Holding up his hands, the lines around Garret’s mouth deepened as he squinted into the bright morning light. “Hey, now, easy. We didn’t undress or dress you. The maid at the hotel did. She was the one who washed and helped care for you while you were sleeping off the medicine the doctor gave you.”
The world began to tilt beneath her feet, and Rowan swayed before two sets of strong arms wrapped about her.
Both men wore thick, worn leather dusters that smelled of earth and some subtle cologne that each man favored. It had been a long time since she’d been outside of the stink of the city, and she took a deep breath, enjoying the cool air scented with them. Her thoughts had taken on that drifty feeling again, and now that she knew they hadn’t taken liberties with her, she was once again feeling better.
Or maybe it was just the doctor’s medicine.
Either way, she didn’t fight them as they led her over to a large tree and remained a discrete distance away as she took care of business.
While she was walked back, she paused for a moment behind a sizeable tree trunk, the leaves above long gone and the branches reaching up towards a darkening sky.
Of course the first man her gaze was drawn to was Edward, by his sheer size alone. Not that Garret was a small man, but Edward was a beast. Not overly tall, but thick with muscle like a bull. Garret was leaner, like a panther, and he moved with a self-assured grace that drew any woman’s gaze. He was more classically handsome of the pair, with an aristocratic set to his features that seemed to exude confidence. Beyond them, a four-team wagon of beautiful roan and piebald horses snorted and stamped their hooves as they nibbled at whatever dry winter grass they could reach on the road.
For a brief moment, she considered running, but quickly realized the futility. She had no idea where she was, no gear, and she certainly wasn’t prepared to survive winter in the mountains. Also, she had to admit, so far the men had given her no reason to fear them. If anything, she owed them her life—quite literally. Many would have seen some boy being beaten and just kept on walking. And there were many others who would have chased Mr. Charles off, but still left her to fend for herself. Edward and Garret had not only chased Mr. Charles off, they offered her a chance at not just surviving, but living.
They could just want her for…other reasons, but that didn’t make sense either. They were both good looking, obviously wealthy by the quality of their clothing and wagon, and intelligent. Young, pretty women in their hometown must be beating their door down, hoping to win their favor. Why would they want a sick, skinny woman with a big nose and no dowry or penny to her name? They wouldn’t. They were probably bringing her back to offer her work as their maid or to help out on the ranch, as Garret had first offered.
Why did that thought make her sad instead of relieved?
“Rowan, lass, are you all right?” Edward boomed, and she stumbled out from behind the tree with a guilty blush heating her cold cheeks.
“I’m fine,” she yelled back, then braced her hand against the tree as she coughed, her ribs hurting from where she’d been kicked.
She whimpered, trying to hold back a cry as her ribs gave a hard ache.
Big male hands were supporting her a moment later, and she found herself swung up into a familiar pair of brawny arms again.
“Easy,” Garret said as he cradled her close. “It’s going to take a few days to get back on your feet.”
Resting her head against his chest, she said, “You carry me a lot.”
“I supposed I do.” Edward chuckled.
“I’m a decent woman,” she protested as he handed her off to a smiling Garrett. “You shouldn’t be handling me like this. It’s improper.”
“Yes,” Garret said in a dry voice as put his hands beneath her armpits and lifted her as if she weighed no more than a feather. “I’m sure the birds are scandalized by your behavior.”
“That’s not what I meant,” she panted as she tried to wrestle her blanket, which had gotten some dead pine needles on it, back over her shoulders. “I don’t know what kind of women you’re used to, but we don’t like being manhandled.”
“Would you rather we let you fall in your face in the mud?” came Edward’s deep, amused voice from behind her.
She would have given Edward a glare, but her stomach picked that moment to make a loud rumble.
Both men laughed, but Garret gave her shoulder a soothing rub. “Come on, my snarly little tigress. Once we get you settled in, we’ll feed you.”
It took some maneuvering, but they managed to get her tucked back into the little nest they’d made for her in the back of the wagon. This time, Garret remained with her while Edward drove the team. Uncomfortable and in pain, she didn’t even fight it when Garret sat right next to her so they were shoulder to shoulder, and thigh to thigh. He helped arrange the blankets around her, and she was too focused on the smell of food to object when he wrapped himself right up next to her.
“Here, you go. Slowly,” Edward turned around on the seat above them and handed Garret two paper wrapped bundles. “Don’t eat it too fast.”
She took one of the packages with a shaking hand. “Don’t worry, I know not to eat too much at once after a long time of not having enough to eat. If I overindulge, I’ll just throw it up.”
The men were quiet for a moment as she opened her bundle and discovered a chicken leg, some bread, and another smaller, paper wrapped object. Her stomach practically howled at the sight of food. As she took her first bite of chicken, all rational thought was gone. It took every ounce of her willpower, but she managed to keep from shoving the food into her mouth like an animal…mainly because Edward and Garrett were staring at her.
“What?” she said around a mouthful of delicious bread.
“You’ve been starving before?” Garrett asked as he finally began to eat his own meal. The wagon rocked as Edward let out a whistle that got the team of horses moving.
“A few times. After my father died of tuberculosis when I was ten, it was really hard for my mother to find work. We had to sell most of our possessions and move to a part of Chicago that wasn’t nearly as nice as where we’d been.” She took a sip of water from the canteen Edward offered her before continuing. “It was a hard winter that year. Tuberculosis swept through the city, and the snow fell in endless amounts. Everyone in our building was struggling to get by. If it wasn’t for our neighbor letting us sleep on the floor in front of his stove, we might not have made it. Thankfully, my neighbor was able to get both myself and my mother jobs mill.”
“You would have been eleven at the time?” Garret asked in a soft voice as he stared out into the wilderness.
“Yes” she said as she licked her fingers clean of the chicken grease. “My mother and I worked opposite shifts, so someone could always be home with Ted.”
“Why wasn’t he working?” Edward asked from the front seat.
“Because my mother wanted him to take up a trade. She knew that, in a few years, after Ted completed his apprenticeship with the bricklayers, he would make enough money to support the family on his own. That’s what he’s going to be doing out in California. A childhood friend of ours moved out there a few years ago, and he sent Ted a telegram offering him a job in San Francisco. It’s going to be so amazing. Ted will be making a respectable amount of money, and I’ll have a chance to find a job that I like, and maybe a good husband. After all, I’m twenty-four, practically an old maid.”