“We don’t know that,” Tanner said quickly, though his own good sense assured him it was probably true.
“Maybe you don’t, but I’d be willing to stake a bundle on it. Why else would Scat take a bottle from Jason Stillwell’s place?”
“You know Jason?” This was a new development, one he thought worthwhile exploring.
The blush that traveled from her throat to her cheeks was becoming, he thought. Her eyes slid from contact with his, focusing instead over his left shoulder.
“I’ve met him.”
“Recently?”
She cleared her throat. It wasn’t in Rosemary to be devious, he decided, even as she hesitated. “I asked him for a job. That’s how I met Scat the first time.”
“A job! Doing what?” The thought of Rosemary in a saloon was not to be countenanced.
She shot him a look of disdain. “You don’t need to shout at me. I applied for the position as his accountant.”
Tanner shook his head in disbelief. “You walked right in the saloon and applied for a job?”
“No, of course not. I went to the back door after dark.”
“After dark. You were roaming around town after dark?”
“Must you keep repeating everything I say? Yes, after dark. It seemed smarter than marching in the front door in broad daylight. Then, when I came out, Scat Pender walked me home.”
“Well, for that reason alone, I owe him.” His big hands grasped her shoulders. “You need someone to look after you, Rosemary Gibson.” With a swift movement, he tugged her into his embrace, and chuckled beneath his breath as she fell against his chest.
Her eyes were wide and startled, blue and brilliant, shining with a trace of the tears she had valiantly attempted to hold at bay. Her mouth formed a whispering O, and he was drawn to it, his tongue tempted to touch the tiny bow of her top lip.
Denying the urge, he settled for a more circumspect caress, his lips forming themselves to hers, savoring the plush texture, the warmth of her flesh. She’d given him what he needed. Asking him to take Scat on at the ranch had allowed him to gain the upper hand, but pushing her past the limits of gentility was not a wise move, he decided.
“Tanner?” Her whisper was anxious. “I don’t think you should be kissing me so often.”
Damn, he could count on one hand the times he’d stolen a taste of those lips. Not nearly enough. “You don’t know what ‘often’ is, sweetheart,” he murmured. “I’m plannin’ on doin’ a lot of this in the future.”
“You are?”
She sounded worried, confused perhaps, and that was exactly what he had in mind.
“Tanner, will you do something for me?”
Here it comes. “What, sweetheart? What do you want?”
“I want you to bring those children here. Surely there’s room for them, and certainly they’d have a better life with us…with you.”
“This is kinda skirtin’ around the edge of the law, Rosemary. They’re legally Nate Pender’s children.”
“Certainly there must be some law that prohibits what that man does.” Her voice trembled with the words and Tanner cut to the finish.
“I’ll look into it tomorrow, honey. I’ll go see the sheriff and find out what can be done.”
“Thank you. I wanted so badly to do something, but…” She bit at her lip, and his finger nudged at the spot.
“Bad habit, sweetheart.” His gaze slid from the temptation of her mouth to mesh with the liquid blue of her eyes. “I’ll take care of it, as best I can. But first, I want a promise from you.”
Surprise chased the apprehension from her face. “What sort of promise?”
“I want to marry you, Rosemary. If I bring those two youngsters here, I want your promise to marry me.”
She backed from him, and he let her go. This was a decision she had to make without coercion on his part. It was enough that he held a royal flush. Once she realized that, the going would be easy. She’d have no choice if she was as intent on bringing the Pender children here as he suspected.
“I don’t know if I can do that.” A dubious scowl puckered her forehead.
“Sure you can. You’ve had plenty of time to be thinkin’ about it. I asked you, a long time ago.”
“A few weeks is not a long time,” she answered primly.
“It seems like a long time to me,” he muttered. And longer by the minute, now that he had her in a bargaining position.
“Well, it’s up to you, sweetheart. I’m not gonna try and talk you into it. I made my offer, laid all my cards on the table. What do you say?”
