Lorraine Heath (22 page)

Maddie watched as he became one with the shadows. Slowly she unbuttoned her shirt. She removed her boots and socks and set them beside a boulder. Then she took off her shirt and her riding skirt. Standing in her linen chemise and drawers, she listened for the sound of Jesse getting into the water.

He emerged from the shadows in all his naked splendor, sleek and powerful with the moonlight dancing around him. She thought she’d never seen anything as beautiful. She touched her trembling fingers to his chest. “You’re not in the water,” she whispered.

“I always wondered what your hair would look like if I gave it its freedom. That night by the creek, I was disappointed that I didn’t get a good look at it.” He took her braid and slowly unraveled the strands. A smile of appreciation graced his face as he poured her hair over his hands. He began to untie the ribbons on her chemise.

She closed her hands over his. “We shouldn’t.”

“Maddie, you may be an old woman before I ever make love to you. At least let me have the memory of your body when you were young.”

She rubbed her hands over the backs of his hands, along his wrists, and up his forearms before dropping her hands to her sides. His hands worked the ribbons loose, then freed the buttons. He ran his finger along the lace at the top of the chemise until his hand curved over her shoulder. He slid the linen down her arm.

She felt the cool night air whisper along her flesh, but it was his warm touch as he palmed her breast that sent the shiver of delight coursing through her body.

He lowered his mouth, tasting her flesh. Moaning softly, Maddie threaded her fingers through the thick strands of his hair. His tongue swirled over her nipple, and she felt her knees weaken. He braced his large, strong hands against the small of her back to support her. His face gently nudged aside the linen that covered her other breast so his mouth could give it the same tender ministrations. He trailed his mouth to the valley between her breasts, then slowly followed the slope of her throat, marking his trail with tiny love bites. He melded his mouth over hers and slowly sipped of the nectar within. He had no need to rush; she was his for the night, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough. A lifetime with her wouldn’t be enough. He removed the rest of her clothing before lifting her into his arms. “I’m not in the mood to swim.”

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she buried her face in his shoulder as he walked into camp. Carefully, he laid her on the blanket and stretched out beside her.

Resting up on an elbow, he ran his hand from her shoulder to her wrist and entwined his fingers with hers. He brought her wrist to his lips and placed a tender kiss on the flesh Silas had bruised. “When I saw him on top of you, I wanted to kill him,” he said in a rough voice. “I never had to work so hard in my life not to kill a man.”

She laid her fingers against his taut jaw. “It’s over now, remember?” she asked softly.

His gaze traveled up to her discolored cheek, and he touched the back of his hand to her face. “I wish my hands weren’t so rough. You’ve had enough rough hands touch you.”

She pressed her palm against his. “I like the feel of your hands.”

His eyes darkened. “Do you?”

Smiling warmly, she nodded. “That night you taught me to waltz, I only complained about the roughness in your hands so you wouldn’t know how much I liked it when you touched me.”

He glided his hand along the length of her body. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “When you’re an old woman, and I make love to you, this is the way I’ll see you.”

Maddie watched the golden flames from the fire throw their light against his sculptured form. Following his example, she ran her hand over the hard lines and planes that comprised this man. “I’ll be wrinkled and look like the widow Parker. You’ll wish you hadn’t wasted your youth, that you hadn’t waited.”

“My eyes will see you as you truly are.” He took her hand and pressed her palm against his beating heart. “But here, I’ll always see you as you are tonight.”

His arms went around her, pulling her body close. She fit perfectly, soft where he was hard, curved where he was straight, narrow where he was broad, smooth where he was rough. Before dawn eased over the horizon, he intended to memorize everything about her. He combed his fingers through her long, honey strands, so silky. He inhaled deeply of forget-me-nots.

They lay for the longest time, making no sound, few movements, just memorizing the feel of each other.

He placed his finger beneath her chin, bringing her face up until her eyes locked onto his. “There are so many things I want to say to you, things I want to hear you say to me, so many ways I want to touch you. Damn me for loving my brother so much.” He tenderly brushed his lips across hers. Then his tongue teased the outer edges of her mouth.

Maddie parted her lips slightly. The tip of her tongue touched his and issued an invitation he couldn’t ignore. Their lips, their tongues, their mouths became as one, slowly searching like a child who has been given a poem to memorize and learns it line by line, adding one line to the next, until the poem in his mind is complete. So each leisurely explored the mouth of the other. Their bodies sought to create their own refrain, pressing closely, memorizing the lines, the curves, the textures. Their hands patiently explored what wasn’t forbidden, by unspoken agreement, maintaining a propriety that only their hearts could understand.

