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“Once Austin realized that Cameron and Becky were married, he’d post a public announcement telling the town that he had been with Becky the night Boyd was killed.

Neither he nor Becky would have blamed him had he done so, but he didn’t.

Becky trusted him that night and he won’t betray that trust. How can you have failed him when you raised him to be such a fine young man, to accept responsibility for his actions?

“Loree and I didn’t have much of an opportunity to talk, but I know he met her on his way to Austin.

She didn’t even know where he lived until today.

He could have ridden out of her life and never looked back.

Instead he convinced her to marry him. You didn’t fail him, Dallas.

You raised him to be the kind of man you can be proud to call ‘brother.’ ”

Dallas heaved a weary sigh. “If I didn’t fail him in the twenty years I raised him, I’m afraid I may have failed him today.”

“Only if you let what happened this afternoon fester between you. He needs us more now than he ever has before, and I’m sure tomorrow he’ll wake up with a few regrets of his own. Go talk to him first thing in the morning.”

“What in the world did I do to deserve such a wise wife?”

She smiled seductively. “Come to bed, and we’ll try to figure it out.”

Laughing, he scooped her into his arms and hoped his youngest brother hadn’t made the biggest mistake of his life.

Holding the curtain aside, Austin gazed into the quiet street where lanterns fought to hold the darkness at bay. He’d never felt so unsure of himself in his life.

He heard his wife’s movements as she changed into her nightgown behind the screen. The day they were married, they’d returned to her house and slept in her bed. Just slept. Holding each other.

They’d continued that ritual through the journey, but tonight he needed more. The only family he had left was sharing this room with him, and the memories they’d created spanned only a few weeks.

Memories of Dallas spanned years.

He wanted—needed—Loree’s touch on his skin, her scent filling his nostrils, her taste on his lips. And dammit, he didn’t know how to go about getting it.

He’d made love twice in his life. Neither time had been planned. He’d sought comfort, given comfort.

The one time he’d stood in a room with a woman knowing he had the right to her body, he’d walked out because no matter how much he’d paid her, he couldn’t make himself want her.

“I’ve never been in so fine a place,” Loree said quietly.

Austin released his death grip on the curtain and faced his wife. Her hands were clasped in front of her. He smiled, hoping to ease her nervousness as much as his own. “Dee would only settle for the best.”

“Why didn’t we stay with your brother?”

Austin plowed his hands through his hair. “Because he still sees me as a boy. He never noticed that I grew up.”

“He’s angry that you married me.”

The sadness in her voice had him crossing the room with only one thought: to comfort her. He cradled her delicate face between his large hands. “It doesn’t matter. He ain’t got a dog in this fight.”

She blinked, one corner of her mouth curling up. “What does that mean?”

“It means you—our marriage—is none of his business.” He traced the edge of his thumbs across her brow, down her temple, across her cheek.

“My reasons for marrying you are my business.” Her eyes lured him the way gold lured miners, and he felt as though he were traveling into a mine, guided by light and darkness, searching for the treasures that lay within.

He touched his thumbs to the corner of her mouth.

He’d given her a perfunctory kiss after they’d exchanged vows.

It had been less than satisfying. He wasn’t certain what she expected of this marriage, but he damn sure knew what he wanted.

He lowered his mouth to hers, tasting her sweetness on his tongue.

Her small hands pressed against his chest, and he wondered if she felt the heavy pounding of his heart.

He guided her toward the bed and they fell together into the deep softness of the mattress.

He’d have to remember to compliment Dee on her taste in furnishings.

Austin tucked Loree’s finely boned body beneath his.

He’d take his time tonight, go slowly, savoring every moment, every inch of her, making certain he caused her no discomfort.

He trailed his lips along the slender column of her throat and dipped his tongue into the hollow at the base of her throat.

“Remember your promise,” she pleaded softly.

His promise? He’d made so many of late. To find the man who murdered Boyd. To love Loree, honor, and cherish her …

To never touch her if he was thinking of Becky.

Groaning, he rolled off her and draped his arm over his eyes, his body aching with need and desires that would go unfulfilled. He felt the stiffness of her body as she lay beside him. She hadn’t moved—not a finger, not a toe. He wasn’t even certain if she was still breathing.

He peered out from beneath his arm and watched a solitary tear escape from her tightly closed eyes and trail toward her ear. Anger, sadness, guilt swamped him.

He swung his legs off the bed, sat up, and rubbed his hands up and down his face. Then he stood, jerked his hat off the bedpost, and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I need some fresh air.” He yanked open the door, stopped, and looked over his shoulder at the woman who was now sitting up in the bed, her face a mask of anguish.

“I wasn’t thinking of her, Loree,” he said, his voice low.

“But I’m not going to make that announcement every time I touch you.

You’re gonna have to learn to trust me to keep my promises.

” He forced his tense body not to slam the door in his wake.

He strode from the hotel. The sultry summer night wrapped around him, offering no comfort. His boot heels echoed over the boardwalk. He stepped off the planks and allowed the dirt to muffle his passing.

He came to an abrupt halt in front of the general store. He saw a pale light glowing within a window upstairs. He wondered where the boy slept. He wondered where Becky and Cameron held each other through the night.

He started walking again, toward the far end of town. He heard the tinny sound of an off-key piano wafting out of the saloon. A bottle of whiskey appealed to him, but he’d never enjoyed drinking alone.

And the drinking companion of his youth was probably making passionate love to Becky right about now. He went to the livery, saddled Black Thunder, and rode into the night, trying to escape the invisible prison that surrounded his heart.

He felt the terror that had engulfed him when they’d put him in solitary confinement. The loneliness had been absolute, frightening. Just as it was now. Loving Becky had been so easy. They had never argued, she had never questioned.

But as he rode, it wasn’t Becky who haunted his thoughts. It was Loree with golden eyes that didn’t quite trust him and a heart that might never be his.