Harnessed Passions (34 page)

Julia was weak and tired, that much was
obvious, but even as close to death as she came she had never
looked more beautiful. Daniel stood by the door for several moments
staring at her as though he'd never seen her before. Her dark hair
lay across her chest in a thick braid; her eyes sparkled like rare
gems and her ivory complexion held just a hint of pink. God, she
was more than he deserved, he thought silently.

Daniel moved across the room to her, leaning
over her as he pressed his lips to her dry mouth. He offered her
his strength and for a brief moment he feared she would refuse, but
when her lips parted offering him a silent invitation, he groaned
and accepted willingly. He kissed her with such tender force, she
had no choice but to moan with the experience. As he raised his
head he looked into her eyes and whispered, "I love you,
Princess."

"What...did you...say?" she frowned. This
couldn't be real. She didn't hear him right.

"I said I love you," he told her again.
Julia's eyes filled with tears, hearing the words thought she'd
only dreamt of. He loved her; he said it. He loved her! Those words
kept echoing inside her head until the tears spilled down her
cheeks.

Daniel misunderstood and stood up walking
away from her. How could he have been so wrong to think she would
love him in return? He envisioned this moment over and over as he
sat next to her praying for her life. He had imagined she would
tell him she knew or that she loved him back, but not once did he
think she would cry. Damn it, how could he be so stupid?

"Daniel," he heard his name whispered from
the bed, but he didn't turn around. He couldn't bear to look at her
now, not after the way he'd acted. "Say it again," she
whispered.

Why?
he thought.
So you can laugh at me? So
you can rub in the fact I'm acting like a love sick
mutt?

"Daniel...please?" she begged and he turned
to see her struggling to sit. He went to her quickly, pushing her
gently back against the small stack of pillows.

"Julia," he began, preparing himself to tell
her he'd lied, hoping it would keep her quiet even though he knew
it would kill him.

"Please?" she begged, her tone soft, her
eyes pleading. Daniel tried to stop her, he couldn't bear to see
her like this, but when his eyes met hers he nearly stopped
breathing. He couldn't believe the emotion he saw etched on her
face. Did she understand or had she even heard him? He sighed
deeply, steadying his nerves before saying the words to her
again.

"I love you." Julia's tears began to flow
again and she reached out for him. "Don't cry damn it," he scolded
her, cupping her cheeks in his hands. “I didn’t mean to upset
you.”

"I never thought I'd hear those words, not
from you. I thought it was a dream. I thought..." she paused,
kissing his palm. It was only then that Daniel realized the tears
weren't from pain or regret.

He brushed his thumb across her lips to
silence her, before he demanded softly, "Do you?" Julia just stared
at him, a slow smile curving across her dry lips as she touched his
cheek with the tips of her fingers.

"Oh God, Daniel, yes," she whispered softly.
“But I thought…” Daniel fastened his lips with hers again before
she had the chance to finish her sentence. It didn’t matter what
she thought; the land, the money, none of it was real. He married
her because he loved her; he knew it even then only he didn’t want
to admit it. His touch against her delicate lips was gentle,
treasuring and worshiping them for the first time as his own.

Julia began to pant as the tip of his tongue
caressed her lips, first one and then the other before. He loved
her and he was determined that she know it before she became so
exhausted she passed out. With a reluctant sigh, he slowly pulled
away from her, staring into the eyes that glistened with unshed
tears of joy.

"When?" she asked watching the smile curve
his mouth.

"I've always loved you, from the first time
I laid eyes on you in the stables, but I didn't realize it until
your accident the other night." Julia laughed, her voice shaking
with emotion and her eyes lowered under thick lashes.

"As I recall, the first time you saw me I
had my behind sticking in your face."

"And a beautiful behind it is," he whispered
against her neck. Julia wound her arms weakly around his neck as he
hugged her tightly against his strong, bare chest.

"I could have lost you, Julia," he whispered
in a grief filled voice, tears clogging his tone. "I'm so sorry for
everything I did. It's my fault you ran out that night. Please,
promise me you'll never leave me, never?" Julia pushed out of his
arms, running a gently finger down his cheek and smiled.

