Sagebrush Bride (51 page)

“Cutter?” she asked suddenly, glancing down at
him. “What does
nesta vah hosay voomats
mean?”

Cutter straightened his leg, grimacing at the
lingering pain. “The hell you say?”

Elizabeth gave him a narrow-eyed glance and tried
again. “
Nesta
,” she began again, “
vah hosay voo mats
.”

His brows lifted suddenly as he realized she was
trying to speak Cheyenne. He chuckled. “
Ne-sta-va-hose-voomatse
?”

Elizabeth nodded.

“Cheyenne,” he told her. “It’s Cheyenne. It mean’s
‘I’ll see you again.’ “ He reached for a lock of her hair, turning it lazily
about his finger. “Why? Did I say that to you in my sleep?”

Elizabeth shook her head, biting down thoughtfully
on her lower lip as she glanced back up in time to see two blurry forms tackle
each other and fall to the ground. “No,” she said as she waved at the
approaching riders. They were still too far for her to see them clearly, but
one waved back excitedly, and she surmised it was Elias. “He came again,” she
revealed softly, as she watched the same figure slide off his horse to snatch
Katie into his arms. Tears returned to Elizabeth’s eyes. Despite the fact that
she couldn’t really see the touching scene, she could imagine it, and it was no
less stirring in her mind.

Cutter’s heartbeat quickened. “Who came?” he
demanded.

“The Indian. I think he said his name was
Estano-vah
,” she repeated as best she
could. Silence met her declaration, and she looked down into Cutter’s face.
“What does it mean?”

He would have chuckled at her pronunciation except
that a bolt of alarm darted down his spine. “Life-Taker.”

“Life-Taker,” Elizabeth repeated solemnly, looking
back at the hazy scene in the near distance. “It doesn’t suit him,” she decided
with a sad little smile.

There was a sense of peace in her expression that
touched Cutter to his soul.

“He took nothing,” Elizabeth revealed solemnly.
“Only gave.” She met his gaze suddenly. “He called you... I think it was ‘
Notsemah-em
.’ “

Another ripple went down his spine. “My blood,” he
translated for her, his voice little more than a hoarse whisper.

Elizabeth understood what a gift those words were,
but the look on Cutter’s face revealed just how magnificent a gift it truly
was. “I never meant to blame you, or your people, for my mother’s leaving,” she
told him, knowing instinctively that he needed to hear it. “My mother left
because she wanted to, and for no other reason. Forgive me,” she pleaded, her
hand reaching out to brush lightly against Cutter’s jaw.

Her words brought a jolt to Cutter’s heart. They
meant more to him than even Life-Taker’s recognition of their kinship. “No need
to ask,” he assured her, pulling her down atop him. He didn’t give a damn who
saw them, not Elias, the men who rode with him, Katie, or even God Himself. “I
forgave it the moment you said it,” he told her. And though he hadn’t realized
until that moment, it was the truth. He knew as soon as he said it that it was.

Still, he wasn’t going to let her off so easily...

He began to devise ingenious ways for her to make
it up to him every day of the rest of their lives. He kissed her earlobe
tenderly, nuzzling his head into the crook of her neck, and inadvertently
peered over her shoulder... Beginning later, he decided with a groan of regret,
when they didn’t have an audience. He whispered something into Elizabeth’s ear,
and she bolted upright, her hand flying to straighten her hair.

Together they watched the riders approach; Cutter
grinning broadly, and Elizabeth pink-cheeked.

As long as she lived, she didn’t think she’d ever
understand what happened to her senses when Cutter touched her! Nonetheless,
she was certain she would enjoy pursuing the answer to that question.

And pursue it, she would.

Diligently.

Elizabeth had had very few customers; with two new
physicians in Sioux Falls, the competition was just too great. And it didn’t
help much that she was in the last days of pregnancy. The women seemed not to
be bothered at all by the fact. The men, on the other hand, didn’t seem able to
look her in the eye without blushing. Most of them seemed hesitant to come to
her when either of the other two male doctors suited them better. At least it
seemed they thought so.

So when Jo rushed in, supporting Dick Brady so
that he wouldn’t fall on his face, Elizabeth was naturally ecstatic. She rose
as quickly as she was able from behind her little desk and waddled toward them,
her smile enormous. A white-faced Katie scurried in after them.

