The Bounty Hunter's Heart Read online

"She's terrifying," Stan's love shone through, forever true. "You can see why I behave. I have to say she's been a wonderful addition to my life. Look what she's like."

  Winn glanced over his shoulder to see the gentle, laughing woman roll her eyes, about as fierce as a lamb. "Yep, I can see your suffering. Marriage can be like that."

  "Only the good ones. I've got a good feeling about you two." Stan's eyes laughed. "Saydee, do you and your young man have any announcements to make?"

  "None that I know of, Uncle Stan." Emotion, so vulnerable, stood in her eyes like gathered tears. "Even now, and I apologize for my moment of indiscretion."

  "You know how to right that." Stan's twinkling but now more serious gaze met Winn's. The silent question and weight of expectation stood between them, unmistakable. Stan took a final bite of cookie and spoke around the mouthful. "I expect soon you'll end up just as miserable as me."

  "I wish I could be that fortunate." His chest cinched tighter, for his words were true. He stumbled and nearly caught his foot on the leg of a chair as he circled around the table. "Which room did Jack decide on?"

  "Where are you going? Don't think you're going to move a mattress upstairs on your own. I might not be as strong as you or as young, but I'm still good for a few things." Stan winked, abandoning the cookie jar to trail him through the eating nook. "You're family now, or as good as, so you will have to get used to me."

  "That would be an honor. I don't have any family."

  "Then you've got us." Stan trailed him into the shadowed part of the hallway, where the lamplight didn't quite touch the mattress tucked on its side leaning against the wall in the spare room half hidden by the double-sized guest bed and bureau.

  The conversation down the hall skidded to a halt and didn't resume even when the men reappeared pushing the first mattress easily between them. They padded by and into the parlor where Peg nodded at Winn approvingly, her eyes full of happy mischief. Nola looked at him with steady approval and the knowledge that he was in trouble with her parents, who were handling things quite well considering the great indiscretion he'd been caught at, kissing and cupping their beloved Saydee's breast. He flushed, thankful beyond bearing that Jack had no knowledge of the glimpse Stan and Peg had caught through the floorboard crack.

  Jack grinned at him, rosy with the happiness of having so much caring attention. Winn's chest swelled with pride when his son excused himself politely from the ladies, saying he had to help with the work now. He wasn't one to shirk. It was so cute, he walked away unaware that both women melted adorably, hands to their throats in adoration.

  "He's a keeper," Peg whispered. "I'm utterly charmed."

  "Me, too," Nola added. "We'll hold onto him and never let go."

  Her words meant the world, because Saydee wouldn't be alone with the responsibilities he was placing on her slender shoulders. Jack had real family now. Whatever hardship had brought them here, for the rest of his days he would be forever grateful that Jack had gained love and family.

  The boy looked happy, and he grabbed hold of the middle of the mattress, good-natured and determined to do his part. Jack gave him a small grin before Stan heaved his end up the stairs, and Winn backed up each stair leading the way feeling, just feeling: happy, purposeful and whole. Gratitude swept through him like sun across snow, glittering and blinding with its great light, and he felt alive, just the way a man should.

  * * *

  The same little rabbit-shaped lamps that Saydee had when she was twelve girl growing up, gifts from Grandma, made the new upstairs bedroom bright and cheerful, as adorable as could be. The porcelains bunnies were painted in shades of green, with blue pants and a yellow shirt, and the gray bunny faces were sweet with a pink nose and smiling mouth, big brown eyes full of sweetness. Their bunny ears stuck straight up, pink lined. The lamp's glass chimney sat between the ears where the wick burned, the flames bright, lighting up the bedside table and the center of the bureau.

  Saydee sighed with satisfaction, tugged the blue runner a little to the right on the nightstand, the one she'd quilted ages ago and tucked into a cedar hope chest for a son one day, had finally found a little boy. Sad, but hopeful too. The bedstead Winn had built with Stan's expertise from spare 2x4s stored in the barn looked lovely tucked against the wall between the chimney and the window, which looked out on the hard blur of snow, the glass a hard wall of frost and ice, but in better weather, it would let in lots of warm sunlight for Pete to lay in during the long winter days when Jack was home and then curl up with him at night, taking part of the double bed for himself. She'd miss her shepherd, her dear dog, but she knew he deserved this little boy's love too. It made them family already.

