Sagebrush Bride

chapter TWENTY





“You can’t just leave me here!’’ Elizabeth shouted up to the empty window. “Cutter McKenzie! You come back out here this instant! You can’t—”

Abruptly the front door flew open and a woman’s unfamiliar round face peered out, looking first bothered, and then stunned. As she stared, her chin dropped and her eyes widened. Suddenly she cocked her head, as though in question.

“Uhh... uh... h-hello,” Elizabeth stammered. “I-I-”

“Lands!” the woman declared suddenly, so loudly that Elizabeth leapt back a step. Her face was pale, as though she were looking at a specter. “But no! It couldn’t be!” she continued, as she slowly came forward and did a half circle around Elizabeth.

Elizabeth watched her warily, following her steps with question, turning as she turned.

“My, what an uncanny resemblance!” the woman said at last. “You must be Elizabeth!”

Elizabeth nodded slowly.

The woman nodded, too. And with an abrupt shriek of delight, she seized Elizabeth by the hand. “Oh! But isn’t that always the way!” she exclaimed. “We’ve been expecting you, but Mr. Bass isn’t here just now! He was called away on business, wouldn’t you know.” She patted Elizabeth’s hand reassuringly, then released it. “But do come in, and don’t mind me! Lands sakes, I just can’t believe my eyes! Katie will be so glad to see you, finally. And goodness, if you don’t look so very much like her mother!”

Elizabeth’s brows furrowed. She did? Katherine? But she didn’t recall that as so! At a complete loss for words, she followed the woman inside, and was led into a large foyer. From it, two pillared doorways led, one right, one left, and a double stairwell curved upward from its center, joining above them to form a loft of sorts. Beyond the stairwell, there was what appeared to be a small parlor.

The woman stopped at the foot of the right stairwell, calling upward, her voice shrill but warm, “Katie, dear... please come down!” She then turned to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth merely stared, her thoughts whirling. Folding her hands in front of her nervously, she smiled, and the woman tittered happily, coming forward to take and pat her hand once more.

“I should tell you that that child upstairs has wanted to know, every single day since your telegram came, just when it was that you were arriving. She just couldn’t wait!” And then, with a catch to her voice, she added, “You’ll have your hands full with that one, I fear.” Her eyes sad, she averted her gaze. “Katie!” she called again, glancing upward uncomfortably.

Elizabeth looked about anxiously, silently cursing Cutter for leaving her alone. He was sure to come down the trellis and find her gone. And then what? Surely he would realize that she was inside? He would knock, wouldn’t he? He wouldn’t just leave her? She grimaced at the thought. With the mood he was in lately, she wouldn’t put it past him. Her gaze was drawn helplessly to the stairwell. What on earth could he be doing up there for so long? she wondered peevishly.

“You’re so quiet,” the woman marveled, watching her. “Your sister was so chatty—bless her soul—like her daughter, I’m afraid.”

Elizabeth remained speechless, nodding mutely, remembering that her sister had, in fact, been very talkative as a child.

“Goodness!” the woman said suddenly, frowning as though recalling something at last and chiding herself for not remembering sooner. “How remiss of me.” She left Elizabeth abruptly and went to the door, snatching it open.

Peering out over her shoulder, Elizabeth searched for a glimpse of Cutter. Finding none, she frowned.

The woman turned to Elizabeth, nonplussed. “Well, now, I thought there were two horses out there. Where’s your husband?” she asked with genuine puzzlement.

Elizabeth’s brows lifted in surprise. “H-Husband?” she repeated stupidly. “Oh, yes! My husband!” Looking about uneasily, she wished Cutter a dozen ways to perdition. “Well!” she began, her mind racing wildly. Impulsively she extended her hand. “I—I am Elizabeth B-B—McKenzie,” she amended quickly. She nodded uncomfortably, having no idea what else to say.

The woman appeared amused, her smile enduring. “Yes,” she said, her eyes alight with kindness. “Yes, I know. And I am Mimi,” she returned, proffering her own hand in welcome. Elizabeth grasped her fingers, shaking them absently, all the while heaping blasphemies on Cutter’s head. She gritted her teeth.

Mimi continued to smile benignly. “He did come with you, didn’t he?”

Elizabeth smiled back, though she felt like crying and screaming. “Oh, yes,” she conceded nodding absently. Miss Mimi began to nod, as well, her brows lifting. She waited patiently for an answer Elizabeth didn’t have, and Elizabeth despised Cutter in that moment. Elizabeth continued to nod, her mind racing.

“Your husband?” Miss Mimi prompted.