“He tripped over Shiftless,” Jo exclaimed.

“But he scared ‘im, that’s why!” Katie added
plaintively. “And that’s why he bited him, too!”

And it didn’t take much to deduce where, Elizabeth
thought, her brows furrowing, as she inspected Brady’s face. Canine teeth marks
ringed his bulbous nose, but only one of the puncture marks was of any
consequence, and it was bleeding very little, if at all.

“Snake-headed dog,” Brady muttered drunkenly.
“Blamed thang yelped ‘n’ turned on me—made no never mind that I was flat
on ma face already. Iffen ya ask me, I say he was bent on bitin’ me!” He
grinned suddenly and winked. “But I tol’ Miss Jo here you’d fix me up right
fine, ‘n’ here I am.”

His disclosure thrilled Elizabeth, though she
tried not to show it. He’d actually chosen to come to her? She had to remind
herself not to be too delighted. The man was suffering, after all. She put on
her most solemn expression. “Does it hurt very much?”

Brady shook his head, then nodded.

Elizabeth’s brows lifted in confusion. “It does?
Doesn’t?” He shook his head. “Does?” she tried again, and Brady nodded. “Oh,
you poor thing!” she said, giving him her compassion as she glanced down at
Katie. There was so much of herself she saw in Katie, more each day; from the
way she watched, wide-eyed, while Elizabeth treated patients, to the way she
defended those she loved, even when they were in the wrong. Yet, as doting of
Katie as Elizabeth was, she forced herself to give her niece a reproachful
frown.

“But Aunt Lizabeth!” Katie protested. “Shifless
was just taking a nap! That’s all!”

Cutter appeared in the doorway, filling the room
with his presence. He didn’t have to speak for Elizabeth to know he was there.
She sensed him and glanced over her shoulder, giving him a welcoming smile as
she lifted the lid from a small glass container of gauze pads. He was wearing
black trousers and a black shirt, but no guns, and no hat, and the grin he
sported as he leaned against the doorframe gave him an almost boyish
appearance.

He winked at her, raking a hand through his head.
“Wrasslin’ bears again, Brady?” he asked casually.

Surprised by the statement, Elizabeth gave Cutter
a baffled glance. How had he known about that? And then she recalled, and her
gaze flew to Brady. Brady’s expression was so comically confounded that she
pursed her lips to keep from giggling. He twisted his fingers together as he
stared down at the wooden floor, and suddenly Elizabeth couldn’t contain her
mirth. She envisioned him stabbing and wrestling with nothing but himself, and
began to giggle, softly at first and then with hilarity, clutching
instinctively at her abdomen. Suddenly she gasped as a searing pain tore
through her, doubling her over.

At once both Jo and Cutter hurried to her side.
Despite the fact that Cutter was farthest, he reached her first. “Elizabeth!”

Jo’s face paled with concern. “Are you all right?”

Katie’s face paled, as well.

Together, Cutter and Jo began to lead Elizabeth up
the stairs to their apartments above the office.

“No!” Elizabeth gasped, pushing Jo away as another
pang shot through her. “Stay—stay with Mr. Brady! Don’t let him
near—” she tried to whisper a warning into Jo’s ear, but another pain
came, making it sound more a shriek “—the knives!”

When Elizabeth doubled over, Cutter swept her into
his arms, carrying her up the stairs and straight to the room they shared,
leaving Jo downstairs with Katie. He laid her gently upon their bed, and then
removed the shiny new spectacles he’d ordered for her.

“The water,” Elizabeth groaned, trying to rise.

“Easy now,” Cutter told her. “Jo will know what to
do! We’ve gone over it enough!”

Elizabeth closed her eyes. “You’re right,” she
relented. Laying her head back against the pillows, she forced a smile.
Cutter’s words were reassuring, but his tone was frantic, and she knew that she
would need to remain strong to coach him.

All at once, Katie came racing in, with Shiftless
barking at her heels. “He’s bleedin’, Aunt Lizabeth! He’s bleedin’!”

Within seconds, Jo appeared as well. “Katie
Elizabeth, get that dog out of here!”

