by Reece Butler
Climb a tree?
Luke’s heart pounded. Cold sweat erupted on his forehead, his palms, and trickled down his back.
“Rescue a cat?” He flailed his arms wide. “Don’t be ridiculous. Ask me to do something meaningful!”
“This is meaningful to me.” She held herself straight, hands calm at her sides.
“For God’s sake, Sarah! We’re talking about making a marriage commitment for the rest of our lives, and you’re thinking about a damn cat?”
She straightened her back and raised her chin. It brought it to the level of his breastbone.
“Oliver is only a tool to prove you care enough to do something I value, and you fear. From your reaction, I guess you’re really afraid. That’s good. If you do care about me enough to conquer that fear, then I will be right to trust you.”
He fought for control. If she was a man, he’d go after her with both fists for shaming him. But she was just a woman. As his father said, they didn’t know their own minds half the time. That’s why men gave them no power.
“Typical female! This is why we don’t allow women to sign contracts.” He tossed the drying cloth onto the counter. “Sleep with your cat, marry Gabe, or even Sheldrake! I don’t care!”
He slammed the door behind him and hauled himself onto his waiting horse. That’s what he got for listening to Gabe. Luke’s father, and all the men before him, would never let a woman dictate the terms of a contract. They had no logic, and cannot understand the realities of business.
Daisy barked in excitement when he raced out, heading to town. There should be a good group at Baldy’s Saloon who would understand why a man didn’t need a stubborn, muleheaded, argumentative, illogical wife.
After Sarah returned to town, he’d take a trip into Bannack City and find himself a decent wife. No, he’d go all the way to Virginia City. There’d be more women to choose from. He wanted a tall, broad, demure woman who would never do anything to cause him upset. She’d be just like his mother, living her life for the sole purpose of serving her husband and easing his life.
He’d show the blasted woman what a proper wife should be!
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Gabe stopped in the doorway of Baldy’s Saloon to let his eyes adjust. There in the corner, by the faro table, he found his oldest, and stupidest, friend. The whiskey bottle in front of Luke was down a good third, and he was the only one at the table.
Friend, hell. He was Luke’s brother, the only one the man had. Like many brothers, they had a few things left over from childhood to work out. This showdown had been coming for a long, long time. The only surprise was that it was over a woman. A woman Gabe wanted with every fiber of his being, and Luke thought he didn’t need.
Gabe’s guts twisted in memory of Sarah’s red eyes and false cheerfulness when he and Oz rode home an hour earlier. He saw the pain she refused to admit, as did Oz. They asked what happened, but Sarah just laughed and said Luke and Oliver were alike. Both believed the world revolved around them and demanded that she serve them. The difference was, Oliver was just being a cat.
Then she’d forced a smile as if nothing was wrong and told them she’d decided to make a special dessert, so supper would be delayed. That’s when he mounted up and headed to town. Oz would keep Sarah company while Gabe straightened Luke out for the last time.
He met Luke’s glower with one of his own.
“What did you do to Sarah?”
Luke carefully set down his glass of whiskey, stood up, and sneered. He wavered a bit as if in a strong wind. “I didn’t do anything to the woman.”
Gabe turned his head at the stink of stale whiskey breath. He settled his feet, rolled out his shoulders, and flexed his fists. “I don’t believe you.”
“You don’t believe your partner?” Luke crossed his arms and leaned forward, glaring with bloodshot eyeballs. “You’d trust a woman who batted her little ol’ blue eyes at you and told you a story, instead of your partner of how many years?” He shook his head with contempt. “Whatever she said, it’s a lie.”
“Hazel,” replied Gabe. “With bits of dark brown and honey. When she’s aroused, which is obviously never around you, they flash green.”
“What the hell you talkin’ about?”
“Sarah’s eyes. You don’t even know their color.”
“Why the hell should I care what color her eyes are? She’s moving back to town. Heard she’s marrying Old Walt just so she can have her damned bakery.”
