The Badger City Gang [Bride Train 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (33 page)

“I’m sorry about all this, Kate.” Walt waved at the ropes. “I’m sorry for tying you up and gagging you, but you needed to hear everything these boys said. Men, and women,” Walt added, turning to Zach, “can say pretty things. But it’s what they say when they’re pushed, and think the other isn’t listening, that’s the truth. I had to tie her up since I figured she wouldn’t stay in this room, or be quiet, with you three out here.”

Walt took Kate’s hand in his own. It looked so smooth and white compared to his, which was gnarled like an old tree root.

“Katie, you coming out here to find me is the best present I could ever imagine. I had to make sure you found the best men to take care of you after I’m gone.”

“You’re not going anywhere, old man, unless it’s to jail for tying Kate up,” muttered Mrs. Johnston. She turned to Kate. “Don’t worry, my dear. Doctor Henley says Walter’s in great health, and I intend to keep him that way.”

“Emma, I’m warning you,” growled Walt. “I’ll put you across my lap and—”

“That sounds more like a promise, dearest,” she said, flicking her eyelashes. Though Walt’s face was brown from years in the sun, Zach could see a hint of red underneath.

“Emma,” said Walt softly, “I wanted to make sure my daughter makes the right choice. One that is right for her, and for the men she loves.”

“How do you know whether I love them or not?”

Walt raised his eyebrows and smiled kindly down at Kate. “I can’t see you putting up with these rascals for two days, much less weeks, unless you loved them.”

“Do you, Kate?” Zach kept his arm on Kate’s waist as he moved around to her front. “Do you love me, Rusty, and Gideon enough to spend the rest of your life with us?” She toyed with his shirt button, her head bowed. “Because I want to marry you, sweetheart.”

“Why?”

He could barely hear her choked whisper.

“When I saw you striding along that railroad track, your legs pumping as if you had to escape from those clucking biddies, I knew you were different. I liked your spirit. I never imagined you could hold your own riding to the ranch. But the way you are with us, tough and soft, and loving…” He swallowed before his voice cracked. “I planned on marrying an agreeable woman, one that could eventually put up with sharing all three of us. I never thought I’d trust her with my heart.”

He tilted her chin up. She kept her eyes down as long as she could, but he waited patiently for her. He knew they’d need one hell of a lot of patience over the next fifty years, if the Lord allowed them that much time together. But he, and Rusty, and Gideon, had been planning to own a ranch between them since long before their father was murdered.

“Will you marry me, Katherine Mason? Will you share your life with me, my brother, and my cousin, and any children we might have?”

“Say yes, Kate,” interrupted Walt. “And that you’ll share those grandchildren with me and my wife.”

“You don’t have a wife,” scolded Mrs. Johnston. She slapped Walt on the shoulder. “And if you keep this up, I might not say ‘yes.’”

“I haven’t asked you yet, woman,” he growled back like a bear roused from a bee tree. “And who says I will?”

“If the old folks will stop their squabbling, I’d like to hear if I’m going to become a husband,” said Zach loudly.

“I’d like to know that, too,” groused Walt.

“I’m the daughter of a woman who cheated on her fiancé,” said Kate. “Are you sure you want me?”

“My mother jumped into my uncle’s arms before my father was buried,” admitted Zach. “That uncle was the leader of the Badger City Gang. They robbed the mule trains coming out of the mines loaded with gold.”

“My mother was forced to marry a gambler when she got pregnant,” said Rusty. “I was five when he was caught cheating at cards. My mother dumped me with Uncle Dougal and ran off with the man who killed him over that card game.”

“None of us are perfect, Kate,” said Gideon. “We take responsibility for our own actions. What our parents did doesn’t matter. We don’t want you to change to be anything you’re not. We love you just the way you are.”

Zach took Kate’s hand in his. “Will you marry us, Kate?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Zach tilted his head. He placed his finger behind his ear in a parody of listening. “Pardon? Did the sweet little kitten whisper something? I wasn’t sure, and I’m sure the rest of the room didn’t hear.”

Kate lifted herself onto her toes. It brought her mouth closer to his chin but not close enough. He cupped her bent elbows in his palms and lifted until they were nose to nose. She nipped his lip.

“Ouch!”

“That’s to teach you I’m no sweet kitten, Zach McInnes. And yes, I’ll marry you.”

