Prince Charming

  “No,” she answered. “But you aren’t leaving until I say you can leave.”

  Callaghan turned to Hunter. His expression showed his concern. “She crazy?”

  Hunter nodded. “She must be.”

  “She’s overworked and exhausted and not thinking straight,” Victoria cried out. Her voice was muffled by the fabric she held over her mouth. “Taylor, are you out of your mind?”

  “Probably,” Taylor answered. She laughed then and turned her gaze to the loft. “Daniel David?”

  “Yes, Mother?”

  “You know what we just captured?”

  “What, Mother?”

  “A real live mountain man.”

  The look of joy on Daniel’s face made all the work she was going to have to do well worth the trouble.

  “Hunter, get the tub.”

  Callaghan was their dream come true.

  Lucas was away for three full weeks. He arrived home late Friday afternoon. Hunter met him in the yard. He knew something was wrong. There was lather on the horse’s flanks. Lucas wouldn’t have pushed his mount unless there was trouble.

  “Where are Taylor and the others?”

  “Inside,” Hunter answered. “They’re fine. What happened?”

  “The judge agreed. I’ve got the signed papers.”

  He didn’t need to explain further about the custody issue, for he had told Hunter all about Taylor’s uncle so he would be forewarned if anyone came searching for the twins when he was away.

  “Glad to hear it’s settled,” Hunter said, waiting for Lucas to tell him what else had happened.

  “I trailed two men from Rosewood to South Creek. They’re hired guns. They stopped in Cameron and were asking the quickest way to get to Redemption. I cut across and figure they’re still a day’s ride away.”

  “The rain we had last night should have slowed them down,” Hunter Interjected.

  “The son of a bitch sent gunmen to take the twins.”

  “Are you going to tell Taylor or are we just going to take care of it and not bother her with the worry?”

  Lucas didn’t want to frighten his wife, but he knew he had to tell her. “She has to be on her guard. I’ll tell her after supper.”

  “Guess we better stroll into town and talk to Frank,” Hunter suggested.

  “Guess we better,” Lucas replied.

  He was staring across the yard when he agreed with Hunter. He’d just spotted a stranger dressed in yellowcolored buckskin. The man turned the corner and started toward the front door. The fading sunlight dappled the stranger’s face and the distance was too great for Lucas to get a good look. There was something vaguely familiar about him.

  “Evening,” the man called out.

  Lucas took a step back. “Callaghan,” he whispered in disbelief. He continued to watch the man until he disappeared inside the house. He acted as though he was used to coming and going during the daylight hours.

  He said his name again. He bellowed it this time.

  Hunter started laughing. “You didn’t recognize him, did you?”

  Lucas shook his head. “What in thunder happened to him?”

  “Taylor happened to him,” Hunter answered. “I’ll take care of your horse. You go on inside.”

  Callaghan must have told the family Lucas was back because the front door suddenly opened and Taylor came running. She was followed by the children. Victoria stood in the entrance, looking happy and relieved to see him.

  Taylor waited until Lucas had greeted the children before stepping forward to kiss her husband.

  “Welcome home,” she whispered. “Did you . . .”

  He nodded. Then he pulled her into his arms and kissed the breath out of her. The three children were all talking to him at the same time. He reluctantly pulled away from Taylor, whispered, “Later,” and then turned to the most demanding of the three.

  “Yes, Georgie?”

  “You know what, Papa?”

  “No, what?”

  “We got a man inside.”

  “So I heard.” Lucas looked at Taylor when he made that comment.

  “He tells us stories every night,” Daniel interjected. “About real mountain men. There’s one who lives real close, and Callaghan says I might meet him one day.”

  “Mama won’t let him go home. He told me so,” Allie blurted out.

  Taylor turned to cross the yard and go back inside. Lucas grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her back.

  “Why haven’t you let him go home?”

