Scandal at the Cahill Saloon - By Carol Arens Page 0,17

That had been his plan, after all. What on earth could he have wanted with her?

She might never see him again. That thought made her feel a bit gloomy. Surprised, too. Was it possible to pine for a man she had known such a brief time?

“Annie?” Bowie’s voice called her back from staring at the empty doorway.

“Would you like to meet your nephew?” She rallied her wits back about her.

“It’s not right that you won’t say who he belongs to, Annie, but yes, I do want to meet him.”

“He belongs to me. That’s all you need to know.” She tucked her hand into the crook of Bowie’s arm. “Walk me home and we’ll talk.”

“Can’t believe I’m an uncle. Does he look like me?”

He did, in fact, a little bit, with his dark hair and blue eyes. Cabe could easily pass for a Cahill to the casual observer.

If one looked close enough they might notice the small gold fleck in his left eye. It was in the shape of a half-moon with a star at the tip. It was subtle, impossible to see unless Cabe held still and you looked real close. Most folks would not even take note of it, but Cabe’s father and grandfather had the identical marking.

She knew she had taken a risk bringing Cabe home. Both of those men lived in Cahill Crossing. Still, the odds were against either man paying a dot of attention to the baby—and Cabe never held still for long. Toddlers and grown men didn’t travel in the same social circles.

Her little one was safe. If she didn’t think so, she wouldn’t have brought him here.

As much as she wanted to tell her brother who Cabe really was, that in fact she hadn’t shamed the family with an illegitimate birth, she wouldn’t. As a lawman, Bowie would feel bound to look for Cabe’s mother’s family, if there was one. They might be cheats, lairs and criminals for all she knew.

Her son might have a dozen relatives wanting him, and Leanna would fight each and every one of them. Cabe was hers in every way that really mattered.

Arden Honeybee, her dear friend from Deadwood, and a prostitute, had entrusted him to her care. It had been Arden’s final wish for Leanna to raise her child, and to love it. During their short but close friendship, she had never mentioned a relative.

Arden’s last breath had been Cabe’s first. Leanna’s ears had been the first to hear his newborn cry, her arms the first to hold him. She’d sobbed tears of grief and of welcome at the same time.

Arden had also entrusted her with a secret. The identity of her child’s father. She had made Leanna vow never to reveal it.

Sometimes promises made on a death bed could be reconsidered later. This one could not.

Cabe’s father was like opium, charming and seductive, and in the end the ruin of the most trusting of souls.

If he knew that sweet and lovely Arden had born him a son he might take him, turn him into someone like himself. Leanna would die before she let that happen.

As much as she wanted to reveal her secret to Bowie, she didn’t dare. In spite of the fact that she had brought shame on the family, she knew that any one of her brothers would put themselves in harm’s way to protect a nephew, a blood relative. She’d already lost Mama and Papa; she couldn’t stand to lose a brother, too. Cabe’s daddy was a warped man and he had warped friends.

Out on the street, summer wind blew hot against her back. It snapped the ends of the ribbon in her hair forward. She brushed the blue satin away from her mouth and held on to Bowie’s arm while they walked past the general store. It felt good to lean into his strength for a moment.

Not longer than that, though. Two years had passed and she’d learned to rely on her own strength; she didn’t want to give that up.

Just for this moment, though, she needed her brother. She rested her head on his arm.

He smiled down at her.

“That man is sweet on you,” Bowie announced.

“Cleve?” She blinked at her brother, taken by surprise. “No, he isn’t.”

“I saw the way he looked before he figured I was your brother. He wasn’t happy.”

This was a silly conversation. What difference did it make if a man leaving town had feelings for her or not?

And in the end, she didn’t want to spend this time