My Guardian Knight (4 page)

It didn’t take him long to resume his former attitude, for a moment later he was standing in line with Matthew to sign up for various afternoon activities.  Every now and then his fingers would stealthily poke the boy in the ribs, sending him into gales of laughter.

Amanda stood at a quilting booth, sipping lemonade Sebastian had given her and admiring the handiwork of the many multi-colored quilts.  It was while she was eyeing one in particular that a woman smiled at her from inside the booth.  “Hello.  I couldn’t help noticing your boy over there.  He’s a cute little guy.”

              Amanda smiled.  “Why, thank you.”

“It looks like they’re signing up for quite a few activities.”

              “Yes, I suppose they are.  They both seem to be full of energy today.”

              “That child looks just like his daddy.  You caught

yourself a handsome one, ma’am.”

Amanda followed the woman’s look, smiling as her eyes lit upon Sebastian.  She decided not to correct the lady’s wrong assumption.  At that moment he turned to look for her and their gazes locked.  He grinned at her, and she couldn’t help but smile in return.  She was beginning to think there was something special about that man.

              The woman in the booth claimed her attention.  “Are

you new in town, ma’am?”

“Just passing through,” she smiled.  “Our train was delayed.”

              “Where are you headed?”

“St. ...Paul,” Amanda hedged, belatedly remembering the threat of Avery.

“I hope you have a nice time in our little town.”  “Thank you,” she said, walking away quickly.  She knew Avery would find her trail, but she wasn’t about to make it easy for him.  Without thought she headed straight for Sebastian and the comfort she knew she could find from him.

              She found him huddled together with her son,

efficiently binding their legs together for the three-legged race.  He smiled up at her while his fingers worked to finish the knots in the rope.  “There you are.  You’re just in time to see us win a race, right Matt?”

“Yep!” her son squealed.  “We’re the fastest in the West!”

Sebastian laughed.  “Well, I don’t know about that, but we have determination on our side.  We can’t lose in front of such a pretty lady as your mother, now can we?  Her beauty will inspire us.”

Amanda’s cheeks turned a deep crimson as she fought the laughter that bubbled up inside her and spilled out despite her best efforts.  A smile remained on her face as she watched the pair hobble over to the starting line with a large group of others.  At the signal, several of the participants fell to the ground right on the starting line.  But not her team.  Oh no, they were moving down the field as if they strode about tied together every day.  Nary a man could catch up to them, let alone pass, and when they finally reached the finish line, they fell in a heap to the ground, Matthew landing squarely on Sebastian’s chest.  Amanda stepped forward in concern but resumed her position when she saw them simultaneously hold up the ribbon that had broken as they’d passed it.  Applause peppered the crowd of onlookers, and the team claimed their blue ribbons and swaggered over to her, proud as punch of the prizes pinned to their shirts.

She made a big fuss over them, claiming never to have seen anything quite so exquisite in all her life.

              “What would you like to do, Amanda?”

“Oh, anything is fine with me.  I’m just enjoying the lovely day.”

Sebastian glanced around and, spotting a row of gaming booths, urged his companions forward.  He stopped abruptly before the first one, eyeing the selection of prizes. 

“What do I have to do to win one?” he asked.

The man in the booth held out two balls and pointed to a stack of three bottles.  “Knock ‘em down,” he said curtly.

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as he regarded the situation.  The bottles were large and made of thick glass, and he’d bet his last dime one of them was glued to the table they stood on.  The balls the man handed him were lightweight, stacking the odds against him.  He sighed, glancing up at the prize he’d set his sights on.  He glanced down at the boy. 

“What do you think, squirt?”

              Matthew jumped up and down.  “Knock ‘em down,

‘Bastian!  You’re the strongest in the whole world!”

