Give My Love to Rose (34 page)

Rose gasped and shot forward when Marston’s
face contorted with rage. She clutched at his arm when he reached
across the counter, but she was nowhere near strong enough to keep
him from grabbing hold of Hester by the front of her lace trimmed
dress.

“
Do not ever try to lay
your hands on me again,” he hissed. “It’s no secret that you don’t
like me and it’s even more well-known that I don’t like you, but I
tolerate you anyhow. But if you try to hit me again, that ends, and
I show you why there are a hell of a lot of people that are scared
to death of me.”

Rose gave Marston a tug, though she might as
well have tugged a house for all the good it did her. “Marston, let
go of her,” she warned, not for Hester’s benefit but for Marston’.
She didn’t want to see him in trouble because of that horrible
woman.

Marston very slowly did just that and took a
step back. “Go ahead and do your shopping, Rose, and I’ll wait
outside. If I stay in here much longer, I’m going to kill
something,” he growled before striding out the door with his fists
clenched.

Rose threw a shaky smile toward Langley and
Kaitlyn to reassure them everything was fine before turning her
attention to Hester. The bird-faced woman was stuttering,
stammering and seemed unable to pull herself together as her entire
body trembled.

“
I’ll take care of this,
Hester,” Hattie said gently as she waddled over. “Why don’t you go
to the back and take a rest?”

Hester nodded and her stiff legs carried her
to the backroom and finally out the back door so she could breathe
in a bit of fresh air. Never in her life had she been so afraid!
Marston Jacobs had seemed fully prepared to kill her and he very
may well have if Rose hadn’t been there.

Her shaking worsened under her entire body
was under attack and Hester decided to go visit Doctor Brinkley and
get something to calm her nerves and ease her head.

The doctor was quick to give her the
medication she needed and then he asked her to wait a moment before
leaving. He returned with an envelope and placed it in her hand.
“This arrived for you this morning.”

Hester wondered what it could possibly be.
“Thank you,” she said distractedly before stepping onto the porch
and sitting down in the white rocking chair.

She opened the envelope and was surprised to
find a letter from the Marshal in Millerton. Folded up with the
letter was a wanted poster and the name and picture that graced it
had Hester nearly crying out.

Wanted Dead or Alive: Marston Jacobs. Thief,
Kidnapper and Cold-blooded Murderer. $5,000 bounty!

Hester’s lips trembled and her mouth
watered. She could become a woman with wealth beyond her wildest
dreams and get rid of Marston all at the same time! No more
worrying with that troublesome store and no more outlaws gracing
her doorsteps. With any luck, even Rose and those brats would move
away once Marston was no longer around to protect them.

Hester rushed back into the doctor’s home
and shoved the letter in his face. “What is that?” he asked
patiently as he closed the medical book he’d been reading at his
desk.

“
We need to send a return
wire to the Marshall,” Hester stated, her chest swelling with
vengeful pride. “It seems Marston Jacobs is a wanted
man.”

The doctor’s eyes finally focused on the
poster in Hester’s hand and he let out a low whistle. “Well, I’ll
be damned.”

***

“
You can’t be losing your
temper like that with her, Marston,” Rose scolded sternly as they
lay together in bed that night.

Marston grumbled under his breath. “She
needs to know who she’s messing with. I won’t tolerate anyone
trying to lay hands on or insult this family.”

“
You’re too protective,”
Rose noted with a grumble of her own.

Marston snorted and held her tighter. “You
can’t be too protective when it comes to your family.”

Rose kissed his chest. “I just don’t want
you to do anything that causes me to lose you.”

Marston sighed. His cheek rested on her red
curls. “I’m a different man these days, Rose. No one knows who
Marston Jacobs is. No one knows I’m the man who used to do the
things I did. No one is going to take me away from you. You’re
stuck with me whether you want to be or not.”

“
Lucky me,” Rose replied
dryly. Marston tickled her side and she squealed with laughter. “No
fair!” she accused.

“
Why not?”

Rose frowned. “Because you’re not ticklish.
A man with no weaknesses can’t go around picking on others.”

