Finding Promise Read online

  They discussed the ranch and his brothers for the remainder of the ride back to Hollister’s ranch.

  Chapter Sixteen

  McBride Cattle Ranch

  Promise, Wyoming

  Victoria moved up behind her husband and slipped her arms around his waist. He’d been on the porch, leaning against a column for the longest time, puffing on his cigar. It wasn’t like Colt to be idle for long, so she knew he was troubled. Ever since the telegram from Jake arrived, he’d been unusually quiet. Jake said he’d run into some problems in Denver, but he hadn’t explained what kind of trouble, a clear indication he figured he could handle the situation. That didn’t prevent his older brother from worrying about him.

  “Honey, why don’t you go to Denver and see about Jake?”

  Colt threw his cigar to the ground and turned around to take his wife in his arms. “I don’t want to leave you, especially now.” If his beautiful new wife weren’t pregnant with their first child, he would already be halfway to Denver.

  “Stop being an overprotective husband. I won’t have this baby for months, and I’m in good health, so there’s nothing to worry about. Besides, you know Mrs. Wellington and Bartholomew would be happy to stay with me while you are gone.” Mrs. Wellington was like a mother to Victoria, and Bartholomew worked an adjacent farm that Victoria had inherited.

  Colt hugged her close to his chest. He couldn’t help but worry about her. She was the most precious thing in his life. “The doc told you to take it easy because he said you can expect a large babe since I was the largest baby he ever delivered.”

  “I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry,” she assured him.

  He kissed the top of her head. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”

  “I don’t think you have,” she said, smiling. “And don’t change the subject.”

  “If Jake needs me, he will let me know.” He wished he felt as confident as he tried to sound, but uncertainty was nagging at him. “Cole is with him, so I’m sure they can handle any problems.” Jake and Cole had shared many dangerous situations—at least that is what he kept telling himself.

  “I hate to see you worry.”

  “I think another piece of your cherry pie would take my mind off my problems.”

  She didn’t think she was going to change his mind. “Let me call the boys and all three of you can have some pie.” Before she pulled away, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

  “Maybe I’ll forget about the pie.” He leaned over and picked her up and carried her inside. “Are you sure you’re eating enough? You don’t feel any heavier.” He worried about her carrying this baby because she was such a small woman.

  She ran her fingers through the black curls on his neck. “Honey, I’m only three to four months along, so give me time. Before long you’ll be teasing about not being able to lift me. The boys told me they want a sister. What do you want?” Thanks to Jake’s pull with the judge, they had officially adopted the twins, Cade and Cody, immediately after they were married. Victoria had taken the twins from a burning saloon when they were young, and while she’d never adopted them, they had been a family ever since. When Colt met Victoria, he not only fell in love with her, he’d lost his heart to those boys. They were his boys, and he saw no difference from the love he felt for them and the babe his wife now carried.

  His dark eyes bore into hers. “I want a healthy baby and wife. That’s why I think you should let me hire someone to help you out around here. You do all the cooking and cleaning, not to mention taking care of the boys. Then you make those bag things for the ladies.”

  She yanked on a lock of his hair and laughed. “They are called reticules. And I’ll have you know I just received some orders from Paris, France.”

  “That makes my point. Helen can’t be of much help to you now.” Helen was the woman who had been with him since he was a boy, and she was getting too old to handle the work in such a large house.

  “We are doing fine. I have Mrs. Wagner to help with the sewing,” she replied. She would never complain, because she enjoyed cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the boys and her new husband. She’d never dreamed that her life would be so fulfilling and happy. She considered herself very blessed.

  “When the baby comes, we’ll need the help anyway, so we might as well find someone now,” he went on, just as if he hadn’t heard her objections.

  “Maybe Jake will bring home a wife,” she teased.

  He gave her a horrified look. “On a cattle drive? I think not. Most men think women are the kiss of death on a cattle drive.” At the mention of the cattle drive, he started worrying about his brother again.

