Whirlwind Wedding (15 page)

The other man worked a pair of scissors, eyeing Jericho's beard. “I'll trim off as much as I can before I put the razor to you.”

“I really appreciate this, Doc.” He tilted his head to one side while Butler cut his whiskers. He might rather have Catherine touching him, teasing him with her scent and the brush of her skirts against his legs, but this was smarter.

“I suppose”
snip, snip
“that I shouldn't ask”
snip, snip
“why it is you don't want the prettiest nurse in Texas to do this for you?”

He angled Jericho's head the other way and started on his right side.

“No.”

“Here's a wet cloth,” Catherine said.

While the doctor turned away to pick up Jericho's shaving soap, she dropped a hot rag on his face.

“Ouch!” He snatched the square away, then gently touched it to his beard, narrowing his eyes at her.

She smiled sweetly, too sweetly, and he resisted the urge to turn her over his knee.

The doctor lathered up Jericho's shaving brush and dabbed soap on his beard. He tested his straight-edge against his thumb, then tilted Jericho's head to the side, starting under his sideburns with quick even strokes. “You want it all off?”

“Yes, please.”

The doctor worked with steady hands, a few strokes taking him to the other side. “Catherine, when you're ready, I
could use you back at the fort. Private Gormly has been helping me, but he doesn't have your way with the patients.”

“Certainly.” She sounded eager. “When would you want me to start?”

Jericho didn't like it. She didn't need to be back there until the McDougals were caught.

“How about Monday?” Butler finished Jericho's chin with a few short scrapes.

“How far is the fort, Doc?” Jericho used the damp towel to clean the remaining soap from his face. Ah, he felt almost human again.

“Less than two miles.”

Catherine stared hard at his clean-shaven face, as if she didn't recognize him. “I've driven it many times.”

“You can't drive it now.” He spoke bluntly to combat the strange heat her gaze was generating.

“What? I guess I can—”

“Until we catch those bast—outlaws, it's not a good idea for you to go anywhere alone, especially a trip that takes thirty minutes one way. I'm sure the doctor would agree.”

Butler's gaze swung from Jericho to Catherine. “I didn't think about the gang. Any word yet on their whereabouts, Lieutenant?”

“No. That's why I don't want her driving alone.”

“I'll be fine,” she said tightly. “I can take the shotgun.”

“Do you even know how to use it?”

Her silence was answer enough.

Jericho balled the linen in his hand. “It's too risky.”

“It is.” Dr. Butler wiped his hands on the dry towel Catherine handed him. “I'll send a soldier for you, the best marksman we have. He can drive you back and forth every day. That will surely satisfy the Ranger. Right, Lieutenant?”

It did not satisfy him. Jericho hadn't considered that the doctor might come up with the idea of
someone else
driving
Catherine. But how could he argue with that when his own objection had been based on her traveling alone rather than traveling at all?

“That's a wonderful idea.” Sparks flashed in her blue eyes. “I'm sure that would be just fine. Wouldn't it,
Lieutenant?
”

Jericho gritted his teeth. She would have protection. That should be his main concern, not who provided it. “Thanks, Doc. Your offer is very generous.”

“None of the men will mind a bit.” He smiled at Catherine. “They've all been asking after you.”

“How is Lieutenant Clark? His tooth was really bothering him the last time I saw him.”

“I had to pull it, but he's fine.”

Who was this Lieutenant Clark? Jericho wondered. How well did the man know Catherine? How well did she know him?

Annoyed that he even cared, he levered himself out of the chair and reached in his pocket for two bits.

The doctor waved him off. “Riley gave me enough beef to pay for a year's worth of trips.”

“That was for doctoring me, not shaving me. You probably don't have much call to do that with your patients.”

“I didn't mind doing it, but thanks for the offer.” He rolled down his sleeves, then picked up his bag.

Catherine walked him to the door and Jericho stuffed the coins in his pocket, limping out behind them. He noted the stiffness in her shoulders, and anger vibrated in every line of her body.

As Butler drove away in his buggy, Catherine turned on him. “You didn't have to make me look incompetent. I do work for him, you know.”

Jericho blinked. “That wasn't my intent at all.” He could smell the tang of his shaving soap and her soft verbena on the towel she held. “He knows what a fine nurse you are.”

“You made it sound as though I haven't properly cared for my patient.”

“Just because you didn't shave me?”

“I did offer,” she reminded him tartly.

She was talking to beat the band. Jericho was surprised. Since that kiss, she'd been quiet. Hurt, he knew. He hadn't meant to hurt her, but she'd be glad for the distance when she learned his real reason for being here. “I thought you might like some respite from taking care of me twenty-four hours a day.”

