Ride The Wind (Vincente 3) (23 page)

"Noble, Matthew loves Saber. When he's not
under the influence of his mother and father,
he's an entirely different person."

"I like a man who is consistent. But that will
be my sister's choice; only she can decide."

Reese stared back at the fire again and spoke
in a hard voice. "I just want you to know that
you need to look out for Graham Felton. He's
not in Mexico, or Eugene would never have
shown up here. I suspect he's still after Saber.
I'm going to track him if I can."

"It's not your place, Reese. I will take care of
Mr. Felton."

"It is my place. I started this, and I'll finish it."

Noble nodded, knowing Reese would do what
he said. "I agree, on one condition."

"And that is?"

"If you find him, send me word. I want to be
there, too. I have to know why he did this to my
sister, or I'll never have any peace of mind."

"I'll let you know, if there's time. But if it
means losing his trail, I'll go it alone. I don't intend to kill him unless I have to. I want to know
myself why he had Saber kidnapped."

Noble looked into Reese's eyes and nodded.
He understood more than Reese thought he did.
Reese was going after Felton because he loved
Saber, and for no other reason.

Saber wore a gray wool gown that matched her
mood. She glanced about the bedroom, knowing
she was seeing it for the last time. She would
have been so happy here if she could have slept
in that bed as Reese's wife.

Her footsteps were heavy as she moved into
the tiny parlor and found Jake and Gabe waiting
for her there.

"We wanted to say good-bye, Miss Vincente,"
Jake said, running his fingers around the brim
of the hat he clutched in his hand.

Gabe grinned. "It's been a pleasure to know
you, Miss Vincente. I'll miss your cooking."

She went to Jake and kissed his cheek. "Take
care of yourself, Jake."

He blushed and looked pleased.

She then moved to Gabe and brushed her lips
against his leathery skin. "You look after Mr.
Starrett, Gabe."

He grinned and held his face where she'd
kissed him. "Yes, ma'am, I'll surely do that, but
a man like him takes a powerful lot of looking
after."

She smiled, fighting the urge to cry. "We are
in agreement on that." She hurried out the door
and walked in the direction of the barn, wondering if Reese would be there. He would probably be happy to be rid of her, since she'd
brought him nothing but trouble.

The inside of the barn was dark, but Saber
saw Reese pitching hay to the horses. He didn't
look up as she approached, but she knew he was
aware of her presence.

"I couldn't leave without saying good-bye to
you, Reese."

He paused, leaning a gloved hand on the handle of the pitchfork. "I'm sure you are anxious
to see the last of this place." He didn't quite meet
her eyes.

She placed her hand on his arm. "I have been
contented here, Reese. You gave me a time to
heal, and I will always be grateful to you for that. You have done so much for me. I owe you more
than I can ever repay."

He gave her a piercing gaze, and his light eyes
turned silver. "You don't owe me a damned
thing. I told you, Matthew paid me for what I
did for you."

"Yes, but-"

He removed his gloves and tossed them aside.
"Damn it, Saber, go to Matthew and talk to
him tell him how you feel. He loves you."

Tears welled in her eyes. "I'll just say good-bye
then, Reese." She stepped closer, still unable to
leave. "Hold me, Reese. Just this one last time."

A deep growl escaped his lips, and he grabbed
her, clutching her so tightly she could hardly
breathe. It felt glorious to be in his arms. If only
he knew how much she loved him if only he
loved her, everything would be perfect!

He had managed to keep a tight rein on his
feelings so far, but his control was slipping rapidly. His lips were hard and demanding as he
ground them against hers. His tongue slid between her lips, and he groaned, backing her
against the wall and lifting her, bracing her
weight against him. He settled his hardening
erection against her, and he fought against shoving her underclothes aside and driving into her.

Saber thought she would faint from the excitement he aroused in her. She forgot every thing but the touch of his hand against her skin.

His mouth moved to the front of her gown,
and he moved it against the material, kissing,
nudging, making her cry out with awakening desire.

"Why couldn't you have just left without saying good-bye, Saber?"

His words barely penetrated her consciousness. She tossed her head back and whispered
his name when he pushed her gown up and
spread her legs. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. His hand moved between her thighs,
and he slid his finger inside her, causing her to
arch and buck against him.

"Reese, oh, Reese."

His neck muscles corded, and his breathing
came out in a hiss when his finger reached
through her hot tightness until he came to the
barrier he'd hoped to find. His body trembled,
and he gritted his teeth.

Saber was still a virgin!

She had not been violated. He wrestled with
the temptation to break through that barrier,
but he slowly withdrew his hand and set her on
her feet.

His voice was deep and harsh. "You can assure Matthew that the Miller brothers didn't violate you while you were unconscious."

She blinked her eyes as she came back to reality. "I... what?"

He straightened her gown and gazed into her
confused blue eyes. "I have just felt the proof
that you were untouched, Saber."

"I don't care about that. It doesn't matter any
longer."

"It will matter when you see Matthew again,
Saber. Although, if I were you, I'd tell him your
memory came back and not admit to what I just
did to you." He pushed her tumbled hair away
from her face.

She looked into his eyes and saw torment and
hopelessness. "Why did you stop, Reese?"

