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A Historical Romance
NOW ON SALE: The late afternoon sun beat down unmercifully on Collin MacClarron as he stood with the crowd at the train platform. A blast of hot, dry wind sent dust flying all around him. He pulled off his black Stetson, wiping the gritty sweat from his forehead. His shoulder throbbed with the movement. It had a long ways to go before it was totally healed. His body was still weak from the fever following the bullet the doctor had pulled out of him a little over a week ago. He should have sent someone else to pick them up, but he couldn’t risk his daughters’ safety to just anybody. Besides, he missed his bairns so much he couldn’t bear the thought of not greeting them at the station. “Expecting someone, MacClarron?” Sheriff Wallis’s deep voice rumbled beside him. Collin looked over at his old friend. He thought himself tall at six-two, but Wallis towered over him by a good three or four inches. It was murmured around town that if Wallis’s sharp shooting skills didn’t scare outlaws away, his sheer size would. Collin chuckled at how well Wallis knew him. “My girls and Rose are comin’. You?” He motioned his head towards the train. “Nope,” Wallis replied in a cloud of smoke. “Just checking things out. Been…what?” He scratched his brown beard. “Almost two years since your girls were here?” “Somethin’ like that,” Collin mumbled, hating the censure he knew was unintentionally in Wallis’s tone. They had argued the night Collin decided to send his girls home with Rose. It had been a difficult decision, but the only one he could make under the circumstances. If it hadn’t been for Wallis’s friendship, though, he never would have made it through the lonely years. As the door slid open, he held an eager breath. The conductor got off, snapping shut his pocket watch. A tall redhead descended, followed by a bald, older gentleman. At last Collin saw his Greta’s familiar golden curls. How she had grown! She was no longer the wobbly toddler he so fondly remembered. That knowledge made his throat tighten with sadness. God, what precious time he had missed. His body protested as he knelt, holding his arms open for Greta and Cherise as they she came bounding down the wooden platform, their petticoats flying, to greet him. Pain ripped through his shoulder as Cherise flung herself into his waiting arms. But that was nothing compared to the pain in his closely guarded heart. Greta watched them with rounded eyes and a thumb in her mouth. She didn’t recognize him, Collin realized with a jolt. As he savored holding Cherise, he wished Greta would allow him to hug her, too. He smiled at how well Emily had recovered. Despite her uneven gait, she had made a great deal of progress with the help of those doctors back east. He almost burst with pride watching them hurry toward him. He had missed out on so much of their lives. How could he ever let them leave again? “Oh, Papa, it’s so good to see you!” Emily shouted. “Hi, Sheriff Wallis.” She turned, beaming up at Wallis. She graced him with a warm smile, too. “Hi, tidbit.” Wallis patted her head. “I’m gonna have to stay alert now that the MacClarron minxes are back.” Greta pointed at him and said, “Ouch.” She shivered and her cute, round face wrinkled up with concern. Collin stared, unable to speak for a moment. His daughters had almost completely lost their accents. They sounded like strangers. What stunned him was that Gran had discussed his injury with them. How had she known about that unless Wallis, despite his protests, had wired her? Wallis shrugged under his questioning look. It warmed him that they still cared enough to worry. Of course they would. You’re their father. But sometimes he wondered how much the two years of separation had affected their feelings toward him. “Why canna she ask me—” Collin started, but Emily interrupted. “What happened to Papa, Sheriff Wallis? Grandma Rose said that we didna need to know all the lurid details.” “He was helping me chase bank robbers.” Wallis leaned down to talk to Emily. He tugged teasingly on a dark braid. “Remind me, and I’ll tell you the whole lurid story at dinner. That is, if I’m invited.” Collin groaned as Cherise’s and Emily’s eyes sparkled with excitement. They always did love Wallis’s highly exaggerated stories. “Really…you caught bank robbers?” Cherise asked. “I sure did.” Wallis’s chest puffed out and he hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. “Got those rascals locked up in my jail, waiting for a deputy marshal to come and retrieve them.” “I gots a sore finger from the sleeping car,” Greta said, after pulling her thumb out of her mouth. She timidly held up her swollen pinkie. Emily rolled her eyes, tossing back her braids. “It