"I'll never leave you darling. You should
know that."

"I do now." Julia smiled as she cleared her
throat and looked next to her at the empty space in the bed.

"You need some sleep Daniel," she told him.
"Come to bed now."

"Here?" he asked uncertainly. After all,
with the exception of the past eight days, they had occupied
separate rooms since their wedding night. Julia nodded softly, the
color rising in her cheeks.

"Where else would a husband sleep, if not
with his wife? Besides, I'm too weak to fight you." She accepted
the eager kiss he offered, before he stood up away from her, easing
her back down to the blankets.

"And I'm too tired to try." Daniel walked to
the other side of the bed and pulled off his pants before he
crawled naked beneath the sheets. Julia's heart raced when he
reached for her and pulled her gently against his bare chest.

"Go to sleep my Little Princess," he
whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"I'm not sure I can with you naked beside
me." He chuckled again. God, it sounded wonderful, she thought.

"I promise, once you're feeling better I'll
make certain you're rewarded for your patience." It was Julia's
turn to laugh as she snuggled closer to this man who loved her,
this man she would soon know, as her husband.

He loves
me
, she thought as she slowly drifted to
sleep, secure in Daniel's arms and happier than she ever thought
possible. He was hers and she was his, nothing could come between
them, nothing and no one.

Early the next morning Daniel slipped out of
the bedroom, secure in the knowledge that Julia was asleep and
resting comfortably. He went downstairs to find Louise in her usual
chair in the library, a cup of coffee in one hand, book of poetry
in the other.

"Good morning dear," the woman said,
cheerful for the first time in days. "How's Julia feeling this
morning?"

“
She's resting. I don't
think she'll be up to moving around much for a while, but at least
she's out of danger. The doctor said she needs to rest, there's
still the chance of her contracting influenza."

"Have you given any more thought to what we
found at the swimming hole?" Jeremy asked, stepping into the room.
Daniel glanced over his shoulder to the young man and frowned. He
was dressed in a faded work shirt and a pair of blue jeans, not
exactly normal attire for Jeremy Turner.

"I haven't been able to think of much
else."

"Well, I've been thinking about it too and I
agree with you. Dourn may have seen something we missed. I'm going
to go hunt him down and get some answers. Want to come?"

"I'm right behind you." Daniel and Jeremy
headed toward the door, completely forgetting about Louise who sat
watching the two men.

"What do I tell Julia when she wakes up?"
she asked, stopping the two from leaving. Daniel glanced to Jeremy
and back to Louise who sat patiently waiting for a reply, a slender
eyebrow cocked over her eye.

"Just tell her I went to check on
Roustabout," Daniel answered briefly.

"And if she doesn't believe me?"

"Why wouldn't she believe you, mother?"
Jeremy questioned with a soft frown pulling his own brows
together.

"It just doesn't seem logical to have Daniel
suddenly return to work, after he's spent so much time at her side.
She's going to sense something is wrong." Daniel eyed the woman,
aware that she was ignorant of the situation between he and her
daughter. Jeremy cleared his throat and smiled.

"We won't be long and if Julia should get
suspicious, just tell her Daniel was needed at the stables. It’s
not exactly a lie." Louise looked at the soft color that rose to
Daniel’s cheeks, but chose to ignore it and nodded instead. She
watched as the two men left the house, before returning her
attention to the book in her hand.

She had heard the rumors whispered by the
staff that Daniel and Julia were sleeping in separate rooms, but
she had chosen to ignore them. It didn't seem likely that a man
like Daniel Browning would allow any woman - least of all his own
wife - to turn him out of her bedroom.

Louise sipped her coffee for a few moments,
before setting it aside and closing her book. She walked up the
stairs and quietly opened the bedroom door. The room was still
warm, though the pots of water had been removed and the doors to
the veranda were open a very slight amount. She sighed happily in
the knowledge that Julia was sleeping contently.

