Charlene Sands (7 page)

S
eated at the kitchen table, Kate poured a cup of hot tea and stared out the window, glancing at the bright night stars. Steam billowed up and warmed her face, but nothing much tonight could warm her heart. She’d been feeling uneasy lately and a bit edgy. She couldn’t put her finger on the trouble, yet she was having difficulty getting a good night’s rest.

The only thing that put her at ease was witnessing the progress of the Silver Saddle. It had been two weeks since the builders had begun, and they assured her each day that they were right on schedule with the construction. Knowing that all was going as planned calmed her like a salve over an old painful wound.

Kate sipped her tea, deep in thought, pondering all the improvements she intended to make on the interior of the saloon. She had everything sorted out in her mind about how grand the new changes would be. She’d commissioned a small stage to be built at
the back of the establishment, one complete with drop curtains, which Nora had offered to help teach Kate how to stitch up. Nora assured Kate that, between the two of them, they could do just as fine a job as any professional seamstress and for minimal cost, as well.

Kate took Nora at her word and ordered three bolts of material in light crimson velvet. She’d also managed to procure golden tassels for the hems of the curtains from a San Francisco catalog. The material had arrived just this morning by rail.

The piano would go on the stage. Kate made inquiries about hiring a piano player. Of course, not a soul from Crystal Creek would apply for the position. She knew she’d have to go elsewhere to find both a piano player and a barkeep. She wanted to hire a real bartender, someone who knew how to prepare specialty drinks, and the old standards. Both would have to be willing to work for small wages and a free room at the back of the saloon.

Kate hoped the wires and handbills she’d sent to the surrounding towns, including those as near as San Francisco and as far south as Los Angeles would help her locate the right people for the jobs. But even if she couldn’t immediately place someone in her employ, Kate knew enough about mixing the easier drinks to do the job herself. She didn’t play the piano, but Kate could exercise her own brand of musical talent if need be. One way or another, the Silver Saddle would open up its wide iron doors right on schedule.

All was going terribly well, so why couldn’t Kate shake off this unsettling feeling? The wall clock chimed midnight, startling Kate at the late-night hour. She stole a quick glance at her bedroom door, knowing full well that she ought to get back to bed and at least try to sleep. But that notion held no appeal.

She wasn’t tired at all.

She’d probably lie there for hours, tossing and turning. It was times like these that loneliness consumed her. She had no one to turn to, no one to talk to during the night. Usually Kate was too tired to notice and she’d fall into bed, exhausted. But these starry evenings, when the night beckoned with air that cooled pleasantly as it blew by, Kate longed for something more, something that would make her feel alive, vital. Something unnamed and mysterious. Her body trembled in anticipation, and she didn’t have a notion what it would take to stop the jittery sensation.

Oh, if only Mama was here. They’d stay up for hours, planning a future filled with promise. Kate knew her mama would be proud of her, building the saloon, standing up to the town. Louisa Malone had always instilled in Kate the power of her own potential. “You can do anything you set your mind to, Katie,” her mother would say, when Kate began to feel defeated or discouraged as a young girl. “Just remember, you’re as good as everyone else. I’d say even
better.
” Then her mama would wink and grin.

Kate smiled, recalling that sound advice. And she believed her, for the most part. Kate had grown up to
become a strong, determined woman, thanks to her mother. But Kate had a weak spot, one she had tried rubbing out of her mind now for weeks. She couldn’t quite do it. She couldn’t quite forget Cole Bradshaw and the kiss in this very house that made her heart pump like mad and her insides churn soft as butter.

“Enough of your whining, Katie Malone,” she mumbled to herself. “You’ve not got a thing to be sorry about.”

And that much was true. Everything was going Kate’s way. The saloon would be finished soon, she’d made the nicest friends in the Cables and she had a comfortable place to live. She wouldn’t allow losing Cole’s friendship to play havoc with her heart any longer.

Kate finished her tea, then cleaned the teapot and tidied up the kitchen. Glancing out the window again, Kate lifted her eyes to the full and perfectly rounded moon. The stars above gleamed, their luster a welcome twinkle in the dark sky. The night seemed to call to her. She knew she wouldn’t sleep for long hours to come.

