Western Kisses – Old West Christmas Romances (Boxed Set) (41 page)

Rosalie drank some of the fresh milk she’d brought from the barn, not wanting it to spoil. She paired it with the last of the bread. Perhaps tomorrow she’d try her hand at something more complicated. There would be eggs and she could handle cooking those.

She burrowed under the blankets with a sense of accomplishment. She was alone but not helpless. While she hadn’t done everything perfectly, the animals were content and she was as well. She was snug inside with a good supply of firewood and the cellar underneath her was filled with food. While she wouldn’t say she felt exactly safe, isolated as she was, she’d proved to herself she was competent for more than planning an afternoon tea.

The next morning, Rosalie was frying up eggs when a frightening bang sounded on the door. She’d forgotten to latch it when she came in and panic turned her stomach over.

The door shook as it was hit repeatedly. “Rosalie! Are you in there?”

Rosalie recognized the muffled voice. She ran to the door and threw it open. A snow-covered figure fell into the cabin and she quickly shut the door against the bitter wind.

“Garrett? Garrett, is that you?” Rosalie’s heart stopped.
Was he here with bad news?

Garrett fell to his knees.

“Are you hurt? Garrett, answer me!” Rosalie shook his shoulder.

“I’m all right. Give me a minute. I’m frozen clean through.”

Rosalie grabbed his coat with her bare hands. It was soaked and encrusted with snow. She pulled Garrett toward the fire and he stumbled toward the heat.

Rosalie pulled off his gloves. “We have to get this coat off you.”

Garrett tried to undo the fastenings, but his fingers were numb.

Rosalie pushed his hands out of the way, then opened the coat, pushing it off his shoulders. She tackled his boots next and found his socks saturated as well. His feet were icy.

“What are you doing here?” Rosalie demanded.

“I saw Audra and Lucas in town. They told me they’d left you out here.” Shivers wracked his body.

“They made it.” Relief flowed through her. “Did the baby come?”

“I don’t know. I was worried for you and left right after.” He paced back and forth in front of the fireplace.

“I’ve been fine. I’ve food and I’ve been tending the animals. I keep close to the fire.”

“The storm is worsening. Snow is still falling and the temperature is dropping. The wind is picking up as well. Rosalie, I—”

“Never you mind. You have to get out of these wet clothes. I’ll get you something of Lucas’s to wear. Don’t move from the fire.” Rosalie stopped briefly at the stove to move the coffee pot onto a burner and then opened the bedroom door. The frigid air chilled her right through. She hurried in, grabbed some clothing off the pegs on the wall and rushed back out. She closed the door firmly behind her.

She placed the clothing over the seat back of a chair. “Are you … able to manage yourself?”

Garrett rubbed his hands together. “Yes, I’ve thawed a bit.”

Rosalie turned her back and went to the stove. She heard the rustling behind her as he changed and her embarrassment grew. She’d never been around a man in a state of undress, and while that certainly was causing her discomfort, the main source of concern was her fertile imagination. She wondered what Garrett looked like under that sodden union suit.
Was his skin pale where the sun didn’t reach?
Rosalie reined in her wanton thoughts as she tended to the coffee.

“It’s safe to look now,” Garrett said with a chuckle.

Rosalie didn’t respond. She poured hot coffee into two tin cups. She steeled herself as she turned and was glad she had. Garrett had a knowing sparkle in his eye.

She crossed the room and handed him coffee. “This should help warm you.”

“It will help, I’m sure.” He gulped the hot liquid.

“Garrett, it wasn’t necessary to risk yourself coming out here.” The thought of him lying cold in a drift of snow horrified her.

“I think it was. You have to be prepared for anything out here. You’re clearly an intelligent woman, but not experienced in frontier living.”

“I’ve been getting along,” Rosalie protested.

“Lucas wasn’t thinking,” Garrett said with a hint of anger.

“He surely was. They didn’t know how long they might be gone. They couldn’t leave the animals.”

“I have to tell you, when I heard you were out here by yourself, a powerful fear gripped me.” Garrett flexed his hand.

Rosalie averted her gaze, and her desire to keep discussing the issue evaporated. She wasn’t a coward. After all, she’d left a comfortable life in Boston and headed into the unknown. But she couldn’t bring herself to probe Garrett’s reasoning any further. Not now.

