L
EWT RODE AHEAD OF THE WAGON. THE NEAREST town would take most of the day to get to, but once they were on the train they’d be in Austin in a few hours. He felt like he’d been away for a year. His room at the small hotel he’d found a few years ago would be waiting, his clothes in the wardrobe, his papers and books scattered across the desk.
He’d always found a kind of quiet peace in his room. The landlady wasn’t the type to rent to gamblers, but he’d caught her when money was lean and she’d agreed he could stay as long as he entered from the side door after hours so as not to disturb her respectable lodgers. The only meal she served was breakfast, and he rarely got up for that. When he did, he made sure he wore his most conservative suit and talked little. When someone asked him what line of work he was in, he simply said banking. No one ever asked more. Though banking was solid, the inquisitive person assumed any further discussion would be either boring or over their heads.
Lewt realized that for the first time ever, he wasn’t in any hurry to get back to his room—or his life, for that matter. He’d spent a week almost dying daily, it seemed, and the realization that he’d miss it surprised him. Or maybe it was the knowledge that he’d be saying good-bye to Em at the train station in Austin. He had a feeling she thought they’d all be going farther north, but for him, the trip had ended.
Suddenly, he wished he could slow down the small caravan. If they missed the train they’d have to stay the night at the train station and he’d have one more night away. One more night with Em near.
“Glad to be getting back?” Duncan asked as he pulled up next to Lewt.
“Not really,” he answered honestly.
“Want to travel on up to Whispering Mountain with us? I could lend you a horse to ride back to Austin. You seem to have taken to riding lately.”
Lewt knew it would only prolong the inevitable. “No,” he finally answered. “I think it’s time for me to go back to work.”
For the rest of the day, he watched Em as they moved closer and closer to the end of their time together. He decided he didn’t mind that she wore men’s clothes; he’d felt what was beneath and could imagine how she looked all long and lean and nude. There was no time for them to be alone, not even for a few minutes. In what seemed like a moment, she’d become a memory even though she was still standing in front of him.
When they reached the train, he grew silent, already missing her.
As they pulled away from the station, he stood on the back platform and watched the sun set as the train rushed toward Austin. He’d told Em she’d have to come to him, but she wasn’t coming. She was talking to Duncan and Sumner in the next car, or having dinner with the cooks, or checking on the horses, but she wasn’t coming to him.
The night grew dark, and he felt it on the inside as well as on the outside.
He thought of all they’d shared during the days together and how close they’d held one another that last night on the way back to the mission. If he’d known it would be their last time together, would he have done anything different? Would he have made love to her? Would he have pulled away and held her less so the pain of losing her now wouldn’t hurt so badly?
When the door opened, Lewt let hope flood his thoughts for a moment before he realized it was only Duncan coming out to smoke his nightly cigar.
“Wish you’d consider going on home with us,” Duncan said. “At the least, you’d be a great help with the cooks and all their loot.”
“No thanks. I don’t belong there. You were right.”
Duncan raised an eyebrow. “Still friends?”
Lewt offered his hand. “Still friends. I’ll take your money at cards or join in any fight with you, Duck.”
“Good to know. I don’t know when I’ll be back to Austin, but I’ll look you up.” Duncan slid the door open. “Coming in?”
“No. I think I’ll stay out here awhile.”
When the door opened and closed, he expected to be alone. Em’s voice startled him. “Mind if I join you?”
He tried his best to smile. “Anytime, pretty lady,” he said, realizing how much he meant the compliment. Somehow she’d become the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. Maybe she always had been; he just hadn’t seen her.
“Duck says you’re not planning to stay with us all the way.” She sounded angry, or maybe hurt.
“That’s right. It’s better to make a clean break.”
She lifted her chin. “That the way you want it?”
“It’s the way it has to be, Em.”
She nodded, a jerky nod he thought looked adorable. He wanted to touch her so badly the ache went all the way to his heart, but he wouldn’t reach for her.
