Page 113 of Native Hawk
“I think the ladies cannot decide which man is the most beautiful,” she told Claire.
Catalina knew exactly how they felt. Her own cheeks flushed as she let her gaze travel from the top of their curling black hair to the heels of their sturdy black boots, stopping to admire their broad shoulders and narrow hips.
But her heart thrilled to more than that. The idea that Drew belonged toher,that she was the lucky lady who was going to spend the rest of her life with him…that took her breath away.
“Wait,” Claire said with a frown. “Didn’t you say Drew was going to wear blue and Chase would be in brown?”
Drew knew he probably shouldn’t have broken his new rule of never betting against a lawman. But easy money was so hard to resist. So when the jailer they’d fooled with the two-spirits game had popped into The Parlor the night before his wedding, claimingnobodycould tell the difference between the twins, not even their brides, Drew couldn’t help but take that bet.
Chase wasn’t exactly happy about it.
“I mean to split the winnin’s with you, you know,” he told Drew as they walked along the drive of the Parker Ranch.
“What if there aren’t any winnings? What if theycan’ttell us apart?”
Drew snorted. “O’ course they can tell us apart. I’m as sure o’ that as I am o’ winnin’ a hand o’ poker with a full house.”
What he didn’t tell Chase was that a man couldn’t necessarily always win a hand with a full house…if the other player had a royal flush…or a straight flush…or even four of a kind. In other words, there was a slim possibility that Claire and Cat mightnotbe able to tell their grooms apart, especially since they’d swapped suits. But he wasreasonablysure they could.
That was before Samuel Parker had come up, clapped Drew on the back, and called him “son.”
While Chase glared at Drew in silent rage, Mr. Parker took the twins on a detour behind the ranch house.
They hiked across a field full of wildflowers and over a small hill to a spot where a solitary oak grew. At the bottom of the trunk was a hunk of stone sunk into the ground.
This was the spot, Mr. Parker said, where he’d gently laid Yoema, their beloved grandmother—Claire’s spirit mother—to rest.
They took a few moments to pay their respects, and then headed back to the barn.
Drew murmured to Chase, “You know, I don’t think it matters if Mr. Parker thinks I’m his son-in-law. We’re the same blood, after all.”
Chase gave him a sideways glare, biting out, “I don’t much like being mistaken for a gambler living in a cathouse.”
Drew arched a brow and muttered, “So you’re Mr. Upstanding, are you?”
Chase sniffed. “I’m a local hero.”
Drew narrowed his eyes, hissing, “Well, except for that part about kidnappin’ a woman.”
Chase elbowed him.
Drew shoved him back.
They were still grumbling at each other fifteen minutes later as they stood at the makeshift altar at the end of the barn, waiting for their brides to arrive.
The barn had come out nice. With lumber readily available from up on the ridge and all the townsfolk pitching in, the building went up fast. The new structure had six shuttered windows which were currently open to let the sunlight in. In fact, except for the sweet smell of hay and the lack of self-righteousness, Drew didn’t see much difference between the barn and the church his mother used to take the twins to on occasion when they were young.
Drew wasn’t even nervous until the preacher opened his book, the fiddler started playing, and he heard the rustle of clothing behind him as people stood.
This was it, he thought, licking his lips. These were the cards he’d dealt himself. And he was all in.
He turned to look down the aisle. The moment he saw the beautiful blossoms floating toward him, his fears vanished.
Since Cat didn’t have anyone, Samuel Parker was giving both brides away. Flanked by the lovely ladies, he definitely looked like a thorn between two roses.
Drew couldn’t have described later what Cat was wearing, which he was sure would have upset her. All he knew was she looked like an angel, all pretty and glowing and full of light. Apparently, the townsfolk thought so too. He could hear their gasps of awe as Cat glided down the aisle, between the benches.
They were halfway down the path when Drew heard a strangling sound come out of Chase’s throat. Drew cast a quick sidelong glance at his brother. Chase looked like smoke would come out of his ears any second.
