Chapter Seventeen
“You think you’ll be feeling up to coming to the ranch in a few weeks?” Morgan asked Jack.
Jack was already behind his desk at the sheriff’s office. “What’s happening?”
“I’m getting married.”
Grinning, Jack stood and stuck out his hand. “Congratulations. I guess I don’t have to ask who you’re marrying.”
Morgan shook his hand. “I doubt that you would.”
“It’s pretty fast, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. But Granny and Rose need a man to look after them. I don’t think it’s safe for them to stay on the farm, and I figured there was no reason to wait.”
“Not to mention the fact that you are getting one beautiful bride.”
Morgan laughed. “There is that.”
“So I take it that means Granny is going to live with you?”
“They already are. I moved them to my house on Sunday. We’re in town today so they can pick up a few things that they need.”
“This is a big change, Morgan. Having women living in your house when you’re not used to it could be difficult.”
“I’m enjoying it. I know I’m eating a whole lot better.” He found himself looking forward to coming home at night and talking with the women. Their conversations were different than the ones he had with the men, but he enjoyed them all the same. He noticed all the little things they had done around the house in just a short time. His home was tidier, the wood floors were shined, pretty dishes were on the shelves in the kitchen, flowers were on the tables, and everything smelled nice and fresh. “To tell you the truth, I think I’m getting spoiled.”
“If Granny has anything to do with it, I wouldn’t be surprised. She thinks the sun rises and sets on you.”
“I feel the same way about her. She’s a fine lady.”
Jack looked at his friend and asked the question on his mind. “And what about Rose?”
Morgan frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
“Are you in love, or do you just want to take care of them?”
“I care a lot about Rose.” Morgan hadn’t thought much about love; he thought highly of Rose, and he wanted to take care of her and Granny. It’d been difficult for him to say good night at Rose’s door each night since she’d moved into his house. He couldn’t wait to have her in his bedroom permanently. That was something he wasn’t going to discuss with Jack or anyone. “You hear anything about Frank?”
Jack knew when a door was closed on a conversation. “Nope. But I was thinking about putting a posse together soon and taking a ride to Purgatory Canyon. Since you’re getting married, I don’t expect you’d want to go.”
“I’ll go.” Morgan fully intended to keep his promise to Rose and not kill Frank if he could help it, but he still wanted to be there when he was captured. He’d make sure he got to jail without anyone else being shot.
“I’m hoping we will have some word on his whereabouts by then.”
“Joseph keeps telling me Frank will come here.”
“I wouldn’t argue with Joseph.”
Morgan agreed with Jack. If anyone had a handle on people, it was Joseph.
* * *
Morgan pulled the buckboard in front of the mercantile, and when he jumped down from the seat he noticed one of the horses tied to the rail. It was a flashy palomino gelding with a white mane and tail. Out of habit, he stopped to admire the horse, and noticed he looked well cared-for. When he walked inside the mercantile, a man carrying several large burlap bags filled with supplies passed him on the way out the door. Morgan spotted Rose and Granny at the counter and headed in that direction. “You ladies have everything you need?”
“Yes,” Rose said, giving him a wide smile. She pointed to a bundle on the counter. “This is ours.”
Picking up the bundle, Morgan tucked it under his arm. On the way out the door, he noticed the man from the store loading his supplies on the palomino.
The man turned and stared at Rose as they stepped off the sidewalk. He tipped his hat and said, “Morning.”
Granny said good morning to the stranger, and Morgan nodded. Morgan placed the bundle in the back of the buckboard, and assisted the women to the seat. Out of the corner of his eye, Morgan could see the stranger was still staring at Rose. He was tempted to tell him to put his eyeballs back in their sockets, but he figured unless any man said or did anything improper, he’d have to get used to men looking at his lovely bride-to-be. Judging by the supplies the man had purchased, he was probably passing through town. On the heels of that thought, Morgan wondered: If the man was traveling a long way, why didn’t he have a packhorse?