In time, he lifted his mouth from hers, gazing into the whiskey of her eyes, drinking his fill. “I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to hold you while you sleep.”

Lethargically, she shook her head. “I don’t want to waste any of tonight sleeping.”

But eventually, as Jesse knew it would, the exhaustion of the past few days caught up with her, and she closed her eyes. He felt her body relax within his arms. He brought the blankets over them and curled around her. Listening to the night, he memorized the feel of her in his arms.

Opening her eyes to the early morning darkness, Maddie drew the blankets more closely around her. Her clothes were folded neatly upon the blankets. Hunkered before the fire, Jesse slowly brought a cup of coffee away from his lips.

Clutching the covers against her chest, she sat up, and he offered her the cup. With trembling fingers, she brought the cup to her lips and took a small sip, her eyes never leaving his. She handed the cup to him, and he tossed it aside.

“Oh, hell,” he rasped, taking her in his arms. “The sun’s not up yet.”

Then he kissed her, a soul-searching, heart-searing kiss, filled with beauty and agony, for one more moment shared, one more farewell to endure. With a whimper, she fell against him and his arms tightened around her, his mouth as desperate as hers to take its fill, to steal the wondrous sensations and hoard them away for the long, lonely nights to come when memories alone would share his bed.

He pressed her face into the nook of his shoulder, took great gulping breaths, and waited for his breathing and his heartbeat to return to normal. He combed his fingers through her hair one last time, inhaled her scent, and touched the softness of her cheek. “In the days and nights to come, Maddie, remember that nothing you give to Charles takes anything away from me.”

She nodded, unable to speak for the tears clogging her throat. She felt his withdrawal begin deep within his chest, long before his arms ever released their hold on her.

“You’d best get dressed now so I can get you home.”

She watched him douse the fire, cover it with dirt, and pack their few belongings. Not until he left to ready the horses did she begin to dress.

The early morning mist had melted away by the time the inn came into sight. Maddie heard Aaron’s voice heralding their arrival.

Jesse dismounted and came around to lift her down. For one brief moment, they were hidden from view, their eyes daring to say what their voices could not. “What I feel for you will never fade, Maddie. Remember that.” Briefly, his hands tightened their hold on her small waist. “Now, go on.”

He released her and studied the saddle as though he’d never before seen one. She slipped away from him, and he wrapped his hand around the saddle horn to stop himself from pulling her back. Letting her walk into the arms of another man was the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life.

Her steps quick, her heart straining to return for one more moment to a place of solace within Jesse’s embrace, she forced a smile that rapidly changed to a genuine expression of her feelings as she saw the girls running toward her.

“Ma! Ma!”

She dropped to her knees taking both girls in her arms and hugging them tightly. With tears in her eyes, she looked up, surprised to see the hard glare in Aaron’s eyes.

“Did those men do that?” he asked, pointing at her cheek.

She nodded.

“Uncle Jesse, did you give ‘em what for?” he asked, his stance warning his uncle that he’d better have come to his mother’s defense.

Jesse took the reins of both horses. “I gave out a couple of black eyes and a busted nose.”

Aaron nodded in approval. When Maddie stood, he flung his arms around her. She held him tightly, looking over the top of his head at Charles. Charles looked worn, his eyes tired. Releasing Aaron, she gazed at the children and touched the splotches of whitewash that decorated their faces and clothes. “What’s this?”

“Pa said you always wanted a white fence around your house so we’re building you one,” Aaron explained.

With tears brimming in her eyes, she turned to her husband. He gave her a soft smile before he embraced her.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“Shh. You’re home now. That’s all that matters.”

She felt the small tugs on her riding skirt and looked down at the beaming faces.

“Wanna see the fence?” Hannah asked.

She nodded and followed the children.

Charles ambled over to where Jesse stood silently holding the horses. “Not much of a hero’s welcome for you.”

Jesse shrugged. “Wasn’t expecting one.”

“The men that took her—”

“Are in jail right now. Imagine they’ll eventually hang for the murders they committed. They won’t be giving Maddie any more trouble.”

“What about her own past?”

“Took care of it.”

Charles released a sigh of relief. “I owe you more than I can ever pay.”

