Cameron, Paige - Commando Cowboys Seduce Their Woman [Wyoming Warriors 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Polyromance) (13 page)

“We’ll see.”

His hand cupped the side of her face. “Let’s go. The sooner you meet her, the better. She will make you relax.” He got out and came around to open her door. He put his hands around her waist and slid her body down against his. “Feel how much I want you. Look in my eyes and see that I love you.”

She kept her head down and he raised her chin. “Are you afraid to love?”

“Yes.”

“Jack and I will take that fear away. You’ll see.” His mouth brushed across her lips, and then he glanced toward the cabin and smiled. “Nanna is waiting.” He took her hand, and led her to the wood porch. A tiny, white-haired woman wearing a blue-and-white striped dress and an apron with ruffles around the edges stood waiting.

When Ellen got close, she was surprised to see Sahale and his Nanna shared the same beautiful aquamarine eyes.

“Nanna, this is Ellen Simmons. Ellen, my grandmother—” Before he could finish, his grandmother raised her hand.

“You may call me Nanna, dear. Come inside and have a cup of tea. We’ll get acquainted. Sahale, please check my mare. And I need more firewood.”

“Certainly, Nanna. You’ll call me if needed.”

“I will.” She waited until he waved and walked toward the barn. “Now we can talk.” She led the way into a bright, cheerful kitchen. Yellow-and-white curtains billowed from the breeze coming in the two windows.

“See,” Nanna said and motioned for Ellen to look outside. “The deer have come back. They know Sahale. They recognize him as a friend.”

Ellen saw Sahale on his way to the barn walk close to the deer. They raised their heads then resumed drinking.

“He has a good, kind soul. Animals have always been receptive to him. But enough about my grandson. Sit. I will pour you a cup of tea.”

She stood for a second longer at the window, enjoying watching the deer, and then walked to the table and sat. Nanna placed a steaming cup in front of her and a plate with a slice of cake. Ellen leaned down and sniffed.

“Banana bread. It smells like my mother’s.” She took a bite. “And tastes like hers. I thought she was the only one who could make it just so.”

Nanna sat and sipped her tea. “You are close to your mother?”

Ellen nodded, as she’d just taken a sip of the cinnamon-orange-flavored tea. “To both my parents,” she answered.

“Yet, you don’t see them often. You have withdrawn from them.”

Stunned, Ellen sat her cup down. “How did you know?”

“Things come to me.” She shrugged as though it was nothing unusual. “Tell me about yourself. I know that my grandson feels a bond already with you, and Jack also. They are dear to me.”

For a second, Ellen saw a flash, a hint of warning in those eyes so like Sahale’s. She took another bite of the banana bread and a sip of tea.

Nanna laughed. Ellen looked at her puzzled.

“You are stubborn and determined to be in charge. You will be a trial to Sahale and Jack until you know that you no longer need the walls you hide behind. You must learn there was a time, a long time that you needed them to hide behind. Now, the walls are not necessary. If you persist on keeping them, they may cause you to lose what you’ve been waiting for.”

“What do you mean?” Ellen frowned at her.

“You are a smart woman, but there is much to learn yet. When the time comes you must let go and trust, or you will lose it all. Now tell me about your life.”

Confused and frustrated, Ellen did as she said. She told her about growing up in Tennessee. “Most of the time I had my head stuck in a book. From an early age books of all kinds interested me, especially anything to do with science and research. Mother had difficulty in getting me to learn to cook and sew and clean house.” She smiled at the thought. “My mother is a formidable woman like you, Nanna.”

“I will meet her.”

“After graduation from high school I signed up for community college.”

“But you didn’t finish.”

Ellen didn’t bother asking how she knew. She just nodded. “Brian Garraloga came home that summer. He’d been a neighbor until he went off to college and law school. He came home in May planning to take his law exam in July. I was eighteen and he was twenty-five.”

“You fell in love?”

“Yes. He was handsome, dressed in suits or slacks and shirts. Nothing like the local young men. Most of them didn’t own a suit, or want one. He swept me off my feet.”

“Your parents weren’t happy.”

“No. They wanted me to finish college before marriage. If he loved me, they said he’d wait. But all those hormones were raging and neither of us wanted to wait, and so we eloped. My parents resigned themselves to accepting and loving us. His father was furious and hated me from the start. We lasted two years, got a divorce. I got a master’s degree in biology and studied chemistry as well as an undergraduate. Then I went to work. That about sums it up.”

“Ah, there is much left out, I think.”

“I don’t discuss my marriage with anyone.” Ellen stared into Nanna’s eyes, determined to be the last to look away. But she didn’t find someone trying to battle wills with her. She saw her own sadness reflected back at her, and a kindness that brought her to tears.

“Come here, little one.” Nanna opened her arms.

Ellen laughed through her tears. “Little one?” She went to her, though, and knelt in front of the tiny woman. Her arms went around Ellen and she brushed her hand over her hair and spoke in the soft language of her forefathers. Ellen sobbed. She wet the front of Nanna’s apron and still couldn’t stop.

“Let it all out, little one. The tears will wash away much of the hurt and pain. Time and care and love will rid you of the rest.”

