Sagebrush Bride

by Tanya Anne Crosby

  It was another moment before Elizabeth could actually see the faces, and it felt as though her eyes crossed before they focused. “Cutter!” she gasped with horror.

  “I saved him!” Katie exclaimed happily, hugging Cutter’s neck.

  Miss Mimi gasped in surprise, her gaze skidding back to Elizabeth’s, her expression clearly shocked and a little distrustful.

  Recovering quickly, Elizabeth offered a meek smile of apology, a warm stain rising high upon her cheeks. “Uhhh… m-my—” she tried not to think of the lie as she spoke the word, and closed her eyes briefly “—h-husband,” she stammered, nodding grimly as she opened her eyes. “He’s… he’s… well… he’s already in… inside,” she said as brightly as she could. Still, Miss Mimi said nothing. “As… as you can see.” Elizabeth’s face burned, but she managed to meet Cutter’s dark eyes, and he reassured her with nothing more than a wink.

  And then her gaze was drawn upward, to the child sitting wide-eyed on his shoulders. The child stared back, releasing Cutter’s chin in surprise.

  To Elizabeth’s shock, Katie’s eyes were as dark as… as Cutter’s. They were eyes that could seize you, reach into your soul. Eyes that were sad and gleeful, all at once… eyes that, aside from their difference in color, were so familiar, it made her heart ache. “K-Katie?” she choked out.

  Miss Mimi stood by in silence, watching the scene unfold, her demands for an explanation cast aside as Katie squirmed excitedly, trying to find a way down from Cutter’s broad shoulders.

  Obligingly Cutter swung her down, holding her upright when her feet wouldn’t quite work, and still the child gaped at Elizabeth. “We’ve gotten to be pals,” Cutter assured them both, winking at Elizabeth.

  Her heart skipping beats, Elizabeth dropped to her knees at once, opening her arms in welcome, but Katie stood transfixed. At last, after an excruciating moment, Katie took a step forward, and when Elizabeth thought she would rush into her arms, she dashed past her, leaving Elizabeth kneeling empty-handed. Her eyes closed and she swallowed convulsively as she listened to the child’s feet racing away. It was to be expected, she told herself. Katie didn’t know her, after all. She opened her eyes to meet Cutter’s.

  There was strength in his gaze, and she drew from it.

  Miss Mimi. There were tears in her eyes, and the tip of her nose was growing pink.

  Suddenly she was aware that those same little feet raced back toward her, skidding to a halt in front of her. And before Elizabeth could speak, a small picture frame was thrust before her, so close that the three figures depicted were no more than a dark blur. Reaching for it, she drew it away from her face to see it better, then close again, unable to focus at the distance she had held it. She held her breath as the shapes began to take form.

  Katie rocked forward on the balls of her feet, her hands locked behind her back. “You look jus like my mommy,” she whispered reverently, a touch of sorrow in her quiet tone. Her little eyes glazed over as Elizabeth watched, but her tender smile negated her grief. “She went to heaven, too. But not in the war,” she confided in a whisper, glancing up suddenly to Miss Mimi for assistance.

  Miss Mimi came forward, placing a reassuring hand on Katie’s little shoulder, squeezing gently, her own eyes hazing.

  Her heart aching, Elizabeth drew Katie’s tiny fingers into her own. To her joy, Katie didn’t recoil from her touch, but instead stepped closer.

  Miss Mimi cleared her throat. “Katherine, you see…” she began, only to stop short. She dabbed at her eyes.

  Knowing instinctively what Miss Mimi was about to say, Elizabeth drew Katie toward her, hoping to shield her, or at the very least, lend her her own strength. To her surprise, Katie hurled herself into Elizabeth’s embrace, as though she were starved for the warmth offered.

  “You see,” Miss Mimi continued, “your sister passed away during the birth of her second child… a little boy. Joshua Elias,” she choked out. “We buried him next to his mother.”

  As though her life depended on it, Katie clung to Elizabeth while Miss Mimi spoke, and Elizabeth gave her a little reassuring hug.

  “Near six months ago,” Miss Mimi continued, her voice breaking. She shrugged her plump shoulders. “News of John’s death took so much of her strength, I’m afraid—” She choked suddenly on her words.