He captured her mouth before she could say anything else, just in case.

“Hold off a minute,” said Walt. “I have something I need to say to you boys. Alone.”

Zach finished kissing Kate before he took a breath and glared at Walt. “Anything you can say to us, you can say to Kate.”

“Humor me,” replied Walt. “Emma can help Katie get ready.”

“I don’t mind,” said Kate before Zach could ask what she was getting ready for. She kissed Walt’s cheek as she passed. Emma, following her, must have pinched his behind because he jumped. She closed the door behind her. Walt cleared his throat.

“I have something from your father to give you.”

“What do you know about our pa?” asked Zach.

“I grubstaked Dougal McInnes back in 1863,” said Walt. “When he moved his family down to Texas because of that sidewinder of a brother of his, he sold most of it back to me. I insisted he keep some in his name because I figured there was color in that gulch.”

“Pa didn’t get any gold,” said Gideon.

“I was getting ready to ship some when Peyton went after you. He looked so much like your father that I didn’t trust him not to take it all and say nothing.”

“What’s this all about?”

Walt reached into his suit pocket and held out a triple-folded paper with a gold seal. He held it out to Zach, but it was close enough for any of them to take. Gideon didn’t hesitate. He took it, broke the seal, and opened it. He read a few lines, snickered, and looked at Rusty.

“Ezekiel? Your real name is Ezekiel?”

Rusty snatched the letter from Gideon and quickly scanned it. “What the hell?” He blinked at Zach. “We own three quarters of the Running W, not half. One quarter was in the name of Dougal McInnes, but someone with a fancy stamp crossed it out and put our three names.”

“That means we could buy the ranch out from under your nose in two years, not five,” crowed Gideon.

“There’s more,” said Walt.

“What, we own a gold mine, too?” Gideon slapped Rusty on the back. “Hey, Ezekiel, we could be rich!”

“If that name leaves this room, I’ll flay that man alive and feed his guts to Ross MacDougal’s bloodthirsty ravens.”

Zach knew that when Rusty spoke all quiet and civilized like that, he was as close to a savage animal as could be.

“Nobody needs to know, Rusty. Not even Kate.”

“Speaking of Kate,” said Walt. He paused to get their attention. “I’ve decided to deed my quarter of the ranch to my daughter. It will be in her name, not her husband’s. Do you want to tell her that, or should I?”

“We’ll do it,” chorused all three. “Eventually,” added Zach.

“Take too long and I’ll be dropping by to have a word,” warned Walt.

Rusty leaned close to the man who would soon be the nearest thing he had to a father. “We’ll tell her as soon as she’s carrying our child. Which should be about an hour after she says ‘I do.’”

Zach laughed at Walt struggling with the need to tell them to keep their hands off his daughter. He slapped him on the back. “You can’t have grandchildren unless certain things happen.”

Walt’s face turned even redder. “It doesn’t mean I have to hear about it!” He glared at them for a moment. “You’ve got ten minutes.”

The door slammed behind him. Zach laughed along with Gideon and Rusty, but it didn’t last long.

“Wonder what he means about ten minutes?” asked Zach.

“He’s a wily old bastard,” said Gideon.

“Yep. I like the way he thinks.” Rusty shook himself out and turned to Zach. “You ready to face the judge, brother?”

“Judge?”

“I expect Walt’s got Judge Thatcher waiting at the hotel,” said Rusty. “Didn’t you hear Kate and Emma giggling as they headed out the front door?”

“Now?”

“We’re all dressed up for once. Kate’s got a wedding dress on. We can start on Walt’s grandbabies right after—”

“Whoa!” said Zach, holding up his hand. “If I’m the husband, I get to start with Kate first.”

“Then what the hell are you waiting for?” asked Rusty. He turned to Gideon, who looked shocked, eager, and shy all at once. “Lead on, McInnes.”

Emma Johnston sighed. She loved weddings but had gone to so few thanks to her curmudgeonly husband. First husband, she corrected. She smiled at Lily, who was entranced watching her almost-new husband, Judge Ambrose Thatcher, perform the ceremony to marry Kate and Zach. Walt, looking better than she’d ever seen him, stood tall beside Kate as her proud papa.

“That man certainly looks good in a suit,” whispered Lily.

“Walter’s the same man in his ripped pants made of elk,” replied Emma, “but he’s so much more handsome dressed like this. He cleans up his language as well.”

