Page 99 of Native Hawk
Chapter 29
Cat must have let him sleep in. When Drew woke to the rough knock on the door, followed by his brother forcing his way in, Cat was no longer beside him in the bed, and the sun was already streaming in through the curtains.
He supposed he should be glad. He didn’t particularly want Chase running his greedy eyes all over his beautiful bride-to-be in her altogether.
Still, he was groggy and mildly irritated, until he saw his brother’s grim face and remembered the fire.
“Claire?” he asked in concern.
“Better,” Chase said, closing the door behind him.
“They hang the varmint that did it?”
“Yep.” Chase rubbed his hand across his chin. “But I think we’ve got more trouble.”
That got his attention. “What kind o’ trouble?”
“After the hanging, Sheriff Campbell stopped by the ranch. He said he wanted to see how Claire was and to let me know I was off the hook.”
“That’s good.”
Chase grimaced. “Not quite. He also said something about losing his girl and how he wanted the chance to win her back.” He tossed up his hands at that. “Damn it, Drew! What kind of stakes are you playing for these days?”
“Aww, hell,” Drew said. “He didn’t wager his sweetheart. He only lost his girl ’cause she didn’t like him gamblin’.” He added with a sniff, “Mostly she didn’t like him losin’.”
Chase grunted. “Well, anyway, he thought I was you.”
“So what’d you tell him?”
“Nothing. I didn’t get the chance.”
Drew shrugged. “I’ll take care of it.”
“That’s just the thing,” Chase told him. “It’s too late. When the sheriff started jawing about poker, Mr. Parker said, ‘You’ll have to play his brother then, because this man isn’t the gambler.’”
“Shit. How’d he find out?”
Chase looked disappointed. “Claire might have told him. Anyway, it won’t be long before the whole town knows we’re twins. I just thought, you know, you might want to make a quick getaway.”
Drew scowled. Why shouldhehave to be the one to leave Paradise? Why couldn’t his brother take his bride and move out of town? It was on the tip of his tongue to say so.
But then he reconsidered.
“Wait.” Drew rubbed at the crease between his brows. “The sheriff doesn’t hold you responsible any more for what happened to Claire, right?”
“Right.”
“And her father’s grateful to you for savin’ her life?”
“Yep.”
“And nobody cares that you busted out o’ jail?”
“Nope.”
“Then what does it matter if they know we’re twins?”
Chase let out a resigned sigh. “Well, I figure you must have gotten into trouble with the law for something.” He straightened with noble purpose. “So since you made the sacrifice for me, I’m offering to cover for you.”
