When they entered the house, it was silent. She turned to gaze at the two men. “Stay here. Let me check on her and then I’ll take you back,” she said.
Mattie hurried down the hall to her mother’s room, but she couldn’t help but glance back at the two cowboys who’d rescued her.
Why was she so drawn to both? Who would she choose?
3
JESSE
* * *
Jesse watched Mattie enter her mother’s bedroom and immediately turned to Alex. “She’s the one.”
Alex grinned at him. “I’m so glad you agree. How do we convince her?”
Jesse glanced around at the home, a much nicer replica of their own home. The memory of the feel of Mattie’s back sliding across his chest, the sweet smell of woman surrounding him had his dick rock solid.
He couldn’t wait to fuck her. But he could never give her his heart. After Scotland, he decided he would never fall in love again. Love hurt too much when stripped away. He would do everything for their wife, except give what little was left of his heart.
How could they convince her to leave her home behind and let them protect her?
Just then, she stepped to the door, her blue eyes filled with tears. “You can stay for just a moment. She’s not doing well.”
It was all he could do not to take her in his arms and comfort her.
Jesse led the way into the woman’s bedroom. She sat up in bed, the covers up around her neck, her face pale, her skin stretched taut against her bones. Death seemed to hang like an uninvited guest in the room.
“Ma’am, Jesse Kelton and my friend Alex Craghead.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said softly. “How did you meet my daughter?”
Mattie shook her head vigorously, trying to stop Jesse from telling her mother, but the woman needed to know the truth.
“Ma’am, we rescued her from her stepbrother Frank. That’s why she’s wearing my shirt.”
The woman seemed to shrink even farther in the bed. “I’ve been so worried. I’ve watched him looking at my Mattie and feared he would hurt her.”
Alex stepped up to the bed. “Ma’am, I’d like to marry your daughter. We have a nice ranch in Bridgewater and I can assure you that she would be well cared for.”
Mattie’s mouth fell open and she stared at Alex. “We just met. I know nothing about you.”
The poor lass was afraid and how could he blame her after dealing with her stepbrother. Somehow they had to convince her that she would be safe with them. That they would cherish her.
“Sometimes you just know, Mattie. And I knew the moment I saw you that I wanted you to be my wife.” He turned and looked at her mother. “Ma’am, you don’t know us. But I’m an honest, hardworking man who will take good care of Mattie. I’ll protect her with my life and never harm her. If she stays here, I fear for her safety.”
A tear slipped down her mother’s cheek and her blue eyes, the same color as Mattie’s, darkened. “You are an answer to my prayers. Frank and even my husband, Edward, will do everything they can to bring her back. Are you prepared to fight them?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Alex said with convection.
Jesse knew they would be dead men if they tried to harm Mattie.
“Yes, please marry Mattie today. Save her from Frank.”
Mattie stood frozen on the other side of the bed. She kneeled beside her mother. “No, I’m not going anywhere. You need me.”
Her mother reached out and took her hand. “I have days, maybe even hours left. It’s my time and I want to leave this earth knowing my daughter is safe. You will not be safe here.”
She gazed up at them and Jesse felt like she was handing them her most precious gift. “These men will explain to you where they live. It’s a decent, honorable place where women are treated well and families look out for one another. You’ll be safe with them. And that is the most important gift you could give me.”