Texas Lily (26 page)

A low rumble rose from Cade's chest, and Lily was uncertain as to its cause, until he pushed her back down on the robes and kissed her. She thought perhaps he might be laughing at her.

"Anyone can cook and clean. No one can do what you do."

Cade didn't tell her precisely what she did that no one else could do, but Lily hoped that what followed was his way of showing what he meant.

She had to get dressed a second time when he was done making himself clear.

Chapter 21

They rode to the ranch a more rumpled version of their prior day selves. The children didn't care. Serena screamed a welcome and ran to Cade's arms while Roy ambled onto the porch and glanced uncomfortably from one to the other.

When Lily tried to hug him, he announced, "Travis is gone."

Lily smoothed his hair and smiled. "Travis is always gone. That's the way he is. He'll be back. Since Cade will be moving in with us, we'll set up a place for Travis in Cade's old cabin, and he can stay there anytime he likes. Will that be all right with you?"

"Does that mean I can have my old room back?" Since he'd broken his leg, Roy had been sleeping downstairs in the main cabin, and Travis had taken his loft over the bedroom. He looked almost appeased at the thought of having the loft back.

Cade came up behind them carrying Serena. "The loft is yours. We'll put Serena where you're sleeping now. Now that there's a little time before planting, maybe we can start building an addition to your mother's cabin. There will be a new baby come summer, and I don't think your grandfather would enjoy sharing his room."

Roy looked shyly at his mother at this casual mention of a baby, but she merely took Serena and tickled her as if the news were of no moment. He nodded like a man of the world and went back inside to inform his grandfather of the changes.

Lily didn't hide her relief as she looked up at Cade. "He's taking this rather well, don't you think?"

"About as well as can be expected. He's a good boy, Lily. Quit worrying."

That was easy for him to say, but not so easy for her to do. While Cade took his horse back to the paddock, Lily followed her son inside. Her father was rocking in her chair, listening to Roy's chatter. He threw Lily a speaking look as she entered.

"So your new husband will allow me to stay?" he inquired acerbically. "Does he think I have nothing better to do than watch over a passel of brats?"

"There was never a question about that, Daddy. The choice has always been yours. I just thought you were enjoying it out here. You've worked all your life. Why shouldn't you have a chance to sit back and decide what you want to do next? You must have someone capable running the store if you've been comfortable being away this long."

Ephraim sniffed. "Your sisters thought I was too old to run the store. Elizabeth's husband hired a man to take over. If you would have married that Travis fellow like I asked, we could have gone home and taken it back."

"Travis doesn't want to leave Texas any more than I do. And it was Ollie you wanted me to marry. I'm sorry, Daddy, but nothing will make me go back there again. You're welcome to stay. As cheap as whiskey is out here, maybe you could start another store. You certainly know the business."

"Now that's a thought. I'll give it some consideration."

Lily left him there to consider it. She knew perfectly well why Elizabeth's husband had hired someone to take over the Emporium. Her father was already well into his cups, and it was scarcely noon. What dowry her sisters had was wrapped up in the Emporium, and a drinking man could destroy it easily. She wouldn't begrudge Elizabeth saving what she could, but her sister could have been a little softer on their father's pride.

Lily didn't understand what made a man turn to drink when he knew what he was doing to himself and to his family. Whenever her father picked up a bottle, it was as if he were rejecting her. Every day put that much more distance between them. She would respect him as her father, but he couldn't influence her life any longer.

Juanita sent her a sidelong look when Lily entered the kitchen, but the contentment in Lily's expression was evident even beneath the frown over her father's behavior.

"No esta un monstruo?"
she asked innocently as Lily checked the pots cooking over the fire.

Lily blushed and blamed the heat from the flames. "Cade is not a monster. He is a good man."

"There is no such thing, just different levels of evil. They are all of the devil."

That was quite a mouthful from Juanita. Lily put down her spoon and confronted the smaller woman. "I have been fortunate in the men I've known. My father drinks too much and makes my family unhappy, but he is not evil, nor is he a devil. He is a good father when he is not drinking. Jim was not a particularly brave man or a wise one, but he did his best to be fair. Did you ever see anything evil about him?"

Juanita shook her head. "But he desired land like other men desire women. He could have been."

"Desire is not evil. You desire children, don't you?"

Juanita looked uncomfortable and returned to kneading her bread rather than answer.

"I know you do. That desire isn't evil. Stealing a child might be evil, but desiring one isn't. Those men back in town desired you. That wouldn't have been evil if they'd come to court you and showed you respect. But they were drunk and wicked and they took what they wanted instead of earning it. That was evil, but it does not make them devils."

"You are wrong. There are devils. You just don't wish to know of them. Ask your husband sometime. He knows of devils."

Lily gave up. Juanita's beliefs were ingrained, and there was no chance of persuading her out of them. She doubted that Cade had any superstitions, but Indians were known for their strange beliefs. Perhaps he did.

But Juanita wouldn't leave the subject alone. That night when they gathered around the table for supper, she daringly spoke directly to Cade—unheard of for a woman who seldom said two words to any man and only then if coerced.

"You will tell her the devil exists." Juanita slammed a plate down in front of Cade as he took his seat.

