced he was that someone else was in the woods. He went past the house and hid behind a big oak tree that had been good for kissing behind. It was useful to him now since it was big enough to hide both him and Sandy.

  He saw movement in the woods and watched as a man led his horse out. He put his horse into the barn and then headed toward the house. He kicked the fallen door and laughed. Could he be the so-called husband? It made him madder to think of those hands being on Gemma. If he was an impulsive man, he’d be in there right now punching him in the jaw. But he’d wait.

  He sat down and made himself comfortable leaning against the trunk. It’d probably be awhile before the man showed his hand. A twig snapped and he sat up, listening. More twigs snapped, and the shuffling of footsteps on soft ground followed by the rustle of leaves. Someone not well versed in being quiet was coming through the woods from the same direction he’d traveled from.

  Leaving Sandy behind, Teagan circled back. Gemma? What was she doing here and leading one of his best horses? He frowned and silently snuck up behind her and wrapped one hand around her waist and the other over her mouth. She struggled then she bit him.

  He quickly turned her around and glared at her. Then he put his finger to his lips to indicate silence. He sighed in relief at her nod.

  He took the horse and he led her slowly toward the tree, hoping that the person in the house hadn’t heard them. He tied the other horse next to his dun and took Gemma’s hand. Then he pulled her down to the ground by the tree trunk.

  “What are you doing here?” he whispered.

  “I’m trying to find out what’s going on,” she hissed back.

  “I thought Quinn was watching you.”