Where the Heart Leads (30 page)

“Look.” He pointed across the way. “Right there’s our ticket. First class all the way.”

Junior squinted into the sun, already knowing what he would see. Aumaleigh McPhee’s two-story log house, as pretty as a picture in a storybook. But it wasn’t a mansion. It was a nice but regular home.

“Are you sure she’s rich, Giddy?” His chest felt hollow, maybe because he knew deep down it was wrong. He knew Giddy was wrong.

He loved his pa, but Pa was wrong too.

“She owns that ranch, doesn’t she?” Giddy licked his lips, a man yearning for his whiskey. “She’s got all that land and all them animals. Do you know how much money a place like that makes in a year?”

“She don’t look rich. Her horse is older than ours was.”

“Are you makin’ excuses?” Giddy lunged and grabbed Junior by the collar. “Pa ain’t gonna like it if you back out now. You’re worthless, Junior. Pa’s right about you.”

Junior gulped. Looking in his brother’s mean eyes, he saw Pa’s meanness. Saw all the times Pa would grab him like this, throw him down and beat him with a switch. Giddy was no different.

Neither was Pa gonna be. Sometimes you wanted people you loved to change, even when you knew they never were.

“Sorry, Giddy.” He lowered his eyes, waiting for his brother to release him. Giddy did, giving him a hard shove. Junior straightened his shirt, glancing across the fall of the land to the house where Aumaleigh McPhee sat on her sofa. Her face was in her hands.

Oh, she looked sad.

That was another lady who’d been nice to him. She’d invited him to Rose’s wedding. Iris wouldn’t want him to hurt her aunt—or worse, if Giddy had his way. He sat down in the grass, shaking hard. It wasn’t right. He couldn’t do this. He just couldn’t.

And by the look in his eyes, Giddy knew that too. He drew before Junior could blink and the shot reverberated through the forest.

Well, she had better get supper in the oven. Annie, Bea and Adam would be coming over to eat tonight. Aumaleigh tossed the last box of her parents’ things out the door. It landed on the grass, to be hauled away later. She’d hired Oscar to do it.

She turned around, startling as a shadow moved alongside the house. The shadow became a man.

“Why don’t you come over here nice and slow?” He thumbed back the hammer on the .45 pointed straight at her head. “Let’s go in your kitchen and talk.”

Panic beat through her. Her knees felt watery. She stared at the nose of the gun. It felt eerie, like one of those dreams that felt strangely real but wasn’t real at all. “You’re George’s son.”

“And you’re the old lady that cheated him.” Hatred twisted his mouth, stole the life from his eyes. His gaze was icy and dead.

“That was my mother.” Fear made her voice thin and high, and she wondered if she could run. There had to be a way to escape. “My mother cheated your father and a lot of men.”

“You ended up with it all, didn’t you? All that land. All that money. You think you’re better than me because of it, but you know what a dead woman is? Just a piece of dead meat.” He came at her.

Run!
Her brain shouted. Her body scrambled to obey. In her mind she was halfway to the barn, running for her life, but in truth her muscles had frozen. Her limbs were like water, her feet too weak to move. Fear had paralyzed her as he grabbed her by the back of the neck. His fingers dug into her hair, pain shot through her and she was airborne, slamming against the side of the house.

She managed to stay standing, but the gun was at her head before she could blink. Cold and hard against her forehead.

“I’m in charge now.” His fingers gripped her shoulder, bruising, strong enough to break bone. He spun her toward the door. “We’re gonna go inside and you are going to give me your money. All of it. Every penny. Or I’ll gut you right in your own kitchen—”

She didn’t know what made her do it. Her foot shot out, tangling with his. They both went down hard. She hit hard, knocking the breath right out of her. Time slowed down as she scrambled, pushing off the grass, free from him now. Her feet were spinning, her instincts were screaming at her to run and she could feel him rising up next to her, reaching out—

And a single gunshot echoed across the yard. Giddy Klemp stumbled as the bullet hit. Blood sprayed against the side of the house and he fell dead at her feet.

“Sorry I was late.” Gabriel, astride his black gelding, held his shotgun steady as he slid to the ground. “Should have got here earlier, but we had to jump the fence.”

Barney nickered, as if in agreement.

“It was perfect timing, to me.” There she was, frozen in place again. This time for an entirely different reason.

Gabriel caught Giddy Klemp at the shoulder and rolled him over with his boot. The body was limp, there was no life there, but he checked anyway.

“Yep, he’s dead. He’s not going to be bothering you anymore.” He lowered the rifle, leaning it against the house. He pulled her into the garden, away from the blood and death. “Are you okay? Aumaleigh, talk to me.”

What was there to say? There was a dead man in her yard, a man who’d been ready to do who-knows-what to her. She was trembling, then quaking hard. Relief washed through her as cold as ice.

“Oh, Gabriel. You came.” Her brain seemed to finally catch up to what was going on. “I’ve never been so glad to see anyone before.”

“I’m always gonna be here for you. You don’t ever have to worry about that.” His hand cupped the side of her face, but it was more than a touch. It was a brush to her soul. Her spirit sighed with recognition, her one true match.

The next thing she knew she was in his arms, pressed safe against his chest. It was homecoming and joy and gratitude all at once, but that wasn’t the reason she was crying. Tears blurred her vision, fell hot on her cheeks, but it was the emotion alive and growing in her heart. Love rushed in—sweet, sweet love.