Sebastian grinned, a warmth spreading through him at the child’s confidence in him.  He paid the man, took the first ball, and threw it at the bottles.  It hit the top edge and bounced back at him.  Again he took aim, estimating the best spot, and threw with all his considerable strength.  The bottles toppled to the ground, bringing a shocked look from the owner of the booth.  Sebastian pointed to the prize he wanted and, once it was his, turned it over to Amanda.

Her dark brown eyes widened in surprise and her pretty pink mouth fell open.  “Sebastian, you can’t mean to give me your prize.  There are many things for a man over

there.  Look at that handsome hat.”

              “I have a hat.”

              “Well, that spittoon then.”

              He grinned.  “I don’t chew tobacco.”

She sighed as he stepped up to her and placed the deep blue velvet bonnet on her head.  The color was a perfect match to her dress, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a new one.  So she smiled up at him as he tied the ribbon beneath her chin and thanked him politely.  He was standing so close she could smell the soap on his skin.  His electric blue eyes had gone dark and serious as he inched a bit closer to her.  Her breathing turned shallow as she lost herself in the moment, waiting for him to kiss her.  She could feel his warm coffee scented breath as it gently caressed her cheek. 

Unconsciously she licked her lips.

Sebastian watched her as if in slow motion, the tip of her pink tongue sliding along the smoothness of her lips, and he felt as if he were falling.  And he longed for his own tongue to feel the softness of that mouth, to trail light kisses along her sweet cheek down her neck...

With a sigh and not a small amount of effort, he tore his gaze away from hers and began walking down the street, pulling her closer to him with the arm he’d left about her waist.  “I don’t know what it is about you, Amanda,” he murmured, “but I feel like I’ve known you forever.  It doesn’t matter to me that I met you a scant two days ago,” he continued in a low voice, his eyes trained on Matthew in the distance, “for

friendship can’t be measured by time.”

They walked along in silence for a while, Amanda fighting the emotions within her.  After a long moment and much thought, she said quietly, “It’s been a very long time since I had a friend.”

Sebastian must have understood that it was difficult for her to allow even that small bit of information about herself to be divulged, for he remained quiet as he strode by her side. It felt good, they both thought, to be in the presence of someone you didn’t have to impress, or hide from.  To be free to be yourself.

Sebastian continued to participate in the activities with Matthew while Amanda watched with a happiness that rivaled any she’d ever felt before. Not that she had ever had the chance to be really “happy”, she reminded herself ruefully.  Matthew had been the only person in whom she’d found joy, and Amanda had believed he’d always be the only one.  Now here was Sebastian, effortlessly bringing smiles and even laughter to lips that had been too somber for too long.  She didn’t really know him, and yet she’d never felt closer to anyone than she did to him.

She sighed, berating herself.  What a mess I’ve made of my life!  To even daydream about a life with Sebastian is wrong.  And stupid.  And you’ll only hurt yourself more in the long run if you allow your imagination to run away with you.  Look at you--you’re already half in love with him--

Amanda’s thoughts came to a crashing halt.  She hadn't just actually thought that, had she?  Sebastian was a kind person, and good company, but
love
?  Ridiculous.  You don’t fall in love with someone you’ve known only two days, even if he is the kindest, most understanding man you’ve ever known.

Pushing her thoughts aside, she smiled as Matthew led Sebastian straight to her.  “Mama, look what I won!  ‘Bastian helped me, but I won it all by myself.  Well, almost by myself.  Look!”

Amanda thought she’d faint when she glanced down at the prize her son was displaying so proudly.  A toy marshal’s badge was pinned to his shirt.  She felt the blood drain from her face, but kept a cheerful smile pasted to her lips for his sake.  “How nice, Matthew,” she managed to expel through lips stiff as ice.

              “It’s just like ‘Bastian’s, Mama!  I can be a lawman, too!”

Amanda swayed before catching herself and inserting the steel rod into her spine as she always did.  She forced some color back into her cheeks and ruffled her son’s hair, not daring to glance at Sebastian for fear he had seen her reaction.