happened two days ago, goose. Papa doesn’t want to hear about that.” They all began talking at once, making it impossible to follow any of the fragmented conversations. Their familiar pattern of interrupting each other amused Collin. “I play the pianoforte now,” Cherise announced with pride. Emily pulled on his hand. “I can walk without my cane.” She whirled around slowly. “See, Papa?” Above their heads, he saw Rose coming toward them, her arm wrapped around a petite blonde. “Our new governess,” Emily said. “Think you can adopt me?” Wallis replied before Collin could put an elbow in his ribs. Rose and her companion moved slowly through the crowd. His heart constricted. Gran looked older this time. He hadn’t ever thought of her that way before. She had raised him after his parents died. The woman was his rock. His eyes met the lady whose arm Gran held. She stood slightly taller than Rose. A heavy black mourning dress swallowed up her gentle curves. A matching bonnet covered most of her golden ringlets, but he could still see her animated oval face, with its pert nose and full pink lips. Sparkling sapphire eyes framed by soft, thick lashes blinked back at him from under golden brows. Her face radiated warmth as she hung on Rose’s every word. “Well, Collin, I’ve come all this way. Are you gonna greet me?” Rose spread her arms open wide. Her snapping green eyes defied him to say he hadn’t invited them. She knew damn well how he felt, and her expression told him so. Now she challenged him to make the next move. The words froze in his throat. When he didn’t respond right away, she turned her attention to Sheriff Wallis. “Hello, Sheriff.” Rose gifted Wallis with a smile. “Still keepin’ the town safe, I see. My, how it has bloomed. I was surprised that the train stops here now. It didna the last time I came. I dinna miss that bumpy stagecoach ride, mind you.” “Yes, ma’am.” Wallis tipped his white Stetson. “We’re right proud that Dry Gulch was selected for a stopping point. We aim to keep it that way, so all our beautiful ladies can arrive in comfort. It’s good to have you back, Mrs. MacClarron.” “Wallis has a way with women, all right. Has them lined up along the street. In fact, I see one now.” Collin pointed off in the distance. “Isna that the Widow Darcy? Thought you promised to help load lumber in her wagon.” Wallis’s tanned cheeks colored. “Gotta go. Duty calls.” Collin laughed as Wallis strolled off toward the sawmill with Darcy’s arm linked in his. He pulled Rose into a fierce embrace. She felt so small and fragile nestled against his broad chest. Stepping back, he swallowed hard, trying to regain his composure. “I’m glad to see you, Gran,” Collin said, his voice rough with emotion. “I’m just amazed you came. The telegram dinna give me much time to change your mind.” “This is my companion, Serenity Springfield.” Rose motioned at the slender woman dressed in somber clothes. He immediately wondered for whom she grieved. His heart went out to her. Losing a loved one was never easy. “This is my stubborn grandson and the wee lasses’ father, Collin MacClarron.” For the life of him, Collin couldn’t make himself release her hand. It felt so right in his. She had such dainty wrists and arms. The knowledge Rose would be watching over this gentle beauty seemed oddly comforting. Rose cleared her throat loudly, stepping between the two of them, breaking the spell. “I’m glad to see I havena lost all my wits.” She rubbed her hands together. His girls giggled. “I can see the lass appeals to you.” Collin forced his gaze away from Serenity, wondering what his grandmother was up to. Appeals to me? What the hell did that mean? The self-assured look on Gran’s face made him nervous. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. “Aye, the lass isna hard on the eyes,” Collin teased half-heartedly, trying to lighten the mood. He winked at Serenity, who blushed an even deeper shade of red. “Good, then my request willna be too difficult,” Rose went on, her voice growing stronger. “You owe me a favor, Collin.” She wagged the famous finger. “I kept your secret and helped you out all those years ago. Now I’m calling in my debt.” Saying no to Gran was next to impossible for him. She had comforted him the night he’d brought news that his brother had been lost at sea. Gramps had railed at him, but not Gran. It had been his fault, but Gran never accused him. She had just listened as he poured his heart out. In the years that followed, Gran had never mentioned the money she gave him to start his farm, or how her moral support had swayed his grandfather into letting him leave the family shipping business. He owed her more than he could ever repay. “You know I’d do anythin’ for you, Gran. What is it you want?” NOW ON SALE: |
