"Yes, sir."
"That's the last damned time you're going to admit it, Adam," Harrison snapped.
"Don't curse, son."
"Yes, sir."
"Were there extenuating circumstances?"
Adam nodded and then proceeded to give him a full explanation. Elliott listened intently without once interrupting.
" Harrison, are you prepared to defend him?"
"Not quite yet, sir, but I'm getting there. I still have quite a lot of work to do."
Elliott gave him a piercing look. "Do you have a specific plan of action?"
"Yes."
"Will I like the approach you're going to take?" he questioned.
Harrison stared right into his eyes when he answered him. "No, sir, you won't like it at all."
Elliott nodded. "I need paper, pen, and ink. We're going to start all over again, Adam. Harrison, I would like to see your notes."
"Tell us your gut feeling," Cole requested. "Do you think…"
Elliott slammed his hand down on the table. "I won't have it. That's what I think."
He leaned back in his chair and waited while Harrison went to get the writing supplies and his notes.
No one said a word. They all knew Elliott was thinking about the case, and they didn't want to interrupt him. Mary Rose came back into the room and joined them at the table again.
The silence continued. The air became charged with anticipation. The brothers and their sister sat on the edge of their chairs while they waited to hear Elliott's opinions. They all felt something was about to happen but couldn't explain why. They just knew.
When Elliott finally spoke, he addressed Adam. His voice was whisper soft and somewhat chilling.
"He's the best there is, you know. I almost pity your accusers. He won't show any mercy, not in a courtroom, and not after the grievous insult done to his family. Oh, yes, I almost pity them."
Goose bumps covered Mary Rose's arms. "Didn't you train him, Father?" she asked.
"I taught him the law. He has his own unique way of arguing it. He's brilliant, yes, but he's also ruthless. He becomes a predator when he walks into court. I've seen him, watched him, and I'll tell you now, there have been a few instances when I've actually feared him. I would never go up against him. You see, I've only just figured out what he's going to do, and when he's finished, your accusers may not be able to get out of this town alive."
Harrison came back into the dining room a few minutes later with his notes and the writing supplies for Elliott. He noticed the silence immediately. They were all staring up at him, and he knew something significant had happened. He waited for someone to tell him.
No one said a word. And then he noticed something else. He saw it in Adam's eyes.
Hope.
Mary Rose saw very little of Harrison during the next week. He and Douglas went into town together on Monday and didn't return until twilight. Douglas had the five rental horses from the town's stable with him. Neither her husband nor her brother explained why they'd taken the horses.
On Tuesday Travis accompanied Harrison into Blue Belle. They both looked grim when they returned home. Harrison made love to her that night. He was far more demanding than usual. He did things to her she hadn't thought were possible, and she climaxed three times before he gave in to his own fulfillment.
On Wednesday Harrison spent all day going over his notes. The next morning Dooley rode out to the ranch to pass along the news that Judge Burns got tired of fishing and was back at Belle's house again. Elliott was anxious to read the evidence against Adam, but Harrison didn't take him into town until almost eleven o'clock. He was fully occupied taking care of his sick wife.
She'd been throwing up since ten. She tried to get him to leave, insisting she was fine, really, but then she'd start in gagging again, and Harrison got all worked up.
She started feeling better an hour later. She knew she looked like hell. She was draped over the bed, flat on her stomach with her hair hanging down over the side. Harrison squatted down beside her while he mopped her brow with a cold damp cloth.
"This is all my fault, sweetheart. I hurt you last night, and now…"
"You didn't hurt me… well, you did, but it was a nice kind of hurt. I liked it. I've been feeling nauseated for several days. It isn't your fault. It's the trial. I can't help fretting about it."
Douglas came in the bunkhouse to check on his sister.
"Where the hell have you been?" Harrison demanded. "She's been sick for over an hour now. Do something, for God's sake."
Douglas was a bit taken aback by the fury in Harrison 's voice. "She scared you, didn't she? She doesn't get sick very often. I'll take care of her. She's got some color back in her face. I think she's already recovering. Dooley's getting ready to leave. Didn't you want to talk to him?"
"Your sister is going to have to promise me that when I get back this afternoon, I'll find her in bed. Give me your word, Mary Rose, or I'm not going anywhere."
She let out a dramatic sigh. "All right. I'll be in bed."
He lifted her hair away from her face so he could kiss her. Then he let it drop back down again.
Douglas waited until he'd left before broaching a rather delicate subject.
"Do you know what this is all about?" he asked.
"I'm sick. That's what it's about."
He sat down on the side of her bed. "What kind of sick? Did you eat something that made you ill?"
"No. I'm just worked up about the trial, Douglas."
"Could you be pregnant?"
The question astonished her. She had to think about it a long while.
"Have you missed your monthly?"
She turned beet red in less than a minute. "You're embarrassing me. You're my brother, for heaven's sake. You shouldn't ask such personal questions."
"Have you?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"Two… no, three."
Mary Rose lifted her head off the pillow. "Do you think…"
She couldn't go on. The wonder of it all was just settling in. A baby. She might really be having a baby. She was suddenly overwhelmed with joy.
"I think I'm going to become an uncle," Douglas said. He patted her on her shoulder and smiled down at her.
"We can't tell Harrison. Don't tell anyone until I'm certain, Douglas. My husband has enough to think about. He'll be happy about my news, but he might become distracted. We can't have that."
Douglas agreed. Harrison left an hour later to take her father over to Belle's house so he could look over the evidence against Adam. Then he went back into town again. He spent the day there and didn't return to the ranch until suppertime.
He went directly to the bunkhouse to make certain Mary Rose was where he'd left her. He took one look at her and knew she'd gotten out of bed.
She wasn't about to admit it.
"Did you rest all day, sweetheart?"
"Yes, I did."
He smiled. "You stayed in bed?"
She smiled back. "You should be happy with me," she answered, which wasn't a proper answer at all. "You didn't think you'd find me in bed, did you? I could tell you were surprised. How did your day go?"
He decided to force her to lie outright. She hadn't yet. She'd evaded his questions. She looked damned proud of herself too.
"Did you rest in bed all day?"
She didn't miss a beat. "Now, why would you ask me that again? Don't you believe me, Harrison? You'll have to trust me, I suppose."
He shook his head. His sweet wife had completely disregarded his instructions. He didn't know what he was going to do about that. He let out a loud sigh. There really wasn't a damned thing he could do about it. She was stubborn and willful, and unless he tied her down to the bed, she'd do what she thought best.
"Just promise me that when you feel ill, you'll rest. All right?"
She sat up in bed. "Why don't you believe me?"