Calico Bride Read online

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"Yes, but not with me." She lingered by his bedside for a moment, as refreshing as a summer's morning with her lustrous hair, green calico dress and her mouth as sweet as a strawberry. Her fingertips brushed his rough jaw and cheek, the slightest of touches, the briefest of contacts but the magnitude shocked him all the way to his soul.

"Be safe, Deputy." She swirled away with a whisper of petticoats and grace, taking all the sunlight with her.

He sat as if in darkness, his sandwich in hand, listening to her faint footfalls grow fainter. He no longer felt alone.

"

Laundry fluttered on the clothesline as she opened the mercantile's back door and hopped into the dim hallway. Seeing him briefly wasn't enough. She missed him. She didn't want to admit it, but she did.

"I am taking a break." Eunice slapped shut the account book and wiped the pen point on the wiper. "I expect you to run the store."

"Fine."

"Do not leave Lark in charge." Eunice corked the ink bottle with a pointed glare.

"I won't." She wanted to get along with her stepmother, she really did. "Go upstairs and relax. It's been a busy morning. I'll take care of everything."

"Fine." Eunice pushed away from the counter, her skirts billowing, and disappeared upstairs.

"Can I take a break, too?" Lark peered through the shelving, a little pale and tired-looking.

"Go ahead. I will take over the restocking'" The doorbell interrupted her with a harsh jangle as the door flew open and banged violently against the door catch. Pa stood in the threshold, his clothes torn, his hat missing, his hair standing on end. Blood ran down one side of his face and stained his shirt and sleeve.

"Pa!" She watched in horror as her father staggered. She caught his arm as Lark scrambled to grab the other. A blur of motion on the street outside was a horse and buckboard dashing down the street. "What happened to you?"

"I'm all right." He leaned on them heavily, struggling to catch his breath. Blood streamed down the left side of his face. A purple-red bruise marred the skin of his left eye, which had swelled alarmingly. The lid could barely open. Wet blood marked his off-center nose and his bottom lip, torn and puffy. "Thad is fetching the doc. I just need to sit down."

"Sit down? You need to lie down." She couldn't believe her eyes. "Let's get you upstairs."

"I don't need pampering, girls." He extricated his arms from their clutches, a strong man determined to walk on his own. "I'm no weakling."

"No, of course not, Pa." Shock washed through her as she slowed her pace to match his. The door to upstairs seemed a mile away. Her poor father. Had the horses bolted? Had he taken a spill off the wagon?

Whatever had gone wrong, her father needed prayer. Lord, please help him. Please take care of my father. She tried not to imagine terrible things'a dangerous head injury, for instance.

"Pa, you didn't tell us what happened," Lark said, her face pinched with concern.

"I'm not sure you girls ought to know." He huffed heavily, as if angry. "It can be a rough world out there, and today I ran into some roughness."

"What do you mean, Pa?" Lila opened the door for him while Lark hovered in the background, her hands steepled anxiously.

"Some men jumped me." Anger made his voice harsh, something she had never heard in her life. He grasped the handrail and pulled himself up one step at a time.

"Jumped you? You mean they beat you up?" Lila couldn't believe it. How could anyone want to attack her father?

"Some men with bandanas masking their faces rode out of a gulley flashing their rifles. They told me to get down and hand over my horses and wagon." He became angrier with each step he took, panting with the intensity of his fury. "I had about ten rifles aimed at me, so I had to climb down and surrender the wagon. I didn't have any choice."

Shock trembled through her. Armed men had pointed their guns at her father? Anything could have happened. Anything. "I'm so glad you did as they asked, Pa."

"Me, too," Lark chimed in as she trailed them up the stairs. "Were they horse thieves?"

"They weren't after just the horses. They wanted the wagon, the deliveries. Everything." His wedding ring was gone, even his boots.

"Arthur!" Eunice spotted them and came running, horror stark on her face. "What happened? Lark, hurry and fetch the doctor. Lila, bring him right here onto the sofa. Oh, my poor Arthur."

"I'm all right." He wasn't a man used to attention. "Frost is on his way."

As if to prove it, a knock rapped impatiently on the door below. Without waiting for an answer, boots thudded on the stairs, echoing in the stairwell. Lila helped her father to the sofa. He looked broken, somehow, as if the attack had taken something from his soul. Her eyes stung, and anger at the thieves pounded crazily in her chest. She stepped aside to make room for the doctor.

"Thad said it was urgent." Samuel Frost set his medical bag on the floor in front of the couch. "Arthur, what did you go and do?"

"Trouble found me." More blood streamed from the gash on his head.

"I'll say, but it doesn't look too bad. I say you got off lucky, considering. Lila, fetch me some water. Lark, I'll need clean cloths and bandages. Eunice, prepare the bed. Arthur is going to need some rest when I'm through with him."

Relief shook through her, making it difficult to walk but she made it to the kitchen. She skirted the table, grabbed the water pail. Pa would be okay. That's what mattered. That's what she had to focus on. Except for the fact that her stomach rumbled with fury. What gave thieves the right to hurt innocent people, especially her pa?

