Silver-Tongued Devil

by Lorelei James

  “Yes, they do.”

  “But they look like you too.”

  She was also aware of the issues that might cause.

  Molly swung Teddy into the first chair and Seth right next to him.

  “Did it go okay? Telling him?” Molly asked.

  “We’ll see.” Addie smoothed down Seth’s cowlick. “Will you keep the boys inside and entertained while Mack and I talk? I don’t know how long it’ll take.”

  “Of course.”

  On a whim, Addie opened the bottle of cider he’d given her and brought it outside.

  Mack hadn’t moved. Except he’d balled his hands into fists by his sides and his shoulders shook.

  Goodness. Was he so angry that he was shaking from it?

  Leaving the bottle on the porch, she approached him warily. “Jonas?” slipped out of her mouth before her head enacted the name change.

  He leaped to his feet and enveloped her in his arms before she could take another breath.

  The first thing that registered: he wasn’t vibrating with anger. He was crying. Sobbing. He just kept whispering, “Oh god, oh god, oh god,” over and over—a man in serious pain.

  “Oh, honey,” she whispered, wiping his wet cheeks. “It’s okay,” she assured him between kisses. “I love you. So much.” She nuzzled his jaw where his beard started. “We’ll work this out. I promise.” More soft smooches on the corners of his eyes. “Please don’t be mad at me. Please.”

  That caught his attention. He angled back to blink those blue, blue eyes at her. Eyes the same color their sons had inherited. “What? Why would I be mad at you?”

  “You’re not?”

  He expelled a long breath. “No. But I’d like to know how it happened.”

  “Oh, the usual way,” she teased him. “When two people love each other—”

  His impromptu swat on the butt was surprisingly firm.

  And utterly delightful.

  She danced out of his reach. “Sit. I’m grabbing the cider to celebrate you finding out that you’re a father.”

  “Christ. That’s just…” He shook his head.

  Addie returned to find him sitting in the grass.

  He swept her right onto his lap and took the first swig from the bottle. “Tell me all of it. Don’t leave nothin’ out.”

  “I didn’t realize I was pregnant until after I’d returned from Deadwood to deal with Madam Marie’s final requests. Three long weeks with what I figured out was morning sickness as I crisscrossed the area with my Pinkerton bodyguard to deposit my earnings and my inheritance in various bank accounts. I returned to Labelle, fully intent on telling you the news, when I learned about Zeke and Silas. I had no idea what you’d done until I went out to speak to ‘Jonas’ and it wasn’t you.”

  “Did my brother think it was odd that you’d come callin’?”

  “Yes, but my poker face is even better than his.” She waited for Mack to tell her whether he’d said anything to his brother about Jonas’s relationship with Ruby before he’d left, but he didn’t, so she kept talking. “I knew Big Jim would crack down on my business after you were gone, so I sold my half of the stake in the boardinghouse and moved to Denver. A pregnant widow was merely sad in a bigger town, not suspicious. I had a difficult pregnancy. The doctor suspected twins once I shared that the baby’s father was a twin, not to mention my mother was a twin.”

  “No kiddin’. I didn’t know that.”

  “I’d forgotten that until I detailed my family history for the medical record. The boys were born at the Babies Summer Hospital—”

  “Whoa, wait. Summer hospital? You said they were born in March.”

  “They were. The Babies Summer Hospital was started by a female physician who took an interest in babies with health problems. Seth was smaller and sicklier than Teddy. I had to hire a fulltime nanny and the first year of their lives is a bit of a blur.”

  “I hate that you did this all by yourself, darlin’.”

  “I know. I also understood that the boys had to be well enough—and old enough—to travel when we set out to find you.”

  “You wouldn’t have found me at all that first year, bein’s I was chasin’ outlaws and then trainin’ for war,” he said tersely.

  Addie kissed the hard line of his jaw. “I presumed you’d be out earning bounties for a couple of years until you settled in Montana. I didn’t know you’d choose to go to war. But I’m not surprised because you needed to build a new reputation. Or start a different occupation.”