“Since you were so kind to take time out of your day to bring us to town, we are cooking you a special dinner tonight,” Granny said, taking Morgan’s mind off of the stranger.
“Sorry, it’ll have to wait until tomorrow night because I’m taking you to the hotel for dinner.” He’d planned to take them to dinner when they told him they needed to make a trip to the mercantile. Not having the time to court Rose properly, he wanted to be seen with her around town. Part of the reason was to show her he knew how to treat a lady, but he also wanted to make sure every man in town knew she was taken.
“Oh, I haven’t eaten at the hotel in years,” Granny said. “That will be lovely.”
“Morgan, you already charged all of these things on your account. You shouldn’t spend so much money,” Rose said.
“Honey, I didn’t court you, so consider this courting. You two have been working hard at the ranch, and you’re due a break.”
The man continued to stare as Morgan took his seat beside Rose and picked up the reins. “That’s a fine-looking animal, mister.” He congratulated himself for sounding affable as he let the stranger know he was aware he was gawking at his wife, or soon-to-be wife.
“He’s a good horse, but he don’t compare to a beautiful woman,” the man said, his eyes remaining fixed on Rose.
Morgan gave him a hard look. “Like my horses, I take care of what’s mine. You’d be wise to be respectful.”
Walt had never met Morgan LeMasters, but he didn’t need an introduction. He’d heard about him from Frank and every man in the gang. There was no doubt the woman with LeMasters was Frank’s sister. Deke had described her perfectly, except she was even more beautiful. He couldn’t keep from staring at her, but he wasn’t foolish enough to anger LeMasters, so he wisely mounted the palomino and rode away.
Rose saw the look Morgan gave the man. His jaw was still clenched after the stranger rode away. She knew Morgan well enough to know that he was keeping a tight rein on his temper. She was curious if he knew the man, but she didn’t want to say something to ruin their evening. Placing her hand on his arm, she said, “Did you just compare me to a horse?”
“Honey, I don’t think there’s a horse on this earth as pretty as you.”
“Thank you . . . I think,” Rose replied.
“I’d take that as high praise coming from Morgan. He places great value on his horses.”
Laughing, Morgan put the stranger from his mind and headed to the hotel.
As Morgan assisted Rose from the buckboard, she brushed off her skirt, wishing she’d worn a different dress today. She wondered if they would see some of the women who used to flirt with him after church and cook him dinner. At that thought, she automatically touched her hair, hoping the ride to town hadn’t done too much damage. She wanted to look her best so Morgan wouldn’t be ashamed to be seen with her.
Granny leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You look lovely, dear. Stop worrying.”
Rose smiled at her. Granny always knew what she was thinking. “Thank you.”
Morgan held the door for the ladies, and when they walked into the restaurant, his arm was firmly planted around Rose’s waist. Every head in the place turned to stare as they walked across the room to a table by the window. Before they could even order their dinner, five men stopped to speak to Morgan. Politely, he introduced them to Rose, making sure they knew the lay of the land by saying, “Meet my future wife.” Like Morgan, Granny knew everyone in the restaurant, and many of the ladies made a point of stopping at their table to speak with her.
By the way the women eyed Morgan, Rose knew Granny wasn’t the only reason they’d stopped at their table. She recognized some of the women from the past, and her presence didn’t prevent the women from asking Morgan where he’d been keeping himself. To Morgan’s credit, he didn’t hesitate to mention his impending marriage. There was no doubt by sundown everyone in town would know they were going to be married.
By the time the dinner ended, Rose was on top of the world. Morgan was polite and attentive, and seemed genuinely proud to introduce her to everyone. Even though she was irritated that so many women flirted with Morgan, she thought it was one of the best evenings of her life.
Granny was delighted with the way the relationship was developing between Rose and Morgan. She thought they were crazy about each other, though they might not even understand the depth of their feelings. Granny was amused by the way Morgan let every cowboy know Rose was his.
