The Marshal Takes A Bride (23 page)

“I don’t know. I just haven’t done it yet” Tucker said with a shrug.

“What’s holding you back?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you certain this is what you want?” Travis asked.

“It’s a great job for me. Like you said, I enjoy being a lawman. I like to travel and see new places. I’ll be working on interesting cases. It’s everything I could have ever wanted.”

“So why do I get the feeling there’s a big ‘but’ in here somewhere?” Travis asked, staring at Tucker.

For a moment Tucker was shocked at the question. He wanted this position. He had been waiting forever for just the right job, and this was exactly as he had dreamed.

“No, really it’s what I want. I’m going to take the job. I just have one minor complication,” he said. “What’s that?” Travis asked.

“Remember me telling you about a gunfighter named Kid Lansky?”

“Yes, the one who shot and almost killed you in Tombstone.”

“He’s here in Fort Worth, and he’s gone to work for Wo Chan.”

“What’s he doing for him?” Travis asked.

“Wo Chan wanted to hire someone faster with a gun than me, who could find Kira. That man just doesn’t give up when he loses a whore.”

Travis swore. “The timing really stinks. Is Sarah still planning on taking her to Tombstone?”

“As far as I know. Don’t let Kira leave the ranch. In fact, don’t let her out of the house. They could be watching the ranch even now.”

“I’ll put out some extra watchmen at night. We’ll keep an eye out for this character.”

“Sorry to bring this on you at such a bad time, but I thought you needed to know.”

Travis shrugged. “So how are you and Sarah getting along? Things seemed a little tense between the two of you when you arrived.”

Tucker shook his head. “That woman could drive a preacher to drink. She’s afraid I’m going to get into a gunfight with Lansky, and she was angry the entire trip here. And you know, she just might be right. He oversteps his rights, and I’m going to be right there. And this time he won’t be walking away.”

“Sounds to me like she cares about you. If he’s the one who almost killed you last time, she’s concerned you’re going to get hurt.”

“No, I don’t think so. We’re friends, nothing more. She proved that last night.”

“Should I even ask about that statement?”

“Don’t.” Tucker pushed his hat back away from his face. “And to think that Mother wants me to marry this woman. She can sure pick them.”

Travis laughed. “That she can. Maybe the reason you’ve told none of us about this job is you’re afraid you’ve changed and aren’t the man you once thought you were. And maybe that’s because of Sarah.”

***

Sarah watched as the Burnett brothers and their wives gathered in the family parlor. A loveseat, a rocking chair and a sofa filled the room. Rose was seated in the rocking chair, while the women took the couches and the men reclined on the floor.

Eugenia was visiting a friend this afternoon, and Sarah had felt relief that the woman wasn’t here to witness the tension between Tucker and herself.

Not only had they argued the entire way here, but even now there was a feeling of opposition between them that seemed almost tangible. Of course, the fact that she felt the urge to reach out and knock some sense into his prideful, male brain had nothing to do with the friction.

“Rose, what did Sarah say about the baby?” Beth Burnett, who had returned with her husband, asked, jerking Sarah back to the present.

Rose glanced at Sarah, frowned, and patted her stomach. “She said this baby and I still have three weeks of sharing the same living space.”

“It’ll pass real fast, I promise,” Travis said.

The extremely round woman glared at him in a way that made him visibly cringe. “Don’t placate me. I’m hot, I’m tired, and Travis, honey,
you
can have the next one.”

He smiled at his wife. “Would you like another pillow for your back? Or a cool glass of water?” The frown on Rose’s face reluctantly turned into a smile. “A pillow would be nice.”

Travis left the room to fetch his wife a pillow. Beth glanced around the parlor. “Hey, you know this is the first time we’ve all been together without Mother being present since the last time we discussed her matchmaking ways.”

Tucker groaned. “Oh, no. Here it comes. Sarah, I’ll apologize now for my family.”

Sarah ignored him.

“Well, we all thought it was a good idea, and you agreed to it, baby brother,” Tanner acknowledged.

 “I had a weak moment. She’s actually left me alone recently.” Tucker glanced over at Sarah. “Then again, I think she was trying a new method. She sent Sarah her wedding veil.”