  Elizabeth held tightly to the child in her arms, hot tears pricking at her eyes, and then she gazed down over Katie’s shoulder, to the picture in her hand.

  Three smiling figures stared back at her: Katie, perhaps at two, her hair shorter, but just as curly, her face just as sweet; a man she assumed would be Katherine’s husband, John, his dark, wavy hair sweeping proudly to his shoulders, his brass buttons gleaming; and Katherine, looking so much as Elizabeth recalled.

  Beautiful, beautiful Katherine.

  Elizabeth laid the frame gently against Katie’s back as a tear trickled down her cheek. “I only need to know…” She faltered over her words, glancing up at Miss Mimi. “Was my sister happy?”

  Dabbing again at her eyes, Miss Mimi nodded. “Oh, dear, yes!” she exclaimed. “Very happy!”

  Elizabeth nodded, closing her eyes, further words failing her. That was all that mattered, wasn’t it? That Katherine had been happy? That her life had been good? And now it was her duty to step into Katherine’s shoes as mother to the priceless child in her arms. It was, she thought, in a moment of revelation, what she was born to do.

  It felt so right. Her free hand slid into Katie’s curls, rubbing soothingly. “Don’t cry,” she soothed.

  Katie held tighter, burying her face into Elizabeth’s hair. “I never cry!” came a muffled exclamation, but the child held tighter, and then she sniffled, belying her claim.

  Elizabeth smiled with understanding. “Of course you don’t,” she agreed, remembering vividly another time, another place: Katherine had fallen, and had skinned her knees and her elbows. Elizabeth had wiped the dirt from her sister’s dress, and then from her knees. “Look! Lookee here, it’s mostly dirt!”

  “My dress!” Katherine had wailed pitifully.

  “Don’t worry, Katie, Mother will understand. Look, it’s all gone! Don’t cry!”

  With her sweet face upturned, and the blue of the sky reflecting in the sheen of her eyes, Katherine had sworn vehemently, “I’m not crying. I never, ever cry!” But tears had shimmered in her eyes.

  Heaven help her… if it was the only thing Elizabeth ever did in her life, she would make her sister proud. Never let Katie forget. For the first time ever, something aside from her role as healer moved her to her very soul, ranked just as important—more so, perhaps, because there was something so inherently fulfilling about cradling the child in her arms. Her little body felt so very precious. A lone tear trickled down her cheek.

  Miss Mimi gave them a moment longer, and then joined their embrace, weeping without restraint, telling Elizabeth how much she’d been spoken of—how well she’d been praised. And again, how much she looked like her sister.

  And then, while Cutter hauled in their belongings, Elizabeth listened in silence as Miss Mimi expressed Katherine’s profound regret that they’d lost touch with each other. But she could find absolutely nothing to say in response as Miss Mimi led them up the stairs to the room they would be occupying during their stay. There was little that could be said that would fill the loss of her sister—a loss that, though it had occurred years before with her parting, only now waxed complete.

  Still, there was comfort in that Katherine had thought of her—if not enough to correspond, then at least on occasion. Yet it would always pain her that through the years their separation had become so absolute, that had it not been for Elias Bass’ letter, she might never even have known her only niece.

  A vision came to her abruptly, of the three of them together—she and Katie… and Cutter. Shaking her head to dispel it, she forced her thoughts to Elias Bass.

  What kind of man would he be? How could anyone not want adorable Katie? Her gaze wa
s drawn to the child darting ahead of them. Opening a door, Katie dashed into the far room, and by the time the three of them had reached the doorway, she was romping on the large four-poster bed.

  “Hope this will do,” Miss Mimi said. She wagged a warning finger at Katie, but Katie disregarded the reprimand, never ceasing in her play. Without missing a beat, Miss Mimi turned to Elizabeth, as though she’d never expected the child to mind her anyway, and said, “The wardrobe is empty. Use it, if you wish. Oh, and I thought you might like a bath?”

  Elizabeth smiled with appreciation, her eyes skimming the room. “Yes. Thank you. That’s very kind of you.” She placed her load upon the bed, flexing her arms. Without a word, Cutter set his yannigan bag next to hers, and then went to the window, thrusting his hands into his pockets. “The room is beautiful,” Elizabeth assured her as she watched him. “I’m certain it will do wonderfully.”