  “How’d you track me down?”

  “Pinkertons. Don’t worry, I didn’t give them your previous name. The version of the story I told them was we had a falling out over my pregnancy and you left. A few years had passed, and I wanted you to meet your sons. I suggested they search for law enforcement agents in western Montana.”

  His eyebrow winged up. “Not a rancher?”

  “If you were trying to distance yourself from being Silas, then you wouldn’t get into the cattle business. I also figured if anyone had been hunting for you, that’s the direction they’d look since Silas’s skills were as a cattleman and a card player. You had more options than he ever did. And how…contradictory would it be if the so-called fugitive was an upstanding law enforcement officer? The irony of that would appeal to you.”

  He chuckled. “That it did. Lord, woman, you really do know me. So how long before you received the Pinkerton’s information?”

  “Two weeks. I waited another two weeks before I left Colorado. For the past month we’ve been on trains, slowly making our way here.” She paused. “The Pinkertons report didn’t indicate whether you were married or courting someone, so I decided it’d be best to approach you without the boys first.”

  Mack turned her face toward his. “Did you really think I wouldn’t want you? Or them?”

  “I didn’t know. Yes, I know you said you loved me then, and I believed you. But as the only woman you’d been in a relationship with, I worried maybe you’d get away from the temptations of a whore and regret those two years we’d spent together. A casual encounter between us on neutral territory gave you an out if you’d become involved with a new woman, and it would’ve allowed me and the boys to move on.”

  He kissed her with the hunger and passion that’d marked him as hers since the first time their lips had touched. “There’s never been room in my heart for another woman since it’s filled to bursting with lovin’ you. I’ve not been with anyone else. Ever. Only you. I’d made my peace livin’ my life with memories of you and decided it’d be enough.”

  She blinked away her tears that this wonderful, beautiful man wouldn’t have to make do with memories. “I also had a small fear, given my previous occupation, that you might not believe the boys were yours.”

  “Hey. That wouldn’t have mattered to me because they’d still be your sons, and I’d still love them because I still love you.”

  “Stop making me cry.”

  Smiling, he kissed her. “You got pregnant on our picnic, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.” She fiddled with the button on his collar. “I never doubted you when you swore you didn’t care if I had to ‘do my job’ but the truth is, that last year we were together in Labelle, I was only with you. No one else. Last night ended three very long years of celibacy for me too.”

  He shrugged. “Good to know. But even if you still had been a workin’ girl, that wouldn’t have changed nothin’ for me. However…” Mack flipped her onto her back and pinned her body beneath his for a steamy kiss. “I’m mighty pleased to hear that I ruined my first and only woman for any man’s touch ’cept mine.”

  She laughed. “That you did.”

  The door slammed. Footsteps thudded across the porch.

  It was adorable how quickly Mack sat up and tried to act like they hadn’t been in the midst of anything untoward in front of their sons.

  The boys barreled right past them, racing and tumbling like puppies.

  “Sweet baby Jesus, t
hey’re amazing,” he murmured in her hair.

  “That they are.”

  “Tell me about them. Who is the shiest one? Which one will eat sweets until he pukes?”

  “Huh-uh, buddy. You’ll have to figure that out on your own.”

  “I can’t wait.” He opened his mouth. Closed it.

  “What?”

  “I want everyone to know they’re ours. But I especially want Teddy and Seth to know I’m their father. We’re finally in a place we can start over and be the family I never thought I’d have. So it’s especially important we do it the right way for all of us from the start.”

  She tilted her head to the side to look at him. “I’m open to suggestions on how to accomplish that.”

  “There’s a job in Big Timber I’ve been considering. Same thing I’m doin’ now. Less money, but it’s a much smaller community. We show up there married, with our boys.”

  “And?” she prompted.

  “And nothin’. That’ll be that.”

  “Was that a proposal, Mr. Jonas?”

  “A shitty one…but yeah.”

