Kate Bridges - Luke's Runaway Bride

“Much obliged.” When she disappeared behind the ornately carved door, he turned to Jenny. “You two speak French?”

The mountain of curls on her head jiggled. Jenny’s smile was slightly crooked, but somehow balanced her lopsided brow and single dimple, and held his attention more than it ought to. Altogether her face made a captivating composition.

“Olivia’s teaching me a few words. She lost her folks when she was a baby, and just discovered they came from New Orleans.” Walking to the desk, Jenny replaced the scissors. “Olivia’s become enamored with everything from Louisiana. The language, Creole cooking…”

He splayed a palm over his bandaged ribs and Jenny trailed off into a sudden, uncomfortable silence. She lowered her gaze to his chest, and he saw her swallow. He couldn’t help but lower his eyes to her bountiful assets. Her pin had come undone again, exposing creamy rounds. His heart thudded and he wondered if his wound was making him feverish, or the woman.

She flushed and snatched her dress closed. Her misty blue eyes flared. A gentleman would have looked away, her gaze seemed to accuse. Well, he sure as hell was no gentleman. But he did look away, scouring the room for his clothes while she adjusted hers.

His boots sank into the plush braided rug. He stepped to a leather wing chair and retrieved his bloodstained shirt. Pain jabbed his right side. He eyed the whiskey on the polished desk. “Mind if I take a drink?”

“Help yourself.”

It slid down his throat like fire. He took another, until the pain retreated and his thoughts spun.

How could he get Daniel to follow him to Cheyenne? Even if he didn’t want the boy, or stuck to his unlikely claim that Adam wasn’t his, Daniel should at least do the honorable thing and sign release papers so someone else could adopt the child. The last thing Maria Ramirez had done before diphtheria took hold of her was go to the town hall and register the boy’s legal father as Daniel. A month ago, after her death, the judge had told Luke nothing could be done for Adam until those release papers were signed or refuted by Daniel. If he’d only agree to see the boy…

Luke thrust an arm into his sleeve. Now suppose Jenny went to see the kid first, without Daniel…. Luke shook his head. No. Impossible. This was a delicate situation, and the last thing Luke wanted was to upset her. He needed her, the boy needed her, calm and rational and happily married to Daniel.

Happily married. Luke adjusted his collar. So Daniel was finally tying the knot. Well, good luck to him. Luke had never been tempted. Not with what he’d seen in his own family.

As he buttoned a cuff, Jenny leaned her supple body against the desk and tucked herself in her feather wrap. Peacock feathers and lavender corsets. What other surprises did she have under there? He tore his gaze away and smoothed his sleeves. “How’s Daniel doing these days?”

“Very well. He’s sponsoring the Widows and Orphans Charity Ball tonight,” she said with pride, “raising money.”

Luke gritted his teeth. Daniel should be looking after his own son. He hadn’t even bothered to attend Maria’s funeral when Luke sent the telegram. A second telegram went unanswered, too.

But Jenny was innocent, Luke told himself, and he’d try to be kind. “When’s the wedding?”

“January.”

“The dead of winter?”

She stumbled for words. “Spring or summer would have been nice, when the blossoms are out, but…January’s fine, too.” She crossed her arms defensively. “It’s Daniel’s slowest time of year, selling property.”

“Ah, I see….” Hell, Luke didn’t blame her for falling for Daniel. Six years older than him, Daniel had been his only friend in that difficult year when his father had died. Luke had grown up respecting Daniel, admiring his easy wit and mathematical skills, his ability to work hard and do his share of the farming chores, his popularity with girls. Later, Luke admired Daniel for getting himself educated in the railroad business. And hadn’t Daniel even lent Luke money once, so Luke could buy his ma a penny vase, the only store-bought present she’d ever received in her hardworking, miserable life?

A voice nagged inside his brain. But wasn’t Daniel also the one who’d taunted Luke with the shame of how his father had died? How his father was hanged?

Luke ran a hand through his unruly hair, and the sound of Jenny’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Where do you live?”

“Wyoming Territory,” he grumbled.

“Oh, Wyoming’s pretty.”

He tucked his shirt into his denim pants. “You been there?”

“Once, last month with my father. He’s setting up the new junction outside of Cheyenne.”

“Your father works for the railroad?”

She nodded and smiled. “Vice president of operations. He’s working tonight. One of the trains derailed south of the Springs, and he’s working to get it hitched back up. He’ll be sorry he missed you.”

Luke didn’t care to meet her father or anyone else.

“That’s how Father and Daniel met,” Jenny continued in her innocent tone. “I mean, when Father was buying land for the railroad. He took out a loan with Daniel.”

Luke searched the room for his jacket and warned himself to keep quiet about Daniel’s business. But now that he knew where Daniel was tonight, that’s where he’d head. Straight to the ball. Hell, why not settle things as planned?

Luke still had the extra rail ticket in his pocket that he’d bought for Daniel tonight. Daniel could meet Adam, make his decision. He could even catch the next day’s train home, with or without the boy. There were only two trains a week between Denver and Cheyenne, and Luke had carefully thought out each possibility before he’d left.

“If you’ve just arrived in town, have you heard?” she asked. “There was a robbery in Daniel’s office this afternoon.”

Luke’s gaze snapped to hers. “A robbery?” An uneasy feeling trembled through his gut. “What time was that?”

“Four o’clock.”

What? He took a shaky step back. “What do you mean?”

“At four o’clock, a man robbed Daniel.”

The hair at the back of Luke’s neck stood on end. What was going on? He’d been there at four—an hour past closing, with no sign of a robber. Surely Daniel wouldn’t… “What did the man take?”

Warm lamplight danced across her solemn expression. “Ten thousand dollars.”

Ten thousand dollars? A lifetime of money.

Luke stared at her and gulped. He hadn’t taken a cent. Was Daniel trying to set him up for a fall? Dammit! Was Daniel trying to blackmail him to keep quiet about the boy?

“Daniel said no one was harmed. He got a good look at the man, though, and gave an accurate description to the sheriff.”

Luke staggered back, the news hitting him like a blow behind the knees. The sheriff was involved? Daniel planned on framing him? As hard as they’d physically fought in the past, Daniel had never pulled a stunt like this before. What kind of man had he become? Was he good enough to be a father to Adam? Was he even good enough to be a husband to this innocent Jenny, with her powdered hair and stick pin?

Luke swallowed past the rock in his throat. And where the hell did that put him? He’d heard about Denver’s hanging judge. In this town, it’d be Daniel’s mighty word against his. If Luke were caught, what would happen? Would he be hanged just like his father? He felt the blood drain from his head. Anything but that. He grabbed his jacket and his breathing came in gasps. “Did he tell you anything about the man?”

Her eyes narrowed on him. “No, he said he didn’t want to frighten me.” Her gaze skimmed down to his chest at the same time his hand shot up to conceal the bloodstain.