The Marshal Takes A Bride

by Sylvia McDaniel

  “But—”

  “Damn you, Tucker. You don’t want me because you’re afraid of commitment, but you don’t want anyone else to have me either,” she said, her voice rising in volume. “You use the term ‘friend’ loosely. Friends don’t kiss or have sex. I’m tired of your games. Get out. Get out now! ”

  “Sarah, wait.”

  She was shaking, she was so angry. “Just go, Tucker.”

  “You haven’t given me a chance to explain.”

  “That’s because I don’t want to hear your explanations. I’m tired of being a pawn in your games. Get out.”

  Tucker picked up his hat from the table. “I should walk you home. It’s not safe.”

  “Go. At this point I dare anyone to bother me.”

  He moved slowly, reluctant to leave. He had never seen her so angry or so upset. He regretted his kiss had caused her pain. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Sarah, honestly.”

  “Please, just go.”

  He stepped to the door of the room, his boots sounding loud in the shadows of the clinic. “I’ll come by and check on you tomorrow. I do care about you, Sarah.”

  As he walked out of the room and through the halls of the clinic, he listened intently for the sounds of sobbing or the breaking of glass. This time he would refuse to leave if he heard any of those noises. But it was eerily quiet as he shut the door.

  Had he done all those things she said? Had he really used her for his convenience and then, when another man found her attractive, come back around kissing her?

  He swallowed. Maybe.

  And he had set her up with the town’s bachelors, knowing instinctively that the matches would never work.

  Did he really not want anyone else to have her? They had always been friends, and he wanted her to find someone here in town and stay on as the doctor, didn’t he?

  Why did he feel so guilty? Why did he feel as though her accusations were somewhat true?

  The cool spring air bit at him as Tucker glanced around at the shadows of the darkened night. The sounds of revelry came from several blocks over as the saloons cranked out the noise. He couldn’t just let her walk alone, but he also knew that she would never accept his company.

  He melted into the shadows behind the clinic and waited for Sarah to leave. Once he saw her, he followed her all the way back to the hotel, making sure she made it home safely, always staying hidden so she would never know he followed her.

  ***

  The next morning found Tucker sitting in his office, his eye swollen, his pride bruised and his ego completely deflated. Over and over his mind had replayed her comments regarding his behavior, wondering if her accusations were true.

  And he couldn’t help but remember seeing her happy last night, her hand intimately tucked into the crook of Brad’s elbow.

  Damn! They had looked happy. They looked like they belonged together. And Brad had been smiling as if he was the luckiest man in town.

  The door to Tucker’s office opened and in stepped his mother. His stomach sank. He didn’t think he could take her manipulating ways today. He wasn’t in the mood to hear a speech on the benefits of being married.

  “Hello, son,” she said cheerfully, pulling the door closed behind her. She turned to face him and gasped. “Good Lord, what happened to you?”

  No, his swollen face wasn’t a pretty sight, just a painful reminder of one swing too many from the gunfighter the night before.

  “I’m fine, Mother.”

  “I heard that Lansky character was here in town. Was he the one who did this to you?” she asked.

  “Yes, but there’s nothing to worry about”

  His mother threw up her arms. “You sit there and tell me not to worry, while your face is bruised and swollen.”

  “Thanks, Mother,” he said, choosing to ignore her remarks, suddenly remembering that his sister-in-law was very pregnant and due soon. “Is everything okay with Rose? I don’t need to get Sarah, do I?”

  “Not that I know of,” Eugenia said, as she paused and stared at him. “Aren’t you going to ask me to be seated?”

  “Sorry, please, sit down. Would you like something to drink?”

  “Thank you, but no,” she said, smiling at him graciously, pleased now that she had reminded him of his manners.

  He watched as his mother took a seat and spread her skirts, settling in. It looked as though she was hunkering in, preparing for battle, which left him feeling slightly uneasy.

