A Promise of Roses (15 page)

"What?"
Caleb stormed forward, his eyes burning with fury.

"Shit.” Lucas leapt to his feet. He drew his gun without thinking of the women and children standing witness.

"Caleb, Caleb, Caleb.” Megan put herself between the two towering men.

"Move!”
Lucas barked, pushing her out of harm's way.

"Don't use that tone with my sister,” Caleb threatened.

"Don't use her as a shield,” Lucas countered.

"I don't need a woman to protect me, you bastard."

"Stop it! Stop it!” Megan used her body to pry them apart. “Caleb, sit down. Lucas, put that gun away before somebody gets hurt."

The men faced off a moment longer.

"Sit!” she yelled, putting a hand to each of their chests, moving them physically.

"Don't get all worked up, Caleb. There's a perfectly good explanation for why Lucas is taking me in. And, you,” she said, turning on Lucas. “How dare you draw your weapon in this house? There are two children present who could get hurt. Do you want Zach to think gunfire is the best way to resolve conflict?"

"Did you see that?” Her nephew tugged on his father's sleeve. “That was fast, wasn't it, Daddy?"

Caleb's face hardened, but he nodded and said, “Yes, it was fast."

"Wow! Can you teach me to do that, mister?” Little Zach pointed his finger, aiming at different spots in the room.
“Bang!
Bang!"

"Zachary, don't you want to show Aunt Megan the pretty new rocks you found in the pasture?” Rebecca suggested.

"Mama,” he groaned. “They're stones, not rocks."

"I'm sorry,” she apologized. “Why don't you go up to your room and find them, and stay there until I call you down. Your father and Mr. McCain have some things to discuss."

Zach thrust his bottom lip out in an attempt to pout.

His mother stood firm. “Go.
Bessie?”
She turned to the girl standing in the doorway of the kitchen, intently watching the standoff between Caleb and Lucas. “Put on a pot of coffee for dinner, will you, please?"

When only the four of them—and the baby—were left, Rebecca turned to Megan. “Maybe it would be best to tell us everything.
From the beginning."

"I think you're right.” Megan took a deep breath,
then
began. “Well, I was driving the stage the day I disappeared because Hector was afraid of the outlaws who had been robbing us of the railroad payrolls. Before we got five miles out of town, the gang stopped us, took the money, and kidnapped me. At first I thought Lucas was one of the bandits. But then, after he kidnapped me from them, I found out he was working for Union Pacific. You might remember that the railroad's head of security, Brandt Donovan, paid me a visit not long ago to discuss the robberies. Mr. Donovan just happens to be Lucas's best friend. I guess he believes I've had something to do with all the stage holdups. I haven't, of course, but I can't convince Lucas here of that. Brandt Donovan sent him to find me, and Lucas darn well intends to turn me in to the law. I promised to go quietly if he let me come to see you first. He kept his end of the bargain, and I'll keep mine.

"Anyway, before Lucas could turn me in to Marshal Thompson, he had some personal business to take care of. So we traveled to Topeka, and then down to Wichita. Now the person he's looking for is headed into
Missouri
. Independence, isn't it, Lucas?"

He didn't answer.

That didn't stop Megan from continuing. “Lucas decided to leave me here before moving on."

Caleb's eyes narrowed. “The railroad thinks you had something to do with the string of payroll robberies?"

She chuckled.
“Not exactly.
It's more like they think I planned the whole thing."

"What?” Caleb and Rebecca asked at the same time. The baby started to fuss. Rebecca rubbed the child's back, whispering some soft, meaningless chatter in her ear.

Megan shrugged a shoulder. “I know. It's ridiculous. I would never have anything to do with something like that. But Lucas doesn't know that. And in all fairness, I have to tell you that it's not Lucas's fault he has to put me in jail. He's only doing what his friend asked him to do. He doesn't know all the details, and Brandt Donovan seems determined to see me pay for my crimes."

Lucas almost swallowed his teeth when he heard that. Megan had spent the last two weeks fighting him at every turn, trying to convince him of her innocence. Now suddenly she seemed resigned to sitting in a prison cell. She was defending him to her family, for Christ's sake.

"Everything is going to be fine, though,” she told them. “You don't have to worry. Obviously, I didn't organize the robberies. I didn't so much as let it slip that a strongbox was being transported. The railroad people won't be able to prove anything, and they'll realize they made a mistake."

"I'll wire
New York
,” Caleb said. “Mother will hire the best lawyer available. You won't be in jail more than a day."

Megan smiled. “Thank you. But it really doesn't matter. A jail cell actually sounds comforting after sleeping on the ground for the past two weeks."

"You had to sleep on the ground?” Rebecca gasped.
“You poor thing."

"It wasn't so bad, to tell the truth. And we stayed in a couple of hotels."

"Together?” Caleb asked sharply. “Alone?"

"Don't get all provoked, Caleb. We had to stay in the same room because, technically, I'm his prisoner. But Lucas was a perfect gentleman. He acted very professionally, making his pallet on the floor after handcuffing me to the bed."

"He handcuffed you?” Rebecca looked about to faint.

"It all sounds much worse than it actually was, I swear. I'm in perfect health. See?” She stood and did a pirouette. “And now that I've told you everything, let me hold my niece."

Megan cradled the child in her arms, swaying back and forth, humming a soft little song. “This is Rose,” she said, turning to Lucas. “Say hi.” She lifted Rose's tiny hand, waving it in his direction.

Lucas found himself waving back. Then a scowl broke out across his brow, and he lowered his arm. If it didn't seem so pointless, he'd have cursed. But no amount of swearing would erase the effect Megan had on people—especially him.

"Megan,” Rebecca said, “why don't you come into the kitchen and help me with dinner? We'll leave the men alone to talk."

