Guardian Bride (10 page)
"No," Summer admitted. "I don't think you're crazy." She
eased her hold on Stephanie's shoulder and rubbed the spot
consolingly. "Jonas loved you very much."
Stephanie's head snapped up, and her eyes narrowed into
a serious squint. "How do you know his name?"
Locked air in Summer's lungs made her cough. "I-I-
someone must have mentioned it," she lied.
"No, no one would have mentioned Jonas."
82
Guardian Bride
by Lauri Robinson
Summer bit her tongue.
"If anyone around mentioned him, they would have called
him Jay. That's what he was known as in these parts. Jay, not
Jonas." Stephanie stared as if she could see right into
Summer's head. "Even his headstone says Jay."
Summer swallowed, shuffling her feet under the table.
Stephanie's gaze didn't falter, just kept going in deeper and
deeper. Summer lowered her eyes and drew her hand away.
Picking up her coffee cup, she took a tiny sip. "Why? Why
didn't anyone around here call him Jonas?"
Stephanie turned around and stared at her bedroom door
for a few moments before she turned back to Summer. Her
gaze was softer, and a tiny frown had settled between her
brows. "Because," she started hesitantly, "he was known as
Jonas in Missouri." She took a breath and continued, "After
his first wife died, he left there to lead a wagon train west. My
family was a part of that train. We were on the gold rush. The
first one. The big one in California. Jay Quinter was the wagon
master."
She took a swig of coffee and seemed to be more settled
in telling her tale because she'd barely swallowed before
continuing, "From the moment I saw him, I was head over
heels in love. I was sixteen, and he was twenty-six." A wide
smile flashed on her lips. "I tried everything I could to get his
attention." The grin disappeared. "But he was crushed over
the death of his wife and baby. He didn't let it rule his life
though. He led that train through Indian attacks, hail storms,
and blizzards that would have killed us all if not for him. He
83
Guardian Bride
by Lauri Robinson
stayed on with my family that winter, and by spring, I knew I
couldn't let him leave California without me."
Jonas hadn't told Summer any of this. She was in awe and
needed to know more. "What happened?"
Stephanie rose and retrieved the coffee pot from the
stove. While refilling their cups, she said, "He left." Plopping
the pot on the stove, she added, "Without me."
"What?"
Taking her seat at the table, Stephanie laughed, "That's
what I said when I woke up that cold spring morning."
Summer stared at Stephanie until the humor on the other
woman's face tickled her insides. All of sudden Stephanie
Quinter looked younger, happier. Grinning, Summer asked,
"Then what happened?"
"I waited." Stephanie slapped the table hard enough to
make Summer jump in her chair. "He didn't come back for
two years." Stephanie giggled like a school girl, "I was so
mad at him by then I could have shot him. Probably would
have if he hadn't kissed the daylights out of me as soon as he
jumped off his horse."
"Where had he been?"
"He'd gone back to Independence and led out another
train."
Summer had never heard a love story, and truly wanted to
know more. "Had he written?"
Stephanie gave her a skeptical look. "No." She cocked her
head thoughtfully. "But he didn't need to. I knew he'd be
back."
"Had he said so?"
84
Guardian Bride
by Lauri Robinson
"No."
"Then how did you know?"
Stephanie reached over and softly tapped Summer's chest
with the tip of one finger. "In here. I knew he was the man
for me. And I knew he'd be back. We were married the next
day and a week later we left California to settle here."
There was so much more Summer wanted to know, but
she didn't know where to start her questions.
Stephanie made it easy. "He said I was too young when
we met. He also said he'd worried I'd find someone else
before he made it back to California. Men can be so silly
sometimes. I would have waited for him forever. If he'd have
never made it back to California, I'd still be there, a grumpy
old woman living alone."
Summer frowned.
"It's true," Stephanie said, "I'd never have married if he
hadn't come back for me. In those days men out numbered
women ten to one. I had an offer for marriage every week by
men who'd struck it rich and those who didn't have a pot to
spit in. But not one of them lit the spark in me that he did."
Something flared in Summer's chest, as if she knew what
Stephanie referred to. She changed the subject, needing time
to dwell on the warmth filling her insides. "How did you find
this place?"
"He'd seen it on the way out. The Indian raids in Nebraska
were wiping out whole trains, so his second trip out had been
through Kansas. This route was harder because water isn't as
plentiful as it is further north. One day he rode ahead of the
train, scouting, and saw this basin. He said he pictured his
85
Guardian Bride
by Lauri Robinson
family living here. It was tough at first, since there were no
towns, hardly a neighbor within a day's ride, but we settled,
built a cabin, and a year later, he went back to Missouri to get
Kid."
"Kid?"
"Yes. Kid had been living with his mother's family. We
wanted to go get him before then, but Jay wouldn't go until
he was sure Skeeter and I had everything we'd need while he
made the journey." Stephanie laid a hand on Summer's. "You
never said why you called him Jonas."
Summer had forgotten that part. She bit her lip. A
thunderous crash from the other side of the house saved her
from having to come up with another lie. Simultaneously, she
and Stephanie leaped from their chairs to race to Snake's
room.
86
Guardian Bride
by Lauri Robinson
Snake managed to pull the blanket off the bed and cover
his private area before the door flew open. Summer, followed
closely by his mother, flew into the room like two hens—
clucking and wings flapping.
His heart slammed against the walls of his chest as his
eyes settled on Summer's face twisted with concern.
