Heart Of Texas (Historical Romance) (9 page)

"I like you so very much, Gabe. Really I do."
She pulled back and frowned. "Even if you
wouldn't let me put a flower in your hair that day
when I got lost."

Laughter rolled out of Gabe. This child was enchanting, and he had never known anyone as precocious as she was. She made such outlandish
statements, and she made him smile. "What do
you say, Casey-can jenny have a pup if I find her
one?"

Casey's heart softened at the sight of her sister
in Gabe's arms. When his gaze met hers, she was
hit by a sensation that felt something like falling
over a cliff. "I think that would be very nice,
Mr.... Gabe."

"No. Not mister just Gabe," he reminded her.

Jenny leaped out of Gabe's arms and ran into
the house so she could tell Kate about her good
fortune, and Sam trailed along after her, glad
about her happier mood.

Gabe stood and leaned against the porch post.
"Do you think she will ever eat fried chicken
again?"

"Knowing my sister like I do, I doubt she will."
She gave a deep sigh. "Jenny can sometimes be a
real trial.-"

"I imagine you were much like her as a child."

"Papa said I was very much like her." She
clasped her hands in her lap. "Jenny never knew
our mother, since she died the night Jenny was
born. So I probably indulge her more than I
should. But Papa said you can't spoil a child with
love."

"That's probably true. And then you have Sam,
who wants to be a man so he can take care of
both of you."

"Yes." She glanced up at him with a worried
frown. "He's just a boy, and yet he has so much
to worry about."

He had never known a woman like Casey. She
was soft and gentle with her family, but she could
turn into a raging storm if she thought her
brother or sister was threatened in any way. She
had something that he had never seen in a
woman-she had forbearance and patience. "And you guide both Samuel and jenny in the right
direction."

She was quiet for a moment, pondering her answer. "I do try, but sometimes..." She fell into
silence and met his gaze. He was so near she
could see the pores in his skin, feel the heat of
his body. His broad shoulders looked inviting,
and she wanted to lay her head there and have
him make her troubles go away.

"Most of the time I don't even know what I'm
doing, so it's difficult to guide my brother and
sister."

He offered her his hand. She hesitated only for
a moment before she allowed him to draw her up
beside him. Her breath caught in her throat, and
her heart pounded erratically. Something was
happening to her, and she didn't know what it
was. There had been beaux who had come calling
back in Virginia, and one of them had even stolen
a quick kiss, but none of them had stirred her as
deeply as this man did when he merely touched
her.

"Thank you," she said, withdrawing her hand
from his and rushing up the steps and into the
house.

Gabe stood there in the darkness for a long
moment, the soft, sweet scent of her still lingering
in the air. He was treading ground that he had
never trodden before, and that little gal was beginning to get under his skin. He watched a shadow move across the moon like a bad omen.
Casey was going to need him in the days to come.

Gabe had been away from the ranch most of the
morning. He dismounted, struggling with a wiggly
white pup that was trying to climb up his shoulder
and lick his face. He smiled as he carried it into
the barn, threw a blanket down in the tack room,
placed the pup on it, and partially closed the door
so the little scamp wouldn't escape.

When Gabe walked to the ranch house, he
heard voices coming from the backyard. He went
around the corner to find Sam sitting in a chair
while Casey trimmed his hair. Since they hadn't
noticed him, he was able to observe them in a
private moment. He heard the loving exchange
between brother and sister and became more
aware of the closeness they shared.

He found himself wishing he could be a part
of this family. But that was not possible.

His gaze, as always, went to Casey. She wore a
yellow print gown that made the red of her hair
seem alive. Her scissors snipped at the hair over
Sam's ear while jenny sat on an overturned
bucket with a book on her lap.

"Now, Jenny," Casey urged, "read me the next
page. And don't skip any words, because I'll know
if you do."

The little imp traced her small finger across the
page. "`The boy... ran to...'" She glanced
up. "Casey, I can't read this. It's too hard."

