Chapter Ten
Rose was waiting by the door as Morgan and the station owner hitched the fresh team to the stagecoach. Morgan hadn’t mentioned why he’d stayed behind instead of the pastor. She thought perhaps the pastor was in a hurry to get to Whispering Pines, and Morgan felt an obligation to Granny to see her home. Morgan hadn’t been overly talkative the last two days, so the last thing she wanted to do was annoy him with questions.
Two men arrived on the incoming stagecoach and they were going as far as Denver, so she wouldn’t be riding alone with Morgan. Rose didn’t care for the way the two men watched her every move. Morgan may not be saying much to her, but she was relieved he would be riding inside the coach with her. No matter their differences over Frank, she felt safe with him.
Mrs. Barnett walked up beside Rose and followed the direction of her gaze. “That Mr. LeMasters sure is a handsome man.”
“Hmm,” Rose replied noncommittally.
“Does he have a wife?”
“No, he doesn’t.” It was surprising Morgan had never married. Considering the many women who competed for his attention, it was astonishing that one hadn’t talked him into settling down after all of these years. Granny’s letters always made mention of Morgan, and included the usual small-town gossip. She would tell her of the women who would sit beside Morgan at church, or what single ladies invited him to a home-cooked meal, or if he escorted a particular woman to dinner at the hotel. Rose never understood why Granny thought she would be interested in Morgan’s personal life or romantic interest, but she could recall every name of every woman Granny wrote about.
Mrs. Barnett put her arm around Rose’s shoulders. “At first, I thought you two were betrothed. He seems so devoted to you.”
Rose thought of the kiss they’d shared and how much she’d liked it. She couldn’t stop thinking about her reaction to him. “No, we are not betrothed. We’ve known each other a long time.” She thought perhaps Mrs. Barnett knew why Morgan had stayed instead of the pastor, so she said, “Actually, I thought he was going home with his men and the pastor was going to wait for the stagecoach.”
Mrs. Barnett hadn’t heard any conversation about Morgan leaving. “I wouldn’t know about that.” It hadn’t escaped her notice that Morgan had more than a passing interest in this lovely young woman. And it seemed that Rose couldn’t take her eyes off of him. “Not only is he handsome, he’s a hard worker too. I swear that man doesn’t sit still. He’s been a big help to Ward while he’s been here. If I were you, I wouldn’t let him get away. I can’t believe some woman hasn’t roped him into marriage before now.”
Rose didn’t reply because Morgan was walking toward the house. “Your valises are on the stagecoach. We can pull out when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready.” Though Rose was still moving slowly, she was feeling much better. She stepped on the porch, and Morgan reached for her elbow to assist her.
Mrs. Barnett was right behind them. “Now you take care, and if you need to stop, you just tell the driver. Ward told them to take more rest stops than normal.”
Rose turned and squeezed Mrs. Barnett’s hand. “You’ve been so kind. Thank you for your care.”
“It was my pleasure.” Mrs. Barnett looked at Morgan. “Mr. LeMasters, don’t let her move around too much.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Where’s George?” Rose asked.
“He says he’s riding on top with the driver. I don’t think he likes riding inside the coach. I guess he’s spent too many years driving the team.” Morgan didn’t care to be inside the coach either, but he wasn’t about to let Rose ride inside with the two strangers. Not only that, but he reasoned she might be frightened riding in a coach again.
The men were already seated in the coach when Morgan helped Rose inside. They were sitting opposite each other, which meant Morgan had to take the seat across from Rose. From the moment the two men stepped off the stage, Morgan thought they looked like trouble, so he wasn’t at all happy with the seating arrangement. They watched Rose like a couple of vultures, and he figured he’d have to teach them some manners if they stepped one foot out of line. He couldn’t blame them for noticing how pretty she was, but it was one thing to look, but quite another thing to leer.
Once inside the coach, Rose glanced at each man. She chose to sit on the same seat with the one that looked a tad less dangerous. It was a tough choice.
The man grinned at her. “Looks like it’s my lucky day. It’s not often I have a gal as pretty as you sitting beside me.”
