Prince Charming

They spent two hours in the back of the shop, and when they were ready to leave, they had complete wardrobes for the little girls. Victoria had already purchased fabric to make clothing for her baby, but there were such adorable little sleeping gowns available and soft receiving blankets, she couldn’t resist buying a full selection. Daniel certainly didn’t need anything more, but Taylor couldn’t resist three shirts, two pairs of pants, and two belts she declared were too handsome to pass up.

They had lunch in a restaurant that catered to families, then went to purchase books and maps. Because the children had been so agreeable, Taylor let each of them pick out a toy. Daniel chose a small wooden horse, and Georgie and Allie both wanted rag dolls.

All in all, the day was both delightful and productive. There was only one minor inconvenience. When Taylor told Georgie she couldn’t climb up on the counter in Hansen’s Linen Shop, the little girl threw herself down on the floor and went into a full-blown temper tantrum. Taylor had never seen anything like it. The little imp was kicking and screaming loud enough to draw a good-sized crowd. She sounded as though she was being tortured. Allie was the only one not horrified by her sister’s conduct. She fell asleep on Victoria’s lap while she watched Georgie’s theatrics. Taylor was at a loss as to what to do to calm her angel-turned-hellion. She knew exhaustion was the culprit. Georgie was in dire need of a nap.

One well-meaning woman suggested Taylor give the little girl a good smack on her backside, but Taylor couldn’t imagine what hitting would accomplish, and she didn’t believe in corporal punishment anyway. She simply stepped over her writhing daughter, paid for her purchases with all possible haste, and then scooped up the screaming child in her arms and carried her outside to the waiting vehicle. Georgie wore herself out in no time at all. She fell asleep the minute the carriage was in motion.

Taylor learned a valuable lesson about two-year-olds. One couldn’t always reason with them.

Early that evening, she and Victoria took the children downstairs for supper. Daniel kept nodding off during the meal. Taylor all but hand-fed him. The twins were blessedly subdued. They were hungry, yet still managed to get more food on their dresses than in their mouths. Their table manners were deplorable. Taylor made a note to herself to start training them tomorrow in the proper use of utensils. They were too sleepy to listen to her instructions tonight.

The twins demanded to be carried back to their room. Victoria carried Georgie and Taylor carried Allie. Daniel held onto her hand. They were all so weary, their feet dragged.

Victoria offered to help get the children ready for bed. Because she looked dead on her feet, Taylor told her to go on to her own room.

“Sleep well, Victoria. Tomorrow’s going to be another long day.”

“Then we’re leaving tomorrow?”

“If we can get everything ready in time.”

“Should I pack tonight?”

“We’re all too sleepy. We’ll pack tomorrow.”

Taylor happened to look down and catch Daniel’s expression. The child looked terrified. She guessed the reason immediately. “Daniel, wherever I go, you go. I would never leave you or your sisters behind. We’re always going to be together.”

“Do you promise?”

Lord, he looked solemn. “Yes, I promise.”

His nod told her he was convinced. “Where are we going?” he asked her in a whisper.

Taylor gave him only a partial answer. She told him they were going on a train.

Daniel was thrilled. She handed him the key to their room and let him undo the lock. Victoria handed Georgie to her but didn’t immediately leave.

“Where did Hunter and Mr. Ross go today?” she asked.

“They didn’t tell me,” Taylor replied. “I imagine they had errands of their own.”

“Will we ever see Hunter again?”

“I imagine we will,” Taylor answered. “He and Lucas have been friends for a long time. I believe Hunter lives near Redemption. Why? Do you want to see him again?”

Victoria shrugged. “He hasn’t said more than ten words to me. Have you noticed how he frowns whenever he looks at me?”

Taylor smiled. “You threw up all over the man,” she reminded her friend. “I think he’s just being cautious around you. Besides, men of few words are the best men.”

Victoria laughed. “I don’t believe Shakespeare was right about that.”

She started to go to her room, then stopped. “I told him I was married and that my husband only just passed away. I didn’t mention the baby.”

Daniel had the key turned upside down. Taylor helped him get the key into the lock, then turned back to her friend. Georgie had put her head down on Taylor’s shoulder, and Allie was playing with her hair.

“Why didn’t you mention the baby?”

“He didn’t seem at all interested in anything I had to say. He’s quite rude.”

Taylor wasn’t given time to argue in Hunter’s defense. Victoria went hurrying down the hallway. Daniel finally got the door unlocked and ran inside. Taylor followed.

The twins were more than ready to sleep. They were both sucking on their thumbs and rubbing their eyes. She got them ready for bed, gave them their new baby dolls to sleep with, and then tucked them under the covers.

Daniel had placed his wooden horse on the window seat near the head of his bed. He was already under the covers, waiting for a story. She told him two. Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett were going to get equal attention.

She realized he was still wearing his boots when she went to tuck the covers around him. She made him take them off and put them on the floor next to his bed. When she returned to the room an hour later to check on the children, she found Daniel sound asleep with his boots wrapped in his arms. He appeared to be hugging them.