"Go back to the beginning .of the page and try
again. We don't give up when things are difficult,
Jenny. We try harder."

The child nodded and started over again.
"'The boy... ran to his h... house.'"

"That's enough. You can read two pages tomorrow."

"Why do I have to read? It's hard, and I like it
better when you read to me. Besides, Milly, on the
wagon train, said I'm too young to be reading."

Casey turned her attention to her sister. "You
did start reading young, but you were ready to
learn. And Sam and I don't want you to grow up
without an education."

"Who made you and Sam read?"

"We went to school. But they don't have a
school here. I already asked Kate. So you will have
to be satisfied with me as your teacher."

"You'd better listen to her," Sam said, adding
his support to Casey.

"If your hair had gotten any longer, I could
have braided it, Sam," Casey remarked, putting
the comb in her mouth and holding up a long
strand. With a last snip, she nodded in satisfaction. "Now you look presentable again." She tilted
his chin up and smiled. "You are very handsome,
Samuel. When you grow up all the girls are going
to come after you."

He actually blushed. "Aw, Casey, don't say
things like that. I'm not handsome."

She turned and winked at Jenny. "We certainly
think he is, don't we?"

"I want my hair cut like Sam's," the child stated,
putting her book aside and sliding into the chair
that Sam had just vacated. "I don't like long hair."

At that moment Casey realized they were not
alone. Her gaze collided with a silver one, and she
stared at him for a moment before saying, "You're
next, Gabe."

He walked toward her like a marauding tiger,
and the thought of actually touching his hair was
very provocative. She shook herself. If she
thought that way, she'd never be able to cut his
hair.

"What do you mean, I'm next?"

She lifted jenny off the chair. "You need a haircut."

A slow smile curved his mouth. "And you are
going to give me one?"

"There's no one else here who can."

He bent down to jenny and touched a soft curl.
"Is your sister always like this?"

Jenny's eyes widened and tears gathered in
them. "She won't let me have short hair like
Sam's. And she makes me read."

Gabe smiled and placed his hand on her head.
"Jenny, your hair is too pretty to be cut."

"That's what Sam said." She looked pensive for
a moment and then grinned up at him. "Do you
want to marry me so I can have my mother's
Spode dishes?"

He was startled and looked toward Casey for
help, but she was shaking with laughter, giving
him a look that said he had gotten himself into
the situation, and she wasn't going to help him
get out of it.

"Uh, I would, but you're too old for me, Jenny."

She shook her head, and her curls danced
around her charming face. "I'm not old-Casey's
old. Some men back in Virginia wanted to marry
her, but she just wouldn't do it."

Gabe looked back at Casey and smiled at her
discomfort. "Why do you suppose she turned
them all down?"

Jenny frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know.
Why didn't you marry them, Casey?"

"That's enough, jenny." Casey pointed to the
chair. "Sit here, Gabe."

He grinned, feeling somehow lighthearted.
When he sat down, he felt Casey's hand fall on
his shoulder. "Jenny, if you will go look in the tack
room in the barn, you'll find someone waiting to
meet you."

"For me!"

"That's right."

Sam took his young sister's hand. "Let's go see
who it is."

As the two of them hurried away, Casey asked,
"Did you get her a pup?"

"Ned Holston at the feed store was giving them
away. He said they were weaned two weeks ago. I picked out the friskiest one so it could keep up
with jenny."

She paused with the comb in her hand. "Thank
you. Jenny gets so lonely with no one her age to
play with."

The comb ran through his hair, and she
touched the back of his neck. He closed his eyes
as her hand lingered there. She could not know
where his thoughts were taking him as she gathered the hair at his crown.

Gabe hadn't known that a haircut could be so
sensuous. He had the strongest urge to turn
around, take her onto his lap, and hold her next
to his heart. He wanted to cherish her and make
all her troubles his. How much more could he
take, he wondered, as her fingers traveled gently
through his hair, stirring his blood.