The grass was greener, the flowers brighter, the sun incandescent as his strong arms held her tight. His heartbeat thudded against her ear. Every inch of her was aware of him as they pressed together. Her skin tingled. She felt breathless. As if she were on the edge of a precipice and about to fall.

“I heard a gunshot echoing through the valley and I was afraid for you. And then when I saw that gun to your head—” His voice broke, and he pressed his face into her hair. “I didn’t know if I could save you in time. I don’t think I could bear losing you.”

“That’s something you don’t have to worry about.” She leaned back in his arms, searching his gaze. “I’ve gotten used to having you for a neighbor. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good to know. Since I’m in your good graces, maybe this is a good time to ask. I’d like to amend our agreement.”

“Which agreement would that be? The one where we agreed to be friends?”

“That’s the one.” Gabriel took a shallow breath. Boy, his heart was thundering a hundred times a second. His entire heart rode on her answer. “I’d like to come calling.”

“You want to come courting?”

“If it’s all right with you.” He tried to keep how desperate he felt out of his voice—desperate from fearing he couldn’t save her, desperate from imagining just for a second his future without her. “It might not be so bad this time. I’m not as wet behind the ears.”

“What exactly does that mean?” She arched a brow, as adorable as could be.

“I’ve got experience behind me. I’ve been trained up some. I’m not as dumb as I used to be.”

“Not from what I’ve seen.” she teased dryly.

And then they were laughing together. The affection shining in her bluebonnet-blue eyes stymied him. Just made him melt. He was nothing but tenderness—so, so sweet—and much deeper the second time around.

Did she feel this way too?

He leaned in, following the whispers of his heart. Her eyes widened—maybe surprised, maybe not ready—but she didn’t push him away. Their lips met lightly, softly, touching in the gentlest of first kisses.

This is the way it’s going to be, he wanted to tell her, he tried to tell her with that kiss. Did she feel the reverence he had for her? The adoration? He didn’t know.

And then her hands lighted on his shoulders, such a sweet touch pushing him away to end their kiss.

“Soul meets soul on lover’s lips.” She smiled through her tears. “Ours is a love that is more than love.”

“You have no idea how good that sounds. What it means.” His gray eyes darkened, showing all of his heart. His true, true heart. “You are my first love and my last. I’m going to love you every day for the rest of my life.”

“That sounds perfect to me.”

The world brightened, the sun blinded and all she wanted was him. Just Gabriel—her other half. She could see their future—family, grandchildren, and growing old together side by side. Laughing and loving the way they were always meant to be.

She was going to love every moment—every single one.

Morning at the Kincaid house came early, and these days she didn’t do early mornings as well as she used to. Daisy sipped a steaming cup of fresh coffee, hoping it would give her the kick she needed to get everyone fed and out the door. It didn’t seem to be working. Her entire body felt exhausted, dragging, tired to the bone.

But this exhaustion wouldn’t last for long. She cracked eggs into the fry pan, watching them sizzling in the bacon grease and smiled to herself. After the new year, they would be welcoming another member of their family. That thought was enough to make her smile all the way down to her soul.

Life was going to get interesting. She threw away the egg shells and grabbed the spatula. While the new sun peaked between the curtains and spilled onto the kitchen table, she imagined her life to come.

Well, to put it more accurately, she imagined her plan to come. She wanted five girls, who would grow up just the way she did, playing princess tea parties and running all over the yard with their stories of adventure and fun.

Just think of the chaos when she had her own sisters over! Their kids would join hers in the backyard. The McPhee Clan would have a whole new generation, a new chapter of love and stories and happy futures to come.

Footsteps thudded across the floor, coming closer. Beckett was pulling up his suspenders as he strode into the kitchen. Freshly washed and shaven, he looked handsome and strapping. Her wonderful husband. Love, pure love, set her heart aglow. She flipped the eggs and set down the spatula before waltzing into his arms.

“Good morning.” She tilted her head back, ready for his kiss. “You are right on time.”

“I aim to please. I know how you get when I’m late for grub.” Beckett’s eyes twinkled, and his mouth hitched up into that smile she loved so much. “You abuse me. Take the switch to me.”

“Yes, one day I will. So you’d better show up to meals on time.”

His chuckle became a kiss that curled her toes and won her heart all over again. Who knows how long they kissed—she wasn’t counting the minutes—until the distinct scent of something burning caught her attention.

“Oops. I think that’s your toast.” She broke away from his kiss and his arms to rescue his food.

“What’s the penalty around here for burning a man’s food?” His arms came around her at the stove as she grabbed his blackened toast from the oven rack.

“I owe you two kisses.” She dropped the toast on a cloth napkin and scooped on the two eggs. “Guess I’ll have to pay up tonight.”

“I’ll make sure you do.” His gaze glittered, full of mischief. “You’ll pay up or else. With interest.”

“I look forward to that.” She handed him his sandwich, poured him a cup of coffee and handed him his hat on the way out the door. He kissed her cheek and strode through the yard. Her heart tugged, missing him already.

If anyone had told her a year ago that she would be standing here today in sunny Montana Territory happily married, a stepmother and expecting a baby, she never would have believed it. Never. Those hard days in Chicago seemed like a century ago. Fading away compared to the incandescent brightness of her life.

Love had done that.

“Ma?” Hailie rubbed her eyes with her fists, adorable with her sleep tousled hair and her ruffled nightgown. “I’m real hungry.”