On impulse, Kate moved down the hall to her bedroom and removed her nightclothes, tossing them onto her bed. She dressed quickly in a simple calico gown then threw a lacy ivory shawl around her shoulders. In the parlor, she picked up the kerosene lantern, turned up the light a bit then walked out the door. She moved briskly and with purpose. The only thing
to put her at ease tonight was seeing the Silver Saddle, nearly completed.

Maybe then her restlessness would vanish and she’d be able to get some sleep.

Cole rubbed his sore eyes and glanced at his pocket watch. It was just after midnight and far too late for him to be poking about in the jailhouse, catching up on tedious paperwork. But Cole planned on spending the entire day away from the office tomorrow, checking out a claim of cattle rustling and robbery on a ranch at the far end of the county. He hoped to find it an isolated case and that the rustlers had moved on, out of his territory. Cole wanted Crystal Creek to continue as a peaceable town. He prided himself on keeping it so, and didn’t want to see harm come to anyone else. It vexed him miserably that he’d lost Jeb and his wife to violence. And even more so, Cole hated that one of those marauders was still on the loose. Justice had come to two of the Sloan brothers, but there still was one killer who needed to pay for his crime.

Cole organized his files and piled them in stacks on his desk. There was only so much writing a man could do in one day, he mused. At least with Meggie gone tonight, he’d had a chance to finish the only part of his job he didn’t enjoy doing. Mrs. Gregory had offered to take his daughter to Caroline’s house to play with her children and spend the night. Meggie needed to be with children her own age now and again, Cole thought, but he sorely missed having her
home at night. He liked thinking she was warm and cozy in her own bed, before turning down the lamps for the evening.

Cole rose from his desk and stretched his arms, letting go of a wide yawn. A flash of light caught his eye. He strode to the window and peered out, blinking back his surprise. He spotted a woman, striding with purpose down the darkened street. It didn’t take long for Cole to recognize the swing of her hips, the soft curves of a woman he’d known all of his life. “Kate? What the devil are you up to now?” he grumbled.

Cole reached for his vest and strapped on his holster, buckling it tight. He was out the door both quickly and quietly, following the dim beam of yellow light. Fool woman, didn’t even know she was being followed. She just moved along at a merry pace, unaware of the dangers. Didn’t she know what could happen to an unchaperoned woman, walking the streets this late at night?

She stopped in front of the Silver Saddle, lifting her head to gaze at the nearly completed structure. Cole’s anger abated some, watching as rays of moonlight cast a gentle radiance about her. She was encased by softness—a feminine glow that highlighted all that was truly beautiful about Kate Malone.

Cole squeezed his eyes shut, blocking out the image of Kate, the tightening need consuming his body and the heat that scorched him whenever she was near. He needed his anger. He summoned it like a
dog to a bone and came up right behind her. “Damn it, Kate. What are you doing here all alone?”

Kate whirled around rapidly, her heart thumping hard against her chest. Utterly stunned, she couldn’t believe she was staring into Cole Bradshaw’s condemning blue eyes. “Cole! You scared me nearly half to death!”

“I’m not apologizing, woman. What in blazes do you think you’re doing? It’s past midnight.”

After a long moment, Kate recovered from the shock of seeing Cole right smack behind her. She hadn’t heard anyone else on the street. But seeing him now, his eyes blazing blue lightning, his stance sure and strong, Kate came to realize clearly, without doubt, that he, Cole Bradshaw, had been the source of her recent restlessness. Her once-best friend, the man she’d longed for since childhood still made her queasy with stomach flutters she so painfully tried to deny. He still made her ache with want. Nothing much had changed since the early years. He would always be the only man for her, but Cole would never accept her for the woman she was. She wasn’t good enough for him. Chin up, Kate offered her only explanation,

“I…I couldn’t sleep.”

“So you thought you’d wander the night?” Cole made her sound foolish with his tone, the mocking way he had of peering at her.

She raised her voice. “No, I thought I’d come see my saloon.”

“Shh.” Cole took her by the arm and led her inside the newly built-up walls. The scent of freshly cut walnut hit her instantly as the lamp she held illuminated the hollowed-out structure, casting them in a bright glow. She could see Cole’s face better now, his expression grim. But he stood so close with his body nearly pressed up to hers that Kate’s traitorous insides trembled. “You didn’t know I was behind you, did you?”