“All thanks to you. And for your information, Sarah hasn’t said a damn word to us.” Gabe bumped Luke with his chest. “Not that you’d notice, drinking up our profits in whiskey.”
Luke pulled his head back. He shuffled his feet to keep his balance. “She didn’t come whining to you, complaining that because I won’t haul her damned cat out of a damned tree, I can’t be her husband?”
“So that’s what happened.” Gabe nodded, grimacing. “She offered you a way to prove to her that you wouldn’t betray her, by facing your fear. Instead, you did exactly what she expected a man to do. You threw it back in her face and stormed off to Baldy’s to get drunk. You’re just another man wanting to use her.” He looked at Luke’s bleary eyes and the spilled drink on the table. “No, you’re not a man. Sarah deserves far better than you.”
Gabe wanted to hit him. Nothing else had gotten Luke’s attention. But for so long he’d held back from fighting, afraid that the beast within him would erupt and take over if he let fly, like it had in prison. But Sarah had soothed that beast. He realized he no longer feared his anger.
“I did act like a man,” declared Luke with the earnestness of someone well on his way to a good drunk. “No fractious, ornery woman will tell me how to run my life. She’s just a—”
Gabe’s fist flew before Luke said something too insulting. He didn’t think, just hit Luke square in the gut. He then danced to the side in case more came out of Luke’s mouth than whiskey fumes. Luke gagged, but that was all. Around them chairs and tables were pushed back to make room as men yelled encouragement and derision in equal measure.
“Take it outside,” yelled Baldy. “I’ve got five dollars on Gabe taking Luke down in three punches.”
Luke yanked at his coat to straighten it as he pulled himself almost erect. “Three? I’m a better man than that!”
“Then prove it,” growled Gabe.
Yelling, excited men pushed them into the street. More arrived as Gabe and Luke stripped down to pants and boots. They handed their clothes to Willy and Casey Wright, a couple of young brothers who’d recently drifted into town looking for range work. Something about the smaller boy made Gabe take a second glance.
“You sure you boys want to do this?”
Trace’s rasp, rising rose over the yells of the crowd, drew Gabe’s attention. He nodded a reply, as did Luke, who’d sobered up enough that he didn’t stagger from moving his head.
“Back off twenty feet,” called Trace. “And get those women off the street!”
Women? Gabe looked around. He groaned. Why, when he finally called Luke out, did it have to be during an Elliott family trip to town?
“Five dollars on Luke,” yelled Jessie. “I always go for the underdog,” she explained when Ace scoffed at her choice of winner.
“Ten dollars on Gabe,” called a too-familiar feminine voice.
Gabe whipped his head around in time to see Oz pull his horse to a stop. Oz shrugged, as if he couldn’t help it that Sarah sat across his lap.
“I told you to keep her at home!”
“I’d rather have you mad at me than this one,” yelled Oz in return.
“What’re they fighting about?” yelled a voice in the back.
“Hell if I know,” replied another. “But I ain’t gonna miss it!”
“If I’d known this circus was going to happen,” said Gabe to Luke, “I’d just have taken you out behind the shed.”
“What’s got you all riled up, anyway?” Luke wiggled his fingers and pr
acticed making a fist.
“In addition to whatever you said to Sarah before riding off like an idiot, you insulted her to my face.”
“I did?” Luke blinked, frowning. “What did I say?”
Gabe stepped close. He whispered the words into Luke’s ear so no one, especially Sarah, would hear.
Luke winced. “Is that when you hit me?”
“Yep.”
“I’d have hit me, too.” He looked at the eager men circling them. “Now that we’re square, what are we going to do about all this?”
Gabe cracked his knuckles. He gave Luke his imitation of Gillis’s best berserker glare. “First, we’re not square. Second, I’ve been wanting to fight you a long, long time. It doesn’t matter what your daddy and my mama taught us. I’m going to show Sarah that she’s right not to want you anymore.”
“Anymore?” Luke’s eyes blazed. “She was serious about marrying me?”
