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“She called her a heifer,” Edward said, barely holding back a grin. “Right before she threatened to drag her out by her badly dyed hair.”
Garret looked so shocked, Edward laughed.
Rowan said in a prim voice, “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go freshen up before dinner.”
“Ahhh, lass,” Edward said as he kissed her temple. “Don’t be mad. I’m proud that you fought to defend your claim on us.”
Garret leaned forward, his light brown eyebrows drawn down into a V as he stared at Edward’s neck. “Did Cassandra bite you?”
“No, our little tigress did that. Said she wanted a visible claim on us to keep the hussies away.”
Rowan, blushing so hard now her ears were red, started to walk away. “Yes, well just give me a few moments, and I’ll be ready.”
“Wait,” Garret said as he caught her by her slender wrist. “There’s something I want to give you first. A claim of our own, but without the biting.”
“I don’t know,” Edward said as he gave Rowan a teasing grin. “I kind of like the biting.”
Garret snorted, then pulled a small black leather box out of his pocket. “I’ll gladly wear your bite mark, Rowan Larsen, if you’ll do us the honor of wearing our ring. And, before you say you can’t, just think of it as promise that you’ll give us a chance to prove that we can make you happy.”
She stood very still for a few long moments, and Edward literally held his breath until she said, “All right, I’ll wear your ring, but I’m not promising to marry you. Only that…I’m heavily considering it.”
Edward and Garret exchanged a glance filled with victory before Garret opened the box, revealing a platinum ring with a sparkling blue stone a few shades darker than Rowan’s eyes in the center.
“Oh! Oh, my goodness,” she breathed, her eyes wide and her pink lips slightly parted. “It is beautiful. It must have cost a fortune. Where did you get it?”
Garret looked over to Edward, who gently held Rowan’s hand in his own as Garret slipped the ring on. “Dr. Tibbs sold it to us. He had Mrs. Tibbs measured your finger size while she was helping you bathe, and together we found a ring that we felt suited you. If you don’t like it, I’m sure we can find something else.”
“No,” she said quickly, snatching her hand back and holding it to her chest. “No, I love it. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever worn.”
Relief filled Edward at the sight of the ring on her finger, another battle won in the war for her heart.
Still looking at the ring, Rowan said, “Let me go freshen up, and then I’ll be ready for dinner.”
“Take your time,” Garret said as he took a seat in one of the high-backed chairs by the fire. “They serve dinner from six until eight o’clock for the guests and whatever town folk decide they want to dine at the Inn for the evening.”
A determined look came over her face as she crossed the room, then she paused at the doorway connecting to her suite and looked over her shoulder at them. “Thank you. For everything.”
She disappeared before he could respond, the door closing quickly behind her.
“Edward,” Garret said in a low voice as he gestured to the chair opposite of him. “Come here. I have some news. A telegram came in while we were bathing from our friend Henry the pub owner back in Butte. Henry’s kept his ears and eyes open for any news on Mr. Charles, like we asked. Seems the bloody bastard is on the hunt for us. When we exchanged gunfire, not only did we wound Mr. Charles, but we killed the thug that was with him, who turned out to be his cousin. Word around the city is that Mr. Charles has put a sizeable bounty on our heads.”
“Son of a bitch.” Edward gripped the edges of the fireplace, staring down into the flames. “So, we should be expecting trouble?”
“Maybe,” Garret said as he tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair, his blue eyes darkening as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. “Mr. Charles doesn’t know who we are—yet. He’s mainly looking for ‘Roger,’ since he knows we were with him.”
“Well, that’s a bit of good luck on our side,” Edward said. “Bridgewater is far enough away that there is every reason to believe he’ll never find us. If he does? Well, he won’t find us to be easy prey. Men like Mr. Charles never last long. They always mess with the wrong person and ending up in a shallow grave in the wilderness.”
“I was thinking that as well.” Garret toyed with the gold chain attached to his pocket watch. “If, by some ill twist of fate, they do find us, well, I think they’ll be in for a sore surprise when they realize Bridgewater is mostly battle-hardened, retired military. I can’t think of a group of men I’d rather have at our backs than our brothers back home.”
“God’s truth to that,” Edward said as he pushed away from the mantle. “Do we tell Rowan?”
“No, I don’t think that would be wise. She’s been through enough and doesn’t need any more reasons to live in fear. I’ll send a telegram back to Henry asking him to let us know if anything changes.”
“Agreed.” Edward rubbed his jaw, the slightly bristle of his hair already growing back and tickling his palm.
Standing up, Garret placed his hand on Edward’s shoulder and gave it a hard squeeze. “And if anyone is foolish enough to try to collect a bounty on us, we’ll take care of them and Mr. Charles. He won’t be the first piece of human waste we’ve removed from this planet.”
Memories of their years in the service flashed through his mind, and Edward nodded. “I will do anything to protect our family.”
