Give My Love to Rose(1st in Outlaw Series)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Morning dawned bright and cold with a heavy frost and a dusting of snow. Marston was exhausted. He hadn't slept much that night—he'd been too busy listening for any sign that Duke and Jeremiah were up to no good. Rose kept telling him to simply have faith in them and the ability of people to change but Marston was having a hard time embracing that way of thinking. Hell, he knew the kinds of things of things that Jeremiah and Duke were capable of because he was capable of many of the same things.

He had heard them ride off in the middle of the night and had wondered just how disappointed Langley and Rose would be that their Christmas guests had run away. He'd convinced himself that it was probably for the best and then they'd come riding back in after several hours away. Marston had no idea where they'd gone but he planned on finding out.

"Merry Christmas," Rose's sleepy voice greeted, her warm breath teasing his chest.

Marston breathed in her scent. "Merry Christmas."

She groaned as she pulled away. "I need to get up. I have to get that turkey baking. I made fresh sweet bread and apple pies yesterday as well as some sugar cookies and I've had beans cooking over the fire all night."

Marston breathed deep and his mouth watered. "I know. I can smell them." He kissed her tenderly. "You're planning a meal fit for a king, aren't ya?"

"Sure am," she winked.

Marston chuckled as he sat up and tossed his legs over the edge of the bed. "The only thing I'm king of is king of the demons."

Rose's eyes went skyward. "I'm fairly certain that's Satan."

Marston grinned as he scooped his pants up off the floor. "Exactly."

He heard Rose take a deep breath, no doubt preparing to scold him, when he was saved by Langley's voice ringing out through the cabin. "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Marston was impressed by the volume the kid could achieve. The cabin door opened. "MERRY CHRISTMAS DUKE AND JEREMIAH!"

Marston shook his head. Duke and Jeremiah never had been known to be early risers and he could already see their annoyed faces in his mind at being awoken so close to dawn. Knowing they'd be irritated made Marston smile on the inside.

Marston helped Rose dress quickly and the two of them stepped out into the kitchen just as Duke and Jeremiah stumbled into the cabin looking more dead than alive.

"Merry Christmas!" Marston greeted brightly, earning him a wince and a glare. "Santa's little helpers look tired this morning. Did they have too much fun last night?"

Jeremiah's elbow landed in Marston's gut. "Not all of us live like old married men," Jeremiah grumbled.

Marston rubbed at sore middle and killed his brother three times in his head. "You're a pain in the ass."

Langley broke between the adults. "Can we open presents now?" he asked, bouncing up and down with excitement.

Rose shook her head. "Chores first."

"Mama...." Langley began with a whine.

Marston cut him off. "Don't you argue with your mama, boy. Those critters out there don't know that it's Christmas. All they know is their stomachs are growling and you ain't feeding 'em. I'll take care of the horses and chickens. You get dressed and tend to the pigs and cow."

Langley's shoulders slumped with defeat, he muttered a pitiful 'yessir' and shuffled back to his room.

Duke chuckled. "You all run a tight ship around here."

Marston looked at the older man and he saw the way he was staring at Rose in her white blouse and black skirt. Her hair was still loose and wild curls danced around her face. Marston felt a jolt of something unfamiliar that made his stomach roll and his fists clench. He realized with annoyance that it was jealousy.

Shouldering his way past Duke, Marston headed for the door. "Let's go," he ordered, motioning for Duke and Jeremiah to follow.

"Go where?" Jeremiah asked with a frown, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Out to work."

Jeremiah scoffed. "We're your guests. You'd make us work?"

Marston glared at Duke who had yet to take his eyes off Rose as she donned her apron and began gathering up supplies for the meal she had planned.

Marston grabbed the man by the back of the shirt and tugged. Hard. "Outside, now," he snarled.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Duke bellowed as Marston tossed him off the porch and the man had to grab hold of the banister to keep from hitting the dirt.

The commotion had Rose throwing open the kitchen shutters and sticking her head out just in time to see Marston's fist connect with Duke's jaw.

"Stop it!" Rose exclaimed. "Dear Lord, do you men hit each other every time you're together? It's Christmas!"

Marston simply stood over Duke who was flat on his back in the dirt. Jeremiah was laughing as Marston grabbed the collar of Duke's shirt and lifted him several inches from the ground. "You ever look at my woman that way again, I'll break your damn jaw. If you even think about laying hands on her, I'll kill you. Do you understand?"

"Damnation, Marston," Duke grumbled. "I was just looking is all. She's a pretty woman."

"I know who you are and what you do," Marston growled. "I need to make sure you know right now that Rose is off limits."

"You got a lot of nerve talking to me that way," Duke warned, his hand inching toward his gun. Then he sighed and dropped his hand to the ground. "But okay."

"It was nothing personal, Duke," Marston assured the older man as he helped him to his feet. "I suppose I'm a bit overprotective."

Jeremiah continued to laugh as Duke swatted dirt from his pants. Rose called Marston to the window. He went to her and folded his arms on the window sill. "What is it?" he asked.

"You do realize that you're fighting with people on Christmas, don't you?"

Marston grinned and kissed her nose. "We weren't fighting."

Rose's eyes widened and she pointed at Duke who was wiping blood from his lip. "Then what would you call what just happened?" she demanded.

Marston simply shrugged. "I was proving a point."

"No, it was called marking his territory," Jeremiah cut in. "Don't let him fool you, Rose. The man might as well have gone and peed on your leg."

Marston glared at his brother as Langley stepped out onto the porch. "Who peed on mama?"