Just One Kiss (The Dream Catcher Series-Book Two) (3 page)

“I’ve already joined the army and need to get to my post in Texas…I can’t take them with me,” Lee protested.

“Then I’m your best bet. Look, honey, the black people in this town stay to themselves, they don’t cause no trouble. But these two, they’d be eaten alive by the townsfolk here. You’d best leave them with me. I won’t make slaves of them…I promise. And you can check back after the war if you don’t believe me.”

“The girl…she’s too young to work the saloons. I don’t want to come back and find her in one of those fancy dresses and sellin’ herself to the highest bidder,” Lee informed her quickly. He needed to be on his way, he couldn’t take them with him. But he’d be damned if he’d be the ruination of the girl. He couldn’t do anything but leave them here. It bothered him to do so, but the woman did look him in the eyes when she spoke and the way she kept looking at them, he figured she was right. He prided himself in sizing up a situation, and the old woman looked as though she had a soft spot for kids.

“Sure, honey. That’s fine. Not much call for black girls here, anyway…” She smiled.

“Do I have your word, that you’ll take care of them, like your own?” he asked.

“Sure. Don’t you worry any at all. But, you’re young to be goin’ off to war like this. Why don’t you stay here with me, we could take care of them together?” She moved toward him with a smile.

He smiled back, knowing what she meant but not interested in her proposition. “Just take care of them. I’ll leave ya some money…What’s your name?”

“Gloria Newcomb…and yours?”

“Lee, Lee Nelson.”

The woman seemed stunned. “You kin to them or somethin’?”

“No…just don’t want to see kids mistreated, is all. Given half the chance most kids can grow up good. I’d like to think they will.”

She smiled again. “Oooh, if I was younger I wouldn’t let you ride off.” She kissed his cheek. “But you goin’ off to fight in the army…that’s a sad thing.”

“Reckon someone’s gotta do it. Got some place I can lay him down?” Lee asked suddenly realizing the weight on his shoulders.

“Sure, in the back there. There’s a bed.” She showed him the room.

Lee followed her and put Sam on the bed. Then he turned to look at the woman again. She was once a beauty he was sure of that, but age had caught up to her and hadn’t been as kind as she probably deserved. “I appreciate this, ma’am.”

He pulled out some cash from his pocket and took her hand. He folded the money up and leaned to kiss her lips. She responded with a soft sigh. “Why honey, sure you don’t want to stick around?”

“Can’t. But thanks.” Lee moved to go back into the saloon where he’d left Hattie standing.

A customer had come in and seen her and grabbed her and had her on his knee.

Without a thought, Lee whirled her by the hand on the other side of him protectively and looked at the stranger. “Sorry, but she’s not for sale.”

He felt the sweat between their hands, and the tremble that rumbled through Hattie as he held her protectively away from the man. She was scared to death and he was glad of it.

“Well hell, why not, she’s younger and prettier than most these girls in here.” The man laughed. “I like ‘em young. Less of course she’s your property.”

“She’s a human being…that’s all she is. She’s no one’s property.” Lee guided her back to the room where Sam was. He closed the door once she was inside. He had to calm down, he’d gotten angry too fast. He glanced over at her and saw her staring at him.

“Look. I can’t do much else for you. I paid the lady some money to take care of you. I’ve got to get to the army. I can’t stay here. You’ll be alright, just do what little she asks of you and try to get along. Understand?”

The girl’s lip pouched out and Lee was sure tears were close to falling.

“You’re leaving?” Her eyes took on an innocent look of surprise.

Lee nodded.

“Thank you for what you done.” She came closer, and looked up at him.

“You’re welcome…” Lee’s eye lingered on her longer than they should have. He cleared his throat. He hadn’t expected a thank you from her.

“You going to war?” she asked, her voice filled with concern.

“Yeah,” he answered, staring at her through the dim light of the room.

Without another word, she flung herself into his arms. Lee felt the warmth of her as her young body fit against him naturally. He felt himself react and again he scolded himself. But nothing prepared him for the shocking kiss she placed on his lips as she tiptoed to reach him. Her soft lips moved against his, insinuating her tongue into his mouth, as they instantly mated. Just like his lips had explored hers last night, today, she boldly imitated his actions. Soft as a buttercup, her lips touched his, lingered, and then moved away slowly. Their eyes met with a storm of emotion clouding them.