  He wasn’t quick enough to hide his concern from Victoria. She took his face between her hands and looked into his eyes. “Honey, go to Denver. You can come back with the drive. It won’t take that long, and I will be fine. If you don’t go you are going to worry until you see Jake.”

  He didn’t want to miss one day of Victoria’s pregnancy, but she was right, he would worry until he saw Jake rein in at the ranch. Still he hesitated. “I don’t want to be away from you. This is our first baby—”

  “You’ll have many more months left to watch me waddle around when you get back.” She didn’t want him to leave; she hated the thought of him being away for any length of time. But if something happened to his brother because she tried to keep him with her, she would never forgive herself. “Now why don’t you get everything ready so you can leave in the morning?”

  Victoria awoke in the middle of the night to find Colt standing at the window. “What is it?” she whispered.

  He turned and walked back to bed. “I’m sorry I woke you.” He crawled under the covers and pulled her to him. “Go back to sleep.”

  “Colt, tell me what’s wrong,” she urged.

  “I can’t explain it. I just have a feeling that Jake . . . that something is wrong with him.”

  She’d never met a man like her husband. He was strong, courageous, and he never expressed fear of anything. It was troublesome to see him so worried. “You are going to Denver in the morning, no arguments. If you don’t, then I’m going,” she threatened.

  Colt chuckled at her threat. “I can’t have you traveling to Denver in your condition.”

  “Then you’ll go?” she asked tentatively.

  “Honey, it would take me several days to get there.”

  “The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll get home.”

  Colt was silent for so long that Victoria nudged him. “I’ll go if you promise me that you will not go anywhere alone and Mrs. Wellington will stay here while I’m gone. I’ll have T. J. fetch her and Bartholomew in the morning.”

  She kissed his cheek. “Do you think Mrs. Wellington would let me go anywhere alone? Just like you, she’ll watch my every move.”

  He couldn’t disagree. Mrs. Wellington was more protective than he was, and Bartholomew was almost as bad. “Is it so terrible to have a husband who loves you so much?”

  She snuggled into his muscled chest. She felt so blessed to have this man love her. She could never thank God enough for giving her so much. “I love my husband as much. So promise me you will be careful. Why don’t you take T. J. with you?”

  He would do anything to keep her from worrying about him while he was away. “I need T. J. to stay here and run the ranch. But if it keeps you from worrying, I’ll take Strait with me.”

  “I’d worry less if you took more men.”

  “There’s no need for you to worry about me. Besides, Strait is a better shot that any two of the other men,” he said. “Now give your husband some kisses, since they are going to have to last me for some time.”

  Once T. J. brought Mrs. Wellington and Bartholomew to the ranch the next morning, Colt was ready to leave.

  He lifted Cade and Cody into his arms. “Boys, I expect you to look after your mother. Help her out and take care of Bandit.”

  Hearing his name, Bandit jumped up on Colt’s leg
. He knew his master was leaving and he was already whining. Victoria had the urge to whine like the dog but kept a smile pasted on her face.

  Colt lowered the boys to the ground and rubbed Bandit’s ears. “You have to stay here and look after the family, boy.” He knew the dog would follow him, so he looked at the twins and said, “Take Bandit inside so he doesn’t run after me.”

  Cade and Cody hugged him again. “Good-bye, Pa,” they said in unison.

  “You will come back, won’t you?” Cody asked.

  His question stunned Colt. He bent down on one knee and looked Cody in the eye. “Why would you ask such a thing?”

  Cody gazed at the ground, avoiding Colt’s eyes. His brother spoke for him. “Well, our other pa left us, but we was just babies and didn’t know him.”

  Colt pulled them into his arms. His voice was thick with emotion when he spoke. “I’m your pa now. Don’t you two know that nothing is more important to me than you and your mother? There are times when I will have to leave, but don’t you ever doubt that I will always come back. Nothing on earth could keep me from you.”