“Is that really why?” Her gaze bored into his, clear and questioning.

She was asking if it was because of her, because he didn't want to be near her. Hell, he wanted more than that, but what he wanted could have nothing to do with his decisions regarding her. Still, he hadn't meant to offend her. He grinned, hoping to erase the sting of the clumsy way he'd handled things. “After yesterday I thought you might be tempted to use that razor across my throat.”

Her gaze sharpened. “I might have.”

Good. “The doctor knows you're a fine nurse, Catherine. I don't think he saw my request as any slight against you.”

“You think, but you don't
know.
”

She snatched the towel he still held and brushed past him to go inside. She disappeared into the nook beside the fireplace, then reappeared with her laundry basket.

He stayed by the door, but turned so he could see her. “I think you should reconsider going back to the fort. At least right now.”

“I'll have an escort, which you said was a good idea.” Carrying the basket on her hip, she swept into Andrew's room. “And it won't be every day.”

He couldn't argue, couldn't tell her that what he didn't
think was a good idea was her spending that much time with some soldier. His jaw tightened. “I don't like it.”

She appeared in Andrew's doorway, looking at him coolly. “We all have to live with things we'd rather not.”

“Like Rangers sleeping on your porch?”

She shrugged and disappeared into her room.

Now why did that have to hurt so much?

He stabbed a hand through his hair. Having a soldier drive her would afford the protection she needed. She was right. It should've given Jericho some peace of mind. In fact, all it did was make him want to hurt the nameless, faceless man who would come for her on Monday.

C
atherine was looking forward to her time with Davis Lee. On Sunday morning, she buttoned up her black kid boots and smoothed the light cotton of her dress. The pale blue skirt, dotted with dark blue rosebuds, was one of her favorites; she paired it with a white shirt and blue vest.

Her hands shook and she wasn't sure if it was from anticipation or apprehension. But she had nothing to fear from Davis Lee. She had spent time around him for weeks now. He was a good man, a gentle man.

She took her parasol out of the wardrobe, then dug several hairpins from atop her dresser and moved into the front room to listen for his arrival. Sunlight slanted through the window and the door. She brushed her hair back, plaiting the dark strands, then twisting them into a low chignon. Holding the thick mass in place, she slid in the pins, fumbling the last one and dropping it.

Oh, bother. Keeping one hand on her hair, she knelt, searching the weathered pine. The pin glittered under the kitchen table. She scooped it up and secured her hair. Gathering her skirts in one hand, she stood, straightening them
with a quick flick of her wrist. A shadow fell across the floor and she looked up.

Jericho stood with his left arm braced against the doorframe. Morning sunlight streamed into the room from behind him, lining his lean, rangy body in gold. His wide shoulders blocked the sun's glare and Catherine blinked at his clean-shaven face, still unused to it. She kept her gaze from his mouth.

She straightened. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” Hungry and hard, his eyes roamed from the top of her head to the tips of her boots peeking out from under her skirts.

She wanted to demand he stop looking at her, but she couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Her mind might have frozen, but her body hadn't. Heat sluiced through her, and as if he had put his hands there, her nipples hardened.

He saw. His face darkened. A muscle worked in his jaw and he turned away.

A breath rattled out of her. Her legs shaky, she sank down in a chair. She didn't understand how she could respond that way to a mere look, but she couldn't…couldn't…. Her numb mind searched for logic. She couldn't greet Davis Lee like this!

Closing her eyes, she began reciting a Hail Mary. Long minutes later, she heard the snort of a horse and the thunk of a brake being set. Davis Lee invited Jericho to church with them, but the Ranger refused. Thank goodness.

There. Her breathing was normal even though her skin prickled. She hustled Andrew out, told Jericho she had left him some lunch by the dry sink, and accepted Davis Lee's hand helping her up into the shiny buggy he'd rented from the livery.

Jericho spoke to his cousin, his gaze touching her briefly. Her scrambled brain didn't understand one word he said. As
Davis Lee drove them away, Jericho's silver gaze burned into her. Catherine refused to look at him, refused to give him another thought.

 

She enjoyed her time with Davis Lee though a faint unease nagged at her. After church, he drove them about a mile outside of town to a spot thick with wildflowers. Catherine had never seen such abundance—patches of purple, orange, yellow and blue flowers—scattered over the prairie as if dropped from the sky.

He spread a blanket and they ate a lunch of fried chicken, pickles, cheese and molasses cake, which he told her he'd gotten from the Pearl Restaurant. He picked a big bouquet for her, engaging both her and Andrew in conversation. She liked that.

