Once upstairs in the hallway, Brianna shooed Daphne into their room to prepare for bed. As soon as the door closed, she turned to David. “Thank you so much for the lovely meal. It was made all the more special by the projectile entertainment, and I’m sure Daphne will remember it for a long while.”
David, standing with his hands at his hips and his feet slightly apart, moved toward her. His big, work-hardened hand cupped her chin. “I’m your husband,” he reminded her in a voice gone husky. “There’s no need to thank me for the meal. As for the entertainment, it was my pleasure.”
He dipped his head. Brianna’s breath caught, for she knew he meant to kiss her. It had been years since she’d allowed such a liberty, and even then, she’d engaged in only quick pecks, never a real joining of lips. David had given her a quick peck last night, but she had a feeling that wasn’t his usual habit. His face blurred in her vision. His breath, sweet with the scent of recently sipped wine, wafted over her cheek. She didn’t know what to do with her hands, wasn’t sure she even wanted this to happen. But David wasn’t asking. He moved in with easy certainty, tipping her head just so as his lips settled lightly over hers. At the contact, all the breath rushed from her lungs. His mouth caressed hers like warm satin. Her eyes drifted closed. Her hands finally found anchor on the front of his shirt, her fingers clutching a bit frantically at the cloth as a delicious, tingling sensation swirled deep into her core.
When she felt the tip of his tongue trace the seam of her lips, she jumped with a start. He drew slightly back, his blue eyes sharpening on hers. A quizzical expression settled on his dark face. Then he smiled slightly.
“Sweet dreams, Shamrock.” He tucked her room key into her hand and curled her limp fingers around it. “Lock up tight. If you need me, I’m only one room away.”
Brianna’s knees felt watery. She sank against the portal behind her for support, her lungs still hitching from the sensations he’d ignited within her. He paused outside his room, watching her expectantly. She realized he wanted her safely inside her chamber with the door secured before he sought his own rest.
She turned to fumble with the doorknob, her hands shaking. When she spilled inside, Daphne sat on the edge of the bed brushing her hair. She wore only the new shift David had bought her at the general store. Brianna had trouble fitting the key into the hole. When she finally got the mechanism to turn, she pocketed the apparatus and stood with her shoulder blades pressed against the door.
“Are you all right, Mama?”
Brianna wasn’t certain. Her bones felt like candle wax that had softened from too much heat. “I’m fine.” Her voice sounded as if it belonged to someone else, faint and far away. “Just fine.”
David kicked off his boots and shucked the damp jeans before flopping down on the bed to stare sightlessly at the shadowy ceiling. The smell of sunlight and spring breezes drifted up from the linens and blankets, telling him they were clean. He also caught the scent of beeswax coming from the furnishings. He was no stickler when it came to hotel accommodations, but he did like to know he wasn’t using bedding that had been soiled by a stranger.
Troubling thoughts circled in his mind as he considered Brianna and that brief kiss. She’d kept her lips clamped closed like an untried schoolgirl, and he’d felt the jolt of surprise that shot through her body when he tried to breach the barrier with his tongue. Then, when he drew back, her cheeks had been as red as California apples, and she’d been so flustered that he doubted she could have strung three words together. Strange. All his instincts told him that the woman had never been properly kissed. But how the hell could that be? She’d borne him a child, and David, drunk or sober, always kissed a woman before he took things any further. Maybe, he decided, she was just sorely out of practice.
He sighed and let his eyes drift closed, his body yearning for sleep. But he had no sooner shuttered his peepers than he lifted his lashes again. Another thing about that kiss deeply troubled him. He’d felt no sense of recognition when he tasted her mouth. It was a very sweet, intoxicating mouth, and it amazed him that he had no recollection of having kissed her in the past. Granted, he’d locked lips with countless females, and he didn’t remember every single one, but it seemed to him that engaging in that kind of intimacy with a beauty like Brianna should have stuck in his mind.