Chapter Nine
Tanner’s eyes bored into her, demanding an answer. His features had hardened, his jaw was taut, his mouth a thin line, as if he teetered on the edge of anger. And yet Rosemary felt no threat from him. Except for the threat he offered to her whole way of life.
Marriage to Gabe Tanner would involve crossing a line, one she’d not been prepared to face. Life in a parsonage was a far cry from marriage to Tanner. Even in her unenlightened state, she was aware of that.
He watched her, his gaze allowing her no quarter, even as she sought in vain for some small softening in the stern lines of his face. As if he had thrown down a gauntlet and awaited her response, he stood before her.
She dampened her dry lips, cleared her throat and clenched her fingers into tight fists. The air was heavy with his demand, his words alive in her head. The man wanted to marry her, and she was smart enough to understand the depths of that commitment, should she nod her head.
The welfare of Scat Pender and the unknown Anna were at stake. She’d never before faced such a decision. And now, to face a lifetime with Tanner in order to protect two children seemed a bit overwhelming.
“You’re not being fair,” she whispered. “You ask too much.”
His brow furrowed just a bit as he considered her words. “You think so? You’re askin’ me to take on two children, honey. That’s a pretty big job you’re expectin’ me to do. You know, I’ve got it nice and easy here. I come and go as I please. Aside from my ranch and the people who depend on me for a living, I’m scot-free.
“And now you want me to open up my house to a couple of orphans and face their daddy, who may be hauntin’ my doorstep with a shotgun? I’d say you’re the one who’s doin’ a heap of askin’.”
She backed away a step, her legs coming in contact with the sofa. “I don’t know what you expect of me, Tanner.”
One corner of his mouth twitched, and his eyes narrowed even more as his gaze swept the full length of her. “Oh, I’d say you do.”
The response of her body was immediate, a shiver of anticipation snaking down her spine. Parts of her that had received only the necessary attention for all of her life began to assume an importance that embarrassed her beyond measure.
“Tanner, don’t look at me that way,” she whispered.
“You might’s well get used to it,” he murmured, sliding his hands deeply into the pockets of his trousers.
“If I don’t marry you? What then?” she asked.
“Then we go on as before. You take care of this place and I…” He rocked on his heels. “Well, for sure I don’t have to find room for two young’ uns in my house, do I?”
“You really mean it? You’re not willing to help Scat?”
Tanner stilled, like a predator watching his prey. No longer did he wear the beginnings of a smile. His hands slid from their berth, only his thumbs hitched on the edges of his pockets, fingers widespread on his hips. His expression offered her no hope. No hint of pity touched those dark eyes.
In silence, she read his reply. Spelled out in the stark lines of his outthrust jaw, the thinned lips and veiled gaze was a denial of her plea. Could she commit her life to this silent stranger? Could she face him within the boundaries of that room containing his bed and belongings?
For all her innocence, there was no doubt in her mind what Tanner would expect of a bride.
“I can’t let t
hem…I can’t live with myself if I don’t at least try to help them, Tanner.” The words were firm, even as her mouth trembled at their passing.
A flicker of his eyelashes acknowledged her reply, and he nodded. “We have a deal?”
Her hesitation was brief. “Bring them here. See the sheriff and find out what you can do legally for their protection.”
“You’ll give me what I want?”
He made no pretense of love. Those stark words offered her no softness, no assurance of tenderness at his hand. Only the memory of the man she had come to know over the past weeks allowed her any hope of some vestige of happiness.
He had brought to life within her a desire for his touch. She had accepted his kisses, enjoyed his companionship, come to respect him as an employer and maybe even a friend.
Could she give him what he would ask of her as his wife?
She nodded. “I’ll marry you. Once the children are under this roof, I’ll become your wife.”
“You’ll move your things into my room.”
It was not a question, but a statement of fact, and she acknowledged it as such, nodding her head, sensing the waters of fate cascading over her.