“Why don’t you strip off his clothes and find the real man underneath?”

Emma pressed her white-gloved fingers over her mouth when Walt turned around and winked.

“He heard you!” she whispered back.

“No,” said Lily calmly. “But I’m sure he’d be delighted to help you with the chore.”

There was silence for a few moments. “It was a horrid chore with Mr. Johnston, but I believe I’ll enjoy it with Walter.”

The man they discussed passed his daughter’s hand to Zach, giving him a “you hurt my little girl and you’re dead” look. He stepped back to let Rusty and Gideon take their places, one on either side of the couple. He sighed as he sat beside Emma Johnston. He clasped her hand in his for the rest of the ceremony.

“You boys love this woman?”

All three McInnes men nodded. “We do.”

“How about you, Kate? You up to living with these rascals for the rest of your days?”

Emma held back a smile as Kate made them wait. She looked at each man. Zach pulled at his collar but met her gaze. Gideon blushed, dropped his head, and shuffled his feet. Rusty stood tall and stared right back at her. The look on his face made Emma blush so she wasn’t surprised when Kate did as well.

“Yes, sir. I am.”

Emma sighed when Zach and Kate’s lips met.

“My turn,” whispered Walt.

She turned toward him and found he wore the same look as Rusty. She closed her eyes, already blushing at receiving a kiss in public. Walt did more than kiss her, however. He pulled her close, opened her mouth and made her feel things she hadn’t known before. She broke away, gasping and tingling long before the newlyweds completed their kiss, to cheers.

“Not bad fer an ol’ fella, hey?” Walt waggled his trimmed eyebrows at her. “Maybe you’ll join me for a longer kiss tonight? We can sit out on the back porch and cuddle.”

This was it. If Kate could demand satisfaction, so could an old woman who’d never known loving. Though her heart pounded as fast as a galloping horse, she leaned forward, making sure her dress gaped just a bit. She’d got a few hints from Lily on how to snare a man, and had put a touch of perfume between her breasts. Walt looked down and gulped. She glanced around, but no one was looking at them. The judge had Lily in his arms, kissing her soundly, and other couples were doing the same.

“Why don’t we use my bed instead,” she whispered into his ear. “We’d be far more comfortable.”

“Emma Johnston, are you making improper advances to me?”

He rested his warm hand on her thigh, then slowly slid it higher. Thank goodness she’d also taken Lily’s advice about her corset, and loosened the strings. Otherwise she would have fainted dead away. She bit her lip, gathered her courage, and spoke like a brazen hussy.

“Yes, if you’ll take me up on them.”

Walt chuckled, making her spine quiver. “That’s a promise, you wicked woman.”

She sighed into his kiss, too wrapped up in her own love to notice the McInnes family of four look down and snicker as they passed.

The fictional town of Tanner’s Ford is located in a valley running from northwest downhill to southeast, with the town to the east.

Tanner’s Ford Valley, north of the river, west to east:

The Bitterroot Ranch (using the RB brand) is run by Ranger Elliott, his twin Ben, and younger brother, Patrick. Florence is Ben’s wife (
A Convenient Husband
, Bride Train #4).

The Rocking E is one of the two original ranches, established in the late 1840s. Trace Elliott married Beth, and shares the ranch with his younger twin brothers, Simon and Jack (
Barefoot Bride for Three
, Bride Train #1).

The Circle C ranch is owned by a trio of battered veterans, Luke Frost, Gabe Downey, and Oscar (Oz) Cutler. Luke marries Sarah Unsworth in
Beauty and the Beasts
, Bride Train #6.

The last ranch on the north with the Flying X brand, known as the Sweetwater Ranch, is owned by Cole Taylor, Byron Ashcroft, and Don Stevens, three bachelors from the South.

South of the river, west to east:

The MD Connected was the second original ranch, also established in the late 1840s. Gillis MacDougal is the ramrod and shares the ranch with his two half-brothers, Ross and Nevin. Amelia married Ross in
A Contract Bride’s Triple Surprise
, Bride Train #2.

Kenrick (Ace) Langford, Charles (Sin) Statham, and Henry Bennett are English aristocrats who won the Double D ranch from Frederick Smythe in a card game. Jessie Elliott married Ace after her brothers found her in bed with him, in
Compromised Cowgirl
, Bride Train #3.