A woman’s squealing brought her attention around just in time to see the lady attach herself to Sebastian’s muscular arm, screaming loud enough to wake the dead.  “Marshal look, over there.  You have to help my husband!  He’s going to get himself killed!  That man just pulled a gun on him.  You have to help him!”

Sebastian set the screaming woman from him and ordered his friends to stay put before striding determinedly toward the two men circling each other, weapons drawn.  Amanda wrapped her arms around her son and watched in fear as Sebastian stepped into the line of fire.  She could see him talking and knew he was trying to calm the men down enough to diffuse the situation.  The screaming woman sank to the ground at Amanda’s feet, sniffling pitifully.  She looked up, her blue eyes wide with tears.  “We’ve only been married two weeks.  We’re on our way to St. Louis to catch a wagon train west.  I begged him not to go into the saloon.  Nothing good ever came from a saloon, but he said he’d be just a minute.  His brother is already out west holding our claim, and he promised to bring him a bottle of good brandy.  I don’t know what happened in there, but they came out wielding weapons.”  She dissolved into tears and clung to Amanda’s legs.

She patted the other woman’s shoulder, still trying to keep an eye on Sebastian.  “I’m sure he’ll be fine.  Sebastian will see that no harm comes to your husband,” she promised, praying that she was right.

When she glanced back, she heaved a sigh of relief as the man to Sebastian’s right holstered his weapon and turned to walk away.  The other fellow, however, had other ideas and trained the gun on the retreating man’s back. 

              Two shots resounded through the small town.

The woman’s screams became earth shattering and she flung herself against Amanda’s legs.  As her knees buckled, they landed in a heap on the ground.  Without his mother’s arms to restrict him, Matthew ran toward the action.  Amanda called his name, trying to scramble away from the grief-stricken woman clawing at her.  Their skirts became tangled, and the more she fought the more entangled they became.  Frustrated, furious, and full of fear, she gave a great pull and broke free, the force of which nearly knocked her to the ground again.  She regained her footing through sheer determination and ran toward her son.  When she reached him, he was standing, as Sebastian had ordered, with his back turned to the grisly scene and any view he might be inclined to take covered by the lawman’s broad form.  Amanda fell to her knees and grasped her son, assuring herself that he had come to no harm.

He squirmed in her arms.  “Mama, you can’t hug a lawman in front of the whole town!”

              She peppered a few more kisses over his chubby pink cheeks and forced herself to release him.  Only then did she glance toward Sebastian.  He stood straight in the midst of the turmoil, the only voice of reason in a crowd that had grown hysterical.  He issued orders, answered questions and calmed the overwrought townspeople.  Even the town sheriff practically ran to do Sebastian’s bidding.  

She watched him in action, her throat constricted by the thought of how close he had come to being harmed.  But on the other hand, she couldn’t help but be proud of him. 
This
was what a lawman was supposed to be like, she guessed.  

As she scanned the crowd to see where the hysterical wife had gone, her eyes quite accidentally encountered the body of the fallen gunman.  She turned quickly, but not soon enough in her estimation.  Heaving a deep sigh to calm her nerves, she then noticed the overwrought woman being led away by her husband.  At least that had turned out well, she thought.

After the excitement had died down and Sebastian had redirected the attention of the onlookers, he turned to her with a weak smile.  “I’m sorry you had to witness that, Amanda.  I tried to keep the boy away.  Did he see anything?”  She smiled reassuringly and touched his arm, this time trying to send him the warm feelings that his touch always brought to her.  “No, he’s fine.  He’s playing over there under that tree.  How are you?”

He looked at her questioningly.  “What do you mean?”

“Well,” she started slowly, unsure of herself, “it was upsetting enough to see something so horrible.  It must have been increased a hundredfold for you, being in the midst of it as you were.”

              He shrugged.  “That’s my job.  It’s what I do.”

              “You do it remarkably well.”