How drunk had he been that night, anyway? Pretty damned drunk, he guessed. The thought shamed him. He twisted and punched his pillow. A feather escaped the ticking and stuck to his lower lip. He sputtered and scrubbed it away with the back of his hand. Then he sank into the down beneath him, determinedly closed his eyes, and willed himself to fall asleep.
In the next room, Brianna, too, stared blankly at the ceiling. She’d just turned off the lantern, and it still made a slight hissing sound. Beside her, Daphne had already snuggled down to snooze, her breathing deep and even. Exhausted, Brianna yearned for rest, but she was too upset to relax. So David had kissed her, and yes, it had been delightful, but what kind of ninny was she to go weak at the knees over it? She had to keep her wits about her with that man.
He felt honor bound to be a father to Daphne, and Brianna had to bear in mind that she was merely part of the package. He hadn’t kissed her because he felt attracted to her. He was simply taking stock of the situation, and being a practical man, he had decided that a marriage of necessity might be more tolerable for both of them if they engaged in physical intimacy. Well, she wasn’t about to be bamboozled by a handsome marshal with a weighty amount of guilt and obligation riding his shoulders. He was a good man. She’d come to sincerely believe that. But she wouldn’t accept his affections when he offered them only out of a sense of duty. It was humiliating enough that she had succumbed so eagerly to that one kiss.
Never again. She’d all but swooned. To melt like that when the man kissing her had only been pretending made her cringe with shame. Pigs would fly before she let it happen again. The next time David Paxton tried to kiss her, she’d set him straight in no uncertain terms.
* * *
Willing himself to sleep didn’t work. David tried counting sheep, but he remained wide-awake, reliving that kiss. It had been incredible, at least for him, so much so that he’d almost lost it for a second. As arousing as it had been, though, he couldn’t shake his impression that it had been one of Brianna’s first.
Baffled, David recalled Brianna’s story about having a twin sister and growing up in an orphanage. What if she was telling the truth? Nah. Daphne’s looks negated that possibility. She was definitely a Paxton. Still troubled, David drifted off to sleep and dreamed of the wonderful sound of his daughter’s giggles. Then the dreams changed, and he jerked awake in a sweat, aroused by images of Brianna, naked and willing in his arms. Vivid images. Maybe, he decided, he did remember her in some dark corner of his mind.
Chapter Fifteen
B
ecause David now felt certain that Brianna would get no harebrained notions about trying to escape, he stuck to his decision the next morning that further travel on horseback was unnecessary. Leaving her and Daphne to linger over breakfast in the hotel restaurant, he walked up the street to the tiny train station to procure tickets to Den-
ver, and then arranged traveling accommodations for the horses and mule. The train was due to depart at noon, so David went to the livery to collect the animals, enlisting the help of a stable hand to bring the riding tack, packs, and plenty of feed over to the stock car. All the gear, except his saddlebags, which he’d left at the hotel, was stowed in the baggage compartment.
When he got back to the hotel, checkout time had come and gone. He found his wife and daughter waiting in the lobby. Brianna had gotten a key to his room, and his saddlebags, plus hotel-stamped totes containing their laundry, rested at her feet.
“You could have just waited in the room,” David told her.
She waved away the suggestion. “They were going to charge you for another night. I don’t think they’re full, so I thought we could let mor
e rooms if you decided to stay.”
She looked beyond beautiful in the emerald gown with the black cloak draped over her bent arm. Daphne was equally lovely in her yellow and brown frock and patent leather shoes, which had taken a beating out on the prairie but were still presentable. David drew out his watch to check the time. They had only forty minutes to collect Brianna’s other dresses and accessories from the shop.
