The Outlaw Takes A Bride (The Burnett Brides) (22 page)

“And now you’re here with us, away from all that,” Eugenia said, her voice excited. “I think a celebration is called for, since Beth has joined us and Tanner has returned home. I was thinking that we needed to have a dance.”

The men groaned.

“A dance to celebrate, and it would be an excellent opportunity, if Tucker and Beth are ready, to announce their engagement,” Eugenia said her face filled with enthusiasm. “We’ll invite all of our friends and family. It will be fun.”

“It’s really not necessary,” Beth said.

“A dance does sound like fun,” Rose interjected. “I haven’t danced in ages.”

“Mother, do you want to go through all this work?” Tucker asked.

“Yes, I do.” She glanced around at her sons. “We’ll hold it in two weeks. That will give you boys a chance to build the dance floor, set up the pavilion, and butcher us a calf.”

Travis shook his head. “You didn’t do this for Rose and me when we got married.”

“If you recall, you were barely speaking to me when the two of you tied the knot,” Eugenia replied giving her oldest son a sideways glance.

Rose took her husband by the arm and gave him a knowing glance. “Speaking of being a newlywed I think it’s time we retired for the night. I’m feeling sleepy.” She yawned. “Eugenia, the dance sounds like fun. The three of us girls—we’ll spend tomorrow planning the dance and barbeque.”

Eugenia suddenly stood and said, “I think I’ll make an early night of it, too. Tanner, I’m going to need your help tomorrow, so you might want to turn in early also.” Tucker watched as Tanner glanced at Beth. For a moment it almost appeared that his glance was filled with longing, but Tucker wasn’t certain.

“Yeah, I guess I better get to bed.” Tanner paused looking at Beth. “Good night, Beth. Good night, Tucker.”

Tucker watched as his mother and Tanner disappeared out the doorway, along with Rose and Travis. “I think we’re being left alone on purpose.”

“I think you’re right,” Beth said with a nervous laugh. “Rose told me she’d take care of getting us by ourselves tonight, and I guess she did.”

“Rose is a pretty remarkable woman. I like her a lot,” Tucker said, walking around the room to stand closer to Beth.

“She’s been very nice to me since I arrived,” Beth said.

The room fell silent as they stood there suddenly feeling awkward and very aware that they were alone.

Beth took a seat on the loveseat, and Tucker felt like a fool standing. He sat down in his mother’s rocker. God, he’d never had this problem with a woman before. Always before he’d been certain of how to act and what she expected. But this was his first mail-order bride, and well, he was like a young boy doing his first courting.

She clasped her hands in her lap, and he noticed they were shaking slightly. She was just as nervous as he was, and that made him feel more at ease. They both were anxious about the outcome of this meeting, and Tucker had the advantage. He knew the truth, that he had never sent those letters and that although she was here to marry him, the chances were slim they’d ever tie the knot.

“What do you think about the dance?” she asked.

He smiled. “I think that Tanner and Travis are going to have a hell of a lot of work getting ready for it. And then the three of us are going to complain about having to dance.”

“Do you dislike dancing?” she asked.

“It’s an unspoken rule of the male species. You’re suppose to groan and moan when you’re invited to a dance. You never let on that you like dancing, because that’s for fops and fools.”

Beth laughed, easing the tension just a little. It was so quiet in the house, Tucker could hear the ticking of the clock. She had a nice laugh, and he was sorry that he didn’t feel anything for her. He’d wait until after the dance, and then he’d tell his mother and Beth he couldn’t marry her.

“I’m sorry. I’ve never thought of men who danced as fools,” Beth said, seeming to relax a little.

“A cowboy always has to swagger and act tough. You just haven’t lived long enough in Texas to know that yet, ma’am,” Tucker said, exaggerating his accent.

Beth giggled. “I thought my Georgia drawl was bad, but I must say you’ve outdone me.”

“Why, thank you, ma’am.”

The room fell silent as once again Tucker didn’t know what to say. They sat across from one another, feeling uncomfortable, and he wondered again how he had let his mother put him in this position.

“What will you do to help your brothers get ready for the dance?” Beth finally asked.

“I’ll stay out of their way. That’s the best thing I can do for them,” Tucker said. “You see, a hammer, nail, and I don’t go together any more than a cow and I seem to get along. Some people are made for working on a ranch and are handy with their hands. Me, the world is a safer place when I’m chasing bad guys or patrolling the street. A hammer becomes a dangerous tool in my hands.”

She laughed.

“When was the last time you were at a dance?” Tucker asked.

“My debut ball two months before the war broke out,” she said, her eyes darkening to a deeper hazel.

“Oh, my, then you are long overdue for some dancing,” Tucker said, wishing he could feel something for this nice woman.

“I don’t think I even remember how,” she said quietly, as if recalling the event.

She jumped up. “Will you practice with me?”

“Whoa, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

“Why not?” Then she smiled. “I’ve already forgotten. You’re just groaning and moaning so I won’t think you’re a fop or a fool.”

“Nothing to worry about there, ma’am. But I guess we could do a little practicing,” Tucker said, feeling very uneasy about what they were about to do.

He pushed the loveseat, table, and rocker out of the way and cleared a big enough space for them to dance. Then he took Beth’s hand and pulled her into position, trying to keep plenty of space between them. She stood awkwardly in his arms.

“The main thing to remember about dancing is that you’re supposed to be having fun. So relax and let the music move your feet,” he told her, knowing that at this moment he was about as relaxed as a grizzly bear that’s been awakened from a long winter’s nap.

“Are you sure we should be doing this tonight?” she questioned. “You said you didn’t like dancing.”