  A large birch wardrobe occupied the left wall, while the headboard sat flush against the right. The door was behind her, and a small window was set in the far wall, with another dresser made of birch before it. Beside the bed sat a commode, and upon it, a washbasin and ewer of ivory porcelain. A stiff-backed wooden chair sat in the corner next to the wardrobe, kitty-corner to the bed.

  “Mr. Bass’ late wife ordered everything from back east,” Miss Mimi revealed. “Bless her soul—she’s been gone near to ten years now.”

  Elizabeth nodded, and having no idea what to say in response, began to unpack. “She had wonderful taste,” she said belatedly, looking up in time to see that Miss Mimi wore a fond smile, and was nodding in profound agreement. Staring down at her belongings, Elizabeth sighed. There were so few of her own items that she lingered over each one, hoping that Miss Mimi wouldn’t notice the telltale lack. “Did Katherine live here, too?” she asked conversationally, trying to avert Miss Mimi’s attention.

  Miss Mimi threw up a hand. “Oh, goodness, no—but they didn’t live far,” she said. “If you’d like, I’m certain Mr. Bass will take you there tomorrow.”

  “I can go, too,” Katie said, rather than asked, falling upon the bed. She barely missed falling upon Cutter’s bag. And then belatedly, her face screwed uncertainly. “Can’t I, Miss Mimi?”

  “Of course, Katie,” Miss Mimi assured her with a wink. “That is… if it’s all right with your aunt Elizabeth.”

  “Of course,” Elizabeth agreed, smiling anxiously as she hesitated over her very last item. Her eyes fell at once to Cutter’s bag. She debated whether to unpack it, as well.

  Glancing up, she saw that Cutter was no longer at the window, he was leaning against the right wall, his left foot braced casually behind him, his arms crossed. And then her gaze reverted to Miss Mimi, who was scrutinizing her curiously. She glanced anxiously down at Cutter’s things.

  What was wrong with her? she wondered peevishly. They were just clothes, weren’t they? Along with his toothbrush, powder, and razor, she added mentally. Her face heated at the memory of Cutter finding her at the river with sand in her mouth.

  It didn’t matter that it made her feel strange inside to… to touch his things. It didn’t matter that they brought back shameful memories, because if they had, in fact, been married, then it would have been expected of her as his wife to unpack for him, and that was exactly what she was going to do!

  Besides, she reminded herself, she had already seen, as well as touched, his clothing—when she’d washed it in the river. Still, she hesitated, glancing briefly to Cutter. He was grinning his lopsided grin again, and her eyes narrowed in censure.

  Swallowing, Elizabeth forced herself to reach out and touch Cutter’s green shirt, and heard him chuckle beneath his breath. While Miss Mimi prattled on about there not being enough hours in a day, Elizabeth lifted it up, scrunching it, her fingers recalling the wash-worn texture of it. And then, without thinking, in the most intimate of gestures, she brought it to her nostrils, breathing deeply of the soap she’d used to cleanse it… and the more elusive male scent that was as much a part of it as the fibers that bound it.

  Desire shot through Cutter like a lightning bolt as he watched her. No longer aware of Miss Mimi, he heard her voice as no more than a distant drone. In that moment he craved Elizabeth more than he’d ever thought possible.

  But it was more than the intense heat in his lower anatomy that roused him, unsettled him, made him restless. It was the satisfaction he’d attained in that one simple gesture of hers—an intimacy to be shared only by a man… and his woman.

  His woman.

  The phrase hounded him like a raving wolf at his heels. Fascinated, he watched as Elizabeth folded his shirt, placing it neatly within the drawer. His gaze smoldered, narrowing with the gratifying memory of her washing that same shirt in the river. He wanted her to do those things for him always. Not that he couldn’t fend for himself, but it gave him a deep-rooted pleasure to see her touch him in that way… without touching him at all.

  It made him burn.

  Even absorbed as he was, Cutter immediately sensed the new presence, and the hairs on the back of his neck bristled. His deliberations ended abruptly as he glanced up to see that an older man now stood behind a chattering Miss Mimi in the doorway, observing them without speaking, his stance nonthreatening. Yet the man’s expression was unmistakably guarded. Cutter stiffened. No one else seemed to have noticed his appearance, and he said nothing to alert them. He stepped away from the wall abruptly, dropping his hands to his sides.