“Oh, yes, ma’am!” Katie slapped her little leg,
calling Shiftless. “Come on, boy! Come here!” Grasping the dog by the collar
when he came close enough,

Katie dragged him from the room. Jo followed her
as far as the door, closing it behind Katie, and then she turned to Elizabeth.
“That man!” she declared.

Elizabeth’s face whitened as dread, along with
another contraction, ripped through her. “Good night!” she moaned. “He’s
stabbed himself!” Again, she tried to rise.

Cutter forced her back down to the bed, glaring at
her.

“No. No. Nothing like that,” Jo assured her.

“Then what?” Elizabeth asked, giving in to a
little hysteria. “He wasn’t bleeding when I left him!”

“Dammit, Liz, don’t worry about Brady!” Cutter
broke in. “You’re bringing our baby into this world, and that’s all you need to
be thinkin’ of just now.”

Elizabeth’s gaze returned to her husband. “Our
baby,” she whispered reverently, and then another contraction squeezed her, and
she gritted her teeth until it ebbed. When it was over, she swallowed and
opened her eyes to look into Cutter’s. His expression was full of concern.

“Cutter’s right,” Jo told her. “You don’t need to
be worrying over Brady. Besides, it’s just that I socked him one,” she
disclosed. “Just an itty-bitty nosebleed is all he’s got.”

Both Elizabeth’s and Cutter’s gazes snapped back
at Jo. “You socked him?” they asked simultaneously.

“Well, yes! You’d think he’d’ve learned by now to
keep those dirty paws o’ his off o’ me!” She smiled at Elizabeth, winking.

“You see, I knew you were gonna be a little busy,
so I thought I might bandage him myself... and the idiot pinched me.”

“Where?” Cutter demanded, his gaze jerking up.

“Now, Cutter, he didn’t mean any harm,” Jo replied.
“It’s the red-eye that gets him roused. He can be a perfect gentleman when he’s
sober.”

Elizabeth grimaced. “Trouble is, he’s
rarely—” she grunted as another contraction besieged her “—sober!”

she screamed, clutching
desperately at Cutter’s arm.

“Lucky man,” Cutter said savagely.

Elizabeth blinked, surprised by the remark, and
tried to remember to breathe. Her eyes felt as though they were crossing.

“Why is that?” Jo asked.

“Because... if I weren’t busy playing doc just
now, I’d break the son of a bitch’s nose! As it is, you’d best get out there
and tell the yack to leave before I’m tempted to finish the job you and
Shiftless started.”

Elizabeth grunted, concentrating on the soothing
sound of Katie’s voice outside the door. She was speaking gently to Shiftless,
and she imagined that Katie was petting the dog, as well—much as Cutter
was doing to her just now. She wished he would quit, but didn’t have the heart
to tell him to get his hands off of her!

“Don’ worry!” Katie crooned. “Don’ worry!
Everything gonna be all right... You seeee... Aunt Lizabeth don’t wanna go to
heaven yet! She don’ want to!”

Dear Lord, is that what she thought? Did she think
her mother had had a choice? Elizabeth vowed to speak to Katie as soon as she
was able—make her understand that no one would leave her by choice. She
was just too special. She looked beseechingly at Jo.

Jo nodded, understanding Elizabeth’s silent plea.
“I’ll stay with her,” she said, “but first I’ll fetch water and blankets.”

Seven weary hours later, Cain Michael McKenzie was
born into his father’s hands. Clutching his son protectively, Cutter ran to the
door, shouting, “We have a son! A son!” He came back to the bed and dropped to
his knees.

Both Jo and Katie rushed in at once to greet the
newest addition, leaving Shiftless to whine and scratch at the door. They cooed
over Cain as Cutter took him from his mother to bathe him, and then compared
his hands to Katie’s while Elizabeth held him.

“Oooh! They’re so little!” Katie marveled. “Do you
think he’ll like Shifless, Aunt Lizbeth?”

Elizabeth nodded dreamily, her eyes drifting shut
as she watched the doting scene before her. Glancing up, Jo must have caught
her weary expression and rose from the bed. She ushered Katie out, explaining
as she closed the door that Elizabeth and Cain were getting too sleepy.