My Guardian Knight

by Lynette Marie

  She made a big fuss over them, claiming never to have seen anything quite so exquisite in all her life.

  “What would you like to do, Amanda?”

  “Oh, anything is fine with me. I’m just enjoying the lovely day.”

  Sebastian glanced around and, spotting a row of gaming booths, urged his companions forward. He stopped abruptly before the first one, eyeing the selection of prizes.

  “What do I have to do to win one?” he asked.

  The man in the booth held out two balls and pointed to a stack of three bottles. “Knock ‘em down,” he said curtly.

  Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as he regarded the situation. The bottles were large and made of thick glass, and he’d bet his last dime one of them was glued to the table they stood on. The balls the man handed him were lightweight, stacking the odds against him. He sighed, glancing up at the prize he’d set his sights on. He glanced down at the boy.

  “What do you think, squirt?”

  Matthew jumped up and down. “Knock ‘em down,

  ‘Bastian! You’re the strongest in the whole world!”

  Sebastian grinned, a warmth spreading through him at the child’s confidence in him. He paid the man, took the first ball, and threw it at the bottles. It hit the top edge and bounced back at him. Again he took aim, estimating the best spot, and threw with all his considerable strength. The bottles toppled to the ground, bringing a shocked look from the owner of the booth. Sebastian pointed to the prize he wanted and, once it was his, turned it over to Amanda.

  Her dark brown eyes widened in surprise and her pretty pink mouth fell open. “Sebastian, you can’t mean to give me your prize. There are many things for a man over

  there. Look at that handsome hat.”

  “I have a hat.”

  “Well, that spittoon then.”

  He grinned. “I don’t chew tobacco.”

  She sighed as he stepped up to her and placed the deep blue velvet bonnet on her head. The color was a perfect match to her dress, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a new one. So she smiled up at him as he tied the ribbon beneath her chin and thanked him politely. He was standing so close she could smell the soap on his skin. His electric blue eyes had gone dark and serious as he inched a bit closer to her. Her breathing turned shallow as she lost herself in the moment, waiting for him to kiss her. She could feel his warm coffee scented breath as it gently caressed her cheek.

  Unconsciously she licked her lips.

  Sebastian watched her as if in slow motion, the tip of her pink tongue sliding along the smoothness of her lips, and he felt as if he were falling. And he longed for his own tongue to feel the softness of that mouth, to trail light kisses along her sweet cheek down her neck…

  With a sigh and not a small amount of effort, he tore his gaze away from hers and began walking down the street, pulling her closer to him with the arm he’d left about her waist. “I don’t know what it is about you, Amanda,” he murmured, “but I feel like I’ve known you forever. It doesn’t matter to me that I met you a scant two days ago,” he continued in a low voice, his eyes trained on Matthew in the distance, “for

  friendship can’t be measured by time.”

  They walked along in silence for a while, Amanda fighting the emotions within her. After a long moment and much thought, she said quietly, “It’s been a very long time since I had a friend.”

  Sebastian must have understood that it was difficult for her to allow even that small bit of information about herself to be divulged, for he remained quiet as he strode by her side. It felt good, they both thought, to be in the presence of someone you didn’t have to impress, or hide from. To be free to be yourself.

  Sebastian continued to participate in the activities with Matthew while Amanda watched with a happiness that rivaled any she’d ever felt before. Not that she had ever had the chance to be really “happy”, she reminded herself ruefully. Matthew had been the only person in whom she’d found joy, and Amanda had believed he’d always be the only one. Now here was Sebastian, effortlessly bringing smiles and even laughter to lips that had been too somber for too long. She didn’t really know him, and yet she’d never felt closer to anyone than she did to him.

  She sighed, berating herself. What a mess I’ve made of my life! To even daydream about a life with Sebastian is wrong. And stupid. And you’ll only hurt yourself more in the long run if you allow your imagination to run away with you. Look at you—you’re already half in love with him—

  Amanda’s thoughts came to a crashing halt. She hadn’t just actually thought that, had she? Sebastian was a kind person, and good company, but love? Ridiculous. You don’t fall in love with someone you’ve known only two days, even if he is the kindest, most understanding man you’ve ever known.

  Pushing her thoughts aside, she smiled as Matthew led Sebastian straight to her. “Mama, look what I won! ‘Bastian helped me, but I won it all by myself. Well, almost by myself. Look!”

  Amanda thought she’d faint when she glanced down at the prize her son was displaying so proudly. A toy marshal’s badge was pinned to his shirt. She felt the blood drain from her face, but kept a cheerful smile pasted to her lips for his sake. “How nice, Matthew,” she managed to expel through lips stiff as ice.

  “It’s just like ‘Bastian’s, Mama! I can be a lawman, too!”

  Amanda swayed before catching herself and inserting the steel rod into her spine as she always did. She forced some color back into her cheeks and ruffled her son’s hair, not daring to glance at Sebastian for fear he had seen her reaction.