Cowards, that's what they were. Ten armed men jumping one unarmed man. Doing what amused them, taking what they wanted. Her jaw clamped shut so tight, her teeth hurt. It wasn't right. It shouldn't be allowed. This time the sheriff would have to do something. If not, she knew Burke would.

"The lawlessness in this town." Eunice marched down the short hallway, muttering to herself. "I've just about had enough of it."

For once, she and Eunice were in total agreement. She set the bucket down by the doctor's side.

"Thank you, Lila." Samuel Frost took a stack of towels and bandages from Lark and dunked the corner of a cloth into the water. "First, I need to clean away this blood and see what we're dealing with. Arthur, how is your eyesight? Do you have double vision?"

"I wish I didn't."

"Any dizziness? Nausea?"

"Yes on both counts. They struck me hard, Doc. With the butt of a Winchester."

Lila briefly shut her eyes, wincing against the thought of anyone treating her father like that. She gently nudged her sister down the stairs and closed the door tightly behind them.

"Why would someone do that to Pa?" Lark whispered shakily. The enormous space of the store echoed around them ominously. The sunshine no longer felt friendly. The world no longer felt kind.

"I don't know what makes some people behave meanly." She wished she did. She thought of Burke. A week ago his wound had seemed extraordinary, the violence of the bank robbers an anomaly. What was happening to their town? Now Pa was injured. Her dear pa.

The front door chimed and two identical little girls, the Frost twins, tromped in like a whirlwind, followed by Molly, their new stepmother.

"You stay and help them," Lark whispered, too distraught to face anyone. "I'll get more water."

She hugged her sister, wishing she knew what to do to reassure her. Wishing she knew how to reassure herself.

"I'm sorry your pa is hurt," Penelope said.

"Real sorry," Prudence added. "But our pa is a real good doctor."

"Yep, he can make him lots better," Penelope finished.

"I'm sure of it." Lila couldn't help being enchanted by the girls. They both had identical black braids and golden-hazel eyes and fine-boned porcelain faces. One twin wore a green calico dress with a matching sunbonnet while the other wore blue. "What can I get you today?"

"We were about to take Samuel to lunch when Thad McKaslin came rushing into the office. Apparently he came across your father in the road," Molly Frost explained as she laid a gentle hand on each girl's shoulder. "I promised the girls a few pieces of candy to tide them over until their father is done."

"It will be my treat." Grateful for something useful to do, she grabbed a striped paper sack from behind the counter. "What would you girls like?"

"Cinnamon!"

"Butterscotch!"

Unable to resist the double level of cuteness, Lila knelt at the barrel and dug through the candy for the best pieces of each. "How about you, Molly?"

"Just one peppermint. I insist on paying you."

"Your penny is no good here." She dropped a few peppermint balls into the sack and handed it to the closest girl. "I was going to close the store for a bit, but you are welcome to stay in here. Or there's a bench on the back porch if you two want a little fresh air and shade."

"I may steer the girls and their soon-to-be sticky fingers away from your merchandise. Thank you." Molly's gentle smile was lovely as she led her beloved step-daughters to the back of the store.

Lila went to turn the sign from open to closed and a familiar shadow filled the doorway, tall, wide-shouldered and as awesome as a dream.

Burke. She blinked. Surely she was imagining him. He could not be here, he could not be real.

"I heard what happened." He pushed through the door, substantial flesh and bone. He did not look well. All color had drained from his face. He swayed a little on his feet but didn't topple. Breathing heavily, he planted one palm against the edge of the counter and leaned on it, obviously willing himself to stay standing.

He had come. But why? And how? "You shouldn't be up. You shouldn't be here."

"How is your father?" Concern layered the rich tones of his voice, emotion that softened the hard lines of his face and his whiskered jaw.

"He's been beaten. The doctor is with him now." Whatever it took, she could not give in to the need for comfort'for his comfort. She must not think about laying her cheek against the dependable plane of his chest. She must not wish to be enfolded safely in his strong, sheltering arms.

"Who did it?"

"He didn't say." A tiny hiccup escaped. It was a hiccup and not a sob. "This is peaceable country. I don't understand why armed men would hurt him and rob him."

"Things change and there are some folks that don't need a reason to do harm." Burke caught her hand with his, and sorrow lived there. "I promise I will do what I can to help your father."

"I know." The anger within her didn't abate, but her worries did. "Thank you. It's not right. Someone who would hurt someone else for gain is the worst sort of person."

"I agree." He gently tugged her close. His fingers curled at her nape and into her upswept hair. Nice. Soothing. Gently, he drew her against his chest and she didn't resist. She rested her cheek against his shirt and sighed when his mighty arms folded around her.

Safe. Sheltered in his arms with his jaw brushing the crown of her head, she felt safe. Drinking in his solace, she relaxed into him, listened to the reliable beat of his heart and held on tight.