“No,” she admitted. “I thought I was alone.” She set the lantern down on a stack of lumber.

Exasperation contorted Cole’s handsome face. “Exactly my point, Kate.”

“Did you follow me?” she asked.

“Hell, yes, I followed you.”

“Why?”

“You have to ask? Kate, it could have been anyone behind you. Someone without good intentions. A beautiful woman walking the streets at night…well, that’s just plain asking for trouble.”

He was angry with her, yet he said she was beautiful. Did he really believe her to be? “I can protect myself, Cole. Truly I can.”

Cole’s expression changed from grim to feigned amusement and he let out a dubious laugh. “I don’t think so, Kate. A man could easily overtake you. Without much effort, I’d say.”

“Not if I faced him with this,” she said, reaching
into her pocket and coming out with her gun. She brought it up close, to give him a better look. Cole thought she’d been a fool, but Kate had just proved to him that she really did know a thing or two about protecting herself.

Surprise registered on his face and Kate knew a moment of pure, hard-earned satisfaction. He snatched the small gun from her hand and gave it a good looking over. “Nice,” he said. “Pearl grips .22-caliber pocket revolver. Where’d you get this?”

“Los Angeles. Mama sort of had the same worry. She bought it for me and taught me how to use it.”

Louisa had been proficient in wielding a revolver. Initially her expertise had amazed Kate, never having seen her mother draw a gun. Not once in all her years of running the saloon had Louisa had to resort to gunplay. But her mother’s quiet acceptance of what was necessary and her uncanny ability with the gun only added to Kate’s admiration of her.

Cole’s brows lifted. “You good with this?”

On a slow nod, she answered, “If I have to be.”

“And you think that’s all that you need to keep you out of trouble?” he asked softly, taking a step closer and slipping the gun back into her pocket. She felt his hand brush her leg through the material of her dress. A shudder ran through her.

“It’s…uh, it’s a good start, Cole.”

Cole moved closer and Kate backed up. “’Course, there’s more than one kind of trouble.”

“There is?” Her heart pumped and pumped, pounding hard against her ribs.

“Uh-huh,” he replied, his hands bracing her hips and moving her back farther, until she was pinned against the new wall of the saloon. “There’s all sorts of trouble a woman can get into.”

Cole took the end of Kate’s shawl and pulled it gently, until the lacy garment flowed around her shoulders and caressed her breast before coming completely undone. Her breath caught sharply at the subtle gesture.

“I…uh, I can handle myself,” she breathed.

Cole touched the lacy threads of her shawl, fingering the ends and making her wish his hands were on her instead, caressing her in much the same way. Her breasts tingled at the very notion and filled her gown full, the tips going pebble hard. Oh!

“You think you can handle yourself?” he whispered, his face so near she felt his breath warm her cheek.

“I, uh…yes, yes, I can,” she said, forgetting what she was agreeing to. She was at a loss, almost completely so.

Cole lifted one hand up and found her hair, weaving gently through the curly mass while the other held her firm. His intimate touch sent Kate’s senses reeling. Her legs would surely have buckled if Cole hadn’t been holding her, pressed so snugly up against her. She closed her eyes and rested her head back against the wall, relishing the feel of Cole’s gentle
stroking. His breaths came rapidly now, thrilling her so that her own breaths became equally labored. Softly he said, “You are more than beautiful, Kate.”

Cole brought his mouth down onto hers with exquisite tenderness at first. She whimpered at the initial touch, but when Cole parted her lips and drove himself inside, a moan of pleasure escaped. Tremors racked her body with each thrust of his tongue, each murmured breathy word he spoke. She kissed him back fully, holding nothing back, giving to him what was in her heart—what had
always
been in her heart. She relished the feel of him, the taste of him. It was all she’d ever dreamed about, being in Cole’s arms.

She felt a slight tug in her skirts then a yank and his hand once again brushed her leg. Abruptly he broke off the kiss.

Kate flashed her eyes open, confusion muddying her mind. She had just been in Cole’s arms, but now he stood away, holding up her gun. “Looks like you can’t protect yourself, after all.”