She moved to his side of the window so no one from inside the car could see them. “I want something,” she whispered.
“Name it.” Lewt didn’t care what it was; if it was in his power to get it for her, he would.
“I want to touch you. I want to remember not just how you touched me, but I want to know you better.”
She lifted her hands and began at his face, like a blind person feeling her way.
He closed his eyes, trying to memorize the sensations running through him.
She kissed his eyes and dug her fingers into his hair, then moved her hands over his shirt. When he didn’t move, or say a word, she unbuttoned the shirt and pushed her hands inside, letting her fingers spread out over his chest.
“You’re right. You are hairy, but it’s softer than I thought it would be.”
He smiled. “We shouldn’t be doing this here.”
“I know,” she giggled. “I’m not afraid of you, not at all. You’ve told me not to be, over and over, and you’ve shown me what loving is like, but I had to let you know. I’m not afraid of you.”
She kissed him then.
He didn’t pull her near. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to let go if he did. He just stood there taking her sweet good-bye. A gift of passion. A gift of longing he’d carry with him the rest of his life.
The whistle blew and the lights of Austin came into view. Em pulled away, and he buttoned his shirt before he went back inside.
The group collected their luggage and stood on the platform as Duncan went to get tickets for the north train. Lewt helped the cooks with their stolen goods. He thought of leaving, but he wanted to watch Em for a few more minutes.
Duncan returned with the news that they’d missed the train. Sumner had wired his father that all were safe, and Travis had sent a carriage and word that if they missed the train he’d be expecting them.
“Come with us to my father’s house for a drink,” Duncan said as they loaded up. “I’d like him to meet you.”
Lewt had heard about the famous Texas Ranger Travis McMurray for years. “I’d be honored.”
Duncan went inside to hurry the women along. Lewt smiled. In the past week he felt like he’d been near death a half dozen times. He’d fallen in love with a woman far too good for the likes of him, and now, most unbelievable of all, he’d been invited to the home of Travis McMurray. He might still have the dust of the gutter on his shoes, but he was definitely moving up in the world.
An hour later Lewt was standing in the study of one of the most powerful men in Austin. Duncan was relating the story of how Lewt played cards for Em, then risked his life to get her out. They’d all had a few drinks.
Travis didn’t say much. He just watched and smiled now and then at his oldest son. He might be a powerful lawyer, statesman, and judge, but he was first a father.
When the stories slowed, Travis suggested the men join Emily and his wife for a late supper.
Lewt wished he could disappear into the shadows. They were all nice, all friendly, but he knew he didn’t belong in a place like this. Wyatt and Sumner had been smart to duck out when they arrived. They were probably where he should be, at the saloon having a steak and telling stories. Lewt didn’t seem to be able to even add to the conversation.
When they stepped into a small dining room, Em crossed the floor, ignored Lewt completely, and kissed her uncle on the cheek. “Uncle, are you still sworn in as a judge?”
“Yes,” he said. “After what you’ve been through, Emily, are you thinking about making out a will?”
“No.” She looked nervous suddenly, but she lifted her chin. “I want you to make this man marry me.”
To Lewt’s shock, she pointed at him.
Travis laughed, and Duncan choked on his drink.
“Does this man want to marry you, Emily?”
“Yes, he told me he did.”
Lewt couldn’t get words out. He couldn’t breathe. Even after two weeks she was still bossing him around and probably trying to get him killed.
Em continued, “He told me the first day I met him that he wanted to marry one of Duncan’s cousins, and it didn’t matter much which one as long as she was rich.”
Lewt closed his eyes. Travis McMurray, one of the toughest rangers ever to ride, would shoot him right in front of everyone and clean up the blood before he sat down to supper.
When he opened his eyes, Travis and Duncan were standing within strangling distance of him. “Did you say that, Lewt?” Duncan asked.
He saw no point in denying it. What were the chances they’d believe anything he said? “I did, but . . .” He couldn’t think of a bluff.