“
I don’t pick on you.”
Marston poked her nose. “And besides, I do have a weakness, love. A
very big weakness.”

Hunger filled Marston’s golden eyes and Rose
felt her own blood heat. “Is that right?”

Marston’s mouth lowered until their breath
mingled and Rose’s eyes slipped closed. “Yes ma’am,” he whispered
and then he was devouring her.

Chapter Thirty-One

“
I have to head on into
town and get some work done at the shop today,” Marston stated
unenthusiastically as came out of the bedroom.

Rose and Kaitlyn were cooking breakfast
together while Langley read a book at the table. He looked up. “Can
I come with you?”

“
Sure.” Marston smiled.
“It’ll be good for you to learn how to gunsmith so you can help
your old pa and I won’t have to do everything.”

Langley laughed. “You’re not that old!”

Marston shook his head. “You hear that,
Rose? I’m not that old.”

“
Hmmm,” was her only
reply. Marston glanced her way and noticed that she was staring out
the window and had one hand resting on her stomach as she seemed to
be lost in thought.

Marston went to her and wrapped her up tight
in his arms, pulling her back in tight to his chest. He rested his
chin on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

She forced a smile and turned her head to
kiss his cheek. “Nothing.”

Marston growled. “Don’t lie to me. I know
you too well to fall for it.”

Rose sighed. “I just have a bad
feeling.”

“
What kind of
feeling?”

Rose’s shoulders heaved with a shrug. “That
something bad is going to happen.”

Marston nuzzled her neck. “What
exactly?”

Rose squirmed in an attempt to get away from
him. “I don’t know.”

His chuckles were muffled in her hair. “Then
it’s not a very helpful feeling, is it?”

Rose sighed. “No, I suppose it isn’t. Just
be careful when you go into town today, okay?”

“
Yes ma’am,” Marston
conceded. He splayed his calloused fingers over her stomach. “I
can’t wait until I can feel him move.”

Rose smiled as she laid her soft hand over
his. “You still have a while to wait.”

“
I’ll have to learn to be
patient,” Marston grumbled. He kissed her temple and moved away
from her. “Come on, Langley. We’ll go out and take care of the
critters and hopefully by the time we’re done the womenfolk will
have us men something to eat.”

“
Of course your highness,”
Rose teased with a roll of her eyes.

“
I prefer your majesty,”
Marston countered.

“
Then you should teach the
pigs to talk,” Kaitlyn chimed in with a giggle.

Marston’s eyes widened in her direction
before narrowing as he grumbled under his breath and left the cabin
with Langley on his heels.

Kaitlyn watched him go and chewed her lip.
“Did I make him angry?”

“
No,” Rose assured her
gently as she pulled the biscuits from the oven. “He walks off
whenever he can’t think of anything witty to say. It hurts his
pride.”

Kaitlyn sat the platter of bacon and ham on
the table and wiped her hands on her apron. “I want to thank you
both for giving me a home.”

Rose smiled as she poured a jar of canned
apples into a pot with brown sugar and placed it on the cook stove.
“You don’t have to thank us, Kaitlyn. We’re a family.”

“
I’ve never had a family,”
the girl admitted, tucking a loose strand of her golden hair behind
her ear. “My parents died when I was a baby and I was in that
orphanage until Gilliam adopted me nearly a year ago.”

Rose shivered. “I’m sorry he got his hands
on you.”

“
It could have been
worse,” Kaitlyn replied, her green eyes haunted. “He only had me
for a year… he had you much longer.”

They both fell silent. Rose swallowed hard
against the memories. It was so easy to forget that Kaitlyn was
only eleven years hold. Her life, both in the orphanage and with
Gilliam, had aged her soul drastically.

Rose shook off the bad thoughts and offered
a smile. “Well let’s get this breakfast finished so that His
Highness can have something to fill his stomach.”

Kaitlyn smiled in return. “Pa does get
awfully grumpy when he’s hungry.”

Rose laughed. “Yes he does.”

***

Marston watched out of the corner of his
eyes as Langley grunted to lift a full bucket of water. The boy’s
eyes widened as he realized he couldn’t and then he fell backward
and water soaked his clothes.