Once they reached the ranch, Morgan still had work to do, and he left Rose and Granny in the kitchen discussing Rose’s wedding dress. It was late by the time he returned to the house, and he thought the women had retired for the evening. He was disappointed he’d missed out on his goodnight kiss at Rose’s bedroom door, but when he walked upstairs he heard laughter coming from Rose’s room. The door was ajar, and he peeked inside to see Granny and Rose laughing at something. He stood there as though his feet had taken root to the floorboards. Rose had removed her dress, and she was standing there in her camisole, corset, and bloomers. Her hair was seductively draped over one shoulder, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen a more beautiful sight. He couldn’t force his eyes from her, thinking he hadn’t seen so much of her bare skin since the day he’d wrapped her ribs. And he wanted to see more. As much as he hated to make his presence known, he tapped lightly on the door. “I wanted to say good night.”
Rose reached for her dress, which she’d dropped on the bed. “Just a minute.”
Granny walked to the door and opened it wide. “I was just going to bed. We were looking at my old wedding dress, and having a few laughs over some pleasant memories.” She patted Morgan’s shoulder. “I’ll be saying good night, and thank you for a wonderful dinner. Preacher and I didn’t often go to town for dinner, and it was a real treat.”
“We’ll do it more regularly now that you and Rose are here,” Morgan promised. He waited until Granny had entered her bedroom before he turned back to Rose. She was holding her dress in front of her. He was tempted to run across the room and take her in his arms. Trying to maintain what little control he possessed, he walked into her room and slowly closed the door behind him. “Did you have a nice dinner?”
“Yes, I had a lovely dinner.” Her eyes widened as she watched his every step in her direction.
“Good. I enjoyed the company.” He stopped directly in front of her.
“I think a lot of women had broken hearts tonight.” Rose felt herself blushing as she stared into his dark, penetrating eyes.
Morgan crinkled his brow. “How so?”
“I don’t think they thought you would be marrying so soon. Or perhaps they were surprised that you were marrying me.”
Morgan took the dress from her fingers and tossed it on the bed, his eyes slowly drifting from her mouth down her body. “Marrying you shouldn’t surprise anyone. There isn’t another woman as beautiful as you.”
Rose’s breathing picked up speed as his eyes devoured her. “It’s probably not wise for you to be in here with me dressed like . . .” That was the problem, she wasn’t properly dressed.
“Probably not.” Morgan reached out and picked up a lock of hair hanging over her shoulder, and the back of his hand grazed her bare shoulder.
Rose shivered. Not from lack of clothing, but because she was reminded how his strong hands felt when he’d bandaged her ribs. Every night she’d been in his home, she thought of nothing else but the way it felt to be touched by him.
Morgan wound her hair around his hand and gently tugged her to him, and once she was close, he wrapped his arms around her. “I can’t wait until I don’t have to leave you at night, and you can climb into my big bed with me.”
His words were provocative, and they made her tremble with excitement. Rose felt the same way, but she didn’t know if she should tell him she was counting the days until she would be with him at night. She’d never felt tempted by another man, never even thought about making love with another man. The thought of making love the first time with him thrilled her, yet frightened her. She wasn’t experienced, and since he was older, it was likely he’d been intimate with other women. The way he kissed, the way he held her, the way his hands moved over her bare skin, staying within the bounds of propriety but suggesting he wanted to do more, spoke of his experience. He displayed gentlemanly restraint, yet at times, the look in his eyes said he was on the precipice of losing control. She didn’t want him to be disappointed when they made love the first time. She wanted to make him feel like he made her feel—desired.
Morgan watched her eyes, desperately wanting to know what she was thinking. He didn’t want to leave her tonight. He wished she would say something so he would know how she felt.
Rose couldn’t say what she was feeling, but she stood on her tiptoes and placed her lips on his. Morgan thought that beat the heck out of words any day of the week. He crushed his lips to hers and cradled her tightly to him. His lips left hers only to move to her ear, her neck, as he slid the straps of her chemise off her shoulders. He wanted to taste as much of her bare skin as he could find. Caught up in the pleasures of his lips, Rose dropped her head back, allowing him free access to her neck and shoulders.
