by Lana Dare
His shoulders were wide, wider than she’d ever seen on a man. His hair, so black that it gleamed with blue highlights, hung down to the middle of his back, straight and so silky looking that her hands itched to touch it. He looked and smelled so clean and fresh, with no trace of whiskey or tobacco clinging to him.
He wore his hair loose, giving him a wild, untamed look that created an aura of danger around him that appeared to scare those who walked by him.
She knew that she probably should have been scared as well, but something—a loneliness that had lived inside her so many years and she recognized easily—shone in his eyes and made her feel safe with him.
He moved in a way that she’d never seen a man move before, a gracefulness in every step that didn’t resemble the swagger of the cowboys and outlaws like Willy Krenshaw and his gang at all.
He moved with purpose, and with the kind of strength she never knew existed—the strength of a man who didn’t have to show off or speak loudly to intimidate others.
A confidence that he could handle anything life threw in his path drew her in closer, making her yearn to lay her head on his shoulder and feel his strong arms come around her.
She could only imagine how safe she would feel in his arms.
She knew it was silly to feel that way about a stranger, but he had the kind of confidence a woman could depend on.
Fascinated, she found herself enthralled by him, his presence making her feel safe for the first time in her life.
He kept himself between her and the rest of the world in a way that made her feel protected.
For the first time in memory, she could breathe.
Straightening, she took a deep breath and smiled at the sense of freedom.
She felt so safe with him.
His eyes narrowed. “It’s not possible. I won’t ever get married.”
Her face burned at his abrupt answer. Lowering her head, she looked up at him through her lashes, captivated that such an obviously dangerous man could have such gentleness in his eyes—a sorrow that tugged at her heart. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me.”
Hawke folded his arms over his chest, his posture making him appear even larger and more intimidating, but his eyes held a concern and tenderness that seemed to rip away the protective shell she’d built around herself. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You keep looking around. Who are you looking for?”
Startled by the question, and even more surprised that he’d noticed, she lowered her eyes again, knowing that it was only a matter of time before Willy found out she’d bought a train ticket and where she’d gone.
Shocked when Hawke gripped her chin and lifted her face to his, she gulped. “No one.” She’d had to tell lies her entire life in order to survive, but shuffled with unease at lying to Hawke. Hoping her face wasn’t as red as it felt, she met his gaze squarely. “I don’t know anyone in Tulsa.”
Hawke’s dark brows went up, his eyes lit with amusement. “Except me, and you haven’t even told me your name.”
“My name’s Sarah.”
“Sarah what?”
Her face burned. “My mother said it was Smith, but she said she wasn’t really sure.”
Cursing her own stupidity at leaving a trail for Willy to follow, Sarah chewed on her lower lip. “I think I made a mistake. Is there a hotel where I can stay until another train comes?”
Hawke stiffened, lowering his arms to his sides as another Indian, one who looked very much like him, approached. “What kind of mistake?”
Alarmed by the appearance of the other man, Sarah took several steps back. “It doesn’t matter.” Pulling her shawl closer, she started to turn away, alarmed when Hawke’s hard hand gripped her arm and turned her back. It brought back the memory of Willy grabbing her in Rose’s bedroom. “Please. Don’t hurt me.”
She tried to twist away, cursing herself for letting her guard down, and allowing herself to be drawn in by his tenderness.
The small pouches of gold coins hit her legs, a sharp reminder of what her impulsiveness might cost her.
She couldn’t allow herself to trust anyone.
To her surprise, Hawke released her at once, his eyes glittering with anger. “I’m not going to hurt you. Who did? Is that who you keep looking for?” His gaze lifted, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the crowd as if relishing the thought of confronting whoever had hurt her.
Panic made her stomach clench, the enormity of what she’d done hitting her hard. She had no choice but to keep running. “No one. I’m sorry. I can’t go to the Circle T.”
