A Moment in Time (40 page)

Chapter 14

      
Cole held her in his arms for what seemed an eternity, the sun beating down on his backside and burning skin unaccustomed to the light of day.
 
A smile tugged at his lips and he inhaled the scent of woman beneath him.

      
He kissed the top of her head and rolled to his side, noticing the stripe where her hair parted.
 
"Your hair is really brown," he whispered.

      
She nodded against his shoulder.
 
"Very dark.
 
Are you just now noticing that?"
 

      
"I was, uh, too busy to, uh..."

      
Giggling, she pushed onto her elbow and lay on her side, facing him.
 
Her expression sobered and she reached up to shove a stray curl off his forehead.
 
"You're a beautiful man, Cole Morrison."

      
"I'm not sure beautiful is the right word."
 
He flashed her a grin.

      
"Handsome on the outside," she said with a sigh, "and beautiful in here."
 
She rested her hand over his heart.
 
"Where it matters."

      
His gut clenched and he cupped her cheek in his hand.
 
Was now the time to tell her his plans?
 
"Jackie, what are you doing to me?" he asked instead, kissing her softly.
 
"You make me think about poetry and the fairy tales my mother read to me as a child."
 
He glanced down at her bare bosom.
 
"And you make me want you.
 
Constantly."

      
She arched a brow and a wicked smile curved her kiss-swollen lips.
 
"Constantly?"

      
"Constantly."
 
He hardened against her thigh.
 
"See for yourself."

      
She laughed and kissed him soundly.
 
"So what's wrong with that?"

      
"A man's gotta work once in a while."
 
He chuckled, enjoying the way she combined play with the far more serious matters of the flesh.
 
"Not to mention eat and raise children."

      
Her laughter died and the sparkle in her eyes dimmed.
 
"Todd says you're going to Oregon."

      
"I thought a lot about what you said last night about dreams."
 
He stroked her bare shoulder, struggling against the burning hunger growing within him all over again.
 
Now they needed to talk and the other would have to wait.
 
His body flinched in disagreement and he glanced downward.
 
Yes, you can wait.

      
"I'm glad you're going to Oregon," she said, though sadness tinged her voice, and her eyes glittered dangerously.
 
"Really."

      
"So am I."
 
He cupped her rosy cheek again, brushing his thumb along her temple.
 
"And we want you to come with us."

      
Genuine shock flared in her eyes.
 
"
What
?"
 
She pulled from his embrace and leapt to her feet, standing over him in all her naked splendor.
 
"I'm imagining things.
 
I couldn't possibly have heard you right."

      
He rose slowly and faced her.
 
"I'm serious, Jackie," he said, stroking her upper arms.
 
"We both want you to come with us to Oregon.
 
Is that too horrible for you to even
 
consider?"

      
She turned her back on him and he saw a tremor race through her slender body.
 
He ached to gather her in his arms, but common sense commanded him to give her a few moments to consider his offer.
 
"Jackie?"

      
"What?"

      
Her voice sounded thick, oddly muffled.

      
"Are you crying?"
 
He hadn't meant to make her cry.
 
She was a strong woman and he doubted that tears came easily to her.
 
"Please, don't–"

      
"Please, don't say anything."
 
She spun around to face him, her eyes moist, her face stained with tears.
 
"Just...don't."

      
He stood there helplessly, his arms hanging limply at his sides when all he wanted was to gather her against him and beg her to go with them.
 
"We have to talk about this.
 
It's important."

      
An odd gleam entered her gray eyes and she tilted her chin a notch.
 
"More important than your gold?
 
More important than Lolita Belle's opening night?"

      
"Yes, more important than both."
 
His voice fell to a ragged whisper.
 
He needed answers, and she was the only person who had them.
 
"Who
are
you?
 
Really?"

      
She sniffled and shoved her hair back from her face.
 
"You mean, you don't think I'm Lolita Belle anymore?"

      
He shook his head slowly.
 
"Who are you?"

      
"I told you."
 
She started toward the falls.
 
"My real name is Jackie Clarke."

      
He followed her into the water, allowing the frigid stream to purge his mind and quiet the fire in his body.
 
Unfortunately, it did nothing to ease the riot in his heart and soul.
 