“There are four bedrooms upstairs, Tanner. One for each of the children and a third for Mama Pearl. So far as I can see, that leaves one. I don’t think I have any choice.”
His mouth curved slowly, his grin feral, as if his mind raced ahead to that time and place. Before she could react to his movement, his hands reached for her, not nearly so gently this time. They circled her waist, scooping her against his length. His head dipped to her uplifted face, his mouth barely moving as he whispered his intent.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you again for the past half hour, Rosemary. You’ve played hell with my good intentions, maneuverin’ me around so. Now, you’ll bear the brunt of my impatience.”
She felt the heat of his mouth, the power of his hands against her back as they slid to her hips, lifting her with easy strength against himself. Her arms wrapped around his neck, almost as if she must anchor herself, lest she fall. There was no chance of that.
The hands that gripped her were forceful, but not cruel. The fingertips that pressed against her flesh, even through layers of fabric, were powerful, but not harsh. And the mouth that claimed hers was hungry, but not greedy.
His lips suckled at hers, his tongue touched the tender flesh with care, and even as he sought entry beyond the barrier of her teeth, he awaited her acquiescence.
It was not to be. She drew back, just the smallest increment, fearful of the invasion, and he responded immediately. His mouth left hers, moving to taste the tender flesh beneath her jaw, then traveled to the sensitive spot he’d visited before, under her ear where her pulse pounded with an urgent beat.
His hands lowered her to the floor and she blushed as she recognized the intimate arrangement his fingers had assumed upon her person. Then there was no time to think, for those same hands traveled upward, one holding her firmly at the small of her back, the other pressing the underside of her breast.
She felt the immediate response, the tightening and tensing of her flesh as it puckered against the fine lawn of her chemise. His hand moved slowly, barely clasping, weighing the firm flesh it contained, and she murmured her protest against his mouth.
He lifted his head, opening his eyes to meet her gaze, and she was seared by the heat therein. His nostrils flared, twin flags of crimson outlining his cheekbones, and his jaw clenched tightly.
“Tanner?” She shrank from his handling, and he would not allow it.
“No. Stand still, honey. I won’t hurt you…I promise.” His hand was still, fingers curled around that part of her she had largely ignored all her life.
No longer.
His hand moved, shifting only inches, until it had captured her other breast, held it in that same urgent manner, as if he must commit its shape and size to memory.
And then his fingers shifted, brushing against the crest. Her indrawn breath brought a smile to his lips, allowing a sound to escape from his throat that could only be described as a groan.
“Please, Tanner,” she whimpered, leaning forward to rest her forehead against his chest.
His hand moved from the treasure it had claimed, reluctantly, but with purpose. It tilted her chin upward, exposing the face she had thought to hide from his view.
“I won’t touch you again,” he said, the words slow and solemn, as if he spoke a vow. “Not until the day we marry. I figure I got just about enough to hold me over till then, honey.”
It took him two days, not the single morning he had hoped, to accomplish his task. He’d gathered his forces, gaining sympathy for his cause, and brought the principals together in the sheriff’s office.
And now Oscar Rhinehold faced the three people who awaited his reply. As he viewed the remains of breakfast upon his desk, he looked as if he needed another cup of strong coffee in his hand.
“You folks sure know how to ruin a fella’s day, don’t you?” He brushed at his moustache, dislodging crumbs and smoothing down the longer whiskers. “Seems like Scat Pender’s found himself a whole bunch of protectors all of a sudden.”
Tanner tipped his hat back and pressed his lips together thoughtfully. “Maybe we’ve been negligent for too long, Sheriff. It’s real easy to ignore it, long as the boy doesn’t complain. But, takin’ a good look at him, I think his pa needs a good rakin’ over the coals.”
“You plannin’ on doin’ that, Tanner?”
“No, not me. I just want to bypass his authority over those young’uns. I figure you can do that.”
Sheriff Rhinehold glanced at Tanner’s companions. “And what do you folks have to do with it?”