"What happened?" she asked, arriving at his side.
The erratic thuds in his chest made the pain in his leg and
shoulder all but disappear. Guilt of causing her worry settled
in his stomach. "I-uh..." Not a single comprehensive thought
formed.
"Did you fall out of bed?" Her hands ran up and down his
arms and torso.
He grabbed them before they caught the edge of the
sheet. He wasn't about to tell her he'd thought he could make
it to the water closet, nor did he want her to see what the
sight of her did to him. She sat back on her hunches, and he
balled the sheet, making sure it hid his desire. Using his good
elbow, he wiggled and pushed himself up to sit against the
bed frame.
"Yes, I guess I did." His cheeks burnt with enough heat to
boil water. It was damn hard to be a man while injured from
head to toe.
"Here," she offered, "let me help you get back in bed."
His hand tightened on the sheet. "No. No, I think I'll just
sit here for a minute."
87
Guardian Bride
by Lauri Robinson
"Don't be silly," his mother demanded. "You can't sit there
on the floor." None to gently her fingers dug into his arm.
"Come on, we'll help you get back in bed."
"No." He shook off her hold. "I'm just fine where I'm at."
His mother would have grabbed his arm again, but
Summer reached up and stopped her. "Would you mind
getting him a cup of coffee?" Her big, dark eyes settled on
him. "I'll check his wounds. Make sure the fall didn't tear out
any stitches."
He swallowed the groan bubbling up his throat. Her
closeness made the throbbing in his loins increase. Yet, he
couldn't find the wherewithal to discourage her from touching
him.
His mother turned and strutted out of the room, banging
the door shut as she left.
Summer grinned, and Snake had to smile as well. "She's a
little grumpy in the mornings."
Summer laughed. "Like someone else I know?"
He cast his eyes down. The balled sheet hid what he felt
this morning, and he wouldn't necessarily call it grumpy.
She rose and walked to the dresser where she gathered
bandages, ointment and other such supplies. When she
settled on the floor beside him, she pushed the sheet off his
lower thigh. "I'll start with the leg."
A zing ripped up his inner thigh, jolting his shaft. He
bunched the sheet tighter, and tried to ignore the ache, which
had very little to do with the wound Summer gently cleaned
and prepared for a new bandage. Snake wondered if he'd live
through the morning.
88
Guardian Bride
by Lauri Robinson
She talked as she worked. Her voice, songlike and gentle,
explained how nicely the wound was healing and asked how
he slept. He managed to eek out a comment now and again.
When her fingers flowed over the inside of his thigh, wrapping
the bandage around and around, he squeezed his eyes closed
and tried to imagine she was as bald and old as Doc Sanders.
His mind wasn't so addled that happened so he found himself
wishing his mother would come back with the coffee, her
arrival would surely dowse him like a cold rain.
Summer had finished with his shoulder by the time his
mother arrived, carrying a tray with a mug of coffee and a
plate of scrambled eggs—burnt. He grasped the edge of the
tray as it landed on his lap. Summer glanced at his intake of
breath, her brows furrowed.
He snatched up the cup of coffee. The liquid practically
scalded his mouth and gullet. Who would have ever imagined
healing was more painful than getting shot? He set the cup
down and lifted the fork. Summer left the room with the old
bandages, but his mother stayed with her hands braced on
her hips and staring down at him with a deep, but not
unfriendly frown.
"What?" he asked after eating the small amount of eggs
that weren't scorched.
"Nothing," she said, but quickly added. "I just never
realized how much you look like your Pa. I always thought
Bug and Kid took after him more, but that's just their dark
hair and eyes. You have his features and his build."
Ma never talked of Pa much, and the look on her face
made him wonder if it was because she missed him so much.
89
Guardian Bride
by Lauri Robinson
For years they all thought it was because she was mad that
he'd got himself killed. Now, he wondered if she'd just been
protecting her heart all these years. It was odd for him to
think of such things this morning, sitting on the floor eating
breakfast.
His mind took another route, back to when he'd been
unconscious. His father had been there, he'd swear his life on
it. The fork fell from his fingers. While he'd been out, his
father had told him to nod his head, and Summer had said
he'd nodded in agreement of their marriage before the doc
began surgery.
His gaze went back to his mother. She hadn't been the one
to make him marry Summer. His father had. He lifted the tray
off his lap, handing it toward his mother. "Here, help me get
back into bed before Summer returns."
His mother set the tray on the table he'd toppled earlier
when trying to get out of bed, and reached down to aid his
rise. "Don't know why you're embarrassed. She's been
nursing you for over a week now and has seen all you got to
offer."
"Ma," he groaned, ears steaming.
"Well, she has."
He covered himself with the sheet. "Get me a pair of
britches."
"Why, you ain't going no where?"
"Just get me some pants."
She did as asked, and helped him get them on before she
made her exit.
90
Guardian Bride
by Lauri Robinson
Snake sat on the bed, with one suspender hooked over his
good shoulder when Summer re-entered the room. The gaze
on her face said she was surprised, but she didn't comment
as she went about replenishing the medical needs on top of
the dresser.
A strong, undeniable urge made him break the silence.
"Thank you."
The long, black tresses flowing down her back swished as
she twirled about. "For what?"
For coming into my life.
He frowned, wondering where that
thought had come from and said, "For nursing me."
She crossed the room, and his heart swelled. Was this
beautiful creature really his wife? It was amazing how things
happened. He'd thought he'd never marry. Well, not for a few