Rebecca Hagan Lee - [Borrowed Brides 02] (15 page)

He touched her hipbone, fingers teasing the sensitive flesh.

“David!”

“Yes, Tessa.” He bent closer and kissed her mouth, hard.

She kissed him back, now familiar with the texture of his lips and the hot taste of his mouth.

“Some people worship God in churches,” David said, his warm breath fanning her face as he nibbled at her lower lip. “And some worship in other ways. I think this is why God created Sundays.”

“Sunday,” Tessa repeated, stiffening in his arms, as awareness of their situation drifted back to her.

David silently cursed his wayward tongue for reminding her of the day.

Flushing, she pushed at his chest. “It’s the in-between Sunday. If you don’t hurry, we’ll miss the train for Cheyenne.”

He eased his weight off her. She sat up, then scrambled off the bed. She stood beside his dresser and glanced in the mirror. The bodice of her dress was wet from his chest, her skirt creased.

“I’m not going to church in Cheyenne,” David said. “You go.”

“I can’t,” Tessa informed him. “Not without you.”

“Why not?” David pushed himself up and leaned against the headboard. He stretched, then rubbed his chest.

“Because…” Watching him, Tessa stuttered, losing her train of thought. “Because you made me promise not to go near the depot or the stage office. I can’t leave Peaceable without you.”

“Go to church in town instead. I’ll give you permission.”

“It’s the in-between Sunday,” Tessa repeated. “The priest only comes to town two Sundays a month. On the other Sundays we have to go to Cheyenne or one of the other towns along the railroad. But Cheyenne’s closest.”

“Does church mean that much to you?” David swung his legs over the side of the bed. They were bare, as was the rest of him. He kept a grip on the covers, anchoring them across his lap. From the look on her face and the throbbing in his groin, David decided he wasn’t going to get any more sleep.

“I never miss church.”

David gave in. “I’ll be ready in half an hour.” He supposed it wouldn’t hurt to ask God for help on Tessa’s behalf.

“But we’ll miss the train! We’ll be late.”

“I know what time church starts in Cheyenne,” he informed her. “We’re not going there.” He was willing to take Tessa to church if that’s what she wanted, but not in Cheyenne.

“But…” The Catholic church in Cheyenne was the largest in the area and the loveliest.

David held up his hand to halt her arguments. “We’ll go west. Surely there’s a church in one of the other towns along the line.” He reached for the robe lying across the foot of the bed. “Tessa,” he said when she made no move toward the door, “I’m as bare as a newborn baby beneath these covers. I can’t get up until you leave.”

“Oh!”

He smiled. “Yes, ‘oh.’” His dark brown eyes crinkled at the corners. “Why don’t you check on Coalie’s progress?”

“Coalie’s dressed already,” Tessa replied. “He’s gone to get our breakfast from the hotel.” Still she continued to stand where she was, fascinated by the sight of him.

“A cup of coffee would be nice,” David suggested. “And some water. Hot, this time. For shaving.”

“All right.” She backed toward the door.

“And, Tessa.” His voice was husky, deep with meaning. “Much obliged for the morning kiss.”

She flushed, looking at him, staring at his lips, remembering their magic. Tessa swung around, then hurried out the door.

David heard the clatter in the kitchen as she banged around at the stove. He stood up and shrugged into his robe as he walked to the washstand. “Ouch, dammit!” David’s curses carried into the main room, reaching Tessa’s ears.

“Stop your cursing on Sunday. It’s blasphemy,” she called from the kitchen.

“I stepped on a piece of the water pitcher,” David shouted. “I cut my foot, and it hurts like hell!” If he expected sympathy, he was disappointed. He hopped to the bed and sat on the edge.

Walking back to his door, Tessa peeked in and watched as David propped his injured foot on his other knee and began a tentative search for the fragment. “You should be more careful,” she finally said.

“You’re the one who dropped the pitcher.” He sucked in a breath when he touched the tiny shard.

“You saw me do it.” Tessa smiled at him. “You
made
me do it.” She entered the room and knelt beside him. Brushing his hand aside, she began gently probing the wound. “Let me.”

“Stop! I’ll do it.” He cradled his foot.

“Don’t be such a baby!” she snapped.

She found the sliver and pulled it out. A tiny speck of blood dotted the wound.