“You don’t owe me anything.” He nodded toward the children. “So you’re building her a fence?”

“Yep. It was something she told me she always wanted.”

“How’d you know I’d bring her back?”

Charles smiled. “I just knew. Guess you’ll be leaving again soon.”

Jesse shook his head. “The bounties on those two men were generous.” He smiled. “I’ve got more than enough to get my cattle here.”

The pounding on the bedroom doors began at one end of the hall and traveled down to the other.

“Come on!” Jesse shouted. “Everyone get out of bed! It’s a day for dreams.”

Bleary eyed, Aaron staggered into the hall. Jesse turned him around and pushed him back into his room. “You’ve got to put clothes on, boy.”

The door to the girls’ room opened. Maddie stepped out, both girls in tow, dressed in their coveralls. He’d known she’d be awake. She smiled at him and released her hold on the girls. He hoisted both of them into his arms.

“Want to see what a dream looks like when it comes true?” he asked.

The girls nodded vigorously. He hugged them tighter and watched as Maddie disappeared into her own room. The love he’d felt for her before did not compare with the love growing inside him with each passing day. It was ludicrous, downright insane for a man to fall more deeply in love with a woman because of the love she showered on his brother, but Jesse was doing just that.

She was filling Charles’s remaining days with laughter, smiles, and a radiant warmth. Jesse was drawing so many baths and spending so many nights standing by the creek that he lost count.

Drawing her shawl around her shoulders, Maddie walked out of the bedroom. “Come on, Charles. It’s Jesse’s day.”

Jesse wanted to tell her that it was their day. Then her gaze met his, and he realized he didn’t need to tell her anything. She knew.

Charles came out of the room, slipping his suspenders over his shoulders. “Here, I’ll take Taylor. Come on, Aaron.”

“Coming!” He hopped on one foot into the hallway as he tugged a boot onto his other foot. Then he dropped his foot and started running down the stairs. “Come on!” he hollered.

They scrambled down the stairs and walked through the house into the gray darkness. Jesse took the lead with Hannah clinging to his neck. Aaron struggled to match him step for step as Ranger followed close on his heels. With her hand wrapped around his arm, Maddie walked beside Charles as he carried Taylor.

The early morning mist coated the ground, muffling their passage. Jesse stopped and dropped to his haunches. He shifted Hannah onto one thigh while Aaron pressed against his side. Maddie knelt beside him. Charles hunkered down beside her and put his arm around her waist.

And they waited.

In the darkness, with the cool morning air circling about them, they were little more than shadows crouched at the edge of the woods.

From the corner of her eye, Maddie watched Jesse. For the remainder of his life, he would never have a day like this one. She wanted to be in his arms, sharing this moment with him, knew that had he asked, she would have come here with him alone. But he hadn’t asked. So great was his love for his brother that he would deny his own heart the things that it wanted, sharing his dreams with another man’s children instead of his own.

Charles removed his hand from Maddie’s waist. “Taylor, this is your Uncle Jesse’s day. Why don’t you sit with him?” He lifted the child off his knee, and she scrambled over Maddie to reach Jesse. He pulled her onto his lap.

The sun eased over the horizon, blanketing the earth in sunshine. In the distance, they heard a deep bawl, followed by the shouts of men, the clomping of hooves. Then slowly, the green valley took on a new appearance, the appearance of a dream fulfilled, as the herd of cattle with long horns wandered in.

“I see ‘em!” Aaron shouted.

Jesse threw his arm around the boy, pulled him close, and hugged him. The girls jumped off Jesse’s thighs. Hannah grabbed Taylor’s hands and swung her in a circle until they giggled so hard they tumbled to the ground.

Charles stood and helped Maddie to her feet. She glanced over at Jesse. A beautiful smile graced his face.

“I think Pa would have been proud,” Charles said.

Jesse unfolded his body and looked out on the land, the cattle, the family surrounding him. “He would have been very proud.”

Maddie held her hands out to the girls. “Come on, girls. We need to see about fixing breakfast.” She glanced at Jesse. “Only I don’t guess you’ll need coffee to stay in a good mood today.”

“No, ma’am. Nothing could put me in a bad mood today.”

Charles slipped his arm around Maddie. The family walked away, carrying the memory of the dream’s arrival with them.

“You’re gonna teach me to be a cowboy instead of an innkeeper, right, Uncle Jesse?”