Mary Tappan tapped her index finger on the edge of the sheriff’s desk in her best schoolmarm manner. “That boy’s been abused, Sheriff, and I didn’t do anything about it. I thought it wasn’t my business.” She stood erect and her chin was firm. “I was wrong, dead wrong. He’s worn bruises more than once, and no child deserves that treatment. Especially not a good boy like Scat Pender.”
“How about you preacher? What’s your stake here?” Oscar asked, turning to gaze to the other member of the trio.
“I went to the Pender home last night, at Mr. Tanner’s urging. As the local minister, I felt it was my duty to find out why those children weren’t in church school.”
“And?” the sheriff urged.
“The boy was in his underwear, Sheriff. His face was swollen, his body was bruised and he was limping badly. In the lamplight, it was difficult to make out his injuries. And then, too, his father sent him out of the room immediately I came to the door.
“But I saw enough to convince me that he’d been beaten. I’d say it is in his best interest to remove him from the home.”
“I don’t usually do this sort of thing,” Oscar said slowly. “I don’t like interferin’ in a family. Maybe old Nate had reason.”
“Old Nate was drunker’n a skunk,” Tanner interrupted angrily. After seeing the results of Nate Pender’s latest actions, he’d almost gone over the edge. And losing his temper wasn’t the answer. Not today, anyway.
“I guess you could say I broke the law, Oscar,” he admitted. “I hauled those young’uns out of that house this morning. I’m takin’ them home with me.”
Oscar Rhinehold rose, his chair falling backward against the wall. He was only of medium height, but he stood tall as he spouted his censure. “You what? Damn! That’s against the law, Tanner. That’s kidnapping.”
Tanner shrugged. “I call it savin’ the boy’s life, maybe.” He leaned over the desk, lowering his gaze to Oscar’s level. “They came without any arguing, Oscar. And Nate Pender was still too befuddled this morning to put up much of a fuss.”
“I doubt I’d have argued with you, either, Mr. Tanner,” James Worth said quietly. “Even at this early hour, you reminded me of your namesake, the angel Gabriel.”
Tanner felt a flush stain his cheeks
. That damn name his mother had given him had caused more than one fistfight during his boyhood years.
“Be that as it may, I need your help, Oscar. I’m gonna hold on to those kids until the judge comes in next week.”
“I’ll back you up,” Oscar said after a moment. “Nate’s about two steps from jail anyway. He’s been skirtin’ the law right along. I’ll just have to remind him of it if he comes complainin’ about you.”
Tanner turned to James Worth. “I’ve got another problem, preacher. Miss Gibson and I need to get married, right quick. I finally got her convinced to tie the knot, and I don’t want to give her a chance to change her mind. We’ll be in later on today to see you. You gonna have time to say the words for us?”
“She’s agreeable?” James Worth asked dubiously. “I thought she was only going to be your cook and work in your house for wages.”
“Well, everyone in town knows I asked her to marry me, weeks ago in fact,” Tanner said firmly. “It just took a while to make her see the light.”
“No doubt marriage would be in her best interest. But I’ll want to talk to her first,” James said.
“You’d better do the deed, Mr. Worth,” Mary Tappan said sharply. “If ever there was a man who needed a good woman, it’s Gabe Tanner. And Rosemary Gibson’s about as good as they get. I say, get on with it.”
Tanner waited patiently, knowing that the cards were stacked in his favor. Rosemary would agree all down the line. He’d made sure of that.
“I didn’t think we’d be married so soon.” Rosemary viewed him from across the kitchen, her cheeks flushed from the heat of the oven.
“I brought the children with me, honey. And I told the preacher we’d be back in town this afternoon.”
“It’s almost afternoon already,” Rosemary wailed. “I can’t just trot off to town and get married like this.” She looked down at her dress, an old one she saved for the worst chores.
“I’ll bring in the tub for a bath and get it filled from the stove for you,” Tanner offered.
The Bachelor Tax Page 11