Megan seemed to hesitate. She glanced first at Lucas, then at her brother.

"Do you think that's a good idea?” she asked her sister-in-law.

"It's a wonderful idea” Rebecca took her arm and steered her toward the kitchen.

Megan glanced behind her as the two women went through the swinging door. Lucas saw the warning in her eyes, the desperate plea for him not to get into a fight with Caleb. He almost winked to let her know everything would be fine. But then, why not let her think the worst for a while? Maybe then she would choose her words more wisely rather than spitting out the first thing—and everything else—that came to mind. He could only imagine all the misunderstandings her bluntness had caused over the years.

Why, just now, she'd sure as hell nearly gotten him killed.
Telling her brother that he intended to throw her in jail.
That he'd made her sleep on the ground. That he'd cuffed her to a bed. Jesus! Her brother was big.
Tall, broad-shouldered, dark, and ... angry.
Lucas usually brushed off such threats, knowing that a bullet could cut down the largest of men and that he happened to be fast enough on the draw not to worry much about quarreling with most anyone.

But Caleb Adams was different. Somehow he didn't think Megan would be very forgiving if he shot her brother in the middle of the parlor.

He felt Caleb's brown eyes on him. In a slow, calculated movement, he turned his head to meet those cold, judgmental orbs.

"Did you touch my sister?"

Lucas fought to keep his shock from showing. He'd expected questions, but he thought the man would at least work his way up to something as personal—and life-threatening—as
Did you touch my sister?

What was he supposed to say?
Yeah, she was the best I've ever had—for a virgin.
He could just picture the shade of red her brother's face would turn before Caleb strangled him with his bare hands. He could hardly blame him. If some travel-worn ex-bounty hunter had kidnapped and seduced his little sister, he would be mighty angry, too.

"Don't you think that's a topic you'd best discuss with her?"

Caleb's jaw locked visibly. “I'm asking you."

Lucas didn't want to have to kill anybody today. It was bright and sunny and fairly peaceful. He didn't want to ruin it by spilling blood. But Caleb had asked. And Lucas rarely lied.

He got to his feet, hands at his sides but well away from the Peacemakers. “Yes. And if you want to do something about that, I suggest we go outside. No sense messing up this nice, clean house."

"Sit down."

Lucas remained standing. “Listen. If you want a piece of me, you can have it. It's only fair, seeing as how I deflowered your sister. But I don't intend to let you hit on me without getting in a few punches of my own. I'd rather not have Megan or your wife or your little boy watch while I crack your skull open. So let's take it outside."

"I said, sit down.” Caleb's fingers were white on the arms of his chair, but he made no move toward Lucas.

Lucas watched closely, not quite sure Adams wasn't planning a sneak attack. He backed up a step, returning to his seat. He didn't know what to make of the man sitting across from him. He seemed unreasonably calm, considering.

"My sister is a big girl, Mr. McCain. I've known for a while now that she's got a mind of her own. She can take care of herself—for the most part."

"So I've learned"

"But she's also naive. She has a tendency to believe what people tell her. If she loves you and thought you were in love with her, if you filled her head with dreams of marriage and happily ever after, she'd likely let you do anything."

Lucas put a hand up. “I know where you're going with this, but I didn't promise her any such thing. In fact, I made it perfectly clear that there is no future for us. I have a job to do, and that just happens to be turning her into the law. After that, there's some personal business to take care of. I don't have time to settle down and start a family. She knows that.

"But I didn't force her, either.” The muscle in his jaw tensed. “I'm not that kind of man."

A hint of a smile played at the corners of Caleb's mouth. “I didn't think you were. Besides, I know my sister better than that.
If
you forced her, she'd make sure you paid. You'd be black-and-blue from head to foot. And if she hadn't succeeded in killing you by now, she'd have told me to do it. So, you see, I have no doubt that you had Megan's permission to do...” His lips thinned.
“Whatever it is you did.
However, I am concerned about her emotional state."

"I don't think you need to worry. Megan doesn't seem to be the type of girl who would lock herself in her room for months on end, crying over a lost love."

"Then you don't know her very well” Caleb answered solemnly.

Lucas wondered at that. Would Megan miss him? Would she spend her days weeping over his absence?

Caleb continued. “As I said, Megan's a big girl. As long as she seems happy, I'll stay out of it."

"That's noble of you."

"But if you hurt her, I'll break every bone in your body."

"Come away from that door,” Rebecca chastised. “I'm trying to hear what they're saying."

"That's eavesdropping,” Rebecca said, drawing Megan back to the counter. “Besides, as long as we don't hear breaking glass or grunts of pain, we shouldn't fret."

Megan blinked worriedly. “What if we do?"

"Then we douse them with a bucket of cold water."

"
Hmph
.”
She scraped the skin off a carrot with sharp, angry strokes.

"Do you want to tell me about him?” Megan's head snapped up.
“Who?” she asked evasively.

"Who?”
Rebecca clicked her tongue.
“Mr. Tall, blond, and gorgeous."

"He is gorgeous, isn't he?” She couldn't keep from grinning like an idiot.

"Aha. I take it from your smile that there's more going on than meets the eye. Would it have anything to do with those nights alone on the trail?"

"No,” Megan answered honestly.

"What about the hotel rooms? I must admit the handcuffs piqued my interest."

"You're terrible! What would Caleb say if he heard you?"

"He'd probably wish you all a good night and carry me upstairs to bed."

While Megan laughed, Rebecca asked Bessie to go out to the vegetable garden for a basket of green peppers.

"Now,” she said. “We're alone.” She glanced at little Rose, playing with her toes in a bassinet in the corner of the kitchen.
“Or as alone as we're likely to be.
Tell me what's going on between you and this Mr. McCain."