Shotgun Bride [The Quinter Brides Book One]
by Lauri Robinson
Jessie bit her lip. There was no reason for her not to be happy to see Skeeter. He'd been very kind to her.
"W-we're glad you're back," she said.
"I'll meet you in the bunkhouse in few minutes," Kid said, turning her toward the house.
"Uh, Jessie, can I talk to you for a minute?" Russell asked. A hammer began pounding in her temples. Kid looked down at her. She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say, so closed it, and shrugged her shoulders.
"What for?" Kid asked.
"Well, uh, well, I just want to apologize." Russell kicked at the dirt, his eyes down cast. He did sound sincere, but then again, he'd sounded sincere before.
She looked at Kid. His expression said it was her decision. Russell was her brother and she owed him a chance to change, didn't she? Still unsure, she nodded.
"All right, come into the house. You too, Skeeter," Kid said.
Instantly, Skeeter was walking beside her. "Hey, Jessie, you got any of those molasses cookies?"
"Yes, in the kitchen," she said. Skeeter glanced at Kid, "Mind if I go get a couple?"
"Go ahead," Kid said.
"Hey, Russ, come on, these are the ones I told you about," Skeeter said.
Russell looked at Kid as well.
"Go on," Kid said.
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Skeeter and Russell walked around to the back of the house while Kid led her to the front steps. After he let Sammy out, he helped her remove her coat.
Jessie checked her hair in the mirror, retying the bow holding the long mass away from her face, and generally wasting time.
Behind her, Kid appeared in the mirror. "You don't have to talk to him."
"Yes I do. He's my brother."
"And Skeeter's mine," he said, a glimpse of humor in his dark eyes. His head came forward, nuzzling the back of her neck. "I love you."
She twirled into strong arms, absorbing his love, strength, and optimism. "Stay with me?"
"Forever," he whispered before covering her mouth with his.
"Hey, you two coming in here?" Skeeter's muffled yell sounded from the kitchen.
"Hold your horses, Skeeter, we're coming," Kid answered. Jessie giggled, half in humor, half in nervousness. Kid took her hand and they walked into the kitchen. He pulled her chair out, eased her into it, and then sat down beside her. Heavy, thick silence filled the air.
Russell thudded his fingertips against the table. "Well, like I said. I just want to apologize, Jessie. I said some pretty mean things to you. I didn't mean them." He scratched his head. "I don't know what else to say. I know I've done some pretty stupid things. And I really don't know why I did them. It was just that sometimes ... I'd ... well I'd get scared 229
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knowing I had to take care of you. I didn't know how to take care of myself, let alone someone else. And over the years, it just kind of got worse and worse. I just want you to know I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I really am." Across the table, the look on Russell's face wasn't his classic, 'I'm sorry' one. It looked real, sincere. Jessie blinked, wondering what clouded her vision. A hand ran over her back, smooth and comforting and another pressed a white handkerchief into her palm. She used it to wipe at the tears on her cheeks before she said, "I forgive you, Russell."
"I promise to be a better brother from now on, Jessie." He blinked then pressed a heel of one hand to the corner of his eye.
Weary, and more than a little confused, she nodded.
"Thank you." Had six weeks on the prairie with Skeeter changed him?
The room remained silent for several minutes before Skeeter said, "So, Kid..." He swallowed the cookies in his mouth before he continued, "We found that land you were talking about. It's not good for much, not even grazing. Hardly a drop of water anywhere around."
"Oh," Kid said, his hand still running over her back.
"But, we found another chunk. If'n you really want to buy some, that's the chunk to buy."
"Oh, yeah? Why?"
Skeeter, eyes wide, lips grinning, nodded as he said,
"Because there's dinosaur bones on it. Lots and lots of dinosaur bones."
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"Dinosaur bones?" Kid thought he'd heard it all. Leave it to Skeeter to astonish him.
