His Prairie Princess (Prairie Brides 1) (7 page)

Harrison took a deep breath. This must be what it feels like to ask a girl to marry.  But he wasn’t going to ask for Sadie’s hand in marriage, though the thought had struck earlier and got stuck in the back of his mind.  No, this was something else, something that would help all of them.  And he was positive she would be pleased with his proposal.

“Harrison, I hope you didn’t mind waiting.” Sadie said as she entered the parlor. “Doc isn’t home yet, but as soon as he gets here we’ll eat.”

“Quite all right.  I came early because I wanted to discuss something with you.”

“Oh?”

  He nodded, unable to speak.  Good Lord but she was beautiful.  Her eyes were brightened by the afternoon sun shining in through the lace curtained window.  She wore a beautiful blue dress and had braided her long hair and wrapped it around her head.  It looked like a dark, glistening crown.  Her apron was fresh and white with a spot of something here and there.  Probably cinnamon from the pies he could smell baking in the oven.

Harrison swallowed hard and resisted the urge to wipe his hands on his trousers again.  The thought of marriage suddenly unstuck itself and raced to the fo
refront of his mind.  If she were his wife he’d never let her out of his sight, which brought him to the matter at hand.

“I know you will need to be returning home.  Your family must be worried sick about you and there’s been no word from the Sheriff since he took off after the outlaws almost two weeks ago.  They must be determined to catch the men responsible for the stage robbery.  I dare say the Sheriff doesn’t even know you were kidnapped!  But outlaws have struck in these parts before and I’m sure the Sheriff suspects they are one and the same gang.”

“I suppose they could be.  So what did you wish to discuss?”

“I wish to offer my services as escort for you and your mother.”

“Escort?”

“Protection.”

“Protection from what?”

“The outlaws, of course.  I wish to escort you home.”

Sadie’s eyes widened for a brief moment.  She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.  If Harrison didn’t know any better, she looked like she wanted to say something that shouldn't be spoken in polite company.  He’d seen that same look on his mother’s face upon occasion. And so what she did next he assumed any lady would do.

She fled from the room.

Sadie retreated to the kitchen and thankfully no one was there.  Grandma must have gone upstairs to check on her mother.  She absently took the lid from the stew pot and gave the contents a stir. 

Why in Heaven’s name was she upset?  Harrison offered to take her back to her ranch.  Her home. Her father ...

All right, she admitted that part was upsetting.  It would mean seeing her father sooner than expected. 
And parting from Harrison sooner than she wanted. 

  She did so enjoy his company and had come to know him over their time spent together. His description of the English countryside fascinated her, and she loved talking of London and his family there.  But she dare no
t let herself feel anything for him.  Her mother was more important and she still had to convince her father to let her come live with them at the ranch.  Sadie would not leave her behind in Clear Creek.

She stirred the stew one last time, checked on the pies, (it was as good a
n excuse as any for running from the parlor) and went back to speak with Harrison.  He stood as she entered, his face unreadable.

“I ... I thought I smelled supper burning,” she stammered. “And I needed to check on dessert.”

Harrison’s face broke into a warm smile.  “Of course. It all smells wonderful by the way. Come, sit down.”

She went to the settee and sat.  He joined her and they enjoyed each other in companionable silence for a few moments.

“Sadie ...” escaped him a low whisper.  Deep and throaty.

She looked at him and swallowed.

He cleared his throat and scooted closer.  “I don’t wish to frighten you, but you need a man’s protection. I rescued you and am responsible for you until your father comes.  If he does not come to fetch you it could mean he fell victim to the outlaws as well.”

Sadie’s mouth dropped open.  “No ...”

“I’m sorry if that upsets you, but if he doesn't come soon then I feel it’s my duty to see you home.”  He turned to the window, moved a lace curtain aside, and looked out to the street. “You cannot plan to stay here forever.”

Forever.  The word seemed to hang over them. Sadie had never thought about where she would spend he
r
foreve
r
.  Or whom she would spend it with.  Until now.  She studied him as he continued to look out upon the street.  A wagon rolled by and he watched it with feigned interest.  His eyes glued to the horse being pulled along behind it.  He was so different from other men she was familiar with.  His looks were of course striking, but she’d met handsome men before.  No, Harrison Cooke had something the others didn’t.  It was a quiet strength wrapped up in a polite package.  A very polite one.  His English mother no doubt took her job of teaching her sons proper manners very seriously. It was hard to imagine his brothers, falsely accused, locked up in prison. But at the same time, she knew these men wouldn’t hesitate to do what ever was necessary to protect a woman. To protect her.  This was not some fancy English dude she’d heard tell of or read about in a novel.  This was a man who’d spent the last eight years taming the Oregon prairie with other men of his ilk.  Pioneers who wanted a better life and were willing to pay the price to get it. 

“I have no doubt my father will turn up eventually.  Until that time I plan to take care of my mother and see she gets well.”

He at last looked at her.  His eyes fell to her mouth.  He swallowed as if he found it difficult to speak.  “I shall continue to look after you then,” his eyes found hers.  “And check daily on you both.”

Sadie’s stomach did its familiar little flip.  Only this time it was more of a flop
, as something seemed to sink deep into the very core of her.  When she finally recovered from the odd sensation, she found herself staring at Harrison’s mouth with the same intensity he used to stare at her own.

