She seemed too sweet and fragile, too porcelain, her skin too smooth and pure and pale, when most women had tawny complexions from sun exposure. Her brows, so perfectly formed, seemed stark against her face. She needed someone to protect her.
But she’d already refused his help.
He didn’t give a mule’s squat. She wasn’t in any shape to be making decisions. If she was so determined to hire herself a husband... then he aimed to be that man. He’d just sit her fanny in the saddle before him and ride. By the time she awoke, they’d be well on their way, and there would be nothing she could do about it.
He didn’t bother to ask himself whether she’d be safe in his hands. He doubted it. But better him than someone else. At least then, he’d be certain she’d arrive in one piece. Lifting her long, silken braid, he laid it reverently across her bosom. For that matter, he swore he’d send any man who dared so much as look at her wrong to the bone orchard.
The door creaked opened and Jo stepped in, completely unprepared for the sight that greeted her. “Lands!” she exclaimed, squelching a giggle to see her brother holding Elizabeth with such possessive pride—like a man would his first saddle. Truth to tell, she never thought she’d see the day.
However… Elizabeth didn’t look all that aware of what was going on.
“She fell asleep.” His voice was little more than a hoarse whisper.
Jo moved forward quietly, frowning. “She just fell asleep? Just like that? I don’t believe it, Cutter—what did you do to her?”
Cutter lifted a brow.
“Never mind! Let me help you wake her so that I can get her home,” Jo suggested. “You can tend the bar while I’m gone.” Her hand arrested in midair as Cutter’s eyes flashed her a firm but gentle warning.
“Lay a hand on her, Josie girl, and you’ll find yourself swinging facedown over my knee. You’re not too old to spank.”
“That works two ways.”
“Really?” Cutter drawled, his lips hinting at a belligerent grin. “Think you can manage to haul me over that scrawny knee of yours?” He shook his head. “Fact is, the hotheaded little fool’s determined to hire herself a husband, and I’ve a mind to take her up on it. You wouldn’t still be hanging on to that wedding band of yours, would you?”
Momentarily dumbstruck, Jo simply nodded. It wasn’t like her cynical brother to take such an interest in anyone. His lighthearted appearance didn’t fool her in the least. She knew the animosity he hid behind that easy facade. Still, he seemed more carefree this time than ever before, and she had a keen suspicion as to why. It was only a hunch, because Cutter wasn’t easy to read.
On the other hand, he seemed to know her only too well.
Something in Jo’s eyes flickered and dimmed with her quiet affirmation, and Cutter’s hackles rose.
“Thought you might,” he said. “You’re too sentimental, Jo—should have sold the confounded thing years ago.”
He knew Jo wanted a family of her own, but there weren’t many choices afforded to a half-breed woman. Jo was a looker, but that didn’t seem to hold much water when faced with the issue of their parentage. She’d married, sure enough, but the moment her lily white husband had discovered her heritage, he’d left her high and dry, without so much as a fare-thee-well. Unfortunately, Cutter suspected not even that kept her from loving the fool man.
Jo shrugged, unwilling to discuss the painful topic.
“Mind if we borrow it?”
Jo choked back a surprised laugh. “We?”
“We.”
She gave him a measuring glance. “Sure,” she said after a moment, determining that he was serious. “Just don’t you go losin’ it.”
Cutter lifted his right hand. “Word of honor,” he assured. “Now, why don’t you fetch it for me.”
“You want me to get it now?”
“Isn’t that what I just asked?” Taking great pains not to wake Elizabeth, Cutter rose to his feet, shifting her over his shoulder.
“Cutter…” Jo eyed Elizabeth. “You ain’t thinking of leaving tonight, are you?” When Cutter didn’t reply, her gaze flew to his. “She’s sleeping, for mercy’s sake!”
“Try stinking drunk,” he countered, disgusted with himself for allowing her to get that way. “Just go fetch the band for me, and hobble your lip while you’re at it.”
“Oh, God! She doesn’t know, does she? Don’t tell me—you offered and she refused?” Cutter gave her a warning look. She shook her head. “You never were one to take no for an answer, but you really ought to consider this. You’re not just carrying her ’round the bend, you know.”
“Where am I taking her anyway?” he asked, clutching Elizabeth possessively.