  She grinned at how cute he was when he blushed. “I accept.”

  Addie and Mack shared the bottle of cider and laughed at the antics of their sons. The boys were unsure of Mack, but curious. It wouldn’t be long before he’d be such an integral part of their lives, they wouldn’t remember a time when their father wasn’t there. That filled her with indescribable joy.

  Still, she sensed his melancholy. “Are you all right?”

  “The best I’ve ever been. You. Our sons. Our life ahead of us.” He paused. “But not a day goes by that I don’t miss my brother, Ruby girl. Seein’ them together…makes me remember all the times we were called ‘them McKay boys’.”

  “I fear Teddy and Seth will be hellraisers of the first order and we’ll hear plenty of complaints about them Jonas brothers.”

  “The Jonas brothers,” he repeated. “I like the sound of that.”

  Epilogue

  Three years later…

  Late July 1904

  Jonas returned from town waving a letter. “You got mail. It’s the damndest thing though, it don’t have a return address on it. Postmaster Pete was fit to be tied.”

  “That is odd. Can I see it?”

  “Sure.” He kissed her cheek. “How you feelin’? Get a nap in?”

  “Yes. But napping while you’re working makes me feel lazy.”

  “We’ve got a ranch hand so you can stay on bed rest, sugar pie. That’s the most important thing. I brought you a new book and one of them chocolate bars you love so much.”

  Dinah touched his face. “I love you so much.”

  “I know.” He nodded at the letter. “I’m gonna pop outside for a few.”

  Meaning…sneaking out for a cigarette. She wished he hadn’t taken up the habit, but at least he didn’t smoke in the house, which was something.

  She studied the beautiful floral stationary and the loopy handwriting and knew who’d sent it. She muttered, “About damn time,” and carefully broke the seal.

  Dearest Dinah,

  I must apologize for the lengthy span of time between this and our last correspondence. Leaving Cheyenne and finding a place to permanently settle with Mack and our twin boys took longer than I expected.

  But the good news is…we are finally in our new house! It required some convincing, but my husband agreed to indulge in my girly side, and we live in a Victorian painted-lady style home. I’m madly in love with it, even if the colors are exceedingly bright for the prairie. My biggest challenge is keeping our five-year-old sons, Teddy and Seth, from dragging critters into my parlor and having slingshot contests in the dining room.

  Mack is still working for the county. He loves every aspect of his job, especially that he doesn’t have to travel nearly as much. Some days I see his wistfulness and know he’s thinking back on the time he spent working cattle with his family and he misses it. Every year he’s invited to reunite with his buddies from the war he fought in, in Cuba, but he declines, telling me and our sons there’s no glory in reliving war.

  As for me, the duties of running a household and chasing after our sons keeps me busy. I did manage to open a small dress shop in town—you know how I’ve always loved fashion!

  I hope all is well with you and you found your heart’s desire. I treasure the time we spent in Cheyenne and yet sometimes it’s good to leave everything behind and start fresh. Mack and I are certainly proof that patience and determination are the foundations upon which love can thrive.

  All my best ~ Adeline J

  Dinah pushed to her feet and walked to the window above the kitchen sink.

  Had it really been six years since she’d extracted a promise from Ruby to contact her if she’d been successful in tracking down her McKay?

  In some ways those six years had flown by. In others…each month had dragged on with excruciating slowness.

  So by mentioning their sons’ ages, Dinah knew that Ruby had been pregnant when she’d left Labelle.

  Dinah’s hand dropped to the swell of her abdomen. She and Jonas hadn’t been so lucky to start their family in the five years since they’d become husband and wife. She’d had numerous miscarriages. The last two pregnancies…neither of her baby boys had lived longer than a few hours.

  So on the days the grief was particularly bad, she questioned whether God was punishing her for taking a life, by not allowing her to create one. On the days the grief was tolerable, she lamented she’d inherited her mother’s female troubles that made it difficult to carry a child to term. On the frustrating days, she wondered if this house was cursed, since neither she nor Margaret Henrikson had heard a baby’s cry while living under this roof.