“Ahem ...”

Sadie had to fight to tear her gaze away.  That felt even stranger.  Doc stood out in the hallway.  “Is supper about ready?”

Sadie turned back to Harrison and realized they had leaned toward one another.  To Doc Waller, it must have looked like they were about to kiss.

“Something sure smells good!  I think I’ll just go see what’s in the oven.” Doc said as he chuckled and turned to head down the hall.

Sadie swallowed as she watched him leave.  Why couldn’t she speak?  What was wrong with her? Then, it suddenly hit her.  Sh
e
wante
d
Harrison to kiss her!

She quickly looked to him again.  His eyes immediately darted to her mouth.  She looked away.  Apparently he had the same idea.  What to do?

You see him, you get him
.
Came her mother’s words.  But how could she?  And what if Harrison wanted to kiss her because she was the only one in tow
n
to kis
s
?  She’d seen how the other men stared at her when she went out with Grandma to run an errand or two over the last few days.  Harrison warned her not to leave the house unescorted and she soon found out why.  Come to think of it.  Doc Waller mentioned he suddenly had a lot more men coming to his door to be tended since she’d been staying there.  But was Harrison different?  Or like all the others, simply in desperate want of a woman?

She swallowed hard and slowly looked at him.  He kept his gaze locked on her face, his eyes almost unmoving.  “What’s for supper?” practically came out a croak.

“I don’t remember.”  She answered, her eyes again on his mouth.  A mouth that was now inches from her own.  How it happened she didn’t know.  He was suddenly so much closer, one arm across the back of the settee, the other raised to her face, his hand coming up under her chin as she continued to stare at him.  When he took her chin in his hand and tilted her face up she thought she might faint.  His fingers were warm, the heat from his hand even warmer as she felt it against her neck. 

He bent his face to hers and the size of him seemed to swallow her up.  “Yo
u have my protection Miss Jones,” he whispered as he closed the distance between them. “But I don’t know how much longer I can protect you from myself.” 

And then he did what Sadie assumed any proper gentleman would do. 
H
e
fled from the room. After all, it worked for her didn’t it?

Only Sadie didn’t want him to go. 

* * *

Harrison rushed into the kitchen so fast he nearly knocked Doc over.  “Blazes, boy!  What’s the trouble?  The house on fire?”  Harrison glanced toward the parlor down the hall then back to him. 

“Oh, I see.  The house ain’t on fire but you sure are!  Did ya kiss her?”

Harrison straightened.  “Good Heaven’s no!”

Doc slammed the lid back on the stewpot. He’d been sneaking a bite when Harrison all but ran him over.  “Well why not?  What’s the matter with you? The prettiest girl around for a hundred miles and you’re telling me you didn’t kiss her?”

“She’ll hear you.”

“I hope she does!”

“Kissing her would have been a travesty.”

“A what?”

“A mistake.”

Doc stared at him a moment.  Both heads turned at the sound of Sadie running up the stairs, closely followed by the slam of a door.  “Well you can bet she hear
d
that
!
”  Doc scolded.

Harrison sank heavily into the nearest chair.  “It’s not that I didn’t want to.  But I don’t want her to think the wrong thing.”

“This is Clear Creek, boy.  Women are more than just scarce.  They’re practically non-existent. I’m telling you right now, if you fancy that pretty little thing you’d best stake claim on her before someone else does.”

“But when her father comes ...”

“I don’t care none about her father!  I saw my Sarah for the first time and two weeks later we were married.  And that was in Philadelphia!  After we settled in Kansas I brought more than my share of babies into the world, a lot of which came out west with us.  Now those folks went on to Oregon City. Most of them are probably married by now.  But this is Clear Creek.  Your chances of finding a woman out here are slim to none.  But look at you!  The good Lord saw fit to drop one right in front of you!”

Harrison felt like a cad.  He wanted to kiss her all right.
 
Reall
y
kiss her. Kiss her until she swooned in fact. But Mrs. Dunnigan had the town thinking Sadie was no better than her mother.  He didn’t want to do anything to add fuel to the fire.  He wanted more time with her.  Escorting Sadie back to her ranch with a few of the Sheriff’s men and meeting her father would give him that time.  Not to mention, now that he thought of it, time to think of a good reason Mr. Jones should let him marry her.  Doc was right.  If he wanted her he needed to do something about it. But there were obstacles, namely Harrison Cooke hadn’t a penny to his name. 

First he had to deal with his
current dilemma. Convincing Sadie's father he could provide for her paled against the fact she obviously thought he didn’t care a whit about her.  He just wanted her body.  Which he did, but with a wedding ring attached and that meant he wanted her heart.  He would have to explain it to her.   Yes, he’d march up there right now and tell her how he felt. 

Doc saw the determined gleam in his eye.  “That’s it boy! Go get her!  Don’t let those fancy manners your ma beat into you spoil a good thing!  She’ll be more of a mind to let you court her if she knows how you feel!”

“Court her?  What happened to staking claim?”

“All women want to be courted at least a week before they get married out here.”

“I wouldn’t know, I haven’t seen anyone get married out here.”

Doc laughed as Grandma walked into the kitchen.  “What’s going on?  Sadie’s upstairs mad as a rattler. Harrison, what did you do?”

“It’s what I’m about to do that matters.”