“He said he wanted a wife and a home and a family. I can be the first part, buy the second part, and we can work on the third part.”
“Do you want to marry Emily?” Travis’s voice had lowered to deadly calm. “I know you’re a gambler, son, but you might want to think about taking this bet.”
“I do, but not because she’s rich or a McMurray. If she has any sense she won’t want to marry me.”
“I’m confused.” Duncan looked from Emily to Lewt. “Do you two want to marry or not?”
“I’m not . . .”
Em stepped between her uncle and Lewt. “I want him, Uncle Travis. Can I have him or not?”
Travis scratched his head and looked to his wife for advice, but she was laughing too hard to help. “Both of you follow me,” he said as he headed back to his study. “Not you, Duncan,” he added, as if he had eyes in the back of his head and knew his son was following.
He shoved Lewt and Emily into the front parlor and told them to talk while he drew up the papers. If they both agreed, when he got back he’d marry them. Then he looked at Emily and said simply, “If he doesn’t agree, Em, you can’t have him and that’s final. I know your papa gives you and the girls everything you want, but I draw the line at this.”
Lewt heard the door slam, and suddenly the room was silent. He looked into her Texas sky-blue eyes and said, “You don’t have to do this, Em. Just because I saved your life or I touched you doesn’t mean you have to marry me.”
She moved to him, close enough to touch. “I touched you too, so we’re even. I figured something out while you were trying to walk away from me. I’ve been afraid of men all my life because of one bad man who hurt my mother when I couldn’t do anything to help. I let one bad man color all men, even though I’ve been surrounded by good men for years. Then I met you. A good man, not because you saved my life, or put up with me when you knew I was afraid, or listened even when I didn’t make sense. You’re one good man because you love me just the way I am.”
“What makes you think I love you?” They were words he thought he’d never say.
“I know you do because you always let me come to you.”
Lewt smiled. “And that show you just put on in front of your relatives? What was that for?”
She moved a few inches closer. “That was to let you know I’m coming right to you, right now, and if you don’t want me, you’d better start running.”
He couldn’t help himself; he kissed her. He’d meant it to be one kiss, but turning down anything when Em was offering was impossible. She was a headstrong, bossy, beautiful woman, and if she wanted his love, he figured he’d been saving it up for a long time.
When Travis opened the door, they were deep into the best kiss Lewt had ever dreamed of.
“I guess that answers my question,” Travis said. “I’ll get the pens and the witnesses.”
Two hours and a wedding later Lewt let her in the side door of the small hotel and up the back stairs to his room. She stood straight and tall, but he knew she was nervous.
“Ever been married before?” he asked.
“No,” she answered, looking around at his things.
“Me either.” He watched her, still not believing she was his wife. “Have any idea what we’re supposed to do?”
“No,” she lied.
“Me either.” He set her bag down on the table by his few books and papers. “Want to play some cards?”
She finally looked up at him. “Really?”
“Really.” He pulled a deck from the desk.
“I don’t have any money.” She giggled, knowing that he was trying to make this easy on her.
“Last time I played for you, I used my clothes.”
She started to relax. “You mean you bet your shirt against mine, your boots against mine, and so on.”
He nodded. “Last one standing with any clothes on wins.”
“All right.” She surprised him.
He dealt the first hand. She asked for two cards, then folded, losing her boot.
On the second and third hand, she lost her other boot and her belt.
“Are you sure you know how to play this game, darling ?” Lewt saw her concentrating on the cards, but she didn’t win.
She folded the next hand, giving up her blouse.
The next round she lost her trousers, then her socks.
By the next hand, when she pulled off her camisole, Lewt couldn’t take his eyes off her long enough to see if he’d won the round.
When the seventh hand was played, she stood and pulled the string on her underwear, and he thought he’d have to give up breathing, for there seemed to be no air in the room. The most beautiful woman in the world stood before him, and she was smiling.
Without a word, she walked across the room and crawled into bed, then turned to him and said, “Blow out the lamp, dear, and come to bed.”