Morgan remained silent, but he looked at Rose, trying to gauge her reaction to the man’s comment. Rose ignored him. She looked out the window and waved good-bye to Mrs. Barnett.
Morgan situated his rifle next to the door before he tapped on the coach door to signal they were ready to leave. When the coach started moving, Morgan tried to find a comfortable position. His legs were so long that he had to straddle Rose’s legs, basically trapping her between his knees. He leaned back and pulled his hat over his eyes, but not so low that he couldn’t keep an eye on Rose. He also kept an eye on the men as they ogled her. He didn’t want to have a conversation with them, and he certainly didn’t want them talking to Rose. He hoped he didn’t have trouble with them because he wanted time to think.
Mostly, he wanted to think about Rose and the kiss they’d shared. As much as he told himself to put it out of his mind, he found it impossible. Over the years there had been many women he could have developed a lasting relationship with if he’d been so inclined, but no one had tempted him until now. If Frank weren’t her brother, Morgan could envision himself married to Rose. He hadn’t wavered in his determination to find Frank once Rose was safe in Whispering Pines. He’d hang Frank for sure this time, if for no other reason than the way he’d treated Rose. No matter how he looked at it, Rose would never accept what he had to do. What amazed him was how Frank had fooled her all these years. Of course, it was possible Granny hadn’t told the girls the truth about their brother. Whatever the cause, it was obvious Rose wouldn’t listen to reason, and Frank would always have her allegiance.
The next hour passed quietly, and Rose was relieved she had been successful ignoring the two strangers. The two men aside, she was already uneasy about being on a stagecoach again. It didn’t seem likely that she would be involved in two stagecoach accidents, but that thought did little to allay her fears. The ride was bumpy, and she held on to the side strap for dear life to keep from bouncing around. Her arm was beginning to ache, but she couldn’t let go for fear of landing in a heap on the stagecoach floor, or worse, in the lap of a strange man. Suddenly, the coach hit a large rut and Rose lost her grip on the strap, and her worst fears came to life. She went sliding across the seat, and landed right next to the stranger.
The man draped his arm around her shoulders. “Honey, let me hold you in place so you don’t have to hold on to that strap.”
Rose tried to scoot away from him, but he held on tight.
Morgan tipped his hat back with one finger and stared hard at the man. “Unless you want to lose that arm, I suggest you let her go.”
The man held on. “Why don’t you mind your own business? I’m just doing her a favor. I don’t see you helping her.”
Morgan was out of his seat so fast the man didn’t have time to react. He wrenched the man’s arm from Rose’s shoulder and twisted it at an odd angle, causing the man to yelp in pain. “I don’t think the lady likes your favor.” Morgan heard a pistol cock behind him.
“Let him go,” the man with the pistol said.
Morgan didn’t have a pistol; his only weapon was his rifle, and it was beside the stagecoach door. “Now why would I let him go? He needs to be taught some manners.”
“Mister, my brother has all the manners he wants. He was just helping your lady friend. We’ve been without women for a spell, and we’d like to have a little fun. If you don’t let go of his arm, I’ll have to shoot you.”
Morgan didn’t like the sound of that. He’d had a bad feeling about this pair from the start. “If you shoot me, your brother will still have a broken arm.” He quickly thought about his options. He might be able to kick the gun out of the man’s hand, but if the gun went off, Rose might get hit. If he let the man go, he had no idea what they had planned for her.
“Put your gun down,” Rose said.
Morgan glanced her way. He didn’t know how she’d done it, but she’d managed to get as far away from the man as she could, and somehow she was holding on to a cocked pistol. Her hands didn’t look particularly steady as she pointed the barrel at the man who was holding a gun on him.
“Now, honey, you ain’t going to shoot me. Just hand me that gun,” the man said.
Morgan didn’t think Rose had it in her to shoot a man. She didn’t sound convincing, and he didn’t think the stranger thought she would pull the trigger either. He had to make his move now while the man with the pistol was distracted. Morgan turned slightly as he held on to the man’s arm, and quickly kicked the gun out of the other man’s hand. The gun hit the floor, and Morgan took advantage of the man’s slow response and kicked him hard in the face, busting his nose wide open. The man Morgan was holding on to tried to reach for his pistol with his other hand, but Morgan snapped his arm. Once the man slumped over in pain, Morgan removed his pistol from the holster and stuck it in his belt. He reached over and took the pistol from Rose’s hands. “Rose, hand me the rifle.”