  “Daniel hasn’t chosen a name yet,” Taylor explained. “Callaghan sleeps outside, Lucas. He isn’t any trouble at all. I understand why you don’t like him. He explained he’s been a thorn in your side for years.”

  “If he sleeps outside, why doesn’t he sneak away during the night?” Lucas asked, his exasperation apparent in his tone of voice. He knew the answer. Callaghan was getting hot meals and plenty of attention.

  “Mama told him she’d hunt him down and drag him back if he left before I chose my name.”

  “When’s that going to happen, son?” Lucas asked. With an effort he was able to keep the irritation out of his voice. He didn’t want Daniel to think he was annoyed with him.

  “Soon,” Taylor promised. Lucas’s jaw was clenched tight. The telltale sign indicated his anger. “He’s leaving soon.”

  “Supper’s ready.”

  Callaghan shouted the news from the doorway. Lucas looked at Hunter. His friend quickly turned away but not before Lucas saw him smile.

  “Shall we go inside?” Taylor asked.

  He frowned over her eagerness. She was acting as though the president of the United States was having supper with them.

  He let himself be pulled along. And when he finally went inside and shut the door behind him, he could have sworn he heard Hunter’s laughter.

  He was able to control his temper all evening. He listened to the outrageous tale Callaghan told his wife and his son and only interrupted a couple of times.

  “That isn’t how it happened,” he snapped. “If you’re going to tell it, then tell it right.”

  His sharp reminder didn’t stop Callaghan from continuing to tell one outrageous story after another. Taylor couldn’t understand why Lucas was getting so upset.

  Callaghan seemed to understand. When the mountain man started another story involving a black bear, Lucas knew where it was headed. He threw up his hands and stormed out of the house.

  Taylor didn’t understand what had come over him. She excused herself and went outside. Lucas was halfway to the creek before she caught up with him.

  “He’s a thief, Taylor.”

  He’d answered her question before she could ask it. “When he was younger, perhaps. He won’t steal from us.”

  “I can tolerate almost everything else, but by God, what’s mine stays mine.”

  “Like your knife,” she agreed. “The one you left on the nightstand in Cincinnati so I’d know you wouldn’t give up looking for the twins.”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “Come here, Mrs. Ross,”

  She stepped into his arms and hugged him. His chin dropped to rest on the top of her head.

  “Men are coming tomorrow,” he began. “Your uncle sent them.”

  He tightened his hold on her and explained what he and Hunter were going to do. He promised he would force them to leave. He didn’t add the fact that they were gunfighters.

  Taylor didn’t let the twins out of her sight from that moment on. The weather cooperated with her plan to keep them inside. It rained most of the morning and half the afternoon.

  Lucas came home at sundown. He told her the men had left. They wouldn’t be coming back.

  Frank gave her more details the following Sunday when she went into town to read the paper for the men.

  “They both knew who Lucas and Hunter were,” Frank told her. “They weren’t about to go up against them. They were talkative, too. Seems your uncle was going to pay a premium for the return of hi
s nieces.”

  “Lucas and I have legal custody now,” Taylor blurted out.

  Frank hurried to soothe her. “We know you do. None of us will sit idle if anyone else comes looking. Don’t worry, Taylor.”

  Rolly listened to the conversation and then took her aside. “I got a little present for you,” he whispered. “I just finished it.” She thought it was a cradle.

  An hour later, Rolly carried the gift out to the house. She was extremely appreciative and only laughed because she was filled with such joy, she assured the giant. Then she led the way inside and chose a spot for her third rocking chair.

  She insisted on paying. He insisted once again that it was a gift. The chairs were placed in a half circle in front of the hearth. Rolly wasn’t in a hurry to leave. The twins were down for their naps, Victoria was outside arguing with Hunter about something or other, and Lucas had taken his son hunting.

  Taylor invited Rolly to sit for a spell. He settled himself in one of the rockers. She offered him a cool drink, but he declined the offer.

  “Is there something you wanted to ask me?” she prodded.