Now she sat on the blanket, holding her parasol for protection from the sun. A few yards away, the man and the boy sat in the grass. Davis Lee was teaching Andrew how to attract a quail with his new birdcall.

“It's two short notes, then a third rounded at the end.
Bob-bob-white.
”

He demonstrated by whistling the pattern, and Andrew tried to replicate it on the call. He practiced and practiced for what seemed a long time, but Davis Lee never became irritated or impatient with him, praising him when he got it right.

Andrew whistled repeatedly until Davis Lee nudged his shoulder. “Look there.”

Catherine followed the direction of their gaze and saw the grass move. A plump brown bird with tiny white speckles strutted through the grass. Then another.

“Did I draw them in?” Andrew breathed.

“You did.” Davis Lee patted him on the back, the movement scattering the birds into hiding.

Andrew was relaxed with the sheriff, obviously liking the
older man. She felt a pang that her brother wasn't so comfortable around Jericho. All the way home, Andrew talked about calling up the quail, causing her to share a smile with Davis Lee.

As the buggy rolled up in front of the house, Jericho limped around the corner. The sleeves of his pale blue shirt were rolled to midarm, baring a dark dusting of hair over strong sinew and muscle. Unless one knew to look, even his injured hand appeared whole. His dark cowboy hat, molded by wear and weather, fit low on his head. She couldn't see his eyes, but she felt his attention. He lifted a hand in greeting.

“Lieutenant!” Andrew jumped down and rushed over to him. “Davis Lee taught me how to whistle for quail and we called some up. They almost came right over to us.”

Jericho stayed at the corner of the porch, the afternoon sun slanting over his shoulder. His eyes were serious, studying Catherine intently. “Is that right?”

“Yes, listen.” Her brother replicated the call exactly as Davis Lee had taught him.

The Ranger nodded in appreciation. “You've got a knack, boy. It took me a week to get it right.”

“Really?” Andrew flushed with pleasure. He turned to Davis Lee, who was helping Catherine down from the buggy. “Do you think there are any quail around my house, Sheriff?”

“Wouldn't hurt to try your call and see.”

Clutching her bouquet in one hand, Catherine gathered her skirts with the other. Jericho's gaze flicked over the flowers, and her stomach fluttered nervously.

“How was church and all?” he drawled.

“Very nice. It was a lovely day.” She smiled at Davis Lee, though her mind stayed on Jericho. This was the first time she'd left him alone since his injury. “Did you do all right?”

“I was fine.” He gave a thin smile.

She knew he wouldn't tell her even if he weren't. “I hope we weren't gone too long.”

“You'll be gone longer than that when you go back to the fort.”

“What's this, Catherine?” Davis Lee frowned.

“I'm going to resume helping Dr. Butler.”

“Starting when?”

“Monday,” she said.

“Tomorrow,” Jericho said at the same time.

The sheriff's gaze flicked to his cousin, then her. “It's not a good idea for you to drive back and forth by yourself.”

“That's what I told her.”

Catherine refused to look at Jericho. “Dr. Butler has already seen to that. He's sending a soldier for me.”

“His best rifleman,” Jericho interjected.

“No need for that.” Davis Lee smiled broadly. “I can take you.”

“Oh, no. I couldn't ask you to do that.”

“I'd enjoy doing it.” Sincerity warmed his eyes.

“What about your jail, Sheriff?” Jericho hooked one thumb into the front pocket of his trousers. “You do have a job.”

Catherine wished he would be quiet. “That's true, Davis Lee. You do have that to think about.”

“I can leave Jake in charge. It won't be for long.”

The thought of riding with him rather than a young man she didn't know as well, settled the nerves bunching across her shoulders. “Are you sure?”

He grinned. “Am I sure I'd rather be riding with a pretty woman than sittin' in a jail? Yes, ma'am.”

She smiled, though she could feel Jericho's mood darken. “Since the doctor already has someone coming for me tomorrow, I'll take you up on your offer for my Wednesday trip.”

“Good.” Davis Lee smiled into her eyes.

She found him easy to be with, charming, a gentleman in every sense of the word. “Thank you for today.”

He took her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. “I had a fine time.”

“So did I.” She waited for the butterflies in her stomach, but they didn't come. Her palms were dry, her heartbeat steady. And she knew that the fine tremor working through her wasn't due to his attention, but to Jericho's intense regard. She gently slid her hand from Davis Lee's. “I'd best see about supper. I'll see you Wednesday.”

Without a glance at Jericho, Catherine left the two men. She walked into the house feeling as if she were about to come out of her skin.