Chapter Eight

You should not be holding her, Burke thought, but could he let her go? Not a chance. An emotion suspiciously like tenderness took root. She felt light and fragile in his arms. He breathed in her sweet lilac scent and listened to the quiet whisper of her breathing. He couldn't remember holding anyone since the last time his sister had held him in the wheat field. Lonely places within him ached with a razor-blade sharpness that cut him to the marrow.

He didn't deserve to hold her but he could not stop. The silken gossamer of her hair caught on his unshaven jaw and tickled his skin. The light press of her cheek to his chest tore him up. He swallowed hard, not believing he could be holding anyone so fine. That anyone so fine would want to be held by him.

Footsteps rang faintly through the store. Heavy, measured thumps. Sounded like the doctor's gait. Reluctant, Burke lifted his cheek away from her hair. When he wanted to comfort her, he had to straighten and put on his stony defenses. His fingers remained at the base of her neck and his other hand remained twined with hers. He could come to like being closer to her. Their gazes met and the dazzling wonder of her green-blue eyes filled with amazing light. Regard for him shone there undeniable and true.

He was not worthy of it. The right thing to do would be to step away and pretend he hadn't noticed her feelings for him. An honorable man would save her from the certain heartache he would bring her. A noble man would not yearn for her caring. When she stepped quietly out of his arms and unlaced her fingers from his, the bond of caring remained between them. Distance did not stop it. He wanted to gather her back in his arms and draw her to his chest. To one more time drink in the incredible and rare closeness of holding her.

It took all the honor he possessed to let her walk away.

"Dr. Frost." She hurried toward the medical man, her calico skirts swirled around her. She clutched the edge of the counter. "How is Pa?"

"I stitched up the gash in his scalp. I'm concerned about the blow he took to his skull." Dr. Frost snapped his medical bag shut. "For now, it doesn't seem serious, but if his symptoms don't improve or grow worse, send for me immediately."

"Absolutely." Her teeth dug into her bottom lip, worrying it.

Burke longed to draw her back into his arms to comfort her, but she'd moved several yards away. He wasn't sure he should try to walk with the store spinning so wildly. He let his eyes drift shut, fighting the dizziness he didn't want to admit to. Lord, keep me standing upright. Lila needs help.

"Deputy, I thought I told you to stay in bed." The doctor didn't sound too astonished to find him on his feet. "You won't heal right if you don't take care of yourself."

"I'm fine, Doc." He kept his eyes closed, not concerned with his own welfare. It mattered little.

The back door slapped open. Footsteps clattered, ringing in the quiet store. "Pa! Pa!" little girl voices called. "We've been waiting for you forever!"

"What are my girls doing here?" The doctor laughed, sounding happily surprised.

"Waiting for you," one high-noted voice informed him.

"And we're gettin' hungry," an identical voice added.

Should he risk it? he wondered. Bravely he opened one eye. The room had stopped spinning so he opened the other to see twins girls hanging on to both of the doctor's shirtsleeves. Both were cute as buttons in their braids and calico dresses.

"Thank you, Lila. We will be keeping Arthur in prayer." A kindly blonde woman waited in the bright fall of light through the open back door. When her gaze landed on her husband, she gentled. Love lit her softly, the way happy endings come in a fairy tale.

The twins dragged their father toward her and the family left together, their voices drifting after them as they discussed what to order at the diner and not to forget slices of apple pie for dessert.

Love had happened to other people. Not him. For him, love was something to lose, something that had failed to protect him from the world's harshness. He had no call for that kind of weakness in his l
ife. So he was at a loss to explain why the echoes of the happy family lingered in his mind and why he pushed off the wall to settle his hands on Lila's shoulders.

He liked being near to her. He breathed in the faint scent of soap in her hair and the lilac sweetness that wrapped around his heart. The need to comfort her roared through him with a fury that shook his bones, violent and consuming and yet infinitely tender.

"I will find the men who hurt your father," he vowed. He brushed one fingertip over a lock of hair curling at her nape.

"You are a good man, Burke." She swirled to face him, lifting her chin so she could look him in the eye. Admiration softened the dear contours of her face. Caring polished her delicate features and made her impossibly more beautiful to him.

An answering caring threatened to rise up, but he caught it in time. What was he doing? Who did he think he was? He couldn't feel this way for Lila. He ought to move away from her, but he couldn't. His thumb traced the dainty cut of her chin, marveling at the satin softness of her skin. His gaze slid to her soft, rosebud mouth and deeper emotions left him weak.

Step away, Hannigan, he told himself. Don't think it. You don't even have the right to dream of kissing her.

Sharp, heavy footsteps rang in the stairwell. "Lila? I need you." Eunice's irritation sharpened her words and rang down the stairs and into the store with impressive force. "Now."

"I'm coming," she promised, but she didn't move away. She didn't break the connection of his touch. She had to feel this, too. Was she as vulnerable as he?

"I need to help with my pa's care, now that the doctor has gone." She didn't need to explain. He already knew she had to go. Was she lingering just to stay close to him?

He did not have the right to hope for that, too.

"Tell me. What can I do for you?" he asked with honest concern.

"You can try taking care of yourself for a change." She laid the flat of her hand against his jaw. "Go back to bed. Rest."

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