Hawke shot a glare at the man who’d joined them. “Nice timing, Blade.” His eyes gentled again as he turned back to her. “Sarah, this is my brother, Blade. You have no reason to fear him. Blade, Sarah’s here to be a bride.”
The other man smiled, a flash of white against his dark skin, the tenderness in his eyes so much like Hawke’s that she smiled. “I wondered what was taking you so long.”
Blade had to be the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.
Hawke frowned at his brother before turning back to her. “Sarah, when was the last time you had something to eat?”
Surprised by the question, Sarah studied Blade, startled by the hardening of his features, which made him appear almost as fierce as Hawke. “I’m just thirsty. I finished the water in my canteen hours ago. Do you know where I might refill it?”
Blade’s jaw clenched, his eyes hardening as some unspoken message passed between him and Blade. “We’ve got canteens of water in the wagon. Why don’t we get out of here?”
She was so thirsty that she would have done almost anything for a drink of water. “Thank you.”
With Hawke on one side and Blade on the other, she made her way across the platform, the sense of security surrounding her bringing tears to her eyes.
She allowed them to lead her through the crowd, their big bodies on either side of her protecting her from being jostled as they led her down a wooden walkway toward the bustling town. She couldn’t help but notice that people kept their distance, even the men who had a glint in their eyes that reminded her of Willy.
Troublemakers. She’d learned at a young age how to identify them.
She’d also learned how to avoid them.
Hawke and Blade seemed able to repel them, much to her amusement.
Blade paused. “I’m going to run into the hotel restaurant and get her something to eat.”
Hawke nodded, gripping her arm while Blade turned and headed in the other direction. He led her toward a buckboard where another Indian leaned against the side, this one with shorter hair and dressed more like a cowboy.
Letting Hawke guide her around a puddle, she looked around, but kept a wary eye on the other Indian. “There’s even more people here than in Waco.”
“Waco? Is that where you’re from?”
Inwardly cursing herself for letting that slip, Sarah slowed her steps as they approached the packed buckboard.
The other man straightened, his eyes going wide. “I’ll be damned. I wondered what was taking you so long.”
“Watch your language.” Hawke turned to her, gripping her waist and lifting her onto the buckboard. “Sarah, this is my other brother, Phoenix. Now, tell me why coming here was a mistake.” Reaching into the supplies, he produced a canteen. “Here. Drink this.”
Guzzling the water, she almost choked when Hawke took her bundle from her. “No!”
Hawke paused, his eyes narrowing. “I’m just setting it aside. Your arms have to be tired. I won’t steal your things. I promise.”
Inwardly cursing at how silly she must seem to him, she nodded, wiping her mouth with her shawl.
Lowering her head again, she looked up at Phoenix through her lashes, surprised at his teasing grin. Warmed by his smile, she smiled back. “Hello.”
“Hello. So, your name is Sarah?” He turned to Hawke. “So, who do you think she’ll end up marrying?”
A muscle worked in Hawke’s jaw. “I have no idea.
Sarah, talk to me. Why was coming here a mistake?”
After drinking her fill, she recapped the canteen and sighed. “I won’t be marrying anyone. I have to leave. I left a trail. I panicked and ran and left a damned trail.”
Phoenix frowned, glancing at Hawke. “A trail someone’s gonna follow?”
“Yeah.” Sarah’s mouth watered at Blade’s approach, her stomach rumbling at the sight of the small basket he carried.
Blade set the basket in front of her, pulling the napkin covering it aside to reveal several pieces of fried chicken. “What’s going on?”
Hawke shook his head, never taking his eyes from Sarah. “Who’s going to come after you, Sarah? A man?”
Nodding, Sarah dug into the basket, her stomach rumbling again. “Thank you.” Her eyes filled with tears as she lifted her head to meet Blade’s. “It looks and smells delicious.”
Blade shrugged, his blush so endearing that she smiled at him before taking a bite. “You’re welcome.” His eyes sharpened with interest. “There’s a man coming after you?” He glanced at Hawke. “Your husband? Brother? Father?”