Marston’s laughter rang out. “It’s not
funny, pa!” Langley snapped grumpily. “Now I’m all wet!”

His whining only made Marston laugh harder.
He held out his hand and helped the boy to his feet. “That’s why
it’s funny,” Marston assured him.

Langley glared up at him and scooped the
bucket up. “I guess I better go fill it up again.”

Marston was still chuckling to himself after
Langley had left the barn and he went about raking the wet hay.

He heard a rumble in the distance and for a
moment, Marston thought perhaps the weather was going to turn but
then the rumbling grew loud. Hoofbeats. Thundering hoof beats were
heading for the cabin.

Langley’s scream filled the air. “Paaa!”

Marston threw the rake, pulled his revolver
and ran from the barn. He saw the men on horseback and saw the
glint of metal on their chests.

Lawmen.

Everything within Marston, every instinct
he’d spent his life honing, told him to make a run for it. But he
couldn’t. Marston had a family now.

These men looked like they meant trouble and
they were riding, guns drawn, toward the people he loved. Marston
had avoided capture a hundred times before when he’d only had
himself to worry about—he wouldn’t be getting away today.

Marston snaked his arm around Langley’s
waist and hoisted the boy off his feet. He leaped over the porch
steps and slipped inside, slamming and locking the door behind
him.

“
What’s going on?” Rose
demanded, wiping her hands on her apron.

Marston simply shook his head, took
Kaitlyn’s hand and shoved both her and a stammering Langley into
the water closet. “You both stay in here, understood?” he demanded,
his voice rough with fear. The children stared at him with wide
eyes and pale faces, but they nodded. “Rose, you get in there too,”
he added.

“
I don’t think so,” she
replied stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest. Marston
sighed. He hadn’t thought she listen, but he’d had to
try.

Marston turned his attention back to his
children and felt his throat tighten. “Langley, Kaitlyn, you both
listen to your mama and mind her, you hear?”

“
What’s going on, pa?”
Langley whispered, clutching at Kaitlyn’s hand held firmly in
his.

Marston forced a smile. “Justice I
suppose.”

He closed the door, knowing he’d just gazed
upon his children for the last time and he wasted no time in
pulling the large cabinet in front of it. He knew the children
could always leave the room through the small window at the back,
but he wanted plenty of wood between them and bullets should they
start flying.

“
Marston, what’s going
on?” Rose demanded as those hoof beats came to a stop outside the
cabin and silence reigned.

“
Rose…” Marston shook his
head and took her shaking hands in his. “I’m sorry, love. I’m sorry
that your fears are going to become reality.” His eyes burned and
Marston felt warm droplets sliding down his cheeks. “I let you
down…” he croaked.

Marston had no idea what to say. How did you
say goodbye to a very piece of yourself? How did you tell the love
of your life that you were going to die? Because Marston had no
doubt that he was going to die….

He’d always said that if escape was
impossible, he’d go down in a blaze of glory. He’d said he’d meet
the law head on and take down as many of the bastards as he could
before they killed him. Now? Now he could only hope they’d arrest
him and take him away from here to swing from a gallows. He didn’t
want Rose to have to watch him die.

Rose clutched at his fingers, her grip so
tight that it hurt him though he didn’t say a word. “Marston, tell
me who’s out there.”

Marston pulled one hand free of her grip and
laid it on her soft cheek, damp with tears of her own. “It’s the
law, love. They’ve come for me.”

Rose’s entire body tensed, her face lost all
color and her eyes grew wild. “No! They can’t!” she all but
screamed as she threw her arms around his waist and buried her face
in his chest. “They can’t take you from me, Marston. I need
you!"

Marston’s chest ached as he hugged her with
desperation and soaked in the warmth of her soft body against his.
He put his finger under her chin and forced her to look up at him.
He took the time to memorize every shade of blue in her eyes so he
could take the memory with him.

“
You’re a good man now,
Marston…” Rose whispered. “How did they find you?”

Marston smoothed her hair from her cheek. “I
don’t know, love. It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is that
you know how much I love you.”