Deliberately, he put distance between them. An old woman’s kiss was nothing like this one. He’d felt it to his toes and his body reacted quite naturally. She’d pressed her young body up against him so tightly she was bound to have felt his reaction. She was just a child, he quickly reminded himself. He would not let anything happen between them. It was naturally up to him to see that it didn’t. But by all that was holy, she brought out the man in him like no other.

“I really am sixteen, and I really want you to come back…safe…to us,” she said lowly. “You get shot up, I’ll take care of you. I know how, did it for my Pa many times.” She moved a little closer, her eyes wide with expectations.

He cleared his throat again, and he felt his own heartbeat quicken. “You shouldn’t have done that.” He touched a finger to his lips.

“Don’t other girls kiss you goodbye…” She suddenly looked as though she’d said too much.

“There are no other girls…”

“You mean I’m…the only one…” She almost smiled.

“Yeah…the only one…” he answered, backing away from her.

Her mouth formed a perfect ‘O,’ but nothing came out. She seemed out of breath suddenly, her chest rising and falling quickly, he noted.

She smiled at him now. “Good. And I’m glad I kissed you. Mama said you had to try a boy out to see if he was the right one…”

“Right one for what?” He frowned at her.

“Right one to be with…”

Lee’s frown grew, although her words confused him mightily almost as much as her kissing him had.

“I just wanted to thank you…for all you done. It was right decent of you. I never met a nice white man before. Didn’t know there were any.”

Lee moved closer, his temper flaring in defense. “That’s no way to thank anyone, you hear me girl? Don’t let me catch you ever thanking anyone else like that, do you hear me? You don’t kiss a man on the lips as a thank you. And I better be the only white boy you ever kiss like that.”

“Like what?” she asked innocently.

“Like you meant it.”

“I didn’t mean to do nothin’ wrong…” she huffed and saw his head shake. “…And I did mean it.”

He stared into her amber eyes. “I know…that’s the problem, Hattie, so did I.”

Her mouth flew open.

“You are playin’ with fire, girl, don’t you know that? I’m a full grown man, and you’re just a kid.”

“Didn’t you like it?”

His eyes met hers and for all that was holy, he couldn’t lie, couldn’t look away. “Yeah…too much.” His mouth curled into a slight smile.

She smiled back shyly.

His gaze swept her. “Did you?”

She nodded and placed her hand over his. For a long moment he stared at their hands, and then a thumb reached over and grazed the top of her hand. Her breath hitched, her chest rose and fell quickly.

“Will—you come back?” she asked breathlessly.

“I’m going to the army, in Texas, girl.” He moved away and stopped looking at her. Those sad cow eyes of hers had him feeling things and thinking things he shouldn’t. “I have no idea. The army isn’t a happy place. But I reckon if I live through it, I might stop off and see how the two of you are doing, someday. So you behave yourself. And no more of that. I got every reason to come back…now. Understand? And don’t you run off and leave Sam by himself here, you hear me? He’s your brother and you take care of him. Family stays together, you understand?”

She nodded, and a tear slipped down her cheek. “Where’s your family?”

“Ain’t got anything left but a brother. He went off on his own some time ago. Been a while since I seen him.”

“Well…we won’t forget you, Lee Nelson. Not as long as we live. And from now on…we’ll be your family.”

He stared into her eyes for a long moment, heat rose between them. He touched her cheek with his hand. She leaned into his hand. He stared at her long and hard, until a smile broke over her beautiful face. He smiled back.

“Please come back…to us…” she cried.

“Ah hell…” Lee rushed from the room. One more tear and he’d have been pulling her back into his arms. But that would never do either.

He squashed every emotion he had, tipped his hat to Gloria who had promised to help and left.

He heard the other girls giggling as he was leaving. “Boy, Gloria, you get all the cute ones.”

He grinned, then shook his head. The last thing he needed was a female, especially one with sad cow eyes and pillow soft lips, especially one that tasted like heaven. But damn, he wouldn’t be forgetting Hattie Tanner.