Morgan’s fingers found the ties to her corset, and he untied the bow. Rose didn’t stop him. But his fingers stilled just as he was about to loosen the ties and strip the corset from her. What was he doing? Her grandmother was down the hall, he reminded himself. He couldn’t bring dishonor to Rose, no matter how much he wanted her. And he wanted her like he’d never wanted another woman. He pulled back from her and held her at arm’s length. Her heavy-lidded eyes told him she had a longing that matched his own. When his breathing slowed, he said, “I need to say good night before I do something I shouldn’t.” The way she was looking at him, he couldn’t help but kiss her one last time, but he kept it brief. “I’ll be riding to Denver tomorrow, so I won’t be back until late.”
It took Rose a moment before she grasped what he’d said. “Oh.” She was surprised he hadn’t mentioned this during dinner. “Why do you have to go to Denver?”
“Business. I want you and Granny to stay close to the ranch. Did you need me to pick up anything for you?”
She wondered why he hadn’t asked her and Granny to accompany him. He probably figured it was too much trouble to take them, unless . . . No, she refused to think he might be seeing another woman. But why hadn’t he mentioned this trip earlier tonight? “You didn’t mention your trip at dinner. Was it a sudden decision?”
He was puzzled by her question. “I hadn’t thought to mention it. Are you going to miss me?”
Rose didn’t answer his question, but asked, “Will you be back for dinner?”
Morgan felt like he must have said something that displeased her, but he didn’t know what it was. He didn’t think it was his imagination that there was a sudden coolness in her voice. Was she angry with him because he’d stopped kissing her? If he hadn’t put a halt to things when he did, he might not have left that room until morning. “I’m leaving early, so I should be home for dinner.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll take Stevie’s horse to him on my way out in the morning.” He didn’t want to return Stevie’s horse, but he held out a thread of hope that he’d learned his lesson.
“Thank you.”
Rose stood there staring at the closed door after he left her room. On one hand, she was thankful he’d pulled away from her when he had, because the situation could have easily gotten out of control. Her willpower seemed to be nonexistent around him. Her attraction to him was electrifying, and his touch evoked new sensations for her. She thought he felt the same way.
On the other hand, his sudden trip to Denver raised questions in her mind. She hadn’t asked him if he was seeing another woman before she agreed to marry. Maybe he was seeing someone in Denver. Why was she even thinking such things? She knew why. Women were very attracted to him, and she hadn’t even realized how many wanted him until tonight at dinner. Women obviously recognized that he was a virile, passionate man. Had he been as passionate with some of the women she’d met tonight? She couldn’t seem to control her errant thoughts. Maybe he had a woman in Denver, and he needed to end that relationship before their marriage. It was ridiculous even to think such a thing. What on earth was wrong with her?
She’d thought her biggest worry would be how they would keep Frankie from coming between them. But that was before she thought Morgan might be seeing another woman. She’d heard of men who were not faithful to their vows. No matter how much she loved him, she couldn’t be married to a man who wouldn’t be committed to their marriage. Trying to end her wayward thoughts, she told herself Morgan had given her no reason to think he would be unfaithful. He’d asked her before if she trusted him, and she did. Though tempted to rush down the hall and ask him not to go to Denver, or to take her with him, she didn’t think either choice was wise. She decided to remove her undergarments and go to bed before she did something she would later regret.
Once in bed, she turned to gaze at the moon shining through her window. Her mind was racing in a thousand different directions. She told herself the wiser course would be for her to pray over the situation, and ask for guidance. She closed her eyes and prayed. When she finished, she listened for that small, still voice that seemed to be silent tonight. She waited. Nothing. In frustration, she pulled the covers over her head. Sometimes the wiser course was a difficult road to follow.