  A woman’s squealing brought her attention around just in time to see the lady attach herself to Sebastian’s muscular arm, screaming loud enough to wake the dead. “Marshal look, over there. You have to help my husband! He’s going to get himself killed! That man just pulled a gun on him. You have to help him!”

  Sebastian set the screaming woman from him and ordered his friends to stay put before striding determinedly toward the two men circling each other, weapons drawn. Amanda wrapped her arms around her son and watched in fear as Sebastian stepped into the line of fire. She could see him talking and knew he was trying to calm the men down enough to diffuse the situation. The screaming woman sank to the ground at Amanda’s feet, sniffling pitifully. She looked up, her blue eyes wide with tears. “We’ve only been married two weeks. We’re on our way to St. Louis to catch a wagon train west. I begged him not to go into the saloon. Nothing good ever came from a saloon, but he said he’d be just a minute. His brother is already out west holding our claim, and he promised to bring him a bottle of good brandy. I don’t know what happened in there, but they came out wielding weapons.” She dissolved into tears and clung to Amanda’s legs.

  She patted the other woman’s shoulder, still trying to keep an eye on Sebastian. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. Sebastian will see that no harm comes to your husband,” she promised, praying that she was right.

  When she glanced back, she heaved a sigh of relief as the man to Sebastian’s right holstered his weapon and turned to walk away. The other fellow, however, had other ideas and trained the gun on the retreating man’s back.

  Two shots resounded through the small town.

  The woman’s screams became earth shattering and she flung herself against Amanda’s legs. As her knees buckled, they landed in a heap on the ground. Without his mother’s arms to restrict him, Matthew ran toward the action. Amanda called his name, trying to scramble away from the grief-stricken woman clawing at her. Their skirts became tangled, and the more she fought the more entangled they became. Frustrated, furious, and full of fear, she gave a great pull and broke free, the force of which nearly knocked her to the ground again. She regained her footing through sheer determination and ran toward her son. When she reached him, he was standing, as Sebastian had ordered, with his back turned to the grisly scene and any view he might be inclined to take covered by the lawman’s broad form. Amanda fell to her knees and grasped her son,
assuring herself that he had come to no harm.

  He squirmed in her arms. “Mama, you can’t hug a lawman in front of the whole town!”

  She peppered a few more kisses over his chubby pink cheeks and forced herself to release him. Only then did she glance toward Sebastian. He stood straight in the midst of the turmoil, the only voice of reason in a crowd that had grown hysterical. He issued orders, answered questions and calmed the overwrought townspeople. Even the town sheriff practically ran to do Sebastian’s bidding.

  She watched him in action, her throat constricted by the thought of how close he had come to being harmed. But on the other hand, she couldn’t help but be proud of him. This was what a lawman was supposed to be like, she guessed.

  As she scanned the crowd to see where the hysterical wife had gone, her eyes quite accidentally encountered the body of the fallen gunman. She turned quickly, but not soon enough in her estimation. Heaving a deep sigh to calm her nerves, she then noticed the overwrought woman being led away by her husband. At least that had turned out well, she thought.

  After the excitement had died down and Sebastian had redirected the attention of the onlookers, he turned to her with a weak smile. “I’m sorry you had to witness that, Amanda. I tried to keep the boy away. Did he see anything?” She smiled reassuringly and touched his arm, this time trying to send him the warm feelings that his touch always brought to her. “No, he’s fine. He’s playing over there under that tree. How are you?”

  He looked at her questioningly. “What do you mean?”

  “Well,” she started slowly, unsure of herself, “it was upsetting enough to see something so horrible. It must have been increased a hundredfold for you, being in the midst of it as you were.”

  He shrugged. “That’s my job. It’s what I do.”

  “You do it remarkably well.”

  Sebastian glanced at her in surprise. “Are my ears deceiving me or are you paying me a compliment?”

  Her smile grew. “I do believe it was the latter.” “Well, let’s see if we can’t rustle up another gunfight so I can show my prowess.”

  “Oh please,” she said, gripping her stomach, “I don’t think I could take it!”

  “What do you say we find something to eat? We had

  an early breakfast and it’s way past lunch.”

  Nodding in agreement, they collected Matthew and headed toward the enticing smells coming from down the road. They chose a small booth sporting ads promising mouthwatering ham and beans and cornbread. They ordered three huge bowls and sat down on some bales of hay strewn about for that purpose. A few feet away a fiddler was tuning his instrument and the trio sat back, enjoying their food and anticipating the music to come. As they were finishing their dinner, the band started up with a merry tune and some of the people began to dance. Matthew got right into the middle of it and danced until his little face turned red and his breath was coming in short gasps. He collapsed next to his mother and laid his head in her lap, his chest heaving. When he could finally speak, he turned to her with shining eyes and said, “Did you see me, Mama? I was dancing just like everybody else! And that lady over there asked me to escort her in the next round!”

  Amanda glanced over to see a lady with a kind, grandmotherly look about her waving to Matthew. She smiled and sent him off for more merrymaking. An early evening breeze ruffled her hair and she turned her face into it, enjoying the soft, cool feel. Sebastian touched her shoulder and she looked him askance, wondering at the warmth that lingered on her skin where his hand had been.

