The Brides of Chance Collection Part 30

"For now? What's that supposed to mean?"

He scooped up a fingerful of bubbles and brushed her nose. Alisa could feel the bubbles tickling her. She gasped. "I can't believe you did that!"

A chuckle left him. "Your life with me will be filled with little surprises."

Alisa wiped away the bubbles with the back of her hand. "We've already-"

"Shh. Don't spoil it. This is the last Christmas that will be your favorite day. So you'd better enjoy it."

"t.i.tus." She gave him an exasperated look, wiping her hands on the nearest towel. "You aren't making any sense."

He leaned in so close she could feel the warmth of his breath against her cheek. "From now on, your wedding day will be your favorite day of the year. Every anniversary, you'll have a surprise better than the year before."

Alisa wanted to reprimand him. To remind him that she would be leaving in a few months. But she also wanted to wrap her arms around him and beg him to marry her right now. He seemed to understand her conflicting feelings, for he leaned forward and brushed soft, warm lips against her cheek. Then he pressed a box into her palm. "Merry Christmas, Alisa."

"You're supposed to wait until after breakfast, Unca t.i.tus."

Polly's indignant voice rose up between them.

"You're right, sugar dumplin'," t.i.tus said, swinging the four-year-old into his arms. "But I couldn't wait." He danced her around the room amid giggles and pleas for more. Alisa watched, her mind conjuring the image of t.i.tus holding their own laughing daughters in his arms.

"He'll make a wonderful father, won't he?" Miriam's voice evaporated the fantasy.

Alisa tucked the box into the wide pocket of her ap.r.o.n, determined to return it unopened at the earliest opportunity. "I'm sure he will."

"And a wonderful husband, too. I just love a man who hums and whistles. That's a sign of contentment, which in my opinion is a sign of character."

"Yes, he's definitely going to make some woman a good husband. t.i.tus is a great man. There's none better."

Miriam chuckled. "Well, I could argue with that. But then, I could never convince you. A blessed woman knows there's no one like the man she loves." Her expression grew soft. "Isn't that true?"

Sighing gently, Alisa nodded. "I suppose it is."

"Honey, why don't you give up this notion of leaving us after the baby comes? We all love you and want you to stay. Even if t.i.tus wasn't madly in love, the rest of us adore you."

"Even Daniel?" Alisa laughed at her own joke.

A smile tugged at Miriam's lips. "Well, I'm sure he does in his own way. But let's leave him out of this for now."

"Are you ladies about ready to join us?" Gideon called. "These girls aren't going to be able to restrain themselves from tearing into these packages much longer."

"Just a few more minutes and we'll have everything cleaned up."

"I'll help," Bryce piped in. Not to be outdone, Logan grabbed a stack of plates. Alisa held her breath until they were safely deposited into the water. In no time, amid laughter and teasing, all traces of breakfast were cleaned up and put away.

Alisa's heart soared as she watched the girls open their gifts. When Ginny Mae toddled over to her carrying her new little ap.r.o.n, Alisa's heart melted.

"Put on?"

"Of course. Turn around." Alisa wrapped her arms around the child and pressed the ap.r.o.n to the girl's tummy, then tied the strings in back into a large blue-gingham bow. "There. Now you're ready to cook Christmas dinner." Ginny Mae giggled and threw her chubby little arms around Alisa. It was all the thanks she needed. She drank in the sweet baby scent as she rubbed her cheek against the child's silken hair. "You're welcome, precious."

Paper littered the small room a few moments later. The girls, dressed in new outfits Miriam had made and wearing the ap.r.o.ns over them, looked like little princesses. Daniel surveyed his daughters, and Alisa could have sworn there was mist in his eyes. "You look like little ladies," he said.

"You sure do, sugar dumplin'." Logan swung Polly up into his lap. "You haven't seen the present your uncles got for you. You ready?"

"Yes, Unca Logan."

"All right, Bryce," he called. "Bring it in."

Bryce opened the door and stomped in, carrying a load covered with a blanket. Polly jumped up and down. "What is it? What is it?"