Garrett’s hair was almost dry and his pinched white skin had returned to a healthier color.

“I’ll fix us something to eat.” Rosalie added wood to the stove’s firebox.

“That sounds appealing. Give me a chance to warm all the way through and I’ll check on the animals.”

“No, Garrett, I can do it.” Rosalie did not want Garrett going back out into the cold so soon.

“I know you can, but let me, please?”

His soft
please
knocked the fight right out of her. She turned on her heel and headed to the trap door of the cellar.

~*~

After dinner, Rosalie cleaned up while Garrett brought in more firewood.

“Don’t you think we have enough?” Rosalie gestured to the stack along the wall.

Garrett added his armload of wood to the pile. “Not if the storm worsens. We might not be able to get out.” If the snow blew enough, a drift on the porch could block the door.

“What about the animals?” The whole point of staying on the homestead was to tend the animals. Though Rosalie didn’t want to put herself at serious risk, she’d made a promise and she intended to make good on it.

“I put out extra feed. I mucked out a bit of the old straw as well. They should be fine. Hopefully the weather will break soon. I’m not saying we won’t be able to get to them, but it is a possibility.”

Rosalie fiddled with the trim on her dress. “I hope Audra is doing well. Do you think the baby’s come?”

Garrett sighed. “I don’t know. Sometimes it takes a long while. She was with the midwife and I’m sure she’ll do all she can for Audra.”

Holding out her palms, Rosalie moved closer to the warmth of the fire. “It’s a fearful thing … bringing a baby into the world. So many things can go wrong.” A year ago, an acquaintance of Rosalie's had died in childbirth, leaving her husband with a newborn. He’d remarried soon after, eschewing mourning conventions for the demands of his child. Many other women had children without incident. She didn’t know what made the difference.

Garrett moved to stand beside her and brushed a stray bit of hair behind her ear. “Audra’s strong.”

Rosalie trembled as he touched her. “Yes, she is.” Garrett’s nearness drove all thoughts of Audra from her mind. Her skin felt swollen and stretched tight.

“Rosalie …” His voice softened like a caress.

“Yes?” Her body swayed toward his.

“You know we’re both going to have to bed down here in front of the fire.”

“I … I hadn’t thought on it.” But she had. The bedroom was too cold for sleeping and she’d brought all the blankets into the living area. Her skin tingled at the thought of being so close to him.

“Don’t worry. No one will think the less of you. It’s a bit more relaxed out here, things being as they are. Your reputation won’t be ruined. In fact, no one need know I was here.”

Rosalie’s heart thumped wildly with anticipation. She knew she should be ashamed of her wanton impulses, but somehow she didn’t.
How was it that this rough man with his strength and his wicked smile made her forget everything that had come before?
She’d allowed Winslow a few stolen kisses, but they never stirred her as much as one glance from Garrett.
Why did her foolish heart seek out men with a taste for scarlet women?

That thought hardened her resolve. She was not going to make that mistake again.

“Rosalie, what is it?” Garrett reached for her, but Rosalie stepped away, putting distance between them.

“Nothing worth mentioning.” Rosalie found people more direct out on the frontier. There was benefit to that attitude, but Rosalie couldn’t shake her parlor manners. In Boston, so many topics were simply not discussed.

Garrett frowned. “That’s not true. You look like you just swallowed a lemon.”

And it was as if she had. The truth was bitter. “I don’t care to say.”

“Rosalie, I thought we were friends of a sort. I’m asking you to be truthful with me.” His reassuring tone invited honesty.

“Fine. You have requested plain speaking and you shall receive it.” Rosalie’s dinner turned to a hard, heavy ball in her stomach. “You are … you’re clearly brave, being a marshal and all. And you have no wife to answer to, so I suppose that is the way of things.”

Garrett didn’t hide his confusion. “What in tarnation are you talking about?”

Rosalie sniffed delicately. “If you recall, I saw you being tossed out of a bawdy house. I know men frequent that sort of establishment, but—”

“Wait just one minute here. You’re mad because you think I was partaking—”

Rosalie held up her hand. “Don’t say it! I don’t want to hear.”

“Are you jealous?” He winked.

Rosalie flushed with indignation. “Certainly not.” Her statement was a lie. She
was
jealous and with no right at all to feel that way.

