Honor-Bound Lawman

Lena made a noise. “Too much commotion, if you ask me. All that noise, the smells and, oh, the mud. The city’s much better from a distance. But I do agree that it’s a nice view. Sometimes I like to sit here with my sewing. You’re welcome to join me.”

The first overture of friendliness from the Hamilton siblings since this ordeal began. Laura supposed it was just as much of a shock to them, having their lives upended so.

“Thank you. That would be lovely. I often sew with the women from church.” Laura paused, wondering about this woman she knew nothing about, yet felt like she should have. How could she have known Owen all this time and not met his family? Not even heard references to them?

“I wonder why we haven’t met socially before. I’ve seen Owen a few times in town at church, but you aren’t familiar to me,” she said.

A dark look crossed Lena’s face. “Owen is very protective of his family. We only go to small, intimate gatherings where all the parties are already known to Owen.”

She looked like she had more to say, but then she turned away.

“Your room is here.” Lena opened the door nearest to them. “The girls are across the hall, and I’m next to them.”

Stepping aside to let Laura pass, Lena pointed to another room. “That there’s a bathing room. One of our uncle’s attempts at pleasing his impossible bride. Has all the fancy gewgaws and gadgets rich folks pride themselves on. Let me know if you want a bath, and I’ll show you how to work it. We only bathe once a week, but you’re welcome to use it anytime.”

Laura stifled a smile at Lena’s disdain for the room. Or maybe it was the wealthy people Lena didn’t like. In particular, this hard-to-please bride she’d mentioned. Laura’d had a bathing room in Denver, but it had seemed too much of an extravagance to install one in her boardinghouse in Leadville.

When Laura stepped into her bedroom, she found it to be well decorated and a very pleasant space. Someone had put a great deal of effort into the quilt on her bed, and a beautiful cross-stitch hung above it. Lena’s work? Laura was almost afraid to ask more questions of her hostess. “This is wonderful, thank you. I’m sure I’ll be quite comfortable here.”

As she looked around, Laura realized that Lena hadn’t mentioned where Owen slept. And that all of the rooms upstairs appeared to be taken. “But where is Owen’s room? I haven’t put him out of his bed, have I?”

That could account for Owen’s sour mood toward her.

“Not at all. His room is downstairs, off the kitchen. Our uncle used it as a study, but Owen likes the location for making sure everyone is safe.”

Laura nodded. That sounded like Owen. “He’s very concerned with safety, isn’t he?”

“He has a right to be,” Lena said stiffly. “I’ll leave you to unpack. The water in the pitcher is fresh.”

Before Laura could respond, or even thank Lena for her hospitality, she was gone. Lena might have encouraged Owen to invite her to stay, but it seemed like Lena was just as closed off as her brother was when it came to answering Laura’s questions. So many secrets, and even though Laura was curious about them, she wondered if she’d be better off not knowing.

She’d already developed feelings for Owen once, and clearly she’d been mistaken there. What heartache would she face if she learned all the things about him that he’d been keeping private, and he once again didn’t return her regard?

* * *

Owen didn’t turn around when he heard Lena enter the barn. “Hand me that liniment over there, will you? Troy’s leg feels hot.”

A few moments later, Lena handed him the jar. They had a good routine, and it was comforting to know he could always count on his sister.

“She seems nice,” Lena said.

“They always seem nice.” Owen rubbed the sore spot on Troy’s leg. He shouldn’t have pushed him hard that last mile. He’d seen signs that Troy was tiring, but he’d been so eager to get home. Owen just hoped he wouldn’t regret that decision later, which he would if his horse went lame.

“She had a lot of questions.”

“She is a woman.” Owen looked up at Lena and grinned. “You should understand that better than me.”

“You care for her, don’t you?” Lena’s probing expression made him turn away.

The trouble with Lena was that she knew him too well. He couldn’t keep a secret from her if he tried.

“Of course I do. That’s my problem. I care too much. About everyone. I can’t care about the victims. You know the trouble it’s gotten me into before.”

Lena sighed. “I know, but you’re a good lawman. A good man. You and Sadie were happy for a time.”

He stood and looked at her, then recapped the liniment. “Were we? I don’t remember. I was so busy trying to keep her alive, and she said she loved me, and I loved how that felt. Being the hero. Which is all it is with Laura. I know how she looks at me. A man would be a fool not to notice. But it’s just misplaced gratitude toward the man who took her out of a bad situation and was the first man to be kind to her in a long time.”

Finished with taking care of Troy, Owen looked around the barn to make sure he’d gotten everything else done.

“Maybe if you didn’t push people away, they could get to know the real you and figure out if it’s love or not.” Lena gave him that stubborn look of hers. When they were kids, he’d have shoved her and then they’d have wrestled until someone yelled at them to cut it out.

But they were adults now, so he shook his head instead. “I thought we’d agreed we weren’t going to do any matchmaking for one another. I have my reasons for not seeking out another wife, and you have yours for not finding a husband. So let’s try to get through the next few days of having a single woman under our roof without your planning a wedding. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to ask my various single male friends out for a visit to meet my charming sister.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Owen grinned. “I would, and you know it.”

The long sigh escaping Lena’s lips told him that he’d won. Then she said, “I just think that you can’t let your bad experiences keep you from a potentially wonderful future.”

Owen picked up the saddle from where he’d hung it on the stall. “Great advice, sis. Let me know if it works when you follow it yourself.”

He was needling her, but she’d started it. Some of their childish ways would never be broken.

“I just came to tell you that dinner’s ready. Since we have a guest, I will be on my best behavior, and I expect you to be, as well.”

Lena winked at him, and he grinned. His arrow had hit its mark, and even though Lena was aching to meddle in his love life, she wouldn’t. Not now.

That was sometimes the trouble with being so close to his sister. It made it harder to be close to others who didn’t understand that a man’s best friend could be his sister. He and Lena had been through a lot together, been each other’s rock when they’d had nothing else.

Among other problems in their relationship, Sadie had been jealous of Lena. To the point that Owen and Lena spent a good year without speaking. The hardest year of his life. And, it turned out, Lena’s hardest, as well.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Owen said. “Let me get this put away.”

“Don’t take too long or else I’ll eat your dessert.”

She stuck her tongue out at him as she left the barn, and he knew she was giving him his space before having to go in and deal with Laura. His first time protecting her had been so much easier when she wasn’t questioning his every move and he could ignore the calf eyes she made at him. But now she acted as if he owed her something.

And maybe he did. He’d promised he’d keep her safe from James, which is what he’d been trying to do. But she was making it really difficult.

He put his tack away, then stepped out of the barn. The ranch was positioned so that they could see a rider coming for miles. On a night like tonight, with so much cloud cover and not much moon, a man would have to be crazy to ride out here with all the rocks and shrubs in the way. But James wasn’t a sane man.

Still, as Owen scanned the area and could see the lights from town dotting the distance, he felt a sense of peace. James wouldn’t be coming tonight.

When he went into the house, the family was already seated at the dining table, eating.

“I told you we weren’t going to wait,” Lena said before taking another bite.

“I didn’t ask you to. I’ll just go wash up.”