Even though Morgan thought she looked like she might faint, she managed to grab hold of his rifle and pass it to him. He rapped sharply on the ceiling with his rifle. Within seconds the coach came to a halt, and it wasn’t long before George opened the door and stuck his head inside. “Morgan, is everything okay in here?”
Morgan motioned with the pistol for the men to get out of the coach. “George, these skunks need to learn some manners. They will be riding on top with the luggage the rest of the way.”
George looked at the men. One was holding his hands over his bloody nose, and the other man was cradling his arm. George figured they’d obviously done something to get on Morgan’s bad side. Dang fools. “You want them to walk the rest of the way?”
“If they so much as blink the wrong way, throw them off,” Morgan replied.
The man with the broken arm glared at Morgan. “What about our guns?”
Morgan picked up the gun on the floor and handed it to George. “When we get to Denver you’ll get them back.”
As soon as the men were out of the stagecoach, Rose slumped to the seat and Morgan sat beside her. “Are you okay?”
His big body felt so solid and strong that she could have cried from relief. “It seems you are always protecting me.”
He felt it was his duty to protect her. What man wouldn’t? “Do you mind if I put my arm around you? I’ll keep you from bouncing all over the seat.” He knew she’d been scared to death when that man had put his hands on her. He didn’t want to do anything that would frighten her more.
“No, I don’t mind.” Actually, she didn’t think she could hang on to that strap one more minute. She relaxed against his muscled chest as he wrapped his arm around her. It felt wonderful to be beside him, to be held by him. She knew she could trust him not to do anything improper. Everything he’d done for her since the stagecoach accident was to protect her. Even her own brother hadn’t stayed around to help her. “Thank you.”
“Where did you get the pistol?”
“Mrs. Barnett gave it to me.”
“Why?”
“She didn’t like the looks of those two. She told me she was certain you could protect me, but it didn’t hurt for me to be prepared since I was the only woman on the coach.”
“I didn’t know you could shoot,” Morgan said.
“Stevie taught me a long time ago. He was always a good shot.”
“Would you have shot that man?”
She wanted to think she would protect the people she cared about if it was necessary, but in all honesty, she didn’t know when it came to actually pulling a trigger. “I’m not sure. I’ve never shot anyone.”
“Promise me that when you point a gun at someone you’ve already made your mind up that you can pull the trigger. Otherwise some man might take the gun from you and you’d be in real trouble.”
She looked up at him and nodded. “I promise.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Good. Now get some rest.”
Rose stared up at him for a long moment. She wished he would kiss her again, not on the head, but on her lips. Her eyes drifted to his lips, and she was tempted to kiss him. If only she could be that bold again. But as he’d made clear, Frankie was between them, and he always would be. “Thank you.”
Morgan wondered what she was thinking as she gazed up at him. He came close to kissing her like he had at the way station. But he needed to take control over this attraction, or whatever it was he was feeling for her. There was no sense tempting fate when nothing would change the situation between them.
Rose closed her eyes and within minutes she was asleep. He smiled as he watched her. It made him feel good to know she trusted him to look after her. He leaned over and lifted her legs onto the seat and positioned her head on his thigh. He didn’t mind if she thought of him as her protector. He liked the way it made him feel. If she were his wife, he’d always protect her. There was no question he’d lay down his life for her. Heck, she wasn’t his wife, and he already felt that way about her. He’d been prepared to kill two men if they’d so much as harmed a hair on her head.
What about the man between them? Frank had had a chance to demonstrate if he had any moral fiber when she was injured, but he’d only been worried about protecting his own hide. Morgan would never reveal Frank’s betrayal to Rose. It was important to him that she form her own opinion about Frank’s character. There was no question in his mind that Rose would soon learn of Frank’s true nature. He just didn’t want her to be hurt in the process.