David carried their belongings and herded his small flock out of the hotel and up the street. The dressmaker had finished the alterations and packaged the garments, leaving out only a black drawstring reticule and a brimmed black hat adorned with a mass of emerald green bows at the crown. While Brianna donned the bonnet, securing it with hatpins, David paid the bill, collected their things, and then allowed his ladies to carry the parcels as they hurried out onto the boardwalk. Dodging women shoppers and businessmen in trousers and frock coats, they all but ran to the opposite end of town. They had only five minutes to spare when they reached the closet-size station. Wearing a black suit and billed cap, the conductor yelled, “All aboard!” Then he shouted the names of the towns where stops would be made. David wondered why. There were no other passengers that he could see getting on in Clapboard Flats.
He juggled his saddlebags and bundles of laundry to dig the tickets out of his duster pocket, then boarded the train behind his wife and daughter. The passenger area, a far cry from the plush interiors that Ace had designed for his private train cars, was nearly empty. An older couple sat at the far end, and a lone gentleman sat at the middle right. David indicated a front compartment with a nod of his head. While Brianna and Daphne took places facing each other, he stowed all their stuff under the child’s seat.
“As we get closer to Denver, more travelers will join us,” David told them. “For now, let’s enjoy having the car mostly to ourselves.”
Brianna fanned her face. “My goodness, such a rush! I’m breathless.”
So was David, but not from exertion. Just looking at Brianna robbed his lungs of oxygen. The gown and fancy hat had transformed her from shabby to elegant. The cut at the corner of her eye was healing nicely and scarcely detracted from the perfection of her countenance. The insert of black eyelet, designed to conceal her cleavage, performed its job, but nothing save a cloak could hide the generous swells of her breasts above the ruffles.
Daphne wiggled on her seat, reminding David of a worm squirming on a hook. She was so excited when the whistle blew and the train shuddered forward that her eyes danced with delight. He sat back, content to let her expend all her energy quickly so she’d fall asleep before the car filled with passengers at future stops. He needed to have a long, private talk with Brianna.
Daphne took two hours to wind down. Brimming with questions, she kept both David and Brianna busy. What made the train move? How fast did it go? When the conductor left the car, what did he do? Where were Blue, Lucy, and Acorn? Did they have food and water? David figured the animals were more comfortable than they were. There was a dining car, but in his experience the food would be pretty dismal. When the train stopped to refuel, they could go to a restaurant, but it would be a mad dash. The train wouldn’t wait for any passengers late getting back.
During the first leg of the journey, David couldn’t help but admire Brianna for her determinedly cheerful attitude. Though her nether regions were still saddle sore, she didn’t complain about the hard bench seat, and she was patience itself when Daphne grew cranky. David loved the kid, but her constant chatter started to wear on his nerves. He wanted her to pipe down for five minutes and give his ears a rest.
Finally, the child slumped in the window corner of her seat, her blond head lolling against the glass. David nearly groaned with relief. He glanced over at Brianna.
“Blessed silence at last,” he whispered.
“All this is so exciting for her. She was only an infant when I brought her out West.”
David decided to ignore that. He’d barely slept last night, and if Brianna started in with her convent story again, he wasn’t sure he could hold his tongue. It was time for her to accept their situation and move ahead.
“Now that she’s asleep, we need to iron out a few things. Once we reach Denver, it’ll be late at night, possibly the wee hours of morning. I’d like to make some decisions now while we’re still rested and thinking clearly.”
“About?” Brianna arched a dark eyebrow at him. “If you still intend to dump me off in Denver, you’d best understand that you’ll not be leaving me there without my daughter.”
David deeply regretted that remark. “I was angry when I said that. I didn’t mean it.”
She folded her hands primly in her lap, only the white glow of her knuckles revealing her tension. “So what do you plan to do?”
“I considered setting you up in your own dress shop,” he ventured. “Denver would be an ideal location, with lots of wealthy ladies who might become patrons.” He saw her stiffen and added, “But brief as our acquaintance has been, I’ve come to realize you’ll never be happy living away from Daphne. It’s only a morning’s journey by train from Denver to No Name, though, so if you’re interested in the idea, we could work it out. You could see her on weekends. There are plenty of bedrooms at my ranch. And during the summers, she could stay in Denver with you, and I could do the commuting.”