  Through it all, Jonas was wonderful. He held her, loved her, and cared for her with humor, sweetness and passion. He’d never spoken of disappointment the McKay family name might be just a memory in Sundance, Wyoming. He continued to improve the land as if he would have something to pass on.

  But this pregnancy seemed different from the moment she’d felt this babe quicken. Even Jonas had commented that the wiggly bump seemed like a feisty little thing like her mother. It was a blessing he didn’t care if they had a daughter or a son. It was sweet how he talked to her belly like the babe was already a person. It made her laugh how he pored over the books in their parlor, then read out the most outrageous options for baby names.

  But no way was she naming a child Flossie Eula. Or Festus Eugene.

  She let him coddle her without complaint. The truth was, she needed it. More than ever.

  The door opened and her man immediately sought her out.

  He tucked his groin against her behind and placed a kiss below her ear. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “That letter didn’t upset you?”

  “No. Why would you ask that?”

  “Just seemed kinda random. Who was it from?”

  “My old friend Adeline from Cheyenne.”

  “Huh. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard you mention her.”

  “Which just proves you don’t listen to me,” she teased.

  “Do you think this is the start of regular letter writin’ between you two?”

  Dinah shook her head. “It was her way of letting me know she’d found what she’d been looking for. Besides, she didn’t give me a return address so I couldn’t get in touch with her even if I wanted to.”

  “I still think it’s weird.”

  He didn’t know the half of it.

  And as long as she was alive…he never would.

  Some family secrets were meant to go to the grave.

  Author’s Note for Silver-Tongued Devil

  Naturally my first historical western romance would feature the McKays I’ve had the notes and plotline done on this origin love story for years—before Sierra did her McKay family report in Gone Country, or before Carolyn and Kimi West gossiped about the McKay family history in Cowboy T
ake Me Away. So if you’re a longtime reader of the series, there is one discrepancy:

  Sierra McKay claims that Jonas McKay and Dinah Thompson got married in 1901.

  Correction: Silas (posing as Jonas) and Dinah got married in 1898. Jonas (now Mack) and Ruby (now Addie) got married in 1901. It was a little confusing in my notes when at that time I didn’t have both storylines fleshed out. So, let’s chalk up that error to a sixteen-year-old girl making a mistake on a school report from unclear family historical notes provided by…me.

  Moorcroft, Wyoming (known as the unincorporated Labelle township) was incorporated on October 2, 1906. The exact meaning of Moorcroft is unknown but over the years several suggested origins for the name have been an homage to Alexander Moorcroft, an early settler who built a cabin in the Black Hills of Wyoming. Or it was chosen by the community’s first postman Stocks Millar after his hometown named Moorcroft in Scotland.

  Most of the businesses I’ve mentioned in Sundance 1897 are fictional. Sackett’s Saloon existed in Sundance, so creating a second Sackett’s in Labelle was taking artistic license.

  This book was a JOY to write! I loved doing the more extensive research, not only on the city and township, but of everything from that time in rural America—which was still very much the Old West. That said, any errors are mine alone.

  Thank you for reading this McKay—and the upcoming Jonas Brothers series—origin story!

  Author’s Acknowledgments

  This book wouldn’t exist without my LJ Team. Thanks to:

  Lindsey Faber—my fabulous editor, who has been with me through EVERY Rough Riders book since All Jacked Up. She knows the fictional McKay world, but more importantly, she knows ME. She’s a cheerleader, a whip cracker, a strategist, a life coach, and the best editor I’ve ever worked with. Over the years she’s helped hone my craft and I’m a better writer because of her. Thank you, doesn’t seem like enough, Lindsey, for how much you mean to me on every level.

  Kim O’Connor—my PA, my BFF, my go-to for umm…everything. She does the hard stuff so I can write. She does the harder stuff when I can’t write. I have to stop there, or I’ll start blubbering and she will too. Love you, Bama, for all you are.