“Oh! Well, you see,” Elizabeth continued uneasily, “he’s... he... well, you see, he—”

“I saved him! I saved him, Miss Mimi!” Katie’s voice called out above them.

Both Elizabeth’s and Miss Mimi’s gazes were drawn up at once—Miss Mimi’s to find Katie bouncing with glee on a dark stranger’s shoulders, her hand tucked neatly under his chin, throttling him.

It was another moment before Elizabeth could actually see the faces, and it felt as though her eyes crossed before they focused. “Cutter!” she gasped with horror.

“I saved him!” Katie exclaimed happily, hugging Cutter’s neck.

Miss Mimi gasped in surprise, her gaze skidding back to Elizabeth’s, her expression clearly shocked and a little distrustful.

Recovering quickly, Elizabeth offered a meek smile of apology, a warm stain rising high upon her cheeks. “Uhhh... m-my—” she tried not to think of the lie as she spoke the word, and closed her eyes briefly “—h-husband,” she stammered, nodding grimly as she opened her eyes. “He’s... he’s... well... he’s already in... inside,” she said as brightly as she could. Still, Miss Mimi said nothing. “As... as you can see.” Elizabeth’s face burned, but she managed to meet Cutter’s dark eyes, and he reassured her with nothing more than a wink.

And then her gaze was drawn upward, to the child sitting wide-eyed on his shoulders. The child stared back, releasing Cutter’s chin in surprise.

To Elizabeth’s shock, Katie’s eyes were as dark as... as Cutter’s. They were eyes that could seize you, reach into your soul. Eyes that were sad and gleeful, all at once... eyes that, aside from their difference in color, were so familiar, it made her heart ache. “K-Katie?” she choked out.

Miss Mimi stood by in silence, watching the scene unfold, her demands for an explanation cast aside as Katie squirmed excitedly, trying to find a way down from Cutter’s broad shoulders.

Obligingly Cutter swung her down, holding her upright when her feet wouldn’t quite work, and still the child gaped at Elizabeth. “We’ve gotten to be pals,” Cutter assured them both, winking at Elizabeth.

Her heart skipping beats, Elizabeth dropped to her knees at once, opening her arms in welcome, but Katie stood transfixed. At last, after an excruciating moment, Katie took a step forward, and when Elizabeth thought she would rush into her arms, she dashed past her, leaving Elizabeth kneeling empty-handed. Her eyes closed and she swallowed convulsively as she listened to the child’s feet racing away. It was to be expected, she told herself. Katie didn’t know her, after all. She opened her eyes to meet Cutter’s.

There was strength in his gaze, and she drew from it.

Miss Mimi. There were tears in her eyes, and the tip of her nose was growing pink.

Suddenly she was aware that those same little feet raced back toward her, skidding to a halt in front of her. And before Elizabeth could speak, a small picture frame was thrust before her, so close that the three figures depicted were no more than a dark blur. Reaching for it, she drew it away from her face to see it better, then close again, unable to focus at the distance she had held it. She held her breath as the shapes began to take form.

Katie rocked forward on the balls of her feet, her hands locked behind her back. “You look jus like my mommy,” she whispered reverently, a touch of sorrow in her quiet tone. Her little eyes glazed over as Elizabeth watched, but her tender smile negated her grief. “She went to heaven, too. But not in the war,” she confided in a whisper, glancing up suddenly to Miss Mimi for assistance.

Miss Mimi came forward, placing a reassuring hand on Katie’s little shoulder, squeezing gently, her own eyes hazing.

Her heart aching, Elizabeth drew Katie’s tiny fingers into her own. To her joy, Katie didn’t recoil from her touch, but instead stepped closer.

Miss Mimi cleared her throat. “Katherine, you see...” she began, only to stop short. She dabbed at her eyes.

Knowing instinctively what Miss Mimi was about to say, Elizabeth drew Katie toward her, hoping to shield her, or at the very least, lend her her own strength. To her surprise, Katie hurled herself into Elizabeth’s embrace, as though she were starved for the warmth offered.

“You see,” Miss Mimi continued, “your sister passed away during the birth of her second child... a little boy. Joshua Elias,” she choked out. “We buried him next to his mother.”

As though her life depended on it, Katie clung to Elizabeth while Miss Mimi spoke, and Elizabeth gave her a little reassuring hug.

“Near six months ago,” Miss Mimi continued, her voice breaking. She shrugged her plump shoulders. “News of John’s death took so much of her strength, I’m afraid—” She choked suddenly on her words.