  "He's sweet," Peg leaned in to whisper, fluffing the extra pillows and tugging the embroidered ends of the pillowslips into place. "Just so very sweet."

  "He is a good boy, Jack." Saydee glanced over her shoulder now that the bed was made with a fun comforter he picked out from her old hope chest all spread out. Happy, the boy had just traipsed out the doorway following the men, determined to see if there was enough lumber for another bedstead, and Pete had been with him, tail wagging to join the men in the other bedroom above the kitchen.

  "Good? That's just the start. And now I'm not talking about Jack," Aunt Peg waggled her eyebrows and winked. "I mean the man, your Winn."

  "My Winn?" Her mouth stayed open but not one word emerged, just a started, strangled gasp.

  "No sense in trying to hide it now, young lady. There's nothing wrong with a man desiring you so much, it proves he's got marriage on his mind. I can't say that your uncle Stan didn't steal more than one passionate kiss and heated embrace that was much too close for propriety's sake before our wedding."

  "Is that right?" Saydee said weakly. "I'm not sure I should know about something like that."

  "No doubt, but you need to know that we're glad to know you've accepted his proposal and that he's such a good man. He'll be so good to you. That's what matters."

  Saydee stammered again, unable to make one single word come out correctly. How could she disappoint Aunt Peg with the truth? That it was a moment of indiscretion, but also one that was heartfelt. She opened her mouth but she was interrupted.

  "Nola," Aunt Peg continued, "I see that satisfied grin on your face. I'm glad you're happy for your cousin, but I'm a mother hoping that you might have the good luck to snare a man as good-looking as Winn."

  "I wouldn't mind that too much." Nola's gaze scanned Winn's hard-muscled form with female approval. "It might be torture, but I might be able to manage to survive a good marriage to a handsome man. It might be tough, but I'd be glad to try."

  "I want to see you as happy as your father and I have been. And you, as well, Saydee. All I want is your happiness. You deserve it after what you've been through."

  "Well, it's as easy to marry a good looking man as an ugly one. So I might get lucky and find one who's easy on the eyes."

  "Same can be said of his being rich," Peg bantered warmly as she wrapped her daughter in her arms for a sweet, brief hug. Her mother's love seemed to warm up the mostly empty room and made it feel like home.

  31

  Nola wrapped her arms around her ma and held on, squeezed, smiled and stepped back. Aunt Peg continued on with her topic. "Not only that, but you are going to help me plan Saydee's wedding."

  "I am?" Nola asked, amused.

  "You are?" Saydee felt faint.

  "Yes. I'd love to help you sew your wedding dress." Joy lit up the older woman. Aunt Peg crossed the bare wood floor, shoes drumming, full of purpose. "I'm so excited for you, Saydee. I just love planning weddings."

  "They are a cause for celebration," Nola added with an amused yet concerned furrow in her forehead.

  It was all too overwhelming. She watched as Winn stood, hands planted on his hips, in the short hallway between the three rooms, with the railing behind him giving a view of the parlor below, and he raised one shoulder in a silent question. What are we going to do
about this?

  Saydee shrugged, she had no answers. She felt like she was drowning. She met Winn's gaze as honestly as she could and lost track of the others. She only saw Winn, standing on the landing with the sculpted line and strength of him outlined by the soft gray light from the big window in the room behind him, and time froze, standing still just like her heart forgetting to beat. He looked manly and relaxed and in charge, capably holding a hammer in one large, work-roughened hand. He shrugged his wide shoulders as if to say, humorously, well, who knew this would happen?

  A cozy warmth coiled around her, a feeling of belonging that changed the air between them, that mattered more than the world turning. Her heart remained still, as if unable to beat.

