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

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Marston wondered what kind of damn town he'd wound up in! No saloon? What kind of town didn't have a saloon? Apparently a town just like Harper Louisiana. Damn, he needed some whiskey.

All of these people thanking God for him and treating him like a good person had his had hurting and his stomach churning. Clearly the whole damn family had a few screws loose. A lot of people had accused Marston of being a lot of things in his life.

Worthless.

Bastard.

Monster.

But never Godsend. So why had Rose called him one?

Rose. Rose. Rose. Why were his thoughts constantly going back to that woman? Why was he seeing that red hair and those blue eyes every time he closed his eyes?

'Because you liked her.' That nagging voice in his head informed him.

"Well she was a beauty," Marston replied with a shrug.

'It was more than that.' The voice insisted.

"You don't know a damn thing," Marston growled, wondering why he was even listening to that damnable voice. "I don't want or need anyone," he added.

Rose had simply been different than what he'd been expecting to see as Langston's wife and so Marston had been surprised and couldn't seem to get that off his mind—that problem was nothing a little whiskey wouldn't fix.

Marston slipped into his duster coat and headed out the door determined to find whiskey. The conversations Marston was having with that damn voice were getting ridiculous. It was starting to feel like maybe he was growing a conscience and that was a bad habit Marston was going to have to nip in the bud right here and now.

He walked out of the hotel and onto the muddy road. Whiskey. Whiskey. Where could a man find some whiskey? Marston thought he remembered seeing some when he'd been at the H&H Mercantile. No doubt any whiskey they had would taste like rot gut and leave his head throbbing in the morning but beggars couldn't afford to be picky.

The H&H Mercantile was currently closed and locked up for the night but a place being closed had never stopped Marston from taking what he'd wanted before. He wouldn't let it stop him now.

He smiled as he slipped through an unlocked window and realized that voice in his head was remaining silent. Apparently his newly found conscience didn't see wrong with breaking and entering—at least as long as there was whiskey involved.

***

Rose stood from the bed the next morning after a virtually sleepless night. She pulled on her nicest blue skirt and white long sleeved blouse—both beginning to fray and wear at the seams. She slid her brown leather belt around her waist and yanked her worn hole-filled ankle boots onto her feet.

Maybe she could get a new pair of shoes today.

She took the time to place her long red hair into a braid and then twisted the braid upon itself and secured it to the back of her head. She grabbed her bonnet off the bedside table and walked out into the main room of the cabin.

Langley was awake and already had a fire going in the cook stove and water heated for Rose's morning tea. "Thank you," she said as she kissed his red hair and headed toward the cupboard. Her face fell when she saw the tiny amount of oats left in the jar. It looked like she would be going without breakfast today.