"Chauncey?" she called after him. When he didn't stop, she stamped her foot. "Chauncey!"
But he was leaving. She lifted her skirts and raced after the wagon. That was when she noticed Old Charlie standing beside the house, the reins dragging the ground. She ran to the horse and lifted her skirt high enough to get a foot into the stirrup. Grabbing the saddle horn, she vaulted into the saddle and kicked the horse into a run. Galloping to the head of the team, she reached out to grab the halter on the lead horse. Bordeaux jerked the buggy to a halt.
"Are you crazy? That's a good way to get killed. Haven't you been through enough danger in the past two weeks?"
She threw her leg over the horse and dropped to the ground in a swirl of skirts. Grasping the brake with one hand, she met his amused gaze.
"Don't you dare leave me here."
He glanced at Charlie, barely containing a smile.
"I don't know why not. You have transportation."
"He isn't mine."
He lifted a brow. Neither am I. You turned me down, remember.
They could argue like this all afternoon. He wasn't going to give in until she ate a little crow. She moistened her lips with her tongue.
"I don't want you to go," she mumbled.
His eyes mocked her. "Obviously. Now tell me why."
She glanced at her father and the twins, who were watching intently. They showed no indication of giving them any privacy. In fact, they appeared to be hanging on her every word - waiting impatiently for the answer.
She turned a pleading gaze on Bordeaux, but his bemused regard indicated no quarter there, either.
"Because I love you, even if you are a..."
"That's all I wanted to hear," he interrupted with a grin.
He reached down and grabbed her by the arms, pulling her up into his lap. His warm lips found hers as he pulled her close.
Finally he drew back and slid her over to the seat beside him. He picked up the reins and released the brake, addressing her father and the twins.
"Meet us in town this afternoon. I want to get an engagement ring on her finger before she has time to change her mind again."
He slapped the team into action and they headed for town at a more leisurely pace. All that over with, he was solemn now.
"I don't understand it," she ventured. "Your Aunt was always talking about you, but she never mentioned a sister."
He nodded. "I know, and I feel bad about that. She went a little wild after..." He shrugged. "I guess it's different for a woman who's been a captive of the Comanche.