After a few minutes, she shook herself and stepped out, taking a seat on the smooth stones a few feet from the water's edge.

      
Cole watched her for several moments.
 
She looked like one of those wood nymphs she'd mentioned earlier.
 
He remembered illustrations from one of his mother's books.
 
There'd been a beautiful, slender female being with wings.
 
With a start, he realized how very much Jackie resembled that being.
 

      
"Jackie," he whispered, taking a seat at her side.
 
He glanced at her and saw her shiver.
 
"You're freezing."
 
Immediately, he slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
 
"Maybe we should get dressed now and head back to–"

      
"No."
 
She turned and faced him.
 
"I want–
need
–to have all this settled in my mind today."
 
With a tremulous smile, she touched his cheek.
 
"And...I want to make love with you one last time."

      
"Jackie..."
 
What did she mean by "one last time?"
 

      
"You told me you need the gold Merriweather promised you in order to go to Oregon," she said matter-of-factly, pinning him with a no-nonsense look.
 
"Do you or don't you, Cole?
 
Which is it?"

      
He released a deep sigh and combed his fingers through his hair.
 
"Well, the only new homesteads I've heard of recently are down in Oklahoma Territory, but that's not Oregon.
 
I'm afraid all the homesteads in Oregon are gone.
 
I'll have to buy land."

      
"No, Oklahoma is a far cry from Oregon."
 
She chuckled quietly.
 
"I can't picture you and Todd as Okies."

      
"Okies?"

      
"Never mind."
 
She tilted her head to one side, her expression unreadable.
 
"So you
do
need the gold."

      
He clenched his teeth, afraid to answer.
 
"We have enough to get to Oregon."

      
"And...?"
 
She waited a few seconds, then added, "But not enough to buy a ranch.
 
Right?"

      
"We'll be all right.
 
I'll get work and start saving, then–"

      
"So you do need the gold to have your dream."
 
She held her hand up to silence him when he started to speak.
 
"Admit it, Cole.
 
The money Merriweather promised you is enough to
really
have that dream.
 
Isn't it?"

      
He shrugged, but she narrowed her eyes.
 
"Sure, it would be enough, but there are some things that are more important than gold."

      
"But
not
more important than dreams, Cole."
 
Her eyes grew misty again.
 
"Don't let go of your dreams.
 
I did that once."

      
"I'm not letting go.
 
Not ever."
 
He kissed her forehead.
 
"I'm holding onto you.
 
Get used to it."

      
"Cole, your dreams..."

      
"Shh."
 
He wished she would look at him so he could see her eyes.
 
"Tell me about your dreams, Jackie."
 
He pulled her closer, wanting to comfort her, to keep her safe.
 
"Share them with me."

      
"Waste of breath."
 

      
He cupped her chin, tilted her face up to meet his gaze, then covered her mouth with his.
 
"Tell me," he murmured against her lips.
 
"Tell me."

      
"A home.
 
A family."
 
Her face crumpled and he watched her fight the tears.
 
"Don't make me...talk about this.
 
It hurts too much."

      
She'd already said enough to help him begin to understand.
 
He rose, pulling her up to stand before him.
 
"We want you to come with us to Oregon, Jackie."
 
He buried his fingers in her tangled hair, lowering his face so close to hers he could taste the warmth of her breath.
 
"Share our dream."

      
Before she could answer, he pulled her against him and kissed her, seeking answers from her response.
 
She melded against him, trembling and warming in his embrace.

      
And he knew.

* * *

      
Jackie fished the bar of mystery soap out of the basket and gave Cole a shampoo massage, then they played in the falls some more, made love again.
 
And again.

      
Exhausted and sated, they ate their picnic and Cole realized it was already late afternoon.
 
"We'd better head back before Todd and Chief Byron beat us home."
 
True regret sounded in his voice.
 
"Though...I'd like to keep you naked indefinitely."
 
He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

      
Jackie laughed.
 
"You're insatiable."
 
She wrapped herself around him and kissed him.
 
"I like that."

      
"The kiss or the insatiable part?"
 
He grabbed her when she tried to pull away.
 
"You promise to think about going to Oregon with us?"

      
"Don't spoil this."
 
She freed herself and shook out her chemise, then pulled it over her head.
 
"Ouch, I got sunburned."