  All it would take was one tiny opening and his mother would be on him like an ant on a stinkbug. She would circle the wagons and gather recruitments, and soon Tucker would find himself facing a preacher.

  “Did Sarah put those stitches in above your eye?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said curtly, remembering her none-too-gentle ministrations.

  “You know, Tucker, since the fiasco with Beth and Tanner, I’ve really tried to do better. Since the veil incident, I’ve kept my word and not bothered you recently concerning Sarah. I’ve tried to accept your decision not to marry.”

  “Mother, nothing has changed. I’m not getting married,” he blurted out.

  She flipped her wrist at her son. “I completely understand, son, but I saw that Brad Riley fellow coming out of the clinic early this morning, and well . . . Sarah looked happy. And the two of them,” she laughed. “They looked downright cozy together.”

  “So?” he said, a flash of irritation creeping into his voice.

  “Well, I know that the two of you are such good friends, and you know Brad is very good husband material.” She smiled at her son. “He’d be an excellent catch for Sarah and that precious little boy of hers.”

  “So you rushed right over here to tell me?” he asked. “Don’t you think I already knew?”

  Damn it! Did she think that he wanted to hear about Sarah and Brad? The rancher and the doctor were friends, nothing more! Just like Sarah and he were friends. Weren’t they?

  Yet why did he feel as though something that belonged to him was slipping away? And though he didn’t understand why he felt so much frustration and anger at the mention of Brad, the man just irritated him. Sarah deserved better than a rancher who owned a sizable chunk of land and could take good care of her. Didn’t she?

  “Well, I didn’t know if you knew about the two of them, but I guess if you saw Sarah last night, she must have told you all about her and Brad.” His mother leaned closer. “Has she told her grandfather yet?”

  “How the hell would I know?” he asked irritably.

  “Well, you just said you knew about the two of them,” she said innocently. “Are you feeling all right, son? I guess that’s a silly question with your face all swollen like it is.”

  “Hell no, I’m not feeling all right. My head is throbbing, my eye hurts and you’re asking me all sorts of questions I don’t know.”

  Eugenia leaned back in her chair. “Sorry. I just thought that maybe you would know if they had mentioned setting a date yet.”

  “You’re getting ahead of yourself, Mother. She had dinner with the man once. That’s all.”

  “This morning when I saw her, she had a bouquet of flowers in her hand, and he was standing outside on the porch of the clinic. It looked like they had breakfast together.”

  Tucker took a calming breath and released it slowly. The image of Sarah naked in his arms, her head thrown back in passion, came to mind, sending a pleasant ache through his body. Had he ever given her flowers?

  Brad’s face swam before his eyes, and he saw red. If Brad had snuck back to spend the night with Sarah, there would be hell to pay.

  But he had no right to object. And Sarah’s grandfather would have been at the hotel. Sarah could make her own decisions, and after Tucker’s behavior last night, their friendship could be in peril.

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” he told his mother, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

  “Why? They could have had breakfast together in the hotel dining room
this morning. He could have met her downstairs and then walked her over to the clinic,” his mother said.

  He sent Eugenia a look that even a blind man would have known meant go away and leave me alone. But no, his mother didn’t take a hint.

  “Besides, Brad Riley is a very nice man compared to some of those other men you introduced her to. Did you set her up with Brad?” she asked innocently.

  “No, they met at the auction,” he said, almost gritting his teeth.

  “Oh, that’s right. He got into that bidding war over Sarah’s basket with you.” She laughed. “Now it’s all coming back.”

  Sarah’s words regarding setting her up with some of the worst bachelors in town came back to haunt him. His insides clenched at the memory. Had he really set Sarah up with men that he knew would never work out? Was that why he disliked Brad so much, because he knew the man would be good for Sarah. And if they were only friends, why was he objecting to the cowboy so much?

  “Well, dear. I know you’re busy, and I don’t want to keep you. But I was just so excited to talk with someone about Sarah, and I knew you would know more than anyone.”