She stood there a long while staring down at the child. She tried to imagine what his life had been like before he’d been taken from the streets by the Border monsters.

Lucas whispered her name. She turned around and found him leaning against the door, watching her. She didn’t know how long he’d been standing there. She walked over to him. The rustle of silk was the only sound in the room.

“Is something wrong with the boy?” Lucas asked.

“No, he’s fine. Could there be someone looking for him?”

“It’s doubtful,” he answered. “He doesn’t remember any family, and he lived on the streets a long time. If a relative had been searching, probably he or she would have found the boy by now. It might be a good idea to let the authorities know he’s with you, though,” he added.

“I won’t let any official take Daniel away from me.”

“You’re afraid that might happen if you make out a report?”

She nodded. He let out a sigh. He didn’t know what advice to offer her. “Let’s think about this,” he suggested. “With the number of children left on their own out in the cold . . .”

“Are there many?”

“Too many.” He sounded disheartened.

They had been talking in whispers. One of the twins muttered in her sleep and rolled over. Lucas didn’t want to wake her. He took hold of Taylor’s hand and turned around. He pulled her along behind him across the main room and into the alcove housing their bed.

She was ready for sleep. She’d washed and put on a pale blue nightgown and robe. The back of Lucas’s hair was wet, she noticed. He’d obviously bathed as well. He was dressed in day clothes, though, a pair of black pants and a white shirt. The collar was crooked in the back. It was half turned up. She resisted the urge to straighten it.

When they reached the side of the bed, he turned to face her. His eyes, their color so wonderfully intense, mesmerized her. The way he was looking at her made her breath catch in the back of her throat.

He stared down at her a long minute, then shook his head. “This was a bad idea. We should go back in the other room to have our talk. I didn’t want to wake up the children, but I can’t discuss anything impo

rtant here.”

“Why not?”

“The bed’s too close.”

“Oh.”

Neither one moved. Lucas still held onto her hand. He couldn’t seem to make himself let go.

“I have to leave tomorrow,” he said.

The jolt of pain she felt took her by surprise. She had expected him to leave. Her own plans depended upon his going away. Why then did she feel as though her heart were breaking?

He waited for her questions. After a minute standing there staring down at her, he realized she wasn’t going to ask him any. He’d already decided he wouldn’t tell her much. He’d give her only a few details. She’d worry about him otherwise. She had enough to think about. He didn’t want to add another problem.

In his entire life no one had ever worried about him. Until Taylor. Every time he’d left the hotel to search for the twins, she’d whispered her order for him to be careful. She didn’t want anything to happen to him because she was relying on him to find her nieces. But there was another motive for her concern. She was softening toward him, and in time she might begin to love him. Family. Worrying was all part of this family business, he decided. He was now accountable to her for his actions, just as she was accountable to him.

She cared about him all right. She was appreciative and thankful and even beholden to him. He wanted more.

“Hunter’s going to stay here with you and Victoria and the children.”

“He doesn’t need to stay. We’ll all be fine.”

“He’s staying.”

He waited for her agreement. She reluctantly nodded. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. It could be three weeks. Hunter will help you find more suitable lodgings. You can’t continue to stay in the hotel, not with the children. They need space to run and play.”

“What time are you going to leave?”

“Early.”

She pulled her hand away from his and untied the belt to her robe. The action broke his concentration. He watched as she slowly removed the garment and let it drop to the bed behind her.

He forced himself to gather his thoughts. “If you need anything . . . What are you doing?”

“Unbuttoning your shirt.” She could hear the blush in her voice. She hoped he wouldn’t notice. She didn’t want to be timid or embarrassed tonight.

“I can do that.”

“I know. I want to.”

They were whispering now. Lucas’s voice had taken on a gruff edge. She found the sound arousing. She tucked her head down so he wouldn’t see her blush. Her fingertips trailed down his chest.

It felt like a butterfly’s caress, and it was driving him to distraction. He grabbed hold of her hands to stop the gentle torment.

“Don’t you want to know where I’m going?”

“Do you want to tell me?” She pulled her hands away from his grasp and reached down to undo the buttons of his pants.

He took a deep indrawn breath. “Taylor,” he said. “We have to talk. We’ll go in the other room and . . .”

He forgot what he was suggesting to her. Her fingers slid into his waistband. He looked down and watched her slowly undo one button and then the next.

She couldn’t believe her own boldness. She had to remind herself she was his wife now and that it was perfectly all right for her to touch him. And he was leaving tomorrow, she silently added. She wouldn’t be able to touch him again for a long, long while.

She loved the feel of him. His stomach was hard, his skin hot to her touch. She undid another button. Her fingers splayed downward into his crisp, curly hair. Her fingers wrapped around his hard arousal.

“Stop,” he demanded. “You’re too tender. I’ll hurt you.”

It almost killed him to reason with her. His hands were in fists at his sides, and it took a supreme act of will and determination not to reach for her. He wasn’t an ogre; he could control his lustful thoughts.

