Something Borrowed (Borrowed Brides 3)

"Well, if you didn't come here to hurt her by breaking up her wedding, why the hell are you here?" David demanded.

"1 came to marry her myself."

David stopped pacing and turned to look at his friend. "I don't believe you."

"It's true," Lee swore. "See?" He reached into his suit pocket and brought out a jeweler's box. He snapped it open so David could see the ruby and diamond engagement ring and the thin gold band.

Lee's admission took David by complete surprise. He staggered backward. "You and Mary? When? How?"

"It's a long story." Lee stroked the corner of his mustache.

"I've got plenty of time." David crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

"Look, David, I think it might be better if I explained all this to Mary," Lee began.

"You're not going to get a chance to so much as catch another glimpse of Mary until I find out what this is all about."

"Okay," Lee agreed as he closed the ring box. "Maybe you should take a look at this." He pulled out the envelope containing Tabitha Gray's letter and handed it to David.

David quickly scanned the letter and the copy of her will folded with it. He finished reading, folded the papers, and gave them back to Lee. He didn't insult Lee by asking if the silver mine and the house were Lee's main motivation: David knew his friend well enough to know they weren't. As an attorney, he had handled numerous business transactions for Lee Kincaid over the years. David was one of a handful of people who knew Lee didn't need the property or the income, so he asked the most intriguing question and the one closest to his heart: "Why did you pick Mary?"

Lee thought about telling David he had fallen madly in love with Mary but settled on the truth instead. "She was the only woman who came to mind—the only woman I trust enough to marry."

David smiled. "Are we talking about the same girl? You know, my sister, Mary? The woman who never misses the opportunity to pull her gun on you?"

"I know it sounds crazy," Lee admitted. "And in spite of the fact that she tends to brandish her gun whenever she feels threatened, Mary's the only woman I'll even consider."

David stood up. "I don't like this, Lee. I don't approve of your reason for wanting to marry my sister. It seems so cold-blooded, so businesslike"—he waved his arms in the air—"and I certainly can't condone your method. But Tessa's been…" David stopped abruptly as understanding dawned. He glanced over at Lee. "What are you doing in Cheyenne?"

"I told you."

"No," David said, "I mean, why did you come? How did you know about Mary's wedding plans?"

"I didn't know about Mary or her intended. My arriving in Cheyenne on her wedding day was purely coincidental." And too damn close to think about, Lee admitted to himself. A few minutes later and…

"Maybe we'd better clarify this," David suggested as his quick mind began to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "I thought you were supposed to be in Washington working on our behalf."

Lee glanced over at David, not quite sure how he should answer. After all, Tessa had hired him, not David.

Lee had, in the past, followed Tessa Roarke from Chicago to Peaceable, Wyoming, in an attempt to keep his promise to her dying brother to look after her. Her brother, Eamon Roarke, was Lee's Pinkerton partner. He had done his best, but Tessa wound up facing a murder charge and the hangman's noose, once in Peaceable. David Alexander had been hired to defend her, and Lee had helped his longtime friend find the evidence that convinced the jury that Tessa hadn't killed Arnie Mason for murdering her brother, Eamon. Tessa had married David, then promptly hired Lee to help her find Lily Catherine, not just to find out the truth surrounding the child's birth, or to help clear David's name, but so she and David could adopt her as their own. Tessa meant to give David the child whose birth had changed his life and brought the two of them together.

But until this moment, Lee wasn't sure if David knew of his work for Tessa.

"It's all right," David told him. "I know Tessa hired you to find Lily Catherine for us. She told me on our honey-moon. I know all about it and I know you were supposed to be in Washington looking into the situation."

"I was in Washington working on the case until… I don't know," Lee rubbed his tired eyes. "A few days ago." He managed a lopsided grin. "I can't remember exactly. My days are all running together."

David took pity on him. "How long has it been since you've had a full night's sleep?"

"Over a week."

David nodded in understanding. "We'll take it slowly. What happened after you left Washington?"

"What is this, counselor?" Lee raised one blond eyebrow as he recognized his friend's courtroom tactics. "I'm not on trial."

"If you want to talk to Mary," David informed him, "you'll answer my questions. And if you consider answering a few pertinent questions for an old friend a trial, then so be it." David shot Lee a stern, unyielding look. "But I will have my answers."

It was Lee's turn to nod in mute understanding.