The Lady and the Lawman (21 page)

“
But—”

Sure
she was going to say something about it not being appropriate, he cut
her off. “
No
buts. I'm sure Dalton knows by now he slipped up, but he's hoping my
anger kept me from hearing. He's already set about to make sure the
whole town knows you're the witness. No one's going to think twice
about the extra protection.”

“
Do
I have any say in the matter?” she asked as she worried her lower
lip.

He
watched, enthralled with her straight white teeth against her plump
lower lip. “No.”

“
But—”

The
only way he could think to silence her was to kiss her. And he did
just that. It wasn’t a mere peck of a kiss, it was an all-out
assault. His tongue delved into her mouth as soon as their lips made
contact. She was as sweet as he remembered. He wanted her to forget
about everything, including Tom, with this kiss. Jealousy flooded
through him at even thinking of his brother, which fueled the kiss
from hot to scorching.

Barely,
just barely, he was able to remember they stood inside the jail. Not
the place for romance.

His
bed. Once he got her there, he was never letting her out.
Reluctantly, he lifted his head and looked down at her closed eyes.
Slowly, they fluttered open, blurred with passion.

“
You’re
staying with me.” To hell with Tom and his proposal.

***

Grant
locked the door to the jail behind them. The small building had
clapboard siding, faded white from the elements. It held one cell,
iron bars keeping the lawless from the lawmen. With no one being
held, no townspeople needing his help, he appeared content to be done
for the day.

After
putting the key in his shirt pocket, he smiled down at her. That kiss
would be burned into her memory until her dying day. The heat that
had engulfed her when his lips had touched hers, when his tongue had
slipped in to mate with hers, still lingered. She had no idea a
meeting of mouths could be so...carnal. Tom hadn't kissed her like
that. No man had. Until him. She felt a flush heat her cheeks at his
continued scrutiny.

“
Let’s
get going. Miss Lorena serves dinner promptly at six. We’ll tell
her you won’t be staying there,” he said. His voice took on a
very pleased quality. Had she pleased him? Had the kiss affected him,
too?

Leading
her by the elbow, they turned in the direction of the boardinghouse.
The searing kiss had turned her brain to the consistency of the
oatmeal she’d had for breakfast. Thankful for his guiding hand, she
probably would’ve gone off in the wrong direction. Her lips tingled
still from the intensity of his mouth upon hers. As his hands had
wrapped around her, pulling her into his cocoon of strength, she'd
succumbed. He was solid. He was safety. He was... Lost in thought,
she bumped into someone on the narrow boardwalk. “Oh, excuse me.”

Blood
rushed from her head as she looked up into William Hunt's face. He'd
tracked her down.

“
Margaret!
I cannot believe it. I've found you!”
William touched her arm. She
flinched at his clammy touch and jumped back, her heart pounding as
if it would escape her chest. Deep down, she knew he would someday
find her, but had hoped, prayed even, it would be far in the future.
Unfortunately, it was not to be.

He
was here. To claim her. To take her. There was too much money at
stake for him to let her go. He would travel to the ends of the earth
to find her. And he had. Cranston was as close to that as one could
come.

Her
worst fears were finally realized. Bile rose in her throat thinking
of his evil plans. William hadn't known she’d eavesdropped on a
random conversation he'd had with his mistress. Now, he was playing
the worried fiancé instead of the premeditated killer she knew him
to be.

“
Hello,”
she whispered, finding it difficult to get words past the fear
clogging her throat. What was she going to do? William was here to
take her home, marry her and then kill her. She felt Grant's hand
move to her shoulder. She’d all but forgotten he was there. His
touch was a protective move she had come to recognize, to need. And
he'd be snatched away from her like everything else in her life that
was ever good and kind.

***

Grant
was quickly aware Maggie knew this man. But how? From his dress, he
wasn't from the area. What had come over her? Why did she look
petrified? Protective
anger
churned
in his gut.

The
man took her hand and pulled her toward him. Grant didn’t like the
stranger’s possessiveness and kept a firm grip on her shoulder. It
was as if she was in a tug-of-war.

“
What
are you doing in this God-forsaken town?” He raised his free hand
in the air. “Why on earth did you run away?” he demanded.
Furious
,
bri
ght
red colored on his cheeks.

Maggie
didn't want to see this man. He could see it on her face, her stance,
her lack of color. She was so pale, he thought she might faint.

“
William,
I...well...I'm sorry.”

“
That's
all you have to say?” The man yelled it in her face. He pulled out
a handkerchief and wiped his mouth, his anger making him spit as he
spoke. “You disappear one night, not telling anyone where you were
going and you say you’re sorry? I traveled almost two thousand
miles to find you. To bring you home. To protect you. Have you gone
insane? It seems to me I'm going to have to protect you from
yourself.”