"You have to open it, dumplin'. That's the rule at Christmas."

He set it down in front of her. Alisa gathered her breath at the lovely pint-sized saddle.

Polly's face grew serious, and she glanced at Logan and Bryce. "This is a nice saddle. Thank you very much."

The boys laughed along with the rest of the adults in the room. Ginny Mae had become fascinated with the dollhouse their uncle Paul had crafted.

Daniel grabbed his daughter's coat. "Let's go see what your daddy got you for Christmas, sweetheart."

Alisa knew the girl was getting a pony. But as the rest of the family trekked outside to witness the child's joy, she hung back, needing a few moments of solitude. She began picking up the papers and spreading them out to be put away and reused. The box from t.i.tus was burning a hole in her ap.r.o.n. She reached for it but pulled her hand away as though she'd touched a hot stove. No. She couldn't accept a gift from him and then leave. It sent the wrong message.

Oh, G.o.d. If only there was a way I could remain at the ranch with t.i.tus.

What if she were to go back and proclaim her innocence? Even if the authorities didn't believe her, would it be better to run for the rest of her life or sit in jail? Possibly get hung for murder? She shuddered.

"You cold?" This time t.i.tus's hands on her shoulders and the sound of his voice didn't startle her.

She shook her head. "Just thinking an unpleasant thought."

"On Christmas morning?" He turned her to face him. "That's not right. You're supposed to save unpleasant thoughts for the day after."

She smiled in spite of herself.

"You haven't opened my gift yet?"

"No." She pulled it from her pocket and offered him the box. "I can't accept this."

His face clouded with hurt. "But you don't even know what it is yet."

"It doesn't matter." She placed it in his hand and curled his fingers around the cardboard edges. "It isn't proper for me to accept a gift when I'm leaving in a few months. It's not fair to you."

He scowled and tossed the box onto the table. Then he took her by the shoulders and captured her gaze. "I want to know why you think you have to leave. I don't care what you have done in the past. I don't care who you're running from. I love you, and I'm not letting you go." His frown deepened. "You're not already married, are you?"

"Of course not!"

"All right. Then tell me what's wrong!"

"Oh, t.i.tus..." Suddenly, it all came tumbling out as it had weeks earlier with Mrs. White. Anger flared in his eyes as she ended her story with the account of her boarding the stagecoach.

"I'm so sorry, Alisa. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for you to finally find your father only to discover he's lower than a slug's belly. I'd like to-"

"Oh, please, t.i.tus. G.o.d has given me the grace to forgive him. I even pray that G.o.d will give him a new heart. But now do you see why I can't stay here? Especially now that you know the truth. You are keeping a wanted woman from justice."

"It wouldn't be justice to send you back. As far as I'm concerned, you're not going anywhere. We'll get married the next time Parson Abe rides through."

She allowed herself to relax against his broad chest, wis.h.i.+ng for all the world that she could accept his proposal and live her days building a life with this wonderful man of her dreams.

Apparently taking her silence as a yes, t.i.tus relaxed as well. His large hand cupped her head. When she pulled back, he commanded her gaze with eyes filled with love and pa.s.sion. Suddenly he crushed her to him, his mouth covering hers. Slowly he softened the kiss, but his warm lips continued pressing against hers until she became breathless. The sensations flas.h.i.+ng through her surprised and delighted her...and broke her heart. Unless she could clear her name, he would never be hers. She pressed closer and allowed herself another heady moment of being in his arms.

He pulled away as voices from the others came closer.

"I love you," he whispered.

Her lips trembled. "t.i.tus Chance, I love you, too."

Tears clogged her throat. There was no choice now. She had to leave him before she lost the power to do so. With difficulty, she maintained a normal demeanor throughout the rest of the day.

That night after everyone had gone to bed and she was reasonably sure they slept, she rose and dressed with trembling fingers. Then she grabbed her coat and reticule and wrote a note for t.i.tus, promising the return of his horse. Quietly she left the cabin amid Daniel and t.i.tus's snoring and made her way to the barn. Ten minutes later, she knew she'd made the biggest mistake of her life as two riders blocked the path in front of her.