“I can’t say I’ve always been the most upstanding man. However, I wasn’t at Miss Belle’s for the usual reason,” he explained.

“You weren’t?” Rosalie wished at once she could snatch back her question.

“I wasn’t. One of the girls there is the daughter of someone in town. I was trying to bring her back home.”

“You were?” Rosalie could not resist prompting him for more.

“She didn’t want to come. I’ve spoken to her several times. That’s why I was there.” He smiled. “Now, I will admit I did have a drink while I was there. Have you any objection to liquor?”

“I don’t drink myself, but I’ve not gone out of my way to promote temperance.”

Garrett took her hand. “I’m sorry you had such a poor impression of me, Rosalie.”

Rosalie tried to pull her hand free, but Garrett didn’t let go. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”

“I can hardly blame you in this instance, but I’m glad you told me.”

Rosalie didn’t respond and the silence stretched out between them, heavy with unspoken thoughts.

Garrett released her hand. He leaned over and added wood to the fire. “Perhaps we should bed down.”

Rosalie nodded.

Garrett took off his boots and flipped back the blankets. He slid in and held out his hand.

Rosalie hesitated and then took his hand in hers. She situated herself on the blankets.

Garrett pulled the blankets up over them both. “Goodnight, Rosalie.” His warm body was already heating the air trapped inside the bedding.

“Goodnight, Garrett.”

~*~

Garrett pushed his empty plate to the side. “Tell me why you left Boston.”

“I …” Rosalie waited for the memories of humiliation and heartbreak to surface. When they did, they were faded and dim. Her heart didn’t thump. Her throat didn’t swell. Surprise held her silent a moment.

Garrett raised his hand. “You don’t have to say. I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s fine. I just … it actually isn’t that painful now. Not anymore.” Time had healed the wound, and perhaps the wound hadn’t been as bad as she’d thought. She was stronger now, in both mind and body. The changes wrought in her would never have occurred if she’d stayed in Boston. She liked this Rosalie. She was happy and more satisfied. The restlessness that had plagued her for so long was gone.

“I’m glad.” Garrett looked at her directly, with a level of intent no one else had shown.

Rosalie smiled. “I am as well. I guess it happened without my realizing.”

Garrett returned her smile.

“I was engaged. In Boston.” Lucas had probably told him that, but it felt good to be open with Garrett.

“And now you’re not?” Garrett prompted.

“I’m not. My fiancé was not the man I thought.” A shadow crossed her eyes. “I don’t know how I could have misjudged him so.”

“I’m sorry, Rosalie, for your pain. I’m not sorry you came here.”

“I was sorry, too, but I don’t think I am anymore. I don’t want to be married to him. Imagine if I’d found out his true character after the wedding. I was lucky. Fortunate.” As the words left her mouth, she realized they were true. She’d made a narrow escape from what would undoubtedly have been a painful marriage.

“You deserve to be happy.” Garrett took a swig of his coffee.

“Yes,” she agreed. “Yes, I do. I’m working on it.”

“Are you happy here?” He waited while Rosalie considered his question.

“It’s been hard. I won’t say it hasn’t. But I’ve so enjoyed strengthening my friendship with Audra. It’s very elemental here. I’ve never lived so dependent on my environment. My life in Boston was very different.”

“I’m sure it was.”

“I like it, though. It’s very beautiful here.” Rosalie looked forward to the spring. Audra had described the beauty of the budding trees and sprouting wildflowers.

Garrett’s eyes took on a faraway look. “When I’m out riding, I look up and behold the mountains. The glory of nature is overwhelming.”

Rosalie tucked his insight away into her memory. There was more to Garrett than she would have thought. Then again, she’d found there was more to her as well.

Rosalie woke suddenly and rolled over. Garrett was awake as well, his eyes intense in the firelight. She wanted to speak but it seemed wrong to break the silence.

Garrett reached out and caressed her chin with his thumb. When she didn’t protest, he leaned in and kissed her lightly. His warm lips dissolved into hers and Rosalie trembled.

“Rosalie, what am I going to do with you?” The flickering firelight cast a warm glow where they lay.

“I don’t know.” Her slow, sensual smile was an unconscious invitation.

Garrett chuckled. “You tempt me.”