Taylor pulled away from him. “It doesn’t matter if you hurt me,” she whispered. “You’re leaving tomorrow. We only have tonight, Lucas.”

He wasn’t abandoning her. He was coming back. Hadn’t she been listening to him? “Just three weeks, maybe even two.” He thought he got the reminder out, but his throat was so tight now, he couldn’t be certain. His heart was thundering in his ears.

He forgot all about his plan to have a talk with her. It was her doing, of course. She took her nightgown off. Dear God, she was lovely. Each time he looked at her, he was stunned by her beauty. She was golden everywhere. Her breasts were full, her nipples rosy pearls. Her waist was narrow, and Lord but she had all the soft curves in all the right places. Her hips gently flared, and her legs were long, shapely, beautiful.

He pictured her wrapping herself around him. And then he tore his clothes off. He pulled her into his arms and held her and kissed her ravenously, and nothing else mattered but the feel of her against him. The world and all of his problems ceased to exist. There was only Taylor.

Their lovemaking was wild, intense, their hunger insatiable. He stroked her until she was ready for him, then moved between her thighs. He sank deep inside her. His mind reeled with each thrust. Her passion overwhelmed him, and her whimpers of pleasure drove him beyond his own control. His movements became rougher, more demanding. She tightened around him, squeezed him inside her, and whispered his name. His climax followed hers. His mouth covered hers for a long, searing kiss as he poured his seed into her.

The aftermath was just as fulfilling to him. He loved holding her in his arms and nuzzling the side of her neck while he listened to her heartbeat.

“Lucas, you’re crushing me.”

He immediately rolled to his side and pulled her up against him. She tucked her head under his chin. Tears were streaming down her face. She didn’t want him to know she was crying.

“No man should have to give up his dreams.”

He didn’t know if she was asking him for his opinion or telling him a fact she believed. “What made you think about a man’s dreams?”

“I was just wondering out loud. Even a man with responsibilities should be able to follow his dreams, shouldn’t he?”

“What are you trying to tell me?”

“I’m tired tonight,” she whispered. “I’m not making much sense.”

“I guess we’ll have to have our talk after I get back.”

“You’re going to Chicago, aren’t you?”

“How did you know?”

“I heard Hunter tell you the man you were looking for was in Chicago.”

“Yes.”

“What was his name?”

“It isn’t important.”

“He’s the man you want to hunt down, isn’t he?”

“How would you know that?”

“On the ship, you told me you were going to go back to your mountains after you went hunting a man who’d done something to you. I asked you if he was evil.”

Her memory impressed him. He let out a sigh. “And I told you he was evil.”

“You want to kill him, don’t you?”

He didn’t know if he should tell her the truth or lie to her. She turned his attention with another statement. “You have responsibilities.”

“Yes, I do,” he agreed. He thought about the eight men Caulder had murdered. Lucas was the only voice left. The only gun. The others had been silenced forever. Only he heard their cry for justice. And revenge. He was going to kill John Caulder all right. He was going to feel good watching him die. The law wouldn’t serve him or those eight men now.

Lucas closed his eyes. He had to deal with the past before he could turn to the future. He’d made a vow. He couldn’t and wouldn’t break it now. He knew all about responsibilities.

16

Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind.

—William Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor

Taylor seriously considered delaying their departure by another day. Getting all of their purchases packed and ready was going to take more time than

she’d thought. The twins were into everything and made her task ten times more difficult. Georgie had made a pretend house in one of the extra trunks Taylor had purchased, and Allie was jumping up and down on anything that didn’t move. Taylor’s patience was sorely tested, and by noon, she believed it wasn’t possible to get everything done. She fed the children, then put the twins down for a nap, and went back to organizing her things. Daniel was David today and he helped her.

Taylor tried not to think about Lucas. Tears sprang into her eyes twice during the morning for no apparent reason at all. She finally admitted the galling truth to herself. She missed him. Oh, how she wished she’d nagged the full story out of him about the man he was going to hunt down. She didn’t think she would worry as much if she knew all the facts. She assumed Lucas was going after a wanted man, which translated to mean a dangerous man, and the longer she thought about it, the more concerned she became.

Her worries multiplied. She received a wire from Harry Sherman, the banker in Boston, informing her that her uncle Malcolm had petitioned the court to throw out his mother’s last will and testament. He used the shameful reason that she was mentally incompetent and was under a terrible strain. Sherman added the news that until the matter was determined by the court, the accounts in England couldn’t be touched. It was taking Malcolm’s legal advisors longer to convince the American banks to cooperate.

Victoria had only just walked into the room when the wire arrived. She was alarmed by the news. Taylor wasn’t at all surprised. She had expected her uncle to use every ploy possible to keep the money from slipping through his greedy fingers. It took her a few minutes to figure out how Sherman had tracked her down though, and then she remembered she’d given the banker in Cincinnati her temporary address when she’d signed the bank drafts and had a portion of her funds transferred.