Their low tones followed her. She wanted to watch them, stare at the sharp lines of Jericho's newly bared face, the high cheekbones and the hollows beneath. His sculpted lips. Lips that had turned her inside out.

Frustration welled within her. She had enjoyed her time with Davis Lee. She liked him very much, but he didn't start her pulse racing. Didn't make her breath catch with just a look.

She walked into her bedroom and stuck her parasol into her wardrobe, resting her head against the door's dark wood. Davis Lee didn't do any of those things, but Jericho did.

 

Jericho wasn't going to ask Davis Lee what he and Catherine had been doing the whole time they'd been gone. Both of them had already said, more than once, how much they enjoyed each other's company, and it was none of his concern. He was only watching the slender line of her back and the sway of her hips so he would know when she was out of earshot.

The woman had no place in his thoughts. If he weren't so spent, he'd be totally focused on what he had learned today.

His gaze shifted to his cousin, who watched him with a measured intensity. “While y'all were gone, I went into town and saw Jed Doyle.”

“You walked all the way to town?”

“It's just down the hill.”

“It's nearly a quarter of a mile and you've only got one good leg.”

He had needed something to occupy his mind, block thoughts of Catherine sitting in the buggy with Davis Lee, eating lunch with him. Focusing on making it all the way to town without falling down had gone a long way toward keeping her out of his mind, though it did nothing to blunt the taste of her. The hot sweet honey of her tongue on his.

Think about walking. The sooner he got his strength back, the sooner he could finish what he'd come here to do. “A couple of days ago, I found a rifle cartridge in the barn, and I wanted to see if Jed could identify it.”

Davis Lee folded his arms. “There could be cartridges in my barn, too.”

“Jed recognized it. Said it matched the ones stolen from his shop last week. The Donnellys have a shotgun. Why would they need rifle cartridges?”

“Good point.” His cousin turned thoughtful.

Jericho glanced around, checking to see that they were alone. “I made sure Andrew knew I had it, and he was mighty nervous.”

“What about Catherine?”

“The kid is the one I saw at the ambush, and now I know he's the one stealing from Whirlwind's businesses.”

“Maybe you ought to show it to her, see if she has any reaction.” Davis Lee's eyes narrowed. “That is, if you still believe she's involved with the gang.”

“You don't?”

“No.”

“Why? Because that telegram you got on Friday from those nuns confirmed she was raised by them?”

“No. Because I've spent some time with her. So have you. Why do you still suspect her? My gut says she isn't involved with those outlaws.”

“From what I just saw, you're not thinking with your gut,” Jericho said bitingly. “But yeah, I don't suspect her anymore, either.”

Davis Lee's gaze sharpened and he studied Jericho hard. “If something is going on with the two of you, then say so.”

He worked to relax the rigid stretch of muscle across his shoulders. “Nothing is going on.”

“Then why are you looking at me like I just shot your horse out from under you?”

Hoping Catherine couldn't hear them, Jericho glanced at the house, saw that the front door was still open. He lowered his voice. “It would be better if she weren't stepping out with you. Thanks to my damn leg, it's all I can do to keep up with her brother. I don't need to wonder about her comings and goings, too.”

Davis Lee eyed him doubtfully. “Uh-huh. If you know she's with me, you don't have to wonder.”

Jericho had told himself exactly that the whole time Catherine had been away this morning. But he
had
wondered. And imagined. Frustration had him clenching his good fist. “Don't you wonder why she suddenly said yes to you after so many no's?”

Davis Lee rocked back on his heels. “You want her.”

“I'm not involved with her. That would be stupid.”

“I didn't say you were involved with her,” the other man said quietly. “I said you want her.”

Jericho gave his cousin a flat stare, but Davis Lee didn't
back down. His eyes glittered with speculation. “She's beautiful and kind and intelligent. A hell of a nurse.”

He didn't need Davis Lee pointing out Catherine's attributes. “Are you trying to convince me to admire her? I thought you were the one interested in her.”

“She's here alone with you the majority of the time,” Davis Lee mused. “You had to have noticed her fine figure, those perfect breas—er, blue eyes. Her other qualities.”

“She hasn't been compromised.” Jericho had not only noticed, but felt those fine qualities right up against him. “I'm sleeping on the porch now.”

“I didn't think you had tried to seduce her.” Davis Lee grinned. “Interesting that her virtue would be your first thought.”

“It should be yours, too,” he growled.

“And even if you wanted more, you wouldn't get involved with her because of your investigation.”

Jericho swallowed a curse. “That's why you shouldn't get involved, either.”