She tried to scramble off the bed. He caught her around her waist and dragged her down next to him.
"Put your pants on," she implored him. "Oh, God, how am I ever going to face Hunter again?"
"First things first," he insisted. He rolled on top of her, smiled because she felt so damned good against him, and then kissed her. She struggled against him, but only for a few seconds, and then she wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She was reluctant to let go of him. He was so pleased with her reaction, he kissed her again. Then he got out of bed and put his pants on.
He walked into the other room to see what Hunter wanted. From the brightness of the sunshine streaming in through the windows, he guessed it was almost eight o'clock.
"The boy let me in," Hunter explained before Lucas could ask. His friend was sitting on the divan, patiently letting the little girls climb all over him. "He made certain he knew who it was knocking on his door first," Hunter added with a good deal of praise in his voice. "He's a smart one."
"Where is he?" Lucas asked.
"Getting dressed. These two need a little help," he said with a nod toward the twins. "Is Taylor up yet?"
Lucas nodded. Hunter grinned. "You look like a married man."
"Did you look in on Victoria?" Lucas asked, deliberately changing the subject.
Hunter's mood immediately soured at the mention of the woman. His expression showed his irritation. "I tried to check on her. Honest to God, I did. I'm telling you straight, Lucas. I won't be getting near her again. Enough's enough."
Lucas hid his smile. "What happened this time?"
"She opened the door, started in gagging, and then slammed the door in my face. What the hell's wrong with her?"
Allie had started bouncing up and down on the settee and was now leaping high enough for Lucas to be concerned she might throw herself into one of the windows and crack her head. He caught her in his arms, told her to behave herself, and then tried to put her down. She had other notions. She wiggled around in his arms and held onto him. He settled her against his chest and turned his attention to Hunter again. Georgie wasn't about to be ignored, however. She scooted off Hunter's lap and went running to Lucas. Then she put her arms up and gave a rather imperious command.
"Up."
Lucas bent down, lifted her into his other arm, and then straightened up again. Allie started pulling the hairs on his chest. He told her to stop it. Georgie had become fascinated by the stubble on his jaw. She rubbed her fingers down his cheek and squealed with delight.
"You've got that look," Lucas told his friend.
"What look's that?" Hunter asked.
"Like you've got something to say."
Hunter nodded. "I ran into a couple of bounty hunters this morning. They had some interesting news. Caulder was seen outside Kansas City. They got a posse together and chased after him but he got away."
"What are you talking about? A posse? When I left for England, Caulder had just gotten another promotion. Now you're telling me he's a wanted man? What the hell happened while I was away?"
Lucas had made it his business to know everything about the bastard he was going to kill. The only reason he'd let him live this long was because of the gold he'd stolen. Lucas hoped Caulder would lead him to the fortune. The gold was the evidence he needed to convince the authorities. He wanted the world to know what Caulder had done to eight honorable men.
He'd spent almost all the money he had accumulated paying men to watch Caulder when he couldn't. His patience had finally been used up, however, and he'd made the decision before leaving for England that when he returned he would hunt the man down like the animal he was and kill him. To hell with the evidence.
"The way I figure it, that fancy government man you talked to must have believed you."
"Travis?"
"You told him about the gold, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"You told me he wasn't a bad sort," Hunter reminded his friend.
Lucas nodded. Travis was a good man. He'd listened to Lucas, and although it had only been his word against the army officer, Travis still used his authority to change the records. The eight missing men had been listed as deserters. Travis cleared the charge. Lucas remembered where the bodies were buried. He thought they should be shipped home to their families. Travis wanted to leave them where they were resting. The issue had still not been resolved.
"Caulder finally went for his gold, didn't he?"
"And Travis followed him," Hunter said.
"Damn."
Lucas whispered the blasphemy. He was so lost in his own thoughts, he didn't hear the twins repeat the expletive.
"I take it he got away from Travis?" Lucas muttered.
"Yes," Hunter replied. "He had some help from his friends. Travis took a bullet, but it wasn't anything serious."
"What about the gold?" Lucas asked.
"Caulder has it."
Lucas let out a sigh. First Allie and then Georgie imitated the sound.
"The bounty hunters wanted me to help them track Caulder," Hunter remarked. "There's a sizable reward. They're sure he's headed west."
"You tell them any different?" Lucas asked.
"No."
Lucas nodded. "Caulder's headed north. His brother will hide him."
"Chicago," Hunter agreed. They both knew that was where the brother lived.
"Yes," Lucas said. "Caulder's definitely in Chicago."
Taylor walked into the room in time to hear Lucas's last remark. She was glad for the diversion. She kept her head bowed while she pretended to fuss over tightening the belt to her robe and walked over to her husband.
She kissed each baby good morning, smiled when they giggled, and then asked Lucas who Caulder was.
"No one important," he lied. "Victoria isn't feeling well this morning. You might want to look in on her."
"She's sick again," Hunter quickly added.
They were both trying to change the subject. Taylor went along with their scheme. She would wait until later to find out who Caulder was. She didn't believe for one minute he wasn't important to Lucas because of the hard look that came into his eyes at the mere mention of the man's name.
She left Lucas with the twins and went into the connecting room to see what David Daniel was doing.
The dear child was trying to make his bed. She gave him a good morning kiss and then helped him finish his chore.
He was shy with her this morning and very solemn looking. She sat down on the side of the bed and drew him close to her.
"Is something worrying you, David?"
"I'm Daniel today," he told her.
She smiled. "All right, Daniel. Now tell me what's worrying you."
The little boy had quite a few fears stored up inside, all of them concerning the babies, and the most important one was about food. Babies needed to eat often, he told Taylor, and since none of them had any shoes to wear, how could they go outside to get something to eat barefoot? He didn't want anyone laughing at his sisters.
She told him they would eat their breakfast in the hotel room. Then she needed to go to the bank. The errand would only take her a little while, and Victoria would stay with them until she got back. Then they were all going shopping. They would buy shoes first.
He still looked worried to her. "Was there something else you wanted to talk about?" she asked.
He grabbed hold of her hand and stared down at the floor. "What am I supposed to call you?"