Wiping juice from her chin, Sarah shook her head. “No.” She hadn’t realized how hungry she was and couldn’t seem to stop eating.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Hawke frowned. “Who is it, Sarah, and why is he coming after you?”
Not willing to answer him, she finished the chicken leg, set the basket aside and jumped from the buckboard. Turning to gather her bundle of meager belongings, she jerked away from Blade’s hold. “No. Please. I have to go. I’m sorry.”
She would have loved to have eaten more of the contents of the basket, but it had started to get dark, and she wanted to be safely ensconced in her hotel room before night fell.
Hawke took a step to the side, effectively blocking her. With him on one side, Blade on the other, and the buckboard against her back, she had nowhere to go. “Please!”
Phoenix shot a look at both of his brothers, his smile tender as he moved closer. “If you keep carrying on like we’re hurting you, someone’s going to think we are and are going to come after us. We’re only trying to help you. Do you think we could really leave you alone, knowing that someone’s after you? Why don’t you come with us to the ranch? No one could find you there.”
“Yes. He could. Oh, no.” Closing her eyes, she groaned at the realization that she’d put others in danger. “I’ve really made a big mistake.”
Opening her eyes again, she looked at Hawke. “I’m so sorry. I saw a poster in Waco, advertising for brides, and I asked the man who sold me my ticket how to get to the Circle T ranch in Desire. The man at the ticket counter here also knows where I was going. I’ll have to leave on the next train, so he can tell Willy that I left.”
Blade folded his arms over his chest, his expression hard. “Who the hell is Willy?”
Phoenix smiled. “Watch your language.”
“Shut up. So, who is he?”
A shiver went up her spine. “Willy Krenshaw. A bad man. An outlaw, and I have something that belongs to him.”
Hawke’s frown deepened. “And where do you plan to go?”
Shrugging, Sarah looked around again, scared that Willy would appear at any moment. “I don’t know yet. As far as I can get. Maybe California.”
With his hands on his hips, Hawke scowled. “If he wants to find you bad enough, he’ll follow you there. Do you have enough money to keep running?”
Thinking about the small pouches of gold coins, Sarah grimaced. “For a while. After that, maybe I can get a job somewhere—”
Blade, his posture identical to Hawke’s, gripped her waist and lifted her back onto the buckboard. “So, you’re going to keep running, alone, and hoping this Willy doesn’t catch up to you. What’s going to happen when you run out of money? Who’s going to protect you while you’re doing all this running?”
Phoenix shook his head. “A woman alone is just asking for trouble.”
Sarah had seen enough of how women alone were treated, and how vulnerable they were to know he spoke the truth.
Being along left a woman defenseless, with no rights at all.
Hawke’s position shifted slightly, his expression like stone. “You’ll stay here. We’ll be able to protect you, and you won’t have to run anymore, but first I want to know why this man’s after you.” He nudged the basket closer to her, silently urging her to eat.
With a sigh, she reached into the basket for another piece of the delicious chicken. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t stay here anyway.” She didn’t know how much she should tell them, not wanting to put them in any more danger, but knowing that she had to make sure they watched out for trouble.
Blade’s dark eyes narrowed, glittering darkly in the waning light. “Why can’t you?”
Sarah set the chicken aside, her appetite gone. “I might as well tell you so that you know why I can’t stay.” After all, she’d never see them again anyway, and had to make sure they would watch out for trouble.
She glanced at each of them to find them patiently watching her. “I’m a bastard. My mother’s a whore in a saloon, and she got pregnant with me. I don’t even know who my father is, and neither does she.”
She stared down at her hands, her face burning with shame. “I grew up in a saloon. In the bordello upstairs.” She yanked the shawl from her dirty hair. “As I got older, I started disguising myself by not taking baths and trying to look as ugly as possible.”
Phoenix’s eyes flashed with anger. “So that the patrons didn’t bother you?”
Nodding, Sarah blinked back tears. “My mother couldn’t protect me from Rose, who would have given me to Willy tonight.”