  “Ain’t Bandit ’portant to you?” Cade asked.

  Colt smiled and ruffled his blond hair. “Of course Bandit is included.”

  “What about Razor?” Cody asked.

  “Razor too.” Leave it up to them to ask about his horse. He knew they were just trying to delay his departure, but he didn’t mind. He wanted them to know how important they were to him. “Your new little brother or sister too,” he said before they could ask.

  Knowing the boys were likely to complete the list of names of everyone on the ranch, Victoria said, “Your pa has to leave, so take Bandit inside.”

  “Okay,” they said together, and hugged Colt’s neck one more time.

  “They are going to miss you,” Victoria said. She tried in vain to blink away her unshed tears. “I will too.”

  Colt lifted her off the ground and hugged her to him. “Not as much as I will miss you.”

  He kissed her passionately, and she clung to him when his lips left hers. He whispered in her ear, “And you better stop kissing me like that or I will never leave.”

  “Take care, husband, and come back in one piece.”

  “I plan to,” he said, chuckling. “I know how you like all of my parts.”

  Strait rode up to the porch holding Razor by the reins, along with two spare horses. Colt had told him they would be riding hard to Denver. “You ready to go, boss?”

  “Yep, if my wife will let go of me,” Colt teased, gazing into Victoria’s watery sky-blue eyes. “I’ll send a telegram when I arrive.”

  She could barely speak for the huge lump in her throat. “Okay,” she finally uttered. They hadn’t been apart since they had married, and she didn’t want him to know how much she would worry until she heard from him.

  Colt understood how she felt because he felt the same way. He leaned down to kiss her one more time. “Don’t worry about me, honey. I’ll be back before you miss me.”

  “Impossible.”

  “I won’t ride back with the cattle drive. That would take too long,” he said, winking at her.

  They stared at each other for a minute without saying a word, but in that moment they said everything.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Uncle John!” Promise ran from her wagon into her uncle’s outstretched arms.

  “Oh, honey, it’s so good to see you!” he exclaimed.

  “Matthew . . .” She started crying as soon as she said her brother’s name.

  Her uncle patted her back and said softly, “I know, I know. Jake told me everything.”

  At the mention of Jake’s name she turned to him. “Thank you, Mr. McBride, for bringing my uncle.”

  Jake thought she looked even thinner than before he left. “No thanks necessary.”

  She glanced from him to the men surrounding her uncle.

  Seeing her puzzled expression, Jake said, “Your uncle wanted to have some extra men for the ride back to the ranch. Nothing to worry about.”

  “He’s right, honey,” her uncle said. “No need to worry. I didn’t want Jake to take his men from the cattle drive since they need to get to Wyoming. Now let me introduce you to my men.”

  Jake watched as Hollister’s men stared wide-eyed at Promise. It’d probably been a long time since they’d seen a woman as beautiful as Promise. If ever. Still, he didn’t care for the way they were gawking. If they were his men, he would have told them in no uncertain terms to keep their bug eyes in their heads, but Hollister seemed oblivious. As much as he wanted to say something, it wasn’t his place. He decided it was in their best interest if he just walked away.

  As Hollister’s men transferred Promise’s belongings to the wagon they’d brought with them, Jake had a chance to talk to Cole and Shorty.

  “I’m going back with Hollister, so I’ll catch up to you as soon as I can. We’re making good time, so just keep moving,” Jake told them.

  “It helps that the rain finally stopped,” Cole said.

  “I’ll be sorry to see that little gal go,” Shorty said, surprising both Jake and Cole.

  Seeing their stunned expressions, Shorty added, “I got used to the help, that’s all. And she’s a darn sight better to look at than your ugly faces all the time!”

  “The way Hollister’s men are hovering around, she won’t lack for suitors in Denver,” Jake said. Every time he glanced in her direction, two or three of Hollister’s men were on her heels.