  For a long moment their gazes met and held, each man assessing, and he knew instinctively that it was Elias Bass taking his measure. The man who would decide his and Elizabeth’s fate. For sure as hell was hot, if Bass denied Elizabeth the child…

  She would hate him.

  It was obvious that she was already in love with the kid. But then, it didn’t take much. It would be real easy to get attached himself… if he allowed it. But he couldn’t afford to… and didn’t aim to.

  “Lookee here, Aunt Lizabeth!” Katie flipped on the bed, and then froze abruptly on her head when she saw her grandfather in the doorway. “Granpapa!” she shrieked, peering at him through her little legs. She leapt upright and off the bed, racing like a small bolt of lightning into his arms.

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  Elias Bass was a tall, lanky man, with silver hair and blue eyes that crinkled heavily at the corners. The laugh lines at his mouth were just as prominent, though at the moment they were drawn into an uneasy smile.

  Straining upward, Katie snuggled her cheek against her grandfather’s silver-flecked beard. She popped upright suddenly. “Oh, Granpapa!” she cooed happily, running her little fingers through his beard. “My aunt Lizabeth is here with my uncle Cutter! An’ ya know what?” she said soberly. “He climbed up the house! An’ ya wanna know what else? She’s not even gonna spank him!”

  Elias Bass chuckled at his granddaughter’s incredulous expression and, with his free hand, nudged her under the chin. “That so?” he asked jovially. He flipped Cutter another quick glance through his lashes, and then, adjusting Katie in his arms, he stepped into the room, proffering his hand to Cutter in welcome.

  Cutter moved away from the wall and came forward, around the end of the bed, squeezing Elizabeth’s shoulder on the way. “Cutter McKenzie,” he offered formally, leaning forward to grip the man’s hand.

  Elias grasped it, shaking it as firmly. Then, with an overburdened grunt, he set Katie on her feet, never taking his eyes from Cutter. At once she returned to the bed, hurling herself upon it. “Glad to see you made it,” Elias said, releasing Cutter’s hand finally.

  Cutter returned a nod, and then pivoted, catching Elizabeth by the wrist, drawing her forward. “My wife,” he stated, with so much pride that Elizabeth’s heart jolted violently at the sound of it.

  It sounded so genuine.

  Her eyes met Cutter’s briefly, and then skittered guiltily to Elias’. She swallowed nervously, but Cutter’s hand on the small of her back gave her courage. “I�
�� I… I-It’s good to meet you… er, finally,” she finished lamely, her legs faltering.

  Elias smiled, nodding in agreement, and though he didn’t offer her a hug as Miss Mimi had done, the look in his eyes was in that instant just as welcoming.

  Still, Elizabeth felt ill at ease in his presence, aware of the lie as though it were a tangible being among them.

  “It’s been a rough trip for Liz,” Cutter explained, as though sensing her unease. He rubbed her back soothingly, the gesture affectionate.

  “Imagine so,” Elias returned, scraping his beard with his long fingers. He coughed abruptly, glancing quickly at Miss Mimi, and then cleared his throat, looking directly at Elizabeth. “You folks take the train at all?”

  Elizabeth tried in vain to tamp down the panic she felt. His look penetrated so deeply that she was certain he could see the lie. Her thoughts and voice fled. She tried to speak, to tell him no… but her voice wouldn’t materialize. Good night! She’d lose Katie for certain! It just wasn’t possible to fool Elias Bass! She couldn’t! How had she ever considered it?

  Cutter gave her a gentle shove at her back, urging her without words to speak up. When that didn’t work, his hand slipped down to cup her rear, squeezing softly.

  “No!” she gasped, leaping away, her hand going behind her to swat Cutter’s away. Unobligingly, he didn’t release her, but when she would have leapt inadvertently into Elias, his firm grip on her skirt kept her from it, and so she let it pass without another word.

  Elias took a wary step backward. he coughed and cleared his throat, glancing with raised brows at his housekeeper.

  Miss Mimi looked guiltily away, obviously having seen the gesture as well, and Elizabeth felt flooded with shame for shocking the woman so.

  “Well,” Elias began with a slow-spreading grin, “I reckon you two are pretty tuckered.” He and Cutter shared a knowing look, and Cutter returned his lopsided smile, along with a nod.