Cade took the demand in stride. Reaching for a piece of bread, he broke it in half and without even inquiring as to the origin of the subject, answered, "I've seen him walk on two legs, yes."

Lily glared at him. "Shame on you. Don't encourage her nonsense. She will be feeding us ground cactus to prevent hexes if you don't watch out."

Cade raised a questioning eyebrow in her direction, then proceeded to slather his bread with the newly made butter. "No ground cactus for me, Juanita. Good is the best preventive against evil."

Lily threw up her hands in disgust and returned to cutting Serena's food into small pieces. Roy was the one who eagerly grasped the topic.

"Have you seen the devil, Cade? Granddad read me a story about the devil in the Bible."

"There are many sorts of devils, Roy. Your main concern is not to become one. It's very easy to do if you turn your eyes away from what is right."

That wasn't what an eight-year-old wanted to hear. He persisted. "How do you know a devil when you see one?"

"By his actions. He thrives on the pain and suffering he brings to those around him. Now eat your meal."

Roy chewed on his thoughts along with his food and soon returned to the subject that bothered him. "There was a man in town yesterday after you and Mama left. I heard some of the men call him a Spanish devil. I saw him kick a dog, but the lady he was with seemed to like him real well."

"That's just Ollie's friend from Bexar," Lily objected. "The men don't like him because he's Mexican, but he's been helping Bert Dixon with the boundary lines. There are a lot of Mexicans who are making claims to some of the lands west of here. Just because he's different doesn't make him a devil."

"A man who kicks dogs isn't a saint," Cade said drily. "What is his name?"

Lily frowned as she tried to remember. "He's not around often or for very long. Ralph or Bert mentioned his name once. Ricardo?"

Cade froze, then slowly lowered his knife to the table. "Ricardo? Short, distinguished-looking? Gray at his temples?"

Lily looked surprised. "I suppose. I only caught a glimpse of him once. Like I said, he's not here much."

Cade looked to the small woman hovering near the fire who refused to eat with them. "Juanita, he is the one?"

Hesitantly, Juanita nodded.

Cade picked up his knife again. "Juanita is right. Evil walks on two legs. Stay away from this man."

When he said nothing else, Lily wanted to kick him, but Roy had been distracted by the pie Juanita placed on the table, and she wasn't ready to expand upon the subject for his benefit.

Later, Lily was too flustered by her father's ribald comments to Cade as she prepared the children for bed to return to the subject of Ricardo and evil. Her father's suggestive words seemed to roll right off Cade's broad back as he put up a shelf Lily had requested beside the fireplace. But Lily's face felt like it was on fire when it was time for her to retire. She tried not to show it, but pregnancy made her sleepy, and there was never time to sneak a quick nap.

"I'll not keep Cade up too long," Ephraim called to her as Lily tried to slip out the door to the dogtrot. "I figure he'll pound a hole in that wall if he has to wait much longer."

She wished her father wouldn't drink. He was a much nicer, more understanding man when he didn't. But he had so isolated himself from the world by now that the bottle was his only companion. Trying to be understanding, Lily slipped into her room and hastily washed.

Cade entered before she was done. It would take a while before she grew used to this. Jim had always politely waited until she was nearly asleep. Cade evidently didn’t intend to give her time to wash. He was unfastening his shirt as he came across the room toward her.

He took the soap she dropped in the washbowl and scrubbed himself while he watched her. She had removed her gown and pulled her chemise to her waist, leaving her breasts uncovered to his gaze. Lily thought of hiding herself, but it was a ridiculous thought considering what they had done.

As if she did this every night of the week, Lily pushed her chemise off and bent to pick it up and put it away.

"Don't tempt me, Lily. If you want to get some sleep, put your nightgown on and get in bed where I can't see you. I'm about to bust my pants just looking at you right now."

Lily held the chemise to her breasts as she looked at him. Cade had soap lathered across his chest and under his arms, but she let her gaze fall to the fastenings of his trousers. He wasn't being facetious. He had changed into old denims, and she was quite certain they were about to give way beneath the strain of what he kept hidden behind those buttons.

Her gaze traveled back to his. "I'm ready when you are," she murmured.

Cade sighed in relief and grinned as she sashayed back to the bed, providing him a full view of her swaying hips and firm buttocks. He had been told by other women that he asked too much. For a lady like Lily he was fully prepared to grant concessions, particularly when she carried his child. He was thoroughly relieved to discover that she meant to ask for none.

So the question of good and evil and a Spaniard called Ricardo disappeared with the night.

* * *

Lily caught a glimpse of Cade entering the barn, and grimly, she threw off her apron and hurried out of the house after him. She was sick and tired of being confined to the house for one reason or another, and this time she had a bone to pick with Mr. Cade de Suela, one she preferred to pick in private.

Cade was taking a harness down from the wall when she entered. He continued what he was doing as she approached. Despite what went on behind their bedroom doors, he wasn't the kind of man to show any emotion outside of them. He nodded as Lily placed her hands on her hips.

"I heard you've got the men plowing under the cotton field."

Since there wasn't any particular reply he could make to that, Cade waited.

"Did they collect the late crop? If we're not going to get the cattle to market we'll need the extra seed next year."