“What are you doing in that bedroom with my . . . my . . . my . . . ?” Gwen ran away.
Maddie Sue cried from the bedroom, and seconds later Ronnie chimed in.
Deb ducked around him and headed for the crying little ones, but Gwen blocked her way. Trace was glad Deb was between him and Gwen because she came charging into the room holding a huge knife, one Trace didn’t remember owning.
“Gwen, what’s wrong?” Deb stepped forward. Trace caught her and held her right in front of him.
“I think she’s noticed there’s a man in her house,” Trace said, firmly behind his bodyguard of a wife.
A moment of dead silence reigned. Well, dead silence except for the howling children and Gwen’s heaving breath.
Throwing her hands wide, Deb laughed. “We got married. Trace and I got married while we were in town.”
“M-m-married?” Gwen’s eyes went from Deb to Trace to the butcher knife. She whisked it behind her back as if afraid he might get the wrong idea.
Or rather get the right idea.
“It’s all right, Gwen. I’m proud to have a sister that’d stab a man to protect Deb.” He leaned sideways and forward to catch Deb’s eye. “We’d be mighty glad to stab someone for you, wouldn’t we?”
Deb narrowed her eyes at him. “Let’s try to stab as few people as humanly possible.”
“Agreed.”
The front door slammed open, and Utah charged in, gun drawn. His eyes zipped from one person to the next. “Who screamed?”
Adam was a pace behind him, still tugging on his coat.
Deb spoke up again. “Trace and I got married. We just told Gwen, and she’s happy for us.”
Utah arched a brow. “That big old knife doesn’t say happy, not to me.”
Gwen marched over to the kitchen table and slapped the knife down with a clatter. Her cheeks pinked up as she said crisply, “I saw a man in the house. I thought it best to arm myself first and talk later.”
“Wise thinkin’, Miss Gwen.” Adam tipped his hat.
Deb rushed into the bedroom and brought out the two sobbing children, one on each hip. Trace took the little boy. Maddie Sue wrapped her arms around Deb’s neck, her legs tight on her waist.
Utah grinned. “Congratulations, you two youngsters. I’m glad we got the house done in time for you to have a decent place for yourselves. I plan to start on the barn today. I keep thinking the snow will stop us, but until it does, I’m gonna keep at it.”
Trace nodded and said, “Thanks. Sorry to cause such a ruckus.” He looked at Deb, who smiled back at him. “And the house looks real nice, Utah.” He stopped and let out a sigh. “I haven’t seen my cattle for days—I’d better ride out and be a rancher for once.”
“The barn’s the largest building we’ll put up,” Utah went on. “So we’ll be at chopping trees for a while. A couple of days, probably. Honestly I’m figuring we’ll be lucky if we get this one up before the weather hits in earnest. I want to be ready so we can put it up fast. A half-standing building would knock over too easy if the winter shuts us down.”
Gwen broke an egg into a bowl with a rather violent crack. Trace exchanged another look with Deb.
“Give me Ronnie and finish getting yourself dressed, Trace. I’ll get to work on breakfast, and Gwen and I can take turns dressing for the day.”
Gwen gasped, looked down at her nightgown, then swiveled to look in horror at the men. She dropped the second egg, shell and all, into the bowl and ran into her room. She slammed the door much too hard.
Deb decided her sister had a point and took both children with her into her room to dress, as well. Good heavens, the men had been right there.
Being married certainly addled a woman’s mind.
As she quickly pulled on her clothes and told the children a very brief version of what getting married meant, she heard the men speaking in muffled voices outside the room. The kitchen door opened and closed, and a few moments later, Trace came into her room.
He was in his longhandles, and come to think of it, at least one of the other men had been, too.
It was not a proper beginning to the day.
And then it got worse.
CHAPTER
26
“I won’t be back until this is over, Deb.” Trace packed food into a satchel. His bedroll was beside the satchel, all of it on the kitchen table. He finished with the food and then wrapped the satchel in his blanket, all set to tie on the back of Black. Wolf was coming, too.
He heard an odd sound and looked up, expecting to find a wounded cougar in the kitchen with him.
It was his wife. Standing between him and the front door. And from the look on her face, he’d’ve been better off with the cougar.
Gwen lifted both children by wrapping her arms around their bellies and heading to her bedroom. The door shut with a loud crack. He heard Maddie Sue say, “Why are we in here? Why is Deb yelling at Trace?”
Then a shushing noise from Gwen. Strange. Why were they in there? And Deb wasn’t yelling.
“What’s the matter?” He rushed to Deb’s side, expecting to find she’d stepped on a nail or something.
“You’re leaving?” She was speaking in a really high—and loud—voice. He’d never heard that exact tone before. “We’ve been married for two days and you’re leaving?”
He’d said that, hadn’t he? Just now. Then he thought he might know the problem. “Don’t worry, I’m coming back.” He’d already said that, too.
What was she thinking? That he was moving away? That he didn’t like being married? That he was thinking of hunting for gold in San Francisco?
Women were so confusing.
“And just when will that be?”
Good, now he could reassure her. “I’ll be back as soon as I find the outlaws and haul them