  His mother stood, smoothed her long skirts and picked up her parasol. “I better get along, dear. Rose is sitting at home miserable, and I don’t want to be gone too long.

  He frowned and nodded, frustration keeping him silent as he watched his mother walking toward the door.

  Opening the door, she turned and faced him. “When you see Sarah, give her my best.”

  With a click she shut the door behind her and like a whirlwind departed his office, her destructive winds leaving behind a battered Tucker. God, how had his father lived with the woman for nearly thirty years?

  He placed his face gingerly in his hands, and then leaned his elbows on his desk. But more important, what if Sarah did marry Brad Riley? What if she fell in love with him, too?

  ***

  Sarah sat in her office trying to work while Lucas took a nap, unable to concentrate as she thought of Brad Riley and Tucker. She glanced over at the bouquet of roses and wisteria blossoms. They were the early bloomers heralding the arrival of spring, and Brad had picked the sweet-smelling flowers from his ranch and brought them to her.

  But the nicest compliment he had given her was telling her he couldn’t sleep last night for thinking of her. She had suffered a hard time herself falling asleep. Brad had been part of the reason her eyes had refused to shut, while Tucker Burnett had charged through her mind, repeatedly falling through that window to come crashing down at her feet.

  It seemed every time she closed her eyes, the sound of shattering glass had jarred her awake. And while she had lain there and tried to count sheep, the only thing she had managed was to count the faults of each of the two men who filled her dreams. One of whom seemed to jump over the fence in a steady rhythm.

  She closed her eyes, determined to put the image of Tucker out of her mind, to erase him from her heart. No matter what had transpired between them in the past, she had to move on with her life. No matter that he was Lucas’s father, she had to give up on him. Regardless that she had loved him for years and tried before to put him out of her heart, this time she was going to succeed if for no other reason than her son.

  She glanced over at the boy, who lay sleeping soundly on the pallet she had made for him. Her grandfather had been unable to keep him today, so she had brought him to the office, determined to make it fun for both of them.

  Finally, he had worn out from playing and had gone down for his afternoon nap.

  She picked up her quill pen, determined to concentrate on the notes she was making for Dr. Wilson. This morning she had called on the doctor, who was recovering quite nicely. In two weeks he would be coming back to work, and she would be free to go home to Tombstone or decide to stay in Fort Worth.

  And while she had arrived under the false pretense that her grandfather was ill, determined to leave at the earliest convenience, she suddenly was loath to depart. No matter what happened between her and Tucker, or her and Brad, she had found a new sense of belonging by working in the clinic with patients who needed her. A sense of rightness.

  But she didn’t know if she could stay here and work in the same town as Tucker and fall in love with Brad. And though she was trying, falling in love with Brad would be impossible if she didn’t get over loving Tucker.

  The back door opened and slammed shut. Sarah turned around in her chair, frightened by the sound of footsteps running toward her. She jumped up, determined to put herself in the path of whoever was coming in the clinic.

  A tiny woman, her face covered by a big, floppy hat, came down the hall. It took Sarah just a moment to realize that Kira was hurrying toward her. Her ashen face framed her dark eyes which were wide with fright.

  “Kira, what are you doing here? Did anyone see you enter the clinic?”

  “I don’t think so,” she said breathlessly. “Dr. Sarah, you must come.”

  Sarah stepped toward the girl. “What’s wrong?”

  “Baby comes. Mrs. Rose baby come now. She all alone,” Kira said.

  “Let me get my bag,” Sarah said, walking toward the table and picking up the satchel that carried her supplies. She opened the bag and did a quick routine check to make sure she had everything she could possibly need.

  Then she glanced down at Lucas sleeping soundly on the floor and back at Kira.

  She couldn’t leave than here alone, with the threat of danger that they would be found.

  “Kira, tell me all you can about Rose. Is the baby coming right now?” Sarah asked, hoping she had more time.