Blade uncapped the canteen and handed it to her, his lips thinned in anger. “Rose ran the business?”
Gratefully accepting the canteen, Sarah took a sip of water to swallow the lump in her throat. “Yes.”
“And she wouldn’t have protected you?”
Sarah wanted to laugh at that. “No. The only reason she didn’t put me to work was because I kept lying about my age, and no one paid enough attention to me to know the truth. I’ve been planning to escape for a long time.”
Conscious of the upper curve of her breasts now exposed, she drew the shawl around herself again. “But my time ran out.”
Hawke took a step closer, as if trying to protect her, the fury in his eyes making her uneasy. “Tell us.”
After taking another sip of water, Sarah sighed and told them about the incident with Willy, and about the gold coins. “He had to have stolen them somewhere. He’s an outlaw, and dangerous.”
Setting the canteen aside, she dropped her face in her hands, consumed by guilt. “I know what I did was wrong, but I panicked. Rose would have made sure that I was dressed and ready for him.”
* * * *
Hawke’s stomach clenched with a fury that he hadn’t felt in a long time.
He wanted to hit something, and wanted nothing more than to beat Willy Krenshaw to a pulp.
It infuriated him that such a sweet little thing like Sarah had been left to her own devices, with no one to protect her.
He wanted to fight her demons, and stand between her and the rest of the world—a world that could be harsh and dangerous for a woman alone.
Glancing at each of his brothers, he could see that both Blade and Phoenix seemed as drawn to her as he was.
He already knew he would do everything in his power to make her his.
When she lifted her face and lowered her hands again, the tears swimming in her eyes ripped his heart to shreds. “He wanted me and Rose was going to give me to him. I had no say. He wanted to do things to me. I know taking his gold was wrong, but I was so scared. If I’d stayed, he would have—”
Her voice broke, a sob escaping, and then another.
Hawke stilled, looking at his brothers, grateful that she’d managed to escape before Willy hurt her.
His stomach clenched hard, and for the first time i
n years, he didn’t know what to do.
He’d rather face a gun pointed at him than a woman’s tears.
He’d be much more comfortable dealing with Willy, something he looked forward to very much.
Thankfully, Blade rushed forward, crooning softly to her in a low, whispered tone that seemed to settle her.
Sitting on the buckboard next to her, Blade gathered her in his arms. “Don’t think about that. It didn’t—and won’t—happen.” Rubbing her back, he began to rock her. “Running again is just stupid. You’d be running and looking over your shoulder. Either he would catch up to you, or you’d run out of that gold you took. Stay here. You’ll be safe on the ranch, even if this Willy shows up.”
Wiping her eyes on her shawl, Sarah sniffed. “You’re very nice. Thank you for being so kind to me, but I don’t have any illusions. No one is gonna want to marry a bastard—a daughter of a whore. No man wants a wife who was raised by working girls above a saloon.”
For the first time in his life, Hawke spoke without thinking. “I’ll marry you.”
“I’ll marry you.”
“Marry me.”
Both of his brothers spoke at the same time that he did, leaving all three of them looking at each other in shock.
Schooling his features, Hawke looked at a clearly stunned Sarah. “Stay put. I want to talk to my brothers.” He wanted to make it clear to his brothers that he was more than willing to take on the responsibility of her, and didn’t want them to think that they had to.
Hawke motioned for his brothers to follow him and moved several feet away, but close enough to keep a sharp eye on Sarah. “I’m going to marry her. I know that both of you feel sorry for her, but—”
Blade’s jaw clenched. “Don’t tell me what I feel, big brother. I’m marrying her. She’s a sweet little thing, and she needs someone. She seems very resourceful. She’s also brave. I want her for my wife.”
“She’s also beautiful.” Phoenix couldn’t seem to take his eyes from her. “Those eyes.” Turning, he faced Hawke. “Since we all seem to want to marry her, why don’t we do what the others did?”