“You damn idiot! It took a lot of guts for her to even think a husband was possible. She offered you a way to show you were worth her. Instead, you insult the hell out of her and run away.” Full of disgust, he put his fists on his hips and loomed over Luke. “Just shut up and fight. I want to get this over with so I can take Sarah home.” He stood tall. “She’ll be kissing me and Oz, all night long, while you’re passed out under a table with the rest of this scum.”
Luke’s eyes narrowed and his lips curled back. “Why you—”
Gabe easily took Luke’s first punch to his hard belly, just for old time’s sake. Then he returned it with interest, giving a right cross to break Luke’s nose again. Luke roared and attacked with both fists, driving Gabe back. Gabe laughed, finally free of his lifelong responsibility for Luke, and plowed forward.
Chapter Thirty
Sarah winced when Luke ran headfirst into Gabe’s belly. They went down in a hail of fists. The ring of men blocked her view even though she rode Oz’s lap, high on a horse. Yells covered up any sounds Luke and Gabe might have made.
“Can’t you do something? They’ll kill each other!”
Oz shook his head. “Nah, it’s just a dog fight. They’re playing, having some fun.”
“Are you crazy?”
“I thought you were so mad at Luke that you wanted to punch him out yourself?”
“I am mad! But that doesn’t mean I want him hurt.” She scrunched up her face and turned away when Gabe landed another punch.
“He doesn’t deserve you, but I do.”
Oz settled his chin between her neck and shoulder and nibbled. She swatted him. He pouted, but sat up again. She looked around, but no one seemed to notice. All attention was on the ring of men, and the two inside it. The two she cared about, but couldn’t see.
“This fight is a man thing,” said Oz, shrugging as if it wasn’t important. “Gabe’s been watching Luke’s back all his life. It’s time Luke stood up for himself. Gabe’s helping him.”
“Helping?” She choked in exasperation. “And how can he stand up when Gabe keeps knocking him down?”
“Let them work it out. Why don’t I take you to the hotel so you can visit with Sophie? Luke and Gabe are well matched, so this could go on for a while.”
Sarah wanted to watch, yet didn’t want to see them hurt each other. She remembered what it felt like when Mr. Isaac punched her. She nodded.
“Give me a minute and I’ll walk you over.”
He spoke to Sarah, but his attention was riveted on the fight, as Gabe and Luke were now on their feet again.
“No, just let me down here.”
“You sure?”
“Oz, it’s broad daylight and everyone’s watching the fight. I’ll be fine.”
He took his eyes off his partners long enough to kiss her quickly and lower her to the street. She waved and turned to the boardwalk. When she glanced back, he’d moved his horse right behind the ring of men. He laughed and shouted encouragement. She rolled her eyes at what men got up to.
She avoided the crowd on the boardwalk, keeping to the street. She watched her feet to make sure she didn’t step in something a horse had left behind. A hand gripped her elbow, stopping her. She turned, and then looked up.
Joe Sheldrake!
She tried to back up, but he held her tight.
“No, no, missy. I jist wanna talk. Fer now, anyways.”
He smiled, but it was worse than the grimace he always wore. He was big, but not as big as Gabe. He stunk, of whiskey, stale sweat, and other things she didn’t want to think about.
“Heard you need a husband pretty bad.”
She shook her head, unwilling to speak in case she said something that would make him angry.
“You need a missus in front of yer name, and I need to git into that building. So I got me an idea. We git married. I take the gold what’s hid, and I skedaddle.” He jerked his head in a nod. “I git rich, and you git yer bizness.”
“Mr. Sheldrake, there’s no gold in that building.”
He leaned close. “I hid it after I kilt the man what worked there. I want that gold. Now, we kin do it easylike, so you git what yew want.” He squeezed her arm, just enough to hurt. “Or we kin do it the hard way.”
She startled when his other hand grabbed her bottom cheek. He dug his fingers deep before releasing her. There’d be telltale bruises, ones she couldn’t hide from her men. He laughed and released her. The only way to escape was to pretend to go along with him, just as she’d done in Bannack City.