"Amos, it looks like this is our lucky night."

"It sure is, Bart. It surely is."

t.i.tus jerked awake. Something didn't feel right. The fire had gone out, but that wasn't it. He stood and walked around the room. Glanced outside. Everything seemed quiet enough. Stepped back inside.

"What's wrong?" Gideon's sleepy voice asked.

"Not sure." He lit the lamp on the table and knocked on the post next to the bedroom. "Miriam, Alisa?"

"What are you doing, t.i.tus?" Gideon was on his feet. "Miriam needs her sleep. Don't go waking her up on a hunch."

She appeared, clutching her robe about her, her face white. "Alisa's not here."

A lump lodged in t.i.tus's throat. "We've got to go after her. If those two hurt her, I'll-"

"t.i.tus, she left a note. She wasn't kidnapped."

He looked down at the paper she pushed into his hand.

"It's for you."

"Let's get you back to bed," Gideon said to his wife, but t.i.tus knew they were giving him the chance to read the letter from Alisa in privacy.

His heart sank as he read the words: t.i.tus, These last few months have been the happiest of my life. G.o.d used you as a sort of knight in s.h.i.+ning armor to rescue me and bring me to the ranch. I don't know what I would have done without you. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Falling in love was the last thing on my mind, but I don't suppose we have a choice where our hearts are concerned. For I do love you, my t.i.tus. I hope to return to you soon, but if I am not back within a year, I beg of you to forget me.

Yours, Alisa Forget her? How could she even suggest that was possible? No matter how many years went by, he'd never forget her. Didn't she understand that? Panic swelled his chest. Where could she have gone? He pulled on his boots and grabbed his hat.

She'd gone to turn herself in. And if she was right, her worthless father would see that she hung.

Oh, Lord. Help me find her.

He saddled Logan's horse, a stallion and the fastest of the horses on Chance Ranch since Raven had been stolen. t.i.tus rode hard, the rising sun at his back. He only prayed she wasn't too far ahead for him to catch her before she turned herself in.

Chapter 15.

You men could have saved yourself the trouble. I was going back to turn myself in anyway."

Alisa knew she should probably keep her mouth shut, but she couldn't help goading the two b.u.mbling thieves.

"Maybe so, sister, but I know a man who's willin' to pay five hundred dollars to see you handed over," Bart snarled. "And that's what we're gonna do."

Five hundred dollars? It could only be Robert Worthington. But why was Robert, rather than the law, offering a reward for her?

"How did you two find out about me?"

Amos reached into his filthy coat pocket and produced an equally filthy paper. He pushed it toward her. She scowled and lifted her bound wrists for his perusal. "My hands are tied; you'll have to open it for me."

"Oh, yeah," he muttered. He unfolded the greasy paper.

Alisa's eyes went wide at the sight of her image staring back. "This isn't an official wanted poster, though?"

"Nope." Amos refolded the paper and replaced it in his coat pocket. "How come you're thinking the law's after you? You steal this feller's money or something? Looked like he has a lot of it."

"That's none of your business." She averted her gaze to let him know she was through speaking with him.

"s.p.u.n.ky little thang, ain't ya?"

"Not really."

"Can't we just keep her, Bart? I really like this one. She ain't so pretty as the one with all the curls, but at least she don't scream and cry like that one did."

Stung by the negative comparison to Prissy's painted beauty, Alisa felt the heat rise to her cheeks. She resisted the temptation to defend herself and concentrated on staying atop the horse despite her bound wrists-which were beginning to chafe along with other parts of her anatomy. She had never ridden before coming to the ranch and had only had a couple of lessons as it was. That she'd managed to avoid falling headlong to the muddy ground was a miracle indeed.

"You heard what Worthington said. No one touches her."

Robert didn't want her harmed? Surprise and grat.i.tude combined inside of Alisa to form a tender spot in her heart for her father.

"Yeah, but he wants her back pretty bad if you ask me. I'd bet my half of that reward that he'd take her however he can get her."