“Tonight’s great. Besides, you’re going to want to dance the night away. And I may not always be your partner. Nice women are a rarity around here.” He thought for a moment. “Tell me what dances you’ve learned so far.”

“I was taught the Virginia reel, the waltz, and a quadrille, but it’s been so long, I don’t know one from the other,” she said.

“Okay, let’s start with the easiest one, the waltz,” he said placing her hand in position. “Okay on my count, here we go. One-two-three. One-two-three.”

Beth started laughing as she stepped all over his feet.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

He stopped. “It is rather hard without music, isn’t it.”

“Yes.”

They stood there for a moment looking at each other. If Beth were any other woman, he would have kissed her by now, but he hadn’t. He hadn’t even thought about kissing her until just this moment, and even then it wasn’t because he wanted to kiss her.

“Let’s try again, and this time I’ll hum a few bars.”

He hummed, and she counted, and they struggled through the waltz. When they’d completed the dance, without Beth stepping on his toes, they stopped.

“I think you’ve got it.”

“I think I do, too. Thank you,” she said shyly.

“My pleasure.”

“Look, I’ve really had a good time tonight, but I think I better retire,” she said glancing shyly up into his face.

“Yeah, it is getting rather late,” he said.

She leaned forward and put her lips to his, taking him completely by surprise. It was a gentle kiss that should have been more, but somehow the spark just didn’t ignite, and though Tucker wanted there to be more, it just didn’t happen.

What did a man do when there was no fire, no flame, not even a spark?

They broke apart, and she opened her eyes and stared at him, her look questioning and thoughtful.

“I ... I best be going upstairs now,” she said.

“Good night, Beth. Sleep well,” Tucker said, and watched as she disappeared out of the room.

He’d felt nothing but the sense of kissing a really nice woman.

Tanner pounded the nail into the two-by-four, taking his frustrations out on the piece of iron. It felt good to be doing physical labor, to drive the demons from his soul.

He’d heard Tucker and Beth last night in the parlor, laughing and dancing, of all things. While he’d been lying in that big bed, struggling to forget that night in her arms, trying to remember that she was Tucker’s woman.

“Tanner!” Travis barked.

He stopped hammering and glanced up at his older brother. “Yeah?”

“You still here with me?” Travis questioned. “You seem a hundred miles away. Let’s take a five-minute break.”

With the back of his arm, Tanner swiped the sweat from his brow. The rays from the Texas sun, which pummeled him were relentless. “Sounds good.”

He walked over and sat down beside his brother on the back of the wagon and picked up his canteen of water. They’d spent the morning designing the makeshift dance floor, and now were actually building the platform from leftover lumber for the new bam.

“Mighty warm today,” Travis observed, gazing up at the afternoon sun.

“Yeah,” Tanner replied distantly, still thinking of Tucker and Beth dancing in the parlor, of his brother holding her in his arms. Tanner’s stomach clenched in response to the vision of his younger brother’s hands on Beth. The image was so vivid that he could hear the tinkling of her laughter and Tucker counting out the rhythm of the dance.

“So what do you think of Beth? Do you think she’s the woman for Tucker?” Travis asked, turning his canteen up and letting the water trickle over his chest and down his back.

“Why wouldn’t she be?” Tanner said, a strident note in his voice, which he failed to cover. He glanced quickly at his older brother. “Tucker should be glad he’s getting her. Beth is an intelligent, beautiful woman. She has more social graces and manners than any woman I’ve ever met.”

Travis stared at Tanner, perplexed. “How long have you known her?”

“Only since the stage holdup,” Tanner said. “But she’s a fine lady. And she needs a husband.”

Travis raised his brows questioning. “Why does she need a husband?”

Tanner took a swig of water and washed it down his parched throat. “She left everything behind in Georgia to start again here in Texas. Tucker would be a fool not to marry her.”

“Even if he loved someone else?” Travis asked.

“No one could compare to Beth,” Tanner said, and tilted his canteen of water back, letting the water flow down the front of his open shirt, cooling off his heated chest.

“Oh,” Travis said, watching Tanner. “You two must have gotten to know each other fairly well during the time you were together.”

Tanner shrugged thinking of how Beth had seen more than he hoped she ever told his family but also remembering the times he’d helped her from bed the way she looked in the morning, the way a moonbeam looked on her naked skin.

He took a deep breath. He couldn’t go any further with that thought.

They sat sipping their water, resting, watching white puffs of clouds drift across the clear Texas sky.

“It’s been nice this past week having you here helping out on the ranch,” Travis said, glancing out across the land. “You know there’s plenty of work to keep the two of us busy on this ranch if you wanted to stay.”

Tanner glanced at his older brother. “What are you saying?”

“I’m asking you to settle here and help me run the ranch,” Travis said. “You could live at the house, or if you wanted more privacy, we could fix up one of the line shacks for you to use.”

Tanner stood and walked around to the side of the wagon and leaned against the buckboard. “I can’t do that. I’ll come back to visit when I can, but I can’t live here permanently.”

“Why not?”

“I need to keep moving. I don’t stay in one place very long,” he said unable to meet his brother’s eyes.

Travis glanced down at his drink. “Mother’s going to be disappointed. She was really planning on you staying here with us.”

“I know. But I can’t stay. I have some things I have to take care of,” he said, taking a swig of water.

“You know, Mother told Tucker and me not to ask you about where you’ve been, but I have to, Tanner. Why didn’t you come home after the war?” Travis asked his younger brother. “We kept waiting and worrying about you.”

Tanner glanced at his older sibling and shrugged not about to confide in his family why he hadn’t come home from the war, why he really couldn’t stay. “Time sort of got away from me. Then it seemed like I had been gone so long, and I hadn’t left on very good terms. I just couldn’t come home.”