Harrison managed a weak smile. "Then you weren't worried about your sister's virtue?"
Of course he'd been worried, but he wasn't about to admit it. He'd seen the way Harrison stared at his sister. Mary Rose had been just as busy staring at Harrison.
"No, I wasn't worried about you two. I was going to say that if you go off with Mary Rose and leave us with Eleanor again, we'll all take turns killing you. That's what I was going to say. I decided to punch you instead. I figured a good punch would get my point across much quicker."
Harrison staggered, regained his balance, and continued on. He thought he'd stepped on a rock and that made him stumble.
"Ah, hell, you're going to make me carry you, aren't you?"
Harrison didn't answer Cole. He couldn't. He'd already passed out in his arms.
Mary Rose let out a shout, picked up her skirts and came running toward them. Everyone followed her.
"What did you do to him. Dear God, what did you do?"
"I didn't do anything," Cole shouted back.
She didn't believe him. "What happened to him?"
She bent down and looked at Harrison 's face. She saw how pale he was and promptly burst into tears.
Douglas was the next one to reach them. "Did you kill him, Cole?" he demanded.
"No."
The injury was serious, but it wasn't life-threatening, and in Cole's mind that meant Harrison was still fair game.
"What happened?" Adam asked.
Cole's grin was devilish. "He fainted."
January 15, 1866
Dear Mama Rose,
Yur suns are mean to me. Adam make me sit by myself at the table just kause I kicked Travis. Adam is a bad boy. Tell him I don't have to sit there by myself. I made a picture for you.
Mary Rose
Chapter 11
They were never going to let him live it down. No sir, not ever. Fainting was apparently something mountain men never did, and all of the brothers, including Adam, took fiendish delight in telling him so. Over and over and over again.
Harrison suffered through it, but only because he didn't have any choice. He was too weak to strike back, and once he'd finally regained his strength, three of the four brothers had taken off. Adam stayed home, of course, but Harrison left him alone. The oldest brother had to keep Eleanor calm, and Harrison believed that was enough punishment for any man to suffer.
Now that he'd made up his mind to tell the brothers about Elliott's daughter, he was impatient to get it said. He was forced to wait for all the brothers to come back to the ranch, because he felt it was the only decent thing to do. It wouldn't be right for any of them to get the information secondhand. No, Harrison was determined to tell all of them at the same time.
Waiting made him surly. Adam went up to the ridge with Mary Rose on two separate occasions so she could visit with the woman she now referred to as her dearest friend, and both times they were away, Harrison got stuck entertaining Eleanor. It wasn't a difficult chore, just mind muddling. All he had to do was sit on the front porch and pretend to listen to her complaints.
It took him a good two weeks to get his strength back, and just when he was beginning to feel fit, he got stuck taking Eleanor into Blue Belle.
Cole had finally returned from his hunting trip. On his way home, he had taken time to pick up a couple of items Harrison had requested he look for if he was near Hammond, and so Cole thought he was due a favor in return. He wanted Harrison to accompany him into town. Travis and Douglas had also gone hunting with their brother, and they were now waiting in town for the two of them. Several strangers had arrived in Blue Belle, and Cole wanted Harrison to look them over. If one of them was the bastard who had shot him, well then, Cole would take care of him.
Harrison was more than ready to go anywhere as long as he could get away from Eleanor. He was sitting on the porch with his booted feet propped up on the railing when Cole suggested the outing. Eleanor was seated next to Harrison. She was fanning herself with a week-old newspaper while she complained about the heat.
Cole ignored the woman. He had gone into the kitchen to get something to eat and came back out a few minutes later. He leaned against the post while he told Harrison what he wanted him to do. Eleanor stopped complaining long enough to listen.
She decided she wanted to tag along. "I believe I shall go with you. I have to buy that rude man a new hat."
"No, you can't come with us." Cole gave the denial in a downright mean tone of voice. It was the first time in over two weeks that he'd spoken directly to Eleanor.
She didn't pay any attention to his refusal. She stood up, tossed the newspaper on the floor, and marched inside. "We'll just see about that," she muttered.
"See how easy it was?" Cole remarked. "Am I the only one who can handle Eleanor around here? I said no and she left."
Harrison smiled. "She went inside to get Adam. He'll make us take her."
Cole laughed. He obviously didn't believe him. A minute later, Mary Rose came rushing outside. She spotted the newspaper on the floor and hurried to pick it up.
"May I please go with you and Eleanor into town? I have some errands to do."
Harrison and Cole told her no at the very same time.
She became flustered over the abrupt refusal. She reminded Harrison of an absentminded angel. She wore a dark blue dress with a pale yellow apron. Her hair was pinned up on top of her head.
The curls didn't want to stay put, however, and several strands had already fallen down to float around her face.
Cole thought she looked all worn out and told her so.
She ignored his criticism. "Please let me go with you. I won't make you wait on me. I swear I won't."
"Two women are too much for Cole and Harrison to look after, Mary Rose. You should stay home today," Adam suggested from the doorway.
"Two women?" Cole asked his brother. He was already frowning, for he knew where this was headed.
Harrison smiled. "I told you so," he taunted.
Mary Rose didn't want to give up. She obviously thought she still had a good chance of being included because she was taking her apron off and trying to tuck the hair back in her pins at the same time.
She sure looked pretty today. Harrison tried not to stare too long at her. Cole was bound to notice. Harrison had kept as far away from Mary Rose as possible while he was recovering. It hadn't been easy. She wanted to hover over him to make certain he was healing properly. His only defense was to pretend to be asleep whenever she came into the bunkhouse. He wondered why she didn't think it was strange for him to sleep day and night. She didn't though, and he counted that as a blessing.
"Adam, I can't let Eleanor go into Morrison's store alone. None of us will ever be allowed inside again if she acts up. Please reconsider. I won't get into any trouble."
Adam looked at Cole. He shrugged. "There are strangers in town. Two women might be too much to handle. What if he has another fainting spell? He still looks sickly."
"You get to ride with Eleanor in the wagon," Harrison promised in retaliation.
Cole shook his head. Harrison turned to Adam. "Mary Rose is perfectly capable of looking after herself as long as she thinks before she acts."
"She wasn't thinking when she charged after Bickley, was she?" Adam asked. He shook his head while he thought about the result of her actions. "We're lucky she didn't get killed."
"Yes, we are," Harrison agreed. "She's a very beautiful woman. Men are prone to do stupid things when they see a pretty face. We can't predict how these strangers will react. Therefore," he concluded, "Mary Rose and Eleanor should stay home."