  “Sounds like that ‘green-eyed monster jealousy’ to me. What do you think, Shorty?” Cole teased.

  Jake wasn’t sure, but it sounded like Cole actually quoted Shakespeare.

  Shorty eyed Jake. “Sure does,” he agreed, smacking Jake on the back. “He’ll be beatin’ them off with a stick before he gets back to Denver.”

  That rankled Jake. He had no interest in Promise in that way; he only wanted to see her safe. “All I care about is making sure they can be trusted.”

  “Have they worked for Hollister long?” Cole asked, serious again.

  “Yeah. I just hope no one can offer them enough money to do something stupid,” Jake replied.

  “Let’s just hope they can handle trouble,” Shorty pointed out.

  Shorty was right. Problem was, he couldn’t get out of his mind what he’d seen that day when he found Promise. He wasn’t sure a good man like Hollister would be prepared for the kind of men who’d killed all of those people.

  “Are you leaving in the morning?” Shorty asked.

  “Yeah, I plan to spend some more time in Denver. I didn’t find those three men who rode into camp, and I’d like to see if they are working for Schott. I’ll catch up with you in a few days.”

  As Jake rode out to talk to the men guarding the cattle, Promise and her uncle were sitting alone, talking quietly. He was glad her uncle had decided to accompany him, since talking to family would probably do her a world of good. Jake thought about what Hollister told him about the kind of life she’d led in South Carolina. Who would ever expect a lady of privilege to be out on the Great Plains, working cattle and trading bullets with killers? Now, that was a woman full of contradictions.

  When it was time to depart, Promise became very emotional saying good-bye to Shorty. She’d grown very fond of him over the weeks on the trail.

  “I’ll be staying for a time in Wyoming on the McBride place, so you know where to find me if you ever need anything,” Shorty told her.

  Promise tried to hold back her tears as she hugged him again. “I’ll write to you, and if you are ever in Denver, please come to visit.”

  Shorty held her by her shoulders. “Here now, no crying. You’re going to be just fine with your family.”

  “Thank you for everything,” she said. She handed him the hat and holster he’d given her to wear.

  “Now you keep those. I know Jake would want you to wear them until you get to where you are going.”

  Cole and Rodrigu
ez rode to camp so they could say their good-byes.

  She looked at both of them and tears started flowing again. These men who had risked their lives to protect her had become her friends. “Thank you so much.” She hugged them both.

  “It was a pleasure meeting you. If you ever want to see Wyoming, you know where to reach me,” Cole said.

  “I’d like that,” she answered. “And you both have a place to stay if you come back to Denver.”

  “I am sorry to see you go. You added much beauty to our dreary surroundings. Keep practicing with the rope, señorita. You will soon be an expert vaquero,” Rodriguez told her.

  “Thank you for teaching me. I will continue to practice.”

  She felt a light grip on her elbow and turned to see Jake standing beside her holding Prince’s reins.

  Jake heard her tell Cole she would like to see him again, and he knew Cole would like nothing better. “We better get going.”

  Outside of Denver, Jake told Hollister he was going to make a detour into town while the rest of them rode on to the ranch.

  “Nettie will have my hide if you don’t come to dinner. I’m sure she will have a feast now that Promise is here,” Hollister said.

  “I’m just going to talk to the sheriff again. I won’t be long.” Jake didn’t want to say he planned to see if the killers were in Denver.

  “We will wait dinner for you, Mr. McBride.” She wasn’t ready to say good-bye to Jake. It had been difficult enough for her to say good-bye to his men. She’d become very attached to him, and it made her sad to think she might never see him again.

  Jake gazed at her a moment, trying to read the expression on her face. “I’ll be there.”

  “We’ll have apple pie.” Shorty had told her Jake loved apple pie so much that he’d had a lady in Texas bake six pies before they left on the drive.

  Jake lifted his hat, resettled it on his head, and gave her a wink. “Then nothing could keep me away.”