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

Chapter Thirty-Two

    Rose covered her mouth with her hand as she fought the urge to vomit. Duke, knowing that Marston would want his woman taken care of, stood and took her in his arms once more to offer her what support he could. Women often found comfort in simple things such as hugs.... He had no idea why. 

    Kaitlyn stood up and walked on shaking legs to them. She laid her hand on Rose's back and looked up into Duke's eyes. "Will you take care of her? She tries to be so strong and hide it but she doesn't eat and she hasn't been sleeping and I'm worried about the baby...." 

    "Baby?!" Duke and Jeremiah gasped in unison. 

    Rose pulled out of Duke's hold and glared at her. "I'm fine, Kaitlyn. I don't need to be coddled or taken care of and I certainly won't let anything happen to this baby." She laid her hand over her stomach. "Now go to bed." 

    Kaitlyn's eyes filled with hurt. She turned on her heels and fled to Rose's bedroom, closing the door behind her. 

    "You're with child?" Jeremiah demanded, staring hard at Rose's stomach. 

    Rose nodded but her attention wasn't on Jeremiah. She chewed her lip with guilt as she stared at her closed bedroom door. She shouldn't have lost her temper with Kaitlyn. The girl hadn't meant any harm. Rose had just been holding herself together by threads for too long and now she was coming completely unraveled. 

    "Come on, Rose," Duke urged gently as he led her back to the table and helped her sit. He filled a glass of water and sat it in front of her before taking a seat himself. Jeremiah sat as well but his legs hopped and bounced with pent up aggression. 

    "I think you need to fill us in on what's been going on around here," Duke urged. "And who she was," he added, tilting his head toward the bedroom. 

    Rose sighed and stared down into her water. "Her name is Kaitlyn. Marston found her when he went after Gilliam." 

    Duke and Jeremiah shared a glance. "Yeah, we heard about Gilliam." 

    Rose was too distracted to hear their admission or question it. "Marston hadn't been home long, barely more than a week, when the law rode in and took him... he didn't even fight them..." Rose's voice trailed off. 

     "That doesn't sound like Marston," Jeremiah argued. "He always swore he'd never be taken alive. He dreamed about going down in a blaze of glory like any self-respecting outlaw." 

    Jeremiah stopped speaking and began to rub at his leg under the table while glaring at Duke and Rose had the impression that perhaps Duke had kicked him. "I'm sure Marston went willingly because he didn't want a gunfight around his woman and kids," Duke stated pointedly. 

    "That's why he went..." Rose's finger tips clutched desperately at her glass—she had to hold on to something in order to assure herself that this wasn't just a nightmare. "We was trying to protect us..." 

    Duke laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Who came and got him?" 

    "United States Marshall Hubert Montgomery." Rose shivered. "I'll never forget his name." 

    "That's Gilliam's damned brother!" Jeremiah exclaimed. "We should have figured he'd show up. Dammit, we should have gotten here sooner!" 

    Rose let that information digest a moment. She hadn't known that Gilliam had had a brother that was a lawman. It would certainly explain how he'd been able to get by with his lifestyle for as long as he had. 

    Duke tapped the table. "What did the Marshall say when they took Marston?" 

    Rose fought back a fresh wave of nausea. "They're hanging him Saturday..."