Cleevis and Eddie stepped forward with the offer to take Malcolm to the sheriff in Rosewood. Lucas agreed.
'What happened to the four men Malcolm hired?' Taylor asked.
Lucas had killed two when they tried to ambush him and let the third crawl away with a bullet in his gut. He wasn't going to give Taylor any of the details, however.
The gunfighters had set up their trap near the stream. While Hunter kept them busy with his gunfire, Lucas worked his way around to the side. He'd been consumed with panic, for Taylor always crossed over the path where the men were hiding on her way back from town. If she'd come home when she was supposed to, she could have gotten killed.
But she was late. She was always late, and Lucas thanked God for the blessed flaw. He vowed he would never criticize her again.
'Lucas, what happened to the four men Malcolm sent?' she asked again.
'I only counted three.'
'I counted four.'
Hunter made the comment from behind her back. She turned and smiled at him.
She had refused to look at her uncle. He'd called her name twice. She ignored him both times.
'I want to go home now,' she whispered to her husband. 'Frank? If you'll order glass for your window, my husband will be happy to pay for it.'
Lucas let go of her and spoke to Hunter in a low voice. She couldn't hear what he was saying to his friend. She didn't wait for him. She suddenly needed to get away from Malcolm and breathe fresh air. She said her farewells and started walking home. Lucas caught up with her at the bend in the dirt road.
She told him what Malcolm had said to her. 'He has never taken responsibility for anything in his entire life. He was very clever making others feel as though they were somehow at fault for what he did.'
'Marian?' he asked.
'Yes. She believed she had done something wrong. Will Malcolm be locked away?'
'The charge will be attempted murder,' Lucas told her. 'Yes, he'll be locked away. Taylor?'
'Yes?'
'Never mind.' His voice was trembling. He was still having difficulty getting his emotions under control. He had never felt stark terror until he realized Taylor was inside with the bastard. He never wanted to feel like that again. He was still sick to his stomach and his nerves were strung tight enough to pop.
'Lucas, quit glaring at me.'
'I'm never going through that again. Do you hear me, Taylor. I'm never going to be scared like that again.'
'Why do you think you were scared?' She held her breath while she waited for his answer.
'That's an ignorant question.'
Lord, he could be impossible. They walked along for several more minutes before she spoke again.
'When I left for my walk, I had made a decision. I decided I didn't want to be married to a man who didn't love me.'
'You aren't.' He sounded furious with her.
'I know.' She sounded thrilled.
'Have you stopped loving me?'
It wasn't what he asked but how his voice shook when he asked that stunned her. His anguish was almost unbearable to witness. He looked as though she was about to destroy him with her answer. He believed he had it all figured out as well, for he was beginning to nod.
'I will never stop loving you,' she whispered. She grabbed hold of his hand and held tight. 'How can you ask me such a question? Do you think that if you say or do something wrong, I'll stop? Honest to God, Lucas, you're going to drive me out of my mind. My love isn't conditional or temporary. It's forever.'
'Then stop asking questions about my past,' he ordered. 'Leave it alone, Taylor. I'm damned sick of worrying you'll…'
He didn't go on. He pulled away from her and quickened his pace.
'Realize what?' she asked.
He shook his head. She wouldn't give up. 'Answer me,' she demanded in a near shout.
He turned around and looked at her. 'I'm a bastard, remember?'
'I am aware of the circumstances surrounding your birth,' she replied. 'Madam told me, you told me, and I believe William Merritt told me. It didn't matter then and it doesn't matter now.'
'Why the hell doesn't it matter to you? When are you going to realize I'm not…' He stopped suddenly, shook his head again, and then muttered, 'I know I don't deserve you. I won't give you up though, no matter how unworthy I am. If you knew all the things I've done, you wouldn't be able to look at me. I started living the day I met you. Let my past alone. And this is the last time I'm ever going to talk about this. Do you understand?'
He didn't wait to hear her agreement. He turned around again and started walking.
The truth was finally out. Lucas was afraid. Dear Lord, why had it taken her so long to understand? He was ashamed of his past and believed that if she knew about his childhood and his war years, she would stop loving him. At the root of his fear was the stigma of being born out of wedlock. She hadn't realized until this very minute how much it had affected him or what his life as a young boy must have been like.
He never called William Merritt by name. He called him a son of a bitch. She had also heard him call William a bastard. He wasn't illegitimate. Neither was her uncle Malcolm, but Lucas called him a bastard, too. She finally understood why. In Lucas's mind, being called a bastard was the most horrible, contemptible, and dishonorable curse one man could put on another.
Seeing such vulnerability made her love him all the more. Her heart was suddenly pounding a furious beat, and all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms and cry with joy because he loved her.
She was going to have to get his attention first, and then convince him he was more than worthy. He was the man of her dreams.
She called out to him. He ignored her. She shouted his name the second time. He acted as though he hadn't heard her.
She let out a sigh and reached for her gun. She aimed and shot a pebble off the ground a yard or two in front of him.
He whirled around to face her. 'What in thunder do you think you're doing?'
'Getting your attention.'
He shook his head. He didn't want to stay and talk until he'd gotten his emotions under control. She had seen enough of his weakness and his vulnerability.
'Put that gun away. I've got things to do. I'm leaving, damn it.'
She smiled at him. 'Go ahead,' she shouted back. 'But I'm warning you. I'll only track you down and bring you back home where you belong. I love you, Lucas. You are everything I could ever want.'
He turned away from her. She shot a piece of bark off a tree twenty feet away from him.
Then she tucked her gun back into her apron, picked up her skirts, and went running to him. She was sobbing by the time she threw herself into his arms.
He shook with emotion. He couldn't stop telling her how much he loved her. He kissed every inch of her sunburned face and whispered all the words he'd held inside for so long. He wanted to prove to her first that he was worthy. He would give her the kind of life he was certain she wanted and deserved, and once they were living in their fancy house and she was draped in velvet and diamonds, he would tell her he loved her.
She thought that was the most beautiful, loving, and foolish fantasy she'd ever heard. She was already living in a paradise and she never wanted to leave.
Their kisses and their pledges made them hungry for more. She tried to pull him toward the yard that led to their house, but he shook his head and took her to a secluded spot nestled between the pines. They made love then with an intensity and passion that overwhelmed them.
They lazily washed in the stream and made love again. They kissed and stroked each other while they put on their clothes, and the ordinary task took them a long, long while.
Taylor didn't want to go home just yet, but she knew Victoria would be worried. Lucas told her Hunter knew they were going to be late.
