“I’m about to be your brother-in-law. Seems I’m already your doctor. Jared Gamble.”
Daniel’s pulse settled into a semi-regular thud. His sisters were Fonteneaus, but he hadn’t worn the name in more than twenty years. Now, it fit like a borrowed suit.
Gamble adjusted a pressure squeezing Daniel’s chest. Too tight, the band interfered with his breathing. He lifted his head enough to squint down his torso at a field of white.
As he subsided onto the settee, Honey brushed limp hair from his face. “They’re bandages. To support your bones while they heal.”
Who needed bandages to hold him together when he had her voice?
“You’ve still got a few ribs left.” Gamble drew himself upright. “Stay down for a while, and you might live.”
“Thanks for your concern, doc, but it’s misplaced. I’ve business to attend elsewhere as soon as you and Daisy wed.”
His sister’s intended cocked a brow. “You’re a bad liar, Fonteneau. Somebody beat you near to death. You’re not going anywhere for a while.”
He shook his head; opened his mouth to speak—
“Daniel.” Honey’s fingertips sealed his lips. “Please listen to the doctor. The Colliers—”
“Are well aware of your predicament.” The tone of the words and the depth of the voice were unfamiliar, but the face of the man who stepped beside Gamble… Amusement fanned the corners of shocking blue eyes. “Yes, we look a lot alike. I’m Amon. Ben’s my older brother.”
The thump of boots across solid boards added the elder Collier to the widening wall of towering Texans. Ben threw in with the others. “I’d listen to Jared. Your sisters are worried sick. We can’t let you leave.”
Daisy and Iris. He’d not risk their safety. And the angel by his side… He connected their gazes, and a pain having nothing do with his ribs lanced through his chest.
He returned his attention to the Colliers and Gamble. “You don’t understand—”
Both Collier men spoke at once: “I think we do.”
With a roll of his eyes, Amon deferred to his brother.
“Mrs. Edmonds told us about Marshal Halverson.” Ben shrugged. “Dumont’s seen worse.”
Chapter Eleven
Winnie pressed herself into the settee’s cushion beside Daniel’s supine form, resolved to remain where she sat for the duration—not because of the devotion with which he clasped her hand to his chest, but because she feared she might need to separate him from his sister.
From her glistening ringlets to the tips of her dainty slippers, Daisy Fonteneau bristled…delicately. Crinolines rustled with a deadly hiss as she planted fists on either side of her corseted waist and locked her sibling with a scowl.
Daniel scowled back.
Elegance did not preclude a sharp tongue. “I’m not even going to ask what kind of trouble you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“Good, because I’m not even going to answer.”
She narrowed her glare. “Daniel…”
He narrowed his, too…and bared his teeth. “Daisy…”
Lashes fluttering, she laid a palm to her bosom and took a deep breath. Then, she folded her hands before her and drew a smile across her lips.
Daniel tensed, eyeing his sister with suspicion. “Where’s Iris?”
“Shopping with Amon’s wife.”
He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t need to ask, did I?”
Daisy’s fists leapt back to her hips. “It’s your fault. If you hadn’t spoiled us—”
“There you are.” Doctor Gamble strolled through the door to the parlor, raising his brows and a wicker hamper. “The weather’s lovely. I thought we might venture out for a picnic.”
Winnie caught his eye and mouthed “thank you.”
He grinned.
With a sigh, Daisy let go of her pique. She floated to Daniel and placed a peck on his forehead. “Because I love you, I shall forgive your dreadful appearance and boorish behavior.”
“Because I love you, I’ll forgive a shrew in a hoop-skirt.”
Daisy’s eyes snapped wide, and her jaw dropped open on an offended gasp.
Doctor Gamble swooped behind her, gathered her to his side, and swept the petite southern hellion toward the door. “Come along, beloved. The day grows shorter with each passing minute.”
Daniel watched them go, teeth still set on edge, lips still thinned. “They’ve grown into fine ladies.”
Winnie suppressed a laugh. “Thanks to you.”
A long exhale toward the ceiling left him lying limp on the long settee. Though his gaze skimmed the mural painted along the top of the walls, his distant expression said his thoughts journeyed beyond the room. “I made sure they had dolls and dresses. Education. Dowries. But I neglected to let them know how much I’ve missed them.” He cleared his throat and turned an odd half-smile to her. “Time for me to find a new line of work. They don’t need the money anymore.”