“Ouch! Dam—”

“Watch your mouth!” Tessa scolded. “It’s a good thing we’re going to church.” She tossed a length of towel at him. “You can ask forgiveness for your foul mouth.”

Tessa felt his dark-eyed stare and looked up to find him watching her.

David reached out and touched her hair, neatly coiled in a thick braid around her head. “What about you, contessa?”

“What about me?” She couldn’t take her gaze away from his lips.

“Are you going to ask forgiveness for my mouth?” He leaned forward to kiss her. “For the things it does to you?”

She saw it coming, yet she made no effort to move away. “I told you to watch your mouth,” she reminded him.

“You watch it for me,” he answered, tasting her lips for the second time and finding them sweeter than before.

* * *

David was almost dressed by the time Coalie returned with breakfast.

Coalie set the basket of food on the table, and Tessa took out a sealed milk pail and a selection of pastries. She poured milk into cups for Coalie and herself, then poured a cup of coffee for David.

“I brought some breakfast from the hotel,” Coalie announced as David entered the room. “All kinds of pastries. See?” He waved a doughnut around. The boy’s green eyes sparkled at the display of sweets.

David’s eyes sought Tessa’s, his gaze locking with hers before he turned his attention back to Coalie. “I’m not much of a pastry eater. You and Tessa go ahead and enjoy them. I’ll just have coffee.” He nodded his thanks as Tessa set a cup and saucer down in front of him.

She seated herself next to Coalie and selected a sugar-coated confection. “You’re sure you don’t want any?”

He grinned at her, arching one eyebrow.

She felt the flush of color staining her face.

“No, thanks. I’ve already had my breakfast sweet.” He noticed the becoming pink on her cheeks, then concentrated on her mouth, where a bit of powdered sugar clung to her lips. He ached to lick it off.

“What kind?” Coalie’s question caught both of them by surprise.

“A very special kind,” David answered.

“Hurry,” Tessa responded, tearing her gaze away from David and turning to Coalie. “Eat your breakfast. We don’t have much time.”

Coalie gobbled up his doughnut, then washed it down with a gulp of milk.

“It’s all right, son,” David said. “You can slow down a bit. We’re not in
that
much of a hurry.” He spoke to Coalie, but his next words were meant for Tessa. “We have plenty of time.”

* * *

Late in the afternoon, after mass and a huge Sunday dinner at a restaurant, Tessa, Coalie, and David boarded the train in Buford for the return trip to Peaceable. Coalie immediately dozed off, his head in Tessa’s lap.

Tessa smiled up at the man sitting beside her. It was easy to pretend they were a family returning from a Sunday afternoon excursion just like so many other farm families.

“It was a lovely day,” Tessa said.

“Yes,” David agreed, “it was.”

“Then you didn’t mind taking us?”

“No, Tessa, I didn’t mind,” David admitted, “though I never dreamed we’d have to go all the way to Buford to catch up with the good padre.”

“We could have gone into Cheyenne,” Tessa reminded him.

“No.” His tone carried an edge. “We couldn’t have. I have family and friends there I’d rather not see.”

“Why not? Are you ashamed to have all your big-city friends see Coalie and me?”

“It’s nothing to do with you,” David answered. “It’s me.”

“What did you do that was so bad?” Tessa asked, wondering what his answer would be. She wondered if he’d admit to keeping secrets, maybe even admit to being friends with Liam Kincaid. “What’s any worse than being accused of killing a man?”

David faced her, the expression in his dark eyes painful in its intensity. “Seeing the look in the eyes of your loved ones and knowing you’ve disappointed them. Knowing they’re ashamed of you.”

Tessa suddenly understood that David Alexander did have secrets. He spoke from bitter experience, and her heart went out to him.

“Open up!” The pounding on the front door startled Tessa. “Open up, David Jordan Alexander. I know you’re in there, and you’ve got some explaining to do.”

Tessa debated whether or not she should open the door, then decided it would be all right, since the voice of the caller was female. She pinned her braid into place, then pulled the sash of her borrowed robe tighter around her waist. It was early in the morning for visitors, but the woman obviously knew David Alexander and had no intention of leaving. Tessa padded across the office to the door. Horace Greeley trotted along beside her.

Tessa turned the key in the lock and swung open the door.