  "Look, what we did in here, Aunt Peg!" Jack's shy voice, small and sweet, called softly, barely penetrating Saydee's feelings of adoration for his father. Vaguely she was aware of shoes knelling, people moving away and then she was alone in the small hallway in front of the stairs, changed. Wanting his love and to be loved by him so bad, every inch of her body, and soul, ached.

  "You don't want to see the beds we set up in the room here next to the fireplace's chimney?" His mouth tugged upward at the corners. "Everyone will be real comfortable up here. Even me."

  "I noticed your mattress tucked up against the wall. A makeshift spot, huh?"

  "I think Stan and Peg figured the truth out enough, and I made sure your uncle knew you're a good lady, and I've behaved myself in the most important way."

  She blushed furiously. "I appreciate that more than you know. You look busy. Let me guess. Uncle Stan got the idea to build a few more bedsteads so they don't have to sleep on the floor."

  "Are you kidding? He hauled extra lumber over here when he was giving Romeo a much bigger stall so he was comfortable, and now look what's happening. He can't stop himself, and he looks as happy as could be building away, and I'm having a good time helping him. I'm pretty good with a hammer, but since you know are in possession of my life savings, you can see bounty hunting pays better."

  "You could have retired on that money. For your information, I tucked all that money into bottom of the pantry's flour canister for you and I'll keep it safe until I can make it to the bank. But you need to take some of it before you leave, really."

  "I have just a bit and trust me, I won't need much where I'm going, and I mean that. You use it for Jack for me, okay?"

  She could only nod, determined to do right by him, always. It was what she wanted for both Jack and Winn. She tried to find the right words to tell him that, but Uncle Stan stuck his head around the door frame of the neighboring room, eyes bright and twinkling with cheeriness from listening in.

  "Good," he said. "I'm glad it's official. Let's get my bed built. I've got the lumber all laid out."

  "Don't interrupt the lovebirds, Stan!" Aunt Peg's great enthusiasm filled the upstairs with true brightness. "Get in here and help me make the bed, and leave those two be. Honestly, don't you know anything about romance?"

  "Of course not, why would I? If I need to know anything, I can just ask you, honey." Good humor and no small amount of love rang in his voice. The next thing Saydee knew, her uncle caught his wife by the arm and tugged her into the room, right against his chest and into his loving arms and they waltzed backward out of her sight, their laughter and joy mingling together to ring in the air and echo in the house, and suddenly she was alone in the soft brush of lamplight with the man who made her heart beat faster.

  He moved closer to her, diminishing the scant space between them and her heart fell with a whoosh, remembering how it had felt to have been in his arms, to have had his hand cupping her breast, to look up and feel that intimacy and wish for more, so much more, heart and not just body. She leaned back against the wall, her spine bumping up against the wood.

  "I'm betting they think that we're having a wedding soon, considering the compromising position they saw us in." Winn's rum-rich baritone rumbled, warming the air and kickstarting her heart to beat again.

  "I've seen that look on my aunt's face before and it was when their son was ready to announce his engagement, but they already knew."

  "Of course they did. They are better at eavesdropping than you think. Very accomplished information gatherers, right Stan?" He pitched his good-humored baritone toward the open doorway.

  A chuckle resounded from within the room. "It's true. And may I say that it's a good thing I've got friends in this town, good friends, and we can get you fixed up with a church wedding and a supper reception in the hotel's big dining room. There would be enough people that we'd have us a real nice sized celebration."

  The smile in her uncle's words, full of approval, love and warm humor, made her feel as light as air. "That is another pretty blatant hint that you're hoping Winn and I might get married. How did you ever get that idea?"

  "I suppose it's just wishful thinking." Aunt Peg's laughter filled the air as she tapped into sight and stood framed by the open doorway. Behind her, across the room, snow tumbled in a hard white swirl in a blur of storm, making the house feel toasty and safe, as cozy as could be, and tucked full of family warmth and love, the kind she always wanted to have growing up. It felt perfect as Peg's hand curled around hers, holding on tenderly. "I have eyes to see, so it's not a difficult guess that your Winn is a serious man. But do you like Stan's hotel ballroom idea for your wedding supper?"

  "That's rather fancy for me, and it's really too early to say."