Beth gasped “She did what?”

Sarah smiled “Actually, now it’s funny. But when it happened, I wasn’t too happy that she had chosen me to send her wedding veil to. She wanted to show me how much she thinks that Tucker and I are meant to be together.”

“Who’d want to marry Tucker? He’s the least favorable of the men in this bunch,” Beth said winking at her brother-in-law.

“Watch it. If you remember right you were engaged to marry me because of my mother.”

“That’s why I can tease you,” Beth said smiling.

“Sarah, you should join us in setting up Eugenia. We’re trying to figure out someone to match her up with,” Rose said. “You’ve just been touched by the Burnett curse or blessing. We’ve yet to decide which.”

“Who would want to marry our mother?” Tanner asked. “The thought of our mother and a stranger is creepy.”

Travis stepped back into the room and slipped a pillow behind Rose’s back. “Is that better, honey?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Travis sat down on the braided rug by his wife. “We should make a list of men who are suitable,” Beth said. “Men that you boys think would go well with your mother.”

“You know this has been a great joke, but I just don’t think I could carry through with finding her a husband. I mean, after all, our mother nearly drove us crazy when we met our wives,” Travis said, laughing.

Tanner grinned. “I kind of like the idea. It’s funny. At least if we choose our new stepfather, then we’re bound to get someone we like.”

Tucker shook his head. “The only man I’d like to see marry our mother would be the one who could keep her out of our business.”

“That’s the whole point,” Rose said, crossing her hands over her large belly.

Travis frowned. “Okay, let’s get a list together, and I’ll agree to look it over, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to participate in introducing her to anyone.”

“We could do this just like she does: ‘I’m not pushing you into it. I just want you to get to know him,’ ” Tucker mimicked his mother. “ ‘I just want you to be happy.’ ”

They all chuckled.

Travis glanced over at his wife. “Actually, I hate to admit this, but if Mother hadn’t pushed me, I probably would still be unmarried. And marriage has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Rose leaned over and kissed her husband on the cheek. “Thank you.”

Tucker watched his older brother and Rose and felt a twinge of envy. Travis was a much happier man. He seemed more settled, content and at peace. And he had resisted tying the knot for so long. But Travis had never wanted to leave the ranch. He had always been happy right here at home.

“So are we serious? Are we going to try to find someone for Eugenia?” Beth asked.

Tanner shrugged. “She definitely deserves for us to give her a taste of her own medicine, yet I, too, can’t help but be grateful she answered Beth’s ad. My wife may have been meant for Tucker, but I’m glad she married me.”

Beth squeezed her husband’s hand, which Tucker had noticed was never far from touching his wife somewhere.

“How about you, Tucker? You’re the only one she hasn’t managed to maneuver to the altar,” Travis said.

Tucker glanced at Sarah, who waited for his reply. And when it came, it was all she could do to keep a smile on her face.

“And I intend on remaining unattached,” he acknowledged. “I’ll help, just because maybe she’ll leave me alone if she has her own romantic involvement.”

Chapter
Thirteen

Tucker helped Sarah up into the wagon and then went around to the side where he climbed up beside her and picked up the reins.

“Rose, remember what we talked about,” Sarah gently reminded the pregnant woman. “Travis, you come get me at the first sign this baby is coming.”

Travis put his arm around his very pregnant wife. “Don’t worry, Sarah. I will.”

“Well then, I’ll see you in a couple of weeks when the baby is on the way.” She waved at them. “Until then, take good care of Rose, Travis.”

“I will, Doc. See you soon.”

“Bye.”

Tucker snapped the reins, and the horses pulled the wagon out of the yard of the big house. Since his brothers had married, he enjoyed spending more time with them than he could ever remember. Both of their wives had taken the hard edge off of his siblings and added genteel warmth to the family gatherings. Would a woman do the same for him?

He pushed the thought out of his mind, refusing to think of how Sarah seemed to always have a calming, soothing effect on him. How well she blended in with his brothers and their wives. That was no reason to consider marriage, even if Sarah seemed to be constantly in his thoughts.