  “Mrs. Rose standing in kitchen when water gushed from between her legs. She cry and clutch her belly. No one home but me and her. She send me for you. Husband gone. Should be home soon.”

  “Dear God, they left the two of you alone? And her water has broken.” She did a mental rundown of estimated time until most first babies came. Usually they were late in showing up, but occasionally one would make an unexpected appearance. “Okay. You have to stay here with Lucas. I can’t take him with me. But I want the two of you at Grandfather’s hotel. You’ll be safer there. I’ll get the wagon; you get Lucas.”

  Sarah took two steps toward the back door and sighed. “We walked over from the hotel, with Brad. I don’t have the wagon.” She glanced at Kira. “How did you get here?”

  “Horse out back.” She touched Sarah’s arm. “I stay here with boy. We be safe till you get back.”

  Sarah glanced at Kira. “I really don’t have much choice. Promise me you’ll stay here. Don’t go outside. Don’t open the door for anyone. I’ll send word to my grandfather to help you as soon as he can.”

  Quickly Sarah penned two notes that she would give to a messenger boy she knew. One for her grandfather and one for Tucker.

  She flipped the sign to CLOSED and locked the door. Then she pulled the shades so that hopefully no one could see in.

  “Go. Take care of Mrs. Rose,” Kira insisted.

  Sarah took one more glance at Lucas. She walked over and kissed him on the cheek, not waking the child. She didn’t like this. She felt uneasy, but Rose needed her. And her grandfather would be back soon.

  “Okay, I’m leaving. Don’t open the door for anyone, Kira. My grandfather has the key.”

  Kira shook her head. “No one get in. Go.”

  Sarah backed out the door, her bag in her hand, before she ran to the horse and climbed into the saddle, her skirts in the way.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sarah rode the horse as fast as she could while still feeling in control of the animal. It would do no good for her to have an accident and hurt herself on the way, though babies generally came whether the doctor was there or not.

  Judging by the time Kira arrived at the clinic, once Sarah appeared at Rose’s side, it would be close to four hours since the woman had gone into labor. While most first babies took hours to be born, there was always the chance that this child would be different. />
  Sarah rode through the gates of the Bar None, anxious to see Rose. She pulled the horse to a halt in front of the big house. Travis came running down the steps.

  “God, am I glad to see you!” he said, as Sarah swung down from the saddle. She untied her medical bag from the saddle string.

  “I left as soon as Kira found me,” Sarah replied. “How is she?”

  They walked up the steps of the house, past the rose bushes in full bloom.

  “I don’t know, Doc.” He ran his hand through his hair nervously. “She seems okay until a pain hits her. And then she’s hurting.”

  “How far apart are her pains?”

  “About every twenty minutes.”

  Sarah laid her hand on Travis, pausing before they went into the house. “You know, Travis, we could be in for a long night. First babies are usually slow to arrive.”

  “Yeah, I figure it’s a lot like a foal being born or a calf, except it’s my wife and my baby,” he said, his face turning white.

  “Babies are born every day,” Sarah reassured him, entering the house. “Is Rose upstairs?”

  “Yes,” he replied, pacing the entryway of the house, glancing up the stairs.

  Sarah patted him on the hand. “I’m here now. When the rest of the family arrives, you’re going to need to tell them what’s going on.”

  “I never should have left Rose. I had to ride out and check on a fence that had been blown down. Mother was gone, but Rose assured me she would be okay. She told me she was feeling fine, and then this happens. I should never have left her.”

  “Maybe she wasn’t feeling any pains at the time,” Sarah reassured, trying to calm him down.

  “Can I come up and be with Rose?” he asked. “You can come up for a few minutes, but then it’s better if the husband waits downstairs. Tucker should be here soon.”

  “I sent word to Tanner and Beth. They’re working on their new home,” Travis said, running a hand through his hair.