  He nodded. “I’m getting ready,” he told her.

  It took him over twenty minutes to get his question stated. They both rocked back and forth in their chairs while she waited and he worried.

  He finally blurted it out. Rolly wanted to learn how to read.

  Taylor was astonished and pleased. He was embarrassed and worried sick someone would find out. If anyone snickered at him for being an old fool and trying to better himself, well then he’d have to kill him, wouldn’t he?

  She assured him that no one would laugh, and when he didn’t believe her, she finally promised to keep his secret. She wouldn’t tell anyone, not even her husband.

  “It’s time for Daniel to learn how to read,” she said. “I could sit down between the two of you and—”

  Rolly didn’t want anyone, not even a seven-year-old, watching him struggle. He suggested she teach her son at night and tutor him during the noon hour when he closed his shop for supper. Taylor asked him to consider working together from one until two every afternoon because the twins napped then and it would be easier for her to slip away.

  They began their lessons the very next day. Taylor told everyone she was going to stretch her legs and walk into town to say hello to Frank. She didn’t want to lie, and so each day she walked in the front door of the general store and called out the greeting as she hurried down the main aisle and went out the back door. She passed through the store an hour later on her way back home. Frank must have thought she was out of her mind. She always gave him the same excuse, that she was out for a brisk walk because it was such a fine day, and he always gave her a look that told her he thought she was damned odd.

  Teaching Rolly was a challenge and a joy and a delight, for he was eager to learn and really quite intelligent. It was also a respite for Taylor, as it was the only time during the day that she was able to sit down.

  Rolly appreciated the effort she made to help him. Lucas didn’t appreciate anything she did. He didn’t seem to even notice the rigid schedule she was maintaining. Her husband became more and more distant and withdrawn. Taylor believed he was finally realizing the burden he’d taken on. She fretted and she worried, and every morning before she groaned her way out of bed, she said a prayer for patience.

  Callaghan was getting ready to leave. He told the family he could hear the mountain calling to him, and while he’d enjoyed Taylor’s hospitality, he’d done enough talking and visiting. He wanted his solitude and his privacy back. He told Daniel he felt free and at peace when he was standing on top of a peak looking down on God’s paradise.

  Taylor was going to miss Callaghan, but she knew it was time for him to leave. He was wearing on Lucas’s nerves. Her husband hated to listen to the stories he told after supper. Most of them centered around a mountain man named Montana. Lucas would scowl at the mere mention of the man’s name and leave the house. His reaction always caused Callaghan to slap his knee and let out a hoot of laughter.

  Exhaustion was taking its toll on Taylor. She was so tense and worried and so sick with her pretense of being strong all the time, inside she felt as though she were going to explode. When things became too difficult, she would grab her bucket, tell whoever was listening that she was going to fetch water, and hurry to a secluded spot by the stream and cry until the tension let up. Sometimes she went for water three times in a single day.

  Lucas was unknowingly pushing her toward her breaking point. It had become a ritual for him to warn her every evening that they were still going to leave in the fall. She interpreted his reminder to mean that she had yet to convince him she had the skill and the stamina to live in the wilderness. And so the next day she tried a little harder and worked a little longer, and the next day and the next and the next . . .

  He had his ritual, and she had her obsession. She was determined to get him to start treating her like a wife. She wanted him to talk to her about his hopes, his dreams, his worries, and his past. She hungered for him to share with her a little remembrance from his past, and God only knew she tried to get him to talk. Yet no matter how innocuous her questions were, he still gave her only one-word answers. He seemed determined to hold a part of himself back, and she couldn’t understand why.