"Yeah!" Skeeter dug into his pocket then laid five black triangular shaped things on the table. "And sharks teeth." Kid rubbed his forehead. "Sharks teeth?"
"Yup."
"What would I do with sharks teeth and dinosaur bones?" he asked.
Skeeter played with the little, black teeth. "People back east, they'll pay big bucks for them. Won't they Russ?" Russell nodded. "They're called paleontologists. We ran into one out by the chalk pyramids. We rode with him to the Castle Rock Badlands. He said folks out east are starving for this stuff."
Kid pushed the silliness of their finds to the back of his mind and brought up another subject.
"Did you run into any one else during your excursion?" Russell and Skeeter looked at each other. Skeeter answered, "No, no not really. A few prospectors here and there. A family or two traveling west."
"No one by the name of Montgomery?" Russell's head snapped around. His gaze dashed between him and Jessie.
"Jed Montgomery?"
"Yes, Jed Montgomery," Kid said, ire ripping up and down his spine.
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Russell looked at Jessie. "Did he hurt you?" She shook her head.
His Adam's apple bobbed. "Was he looking for me?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him. I asked if you two did," Kid said.
"Nope, name doesn't ring a bell to me," Skeeter said, chomping on another cookie.
"So, he hasn't been here?" Russell asked.
"No," Kid said.
Russell turned to Jessie. "He's that mean one from Dodge."
"I know who he is," she said.
"Well, you stay clear of him, ya hear?" Russell said. Skeeter glanced around the table, brows furrowed. He scratched his chin. "So, Kid, what ya think? Ya interested in this land?"
"No, Skeeter, I'm not interested in any land with dinosaur bones and sharks teeth," Kid said.
"Damn," Skeeter sighed. "I think I'm going to head home then, see what ma and the boys have been up to." Russell stood. "I'll head back to the bunk house. Whatever Joe's cooking for supper sure smelled good." The two collected their hats and meandered out the door. Kid turned to Jessie.
"How are you doing?"
"I'm fine," she said. "He almost sounded sincere."
"Yes, he did." And Kid didn't know what to do about it. Then again six weeks with Skeeter could probably make anyone question their own sanity.
She scooted her chair away from the table. 232
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"Where are you going?" Kid asked.
"No where. Just going to cook us some supper."
"Oh," he said, twisting his chair out from under the table, ready to watch her float around the kitchen. On second thought he grasped one of her hands.
"With all the talk of dinosaur bones and sharks teeth I guess I forgot the time."
Jessie smiled. One of her lovely, just for him, smiles that made her eyes sparkle and his groin throb. She hoisted her skirt and flung one leg around to sit on his knees as if they were Rosebud. Her hands went around his neck.
"Well, I hope you haven't forgotten what else you had planned for the night."
He flicked his eyebrows, enjoying her game. "Oh, you mean the part about making you blush?"
"Ah," she said. "You do remember."
"Tell me, sweet Jessie would you like to blush in the kitchen?" He started to unbutton the front of her dress.
"But it's supper time," she said, not trying to stop him at all.
"I don't mind if we eat late," he pressed his nose into the hollow of her throat.
"I don't mind either," she whispered.
* * * *
A lone steer cut itself from the herd, heading toward the row of trees near the bottom of the gulley. Kid waved an arm at Russell, signaling he'd go after the cow. Giving Jack his head, they angled across the hill to cut the steer's path before 233
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he reached the bottom. Jessie's brother had been back over a week and had behaved himself the whole time. Actually, Kid was beginning to like him. He had a good head, when he used it right, and he was no longer afraid of a day's work. Lost in thought, Kid missed the quick turn the cow took and almost lost his balance as Jack cut left going after the steer. Settled back in the saddle, he took a second look toward the trees. Something had moved. Perhaps a deer, he put his attention back on the steer. Jack ran below it. With legs bounding in all directions, the cow twisted and headed back up the hill.