The afternoon had been pleasant. He would miss them all when he took the marshal’s job. Since he and Tanner had returned home, Tucker had enjoyed being with family. He would miss watching the new baby change and grow.

 “So is Rose going to be okay?” Tucker asked, worried about his sister-in-law.

“She’s having a baby, Tucker. All women run the risk of having complications, and we won’t know about Rose until she goes into labor. I prefer to be positive and say she’ll be just fine,” Sarah said, not looking at him, her tone precise.

Obviously she was still peeved with him over his response to Kid Lansky. The tension that had enveloped them on the way out to the ranch had returned, making it a somber ride.

But Tucker was glad he had taken this unexpected journey to the ranch with Sarah. He had gotten to spend some time talking with his brother, and Travis had a way of making him think about things from a different perspective.

“I just don’t want anything to happen to Rose and that baby. Travis would be devastated,” he said, trying to get Sarah to talk to him. He sighed and pushed his hat back from his scalp. “I’ve never been around a woman having a baby before, and Rose looks miserable. I hope this child comes soon.”

“Believe me, she does, too.” She turned and gave him a puzzled look. “You know, for a man who doesn’t want to be tied down with a wife and children, you seem almost curious about this whole process. Aren’t you ever afraid you’re making the wrong choice? That you’ll hate being alone?”

The question took Tucker back for a moment. Hadn’t he been asking himself this same question lately? Even Travis was questioning his decision about being a federal marshal.

“I enjoyed it when I was younger. Why wouldn't I now?” he snapped, not liking the fact that Sarah and Travis were both questioning his decision.

The memory of his days chasing the fastest draw filled his mind and the feeling of conquest and being the absolute best returned with startling clarity. He had been good. Damn good. And he liked that feeling. And until then he had never experienced the satisfaction or gratification that came from a job well done. His two older brothers’ accomplishments had always seemed larger in comparison to his.

Not that he didn’t love them, but sometimes being the youngest he had been the follower. Until his gunfighting days, he had never felt he could be the best at anything.

“We all change. I’m not the same girl who left Fort Worth and went to medical school. And you’re not the same man who was shot in Tombstone,” Sarah said

Her voice still had an edge to it and she was sitting on the farthest end of the wagon seat, griping the side.

“No. I’m not that kid anymore. But I still like the same things. Hopefully age has only made me better.”

She shook her head. “You’ll get back into gunfighting if you wander aimlessly from town to town,” Sarah said. Her blue eyes flashed with an iciness he had seldom seen from Sarah. “Even now you haven’t given it up totally. You’re just itching to get into a draw with Lansky.”

He didn’t want to mention the federal marshal job offer just yet. Being a federal marshal would keep him busy and out of trouble. He was deliberately refraining from telling her about the job until the situation with Lansky was settled. But the urge to prove her wrong and how he had already thought of that possibility was tempting.

“No, I won’t,” he said with confidence. “Before, 1 was a renegade kid just looking for trouble. But not now.”

Sarah shook her head “I don’t understand why you would give up being close to your brothers and their wives, your mother, the possibility of a good woman and a family of your own to wander in a meaningless way. Knowing that no good woman is going to show interest in you because you’re unstable.” She took a deep breath, her voice angry. “Why, Tucker? Help me to understand, because it seems so foolish.”

Why was Sarah so angry that he had decided to live his life this way, unless she really had wanted the two of them to be together? He pushed the thought out of his mind. No, she would tell him if she felt that way. This was just because Lansky had returned and she was afraid for him.

“Why do women always seem to think that if a man wants to be alone, he’s unstable?” he asked, irritated. “Why is it foolish because I’ve chosen a different kind of life?”

Sarah shrugged. “I don’t understand.”

“In a town where no one knows who I am, I’m not seen as Thomas Burnett’s son, or Travis Burnett’s brother or even Tanner’s brother. I’m not that younger Burnett kid. I’m me.” He turned and glanced at Sarah. “You don’t have any brothers or sisters whose footsteps you have to follow.”

“I have my father. He was a doctor, and as a woman most folks think I can never be as good as he. I don’t like the attitude, but I don’t run from it.”

“I’m not running. I’m just going where I can be me.”