Cutty (Prairie Grooms Book 8) by Kit Morgan Page B

purty. Has Amon seen it yet?”
    “He watched me work on it in the evenings. But no, he hasn’t seen me wear it yet.” She glanced at the kitchen’s back door. “He will in a moment.”
    “I hope Newton gets as lucky as Amon.”
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “I hope he finds and marries a gal just like his sister – a purty woman who can cook, sew and take care of him. Ya gotta admit, Amon’s a lucky man.”
    Nettie giggled. “I’ll have to tell him.” She turned to the stove and stirred something in a pot. “Who knows how long it will be before Newton settles down? Amon was right, my dear brother needs to get this wanderlust out of his system first.” He watched her spoon oatmeal from the pot into a bowl, bring it to the table and set it in front of him. She returned to the stove, took a plate of bacon out of the warming oven and set that on the table as well.
    “What if he leaves?” Cutty asked.
    “Leaves?” she asked and handed him a spoon.
    “Yeah. I mean, after I tell him, what if he hightails it outta here?”
    “Why would he?”
    “On account he might hate me and not want to see my sorry hide ever again.”
    “I pray that won’t happen,” she said. “Face it – you don’t know what he’ll do. Spend time together, get to know him first. Things will go much easier if you do.”
    “I hope it goes as well as it did with us,” he said in a quiet voice.
    She sat at the table and put a hand over his. “It will, you’ll see. He’ll love you just as much as I do.”
    “Either that or he’ll shoot me.”
    “Do stop thinking of the worst outcome, will you?”
    “I cain’t help it. Maybe ’cause if’n I were in his shoes, I’d wanna shoot me too.”
    She shook her head. “Do you want me to be there when you tell him?”
    “Nah, I’d better do it alone. Maybe when we’re out on the prairie. You’ll know he didn’t take it well if’n I don’t come back.”
    “All the more reason to take Amon with you.”
    “I suppose,” he said and poked his spoon into the oatmeal.
    “Let’s not worry about it right now,” she said. “Eat your breakfast before it gets cold.” She got up, went to the stove and dished herself up a bowl. “We’d best not speak of it any more – Amon will be coming in soon.”
    “Fine,” he said and took a bite. He chewed, swallowed, then said, “I think I’ll head back to town. Maybe Imogene’ll be around.”
    She glanced at him and smiled. “Soon we’re going to have another wedding,” she sang.
    He smiled back. “Sure, if’n I live long enough to get married.”
    “Stop that! Trust me, Newton will love you as I do.”
    “Maybe, but how long’s it gonna take?”
    Her smile sharpened. “It depends. How long are you going to take?”
     
    * * *
     
    After breakfast Cutty helped Amon with a few chores, then headed back to town. For one, he needed to get the horse he’d borrowed from the livery stable back to Chase. And two, he missed Imogene.
    His plan was to wait around town for a few hours. If she didn’t show up, he’d borrow a horse again and ride out to the Triple-C, something he hadn’t done before. He generally avoided the Cookes as much as he could for obvious reasons. He didn’t want to take a chance on any of them recognizing him.
    But then, how could they? He had almost no hair, and what he had was growing in white, thank Heaven for that. He wore an eye patch and part of his face was burnt, even if the scars were growing faint. He walked differently, hid his native accent and spoke like (as Imogene put it) a cranky old coot. If they hadn’t recognized him yet, what made him think they would now?
    Still, he was nervous as to what the Cookes would do when they found out who he really was. Would they demand justice? Have Sheriff Hughes toss him in jail? Run him out of town? He knew they were capable of it and had done it before, to some chap named Slade, August had told him. He shuddered at the thought and pictured himself tarred