“Oh!” Mary Alexander stared. The woman in the doorway of David’s law office was lovely. A thick braid of red hair circled her head like a coronet. Her ivory skin was smooth, unblemished, and her eyes were a lovely shade of blue. That she had been asleep was apparent, as was the fact that she’d spent the night—she was wearing one of David’s silk robes. “I’d like to speak with my brother.” Mary’s voice was cool, full of teacher-like authority, as she stepped forward.

“He’s not here.” Tessa studied David Alexander’s sister. There was quite a family resemblance, from the dark hair and brown eyes down to the dimple in her chin.

“I’ll wait,” Mary said, “if you don’t mind.”

Tessa stepped back to allow her entrance into the office. “Let me take your coat.”

Mary shrugged out of her wool coat and handed it to Tessa.

She took the garment, walked across the office, and hung it on a hook. Tessa motioned toward the coffeepot simmering on the stove. “David left coffee.”

“Thank you.”

Tessa walked to the cupboard and removed a cup and saucer and placed them on the table across from her own glass of milk before lifting the pot from the stove. “Sit down, please,” Tessa said, as she poured the coffee.

Mary seated herself at the table.

Tessa put the pot back on the stove, then offered her hand to the other woman. “I’m Tessa Roarke.”

“Mary Alexander. David’s sister.” Mary let go of her hand. “Then you must be…”

“The saloon girl accused of murder,” Tessa finished for her, sitting down at the table.

Mary blushed. “I was going to say, ‘David’s new client.’”

“Oh.” Tessa refused to show any embarrassment. “Yes, well, I guess I am.”

“So the rumors are true?” Mary admired the girl’s poise.

“What rumors?”

“The rumors that you and David are…well…sharing these quarters.” Mary sipped her coffee.

“I am a client,” Tessa said raising her chin. “I was released into your brother’s custody. He brought us here because we had no place else to go.”

“We?”

“Coalie and I.”

“Who’s Coalie?”

Tessa looked Mary straight in the eyes. “My little boy.”

“Really? How old?” Mary showed genuine interest. “I’m a teacher. David asked me to lend him some beginning readers and a slate.”

“He did?” Tessa asked. “And you brought them all the way from Cheyenne?”

Mary laughed. “I wasn’t supposed to bring them; I was supposed to send them. David isn’t expecting me. I planned to surprise him. To get the books he was going to have to talk to me. Where is he?”

“At the courthouse, I think. He said something about arranging my hearing date.” Greeley jumped into Tessa’s lap, and she began to stroke his fur. She faced David’s sister, her expression earnest. “I didn’t kill anyone, but no one except Coalie and your brother believes me.”

Uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, Mary tactfully changed the subject. “How old is your boy? David’s note said beginning readers. I wasn’t sure what age.”

“Coalie’s nine.”

“Does he go to school in town?”

“Not yet,” Tessa said. “I wanted to send Coalie to school this morning but I’m…” She looked at Mary. The woman seemed sympathetic, trustworthy. “I’m afraid he might not be safe in school right now. I mean with what’s happened. There are some bad feelings around town.”

Mary saw the glimmer of apprehension in Tessa Roarke’s eyes. It was bad enough to be charged with murder, but to have to worry about the safety of her child as well… No wonder David had taken them in.

Mary reached across the table and patted Tessa’s hand. “I understand. There’s no reason he can’t learn his lessons at home just as easily as he would at school.”

The door opened, and Liam Kincaid stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He looked around and found Tessa Roarke sitting at the table with another woman. He tipped his hat. “Morning,” he said. “I was at the depot getting the liquor shipment for the Satin Slipper when your supplies came in on the train. I had ’em loaded onto my wagon. Thought it would save you some time and money if I brought them by.”

“That’s very kind of you—” Mary began.

“Get out!” Tessa sprang from her chair, startling Greeley, who bounced off her lap and ran for the safety of Tessa’s bedroom.

Tessa paused long enough to grab the coffee pot before she advanced on Lee, weapon in hand.

“What?” Lee was astonished by her reaction. She looked as if she’d seen the devil.

“Get out! I said
get out!
We don’t want any help from you,” Tessa shouted. “Stay away from me! Stay away from Coalie!” Tessa swung the coffee pot. Coffee spewed from the lid and splattered one sleeve of Lee’s coat.

“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Lee sidestepped to avoid being hit by the enameled pot. “Just wait a minute. You’ve got this all wrong.” He took another step. Forward this time.