The twins took turns telling on her. Taylor was astonished by their memories. She was also mortified.
Victoria would be, too, she realized, if she knew that Georgie had just told Lucas she was naked and crying and Hunter kissed her anyway.
Taylor started walking toward the wagon where Daniel David waited with Hunter and Victoria. She heard Georgie complain that her mama wouldn't let her see the dead cat and immediately quickened her pace.
Lucas followed her. He put the twins down when he reached Daniel David. The boy suddenly turned shy. He had his hands jammed in his pockets and was staring down at the ground. Lucas had a twin clinging to each leg, which made movement awkward. It didn't deter him, however. He lifted Daniel David up and gave him a hard hug.
The child squeezed him back. Lucas whispered something to him, and Daniel smiled while he nodded. Then Lucas settled the boy in one arm and turned to Hunter.
"I owe you."
His friend was in full agreement. "You got that right."
Frank Michaels called out to Lucas and started down the steps. The crowd had kept away during the reunion and now wanted to join in. Lucas was surrounded by friends who took turns congratulating him on his marriage.
The women weren't ignored. Both Taylor and Victoria were surrounded. Roily asked for permission to touch their hair. Lucas heard the request and told the giant to keep his hands away from his wife and her friend.
Roily immediately turned to Lucas. He had noticed he hadn't kissed his wife. Did that mean there was trouble brewing in the marriage? Lewis could see about the divorce if that was the case, and Roily could start in courting Taylor within the month.
"There isn't going to be any divorce." Lucas's voice was emphatic. He stared at Taylor when he made the announcement.
He didn't speak to his wife again until late that evening. It took them two hours to get away from the town. Everyone offered them lodging. First Lucas refused, and then Hunter was asked. He also said no. Taylor was more diplomatic. She thanked them for their offer and then explained that the twins were used to sleeping in the wagon, and that routine was important with all the commotion going on around them. The twins were exhausted and needed a good night's sleep. The men finally agreed.
Routine really was important to all three children, Taylor supposed, but the real reason she didn't want to stay in town was because of her husband. He wasn't going to continue to ignore her and when the confrontation came, she didn't want an audience. Since he was being so difficult Taylor decided not to tell him about the house she'd purchased. They could all wait until tomorrow to move in.
Love and trust. The two words echoed in her mind and with it came the questions. Did you have to have both or could one be enough? She knew the answer but she stubbornly tried to ignore reason. How much did she have to tell Lucas about her past?
The answer was as clear as the air. She had to tell him everything. Taylor dreaded the task and turned her attention to her children. When she was busy, she could almost push the worries aside.
They made camp in a meadow just to the south of Redemption. There was a clear-water stream on one side, and the cloistered area was surrounded by trees.
After supper was finished and the children had been bedded down in one of the wagons, Victoria and Taylor decided to have another bath. Hunter led them to the deeper edge in the stream and then gave them privacy. He told them to call out if they needed him.
Victoria was a little nervous. The moon was bright enough to see where they were walking, but not sufficient to see beyond the far side of the water. She kept squinting her eyes and scanning the bank, looking for more wild animals ready to pounce, and Taylor was just as apprehensive, though for an altogether different reason. Lucas had her rattled, and dear God, what would she say to him to make him understand she really wasn't trying to trap him?
Lucas had disappeared right after supper. He came back to camp an hour later. Taylor and Victoria were sitting on a blanket in front of the fire Hunter had prepared. He sat across from them, and every now and then he would toss a couple of twigs on the blaze to keep it going.
Both women had put on clean day dresses so they would be modest, but Taylor hadn't bothered with undergarments. As soon as she climbed into the wagon to go to bed, she would change into her nightgown anyway.
The men were talking in low voices. Victoria turned to Taylor. "Lucas is still angry, isn't he?" she asked in a whisper.
"He'll get over it," Taylor whispered back. "As soon as he realizes I won't be making any demands on him, I'm certain he'll calm down."
"He doesn't want us here. I heard him tell Hunter he's going to take us back tomorrow."
"We aren't leaving."
"Can he make us?"
"No, of course not," Taylor replied. She changed the subject just a little then. "Have you noticed he hasn't said a word to me in hours?"
"I did notice. Are you in love with Lucas?"
Taylor's gaze turned to her husband. He was leaning back against a tree trunk. His hand rested on his knee. He was listening to something Hunter was telling him. From his dour expression, he wasn't happy about what he was hearing.
"I do love him," she whispered. Her gaze lingered on her husband for a full minute before she forced herself to turn away. "I really must be out of my mind."
Victoria kept glancing over at Hunter. She couldn't seem to make herself stop. She remembered how wonderful it felt to be held in his arms. And when he kissed her…
She pushed the memory aside. Hunter was leaving tomorrow. " 'Men should be what they seem,' " she whispered.
"William?" Taylor asked.
"Yes," Victoria answered. "It's from Othello. Hunter should be hard and cruel and frightening."
"Was that your first impression of him?"
"Yes," she whispered. "Then he started being kind and sweet and considerate."
She sounded as though the man had tricked her. Taylor was sympathetic. She understood what her friend was feeling.
"Georgie told Lucas that Hunter kissed you."
Victoria started to blush. Then Taylor told her the rest of the story. "She also told him you were naked."
"Oh, God." Victoria's face turned bright pink.
Taylor smiled. "Did you want him to kiss you?"
Victoria started to shake her head, then nodded instead. "He's leaving."
"You're certain?"
"Yes. Why do I feel as though he's abandoning me? Isn't that the most ridiculous reaction? I barely know the man."
"You know him quite well," Taylor argued. "You've spent every waking minute with him from the minute we left Sioux City until this evening. You're falling in love with him."
"He's leaving," Victoria repeated again. "None of it matters. We're a sorry pair, aren't we? Neither one of us has learned from our pasts."
"Madam used to tell me I couldn't always have what I wanted. I can't seem to learn that lesson."
She let out a sigh and turned her gaze to her friend. "You should probably go to bed. You need your rest."
"I felt the baby move today. She's getting stronger."
"You're also strong," Taylor said. "It was a difficult journey and you never once complained."
"It didn't seem difficult. Hunter kept a slow pace, and if you remember, he insisted I walk by the wagon every afternoon."
"I remember he had to drag you out of the wagon on several occasions."
Victoria shrugged. "I realize now he had my best interests at heart."
"Did he tell you why he's leaving?"