He glanced up at the rafters as if he were
having a hard time speaking. "It was difficult to
touch you and let you go, Saber. You will never
know how much that cost me."

Her mouth went dry, and she felt pain rip
though her with such intensity that she pressed
her hand against her heart.

Reese loved her!

She saw the love shining in his eyes how
could she not have seen it before now? She knew
the reason he had avoided her since he'd returned: he didn't trust himself around her.

But the realization of that love brought her
only momentary happiness, because he would
never admit to her that he loved her. He would never take a woman who belonged to his friend.
Why did he have to be a man of such integrity
and honesty?

Loving him as she did, she could do no less
than he was willing to do. She could never admit
to him how deeply she loved him, because it
would only bring him torment, and he would be
burdened by the knowledge.

"Reese, do you think love lasts forever -4
mean, real love, the kind that comes along only
once in a lifetime?"

He breathed deeply and reached up to tie a
bow that had come undone on her gown. "Yes.
If love is real, it will last forever and perhaps
beyond." He turned her toward the door. "So
you see, you have nothing to worry about. Matthew will be waiting for you with all the love a
man can give a woman."

Her eyes were sad and teary. She softly
touched his lips, and he closed his eyes. "I will
remember what you have told me. Love is forever."

His voice was deep, strained, his eyes still intense. "You had better leave, Saber."

She nodded, turned, and ran from the barn.
She was running away from the man she would
always love to marry a man she could never love.

An hour later they were ready to leave. Rachel
was seated in the carriage, and her brother was mounted on his horse. When Saber approached
from the house, Noble dismounted and helped
her into the carriage.

"Ready to go, Saber?"

"Yes. Take me away from here."

She settled back against the cushions, and Rachel placed a lap robe over her. "We'll be in Fort
Worth before sundown," she said.

Oh, Reese, she cried silently as the carriage
pulled away from the ranch house, why must life
be so unfair?

After they had been traveling for some time,
Rachel knew she had to tell Saber what Matthew
and his parents had requested of her before the
marriage. But when she had done so, Saber did
not react with the indignation Rachel had expected.

"Do you understand what I'm saying, Saber?"

"Does Reese know about this?" Saber asked.

Rachel frowned. "Yes. Noble said he was furious. You can imagine what your brother's reaction was. In fact, Noble wanted to take you
directly to Casa del Sol and tell the Halloways
to well... go to hell. But I managed to persuade him that this was your decision and that
you had to see Matthew and talk to him yourself."

Saber's voice was calm because she was remembering what Reese had said to her in the barn. Now it all made sense. What he'd done for
her had been because he loved her and didn't
want to see her suffer the indignity of being examined at the Halloways' request.

Rachel settled back against a fluffy pillow and
looked thoughtful.

"If you don't love Matthew, you will be doing
him a great disservice by marrying him, Saber.
You could end it, you know."

"Sometimes we get caught up in a situation
that we can do nothing about. If Matthew still
wants to marry me, how can I refuse?" After a
while, she added softly, "Reese loves me."

"I am so relieved he told you. Now you can do
something about it."

"He didn't tell me. You have to understand the
kind of man he is and why he's that way. We can
never be together never."

Rachel shook her head, thinking about the
tangle that awaited them in Fort Worth, and the
one they had just left behind.

It was a little after dark when they reached
town. Noble took his sister straight to the hotel
and had dinner served in her room. Then he
went in search of Matthew.

Reese lifted the pan off the stove and muttered
a curse, dropping it back down and rubbing his
burned hand. Nothing was going right. But what did it matter-what did anything matter since
Saber had left?

He remembered how confused she'd been in
the barn that morning. She was so young and
innocent. She'd been caught in a situation not
of her making. If she hadn't been kidnapped, he
would probably have gone to her wedding and
watched her marry Matthew without feeling any
emotion toward her at all.

He shook his head. No. Even meeting her for
the first time on her wedding day would not have
kept him from loving Saber. It had been meant
to be that he should love her, and nothing could
change that. He knew that he would never love
another woman that his heart would always
belong to her.

He walked out of the kitchen, grabbed his
coat, and headed for the barn. He was going to
Fort Griffin, knowing Matthew would have reported back to duty by now. He couldn't go on
wondering what was happening to Saber. And
he was determined to keep an eye on her and to
make sure Graham Felton didn't get near her.
Felton was a desperate man. Saber wasn't safe
as long as he was on the loose.

Matthew had been ordered to report back to
Fort Griffin, and his parents had accompanied
him there. He lay upon his cot, staring into the
darkness. Everything was in such confusion. All
he'd wanted to do was marry Saber. He loved
her, but he also wanted a career in politics he
wanted both. He had a sterling reputation as an
army officer, and that would go a long way toward helping him when he ran for office.

He hadn't wanted Saber to be examined by a
doctor, but his mother had convinced him it was
necessary. What if she had been raped? What if
one of the men had impregnated her? He certainly didn't want to give his name to one of the Miller brothers' by-blows. He remembered Saber as she'd been in Georgia, a beautiful and innocent young girl who had gotten caught up in
a war she didn't understand. He'd fallen in love
with her at that time. But that had been over two
years ago. He still pictured her as that young
girl, and sometimes he had trouble remembering what she looked like.