Not realizing what she was doing, Casey caressed the nape of his neck. She felt the nom
familiar ache start in her stomach and work its
way up to her breast. It was hard to breathe, and
she had to drag air into her lungs.

Gabe sat there so straight and tall, seemingly
unaware of what was happening to her. The scissors trembled in her hand when she snipped the
hair at the nape of his neck. She forced herself
to concentrate on what she was doing and finally
finished the back of his hair and moved to the
front.

Hesitantly, she lifted his chin so she could see
where she needed to cut, and she stopped dead in her tracks. There was no mistaking the look he
gave her-it was raw and hard, burning with desire.

Not knowing what to do, she said hurriedly.
"I... will soon be finished."

"Just do it," he said in an impatient tone.

Her hand was really trembling as she snipped
about his face. She tried not to look at him, but
her gaze was drawn to his lips.

"Dammit," he said, rising to his feet and jerking
her against him. "Do you have any idea what
you're doing to me?"

In confusion she could only shake her head.

Gabe gathered Casey close, pressing her against
him. "I have wanted to hold you like this almost
from the beginning, even when I thought you had
a husband."

She went weak, and her head dropped against
his broad chest. "I don't understand any of this,"
she said, drawing back and looking at him. "I
don't know why I feel this way."

"Don't you? Think about it, and the answer will
come to you," he demanded roughly.

Casey shook her head. She had never seen such
deep torment in anyone's eyes as she saw in
Gabe's. She wondered what secrets he kept hidden. She wished he would share them with her,
so she could help him.

"This has never happened to me before," she
admitted, more confused than ever.

His lips feathered softly across her cheek. He was trembling when he realized her mouth was
just a breath away from his. Sweet torment tore at
him, and he felt like a man dying of thirst.

He had to have her, all of her, or he would drift
forever with nothing to live for. He could feel her
body soften against his, and he knew she wanted
him too. His mouth touched the edge of her full
lips, and they trembled against his.

Casey felt his breath on her mouth, and an incredible sweetness touched her heart. He hadn't
kissed her yet, but merely brushed his lips across
hers.

What would she do if he actually kissed her?

Gabe's arms tightened around her shoulders so
he could bring her closer, and she cried out, moving quickly away from him. He realized he had
frightened her with his unleashed passion.

What he didn't know was that Casey's shoulder
hurt so badly she couldn't speak for a moment.
Once the pain subsided, she bit her lip and
rubbed her shoulder. "I didn't-"

"I know. I stepped over the line, and I'm sorry."
He looked down at the ground for a moment and
took a deep breath. "It won't happen again."
When he gazed back at her, there was no sign of
desire in his eyes. His expression was flat and
cold. "I ask your pardon."

The last thing Casey wanted was for him to be
sorry he had taken her into his arms. She wanted
to be near him, to feel the hardness of his body,
and his kiss upon her lips. She stooped to retrieve the scissors where she had dropped them, trying
to hide the fact that her shoulder still hurt. She
actually welcomed the pain, because it gave her
something to think about other than the way her
heart was slamming against her chest.

"Do you want me to finish your hair? I just need
to take a little off the top."

He pushed his hand through his midnight
colored hair. "No. That's what got me in trouble
in the first place." He stared at her for a moment,
trying to find the softness he had felt in her moments ago, but she was solemn, her eyes clear,
and she had distanced herself from him.

Without another word, he turned and walked
away. She listened to the faint sound of his boot
steps, and then there, was only silence.

Casey dropped onto the chair, wishing her
shoulder would stop hurting. He had probably
thought she had pushed him away because she
didn't want him to kiss her. He didn't know about
the pain in her shoulder.

Casey sensed such a loneliness in him. She wondered who had hurt him so badly.

She heard jenny laughing with joy as she ran
toward her, so she stood, forcing a smile onto her
face.

"Look what Gabe gave me. It's my very own
puppy!"