Chapter 25
Quincy wasn’t having a particularly good day.
His new horse just wasn’t good enough, and his men were being idiots.
It had been months, and he was still furious about his gold having been stolen, and he couldn’t believe that none of the men sent after the boy had returned.
Some nights, he lay awake, wondering what had happened that night.
Quincy loved being a mystery to other people but hated not knowing things.
He had barely left the cave in months, and he was starting to get frustrated.
Even with Sarah there to keep him company, he longed to go on raids and have some fun.
Things were too quiet, too boring. He needed some excitement.
With that thought in mind, he made his way to Sarah and Isabelle’s room.
Quincy was well aware of the fact that he had become too reliant on Sarah.
He didn’t like the fact that he based his happiness on somebody else.
What had started as a simple way to relieve himself of his worries and anxieties had turned into something more.
Sarah was different from other women. She was beautiful, smart, and made his heart beat faster than in a gunfight.
Of course, he had never admitted any of this to her.
He couldn’t allow her to know that she had that kind of power over him.
Her mother was still way too influential in the girl’s life, and he needed to change that.
He needed to separate them and show Sarah that she was better off with him than with her lousy mother.
He was still trying to figure out how he was going to go about doing that.
The idea was to get Sarah to stay with him willingly and to give him what he wanted without argument or question.
He wasn’t a pushover, though. If she didn’t agree to give him what he wanted, he would simply take it.
Sarah didn’t really have a choice in the matter, but it would be much easier and a lot more fun if she were with him willingly.
Quincy unlocked the door from the outside and made his way in.
During the time the women had been there, they had attempted to make their room a little more comfortable.
If it wasn’t for his growing feelings for Sarah, he wouldn’t have cared to do that.
He definitely didn’t do it for Isabelle.
In fact, he couldn’t stand Sarah’s mother.
The woman was bossy and thought she knew better than he did. No woman knew better than he did.
He had added an extra bed so that they didn’t have to share, and so Sarah didn’t have to sleep on the bed that the other men used for Isabelle.
He had also added a little desk for them and given them some books to read.
That was as much as he could do for them.
He simply did not trust Isabelle at all and couldn’t allow them out of the room.
He knew she would try to convince Sarah to escape, and he couldn’t risk losing her.
“Come,” he said, holding out his hand.
Sarah shared a strange look with her mother, but then got up and followed him out of the room, taking his hand. He liked the way her small fingers felt between his larger ones. He led her to his bedroom and then closed the door be hind them.
“Take your clothes off,” Quincy instructed.
“I will,” Sarah replied. “But first, there is something I need to tell you.”
This was a new development. Usually, Quincy had to force Sarah to talk to him. This was the first time she was willingly starting a conversation.
“All right,” Quincy agreed. “I’m listening.”
Sarah shifted from one foot to the other as she twirled her long blonde hair between her fingers. Quincy loved her hair and insisted that she wear it loose.
“I . . .” she trailed off, clearly nervous.
Quincy raised a brow. “You what?”
Sarah took a deep breath, then let it out before making eye contact with him. “I believe that I am with child.”
Quincy’s heart nearly exploded right out of his chest. “Are you serious?” He had to make sure that he heard right.
“Yes,” Sarah replied, her voice catching in her throat. “I’m sorry.”
Why on earth would she be apologizing for something like this?
It was the best news Quincy had heard in an extremely long time.
It was almost better than getting his gold back.
Quincy used to dream about having an heir—a son that he could shape and mold in his image and teach all the things that he had learned in his life.
He had given up on that dream a long time ago.
He had thought that it was impossible to have a family with the life he lived.
“Don’t apologize, sweet thing,” he told her, taking her hands in his. “This is great news.”
She looked genuinely surprised. “It is?”
“Yes, it is amazing news,” he replied as he leaned forward and kissed her.
She froze under his touch, causing a pang of anger to surge through his veins.
“Kiss me,” he demanded and then pressed his lips against hers again.
It took her a moment, but eventually, her lips started to move under his.
Quincy’s body relaxed, and he leaned into the kiss.
This was good. This was what he needed to bring some happiness to his life.
Pulling away, he looked her up and down.
She was gorgeous. Her stomach was just as flat as the day he had first laid eyes on her, but soon it would grow big and round.
He couldn’t wait. Quincy placed his hand on her belly and smiled.
“You’re going to take care of our baby,” he stated.
“And I’ll take care of you. I’m going to take you away from here and marry you. ”
Sarah sucked in her breath and stepped back, leaving his hand to fall away from her belly.
“What? You’d rather be a single mother than marry me?”
She shook her head. “No, sorry, you just took me by surprise.”
Quincy didn’t believe her, but it didn’t matter. They would get married whether she wanted to or not. She would learn to love him and be happy with him.
“I want a boy,” Quincy said.
“That would be wonderful, but we don’t get to choose the sex of the baby. It might be a girl.”
Quincy didn’t want a girl; he wanted an heir, but if they had a girl, he would provide for her nonetheless.
Maybe he would even grow to love her. “If it’s a girl, you will take care of her,” Quincy stated.
“And then we will try again. I don’t mind having many children. We will try until you give me a boy.”
A strange little whimper escaped her throat as she took another step away from him. She was making him angry by treating him like a monster when he was being nice to her. He didn’t have to be nice. “Stop that,” he demanded.
“What?” she asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about.
“Trying to get away from me. There’s nowhere to go. You’re mine, and you’re going to give me the family I’ve always wanted.”
She looked scared but made no attempt to move further away from him. Quincy moved closer and took hold of her arm. “You take care of my needs, sweet thing, and I take care of you and our future children. I think that sounds like a pretty fair deal, don’t you?”
Sarah nodded in agreement.
“No, I want to hear you say it.”
“It’s fair,” she whispered. “We’ll take care of each other.”
Quincy liked the sound of that. “Good. Now show me how much you appreciate what I’m offering you.”
“But the baby,” Sarah said. “I don’t think it is a good idea to, you know . . .”
“Oh, sweet thing, you don’t have to worry about the baby. He’ll be perfectly fine,” Quincy replied, leading her to the bed. “Don’t you want to celebrate the start of our new life?”
“Of course I do,” Sarah whispered. “I’m just scared that we’ll hurt him or her.”
“We won’t,” he assured her. “I’ll be gentle.”
***
Quincy couldn’t stop thinking about Sarah and the baby. He had taken her back to the room she shared with her mother when they were done, but he didn’t want to leave her there anymore. He wanted her to sleep in his bed. He wanted her to make his meals and clean his house like a good wife.
That made him realize just how much he had to do.
They couldn’t raise a family in the cave.
They would have to move closer to a town, and he would have to find a house for them.
The idea excited him. He would live with Sarah, and his men could stay in the cave.
Nothing else had to change, though. He would still be their leader, and they would still go on raids.
He would just have to be more careful and make sure that nobody saw him or figured out where they lived.