Elizabeth held tightly to the child in her arms, hot tears pricking at her eyes, and then she gazed down over Katie’s shoulder, to the picture in her hand.

Three smiling figures stared back at her: Katie, perhaps at two, her hair shorter, but just as curly, her face just as sweet; a man she assumed would be Katherine’s husband, John, his dark, wavy hair sweeping proudly to his shoulders, his brass buttons gleaming; and Katherine, looking so much as Elizabeth recalled.

Beautiful, beautiful Katherine.

Elizabeth laid the frame gently against Katie’s back as a tear trickled down her cheek. “I only need to know...” She faltered over her words, glancing up at Miss Mimi. “Was my sister happy?”

Dabbing again at her eyes, Miss Mimi nodded. “Oh, dear, yes!” she exclaimed. “Very happy!”

Elizabeth nodded, closing her eyes, further words failing her. That was all that mattered, wasn’t it? That Katherine had been happy? That her life had been good? And now it was her duty to step into Katherine’s shoes as mother to the priceless child in her arms. It was, she thought, in a moment of revelation, what she was born to do.

It felt so right. Her free hand slid into Katie’s curls, rubbing soothingly. “Don’t cry,” she soothed.

Katie held tighter, burying her face into Elizabeth’s hair. “I never cry!” came a muffled exclamation, but the child held tighter, and then she sniffled, belying her claim.

Elizabeth smiled with understanding. “Of course you don’t,” she agreed, remembering vividly another time, another place: Katherine had fallen, and had skinned her knees and her elbows. Elizabeth had wiped the dirt from her sister’s dress, and then from her knees. “Look! Lookee here, it’s mostly dirt!”

“My dress!” Katherine had wailed pitifully.

“Don’t worry, Katie, Mother will understand. Look, it’s all gone! Don’t cry!”

With her sweet face upturned, and the blue of the sky reflecting in the sheen of her eyes, Katherine had sworn vehemently, “I’m not crying. I never, ever cry!” But tears had shimmered in her eyes.

Heaven help her... if it was the only thing Elizabeth ever did in her life, she would make her sister proud. Never let Katie forget. For the first time ever, something aside from her role as healer moved her to her very soul, ranked just as important—more so, perhaps, because there was something so inherently fulfilling about cradling the child in her arms. Her little body felt so very precious. A lone tear trickled down her cheek.

Miss Mimi gave them a moment longer, and then joined their embrace, weeping without restraint, telling Elizabeth how much she’d been spoken of—how well she’d been praised. And again, how much she looked like her sister.

And then, while Cutter hauled in their belongings, Elizabeth listened in silence as Miss Mimi expressed Katherine’s profound regret that they’d lost touch with each other. But she could find absolutely nothing to say in response as Miss Mimi led them up the stairs to the room they would be occupying during their stay. There was little that could be said that would fill the loss of her sister—a loss that, though it had occurred years before with her parting, only now waxed complete.

Still, there was comfort in that Katherine had thought of her—if not enough to correspond, then at least on occasion. Yet it would always pain her that through the years their separation had become so absolute, that had it not been for Elias Bass’ letter, she might never even have known her only niece.

A vision came to her abruptly, of the three of them together—she and Katie... and Cutter. Shaking her head to dispel it, she forced her thoughts to Elias Bass.

What kind of man would he be? How could anyone not want adorable Katie? Her gaze was drawn to the child darting ahead of them. Opening a door, Katie dashed into the far room, and by the time the three of them had reached the doorway, she was romping on the large four-poster bed.

“Hope this will do,” Miss Mimi said. She wagged a warning finger at Katie, but Katie disregarded the reprimand, never ceasing in her play. Without missing a beat, Miss Mimi turned to Elizabeth, as though she’d never expected the child to mind her anyway, and said, “The wardrobe is empty. Use it, if you wish. Oh, and I thought you might like a bath?”

Elizabeth smiled with appreciation, her eyes skimming the room. “Yes. Thank you. That’s very kind of you.” She placed her load upon the bed, flexing her arms. Without a word, Cutter set his yannigan bag next to hers, and then went to the window, thrusting his hands into his pockets. “The room is beautiful,” Elizabeth assured her as she watched him. “I’m certain it will do wonderfully.”

A large birch wardrobe occupied the left wall, while the headboard sat flush against the right. The door was behind her, and a small window was set in the far wall, with another dresser made of birch before it. Beside the bed sat a commode, and upon it, a washbasin and ewer of ivory porcelain. A stiff-backed wooden chair sat in the corner next to the wardrobe, kitty-corner to the bed.