Her green eyes sparked with outrage. “I will never live apart from my daughter, sir.”
David had pretty much figured that out already. “All right,” he said, striving to keep his tone calm and soothing. “We’ll work something else out. Just understand that I’ve been thinking about all the possible alternatives, and they’re problematic.”
“I don’t care how problematic they may be. I will not be separated from my child. If anyone is going to live apart from her, it will be you.”
“I said we’ll work it out, Brianna. Just calm down.”
She drew a shaky breath and relaxed her shoulders. “So what are our options?”
David took a moment to gauge his words before replying, “Well, for starters, I’m as determined as you are to be a full-time parent. I’ve missed six years of her life, and from now on, I want to be a proper father to her. Surely you can understand that.”
She indicated that she did with a slight nod.
“Anyhow,” David went on, “I can’t see how I can accomplish that if I don’t live under the same roof with her.”
Brianna’s eyes went round with apprehension. “But if I am bent on living under the same roof with her, and you feel the same, where does that leave us?”
David could think of no easy way to say it, so he just spit it out. “It leaves us living together.” He held up a hand. “Think about it before you let that Irish temper get the better of you. I suppose we could maintain separate residences and share time with our daughter, but think how that would look to the people of No Name. Nobody would understand why a man and wife would choose to be married and live apart.”
“Frankly, I don’t care what the people of No Name think or say.”
“You will about the time it starts hurting our daughter. The gossip might affect Daphne more than us.”
“Oh, dear,” she said softly.
“Divorce isn’t unheard of,” David went on, “but it’s still considered to be scandalous. Vicious tongues can draw blood, and I don’t want it to be Daphne’s. The way I see it, we are responsible for her existence, and that means we are the ones who should suffer the consequences. For her sake, I think we need to make every possible attempt to appear to be a happily married couple.”
Brianna stared with glistening eyes at their daughter, who was still deeply asleep. She said nothing.
“There’s a dress shop in No Name,” David told her. “It has living quarters on the second floor. I’ve never been up there, but judging by the lower floor plan, I suspect the apartment is roomy. The proprietress is an older woman and often wishes aloud that she could sell out and go to live with her son in California.
I’m pretty certain she’ll negotiate with me if I offer a fair starting price. You’ve always wanted your own dress shop.”
She fixed him with a bewildered look. “How did you come by that information? That I want my own dress shop, I mean.”
“Daphne. When we’re riding together, she talks nonstop.”
Brianna sighed again. “That child needs a sock stuffed in her mouth sometimes.”
David chuckled. “Ah, well, in this case, the information came in handy. So what do you think? Should I pursue the dress-shop idea? As marshal, I divide my time between town and my ranch, often spending nights in the jail. It would be just as easy for me to sleep on a cot in the dress-shop apartment. On the surface, it would appear that we’re a happily married couple, recently reunited. No one will think it strange if I continue to spend some nights at the ranch to oversee my hired hands and do the books.”
“Well, I must say I find this proposition more appealing than having to live in Denver so far from my daughter. But practically speaking, how can you and I make a charade like that work over a long period of time?” Her gaze clung to his. “I agree that Daphne’s happiness is of the utmost importance, but what of your future? As far as our marriage goes, we both know the union may not be legal. In fact, I’m fairly certain it isn’t.”
David couldn’t argue with that. Brianna hadn’t given her consent, there’d been only one adult witness instead of the required two, and the whole mess had taken place in the very worst kind of kangaroo court. “Your point?”
“Have you considered an annulment? If we both went together and filed for one, it would probably be easy to get.”
It was David’s turn to stiffen. “And?”
“Until you realize the truth, that Daphne isn’t yours, I would be willing to live with the child in Denver so you might see her regularly.” When David started to speak, she held up a hand. “Hear me out. You spoke the other night about having your life all planned before you got my letters. I believe those plans involved a woman. Am I wrong?”