One Pink Rose; One White Rose; One Red Rose (5 page)

She ignored the question. “He might not be as rich as Randolph is, but almost, and he lives out here, in this beautiful, wild, untamed land, and that makes him just as appealing to me. I really hated living in the city. I could never seem to fit in. I know you don't understand because you've lived here all your life, but I felt as though I were suffocating. The air's dirty, the streets are crowded, and everywhere you look are buildings so tall you can't see the sky.”

“Weren't you willing to live in Boston with Randolph?”

“He promised we would move west after one year of marriage. Father was horrified. He thought Randolph's handsome salary at the bank was far more important than my suffocation problems.”

“Money isn't more important. I still remember what it was like living in New York.”

Her eyes widened with surprise. “You lived in the East?”

“Until I was around ten or eleven years old.”

“Why did you move?”

He was only going to answer her question and tell her a very little bit about his past, but she was such an easy woman to talk to, he got carried away and told her far more than he'd intended. He wasted a good half hour telling her about his brothers, his sister and her husband, and his Mama Rose. She seemed fascinated by his family and smiled after he mentioned he was going to become an attorney. He could have sworn tears came into her eyes when he told her Mama Rose was finally home.

“You're very fortunate to have such a loving family.”

He nodded agreement. “What about you?”

“I have seven sisters. It's my hope that one day some of them will come and visit Mr. O'Toole and me. He has a grand house with a curved staircase. He told me so in one of his letters.”

Travis didn't care about the house she was going to live in. “You'll be sorry if you marry a man you don't love.”

She didn't show any reaction to his remark. He watched her thread her fingers through her hair. No matter how much she messed with it, the curls floated back around her face. She could be a real charmer all right. She was also an amazingly feminine creature, and if she could only learn to be a little less crazy, she'd be just about perfect.

He decided to tell her so. “You know what your problem is?”

“Yes, I do,” she replied. “I should have learned from my sister. Barbara doesn't have a practical bone in her body. She doesn't have any common sense either. She pretends to be helpless too, and she's a marvelous flirt.”

“No man wants a helpless woman, but a practical one is real handy to have around out here.”

He stood up before she could start arguing with him, stretched the muscles in his neck by rolling his shoulders, and then began to gather stones to put the fire out.

She surprised him by helping. It took only a couple of minutes to finish the task, and he was suddenly anxious to get going. He'd spent entirely too much time talking about himself and his family. He didn't understand why he'd told her so much, because it wasn't like him to ever tell an outsider personal facts.

He didn't consider Emily an outsider though. She was . . . different. He couldn't put his finger on what it was about her that got to him, but affect him she did, and in such a strange way his instincts warned him to keep his distance. His body had other ideas. He'd already had several fantasies about making love to her. He'd tried to picture her without her clothes on, which took quite a bit of imagination on his part, since she was covered from her chin to her toes.

He had a feeling she'd be spectacular. The way she filled out the top of her dress, the tiny waistband, and the narrow hips all suggested to him that she was well put together and that he wouldn't be disappointed. The woman had all the right curves and in all the right places.

Still, thinking about it and doing something about it were two different kettles of fish. He wasn't about to give in to his urges, but he didn't feel at all guilty picturing it in his mind. She was a sensual woman, and he appreciated a good-looking female as much as every other man living in the wilderness.

No, he wasn't concerned about his physical attraction to her. He could easily deal with that. What bothered him was the fact that he was actually beginning to enjoy her company, though why he liked being around a woman with such strange notions was beyond him. Emily made him smile, but only because she said the craziest things.

He enjoyed looking at her. Nothing wrong with that, he told himself. Why, it would have been wrong for him not to look. He was a healthy man with normal inclinations, and she was getting prettier by the minute. That didn't mean he was smitten with her.

He felt better once he'd analyzed his situation. He quit frowning too. He watched her feed the rest of her apple to her horse, thought it was a sweet, practical thing to do, and wondered if she had any idea how difficult it was going to be for her to keep up the pretense of being helpless around Clifford O'Toole.

He waited by the horses while she went to the stream to wash. He got a peculiar little catch in the back of his throat when she came running back to him. Her cheeks were rosy from washing in the cold mountain water, and she was smiling with pleasure over what she declared was a glorious day. He thought about kissing her then and there, and it took a good deal of discipline to keep his hands off her.

“I'm ready to go now, Travis.”

He was suddenly all business. “It's about time. We've wasted almost two full hours here.”

“It wasn't wasted time. It was . . . enjoyable.”

He shrugged. “Do you want me to help you get up on your horse?”

“And get tossed over the top again? I think not.”

She hopped about for a minute or two while she tried to anchor her foot in the stirrup, and just when he was going to demand that she let him assist her, she made it up into the saddle on her own. She gave him a victorious smile. It didn't last long.

“A helpless woman would have requested assistance,” he said.

He was smiling as he swung up into his saddle. He must be crazy too, he decided, because he was beginning to really like Miss Emily Finnegan.