Jesse ruffled the boy’s hair as they trudged toward the house. “Right.”

“How long are the men that brought the cattle going to stay?” Charles asked.

“Long as I need them. I need to give some thought to building some sort of shelter. Can’t ask them to sleep outside every night.”

In the distance, a horn blast signaled the unexpected arrival of a stage.

Jesse looked across at Charles. “I’m not in the mood to work today. What say we change out their horses, shove some food into their hands, and send them on their way?”

“Sounds like a good idea to me.”

They quickened their pace and arrived at the front of the inn just as the stagecoach rolled to a stop.

Jesse opened the door and froze as Paul Somner stepped to the ground.

“Good God, man, you look as though you’ve seen a ghost,” Somner said, “but then considering the telegram you sent to my superiors, I guess you do think you’re looking at a ghost.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jesse snarled.

“Now is that any way to welcome a guest?”

A short distance away, Maddie moved in closer against Charles’s side. He tightened his comforting hold on her as he whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry. Jesse will take care of it.”

“Paul!” A feminine voice floated out of the coach. “Paul, will you please help me out of here. It’s stifling hot.”

“Certainly, love.” Paul extended a hand into the coach and helped a young woman step down. She was tiny, small boned, her brown hair swept up beneath a fashionable hat, her face partially hidden by a black blindfold.

“I shall kill you if I discover I am in the middle of a busy town and people are gawking at me.”

“Listen. Does it sound as though we’re in a busy town?”

She tilted her head. “No.” She sniffed. “It doesn’t smell like a town either. It smells like … the country.”

“Very good.”

“Now, will you tell me why you blindfolded me?”

Leaning close, he spoke quietly. “Because, my love, your wedding gift is here, but you must find it.” With a flourish, he removed the blindfold.

She glanced quickly at the people standing before her. Then her eyes fell on the house, and she gasped. “Oh, Paul. You’ve quit your job with the Agency. You’ve bought me a house, and we’re going to settle here.”

Slowly, he shook his head. “I’m afraid you’re stuck living in Washington, at least for a while. This is the inn where we’re going to spend a few days resting.”

She jutted out her chin, flung her hands to her hips, and stomped her small foot. “Then give me a hint—a good hint—or I shall ask for separate bedrooms,” she threatened with a teasing glint in her eyes.

Lovingly, he traced his fingers along her cheek. “It’s someone you’ve been looking for since you were six years old.”

She spun around and looked at Jesse intently. “Oh, my God!” Her hands flew to her mouth as her eyes flooded with tears. “No one had eyes as black as Jesse’s.”

Jesse looked at the small woman falling apart before him. Her brown eyes and brown hair were so reminiscent of his mother’s. His eyes darted over to Paul Somner.

Smiling smugly, the man was leaning against the side of the coach. “Surprise!”

Jesse’s gaze flew back to the woman with the tears streaming down her face.

“Jesse?”

He could do no more than nod. Then her arms were around his neck, his arms were around her waist. He lifted her off the ground and hugged her tightly against him. “Cassie?” he asked hoarsely. She bobbed her head vigorously, and he pressed his sister closer.

Charles released Maddie and walked toward his brother. Jesse turned to Charles and gently set Cassie back on the ground.

As she studied Charles, she again covered her mouth. “Oh, Paul! You found them both!” She flew into Charles’s arms and nearly knocked him over. He hugged her tightly.

When she released him, she studied the children. “And whose children are these? No, no, don’t tell me. They have to be yours, Charles.” She knelt in front of Aaron and brushed the hair from his brow. “He looks just like Charles did the last time I saw him. Doesn’t he, Jesse?”

“Yes, he does. This is Aaron.” He dropped beside the boy. “This is your Aunt Cassie.”

“She looks a lot like Pa, don’t you think?”

“She and your Pa took after your grandmother.”

“And you look like Grandpa.”

Jesse nodded.

“Does that mean I have to hug her?”

“Reckon it does.”

Aaron nodded acceptance of his sentence and slung his arms around the woman’s neck. He knew the hugging sort of woman when he saw her, and he knew it was best just to get the hugging over with.

“And who are these angels?” Cassie asked.

“Hannah and Taylor,” Jesse said.

They needed no prompting to hug their aunt. Holding them close, Cassie relished the feel of the little girls. When she released them, Paul helped her to her feet.

Charles brought Maddie forward into the crowd. “This is my wife, Maddie.”

