Page 27 of The Drifter's Bride
“I heard a woman in the store. She said she was carrying your baby.”
Lukas let go of his hat, and it hit the dirt.
“What?”
“She said that you left her somewhere in Texas to return here. You found out about the baby and ran away.”
“Addy, I have never… I would never.” A blinding rage overtook him, then suddenly he wondered what else Addy might know about this woman. “What did this woman look like?”
Addison dropped the plucked stem and picked up another. “She was one of those, I don’t know what you call them. I guess a soiled dove.”
Lolly would never resort to prostitution, so it couldn’t have been her, he thought.
“I swear to you, Addison, in my life, that I have never impregnated a woman. And if I did, I wouldn’t have abandoned her.”
“The woman said you took her from town to town.”
“Did she have blonde hair?”
Addison nodded.
Picking up his hat, he brushed off the dust. “May I sit with you?” She reluctantly moved over before picking the petals off the flower once more. Lukas hiked up his pants at the knee and sat next to Addison. She looked so sad. He wanted to pull her into his arms, but he knew it wasn’t the time to do that. “Let me tell you something.”
She stopped plucking and looked at him. “What?”
“I left here eleven years ago. My brother was engaged to a woman. A very manipulative woman. Peter refused to marry her until we got the farm up and running. We wanted to get the first crop in and then sell it. I guess he wanted to make sure he could earn a living before marrying her. It wasn’t good enough for Lolly. So, to get Peter to move faster, she tried to make him jealous. She cornered me in the barn and made sure Peter saw us. I had never fought with my brother before. I ended up leaving the next day.
“For ten years, I moved from town to town. I worked where I could. I learned to rope. I learned how to ride. I thought I knew how to ride, but riding herd is a whole different type of riding. I learned a lot about ranching and cattle. The woman followed me down to Texas. She followed me to the first three towns, but then I lost her. I’ve not seen her in over seven years until the day she arrived on the stage and argued with your Aunt Ingrid.”
“But what if it isn’t this woman?”
“That would be impossible, too.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I’ve never been with a woman. Call me old-fashioned, but I was saving myself for marriage.”
He cupped Addison’s face and wiped the tears that were falling with his thumbs. “As for the widow, which I believe is Mrs. Justine McGuthry, I think she and the new marshal are already falling in love.”
“But I saw you yesterday.”
Lukas leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. “My beautiful Addy. What you saw was me escorting her to the marshal’s office. I was at the livery dropping off a harness for repair and Hiram asked if I could walk her down. That was all.” He gently pressed a kiss to each of her cheeks. “I’m sorry you were so distressed.”
“But I thought…” She shook her head lightly. “I feel like a fool. I couldn’t believe it. I shouldn’t have believed it.”
“It’s alright, my darling. I know today couldn’t come fast enough, so I could get here to see you.”
“Can you forgive me?”
“There is nothing to forgive. If I had heard something like that, I’d be upset too.”
“I have one more flower.”
“Flower?” He released her face. Addy picked up a stem and plucked the petals once more. Lukas saw her lips moving. “What are you doing?”
When there were three petals left, she held the flower up to Lukas.
“He loves me,” she said, plucking the petal and letting it drop. “He loves me not. He loves me.” She handed him the last petal. “If not today, then maybe someday.”