The blankets next to her had been tossed
carelessly across the bed and the pillow showed signs of having had
a head on it, but it wasn't until she saw Daniel's discarded
clothes lying on the floor that she smiled. Regardless of the
rumors, Louise knew things between the young couple were either
mended or well on their way to be. Her smile remained as she closed
the door quietly to her daughter’s room again, returning to the
library and her poetry. She was looking forward to someday soon,
being a grandmother. Perhaps Europe could wait a little while
longer.

The hours wore on Daniel’s nerves, escorting
him into a state of total exhaustion. He and Jeremy had spent the
better part of the day searching for Dourn. Ivan, one of the stable
hands, told them he had gone out looking for strays, but they knew
going after him would prove fruitless. He could have headed in a
hundred different directions and they could spend the entire day
searching and never find him.

Several hours passed by with Daniel and
Jeremy laboring at the stables. A lot of work had been neglected
while Julia was laid up, making them painfully aware of just how
close the annual sale was. With the arrival of the four new studs
Victor had purchased earlier that spring and breeding about to
begin, there were a flurry of preparations to attend to.

Twenty new ranch hands had been hired to
help out, as was typical for this time of year, but that didn’t
exactly relieve Daniel’s tensions. Harold had taken on the task of
interviewing and screening the new workers for his partner, which
did seem to relieve Daniel’s tensions a small degree, though many
were seasonal workers who would travel back to Mayfield to work at
Turner Stables; the conditions were good and the money was even
better.

With all that had happened around the
stables over the past few months, the added people caused Daniel to
begin watching every corner and every horse a bit closer than
normal. This wouldn’t prove easy while Julia was still recovering
from her accident, and his constant desire to be where she was.

Shortly before sunset Daniel and Jeremy
returned to the house; discouraged, exhausted and frustrated. Even
with all the new workers, it seem like everyone was hiding from
them, including Rally Overton. Daniel felt certain if there were
anyone he could rely on for answers, it would be the stable's
foreman, yet even he was acting reclusive.

Daniel sat at the table with his in-laws and
ate the steak, baked potato, corn on the cob and peach pie Mrs.
Lester had made. Louise assured him repeatedly that Julia was fine,
insisting that he finish his supper before going back up to her. He
hadn’t been able to get the woman off his mind all day, which
didn’t help the mounting frustrations. He didn’t intend to be away
from her for so many hours, but seeing the work that needed done,
he couldn’t exactly turn his back on it.

After practically inhaling his meal, he
gulped down his coffee, grabbed two rolls from the plate in front
of him and hurried up the stairs to the room he had become so
familiar with over the past week. He quietly entered the dimly lit
room and sat in the chair next to Julia, eating the rolls he had
confiscated.

She remained asleep,
looking as peaceful as an angel. Daniel smiled softly as he traced
her features with his eyes. He had memorized every detail of her
beautiful face over the many hours of sitting her waiting for her
to awaken. He could tell you exactly where the dimple in her left
cheek began and where it ended. He knew the precise place on her
lips where her smile curved upward and the arch of her top lip was
delicate and feminine. He smiled as he eyed the small indent in her
chin, thinking of the child’s rhyme his father told him years
ago;
cleft in chin, devil
within
. It proved her temperament and
stubbornness was born to her; it was a trait he shared with her,
though his was slightly deeper and his devilish ways were far more
intimate.

Daniel softly cleared his throat trying to
distract his wondering thoughts and traveling eyes from going any
further than her collarbone. He had to remember she was still ill
and needed to recover before he resumed his attempts to make her
his wife. He spotted the journal Louise had given him a few days
ago, lying on the small beside the bed. He picked it up and quietly
began to scan through the pages. He wasn't certain what he was
looking for, but he knew he would know it when he found it. Page
after page was turned, but all he could find were daily reports,
notes on the stallions’ trainings, suggestions for the upcoming
sale and several memos about the cost of feed and mention of
looking for a new supplier - which Daniel had successfully
found.