Maddie smiled hesitantly at Paul, then at Cassie. Cassie felt no uncertainty. She hugged Maddie as though she’d known her all her life.

“We were just getting ready to have breakfast,” Maddie said. “Would you like to join us?”

Cassie slipped her arm through Maddie’s. “That would be wonderful. And I want to see the house and hear all about how you met Charles. We have so much to catch up on, years and years.”

“When smallpox struck the community, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence decided to leave. I’m not certain where we were to go, but Mr. Lawrence passed away on the journey. Mrs. Lawrence returned to her family in Virginia.

“Then last year, when she died, I discovered she’d left everything to me. At first, I didn’t know what to do with all that money. I thought about trying to find you myself, but it seemed an impossible task, so I went to the Pinkerton Agency in Washington. And they assigned Paul to my case.” She smiled warmly at her husband.

“He is an extremely skilled investigator. After our first meeting, I realized I didn’t remember enough about my childhood to really aid him in his search. He suggested we go out to dinner where we could discuss things in a more casual atmosphere. He thought that approach might unleash memories.”

“And did it?” Jesse asked, his voice taut.

“Well, yes, as a matter of fact, it did. I remembered so many small tidbits that we went to dinner more often. Then Paul asked me if I had any gentlemen callers. He felt there might be something about them that reminded me of my brothers, so he interviewed them.” She furrowed her brows and glanced at her husband. “Funny, though, none of them ever called upon me again after that.” She squeezed his hand. “Not that it matters now. And of course, he found you.”

“And this was quite a sizable inheritance?” Jesse asked, tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair, his gaze riveted on Paul.

“Yes, it was,” Cassie answered.

Jesse leaned forward. “And Somner just decided to marry you without obtaining permission from your brothers first?”

“Well, we couldn’t very well have traveled across the country together if we weren’t married.”

“He could have asked permission when he was here before.”

“And ruin my surprise?” Paul interjected.

“I want to know why you married her.”

“I’d think my reasons were obvious.”

“Why don’t you enlighten me?”

Paul leaned forward until his gaze was even with Jesse’s. “I love her.”

“Whatever is going on between you two?”

“Jesse’s just playing the older brother,” Charles informed her. “After all these years, Cassie, you’re going to have to get used to it.”

“I need some fresh air,” Paul said before standing and walking out of the room.

On the back porch, he puffed on his cheroot. Cassie wasn’t too fond of his smoking, and he supposed he needed to consider giving up the cigars. On the other hand, what woman wanted to be married to a man who was perfect? “Still spying on me, Jesse?”

Jesse stepped onto the porch. “I don’t recall giving you permission to address me as anything other than Mr. Lawson.”

Paul clicked his teeth. “You are an ornery old cuss, aren’t you? Can’t imagine why Cassie was so anxious to find you.”

“Well, I can’t imagine why she’d marry you.”

Paul glanced at him sideways. “Can’t you? Somewhere beneath your gruff exterior I believe there beats the heart of a man who knows what it is to look across the room at a woman and know he’d never let anyone or anything harm her. Cassie’s safe with me, just as Maddie’s safe with you.”

Jesse heaved a sigh. “How long am I going to have to suffer your annoying presence?”

“I’ve been wondering that myself. Charles seems to have aged considerably since I was last here. I had planned to stay only a few days. Then I was going to take Cassie to Galveston, but I was thinking it might mean more to her in later years if we stayed on here a bit longer.” He quirked a questioning brow.

Jesse nodded. “She might prefer to stay here a bit longer.”

“In that case, why don’t, you tell me what I can do around here to help lift some of the burden from your shoulders?”

As Jesse hefted the board, he admitted to himself what he wouldn’t admit to anyone else. He felt a certain degree of admiration for Somner. In the past week, the man had undertaken with tenacity every chore Jesse had suggested. It was a bit disconcerting to realize that they had more things in common than not.

Paul pounded the nail into the board. He felt a certain measure of pride in his accomplishments this week. He’d managed to keep pace with Jesse, a feat he thought few men were able to do. He straightened his back, removed his hat, and allowed the breeze to ruffle his hair. He glanced over his shoulder. “What’s that sound?”

Jesse dropped his hammer into the bucket, jerked the shirts off the post, and tossed one to Paul. “The reason this fence will never get finished.” He stepped over an incomplete portion of the fence. “Come on.”