This
definitely was the William of Maggie’s nightmares. Now Grant
understood her reasons for wanting to marry Tom. After years of
telling the difference between the bad and the good, it was clear in
which camp this man belonged. Hatred emanated from his pores. As
Maggie’s fiancé, he didn’t appear to have an affectionate,
loving bone in his body. So why then, did he travel so far to find
her? If he didn't care for her personally, which would be obvious
even to a blind man, what did she have that he wanted? Millions of
dollars. And that made a man do crazy, desperate things.

“
Hunt,
let go of the lady and apologize to her,” he commanded.

William
did let go of her, but turned his anger to him. Good. At least the
man’s wrath was focused on him, not Maggie. “I beg your pardon?”

“
Apologize
to the lady,” he repeated, his tone stern and intense, belying,
along with his star, his role as Sheriff.

She
scooted behind him once again. It pleased him to know she
consistently went to him when she needed help and protection.

“
Who
the hell are you?” William growled, spittle flying again.

Grant
pulled her deeper into his side and put his arm around her waist. Her
slight frame fit against him perfectly. No chance this man, any man,
was going to lay a finger on her. It was time to stop this once and
for all. “I'm her husband, and I think you owe her an apology.”

William's
mouth dropped open. So did Maggie's. Out of the corner of his eye,
Grant saw her staring at him, and he squeezed her side in
reassurance.

“
You
married this man?” William sputtered. It was his turn for his
pallor to turn as white as snow.

“
I
am...I mean...I...,” she fumbled, swallowed. “Yes.”

Marriage
was the first thing that had popped into his head when he saw Hunt
grab Maggie and yell at her as if she were a child. If she planned to
marry Tom to escape Hunt’s clutches, why not marry him, instead?
She needed protection right now, not next week.

“
Maggie,
don't you think you should introduce me to your friend?” Grant
asked. The two men’s glares held.

Quickly
pulling herself together, she replied, “This is William Hunt. He
is...I mean was, a friend from Philadelphia. It was nice of him to
check on me, but I’m sure he was just leaving.” Grant felt Maggie
straighten up, become bold and confident in her stature, as well as
her words.

“
Friend?
Friend!” William yelled. “I'm your fiancé!”

She
flinched, but didn’t step away. “Were, William. You
were
my fiancé.”

“
Why
are you talking as if our engagement is in the past tense? The last
time I saw you, we were discussing our future together.”

She
shook her head. “No,
we
were
not talking about anything.
You
were doing the talking. I never accepted your proposal, you assumed
and you made plans.”

Grant
felt a shiver run through her.

“
Not
me,” she continued. “Never me and now, you’re too late.”

Grant
couldn’t add a thing to her response to Hunt. She’d summed her
feelings up fairly well. All he could offer her was his muscle, his
protection, and he did that by placing one hand on his gun. No one
misinterpreted a man with a gun.

“
I’m
going to get to the bottom of this,” William hissed, realizing
there was nothing else he could do. “I’ll be staying in town
until this is resolved.”

William
stalked off and left them standing there, both stunned by what had
just happened. Grant tightened his hand on Maggie’s waist and
quickly led her away from the jail as they’d originally intended.
Before Hunt appeared and changed their lives forever.

“
Where
are we going?” she asked as they approached the town church.

“
We’re
going to get married.”

CHAPTER
TEN

“
Married?”
Margaret stopped in her tracks, rooted to the spot like a Ponderosa
pine. Had he really said that?
Married?

“
Yes.”

“
Married?”
she repeated, her voice sounded frantic, even to her own ears. Well,
she was! The sheriff had clearly lost his mind.

Grant
nodded. “We told Hunt we were married and we can't change our story
now.”

“
I
didn’t start this ruse and tell the man we were married, you did.”
She poked a finger at his rock hard chest. “I don't want to marry
you. I don't lo—” Furious, she fell silent, pursing her lips
together. She didn't want to marry a man she didn't love.

“
What?
Love me? But you love Tom? You love my brother enough to marry
him
?”

She
offered no reply as she stared at the star pinned to his shirt. She
couldn’t, because he was right.

“
Hunt
looked at you as if you were a possession. You’re telling me you
want to marry him instead?” He didn’t let her answer. “Not with
everything you told me and quite a bit you didn't. Besides, you’re
willing to marry Tom without love, so what’s the difference?”

The
difference was obvious, at least to her. Tom was kind, gentle,
thoughtful. Grant was stubborn and brash, made her feel things she
didn't understand, and above all, was now forcing her into marriage.

“
Marriage
seemed like the best and only way out that would be permanent. It was
you who planted the idea in my head.”

Her
gaze shot up to meet his.

“
Besides,
I don’t think Hunt will wait until next Sunday for Tom to marry
you. Once he finds out the truth, it’s only a matter of time before
he makes you marry him instead.” He paused, letting his words sink
in. “He will, too. He's come this far. He wants your money and he
won't stop until he gets it.” Grant tilted her chin up with one
finger. “I can’t let that happen.”