It didn't take Taylor any time at all to come to the conclusion that Mr. Lewis was a complete nitwit when it came to understanding and interpreting the law. Even she realized that Lucas would have to sign the papers to transfer ownership, but Lewis was ready to record the deed on her signature alone. He used fancy words to muddle up the legal issue and hide his ignorance.
She insisted on taking the papers with her for her husband's signature. Lewis took the twenty dollars she gave him as a down payment. He congratulated her on her new home. She wasn't certain she owned anything, but she shook his hand anyway.
Hunter waited with Victoria and the children outside the stable. Taylor showed him the papers and then explained what she had done. He didn't try to argue with her or remind her that there was still time to turn around and go back to civilization. His reaction was actually quite bizarre. He laughed until tears came into his eyes.
Hunter, Victoria, and Daniel David walked down the center of the street. Taylor and the twins followed. Georgie needed her shoe retied, and by the time she got the child to stop dancing around her long enough for her to make a proper bow, the trio in front of her had made it all the way back to the general store.
Everyone wanted to see the house before nightfall. Hunter lifted Victoria up on the wagon seat and then put Daniel David next to her. He turned to wait for Taylor.
She caught hold of her daughters' hands and tried to quicken their pace. They walked toward the west. The sky was glorious with the sunset. A vibrant orange crown with red trimmings circled the sun and Taylor's breath caught in her throat while she stared up at the magnificent sight. She was entranced.
Georgie pulled her back to reality. "There's the man, Mama."
"What man, sweetheart?" she asked, barely pausing in her adoration to look down. "Our man, Mama," Allie said. Taylor came to a dead stop. Dear God, how could she have missed him? Their man, as Allie had called him, was standing in the center of the road. The distance was too great for her to see his expression. She guessed he was frowning.
"We're in for it now," she whispered.
She wanted to turn around and run for safety. She immediately pushed the idea aside. She wasn't afraid of Lucas. Yes, he would be angry with her, but after a little while, he'd see the rightness in what she'd done. She sincerely hoped he wouldn't kill her first.
She straightened her shoulders and started walking again. The closer she got, the more alarmed she became. He was dressed in buckskin and wore both of his guns in his gunbelt low on his hips. His hands were at his sides. She suddenly had the bizarre feeling that she was walking toward a showdown. Or a Shootout. Lucas had the advantage. Lord, she really needed to get hold of herself. It was the sunlight making him look magical and invincible to her. Golden streaks flowed all around him. By the trickery of the sunset, it appeared he had just walked out of the sun.
She was finally close enough to see his expression. Oh, God, he was furious all right. His eyes were as cold as ice.
She didn't know what she was going to say to him. She glanced over at Hunter and saw his smug now-you're-going-to-get-it expression and wished she was close enough to kick him. She continued to walk toward Lucas and finally came to a stop when she was just a few feet away.
They stared at each other for long seconds. Taylor noticed he was covered with a layer of dust. He had a beard, too. It made him look all the more intimidating. And wonderful. She was so happy to see him again she wanted to weep. He was everything she could ever want in a man, but what stunned her speechless was the realization that Lucas was beginning to look like a mountain man.
"Mama?" Georgia called out her name.
She snapped out of her trance. Then she took a deep breath, plastered a smile on her face, and looked down at her babies to give them her instruction.
"Say hello to your papa."
Chapter 17
Our wills and fates do so contrary run.
—William Shakespeare,
"Are you out of your mind?"
Lucas asked her the question in a low whisper. He sounded hoarse. He was trying with all his might to control his temper, but the strain was taking its toll. His throat ached with the need to roar. He was shaking with relief because she was still alive and burning with fury because she'd taken such ungodly risks. But she was all right, he told himself for the tenth time. She hadn't gotten herself killed making the journey. He felt as though he'd died a thousand deaths worrying about her and the children on his race to get to them.
Taylor had never seen Lucas this angry. She found herself trembling in response to his fury. She wasn't afraid of him. She was just… nervous. She knew she was going to have to stand up to him. He needed to understand how things were going to be.
"I expected you to be upset," she began. "But seeing your anger is far worse than imagining it. I could appreciate it if you would try to calm down."
"Answer me, Mrs. Ross."
She had to force herself not to flinch. "Very well," she agreed. She tried to make her voice sound soothing. "No, I'm not out of my mind. Allie and Georgie and Daniel David have every right to call you father."
She straightened her shoulders and took a step forward. "And until they're old enough and strong enough to do without parents, they're stuck with the two of us."
She had completely misunderstood what he was asking her. He thought it was deliberate. He ignored her speech about fatherhood and turned her back to the question he most wanted answered.
"Why did you come here? What in God's name were you thinking?"
"We wanted to be close to you."
He wasn't buying it. "I was in Chicago," he reminded her. "You know where Chicago is, Taylor?"
"Yes, of course."
He nodded. "And so, in order to be close to me, you traveled over a thousand miles in the opposite direction. Have I got that right?"
"I don't believe it was even close to a thousand miles," she remarked.
He closed his eyes and counted to ten. Then he started over. "When did you decide to come here?"
She didn't believe telling him the truth would be a good idea now. He looked close to boiling over. He was spoiling for a fight, but she wasn't going to accommodate him. They were standing in the center of town, for heaven's sake, and their audience was growing by the second. She knew no one could hear their conversation. When Lucas got mad, his voice became softer, not louder. She counted that wrinkle in his personality a blessing.
"I don't wish to talk about this now," she told him. "When we have a moment alone, I'll be happy to answer all of your questions."
"I'm taking you back tomorrow," he announced.
She shook her head. She wasn't going anywhere.
He nodded. They would leave at first light.
Lucas didn't want to wait to get his questions answered, but he had calmed down enough to realize this was neither the time nor the place for their discussion.
"You know what, Papa? You know what?" Georgie was tugging on his pant leg and repeating the question for the fifth or sixth time. She was whispering, and Lucas realized she was trying to imitate him.
He picked her up and gave her his full attention. He stared into her wide blue eyes and suddenly realized she was going to grow up and drive some peace-loving man out of his mind… just like her mother.
"No, what?" he asked.
"Mama shot a damned snake."
His gaze flew to Taylor. "Is that so?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Children exaggerate."
"Up." Allie shouted her demand and put her arms out. Lucas lifted her into his arms and was surprised when she gave him a wet kiss on his cheek. She rubbed the palm of her hand over his beard, laughed with delight, and then told him her baby got wet and she had to cry about it for a long time. Lucas listened to every word. When she was finally finished with her story and had scrunched up her shoulders and smiled with self-pleasure, he asked her what else her mother had done.