  Nothing seemed to be going smoothly. She’d been engaged in a battle of wills with the twins for over a week now. Victoria assured her she was making progress. Taylor wasn’t convinced. When Allie or Georgie misbehaved, Taylor sat her down on one of the steps leading up to the loft and made her stay there until she promised to do what she was told. The first few times Georgie was put on the step, she didn’t seem to mind at all. Then Taylor started ignoring her while she was being punished. She refused to talk to the child and wouldn’t let anyone else speak to her either. It didn’t take long for Georgie to realize it wasn’t any fun to be left out. By Friday, she hated the punishment and was finally beginning to stay off the kitchen table and leave her sister’s food alone.

  Allie was far more difficult to discipline. She seemed to enjoy sitting on the step. She enjoyed crying, too. Her screams were ear piercing and Taylor was soon clenching her teeth together. She pretended to ignore the child. She acted as though the shrill noise didn’t bother her at all. Allie was far more stubborn than she was. If Taylor went outside, the screaming stopped. Yet as soon as she came back inside, the child started up again. Allie apparently wanted an audience.

  On Saturday morning, Taylor came up with an alternate plan. She put Allie up in the loft and told her she could cry all she wanted, but no one would hear her. It was a lie, of course, for the child’s wails were loud enough to spook the horses, but Allie believed her. Crying finally lost its luster. Without someone to see and hear her, the power struggle didn’t appear to be worth her effort.

  The twins weren’t always behaving like hellions, of course. They were usually sweet and loving. After their baths each night, they would cuddle up on her lap and take turns telling her everything they had done during the day. They seemed to have forgotten she’d been with them every waking minute. She gave them praise and affection as often as possible, and she was thrilled that both of them were adapting to the wilderness with such ease.

  Daniel loved their new home. He followed Lucas around like a puppy and hung on his every word. The two of them spent quite a lot of time together. No matter how busy Lucas was, he always made certain he gave his son time and attention.

  Taylor clung to the hope that her husband would eventually give her the time and attention she craved. It simply wasn’t possible for her to keep up her rigid schedule forever, and on Saturday afternoon, Taylor’s control snapped. Ironically it was her sweet, innocent son who inadvertently caused the dam to burst. He told her the name he’d chosen for his own.

  Callaghan stood by Daniel’s side with his hands clasped behind his back. He was rocking back and forth on the soles of his boots. He looked like he was
gloating about something. She became intrigued. The mountain man liked to tease, and she wondered what game he was up to now. There was a definite sparkle in his eyes.

  Daniel made his announcement. He explained he wanted to be named after the fierce and courageous mountain man everyone called Montana.

  She understood his reason for making the choice for she had listened to Callaghan tell one magical story after another about the valiant and bold mountain man. She, too, had been enamored by the tales, but she still didn’t feel the name was suitable. Did he really want to be named after a territory?

  “Montana’s the name everyone calls him, but not to his face. He hates the name, Mother. Callaghan told me so.”

  She nodded and waited for him to tell her the name. Daniel was stammering with excitement. She didn’t rush him. This was an important moment for the child.

  He took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. And then he told her his new name. He was going to be Lucas Michael Ross.

  She had to sit down. Her son didn’t seem to notice how upset she was or how stunned. He had already jumped into one of his favorite stories about Lucas.

  “He led forty settlers out of the canyon in the dead of winter and the Indians didn’t bother them at all because, because . . .”

  Callaghan was happy to supply the rest of the explanation while the boy paused for air. “They’re afraid and they’re respectful,” he told her.

  Her son nodded. “I can’t be called Montana. Every mountain man has to earn his own nickname. Callaghan’s called Bear. Isn’t that right?”

  “It surely is,” Callaghan agreed.

  “Rolly told me a story about Father, Mother. He said he could track his way—”

  “Son, I don’t believe your mama’s up to hearing a tale now. She looks a might stunned to me. You didn’t know, did you, Mrs. Ross?”

  She shook her head. He burst into laughter. Taylor ignored the mountain man. She was remembering the crowd of men surrounding her husband in the lobby of the hotel in Boston. They were enthusiastically pounding him on his shoulder and begging him to shake their hands. She had believed their admiration had something to do with the war.