“Your idea is a good one,” she said. “If I had a husband, the town council would have to let me run my bakery, even after you left town. After a quick ceremony you could get the gold and leave right away.”
He shook his head, leering at her. “It’s gonna take me a few days to git all that gold out.” He ran his free hand from her shoulder, over her breast, past her hip to her bottom. She shuddered with revulsion. “And I want some fun…Pearl.”
Sarah froze, staring up at him. No one knew what they’d called her in that place. She’d locked the name away deep inside. That meant Sheldrake saw her doing… She exploded, fighting to escape. He grabbed her, easily holding her to his body, one hand over her mouth.
“Now don’t be runnin’ away,” he said into her ear. “I watched ya in that room. Ye liked his cock so much ye screamed. I had gold, but ye got away ’fore I could have ye.” He smirked. “But when we git married I kin have ye all I want. You’ll do fer me what you did fer him. Won’t be no diff’rent from what y’already done, lotsa times.”
His low laugh was like black grease, staining her mind as his dirty hands stained her clothes. He rubbed his groin against her bottom, making her gag.
“Don’t be gettin’ any ideas, now. Ye’ll git what ye want, and I’ll git what’s mine.”
His hands lifted off, and his stench faded. She stood, shaking, until she was sure he was gone. She fought tears, refusing to give in, as she stumbled along the boardwalk. It was empty, with everyone watching the fight. She made it to the hotel and went in the back door. Thank God, no one was in Sophie’s kitchen. She went to Sophie’s rooms, pressed her back against the pretty wallpaper, and slid to the floor.
A few days of freedom on the ranch and she’d forgotten all her hard-earned lessons. Don’t be alone. Don’t walk on the street. And don’t, ever again, leave the ranch without her slim blade in her skirt.
It’s over. He’s gone, and he’ll never hurt you again.
She had to tell Oz and Gabe about Sheldrake. She couldn’t pretend to be shy for days to hide the bruises he’d inflicted. But she would be selective. Since they didn’t know about her “performance” as Pearl, they didn’t need to know he’d seen her naked. And they’d never let her return to her bakery if they thought Sheldrake was after gold he thought was hidden somewhere in the building.
But Sheldrake’s attack pointed out a cold, hard fact. Whether Luke conquered his fear or not, she had to marry him to stop others from trying to force it onto her. When she’d planned her dream existence, sh
e hadn’t known kind men like Gabe and Oz. All the men who said they loved her had proven otherwise. The word was easy to say. It was the actions behind the words that she needed evidence of. That’s what Luke rejected when he ran away to get drunk.
She loved Oz and Gabe, no question. Both of them would make wonderful husbands and delightful fathers, even though Oz refused to believe it of himself. The question was whether they loved her enough to overcome their fears.
Luke’s touch inflamed her, so there was no problem with sharing her bed with him. A tingle of sensual awareness woke her pussy and nipples. She’d share her bed with them. All three, at once. She groaned and dropped her head in her hands. She’d better practice with Oz and Gabe together, before adding Luke.
The rush which had propelled her down the boardwalk and to this sanctuary faded. The last few weeks of hard work with little sleep, no matter how enjoyable, pulled her down. She curled on the floor and let it all go far away.
Chapter Thirty-One
“She’s in there,” said Sophie.
Oz held his breath as he pushed the door open. All Sophie told him was that something had happened to Sarah. She lay on the floor curled in a ball. He saw no blood, but that didn’t mean anything.
She hurt, and it was his fault. Something happened after he let her go in the street. Alone. When Sophie rushed up to him, yelling something about Sarah over the roars of the crowd, he’d feared the worst. He was sure someone had taken her, had hurt her, had done one of a million things that rushed through his brain.
He said he’d keep her safe, and he failed. Did she even want him in the room?
“Sarah?” he whispered. “I’m here.”
When she didn’t scream for him to leave her alone, he knelt beside her.
“I’m sorry, angel. I should never have let you go.”
“Oz?”
