Jodi Thomas - Texan's Touch

Adam staggered once more.

The ranch hands stood back, cheering the huge man on. It wasn’t a fair fight, but it was more fun than a hanging. They all seemed to think that a man so foolish as to admit he wanted to sleep with a girl in front of her brother deserved to have some sense knocked into him.

Nichole held her tongue. She guessed Wolf was just playing a game, getting the men off guard. But when she saw blood dripping from Adam’s lip, she wasn’t so sure.

“Untie him!” Wolf raged. “Let him try and defend himself. Hanging’s too easy for him.”

Someone cut Adam’s ropes, and Wolf hit him again before he had time to lift his hands in defense.

When Adam raised his head, with blood streaming from his nose and his left eye swelling closed, Nichole had enough. She charged her brother. “Stop it!” she shouted, shoving him hard with her shoulder. “Stop trying to kill my husband!”

All the cowhands froze in sudden silence.

Nichole closed her eyes in dread. She’d given herself away. In one moment of anger, she’d foiled any plan Wolf had. After all the years of training and drilling, she’d failed him. There could be no doubt of her gender now.

Wolf placed his hand on her back and smiled at her as the blade of a knife cut her ropes. “It’s all right,” he whispered, knowing she expected him to yell at her for breaking her disguise. “It’s time to stop pretending to be something you’re not.”

When she looked up at him, he added, “Now I know you must love this Yank. I think I knew it from the first. If you married him, it’s time for me to step aside.”

Then he lifted her up in his arms and gave her the big bear hug she’d waited for all her life. To her horror, tears welled in her eyes. She shoved them away. Right here in front of her brother and all the McLains, she was starting to act like a woman.

The ranch hands couldn’t have been more enthralled if they’d been at a grand opera house in the city. They all stood around waiting like the curtain would be coming up any minute on the second act.

While Nichole ran to Adam, Wolf faced the ranch boss. “I changed my mind,” he said with a smile. “I don’t want to hang him. Not now that I know he’s in the family. In fact, if we had whiskey, we’d all need to drink a round to celebrate my little sister’s marriage.” He patted Nance on the head, letting the boy know the game was over.

Emery answered the call. Within minutes everyone was lifting a cup of whiskey to the bride and groom, and Emery filled to the brim as long as he knew the big man was paying. No one seemed to notice that Wes had removed the rope from around his neck and was toasting with the rest.

Wolf told the story of how Adam and Nick met as the sun lowered. Eventually he told of Wes and Daniel and May and of the night they all felt like family. Emery was so touched by the story that he admitted he might have been mistaken about the stolen horse. Since it was back in the corral, maybe it had been borrowed and not stolen. His memory didn’t extend to Wes paying for the horse. For even with Wes’s encouragement, he could remember no money exchanging hands.

Then Colonel Wilcox lost any anger in his whiskey. Like many, North and South, he’d had too few reasons to celebrate. A marriage outranked a hanging any day. He cornered the youngest McLain, asking if Daniel might consider riding out to his ranch some Sunday to marry several of the couples.

Adam walked over to the well and used his handkerchief to wipe the blood from his mouth. The shadows spread night over the prairie, making the earth seem peaceful in sleep. He noticed Nance already curled up on the porch asleep with Wolf’s bedroll tucked around him.

“How many times were you planning to let Wolf hit you before you hit back?” Nick asked from behind him. She was in her world now, the shadows, but she was no less beautiful.

“I told you once I was through with fighting.” Adam faced her. “I figured he had a right. I not only slept with you, I forced you into marrying me. If I’d been your brother, I’d have probably killed me.”

“But you’re not my brother. You’re my husband.” Nichole touched his arm lightly, letting her fingers slowly move up to his shoulder. “No one forced me into anything today.”

He studied her closely, knowing she was right. He might love every ounce of her, but he controlled none. She was her own woman, but she was also his wife. And she was looking at him with those beautiful green eyes that promised a lifetime of passion.

Adam put his hands on her waist gently, testing. When she didn’t pull away, he drew her close, loving the way she fit against him. “Nichole Hayward, will you marry me?”

She laughed. “You’re a little late in asking, Doc.”

“I know, but I don’t want my wife to say someday that I didn’t ask her properly. I love you more than I’ve one lifetime to show. I want you by my side, no matter what happens. Be my wife, Nick. Be the mother of my children. Be my partner in everything I do.”

“Do your brothers come with the deal?”

“I’m afraid so.” Adam grinned. “Though I’m the one who should be asking that question.”

She smiled into the warmest brown eyes she’d ever seen. “Someone’s got to keep you out of trouble. This is a wild country, this Texas.” She gently kissed his busted lip. “It’ll be a full-time job just keeping my brother and brother-in-laws from killing you.” He was a man of peace in her world. She’d known it the night they’d met. He alone could heal her inner scars with his love. “I’ll marry you, Adam.”

He kissed her tenderly. “I have a feeling with you as my wife, I’ll probably die in bed.” He moved his hands over her hips and pressed her close. “Say it,” he whispered against her ear. “Say you love me.”

“I love you, Doc, I always have.” She rocked against him, kissing him lightly as she whispered, “From now on, I’m no longer a Shadow. I’ll be beside you in day and night.”

“In day and night,” he echoed as he kissed her fully. “Until death do us part.”