  “May I have this dance?” he asked softly.

  “What?” she asked, shocked. “I don’t dance, Sebastian.”

  “Why not?” he grinned. “Come on, let’s have some fun.”

  He grabbed her hand and urged her to her feet, taking her firmly into his arms. As their bodies connected she knew she would not deny him this one dance, not when her whole body felt at once numb and tingling from the contact. Contentment stole over her and she sighed, releasing herself to it. His hand rubbed a light circle on her back as they swayed to and fro. She had never claimed to be a very graceful dancer, but Sebastian required almost no help as he led her through the steps. She was aware of every point where his body met hers, every touch, every caress. She could smell the warm, fresh scent of him, could feel his heart beating with hers.

  All of a sudden the set was over, the dancers clapping. Without asking for consent, Sebastian whisked her into the next dance, a bit faster, and they danced and laughed the night away.

  Later, after the festival had been cleaned up and there was no sign left of it they sat on the porch to the hotel watching the stars and the bright, full moon. Matthew, completely tuckered out, had fallen asleep some time ago with his head resting on Amanda’s lap. The couple sat close together, sometimes talking, sometimes enjoying a comfortable silence. The smell of early honeysuckle drifted on the breeze. They were both reluctant to end what had been such a wonderful day, even though they knew the morning would come early, and with it, the train. Amanda dreaded that, so she inhaled the sweet smell and let her breath out in a sigh.

  “Well, I suppose it’s time to head in,” Sebastian said. “Yes, I suppose it is.”

  He scooped Matthew effortlessly into his arms and carried him upstairs to their small room. He gently placed the child onto the bed and returned to the door where Amanda waited for him. Without a word he took her face in his hands and looked deeply into her dark brown eyes. The moment he walked out that door the spell would be broken and the day they had just spent would be only a memory. He resisted that with every fiber of his being, but the built-in logic won out and so he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and strode quickly away.

  Amanda crawled into bed beside her son, wrapping her arms securely about him, and smiled to remember the day’s activities. On that thought, she drifted into a sleep blessed with sweet dreams.

  CHAPTER THREE

  The next morning dawned bright and early, finding Amanda in a foul mood. She stood desolately before the vanity as she was putting her hair into a tight bun, her face pale and pinched. Their short vacation was over. Their journey continued, and it was time to face her troubles once again. The noisy trains, the crowded stations, always looking over her shoulder in fear of finding Avery a step behind her. And the way she constantly, fervently, and hopelessly sought a way out of the mess she’d made of her life. It was all back on her now and, after her short reprieve, felt even heavier than it had before.

  Amanda pulled her bun tight with a sigh and a glance toward where Matthew still slept on the bed. Her features softened momentarily and she resisted the urge to crawl back under the covers with him and fall into the comfort of sleep. Instead, she woke him and helped him dress before ushering him out the door. She took one last look at the pretty pink room with the crisp eyelet curtains and closed the door softly behind her.

  In the hallway, she bumped into the hysterical woman from the night before. The other lady grasped her hand and said, “I don’t know how to thank you and Marshal Knight for helping us yesterday. If it weren’t for you my Justin would surely have been injured. I just wanted to let you know that your kindness is appreciated and if you ever need anything, I’ll be there for you. I’ve written down my address and, although I won’t be there for some time yet, my brother-in-law is there and will help you with anything you need.”

  Amanda smiled. “That’s very thoughtful, but—”

  “Please take it. This is all I have to give.”

  “Thank you very much,” Amanda said, deeply touched.

  They bid farewell and Amanda continued downstairs to find Sebastian sipping coffee on the porch. “Good morning!” he called. “Would you like some coffee?”

  She shook her head and sank into the chair, waiting for Matthew to have his breakfast. “I would have ordered something for you but I wasn’t sure when you’d come down.” She shrugged. “Thank you, but I’m not hungry anyway.”

  Sebastian struck up
a conversation with Matthew and Amanda stared past them to the scenic view of the town. She felt numb, she thought, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She’d had a slight taste of what life could be like and she didn’t want to go back to the fear and the longing that was so much a part of her real life.

  Damn Avery! Damn him for bringing her to this! He had never cared for her, so why was he still punishing her for leaving? And why did the punishment have to be so thorough, so final?

  When the boys were finished with their meal, she followed them to the train station dejectedly, searching the face of every passerby to make sure she had not been found. She felt relatively secure, since she still hadn’t had the feeling. As far as she knew, he had no clue where she was, but she would take no chances.

  They filed onto the train and she wasn’t a bit surprised when Sebastian sat down beside them as if he belonged there. She had half a mind to tell him he should sit somewhere else, but stopped when she realized that she wanted him there. That without his calming presence she may very well fall off the edge that she teetered on daily. Was it just her imagination or was she even closer to that edge than usual?

  The whistle blew and the train started off. Amanda

  was busy studying the people on board and listened with half an ear to Matthew’s excited chatter as he bounced in his seat beside the window. She was so intent on her own thoughts that she didn’t notice Sebastian watching her with concern.