Feeling drained, Ellen raised her head and wiped her eyes. She got off her knees and went back to her chair. Nanna took her cup and refilled it.

“Drink your tea. I think then you’ll be ready to let me work with you to find the memory you’ve buried deep. The one that makes the bad man want to kill you.” She sat back across from Ellen. “I told Sahale there was a darkness in you. There is, but it is not you. It is the shadow that has haunted you since your divorce.”

“My former father-in-law.”

“Ah, you know who, but not fully why. If you will let me, I’ll help you dig out the reason.”

Sahale knocked on the screen door. “Is it all right if I come in?”

“Yes.” Nanna motioned him inside. “Ellen will feel more comfortable if you sit in the corner of the room when we begin.”

“How did you know that?” The words spilled out of Ellen’s mouth. “I guess I need to stop asking and just believe.” Her gaze met Nanna’s. A sweet smile curved Nanna’s mouth.

Nanna turned to Sahale and put her hand over his heart. “She will make you and Jack a good wife. You will be happy and there will be many children. I will teach the oldest girl the recipes for my teas. Your mother knows them, but they must be handed down through the female line.”

“Slow down. I haven’t decided if I’ll marry them,” Ellen protested.

Nanna chuckled as she went into her living room. “Come in here, children, by the fireplace. Sahale, you sit in the corner so as not to be a distraction, but she’ll know you are there. Little one, you sit facing me.” She drew two chairs to face partly the fire and partly each other.

“Are you ready to begin? I will hypnotize you, but you will not say or do anything you don’t want to. My method is much like a deep meditation. My hope is to have you open your mind and remember what brought on your fear. Many of my words will not be recognizable to you. Listen to the tone, the sound, and the rest will follow.”

“Let’s get it over with,” Ellen said. She saw the slight smile curve Sahale’s lips.

“Look at the fire, Ellen. Watch the flames.” Nanna began to chant in a soft, melodious tone.

Ellen stared at the bright flames flickering in the fireplace. Her eyes felt heavy and her body sank further into the chair. A sense of peace and quiet flooded around her.

“Go back, Ellen, to the last days of your marriage. Were you happy?”

“No. Brian had been upset last night. My period started. I can’t conceive a child. He has lost interest in me and comes home late from work.” Ellen rubbed her chest. “My heart hurts.”

“Is Brian home tonight?”

“I woke and reached across the bed. His side was cold, as usual.” Ellen made the motions as though she was rubbing her hand across the sheets. “But I hear his voice downstairs. He must be on the phone. I’m determined to confront him once and for all.” She stopped talking and saw herself slipping out of bed. Barefooted, she walked out of the room, and then heard the second voice. Her father-in-law. She gasped.

“What is it, Ellen? You are safe. Sahale is here. He will protect you from any harm.”

“My father-in-law has far-reaching arms. No one can protect me.” She continued, “I stopped not quite at the rail. Where they couldn’t see me. They were arguing. Brian never argued with his father.”

“Can you tell me what they said?”

“Brian was saying he was going to be in Congress. He wouldn’t have any part of his father’s underground business.”

“Mr. Garraloga yelled that the business had put him through law school and got him elected. He said Brian would do as he was told.” Ellen shook and put her hand to her mouth.

“Breathe, Ellen. You are safe. What happened?” Nanna’s soft words slid inside Ellen’s head, urging her onward.

“He, Mr. Garraloga, heard something. I must have moved, took too deep a breath. I don’t know. I ran into the bedroom and got under the covers. Footsteps sounded on the stairs. I tried to calm my breathing, to pretend to be asleep. They’re at the door.

“
‘See, she’s sound asleep. She never wakes when I come in late,’
Brian said.

“Mr. Garraloga didn’t leave. He stood there, his eyes burning a hole in my back, for what seemed hours. Finally, at Brian’s insistence they went back downstairs.”

“Does anything happen in the next few days?” Nanna persisted in a gentle voice.

“I went to a meeting the next afternoon. One of the committees he and Brian said I must be on. When I came home and unlocked my door, Brian’s father was waiting.

“My heart jumped into my throat. I can see in his eyes he knows I overheard them. He gets out of the chair and comes to me. I can’t move.”

Ellen pulled back in her chair and put her hands up to her throat. Nanna took her hands.

“That’s all for today. Wake up, Ellen, refreshed and calm.” She stood between Ellen and the fire and clicked her fingers.

Sahale took long strides across the polished wood floor to her side. He picked her up and carried her to the sofa, where he sat holding her tight. “You’re all right, sweetheart. I’m here. No one is ever going to hurt you again.”

“I’m sleepy.” She lay her head on his shoulder. “Did I remember anything of value?”

“Most of it. Nanna said that was enough for now.”

“But Mitch is expecting the answer this evening.”

Nanna came to her side and ran her hand over her hair. “Quiet, little one. I will ride back with you and Sahale. We will work another time late this afternoon after you rest. We will have Mitch’s answers for him.”

“Will you stay with Jack and me, Nanna?” Sahale asked.

“That is best. Your mother’s house would be another new place to her. She has been to your home.”