Page 79 of Mail-Order Viscountess

He’d done this. His recklessness, his inability to leave well enough alone, his desperate need to play the hero in that Butte saloon—it had led those men straight to his family’s doorstep. If he’d just walked away that night. If he’d ignored the girl and minded his own business like any sensible person would have done. If he’d listened to the voice in his head that whispered this isn’t your fight…

But no. He’d had to interfere. Had to throw himself into danger without thinking, without planning, without considering for one moment what the consequences might be.

Just like always.

You’ve done it again. The voice in his head wasn’t a whisper anymore. It was a roar. Your mistake. Your recklessness. And now everyone will die because of you.

His hands tightened on the reins until his knuckles went white.

His poor reactions had already caused the death of one man. Charles, the brave valet who’d stepped in to protect others when Thomas failed.

Would this most recent example of his recklessness take the lives of the people he loved most? His brothers and their families and the woman who’d been like a mother to them all?

And his own wife…

Kate was safe in town though.

Except not for long.

As soon as the doctor returned, she’d get the medicine and rush to the ranch.

Maybe even at the same time as Jake and his comrades rode that exact trail. They’d gone into the saloon…to meet with other men? To get a final drink for courage? He had no way of knowing exactly when they’d come, only that it would likely be this day.

Quite possibly at the same time his wife traveled the same icy road.

If she saw the men, she would stay out of sight. She was smart. Savvy. She could protect herself.

Except she shouldn’t have to.

He had vowed to protect her. To cherish her. To make sure she never faced trials or dangers alone. To put her—and her safety—above all else.

He pulled back on the reins, slowing the team.

Did he dare take the time to go back for her? She’d be safer in town than coming to the ranch with the fight close at hand. Why hadn’t he thought to tell her to stay put until the danger was over? Until he came back for her?

He’d not been thinking. He’d only been reacting.

No more.

He reined the team all the way to a walk. Just ahead was a wider section where he could turn the wagon around.

Driving a wagon at high speeds through all this ice and snow was a foolish idea anyway. He should have taken time to get a single mount from the livery and leave the rig there. Later, when the danger was behind them, he could get all the animals sorted.

At last, he turned the team and set them in as fast a clip as he dared, back toward Walnut Springs.

Don’t let me meet those men on the road, Lord.

He’d get to Kate, make sure she was settled in safety for the coming battle, then grab a horse from the livery and ride like fury to the ranch to help his brothers prepare for the fight of their lives.

CHAPTER 26

With both hands gripping the teacup, Kate’s fingers were finally thawing from the intense cold outside.

She sat at a small table near the window of the boarding house cafe, positioned where she could see down the boardwalk to the doctor’s office next door. She’d all but gulped the first few sips, but now the rich warmth of the liquid was working its magic to warm her. She should slow down now. She’d likely have hours to wait for the doctor, and Mrs. Patterson had been kind enough to let her wait here, out of the cold.

Thomas had been gone for nearly a half hour now. Racing toward the ranch to warn his brothers about the men who wanted them dead. And she sat here, useless, waiting for a doctor who might not return for hours.

Her hands tightened around the cup. Clara needed that medicine. The fever had broken, yes, but Dr. Morrison had been adamant—without the proper treatment to prevent complications, scarlet fever could return with a vengeance. Could settle into Clara’s lungs or heart and finish what it started.