T
hey didn't speak until they reached the gully he had hoped to use to shorten their journey, but just as Adam had predicted, it was flooded.

“You don't want to cross the river here, do you? Surely there's a bridge we could use.”

“There aren't any bridges up here,” he answered. “And this isn't a river, Emily. It's just a gully.”

Her mount obviously didn't like being so close to the water's edge and began to prance about. Travis reached over, grabbed hold of the reins, and forced her horse closer to his side so he couldn't rear up.

“He must think he has to go in the water. He doesn't, does he?”

He could hear the worry in her voice. “No, he doesn't,” he assured her. “We can't cross here.”

His leg was rubbing against hers. She noticed, of course, but though she could have moved away, she didn't. She liked being close to him. He made her feel safe and yet uneasy too. What in heaven's name was the matter with her? She didn't seem to know her own thoughts anymore.

“We can't cross here.” She repeated his words while she patted her horse in what Travis assumed was an attempt to reassure the animal.

“Now what?” she asked him.

“Your journey to Golden Crest has just been lengthened by at least two more days, maybe three.”

It took all she had not to shout with relief. God help her, she was actually weak with it. It certainly was a peculiar reaction to hearing she wouldn't have to meet and marry Mr. O'Toole for at least two more days. She should have been disappointed over the news, shouldn't she?

Then why did she feel as though she'd just been given a stay of execution?

“Cold feet,” she whispered.

“What did you say?” Travis asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing important,” she said.

She wasn't about to tell him the truth. She wouldn't look at him either because she was certain he would be able to see the relief in her eyes. Travis already thought she was out of her mind to want to marry a complete stranger, and, honest to Pete, she was beginning to think he might be right.

Perhaps she was having before-the-wedding jitters. Some brides did, didn't they? Yes, of course they did, and all she needed to do now was read Mr. O'Toole's letters again. She was sure to feel better then. The man she was going to marry had poured his heart out to her and had proven beyond a doubt that he was a sensitive, caring man who would love and cherish her until death did they part. What more could she ever want from a husband?

Love, she admitted with a sinking heart. She wanted to love him as much as he claimed to already love her.

“You aren't getting sick on me, are you, Emily?”

“No, I never get sick. Why do you ask?”

“You're awfully pale.”

“I'm just disappointed,” she lied. “You must be disappointed too. It seems you're stuck with me for a couple of days. Will you mind?”

“No. Why are you so anxious to get to Golden Crest?”

“I should be, shouldn't I?”

“Did you love Randolph?”

The question jarred her. “What made you think of Randolph?”

He shrugged. “Did you?”

“I might have.”

“What kind of answer is that? Did you like the way he kissed you?”

“For heaven's sake, it isn't appropriate for you to ask me such personal questions. It's going to rain soon, isn't it?”

“Yes, it is,” he agreed. “Answer my question.”

She let out a loud sigh to let him know she was becoming irritated with him before she finally acceded to his request.

“I didn't like or dislike them. His kisses were all right, I suppose.”

He laughed.

“What did I say that you find so amusing?”

He didn't explain. Her answer had pleased him though. She hadn't liked being touched by good old Randolph if his kisses were just “all right.”

“Where will we stay tonight?” she asked, trying to turn his attention so he wouldn't ask her any more personal questions.

“We'll have to backtrack a couple of miles and stay at Henry Billings's way station. The food's bad, but the beds are clean and dry, and if we hurry, we should get there before the rain starts. What are you staring at, Emily?”

“Your eyes,” she blurted out, blushing because she'd been caught in the act. “They're very green. Did your brothers tease you when you were a little boy?”

“Tease me because of the color of my eyes?”

“No, because . . .” She realized what she was about to say and felt her face burn with mortification. Lord above, she'd almost asked if he'd been teased because he was so absolutely perfect. There'd be no living with him if she said that, she realized, and the rest of their journey would be filled with one vexing remark after another. She had already noticed he had a tendency toward arrogance.

“Tease me about what?” he asked again.

She stared up at him while she tried to come up with a suitable and impersonal remark.

“Being tall,” she said.

He looked exasperated. “I wasn't tall when I was a child. I was short. Most children are.”

“If you use that condescending tone in the courtroom, you're going to be a dismal failure. It's just a suggestion,” she added when he frowned at her.

“Emily, if you keep looking at me like that, I'm going to get the notion you want me to kiss you.”

“I don't.”

“Then stop staring at my mouth.”

“What would you like me to stare at, Travis?”

“The water,” he snapped. “Stare at the water. You sure you don't want me to kiss you?”

The conversation was doing strange things to her. She couldn't seem to catch her breath. She knew she was daring the devil, but she couldn't make herself look away from him. She wasn't at all interested in staring at the water; she wanted to continue to stare at him. What was the matter with her?

“It probably wouldn't be proper for you to kiss me. I'm going to be married soon.”

“You have no business marrying a stranger, Emily.”

“Why do you care what I do?”

He didn't have a ready answer for the question. “I get bothered when someone does something I consider stupid.”

“Are you calling me stupid?”

“If the hat fits . . .”