Something Borrowed (Borrowed Brides 3)

"It's your nature," Tessa replied matter-of-factly.

"Ha!" It was Lee's turn to scoff. "I don't risk my neck for anybody."

"You risk your neck for everybody." She gave up the battle and laughed outright. "You, Liam Kincaid, are a born rescuer. I saw it from the beginning. It's one of the things I've always liked about you."

"You obviously have me confused with David." He nodded toward Tessa's husband. David Alexander was an attorney known for championing the weak. "You couldn't have seen anything about me from the beginning, Tessa, because you wouldn't let me get within a foot of you for weeks after we met. You may not remember it now, but you haven't always liked me." Lee frowned at the memory of Tessa Roarke taking a swing at him on the stairway of Myra Brennan's Satin Slipper Saloon in Peaceable, Wyoming.

"That's only because I thought you were after me and Coalie," Tessa explained.

Liam Kincaid had followed Tessa from Chicago to Wyoming Territory, but not for the reason she feared. He hadn't been interested in returning Tessa's traveling companion, nine-year-old Coalie Donegal, to the brutish man to whom Coalie had been apprenticed—the man from whom Tessa had helped Coalie escape. No, Lee had followed Tessa from Chicago because he had promised her brother he would watch out for her. But Tessa hadn't known that, and nothing Lee could say or do had kept her from despising him on sight.

"I didn't know you then." Tessa interrupted Lee's musings. "But I know you now. And I know that you and David are cut from a similar bolt of cloth. You could have left the church quietly once you saw Mary at the altar with someone else. You didn't have to make your presence known. And you certainly didn't have to make such a dramatic entrance."

"What's the matter, Tessa? Aren't you happy with the results of your scheming?" he asked.

"I'm very happy," she said. "And I think you and Marry will be, too. That's why I asked you to come to Cheyenne for the wedding."

"You didn't ask me to come to Cheyenne," Lee corrected her, "you ordered me. Dammit all, Tessa, I haven't had a moment's peace since I agreed to try to find Lily Catherine for you. Everytime I return from a trip, I find a telegram from you waiting on my desk." He ran his fingers through his thick blond hair. "I didn't mind it at first because I knew you were anxious for news, but this time there were four telegrams, Tessa. Four. And not one of them mentioned a damned thing about a wedding."

Tessa's Irish temper ignited. "I sent more because you didn't answer the first one. Besides, you scared me half to death!"

"I scared you?" Lee repeated. "How did I do that?"

"You took so long getting here, I thought you were going to be too late to save her," Tessa replied. "I expected you two days ago."

"I didn't get into Chicago until two days ago," Lee informed her. "And yours weren't the only urgent messages I had waiting. I do have other cases. I had to make a stop in Denver."

Tessa nodded. "To get the little girl. David told me. And I have to admit when I first saw Madeline, I thought she was Lily Catherine… I thought you had found her." Tessa swallowed the lump of disappointment in her throat. "But David told me about Madeline on the way over here from the church."

"How much did he tell you?"

"Everything," Tessa replied.

"Then you know why I married Mary."

Tessa smiled slyly, then slowly nodded her head. "Yes, Liam, I

know why you married Mary."

Lee cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the fact that Tessa knew so much about him. "Yes, well, I'd appreciate it if you and David would keep quiet about the reason. I don't want to hurt or embarrass Mary any."

"Neither do we," Tessa reminded him.

Lee glanced over Tessa's shoulder and saw that Mary was heading toward them. "I'll have your promise."

"Our lips are sealed." Tessa heard the sound of soft footsteps, the swish of satin skirts, caught a whiff of Mary's perfume, and turned to embrace her sister-in-law. "You were a lovely bride, Mary, and David and I are very happy for you." She planted a kiss on Mary's cheek.

"Thank you, Tessa," Mary said.

"I was just welcoming Liam into the family," Tessa continued in a rush. "He's so lucky to get you." She smiled at Mary. "I told Liam I think everything has turned out for the best. I was congratulating him on his timing and his success."

"And," Lee said to Mary, as he shot Tessa a knowing look, "I was just congratulating Tessa on hers."

"I don't see why we didn't spend the night at the ranch," Mary grumbled to her husband as she shifted on the hard train seat for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Lee moved closer to the window to give her more room. It was late afternoon and the sun was beginning its descent. They had been married half a day and Mary was already questioning his judgment. He frowned at the thought. Years ago, his first bride had hung onto his arm and onto his every word, but then Mary wasn't anything like Jeannie. And it wouldn't do to compare the two women or the two weddings. Lee sighed. He hadn't told Mary their destination. She thought they were going to Denver. What would she say once they reached Utopia? What would she say when she learned the whole truth? Lee squeezed his eyes shut. He had enough to think about right now. He didn't need to borrow future troubles. "Not a good idea," Lee remarked brusquely.

"Why not?" Mary asked. "I'm exhausted." She glanced at Madeline sprawled across Lee's lap and Judah, who was nodding off in the seat directly in front of Lee. "Madeline and Judah are exhausted, and you look dead on your feet."