  "Now, I'm a meddling woman, it's true, but after the eyeful I got through the floorboards I've got to assume Winn is a very decent good man. He knows what's expected and he is your fiancé."

  "It's true." Winn cleared his throat, his voice gruff and thick with emotion. "Peg, that's exactly true."

  Peg's eyes twinkled. "There you have it, I knew I was right. I can't wait to tell Stan's sister down the road the good news, and she's the one who is truly good at planning a wedding. She just finished getting her youngest daughter married last year. Isn't that great?" Peg's fingers squeezed, a loving gesture.

  How on earth did she disappoint the woman? She cherished her love so much. What a treasure this aunt of hers was, for Peg had made the day sparkle with brightness, caring and good-natured connection. Peg, apparently sure the topic was decided, let go of her hand, already searching out Nola who was busy making up the beds in the room, and Saydee swayed with the sudden speed of realization. They expected her to marry Winn! How was she ever going to get out of that?

  "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, huh?" she said quietly to him, wishing she knew what else to say. Instead of answering, Winn put his arm around her shoulder, steadying her and holding her against him. He gave her a wink, and her heart skipped a dozen beats once again. She wished she wasn't falling in love with him, but it was too late.

  "Not so tangled," he said, "and just as easy to unravel, you can just let them know it's true. That I do love you."

  "No, you don't."

  "I have to. On sight, I decided it, and you're a great cook and baker. That sugar cookie you made cinched it, made the deal real. I'd be a fool to let a lady like you go. If I could, I'd put a ring on your finger."

  "That's the nicest compliment I've had in a long while, and proposal," she added. "And a great big fib."

  "Maybe not as much as you would think."

  She blushed harder. What did she say to that? No words came to mind. It was flattery, she knew, spoken from a good man who needed her for his son, but still, there was some level of truth in them, even if she could not accept the truth, and his warm affectionate words healed some of the loss in her heart and she smiled with more joy.

  Her normally empty feeling, lonely feeling house felt full of joy now. Even Jack looked like he was happier in the parlor below. His dark eyes sparkled, and his color had returned to his button face. He knelt on the floor quietly petting Pete's head and ears, while gazing up into the dog's eyes. The shepherd gazed right back, full of pure devotion.

  J
ack grinned, noticing they were watching. "Pete was lonely down here, so I'm keeping him company."

  "That was thoughtful of you. Pete looks happier," Winn answered. "He's going to be happier once Stan and I get some furniture built. I hope Saydee won't mind a lot of hammering in her house for a while. Are there any other furniture needs you have?"

  "None that come to mind right this moment." Her mouth tugged into a shy grin. "Thanks for helping Uncle Stan. He looks happy to have you lending a hand."

  "He's confident I'm going to be a part of his life. That would be a pretty good outcome, for the record, just so you know. He and I had a good talk while we were building Jack's bed."

  "Is that right? What did you two say?"

  "The usual. About making you happy. And Jack. Although, I think the boy looks pretty happy right now, so that's promising to me." He gestured downstairs, glancing over the rail to the parlor below where the dog licked Jack's face and he laughed. The happy sound, quiet and sincere, filled the parlor as if with light.

  Winn's face crinkled into a smile. "We've got a little time before I leave after dark, and I'd like to get everything settled here. Is there anything more that you need?"

  "No, you've done more than I ever expected and I don't know how to say thank you or how to tell you that I've always been a little admiring of you, and so make sure you take good care of the man I adore. You've always been someone I've looked up at and to."

  "Stan said I had to beware of tender feelings toward a woman, or they owned your heart, lock, stock and barrel. You want to keep the upper hand, don't let your feelings show. Keep in control and be the boss."

  "Is that so?"

  "Yes. I notice how he does it so well." Laughter made the handsome crinkles around his eyes deepen most pleasantly. "Peg has him wrapped around her little finger and judging by how wide his smile is, he doesn't mind being there at all."

  "They are very happy together. They have an unusually good marriage. She says the secret is hiding her woes and being long suffering, but I think they have so much fun laughing and adoring one another that there's no room for anything else but sunshine."