He reined Jack in and waited for a moment, making sure the steer headed toward the rest of the herd before he swung the horse around. Whatever was in the trees deserved another look, might be a cow he hadn't realized was missing. Clumps of trees, stripped of their leaves, ran along the small creek and provided cover for critters of all breeds. Jack plodded along while Kid searched for the red-brown of a steer. A snap, loud enough to make Jack jump, sounded and Kid pulled on the reins, trying to calm the horse. The next crack echoed and sent Jack into a rear. At that moment, Kid realized the sounds were something ricocheting off the horse's flank.
Legs stiff in the stirrups, he absorbed every jolt as Jack ended his rear with several four-legged hops. Getting the horse under control, Kid whipped Jack around and spurred him to the trees. Through the barren branches, he saw a man on a black horse race across the creek.
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Kid ducked his head and twisting his neck every now and again to miss the larger branches from knocking him off Jack, he took chase. Further down the gully, the trees thickened, forcing him to slow and pick a trail through the brush. By the time he arrived at the creek, the man and horse were little more than a dot on the horizon.
Wiping at a sting on his cheek, he glanced down. Blood smeared across the back of his hand. Several branches had smacked his face, more than one hard enough to scratch his cheek. Rubbing at the pain in his shoulder, where another limb had bounced off, he dismounted and walked to the creek to rinse his hands and face.
The cold water stilled his breath for a moment and sent a shiver down his back. Shaking off the feeling, he bent to retrieve his hat. A few feet away, a tiny river of black ran toward the water. His gaze followed the flow backwards into the brush. He stood, and walked over to flip a few tall bushes out of the way.
His hands froze.
"Shit!"
He bent down and rolled the man onto his back. The body was warm, pliable. Kid hoped he was still alive. Optimism dissolved when he noticed the long, jagged cut below the man's chin. A thin, waning trickle of blood slowly oozed from the long slit across his throat.
He scanned the area, a few feet upstream a small campsite had been built. A hole had been dug in the ground for a fire pit and the ground had been well trampled. Warmth crept along his cheek again, and he ran the back of his hand 235
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over the still bleeding scratch. He rubbed his hand across his thigh and wiped the scratch again before pulling the bandana from around his neck and pressing it to his cheek. A thrashing noise sounded up the hill. He took a couple steps up the embankment then heard Russell's voice.
"Kid? Kid?"
"Down here!" he yelled.
Russell and his horse burst through the trees.
"You all right? We got worried when the steer came back but you didn't."
"Yeah, I'm fine. But there's someone else that's not," Kid answered.
Russell dismounted and picking his way down the hill with the side of his boots, he made his way through the second clump of trees.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. I saw something while chasing the steer and came back for a look. I noticed a man on a horse and took after him, but by the time I got through the trees he was gone. Then I found him." He pointed to the dead man a few feet behind them. "Better go tell Joe to send one of the boys for Turley."
Russell moved closer to the body. He stumbled and held one shaky hand out.
"Kid, we don't need the sheriff. Only you and I know about this. We can bury him right here and no one will ever know anything."
Kid frowned. "What? Of course we need the sheriff. This man was murdered."
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Russell looked around, scanning the area. "You say there was someone else?"
"Yes, there was someone else. A man on a black horse. He ran off that way." Kid pointed over his shoulder, stepping closer.
"Why are you bleeding?" Russell waved a hand at Kid's shirt.
A long smear of blood ran across his shirt and the front of his pants. "Damn that scratch must have bled more than I thought." He wiped his fingers over his cheek. They came back clear. "A branch caught me on the way through the trees."
Russell took a step backwards.
"Honest, Kid, I won't tell anyone. Hell, I wanted to kill the bastard myself."
The hairs on the back of his neck stood to attention.
"Who?"
Russell pointed at the dead body. "Montgomery." Another loud crash sounded before Kid had a chance to say anything.
Joe's voice echoed down the hill, "Kid? Kid, you down there?"
"Yeah, Joe, we're down here," he answered.
"What's up?" Joe asked from the other side of the trees.