“Mr. Bass’ late wife ordered everything from back east,” Miss Mimi revealed. “Bless her soul—she’s been gone near to ten years now.”

Elizabeth nodded, and having no idea what to say in response, began to unpack. “She had wonderful taste,” she said belatedly, looking up in time to see that Miss Mimi wore a fond smile, and was nodding in profound agreement. Staring down at her belongings, Elizabeth sighed. There were so few of her own items that she lingered over each one, hoping that Miss Mimi wouldn’t notice the telltale lack. “Did Katherine live here, too?” she asked conversationally, trying to avert Miss Mimi’s attention.

Miss Mimi threw up a hand. “Oh, goodness, no—but they didn’t live far,” she said. “If you’d like, I’m certain Mr. Bass will take you there tomorrow.”

“I can go, too,” Katie said, rather than asked, falling upon the bed. She barely missed falling upon Cutter’s bag. And then belatedly, her face screwed uncertainly. “Can’t I, Miss Mimi?”

“Of course, Katie,” Miss Mimi assured her with a wink. “That is... if it’s all right with your aunt Elizabeth.”

“Of course,” Elizabeth agreed, smiling anxiously as she hesitated over her very last item. Her eyes fell at once to Cutter’s bag. She debated whether to unpack it, as well.

Glancing up, she saw that Cutter was no longer at the window, he was leaning against the right wall, his left foot braced casually behind him, his arms crossed. And then her gaze reverted to Miss Mimi, who was scrutinizing her curiously. She glanced anxiously down at Cutter’s things.

What was wrong with her? she wondered peevishly. They were just clothes, weren’t they? Along with his toothbrush, powder, and razor, she added mentally. Her face heated at the memory of Cutter finding her at the river with sand in her mouth.

It didn’t matter that it made her feel strange inside to... to touch his things. It didn’t matter that they brought back shameful memories, because if they had, in fact, been married, then it would have been expected of her as his wife to unpack for him, and that was exactly what she was going to do!

Besides, she reminded herself, she had already seen, as well as touched, his clothing—when she’d washed it in the river. Still, she hesitated, glancing briefly to Cutter. He was grinning his lopsided grin again, and her eyes narrowed in censure.

Swallowing, Elizabeth forced herself to reach out and touch Cutter’s green shirt, and heard him chuckle beneath his breath. While Miss Mimi prattled on about there not being enough hours in a day, Elizabeth lifted it up, scrunching it, her fingers recalling the wash-worn texture of it. And then, without thinking, in the most intimate of gestures, she brought it to her nostrils, breathing deeply of the soap she’d used to cleanse it... and the more elusive male scent that was as much a part of it as the fibers that bound it.



Desire shot through Cutter like a lightning bolt as he watched her. No longer aware of Miss Mimi, he heard her voice as no more than a distant drone. In that moment he craved Elizabeth more than he’d ever thought possible.

But it was more than the intense heat in his lower anatomy that roused him, unsettled him, made him restless. It was the satisfaction he’d attained in that one simple gesture of hers—an intimacy to be shared only by a man... and his woman.

His woman.

The phrase hounded him like a raving wolf at his heels. Fascinated, he watched as Elizabeth folded his shirt, placing it neatly within the drawer. His gaze smoldered, narrowing with the gratifying memory of her washing that same shirt in the river. He wanted her to do those things for him always. Not that he couldn’t fend for himself, but it gave him a deep-rooted pleasure to see her touch him in that way... without touching him at all.

It made him burn.

Even absorbed as he was, Cutter immediately sensed the new presence, and the hairs on the back of his neck bristled. His deliberations ended abruptly as he glanced up to see that an older man now stood behind a chattering Miss Mimi in the doorway, observing them without speaking, his stance nonthreatening. Yet the man’s expression was unmistakably guarded. Cutter stiffened. No one else seemed to have noticed his appearance, and he said nothing to alert them. He stepped away from the wall abruptly, dropping his hands to his sides.

For a long moment their gazes met and held, each man assessing, and he knew instinctively that it was Elias Bass taking his measure. The man who would decide his and Elizabeth’s fate. For sure as hell was hot, if Bass denied Elizabeth the child...

She would hate him.

It was obvious that she was already in love with the kid. But then, it didn’t take much. It would be real easy to get attached himself... if he allowed it. But he couldn’t afford to... and didn’t aim to.

“Lookee here, Aunt Lizabeth!” Katie flipped on the bed, and then froze abruptly on her head when she saw her grandfather in the doorway. “Granpapa!” she shrieked, peering at him through her little legs. She leapt upright and off the bed, racing like a small bolt of lightning into his arms.