Chapter One

Birmingham, Alabama

Late 1865

Remnants, leftovers, ashes, from a time he didn’t want to remember, in a place he couldn’t forget. Lee accustomed himself to seeing familiar landmarks destroyed along the path where the ghost of war scarred the state of Alabama, like a horse gone loco. Towns burned, homes destroyed, people displaced, gloom echoed on shoulders not strong enough to bear the brunt, the blacks were freed and walked in an uncertain path to an unknown future. Others were dazed and slowly began the job of rebuilding with a pride that no longer existed.

Watching the carriages come and go, some from wealthy neighbors that managed to survive the cutthroat war, others worn and mistreated through desperate times. The cotton wagons passed like an endless sea of white. He heard the blacksmith pounding out a new horseshoe, the familiar sound harkening a brief welcome. Businesses had gone on as normal since the war ended. Merchants advertised, the saloons filled, as soft piano played in the distance. A mongrel dog ran after a wagon, barking playfully at the kids in the back hanging their bare feet over the edge of the wagon. The dog nipped at them and they laughed.

Pleasure seemed in odd places these days. Before the war he wouldn’t have paid a bit of attention to those kids.

Reconstruction resounded with loud hammers and nails.

Ex-confederates leaned against hitching posts and walls, some missing arms, legs, or even eyes, watching the day unfold, with tight lips and furrowed brows, still wearing their dingy, holey uniforms, none wearing the pride or dignity of victory.

An unremarkable day unfolded until Lee rounded the corner and saw a Negro woman with three little girls, loading a wagon with supplies. Nothing strange about her or her girls except the serious expression she wore, her shoulders sagged, her mouth turned downward, her hair was tied into a knot at her nape. She filled out her dress and then some, handsome wide hips, and ample breasts to pillow a man with. Stout and strong and beautiful as he’d ever seen. She wasn’t some scrawny little girl, this was a fully grown woman, ripe for the pickin’. Lee felt himself react. That hadn’t happened in a long time. But for some strange reason, his hand itched to hold her in his embrace. And despite the fact that he only had one arm now, she brought out the man in him.

Her helpers were a short staircase of little girls.

The youngest staircase stopped, bent over to retrieve their mutt of a puppy under the wagon, and displayed a rather wet pair of pantaloons to Lee’s curious glance. The corners of Lee’s mouth tugged. Still too little to climb up the wagon, the others helped her up and scoffed that she was wet.

They quickly pulled her pantaloons down and laid them to dry on the side of the wagon, waving like a proud flag in the gentle breeze. The puppy barked and wagged its tail, the youngest stuck her tongue out at the mutt, and he licked her right on the mouth. She giggled.

Then a boy about thirteen jumped on the back of the wagon, hanging his bare feet over the edge. He had a small sack and was pulling candy out of it. He turned and looked at the oldest girl who frowned mightily at him.

“What’s that you got?” she asked him.

“Peppermint, that’s what. Want some?” he offered her a stick of candy with a grin.

The girl looked for a long minute then huffed and sat down beside him. “Where did you get candy?”

“I polished a man’s boots, and he gave me a nickel to buy candy. So I did.” He handed some to the others now, then turned to look at the oldest.

“You worked for it?”

“Shore did.”

“Oh…well, then that’s different.” She smiled and licked the candy.

Lee couldn’t help but admire the girl’s attitude.

But he was looking at the boy. He knew him. It had to be Sam, and if that was Sam, then the woman was Hattie. He mentally figured in his head, yes, Hattie would be twenty-four by now, that was about right. Good grief, she’d grown up and into a beauty. Of course he’d never tell her that, but she was as pretty as he’d ever seen.

Lee felt a little sunshine leak into his heart, melting away the cold thoughts of war and killing. It’d been a long time since he watched children play, or noticed how a woman was built.

The woman started pulling away from the dry goods when a burly man came along side her, pulling in front of her so she could not move. With a loud crackling whip, popping it in the dirt by her horse, he startled her and her girls. The horse reared, wild eyed, and the woman grasp the reins tightly, a challenging defiance stared up at him from the wagon.

“I told you there’d be no more credit at this store for you.” The man’s craggy brows nearly touched as he stared the woman down. “We don’t sell to squatters. And Negro ladies don’t own land, you understand that? It ain’t done. Not in Alabama they don’t, even if they did come by it honestly.”